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Hi guys, I've had a Bell-branded Desire Z (on AT&T's network) for some time now, but I've never gotten around to rooting / flashing a different ROM on it. Since I have some free time this weekend, I figure I'll finally tackle it. Have a few general questions though:
1) Is the method listed in the guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928160 still the best method for rooting a desire Z? I've heard bad things about visionary, but every rooting method I've read seem to involve it in some way.
2) with S-OFF, am I free to flash any Desire Z / G2 ROM? or will only certain ROMs work with a Bell Desire Z? Any specific recommendation on ROMs? I'm planning on trying out CM7, then going from there
3) What is the best method for backing up my current image + a few other things (mostly contacts and SMS)? Titaniumbackup gets thrown around a lot, but I only have a handful of apps, and really would rather just redownload them then go through the trouble of backing them up
Thanks
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=TMobile_G2:_Rooting
that is going to be your safest way to root your vision. eventhough this is longer, there is a lot less chance of bricking your phone. the one you listed is very simple to do, but runs a high risk of turning your phone into a paper weight.
when you do have your phone completely s off, you now have every right to flash kernels, roms, and other things. you can find all of the things i just listed over in the development forum on the g2/desire z. download rom manager from the market. that allows you to back up your current rom, flash the latest recovery and so on. it just allows you to not have to manually install everything. it has the popular g2 roms under the "download rom section".
in terms of backing up everything, there are a few different options. every contact to save is linked to your gmail account, so whatever rom you flash and load youll always have those contacts coming with you. thats the beauty of google and gmail on a android device! but with rom manager, you can back up your current rom and image with that app and save it to your sd card. BEFORE YOU FLASH ANY ROM, OR BEGIN TO START TRYING OUT ROMS, BACK UP YOUR STOCK ROM. whenever i got my g2 when it first came out, i made a nandroid backup of my stock rom and i still have it. when i originally backed it up, i just named it "stock" and havent messed with it since. i just know that i have the stock image(it helps me sleep at night). jk, heh. for your text messages and stuff, download sms backup from the market and you can back everything up through that. all of the apps that you download, including the paid ones of course, travel with you between roms, etc.
i hope i helped ya out, and i wish you luck. if you have any other questions, just shoot me a private message!
Thanks for that;
I actually went ahead and used that method in the guide since upon further research, it seems that visonary was only causing issues when it was use for perm root; temp root, which is what that method uses visionary for seems to work fine.
So did that, reboot into the bootloader, confirmed that I had S-OFF on the first line.
Installed ROM manager from the market
Flashed Clockwork recovery
Booted into recovery and did a system backup to SD card
Rebooted and decided to download the Virtuous ROM from ROM manager
Told it to reboot into recovery and flash that image, wiping all data and settings
Got stuck on an bootup loop (HTC logo + start up sound -> black screen -> HTC logo + startup sound ad infinitum)
Rebooted into recovery, and did a restore from the backup (whew)
Phone seems to be working fine now
Now I'm trying to figure out what went wrong... any ideas?
K, I redownloaded virtuous from XDA, checked the MD5, and tried to flash it again.
Same problem, infinite loop on startup screen.
Do i need to flash the engineering hboot? I was under the impression that that wasn't necessary for using custom ROMs.
Still can't figure out what's wrong.
did you debrand? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=835777
Have you tried flashing through CWM directly? I really don't like ROM Manager for flashing new ROMs and seems to oversimplify the process to allow green users to get on the flashing wagon.
I would boot into CWM (camera + power i think) and do a complete wipe + flash from in there. I have never had an issue with doing things directly from recovery and I have a Bell DZ as well. It's long since lost it's blue and white colours, but that was it's origin
Have fun!
Im new to this stuff here, and i DO want to learn about it as this stuff is very interesting to me! Technology is something i learn very quickly if im directed in the correct direction
The question i have here is about my Desire Z ( Bell Cannada ).
A few months ago we received a OTA update. So its currently running on Android 2.2.1 : Build - 1.84.666.2 CL322105, and its SUPER slow! Is it still possible to root this version?
I want to install the Gingerbread version on my phone, but i cant find instructions to root this OS version to be able to do so.
Or should i wait till the Official gingerbread Os to come out for our phones?
Ive been searching every where's for this info and everything i find is all back dated to last yr and nothing up-to-date after the OTA.
I hope this question is not TOO n00bish as i tried to search every where for it, and ether i could not find it or i did not enter the correct word search to get a result i needed.
Thanks in advance!
Andrew
Edit: NVM my question here.... i have finally found an update post within the wiki ( April 1 2011 )
Sorry for a useless post!
Thank you all for your efforts in posting in this forum! Very informative!
Athrun88 said:
Have you tried flashing through CWM directly? I really don't like ROM Manager for flashing new ROMs and seems to oversimplify the process to allow green users to get on the flashing wagon.
I would boot into CWM (camera + power i think) and do a complete wipe + flash from in there. I have never had an issue with doing things directly from recovery and I have a Bell DZ as well. It's long since lost it's blue and white colours, but that was it's origin
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heh. that actually worked. Flashed directly from CWM recovery and it booted up with no issues.
Guess I know not to flash from ROM manager anymore
Thanks.
deaththeorist said:
did you debrand? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=835777
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need to debrand to flash custom ROMs to the Bell Canada Desire Z.
makken85 said:
heh. that actually worked. Flashed directly from CWM recovery and it booted up with no issues.
Guess I know not to flash from ROM manager anymore
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, I've flashed many ROMs from ROM Manager on my Bell Canada DZ, and never had an issue. That said, flashing from recovery is really not any harder, so if it works, it works.
redpoint73 said:
Interesting, I've flashed many ROMs from ROM Manager on my Bell Canada DZ, and never had an issue. That said, flashing from recovery is really not any harder, so if it works, it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I assumed that flashing from ROM manager just meant that it rebooted to recovery and flashed it from there. I guess there is a difference.
Either way, been playing with Virtuous 1.0.2 for a few days now, really like this ROM, but I'm itching to try out something different now. Man, I can see this is going to develop into a time consuming hobby.
Plus, I'm going to need a bigger SD card to store all of these ROMs + backup =X
Oh, another noob question; I've come across a few zip files that included a system folder and an META-INF folder. How exactly do I install these?
G2 only works with at&t
alright here it is my t-mobile G2 won't connect to the t-mobile network at all, I've went through 3 SIM cards because this thing use to kill the SIM card from working on other t-mobile phones and it works perfectly fine on at&t network. so I've unlocked so it will work on at&t just to see if it would work. so i gave p and bought a MT 4G, but i still want to know if the G2 is fixable because I'm just about ready to throw in the towel this is what I've tried to resolve the problem called t-mobile they ended up saying just return the phone but i can't since i didn't buy it from them. Called them again got the unlock code. I've flashed the radio a few times. I've also just got the leaked 2.3.3 update and nothing has worked. It find t-mobile network but says your SIM card isn't allowed to connect to this network then after trying again it says unable to connect to network please try again later.
Just so frustrating i don't know what to do just about to say forget it. this thread is my last resort.
also i still have S-OFF
i used this method on my G2 just yesterday and put on CM7.0.3. the only issues i came across were because i restored everything (should have just done apps and app data) using Titanium, which put me in a boot loop. I'm dumb, so i did it twice before i figured out what was the problem. the thread has a comment about how Visionary is dangerous, but the OP responded that since it is only used to gain temp root, there should be no problems.
So I I've had 2 different recoveries so far that have worked fine.. both came from Rogue though. One was from the 1.5 kernel (Hitman) which installed CWM Touch recovery, the other came with the normal recoveries based off CW 5.0.2.7. They were working fine until I installed Calkulin's Rom(2.8.1). Not sure if they're just incompatible or what, but when I go to recovery it shows the background image of the recovery but none of the options show up. It shows for about half a second and then it goes back to the original boot screen, then to the 2nd screen and turns on. So it basically skips right through the recovery and reboots. Do I need a new Rom or can I fix this? I really like the battery life and visuals of Calkulin's Rom and would love to be able to keep it.
EDIT: One more thing.. Since I installed the ROM, I've been getting market error 492. It doesn't allow me to install anything in the market..
I haven't tried a full wipe yet, so I guess I'll try that and then see how that works with the recovery and Rom..
I did the same thing to my phone this week, and I'm running Blazer, so i'm sure it has nothing to do with either ROM.
Not sure how I caused it but with so many folks running both without this error, I'm guessing that your issue (like mine was) was probably some how self induced.
I flashed back to stock and started over, and things have been working great. Might be worth a shot flashing back, or restore a backup and start fresh.
Haven't seen the market error before. I'm sure someone here has
Good Luck
If you got it off here, could you show me which stock you flashed..?
Everything you need is in the Epic 4G Touch Android Development section
Here is the post I used from Sfhub
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
Watch the videos by Qbking77 They walk you thru everything step by step. (I hear his video intro rif every time I close my eyes now so you've been warned) Makes it super easy.
I would read everything you can and watch the videos before you get in too deep. I've had this phone since December, and just flashed my 1st ROM this week cause I've been reading up, and learning all I could before I jumped in the pool.
Well I've done all this with 2 phones before but I've never had this happen.. normally I just get the Rom and I'm good to go..
I think I must've gone wrong somewhere when I originally rooted through a stock rom.. It already seems to be more respondful.
premo1 said:
I think I must've gone wrong somewhere when I originally rooted through a stock rom.. It already seems to be more respondful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try booting while holding the volume up and power button.
If that does not work, flash recovery from rom manager, and that should get you into recovery to flash whatever kernel/recovery u want.
I've done all that.. None of it works.. I'm currently ODIN'ing Factory Stock Rom with root. Hopefully after that I can redo all of these and eventually end up with a working, corresponding Rom and kernel..
premo1 said:
I've done all that.. None of it works.. I'm currently ODIN'ing Factory Stock Rom with root. Hopefully after that I can redo all of these and eventually end up with a working, corresponding Rom and kernel..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Luck.
Recovery and market are now working Thank you Adanorm!
Glad your back up and running
hey guys!
i will realy appriciate any help on this one:
i am in a light panic attack as i might bricked my first phone..
today i have updated my t989 to ics 4.0.4 via kies, and then rooted it.
of course the root was so i can flash a rom. i chose to try cm9.
any ways, in order not to get the phone stuck in boot loop, i have tried to install the touch version of the cwm recovery.
i did it through the zip on sd option.
the version i used was: CWM6013-TOUCH-CM9-recovery (file size 4.201)
it seemed ok at first.
but then when i retsrted the phone, i noticed that every app i am trying to launch takes forever to respond (about a minute)...
i have tried to do factory reset and it did not help - the phone was sluggish even on the first setup screens..
now i am in the process of downloading the stock version again, to unroot. is this the way to go? did i miss something?
please let me know what info i can provide so you will be able to help me.
again, and i can't say it enough: every help will be very much appreciated. so, did i brick my phone?
thanks!
cvbn
Dude wrong section.
cvbn52 said:
hey guys!
i will realy appriciate any help on this one:
i am in a light panic attack as i might bricked my first phone..
today i have updated my t989 to ics 4.0.4 via kies, and then rooted it.
of course the root was so i can flash a rom. i chose to try cm9.
any ways, in order not to get the phone stuck in boot loop, i have tried to install the touch version of the cwm recovery.
i did it through the zip on sd option.
the version i used was: CWM6013-TOUCH-CM9-recovery (file size 4.201)
it seemed ok at first.
but then when i retsrted the phone, i noticed that every app i am trying to launch takes forever to respond (about a minute)...
i have tried to do factory reset and it did not help - the phone was sluggish even on the first setup screens..
now i am in the process of downloading the stock version again, to unroot. is this the way to go? did i miss something?
please let me know what info i can provide so you will be able to help me.
again, and i can't say it enough: every help will be very much appreciated.
thanks!
cvbn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What all did you do to install the ROM?
Something like this happened to me on my original Galaxy S when I updated it via Kies to the new stock version. Everything was running extremely sluggish. I don't remember what I ended up doing to fix it but I most certainly did not keep the stock update on there. I rebooted it and let it sit for about 30mins and then rebooted it again and tried using it. It was a bit better but still not good so I just flashed another Rom and then it was lightning quick.
The good news is you didn't brick it if you can still boot up and run stuff. I'd suggest updating your recovery to TWRP as that seems to be the preferred one now a days, it's the one I've been using to flash countless Roms without any problems, and most Devs recommend it. Apart from that, follow the install instructions precisely and you shouldn't have a problem. To be sure, after upgrading your recovery to TWRP, you could do the wipes (cache/dalvik/factory reset/system) 2-3 times before installing your new Rom, that seems to help some people coming from previous troublesome Roms.
I've noticed a few problems people seem to have around here come from the recovery, mainly those not using TWRP and/or using some form of outdated or beta CWM. Hopefully you can fix your problem, I know first hand how awful that sluggish feeling is. Good luck!
I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?
internetpilot said:
I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a long time since I've dealt with custom recoveries, but I believe that's just the normal background for it. It's like you're tinkering with the inner working of an Android (wiping cache, etc), so you've opened up the green robot.
That's what I recall from when I still had stock about 9 months ago...
If it shows up like that, that means you have the stock recovery...use GooManager or Rom Manager to install a custom recovery while booted up.
Sent from my buttered S3
Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.
internetpilot said:
Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin
flastnoles11 said:
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!
internetpilot said:
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin
flastnoles11 said:
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.
internetpilot said:
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin
flastnoles11 said:
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).
internetpilot said:
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now
flastnoles11 said:
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I always forget the Odin option for when recovery fails. But I'd be without the data and current configuration (basically starting from scratch).
In the last two days I've seen posts from over a dozen people now who are encountering this issue with brand new Sprint S3's. I'm kinda hoping more and more people encounter this problem increasing the chances of it being resolved... Haha
It doesn't matter once your rooted and booted all you do us download either rom Manager or goo manager and install the custom recovery of your choice from the running phone. Doesn't get any easier.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?
internetpilot said:
Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
edfunkycold said:
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.
deutscher3891 said:
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.
internetpilot said:
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.
deutscher3891 said:
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both directly from Sprint.
lvpre said:
I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem isn't really root. Depending on the method, we can get root. It's the custom recovery that's the problem -- it can't mount anything so you can't flash anything, backup, wipe, etc via recovery.
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
dokgu said:
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Elesbb. If the goal is jus tto get back to stock, just do an odin flash of the stock ROM. Be advised if you flash the latest Kit Kay update you will nto be able to go back to Jelly Bean. From your post it seems like you are partial to Jelly Bean. So if that's what you want, but sure you use the stock 4.3 ROM. You can find it around here on XDA somewhere with a quick search to make sure you have the right one.
As Elesbb said, you won't loose the 'sim unlock'. But you will lose root. However you can root the stock ROM just fine.
You might also consider one of the myriad of TouchWiz based custom ROMs. They are look just like TouchWiz that your wife wants, but have a lot of optimizations and options in them. Those should flash just like any ROM. If you still get the reboot issue then do the Odin back to stock, reroot, then flash the custom TW roms.
---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------
Thread cleaned.
Rather than bashing a ROM or user let's keep on topic and help the OP resolved the problems he's having. Arguing over the virtues of a ROM doesn't help anyone.
Thank you,
Rwilco12
Before posting this thread I sent the aforementioned guide's poster (arocker). He sent me a reply saying not to use gapps as the stock ROM for Metro PCS already comes with Google apps. I'll try his suggestion first and see if the phone still reboots a lot.
If the problem persists, I will try the solutions mentioned here. Thanks a lot!
elesbb said:
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
dokgu said:
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello PanchoPlanet,
Thanks for the link. I went ahead and tried to unroot without Windows (Mobile Odin) as per the instructions on the link. I downloaded everything and went ahead to install the Mobile Odin APK. When I ran it to install the Flash Kernel, the app told me that the device is not supported.
To my understanding the guide is for M919 devices but should work for my wife's device as well (M919N - Metro PCS). I would like to try the guide for using Windows but I'm not really expecting for it to work or I might mess it up more. I'll try to search some more and provide the links where this forum will lead me to. But if you have any ideas, please let me know asap. Thanks!
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, here's what I found:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446497
It seems like the perfect thread for what I am trying to achieve. Will let you guys know if it is successful. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. Gonna catch some sleep.
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Android_Monsters said:
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And 100% of the time, they eventually just get old.
dokgu said:
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a wierd situation, by swapping batteries you basically performed a battery pull, which acts as a reset, that in it self may have cleared your issue.
Now if battery is bad that could be an unusual problem. Maybe just replacing the battery will be the end of your mystery.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
The batteries are all the same. Don't worry about that.
Even if its a new battery if could have just been bad. A manufacturing defect perhaps.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
dokgu said:
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This battery thing is wacky, anyway swapping batteries should not be a problem, it's just an energy storage container. Pulling the battery isn't like powering down the phone or resetting/rebooting ,sometimes devs request a battery pull to get the proper wipe effect that reboots can't provide.
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
PanchoPlanet said:
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite literally solved the vast majority of my problems this way.
Its a preferred method.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
Sometimes it's that "total disconnect "of power that kind of gets all the ducks lined up in a row and everything flows in the dynaflow.
Good.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
its very important topics and it might seen for every galaxy s4 users.just wonderful topics.
This exact same thing happened on my mother's 6-month old S3. If you're still wondering, you could try putting the old battery and running a CPU stress test app. It should increase the current draw and trigger a shutdown.
EDIT: whoops, sorry to kind of zombie. Didn't check the date.
Sent from my Galaxy S4