[E 2015 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] iTzCarbon:
Tested On XT1526 from the stock 5.1.1 firmware surnia. PLEASE check your settings->about phone and look to make sure the model is surnia before going forward! Please reply in the comments if you were able to get this to work on another model other than the XT1526!

So you have the Moto E Gen 2. You may have even got this phone specifically to play the game that's sweeping the world, 'Pokemon Go'. You felt great having installed the APK like a true hacker, you went to play and......oh no. What's this? The phone takes ages to boot up? Restarts all the time while trying to log into your account? Or you FINALLY get far enough into the load that the game starts (or gets close to it) and the phone gets soo hot in your hands it's unbearable and the game begins to **** out? Perhaps it runs terribly from the get go?!

This. Guide. is. For. You.

This guide will help you to set up your Moto E Gen 2 to run perfectly with the game! It will also cause your phone to run almost 3x faster, and have the battery last almost 2.5x longer! I would recommend this guide to ANY person using the Moto E. I have NOT tested this guide with the Gen 1 or any other phone.

I do not take ANY responsibility if your phone ****s out on you in any way, shape or form. Messing with your phone's system like this can ALWAYS cause issues if you don't take your time and know a bit of what you are doing. Or, if you are new to this and daring, I have constructed this guide to be extremely easy to follow. As long as you follow step by step, you should be goldeen...erm...golden! If not, it's not on me. Your fault :D!

If you encounter a step you have previously done, go to the next one! This guide is step-by-step for someone with a stock Moto E (2015)!

Step One: Unlock The Bootloader

So the first thing we need to do on this journey is unlock our bootloader!

1. Back up ALL of your data! Do it. Or if this fails, you will be SOL.

2. Download the Android SDK or get the Minimal Version (this is what I did)

3. When you install the SDK, install it to your desktop (during installation it will ask you for location. Make a new folder on your desktop called SDK and install it there for easy access).

3. You will want to install the drivers for your phone so you don't have problems connecting from your computer to your phone! Download them HERE.

4. Now we need to get into fastboot. To achieve this there are a few things we need to do.

-With your device powered on, go to your Settings->About Phone and click on the 'Build Number' 7 times to enable Developer mode!

-Go into your settings->developer options and enable 'USB Debugging'

-While in Developer Options, make sure 'OEM unlocking' is ENABLED.

-Open the directory on your desktop where you installed ADB. You should see some programs such as 'fastboot' and 'adb' in there. Should NOT be an empty folder containing another folder!

5. Once you are in the directory of your ADB on your computer, and you have done all steps above, hold down the SHIFT KEY and RIGHT CLICK inside the ADB folder containing your 'fastboot' and 'adb' programs. Choose the option that says 'Open Command Window Here'.

6. Once the command window opens, connect your phone (while powered on) to your PC.

7. In the command window, enter the following command to make sure your device is connected: 'fastboot devices' Now, enter the following command: 'fastboot reboot bootloader'

8. When your phone restarts, you will be in the bootloader screen. Once here, enter the following string into your command window: 'fastboot oem get_unlock_data'

9. You will get a nice long string of text. Copy it by right clicking on it->Mark->then mark the string of text by holding the shift key. Ctrl+C to copy it.

10. Open a Notepad and copy the string into it by pressing Ctrl+V. Make the string of text ALL ONE LINE by deleting the spaces.

11. Head over to the Motorola site HERE and log in using your google+ account.

12. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and in step 6 paste your string code from your notepad (step 10) into the blank box. Click on the 'Can My Device Be Unlocked' link. There should be a new button that comes up that says 'Request Unlock Key'. You will be emailed your unlock key after clicking the 'I Agree' prompt!

13. Go into your email, and open up the new one that contains your unlock key. Copy the 20 character string that is your unlock key.

14. Back in your command window, enter the following command again: 'fastboot devices' to ensure your device is still connected. Your device should STILL be in your bootloader screen. If so, and you see your device in the command prompt, enter the following command: 'fastboot oem unlock YOUR_UNLOCK_CODE'

15. After a while, you should get a 'Bootloader Unlocked' notification on your phone.

If so, you're done with this step! On to the next one :). KEEP YOUR CMD WINDOW OPEN FOR ADB

Step Two: Rooting Your Phone and Installing TWRP

1. Turn your phone back on like normal. Connect your phone to the computer so you can see into the storage (should be under My Computer->Your Device).

2. Download the following files. TWRP Recovery and SuperSU.

3.Take your 'recovery.img' and move it to the folder with your ADB and Fastboot (on your desktop). Make SURE it is in the same folder with the adb and fastboot programs and is named 'recovery.img'.

4. Take your 'SuperSu' zip file you downloaded (DON'T UNZIP IT) and move it to your phones SD card (preferred) or Internal Storage.

5. Once your recovery image is in the ADB folder and the SuperSU zip file is on your phone's storage, type the following command: 'adb reboot bootloader'

6. Your phone will reboot into the, now familiar, bootloader screen! For this tutorial, we are actually going to flash TWRP onto the phone so it is the phone's default recovery program. To do this, while in the bootloader screen on your phone, type the following command into your command console on your computer: 'fastboot flash recovery recovery.img'

7. Once it is done and successful, enter the following command into your CMD console to make sure TWRP in installed on your phone: 'fastboot reboot bootloader'. On your phone, use the Volume+ and Volume- keys to navigate to the 'Recovery' option. Press the Power key when it is highlighted!

8. Once you are in your TWRP, press the 'install' button. Navigate to the storage folder on your phone that contains the SuperSU zip file you moved from your computer onto your phone in step #4. When you see it, click on it and use the slider to flash it onto your phone. Once it is done, (as you should ALWAYS do after a flash), click the 'Wipe cache/dalvik' button and do the 'Swipe to Wipe'. Once done, click the 'Reboot System' button!

Step Three: Now your phone is rooted and has TWRP installed! It is time we install Cyanogenmod CM13!

1. Go HERE and download the 'Latest Nightly' rom at the top of the page. It will download a .zip file to your computer. Then go HERE, select ARM->6.0->Stock and hit the green download button (it's pretty big). Once both are downloaded, boot up your phone (if not already done) and connect it to your computer. Move both these .zip files to your phone's SD card (recommended) or internal storage.

2. Boot into recovery after the transfer is complete by holding the Power+Volume Down buttons. When the screen turns black, let go of the power button and continue to hold Volume Down.

3. Once in the bootloader, use the Volume+/Volume- buttons to navigate to the Recovery option. Hit the power button when it is selected.

4. Once in TWRP recovery go to install. Navigate to where you just transferred the two .zip files you just downloaded ONLY TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE THERE ALONG WITH THE SUPERSU .zip FILE YOU DOWNLOADED EARLIER. If it isn't, figure out why and correct it! If it is, continue (DO NOT INSTALL EITHER LOL)

5. Go to the 'Wipe' option on the homescreen of TWRP. REMEMBER TO HAVE BACKED UP ALL YOUR DATA BY THIS POINT. Move the slider to complete the wipe.

6. NOW we can install the rom! Go back to 'Install' on the homescreen of TWRP. Navigate back to the .zip file of the Nightly Build rom again (NOT THE GAPPS), and select it! Once selected, move the slider to flash Cyanogenmod CM13 to your phone. WE WILL NOT BE INSTALLING THE GAPPS YET. YOU WILL FIND OUT WHY SHORTLY.

7. Once it is done, hit the 'Wipe cache/dalvik' button. Once completed, go ahead and reboot the system! The first boot will take awhile to set everything up. Have patience!

8. Once everything installs, you will be at the setup screen. As you go through the setup screen, something weird will eventually happen...you won't be able to hit the 'Next Button'. The only thing that will happen is when you hit 'next' your phone will bring the system tray down from the top. It took me AGES to figure this out people...but NOT installing the GAPPS at the start is literally the only way to get past this (with GAPPS installed, it takes too long to proceed through setup and you will keep getting killed by the drop down screen). Get through it in step 9!

9. Once you get to the point in setup that the dropscreen comes down, position your right thumb so its hovering above the 'Next Button' and DON'T MOVE IT. Using your left hand, hold the power button until you see an option to 'Restart' the phone. Do it. And from the moment your phone restarts, RAPID TAP (and I mean it, tap as fast as your thumb will allow you) WITH YOUR RIGHT THUMB WHERE THE 'NEXT' BUTTON WILL BE. Do NOT stop until you have successfully got through the setup process and are on the android's home screen! At this point, you MAY have an issue hitting the middle gray button at the bottom of your phone (next to messages and chrome icons) without it bringing down the stupid drop screen. To fix this, once again position your thumb on the gray button that sends you to your apps and hover it there. Restart the phone again, and rapid tap where this gray button will appear upon boot. Once booted and you have successfully clicked the button, the error goes away! You can navigate your phone normally and reset it without the problem coming back! (if it does, simply repeat this past step to get rid of it).

10. NOW we can reboot back into the bootloader by holding the Power/Volume- keys. Once in the bootloader, navigate with the Volume+/Volume- keys to the recovery option, and hit the power button to boot up TWRP.

11. Once in TWRP, click the 'install' button. Navigate to where your GAPPS .zip file is (the one you just downloaded along with the nightly rom), click on it, and move the slider to flash it. Once it finishes, make sure to wipe the Cache/Dalvik. Do not reboot yet!

12. Navigate back to the 'Install' button of TWRP, and find your SuperSU .zip you installed earlier. Install it again for safe measures and wipe the Cache/Dalvik once it is done!

13. Boom. Restart the phone and you now have working CM13 6.0 on your Moto E 2015 Device! Now the moment you have all been waiting for, POKEMON GO :D!

Step 4: How to make Pokemon Go run GREAT

1. Once booted up, go to your system->about phone. Click on the 'Build Number' 7 times to unlock developer mode.

2. Go to your system->Developer options and make the following changes

-Advanced Reboot->ON

-Root Access->APPS and ADB

-Select USB Configuration->MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)

-Window Animation Scale-> changed to 0.5x

-Transition Animation Scale-> changed to 0.5x

-Animator Duration Scale-> changed to 0.5x

-Don't Keep Activities-> Turn ON

-Background Processes limit-> Change to 'At most 1 process'

3. Now, head to your system->Apps settings. Force Stop and Disable the following (unless you actually use it...)

-Cloud Print

-Docs

-Drive

-Fit

-Gmail (unless you use it, using chrome browser to access it is better option to keep phone running fast)

-Google Play Books

-Google Play Games

-Google Play Movies & Tv

-Google Play Music

-Google Play Newsstand

-Google+

-Hangouts

-Keep

-News & Weather

-Screen Recorder

-Sheets

-Slides

-Youtube

4. Go to your settings->security and enable 'Unknown Sources'

5. Go to settings->memory and hit 'Apps Started on Boot' and make the following changes

-Photos: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Keep: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Hangouts: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Camera: deselect 'keep awake'

-Gmail: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Exchange Services: deselect 'start at boot'

-Media Storage: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Download Manager: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-CM Updater: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Talk Back: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-YouTube: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Google Play Movies & TV: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Fit: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

-Google Play Music: deselect 'keep awake' and 'start at boot'

6. Reboot the system! (hit the power button and hit reboot->reboot)

7. Go into the google play store, and login using your normal account settings.

8. Once logged in, download 'Kernel Adiutor (ROOT)' and open it up. Allow it to use root access (screen will pop up be looking for it).

9. Once opened, hit the tray button to the left of 'Kernel Information' (the three lines) and go to CPU. Slide the 'Apply On Boot' bar to the right to enable. Set your 'CPU Maximum Frequency' to '1209MHz' and 'CPU Minimum Frequency' to '400MHz'. Then, change the CPU Governor to 'Performance'.

10. Now that your phone is running faster than ever, go to chrome on your phone and google search 'Pokemon Go APK'. I used the 'APKPURE Pokemon Go APK 0.31.0' from m.apkpure.com. Your phone might glitch a tiny bit (it did for me the first time) and do a soft reboot. It's fine! Re-open chrome and hit the 'Download APK 59.9MB) bar beneath 'Verification Passed' and it will start downloading. Once it is done, open your 'File Manager' and go to the 'Internal Storage' then go to 'Download'. Click on the 'Pokemon Go' icon and allow it to install!

11. Start up the app, and MAKE SURE you only have ONE google email on the device. Let the game load, and set everything normally. When it asks you to login (if you use the google account one) right after you hit the google account, click on the screen in the middle rapidly. It SHOULD keep the game from re-setting. If the game does reset, don't fret. Restart it and try again. Once you get past this point? You phone should be running the game 2x if not 3x better than before! The final step is once the game is loaded, click on your pokeball icon and go to settings. Turn on battery saver mode!

Boom Bada Bing! Your phone should not only load the game ridiculously fast now, your battery life will be extended 2x-5x and the game will run at a steady rate keeping your CPU cooler than ever before!

This guide is compiled based on the struggles I faced getting the game to work properly. I got the phone from my wife while I wait and wait and wait for Pokemon Go to POSSIBLY come to my Windows Phone 1020 lol. When she gave it to me, it ran terribly and would overheat after 20 minutes of play in the sun. These are the ways I got the phone to run soo smoothly that now she ALMOST wants the phone back haha!

Any errors you see? Any fixes not mentioned? Give some feedback in the comments below!