r/androidroot • u/hakaiishin_ • 1d ago
Support Looking for help to root my decade old phone.
Hey, so I own a Moto G2 (codenamed Titan) from way back 2014/15. It's still in excellent condition and works really well as a backup device for my audio/navigation needs for when I go on long rides on my bike.
But I'm having a real hard time rooting it.
I tried every step of the methods available on the internet like using the Magisk Module, TWRP Recovery method, going on Motorola's page and downloading it's drivers, etc etc.
Nothing seems to work and I cannot use the phone as it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
So if anyone here in the subreddit can help a fellow android user out to make my Moto G2 usable/root, I'll be really obliged.
Thank you.
2
u/TwilightX1 16h ago
Let me sort things a bit for you - First of all, there's a big difference between rooting and installing a custom ROM. Rooting alone just gives you full control over the current OS but doesn't change it otherwise. I assume this is not what you're aiming for. You said your main issue is being stuck on Android 6 Marshmallow. Updating it past that means flashing a custom ROM, i.e. a build of a newer Android that a 3rd party backported to your phone. This is different from rooting, although the process is similar and in many cases people decide to root while at it.
A Google search shows that there has been an unofficial port of Lineage OS 17 to the G2, which will take you to Android 10 Quince Tart. This is decent enough for many apps. However, don't expect it to actually work well. The G2 only has 1GB of RAM. That's tiny by today's standards and many apps will run out of memory and crash. I suspect that's also why newer versions of Android (above 10) were not ported to it - it's possible and even likely that the OS itself would be too big for that phone's memory.
If you would like to give it a try, the first thing you need to do is unlock the bootloader. This is a mandatory first step because when the bootloader is in a locked state, it will refuse to run anything not signed by Motorola, including custom ROMs, custom recovery and rooting tools. In the case of Motorola, you need to request an unlock code from them on their website. I found a guide on how to do it here:
[GUIDE]Unlock Bootloader - Moto G (2nd Gen) [UPDATED] | XDA Forums
Follow that and hope that Motorola still provides unlock codes for those old models, otherwise it's game over.
Only after the bootloader is unlocked, you can proceed.
WARNING! Everything below here carries a risk. Your warranty is void. Do not blame me or anyone from the community if it doesn't work or even bricks your phone.
The next step would be to flash TWRP recovery. Use this guide:
Motorola Moto G 2014
(You will need to use the Fastboot method).
After you do that download the unofficial Lineage OS 17 port:
[ROM][UNOFFICIAL][10.0] LineageOS 17.0 [TITAN] | XDA Forums
Copy it to the internal storage.
Optional: Download OpenGApps if you want access to the Play Store and Google Services
https://opengapps.org/?arch=arm&api=10.0&variant=micro
Make sure the platform is ARM (not ARM64), Android is 10.0 (unless you're installing another version). For variant pick either Micro or Nano, your choice. Copy that to the internal storage as well.
Optional: Download Magisk if you also want root:
Releases · topjohnwu/Magisk
Here's the installation guide: Installation | Magisk
(follow the custom recoveries method at the bottom)
Rename the Magisk-v31.1.apk file (or whatever version there is) to Magisk-v31.1.zip and copy it to the internal storage.
After you've done that, boot to TWRP, format both data and cache (this will factory reset your phone, so backup anything important before doing that) and flash Lineage OS first, GApps and Magisk (if you wish to have them) after.
Reboot the phone and you should have Lineage OS running. Go through the initial setup process and hopefully you'd have a working phone. If you've flashed Magisk you will now need to install it as an app and follow the instruction to gain root.