PCS Mode

[progzone122]

We need to find out what the hell this is
@shomykohai

[progzone122]

@shomykohai https://moto-penangf.github.io/documentation/#/modes/pcs

[shomykohai]

Did we confirm this mode doesn't appear with only the charger plugged in?

Also we get a similar name (with the addition of the "Android" string at the end) when using ADB, might be useful to add it for completeness

[progzone122]

Did we confirm this mode doesn't appear with only the charger plugged in?

Also we get a similar name (with the addition of the "Android" string at the end) when using ADB, might be useful to add it for completeness

the phone enters this mode even if it is not connected to the computer, but just to the charger

[progzone122]

Interesting

When you boot into PCS, disconnect the phone from the PC and connect it back to the PC - it does not boot into PCS immediately, but first tries to reconnect to Preloader and only then it goes into PCS

[shomykohai]

I noticed you can get into PCS mode even by keeping the volume button down after the battery logo appears, and before the vendor splash battery image gets shown

[progzone122]

I noticed you can get into PCS mode even by keeping the volume button down after the battery logo appears, and before the vendor splash battery image gets shown

No, if you do it too soon - you'll go into fastboot

[progzone122]

I tried holding VOL+ and still booted into PCS

[progzone122]

[39353.039228] usb 5-1: Product: MT65xx Preloader
[39353.039230] usb 5-1: Manufacturer: MediaTek
[39358.181128] usb 5-1: USB disconnect, device number 13
[39378.053579] usb 5-1: new high-speed USB device number 14 using xhci_hcd
[39378.170263] usb 5-1: device descriptor read/64, error -32
[39378.412849] usb 5-1: New USB device found, idVendor=22b8, idProduct=2046, bcdDevice= 2.23
[39378.412856] usb 5-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[39378.412860] usb 5-1: Product: moto g23
[39378.412862] usb 5-1: Manufacturer: motorola
[39378.412865] usb 5-1: SerialNumber: ZY22GHW7H2
[39378.415605] usb 5-1: Quirk or no altset; falling back to MIDI 1.0

[progzone122]

Here's an idea - why not look through wireshark to see what's going on?

Nothing happens, no data is received by the PC :(((
It's sad

[shomykohai]

Try on windows 🤔, I have doubts that they use linux to develop considering the quality of the firmware they shipped

[progzone122]

Try on windows 🤔, I have doubts that they use linux to develop considering the quality of the firmware they shipped

It's the same on Windows

[shomykohai]

I guess it's useless then for now

[progzone122]

I think that's the end of it.
We can only hope that some genius will find a way to generate a valid oem key or discover a previously unknown vulnerability to boot it to brom..

[progzone122]

After that I accidentally short-circuited the capacitor for a second and the device went back to this PCS mode with the same id.
What can this mean?

[progzone122]

I certainly won't double-check the short circuit, but it definitely goes into that mode on some failures

[shomykohai]

What capacitor you're referring to?

[progzone122]

What capacitor you're referring to?

Any short circuit causes it to go into PCS mode. As if it were some kind of emergency mode

[shomykohai]

Interesting 🤔

[shomykohai]

@progzone122 can you try to see what's the output of lsusb when you connect the phone to the pc and do USB tethering?

[progzone122]

USB debugging + File Transfer

Bus 005 Device 009: ID 22b8:2e76 Motorola PCS moto g23

USB debugging + USB-modem

Bus 005 Device 010: ID 22b8:2e25 Motorola PCS moto g23

USB debugging + MIDI

Bus 005 Device 011: ID 22b8:2048 Motorola PCS moto g23

USB debugging + Photo and video transmission

Bus 005 Device 012: ID 22b8:2e84 Motorola PCS moto g23

USB debugging + Charging only

Bus 005 Device 013: ID 22b8:2e81 Motorola PCS moto g23

File Transfer

Bus 005 Device 015: ID 22b8:2e82 Motorola PCS XT1541 [Moto G 3rd Gen]

USB-modem

Bus 005 Device 018: ID 22b8:2e24 Motorola PCS moto g23

MIDI

Bus 005 Device 021: ID 22b8:2046 Motorola PCS moto g23

Photo and video transmission

Bus 005 Device 022: ID 22b8:2e83 Motorola PCS XT1033 [Moto G], PTP mode

Charging only

Bus 005 Device 023: ID 22b8:2e82 Motorola PCS XT1541 [Moto G 3rd Gen]

[shomykohai]

I assume they use it for something else, considering that yes midi is used for music, but it's still a communication protocol 🤔

Or maybe it's just a placeholder mode, who knows

[progzone122]

I assume they use it for something else, considering that yes midi is used for music, but it's still a communication protocol 🤔

Or maybe it's just a placeholder mode, who knows

Well, at least now we know it's definitely MIDI.

It's very strange that it turns on the mode with a testpoint or after some hardware failure.
How can you try to send/read data via MIDI?
They have a special mode for this, I don't think they send music via it.

[shomykohai]

I don't know how to do it, I use midi just for music production and surely not for interacting with phones LOL, but surely if you look online you might get some info, better try with python too.

This device surprises me every day

[progzone122]

I don't know how to do it, I use midi just for music production and surely not for interacting with phones LOL, but surely if you look online you might get some info, better try with python too.

This device surprises me every day

LMAO, they did so much to make it impossible for us to restore the phone or unlock the bootloader.
But they weren't smart enough to make a firmware without bugs

What did they spend their time on? Are they serious? They would have been better off spending their time making a proper firmware and testing it.

[shomykohai]

It's becoming unusable this device for real, getting a used pixel for the same price is way better

[cxzstuff]

Same with G24. Midi without any buttons. Pressing all three it goes meta, connected or not. A very small meta mode text at the bottom left. While playing with buttons, three times I think, it has given some very LOUD noise. Alert of some kind??

[shomykohai]

Interesting, so g24 has a easier way to into meta 🤔

@progzone122 iirc you talked about a loud noise while going into meta in the documentation, could it be the same?

[progzone122]

Interesting, so g24 has a easier way to into meta 🤔

@progzone122 iirc you talked about a loud noise while going into meta in the documentation, could it be the same?

Idk, but I couldn't reproduce those beeps yesterday, but I was definitely able to do them before.
And the G24 has MOTO BL, so maybe they did it differently.