Android is all about custom mobile experience - you try a million things to customize your smartphone and make it more capable. Longer battery life, better performance, latest Android OS, or just trying out new features; we often flash third-party custom firmware on our Android devices. However, there are times when we get into trouble by these third-party fun things and want to flash back to stock firmware.
This tutorial is to help you restore your Moto X to its stock OS using RSD Lite. This guide applies to all the carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon. If you have a rooted device, and an unlocked bootloader, remember you will lose both of these after this process.
Prerequisites to restore Moto X to stock firmware with RSD Lite:
- Backup any important data from your Moto X as a complete wipe will be required during the flashing process.
- Download latest drivers and enable USB debugging option on your device: Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging.
- Download and setup latest Android SDK on your computer from this link.
- Your device must be charged to at least 60% of power.
How to restore Moto X to stock firmware with RSD Lite:
Required files to download: install RSD Lite on your Windows computer from here. Download the right firmware file for your Moto X depending on its model number from this link.
- Unzip and extract the firmware file and right-click on the file with .xml extension. Select Open with.. and choose Notepad or any XML editor. Locate the following string and delete it from the XML file:
- <step operation="getvar" var="max-download-size" /> - Save changes and close the editor.
- Now connect your Moto X to your computer and open CMD window. Type the following command:
- adb reboot bootloader - Press Enter. This will reboot your device into Fastboot mode.
- Keep your phone connected with the PC and launch RSD Lite as an admin.
- Click on the three-dot browser file button and select the .xml file. Once done, click on Start to initiate the flashing process.
- When the firmware is successfully flashed, your smartphone will automatically reboot.
Awesome! You have successfully flashed the stock firmware on your Moto X.
