Below are instructions on how to flash a Moto E LTE (surnia model) with CyanogenMod, a custom Android ROM. Moto E LTEs can be obtained from MVNOs like Text Now with proprietary ROMs that prevent the device from being used with other carriers. These steps will allow the device to work with other carriers.
Note: These steps assume you're using a Mac OS X device. You'll need to adapt them if you're on Windows.
Download the following files to your desktop:
- Latest nightly CyanogenMod for your device: http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?type=snapshot&device=surnia
- Android Studio: https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
- Squid's latest version of TWRP: http://forum.xda-developers.com/devdb/project/?id=10398#downloads
Update homebrew and install Android tools:
brew update
brew install android-platform-tools
Go into your phone's settings under Developer Options and enable "USB debugging" and "OEM Unlocking". Then run these commands:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot flash recovery twrp-surnia-3.0.2-r1.img # You might have a newer version of TWRP
After the flashing completes, hit the down volume button on your phone until "Recovery mode" is displayed and hit the power button to select it. Your phone will boot to the main TWRP menu.
Add CyanogenMod to your phone with:
adb push cm-13.0-XXXXXX-NIGHTLY-surnia.zip /sdcard/ # The filename will be timestamped
After the transfer is complete, in the main TWRP menu tap "Wipe" and swipe at the bottom to factory reset the device.
When that's complete, go back to the main menu and tap "Install" and locate the CyanogenMod file at the bottom of the list. It will take a couple minutes to install. Reboot the device and you should see the CyanogenMod loading screen.
If you'd like to install the default Android Google Apps, go to http://opengapps.org/?api=6.0&variant=nano directly from your phone's web browser and download the zip. After the download is complete, reboot the phone and hold down the volume down button to start the device in recovery mode. Load TWRP and install Google Apps the same way you installed CyanogenMod above.