Installing TWRP on Moto G Osprey (UPDATED, EDITED)

I’m trying to install an /e/.foundation OS on a Motorola Moto G Osprey I just bought, and am already running into problems while attempting to install TWRP. The phone is currently running stock marshmallow 6.0 for it’s OS. I run Linux Mint 19.3 on my desktop.

I have followed the instructions on the /e/ website:

I’ve downloaded the latest adb and fastboot packages for my Linux system, both of which I downloaded through the commandline. I didn’t follow the instructions as indicated on the /e/ TWRP Pr-Requisites installation guide, so perhaps that is an issue? I’ve also enabled USB debugging and OEM unlocking in developer options on my phone.

Moving forward, as indicated in the Enabling USB Debugging and OEM unlocking document, I type ‘adb devices’ into the command line, receiving an alphanumeric signature indicating my device is connected.

I then type adb reboot bootloader’ into the command line, resulting in my phone going into 'AP Fastboot Flash Mode (Secure).

But when I type the next command, ‘fastboot devices’, I receive this message in the terminal:

no permissions (user in plugdev group; are your udev rules wrong?); see [http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html] fastboot

…and when I follow the above link I read that it seems I’m not part of a ‘plugdevgroup’. Soo, I then type the command ‘sudo usermod -aG plugdev $LOGNAME’ into the command line, in order to join said group as per the guides directions.

The guide then says I need to log out and then back in, in order for the change to take effect. The problem is, I have NO IDEA what I need to log out and into, or how to do it, and can’t find instructions in the guide…does anyone have any ideas??

This refers to the log out from the PC on which you are trying to configure adb. Log out or reboot for the setting to take effect the next time.

Great! That seems to have solved the issue. Unfortunately I seem to have immediately encountered another moving forward in the TWRP flashing process.

While my device now appears to have OEM and USB debugging unlocked, I’m worried TWRP hasn’t flashed properly. I followed the instructions as per: https://doc.e.foundation/pages/install-twrp, but when I try and access recovery mode from the bootloader a picture of a dead android bot with the text ‘No command’ comes onto the screen.

I have tried flashing both the most recent, and second most recent TWRP recovery image, and am met with the ‘No command’ screen both times. I’ve included the steps and all the texts that appeared in the terminal during the installation process. Perhaps some-one can see where an error has occurred.

I should note as well that periodically while my device is connected to my desktop I get a message saying ‘Unable to mount Moto G3, Unable to open MTP device’. I dont know if thats relevant in any way.

:~$ adb devices
List of devices attached

  • daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
  • daemon started successfully
    ------ device

:~$ adb reboot bootloader
:~$ fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.5.2_9-0-osprey.img
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) has-slot:recovery: not found
target reported max download size of 268435456 bytes
sending ‘recovery’ (14116 KB)…
OKAY [ 0.448s]
writing ‘recovery’…
(bootloader) Preflash validation failed
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.506s
:~$ fastboot reboot
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
rebooting…

finished. total time: 0.157s
:~$ fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.5.1_9-0-osprey.img
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) has-slot:recovery: not found
target reported max download size of 268435456 bytes
sending ‘recovery’ (14120 KB)…
OKAY [ 0.447s]
writing ‘recovery’…
(bootloader) Preflash validation failed
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.502s
:~$ fastboot reboot
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
rebooting…

finished. total time: 0.157s

Unlocking the bootloader

Tip: The steps given below only need to be run once per device.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or an online drive

  1. Connect the device to your PC via USB.
  2. On the computer, open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type:
 adb reboot bootloader
  1. Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
 fastboot devices
  1. Now type the following command to get the bootloader status:
 fastboot oem get_unlock_data
  1. Follow the instructions at Motorola Support to unlock your bootloader.
  2. Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.
1 Like

If it don’t work, have a try with TWRP 3.3.x-x.img

I was able to boot TWRP by entering ‘fastboot boot twrp-3.5.2_9-0-osprey.img’ into the command-line while my device is in fastboot. For some reason I cannot manually boot TWRP using the volume and power buttons on my device from fastboot… Oh well! Onwards!

Going back to what @piero posted above. It appears your bootloader is still locked. You must unlock it first to proceed. Do you see it “flashing_unlocked” as seen in the picture HERE?

If you read the whole thread I had a few issues with my G7 + bootloader but finally got it unlocked. The info might be of help.

Strange. I didnt see it flashing unlock. I saw in yellow ‘unlocked’. I was still able to complete installing /e/…

Then your bootloader was already unlocked. Nice work. :+1:

Thanks! Appreciate everyone’s help! Feels good to have done my first install!

2 Likes