Complete Flashing Guide — From Stock to Linux

Post by **felix** » Tue Feb 17, 2026 7:19 pm

Complete Flashing Guide — From Stock to Linux

This guide walks you through flashing your MSM8916 USB dongle from stock firmware to a full Debian Linux system.

Prerequisites

A confirmed MSM8916 device (see Device Identification forum)
Linux PC (or VM) with Python 3 installed
USB cable (the shorter the better — long cables cause EDL issues)
bkerler edl tool:
Code: Select all
```
pip install edl
```
OpenStick release images from GitHub Releases

Step 1: Enter EDL 9008 Mode
With the device unplugged, short the two EDL test points on the PCB (varies by model), then plug in the USB cable while holding the short. Verify with:

Code: Select all

lsusb | grep 05c6:9008

You should see:

Code: Select all

Bus XXX Device XXX: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)

Step 2: BACKUP ALL PARTITIONS (Critical!)
Do not skip this step. If something goes wrong, you need these backups to restore your device.

Code: Select all

mkdir backup && cd backup
edl rl . --memory=emmc --skipwrite

This reads all partitions and saves them to the current directory. Store this backup safely.

Step 3: Flash lk2nd Bootloader
lk2nd is an open-source bootloader that replaces the stock Android bootloader and provides fastboot support.

Code: Select all

edl w aboot lk2nd-msm8916.img --memory=emmc

Step 4: Flash Boot Image
The boot image contains the Linux kernel and initramfs:

Code: Select all

edl w boot boot-.img --memory=emmc

Make sure to use the correct boot image for your specific device model.

Step 5: Flash Root Filesystem

Code: Select all

edl w rootfs debian-rootfs.img --memory=emmc

Step 6: First Boot
Unplug and replug the device. It should boot into Linux within 30 seconds. You can connect via USB networking:

Code: Select all

ssh user@192.168.200.1

WARNING: Always backup before flashing. No backup means no recovery if you flash the wrong partition table or corrupt modemst1/modemst2 (which contain your IMEI).