Related
Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Eddie,
Thanks for your response.
1) I used stock method for encryption
2) Decrypt the phone is not possible apparently,only way is to factory restore the phone apparently
3) I went to the AT&T store and they were unable to factory restore (using the standard methods). They offered an exchange but since I purchase over the phone at a discounted price, I have to do the exchange using that method. Before shipping back the phone, I was wondering if I could fix it myself with the help of knowledgeable people.
CZ Eddie said:
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used the encryption but if the phone can turn on and is usable, cant you go into the encryption settings and turn encryption off? then you should be able to do anything (may be best to start with a factory restore first just so you have a fresh slate to work with)
1ofAKind said:
Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1ofaKind,
Had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me. Encrypted my S3 in order to access work exchange server. Tried CWM but cannot mount /emmc/ problem after booting into recovery. Have not tried to factory reset yet as I am wanting to learn more before I go that route. But basically I am in the same boat as you. The only difference is I was not required to encrypt an external SD card when I put it in my phone. Read about flashboot as well...maybe the only way to actually factory reset after encryption??
Sorry I cannot offer any solutions at the moment...but I will keep scouring the forums looking for a way.
If I learn something valuable, I will try to post it here to help ya out.
EDIT: Maybe you have read these threads, but there is some decent info in them. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1451655 & http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392037
good luck
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
I'm in the same boat here - had to encrypt my GS3 in order to receive corporate (Exchange Server) emails. Now can't update the OS on the phone which is more important to me than receiving corporate emails on the device.
Can someone tell me how to decrypt (UN-encrypt) the phone? Everything I've read says that a factory reset won't do it.
Please help!
CZ Eddie said:
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried this? If so, did it work?
I clicked install rom from sd card in cwm selected f/w which i had copied into internal memory. Did factory reset in recovery.
Odin it back to stock.
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
sid9102 said:
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN (for me at least) wont see anything since im using Windows 8. On Windows 7, however, it works just fine.
Factory reset encrypted phone
hi,
I'm using CM11 as a rom.
I didn't want to reinstall stock rom, just to root it again later.
Installing updated version from external SD didn't work (updated the ROM but no decryption)
Tried to factory reset from recovery - didn't work, as the internal storage is encrypted it can't mount /sdcard/
however, from within settings menu, in backup&restore there's an option to do a factory reset - this is formatting internal memory altogether.
worked like a charm.
oxidase said:
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this is very old but I am going to make a note here in case anyone else gets into this problem. When you go back to stock, do the factory reset using the STOCK recovery. Don't install TWRP or anything else until you have cleared the encryption. At least, that's what worked for me.
Hi all, I recently soft bricked my VZW Gnex by trying to flash CNA 3.8.
A little background:
I was on CNA 3.6.6 for awhile but the phone started to reboot during certain actions. So I decided to flash CNA 3.8. I was having trouble wiping the phone. I would do a full wipe in CWM touch (format data/cache/system/dalvik cache) and I when I rebooted it was as if nothing happened. Everything was still there. I tried a couple of times, and the same thing would happen, the phone wouldn't wipe.
After posting a thread about not being able to wipe the phone, I was advised to switch to TWRP and try again, which I did. Tried flashing CNA 3.8 and got hung up on the boot animation. I couldn't find my nands with TWRP so I switched back to CWM to try to restore a nand. When I tried to restore, I got md5 mismatch so I couldn't restore. I tried to do a clean reflash of CNA 3.6 but phone always got hung up at the boot animation.
I've been doing battery pulls and numerous wipes/flashes trying to get the phone to boot, but to no avail. Only thing I can do is boot into CWM recovery and fastboot. No matter what I do, the phone will not get past boot animation.
I have the Gnex toolkit but haven't been able to do much with it.
I've been advised to go back to stock (which I tried to do with the toolkit) but still stuck.
Also installed Android SDK for ADB, but admittedly I'm a noob when it comes to trying to get ADB to work.
At this point, is there anyway I can pull userdata from the phone before I try a return to stock approach which erases userdata?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Please help me!
Tool kits are not the best way to mod your phone as when you have an issue your a bit lost.
Jubakuba has a panic section in her guide stickied to the Q&A page, Efrant also has a guide on the same Q&A page. Have a good read, the steps and fastboot/adb commands are all given.
you are not bricked
What happens if you hold down both volume buttons and power with your phone connected via USB?
EDIT: Just reread and saw you can get into fastboot
Connect your phone to your PC while in fastboot. Run GNEX toolkit as Admin.
Choose option 16
choose option 9
download, extract and wipe intnernal
you should be good to go
Thanks for the advice guys.
@Rudeguy: If I do this, I will lose all my personal data on the sdcard correct? Is it possible to pull stuff like pictures, music, etc. before I proceed with going back to stock and starting from scratch?
supasizefries said:
Thanks for the advice guys.
@Rudeguy: If I do this, I will lose all my personal data on the sdcard correct? Is it possible to pull stuff like pictures, music, etc. before I proceed with going back to stock and starting from scratch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an option to keep your data. However sometimes you will have to sacrifice your data as it is causing the issue
danstah said:
However sometimes you will have to sacrifice your data as it is causing the issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what people don't understand.
Sent from my i9250
bk201doesntexist said:
This is what people don't understand.
Sent from my i9250
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thisvis why at minimum, once a week, i pull all pics off phone and put on pc and external. Got kids and grandkids, probably take 1000 pics a month, dont want to lose pics.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I was able to pull user data using adb. Learned how to do it from another thread. No worries now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I had rooted and unlocked my OG when the ZV9 update came out. Being trained in the classical school of stupidity, I tried to install it without re-locking my phone. The phone rebooted, but wouldn't get past going to recovery (CWM for me). I tried wiping everything I could, but eventually had to use LGNPST to restore it to stock. Thinking things were sunshine and unicorn farts again, I tried Bin4ry's root as I had done previously. When it came to the point for restoring data, however, the phone said that my device was encrypted and needed a password. I had never set up encryption and even went back to make sure it hadn't been somehow enable without my knowing. The "Restore my data" button in bottom right would do nothing while the desktop program was waiting for me to hit it in order to continue with the root process. I've included a screenshot to better explain.
I've searched the forum and asked around on the IRC channel but no-one seems to have encountered this particular circumstance. Anyone have an idea what went wrong here? Any help would be much appreciated before I decide to just accept a stock, unrootable phone or break it and cash in on my TEP.
Have you tried a total wipe? Of everything? Then LGNPST. Another option.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I'm pretty sure I already did. In my attempts to get the phone working through recovery, I remember wiping and/or formatting the system, data, dalvik, cache, and the SD card plus a factory reset before giving up and going with LGNPST.
Hello,
I don't know if any of you have seen this on a Note 7 since its still relatively new. Do any of you know why this mean?
Encryption Failed
Unable to start up you device. The encrypt precess was interrupted. you need to reset your device to factory default settings. This will erase all your data.
(And a RESET DEVICE button) which does noting but reset the device to start back at this Encryption Failed screen...
Thanks
Have tried to factory reset the phone from recovery? If that doesn't work you probably have to flash ROM via Odin.
Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk
Just wondering how serious is this? Out of all the phones I've played around with for the last 7 years this is the first time I've see this. I'm $hitting bricks!
I would try to factory reset like it recommends. If that doesnt work then time to exchange the phone.
Good luck and let us know how it goes...
Also, did you try rooting?
Yes I rooted. Alright so I managed to resolve everything THANK GOD!! I thought I was down CAD $1200 (not including customs)... Main problem was I didnt mount the System in TWRP before formatting, so no matter how many times I tried to format and install the only custom ROM available it would show me that error. But all is well after getting the stock ROM from Samsung and formatting it trough Odin.
Hi, I'm aware that several people have issues with the new pie rom.
Unfortunately, I have a problem that I haven't seen before on the forum:
It takes like a full 5 sec to call somebody and the same to end it.
It's very frustrating because I never know how to react in this situation (did he heard? Etc...)
I don't want to factory reset and I got everything stock.
Anyone has an idea on how to fix this?
Can I wipe cache with the stock recovery? Maybe install an other phone app?
Thx
i am having issues in pie as well. i cant seem to transfer large files to the phone.doing so makes the phone restarts. i tried it 5 times or so. fhis update is not good
Only way to clear up issues is a clean factory image install if this was not done to begin with.
OK thanks...
Though I blindfully hope someone will be get some alternative has I don't want do execute such extreme solution
b4bass said:
OK thanks...
Though I blindfully hope someone will be get some alternative has I don't want do execute such extreme solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually relatively painless. Apps restore automatically when you go through setup, calls and texts are restored, as well as system settings and WiFi networks. Takes me ~30 mins total, and maybe 5 of that is actually looking at the phone, the rest is letting it sync and restore backups automatically.
I was thinking about it doing a factory reset once the final came out but I've heard stories from fellow moviepass owners that are unable to use the app when switching phones. That would make a valid concern for factory resets as well. Not because of lag but I have noticed battery seems worse after the upgrade and wanted to factory reset to rule out. As I ran all the ota betas of pie a factory reset isn't a bad idea anyway.
tiny4579 said:
I was thinking about it doing a factory reset once the final came out but I've heard stories from fellow moviepass owners that are unable to use the app when switching phones. That would make a valid concern for factory resets as well. Not because of lag but I have noticed battery seems worse after the upgrade and wanted to factory reset to rule out. As I ran all the ota betas of pie a factory reset isn't a bad idea anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your device ID is tied to the app. When you factory reset and reinstall the app your device ID is reset. You can root using Magisk and then install Titanium Backup to backup the app and data, this will preserve the ID. i had to do this when switching ROMS.