Develop Bugs

5x Hard Bricked??

I think I've done goofed my nexus.
Yesterday, I made a backup of my phone, and then booted it up. Everything was working fine prior to the backup, but as soon as I booted it after making the backup, it got stuck on the google logo. I tried restarting it several times, but it's just been stuck in a bootloop ever since. I've tried numerous things, like formatting it, flashing factory images, and so on, but it turns out fastboot won't detect my device. ADB detects my device fine, but only in recovery. As far as I know, I don't have usb debugging enabled (since I formatted it). It currently has no OS since I formatted it. I've tried installing stock android since formatting it but it still gets stuck in a bootloop.
All my drivers are correct (I've re-installed them probably 10 times by now), and the images aren't corrupted (as far as I know).
I've run out of ideas, as I've been trying to figure this out for the past 2 days with no success. Any help would be appreciated.

I've had a similar issue a couple times after doing something stupid (ADB or FASTBOOT could not detect the phone). The fix was to look in Windows Device Manager and make sure the phone really was detected and a driver installed. Windows would say that it could not find a driver but telling it to install manually did the trick..... as I recall there were a couple driver choices, so it might be trieal and error. Might not be the issue in your case since it does sound like the hardware has a problem, but worth looking into?
Paul

pgoelz said:
I've had a similar issue a couple times after doing something stupid (ADB or FASTBOOT could not detect the phone). The fix was to look in Windows Device Manager and make sure the phone really was detected and a driver installed. Windows would say that it could not find a driver but telling it to install manually did the trick..... as I recall there were a couple driver choices, so it might be trieal and error. Might not be the issue in your case since it does sound like the hardware has a problem, but worth looking into?
Paul
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've re-installed the drivers a couple of times now, and it doesn't seem to be fixing the problem.
I don't think it's a hardware problem, because I don't see what making a backup would do to the hardware of the phone (of course, I don't really know much about the hardware, so I might be wrong.) Thanks for the help, though!

ItsMason said:
I've re-installed the drivers a couple of times now, and it doesn't seem to be fixing the problem.
I don't think it's a hardware problem, because I don't see what making a backup would do to the hardware of the phone (of course, I don't really know much about the hardware, so I might be wrong.) Thanks for the help, though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, since you're communicating with the device via ADB and can boot to recovery, I'm pretty sure you can still do something about it. I've had this issue and I can recommend starting to read up on Ubuntu or some type of Linux with a decent user interface. It's easier for starters.
You see, if you don't detect the device via the 'fastboot devices' command, then you have one of two big problems:
a) drivers are messed up - it implies you uninstall everything from Device Manager related to ADB / Bootloader interface. After that, shut off the phone, connect your type-c usb cable, boot up the phone into bootloader and let it install the drivers again (I didn't have much success with this but I read others have. Worth a try)
b) something messed up deeper, as in device permissions. When I had the issue, I used Mint (a Debian distribution) and installed all the drivers via the command line there. After that, when I ran fastboot devices, I got something. It was my lost N5x showing with 'no permissions' and no serial ID. I ran 'sudo fastboot devices' and lo' and behold, I saw the device. After that, I just used sudo fastboot flash recovery/system/etc with it and that was it.

exige34 said:
Hi, since you're communicating with the device via ADB and can boot to recovery, I'm pretty sure you can still do something about it. I've had this issue and I can recommend starting to read up on Ubuntu or some type of Linux with a decent user interface. It's easier for starters.
You see, if you don't detect the device via the 'fastboot devices' command, then you have one of two big problems:
a) drivers are messed up - it implies you uninstall everything from Device Manager related to ADB / Bootloader interface. After that, shut off the phone, connect your type-c usb cable, boot up the phone into bootloader and let it install the drivers again (I didn't have much success with this but I read others have. Worth a try)
b) something messed up deeper, as in device permissions. When I had the issue, I used Mint (a Debian distribution) and installed all the drivers via the command line there. After that, when I ran fastboot devices, I got something. It was my lost N5x showing with 'no permissions' and no serial ID. I ran 'sudo fastboot devices' and lo' and behold, I saw the device. After that, I just used sudo fastboot flash recovery/system/etc with it and that was it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made some progress: my device is now detected in fastboot. I have literally absolutely no clue what happened. I guess it was a bit of randomness or luck or something (maybe wacky and goofy). I've done some flashing - I've flashed system, boot, recovery, cache, data, and radio, but it's still stuck in a bootloop. I don't know what's going on it with it now, but it seems like I haven't made any progress with fastboot.

ItsMason said:
I think I've done goofed my nexus.
Yesterday, I made a backup of my phone, and then booted it up. Everything was working fine prior to the backup, but as soon as I booted it after making the backup, it got stuck on the google logo. I tried restarting it several times, but it's just been stuck in a bootloop ever since. I've tried numerous things, like formatting it, flashing factory images, and so on, but it turns out fastboot won't detect my device. ADB detects my device fine, but only in recovery. As far as I know, I don't have usb debugging enabled (since I formatted it). It currently has no OS since I formatted it. I've tried installing stock android since formatting it but it still gets stuck in a bootloop.
All my drivers are correct (I've re-installed them probably 10 times by now), and the images aren't corrupted (as far as I know).
I've run out of ideas, as I've been trying to figure this out for the past 2 days with no success. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use 3.02.1. Twrp

Since you mention ADB works fine from recovery, have you tried to adb push a rom zip, and then flash it from your recovery?
Code:
adb push "/path/to/rom.zip" /data/media

ItsMason said:
I made some progress: my device is now detected in fastboot. I have literally absolutely no clue what happened. I guess it was a bit of randomness or luck or something (maybe wacky and goofy). I've done some flashing - I've flashed system, boot, recovery, cache, data, and radio, but it's still stuck in a bootloop. I don't know what's going on it with it now, but it seems like I haven't made any progress with fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good. I see you mention flashing system, boot, recovery, cache(?), data(?) and radio. What do you mean by flash cache&data? You mean you've cleaned it? Formatting data is not usually a thing you have to do to recover from a bootloop.
What ROM have you flashed? Are you flashing stock? It's important you give more details so I can help you.
Have you flashed vendor.img? If you have been on a ROM that had it's own vendor.img and you went back to stock, then the vendor.imgs are different enough to cause a bootloop.
If all and all fails, we just want to see your system running so I'd recommend drop everything you are doing and follow these steps:
1. Access recovery (make sure you're using v 3.0.2.2)
2. Tap Wipe - > Advanced Wipe - > And check:
Dalvik / ART Cache
System
Internal Storage
Cache
3. Go to -> Pixel ROM (7.1.1) Get V 3.0 which was just uploaded recently. Please note it comes preconfigured with Gapps so no need to get that
4. You have to unzip the archive and you will see all the necessary img files (includes boot/vendor which are critical for boot). I strongly recommend manually flashing them. You can open the flash-all.bat file with a .txt editor and just follow the steps there.
After you have finished these steps, you should be free of a bootloop. From there, it is your decision where you. Either stay on a stock ROM or flash safely and always remember that you can make a backup and flash that backup in case you bootloop.
Good luck.
EDIT
Decay3 said:
Since you mention ADB works fine from recovery, have you tried to adb push a rom zip, and then flash it from your recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think his problem is deeper than a /system error. I'm guessing the wrong boot/vendor is flashed for the ROM he is trying to install and trying to guess which ROM would work on his current config would take more time than just starting from a clean flash.

Thanks for the help guys, but I gave up. I contacted Google and they sent me a replacement. Sorry for kind of wasting time.

Nexus 5x data recovery

Dear XDA, I could really use your help.
I have a stock LG Nexus 5x (bullhead/7.1.1) which recently started to fail to boot properly as it never loads past the coloured animations on startup and often stops. This sounds like it may be the boot-loop problem.
I have not rooted the phone, unlocked the boot-loader or flashed any recoveries. I have not enabled USB debugging and can't now because it won't boot.
I am looking at my options to recover the data from this phone.
I can get to the fastboot screen (where the fastboot command line tools see the device, but adb does not). I can proceed to the recovery screen and have tried clearing the cache with no luck.
I am considering trying:
Booting a fastboot recovery image
(eg fastboot boot recovery TWRP.img)
Applying a rescue OTA image
Will these methods void the phones warranty?
Will these methods even work (given the bootloader is locked)?
Can the images be recovery images like TWRP or does it have to be some stock/non-custom image?
Does the rescue OTA require adb/usb-debugging to be operational?
Will the data on the phone still be intact using these methods?
As I am cautiously working may way through this to firstly recover my data, secondly recover my phone., any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear that! I'm assuming your files weren't backed up to Google drive.
I don't know a way to recover your data! If you flash a OTA image, it might help fix your phone boot up problem and it will preserve your phone data.
This sucks because the phone is encrypted by default (did you use to enter a password in the middle of phone booting up and the it would continue booting after your password was accepted? If yes, encryption is on). So flashing TWRP won't mean you can see your data.
And it also has USB debugging disabled by default, which means you probably can't mount the internal memory through ADB.
So I would flash a full OTA image before anything else and keep my fingers crossed. Don't flash a full factory image because it will wipe the data and continue!!!
https://developers.google.com/android/ota
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Commodore 64 said:
Sorry to hear that! I'm assuming your files weren't backed up to Google drive.
I don't know a way to recover your data! If you flash a OTA image, it might help fix your phone boot up problem and it will preserve your phone data.
This sucks because the phone is encrypted by default (did you use to enter a password in the middle of phone booting up and the it would continue booting after your password was accepted? If yes, encryption is on). So flashing TWRP won't mean you can see your data.
And it also has USB debugging disabled by default, which means you probably can't mount the internal memory through ADB.
So I would flash a full OTA image before anything else and keep my fingers crossed. Don't flash a full factory image because it will wipe the data and continue!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I had not set-up any syncing/backup process on the phone. In the future I will.
Although I don't recall what encryption settings were originally configured, I didn't have to enter a password in the middle of boot, and was only prompted to swipe in. So I think it wasn't encrypted.
So I attempted to sideload an OTA image via:
adb sideload bullhead-ota-n4f26i-06953aec.zip
then rebooted, however the phone still does not successfully boot any further. I must have really broken this one!
Are there any data recovery methods if a factory reset is applied? if I take it in to a repair agent under-warranty, do they typically wipe your data anyway?
Also, do I need to remove this OTA image if I am to return it for repair under warranty?

In a futile/desperate attempt to try to further recover my data, I have attempted to load my Nexus 5X into the stock recovery mode, then experimented with adb when using the 'apply update from adb' option. This exposed a subset of adb commands which appeared to work (eg adb devices, adb sideload etc). I was hoping to be able to run adb shell or adb pull remote local and recover some data... however I only encountered errors.
./adb shell
error: closed
./adb pull /storage/emulated/ /backup
adb: error: connect failed: closed
I assume this is expected (due to the stock recovery adb limitations, but thought it was worth a shot). I am considering exploring the fastboot options (eg fastboot boot recovery recovery.img) I suspect these are also likely to fail/wipe data. Has anyone got any suggestions/ideas or am I just wasting my time?

This just happened to me yesterday, and I got the single file I needed off the phone today. I fought with the thing for hours yesterday. First you have to clear the cache and sideload a new bullhead zip file (as documented elsewhere). That isn't all, though. After several tries, I noticed that I got farther along in the boot if I let the phone sit for a while. So, on the theory that there's a loose solder connection somewhere and/or heat buildup, I put the phone in the freezer for a few hours (not my idea; found it on reddit). This worked, but only if I also tapped the back of the phone with my knuckle before booting. As I said, success today and I'm all smiles. I hope this helps someone else.
The phone, by the way, is bricked as far as I can tell. And my backups are going to be a lot more comprehensive from here on.

Nexus stuck in boot loop - unrooted - Backing up photos from bootloader or recovery

Hi.
Apologies if this is a very naive question, I am not particularly familiar with mods, roms and so forth.
I have rooted another phone in the past, but that is all.
The situation:
- Samsung Galaxy Nexus
- Not rooted/unlocked. Stock android automatically updated to the latest Android version supported
- Android developer option NOT set in settings
- Stuck in a boot loop: boots to android and then after a few seconds reboots, so no time to do anything
- Not sure how it happened, I had it for years, it was in my pocket and suddenly started doing that.
- Android fastboot and recovery loads up no problem
- I have tried anything I could find online to fix it: deleted cache, rebooted in safe mode, removed battery for 10 hours
- Nothing seems to fix it, it keeps rebooting
- I want to try a factory reset, but my family photos are in the phone
- Google synch seems to have stopped functioning for this device a year ago, all my 2016-17 photos and videos are locked in the phone.
Admitting there is nothing to do about the loop problem:
Is there any way I can copy photos and videos via usb while in recovery mode?
After I will reset the phone via recovery menu, hoping it will fix it. IF that does not fix it, I will flash another rom in. But I really do not want to wipe my data before backing them up.
I am assuming the answer is no, you cannot access the internal memory in fastboot/recovery unless your phone is rooted.
But I would like an expert opinion before I resolve to wipe one year of photos and videos which I will regret losing.

@mcaldo DON'T DO FACTORY RESET, EVERYTHING WILL BE LOST
which recovery are you using..?
if it's TWRP, then it's easy..
- boot into TWRP recovery
- go to "Mount" tab
- find "enable/disable MTP" button at lower options.. (enable it )
then connect your phone to that PC, where you always connected in past, ( to eliminate driver installation stage, all drivers will be preinstalled )
Regards

____Mdd said:
@mcaldo DON'T DO FACTORY RESET, EVERYTHING WILL BE LOST
which recovery are you using..?
if it's TWRP, then it's easy..
- boot into TWRP recovery
- go to "Mount" tab
- find "enable/disable MTP" button at lower options.. (enable it )
then connect your phone to that PC, where you always connected in past, ( to eliminate driver installation stage, all drivers will be preinstalled )
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply!
By recovery, I meant 'android system recovery'
It gives me the following options:
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from USB drive
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
Is any of the above useful?
Unfortunately, I do not have any alternative recovery software available
Edit: Googling I found this: "Apply update from ADB: The Android Debug Bridge allows you to plug your device into your PC and issue commands from there. "
If I can issue commands through ADB, perhaps there is a command to copy data from my phone to my computer?

mcaldo said:
Thanks for your reply!
By recovery, I meant 'android system recovery'
It gives me the following options:
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from USB drive
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
Is any of the above useful?
Unfortunately, I do not have any alternative recovery software available
Edit: Googling I found this: "Apply update from ADB: The Android Debug Bridge allows you to plug your device into your PC and issue commands from there. "
If I can issue commands through ADB, perhaps there is a command to copy data from my phone to my computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can copy through adb commands..
Get and extract Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
From PC, run CMD to extracted folder directory.
Connect phone to PC, go to update from ADB(in recovery),
Type "adb device" , it will show serial number and connected..
Then "adb pull /sdcard " (if you know particular directory of data then write it like /sdcard/photos,, otherwise writing /sdcard will copy all folders from your phone. )
it will start copying to same adb folder ..

____Mdd said:
Yes, you can copy through adb commands..
Get and extract Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
From PC, run CMD to extracted folder directory.
Connect phone to PC, go to update from ADB(in recovery),
Type "adb device" , it will show serial number and connected..
Then "adb pull /sdcard " (if you know particular directory of data then write it like /sdcard/photos,, otherwise writing /sdcard will copy all folders from your phone. )
it will start copying to same adb folder ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice.
I followed the instructions closely, and nearly got there.
adb devices returns
#serialnumber sideload
so all good
but adb pull /sdcard returns
adb: error connect failed: closed
I tried several other commands with no success
kill-server and start-server work fine but do not solve the problem
adb usb returns
error closed
So, I am starting thinking that the problem is in the bootloader being locked.
However, if I unlock it, it will be wipe all my data, I understand?
Googling about it, I found this:
The behavior is status-by-design. Your stock recovery is not designed to grant shell access. Your only choice here is to somehow manage to flash a custom recovery. – Firelord Dec 30 '15 at 14:19
3
To achieve something similar to what @FireLord suggested: TWRP can be booted on many devices without being installed. For that, find a matching image, then boot to the bootloader and run fastboot boot twrp.img. Btw: you can check with fastboot devices resp. adb devices whether a device is visible to the corresponding tool. – Izzy♦ Jul 8 '16 at 19:40
So I understand one could boot TWRP without installing it, but I am not sure if that means I could do that with the bootloader locked?
I found WugFresh nexus root toolkit which seems to do that, among many other things, but again it warns that the phone must be unlocked (using the android build "Android *.* Any", I did not know what else to choose, not sure if that makes any difference as for locked/unlocked requirements)
EDIT: my fastboot screen reads "FASTBOOT STATUS - Failbootloader locked" as the last line, when trying to run TWRP without installing.

Yes, unlocking bootloader will wipe everything..
What actually you did ? Why it went into bootloop ???
I have also read that about boot into TWRP without installing.. and it worked for many one without unlocking bootloader... Don't know why not on GNex.

____Mdd said:
Yes, unlocking bootloader will wipe everything..
What actually you did ? Why it went into bootloop ???
I have also read that about boot into TWRP without installing.. and it worked for many one without unlocking bootloader... Don't know why not on GNex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What actually you did ? Why it went into bootloop ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A very good question, to which I have no answer, unfortunately.
The phone was used by my wife for 2 years and then by me for other 2. I recently changed the battery.
Never rooted or unlocked. No unusual apps installed. I am a very basic user, as you might have guessed, and being my only phone at the moment, I really would not risk experimenting with it.
It went very slow over the last 4 months, so I was planning to reset it.
I put in my coat pocket for a few hours, when I took it out it had a train ticked stuck to the screen and was quite warm and on the lock screen. It froze, so I took the battery out and restarted it. From then on it is stuck in a loop, not sure why really.
I have also read that about boot into TWRP without installing.. and it worked for many one without unlocking bootloader... Don't know why not on GNex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good to know. I'll research more than.
It seems there might be a problem with the fastboot drivers on my computer, even selecting them from device manager did not work. Win7 refuses to install. The ADB drivers in theory work fine though.

If you have done nothing modification to system, then wiping data should work, but i have doubt if it also wipes personal data too, on TWRP it wipes data excepting /data/media/ which contains all personal data.. but don't know about wiping on stock recovery...
I hope you will find solution as soon as possible..
Regards.
PS. I can install stock recovery and try wiping /data.. and check what things get wiped.. but i need little time for that experiment...

____Mdd said:
If you have done nothing modification to system, then wiping data should work, but i have doubt if it also wipes personal data too, on TWRP it wipes data excepting /data/media/ which contains all personal data.. but don't know about wiping on stock recovery...
I hope you will find solution as soon as possible..
Regards.
PS. I can install stock recovery and try wiping /data.. and check what things get wiped.. but i need little time for that experiment...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much.
Looking at google's documentation on the nexus:
You can remove data from your Pixel phone or Nexus device by resetting it to factory settings. Resetting to factory settings is also known as formatting the device or doing a "hard reset".
If you're factory resetting your device to fix an issue, make sure that you've tried all other troubleshooting options first. Find out how to troubleshoot your issue.
Important: Performing a factory reset will erase all data from the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would seem that indeed all data will be removed.
This point, I will research a bit more into drivers, in case that is what it's preventing adb pull from working.
I really need a working phone, so if that fails I will hard reset, then unlock, root, flash in an alternative bootloader and perhaps a rom, and put ubuntu touch in dual boot. That will hopefully prevent me from loosing data in the future.
Sorry, this is out of topic to my question, but, , could you suggest any stable, solid rom for the nexus?
I read good things of CM12, and I ran into one which seemed to do to quite well with split windows, but I do not remember the name right now.
EDIT: I remember the name of the rom now, it's https://omnirom.org/about/

A last question if you can..
I tried to solve my boot loop problem by sideloading an update from google (maguro yakju yakju-jwr66y-factory-4cadea65.zip)
It loaded it fine but then failed because the installation it says it is not signed.
Basically, being a stock bootloader recovery from Samsung, it will only sideload OTAs from samsung, not the stock ones from google..
I cannot find the samsung ones anywhere, not for the nexus anyway, just the newer devices..
By any chance do you know where I could download proper Samsung OTA zip updates for the nexus?

Well, I talked with an android developer who confirmed that, unless you have a friend working in criminal forensic technology or similar, there is no way to get around a lock on this phone to pull data out.
So, sadly, I have wiped my phone by unlocking it, flashed TWRP and then omnirom with gapps.
My photos are gone, including a bunch of stuff my kid had made and asked me to photograph for safeeping. Very safe indeed
He kept asking me why they make the lock like that, instead of allowing some kind of password, perhaps he has a point.
So, it is quite unlikely that somebody who knows as little as I did will ever read this *before* finding themselves in the same situation.
But if you do, back up your data, unlock and flash TWRP, clockworks or some alternative, and thank yourself if and when disaster strikes..

@mcaldo wiping data/factory reset in STOCK RECOvERY will wipe everything... There is very few chances to get backup...
And yeah i found something interesting..
You can flash system.img.. only system files will be corrected not anything else..
Get appropriate zip from here : https://developers.google.com/android/images
Now take system.img to ADB/Fastboot folder ( i assume you know how it works )
Just go "Fastboot flash system system.img"
It will rewrite system partition..
Another one:
See downloads on this thread..
One says NON-WIPE, if you want me to try that zip, i will again require time for that. See here : https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-nexus/general/guide-restore-to-stock-unbrick-galaxy-t2065470
---------- Post added at 11:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 AM ----------
I don't saw your reply, it was on next page.. its sad... Sorry i am late..

Mi Max 3 6/128 SoftBrick - What to Do?

Hello,
I have a Mi Max 3 6GB/128GB which I got from the UK which arrived unlocked and with Global Stable ROM installed which actually updated to V10.3.3.0.PEDMIXM by OTA - I tested.
fastboot getvar anti shows failed, so I assume no Anti Rollback Protection, which I thought a little strange, it being MIUI 10 with (after OTA) June 2019 security patch.
I spent the last couple weeks setting up the phone to my liking (I have 300 apps installed) and finally finished yesterday.
Then I wanted to uninstall some Google/Facebook/Xiaomi bloatware using the excellent "Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools".
I was pretty careful in my opinion to only remove the safe ones (the tool claims to only show you the safe ones) like Music, Video, MiPay, MiCloud, MiForum, MiSIM and all Facebook in the ADB section of the tool.
The I switched in fastboot and thought it would be a good idea to wipe Cache (nothing else).
Upon restart the Mi Max 3 first shows the black boot screen with unlock written at the bottom, then changes to the normal boot boot screen with MIU and the points at the bottom showing that it is busy booting. It stayed there for a while and I thought maybe it was rebuilding the cache and it took that long, but after 30 min still no luck.
Then I fired up the "Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools" on my PC again and it told me the phone was in ADB mode, I could reboot into system mode, where the same thing happened - no progress in booting.
I cannot turn off my phone either, but I can switch from sastem boot (which gets stuck) into fastboot mode via ADB.
Would someone know what's wrong and what I can do to get my phone out of that bootloop while hopefully maintaining all my data and setups, on which I worked for weeks?
Thank you so much for your help!
P.S .: In case it could help: I could read out the phone properties of the Mi Max using the "Xiaomi ADB / Fastboot Tools" while it was softbricked, meaning the ro. init. persist. sys. and dalvik. values of the smartphone. I am happy to post them here, if requested.

Hi,
Do you have an SD card? If so, remove it, because as you cleared the cache, I think it might be a problem with encryption (lost reference).
In your case, I believe a reset will work again, but you will lose application configuration data. Via ADB you can backup files only.
If you do not have unlock bootloader, be very careful as you will not be able to flash TWRP or others.
Good luck!

Thanks, the phone came from the vendor with Global Stable ROM and unlocked. It may be an unofficial unlock, though I was able to install OTAs.
I don't have SDCard.
How can I do ADB backup?
I was able to flash official TWRP just a few minutes but it couldn't access data, maybe because it is encrypted. Now I think I will try and install latest Orange Fox r10 stable, which I think should be able to handle decryption, so that maybe I will be able to get at my date.
Any other advice?

Hi,
Now that you have TWRP, clear cache / dalvik from TWRP and try starting again, maybe start system.
About copy via adb follows a link below:
https://www.lifewire.com/use-minimal-adb-and-fastboot-4582201
in step 2
"
The command to move files from your computer to your phone is adb push.
To move files from your phone to your computer the command is adb pull.
"
Through TWRP you may also be able to back up. Go to (mount partitions) and select all partitions.
Make sure the TWRP MTP option is on, it will allow the device to be mounted via usb on your computer.
I use TWRP I use nijel8, it works very well.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-max-3/development/recovery-twrp-3-2-3-1-nitrogen-t3866084
If you can't launch system, you will have to reinstall the Rom.
Good luck!
PS.
More help for adb.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/adb-fastboot-commands-bootloader-kernel-t3597181

Thanks for your advice!
I first used the official TWRP and I was able to flash it and start it.
But then the wipe of cache and dalvik failed.
And I could not mount data etc..
When I tried to repair the file system with TWRP I got error 255 - unable to repair data from fsck.f2fs.
Then I saw in your signature that you use nijel8's TWRP and I read that thread, and I started to understand, that my TWRP errors most likely originate from TWRP not being able to decrypt my partitions.
However, towards the end of the thread it seemed that nijel8 stopped working on that project and then Xiaomi once again changed the encryption in MIUI 10/Pie and so it was recommended first to use an obscure Chinese TWRP and then to move on to Orange Fox Recovery Project, which supposedly can handle the decryption better. So that's what I got and I am just about to install it and see if I can rescue or even repair anything.
If you have any other tips for me, I would be very grateful.

You have explored the possibilities well, at the moment I dont have more options regarding current system recovery / backup.
The encryption error resolves you by formatting the user partition by TWRP, in the option to format f2fs plus the installation of a custom Rom or Xiaomi.eu.
Look for tutorials and other reviews before testing these procedures.
Remember that there is a big achance of your ARB model as well.
Good luck.
PS. You can try dirty flash. Find an recovery Rom same version, and flash via TWRP.

Question Stuck on "Pixel is starting"

Had to do a factory reset, and all was good. Using LSposed with Magisk and reinstalled several mondules. Upon reboot, the screen hangs at "Pixel is starting." So I rebooted into safe mode, knowing the Magisk modules would be disabled, but the same thing happens, even in safe mode. Booted again. I can access all my settings, and adb works fine. But I'm clueless as to what I should do, even with adb and settings access.
Will appreciate any help. Everything is backed up, I'm just trying to avoid the nuisance of having to factory reset again and all that entails.
Thanks.

You can try Official Google Android Flash Tool and uncheck the wipe data option (and don't force flash all partitions, either, which will also wipe), and don't forget to uncheck the option to re-lock the bootloader.
That official site has solved many weird issues where even manually flashing the full factory image hasn't solved the problem. Good luck, let us know if that's what you do and how it goes.

my old go-to for boot issues was last_kmsg. I recentlky found abou about boot-chart, which logs what happens during boot, and may log an error for you. You will have to run this in recovery if yopu are in a non-booting state
To enable it:
Code:
mkdir -p /data/bootchart;
touch /data/bootchart/enabled;
try a reboot, which fails. Reboot to recovery and retrieve the logs
init/grab-bootchart.sh - platform/system/core - Git at Google
I havent had to use it "in anger" yet, but it will be my tool of choice.