I just want to share a warning, which should be added on the wiki https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/wiki/en/wikis/device/pioneer/install
I followed the wiki page till “fastboot boot”, but now the device is in a strange boot loop. After some searching, I found that Android 9 (which was on the XA2, but I didn’t notice before) is not a good idea 
Is the XA2 a brick now?
Hi @sve downgrading from Pie to Oreo can cause issues on most devices. The /e/ build is on Oreo. Can you try to flash the Latest stock Pie on your XA2 using the sony flashing tools.
Can this be done on a Linux machine? (I found only a Windows tool which did not work for my Windows 10 box.)
You can try to boot into another slot, this is an AB device which means it can boot 2 different software versions. Maybe you are lucky and pie is still on there. boot in TWRP and then reboot system, choose A or B depending on which one you are on now.
Thanks for the suggestions. But the boot loop cannot be stopped, and I cannot turn off the device.
Hi @sve I do not have a Sony phone but when my phone goes into a bootloop I try to get to the Fastboot screen using the phone key combination. On my phone a Mia1 it is Volume - and Power pressed together. Check what the combination is for your phone. Once you are in Fastboot mode you should be able to access your device with Sony flashing tools.
As long as you can access fastboot or ADB your phone is not dead or hard bricked. Most modern phones have a good amount of sturdiness built into them to handle such flashing and booting activities. Always keep the default phone ROM flashing apps handy just in case anything goes wrong.
To Sony users: Emma seems to be the official flashing tool, https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/flash-tool/download-flash-tool/
But the tool never showed my device, even when it was up and running (i.e.before my problematic “fastboot boot …” attempt). Is Emma the right tool and is it compatible with current Windows 10?
Hello everyone,
I have just ended the whole procedure of installation (https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/wiki/en/wikis/device/pioneer/install - until step 9 of the paragraph “Installing /e/ from custom recovery” : Once installation has finished, you can reboot) and there is where the real issues started … as the question on the screen was about which slot to choose … it said B was the one active therefore I thought it would be the one to choose … after several reboots, the phone is displaying “Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted and will not boot. Your device will be powered off in 5 seconds.” (20 minutes have passed and that message is still blinking … perhaps because the phone is still connected to the USB cable to the PC …)
Any ideas / suggestions? Thank you in advance
What OS was on the phone before flashing, Pie? As mentioned above, this can give problems. So if it was Pie, i suggest you repeat the steps in the wiki. Start with step 4. But when you get to step 8 you will not install /e/, but LineageOS. download here. Now we can find out if this solves your boot problem. You have to get the device in fastboot mode by powering the phone off, press “vol down” and then while still holding “vol down” connect USB, the green led should blink.(the green blinking LED means fastboot-mode, needed for step 4) ONLY DO THESE STEPS if Pie was on the XA2 before flashing /e/
Hi andrelam,
First of all, thank you very much for your prompt feedback.
Actually the phone had Android 8 (Oreo) installed (+ some Sony software layer, but I cannot tell you the version, as it updated OTA just before I tried all the steps of the /e/ installation procedure), not Android 9 (Pie).
Shall I repeat anyway the installation as you suggested? Could you please specify step 4 of which paragraph of the procedure found in “https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/wiki/en/wikis/device/pioneer/install”? (“Temporarily booting a custom recovery” or “Installing /e/ from custom recovery”; the fact that the numbering is the same for each paragraph is misleading me, and being totally unfamiliar with such procedures, I am really worried I might make mistakes and brick the phone. Thank you for your understanding).
For information, according to Sony support webpages, fastboot mode is entered by pressing “volume up” key while connecting to the USB cable (then I saw that the led turned blue; this is not written in Sony webpages, but I saw that fastboot could see the device connected to the PC, so I guessed it was fine).
Thank you
Step 4.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing
fastboot devices
Hmm, so you had Oreo on the device, but you are not sure? Then try to flash /e/ again. Check if your zipfile has the correct MD5 checksum. On Windows 7/10:
CertUtil -hashfile <path to file> MD5
Maybe you can make some screenshots of the process.
I’m sure i used vol down by the way… Then a green led flashes… Maybe worth a try also.
Hi,
First check: MD5 checksum. It was correct.
Second check: fastboot mode.
a) with “Volume up” key pressed: led turns to green and then to blue; fastboot recognizes the device. I do not know if it is important or not, adb does not recognize the device
b) with “Volume down” key pressed: led turns to green, but neither fastboot nor adb recognize the device
Now, I am stuck at the step “Then try to flash /e/ again”: I guess it means I should repeat all the steps of the installation procedure from the paragraph “Temporarily booting a custom recovery” on, but as adb does not see the device, how can I proceed? I do not understand why adb does not see the phone and fastboot does, but I guess the good question is: how can I make adb see it?
Thank you again for your support and patience…
fastboot boot twrp-x.x.x-x-pioneer.img
If that worked start from here:
Installing /e/ from custom recovery
step 1.
thanks, I will try as soon as possible and post the feedback.
Have a nice weekend!
Hi,
I tried the following commands :
fastboot devices -> OK, device recognized
fastboot boot twrp-3.3.1-1-pioneer.img -> result was :
Sending ‘boot.img’ (60592 KB) OKAY [ 1.297s]
Booting FAILED (remote: ‘Failed to load/authenticate boot image: Load Error’)
fastboot: error: Command failed
Any further suggestions?
Thank you in advance
I know this may sound a bit trivial, but try a different USB-C cable and a different usb port on you computer for example if you have a PC tower only use the rear USB ports.
Thank you for the suggestion, I made sure I used always the same USB port on the PC (the one I used when I firstly install adb + fastboot) and the original sony cable, therefore I am quire sure that it is not the issue (although who knows with a Win PC … I will try and let you know)
Hi,
I tested the 4 USB ports, first with the original Sony USB cable, then with a Belkin one . The result was the same, regardeless the USB port or the cable:
Therefore, either the USB ports and the cables are not the issue, or all of them have issues.