I’ve looked through the forum and searched but the apparent most recent mention is this: hxxps://community.e.foundation/t/g7-play-channel-i-cant-download-the-image-from-the-web-from-the-link-in-the-instructions/40948 post asking about a broken link. That is referencing an unofficial build here: hxxps://community.e.foundation/t/unofficial-build-moto-g7-play-channel-eos-q-build/22346/11 Also I see that despite there apparently being an image in the channel, my specific model is not listed here: hxxps://doc.e.foundation/devices/channel
It’s been a while since I tried to flash a phone so I’m trying to do my due diligence and research everything I can before embarking on actually doing anything.
So is my model supported or not? Which rom is recommended to use? Which recovery?
Here from OSNews.com after seeing the article by Eugenia Loli and thinking to myself this looks good to me. Thanks in advance for all and any assistance provided.
PS: Sorry for horrid links with hxxp in them, I had it nice and set to be actual links but I seem to run afoul of an anti-spam policy being a new member.
Based on the link using the app my phone’s code name would appear to be “channel” in AIDA64.
It is unlocked, originally apparently T-Mobile and currently using a Verizon prepaid sim. (Which is why I’m not trying to get one of the phones offered by Murena–no Verizon support.)
I only mention this so that you could have a wider range of search terms in trying to find out why XT1952-4 is “unsupported” and whether maybe someone has tried to flash it.
In case others can chip in with an angle from USA you might add USA to your thread title (if you are allowed to edit it ! )
I didn’t actually remember that it was a fork. So thanks.
Channel is what the phone code name seems to be, apparently.
I appreciate the reply and will see if anyone who is still running the system on this phone drops by to maybe point me towards the most recently supported version to run.
No - sorry. But it’s the same codename and only the -4 suffix is different from supported models. So long as teee is a way of re-flashing stock Android, I would give it a try. But it’s not my phone so…
There does seem to be a build on xda-developers, but it’s from 2020 and the thread hasn’t been active in a long time. The build in the forum thread mentioned above is from 2021 which is at least a bit more recent and seems to be compatible with the XT1952-4 according to posts in that thread but again there don’t seem to any new news regarding things of that matter in the thread since then.
I do have an old phone that I could try this with, long story short I was with Boost at the time and service was getting both expensive and the data allowances were changing just as I was beginning to have issues with their tower after a bad storm and no one could give me information on when that would get better so I went to Amazon and found an unlocked version of the exact same phone model. I took it to Verizon and got a sim and moved on with life.
Does the carrier lock matter in any way? Could I use it as a sacrifice to test and have that be accurate testing despite being locked to Boost? Model number is idential, XT1952-4.
here is a screenshot of /e/ running on a Moto G7 Play (channel) XT1952-4:
Not in itself, but sometimes a carrier locked phone is bootloader locked too. This would be revealed quite quickly if you run down the Unlocking the bootloader section of https://doc.e.foundation/devices/channel/install.
Even if you feel ok to sacrifice a phone, I would feel it important to have researched and found the “revert to manufacturer” stock ROM before I started.
The downloads are listed from the install page.
The current latest would be the first choice. e-1.12.3-s-20230616300623-dev-channel.zip recovery-e-1.12.3-s-20230616300623-dev-channel.img
– there will be this month’s e-1.13-s likely within a few days. (If you have a successful install the update will be delivered when published OTA.)
If unused for a while, ensure the device is fully up to date with any software revision of the Moto firmware before you start.
So I managed to unlock then flash the spare phone. I used the Recovery image indicated and the release suggested. Was successful at getting it installed though there was a brief bit of nervousness when I was unable to get into the old system to reenable ADB and sideload the firmware. I figured it out and got that over. Then the phone upon success of the flash it seemed to bootloop the animation boot up and then restart. I managed to force the phone to go to recovery and do a complete format which then allowed it to complete the boot and allow me to complete setup procedure.
So I’m thinking it should be reasonably safe to try this on my actual phone which I use with Verizon.
The fly in the ointment is this though: The recovery image seems to have not flashed exactly as intended. When I start the phone I get a small blip at the top of the left corner that looks like “N/▲” then after a bit it will show the /e/OS animated loader screen. How can I fix this issue? Am thinking that trying to reflash it may fix it but also wondering if a TWRP would be better or if it is available at all? The original downloads on the xda-developers site seem to have expired.
This seems to be the correct one to use. Would I benefit from installing that?
Would appreciate some advice on the correct way to proceed here.
This “N/A” I guess means “not available” and is unrelated to the used twrp version and normal for bootloader unlocked motorolas. It should be a (identifier/version?) string settings readout. In Motorolas you can edit the screens shown when unlocked through modifying the logo partition (logo.bin images).
Good you took the plunge and tested the XT1952-4 version.
This “N/A” I guess means “not available” and is unrelated to the used twrp version and normal for bootloader unlocked motorolas. It should be a (identifier/version?) string settings readout. In Motorolas you can edit the screens shown when unlocked through modifying the logo partition (logo.bin images).
Ah, so that’s what it is. Can you point me any that work on my version of the phone? I looked but the ones which exist seem to be for different models. I think this might work.
So after all that, I’m going to have to wait until tomorrow so I can be sure to back up my real phone and all its files, then I’ll be flashing that.
Minor note: Is there a good way to set up a command so that when I shake the phone the phone turns the flashlight on? That’s a feature I’ll miss otherwise.
Also how are calls handled? Is there a good screening app like the one built-in on the OEM firmware? I really like being able to screen an unknown number when I get what is likely to be a spam call.
Another question–since the spare is not an active phone I didn’t worry about the carrier setup, I just disabled the cellular antenna and put it to airplane mode, then enabled the WiFi. How does /e/OS handle the carrier setup for phones?
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