I've rooted and replaced the ROM on 3 other Android devices. I've spent two or three nights on this. Googling and reading page after page to try to get this right. I know I'm seriously lacking in knowledge, but I just can't stand the bloatware and lack of control over an OEM ROM. I knew I was taking a risk, but I did my best to be diligent without spending an excessive amount of time. All that said, I appreciate, in advance any help anyone can offer me. Whether that's direct advice or directing me to proper resources that I can't seem to find.
Samsung S5 SM-G900P (kltespr)
I had rooted it. I replaced the Sprint stock ROM (5.0.1 I think) with CM12.1 (which just got an OTA). I had TWRP 2.8.7 on it.
Unfortunately, I needed my research suggested I needed a Touchwiz ROM in order to activate phone service on the cell provider I'd chosen (Ting).
So I selected MOAR v7 and started following the directions here:
at galaxys5root.com/sprint-galaxy-s5-custom-roms/moar-lollipop-rom-for-sprint-galaxy-s5-w-2-8ghz-oc
I made a backup. I wiped the system/cache/davlik/etc.
I installed the Android 5.0 Bootloader TAR (G900P NDK Lollipop) per the instructions via Odin and using the Bootloader option. The flash failed. I can repeat the failure (ran Odin as admin, tried multiple USB ports, restarted the computer etc). I've since tried to send several recovery ROMS or OS ROMS (pardon if I'm using the wrong terminology here) to the device, but all I can get is download mode or a screen that says Samsung Galaxy S5 powered by Android (with Kernel is not Seandroid enforcing at the top). Sending TWRP via Odin has worked with a PASS, but still can't startup the device.
I can provide more detailed logs or information about where I'm stuck and how, but on the off chance that this is an obvious thing I'm going to stop here unless more detail would be useful.
Again, I'm grateful in advance for any help.
Moshker
Follow up and how I fixed my brick
This post is intended as a follow up in case anyone runs into a similiar problem and stumbles onto my post.
After trying several different bootloaders, including the stock ones from Samsung (multiple download attempts, very slow speeds, some didn't pass md5 check), and full ROM efforts via Odin 3.10.7 I was finally able to get one ROM to take.
G900PVPU3BOG1_G900PSPT3BOG1_SPR from androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347794921
After getting the phone activated on Ting I used Odin to push Chainfire Auto Root (408). I verified root after restart. Used Nandroid to make a new backup. I used Flashify to install TWRP 2.8.7. I restarted to recovery and DID NOT use TWRP to wipe the system/data/etc and instead loaded the MOAR7.0.OA6 ROM. During the ROM install process it asked if I'd like to wipe system/cache/davlik/etc. I did. The ROM installed successfully. I ran a Nandroid restore to bring back my apps and data. Most restored properly.
I still don't really understand what went wrong, why my efforts to fix it failed, and why the last thing I tried worked.
Really loving MOAR. I'm using the Numix theme and it's just incredibly clean and fast. CM12.1 had intermittent micro-freezes/lags that were driving me a little nuts and MOAR is really smooth and quite fast. I was pretty disappointed in CM as I had it a long time ago on an original DInc (7.2!).
Anyway, if you're phone is bricked, keep on fighting the good fight.
Related
Hi everyone,
Before blasting away with comments as to why I would do this, here's my story,
I live in Canada and just brought home a i9508, a China variant of the S4. It belonged to my dad and he didn't want it so I just took it. The i9508 doesn't have Play Store, and it doesn't work on Canadian 3G network.
So to me, the phone is useless right off the start (don't intend on selling it either, who wants it?) So I had 2 options:
1) Leave the phone as it is, and probably use it once every 1-2 years when I visit HK
2) Flash custom roms on it fully aware of the risk it will have so that there's a possibility I can make it more usable
So in the end I went with option 2.
I followed a guide and flashed TWRP for i9505 using Odin onto the phone, and used TWRP to install chainfire SU, and it actually worked (but SU wouldn't open because some sort of security on the phone is blocking it)
Next step, I downloaded the CM version for i9505 and flashed onto the phone, and that worked too. Only problem I've encountered was that the phone would only boot after a fresh install. If I installed CM, turned the phone off after the initial start up, the phone wouldn't boot pass the Samsung logo.
Up until this point, I didn't make a backup, because of my arrogance, cause I have available a copy of the official firmware, in case anything happens.
So I figured at this point, maybe if I restore the original firmware, and try the whole process again, the custom rom would work. So I went into Odin, flash the firmware with PDA, and failed. It just wouldn't work. After retrying it a couple of times, and downloading different updates of the firmware, nothing worked. Only thing working right now is, I can get into Download mode, and I can get into TWRP recovery (but for some reason, I can't flash the zips that I've adb pushed onto the phone, zip can't open)
For me, if it can't be fixed, then it's really SOL. But if there's a way to fix it, I'm open to testing anything people have in mind, cause afterall, this phone is paper weight either way. I'm interested in seeing if I could enable 3G by flashing a i9505 radio, despite warnings, although, I've never actually came across a thread where someone had actually tried it before.
Either way, if someone has any idea on how to fix the phone, and wouldn't mind sharing it, that'll be greatly appreciated.
Working
I can get into Download mode, but Odin is failing (if you need the error please let me know and I'll post it)
I can get into TWRP recovery, but can't flash files
I can get into adb
This isnt the correct forum for your phone. XDA don't follow clones
Unfortunately a section for i9508 doesn't exist, so I figure the closest one would be i9505.
Anyhow, if someone has an idea of how to fix it, I'm more than happy to do testing on it, like flashing other roms or radios.
There are many threads that focus on this same issue I have run into. I am posting this now because there isn't anything that has been posted this recent. I literally spent three days trying to find a solution.
What I did to mess this up with my S4 I337m Fido phone.
1. Odin install TWRP recovery. This seemed to work fine. I think I had to flash it twice to get it to work but I could boot to recover no problem.
2. CF-Auto Root
This process worked up to the point where you are suppose to reboot the phone and open the Su App and allow it to write permissions. This failed to work. Every time I booted my phone it would lag out and tell me SU app failed to open.
3. Flashed Slim KAT anyway...bad idea but I figured I would follow proper steps and flash. Everything was fine except for WIFI...yes everything seemed to be running smooth except for WIFI. This was obviously unacceptable.
4. Flashed stock ROM for my S4 which I received from a thread and then updated with Kies to obtain fully stock. This by the way is a suggested fix from many threads but this is where the sounds stopped working!!! Yes WIFI was good but SOUND was gone!!! WTF!
5. Flashed like 4 different froms ranging from CM11 to Mokee ROM....Nothing worked.
FIX! So I downloaded my stock rom from Sammobile.
No I flashed this via ODIN and rebooted and then did an update from Kies...This did not work to resolve the ISSUE of No Sound for me! What I had to do to fix this was to do a "Firmware Upgrade and Initialization" in Kies! What this does is ask you for your MODEL# and SERIAL# under your BATTERY. This then gets the firmware specifically for your device from Samsung. This updated my phone to 4.4.2 and everything works better then when I originally got my phone.
Again their are other threads that lay most of this stuff out but the last tweak I did not read and tried out of desperation. I hope this helps at least one person. I will continue to try and root my device because I am crazy like that. I have been an XDA user for 8 years now and enjoy custom ROMS on every android device I have come across. I cracked this S4's screen a month ago and they said warranty was void so to hell with Stock **** lol
I thank the XDA community with all my heart for giving me restless nights of modding fun. I have learned a lot from all of you and appreciate your time.
I just swapped from my Amaze 4g, to a used Note 3, and I'm a little lost as far as where I should start.
It says that it's on 4.4.2, and that I cannot update due to a modified system.
Basically, I would like to get updated to 5.1.1 (or as close as is official for the Note 3), and root it.
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Samsung devices, and because I purchased this from ebay, I don't know how to tell the exact state that the former user put it in (I expected they would return it to stock prior to selling).
It's currently a T-Mobile branded, SM-N900T, on 4.4.2, build is KOT49H, security software MDF v1.0 release 2. Kernel is 3.4.0-660648.
It is supposedly unlocked for carriers, though I have not attempted a SIM card use yet, until I can tell that what I have is a valid device and the IMEI is checked out.
Any thoughts on how to validate the IMEI, and sort out how to get my new phone up to date would be appreciated. As I stated, I expected the vendor would have returned it to stock, but that is clearly not the case, so I don't want to accidentally boot loop it by doing something I shouldn't. I have not owned a Samsung before, so I want to be careful on how it differs from my Nexus 7, Amaze 4g, and Droid X, as they're all obviously very different in the OS area.
Thank you for the help1
Download tbe stock 4.4.2 rom and use odin to install. Then you will get the OTA updates.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
There is no stock 5.1.1 for note 3, only cm12.1/ aosp. Latest is 5.0 and you can use odin to flash. Maybe it's rooted that's why you can't update.
bladebarrier said:
I just swapped from my Amaze 4g, to a used Note 3, and I'm a little lost as far as where I should start.
It says that it's on 4.4.2, and that I cannot update due to a modified system.
Basically, I would like to get updated to 5.1.1 (or as close as is official for the Note 3), and root it.
...
Thank you for the help1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some apps to install from Play Store...
Phone INFO Samsung - this will tell you all about your phone and the firmware etc.
Root Checker Basic - tells you if you are rooted or not.
SuperSU - this is so valuable you should buy the Pro licence. Chainfire does some great work for our phones.
TWRP - I have the zip version on my extSDCard and an Odin version on PC in case I have to rebuild from a Stock firmware. CWN works OK but most ROM builds seem to be for TWRP I think and a backup from one will not work on the other.
I don't know your previous phone so you probably need Odin v3.09 - this sits on PC and lets you flash firmware to the phone. (connected by USB)
For which you need Samsung USB drivers so the PC will recognise the phone. Install on PC before connecting phone.
Then do some browsing and find the processes to root your phone and install the ROM you want. If you just want Stock and access to all your phone, you can root it after flashing the original v5.0 download (from Sammobile or similar site - note on Sammobile you need a free account to DL) and then install Custom recovery (if wanted - it WILL trip the Knox flag but that may not matter given it's 2nd hand and might already be tripped anyway)
Read, make SURE you understand what is being said BEFORE you do anything - ask if you don't.
Good luck...
N9005 Lollipop brick
Hi All, just need a huge help here, a friend of mine has been using a N9005 which was auto restarting, she went online and downloaded this firmware...N900AUCUEOC1_N900AATTEOC1_N900AUCUEOC1_HOME.tar.md5....2.5GB in size...and flashed it, but the phone is stuck in boot loop even after recovery wiping data and cache, the phone can boot into download mode but re flashing the firmware always fails.....is there a solution for this.....please help
Thank you all for the info, especially the detailed info from Journyman16. I checked, and it is flagged as custom, which is fine, so I'm going to go ahead and try to return to mostly stock, update it, and root it.
Ok, everything went well. I had to do two attempts at rooting, but I think it's just one of those things where sometimes it doesn't restart into the process every time.
All seems good. I'm on 5.0, rooted, busyboxed, and smooth sailing.
Thank you all, again, for the tips. The Note 3 is running very well. Thank you to all of the devs that have made this process so refined. I've donated to you before, and did so again today. It's outstanding to have such well versed coders, on XDA, helping out the community.
mjmbirige said:
Hi All, just need a huge help here, a friend of mine has been using a N9005 which was auto restarting, she went online and downloaded this firmware...N900AUCUEOC1_N900AATTEOC1_N900AUCUEOC1_HOME.tar.md5....2.5GB in size...and flashed it, but the phone is stuck in boot loop even after recovery wiping data and cache, the phone can boot into download mode but re flashing the firmware always fails.....is there a solution for this.....please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have never learned not to ask in others posts? What does your problem has to do with this topic at all?
When you need help. Just click on Q&A then Create a new thread. How hard is it?
I wanted to root my Galaxy Note 4 (SM-N910F UK carrier H3G) so I could use the mirroring option in Airdroid.
Long story short, I'm severely disabled so wanted full access to my phone whilst on my pc, without struggling to get my phone all the time. (SWTOR Security Key is one of the many reasons for wanting to not have to grab my phone every time I need to do something on it)
(I can't put phone where it's easily accessible whilst on pc, because of the board I use for keyboard and mouse rested across the arms of my chair)
I THOUGHT I had it sussed, as I had successfully rooted and booted my S3, S4 and Note 2, 3 and 8.0 devices.
However, I didn't read the fine print when using CF-autoroot in that it doesn't work on 5.1.1 atm. Or something along those lines...
Anyway, with my usual eagerness and impatience to do geeky/nerdy deeds, I ended up with my phone in a constant boot loop no matter what I tried.
I scoured the Internet for 3 hours, trying to find the original stock rom for my device and was livid that my usual Google-Fu was failing miserably.
I found one, so I thought, installed the kernel, (couldn't find stock kernel either) installed SuperSU, installed Twprs or whatever it is, (excuse my lack of knowledge please) then installed this "stock" rom.
Turns out it possibly IS the H3G network's Stock Note 4 (SM-N910F) ROM. IF I lived in Italy.
I still would like root access on my phone, but I would like to try and get stock rom back, or something EXCEPTIONALLY similar.
Please, again, excuse my apparent thickness... (and I'm not talking sliced bread here) is it the kernel where rooting takes place, the ROM, or do both have to be involved in the adaptation?
I know very very little about Linux and kernels etc.
I hope that I have described my predicament clearly, and that when one has picked oneself up off the floor from rolling around with much merriment, one (anyone) is able to assist with my screw up.
Best wishes,
(Applebogies for waffling on more than the meat content of a Belgian Blue, (I'm not talking Blue Waffle, but of four legged animals that chew the cud)
(Applebogies also for mentioning The Waffle of Blue-ness in more than one sense of the word, if it makes you Google it and you only just ate and you've never seen it before)
(Finally, applebogies for my rotten and feeble attempts humour, please try to cut through my crap and get to the point ofwhat my conundrum actually is)
So basically in a nutshell, you've bricked your phone? I do know that when I flashed stock ROM the other day, I had to pull the battery, boot into recovery (vol up + home + power) and wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache too. Then it booted just fine try that.
you can find different stock roms for your phone at sammobile (google it) download the firmware from there and flash it with odin. Watch youtube videos on how to flash firmware with odin. its simple
See if you can boot the phone into Download Mode via volume up+home+power. If it boots into download mode that means its not hard bricked. If it doesnt boot into DL the first time you try, do a battery pull for 15-20 seconds, then try again. If that doesnt work, then check your specific device versions forum for an unbrick method, and check for a general unbrick that can be used for all N4's.
If it does boot into download mode, download the stock firmware for your specific N4, flash it via Odin, (instructions are generally included in the thread where you find the stock ROM download) and you should be good to go after that.
Edit: SamMobile does indeed have a firmware for your specific device. Do a google search for sammobile, go to that site, and input SM-N910F into the device search bar. That will take you to a page with a list of firmwares. Theres a list box where you can select your country, that includes country and carrier combinations. Yours will be listed as United Kingdom (H3G)(H3G). Select firmware with PDA version N910FXXU1COJ3.
Not sure why you all think my phone is bricked, I am on it now?
I am however, currently running the Italian version of 3 mobile rom. Looks like asrah has solved that problem though xD
To shorten my previous post:
Where does root happen, on kernel or rom?
Ie - can I have stock rom but still have root access on my phone?
Thank you to asrah for finding my rom.
Thanks all and a very Merry Christmas!
So I've been rooting me phone for a while and have managed to never f*** up, till now, and I sincerely hope you guys can help me.
After rooting my S7 a while back, I just recently noticed SuperUser telling me that I didn't have root anymore, so I decided to follow these instructions to re-root my phone:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve...-to-notes-root-install-xposed-unroot-t3411039
I successfully followed all the steps to get root, but when I opened Flashfire it told me I could install a new update while maintaining root, so since my android is at 6.0.1, I did that and it bricked my phone.
On boot it says "Startup Failed - Use the Verizon Software Repair Assistant . . . " and on top it also says "Custom binary blocked by SECURE BOOT." I have tried going into recovery mode and deleting the system cache, but that doesn't do it. So is there any way to get the phone to properly boot while not deleting my data? I was rooting my phone precisely so I could use Titanium Backup again, so I don't have any backups stored anywhere. I have heard that flashing a recovery image with Odin can work, but would that delete my files? Someone please lend me your expertise.
My phone is a Verizon S7.
Fixed
I am surprised that no one responded to me, but what's important is that, miraculously, I managed to un-brick the phone myself without losing any data! What I did was, as my last hope (since Odin wasn't able to flash the stock image, a la the traditional soft-brick fix), decide to follow the on-screen instructions my phone was giving me and to download and run something called the "Verizon Software Repair Assistant," which can be found in the top google results after searching for the quoted name (xda doesn't let me post the link).
After putting my phone into download mode, I plugged it in, ran the software and let it work overnight. Checking on it in the morning, I found my phone, not only completely functional and working, but updated to Android 7.0 (it was 6.0.1 previously before the failed Flashfire OTA update) and still holding all of my data intact.
So, the interesting thing that I learned is that flashing to stock via Odin to fix a soft-bricked phone should not be the default resolution for potentially most people, as the carrier's default (in my case, Verizon's) repair utility managed to completely fix my phone without any side effects or data loss.
Is there anyone who could chime in on why the Repair Utility did not wipe my phone's memory, even though it warned it would?
**Note**
Verizon links to the Windows version of the repair assistant on their site, but to get the Mac version (which I used), the only way you can get it is by changing the end of the url they mention within the thread from "Win" to "Mac."
Pleased you managed to fix it, and thanks for posting the method for others
As for replies, if you stick around XDA you'll see replies can take days sometimes, patience is the key here
*Detection* said:
Pleased you managed to fix it, and thanks for posting the method for others
As for replies, if you stick around XDA you'll see replies can take days sometimes, patience is the key here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I am not acquainted with this forum enough then, thanks!
Most likely the cause of the fault would be updating via FlashFire and keeping root. When the update was flashed, it most likely flashed the stock kernel and patched it for root, which is not a compatible root for our devices. Flashing the root kernel with Odin probably would have made the phone boot normally.