yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] E. Ben. Ezer:
Hey guys,

I've been struggling with my Moto E5 XT1944-6 Nora variant for a few days, just wanted to share one particular info.

The link mirrors.lolinet dot com/firmware/moto/ is great but I wasn't sure which folder to choose, for the -6 variant (I don't have any carrier, bough the phone second-hand "SIM-free" in Japan). I bricked my phone at one point so I tried RETAIL which kind of worked, I don't remember... What I did to find the exact files was I used the official Lenovo Moto Assistant from support.lenovo dot com/jp/fr/downloads/ds101291 (Windows only).

This software has a built-in download manager for your exact variant. Just select your model and variant from the list and boom! it downloads it. After that, it's just a push button to rescue the bricked phone.

FYI my variant uses a folder name NORA_ROW_OPP27.91_72_cid50_subsidy_DEFAULT_regulatory_DEFAULT_CFC. Perhaps it's the same as the RETAIL found in mirrors.lolinet dot com/firmware/moto/nora/official/RETAIL/

And also FYI there seems to be only one Pie-based ROM that "works" (so buggy I had to quickly go back to Oreo-based) it's the Descendant 1.5. All the other Pie-based cause a bootloop for me... The RR OS is the best one so far but the camera is too dark and I bought the phone to take pictures... I would have stuck to the LOS 15.1 if there was a fix for the broken camera but I couldn't find it.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] remarkablecow913:
That's a good idea. I have also saved a backup of twrp that I flashed to boot partition(by accident) then flashed the magisk zip on top of. Surprisingly magisk did not bawk at it. It treated it like it was a normal boot Img. So I may try that also now on correct recovery partition just to see.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
And, from the OS itself, you always have the Flashify app and the Official TWRP app, both of which are capable of flashing a custom recovery on a rooted device.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] bubba1601:
I can confirm this on the UK E5 play version as well (PETTYL)

I can only get Descendants and Phhusson lineage to boot, nothing else works at all, including RR.

Descendants is super buggy and can no way be used as a daily driver on the E5 (at the moment)

For that reason, I've given up completely on trying GSIs anymore, as the whole process and procedures on our E5s is totally f***ed up and nothing works and too many people suggest things that only cause even more problems which stupid people like me are only too trusting to follow and then get in an even bigger hole that I was originally!

The end result of a buggy, slow and messed up rom that can't really be used as a daily driver is not just reward for all the hassle and effort put in to try and get it even booting, let alone working properly.

Another reason why I've just got another device over Christmas and relegated my E5 play to a spare, no longer in daily use, I'm done with it.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] lin_ux:
Thanks for the info, is your phone the dual sim model?

I've been searching for the official XT1944-6 Nora stock firmware for ages and not found it yet.

My device was purchased unlocked in Australia and is the dual sim model. I currently have it running "Resurrection Remix O v.6.2.1" ( https://xdaforums.com/project-trebl...pment/gsi-resurrection-remix-o-6-1-0-t3811299 ) and it works fairly well, but would like to take it back to stock if possible.

---------- Post added at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 PM ----------

I'd be grateful if you could please assist in giving a link to the file location of the firmware version would be suitable for the XT1944-6 Nora device.

There are no versions which have this variety of model number (XT1944-6) in the file name on the mirrors.lolinet.com repo, or on any other site.

Many of us are very grateful for the effort made in putting together this repo. Thanks!
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] E. Ben. Ezer:
Yup

As stated in my previous post, what I did was I used the official Lenovo Moto Assistant. Can't post the link because I'm new, but simply Google it. It's a Windows utility software that downloads the stock firmware and rescues the phone via USB.

Worked for my XT1944-6.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MicroMod777:
Is it possible to flash the firmware of a different variant on my Cricket Wireless Moto E5 Cruise? If so, can I use the retail variant without all the bloat?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] lin_ux:
You were lucky it worked for you, I tried with Lenovo Moto Assistant and it did not work at all, it said device not supported.

I'm not alone with this problem, there are quite a few who say their devices are not supported too, below is a link to the thread for the Lenovo Moto Assistant and as you can see many find it does not work.

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=78581999&postcount=42

It's because of this I need a link to the actual firmware, the Lenovo Moto Assistant software is useless to me...

---------- Post added at 01:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 AM ----------

That's how I stuffed mine up, by flashing a very similar models firmware...

You might get lucky, but I'd say there is more probability that you'll end up in a world of pain...
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MicroMod777:
Did you have the Cricket Moto e5 Cruise? If so, which did you flash it with? Thanks
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
Here is a direct link to a firmware package for the Dual SIM xt1944-6 Nora Moto E5, Build OPP27.91-25.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hyn3c7dJWMPGydO2MDh3MM-0Qy6uRZAB/view?usp=drivesdk
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
If your bootloader could be unlocked, I would think it very possible to do. I have the Boost xt1921-5 Moto E5 Play and flashed mine with the retail firmware package for the James.(I avoided the radio firmware, bootloader.img and gpt.bin). I had no adverse issues.

In your case, with a locked bootloader, I don't know of any way to flash a firmware for another variant. But please correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm not mistaken, the Verizon and Cricket branded variants both have perma locked bootloaders.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] lin_ux:
Wow, you are world class super HERO, finally after several months my E5 is back to full health and running stock again...

Many thanks indeed!
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
check out hannah & nora decrypt guide for twrp and decryption added extra partitions it backs up in twrp to make sure u stay up and running

https://xdaforums.com/moto-e5/development/twrp-hannah-tested-xt1924-9-t3875406/page5
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MicroMod777:
Your right. It fails validation.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
Yeah. An unlocked bootloader, however, will permit installation of a retail firmware package. Verizon, AT&T, and it's subsidiary network Cricket, are notorious for their locked down bootloaders on Moto devices. In fact, I have a Cricked branded 1st Gen Moto E and guess what? Yep, perma-lockrd bootloader and no viable root method. However, back in the day -- and still in use on older devices -- a nifty application known as Sunshine could be used to unlock these type bootloaders. Sunshine could also force S-Off on many locked HTC devices. Hopefully a new exploit will be crafted to overcome these perma-locked bootloaders on newer Moto smartphones. In the meantime, for those of us who like to root & modify our phones, it's better to buy retail, Sprint and T-Mobile branded Moto smartphones, for which bootloader unlocking is supported by the provider, per the OEM's policy.

---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 PM ----------

[MENTION=5959704]lin_ux[/MENTION] you are quite welcome sir, and I am very happy to hear you are back up & running. I think I have located a newer stock package for the xt1944-6. I will try to upload & post it in the next couple days. With the older package I linked, at least you can get up and running, and then get up to date per OTA updates.

Anyway, once again I am pleased your device is running. Thanks for the kind words.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MicroMod777:
Well I went to Best Buy and bought an unbranded, unlocked Moto e5 Play and went to Motorola's unlock bootloader page, put in the long code, and it says it doesn't qualify for bootloader unlocking.

The box says its XT1921-2. Why would Motorola lock down their own non-branded versions, but alow the some of the other cellular branded models to unlock?

I needed it unlocked to use on Mint Mobile, since I can't get my Cricket Moto e5 sim unlocked that I got free.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] cidxtc:
Bootloader unlock is different from sim lock. You should be able to insert sim as the device is.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] lin_ux:
You deserve my compliments, and I thank you again!

Having the newer version package would be great, but even the older one did the job perfectly!

As soon as I'd flashed it the phone quickly went through three OTA system updates which got it back to the latest current stock version.

*I'd patiently waited for over 3 months to get hold of the correct stock firmware, so you can imagine what a relief it was to finally be back up and running again. :victory:

I'm a happy chappy now!
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Phi1123again:
Dont understand new partition scheme. Want to learn more.

I dont understand the new partitioning scheme on these moto devices with 50+ partitions. Where can I learn more? What partitions are changed tp try a custom rom? Does any rom made for anyphone with the OEM partition like this phone now work, since all the drivers are in that partition? Are the new generation roms for phones like the e5 interchangeable between different phones?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MicroMod777:
Yes, I bought it particularity because it was sim unlocked version. But, didn't expect it to be bootloader locked down, especially being unbranded.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
Again, [MENTION=5959704]lin_ux[/MENTION], I am very glad I could help. After searching my firmware archives and secondary repos, I do not have a newer version firmware package for the xt1944-6 Nora than the one I posted. However, like you pointed out, OTA updates make it quick and easy to get up to date. If you could provide me with untouched boot and system images of the xt1944-6 (after installing all available OTAs), I would be glad to take a few moments and create a TWRP flashable stock ROM for your Nora model. (Preferably, I would also need a current vendor.img, oem.img, modem.img and fsg.img in order to make a complete stock build with updated baseband. There's an app from the Play Store called Partitions Backup & Restore by [MENTION=3562083]wanam[/MENTION] which makes dumping an easy process).

---------- Post added at 03:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:53 AM ----------
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] doctor_evil:
I had asked in a separate topic, but wanted to ask here too. Is it possible to flash the retail firmware on a MetroPCS Moto E5 Plus? Once I get my phone unlocked through the app, I plan on submitting for the bootloader to be unlocked and I'd like to be able to get rid of the metropcs firmware if possible. If they hadn't made some of their apps where you can't disable them ( the my metro app) I'd wouldn't need to do this. I'm even OK with just flashing the cricket e5 supra firmware as I'm going to be using it with cricket wireless and all the apps I don't use can easily be disabled on the supra.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
if u want a fancy paper weight/brick cause thats all it will be after
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] doctor_evil:
OK thank you, so I guess I'll be rooting it and then using titanium backup to get rid of the apps that it won't let me disable.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
I can confirm that a xt1921-2 retail firmware package works on a xt1921-5 Sprint compatible model Moto E5 Play. In theory, yes it should work in your scenario. Fastboot mode will not permit a Moto device from becoming hard bricked due to the installation of a mismatched firmware package. However, you may still incur problematic boot looping, radio issues, etc. Without confirmation, it is never advised to attempt it. As you stated, your best avenue will be to gain systemless root of the stock Android OS, then uninstall/delete all undesired bloatware.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
Not necessarily true due to my old e4 did edl brick and unless u have the know how to recover its done which luckily I did but in theory u could as long as bootloader and a cple other thinks arent flashed so it a yes no answer really
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
/sbl1 (secondary bootloader) is the one known partition which will trigger a qFuse if a downgrade is attempted. Accordingly, a hard brick will occur, forcing Qualcomm EDL mode. Fortunately, the /aboot scheme blocks direct flashing to /sbl1 via fastboot mode. (bootloader.img, aka motoboot.img on older devices, includes /rpm, /aboot, /sbl1, /prov, /tz, /cmnlib & /cmnlib64). On the "hard bricked" Moto devices we receive for repair, ostensibly on a warranty basis, they all have one single thing in common -- hard bricked due to unauthorized modding to /sbl1. In 11 years on the bench, I've never seen a Moto device hard bricked via fastboot command. It has always been /sbl1 modding, typically from an Edify script. I'm not asserting that it isn't possible to hard brick via fastboot, just saying I've never seen nor heard of it.

Out of curiosity, which fastboot command hard bricked your e4? E4 Qualcomm or E4 Mediatek? The reason I am curious is that I, too, hard bricked a Moto E4 (xt1766) by way of a typical OTA update installation. In essence, I had downgraded my xt1766 to an earlier firmware build (taking care not to attempt bootloader downgrading) and a full stock configuration. Later on, when I once again opted to update my build number, I simply accepted and installed the pending incremental OTAs. After installing the first OTA in stock recovery mode, my device hard bricked upon reboot. At first perplexed, I later found the culprit -- you may have guessed, /sbl1. Because the OTA package version I installed was actually older than that of my device's most recent build (before I downgraded), the OTA was, for all intents and purposes, downgrading the bootloader partitions (primarily /sbl1). It should be noted that /sbl1 is almost always modified (updated) on Moto devices whenever an OTA is being installed.

I do apologise for my lengthy dissertation on this, but, because hard bricking is a huge concern for most Android device owners, I wanted to touch upon this subject with some detail.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
oh its possible lol i tested multiple things to see what would brick a e4 cuase i noticed alot of ppl bricking after fastboot flashing and wanted to find the culprit and had 3 of em 2 test ones 1 to edl brick and fix 1 to test roms and onther as daily use
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
I see. Which fastboot commands actually caused a hard brick? I can't speak for your personal experiences using fastboot. But I know if somebody offered me $10,000 right now to hard brick a Moto with any fastboot command I wanted to use, I wouldn't be getting the ten grand. At least not on these newer Motos. This subject reminds me of the old "fastboot erase all" command that wiped the device of its ESN, IMEI, etc. But even that wasn't a hard brick.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
lol ur tempting me lol wish i had second e5+ lol to try know

---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:37 PM ----------

well i dont consider edl brick hard brick cause u can fix it but most dont know how so yea i guess it wouldnt be considered hard bricked
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
True. You have a good point. Did you fix yours using EDL or did you use the external microSD card method?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
sd method couldnt find right files for EDL mode
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
Yeah, the blankflash files and firehose programmer. I couldn't find them either. At least not any working ones.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
i found a blank flash for nougat tried a cple times to no avail and only firehose i found was redmi 4a which has same hardware as e4 but i wasnt about to test my luck lol
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] lin_ux:
I'd be happy to supply the ".img" files you requested, but the phone is not rooted at the moment so if you can think of a way to do in that state then I'll give it a go.

I've actually used the "Partitions Backup & Restore" app in the past and recall how easy it was to use back then, I installed it on my e5 and as expected it'll need the phone to be rooted before it can perform it's magic.

I'd prefer not to root the phone if I can help it for the time being, but fastboot commands from my Linux PC work fine, and I can boot into a non-installed version of TWRP via USB cable.

Let me know if you can think of a non-root way to get the files off the device and I'll give it a shot...
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
You don't need to be rooted to dump partitions, if your bootloader is unlocked. You can boot into TWRP without actually installing it by using this command in fastboot:

fastboot boot twrp.img

(Assuming your twrp filename is twrp.img)

From there you can do a backup of your system image & boot partition. I can convert those from emmc.win files to .img extensions. As far as dumping the radio partitions, we'd probably need root since TWRP for the E5 doesn't mount those for backup & restore purposes.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] skullkid383:
the one i made for e 5 plus backs up persist and modem any else u need i can add to backups section just let me know [MENTION=9647078]LenovoTech[/MENTION]
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] LenovoTech:
Oh that's great. So you can add filesystem mounts to existing TWRP as well? /modem and /persist should be all I'd need though, except maybe for /fsg, so I can ensure a complete baseband update. Thanks much [MENTION=8931427]skullkid383[/MENTION].
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
I'll be adding the XT1921-1 and a couple of new XT1944 variant firmware packages this coming week. Motorola Mobility has yet to officially release any Moto E5 series firmwares, so I am relying heavily upon leaked packages and third party sources.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] yosmokinman:
So to be perfectly clear (this is my first moto phone had nexus before) You can't fully fall back to this older version if you've taken an update like the June security patch? I've read you can flash without gpt and bootloader for an older version but don't take otas or you brick your ****..

It makes sense but is there a way to fully restore moto devices to stock when you mess it up and don't have the exact firmware it was updated to? Seems no from my reading. adb pulls of partitions? Would that be sufficient?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] akmsr:
Anyone has Verizon variant of e5 play? I just received one. Charging battery. It says xt19216pp
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
Firmware for your xt1921-6 is listed in OP. I am doubtful that you will be able to unlock your bootloader or achieve root if Verizon has followed their typical protocol of locking their devices down. However I'm not sure on the status of the xt1921-6 bootloader. Perhaps some members who own the Verizon E5 Play can chime in on this info.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
I have some new firmwares that were leaked this morning. I'll be posting links for the Moto E5 Plus (Hannah) xt1924-6;

The Moto E5 Play (RJames) xt1921-1

And, I finally got my hands on a solid package for the XT1921-2 (James) Cricket variant (Android 8.0.0 -- Build No. OCPS27.91-32-3).

I'll update the thread soon as I upload the packages.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
Yes, you can fully downgrade your stock Android OS after you have taken an OTA, or after you have manually flashed a current firmware package. You may even downgrade your radio firmware (baseband) from a newer version. The only partitions that cannot safely be downgraded are your bootloader and bootloader dependent partitions (e.g. /rpm, /sbl1, /aboot, /cmnlib, /tz, etc.) and the partition index itself (gpt.bin). However, your partition index and bootloader partitions, once updated, do not typically prevent a downgraded version of the stock Android OS from functioning normally. In other words, even if you could safely downgrade your bootloader partitions and partition index, such a downgrade would be virtually useless when downgrading your Android OS.

As to your other question, regarding a fallback procedure in the case of a brick, there is Qualcomm's EDL (Emergency Download) mode for Moto devices running on Snapdragon chipsets. EDL can be a very complex process, however, and it isn't always possible to get your hands on the correct "blankflash" files for pushing a firmware package to a hard bricked device. Motorola Mobility does not typically release these files because they claim to do so delves off into issues of security. But, there are many Moto devices for which leaked blankflash files are available.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
Moto E5 Play (RJames) xt1921-1 Retail -- firmware added to list in OP.

Moto E5 Plus (Hannah) xt1924-6 Cricket -- firmware added to list in OP.

And, the new June 1, 2018 firmware package is listed for the Moto E5 Cruise (James) xt1921-2 Cricket variant.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] chaki83:
Firmware installation does it need to unlock the bootloder?

for the installation of firmware of the motorola e5 xt1944-4 has to unlock the boot of my motorola or bootloader?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
That has not been confirmed. In theory, the firmware should install on a device with a locked bootloader. But, because most of these packages are leaked, they are not necessarily digitally signed by the OEM. Motorola Mobility typically implements two different types of firmware packages -- release (which is signed), and test (unsigned). I have not dug in with a hex editor to see which types these packages are. Because these packages have never been officially released by Motorola, they are considered leaked firmwares -- signed or unsigned.

If your bootloader is locked, there is no harm or risk in trying to flash the firmware. The worst that can happen is a "permission denied" error, in which case OEM unlocking would be necessary. Moreover, I'm not even certain as to whether bootloader unlocking is supported on your variant. From what I'm reading, your bootloader can be unlocked, but I cannot confirm this.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] allenjthomsen:
you wouldnt by chance be able to come across the sprint moto e5 plus firmware branding xt1924-8
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
The only Moto E5 Plus for which I've been able to find firmware is the xt1924-6 variant.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] maxmotos:
can you flash XT1921-1 on XT1921-5?
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] MotoJunkie01:
In theory you should be able to. They are basically the exact same device. The xt1921-1 is simply an unbranded variant of the xt1921-5. One is unlocked and the other is Sprint compatible. My Lineage 15.1 build should work on the xt1921-1.

However, when I say in theory, that means it's at your own risk. I don't own the xt1921-1 so I can't confirm.
[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] maxmotos:
Well in any case anyone was going to try it. Don't :P I unlocked the bootloader via motorola site then flashed the firmware thru fastboot the device rebooted but had no wifi/bt/mobile/meid/imei.

flashing back to Sprint to see if it actualyl works :P