What worked for me to fix: The frp lock Soft-brick (using Samsung Smart Switch) - Galaxy S6 Edge Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This will save you 8-12 hours of your time if you are lucky. This means that it also includes the meaningful links of 8-12 hours of searching. Sentences in italic are important. 1 link is for the Odin official website, the rest are re-links back into XDA.
The device in question is a SM-925T Tmobile S6 Edge.
The problem was this. I rooted my phone and messed around with Greenify and the Play store. To prepare for rooting, I allowed unknown downloads, unlocked the bootloader, and turned my security lock off (I had set it to a finger print lock). After I was done rooting, I immediately locked the bootloader again(<--A mistake that caused my bootloop/ soft-brick). After I was finished messing with the above apps (Greenify, etc), I wanted my phone to restart. So I held the Power button and selected restart, while I was on the lock screen (may not be important). I noticed that it took a long time to restart, and upon closer examination, I noticed another error under the "kernel is not seandroid enforcing" (which appears to be natural for rooted phones). The error was "Custom Binary blocked by FRP Lock". It was a new error. I investigated this new problem using the internet , and this dude was panicking like hell, but he didn't appear to fix his problem. He did hint that returning to the bootloader to its locked state was a mistake. Looked a bit more and this guy pointed to another thread, which introduced me to flashing and more importantly his fix, which was to flash the stock 5.1.1 image through odin. He used this link, which contains all the stock firmware for the majority of the new Samsung S6 and S6 edge versions. To make a long story short, most of these fixes involved flashing your firmware to the stock version. So I went to the Odin Website, and downloaded every version, as a couple threads have said that different versions worked for them. Here is a thread with everything you need for Odin. Now, after sorting through and finding micro USB cables that are detectable by Odin, an important step because Odin might develop a pattern of detecting then failing to detect your device through that cable, and testing all the usb 2.0 ports, I was ready, and had Odin with my stock firmware. Odin kept saying "NAND Write", then in the next line "FAIL". This was annoying as Odin wouldn't detect my device again unless I unplugged it, restarted it to download mode, then restarted Odin before plugging it back in. I got confused and found links for somehow fixing the .tar files, stock roms, .pit files (DO NOT MESS AROUND WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THOSE THINGS DO), and other threads/websites that say to boot into recovery mode , factory reset, then wipe your cache. I could only do that once. After me messing around with all of the above file variants and supposed fixes to help with my issue, I couldn't boot into recovery mode, it got stuck on the "Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge" logo. It did not fix the NAND write failing. There however, are a lot of websites allowing you to download stock software for your phones, and I don't think I can link them as it might break a rule. Surprisingly, some have claimed that using a stock file for another device worked to fix their problem. This thread, which convinced me to use Smart Switch when it failed for everyone else, was very useful, although I recommend downloading Smart Switch from the official website of Samsung. None of the Odin flashing had worked so far, including the Roms and .pit files so I tried Smart Switch. I opened it, and upon selecting the "more" tab on the upper right corner, a bunch of tabs drop down. One should be "Emergency Software recovery and initialization". I had to find my S / N (Serial) number, and I was very confused on how to obtain that number as I was locked out. But to obtain it, do the same process to boot into download (hold volume down, home key, and power key), but stay on the prompt and don't go to the screen that has the word download in the middle. Don't do anything other then reaching the prompt confirming if you want to install a custom ROM. Then, press the home key and it should show your S / N number along with your IMEI number. Once I imputed the code I saw on my phone into Smart Switch, it told me to connect the device. Now, by this time, I realized that Odin only detects my device if it is actually in the download screen. Why shouldn't my computer? I booted into Download on my phone and followed the steps on my computer, making sure that the computer can recognize my phone while it is using a valid USB port and Cable. And after some waiting, for me, my problem was fixed and I could use my phone again, it reverted to it's out-of-box state. I hope this drawn out but very specific explanation helps you guys. It's my first post And also, this thread confirms that you can use a USB hub for flashing(at least for ROMS), Smart Switch, and for rooting.​

Thank you for this detailed account, however nothing of the above has worked for me. Odin won't flash the firmware of 5.0.2 (and I tried 5.1.1) and Smart switch does not recognize the device to do anything. BTW phone has been rooted for months and last night decided to turn on its FRP lock randomly and now I'm stuck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Explain throughly what you have tried. Especially different ports, cables, and computers. Did you have the right device drivers? Did you do anything else?

I followed your footsteps and and the step where it has to show me the S/No and IMEI, it only shows IMEI number. I am unable to find the S/NO any suggestions?

Xalmey said:
I followed your footsteps and and the step where it has to show me the S/No and IMEI, it only shows IMEI number. I am unable to find the S/NO any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
press vol down home keys and power key once you get to the first blue screen release vol and power keep holdind home but I already tried smart swich didn't help

5.1.1 has FRP lock auto turned on whenever you have a google account on the device... This is probably going to cause a lot of problems with all newer devices that get rooted. I even tried removing all google accounts, flashed recovery and flashed boot img back to stock after rooting and still FRP was bricking the device. I got supersu onto the device, all working fine for a 3rd time, as soon as I added a google account onto my device and restarted, it was FRP lock blocked and soft bricked again.... I used kies to restore to factory again, re-rooted it for the 4th time when I finally discovered an option in developer options called OEM unlock, Turning OEM unlock on turns off the FRP lock security feature.
My conclusion, If your going to root 5.1.1 make sure you remove all accounts from the device first, do not change google passwords for 72 hours prior to rooting, once rooted, YOU MUST TURN OEM Unlock ON in settings>developer options before adding any google accounts to the device.

Hi everyone!
I also got a Samsung S6 Edge + from a friend with custom binary blocked by FRP. I don't know what he was planning to do but I guess it was rooting.
He said he want me to backup any files before I try anything. Don't know how to proceed. But as suggestion, I want to ask if using "fastboot oem unlock" command would fix that.

EsperaKing said:
Hi everyone!
I also got a Samsung S6 Edge + from a friend with custom binary blocked by FRP. I don't know what he was planning to do but I guess it was rooting.
He said he want me to backup any files before I try anything. Don't know how to proceed. But as suggestion, I want to ask if using "fastboot oem unlock" command would fix that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure fastboot isn't for Samsung devices. Hard to back up any files u less you can get into TWRP or the phone. If you flash stock firmware is highly likely the files will be wiped

callumbr1 said:
I'm pretty sure fastboot isn't for Samsung devices. Hard to back up any files u less you can get into TWRP or the phone. If you flash stock firmware is highly likely the files will be wiped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no TWRP recovery on the phone. Yeah you're right about backing up files. I don't even know how to proceed and I can tell you I have huge experience on that stuff, rooting flashing custom recoveries and roms, etc... but in this case, I can't say if files can be backed up.

EsperaKing said:
There is no TWRP recovery on the phone. Yeah you're right about backing up files. I don't even know how to proceed and I can tell you I have huge experience on that stuff, rooting flashing custom recoveries and roms, etc... but in this case, I can't say if files can be backed up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way is to 're flash the exact same firmware he is currently using now using the 5 files firmware package. But yo ensure csc_home is used so the data will not be wiped.

callumbr1 said:
The only way is to 're flash the exact same firmware he is currently using now using the 5 files firmware package. But yo ensure csc_home is used so the data will not be wiped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for you reply.
Please can you tell me where I can find such software or how to do it clearly! I know how to use Odin but I don't know how to exclude user_data to be wiped. Thank you

Bonafid3 said:
5.1.1 has FRP lock auto turned on whenever you have a google account on the device... This is probably going to cause a lot of problems with all newer devices that get rooted. I even tried removing all google accounts, flashed recovery and flashed boot img back to stock after rooting and still FRP was bricking the device. I got supersu onto the device, all working fine for a 3rd time, as soon as I added a google account onto my device and restarted, it was FRP lock blocked and soft bricked again.... I used kies to restore to factory again, re-rooted it for the 4th time when I finally discovered an option in developer options called OEM unlock, Turning OEM unlock on turns off the FRP lock security feature.
My conclusion, If your going to root 5.1.1 make sure you remove all accounts from the device first, do not change google passwords for 72 hours prior to rooting, once rooted, YOU MUST TURN OEM Unlock ON in settings>developer options before adding any google accounts to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you thank you thank you!!! This is exactly what I was looking for I had just rooted my note 4 running 6.0.1 and had no idea what the oem option was as no rooting method talked about it at all so naturally as soon as i added my Google account phone restarted and locked up.
Kies was the answer I needed as frp lock was active in download mode and my factory reset in recovery failed everytime but running Kies firmware upgrade and entering my model and serial number it installed perfectly in download mode with frp lock still active saved me alot of hassle ?

Related

[Q] Locked by Android Device Manager and cannot unlock

TL;DR; I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
I wanted to share my experience up until this point. And if the physical keyboard doesn't work continue sharing. And perhaps someone else would have a miracle answer.
The story (sorry this is long - hence the TL;DR; at top) :
I had the swipe touch password enabled. My daughter was playing with my phone for some time until it deactivated the swipe-touch password and started asking for a PIN. This is when she handed it to me. My first reaction was "oh no - I don't remember this" But, I gave a few numbers some tries that I thought might work. I failed ... Then I began research on the internet. I saw something about incorrect guesses after 5 times would reveal a way to enter username/password associated with my gmail. So, I failed a couple more times, but never saw this option.
Then I found "Android Device Manager". I thought I was in luck so I quickly checked my google account and found out that I could ring my phone and the option for "Lock" was also available so I quickly locked it ... and my phone updated ... and I tried to unlock it ... and my phone tells me that it was the wrong password. What the what?! I tried again ... and again ... and again ... failing repeatedly. Why doesn't this work? Isn't this feature here to keep unfortunate people like me from getting permanently locked out of my phone or resorting to factory resets? (Ok, sure - this feature is also here to lock out thieves and help find lost phones ... but come on - it should work for this situation too!) Anyhow, at this point, sure, if I had already backed everything up or had Google+ auto-backup installed I would just delete/restore my phone, but I have photos on here that aren't backed up and I don't want to lose. I also found that if I had my phone registered with a Samsung account I could just unlock it ... but alas ... I don't have a Samsung account ... so ...
Somewhere in here I contacted Samsung and they told me they couldn't do anything and to attempt getting help from my provider - inferring that I could verify with Verizon that I am the owner of the phone and they could unlock it. So ... I called Verizon and even went to their physical store location in town and no one was able to help. They all were searching the same web-search results I was finding and suggesting things that I'd already tried. This seems kind of ridiculous to me ... I pay them the money for their services and they don't have a magical machine to help me out with this kind of thing? (Benefit of the doubt - perhaps they don't have a magical machine so that employees at Verizon can't steal phones and strip out the data themselves?) Speaking of magical machines - I did happen upon mobiletechvideos guys and was curious about them ... but I'm trying to do this without paying $30-125 and shipping my phone off if I can avoid it.
So ... I began researching other options ... reading that it is unfortunate that I don't have USB Debugging enabled ... moved on to Heimdall / Odin / JOdin3 - etc (recovery tutorial I found)... I tried flashing my recovery image ... fail ... I compiled my own versions of Heimdall with newer code even because I read that the current release version has some issues ... fail again ... oh, not a Heimdall/Odin problem - it is because of a Verizon lock on bootloader(?) ... and/or b/c I never rooted my phone(?) ... So I began researching more ... it looks like having a Verizon version of this phone makes it even more difficult. So I stopped trying this recovery image flash option and pondered what else I could try.
Then, I had an epiphany "why can't I just restore to factory and THEN use some kind of file recovery program?" BAM! How about that - there's tons of these recovery programs on the internet. BUT, I didn't want to do this to my own phone in case it failed. So, luckily, my wife has the same phone. I backed up all her data, delete/reset to factory defaults, 7 taps to the build number activating dev mode and then activating USB Debug mode, and then tried a number of these recovery programs. NONE of them succeeded. They all appear to have trouble finding and connecting to the phone. Myjad seems to get the farthest in that it appears connected to the phone, but then tells me "activate USB Debugging" and then tells me I don't have it active, but I do! Why isn't it working? Do these recovery programs only work on rooted devices? MTP/PTP don't work? Or perhaps our Android versions are too new? So I'm still stuck on these questions for this ...
This is where I am with this. I just read that perhaps I have to type the Android Device Manager password in with an external keyboard for the Android Device Manager password to work. I'm going to try that.
If that doesn't work I think I'm going to start researching a method that involves rooting the phone without delete/reset? Then perhaps I can try a recovery img flash, but I don't think this is looking promising given the Verizon lock on bootloader? So then I might try the root/delete/reset + recovery program ... perhaps a recovery program will be more flexible on a rooted phone? But, considering I have not rooted before, if this is where I end up with this - I will be asking questions about how to go about that - because it looks like it is particularly tricky with this Verizon S4 ...
If you made it this far - thanks for reading! And thanks in advance if you have some ideas.
TL;DR; (copied from top) I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
roboshawn said:
TL;DR; I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
I wanted to share my experience up until this point. And if the physical keyboard doesn't work continue sharing. And perhaps someone else would have a miracle answer.
The story (sorry this is long - hence the TL;DR; at top) :
I had the swipe touch password enabled. My daughter was playing with my phone for some time until it deactivated the swipe-touch password and started asking for a PIN. This is when she handed it to me. My first reaction was "oh no - I don't remember this" But, I gave a few numbers some tries that I thought might work. I failed ... Then I began research on the internet. I saw something about incorrect guesses after 5 times would reveal a way to enter username/password associated with my gmail. So, I failed a couple more times, but never saw this option.
Then I found "Android Device Manager". I thought I was in luck so I quickly checked my google account and found out that I could ring my phone and the option for "Lock" was also available so I quickly locked it ... and my phone updated ... and I tried to unlock it ... and my phone tells me that it was the wrong password. What the what?! I tried again ... and again ... and again ... failing repeatedly. Why doesn't this work? Isn't this feature here to keep unfortunate people like me from getting permanently locked out of my phone or resorting to factory resets? (Ok, sure - this feature is also here to lock out thieves and help find lost phones ... but come on - it should work for this situation too!) Anyhow, at this point, sure, if I had already backed everything up or had Google+ auto-backup installed I would just delete/restore my phone, but I have photos on here that aren't backed up and I don't want to lose. I also found that if I had my phone registered with a Samsung account I could just unlock it ... but alas ... I don't have a Samsung account ... so ...
Somewhere in here I contacted Samsung and they told me they couldn't do anything and to attempt getting help from my provider - inferring that I could verify with Verizon that I am the owner of the phone and they could unlock it. So ... I called Verizon and even went to their physical store location in town and no one was able to help. They all were searching the same web-search results I was finding and suggesting things that I'd already tried. This seems kind of ridiculous to me ... I pay them the money for their services and they don't have a magical machine to help me out with this kind of thing? (Benefit of the doubt - perhaps they don't have a magical machine so that employees at Verizon can't steal phones and strip out the data themselves?) Speaking of magical machines - I did happen upon mobiletechvideos guys and was curious about them ... but I'm trying to do this without paying $30-125 and shipping my phone off if I can avoid it.
So ... I began researching other options ... reading that it is unfortunate that I don't have USB Debugging enabled ... moved on to Heimdall / Odin / JOdin3 - etc (recovery tutorial I found)... I tried flashing my recovery image ... fail ... I compiled my own versions of Heimdall with newer code even because I read that the current release version has some issues ... fail again ... oh, not a Heimdall/Odin problem - it is because of a Verizon lock on bootloader(?) ... and/or b/c I never rooted my phone(?) ... So I began researching more ... it looks like having a Verizon version of this phone makes it even more difficult. So I stopped trying this recovery image flash option and pondered what else I could try.
Then, I had an epiphany "why can't I just restore to factory and THEN use some kind of file recovery program?" BAM! How about that - there's tons of these recovery programs on the internet. BUT, I didn't want to do this to my own phone in case it failed. So, luckily, my wife has the same phone. I backed up all her data, delete/reset to factory defaults, 7 taps to the build number activating dev mode and then activating USB Debug mode, and then tried a number of these recovery programs. NONE of them succeeded. They all appear to have trouble finding and connecting to the phone. Myjad seems to get the farthest in that it appears connected to the phone, but then tells me "activate USB Debugging" and then tells me I don't have it active, but I do! Why isn't it working? Do these recovery programs only work on rooted devices? MTP/PTP don't work? Or perhaps our Android versions are too new? So I'm still stuck on these questions for this ...
This is where I am with this. I just read that perhaps I have to type the Android Device Manager password in with an external keyboard for the Android Device Manager password to work. I'm going to try that.
If that doesn't work I think I'm going to start researching a method that involves rooting the phone without delete/reset? Then perhaps I can try a recovery img flash, but I don't think this is looking promising given the Verizon lock on bootloader? So then I might try the root/delete/reset + recovery program ... perhaps a recovery program will be more flexible on a rooted phone? But, considering I have not rooted before, if this is where I end up with this - I will be asking questions about how to go about that - because it looks like it is particularly tricky with this Verizon S4 ...
If you made it this far - thanks for reading! And thanks in advance if you have some ideas.
TL;DR; (copied from top) I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you have on your phone that you are worried about deleting? If it's contacts that should be saved with your google account. If it's pictures, you should keep dropbox installed so it always backs up your pictures. Now here's how to save your phone. Factory reset it. That's your only option.
You ask
i7vSa7vi7y said:
What do you have on your phone that you are worried about deleting? ... If it's pictures, you should keep dropbox installed so it always backs up your pictures. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I originally stated
roboshawn said:
Anyhow, at this point, sure, if I had already backed everything up or had Google+ auto-backup installed I would just delete/restore my phone, but I have photos on here that aren't backed up and I don't want to lose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So yes, I understand the problem and what I could have done, but harping on that doesn't help me recover the photos.
But enough of that - it is done. So what next?
I tried the physical keyboard connected and it had no difference. I even reset the lock with Android Device Manager in the web browser and then disconnected that keyboard from the computer and used it on my phone. No luck.
The fact that this phone does not properly work with Android Device Manager is infuriating because it really should! And what's happened to me really shouldn't be a problem.
So yes - the next option appears to be to reset to factory. BUT. It still seems like there may be a way to save these photos with a recovery software if I am able to root the phone immediately following the reset. If it doesn't work then I'll just have lost those photos.
roboshawn said:
You ask
I originally stated
So yes, I understand the problem and what I could have done, but harping on that doesn't help me recover the photos.
But enough of that - it is done. So what next?
I tried the physical keyboard connected and it had no difference. I even reset the lock with Android Device Manager in the web browser and then disconnected that keyboard from the computer and used it on my phone. No luck.
The fact that this phone does not properly work with Android Device Manager is infuriating because it really should! And what's happened to me really shouldn't be a problem.
So yes - the next option appears to be to reset to factory. BUT. It still seems like there may be a way to save these photos with a recovery software if I am able to root the phone immediately following the reset. If it doesn't work then I'll just have lost those photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well looks like the only thing you can do is not repeat the same mistake. Factory reset your phone set it up and get dropbox or google drive also root your phone and have usb debugging.
roboshawn said:
So yes - the next option appears to be to reset to factory. BUT. It still seems like there may be a way to save these photos with a recovery software if I am able to root the phone immediately following the reset. If it doesn't work then I'll just have lost those photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. This is how it went.
I reset to factory defaults.
I enabled USB Debugging.
I rooted my phone using the guide over here How to root i545vrufnk1.
I tried various recovery photo/file programs such as Myjad, Yodot, Tenorshare, etc. These programs advertise that they can restore photos after a factory reset. None of them found my old photos. I didn't pay for any of these - I was just using their trial versions. If anyone has used one of these or something like it and had it succeed after a factory reset - please let me know.
I set up Google+ backup.
Next step I'll probably take as additional precaution is to setup the Samsung account service.
To reiterate - this is utterly frustrating that the Android Device Manager remote lock solution does not work for these phones - it goes so far as to tease you with the functionality, but essentially permanently lock your phone.
For anyone else looking to solve this problem - you may or may not have success depending on if you have a samsung account or usb debugging already on or a phone that is not exactly an I545, check out these links:
[RESOLVED] HELP please!! Unable to unlock device locked by Google Device Manager
How to Recover Photos and Data From a Keylocked Android Phone
Samsung Account
Good luck and fix your stuff - Samsung and Google!!!
If you reboot to recovery you should be able to use adb to pull files even without debugging turned on is the OS?
I'm having the exact same problem on my nexus 10 did you ever solve it? Seems really stupid that the adm lock function is so broken
I just had the same problem with a Samsung Galaxy S5. I solved the problem and unlocked my phone. Suggest the following if you locked your phone with a lock pattern:
1) Try the wrong pattern 5 times
2) You will see a message asking if you," Forgot Password"
3) Tap that message and you will be presented with a screen requesting your email and password.
4) Use your Google credentials and you will be able to unlock your phone.
Good luck!
change the lock pattern from settings
Go to settings>security and change your home lock screen.This worked for me.
ADM - Blessing and a curse?
Ok so yesterday my wife's phone was stolen out of a car. First we had AT&T shut down the services. According to the history, the attacker actually tried to access Paypal, and tried for a couple of minutes and gave up when he didn't get anywhere. He sent a password reset, that didn't go through. Then I found the ADM and turned on the Lock-screen with a message to call me. According to those who found the phone, the attacker apparently threw the phone underneath a car in a parking lot. The ADM-lock screen allowed them to call me... "Thank you 'Google!'"
Now to the bad news: I cannot get it to 'UNLOCK!'. No password I put in works. And when I attempt to reset the lock I get: "Since Google has verified that a screen lock is already set, the password you entered won't be needed". I guessing this means that it won't alter the password or it can't. Many people all over the internet have come up with all sorts of ideas for this. But I don't see anything 'satisfactory'. Besides just a complete 'reset'. So I really have killed the phone I just recovered? Meaning the ADM is also a 'Curse'? With sarcasm: "Thank you 'Google!'"
This is a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active SGH-I537. I've already attempted to hook up an USB cable, I see nothing. I'm pretty sure that USB debugging is not enabled.
I can enter the password 15-20 times, it never offers me for a 'forget password'. It sometimes says that I need to wait 30 seconds. It keeps tract of how many so-called bad attempts.
PS: I got it... After 30 guesses. The first password apparently stuck. Apparently I wasn't thinking too much, and I put in 'dude'. LOL. And it is now unlocked.
You are living my Exact Story!!
I have a Galaxy S4, and I had a pattern lock on my screen. I also have a 2-year-old, who unfortunately got ahold of my phone and locked it out. It's asking me for the backup Pin- which I've entered over and over, but it keeps saying it's incorrect. Now I have one try left before a factory reset Please help!! I don't want to loose all my memories of the precious (however difficult) daughter
It's also started having a white pop up box that says "Unfortunately, phone has stopped." Then asks me to click ok- it goes away for 5 seconds then pops back up again.
I have already contacted Verizon both over phone and went into the store. Both told me they could not help.. also already went to the Android Device Manager and tried to lock it so I could at least call my husband- I put in the Call Owner thing...
SO FRUSTRATING!!!! Anyway- still don't know what to do..... But just couldn't help but reply when I read your story- It was serious deja vu!!!!!
roboshawn said:
TL;DR; I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
I wanted to share my experience up until this point. And if the physical keyboard doesn't work continue sharing. And perhaps someone else would have a miracle answer.
The story (sorry this is long - hence the TL;DR; at top) :
I had the swipe touch password enabled. My daughter was playing with my phone for some time until it deactivated the swipe-touch password and started asking for a PIN. This is when she handed it to me. My first reaction was "oh no - I don't remember this" But, I gave a few numbers some tries that I thought might work. I failed ... Then I began research on the internet. I saw something about incorrect guesses after 5 times would reveal a way to enter username/password associated with my gmail. So, I failed a couple more times, but never saw this option.
Then I found "Android Device Manager". I thought I was in luck so I quickly checked my google account and found out that I could ring my phone and the option for "Lock" was also available so I quickly locked it ... and my phone updated ... and I tried to unlock it ... and my phone tells me that it was the wrong password. What the what?! I tried again ... and again ... and again ... failing repeatedly. Why doesn't this work? Isn't this feature here to keep unfortunate people like me from getting permanently locked out of my phone or resorting to factory resets? (Ok, sure - this feature is also here to lock out thieves and help find lost phones ... but come on - it should work for this situation too!) Anyhow, at this point, sure, if I had already backed everything up or had Google+ auto-backup installed I would just delete/restore my phone, but I have photos on here that aren't backed up and I don't want to lose. I also found that if I had my phone registered with a Samsung account I could just unlock it ... but alas ... I don't have a Samsung account ... so ...
Somewhere in here I contacted Samsung and they told me they couldn't do anything and to attempt getting help from my provider - inferring that I could verify with Verizon that I am the owner of the phone and they could unlock it. So ... I called Verizon and even went to their physical store location in town and no one was able to help. They all were searching the same web-search results I was finding and suggesting things that I'd already tried. This seems kind of ridiculous to me ... I pay them the money for their services and they don't have a magical machine to help me out with this kind of thing? (Benefit of the doubt - perhaps they don't have a magical machine so that employees at Verizon can't steal phones and strip out the data themselves?) Speaking of magical machines - I did happen upon mobiletechvideos guys and was curious about them ... but I'm trying to do this without paying $30-125 and shipping my phone off if I can avoid it.
So ... I began researching other options ... reading that it is unfortunate that I don't have USB Debugging enabled ... moved on to Heimdall / Odin / JOdin3 - etc (recovery tutorial I found)... I tried flashing my recovery image ... fail ... I compiled my own versions of Heimdall with newer code even because I read that the current release version has some issues ... fail again ... oh, not a Heimdall/Odin problem - it is because of a Verizon lock on bootloader(?) ... and/or b/c I never rooted my phone(?) ... So I began researching more ... it looks like having a Verizon version of this phone makes it even more difficult. So I stopped trying this recovery image flash option and pondered what else I could try.
Then, I had an epiphany "why can't I just restore to factory and THEN use some kind of file recovery program?" BAM! How about that - there's tons of these recovery programs on the internet. BUT, I didn't want to do this to my own phone in case it failed. So, luckily, my wife has the same phone. I backed up all her data, delete/reset to factory defaults, 7 taps to the build number activating dev mode and then activating USB Debug mode, and then tried a number of these recovery programs. NONE of them succeeded. They all appear to have trouble finding and connecting to the phone. Myjad seems to get the farthest in that it appears connected to the phone, but then tells me "activate USB Debugging" and then tells me I don't have it active, but I do! Why isn't it working? Do these recovery programs only work on rooted devices? MTP/PTP don't work? Or perhaps our Android versions are too new? So I'm still stuck on these questions for this ...
This is where I am with this. I just read that perhaps I have to type the Android Device Manager password in with an external keyboard for the Android Device Manager password to work. I'm going to try that.
If that doesn't work I think I'm going to start researching a method that involves rooting the phone without delete/reset? Then perhaps I can try a recovery img flash, but I don't think this is looking promising given the Verizon lock on bootloader? So then I might try the root/delete/reset + recovery program ... perhaps a recovery program will be more flexible on a rooted phone? But, considering I have not rooted before, if this is where I end up with this - I will be asking questions about how to go about that - because it looks like it is particularly tricky with this Verizon S4 ...
If you made it this far - thanks for reading! And thanks in advance if you have some ideas.
TL;DR; (copied from top) I'm locked out of my phone by Android Device Manager and typing the password in that I gave it is not working using the virtual keyboard. I'm going to try a physical keyboard next as per (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767278) ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might work
KateJuleLynn said:
I have a Galaxy S4, and I had a pattern lock on my screen. I also have a 2-year-old, who unfortunately got ahold of my phone and locked it out. It's asking me for the backup Pin- which I've entered over and over, but it keeps saying it's incorrect. Now I have one try left before a factory reset Please help!! I don't want to loose all my memories of the precious (however difficult) daughter
It's also started having a white pop up box that says "Unfortunately, phone has stopped." Then asks me to click ok- it goes away for 5 seconds then pops back up again.
I have already contacted Verizon both over phone and went into the store. Both told me they could not help.. also already went to the Android Device Manager and tried to lock it so I could at least call my husband- I put in the Call Owner thing...
SO FRUSTRATING!!!! Anyway- still don't know what to do..... But just couldn't help but reply when I read your story- It was serious deja vu!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i too had locked my nubia device through android device manager.
it can be bypassed by rebooting into recovery mode and you need to format /data and /cache.
after this restart your phone through recovery mode it may take 5 to 10 minutes to finally show "android is updating your apps " something like this.
this method worked on my nubia mini and i thing technically it might work on every android phone that is capable of booting into recovery mode.
this method would not delete your photos,music,etc.
only contacts and app data will be gone,i am sure that won't be an issue.
NITLOC1 said:
i too had locked my nubia device through android device manager.
it can be bypassed by rebooting into recovery mode and you need to format /data and /cache.
after this restart your phone through recovery mode it may take 5 to 10 minutes to finally show "android is updating your apps " something like this.
this method worked on my nubia mini and i thing technically it might work on every android phone that is capable of booting into recovery mode.
this method would not delete your photos,music,etc.
only contacts and app data will be gone,i am sure that won't be an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method WILL delete all data that is on the device! This will only not happen if your using a custom recovery solution!
Please be careful when giving advice.
If you log into the Android device manager website, it will assist you in unlocking your device. You can set up a password to bypass the pin lock, and make sure you don't lose your data
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Can you just not flash system... I know there is a nc5 emergency no wipe for odin.. should be one for other firmwares, no?
Samsung SM-T531 Google locked
Hi All
Customer came in with a tablet that was stolen, google locked by her, but later recovered.
In short, this is where i'm at. ADM with her login details, unable to remotely unlock.
When blocking she used a password and device is asking for a PIN instead.
Device wont boot into recovery mode to factory reset.
Cant access device to connect to a network..
I cant think of another way around this.. ANYBODY, PLEASE HELP?
Android Device Manager Samsung Resolution
I read this in another forum, can't remember exactly where but if its your Samsung device use the find my Samsung app. Lock you phone then it may take a minute but the Samsung proprietary app will take over and lock your device. This will allow you entry into the device. Set the screen time out for 30 min then backup your device. This worked my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
My phone did not originally have a lock screen until i used the Android Device Manager. Each time I entered the password it was incorrect. I wasn't presented with an option to enter my email after 5 attempts either. After completing this procedure the option to remove the lock screen was still unavailable as I didn't know the password that was set. I was able to backup my device and reset.
Hope this helps
how can you able to unlock when it is locked by ADM??
Same thing with my Galaxy S5. Many, many times of password & pin incorrect over 5 days, 8 hours of phone & online with AT&T and Samsung and in-store visits. Finally, I did Findmymobile again. The unlock feature never did show up on the left side, but I right (I think) clicked on the location when it found my phone and unlocked it. I was so surprised that I didn't even realize my home screen was visible for at least a half minute. It's worth a try, 'cause I did the same stuff as all of you have said without any good results.
This worked!
microi said:
I just had the same problem with a Samsung Galaxy S5. I solved the problem and unlocked my phone. Suggest the following if you locked your phone with a lock pattern:
1) Try the wrong pattern 5 times
2) You will see a message asking if you," Forgot Password"
3) Tap that message and you will be presented with a screen requesting your email and password.
4) Use your Google credentials and you will be able to unlock your phone.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I left my device at a Starbucks and didn't realize until I got home. I went into my Google account to change password and found I could locate my locate and lock it so I did. It located the device exactly where I left it - at Stuckbucks. So, I went back in the morning to recover it...with a locked home screen with my message on it. Unable to unlock directly on the device. I went back home to research this on my desktop. Google Account doesn't have unlock device feature so I used the search engine and found this forum. I followed the instructions and bingo, my device is now unlocked! I was about ready to get a new device!

Bricked or Boot loader problem. Help

Is my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Bricked ?
I got the phone from Ebay on July 6,2015 everything was great
But on the morning of Sep 21st looking at my gallery pictures, I found they deleted themselves?
not knowing what that meant I went looking for recovery software "Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android"
it was not working so I had to root(?) my phone, so I went to the google play store and found a root app that seem
to have high reviews, tried it and did not work out right the phone restated saying "Samsung's firmware upgrade encountered an issue" so the next day did some research first before trying anything. I downloaded Odin3 and entered download mode & flashed the Samsung it restarted had it on for 3-4 hours
then turned it off & turned it on later to find it would not go pass the Samsung logo so I went to hold the off button shutting the phone off that happen 2 times and on the 3rd try turning it on It did not come on at all. Went to see if google had anything on this some say it is bricked and need to use a jig so I got one from a USA seller on ebay and returned it because it did not work at all. Not the phone still won't come on & I can't enter download mode, how do I fix this, is it a boot loader problem? is it hard bricked? do I need to take it to someone if so who & how much would that cost? you think.
Other Info of the phone
70% of battery is on the phone
It's factory Unlocked
Root Software I tried to use was (Kingo SuperUser)[Root]
I found they deleted themselves?
not knowing what that meant I went looking for recovery software "Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android"
it was not working so I had to root(?) my phone, so I went to the google play store and found a root app that seem
to have high reviews, tried it and did not work out right "UNQUOTE"...........What was the reasoning behind the rooting your phone for lost pictures??? if had wanted to get into the stock 3E recovery of your phone, all you had to do was, rocker up on Volume,pwr on, and menu key......dr phone may have flashed the wrong Bootloader, which makes you extremely lucky it even turned on to Odin it.....the problem your facing with it not turning on at all could be either [1] you have the wrong primary boot loader on it, which means its hard bricked, but im thinking you have a bad battery, because you were able to restart it after you flashed what exactly with Odin??......what did you flash with Odin??...an entire ROM, a bootloader file, or a kernel file by wrong chance, whatever it was we need to know... your not giving out enough info here, to determine if it was the correct SW for the phone you have, also what did you tick or not tick with Odin??.... extremely weak or going bad battery's cause abnormal voltages and abnormal symptoms as well...you might have a battery that finally went completely bad!!....there's usually only 3 things that cause a phone to not power on!...1] flashing wrong firmware, corrupting the primary bootloader...2]bad internal/failed hardware...3] a bad battery either its causing abnormal voltages or producing nothing from being totally dead!!...you state you cant power on anything, nothing visually illuminates, plus your saying it wont go into DL mode....volume rocker down, menu button and the pwr button all together will get you into DL mode, if you can power on a DL mode to the phone it is NOT HARDBRICKED!!...that means a softbrick situation= SW corruption....we need further more detailed info here!!...BTW YOU POSTED THIS QUESTION IN THE WRONG FORUM, THIS IS DISCUSSION FORUM , OTHER FORUM IS FOR TROUBLESHOOTING, WHICH IS WHAT YOUR TRYING TO DO HERE!!!
dseldown said:
I found they deleted themselves?
not knowing what that meant I went looking for recovery software "Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android"
it was not working so I had to root(?) my phone, so I went to the google play store and found a root app that seem
to have high reviews, tried it and did not work out right "UNQUOTE"...........What was the reasoning behind the rooting your phone for lost pictures??? if had wanted to get into the stock 3E recovery of your phone, all you had to do was, rocker up on Volume,pwr on, and menu key......dr phone may have flashed the wrong Bootloader, which makes you extremely lucky it even turned on to Odin it.....the problem your facing with it not turning on at all could be either [1] you have the wrong primary boot loader on it, which means its hard bricked, but im thinking you have a bad battery, because you were able to restart it after you flashed what exactly with Odin??......what did you flash with Odin??...an entire ROM, a bootloader file, or a kernel file by wrong chance, whatever it was we need to know... your not giving out enough info here, to determine if it was the correct SW for the phone you have, also what did you tick or not tick with Odin??.... extremely weak or going bad battery's cause abnormal voltages and abnormal symptoms as well...you might have a battery that finally went completely bad!!....there's usually only 3 things that cause a phone to not power on!...1] flashing wrong firmware, corrupting the primary bootloader...2]bad internal/failed hardware...3] a bad battery either its causing abnormal voltages or producing nothing from being totally dead!!...you state you cant power on anything, nothing visually illuminates, plus your saying it wont go into DL mode....volume rocker down, menu button and the pwr button all together will get you into DL mode, if you can power on a DL mode to the phone it is NOT HARDBRICKED!!...that means a softbrick situation= SW corruption....we need further more detailed info here!!...BTW YOU POSTED THIS QUESTION IN THE WRONG FORUM, THIS IS DISCUSSION FORUM , OTHER FORUM IS FOR TROUBLESHOOTING, WHICH IS WHAT YOUR TRYING TO DO HERE!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should I post this in the Troubleshooting Forum?
The pictures I took on the phone disappeared all 300+ pictures disappeared .I am the only one using the Samsung
and it was on my table all that day. So I went to google to find a photo recovery software & found a software called
Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android (you can find videos on youtube) & using the software it can do 2 things, auto root the phone to find the photos and bring it back to normal or you Have to have your phone rooted. The auto root setting was not working on the Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android software so I went to the google play store on my Samsung and found a root app that a lot seem to like as it was 4.4 stars, went to install that the app stated I should have "Kingo SuperUser" on my computer so had that put on the went to root the phone & it did not work.
I got a screen on the Samsung saying "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again." Youtube had a video on this same problem so I went to Sammobile's site and download the firmware what was
"2014-06-11 USA(Verizon) Version 4.4.2 PDA (I605VRUFND7) Kies. After I downloaded that I downloaded Odin3_v3.10.6 opened it had auto "Reboot & F.Reset Time" selected and added the firmware MD5 file add in the "AP" secion then Entered Download mode on the Samsung & hooked it up to my computer
then I hit start about 30min later it Passed with a green light and everything seem back to normal 3 hours later I went to turn the Samsung off and latter that night when I went to turn it on it got stuck at the Samsung logo that happen 2 times and on the third time it did not come on & so can't "enter download mode" and the "usb Jig" did not
work. What happen & what do I need to next. Do I take the phone to someone to fix this.
Short version of the story
.Pictures I took 300+ disappeared so when looking for recovery software
.Found a software called "Wondershare Dr.Fone for Android" (the software had "2" Options for recovering. 1 the software would
Auto Root and bring the Samsung back to normal after recovering the pictures or I would have to had the phone already rooted.
. When to the google play store with the Samsung, found a root app download that & "It stated I should download "Kingo SuperUser" to my computer so I did that.
.It failed & got a screen on the Samsung Saying "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again".
.Went to Sammobile's site and download Firmware 2014-06-11 USA(Verizon) Version 4.4.2 PDA (I605VRUFND7) Kies
.Download Odin3_v3.10.6 had auto "Reboot & F.Reset Time" selected and added the firmware MD5 file add in the "AP" secion
Entered download mode & the Samsung passed
.Everything was back I had it on for 3-4 hours then shutdown the phone later that night went to turn on and it got stuck
at the Samsung logo 2 times and on the 3rd time it would not turn on nor enter "Download Mode"
.Got a "usb Jig" & that did not work and now I am here wondering what do next & what happen to my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 do I need to take to someone to fix it ?
Samsung Galaxy Not 2 Unlocked
SCH-I605V version (Verizon)
my battery was %70 full
You may have a possible hardware problem then= a bad motherboard and possible replacement!!!....Can you power it on in anyway shape or form??...meaning can you toggle it into recovery??...can you toggle it into DL mode??....does it pwr on to the bootloader screen and continuously loop???.....if you can do any of those things then its not hardbricked, which means you need to reconstuct the SW and then see if the Hardware holds stable....If it doesn't....then it could be a severe HW problem!!!....For the future be advised that, you completely took the wrong road to achieving blindly what you intended to do!!...meaning ....you should've completely took control of the situation and been totally proactive in your rooting and unlocking the bootloader...you wrongly turned to 3rd party APP's when you should've read first...educated yourself completely on what you were to embark on, and then set everything up with 3 different choices of rooting/unlocking..again depending on what ROM version your operating on, before engaging!!.....NEVER TRUST 3rd party APP's to do something only you should have step by step control of = lazy!!!.....I personally wouldve 1st tried to get to the stock 3e recovery, and attempt a nandroid backup of the phone as it was...then afterwards try to get the phone detected on my computer, so as to access the file containing the photos, transferred them to the computer safely... then flash the phone to a stock ROM with root already baked in or not = equals totaly factory stock.. doesnt really matter!!!.... and then set up the phone again, and see what it WILL!!! or WONT!!! do!!...point is, easter-egging a problem carelessly, will cause you to either install the wrong stuff or go completely outta proper sequence and either hose the SW, or worst case scenario....corrupt the primary Bootloader and hardbrick it!!....if you can power it into DL mode!!!.... Then, 1st BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!.... go get Odin 3.07....then get the Samsung drivers for your computer to detect the phone...then DL the Pit file "sch-1605-16gb.pit"....then the proper stock ROM..4.1.1...4.1.2 in .TAR files only, BTW there is a stock 4.1.2 with rooted already in it!!....and then flash your phone using Odin with the pit file and then tick the PDA .tar file of whatever ROM. you choose.....I suggest 4.1.2 as a base to start with and reconstruct it, re-root it if necessary, that's if you choose the one W/O rooted baked into the ROM and unlock it with advice above using ghetto root, do not use adams outlers unlocker, there seems to be problems with it, triggering KNOX, and YOU DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!!....relying on 3rd party app's will FK you up....use your head...not your heart!!...and yes you really should post NEXT time in the trouble-shooting forum, but for now leave it here!!...for your benefit!!
dseldown said:
You may have a possible hardware problem then= a bad motherboard and possible replacement!!!....Can you power it on in anyway shape or form??...meaning can you toggle it into recovery??...can you toggle it into DL mode??....does it pwr on to the bootloader screen and continuously loop???.....if you can do any of those things then its not hardbricked, which means you need to reconstuct the SW and then see if the Hardware holds stable....If it doesn't....then it could be a severe HW problem!!!....For the future be advised that, you completely took the wrong road to achieving blindly what you intended to do!!...meaning ....you should've completely took control of the situation and been totally proactive in your rooting and unlocking the bootloader...you wrongly turned to 3rd party APP's when you should've read first...educated yourself completely on what you were to embark on, and then set everything up with 3 different choices of rooting/unlocking..again depending on what ROM version your operating on, before engaging!!.....NEVER TRUST 3rd party APP's to do something only you should have step by step control of = lazy!!!.....I personally wouldve 1st tried to get to the stock 3e recovery, and attempt a nandroid backup of the phone as it was...then afterwards try to get the phone detected on my computer, so as to access the file containing the photos, transferred them to the computer safely... then flash the phone to a stock ROM with root already baked in or not = equals totaly factory stock.. doesnt really matter!!!.... and then set up the phone again, and see what it WILL!!! or WONT!!! do!!...point is, easter-egging a problem carelessly, will cause you to either install the wrong stuff or go completely outta proper sequence and either hose the SW, or worst case scenario....corrupt the primary Bootloader and hardbrick it!!....if you can power it into DL mode!!!.... Then, 1st BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!.... go get Odin 3.07....then get the Samsung drivers for your computer to detect the phone...then DL the Pit file "sch-1605-16gb.pit"....then the proper stock ROM..4.1.1...4.1.2 in .TAR files only, BTW there is a stock 4.1.2 with rooted already in it!!....and then flash your phone using Odin with the pit file and then tick the PDA .tar file of whatever ROM. you choose.....I suggest 4.1.2 as a base to start with and reconstruct it, re-root it if necessary, that's if you choose the one W/O rooted baked into the ROM and unlock it with advice above using ghetto root, do not use adams outlers unlocker, there seems to be problems with it, triggering KNOX, and YOU DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!!....relying on 3rd party app's will FK you up....use your head...not your heart!!...and yes you really should post NEXT time in the trouble-shooting forum, but for now leave it here!!...for your benefit!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it's the hardware? as It won't come on nor enter Download mode.
Now what, Do I take it somewhere? to fix it what ever it is ?
http://mobiletechvideos.com/
bigmike35 said:
Are you saying I can take it to them to fix it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SamsungNoteFan said:
bigmike35 said:
Are you saying I can take it to them to fix it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cant take it but you can mail it. They unbricked my phone awhile back when something happened. It was good service. I rec'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Rooting/Rom Unsuccessful (Bootloop solved SM-G925F)

Hi. I have spent the past 10 hours trying to root my phone and install an XtraLite type of ROM because I am so sick of have 75% of my RAM used up when I haven't even started using the phone. I softbricked my phone, and after hours of trying to solve every minor issue that came up I finally found a solution and managed to flash a stock ROM. I have a lot of questions that I would love to get answers to because I am a little bit confused right now.
My history.
Bootloader
I spent so much time googling this and I decided to trust one site that said, if you can't find the "OEM Unlocked" option in "Developer Options" then your bootloader is probably already unlocked. This was the closest I got to an answer, along with many people with SM-G925F saying the root was successful for them without doing something to their bootloader. Can someone please clarify what I need to do with the bootloader with my EU SM-G925F?
Flashmode/Download Mode
Prior to this I spent very long trying the "adb-windows reboot bootloader/flashboot-windows oem unlock" without any results. However I somehow came to the conclusion that "Download" mode for my Samsung was no different. Any clarification on this subject please?
Rooting
The first rooting guide I trusted was the CF-Auto-Root page. This is where the bootloader question was raised but as I came to the conclusion that the bootloader already was unlocked, I decided to give it a shot. I downloaded SM-G925F file, added it to AP on Odin, and flashed my phone. Now my phone was locked in a bootloop. According to CF-Root page "A modified recovery and cache partition will be flashed, which will install (only) SuperSU, then clean-up the cache partition and re-flash the stock recovery. For the root to work, the device must reboot into recovery. Most devices will do this automatically after flashing these files, but in case that does not happen, please boot into recovery manually.". As you probably guessed, my phone never booted into recovery mode, and I was never able to manually do it either since the phone was in a unstoppable bootloop. Did I do something wrong here or misunderstand anything?
ROM Instructions
My first choice was: http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...xtrestolite-deodexed-mod-edition-1-3-t3119968
I failed the first step, never even managed to root with CF-Root. And regarding TWRP, I did download the correct version "twrp-3.0.0-0-zerolteeu" I assume. However, many descriptions say my phone needs to be rooted before I can install TWRP so I never tried to install it. Even if, I couldn't find a detailed enough description of how to install TWRP. All it says is "flash it". Problem is, I am not sure if I am supposed to be in "Download mode" and use Odin loading TWRP into "AP" or how does this work?
Never got to the ROM installing, but it would be nice to have something more detailed than "Put it on your phone, install it". Like, do I enter recovery mode and navigate to the rar file and chose to install it? Not sure how this works.
My solution to bootloop
This part took me the longest. For those stuck in a bootloop. Holding DownVolume + Power button for at least 15 sec will simulate disconnection of the battery. This helps you turn you device off. Also, if you nothing happens, make sure you unplug the USB cable as it keeps trying charge and show the status it tries to boot and keeps looping as a result. I could always manage to get into "download mode" through DownVolume + Home Button + Power Button no matter what, and I am grateful for that. I managed to find the exact build I was using on my phone "G925FXXU3COJ1_G925FOJV3COJ1_G925FXXU3COI9_HOME". But everytime I tried to flash, it always failed in the end. I spent hours on google. Someone mentioned something about it failing on a certain point of the writing, involving hidden.img. I googled for info on how to resolve this, and someone suggested to rename hidden.img to hidden.tar but it did not help. I also read some threads regarding using a matching PIT file and there were about 7 different ones to chose from. I tried them all without success. Finally I read something about removing hidden.img from the ROM. I renamed the ROM from .tar.md5 to .tar. Unpacked it, and then repacked it without hidden.img using tar-Tool from these forums. The following flash of the new created tar.md5 (without hidden.img in it) was successful.
Slave for stubborness
Unfortunately since I spent so long getting through this horrible experience, I would feel bad have wasted an entire day just to get a phone that is now reset. I could have done that in 30 seconds. However I am persistent to get this working and I am truly grateful for any help you people can supply my with. I did manage to root and ROM my old S3 but that was a while ago and I only remember a few small things about Odin and so forth. However things seem much more complicated now than before.
Thank you in advance,
Alex

Need Help on unbricking Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge [Removing FRP Lock and/or Fixing DRK]

So a couple days ago I was given a new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge from my dad's friend. At the time I was checking out the phone and was enjoying it until I noticed that I couldn't update the software because I was using an unauthorized system. I was also getting multiple popups from SuperSU. I looked up the app itself and I found out that the previous owner rooted the phone. Since it was rooted, I couldn't return this to a store or even access privacy mode for some reason. So I deleted my apps, and deleted my google accounts and tried to unroot the system myself by going on a few tutorials I would find on Youtube.
I downloaded the stock firmware and used Odin to flash it onto my phone to unroot it. It didn't worked as each time I tried I got brought to Recovery Mode a "dm-verity verification failed...." "Need to check DRK first...". I was unable to access normal mode because of it so I rooted the phone back myself since I was getting so inpatient and because I had to wait a while to download the stock firmware to begin with. I once again had a rooted phone with SuperSU installed again. This time though I decided to search SuperSU and I found the option to unroot the system in the app itself.
Since I was curious to see if it actually worked this time around I just pressed it and the cycle followed. I couldn't access Normal Mode and downloading the stock version didn't work either because again "dm-verity verification failed...." "Need to check DRK first...". This time it was much worse than last. I found out that FRP is enabled if the google account is still on the phone, so I couldn't reroot again and any custom firmware would fail when flashed. I tried removing the google accounts through my PC but it didnt seem to work. I tried everything, from Smart Switch, to different firmwares, to trying to flash fixes, to extracting firmware without cache.img .
Every problem I had went hand in hand as I couldn't download customize firmwares because of FRP being on, and I couldn't access the normal mode to remove my accounts because I keep getting booted to recovery mode because dm-verity and drk failed. I wasn't able to update from ADB either because my phone is only recognized by other devices when in Downloading mode. It's been about 3 days since Ive been trying to fix this but nothing seems to be working.
Please, if you know how I can fix this mess please help me out. Thanks
My model is SM-G925T
Whats the build of the last stock rom you flashed on your phone?
Same problem with my s6 edge
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (LTE) Bricked? Bootloop HELP

Hello, I am new here and I made a huge mistake!
I purchased Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (LTE) literarally 1-2 days ago and I wanted to root it, I had my smart phone rooted which did not have Knox protections, it was as straight forward as flashing TWRP and use Magisk via instructions I followed.
I make use of "Root" privileges a lot when using my device, I find it very important to my daily life so I decided to risk rooting it, after doing so my tablet was showing 2 errors, that its not using official samsung software and that the boot loader is unlocked, when I unlocked the boot loader using OEM Unlock everything went fine, the option was greyed out and checked afterwards.
During the boot process, it reboots 2 times and it shows a integrity error, integrity and some very long number, I am assuming its a integrity check? I have the exact matching firmware, so I flashed back the stock firmware and... the "not using official samsung software" warning disappeared, it boots me into recovery mode, I choose "reboot" and the device goes to boot looping with the same error.
I was following this tutorial: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s6-lite/how-to/howto-unlock-root-galaxy-tab-s6-lite-t4132289
But there are some things I skipped, here the exact steps I took:
Unlocking Boot Loader:
Followed all the steps from 1 to 4 but I skipped the 5th step entirely, the step where it asks you to mess with firmware date and twrp, I did none of that, I will mention that when I was looking for stock firmware to download before doing anything, I was not able to understand the CSC so I didn't know which firmware to exactly use until a software update came up which told me the exact firmware, I accepted the update and download that stock firmware, because my firmware was updated I didn't think that following the few steps of the step 5 would've done everything as I was already off the path.
I didn't do the 6th step as I just checked of the OEM Unlock is greyed out and still checked in the "developer options" section, I assumed that it was a success, not to mention the boot loader unlocked warning that was showing up and yes, all the data was erased and was forced to go through the setup process again as expected.
Root the tablet:
1. I have downloaded the firmware as it says not just for the purpose of rooting, the firmware that the software update told me about, this is the firmware I downloaded, the firmware is a exact match, everything is matching: https://samfrew.com/download/Galaxy__Tab__S6__Lite__-LTE-__/xs5l/SEB/P615XXU3BTI3/P615OXM3BTI3/
2. I follow all the steps from 2 to 11 from here.
3. When I reached step 12, I went to download mode and I look for any messages regarding it only allowing for official samsung images, but I saw no such message, didn't really pay attention to anything else, I just glossed over things, considering there was no such message I assumed that KG/RMM state was good, don't know what it was but it might not have been "prenormal" because there was no message regarding official samsung images, from here I falshed the boot.tar file like in the instructions, that lead me to my current problem I mentioned at the very start of this post.
4. There was no step 13 as I can't boot into android due to "integrity" error I have, right now I have my tablet turned off (thank god I can do that) via the recovery that shows up after flashing stock firmware.
Addition Info:
1. I don't have any data to lose, if I need to do a factory reset or something of that sort, I have no problems doing that.
2. As I mentioned at top, I do have a stock firmware downloaded from this link here: https://samfrew.com/download/Galaxy__Tab__S6__Lite__-LTE-__/xs5l/SEB/P615XXU3BTI3/P615OXM3BTI3/
3. The tablet is: SM-P615 (Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (LTE), I bought the LTE so I could use it as my phone)
4. At the download mode, the OEM (Boot Loader) state is set to NO and the FFS (I don't remember if its FFS exactly at the moment, something FF I believe, I don't want to turn on my tablet at the moment) was set to NO.
5. The KG (No RMM mention that I could see anywhere) state is showing up as "Checking..."
What do I need to do to fix my tablet? do I need to wait for 7 days? if so how do I do so, like does leaving my tablet off count or not?
PS: I am a self-thought experienced low-level windows programmer, I've been doing programming for over 10 years now, never have worked with Android development but I can attempt to build something from source if necesarry, I know very little about Linux OS as I purely work with Windows and use Windows for everything including servers.
I have done some research regarding that "integrity" error and I can't find any screenshot in google images that matches how it looks on my screen, but there are a lot of them quite similar to it, which basically says "verification failed, factory data reset your phone", in my case I don't have that message, it just says "integrity", but when the boot looping stops and shows that failure I do have 3 options, "try again" and "Factory data reset" and the 3th one I don't remember, I am suspecting that this could be my problem! I believe the samsung just changed the way that particular message is shown (visual change), so I just need a factory data reset and it will work, most likely with the rooted boot.img file! I will attempt this after a few hours of this reply, I may have panicked too early.
The issue has been fixed
Well this is surprising, I was about to do the factory reset but before doing so I decided to flash the same magisk patched boot.img file, when I flashed I saw seeing those 2 warning messages as expected, I was expecting for it to fail after 2 boot loops so I can do the factory reset as intended but on the 3th boot loop the tablet booted up! I was brought at the android setup screen, once I was done with that I checked the OEM Unlock, it was still checked and greyed out, downloaded Magisk Manager and to my surprised it worked! Magisk Root latest version is installed and working, it asked me to allow magisk do some "additional setup", the tablet booted up perfectly fine after that "additional setup", I check root privileges using "Root Checker" and it worked, I have root privileges! I most likely have panicked too soon, sorry for wasting your time! Hopefully this post will be useful to someone in the future looking to root their tablet.
My assumption of what happened: When I flashed the stock firmware AP a second time so I can turn off my tablet, it most likely did a factory reset without me knowing, so when I flashed magisk again before letting it try boot up again, the tablet booted perfectly fine because factory reset has already occured, which brought me to the android setup screen.

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