Have I bricked my phone? (I9300) - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've been using CM13 on my phone for a long while, but it was heavily bugged (my camera kept crashing, I've kept losing cell reception, couldn't receive calls etc), so I finally decided to try another ROM. I've heard good things about ResurrectionRemix ROMs, so I've decided to give it a try. I did factory reset and wiped cache (using CWM 6. something) and flashed RR 7.1 along with the appropriate gapps and rebooted the phone. It's worth noting that I've put the ROM and Gapps zip files on USB stick and connected it to the phone via micro USB cable. It all went smoothly, and the phone booted right up. However, once I got into the startup setting and choosing the language suddenly it just rebooted all on its own. Same thing happened 2 more times, and I got stuck in a bootloop after that.
So I figured I should flash another ROM, and I wanted to give RR 6.0 a try. I've downloaded it and saved it to my USB stick, however, when I tried to flash any zip files from my stick, it just kept randomly unmounting, disrupting the process, giving me "USBdisc0 idle-unmounted" message. Since I don't have an SD card, only thing I could do was push files to my phone, and I've managed to do so via Quick ADB Pusher. This time, flashing went without a hitch, however, I've tried cleaning my phone completely (formatting all the data and system files), and I think I messed it up a bit when I did that, since I didn't flash SuperSU along with ROP and gapps. Again, I got stuck in a bootloop without any signs of the ROM working.
So I decided to flash CM13 again. At least I was sure it was working on my phone, and I figured it was better to have a crappy phone than no phone at all. So I pushed the CM13 file onto the phone and flashed it, but still got stuck in bootloop. I finally remembered about SuperSU and tried to flash it too, but now my phone kept restarting in the middle of the flashing process. I've tried doing the factory reset and cache wipe, but I can't flash any files now without it restarting only few seconds into the process.
I have no idea what's going on, but seems that my phone is doing worse and worse as time moves on. At least I can still boot into recovery and download mode, so (hopefully) something can still be done. As it's probably painfully obvious, I'm not too knowledgeable about this stuff, I'm just following instructions people smarter than me put out, but seems I've messed it up good this time. Am I beyond help?

Try to download newest firmware from sanmobile.com and flash it with odin. Then root it make backup flash recovery and flash rom that you choose with recovery. There are lots of tutorials here on xda and on youtube. Just remember that flashing stock firmware with odin will delete all of your data so try to back them up somehow (i think that if you boot phone in recovery (twrp) the pc will see it like a pendrive)

Sirius8 said:
...
As it's probably painfully obvious, I'm not too knowledgeable about this stuff, I'm just following instructions people smarter than me put out, but seems I've messed it up good this time. Am I beyond help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH you made the mistake many beginners make... Going ahead too fast with insufficient knowledge. But never too late to learn that lesson
Since you are getting more and more confused and your phone seems acting strange I recommend starting from scratch an be analytic about it. This will take just a few minutes more but you can be sure where a problem comes from.
First of all: Take 30 minutes to get acquainted with the basics and read through the first thread in my signature (just do it...)
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
If all is fine go back to ODIN and install latest TWRP (cwm is seriously outdated, can cause lots of errors). Then boot into TWRP and flash whatever custom rom you like. If you install e.g. LOS 14.1 or RR 7.1.1 make sure you install gapps direcly after you flash the rom (do not reboot in between).
Any questions pop up: Shoot. I'm happy to help.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
McXred said:
Try to download newest firmware from sanmobile.com and flash it with odin. Then root it make backup flash recovery and flash rom that you choose with recovery. There are lots of tutorials here on xda and on youtube. Just remember that flashing stock firmware with odin will delete all of your data so try to back them up somehow (i think that if you boot phone in recovery (twrp) the pc will see it like a pendrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since he already wiped system and data there is no point in a backup of those partitions. Only thing worth saving would be the efs partition.
And you don't need to root stock rom to go further...
If you are unrooted you have to REMOVE the "auto-reboot" checkmark in odin options and then - after the flash of twrp - reboot to recovery (TWRP) manually via holding Power+Home+VolUp for a few seconds.
If you do not uncheck that "auto-reboot" box, an thus allow the unrooted system (stock samsung system) to boot, it will overwrite the new twrp recovery you flashed 2 seconds before...
This is the point where I believe many confusion comes from. If you root first, any recovery you flash will not be overwritten. That is - I think - why many tutorials/tips say you must root stock first before installing a custom rom, which is simply not true.
But you are right that it would help to flash TWRP fist as outlined above, boot into it and make a backup to a microSD card... but of the efs partition (!) as the very first step. Then keep that backup safe and go from there with stock rom, testing for any problems.
So to reiterate the steps I would go:
1) Flash TWRP via odin and boot directly into it
2) Backup efs partition to a microSD card
3) Flash stock rom via ODIN and test
4) Go from there / report baback

Thank you so much for the replies guys, I'm glad there's still hope for my trusty SIII.
Are there any alternatives for sammobile.com though, since it requires premium account for the firmware I need. I've found another mirror on the site mrcrab.net/stockrom/2444.html (mirror 1 leads to sammobile.com, while mirror 2 leads directly to rapidgator), but can I trust it not to mess my phone up further?

Try updato.com for the firmware.

Hawaiihemd said:
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've manage to flash stock ROM via Odin, however, as soon as the phone booted up it gave me the "low battery" message, even though I think there was plenty of battery left. But I figured the flashing process must have drained it. As I've tried to tap the OK button, the screen just froze and remained frozen for over 5 minutes. I took battery out and reinserted it, since nothing else worked, and got stuck in bootloop again, just as before flashing stock firmware.

Sirius8 said:
I've manage to flash stock ROM via Odin, however, as soon as the phone booted up it gave me the "low battery" message, even though I think there was plenty of battery left. But I figured the flashing process must have drained it. As I've tried to tap the OK button, the screen just froze and remained frozen for over 5 minutes. I took battery out and reinserted it, since nothing else worked, and got stuck in bootloop again, just as before flashing stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to charge phone without turning it on, when it says its fully charged try to flash it again.

McXred said:
Try to charge phone without turning it on, when it says its fully charged try to flash it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea. I would also keep it on the charger while booting.
This could be a symptom of a defective battery. So these steps might help.

Looks like you were right guys. I've recharged the battery and tried to flash the stock firmware again, but for some odd reason (it seems like I can't do the same thing twice with this phone ) Odin was giving me grief and couldn't establish proper connection with my phone, even though it recognized it at the beginning of the process. I've tried changing cables and ports, but with no avail.
After I gave that up, I tried booting the phone up anyway, but keeping it plugged in the charger this time. It booted right up, but I expected it to crash and reboot at any moment. So I sped up through the settings a and login processes, but it still worked like a charm. I've checked the camera and everything worked perfectly. So I kept it on charger for a couple of hours, to check if I would have any random crashes, but nothing happened. After I was sure it was stable, I unplugged the charger, and within the second I did that the phone crashed and got stuck in the bootloop again.
I've plugged the charger back in and it booted up just fine. The battery level was 89%, and I left it on charger the whole night (12+ hours). It had 90% when I woke up, it's back at 89% right now.
So, everything points to a faulty battery, but it seems strange to me this happened just as I was flashing another ROM, even though I never had any problems with it before. And even though it wouldn't let me boot, I could use recovery and download mode for as long as I liked, and once I did boot with the charger plugged in, the battery wasn't drained but it was around 90%.

Hawaiihemd said:
TBH you made the mistake many beginners make... Going ahead too fast with insufficient knowledge. But never too late to learn that lesson
Since you are getting more and more confused and your phone seems acting strange I recommend starting from scratch an be analytic about it. This will take just a few minutes more but you can be sure where a problem comes from.
First of all: Take 30 minutes to get acquainted with the basics and read through the first thread in my signature (just do it...)
If you can still get in download mode, get your latest stock rom e.g. from sammobile.com and flash it via ODIN. Run stock for a few minutes to see if everything works correctly (test camera, outgoing/incoming calls, mobile data, wifi, gps etc.). If something does not work STOP HERE and report back.
If all is fine go back to ODIN and install latest TWRP (cwm is seriously outdated, can cause lots of errors). Then boot into TWRP and flash whatever custom rom you like. If you install e.g. LOS 14.1 or RR 7.1.1 make sure you install gapps direcly after you flash the rom (do not reboot in between).
Any questions pop up: Shoot. I'm happy to help.
---------- Post added at 04:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Since he already wiped system and data there is no point in a backup of those partitions. Only thing worth saving would be the efs partition.
And you don't need to root stock rom to go further...
If you are unrooted you have to REMOVE the "auto-reboot" checkmark in odin options and then - after the flash of twrp - reboot to recovery (TWRP) manually via holding Power+Home+VolUp for a few seconds.
If you do not uncheck that "auto-reboot" box, an thus allow the unrooted system (stock samsung system) to boot, it will overwrite the new twrp recovery you flashed 2 seconds before...
This is the point where I believe many confusion comes from. If you root first, any recovery you flash will not be overwritten. That is - I think - why many tutorials/tips say you must root stock first before installing a custom rom, which is simply not true.
But you are right that it would help to flash TWRP fist as outlined above, boot into it and make a backup to a microSD card... but of the efs partition (!) as the very first step. Then keep that backup safe and go from there with stock rom, testing for any problems.
So to reiterate the steps I would go:
1) Flash TWRP via odin and boot directly into it
2) Backup efs partition to a microSD card
3) Flash stock rom via ODIN and test
4) Go from there / report baback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still on charger, still 90 percent.

Related

[GUIDE][ROM FLASHING][WALK THRU] Easy to do! All Questions Welcome!

This will help anyone who keeps having flashing issues.
More detailed instructions in my GUIDE!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
THIS IS ONE QUICK/SIMPLE ERROR FREE ROM FLASHING PROCEDURE
This should eliminate a few posts saying, stuck in download mode, stuck at logo. just vibrates and them MANY other issues that somehow, everyone seems to find.
Here is my quick rom flashing process I use ALWAYS (yes always)
THINGS YOU NEED ON extSDCARD
1. Extra kernels (2 or 3 you know works for your device)
2. Optional: 2 recoveries that can be flashed (I use CWM & TWRP)
3. Optional: apps.zip (a zip created from Titantium BU, containing Root Explorer, TU Backup, Quickpic, ES File Explorer and Terminal Emulator)
Flashing the rom: TOUCHWIZ/AOSP ROMS
1. Backup current rom (to the extsdcard)
2. Complete wipe, (I do complete, some people do not) Complete = No Issues [FACTORY RESET + CLEAR CACHE + CLEAR DALVIK CACHE + CLEAR DATA]
3. Flash the rom
4. Flash the kernel (your device kernel) (I know some roms have their own kernel) this is where your problems start.
AGAIN: FLASH YOUR KERNEL, you KNOW it works. 1 more time FLASH YOUR KERNEL. (you can experiment with other kernels after you boot)
AOSP ROMS - require you to flash gapps before you boot. [This is not required for TouchWiz roms]
5. Boot the rom.
FINISHED!!!! SUCCESS!!!
Total time to flash a rom:
7-10min
Errors - NONE
This goes for every rom in my guide.
TIPS:
This flash procedure is for Touchwiz Roms, if you are flashing AOSP roms, you must flash the gapps package associated with the rom you are flashing.
**** SGH-I337M Users: Often requires flashing a different kernel than the one included in most ATT ROMS. Any GT-i9505 kernel will work and Adam kernel and Faux kernel are both confirmed working for us Canadian users.
Note: Flash KERNEL directly after ROM then reboot device.
[Special thanks to blyndfyre for this helpful tip].
The extra recovery I flash if a rom does not like the recovery I am using.
Yes, you can flash recoveries back and forth.
Apps.zip I flash after the rom is up & running. This I use to get the rom setup (like root explorer and others needed)
I am in no way responsible for anything that may do damage to any device - Use these tips at your own risk - period!
If you found this useful in any way, please hit the THANKS button for my effort.
RESERVED
TheAxman said:
Any questions? Anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running into a lot of issues when trying to flash different ROMs. For instance, right now I'm on CleanROM 1.6 - I just tried to install PureGv2.
Steps I took:
Have Goo and ROM Manager installed after clean install of CleanROM 1.6
Flash CWM from ROM Manager
Install Recovery Script from Goo
Reboot into recover from Goo
TWRP loads
Wipe data, cache, dalvik, etc
Install PureGv2
I forget the error off the top of my head but it doesn't install
In a nutshell I'm asking what am I doing wrong? Do I need to flash another kernel?
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
TheAxman said:
Flash your verizon kernel. Correct. I know it is a vzn rom, but do it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
harrytery said:
Was looking through Tomsgt's Youtube channel and stumbled across a video of his that showed his "About Phone". Everything was identical to mine, so I'm still a little lost as to why I can flash certain ROMs but not others. Sac/Gru's ROM soft bricked my phone, Hyperdrive5.7 didn't install, CleanROM does. It's just funky...maybe I'll just Odin back to stock, flash the MDK and start fresh.
Could the downloads be a problem? I downloaded 2 of the ROMs from work today on a 50meg pipe and they didn't work.
Do you download the ROMs to your phone or to your computer and then move them to your SD card?
If you download to your phone, do you move them to the SD card or leave them in the download folder on the internal storage?
If you do the latter, do you use a micro SD adapter or plug the phone in and move them that way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
TheAxman said:
Download to the computer,then copy to the phones extsdcard, should be ok, make sure you do a md5 check on the files to make sure they are the correct size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright sounds good. Flashing back to stock later today then re-rooting
thanks for the help
Remember always do a BACKUP before you do anything.
First off, big thanks for this thread.
Now I'm running Cleanrom 1.5. If I wanted to install a new rom can someone please explain exactly what I do to go about it? As jargon free as possible would be awesome.
Sent from my SCH-I545
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Vampyre111 said:
I certainly scared the carp outta me the other night. I'm using the Carbon ROM and while I do like it, I miss a couple of the S4s features. I picked what looked like a good modified stock ROM and proceeded to flash it.
I'm using Goo and TWRP for the job. I checked of all 3 boxes for clearing cache, davik and factory reset.
Then I chose the file and started it.
The first result, it acted like if was doing everything but nothing changed. Phone still worked fine.
On the next try, I waited for TWERP to start and I reselected the ROM I wanted and flashed it.
When it booted up, I was very happy to see the original screens come up. Then it stopped on the one with the Verizon check mark. The blue LED slowly pulsing and nothing else for about 30 min. I removed battery to try and start over. Same thing again.
Time to goto my backup and restore my phone back to Carbon.
IT FAILED.
Now my phone is stuck in a weird looking boot up loop. After a few tries I was able to get into recovery
mode. TWRP started loading, froze and crashed! Even though I am a total noob at this, I still did not panic.
I'd restart my phone by removing the battery, going into recovery mode and then wildly press every button on my phone hoping to break the loop. It worked! I chose a different save and tried it all over again. FAIL.
ON the next I wiped every bit of old data off. Chose Factory restore crossed my fiingers....it work! My phone is fine now.
Thanks to that ordeal and this thread I think I know what I did wrong even though this never happened to me. before.
1) WIPE THE DATA
2)INSTALL A COMPATABLE KERNAL FIRST
V^^^^V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not stress enough HOW IMPORTANT THE KERNEL IS!
Hmm so everyone is a now a Oriental Flash Master from the far East now huh?
What recovery is everyone using?
[updated: 07-12-2013]
Flashing Questions
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
xander45 said:
So, if you just need to add something, like different Kernerl, do you have to wipe and start from scratch?
Should you.
If so, and you backup apps and data in Titanium, then what you do a full wipe, flash entire rom, and reinstall the apps and data associated therewith?
Last, I have asked this but cannot seem to get an answer.
Installed Hyperdrive 7 (also had 5.7 and 6). Rom is super smooth and fast, working like a charm. but I want Verizon Visual Voice Mail.
I tried to copy the apk file to the devices system/app directory but get permission denied message....tried to install, and get failed message....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you set the permissions for the app? That should work actually. Look at one of the apps in that directory, and set the permissions the same for the voice app. Reboot and see what happens.
Good luck.
May want to post this question also in my guide thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Painterface said:
Sorry if this is dumb, but how do I know what kernels for sure work with my device and how do I get them to my external sd card? I suppose the one that is currently on my device(how to get that to sd?), but what others?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please bring the question over to my thread up above. It shows also what kernels to use. We will help there.
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
theoneknownasbob said:
Another noob question: so you still advise flashing a kernel even if the ROM creator says that the ROM comes with the appropriate kernel and that no extra flashing is required? I've got the Verizon Galaxy S4 variant and specifically am thinking of Dubbsy's Google Play Edition ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would flash the rom, and after, flash your verizon kernel, simple as that.

[Q] Phone lost all data, any way to recover it?

So last night I was using my phone when it froze, so I rebooted it and it got stuck on the boot animation. I tried restarting it and no luck. I then decided to go into recovery mode, and I backed up my data before wiping it to see if that was the problem. I then flashed some roms. One was the Ajk kernel, and another was gapps. Still no luck. I then began to search for a system rom to flash so I could at least boot it. I tried a few I had downloaded before, but I always received a getprop error (status 7) . Then I tried flashing an old version of JellyBam and for some reason, recovery mode didn't show any code or signs of progress nor failure, so I rebooted it and tried going back to my backup I made earlier, and it told me I had no backup data. I then went to browse for a zip to flash,and found that that JellyBam rom had completely wiped both my sd card and internal memory completely. So long story short, I lost all of my data. Also when I try to boot up normally, I'm not able to type anything because AOSP keyboard is not responding, so I cannot work on anything with my google account. I might just go back to stock and go into AT&T to see if they can do anything about it, because I needed to get it replaced anyway for some cosmetic damage. Is there anything I can do about this? Can I get my data back?
Jackson8r said:
So last night I was using my phone when it froze, so I rebooted it and it got stuck on the boot animation. I tried restarting it and no luck. I then decided to go into recovery mode, and I backed up my data before wiping it to see if that was the problem. I then flashed some roms. One was the Ajk kernel, and another was gapps. Still no luck. I then began to search for a system rom to flash so I could at least boot it. I tried a few I had downloaded before, but I always received a getprop error (status 7) . Then I tried flashing an old version of JellyBam and for some reason, recovery mode didn't show any code or signs of progress nor failure, so I rebooted it and tried going back to my backup I made earlier, and it told me I had no backup data. I then went to browse for a zip to flash,and found that that JellyBam rom had completely wiped both my sd card and internal memory completely. So long story short, I lost all of my data. Also when I try to boot up normally, I'm not able to type anything because AOSP keyboard is not responding, so I cannot work on anything with my google account. I might just go back to stock and go into AT&T to see if they can do anything about it, because I needed to get it replaced anyway for some cosmetic damage. Is there anything I can do about this? Can I get my data back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Practically everything in your post screams of confusion: AJK is a kernel, not a rom, and gapps are system app packages for AOSP-based ROM's, not ROM's themselves.
Stay away from Jellybam because they have been banned from XDA and are NOT supported by anyone here.
Because you've somehow jacked up your system, your best bet is probably to ODIN back to stock and start all over again. You could grab a ROM from Development and factory reset/wipe caches in a proper recovery (ie. one of the kernels packaged with an i777 ROM) and be fine, but in your case I would suggest the ODIN method to avoid any holdovers, and start again with a guaranteed clean system.
Buddy, I wish you a lot of luck.
Based on what you said, you've screwed it up pretty bad. I don't know how to recover your data but first, care to bring up your phone.
You should start from SCRATCH and before that, do some research of which ROM you want to use and which gapps should go along with it. Ignore the kernel for now.
---------- Post added at 02:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:33 PM ----------
Buddy, I wish you a lot of luck.
Based on what you said, you've screwed it up pretty bad. I don't know how to recover your data but first, care to bring up your phone.
You should start from SCRATCH and before that, do some research of which ROM you want to use and which gapps should go along with it. Ignore the kernel for now.
since you have already used recovery software and failed to get back your lost data. As per my knowledge I suggest one utility named as Remo Recover because I have already used this utility. Hope it will be helpful for you to recover your data. Just go for this utility.

Recover data from T399 with corrupted cache

I'm trying to get the user files off a phone with corrupted cache. When booted normally, it gets stuck on the white T-Mobile splash screen. When booting into recovery, I get an error about the cache and the phone restarts without loading into recovery. Screenshots attached.
I can get into download mode fine.
Using Odin to flash a custom recovery gives me the PASS message, but when I restart the phone, the stock recovery is still there with the same error message. I've tried TWRP and CWM.
I am hesitant to try flashing a custom ROM because I don't want to lose the data. The phone is not important, but the data is.
firstrival said:
I'm trying to get the user files off a phone with corrupted cache. When booted normally, it gets stuck on the white T-Mobile splash screen. When booting into recovery, I get an error about the cache and the phone restarts without loading into recovery. Screenshots attached.
I can get into download mode fine.
Using Odin to flash a custom recovery gives me the PASS message, but when I restart the phone, the stock recovery is still there with the same error message. I've tried TWRP and CWM.
I am hesitant to try flashing a custom ROM because I don't want to lose the data. The phone is not important, but the data is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont try flashing a custom ROM on to the phone. Try flash the stock ROM through the lastest odin with the lastest drivers and let me know how that works out for ya. Unless that wipes the phone ( havent used it in quite some time) then I have no idea man.
I tried flashing the T399UVUAMJ4 ROM throught Odin. It went through the entire process and rebooted, but nothing changed. Does this mean the bootloader is locked?
firstrival said:
I tried flashing the T399UVUAMJ4 ROM throught Odin. It went through the entire process and rebooted, but nothing changed. Does this mean the bootloader is locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure maybe want to ask someone else I'm not as experienced as some people on here. Sorry man goodluck
I hope someone can help you out. I would say your cache partition somehow got renamed but I'm not sure if thats possible and if so how to fix it. Maybe someone with ADB knowledge can help?
Also what TWRP were you trying to install? I've had problems when I tried to flash older versions
okay so here is a site with the original firmware for the phone. It has both the t399 and the t399n for odin. It has them labeled so its not too confusing lol. http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f200/samsung-t399n-metro-pcs-firmware-here-1899016/
find the one for the t399, flash it with odin. this will fully restore your phone. HOPEFULLY it will be able to save the data. I know you said you did this before but I'm not sure if it was just system or everything like here.
kireflow90 said:
okay so here is a site with the original firmware for the phone. It has both the t399 and the t399n for odin. It has them labeled so its not too confusing lol. http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f200/samsung-t399n-metro-pcs-firmware-here-1899016/
find the one for the t399, flash it with odin. this will fully restore your phone. HOPEFULLY it will be able to save the data. I know you said you did this before but I'm not sure if it was just system or everything like here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tried the T399 files. Flashed with no errors, but when it reboots everything is still the same. I've even tried flashing from another computer. Mind boggling!
firstrival said:
So I tried the T399 files. Flashed with no errors, but when it reboots everything is still the same. I've even tried flashing from another computer. Mind boggling!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. Its a shame to hear that it didn't work
How did you come to this? as to me it seems the partions have be modified hence why giving those errors I seen similar errors to when users change cache sizes which tends to brick device or from using incorrect pit files.
You never be able to recover data from flashing Odin may be slim chance by custom Rom thru recovery if was a bkup of original system and not selecting data your old data may conflict causing either bootloop or basically stuck on splash screen.
If you was ever able to best way to pull data from device would be thru adb may have a chance.
This phone belongs to a friend of a friend. They said they brought it to T-Mo because it hung up during boot. The store worked on it for a few minutes, but couldn't get it to boot up either. When I tried to go into recovery, they said the store already went into that screen too. They have since bought a new phone, but would like to get the photos off it if possible. They never had an SD card so it's still on the device.
At the moment, I can just go into download mode. I was hoping to flash a custom recovery so I might possibly be able to ADB from there since it won't load the stock recovery.
I have a very similar issue but without "cache error messages". The phone (Samsung Galaxy Light with stock ROM and TWRP) just reboots no matter what I try to flash into it.
It does it while "drawing" the Samsung Logo animation (blue ring that gets created revealing the word samsung), so after the white wrintings of the phone name.
My attempts so far:
1. Flashed newer version of TWRP
2. Flashed CWM
3. Flashed two different versions of stock ROM (the original one and the one that T-Mobile released when upgraded to latest jelly Bean)
4. Flashed a custom ROM (Light ROM found here which is based on the stock one).
EVERY TIME the outcome was the same:
Phone reboots right after the phone name (written in white) while the Samsung animation starts. It just stops while the blue oval begins to appear. If I try to boot into recovery (via home/power/volume up combo) it shows the TWRP splash screen but it reboots right after and this happened even after I flashed (successfully according to Odin) CWM.
It really looks like I did nothing so far but I can assure it's not the first time I use Odin (4 different versions) to flash a custom recovery or a ROM. I did it successfully on other 4 different phones (all samsung).
On this same phone I did it the first time when flashed TWRP in order to root it via recovery.
I have no idea what to do next. I was thinking about using adb in order to wipe all the caches (dalvik included) but it looks like the phone can't be recognized unless I boot it into recovery mode (adb get-state returns "unknown") and I don't think I can do anything in Download mode which is the only mode I can enter apparently.
I was hoping someone here can help me to spare some money buying a new phone for my wife and tossing this one which is the best for its small size imho.
Thank you in advance to anyone interested in at least shading some light on what could have happened. This started to happen out of the blue and the last time I actively modified something (updating the recovery) was almost one year ago... It always worked like a charm until 4 days ago...
EDIT: To clarify: the reason why I posted here is because this looked like a problem the most similar to mine (boot loop or stuck at boot and can't enter either regular or recovery mode). I cannot create new posts due to my low "rank" yet... Please feel free to move this if you think it belongs to a separate thread.
fulgorevinnie said:
I have a very similar issue but without "cache error messages". The phone (Samsung Galaxy Light with stock ROM and TWRP) just reboots no matter what I try to flash into it.
It does it while "drawing" the Samsung Logo animation (blue ring that gets created revealing the word samsung), so after the white wrintings of the phone name.
My attempts so far:
1. Flashed newer version of TWRP
2. Flashed CWM
3. Flashed two different versions of stock ROM (the original one and the one that T-Mobile released when upgraded to latest jelly Bean)
4. Flashed a custom ROM (Light ROM found here which is based on the stock one).
EVERY TIME the outcome was the same:
Phone reboots right after the phone name (written in white) while the Samsung animation starts. It just stops while the blue oval begins to appear. If I try to boot into recovery (via home/power/volume up combo) it shows the TWRP splash screen but it reboots right after and this happened even after I flashed (successfully according to Odin) CWM.
It really looks like I did nothing so far but I can assure it's not the first time I use Odin (4 different versions) to flash a custom recovery or a ROM. I did it successfully on other 4 different phones (all samsung).
On this same phone I did it the first time when flashed TWRP in order to root it via recovery.
I have no idea what to do next. I was thinking about using adb in order to wipe all the caches (dalvik included) but it looks like the phone can't be recognized unless I boot it into recovery mode (adb get-state returns "unknown") and I don't think I can do anything in Download mode which is the only mode I can enter apparently.
I was hoping someone here can help me to spare some money buying a new phone for my wife and tossing this one which is the best for its small size imho.
Thank you in advance to anyone interested in at least shading some light on what could have happened. This started to happen out of the blue and the last time I actively modified something (updating the recovery) was almost one year ago... It always worked like a charm until 4 days ago...
EDIT: To clarify: the reason why I posted here is because this looked like a problem the most similar to mine (boot loop or stuck at boot and can't enter either regular or recovery mode). I cannot create new posts due to my low "rank" yet... Please feel free to move this if you think it belongs to a separate thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so i read all that you have done which is basically everything i would of suggested to you other then could it be the battery may be faulty just random thought noticed you never mentioned trying kies you may have a chance with it beening detected as i see you can enter download mode so that help with odin also kies also have you tried firmware from here sam mobile here T399 or T399N OH2 lastest for tmo and OH3 for metro.
Try to only flash that thru odin i use 3.07 or 3.09 only difference is the pda button changes to AP .works perfect for me so i suggest it then returning back to stock recovery/firmware if it boots then awesome. then return to TWRP 2.8.4.0 beening lastest for this device also needed for CM12 also my projects for device current and future.
when using odin make sure that only “Auto Reboot” and “F. Reset Time” options are selected.
also just note when going into twrp release buttons as soon as you see logo otherwise it will continue to boot thru well happens to me when daydreaming lol.
also if your seeing this adb get-state returns "unknown" i believe installing kies may install the drivers for detection im not postive on that but im sure it something to do with missing the adb driver for device maybe another dev can confirm this ?
hopefully this may be of some help i keep on thread to see how the outcome goes
Thanks for the reply DJBoxer!
Regarding the battery it's a new one and I can confirm it's not a battery problem considering that the phone can stay in download mode and unplugged from any power source for very long times without turning off/rebooting and it never failed to keep the charge so far. I also tried with the old battery and the phone behaves exactly the same way.
I used 3 different versions of Odin (1.87, 3.07 and 3.09) with only “Auto Reboot” and “F. Reset Time” options selected and every time I got the PASS message even though the phone keeps rebooting after the first reboot once the procedure is terminated.
To clarify one thing : when I said "it shows the TWRP splash screen but it reboots right after and this happened even after I flashed CWM" I meant to point out that it looks odd to see the TWRP splash screen (even for just a few seconds) after I just flashed CWM and that makes me think that I'm really not flashing anything here...
Thank you very much for taking the time of posting the links and I actually didn't try with that latest OH2 version.
I am downloading it right now (it takes a while from sammobile) and I will keep you posted on the outcome.
I will try to flash it via Odin and I'll also try the latest version mentioned on sammobile (Odin3_v3.10.7).
Regarding Kies I wasn't able to have it recognize the phone. I may be missing something but I tried updating drivers and going through all the guided procedures with no luck... If you say it should recognize the phone right away while in download mode then something is amiss.
Could you please confirm that I should also be able to use adb commands with the phone connected via USB in download mode? Cause that doesn't look like the case either...
Thank you again and I'll give updates here about my last attempts.
Sorry for the late reply...
Nothing changed by the way...
I am about to send the phone back to the seller who told me they'll try to fix it. Let's see how it goes.

TWRP for 925F 6.0.1 = 3.0_MM_S6_by_ManhIT ?

Hey All,
I've upgraded my 925F to Official MM 6.0.1. Rooted it through kernel Xspace and then installed recovery TWRP_3.0_MM_S6_by_ManhIT
My only concern is when I'm in TWRP I can't reboot, it just freezes.
I can nandroid backup no problem just the reboot part freezes TWRP.
Anyone else had this problem? is there another TWRP to be used?
nb : I tried clearing cache + dalvik, freezes still happen before rebooting.
thanks for ur help.
kaemon said:
Hey All,
I've upgraded my 925F to Official MM 6.0.1. Rooted it through kernel Xspace and then installed recovery TWRP_3.0_MM_S6_by_ManhIT
My only concern is when I'm in TWRP I can't reboot, it just freezes.
I can nandroid backup no problem just the reboot part freezes TWRP.
Anyone else had this problem? is there another TWRP to be used?
nb : I tried clearing cache + dalvik, freezes still happen before rebooting.
thanks for ur help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this TWRP form arter... this is the only TWRP being use by many of us here.. you flash it through odin or recovery...
I had the same problem and i solved changing my kernel
Inviato dal mio SM-G925F utilizzando Tapatalk
fabiok81 said:
I had the same problem and i solved changing my kernel
Inviato dal mio SM-G925F utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue is not the kernel... its the recovery that doesn't work when reboot to system is touch and is freezing..
Go to advance then terminal
Write reboot
Easy!
Yes i know the iusse is about the recovery but it seems because there is not compatibility between some recovery and some kernel. I tried various recovery 3.0 and i have always a kind of freeze. The TWRP... by Manhit for example gave me freeze with xspace kernel but not with hacker kernel. I don't no the reason....
Inviato dal mio SM-G925F utilizzando Tapatalk
same but different
Hi All,
I'm experiencing a freeze in TWRP after about a few seconds, the whole recovery stands still and this happens every time.
I flashed the Xspace kernel which hasn't help.
The TWRP from arter97 works great, except it doesn't allow me to copy files to my PC using MTP, message says unexpected error.
yet, the ManhIT and Original TWRP allow me to copy data but both of them freeze up after a few seconds which causing the copying to fail.
Reasons I'm doing this is because my SM-G925F start looping and I've tried flashing stock so many times to no avail.
I'm sure all i need to do is data/ factory wipe and my phone will boot fine, I just really need some data before I do that.
Is there perhaps a different kernel I can try?
or if anyone has any suggestions that would be very much appreciated.
Regards
wahwahward said:
Hi All,
I'm experiencing a freeze in TWRP after about a few seconds, the whole recovery stands still and this happens every time.
I flashed the Xspace kernel which hasn't help.
The TWRP from arter97 works great, except it doesn't allow me to copy files to my PC using MTP, message says unexpected error.
yet, the ManhIT and Original TWRP allow me to copy data but both of them freeze up after a few seconds which causing the copying to fail.
Reasons I'm doing this is because my SM-G925F start looping and I've tried flashing stock so many times to no avail.
I'm sure all i need to do is data/ factory wipe and my phone will boot fine, I just really need some data before I do that.
Is there perhaps a different kernel I can try?
or if anyone has any suggestions that would be very much appreciated.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try with hacker kernel. Wipe cache but not data
callumbr1 said:
Try with hacker kernel. Wipe cache but not data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your response callumbr1.
I've attempted two different kernels:
g925-hacker-echoe-kernel-V14.zip
hacker-kernel-S6-Universal-V12.zip
Above mentioned problems persist.
Since arter97 TWRP is not freezing on me, if I run a back up on the Data only. Then perform the wipe, the backup should still be there, correct?
and lets say I flash the stock ROM again if necessary and I'm able to boot the device.
Would it be possible to restore that data back up at all ?
or perhaps copy that back up to my PC and access/extract the files with a separate application?
Many Thanks
wahwahward said:
Thanks for your response callumbr1.
I've attempted two different kernels:
g925-hacker-echoe-kernel-V14.zip
hacker-kernel-S6-Universal-V12.zip
Above mentioned problems persist.
Since arter97 TWRP is not freezing on me, if I run a back up on the Data only. Then perform the wipe, the backup should still be there, correct?
and lets say I flash the stock ROM again if necessary and I'm able to boot the device.
Would it be possible to restore that data back up at all ?
or perhaps copy that back up to my PC and access/extract the files with a separate application?
Many Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think best thing to do is get an otg storage adapter that plugs direct to phone. They are cheap.
Then run the backup of data and store on otg storage. Then you have it safe and it can be restored at a later time with restore option in twrp.
Or you can always do a full nandroid backup.
Can you get onto the phone now? Does it boot up?
Is there anything specific you need off the phone? To be backed up?
callumbr1 said:
I think best thing to do is get an otg storage adapter that plugs direct to phone. They are cheap.
Then run the backup of data and store on otg storage. Then you have it safe and it can be restored at a later time with restore option in twrp.
Or you can always do a full nandroid backup.
Can you get onto the phone now? Does it boot up?
Is there anything specific you need off the phone? To be backed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I plan on getting one of those, they seem extremely useful. A colleague has one which I plan to use tomorrow if they remember to bring it, I will then do as you suggest.
Never done a full nandroid back up before but will do some searching on that.
Phone still hangs at the Samsung splash screen.
And its really only pictures and some videos that I want, contacts would be nice too.
PS, this happened when I plugged my device into the PC to charge it was at about 5%, and I was making use of side sync to control the device when it just shutdown. I thought maybe the battery died so left it to charge a bit, it eventually tried to boot up by itself and its been looping ever since. Was really strange cause it gave me no issues prior to this. When I tried to get to the recovery it would hang at the "installing updates" section once I flashed the stock ROM I was able to get to recovery to wipe the cache but no luck.
Thanks for your suggestions much appreciated.
wahwahward said:
I plan on getting one of those, they seem extremely useful. A colleague has one which I plan to use tomorrow if they remember to bring it, I will then do as you suggest.
Never done a full nandroid back up before but will do some searching on that.
Phone still hangs at the Samsung splash screen.
And its really only pictures and some videos that I want, contacts would be nice too.
PS, this happened when I plugged my device into the PC to charge it was at about 5%, and I was making use of side sync to control the device when it just shutdown. I thought maybe the battery died so left it to charge a bit, it eventually tried to boot up by itself and its been looping ever since. Was really strange cause it gave me no issues prior to this. When I tried to get to the recovery it would hang at the "installing updates" section once I flashed the stock ROM I was able to get to recovery to wipe the cache but no luck.
Thanks for your suggestions much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are really useful, one of the best things ive ever bought regarding my phone. I use it daily now.
As for nandroid backup, it basically backs up absolutely everything including the firmware and data and all partitions. I always do it before flashing or modifying anything. Then if anything goes wrong, you just flash back your nandroid backup.
Can i ask before this happened did you use google photos? If so and sync was on they will all be saved. If you dont use it i reccomend you to use it from now on incase this ever happens in future.
See how you go making the backup when you can then if you need help regarding flashing the stock and getting the phone working ill help
callumbr1 said:
They are really useful, one of the best things ive ever bought regarding my phone. I use it daily now.
As for nandroid backup, it basically backs up absolutely everything including the firmware and data and all partitions. I always do it before flashing or modifying anything. Then if anything goes wrong, you just flash back your nandroid backup.
Can i ask before this happened did you use google photos? If so and sync was on they will all be saved. If you dont use it i reccomend you to use it from now on incase this ever happens in future.
See how you go making the backup when you can then if you need help regarding flashing the stock and getting the phone working ill help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good day callumbr1
I never made use of google photos, not the biggest fan of cloud storage to be completely honest but I do see its benefits when it comes to times like these. lol
as for the device, last night I flashed a custom recovery (arter97) and made use of the SkipSoft Android ToolKit to pull my photos, videos and documents through the adb protocol. That being said, I have the data I wanted so all is well there.
However, after wiping the cache and doing a data / factory reset. I reflashed the stock ROM, it all goes swell until the android pops up with a message displaying " installing system updates". It gets to 32% changes to erasing then restarts , and this happens constantly no matter how many times I flash it or restart the device.
I read on another forum that my devices is probably dead and it could be the mother board. Any thoughts?
You think maybe a custom ROM would bring it up?
wahwahward said:
Good day callumbr1
I never made use of google photos, not the biggest fan of cloud storage to be completely honest but I do see its benefits when it comes to times like these. lol
as for the device, last night I flashed a custom recovery (arter97) and made use of the SkipSoft Android ToolKit to pull my photos, videos and documents through the adb protocol. That being said, I have the data I wanted so all is well there.
However, after wiping the cache and doing a data / factory reset. I reflashed the stock ROM, it all goes swell until the android pops up with a message displaying " installing system updates". It gets to 32% changes to erasing then restarts , and this happens constantly no matter how many times I flash it or restart the device.
I read on another forum that my devices is probably dead and it could be the mother board. Any thoughts?
You think maybe a custom ROM would bring it up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good about your data :good:
As for the little android guy and the installing updates then erasing, this normally happens. It happens every single time i restore and normally boots fine just after its not normally an issue. After yours says erasing does it then just reboot and restart the process of erasing constantly?
What i would suggest first is to flash a different stock ROM, preferably one with newest bootloader.
After flashing, boot to recovery and wipe dalvik cache. If it gets as far as the samsung logo just leave it as the first boot can take a while... like 30 minutes.
If that doesnt work try to flash a custom ROM. I reccomend CarHD ROM. I uave used it for quite some time and no issues.
It deffinately does not sound like motherboard issue. Normally you would have many issues and errors on boot prior to having main board issues.
See how you get on and keep me updated.
callumbr1 said:
Thats good about your data :good:
As for the little android guy and the installing updates then erasing, this normally happens. It happens every single time i restore and normally boots fine just after its not normally an issue. After yours says erasing does it then just reboot and restart the process of erasing constantly?
What i would suggest first is to flash a different stock ROM, preferably one with newest bootloader.
After flashing, boot to recovery and wipe dalvik cache. If it gets as far as the samsung logo just leave it as the first boot can take a while... like 30 minutes.
If that doesnt work try to flash a custom ROM. I reccomend CarHD ROM. I uave used it for quite some time and no issues.
It deffinately does not sound like motherboard issue. Normally you would have many issues and errors on boot prior to having main board issues.
See how you get on and keep me updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't say erasing after the first time. Right after the flash it will reboot to the blue screen with the android, it displays Installing update with a percentage bar which gets to 32% then that disappears and shows erasing, then again it shows installing update with no percentage bar. The android guy has a two arrows on his chest spinning which eventually stops. The device then reboots. It goes back to the Android guy but this time it shows "installing system update" without the percentage bar, it will then freeze again then reboot. That will continue forever until the battery dies.
After flashing though I can't seem to get to recovery to wipe the cache, I hit the buttons as I always do, but the blue screen and android always appears.
This is the stock ROM I'm currently using:
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/105085/G925FXXU4DPJB_G925FXFV4DPJ2_XFV/
Do you perhaps have a link to that custom ROM? would it work fine with the service provider here in SA (Vodacom) ?
And well at least that is some good news, I'm not too keen on having to take this into a shop and pay for parts.
wahwahward said:
It doesn't say erasing after the first time. Right after the flash it will reboot to the blue screen with the android, it displays Installing update with a percentage bar which gets to 32% then that disappears and shows erasing, then again it shows installing update with no percentage bar. The android guy has a two arrows on his chest spinning which eventually stops. The device then reboots. It goes back to the Android guy but this time it shows "installing system update" without the percentage bar, it will then freeze again then reboot. That will continue forever until the battery dies.
After flashing though I can't seem to get to recovery to wipe the cache, I hit the buttons as I always do, but the blue screen and android always appears.
This is the stock ROM I'm currently using:
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/105085/G925FXXU4DPJB_G925FXFV4DPJ2_XFV/
Do you perhaps have a link to that custom ROM? would it work fine with the service provider here in SA (Vodacom) ?
And well at least that is some good news, I'm not too keen on having to take this into a shop and pay for parts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats pretty much exactly what happens to mine after restoring or flashing but mine boots up.
Flash the firmware again but in odin options uncheck auto reboot. This time after flashing, the phone should stay off. Then you can boot to recovery.
If that doesnt work, whilst it is on the blue screen with android guy hold only vol down and power, phone will reboot, as soon as the screen goes off switch to recovery combo and this should force it to recovery.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6-edge/development/rom-carhdrom-1-t3111519/page1427
Here is the link to custom ROM, it will work fine on your phone. You need to flash this through TWRP. If you need steps on how to do this please tell me.
callumbr1 said:
Thats pretty much exactly what happens to mine after restoring or flashing but mine boots up.
Flash the firmware again but in odin options uncheck auto reboot. This time after flashing, the phone should stay off. Then you can boot to recovery.
If that doesnt work, whilst it is on the blue screen with android guy hold only vol down and power, phone will reboot, as soon as the screen goes off switch to recovery combo and this should force it to recovery.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6-edge/development/rom-carhdrom-1-t3111519/page1427
Here is the link to custom ROM, it will work fine on your phone. You need to flash this through TWRP. If you need steps on how to do this please tell me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man I think I'm just going to try the custom to see if it works.
Would I need to flash a custom kernel or can it be stock?
After flashing the kernel with twrp I'm going to assume I would follow the same step.
1. flash TWRP custom recovery
2. copy .zip file to sdcard
3. go to recovery, install , select the .zip
Is that it or am I missing anything else when it comes to flashing ROMs through the recovery?
wahwahward said:
Man I think I'm just going to try the custom to see if it works.
Would I need to flash a custom kernel or can it be stock?
After flashing the kernel with twrp I'm going to assume I would follow the same step.
1. flash TWRP custom recovery
2. copy .zip file to sdcard
3. go to recovery, install , select the .zip
Is that it or am I missing anything else when it comes to flashing ROMs through the recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats it.
Before installing rom go to wipe in TWRP, wipe data, dalvik, cache and system.
You dont need to flash a kernel though.
However when flashing carhd rom aroma installer will go through some choices, from there you can choose to install arter kernel. I reccomend doing this rather than keeping stock kernel.
Remember once installer complete and rom is installed leave it a while if it hangs on samsung logo screen. It can take a while to boot.
callumbr1 said:
Thats it.
Before installing rom go to wipe in TWRP, wipe data, dalvik, cache and system.
You dont need to flash a kernel though.
However when flashing carhd rom aroma installer will go through some choices, from there you can choose to install arter kernel. I reccomend doing this rather than keeping stock kernel.
Remember once installer complete and rom is installed leave it a while if it hangs on samsung logo screen. It can take a while to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently waiting on the custom to download, don't have the quickest internet connection.
while I've been waiting, I've tried the stock ROM again.
something I forgot to mention before, which has happened a few times:
During the blue screen with the droid stating installing updates.
it switches to a screen with a big yellow triangle two dots below it and a dead droid.
After this I get to recovery, I wiped the cache and its getting to the samsung logo but freezes and then restarts all over again.
I'm just curious if you know what the yellow triangle thing means?
wahwahward said:
Currently waiting on the custom to download, don't have the quickest internet connection.
while I've been waiting, I've tried the stock ROM again.
something I forgot to mention before, which has happened a few times:
During the blue screen with the droid stating installing updates.
it switches to a screen with a big yellow triangle two dots below it and a dead droid.
After this I get to recovery, I wiped the cache and its getting to the samsung logo but freezes and then restarts all over again.
I'm just curious if you know what the yellow triangle thing means?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it normally means a failed update. Sometimes there are instructions to use smart switch other times it just means the update failed.
Try with the custom ROM and keep me updated.

Installed bootloader without rooting, now phone won't boot, can get into recovery

Here's what I did with a new T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S5:
- Started phone in download mode (started it with Volume Down, Home, and Power buttons) and connected it to computer.
- Started Odin3v185, saw yellow COM box.
- Clicked PDA button and selected philz_touch_6.26.2-klte.tar.md5 file.
- Clicked Start button, flashing went fine, phone reset and everything was cool, still with stock ROM. I was able to boot into Philz recovery to verify that flashing worked.
- As part of my goal of installing XtreStoLite ROM 2.2 (Lollipop), the following steps were to install the modem and bootloader for that ROM.
- Started phone in download mode and connected it to computer.
- Started Odin3.09, saw blue COM box.
- Clicked BL button, and selected G900T-LP-UVU1DOB1-BOOTLOADER.tar.md5.
- Clicked CP button, and selected G900T-LP-UVU1DOB1-MODEM.tar.md5.
- Clicked Start to flash. Phone reset, but it froze at the Samsung logo.
I gave it about a half hour just to make sure it wasn't just taking it's time with this first boot after the update, but it stayed at the Samsung logo. Only way to turn it off was to remove the battery. I'm still able to boot into Philz, so I figured a way to fix it might be to just go ahead and install the ROM. So I selected the "install from zip" option and installed XtreStoLite_ROM_v2.2_LP_XXU1BOD3.zip. Now the startup logo is a bit different, but it still stays frozen at the logo. I know from previous times installing this ROM that it does usually take awhile (maybe 5 minutes) on the first boot after installing, but I let it sit again for about 30 minutes with no luck.
The only thing I can see that I did differently this time, which I know realize was dumb, was skipping the step after flashing Philz where I boot into it and install UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.37.zip to root the device. I thought that I'd be able to install the bootloader, modem, and ROM and end up with a rooted OS, but I'm guessing that rooting is separate from those things, and they can't succeed until the phone has been rooted.
So... what can I do now? I'm trying to install the stock ROM (G900T_TMB_G900TUVU1CNK2_G900TTMB1CNK2_original.zip), but Philz gives me a "installation aborted" error before it even starts, with no other error messages. I also suspect I should install the original kitkat bootloader+modem, but I'm not sure where to find those (searching yields a lot of different results).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
The bootloop must be related to the bootloader/modem you've flashed. SU will allow root access once booted, but it won't prevent the system from booting if you skip it. Are you simply trying to root? FWIW, I'd recommend skipping Lollipop altogether, Marshmallow is night and day better than Lollipop. Flash the complete factory image of one of the Marshmallow releases, then flash your recovery and install SU. There are a couple of good, debloated Marshmallow roms available.
I was able to get out of the situation by flashing a stock ROM from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo.../compilation-s5-g900t-stock-firmware-t3042400
I first flashed the stock modem and bootloader, though I'm not sure that was required because I think they're included in the ROM itself.
Used the latest 4.4.2 ROM and NK2 bootloader+modem, just because I'm pretty sure it was 4.4.2 that was on the phone when I got it.
Retried my procedure, this time rooting + disabling KNOX before flashing the Lollipop bootloader+modem from the ROM's install instructions, but I still ran into the same "freeze at boot" problem. I don't know what could be the issue, as I've done this exact procedure with two previous S5s. Not really looking to check out Marshmallow ROMs, just because I'm short on time these days, and after trying out a handful over the years, the XtreStoLite is by far the best for me.... really the perfect combo of stock Android with some of the improvements offered by TouchWiz, with all the tweaks to fix annoying "features" that I want fixed (for example, the removal of that damn "are you sure you want to increase the volume? It could damage your hearing" warning when you connect headphones and try to turn up the volume). Also, just stable and fast, compared to most/all the others I've tried.
Sounds to me as if you need stock Marshmallow with a custom recovery and Exposed. Mine is fast as hell, extremely frugal on battery, and Exposed has got rid of all the annoying TW "features", like the volume warning you mention (also, expanded notifications on lockscreen, battery full notification gone, circle battery, etc, etc). There are also alternatives to stock that are good, I tried one a couple of weeks ago that I think I'm probably going to go back to. Lollipop is horrible after using KitKat, Marshmallow brings back the KitKat experience but with dramatically improved battery life. You'll also get some Stagefright improvements.
Sorry for the delayed response, been too busy to deal with this for a couple weeks. How exactly do I get a stock Marshmallow with custom recovery and Exposed? Don't I already have the custom recovery covered with Philz? What Marshmallow ROM would you recommend? Thanks for the feedback!
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
invisiblewave said:
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you deodex GPI1 before exposed?
invisiblewave said:
Just download & Odin the latest complete image, GPI1, then Odin recovery (since Philz doesn't work, try TWRP, it works for me), then flash SU & Exposed. Takes about 15 minutes, although the download may take longer. Not sure if anyone has posted the link, but you can get it from sammobile, albeit slowly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this thread have the info I need for installing Xposed (I'm assuming "Exposed" and "Xposed" are the same thing)?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
Just install a .zip from TWRP, then install the .apk to manage installed modules?
I have "UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.37.zip". Is that sufficient for SU?
Well dammit, I've now spent multiple hours I didn't have trying to get *ANY* ROM other than the stock KitKat one to work. Was just about to give up after trying one last time with XtreStoLite, this time using KToonsez kernel instead of stock. Restarted and it was taking forever to boot, so I assumed it was frozen and was about to pull the battery and call it a night, when it actually made it into the OS! So perhaps there's something going on with the phone that won't let it boot with any stock kernel, other than 4.4.2. Bummer, because I was starting to get excited about trying Marshmallow.
It's because you have KitKat firmware. You just need to flash the entire MM package first.
What is the MM package, if it's not
G900T-(GPI1)-Bootloader.tar
G900T-(GPI1)-Modem-NonHLOS.tar
G900TUVS1GPI1_G900TTMB1GPI1_G900TUVS1GPI1_HOME.tar.md5
?
You don't need to flash the bootloader & modem separately. If you download the complete firmware, that's all you need to flash, it has all the necessary partitions in it. Just flash that, see if it works, then flash the recovery, etc.
I already tried G900TUVS1GPI1_G900TTMB1GPI1_G900TUVS1GPI1_HOME.tar.md5, both with and without the bootloader+modem packages.
I didn't see any mention of you having tried it in your earlier post. You should be able to flash just that package under AP (All Partitions, I assume), and it should install all the partitions it finds inside the tar. My guess is that Odin isn't completing correctly. What does it say in the log on the left? I had to use Odin 9, 10 wouldn't work on my setup for some reason, nor could I get it to work on XP, only on Windoze 8.

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