yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
I can't seem to get proper root with Magisk installed and seemingly running properly but still not able to make modifications for example with Solid Explorer, despite the fact that it asks for root granting and confirming it's done in Magisk.

Anything I may miss? I tried reinstalling root and apk in Magisk itself without success 🥺
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
Can tell you for sure that P905 is too old for this.

You on a VNDKLite image yet?
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Oh did I made rookie mistake by flashing nonvndklite image?? Thank you for your suggestion, I hope I can dirty flash it over existing and keep my files,settings
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
Sure can.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] nabulsi08:
There is no GSI with that, only Custom ROMs. I don't even request the Anx Camera but at least any Good Camera Software with 108MP would be nice. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your work but I won't change from MIUI if there is no good Camera but like I said the battery life is really bad now.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
Again, not what a system image can cover, but perhaps a Magisk module that patches/replaces the lib would do? Highly device-specific matter though, not my expertise.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] nabulsi08:
Unfortunately I can't find any Magisk Module Camera with 64 or 108MP. I've tried several Anx Cameras... Maybe you know one
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] MerGr:
@AndyYan if you mean IMS APK & enabling VoLte with correct APN settings I already done that, for some reason any GSI I flash doesn't have incoming calls working, only stock rom works
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Still issue with Magisk, installed vndk G version from scratch, wiped everything, installed Magisk apk and can,t edit build.prop using Solid Explorer despite granting root privileges 🥴
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Also, strange thing happened I went to reinstall magisk within app itself using direct inject method and rebooted. Well, it never booted back to system, went in bootloop :confused:

EDIT:

If anyone get this execute flash system img again to get back running
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
In the rare event that I get a bootloop by updating Magisk, I just reflash the stock boot.img, followed by a similar boot.img that Magisk has already patched, but with an older embedded Magisk version. I keep these files around as a failsafe for this kind of thing.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
@AndyYan: I keep seeing you recommend fastboot to flash gsis. But some OEMs like Samsung do not use standard fastboot for firmware flashing, instead they use "download mode", which can be interfaced with by Odin/Heimdall.

And while most Samsungs generally don't have fastboot, a handful do. Both my Tab S7 Plus and Note 20 Ultra have a fastboot mode which can be entered from the bootloader screen. Fastboot recognizes both devices. However, it's a useless, neutered implementation, I've tried lots of fastboot commands, and almost none of them have worked, except getting variables. For actual flashing, nada, it appears not possible.

However, while poking around in TWRP yesterday, I discovered what appears to be a fastbootd binary, and an option to reboot to fastboot mode. I thought it would take me to Samsung's version. But instead, it reboots back into recovery but on a different screen I've never seen. Which has 3 options, enable fastboot, enable adb, reboot. This impl seems capable of flashing, so far i've used it to delete product partition and resize system, no issues. I haven't flashed a gsi with it, but I'm guessing TWRP's impl would work.

With all that said, I still prefer using dd within TWRP to flash gsis. Because for one, it doesn't require a PC at hand. And second, I can keep the gsi img files stored on MicroSD for easy access. I come from the Android of old, before Treble/Magisk/super partitions, dynamic partitions, A/B. Back when Chainsdd's superuser was the king of rooting, when you typically flashed a zip file from recovery when you wanted to install ROMs/mods. I'm almost 40, set in my ways, and I still prefer the old ways when possible/available. However I recognize that a custom recovery isn't an option for everyone, and I know that fastboot is standard for most OEM devices.

I will continue to install gsis as i've always done, it works well. No reason to stop using it.

I submitted the logs yesterday regarding work profile. But I've noticed that they have no views/downloads yet. Wasn't sure if you hadn't noticed or are just busy. No rush, take your time. As long as I can continue to just not delete the profile as a workaround of avoiding the softbrick, then I'm content to wait patiently.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
PHH's discovery on Sammy fastbootd had been made into a GitHub Action, check it out?

I tend to squash things into my backlog and handle a bunch of them at once, you probably already know from the way I reply to posts around here.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] m0byn:
Thank you for your reply. I suppose this will not work if encryption is enabled since the fresh install of the GSI will not be able to decrypt the already encrypted data partition? Is that correct?
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] MerGr:
UPDATE : I fixed it by putting the SIM card into the SIM2 slot
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] kevinco1:
I have a SM-X200 and the only way we've been able to flash GSIs is through this method, basically fastboot provided by TWRP.

However, we have been unable to resize the system partition which makes the pool of available GSIs to flash very small. If you could provide some guidance on how you went about this it would be greatly appreciated
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
You can also flash gsis in TWRP. In my case:

dd if=<PATHTOGSIIMGFILEHERE> of=<PATHTOSYSTEMPARTITIONHERE bs=1m

This will also work on devices that have a super partition/dynamic partitions, like mine.

Your path to the system partition block may vary, in my case it is /dev/block/dm-0. In TWRP, check the /dev/block/mapper path, you may find a symlink called system. So, if you don't know the exact block, you can just specify /dev/block/mapper/system for the of= variable. "bs" means block size.

For resizing the system partition, that can be done via TWRP's fastbootd. GSIs generally don't mount the product partition, so if you don't use the stock ROM, then you can just flash an empty product img.

Download this product.img to your PC:

https://xdaforums.com/t/tutorial-ma...-with-dynamic-partition.4311045/post-85384331

Flash it via fastbootd:

fastboot flash product C:\Users\Steve\Desktop\product_gsi.img

Replace my path with the path you've placed the file to.

Now you have an empty product partition, which gives you free space to make the system partition bigger. Before you do so, check the numerical size value of system block within TWRP's terminal:

blockdev --getsz <PATHTOSYSTEMPARTITION>

Note the value.

Back in fastboot:

fastboot resize-logical-partition system <SIZE>

You must specify a size. In my case I just kept bumping the #s up by thousands/hundreds, until I hit the hard limit. You will eventually reach it, though you may need to continually adjust the values until you hit an error. After an error, gradually work down, using a smaller size than the one that gave an error, but bigger than the previous size that worked. Sooner or later, you will not be able to increase it anymore, not even by adding just 1 higher.

Back in TWRP terminal, issue the blockdev --getsz command, if you resized correctly then system will have a bigger value.

The explanations above assume that you have a super partition, like me. This super partition will contain multiple logical partitions, like system/vendor/product/odm.

Also, the empty product img uses the ext4 filesystem. If the logical partitions within your super use f2fs rather than ext4, do NOT flash it. It may work, but likely not, depending on the device.

And with this command, ran within running Android or TWRP, you can indeed see that the system partition is bigger:

Android:

su

df -h /system

TWRP:

df -h /system_root

Run the command before and after resizing.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
@kevinco1: It seems I suddenly ended up with a symlink to a "scratch" partition in my /dev/block/mapper directory. I know it shouldnt be there, and it definitely shouldnt be part of super. And I found it again when I dumped my super partition to my PC via adb, after inspecting it there is indeed a scratch partition. I can only guess that it got generated when i was messsing around with the fastboot delete and fastboot resize commands. Probably used as a temp space for deleting/resizing to work. More specifically:

fastboot delete-logical-partition product

and

fastboot create-logical-partition product <SIZE>

which I did before flashing the empty product img. In my case it's (scratch) around 300MB in size. If you end up with this scratch partition, you can delete it with:

fastboot delete-logical-partition scratch
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] MerGr:
UPDATE : While calls work on SIM2, I can't seem to use LTE, it seems I'm stuck on GSM only mode
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] kevinco1:
Thanks for all of your advice, I think I was a little unclear about the state of TWRP built for the device. It's not possible to mount any partitions including data and super.

Once a format and wipe is done, boot to fastboot via TWRP and use the command to flash the GSI img file. The system partition is very small so only the smallest sized GSIs (like LOS) will work properly.

Your instructions for resizing super are spot on but it's confirmed to be f2fs system and without being able to mount any of the partitions this is why no one to my knowledge has been able to do this for this specific model
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] kevinco1:
Thanks again for the help, I'll review all this now and go from here
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
Stay on stock for now, prioritize life. If it happens on TD AOSP, perhaps you can leave an issue ticket there. Unfortunately, even if you give me logs, I won't be able to do much, as my knowledge/involvement in IMS is mostly superficial and doesn't involve its inner workings.

Forgot to mention, you'd also need to disable verification (flash vbmeta appropriately, or "adb root; adb disable-verity"). Nowadays more and more devices no longer need that to boot GSIs, but it still is a gateway to modifying partitions.

This isn't a "fresh install" though - experience from other brands is all userdata will supposedly be retained and the device would boot as if it had only been powered off. But again, I never had the guts to try such on a Sammy...

@AnonVendetta - I don't see any immediate red flags in your work profile logs; I'll try reproducing locally.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
JSYK, volte has never worked for me on any gsi, even though my phone's stock firmware supports, and it does indeed work there ONLY. I've tried the APN/IMS apk, never made a difference. I can make and receive calls, but data doesn't work until the call ends. 5g also works on both of my primary devices.

My stock firmware's vbmeta has offset 123 set to 00, what does this mean? I normally set it to 02 or 03, but it doesnt seem to make a difference for RW, as long as I use vndklite only. I'm not even sure that changing the value is necessary, in my cases.

Regarding the work profile, it's fully functional, I just can't delete it without softbricking. I'm currently running some online games in the WP, because they have trackers and ask for too many permissions. And since they're in the WP, they can't see that I'm rooted. 2 in particular wont let you play if it's detected.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
VoLTE not working in custom ROMs on Samsung is an infamous known issue in the community. If only Google enforces working VoLTE, FOD and such in xTS-on-GSI tests...
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
@AndyYan: Does your gsi transmit any info whatsoever to the LOS maintainers? It's unofficial and not built by them, so I'm guessing no. I ask because I was just reading their legalese, they say they collect info like the Android ID, model info, OS version/build info, a few other things. If this info is submitted, I wish for it not to be, this kind of thing should be opt-in only by default, not opt-out. Ultimately, the user should have the final word, not devs.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
Can someone explain why the camera2 API takes such massive photos? Today, I had the day off from work and spent some time with my girlfriend. Along the way, I shot several dozens photos of her and other scenery. And just now, I noticed that these photos are using over 10GB of space! Again, these are jpg photos, not videos. Each file's size was around 300MB! I used Open Camera to take them, because it works with both my front and rear cameras, whereas the LOS stock camera works with front only. This app has the option to choose either camera2 API or original API, the latter makes photos normal-sized. But it appears to default to camera2, probably detects whether the hardware supports it. I've tried several other camera apps, results are similar. And I haven't enabled camera2 API in Phh Treble settings, I guess these apps can bypass that option and use it anyway.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Why battery usage is empty for me?
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
Did you just clean flash the gsi? Wait awhile, a few hrs. Stats take time to populate. It also helps if you actively use your device/apps, that speeds it up. I'm pretty sure stats don't accumulate while charging, either. just flashed LOS GApps build a few hrs ago, stats are already showing up for me.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
It's strange really, flashed week ago or so and still no stats. We'll keep on looking but at least I know it's me and not for rest of you guys, ✌️

Oh, gotta say I debloated a ton of apps from it so I may exaggerated a bit lol
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
You probably debloated too much. There's not much of a point in doing so, LOS is very clean, even the GApps builds. If you want a gsi that doesn't need debloating, go for Phh's AOSP vanilla builds. No fluff, just raw Android. And its' bugs will be 99% the same as this LOS. For GApps, use vndklite and flash MindTheGApps on top, if you have TWRP.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Yes that's why I like clean android but since my device is tablet with wifi only I thought let's go and delete everything in regards to telephony/sms/mms/cellbroadcast etc

I checked again and it doesn't look like I have deleted anything in regards to system/battery but anyhow some of those debloated apps looks connected to it
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
@syneoa: I suggest reflashing the gsi, then using this to debloat:

Magisk Module Systemless Debloater

Magisk Module Systemless Debloater Download: https://github.com/zgfg/SystemlessDebloater https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Alt-Repo/SystemlessDebloater Wiki pages by @ipdev: https://github.com/mModule/guide_sDebloater/wiki/ConfigScript with his...

xdaforums.com

It doesn't really delete anything, so if you debloat too much, just edit your config file and reflash the mod zip. Anything you've "deleted" will be back.

You can also do real deletion without a module, but then it will be harder to put something back if you make a mistake.

For deleting mobile data stuff, I guess you missed the "remove telephony subsystem" option in Phh Treble Settings, Misc menu.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Thank you @AnonVendetta really helpful 🙏
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AndyYan:
Updated all variants with May security patches and in sync with TD 20230429. [Insert obligatory backup-and-test warning here]
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] wojtekojtek:
Yes 😅 Im so happy - new update!!

I am downloading it 😄
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
Gonna pass on this update since it's just a security update. Will save it for the next time I'm ready to do a clean flash.

I like to integrate a few things into the system partition, like MicroG and Play Store, updating now means I have to re-do those changes manually.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Why not just flash G variant than?
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
G variant is official GApps, not MicroG. I'm not sure you understand the difference between official Play Services and MicroG, or why some users would prefer MicroG instead.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
So why would some users want Micro G?
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
1. Privacy

2. More control over what data you give to Google

3. Better battery life, due to less stuff running in the background, from my experience

4. MicroG is open source, its' source code can be audited/reviewed. Official GApps are proprietary

In the late 1990s, Google was founded as a small startup company focusing on Web searches/ads. Its' motto was "do no evil". Those days are over, they abandoned that slogan in favor of making money. Now they have evolved into a giant megacorporation. They have too much info, too much control, too much influence. And they have become a bit of a bully over the yrs, throwing their weight around in order to bend others to their will. Just look up some of the antitrust/monopoly stuff against them, especially in the EU.

Unfortunately I think the society of the future will be primarily controlled by these megacorporations and the wealthy, whose main focus is to do anything to make money and stay in power, regardless of the consequences or how they affect everything else.

And so I will do my part by engaging with them only when necessary, giving them as little info as possible, and using open solutions where practical. If you wish to continue feeding the big G, be my guest, you have the free will to make your own choices, as well as to either remain ignorant or educate yourself.

I definitely would like to see @AndyYan release MicroG variants of his gsis. @phhusson also does this, witj his FLOSS/FOSS variants. But given LOS's stance on MicroG, I don't see it happening. LOS has no issues with including substandard open source backup solutions like Seedvault, but they won't give MicroG a chance, supposedly due to "security". In reality it's because they're more intestested in staying in Google's graces, and will do what they have to do to appease them.

And for the longest time they had an official root add-on which the user could optionally flash. While I considering root to be safe overall when used carefully, it's still a security risk nonetheless. It just so happens that root availability is a necessity for certain dev stuff. To me, this is another example of their hypocrisy.

I'm also aware that Andy's builds are unofficial, and not supported/sponsored by the LOS team in any way. Which in turn means he is free to make changes without consulting them, and doesn't have to play by their rules or respect their policies/views.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
So, how I see it, you're using unofficial, spoofing method to interact with Google services and putting yourself at risk of being more vulnerable security wise and potentially being banned with your Google account indefinitely.

Why not just abandon Google ecosystem and move to Microsoft or Apple or use any of so called dumb phones?

Although I respect open source projects I dislike the methods used.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
It's either I use official Play Services and give them more data, more battery usage, etc, or I use an open source solution that respects my privacy. Both sides have negatives/positives.

With the way Treble gsis have implemented signature spoofing, it's not so much of a security risk. Spoofing only gets granted to privileged system apps, not user apps. Which means MicroG must be installed in the system partition, or else it won't be granted the spoofing permission. And I'm not aware of anything else besides MicroG that actually make use of this spoofing. Or exploits/vulnerabilities that use it.

And because I have to manually install MicroG on LOS, due to it not being bundled, there is an implicit acceptance on my part of any risks involved.

I don't care if Google bans my account, I would only lose access to Gmail and a handful of paid apps. The risk of being banned is very low, I challenge anyone here to point out even 1 proven instance of someone being banned due to using MicroG.

There's no possibility that I would ever consider Apple's mobile products, I absolutely despise how their stuff is totally locked down. With Android, at least the OS is open source, even if the Google components aren't. Can't say the same for Windows or iOS.

Sometimes it is necessary to use not widely accepted methods to accomplish a goal. Let the end suit the means. I pride myself on being willing to be adaptable and flexible, oftentimes opting for maverick approaches to solving a problem. Think outside the box, as they say.

And speaking of security, don't even try to lecture me. By running this gsi or any other, you have already accepted that you must at least unlock your bootloader. And if you listen to the powers that be, that's a bad thing too, a security risk. Both you and I have accepted this risk. By their very nature, gsis are unofficial. Since we have both accepted this risk, then I deem it no less OK for me to accept any risks of going against the grain by using MicroG instead of Play Services.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] syneoa:
Lecture you? Dude, by installing just one Google app after your MicroG exhbition all that you said above failed down deep in the water so better revise your thinking from ground up :D
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
Unfortunately, Play Store is a necessary addition to MicroG. And it's otherwise the only not open source Google app i include. It's pretty much the only way to buy apps or make in-app purchases. And some apps check their licenses to make sure they're not pirated. Without PS, this isn't possible, not without resorting to other apps/methods that coincidentally are forbidden for discussion by XDA rules.

If "revise your thinking" means "switch back to GApps" or "buy an iPhone"....no thanks. If I'm just going to play by the accepted rules that Google and the manufacturers push, then this means that I should only run stock ROMs, always keep bootloader locked, etc. No to that too.

On this, we can agree to disagree, and that's the end of this line of conversation, I'm drawing the line by deciding it's not worth discussing with you anymore. It all started because you asked "Why not just flash G variant than?" I interpreted this as you not being aware of MicroG, or why some would choose it over GApps.
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] wojtekojtek:
No new features? So I will skip this version too...
[Treble-Enabled Device Development A/AB ROMS] AnonVendetta:
You're asking the wrong person...the announcement is on this page, and since it doesn't list any features, then it's safe to assume there aren't any.

I honestly don't think it's worth the effort to flash every new release of a gsi. This represents another situation where I have to redo my setup, repeating tasks that I've already done. Unless a new release fixes a major bug, or adds something I'm interested in, I won't bother. It's not worth it for security patches alone.