On some devices it’s possible to boot twrp on the phone in fastboot from pc (without anything being flashed over on the phone) using the command fastboot boot twrp.img
Actually, I think this is the first step of physically installing twrp. I’ve done this a couple of times before on a sony xperia xa2 which is a similar a/b device. It’s a procedure to be carried out after os is installed and since you have e os on both slots I wondered whether it might be worth a shot.
OK, so I figured out my initial confusion on the fastboot command. I was using the marlin instructions here Marlin Upgrade (step 7) instead of your links.
That said, I ran the following two commands as suggested:
C:\adb>fastboot boot twrp.img
Sending ‘boot.img’ (27545 KB) OKAY [ 0.667s]
Booting OKAY [ 0.990s]
Finished. Total time: 1.711s
Presumably you flashed boot with the latest twrp from their download page: twrp-3.6.1_9-0-marlin.img?
As you say, good you know it at least got sent!
twrp won’t boot manually with device unplugged from pc? Are you using the latest fastboot version?
If that’s all good and makes no difference you could try booting the other slot, which is where you were at the top of this thread, ie you could at least boot the recovery then. Don’t get your hopes up though.
Steps to do that, in fastboot: fastboot --set-active=b followed by fastboot reboot
Are you still hoping to get to your data, or don’t mind losing it since you backed some stuff up?
I’ve read that too much data on the phone can cause
random restart problems. If you suspect this may be possible fastboot -w will erase userdata.
Yet another fastboot command to bring up some info to look at: fastboot getvar all
If none of that works consider flashing stock google android 10 (last release). It’s easy on a pixel, all done in fastboot. Plus it flashes both slots (if it’s similar to pixel 5). You could hopefully boot it up and run it for a while to check if the previous problem is there still.
Thank you SOOO much for the ongoing suggestions! Yes, using TWRP 3.6.1_9 and latest adb/fastboot package for this. I will try accessing TWRP (recovery mode) with the device unplugged before moving on to the additional fastboot commands you have suggested.
Do you think the second newest release of TWRP is worth giving a shot? Likewise with trying to downgrade /e/OS to the version prior to upgrading (assuming I get that far)?
Storage was not maxed out. Probably close to 75%. I’m definitely aiming to get access one more time and save 3 important draft emails before I throw in the towel.
Thank you again for being so generous with your time!
(Rather late at night for me) … I did not notice before that a change of Android version might be involved. You say you are using latest Platform tools and latest TWRP – that rules those out. Good.
So, now, slot trouble seemed to me the most likely problem. – but not being on a matching Android version before you start, trumps them all !
@aibd thanks for the feedback! I believe I’m good on that front as I’m assuming the April 18th OTA update matches the version I sideloaded here. I’m not 100% certain since I can’t see the release dates of the prior images on the ecloud site I wonder if there’s an archive of old releases to reference just to be certain?
@chrisrg I re-ran the previous flashboot commands and unplugged the USB after execution to see if that would help. No dice. I also set boot-slot b:
C:\adb>fastboot --set-active=b
Setting current slot to ‘b’ OKAY [ 0.417s]
Finished. Total time: 0.465s
C:\adb>fastboot reboot
Rebooting OKAY [ 0.010s]
Finished. Total time: 0.015s
Then I re-ran both fastboot commands again. No dice.
getvar produced a big list of settings, but I wasn’t sure what to look for specifically.
I may need to consider a stock Android flash as you suggested. Thanks again!
Is it on slot b now and did you try to boot recovery in slot b? The recovery there should be the one you managed to boot at the beginning of this thread.
ie: power off device, manual boot recovery with button press combo
@chrisrg If I use fastboot update e-1.0-r.zip, does this accomplish the same thing as the sideload feature in recovery mode? Would this command wipe out my user data? I’m just aiming to get back into the OS one last time to save a couple things before starting from scratch.
My mistake, I saw the word downgrade and jumped to conclusions! You see the release date within a ROM name like
e-1.0-r-20220527188878-dev-marlin.zip
2022 05. 27 188878
/e/ do not generally keep any older ROMs.
I was searching the forum for a b slot guidance.
We had some new users of Fairphone 4 got tripped up with slots, but I could not find the good text I saw. @chrisrg is being quite specific in this matter – following up the getvar output with a study session might help inform you.
You have confirmed that your Pixel was on pure stock manufacturer Android. 10 (not any other custom ROM) before you started?
adb sideload and fastboot do different jobs, please don’t use different commands on a whim!
@chrisrg Yes sir! On slot b I re-ran fastboot boot twrp.img & fastboot flash boot twrp.img. Same result as in slot a (i.e. Google screen comes up and then enters the bootloop again).
@aibd That’s right, this was a stock Android phone before I switched to /e/OS in 2019. OTA updates ever since.
It seems like I’m locked out of the adb commands altogether. I can only get the phone to the bootloader and adb doesn’t work from there. Maybe I need to re-flash as @chrisrg previously suggested.
Thanks to both of you for helping eliminate various options!
Great thread @aibd ! I see AnotherElk references the same commands that @chrisrg suggested. I note that the final post in the thread says to try booting >3 times once the slot is switched. I only tried twice in slot b last night. I will go back and re-try slot b a few more times just in case. I’ll re-read the FP3 thread a couple more times to make sure I understand all the nuances of the A/B slots
Once you learn to use fastboot to diagnose the slot issue, you might have to assert that the build is unusable and Report an issue – and ask for a re-print of v0.23 in due course, perhaps?
Though last resort, this would be better than risking harm to your device.
You always have the fallback of the manufacture’s ROM – or is this problematic?
@chrisrg@aibd Just a quick update. I unpacked the .bin file last night and manually ran fastboot flash boot_a boot.img etc. etc. I managed to get into /e/ OS, but after I logged in the OS crashed back into the bootloop again. I installed on both slots a/b and set active partition etc. I’m flogging a dead horse at this point. Time to re-flash stock Android.
Well, you got a bit further. Shame it didn’t get you to your data though. From memory there are some other files that are in the os zip apart from the payload bin, don’t know whether that would have a bearing on it at all. A few days ago I did a similar thing on a oneplus phone and ended up with an almost bricked device that would not boot into anything: black screen in edl mode. Got it sorted eventually but that meant a lot of mucking about in unfamiliar windows. Driver problems, constant update prompts, it just doesn’t leave you alone!!
Anyway, you shouldn’t have any of that sort of trouble getting stock flashed. Fingers crossed you don’t find any hardware issues when you boot into google and can proceed back to /e/.
I wonder if there’s an archive of old releases to reference just to be certain?
