[HOWTO] Install /e/ on Motorola Moto G7 (River)

eOSWiki HOWTOs
11

That is a good question. I went to the Motorola site and I see Mac drivers are easy to find (Mac drivers are a derivative of UNIX) so I expected to find drivers for Linux, SUSE, Red Hat, or other, but I don’t see any on the website. I am not saying it isn’t there but I don’t see any direct links. Often download files are found in different parts of the website so it could be there somewhere.

I am completely unaware of the Linux driver installation and have no idea if the system has USB drivers embedded in it’s code. Try connecting the computer to the phone and see if there is any recognition. It could be possible that you only need to install ADB.

I know someone has connected Linux to another Motorola phone so I suspect the answer is out there somewhere. I wish you the best of luck.

12

Thanks for the reply, @pmoody. I had a look at the net and it seems that drivers are not necessary.

Edit: success !!

I will write here the how to for Linux, but in the meanwhile I would be reassured that the splash screen I see before the eOS booting stage, is expected

IMG_20200911_221427
IMG_20200911_2214271699×2792 1.42 MB

13

Yes, this is completely expected with the bootloader unlocked. A minor inconvenience.

14

i changed this screen with MotoBootLogoMaker … works well for me … only tricky thing was to find a proper logo.bin … i found it in official firmware file …
and … a white text appears during boot on screen (not in boot logo, “N/A”)… with a white background you do not see it

1 Like
15

Thanks for the hack. It may bother some people enough to do what you suggested.

16

The differences in installing the G7 in Linux are really tiny

In Linux terminal (Mint 19.3 Cinnamon, but I think it’s irrelevant)

no step 1 needed
from step 2 to 9 as above
step 10 no need to install drivers
from 11 to 34 as above
I stopped here, since I did not install Magisk

Could be a good idea to check, from time to time to enter in the terminal
fastboot devices
to check that the phone is connected and the USB cable is the proper one

2 Likes
17

I can’t thank you enough for this guide. While I seem to be tech-savvy, I am certainly not experienced when it comes to flashing Android ROMs. This guide really made it a simple process.

1 Like
18

dear pmoody, thank you very much for this instruction! Encouraged by your post, I dared to buy the latest version of Moto G Play: number 9.
Now I found out, that there isn’t yet a fitting twrp compiled. It’s too much effort for me at the time to learn doing this! And It’s even difficult, to find the right places in the xda-forum to lie in wait for the right version. Also a special release of /e/ seams to be needed. If you know anything what to do about this issue, now or later, I would be very thankful for any hint or link!
best wishes! dudu
also lots of thanks to nottolino for linux-modifycations!!!

19

Yes, buying a phone can be an exciting process. Unfortunately, if you are interested in customizing your ROM, you need TWRP (or other recovery) and you need to check to see if that model has been rooted and what custom ROMs are available. As you found out, TWRP isn’t available yet. But in the meantime, you may be in luck with Magisk if you want to get root capability. It is a little convoluted but I think it is probable. If you need help, just message me and I will see if we can at least get you root. Best of luck.

J.O.Y.

20

fine! thank you! at least I learn a lot, scrutinizing the single steps
like this… :slight_smile:

21

seems Magisk is no alternative as a recovery, you still need twrp or cwm as recovery before being able to install Magisk. So what is it good for in this case?

22

If I’m not mistaken, in some cases one can install Magisk Manager app. From within the app it may be possible to have it patch/root the current, running, boot image.

Search the web for something like “magisk without twrp” to get an idea.
I had a tablet once with no TWRP. Someone had extracted the boot image, patched it with Magisk, then it was fastboot flashed.

All that was just to have a rooted ROM to run root-enabled apps.

1 Like
23

Thank you for your input. You know what I did? I read his message and because it started to go off topic, I replied to @dudu directly as a message and told him basically the same thing. I should have responded here at least mentioning that I had started a conversation off-line. The last thing he told me was that he was stuck in a bootloop but never responded about the details. Poor guy. Hopefully he will be back soon and we can try to help him out.

J.O.Y.

24

Hi guys,

it might look a stupid question for you, but I can’t boot the recovery image. I’ve tried the following:

C:…\Adb>fastboot boot twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img
Sending ‘boot.img’ (29316 KB) FAILED (Status read failed (Too many links))
fastboot: error: Command failed

C:…\Adb>fastboot boot twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img
Sending ‘boot.img’ (29316 KB) FAILED (remote: ‘unknown command’)
fastboot: error: Command failed

C:…\Adb>fastboot flash twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img
unknown partition ‘twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img’
fastboot: error: cannot determine image filename for ‘twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img’

C:…\Adb>fastboot getvar twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img
(bootloader) twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img: not found
getvar:twrp-3.4.0-v2.1-test-lake.img FAILED (remote: ‘’)
Finished. Total time: 0.013s

Do you know what can I do to solve?

Thanks,

Matley

25

@matley80 I am wondering if you have the correct ADB files extracted on your Windows machine. I don’t remember the errors I had, but I think I had this issue when I was using the wrong ADB.

Another thing to check is if you have the correct drivers for your phone. I think the Motorola drivers are universal. Just make sure that you do have the drivers installed.

I am happy to try to help but your phone is a LAKE while I wrote this doc for RIVER. So we are not exactly on the same instructions but it should be very similar.

One more thing I just though of, is the USB cable that you are using for charging or for charging and data. If you are using an aftermarket USB cable, I would try to use the original USB cable the phone came with.

J.O.Y.

26

The first thing is that you may not have the correct image. ‘lake’ is the Moto G7 Plus. The official image for river can be downloaded from here

To install TWRP I do
fastboot flash recovery <image-name>.img

Then boot into recovery either by pressing Volume down and power switch or
fastboot boot recovery

This is not on river, but it worked (with the correct TWRP image) on a Moto E condor, and Moto E 2015 LTE surnia, so it’s worth a try.

Good luck :slight_smile:

1 Like
27

@matley80, Pete raises a point that I didn’t realize. Are you on Lake (Moto G7 Plus) or River (Moto G7)?
If you are on Lake, you typed in the correct command for your phone.
If you are on River and trying to access TWRP, you need to type:
fastboot boot twrp-3.4.0-1-river.img (if you downloaded the latest TWRP image. If you don’t have the latest version, then I suggest you get it because of the bug)

Pete has been very helpful and I appreciate his help. He has helped us with creating the G7 (River) unofficial images. I need to note that his suggestion won’t work because the Moto G7 Family doesn’t have a Recovery partition. At this stage you don’t want to flash TWRP until after you install the ROM.

Good luck and keep us informed.

J.O.Y.

1 Like
28

Hi Guys,

thanks for your help and sorry to post the question on the wrong page.
Drivers from Motorola and TWRP were downloaded from the Lake’s page, in the end I used another PC and it worked.

(I coludn’t find a [HOW TO] for Lake, so I’ll post in here …)

Now I have another problem: the ROM is really unstable, after few minutes gets into a black screen, sometimes it reload with the boucing dot under the e, sometimes not… If I use the side bittons (volume and power) there is a sound.

I started from the stock, phone is new.
I sideloaded copy partitions zip (i just realized I didn’t copy slot A -> slot B)
The first time I did a mistake wiping something more then only Cache and System partitions.

After sideloading 4-5 time /e/, I tried LineageOS and it has the same behaviour.

Any hint?

Thank you very much!

29

@matley80, If you have been following my instructions, I suspect I know the answer to the /e/ problem. The /e/ ROM to download is different in my instructions than you need for Lake. Use this download from here:
dev
:x: DO NOT FOLLOW THE /e/ INSTRUCTIONS for Lake or River! Both Lake and River instructions are wrong and I have told them that River was wrong. I believe every one of these instructions are also valid for the Lake model XT1965-x with adapting for the Lake download. Maybe @petefoth or @Manoj can help here. Some of the problems I have found are found here:

The Lineage zip file you should be using is:
lineage-17.1-20201201-nightly-lake-signed.zip Just verify which file you are loading and report back.

Most importantly, Please verify that you are have the XT1965-(some character here). I know a person who said he had the River and after many interactions, he found out he had a different G7 model.

I would suggest using my instructions above and watch carefully for any errors (as long as you are aware that you will need different downloads for TWRP and /e/). I don’t expect there will be an error since the G7 family is so similar, but if you do, let’s chat about it so we can update the Lake documentation. When you start over, start at instruction number 17 above.

Good Luck. I look forward to hearing from you.

J.O.Y.

30

Hi all! Merry Xmas!

i need help! I want to access & KEEP my data! I find out all these issues about G7 et al, AFTER the fact & i do not have my data backed up bc i’m a rebel & didn’t want to give GODgle any more data ore…even though they now own Android (didn’t know THAT…but it doesn’t surprise me…i wondered why GODgle took up SO MUCH of my phone storage…)

So, I have a G7 Model: XT1962-1 Type: M0E14 that is bootlooping - My phone died all the way (mid-Xmas shopping) - this hardly happens to me, but i figured no problem, i’ll just charge it up & turn it on…back to business as usual…except THAT didn’t happen - i ended up in the Loop Zone - tried Recovery - got “No Command” - i figure that a gate closed somehow with all my data behind it, so I’m looking for that key - from what i can figure out - some data bridge is missing - the boot program keeps looking for it & then stops & we start over

i do need the Newbie walk thru, tho - i’m computer literate (so you think i woulda practiced the BACK IT ALL UP Cardinal Rule…), just not android-literate lol

i have been SCOURING the internet, already called Motorola &, like all tech support, it’s the ‘clean slate’ approach - wipe everything & start over…i have a year of pix & texts, apps, etc, phone experience that i wish to get access to…what a great Xmas gift i gave myself!..& on the only 2 days of the year that everything is closed, every year lol

Fortunately, I have my previous phone, for which i will get a new SIM card (tomorrow?) - so I DO have a phone to use while i work on this one…there HAS to be a way…

Then, I know that there is a way to recover data AFTER a reset, because Dr. Fone is supposed to be able to do so…but only for Samsung android…

I do have access to the screen that shows:
Android Recovery
motorola/river_retail/river
10/QPU30.52-23/e548a
user/release-keys

which gives me the options:
Reboot system now (loops back to recovery menu)
Reboot to bootloader (same)
Apply update from ADB (idk about this - haven’t tried it)
Apply update from SD card (have an SD card available)
Wipe data/factory reset (don’t wanna)
Mount /system (understand this wipes data, too)
View recovery logs
Run graphics test (nothing)
Run locale test (didn’t do it)
Power off

Thanks for reading this!

Aimee