yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 6P General] mrRobinson:
Step 6, second bullet tells you the prior modified boot.imgs work with M. But also link to an M modified. Might want to read more of the letters there :D.

However you said "custom rom", these are for the stock aosp rom, if you are using a custom you might need a custom kernel that is full permissive to go with it.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
would like to ask if what i did was systemless or the traditional method:

Firmware: MDB08L (Stock rom & stock kernel)

1. Unlock bootloader + install TWRP

2. flash the modified boot.img

3. flashed SuperSU 2.56

if this is the systemless method, what is the traditional method?:confused::confused::confused:

thanks in advance!
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
You don't know what you flashed to your device? That's a worry, you should always know what you're flashing. The version of SuperSU you installed is the systemless version, if you have root I can only assume that you flashed the systemless boot.img too.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
I know what files I flashed, I just dunno what method was it coz when I rooted there was only 1 method in ur post lol but there didn't seem to be any mention of whether it was the systemless or traditional method
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
Even so, you should know what you flashed to your device. I have no idea what you've flashed because at that time I only mentioned traditional root but you seem to have installed the SuperSU that's meant for systemless root.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
Hmm :confused: if this helps to solve the mystery, I flashed the modified boot.img that was posted by another dev here, ur post mentioned that it is necessary to flash that modified boot.img before flashing SuperSU 2.56(also in the same thread by that dev who provided the modified boot.img)

Cheers! And I really appreciate ur help!

Edit 2: it seems that I've done the traditional method coz I used the modified boot.img in the #1 post of Chainfire's thread
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
In that case you've flashed the wrong version of SuperSU.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
Hmm? I used all the files posted by Chainfire in his #1 post of his thread:confused: root is working for me and I've xposed installed lol
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
If you used the SuperSU in the first post of his that you

do not

have SuperSU 2.56 installed, you have 2.52 installed.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
Ahh I see, thanks for the clarification!:)

Is it safe to reflash 2.56 over 2.52?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
No. Why would you do that? 2.56 is for systemless root, you don't have the systemless root boot.img installed. Didn't we just discuss this? It'd probably be wise to do some reading in Chainfire's threads.
[Nexus 6P General] mtw4991:
Do not flash 2.56 over 2.52, they are meant for different root methods! Just because the version number is higher, doesn't mean it's better or will even work...which it won't

Edit: beat me by second Heisenberg lol
[Nexus 6P General] RogerPodacter:
Hope someone can quickly help me. I am going thru systemless root (rooted many devices and ROMs). Ive only unlocked the bootloader so far, then booted back into Android to set up my phone.

No recovery yet, no root yet. But Android pay no longer works, it just says "Android pay is unavailable". It has worked for me since I got my 6p. I wanted to set it back up before I modify the phone or system in any way.

Anyone know what is going on here? I'm completely stock exept unlocked boot loader.

Also during boot I do see the unable to verify corrupt message. Thanks for any help.
[Nexus 6P General] MrMundy:
Ahh thanks a lot, I'm just confused over what method is what haha, shall enjoy my 6p at what it is now then! Thanks!:good:
[Nexus 6P General] RogerPodacter:
Never mind, I posted to quick. On a hunch after reading online, ejecting my sim card then reinserting the sim fixed the problem. Not sure why, but I hope this helps someone else. Been trying for an hour to solve this issue!
[Nexus 6P General] yingjai:
When I open SuperSU, it asks to update SU binary. When I click TWRP/CWM, it just goes to the apps tab and doesn't reboot. When I try to click Normal, it just says installation failed, reboot to try again.

Updated to mdb08m.

Using links from your first post:

twrp-2.8.7.2-angler

angler-mdb08m-boot-systemless from http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=63747162&postcount=762

SuperSU-v2.56-20151030013730 from http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=63197935&postcount=2

Also using:

cm-13.0-20151128-NIGHTLY-angler

open_gapps-arm64-6.0-stock-20151124

Edit: well according to the terminal emulator, I'm not rooted even though I followed the steps.
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
My only guess would be that CM13 isn't compatible with systemless root. Your modified boot.img would have been overwritten by the CM boot.img when you flashed the ROM.
[Nexus 6P General] yingjai:
Probably. I gave up on CM 13. I've gotten root to work with stock L build (originally on my phone).

I also read that they had a different approach to rooting or something. Unsure how reliable that info was.
[Nexus 6P General] adamo86:
Can the nexus 6p be rooted without unlocking bootloader?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
No. Why not just unlock it?
[Nexus 6P General] adamo86:
I will just waiting on cm13
[Nexus 6P General] Kojo10:
I'm totally frustrated here. I haven't been able to boot into fastboot, either using the phone keys or rebooting to the bootloader from adb. The phone will boot into the screen with the android avatar and the start button. I can toggle to the other options and boot up into the associated modes (start, recover, etc.) My pc recognizes the adb device, but doesn't recognize the fastboot device. I also can not get adb sideload to work. I've got OEM unlock and adb debug selected in the developer options. I've updated the drivers based on the op here because I'm using Windows 10. I can't think of any way I might have screwed things up since the only thing I've done is the initial factory start up and migrating my data from my google account. I've done a couple of factory resets and read every post in this tread - as well as browsing google. Any help will be greately appreciated.
[Nexus 6P General] nadiros:
The screen you speak of with the android avatar IS fastboot mode. Run your commands from there. Good luck.
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
As the other member stated, that screen is the bootloader, which is fastboot mode. If fastboot commands aren't working you need to look at your drivers.
[Nexus 6P General] zenkinz:
Been awhile since I root / custom flash my Android. based on the FAQs, can I confirm my following understanding

1. Unlocking the bootloader will render my N6P hard-reset. So I need to backup my data if I need them after the bootloader unlock.

2. Rooting the N6P firmware will not result in data loss. However, it'll not allow me to do any future OTA update unless I flash the new build of firmware myself, or #4.

3. Updating the custom recovery image is the only way to flash some of the custom zip file. Flashing of recovery will not render loss of my data.

4. If I want to receive OTA update after I rooted my N6P, I would need to restore back the system imgs (bootloader, boot, system, recovery and cache) before I get OTA update. AFter whilch, I need to follow the whole rooting process, but my data will be not be lost through the whole process (of restoring the stock image and re-rooting)

right?
[Nexus 6P General] ceribik:
Why is this?

Will android succesfully boot if you have a custom recovery, but with a re-locked bootloader (assume /system is untouched)?
[Nexus 6P General] Dbj.Dhaval:
Is it possible to change dpi without root
[Nexus 6P General] mko000:
1. Yes.

2. Yes, unless the new optional beta systemless root version allows for OTA updates, which I don't know.

3. Yes.

4. Yes, I think so. Also, see 2.

---------- Post added at 04:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------

Yes, you can adjust the DPI using an ADB command. Google for "adb shell wm density".
[Nexus 6P General] zenkinz:
thanks, anywhere I can read more about systemless root?

I have also heard that root that's not systemless will break the fingerprint and other features of Marshmallow, is it true? what's the benefit of systemless over the others? my apology if this has been discussed before.
[Nexus 6P General] mko000:
I guess you can read more in the SuperSU threads which are linked in the OP.

Classic root will not interfere with the fingerprint sensor. The only thing it breaks to my knowledge is Android Pay.
[Nexus 6P General] 89titanium:
Um... will the systemless root method ensure that everything works normally? Android Pay? Fingerprint sensor? OTA updates?

And for the record, the only difference with the systemless method is the systemless version of boot.img and SuperSU 2.56?

What's the difference between:

angler-mmb29n-boot-systemless.zip

Angler MDB08M Modified Systemless Boot Img

angler-mdb08k-boot-systemless.zip

Do I need to use the correct boot.img?

Thanks so much.
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
I believe it does a check to ensure that everything is stock, and if not you end up with a soft brick.

No.

Fingerprint sensor will work with either root method. I believe Android Pay will work with the systemless method. The difference is the boot.img and the SuperSU zip. You do need to use the correct boot.img to correspond with the firmware build that you have installed on your phone.
[Nexus 6P General] GohanBurner:
I just got a Nexus 6P today, I'm trying to set it up so I can start flashing...I tried to issue the command "fastboot flashing unlock" and I get a usage error. The device does show up so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Edit: Nevermind...searched...update SDK...got it....
[Nexus 6P General] ceribik:
Wouldn't you end up with a hard brick? If everything isn't stock, you'll be unable to boot into android and since locking the bootloader will wipe your data, you won't be able to re-unlock the phone ("Enable OEM Unlock" in android settings will be disabled).
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
That'd still technically be a soft brick. But for all intents and purposes it'd have the same effect.
[Nexus 6P General] clank714:
Why don't you just flash the userdata instead of formatting? Just curious

EDIT: when restoring to stock
[Nexus 6P General] ceribik:
Wait, so to clarify: on the nexus 6P, if your boot loader is locked and the boot chain is compromised due a change (and thus get a red device state as per the bottom of https://source.android.com/security/verifiedboot/verified-boot.html ), can you still boot into android? If so, you can recover from this.

Also, would I be correct in saying that your device can only be "perma" bricked (without special HW or RMA) in the following scenarios:

a) bootloader is locked and you can't boot into android (for whatever reason), or

b) bootloader security state is changed with a non-stock recovery, or

c) you flash the bootloader with a non-OEM-signed one

any other causes?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
No I don't believe you can boot into Android in that scenario.

A) Yes.

B) Yes.

C) Yes.

Another cause would be flashing a non-bootloader image to the bootloader partition.
[Nexus 6P General] ceribik:
Thanks.

How sure are you about not being able to boot into Android?

The last image on the page I linked says "Your device will boot in 5 seconds" - https://source.android.com/security/verifiedboot/verified-boot.html and a diagram on the same page suggests the same https://source.android.com/security/images/verified_boot.png (red state)
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
I'm only going by reports from others that have stated that the device wouldn't boot after locking with a custom recovery installed, so I'm not 100% sure because I haven't experienced it myself. I'm confident in those reports though.
[Nexus 6P General] Dbj.Dhaval:
Which is the recommended method. Traditional or systemless..
[Nexus 6P General] 89titanium:
I am all for experimental/beta stuff, as long as there is no further risk of perma-brick. I would also like to know this before I root.
[Nexus 6P General] leon0602:
Great Guide, I just bought a beer for you.. :D:D:D

Thanks a lot !!!
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
It's up to you. If you want to use Android Pay you need to use the systemless method, otherwise just use the traditional method.

See above.

Thankyou, greatly appreciated!
[Nexus 6P General] jakel55:
Hi, first of all, thank you for the amazing and (I'm sure) thorough guide. As you the "I'm sure" suggests, I'm a developer "newbie" and I came across this while during research on how to root my Nexus 6P due to a battery issue (nexus 6P is awake 100% of the time and never in deep sleep no matter what I do). So I wanted to explore the option of rooting and installing apps such as betterybatterystats.

That being said, do I follow 1,2,3,4 in that order to simply root the device?

Thanks!
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
You need to follow sections 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 to root your stock setup. Section 3 is optional, depending on whether you want encryption or not.
[Nexus 6P General] jakel55:
Thanks for replying so quickly!

Understood. This is going to be a long shot but I will try anyways, do you have any tips on figuring out what is keeping my Nexus 6P awake even when the screen is off? I have tried clearing caches, uninstalling apps (I do NOT have the Facebook Application) and even turning on Airplane Mode. Yet it is STILL awake.

Ah I can't attach any pictures on here so that probably wasn't too helpful...any materials you can direct me to so I can do more research?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
I couldn't possibly have any idea without seeing some kind of data. Your best bet is to get root and then install BetterBatteryStats from the Play Store, it'll tell you exactly what's keeping your phone awake.
[Nexus 6P General] jakel55:
Understood, will do.

May I post questions on here if I encounter problems along the way? Or is it custom to PM you directly?

1 more thing - I understand if I follow the steps 1, 2, 4, 6 all my user data will be erased (i'm assuming the smart thing to do was to root the phone before I messed around with it). Is there anyway to backup my settings/apps before rooting the phone?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
If your question relates directly to the guide and the procedures within it you're welcome to post here. I only ask that you read the faq section in the second post, and search your question with the search feature before creating a post. Most questions have already been asked and answered before so the answer is most likely already here somewhere.
[Nexus 6P General] jakel55:
Awesome, ok.

1 more thing - I understand if I follow the steps 1, 2, 4, 6 all my user data will be erased (i'm assuming the smart thing to do was to root the phone before I messed around with it). Is there anyway to backup my settings/apps before rooting the phone?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
You can't backup your settings. There's an app called Helium on the Play Store that claims to be able to backup your apps without root, it works for some folks, doesn't work for others. It's worth a try though.
[Nexus 6P General] 89titanium:
I'll take you up on that. I installed the adb stuff, enabled all the debugging stuff on phone, plugged in while unlocked, and didn't pass the tests described, see here.

Tried on both file transfer mode and camera (PTP) mode.
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
Adb seems to be really hit and miss with this phone, works perfectly for some folks, doesn't work at all for others. The good news is that you won't actually need adb to undertake any of the processes in this guide, as long as fastboot works you're good to go.
[Nexus 6P General] 89titanium:
Thanks a ton :)
[Nexus 6P General] mayorblurps:
I've got the same issue on my 6p. I'm running stock rooted at the moment. Since I rooted I haven't been able to take a screenshot, it also captures a bug report for me. I went with the systemless root method.
[Nexus 6P General] Dbj.Dhaval:
If I follow traditional method to again lock the bootloader I have to flash whole system files
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
You mean the factory images? Yep.
[Nexus 6P General] Dbj.Dhaval:
Also one more doubt I have read that in android 6 before rooting u should have custom Kernel orelse will get bootloop.. At what stage in ur process we flash custom Kernel
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
It's all in the instructions. The custom kernel is referred to as a modified boot.img in this guide.
[Nexus 6P General] alexww:
Working on Mac

Just accomplished this root task on Mac OS.

All files are working with one step more to install an android file transfer so as to copy SuperSu zip file into the set.

Great instruction! ;););)
[Nexus 6P General] Dbj.Dhaval:
Delete
[Nexus 6P General] weazie:
Rooted

Thank You Heisenberg for this Beginner's step-by-step tutorial.

I'm now rooted with my new P6 running stock MDB08L.

Using Windows on my PC.

Much love!
[Nexus 6P General] dirtyreturn:
What site are the drivers on to download? Would anyone be able to answer with the info?
[Nexus 6P General] ylexot:
It's on Google's site. The link is in the first post. Read it.
[Nexus 6P General] ilpolpi65:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html#Other
[Nexus 6P General] infamous84:
i followed everything in the guide, but when i tried to flash a rom, i was just stuck of the rom's splash screen for 10 mins. tried to restore a backup and that didnt work either. I flashed the newest stock image "M" to get back into the phone. when i restart i am getting this message "your device software information cant be checked, please lock the bootloader"?

What am i doing wrong?
[Nexus 6P General] LeftHandedWave:
Sorry, I didn't go through this thread but did search it and didn't find my question. And I wanted to make sure I understand something.

I have used this guide to get root and I'm very happy. Thanks Heisenberg on the great guide! I have been hearing about an update for the Nexus 6P coming out soon and see that you have systemless root method which should allow updates without following the step 10 in the guide (How To Take An OTA Update If You Have Root).

Can I still flash that systemless SuperSU method while rooted with traditional SuperSU?

Looks like I should:

- boot into recovery (TWRP)

- flash stock /system

- flash the boot image (shamu-mra58k-boot-systemless.zip)

- flash SuperSU systemless (SuperSU-v2.56-20151030013730.zip)

- wipe cache

Will this work like I'm thinking?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
Those steps look right except that you mention the systemless boot.img for the Nexus 6 instead of the 6P. Make sure you flash the right boot.img for your device.
[Nexus 6P General] akshaysalunke13:
What up with all those versions ? Can somebody help?
[Nexus 6P General] Badger50:
Most all the roms are based on the "M" build. So that's probably the one your looking for.
[Nexus 6P General] ilpolpi65:
Take the last one ( it is the latest)
[Nexus 6P General] 911jason:
Thank you very much for this guide!

One suggestion though, on Step 4, I think it would be helpful if you recommended which partitions to select for backup. There are so many choices and no obvious right or wrong. I ended up just selecting all except EFS. Then made a separate EFS only backup.
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
It already does state which partitions to check.
[Nexus 6P General] 911jason:
Wow. It's been a long week. Sorry.
[Nexus 6P General] Gamer_Josh:
Thank you for this information! This is exactly what I was looking for. One quick question though: Does it matter if you are encrypted/decrypted?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
It shouldn't matter.
[Nexus 6P General] Soulfly3:
Great guide.

The only thing I'd add is this... If someone (like me) chooses to unlock bootloader and boot into android BEFORE installing the custom recovery

USB debugging was turned off on reboot... I had to re-enable it before I went thru the process of installing TWRP etc

Dont know how important this is, but this happened in my case.
[Nexus 6P General] jesssiii:
The difference between the instructions for taking OTA from root are the same as flashing factory section with the exception of flashing the userdata, is that correct? Meaning, you don't lose your internal data like pics and music? And settings too?

I'm feeling like a noob after using locked devices last few years! My phone still hasn't arrived but I prefer being prepared.
[Nexus 6P General] Jun1orV:
Will this trigger the efuse??
[Nexus 6P General] ylexot:
No.
[Nexus 6P General] weazie:
yes.

http://androidandme.com/2015/10/new...permanently-mark-unlocking-of-the-bootloader/
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
Kinda. You don't actually flash the userdata, that will result in reduced storage capacity for the 64gb and 128gb models. The correct thing to do is "fastboot format userdata", and that isn't always necessary when flashing the factory images either (depending on the goal of the user).

The Qfuse is already tripped before leaves the factory. It's purpose is to convert certain partitions to read-only once engineering are finished with the device, so people unauthorised people can't mess with them.

Lol, what? No. That article got it dead wrong. See above for explanation on what the Qfuse actually is/does.
[Nexus 6P General] weazie:
Well, that's good to hear :)
[Nexus 6P General] chuck4100:
Hello, so I'm not super knowledgeable on all this but I know unlocking bootloader wipes the /data partition.

Question I have is, can you unlock the BL install twrp, then relock the bootloader and use twrp to flash root and restore /data backup?
[Nexus 6P General] Heisenberg:
Yeah you could do that but there isn't really any point in locking it again. First issue is it writes the device each time you lock or unlock the bootloader. Second issue is if you ever run into trouble and need to flash the factory images and your bootloader is locked you're screwed, you'd be forced to unlock it again and you may not have access to your data in order to back it up first. I always recommend people leave their bootloader unlocked.

Sent from my Nexus 6P

Edit: I didn't think that through, no you can't lock the bootloader while TWRP is installed.
[Nexus 6P General] jesssiii:
OP specifically says no. Warns not to relock bootloader unless you're completely stock recovery.
[Nexus 6P General] millerthyme2g0:
Good to see you here [MENTION=2861395]jesssiii[/MENTION]
[Nexus 6P General] chuck4100:
Roger that, I know somethings but how all the baseline components interact is a bit beyond me... so glad I asked. Don't really like seeing the warning but its far less annoying than my Moto X.
[Nexus 6P General] LeftHandedWave:
Ahh, yes, good catch. I'll try it later today.
[Nexus 6P General] Shockz:
Sorry if this has been asked already but why to update a rooted device do you have to flash the current build then use the ota? Can't you just flash the newest builds img files without using userdata.img?
[Nexus 6P General] Wintersdark:
Yeah. Step 10 is just there to show how you can accept OTA's.

You can, of course, just flash the new build directly.
[Nexus 6P General] elreydenj:
Hello all. Has anyone created a no-force encrypt boot.img yet for the 6.0.1 release. if not , where is the best place to look for that in the 6P forum. Thank you.
[Nexus 6P General] geoff5093:
Using this modified boot image, we were able to get root on 6.0.1:

https://renderserver.net/downloadre...ngler/stock_mdb08m_encryptable_recompiled.img
[Nexus 6P General] sirxdroid:
Paging [MENTION=3355398]mrRobinson[/MENTION] for the MMB29M 6.0.1 modified kernels ... :)
[Nexus 6P General] Soulfly3:
Hey, [MENTION=4153349]Heisenberg[/MENTION] .... Just a thought/suggestion.

Perhaps you could add a section on how to update the radio/bootloader only. This used to be common in the N5 days, and I think may come up again now that 6.0.1 is out.

If not, no worries... Just a thoguht

(eta: I know you have a guide on how to return to stock in the OP, but it goes into the ENTIRE process, which may end up confusing some/causing unnecessary headaches)
[Nexus 6P General] sirxdroid:
fastboot flash bootloader <file>

fastboot flash radio <file>

(you'd have to source the files from the stock images)
[Nexus 6P General] Soulfly3:
and the reboots in between? :D