[Moto G4 Plus Guides, News, & Discussion] echo92:
For those that have hard bricked and want to try, here's a couple of cloned images of a working device:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sKLSeStqDznZhl9LlbxdWWpWKpogI2LS called mmcblk0.7z

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Sp64p3yCdrbqUhvrsfBDoLLpgF-RX5am is called mmc.7z

A request: please do not modify these images and please do not include them in a monetised package.

Some details:

Images of a G4 Plus XT1642 (UK, EMEA baseband ending in .62.02R) - 32 GB, 2 GB RAM, using the MSM8952 Snapdragon 617.

Running NPJS25.93-14-18 with B1:07 bootloader (from what I understand, this image should still work on devices flashed with Oreo).

Pulled using adb via TWRP with shrep's TWRP 3.1.1.

Once I formally update my device to 8.1, I may release another image for 8.1.

The theory behind this cloned image, as I understand, is that it acts as a secondary, alternate bootloader/internal storage. Qualcomm processors appear to have a fallback mode where the fallback mode searches for an alternate bootloader should the original bootloader fail to boot (e.g. corrupted by a bad OTA update). This image, since it is a clone of a working device, should provide that alternate bootloader if copied to an SD card and the SD card is inserted into your device. Your device should detect and boot from that working bootloader and thus allow you to flash a fastboot ROM to your device. Of course, this image is only intended to boot your device to the point where you can flash a clean stock ROM to your device, which includes a working bootloader. You are not copying anything from this image directly to your device. If your device has failed for any other reason (not related to a bad OTA update), this image may not work.

What you need:

1)An SD card of at least 32 GB. Be warned this SD card will be wiped by the following procedure, so back up anything you need from the SD card before proceeding.

2)A computer with at least 40 GB free space, 7-zip and Rufus installed for Windows. If you are running Linux or MacOS (if using Unix and not Bootcamp), you may be able to consult the following linked threads for assistance.

3)Patience

I've not tried this, though looking through the other guides it should be possible:

a)Download the image. The images are each a 1 GB compressed image - use 7-zip to expand. You should end up with a file named 'mmcblk0.img' which should be around 30 GB (or 'mmc.img' for the mmc.7z).

The 1 GB mmcblk0.7z file should have a md5 of 4cc7c9ba9ab0d17357947b84e7482e10. Once expanded, the 30 GB mmcblk0.img should have a md5 of 90ed503bb67a22966d3331e7075a203e

b)Please consult the following video and post for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHNQ3rO2qMI&feature=youtu.be https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=76945923&postcount=487 (from step 8/9 onwards) and also read https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=78660293&postcount=602 . Basically, you will want to flash the mmcblk0.img to an SD card, turning your SD card into a secondary 'internal storage'.

[Credit to https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=76747247&postcount=258 for the following steps]

c)Remove the SD card and insert to your G4/Plus. Hold power for 30 seconds to 2 minutes and hope the device boots - if it does boot, it'll be booting from the SD card.

d)If you do get your device booting, then connect your device to your computer via USB. Power down and reboot your device to fastboot mode (power and volume down key).

e)I don't know if this is necessary - remove your SD card after booting into the bootloader (presumably to make sure the fastboot flash is to your device internal storage?)

f) Fastboot flash the Oreo firmware: https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=79100802&postcount=1056 for the lolinet link and the fastboot instructions are here https://xdaforums.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/stock-rom-npjs25-93-14-4-march-1-t3608138 That should restore your device with a working bootloader and a full Oreo firmware flash. I would not recommend flashing older firmware if you were on the Oreo bootloader (B1:09). If you wish, you do not have to re-lock your bootloader and you may omit the fastboot erase userdata to try to save your data. However, I would recommend a flash including erasing userdata to eliminate as many issues as possible.

NB - though you may see persist partitions and other partitions included in this image, please do not flash these to your original device. You may cause more damage.

Support:

I will be monitoring this thread, so please post if you have issues or queries before trying any of this procedure. As I have not tried it, I expect reports to come in and will do my best to amend and assist with the procedure as and when. Please do not PM me - I would prefer questions to be in the thread so others can benefit from the answers (if there are any). However, if the link is not accessible, please PM me so I can find another upload service (it's currently on my Google Drive) Also, people are free to mirror this as long as there is no charge (including ad pages, links and paid for services).

Credit to the Moto G5S forum (particularly this thread https://xdaforums.com/moto-g5s/how-to/blank-flash-montana-t3765150) for advice and procedures (and the other parts of XDA for help)