How to Unroot the Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen)
The Motorola Moto G has always been a popular phone and the third generation of the device is no exception. The simple fact of the matter is that, for the price, you’d be hard-pressed to find another phone with the same level of performance and features.
Also because of the price, the device is a prime target for those that want to try and get a bit more out of the device by rooting it and pushing it to its limits. Sometimes though, those limits get reached and then it’s time to unroot the Moto G and get it back to stock (and sometimes just to reroot it and start over).
Besides wanting to get the phone back to a clean slate after messing around with its new-found root required fun, you might also want to do this to send the phone in for warranty or if you are selling it and need to get it back to the way it was when it came out of the box for the new owner.
Regardless of the reasoning, it’s pretty easy to unroot the Motorola Moto G as you just need to flash the stock firmware from Motorola using fastboot mode (thank you Motorola for making that so much easier than other manufacturers!).
If you’re ready to get started, here’s how to flash it.
I. Before You Begin
1. Your device should be rooted using the procedure given here.
2. Please backup anything that you feel is important as this procedure should wipe off all the data stored on your device.
3. You must have a Windows based PC to do this procedure.
4. You should have Motorola USB drivers installed on your Windows PC.
5. This should get your device back to the stock.
6. This should also re-lock the bootloader on your device.
How to Unroot the Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen)
To unroot the device, you’re going to flash the stock ROM on your device using Fastboot. That way your device will be back to the stock leaving all the customizations behind. Here’s how:
II. Downloading Required Files
1. Download Fastboot and save it to your desktop.
2. Download Stock ROM and save it to your desktop.
Stock ROM (Download the one that is for your specific variant of the device)
III. Unrooting the Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen)
1. Extract files from Fastboot and Stock ROM over to your desktop by right-clicking on each of them and selecting Extract here. Make sure that both fastboot.exe and stock ROM files are on your desktop and not in any subfolders.
2. Turn off your device.
3. Turn your device back on in Fastboot mode. To do that, hold down Volume DOWN and Power buttons together on your device.
4. Your device should reboot into Fastboot mode.
5. Plug in your device to your PC using a USB cable.
6. Open a Command Prompt Window on your desktop by holding down Shift and right-clicking anywhere on your screen and selecting Open command window here.
7. Type in the following command into the Command Prompt Window and press Enter:
fastboot devices
8. You should see your device listed on the screen.
9. Now, issue the following commands one by one. Make sure you get an OKAY message after each command to ensure that the command worked.
fastboot oem lock begin
fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
fastboot flash logo logo.bin
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.3
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.4
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.5
fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
fastboot erase modemst1
fastboot erase modemst2
fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn
fastboot erase cache
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot oem lock
10. When the above commands have been successfully executed, run the following command to reboot your device:
fastboot reboot
11. Your device should reboot in normal mode.
12. And you’re done!
Your Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen) is now unrooted and is running the stock ROM. Head back to the how to root the Moto G tutorial if you want to start all over or pack it up and send it out if you were doing this for warranty reasons.
Either way, let me know in the comments below if it worked for you!
It does work, but unable to re-lock the bootloader!! Even entering the command ‘fastboot oem lock begin’ before the above steps and ‘fastboot oem lock’ after the steps did no good. While restarting the phone still displays a a message that the boot loader is unlocked. Any idea how to relock it??
Hi Joe,
Please do the following and it should re-lock the bootloader on your phone:
(1) Use the command “fastboot oem lock begin” before the first command in step-9.
Example:
fastboot oem lock begin
fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
…………………………………………..and so on.
(2) Use the command “fastboot oem lock” after the last command in step-9.
It should do the job for you.
Thanks!
Hi Mahesh,
I already tried that before as posted in my previous message, but the bootloader unlocked message still appears (even though the phone has been successfully locked message appears in command prompt). But then I found out a way to remove the message. It requires to flash the boot logo file separately. Check here http://www.gammerson.com/2015/08/remove-unlocked-bootloader-warning-on-Moto-G-3rd-gen.html
Although now the unlocked message is gone, Motorola can still void the warranty I guess as the phone details are stored on their server.
as exit this screen , because already put the bill but not out of this prblemas..tem how to change a room ‘s mpdeloMotoG3_XT1543
soniel-silva@hotmail.com
fone +55 81 993518254 zap
Can you translate what it says on that screen to English and I can help you better. Sorry!
Como sair desta Problema.. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/be24dc074533f1dbed84808b636a2c5104a1e9482a9eb2c8d10743c5a0af46d6.jpg
este dispositivo foi redefinida para continuar o login com uma conta de goolge que já tenha sido anteriormente sicronizada este dispositivo https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3703bea2a1908961372f0af9b1f19fcd10c2b6e26ed6a300f82f211bbaebdd9d.jpg
Is relocking bootloader necessary to unroot moto g3?If yes can I unlock bootloader again after relocking? Because I have heard Motorola doesnt provide unlock key again as Motorola service says your device is already unlocked even though it is locked.(your device’s bootloader can’t be unlocked).So Is relocking bootloader necessary to unroot moto g3?
No you don’t have to relocate it unless you are sending it in for warranty etc. I usually leave mine unlocked just in case I want to flash something.
ty _/_
I too have issues: I started the sequence of fastboot commands in 9. above but can’t get an OKAY after entering “fastboot flash partition gpt.bin”. I get “error cannot load gtp.bin”.
seriously…love you brother….you helped me to correct my 6hours wasted in 5mins :*
need help with an issue!
I’ve followed all the instructions provided, including locking oem.. (device status still reads – modified btw)
after the reboot it asks me to –> sign in to my google account using my email & password.. which I enter correctly
BUT….
it goes back to enter the email ID used for this device screen.. followed by enter password.
I’ve done it for almost 20 times now..everything is correct! I am using the email ID I used for this device!!! the password is correct too!
please help?!
Hi Raunak,
If you’re able to see the Google login screen on your device, that means the above procedure worked successfully for you and there were no issues flashing the firmware on the device.
If you can’t go past the login screen, you can maybe try using another Google account and see if that works. If that doesn’t, reboot into the recovery mode and factory reset your device, wipe cache, and then try logging-in again and see if that works. It should.
Let us know. Thanks!
admin, add this to the commands otherwise it won’t work for motoG 3gen ‘fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.6’
The commands given in the procedure are indicative and they may vary with the stock ROM you have.
Thanks!
does unrooting the device will get me back to my device as it is like a new one?
just as an unboxed phone?
Hi Himanshu,
Yes, it does as it flashes the stock ROM on the phone and not just removes root-access.
Thanks!
i have done all the steps u have mentioned above correctlyand succesfully.
But my phone is keep showing the “bootloader unlocked” warning and then erasing.. with android logo shows up.
after that it gets restart and above process keeps on repeating.
It doesnt turn off or do anything else.
what should i do now?
EVEN MA PHONE IS GETTING DA SAME
WHAT U DID THEN???? REPLY SOON
Did you download the firmware that was for your exact model number?
i have done all the steps u have mentioned above correctlyand succesfully.
But my phone is keep showing the “bootloader unlocked” warning and then erasing.. with android logo shows up.
after that it gets restart and above process keeps on repeating.
It doesnt turn off or do anything else.
what should i do now?
i did everything right … pls help.. my phone is gone buddy
Listen… There Are Just 5 sparsechunk Files In this Turtorial… Just Check The Number Of sparsechunk Files In Your Downloads And Act Accordingly
i have done all the steps u have mentioned above correctlyand succesfully.
But my phone is keep showing the “bootloader unlocked” warning and then erasing.. with android logo shows up.
after that it gets restart and above process keeps on repeating.
It doesnt turn off or do anything else.
what should i do now?
i am getting the same ,, i am screwed what do i do now ?
First of all, make sure that you have downloaded the stock ROM that was for your variant of the device. Second thing is that make sure you get all of the files flashed on your device that you have extracted from the archive. Pay close attention to the sparechunk files as they may vary with the custom ROMs you download.
Thanks!
Dude what makes u think I didn’t tried that … obviously I. Did all of that correctly..
If u dont mind can I havw ur whts app or Google duo or something to talk in person
what to do now???
Hi, I downloaded all the required fastboot and stock rom files on my desktop. A performed successfully commands to the ‘fastboot oem lock begin’ but cannot succeed in ‘fastboot flash partition gpt.bin’. My command prompt says
C:UsersAnnaDesktop>fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
sending ‘partition’ (32 KB)… OKAY [ 0.010s]
writing ‘partition’… INFOPreflash validation failed
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.415s
What to do? My motorola is MM 6.0 XT1541 8GB 1GB RAM. I downloaded
Retail Europe (1GB) – XT1541_OSPREY_RETEU_6.0_MPI24.65-33.1_cid7 (Newer Build) from the site you linked.
Thank you.
-Anna
I downloaded a new stock rom from the same site Retail Europe (1GB) – XT1541_OSPREY_RETEU_6.0_MPI24.65-33_cid7
and tried the commands again and
now got these messages from command prompt
C:UsersAnna JiayiDesktop>fastboot devices
ZY2237MWBD fastboot
C:UsersAnna JiayiDesktop>fastboot oem lock begin
… INFONot supported command in current status!
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.041s
C:UsersAnna JiayiDesktop>fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
sending ‘partition’ (32 KB)… OKAY [ 0.087s]
writing ‘partition’… INFOPreflash validation failed
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.649s
the failure in oem locking seems to be because of my previous attempts. Help me please!
I tried to root my phone very first time with your rooting advices and failed so I’m trying to unroot it >_<
Are you downgrading your device?
i tried your method to unroot my phone but it didnt go through it factory reseted my phone but i was not able to retain my stock rom
i am having cynogenmod in it
Hi Dhruv,
This method does flash the stock ROM on your device and gets your device back to the stock. CyanogenMod shouldn’t be there anymore. I’m sure the flash process hasn’t gone well for you that’s the reason you still have CM on your device.
While flashing the ROM, make sure you pay close attention to the sparsechunk files as they may vary with the variant of the firmware you download. Basically, what you’re supposed to do is flash off all the files you extract from the archive on your device and that should get the job done for you.
I hope this helps you!
Hello, an “OKAY” message is shown for each of the commands, though the Moto G3 that I have now seems to be in a boot loop, where the “Warning Bootloader Unlocked” message appears then it goes to the Android character with “Erasing…” shown under.
By the way, when I run the first command, it shows:
fastboot oem lock begin
… INFOPlease
fully flash the signed build before
locking phone!
OKAY [ 0.010s]
finished.
total time: 0.011s
what is “the signed build?”
Hi Rollcage,
It seems you haven’t flashed all of the firmware files on your device. The commands above, especially the sparechunk ones, are indicative and you need to make sure you’re flashing all of the sparsechunk files on your device or it won’t work fine.
Please correct that and see if it works.
Thanks!
thank you sir, its fixed now.
I’ve flashed all the sparechunks files.
but now im sorted.
Thank you once again!
I was trying to unroot my moto g 2015 using the above procedure….
but my phone got stucked in boot animation …..
Even the recovery mode is not starting….
after the bootloader warning….the android erasing message takes the time …..
please look into my problem as soon as possible….
hi everyone. I followed all the steps givten in the above tutorial properly however after all the steps, my phone is stuck. It says warning bootloader unlocked and then erasing. This is repeating again and again but the phone is not starting up. I followed all the steps. Pse advise how to start the phone now