[Moto X Q&A] ATechGuy:
Pulling it together for 4.4.4 OTA updata if newbs like me are/were lost

It had been a while since I had a rooted phone so I'm coming up to speed quickly on the terms and techniques everyone is using with gaining root.

I took the simple, supported path by getting the VZW Moto X (XT1060) Devo Ed. rather than paying the Chinese guy, but I can see my daughter eventually going the $35 route, but that's another topic. I had installed the twrp 2.6.3.1 and was rooted with SuperSU.

My phone was on the 4.4.2 (KXA20.16.1.25.2) and thought I'd go for the 4.4.4 OTA as I used to have Droid Maxx and felt like I was missing the great battery life, supposedly caused by 4.4.2.

Sure, some of you might just say, Yes, take the OTA, and most likely, if you're like me, it fails. But it seems to fail on a simple test, like the version identifier 'ghost' or something like that. I thought I would first see if that's something I should check, but as it turned out, that's a serious red herring and not worth the time. It also turned out it was trying to re-install the current image.

Everywhere you will see about having to reflash the stock recovery image before you can take the OTA update. It's a pity, really, as I'm sure the TWRP gurus could figure out some "OTA" compatibility mode. If you're like me, you just need a little refresher on the terms: mostly, that you have two images you can boot, one is the recovery image and the other is the system image. Thank goodness this exists, otherwise there would be so many bricked phones out there. And, for pretty obvious reasons, you need to boot something OTHER THAN THE SYSTEM in order to replace the system! And that something is the recovery image.

There many recovery images out there, some are only available on certain phones and some are available on multiple platforms. The most popular one for the Moto X seems to be : TWRP( aka Team Win) . Kudos to these guys because it's one VERY slick recovery image.

But I kept reading and reading and then I find something about "flashing using the FXZ image" and you can skip some steps. I ended up going this route, and while it worked beautifully, I really think it could be tweaked just a little more if there were some way it could avoid flashing the recovery image during the process, thereby leaving TWRP in place. Of course, there are lots of possibilities I missed something, but in the end, it really wasn't complicated or difficult, so perhaps this note will help someone else out.

My dilemma was I couldn't find a simple way to "flash back stock 4.4.2 recovery". I found the .zip file from the moto page. I even found one that was already rooted (odexed and deodexed), but I didn't figure out how I should re-flash it. (I think I do now, but it now it doesn't matter:o). The FXZ method didn't seem to care about what recovery image you have installed, and that's why I believe it's the simplest upgrade method. This method is all discussed here. Follow the directions to the letter. The RSD flasher is a slick tool that helps fat-fingered typers from having to type a lot of fastboot commands. When it's all said and done, you will have 4.4.4 installed, and your recovery (TWRP) will be removed. In fact, on my phone, the WHOLE recovery image was bust and I only could get the sick android picture when trying to boot recovery. Of course root was gone too.

For anyone playing with root, my suggestion is to take a weekend and review the terms tossed around in these forums so you can get familiar. Things like "AP Fastboot mode" and debugging mode are a must. Not to mention creating a folder on your PC where you keep all the tools you'll need. I started with the forum with the ultimate authority on rooting article found here. Then today I added the RSD flasher tool and RSD lite.

But not to worry, fixing the recovery image is something any rooter should know how to do. I just went out and grabbed the latest copy of TWRP (currently 2.7.1.1) and re-flashed recovery with the usual 'flashboot flash recovery [name of twrp image]. The final part was the SU/rooting part and I found the suggestion that say to keep a copy of SuperSU on the phone (just keep in /downloads) is the simplest. The easiest way to do that is with the browser on the phone and just point to http://download.chainfire.eu/supersu and download the latest. From the .zip file, you can install easily using your recovery image (eg TWRP).

So, just in summary, if you're on 4.4.2 (and Moto X, unlocked/dev ed) and want to update to 4.4.4, I would suggest:

Visit the link above for the FXZ image

Download the RSD flasher and RSD Lite if you don't have it

Have RSDFlasher unpack the .zip file and build the script (some XML)

Connect your phone in Fastboot mode

Run RSDFlasher with the newly created XML file and reboot. You now will have 4.4.4 installed

Reboot back into fastboot mode and reflash TWRP using the usual fastboot command with the latest TWRP image

Restart using recovery boot (this boots TWRP)

Hit the install button in TWRP to install that latest copy of SuperSU you downloaded to the phone earlier.

Now boot to system and you're good to go with root and 4.4.4