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Help Nexus 5X Uninstalled Android By Itself!!

Eli Porter

Eli Porter

Newbie
I have a Nexus 5X and it uninstalled Android, I don't know if it was from slight water damage but I don't think any water got inside because it still into recovery and bootloader! I tried factory resetting the device via recovery, unlocking bootloader and installing Stock that way (failed to unlock bootloader). Here is a video I recorded showing the problem.

I made a video if that helps!

Link:
 
Is your device still under warranty? Unfortunately you're probably going to have to get it repaired or replaced.

One thing to note, you should be using the command fastboot devices to see if fastboot is recognizing the device since you are in the bootloader/fastboot mode.

Not that it will help much. Unfortunately you cannot flash the factory images without an unlocked bootloader and you cannot unlock the bootloader without enabling the option from a booted os. It's a catch 22.

I really don't think there is anything you will be able to do here. Unlocking the bootloader is usually the first thing I do when I get a new device before I take the time to even set anything up (because it factory resets).

I hate to give you bad news but really, I think it's a lost cause... Doing some research right now to see if I can find anything that might help but my expectations aren't very high.
 
Welcome to our AndroidForums, Eli :).

Where did you get the update.zip file that you were trying to sideload?

I'm kind of guessing you renamed one of the factory image .zip file to "update.zip"?

I'd not be surprised that the "E:footer is wrong" message is because it's not a true OTA-format update.zip file (that and the signature verification failed message--I don't think the image-*-*.zip file are signed like the OTAs are).

Anyway, I'm guessing there is a remnant of your Android OS still on your device since I'm guessing that the fastboot oem unlock is seeing/knowing that you don't have the unlock enabled and that's why you're still seeing the "FAILED (remote: oem unlock is not allowed)" message.

I'm guessing there has to be a work-around for this catch-22, I just don't know what it is at the moment...I'll keep looking, too.

:)
 
One thought I just had and it may be a long shot... I know you cannot flash anything to the device with a locked bootloader but I'm wondering if it would be possible to boot a custom recovery rather than flash it to the partition.

If this would work, you could potentially flash a rom from the custom recovery to get booted into the OS... From there you could hopefully unlock the bootloader and flash the factory images...

You would do this by downloading the latest TWRP image for your devcie and placing it in the adb/fastboot directory on the PC. You would boot the device into your bootloader and issue the command: fastboot boot recovery.img

This would temporarily boot you into a custom recovery in which you could transfer a rom.zip to your device's internal storage and install via TWRP.

This is a big what if though as I don't know if the locked bootloader will even allow you to temp boot a custom recovery.

@scary alien any thoughts on this??
 
I don't think you can boot/flash a custom recovery from fastboot if the bootloader is locked, I'm afraid :(.

My other thought about how LG or the other manufacturers get around the locked bootloader is probably with a special mode or JTAG-type device...that gets them around the catch-22 (i.e., for example when the device is first flashed--unless that "oem unlocked is allowed" switch is set initially at first boot-up).
 
Okay.. @scary alien I may have stumbled across something but I am not very well versed in advanced adb commands so I'd probably need some advice from a pro. ;)

I have seen in a couple places that TWRP allows adb commands even on a partial boot. IE you can somehow get TWRP on the device even if going to recovery mode only sticks at the TWRP splashscreen. If all you see is the TWRP logo and the recovery won't fully boot, you can still issue all adb commands.

So two questions:
1.) Can he use stock recovery to somehow adb sideload TWRP if booting TWRP doesn't work.

2.) If yes, can he download the factory images and with full access to adb commands can he dd the factory images?
 
Eli, can you try this (from this post on XDA):

I made this same stupid mistake on my Nexus 6 a while back. I locked the bootloader for some reason and then ended up in the same position. Using the following commands while in the bootloader solved it for me. It took me hours to figure it out. In fact, I think Simms was the one who recommended it.

fastboot format userdata
fastboot format cache
Click to expand...

My guess is that this resets the flag that keeps you from unlocking the bootloader?

Still reading from that post on, but that might work...

edit: pretty sure this won't work since the bootloader is still locked...
 
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Brian706 said:
Okay.. @scary alien I may have stumbled across something but I am not very well versed in advanced adb commands so I'd probably need some advice from a pro. ;)

I have seen in a couple places that TWRP allows adb commands even on a partial boot. IE you can somehow get TWRP on the device even if going to recovery mode only sticks at the TWRP splashscreen. If all you see is the TWRP logo and the recovery won't fully boot, you can still issue all adb commands.

So two questions:
1.) Can he use stock recovery to somehow adb sideload TWRP if booting TWRP doesn't work.

2.) If yes, can he download the factory images and with full access to adb commands can he dd the factory images?
Click to expand...

I don't think those will work, @Brian706 :(.

- you can't flash or boot TWRP (or any custom recovery) without having an unlocked bootloader

- the adb sideload is going to do signature checking on any file it tries to flash--so, unless we can get a manufacturer-signed update.zip file that does stuff we want it to (re-install Android, reset a flag, etc.) that's a dead-end

Those would be great options to use, but they're security / access holes that keep sneaky guys like us out ;) :p.
 
scary alien said:
Eli, can you try this (from this post on XDA):



My guess is that this resets the flag that keeps you from unlocking the bootloader?

Still reading from that post on, but that might work...
Click to expand...
A question about this out of curiosity... I think I already know the answer but would formatting the partition be different than using the wipe option in the stock recovery?
 
Brian706 said:
A question about this out of curiosity... I think I already know the answer but would formatting the partition be different than using the wipe option in the stock recovery?
Click to expand...

:p, probably the same...not sure...I just came across that post in the XDA thread and thought it was worth a shot at this point...
 
Have a look at this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60691568&postcount=11

That whole thread about this issue is interesting.

I don't know if this device has the secondary bootloader or not but the post I linked mentioned a secondary backup bootloader on the nexus 5 that you can issue adb commands from. It sounds like it's only accessible if the primary bootloader partition is corrupt though. Would be pretty risky to intentionally corrupt the primary bootloader to access the secondary, but I'm not sure how that would be possible unless you intentionally caused a bad bootloader flash by interrupting the process or something... But I don't think you could flash a bootloader with a locked bootloader. However, since you could get the official signed img from Google, would you be able to push it via the stock recovery? And if so, could you intentionally interrupt the process to corrupt the bootloader?

The wheels are turning now thinking about ways to access the second bootloader. This is assuming the 5x also has a secondary backup bootloader. 5 and 5x are both made by LG so they may have implemted this in both devices.

This is probably way too big of a long shot (and exremely risky) but kind of interesting to ponder nonetheless...
 
Something else I just found out... I've only ever used fastboot to do anything to my device but on the original nexus 5, you can apparently put the device into download mode and use lg's flashtool to repair the device.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...orial-how-to-flash-factory-images-lg-t2713833

I wonder if this is implemented in the 5x as well?? I'll have to do some more digging.

But it sounds like it will work even when fastboot will not:
I think one of the main advantages that bitdomo may have forgot to mention is that this will work even if fastboot won't (in most cases). For example, say you had a bad bootloader flash, and now you cannot access the bootloader. Consequently, you are not able to flash images using fastboot. However, using LG Flash Tool (or LGNPST) should still allow you to flash your device and get back to a stock state.
Click to expand...

@Eli Porter don't attempt to flash the files in the above linked post. It's for the original nexus 5, but trying to find out if something similar will work for your device.
 
@Eli Porter can you try something for me?

Power off your device, hold volume up+volume down+ power to get into (hopefully) secondary bootloader. Probably won't work, but won't hurt anything to try.

Plug into computer and type adb devices.
 
Holy crap I ate some lunch and watched some tv and @Brian706 and @scary alien already gave me like 5 things to try! AND ON THANKSGIVING TOO!!

I will try the non risky suggestions first because I would prefer to to break my phone for obvious reasons!

Questions Answered:

1.update.zip is from a Google Drive page I cannot find where though I think maybe it was from a xda post that I found via Google Search.

2.Volume Up, Down and Power on boot to some 2nd bootloader, it just brought me to the bootloader #1, I didn't try any ADB cammands yet but I couldn't find any differences between the regular bootloader from Volume Down and Power Button

I am about to try some of the suggestions, I will get back to you soon!
 
Eli Porter said:
2.Volume Up, Down and Power on boot to some 2nd bootloader, it just brought me to the bootloader #1, I didn't try any ADB cammands yet but I couldn't find any differences between the regular bootloader from Volume Down and Power Button
Click to expand...
I think that it would look identical. It's supposed to be a copy of the bootloader but placed on a second partition as a backup. From what I've read it's probably not accessible unless the main bootloader fails, but if you try typing adb devices, it might let us know if adb commands are accessible.

I was curious to see if we could access it without corrupting the original bootloader. If not, I don't know if I'd take it that far. The LG flashtool would be a lot better alternative.
 
Also, in the XDA Page for the LG Tool, it says to download a TOT file your device, how do you determine the TOT file for you device?
 
Eli Porter said:
Also, in the XDA Page for the LG Tool, it says to download a TOT file your device, how do you determine the TOT file for you device?
Click to expand...
Based on your model number. Do you have the 32 gb model? That's currently the only one this will work for.

There are two TOT files, one for H790 and one for H791.

Do you know which model you have?


I see on your profile you have AT&T. Did you buy your 5x from them or directly from Google?
 
Brian706 said:
Based on your model number. Do you have the 32 gb model? That's currently the only one this will work for.

There are two TOT files, one for H790 and one for H791.

Do you know which model you have?
Click to expand...
I have the 32GB model, it says under the in the bootloader its a bullhead LGH90 32GB

I got it from the Google Store
 
Update: I put the phone in download mode and it is doing a Firmware Update (the tot file is the update file), I will check back after its done installing

UPDATE!

MISSION SUCCESS... kinda.

Android is back, but it won't fully boot ;( so I think that's the water from the original post come back to give me a bad day so thanks for help, but I have to wait for LG to send the repair box for them to fix the rest! So I will try to private chat you to give you a thank you gift
 
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Eli Porter said:
Update: I put the phone in download mode and it is doing a Firmware Update (the tot file is the update file), I will check back after its done installing

UPDATE!

MISSION SUCCESS... kinda.

Android is back, but it won't fully boot ;( so I think that's the water from the original post come back to give me a bad day so thanks for help, but I have to wait for LG to send the repair box for them to fix the rest! So I will try to private chat you to give you a thank you gift
Click to expand...
No gift necessary! ;)

Learned something new today and I help because I like to. Best gift you could give is to pay it forward!!

So, what do you mean it won't fully boot? The OS won't finish loading? What exactly happens?? Maybe go back into recovery and try a factory reset now?
 
Here:

I just did that forever (its still going) I don't think we can do anything here, I have factory reset the device countless times, I called LG Support and they will repair it (I am quite sure it's internal problem and I am not willing to dig into there!) Thanks for the help I hope to run into you soon when helping other people because I am planning to help others!

-Thanks for everything @Brian706 and for starting us up @scary alien
 
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