Develop Bugs

[HOW TO] Unbrick your phone from flashing an International gsm boot image

Anyone with a bricked phone from flashing the gsm boot image, flash this via Odin as a PDA.
It will flash a stock boot image back to your device.
1. Extract Odin files to a folder from the attachment.
How to get into Download Mode (For Odin)
1. Unplug the USB cable.
2. Shut down the phone.
3. Hold down the 'HOME' + 'VOLUME DOWN' buttons and press the 'POWER' button for about 2 seconds until a WARNING! Screen appears. Press the 'VOLUME UP' button to enter Download Mode.
2. Tick 'Auto Reboot' and 'F. Reset Time' in Odin and nothing else.
3. Download the boot image and load into Odin as a PDA.
4. Click on Start to flash the image.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?crhj889aj2tricz
DO NOT UNZIP THE BOOT TAR FILE, FLASH IT AS IT IS.
Mark.

It worked perfectly on my AT&T Galaxy S3, thanks a lot mskip!!!

mskip, you are a lifesaver!!

thanks man we already had one in root guide but 2 is even better xD

Awesome, this is what I was waiting for before trying root. Thanks!

It worked perfectly on my at&t Galaxy S3!!
Thanks man, you are a lifesaver!!

Haha mskip, see what you started Thanks for getting involved. Sorry it happened in the wrong order... Needed the correct rootkit first

Ok...Looks like I'm having problems. I did the root process, seemed to work fine. Booted up fine. Installed Busybox, etc. After that, I rebooted and it won't go past the "Samsung Galaxy SIII" screen. Not responsive. I have to pull the battery. I wiped data and factor reset via CWM, but still won't boot. Installed this, nothing.
Any ideas?

What if your screen doesnt even turn on after istalling international rom?
all i get is a red led light.

vince24L said:
What if your screen doesnt even turn on after istalling international rom?
all i get is a red led light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you unplugged the usb cable, pulled the battery, replaced it then tried to boot into download mode?
If you have flashed a gsm rom then you are going to need to flash custom recovery with external sd support then copy a cwm rom across and restore it.
Mark.

CZ Eddie said:
Awesome, this is what I was waiting for before trying root. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, I just noticed the file is only 10MB.
So this is not the factory operating system image then.
Good thing I did a nandroid before wiping everything.
Anyone know if anyone is able to flash TMO ROM's?
My flash-finger is trembling.

I unplugged, removed battery, tried every combination.
I honestly dont have a clue how to do what you just said.. copy it only an external sd card but how would i carry it over and restore from it if it wont boot up?

vince24L said:
I unplugged, removed battery, tried every combination.
I honestly dont have a clue how to do what you just said.. copy it only an external sd card but how would i carry it over and restore from it if it wont boot up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your other option is to take it back to the store and tell them it wouldnt boot up after you charged it. Play dumb and they should exchange it at the shop.
Mark.

mine says fail in 1st box in odin
---------- Post added 24th June 2012 at 12:00 AM ---------- Previous post was 23rd June 2012 at 11:55 PM ----------
my phone is basically bricked, i take out battery and it says i need to open kies and go into recovery mode...?

nay12x said:
mine says fail in 1st box in odin
---------- Post added 24th June 2012 at 12:00 AM ---------- Previous post was 23rd June 2012 at 11:55 PM ----------
my phone is basically bricked, i take out battery and it says i need to open kies and go into recovery mode...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone says that with the battery out?
What did you do to brick it in the first place? Flash a boot image or Rom?
Try Odin a few times it may go through eventually.
Mark.

mskip said:
Try Odin a few times it may go through eventually.
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When all else fails...this has always brought my sgs 2 back to life.
SGS3 awaiting some dev love

Life saver!!!!! Thanks!!!

mskip said:
Your other option is to take it back to the store and tell them it wouldnt boot up after you charged it. Play dumb and they should exchange it at the shop.
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that XDA's stance on the risks of flashing/modding phone? Play dumb? Isn't that how this thread got started?
Surprised a senior moderator would suggest that.
I think we all know the risks...and when mistakes are made...the person making the mistake should pay. Not the company who plays no fault or the customers who's rates are hiked because of fraudulent claims.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

Well I am a royal idiot. I flashed the omega rom v6 and now my GS3 will not even turn on!!! Is there any hope for me...? Some people haven't even received their phones so I can't get another one soon...

baublitz said:
Well I am a royal idiot. I flashed the omega rom v6 and now my GS3 will not even turn on!!! Is there any hope for me...? Some people haven't even received their phones so I can't get another one soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you get into the Download mode or is it just totally dead (no lights, no power when you turn it on)?
Mark.

Flash back to 2.3, Where I can the ROM?

Hi,
I know your time is precious and I have already done hours of researching, googling, and downloading...
But believe me, no luck. I only found two 2.3 ROMs, one from this forum (but was a 'rooted' one) and one from SamMobile forum.
Both didn't work properly. I even cannot dial numbers (among other problems).
Can anyone, please, tell me from where do I find an official/good ROM for samsung captivate glide i927 ?
Sorry for taking much of your time, I really appreciate it.
Ali

Here is a good ROM from dman its stock ICS rooted (there is unrooted one at bottom of post if you dont want root) also it comes with CRT off i think so it looks cool when you turn off your phone. Hope it helps
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1841502

ItsMeBdon said:
Here is a good ROM from dman its stock ICS rooted (there is unrooted one at bottom of post if you dont want root) also it comes with CRT off i think so it looks cool when you turn off your phone. Hope it helps
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1841502
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, but Isn't there an odin version of it?
Because I have tried the CWM method but I cannot boot into recovery mode, I can boot only into download mode.
Not sure why, although I press upper sound + home + power but still get the wrong mode...

I would really appreciate it if anyone can give me a link to a gingerbread ROM that is flashable from odin for i927.
I have tried this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1391730
but it does not work properly (many errors appear)
I also tried the one from sampro.pl but still have many problems.
----------------------------------- EDIT ------------------------------------------
Maybe when I flashed the ICS and then I want to downgrade to Ginger, I need something more than just PDA in odin...
maybe I also need to change bootloader ??
-------------------------------------------------- EDIT 2 ----------------------------
I note after flashing: "cannot access csc...." something like that written just after flashing.... any idea?

You need to only press volume down and power button....try that to get into cmw
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app

And if u just want stock 2.3.5 u need to use odin for the samsung stock tar from there website
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app

ali_newyork said:
thanks, but Isn't there an odin version of it?
Because I have tried the CWM method but I cannot boot into recovery mode, I can boot only into download mode.
Not sure why, although I press upper sound + home + power but still get the wrong mode...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using root booter, you gotta have root to use it but it will boot you into any mode supported by the phone.
I927UCLG9 Stock ICS 4.0.4
keyboard back light fix
super user 3.1.3 ARM Signed

ali_newyork said:
Not sure why, although I press upper sound + home + power but still get the wrong mode...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned, the key combo for recovery is Volume Down + Power, that's the problem...

noob question...
Sorry to ask, but reading numerous forums has made me absolutely clueless as to what to do.
Long story short, My AT&T i927 is not rooted and i updated to official ICS via kies air and have been having multiple bugs, like the famous keyboard backlight issue (for which ive read the fix but was unable to implement it) and also, the pinch zoom gestures being of almost no use cuz they are THAT slow in response and the hd games on it have become extra laggy, the camera quality has become terrible.
I want to go back to gingerbread but dont know how so PLEASE, i request you to take few minutes out of your precious time and help me with one single post containing the step by step method and links to whatever it is that i need to download. I seriously appreciate this and would make sure this post is popular enough to not to be repeated again.
Eagerly awaiting your reply.
THANKS.

ali_newyork said:
thanks, but Isn't there an odin version of it?
Because I have tried the CWM method but I cannot boot into recovery mode, I can boot only into download mode.
Not sure why, although I press upper sound + home + power but still get the wrong mode...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isnt an odin version its a zip so all you have to do is flash it, but you want to make sure you have CWMR installed. I recommend the touch recovery because it makes it easier. Ill post link in bottom, also after you install you want to power off phone then hold power for 5 seconds and volume down to boot into recovery. To put CWMR on you need to use odin but once its on you will not need to use odin again unless another rom comes out that requires oneclick.
CWMR Touch
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1766533

Go to gingerbread and try the kies emergency firmware recovery that might fix the issues but i havent tried so i dont know
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda premium

This seriously is a issue worth notifying to Samsung. They shouldn't have released Kies update for the phone if it as under development. This isn't anything like Samsung. Samsung always tests the build and then releases it. I hope some samsung Official falls upon this thread and replys us all.

[Q] "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue" After Root

Hi guys. I just got a new Samsung Galaxy s3. When I got it I was greeted with an upgrade notification saying that a new firmware was out. It was 4.1.2. I downloaded it. Then I wanted to root it so I searched the Interenet and found this link http://www.smartphonesupdates.com/h...n-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-official-firmware/ . I followed all the steps but ODIN keeps saying: <ID:0/003> " Complete (write) operation failed.<OSM> All threads completed. (suceed 0 / failed 1).
Now my S3 is stuck on a screen that says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies and try again."
I have a Rogers Galaxy S3 on 4.1.2. Please help.
Oh, I also forgot to enable USB debugging before I attempted to root it.

It's good that it stopped. That may have bricked your phone. Just flash the latest available stock (it may be 4.1.1 if the 4.1.2 firmware isn't available to dl). If you attempt to boot into dl mode and it takes you back to the screen you described, plug on to Odin as if that is the download mode screen. I have a hunch Odin will recognize it as such
---------- Post added at 09:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 PM ----------
Also, any chance you could get a pic of that screen? I haven't heard of that screen popping up since the old captivate days.

mrhaley30705 said:
It's good that it stopped. That may have bricked your phone. Just flash the latest available stock (it may be 4.1.1 if the 4.1.2 firmware isn't available to dl). If you attempt to boot into dl mode and it takes you back to the screen you described, plug on to Odin as if that is the download mode screen. I have a hunch Odin will recognize it as such
---------- Post added at 09:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 PM ----------
Also, any chance you could get a pic of that screen? I haven't heard of that screen popping up since the old captivate days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin does recognize it and I found the stock s3 4.1.2 Rogers compatible file but it when I press start it says the same thing. "Failed" <ID:0/003> " Complete (write) operation failed.<OSM> All threads completed. (suceed 0 / failed 1).
***Update***
Strangely enough, I had a version of Rogers JellyBean 4.1.1, which I loaded up and flashing to and it seems like it's flashing OK now.
What do you think caused it to fail in the first place. Is it because I didn't turn on USB debugging?
***Update***
OK now it rebooted but it's stuck on the screen that says "Samsung."
Any ideas?

Try a factory reset in recovery

mrhaley30705 said:
Try a factory reset in recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I pull the battery and try either (volume down and power) or (volume down+power+home) it just vibrates then says samsung for a plit second then nothing else comes up on the screen.
***Update***
OK I got back in ODIN Mode but i can't get into hboot mode.

Recovery is volume up+ power+ home. Hold it until you see a little blue line flash in the top left corner of the screen.

mrhaley30705 said:
Recovery is volume up+ power+ home. Hold it until you see a little blue line flash in the top left corner of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally worked! OK I'm going to once again let the phone get 4.1.2 when prompted then I want to root it. Please advise me on how best to ahieve root.

This is the way I always recommend:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426

mrhaley30705 said:
This is the way I always recommend:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
OK turns out when I flashed I flashed to 4.0.4. Can I just flash now to 4.1.2 root with the link you gave me, or do i have to keep letting my phone download all the upgrades till I get to 4.1.2? Also, should I enable usb debugging before flasshing the file you suggested? It doesn't say to on your link.

Cant factory reset my note 3

Hello, I just got my note 3 the other day and I just love it. I just want to be able to get the most out of it that I can. I decided I wanted to root it and put a custom rom on it. I wanted to put the rom wicked because it just looks amazing. Anyways I tried following this tutorial /watch?v=A6qt8sSTKYI (cant post full link) The last step where I had to hold the home, power, and volume up I messed up a bit. I am not sure if it is because I didn't hold them down long enough or what but it didn't work. So when I got back to my phones setting I wanted to factory reset it to start from scratch. When I tried this the phones powers off and then when it powers back on I am stuck in odin mode. The ONLY way I was able to get out of it was taking out the battery for a few secs. Put the battery back in, held down the down volume, home, and power button. Then when that menu came up it said press up to continue or down to cancel or reset. If I pressed up I would be stuck in the odin mode again. When I pressed down the phone then booted fine which was a big relief.
I am just wondering what I did wrong. I really would like to factory restore it before attempting the root again. Maybe this time I can have someone help me on skype? If you are willing to help me that would be wonderful. I will PM you my skype and it will be just through text no voice.
Thank you in advance

I'm just guessing but perhaps you need to just go ahead and flash stock firmware through Odin. Your files or partitions may have got messed up somehow. Its pretty simple. Goto dev section and read up on it. Gonahead and download the files and research while downloading so less wait time.
sent from my sm-9005.

@rbiter said:
I'm just guessing but perhaps you need to just go ahead and flash stock firmware through Odin. Your files or partitions may have got messed up somehow. Its pretty simple. Goto dev section and read up on it. Gonahead and download the files and research while downloading so less wait time.
sent from my sm-9005.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I will try this now. Hopefully this will work for me and not leave me stuck on odin mode again. I just tried to boot into recovery and I still get stuck in odin (cant boot normal). By the way does 0x1 mean I void my warranty? Just curious

FlutterPie said:
Thank you, I will try this now. Hopefully this will work for me and not leave me stuck on odin mode again. I just tried to boot into recovery and I still get stuck in odin. By the way does 0x1 mean I void my warranty? Just curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, flashing anything will get the ticker to 0x1.(although I heard from some people, you CAN reset it, but it's not solid yet)
Now as far as getting to RECOVERY, it's volume UP, home and power, not down. down is download mode, up is recovery. Hope it helps.
---------- Post added at 08:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------
also, in order to start anything on a brand new device that not rooted yet, you have to install the root BY going through odin, at that point you should google root note 3 and go to the website(which i cant access im at work) is rootgalaxynote3.com. he has the files you need and tutorials to root, AT THAT POINT install goo manager and install recovery, which you need root access to do. when thats done, you can get into TWRP recovery by holding down in this sequence: volume UP,home,power(always hold down power last to make sure it recognizes you holding down the other two buttons) at that point youre all set to flash!

@rbiter said:
I'm just guessing but perhaps you need to just go ahead and flash stock firmware through Odin. Your files or partitions may have got messed up somehow. Its pretty simple. Goto dev section and read up on it. Gonahead and download the files and research while downloading so less wait time.
sent from my sm-9005.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inxed said:
Yes, flashing anything will get the ticker to 0x1.(although I heard from some people, you CAN reset it, but it's not solid yet)
Now as far as getting to RECOVERY, it's volume UP, home and power, not down. down is download mode, up is recovery. Hope it helps.
---------- Post added at 08:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------
also, in order to start anything on a brand new device that not rooted yet, you have to install the root BY going through odin, at that point you should google root note 3 and go to the website(which i cant access im at work) is rootgalaxynote3.com. he has the files you need and tutorials to root, AT THAT POINT install goo manager and install recovery, which you need root access to do. when thats done, you can get into TWRP recovery by holding down in this sequence: volume UP,home,power(always hold down power last to make sure it recognizes you holding down the other two buttons) at that point youre all set to flash!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried both volume down and up.

Or goto dev section and download files needed for sm-900t then move on to goo.manager.
Sent from my SM-9005.

@rbiter said:
Or goto dev section and download files needed for sm-900t then move on to goo.manager.
Sent from my SM-9005.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently am downloading the stock rom. Cant I just follow these instructions?
"1.. Download .tar and Odin to pc (move to desktop)
2.. Extract .zip N900TUVUBMI7_N900TTMBBMI7_TMB-1.zip
3..Run odin as administrator (left click on odin.exe)
4. Put phone into download mode..With phone off press Volume down + home and power (press power button last) ..now press..volume up to enter dl mode..
5.. Connect phone to pc... Wait till drivers install. when completed youll see a yellow ID:COM box light up...
6.. Click on pda and open N900TUVUBMI7_N900TTMBBMI7_N900TUVUBMI7_HOME.tar.md 5. ( If you did like i said it will be on you desktop. )
7 Patience......... "

If someone wanted to help me on skype that would be wonderful ahah. I just want to make sure I dont screw up again or even worse brick it.

FlutterPie said:
I currently am downloading the stock rom. Cant I just follow these instructions?
"1.. Download .tar and Odin to pc (move to desktop)
2.. Extract .zip N900TUVUBMI7_N900TTMBBMI7_TMB-1.zip
3..Run odin as administrator (left click on odin.exe)
4. Put phone into download mode..With phone off press Volume down + home and power (press power button last) ..now press..volume up to enter dl mode..
5.. Connect phone to pc... Wait till drivers install. when completed youll see a yellow ID:COM box light up...
6.. Click on pda and open N900TUVUBMI7_N900TTMBBMI7_N900TUVUBMI7_HOME.tar.md 5. ( If you did like i said it will be on you desktop. )
7 Patience......... "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's good. Let us know what happens. That will stock your phone to out of the box. THEN Odin install the root.

Well, That seems to have worked very nicely
After I did what I said above I was able to factory reset without a problem. NOW, before I go ahead and screw up again what procedures should I take exactly? I was having problems when in the videos they where saying clockworkmod. I had the rom manager and then it wanted me to pick a recovery or something and I was confused. Any tips?

Goto the twrp thread and DL 2.6.3.7. Flash that and start flashing.
Sent from my SM-9005.

@rbiter said:
Goto the twrp thread and DL 2.6.3.7. Flash that and start flashing.
Sent from my SM-9005.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where is this twrp thread? What section?
Also I wanted to thank everyone for their help. Very much appreciated.

FlutterPie said:
where is this twrp thread? What section?
Also I wanted to thank everyone for their help. Very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Hit the thanks if we helped lol. if you gogle team win project, their website will be the first one there. just select your device and download ad install.

Inxed said:
No problem. Hit the thanks if we helped lol. if you gogle team win project, their website will be the first one there. just select your device and download ad install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in GooManager and when I click install openrecoveryscript it says "No recoveries were found for your device"

I really have no idea what to do now. Does this mean I am stuck until a recovery is found for my device?

Did you download and install twrp from the team win project website?

Inxed said:
Did you download and install twrp from the team win project website?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are talking about goomanager yes
So in goomanager there are no recoveries found and in rom manager there is no clockworkmod recovery for the note 3. Im going crazy here.

Theres gotta be a recovery for your phone. That is crazy that there s not. Hold on

Inxed said:
Wait nevermijd sorry. What device are you trying this on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get android system recovery but its no goomaster or rom manager recovery. My recovery screen has a dead android guy and a few option above him.

Inxed said:
Did you download and install twrp from the team win project website?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What note 3 is this is it T-Mobile?

[Partially solved][Q] GT-N7100 download mode problem

Hello,
It's been a while since I last stepped foot in the xda forums as I've been happy with stock, however when kies pushed the 4.3 update to my Note 2 I've started having problems - my phone will not sleep. After 2 min timeout the display turns off and immediately turns itself on again. It then goes into a loop where it turns off and on again every second until I unlock it. This is playing havoc with my battery life (I only get about 6 hours from full charge now). I've tried disabling any setting that might cause this (like smart stay etc.), I downloaded wakelockdetector (doesn't detect anything), I've tested my sensors and sleep mode with #*0*# (sleep mode has the same problem here), and I've done multiple factory/hard resets (x5).
I want to go back to 4.1.2 because this problem only started happening with 4.3 except now I have a different problem - I can't get download mode to work so I can't flash any recovery/firmware. I get the download mode screen up via the usual 3-key method, however once I'm there it seems to disable my volume keys because they stop working. I can get into recovery mode without any problems and the volume keys work fine there, but once it loads up the download mode screen and prompts me to press vol up to start or vol down to cancel, no matter what I press nothing happens. I have to hold down the power key to reboot.
Does anyone have any idea why my Note 2 is so broken?
Would really appreciate some expert help here. Thanks in advance.
Other stuff I've tried: I've tried with and without my SDcard. I've tried formatting my SDcard. I've tried taking my battery out for 5 mins and then go straight to download mode, but still my vol keys won't work.
I got kies to do a firmware reinitialisation which downloaded 4.3 again and flashed my phone a second time but still the problem persists.

I guess I have no choice but to put my hope in Samsung support. It's a real kick in the teeth that the nearest official support centre is an hour and a half away from me. I think this will be the last Samsung product I buy.

H2D2 said:
I guess I have no choice but to put my hope in Samsung support. It's a real kick in the teeth that the nearest official support centre is an hour away from me. I think this will be the last Samsung product I buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install cwm recovery and then stock rom
1.boot into recovery
2.wipe/data factory reset
3.wipe cache partition
4.go to advance and wipe dalvik cache
5.choose install zip from sd card
6.place the stock rom zip file
Sent from my Micromax A74 using XDA Free mobile app

ankitetah said:
Install cwm recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How?
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but with 4.3 comes with knox and a locked bootloader. I can't load philz or twrp zip from recovery because it errors with an unsigned message and since I can't access download mode I can't use odin.

Shut down your phone. pull the battery out. connect your tether cable to the phone and USB to computer. start oden, put tar file in PDA box. don't change any other settings. Put your phone in download mode by pressing both up/down volume buttons (not Power) and insert the battery. once in download mode, click on Start on oden. As for the bloatware, you are going to get whatever apps that are in the tar file. I think Some of the bloat has been removed. Not sure what, but it seems most of it is still there. I think DriveSmart is gone
Sent from my Micromax A74 using XDA Free mobile app

ankitetah said:
Put your phone in download mode by pressing both up/down volume buttons (not Power) and insert the battery. once in download mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These don't appear to be the correct instructions for a N7100. Well, thanks for the bump anyway.

Hi!
Did you try to flash with mobile odin? It might be the solution if you can't access to download mode (which is weird by the way...)

I have same problem
i just flash new bootloader kitkat
"Bootloader If you have MJ5 or later bootloader then no need otherwise you have to apply Reboot and wifi Fix from post #3 above
You can get idea about current bootloader with info application
If You are not worried about warranty then I strongly recommend to flash Kitkat bootloader.
Here is Kitkat bootloader from N7100_ND3 "
and now my phone was on and it will stuck on samsung logo...
i m also not able to install stock rom
help me to downgrade 4.1 old bootloader.

keltakmaster said:
Hi!
Did you try to flash with mobile odin? It might be the solution if you can't access to download mode (which is weird by the way...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Mobile odin worked. Got the pro version to thank Chainfire. Also managed to get root thanks to Kingo and I'll be donating to them as well.
Unfortunately even after flashing CM10 it hasn't fixed my sleep problem. Well, maybe I've got a hardware fault after all...funny that it coincided with the 4.3 update. I guess I've voided my warranty now but on the bright side I've finally ditched Samsung's bloatware and stock android. Here's hoping I can find a fix.