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Restore Moto E to Stock Firmware 2014 (1st Gen)

DJ | 10 Mar 2015 | Guides/ Motorola

It is unfortunate how low-end devices do not tend to attract much of developers crowd or, are even left to die at some side of the forums. But not all of them get the same treatment, some powerful devices like the Moto E do get the privilege to receive a wide variety custom ROM and recovery support. I bought a Moto E last year when its was launched and must say, I was pretty impressed with the hardware configuration and performance that was offered at the price.

The phone went smooth in terms of user interface, which is basically the plain AOSP layout offered majorly by the Nexus devices (My personal favorite). It delivers a generic Snapdragon 200 Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processor with Adreno 302 graphics unit for a decent gaming experience, andย a 4.3 inches Gorilla Glass display, along with Android 4.4.2 KitKat out-of-the-box and 1GB user-available RAM.

Thanks to the amazing ParanoidAndroid team, I installed the ROM on my Moto, played on it for a while, got bored and shifted to CyanogenMod for Android Lollipop experience, but didn’t even settle then. Being a flashaholic, I couldn’t resist myself from flashing just another ROM and so, at last, I decided to bring back and restore myย Moto E to stock firmware and wait for the official Lollipop update.

Today, I will demonstrate the complete procedure that I followed to restore Moto E to stock firmware. I am personally gonna use the Retail Android 4.4.4 firmware to instruct the process, whereas you might need to download the one corresponding to your device model and carrier, and for this, some file names may be different, so make the changes wherever needed (I believe youโ€™re sensible enough). Post that, Weย will re-lock theย deviceโ€™s bootloader using a plain fastboot command.

Warning!

The below process has been performed on a Moto E XT1022. Restoring or installing the firmware manually involves formatting and re-installing the partitions. Messing with these or damaging these partitions may ultimately damage your device. So perform everything as stated. Proceed only at your own risk, DroidViews or any of its members shall not be liable for any damage to your device. However, even if you manage to get yourself somehow into such trouble, we will provide our best assistance to pull you out for good.

Prerequisites

  • Download Motorola drivers from theย official website or visit our USB driverย compilation.
  • Charge your device to at least 60% battery level to avoid any interruption during the process.
  • Make sure to backup your deviceโ€™s internal storage as it will be wiped off completely.
  • Pull out your Micro SD card, if it is already inserted in the phone.
  • Enable USB debugging on your Moto E. Go to Settings > Developer options and check the USB debugging box.
  • Download the firmware and extract it.
  • Extract the fastboot tools package and copy all its content to the folder where the firmware files have been extracted.

Downloads

Stock Firmware:

RETAIL-DSDS_CONDOR_KXC20.82-14_cid7_CFC_1FF.xml.zip | Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

Motorola Fastboot Tools:

mfastboot-v2.zip | Mirror

How to choose correct firmware for your Moto E (2014)

  1. If you are unsure which one is your firmware, go to Settings> About Phone> System Version the text written there will be similar to the version you want to choose!
  2. If You cannot access your phone or have changed ROM, then please go to bootloader mode using the steps from instructions given below.
  3. Open command window and type the following command:
    fastboot getvar ro.build.version.full

    You will see the version to choose in output.

Steps to Restore Moto E to Stock

  1. The process will take place while your device is in fastboot mode/bootloader mode. So, it’s time to enter into fastboot mode, which can be done through two ways – using ย ADB command or by pressing the physical button combo.
    Moto-E-Bootloader-Mode

    • Connect your Moto E to the PC via USB cable, open the command prompt window and enter the following command.
      adb reboot bootloader
    • Power off your phone completely. Press the Volume down and Power keys altogether for about 5-6 seconds. After that, release the power key and the fastboot screen shall appear.
  2. Note that, the sequence of flashing the files is important and it is advised to follow the same sequence of flashing the partitions.
  3. Open the folder where all the firmwares files were placed along with fastboot tools. Press the SHIFT key and right-click on an empty space inside the folder. Select Open command window here from the pop-up menu that appears.
  4. Now, enter the following commands one after the other to restore Moto E to stock firmware.
    mfastboot oem lock begin
    mfastboot flash partition gpt.bin
    mfastboot flash motoboot motoboot.img
    mfastboot flash logo logo.bin
    mfastboot flash boot boot.img
    mfastboot flash recovery recovery.img
    mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0
    mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1
    mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2
    mfastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
    mfastboot erase modemst1
    mfastboot erase modemst2
    mfastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn
    mfastboot erase cache
    mfastboot erase userdata
  5. The next step is to relock the deviceโ€™s bootloader. Enter the following command while the device is in fastboot mode:
    mfastboot oem lock
  6. And finally, reboot your device when all the above commands are done.
    mfastboot reboot
  7. In case the device is stuck at the boot logo, reboot back into bootloader mode and enter the following commands
    mfastboot cache
    mfastboot userdata

Congrats! All is done here.

Now that weโ€™re done with everything, you will have your Moto E restored completely to stock KitKat firmware. You can now either wait for the Lollipop update to reach your region or carrier, or even update it manually using the soak test available at XDA forums. It’s not necessary to always use a custom ROM, after the update, you could just follow the Moto E rooting guide, to simply root your device on Lollipop. Thereafter, you can also install Xposed Framework on your rooted Moto E to attain a lot of custom ROM features without the need to install one.

Tell us how this tutorial has worked for you and provide your valuable feedback via comments. Help us build a better community.

Tags: How to Guides Moto E Restore to Stock Firmware

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Discussion

  1. Aug 3, 2017 at 9:44 AM
    Ian Menezes says:
    Reply

    If my phone is rooted, do i need to perform the re-lock step alongwith the rest???

  2. Jul 5, 2017 at 8:47 PM
    Bhavik Thakkar says:
    Reply

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e874e94c976938e128dedcf46800c88e9eb864046bc9e22fb6006b67f8f21b13.png I am getting the error as stated in the image. I have downloaded all the files as mentioned and even placed them inside a single folder, but when I boot my phone in the fastboot mode and then type the command in the cmd, I get this error.

  3. May 4, 2017 at 11:41 AM
    Prashant Choudhary says:
    Reply

    i am having moto e2 .. i have installed cynogen-mod and after that again i have installed stock firmware …………..but were perfectly installed but when i started updating my stock firmware my ph got off and now its not turning onn….only led notification light turns onn when charger is inserted

  4. Mar 9, 2017 at 1:34 PM
    Modupe ILORI says:
    Reply

    it shows waiting for device, any suggestions please?

    • May 4, 2017 at 11:41 AM
      Prashant Choudhary says:
      Reply

      usb debugging might be off.

      • Sep 16, 2017 at 6:37 AM
        Modupe ILORI says:
        Reply

        It’s on

    • Sep 16, 2017 at 6:18 AM
      Akash rajbhar says:
      Reply

      first will be install drivers

      • Sep 16, 2017 at 6:37 AM
        Modupe ILORI says:
        Reply

        how do i install drivers?

  5. Mar 7, 2017 at 3:06 PM
    แƒฆ Nฮฑฮฝ แƒฆ says:
    Reply

    Thank you very much.. Restored Moto E to Stock Firmware easily in 15 min with these steps. ๐Ÿ™‚ Now everything is working.. IMEI Null issue solved , Sim Network issue solved . Thanks again !

    • Mar 8, 2017 at 5:59 AM
      Rakesh says:
      Reply

      Glad to know!

  6. Jan 14, 2017 at 8:31 PM
    Sahil Verma says:
    Reply

    I unlocked my Moto E bootloader and then rooted it. It worked fine for a week but after that when I restarted the device, it stuck got at fastboot mode. It’s showing:
    Device is LOCKED. Status Code : 0
    Failed to initialize partition table
    When I press Recovery, it shows ‘ Failed to validate recovery image. Boot up failed.’
    When I press factory, it shows ‘ Failed to validate boot image. Boot up failed.’ Please help

  7. Nov 8, 2016 at 12:44 PM
    venkata krishnan says:
    Reply

    very thanks buddy. Its working perfectly.
    But i had to download adbwinapi.dll and paste it in windows/system 32, because it showed error when i tried to run mfastboot v2 application separately.

  8. Nov 2, 2016 at 10:02 PM
    Smit Kotadia says:
    Reply

    Thanks Dude …….!!!!!!! It’s Working……..

    • Nov 2, 2016 at 3:36 AM
      Rakesh says:
      Reply

      You’re welcome!

  9. May 20, 2016 at 9:57 PM
    Gaurav Kumar Singh says:
    Reply

    Unable to boot my moto E, so can even check whether usb debuging is on or not. After giving first command, only I can see is “Waiting for device..”. What to do now? Please help

  10. Apr 17, 2016 at 6:14 AM
    Rohan says:
    Reply

    why again an again remote failure

  11. Mar 5, 2016 at 9:48 AM
    Hemant Kumar says:
    Reply

    I have performed all the instructions. My motoe was stocked to 4.4.2 but after that i got a system update of 51 mb. after downloading it got stuck in installation process. and Now it’s not even turning on Or showing fastboot options.
    Only the led blinks once when i press power button for 10 seconds.
    Help Me ASAP!!!!!

  12. Mar 5, 2016 at 6:01 AM
    Novice says:
    Reply

    i performed all the above operations but after that too, the boot up failed message is coming.
    failed to validtae system image

  13. Feb 24, 2016 at 4:33 PM
    Vackachan Kinattukara says:
    Reply

    error comes.. can’t do anything..

    • Jun 17, 2016 at 4:49 PM
      Sumeet Gadagkar says:
      Reply

      Did you find out how to fix this?

  14. Feb 8, 2016 at 3:42 PM
    Satya Kiran says:
    Reply

    Phone doesn’t start. USB Debug is off, how can i connect pc

    • Feb 23, 2016 at 8:58 AM
      susant kumar behera says:
      Reply

      hey what u did..? same problem here my moto e doesn’t start.I tried to recovery or factory by pressing volume key and power button, but unfortunately didn’t work for me.Please reply.

      • Mar 5, 2016 at 8:00 AM
        Hemant Kumar says:
        Reply

        Hey, same problem with me.
        Did you get anything to solve this problem????

    • Mar 5, 2016 at 8:01 AM
      Hemant Kumar says:
      Reply

      Hey, same problem with me.

      Did you get anything to solve this problem????
      Tell asap!!!

  15. Jan 31, 2016 at 5:46 AM
    Shridhar M Pai says:
    Reply

    i also need to know about the no. of sparsechunks available for my moto e

  16. Jan 31, 2016 at 5:45 AM
    Shridhar M Pai says:
    Reply

    hey i have the same latest firmware for my moto e first gen too, but i need excatly the proper turtorial to return to stock now.

  17. Jan 27, 2016 at 2:49 AM
    Harry Shukla says:
    Reply

    for me it shows failed to erase partition what problem am i in ???

  18. Jan 19, 2016 at 4:03 AM
    Sankar Nath says:
    Reply

    I got error on all commands.. that is (bootloader) Preflash validation failed

    FAILED (remote failure)

    finished. total time: 0.563s

    • Jan 27, 2016 at 2:51 AM
      Harry Shukla says:
      Reply

      same here brother , can’t even turn my phone onn …. it is not even letting me flash stock rom , says this “version downgraded for primary_gpt” or “version downgraded for boot”

    • May 9, 2016 at 1:23 PM
      ext says:
      Reply

      getting same error .. how u fix it ?

  19. Jan 11, 2016 at 12:19 PM
    Irfan says:
    Reply

    mfastboot oem lock begin

    after entering after the above line
    am getting

    plz help how to proceed

    • Jan 11, 2016 at 4:38 PM
      Rakesh says:
      Reply

      Did other commands work for you?

      • Jan 11, 2016 at 4:52 PM
        Irfan says:
        Reply

        adb reboot bootloader

        This worked and after shift and right click and opening cmd prompt and entering the mfastboot gives the waiting for device

  20. Dec 19, 2015 at 6:21 PM
    Ashutosh says:
    Reply

    Thanks you very much, I recovered my bricked phone

    • Dec 20, 2015 at 7:18 AM
      Rakesh says:
      Reply

      Glad to know!

    • Mar 14, 2016 at 3:56 PM
      Sukanta Das says:
      Reply

      how do u did?

  21. Nov 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM
    Sukanta Das says:
    Reply

    I did all, after that I got a 51MB update, and after that update, my phone switch off and didn’t turn on till now. plz help.

    • Mar 5, 2016 at 8:02 AM
      Hemant Kumar says:
      Reply

      Hey, same problem with me.

      Did you get anything to solve this problem????

      • Mar 14, 2016 at 3:44 PM
        Sukanta Das says:
        Reply

        no, I read a lot. people r telling that motherboard died.

  22. Nov 17, 2015 at 7:02 PM
    Anoop P says:
    Reply

    Hello Dhananjay,
    First of all, kudos for a well organised, well crafted tutorial.

    Now, my issue:
    I am not a developer, but am an advanced user.

    Device: Moto E [condor] India Dual SIM.
    After unlocking the bootloader, I have installed custom ROMs on three different devices at different times. I have also installed the stock ROM back following the same steps you have mentioned (from another tutorial).

    However, currently, I just tried my luck with a Moto E to install Ubuntu Touch (ported actually for Moto G [falcon]). The install was ‘successful’, but the device obviously did not boot.
    Now, I wanted to reinstall the stock firmware on the device. This time however, it fails at this command:

    sudo fastboot flash partition gpt.bin

    Here’s the result >
    target reported max download size of 299892736 bytes
    sending ‘partition’ (32 KB)…
    OKAY [ 0.087s]
    writing ‘partition’…
    (bootloader) Preflash validation failed
    FAILED (remote failure)
    finished. total time: 0.667s

    I have used fastboot in Linux all the other times I said I installed custom and stock ROMs.
    However, I intend to test with mfastboot as a last resort.

    I am also able to successfully install TWRP recovery on the device and erase “system”, “cache” and “userdata” using fastboot. However, cache and dalvik cache removal fails on TWRP.

    Any suggestions would be of great help… (it’s not my phone)

  23. Aug 14, 2015 at 2:12 PM
    Noumin Sagar says:
    Reply

    Hi I just keep getting error max-sparse-size: 256MB
    cannot load motoboot.img

    • Aug 29, 2015 at 10:40 AM
      thommyb93 says:
      Reply

      are you using mfastboot or just fastboot. Regular fastboot has a limited size you need to use mfastboot (Moto Fastboot)

      • Dec 11, 2015 at 4:28 AM
        natty says:
        Reply

        mfastboot flash partition gpt.bin

        After running the above command, I get the following message:

        target max-sparse-size: 256MB

        sending ‘partition’ (32 KB)…

        OKAY [ 0.026s]

        writing ‘partition’…

        (bootloader) Preflash validation failed

        FAILED (remote failure)

        finished. total time: 0.563s

        • Jan 19, 2016 at 4:04 AM
          Sankar Nath says:
          Reply

          I got this same error.. any one can help me??

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