yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] imatts:
Yea. I can lock / unlock the bootloader from fastboot and even flash bootloader.img, but I cannot flash anything else without getting "cannot write".

---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:26 PM ----------

Thats right, it does not appear as an Android device, but rather a standard serial port, since the chip does not have any relative drivers to support it, the only thing the PC can detect is that the chip is there, and whether it functions correctly. I used that to check if my N5 eMMC was fried.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trogper:
I had the same issue on my nex 4

Simple factory reset from recovery solves this

---------- Post added at 06:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:39 PM ----------

Try just booting cwm recovery

fastboot boot cwm_hammerhead.img

(Not fastboot flash boot)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
lol He has probably contacted by LG not to post more information on how he did it.. I would have asked for a good amount of cash in return.

This puts at risk all other manufacturers as well as they would lose loads of cash with these type of hacks.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Exnor:
wow great job. Kudos mate :D
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kitcostantino:
so theoretically, could one pull a EMMC chip from a bootloader unlocked device and install to a lockex bootloader device? (looks at broken vol button dev maxx and thinks of better days)

-King of Unsolicited Advice
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] LumberjackZac:
I don't think memory from aliexpress is something I would put in my $400 smart phone. I've heard so many stories of them faking the storage capacity through the programming. Don't buy electronics from them. That 128gb chip has one order placed and no reviews. Super sketchy
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] onupirat:
Don't you know that it's possible to unlock the bootloader without using hardware buttons?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Svaytpro:
Creating a tutorial/guide specially videos takes a lot of time that is in lack. This mod is not affordable for regular users because they should have at least:

1. Skills and experience in phone's BGA re-soldering

2. Special equipement for BGA rework and manipulation

3. Special hardware to get native partition table with all manufacturing information

4. Skills in eMMC chip manipulation with help of that hardware from 3rd point

Maybe in close future he will make a tutorial, and I understand him how it is now lazy to do tutorials if he has already achieved what he wanted, because this mod was primarily dedicated for own close use without making it for audience. And I assure you this is not the first exciting mod he did.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mr Popo:
Video changing BGA

Hi,

I'm new here, and here because of Android Authority.

Yes, there is possible to change the eMMC to higher capacity. There's a lot of youtube video. Just go to youtube and search change eMMC samsung galaxy.

[YOUTUBE]RD746le69c4[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]rOYo9AcUQQI[/YOUTUBE]

and here is the S3 mini upgraded to 32GB

[YOUTUBE]EDhvo2BnOr8[/YOUTUBE]
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] imatts:
Just did this, waiting at the android m logo. I had to re-unlock the bootloader using fastboot oem unlock, then fastboot boot cwmr.img (i named it). So far, its been "loading" for a few minutes. I remember the N5 taking atleast 10 solid minutes before it budged when I had it, and Android M is pretty big, so I will wait a while.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
How much does that heat-gun cost? :p
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alastairgreen_Nexus:
Those can be considered as tutorials, however some people want to upgrade their eMMC/Internal Storage so that they can have more space but the lack of more detailed tutorial can be frustrating to them but for me i can wait or just search for other resources on how to change eMMC
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=5019108]alastairgreen_Nexus[/MENTION] Those are pretty much the tutorials you need to replace the emmc. It cant get any more detailed than that, other than having just about the correct tempts for removal and to place the emmc back.

Cleaning the board from epoxy and solder is pretty much strait forward. Now depending on the device, you will probably need a similar or different procedure to make the device recognize the larger in size emmc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QNXbucEhjvE#t=1417.066937
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] haseogu:
What is the app that used to check mmc version?

Sent from my Find7
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trogper:
Loading the recovery? That should take a few seconds
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
I am no pro but I think there is some good info about it here on this site: goo.gl/7J15Qc

Still he could have edited the PrimaryGPT.mbn file which I don't know anything about and obviously I don't have the device itself.

Probably in u-boot? No idea. :p
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rajkatiyar07:
Menber since 2012 and first time seeing a hack like this one. Good work mate ..
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kms108:
I've seen many of these BGA emmc chip in china, they are much cheaper than on aliexpress, but that is probably the only place to get it if you don't live in china, also getting a BGA template will help, the template is basically a thin steel plate with those little dots in the middle, it helps to put the solder dots accurately onto the chip or the PCB, i've seen people in china do this in just a few minutes with just solder, template and a heatgun.

I will be visiting china next month I will try to get some photos of the template.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 4got:
I found some information on the Russian 4pda:

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=381318&st=19500#entry48792911

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=514104&st=700#entry48307876
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mr Popo:
I'm really surprised to see that no one that post here even notice that the THIRD youtube video I post provide a DETAILED instruction on the SOFTWARE SIDE!!!

[YOUTUBE]EDhvo2BnOr8[/YOUTUBE]

Fast forward to 6:40 on how to program the phone to recognize the UPGRADED eMMC
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alastairgreen_Nexus:
If i have some skills in soldering BGA's and writing custom PIT files, i can upgrade the eMMC of Note 4 from 32 to 128 GB if its possible

---------- Post added at 01:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:55 PM ----------

Yeah, i did watch the video and it was a bit of surprise for me
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=7429808]Mr Popo[/MENTION] What special instructions? He simply flashed stock firmware to the device with odin. lol

This won't work on all devices and odin is just for samsung devices...
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mr Popo:
At least we know that this hack is possible with Samsung hardware.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Perhaps we need to know what other brand odin's.

---------- Post added at 08:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 AM ----------

Perhaps you should find a smartphone repair shop or (perhaps your college friend who have degree in engineering) and find one that can change the eMMC for you.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=7429808]Mr Popo[/MENTION] I am no pro but I think its also dependent on the firmware itself. You think samsung doesn't watch out for this stuff? :D Coincidentally that firmware for the device didn't make any size checks on the emmc. They patch stuff as they move along...
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mr Popo:
LOL.

At least for now it's possible, and that's mean, this is doable.

I wonder if it sticky? If, after ODIN, I install custom ROM, i.e. CM, would the extra storage be recognize by the new ROM.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
No upon further investigation he used an emmc reader and tool to write new custom partition structure to the emmc from the bin file. Still I think the firmware can be patched from samsung to prevent this mod.

It could be implemented on an updated firmware from samsung when you update device. :p Yeah custom rom can do the trick if source code is available for the emmc. :D
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wangdaning:
Feel like I fell into a Samsucks forum
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] badboy21102000:
what about cpu and ram upgrade. !
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gohan040:
u want a Nexus 5 with a snapdragon 820, 6gb ram and 128gb storage?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vades:
KapetZ, tells that it possible to upgrade on 801 snapdragon and up to 3gb ram. Also can be replaced camera module to lg g2 13 mp one
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] harishl20:
Did he do this through recovery?

https://github.com/TeamWin/Team-Win-Recovery-Project/issues/633#issuecomment-207599708

http://x-touch.ru/3526-uvelichivaem-pamyat-v-alcatel-one-touch-idol-3.html
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] badboy21102000:
can be done if some one can modified hardware and software.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alastairgreen_Nexus:
Okay, but i do have some skills in programming but not that much

---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 PM ----------

No, also he did replace his eMMC first then he modified the partition table so that 64 GB can be seen by the system
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=5019108]alastairgreen_Nexus[/MENTION] I think he managed to do it quite easily with boardDiag tool and partition.txt tool, edited and created a new partiton.text and flashed emmc, simple as that. :p Though he already knew which values he needed to insert and edit.. In other words he created a new bin file...
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
At first that's what I thought, but I think you might need to modify the primaryGPT.mbn file as well. That's what I'm trying to figure out now. It looks like you may just be able to use GNU parted to modify the 32GB partitions like any other linux system, but I won't know until I've actually done the mod and not bricked it lol. I've ordered the stuff to try this myself, just with one of the 128gb emmc 5.1 toshiba chips mentioned earlier in the thread, so we'll see.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SkyleReese:
If the eMMC is fried and you can still access the bootlaoder,

If the eMMC is fried and you can still access the bootlaoder, can't we simply flash it with fastboot ?? - Sounds really stuplid, But really wanna ask.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] imatts:
Nope. ADB sideload or fastboot flash / format / erase doesnt work. Strangely enough though, I can fastboot boot recovery.img (which I use to access ADB). I tried boot system.img and boot.img with no success (damn lol).

Two months ago, I was able to flash Android M, and came to the conclusion that the reboot issue that I was having was due to a sticky power button, and that was partially true (or maybe not) since I would smack the side of the button a few times to prevent it from rebooting.. It could be coincidental that the emmc wasnt failing at that specific time, but I know now that it has to be a failing emmc. Throughout these months, I was NEVER able to get passed the Android logo stage (yes, it does pass the Google stage).

Can anyone confirm whether or not the ability to fastboot boot recovery.img, confirms that emmc is atleast feasible? Isnt that a write function? I thought a failed emmc prevents writing.. Thats literally the only thing I can do through cmd besides reboot and wipe / format in recovery (not through cmd). Also to note fastboot OEM unlock does not stick, and wiping cache / data / factory reset results in (stock) recovery going into a flash boot loop where the green android logo flashes quickly every 10 seconds or so in infinite succession.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
First of all I don't even own the device but I am just following this case to learn something. Nope I don't think you need to edit the primaryGPT file since its all in the in the partition.txt file. The starting block is there and you can define each partition's size as you wish. They also mention about rawprogram0.xml file which I assume its within the firmware that you are going to flash. Again I don't own the device so I cant know all this small details, but its all explained here: http://xdaforums.com/google-nexus-5...ualcomm-hs-t3043301/post59755209#post59755209
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
It is a GPT filesystem though, and it looks like primaryGPT.mbn contains the primary GPT table, which contains start blocks and sizes for every partition. If you look through that thread you'll find that bitdomo did have to do some stuff manually for the 32GB backup GPT file, and primaryGPT.mbn is dumped from the appropriately sized N5. I'm going to try just modifying partition.txt, because if I can just do that then the software part of the swap would be fantastically easy, but I don't think it'll work.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TOUnail:
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Nexus 5 only a Snapdragon 800 (8974-AA)? On the Qualcomm site, it says the Snapdragon 800 can only support up to emmc 5.0.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=5463900]draykfyre[/MENTION] Download this as well: https://mega.nz/#!x95XAITT!frL5Tn6CIzFD8KLj4oMcJh6-fXbCc5xOldaWuMg0nIM

You will probably need the (MSM8974AC) partition.text from there to figure out how it works. :)

Edit: The source of that file is from here: http://www.mylgphones.com/download-boarddiag-v2-99a.html

You can also download the adobe reader file to see supported devices.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alastairgreen_Nexus:
That's okay, but i don't have some skills in hardware henceforth it's impossible for me to do it
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GottZ:
he posted a hint in how one could read / write to / from an mmc:

http://blog.vinu.co.in/2012/05/attempt-to-mount-sdmmc-connected-at.html

however i wonder if emmc's offer the same interface as the sd / mmc cards used on that article. if so, this could be usefull.

then there also is this: https://imageshack.com/user/Kapetz2

all his posts on 4pda.ru: http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?act=...dd&subforums=1&username=Kapetz2&noform=1&st=0

by digging through theese i noticed something i've already seen..

he's the guy who got famous for adding an sd card reader to his nexus 5.

oh and he would like to upgrade to 256GB but he mentioned that even 128gb is too expensive for him.

maybe we could get him to post a full recording of his effort if we donate a 256GB chip and a bit more for his effort (like.. a second red nexus 5) :D

as far as i've read he will reply to PN's on 4pda.ru

too bad i don't speak a single word russian.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dmd79:
As I tough we must change:

partition.txt

PrimaryGPT.mbn

and maybe BackupGPT.mbn

looking into 16gb and 32gb files you can see difference
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] blackomegatm:
I thought about doing this years ago.

I wanted, at the time, to swap my Motorola Milestone emmc and RAM with parts from a Motorola defy.

That was a long time ago.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
Hmm, I think you're right. I may have goofed. I'll give it a shot with what I ordered, but I may have to pick up a 64GB 5.0 chip, or maybe a 128GB chip without command queueing. That's what I get for not reading the docs on everything first :(

Thanks!

Edit: I bought the THGBMFT0C8LBAIG, at least I didn't buy the one with command queueing :)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=5463900]draykfyre[/MENTION] Don't messup or fry the board. :D You got any soldering skills? I don't, but think it through well before you start the process. lol
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
I've done a small amount of SMT stuff before, but never BGA rework. My N5 has just been sitting in a drawer since I got my 6P and I've been looking for a reason to get a hot air rework setup, so I figured why not give it a shot. Worst case I'll brick it, I'm out a few dollars, and I've got a cool soldering station. If it works out I've got a buddy who would use it with the larger storage capacity.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
Here is how to edit BackupGPT.mbn, PrimaryGPT.mbn the grow, user data and so on if needed: http://www.modaco.com/forums/topic/348787-guide-how-to-modify-your-partitions/

Install HxD editor and you are all set.. Enjoy.. ;)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dmd79:
It's not the same layout

And what about IMEI? It's into sd800 or into emmc?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
That should be able to be backed up like you would normally back up the EFS, I think.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
I think you only need to edit the user data and possibly grow from within the PrimaryGPT.mbn and maybe even within the BackupGPT.mbn if you wish. if I am not mistaken. All the rest should remain untouched. That's what he was initially asking for. You need to increase the size for the userdata from within PrimaryGPT.mbn. I am no dev nor a programmer and don't know much about linux. :D I am just trying to help out and learn from this..
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bukujutsu:
That would be perfect. Anyone else know what he's referring to or someone you could ask? This sounds like a very simple and cheap part that would be the key to doing this safely and consistently.

A place to buy them or guide to making one (it would only need to be able to hold up for a few uses at most, ghetto rigged could be fine.), would be great.

For anyone familiar with 3D printing, how difficult would it be to design a template for this, and are there suitable materials, ones that could withstand the heat (I'm guessing yes.)

Wow, you'd practically have a new phone, especially if you included the battery mod as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus5/comments/2yr8q2/swapped_my_nexus_5_battery_for_the_battery_from/

Wouldn't necessarily cost much if you bought a phone with a shattered screen to salvage for parts.

Someone well off should entice him, we could even pool money together if necessary, but I'm guessing that explaining it properly in English is just too difficult for him. He could do it in Russian since it would be much easier for him; faster, less errors and typos, difficulty explaining. We could find someone that can translate Russian to English well fairly easily if we work. Maybe make a post on the Nexus 5 subreddit asking for help.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bluh5d:
Take a penny and sit it on bga chip heat penny with mini torch and pluck bga chip off cleanly when it's warm enough ;)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GottZ:
it ispossible to 3d print Metal.

however it's more accurate and probably cheaper and faster to just use a Metal plate and put it into a CNC machine.

this is how they are originally made.

about asking for a video Tutorial / step by step explaination:

some of us are aware of how to bga solder.

all we really need is information in how he programmed it. since he is from a poor country I don't expect him to use expensive tools so it could be very enlighting to get to know his way of doing it.

PS: new chips usually already have the required solder balls so there is no need to add solder to a bga in most cases.

this is more about cleaning the board well and high precision. (using a pencil to mark where the boundaries of the old chip were is gold)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=1225923]GottZ[/MENTION] A relatively cheap precision heat-gun could of done the trick. You need about 400 degrees celsius/ 752 fahrenheit to remove the emmc if I am not mistaken.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kms108:
not sure about the temp of the gun, but it's got to be done quick before you burn the chip.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GottZ:
you have around 15 to 20 seconds until the chip becomes bad

Gesendet von meinem LG-H850 mit Tapatalk
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
Yes you are correct, basically the tutorial is the equivalent to the partition.txt file of the nexus 5.

Theoretically that should work for the nexus 5 as well.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
The difference is that one looks like it's MBR, not GPT. GPT has some other requirements, and is layed out differently. It also has a CRC checksum that must be computed to verify that the table is correct.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sapphire999:
Its clear how to replace eMMC. But I still fail to understand, how did he deploy bootloader exactly and how did he make download mode to work?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alastairgreen_Nexus:
He did a lot of modifications, particularly in the partition table or PIT
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
This tut is simply the hex edit version of doing this. If you go further down of this tut, he explains that you must make those changes in appsboot.mbn file as well. Basically its about the same thing with the partition.txt tool provided on the xda thread for the nexus 5 but without hex editing. I suppose that you can dump all those files including appsboot.mbn for the nexus 5 using the boardDiag tool.

Lets say for example you want to resize userdata partition, you simply need to edit userdata in partition.txt and you can set starting block and size. (should be included in rawprogram0.xml as well) It should automatically set it itself properly in PrimaryGPT.mbn

The only issue is if the grow partition needs to be edited as well. If you can read this stuff (I don't) :D that he has written down on paper, maybe you can figure it out.

https://imageshack.com/i/pnzmouAXj
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sapphire999:
I mean, that he used special eMMC programmer, right? Phone will not show any sense of life without it, as I understand. Espically me simply thinking of improoving galaxy note 4 n910c model. Simply replacing chip will result in hard bricked device. Am I right? And on Samsung PIT file seems to be binary
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] draykfyre:
So I tried just resizing the partitions(smaller) on my 16GB N5, and that's doable with parted. Android yelled at me about it being corrupted and to factory reset, but after resetting it did register the smaller size. Going larger again was fine as well. That means booting anything at all will be the hard part.

From what bitdomo says in the unbrick thread, the board diag tool should work to flash a blank emmc chip, but the EFS won't be backed up. In another thread he posted in awhile back he said there would be some issues with wifi and bluetooth mac addresses as well. Sorry about no links, I'm too noob still. The EFS you can backup beforehand with TWRP I think. I don't see why not at least.

Edit: It's also possible to solder emmc chips to sd card readers, with some effort, so that could work for partitioning it as well.

Edt2: It's probably best to just use dd to back up everything beforehand, then use dd to put it back.

Edit3: Looking closer at bitdomo's comments, just backing up efs with twrp, and misc and persist with dd might be enough. I honestly don't know enough about this to be able to do more than guess.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] playahate:
He say he has no time to make a full tutorial and yes, he doesn't know english well. He didn't find the gdisk, that he saw in the Alcatel's **GUIDE** Repartitioning of the internal memory, so he had to edit the partition in the HEX-editor.

By the way its not his first and only mod. I think he works in some kind of repair-shop so does this kind of things very often (including changing the N5 and G2 chips to one from 32G Lumia and 64G Acer, SGN 8.0). He made similar things on iPhones and say that its possible to make 128G Nexus 5 and the Snapdragon 801 will work.

And the answer to another question: he was using hot air gun with copper plates for heat conduction out of board and additional cover for the board.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mze1:
[MENTION=3029555]playahate[/MENTION] This guy on youtube (DEEP FIX) has got some mad skills working on mobile devices and replacing all that stuff on the board.