Just documenting my own experiences in restoring my Nexus 5X back from bootlooping state.
Hopefully this can be helpful to some, but "common sense" caveats apply:
- Follow at your own risk
- I'm not responsible for any loss of data, loss of hair, bricked devices, exploding(!) devices, mental / physical injuries, etc. etc. etc.
Remember:
- This is only an account of what I did to get my 5X working operational again.
- YMMV if you decide to try the steps below on your bootlooping device.
Prerequisites:
-
fastboot
&adb
installed -
OEM unlocking enabled
(https://www.androidexplained.com/how-to-enable-oem-unlock/)
-
bootloader unlocked
(https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/untested-nexus-5x-bootloop-death-fix-t3641199) > If your phone is bootloader locked/OEM locked section
I had not enabled OEM unlocking when my 5X started bootlooping.
So here are the steps I took to try and boot long enough to reach Developer Options:
-
Tried freezing the phone overnight several times
- This worked ONCE to boot the phone to home screen, but did not last long enough to reach Settings menu.
-
Blasted the phone with hot air from a hair dryer for 3-4 minutes (Got the idea from: https://youtu.be/SD25mdrgAys)
-
I did not disassemble the phone like in the video though...
-
Just waved the hair dryer over the glass screen for a while
- (Wasn't really expecting it to work, had pretty much given up after the freeze failures... 😣)
-
The phone felt like a steaming hot cup of tea afterwards
- (Seriously, this was probably a VERY BAD IDEA - probably should have removed the battery first)
-
Plugged in the USB-C cable and was very surprised when the phone actually started powering up properly
- Was almost like it was on turbo-mode - it went through the boot sequence much faster than normal.
-
Enabled OEM ASAP (Follow steps in link above, or use Google)
-
While in, took the opportunity to recover any important files, disabled 2FA priority away from this device, etc. It started bootlooping again very shortly afterwards though.
-
Now that OEM unlocking is enabled, the real fun begins:
Downloads needed: (https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/untested-nexus-5x-bootloop-death-fix-t3641199)
-
Boot.img corresponding to your Android version (I used the "Android O DP6" version: 4CoreOreo.img)
-
Modded 4-core TWRP (I used the 3.11 version: TWRP3_1_1_5X.img)
-
Modded 4-core EX Kernel (I used the 5.03 version: 5xEX5_034core.zip)
(Steps below assume fastboot
& adb
are installed, working, and accessible from anywhere in command prompt.)
- Reboot the phone into bootloader mode:
Volume-Down + Power
-
Plug in USB, open command prompt, navigate to directory where the files above were downloaded.
-
Run:
fastboot devices
(To confirm connection is working)
fastboot flashing unlock
(Follow on-screen prompts)
fastboot reboot-bootloader
(Wait for bootloader menu to come back)
fastboot flash recovery TWRP3_1_1_5X.img
-
Use volume keys to switch bootloader menu option to Recovery Mode and press Power button
-
Phone should now reboot into TWRP.
(If you're lucky, TWRP might have mounted the device to your computer as a USB drive... another chance to recover any files off the device - check Windows Explorer / Mac Finder and see if you can copy the files off)
Keep Read-Only (if prompted) > Advanced > ADB Sideload > Swipe to Start Sideload
- At command prompt, enter:
adb sideload 5xEX5_034core.zip
-
Follow on-screen prompts to install EX Kernel (I just used default options for everything)
-
Once Kernel is installed, reboot back into bootloader menu:
Reboot > Bootloader
- At command prompt, enter:
fastboot flash boot 4CoreOreo.img
fastboot reboot
- If all goes well, the Nexus 5X should now successfully reboot with the problematic CPU cores disabled; it is now a quad-core 5X
Hopefully all your user data will still be intact, and you can now recover and backup at a more leisurely pace... (if you didn't manage to get everything out before, when roasting the phone at the very beginning)
Unfortunately in the process of figuring out the steps above - I did manage to inadvertently wipe my own device entirely... =/
In the end, with nothing to lose; here are the steps I used to make a completely factory-reset-quad-core Nexus 5X:
Download latest stock image from: https://developers.google.com/android/images#bullhead
Extract from the zip:
- radio.img
- system.img
- vendor.img
Full clean wipe and 4-core install:
fastboot erase system -w
(EVERYTHING WILL BE WIPED HERE)
fastboot flash radio radio.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
fastboot flash boot 4CoreOreo.img
fastboot flash recovery TWRP3_1_1_5X.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
(Follow the earlier steps above to install 4-core EX Kernel via TWRP and then reboot)
Device should now boot like it's fresh out of the box, only difference being it's running four out of its six cores.