I’ve previously used LineageOS and am currently on crDroid. My device is Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 running Android 10, crDroid 6.13. I’ve downloaded the current /e/OS version for my device, which is Android 13. Now I’m not planning to go back to crDroid, but suppose I want to, will it be possible to go back, since it is running Android 10? I don’t know much about these things but I’ve heard it is not possible to downgrade an Android version since there are firmware updates involved.
Suppose at present, in TWRP, I make a full backup of all partitions - System, Vendor, Data (excl. storage), Recovery, Boot, Modem firmware, Persist, dsp - and then install the /e/OS recovery and install /e/OS, and at a later stage, install the present TWRP again, and flash the crDroid Android 10 backup, will it work?
Thanks for the reply. It’s good to know I can go back to the previous Android version easily. I’m not planning to go back to stock, especially after using custom ROMs!
Going back to the stock OS shouldn’t relock the bootloader. I went through various stock ROMs trying to get /e/OS installed on my Zenfone 8 and it didn’t relock the bootloader.
You may actually need to go back to the stock ROM temporarily to get /e/OS installed. When I did it, it was picky that I was running the same Android version as the /e/OS ROM I was trying to install, though your device might be different.
I’ve already installed /e/OS directly from crDroid. Didn’t have to install the stock rom. Previously, on xda forums, I’ve read instructions about going back to stock first before installing a new custom rom, but I myself never had to do this. Maybe this applies only for some devices?
I have another question. Now that I have installed /e/OS, can I flash my old TWRP recovery again, and make a full backup of /e/OS, like I did with crDroid? I could then flash the /e/OS recovery again. I think the recovery and the main system are separate, so flashing another recovery shouldn’t cause any problems, but I’d still like to confirm this.
That’s what I was planning to do: fastboot flash recovery twrp.img, then reboot to TWRP recovery, make the full system backup, then reboot to system once, then reboot to fastboot again and then fastboot flash recovery /e/OS recovery.
I used TWRP to flash the recovery. I didn’t have the TWRP recovery.img, so I used the backup one made by TWRP when I created a full backup, and flashed it as “fastboot flash recovery recovery.emmc.win”.
I then rebooted to TWRP, and before I made a system backup, I thought I’d clean the cache partitions as they might contribute to a larger backup size. In TWRP, in Wipe, I selected only the cache and dalvik cache partitions and tried to wipe them, but got an error. This is the full message:
Could not mount /data and unable to find crypto footer.
Updating partition details…
Failed to mount ‘/data’ (Invalid argument)
… done
Unable to mount storage
Failed to mount ‘/data’ (Invalid argument)
Full SELinux support is present.
Unable to mount /data/media/TWRP/.twrps
MTP Enabled
Failed to mount ‘/data’ (Invalid argument)
Failed to wipe dalvik
Updating partition details…
Failed to mount ‘/data’ (Invalid argument’
…done
Unable to mount storage
Since the first line says crypto, I think it means everything is encrypted (I’m not sure about this). However, I have not set up any PIN or password or pattern as lock, right now it’s just swipe to unlock the device.
When I went to the Backup section in TWRP, it shows all the partitions. I haven’t tried to create a backup yet as I thought that it may be possible that TWRP may create a backup now, but later, when I try to flash that backup again, it may not work. I then rebooted back to /e/OS, and it is working fine.
Am I correct in thinking TWRP failed to wipe cache because of encryption? And should I continue making a backup with TWRP or is there something else I should do before creating the backup?
Edit: I tried backing up the data of a single partition to see if it works but it started giving the same error as above, of not being able to mount the /data/ partition.
The link you’ve given is for the TWRP of Zenfone 8, mine’s a Zenfone Max Pro M1. In any case, I used TWRP backup to get the recovery (the recovery.emmc.win one), and it works, so the only problem I have now is to get TWRP to make a backup of the /e/OS installation. If it is not possible, I’ll just flash the /e/OS/ recovery back and continue using it.
Thanks. I’ll try out this recovery and see if it works.
Edit: I just tried this new recovery out, and it successfully cleaned the cache partitions. Before this, it did ask me if I wanted to let the system be read-only or make it modifiable, and I selected modifiable and it then allowed me to clean the cache partition. After this I rebooted and tried again, and this time, it didn’t ask me if I wanted to keep the system read-only or not, and straightaway allowed me to clean the cache partition.
I haven’t yet performed a full backup. I’ll try it out and see if there are any problems.