[Moto Z Play Guides, News, & Discussion] KrisM22:
use with care...

#include <std_disclaimer.h>
/*
* Your warranty is now void.
*
* I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards,
* thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please
* do some research if you have any concerns about features included in this ROM
* before flashing it! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if
* you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
*/

Firmware

is a set of programs and files/data that, together, are the

tools and support

that a

ROM

(stock or custom) uses to

run every aspect of your phone.

It sits between your phone, and the ROM you have on it - stock or custom.

Wikipedia: firmware

Firmware

varies widely from one phone to another, from one country/area/carrier to another, and from one ROM's releases to another.

- - - - - - -

You can use adb - see example in first post of

[GUIDE][addison] factory stock images

- - - - - - - - - - - -

OR you can use RSD lite:

RSD lite changes your phone's firmware. It can result in a bricked phone that needs to be sent to Moto for reblank/reflash. - be careful!

RSD lite is Motorola’s (windows) tool to install software or code onto an Android device.

info: http://rsdlite.com/

-- > Use the latest one 6.2.4 from here http://rsdlite.en.lo4d.com/

---> Everything will be lost except what is on SDcard and Internal Storage. <---

1) select the firmware you wish to put on your phone. That is no small task and requires much research.

I believe this is all of the firmwares:

[GUIDE][addison] factory stock images

Never never never downgrade your phone - eg NEVER go from Nougat to MM. It can result in a bricked phone that needs to be sent to Moto for reblank/reflash.

Download the firmware to your computer.

2) In win7 (I believe if you google you will find out how to run it on win 10)

start RSD lite by doing this:

in explorer go to C: /program files(86)/ Motorola/ RSDlite,

right click on SDL.exe and choose run as administrator. It takes easily 25 sec for the app to start!!!!

Then in the RSD lite window, choose the firmware you want to put on your phone (

Everything will be lost except what is on SDcard and Internal Storage.

)

by clicking on the 3 dot browser file button to the right of the "filename" box (pic 1).

3) tap "decompress only" (pic 2) and watch it do it's thing.

When it's done,

4) boot your phone to fastboot screen (hold power and vol-dn buttons until the fastboot screen pops up.)

5) connect a USB cable from computer to phone. Phone should now show as present in RSD lite window - line 1 will now say fastboot (pic 3).

If phone is not recognized, assure you are running 6.2.4 RSD lite. Then try different cables - In less than a week I heard of 2 cases where a different cable did the trick. New and expensive is not the point - I used an old micro male to A male and an 80 cent micro female to C male adapter (lot of 5 on ebay) to do mine.

6) tap start (pic 4) and the process will start - be patient: sparsechunks (the real "stuff") are big and there's 10 of them in the Moto z Play XT1635-02

When it completes, it reboots to the new rom and you will see your phone rebooting - LET IT!!! As I recall it stops when it gets to start screen.

Remember if you are going to use RSD lite, use the latest one 6.2.4 from here http://rsdlite.en.lo4d.com/ , and start it in admin mode. Earlier versions won't recognize your phone. (boot phone to fastboot screen and usb plug to PC)( do lots of googling if you're using win10.)