Develop Bugs

Unfixable boot loop... Help?

Hey everyone,
So this is my last ditch effort to attempt to save my device. I would really prefer not to perform another warranty exchange given that I am not under insurance, but I'm afraid I have no choice.
My phone was rooted and I was using Darkside without issues, as I had been for the past two weeks. I am always careful when I flash roms and I made sure to follow every possible protocol. That's the background information.
My battery life was running at approximately 6 percent yesterday and I sent a text message as normal, and it was stuck at sending. I tried turning wireless data off from the toggles in the pull-down and it was unresponsive. When I went to Wireless Network in the settings option, my phone rebooted. Once it started up again, my service would not come back, and the phone would continually bootloop once it got past the traditional "media scanner running", etc. My window of opportunity to do anything was really slim.
I charged my phone to see if it made a difference, but it didn't. Tried with my SIM card removed and it still bootlooped. I was able to get to CWM from the advanced power menu before it rebooted again and I fixed permissions and cleared cache and dalvik. Now the phone wouldn't even get past the boot animation before rebooting.
I put the phone into download mode and reverted back to stock using Odin. The phone now got past the boot animation in stock mode, but was unable to find service and after about 10 seconds fell into the same bootloop pattern. I tried removing the SD card but that didn't help either. Using Odin again, I reflashed recovery, followed by root and tried reinstalling a rom through CWM (I have only used regular CWM, not the touch version) with a superwipe to ensure a clean flash. Once again, it wouldn't make it past the boot animation before bootlooping. I reverted back to stock using Odin, and this is where I stand.
I have tried all traditional methods to salvage the phone and, for the life of me, I cannot understand what happened. The only thing I notice is that regardless of how long the phone stays on before rebooting, it is never able to find service. It's like the radio or modem broke and the phone has no other choice but to restart forever. But reflashing the stock UVKL1 should also reflash the proper modem and radio, right?
Has this ever happened to anyone? Any suggestions (aside from the typical reverting to stock) as to how I might be able to stop it? I searched but haven't been able to find a situation quite like this one. Thanks in advance for your help.

Really sorry to hear about your problem. Assuming the 2.3.6 stock image you flashed via Odin is the one provided by Przekret and that that didn't work, then I'd try one or both of these two longshots to try to clear possible corruption problems in either the kernel or modem spaces:
For each of the following wipe cache and Dalvik cache in CWM before flashing and again wipe Dalvik afterwards and also fix permissions:
1) Format system (do this 3x) under mounts & storage in CWM. Flash the standalone Darkside kernel X v1 final immediately after flashing, e.g., the current Darkside rom. (You'll need to wipe data, too, if not coming from a Darkside rom. Do not do any Superwipe - neither the standalone version nor using a flag.)
2) Flash the KID modem (do this 3x). Both Odin- and CWM-flashable versions are available. (You can always flash back to KL1 if the problem is fixed.)
Hope this is clear. It's late! These are both things that have helped get my phone out of troubles, though not as bad as yours. Good luck!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

Also if u used the one from przekret then I'm almost positive that Odin package flashes the new radio too. If memory serves me right. Op let us know what happened

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, nothing has worked. I'm on the phone with T-Mobile, I see no other solution but to get it exchanged under warranty and it's not getting here until March 15th, according to the representative. I suppose I'll just use a replacement phone in the meantime. It's just really weird and frustrating... I could understand a bad flash or something similar, but I followed every step accurately as I always have and everything was working just fine until it randomly decided to die without warning.

Well since you're getting another one anyways I would continue trying to fix this one, just in case you come up with a solution and for another worst case scenario for your new phone.
Powered by the SGSII....

I think your efs folder got corrupted. Its scary to see this happening so often. Many other users have also reported corrupted efs ....
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA

shehrammajid said:
I think your efs folder got corrupted. Its scary to see this happening so often. Many other users have also reported corrupted efs ....
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive me for asking, but what is the EFS folder?

[Q] E4GT FI27 Boot Loop

If I'm posting this in the wrong place I apologize in advance. I'm also a bit freaked out since my phone seems to be kaput right now, but I have faith this is fixable. I need some of you professionals to give me your advice on how to go about fixing this.
Okay here we go...
I have in the past rooted my phone without any major issues by just reading this awesome site. I recently used "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_NoData" to root my phone using the one click method and everything was working fine. I realize now that I should have backed up all of my user data on the phone prior to updating to ICS from Gingerbread.
So, I think I made a newbie mistake by actually using Titanium Backup Pro (updated to latest version) to restore 1 file called wallpaper from the date 03/2012 (March 2012) which was when my phone was using Gingerbread 2.3.4 I think. I remember hitting the restore button and getting an option to restore only the data, so I chose this and a notification said, "Reboot phone for changes to take effect". Once the phone rebooted I unlock the screen and see the wallpaper I had from earlier this year. Now, I think the main problem is that I'm now using Ice Cream Sandwhich 4.0.4 and restoring the wallpaper from Gingerbread 2.3.4 has caused some underlying issues which is causing my phone to constantly reboot.
I went to the Sprint store and explained the issue and the Sprint representative said my phone needed to be reset because it seems to be glitching out. I informed him that I had files on my phone that I wanted to try to backup to my computer before I completely wipe the phone. Now, I'm home and I'm trying to get my phone to pop up in Windows 7 x64. I keep getting USB connection errors while connecting my phone to my PC because the phone keeps constantly rebooting while the drivers are trying to install then as soon as the phone reboots the driver installation fails.
USB Device Not Recognized
SAMSUNG Mobile MTP Device failed installation
So I've tried uninstalling Samsung Kies and the USB drivers and then re-installing them and rebooting. Still no joy because my phone keeps constantly rebooting. It is never going to complete installing because the phone is completely unstable at this point in time. Further research led me to updating the MTP from Microsoft. After installing this I rebooted. Problem is I'm still getting connection issues while trying to connect my Epic 4G Touch to my PC because the drivers are not able to install because of the constant reboots, even though they were installed previously. This is how I was able to root my phone to begin with.
So basically what I'm trying to do is backup my files on my phone to my computer (which it now may be too late) before I just completely reflash a fresh ROM (Full Restore on FI27) and start over from scratch.
I had the idea of actually reapplying "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_NoData" to hopefully reset the kernel so I could backup my phone to my computer. This hasn't resulted in any changes whatsoever either. I'm completely stumped and would really appreciate some wisdom here.
I hope all of this makes sense and I hope someone out there is nice enough to take a little time to point me in the right direction.

I have just placed the phone in download mode with the idea of re-downloading "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Kernel" and USB drivers have been installed successfully.
Nice to see this thread is getting some views, but no one has any advice to give me?

What files on your phone do you need?

I just got the Phone to show up in Windows Explorer by plugging in the USB cable right when the Yellow 4G came up and I was browsing the phone and I noticed the SD Card was not showing up, but before long the phone rebooted and I'm still trying to access the phone but the damn thing keeps rebooting constantly.
I'm just trying to backup photos I don't have backed up anywhere else. Other than that I'm hoping I can do a full restore using "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" and that will at least get my phone back to operating normally right?

Just go into the recovery menu and do a factory reset. It won't format your SD card.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

m4xwellmurd3r thanks for the advice.
I got impatient and went ahead and flashed "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" and my phone is back to operating normally. My SD card is still intact as well! What is really surprising is the fact that the pictures that were on my phone are still there. I don't understand, I obviously did something wrong. Also no longer having USB connection issues so that is a big relief as well!
Of course all the applications I had installed are no longer present, but why are my pictures still intact after using a Rooted Restore.
I want to completely wipe my phone and then create a backup with Titanium Backup and call it Stock_Version#. Then after I root the phone and get everything setup the way I like it I want to create another backup called something else. Is this the correct way to go about doing this?

Because none of your storage gets wiped by factory resets. Resets only affect the rom portion of your phone not storage. Glad you got it working
By the way rooted restore already wiped everything on your phone and rooted it so you're good to go
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

m4xwellmurd3r said:
Because none of your storage gets wiped by factory resets. Resets only affect the rom portion of your phone not storage. Glad you got it working
By the way rooted restore already wiped everything on your phone and rooted it so you're good to go
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Okay, so I shouldn't see any empty folders for apps I no longer use?
I swear everytime I start looking at the folders in my phone I see things I don't recognize and it just bothers me. This is one reason I wanted to reset my phone and start over fresh.
Also is there a good tutorial for using Titanium Backup?

Any folders made on the SD card and internal storage will remain since factory resets won't touch the data, even if the app is gone
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

So when you install an app just to test it out then you un-install it remnants of that app are still left behind. This I have to say I don't like. There has to be a better way to keep the file structure free from accumulating garbage. Is there a better way or not?

Ci2e said:
So when you install an app just to test it out then you un-install it remnants of that app are still left behind. This I have to say I don't like. There has to be a better way to keep the file structure free from accumulating garbage. Is there a better way or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always delete the /data contents for the APK but not if it's in android.secure.... you won't know what is what in there.

@garwynn - What is the difference between SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, and SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore_v2.exe?
Also I want to completely reset my phone now that I have everything backed up to my PC that I care about. So do I need to do a factory reset on the phone and then flash one of the files above?
The plan is to get a fresh start and use Titanium Backup like I should have been doing from the start!

Ci2e said:
@garwynn - What is the difference between SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, and SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore_v2.exe?
Also I want to completely reset my phone now that I have everything backed up to my PC that I care about. So do I need to do a factory reset on the phone and then flash one of the files above?
The plan is to get a fresh start and use Titanium Backup like I should have been doing from the start!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copied from the v2 thread.
garwynn said:
...What's the difference? Flash order.
Normally our one clicks don't have the same order as Sextape's leak.
Version #2 is a test of using the same order and so far so good for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

That's great I can't find that thread at all, can you give me some linkage?
MoHoGalore can you answer my second question?

Ci2e said:
That's great I can't find that thread at all, can you give me some linkage?
MoHoGalore can you answer my second question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click the tiny arrow beside Garwynn's name in the quote I posted. It'll take you to that thread i copied it from.
No, you do not need to factory reset when you use an Odin one click.

I just got done using an Odin One Click -> SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, all my data was left intact. Are you sure you know what you're talking about?

Ci2e said:
I just got done using an Odin One Click -> SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, all my data was left intact. Are you sure you know what you're talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. So your google account settings remained? You didn't have to setup anything?? If that's the case, either it was the no data version or it didn't flash.
And if you're taking about formatting the usb storage, like blues said in the other thread you asked, it doesn't format it.
But feel free to get other opinions.
:edit: And the only way I'd ever suggest to "factory reset" from the privacy menu, would be to use a gb build. But don't take my word for it, read the brick bug thread.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2

I'm just getting confused here I think your right. So basically if I do a factory reset via the settings menu, that will reset everything but keep the same model FI27. Then all I'll need to do is reflash the SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, right?

Ci2e said:
I'm just getting confused here I think your right. So basically if I do a factory reset via the settings menu, that will reset everything but keep the same model FI27. Then all I'll need to do is reflash the SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my edit above. I'll never suggest using that option with an ics build at this time.
Now, having said that, i have done it but with the brick bug, that choice is yours.
What i try to do is just format the drives (both internal and external) when connected to my laptop then power off, then use a one click.
Safe method - use a gb one click, factory reset via privacy option in settings and format usb, then use the fi27 one click.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2

Okay tell me I understand this correctly.
Format both internal/external drives via settings > privacy > Factory data reset (this does not touch the SD Card, right?) while USB cable connected.
Power off phone and boot into download mode, then flash a "Stock Gingerbread Rom" (matching the model #, will it still be FI27 or not?) then at this point if I'm still on FI27 all I'll need to do is reflash "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" to regain root.
If after doing a factory reset and flashing a stock gingerbread rom I may have to wait for updates to be pushed to my phone, or not?

[Q] Tmobile Samsung Galaxy S3 bricked after install of LiquidSmooth

Hey guys,
So I desperately need some help here. I rooted my phone using the ODIN method, which worked fine. I put 2 ROMS on the internal memory in order to see which I liked best. I was only able to install one before my phone started heading downhill.
Basically after installing LiquidSmooth (the "stable" one) my phone started wigging out: not letting me access the external SD card (it didn't even see that I had one, and I popped it to reset it), not letting me even open a web browser, saying I had no connection via 3G (which is strange because it's a 4G phone, and it stated so before I installed LiquidSmooth) and just generally not letting me do anything.
Logically I figured I'd just replace the ROM with another, so I tried to install the "Pac-Man" d2tmo ROM... but LiquidSmooth was the only one starting up, no matter what I did (soft reboot, factory restore from keypad, UP vol + power + home, and even from inside the phone settings.) Nothing worked. I even tried to recover a backup I had made before I installed LiquidSmooth, but the menu just kept saying no data present (which is especially odd, since I even put the backup on my desktop, but I just can't get the phone to run it)
I figured, okay well maybe I'll just have to restore from the vol + pow + home screen. Bigger mistake. Now my phone won't boot at all, and I'm at a loss for words. I've rooted other phones with no issue before (I even had to recode a bit of a "one-click" program to root my ol' Galaxy S Vibrant) and now I just don't know what to do.
Here's what I need to know: If I can recover to factory (and if so, what other ROMs are good... I was mislead by everyone saying LiquidSmooth was great *grrr*), and if not, what exactly are my options to get this thing running at all.
Oh, and I was running Jellybean 4.1.1 and it got bumped to 4.2.2 when I installed LiquidSmooth, if that helps at all.
Thanks so much for any and all help.

OneIdiotInATree said:
Hey guys,
So I desperately need some help here. I rooted my phone using the ODIN method, which worked fine. I put 2 ROMS on the internal memory in order to see which I liked best. I was only able to install one before my phone started heading downhill.
Basically after installing LiquidSmooth (the "stable" one) my phone started wigging out: not letting me access the external SD card (it didn't even see that I had one, and I popped it to reset it), not letting me even open a web browser, saying I had no connection via 3G (which is strange because it's a 4G phone, and it stated so before I installed LiquidSmooth) and just generally not letting me do anything.
Logically I figured I'd just replace the ROM with another, so I tried to install the "Pac-Man" d2tmo ROM... but LiquidSmooth was the only one starting up, no matter what I did (soft reboot, factory restore from keypad, UP vol + power + home, and even from inside the phone settings.) Nothing worked. I even tried to recover a backup I had made before I installed LiquidSmooth, but the menu just kept saying no data present (which is especially odd, since I even put the backup on my desktop, but I just can't get the phone to run it)
I figured, okay well maybe I'll just have to restore from the vol + pow + home screen. Bigger mistake. Now my phone won't boot at all, and I'm at a loss for words. I've rooted other phones with no issue before (I even had to recode a bit of a "one-click" program to root my ol' Galaxy S Vibrant) and now I just don't know what to do.
Here's what I need to know: If I can recover to factory (and if so, what other ROMs are good... I was mislead by everyone saying LiquidSmooth was great *grrr*), and if not, what exactly are my options to get this thing running at all.
Oh, and I was running Jellybean 4.1.1 and it got bumped to 4.2.2 when I installed LiquidSmooth, if that helps at all.
Thanks so much for any and all help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you flash the latest recovery? Did you wipe data when flashing to a 4.2.2 aosp ROM from 4.1.1 tw? You'll need to do that before and not dirty flashing. Have you done a battery pull? And then tried to enter recovery?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

monkeypaws said:
Did you flash the latest recovery? Did you wipe data when flashing to a 4.2.2 aosp ROM from 4.1.1 tw? You'll need to do that before and not dirty flashing. Have you done a battery pull? And then tried to enter recovery?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It auto-wiped to upgrade to 4.2.2, so if there is a way to downgrade it to get it to work, I'd love to know. At the moment all I can access is the Clockwork Mod boot list from the vol+pow+home route. Did a battery pull and entered recovery. Still nothing. If I try to boot without going through the vol+pow+home method, it just vibrates and then nothing.

Update recovery.
Wipe everything except sd cards.
Install rom.
Install Gapps.
Factory reset.
Done.

Aerowinder said:
Update recovery.
Wipe everything except sd cards.
Install rom.
Install Gapps.
Factory reset.
Done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I formatted everything from that vol+pow+home menu.
Gapps? Is that something I should install from SD?
Sorry, I'm just a bit overwhelmed by something I thought would be easy...

OneIdiotInATree said:
I formatted everything from that vol+pow+home menu.
Gapps? Is that something I should install from SD?
Sorry, I'm just a bit overwhelmed by something I thought would be easy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gapps are Google apps that are required to flash after flashing an aosp ROM. They are usually included as a separate download in the first post of the wrong you are downloading. Make sure you download the right gapps. There shod be a setti ng in cwm to turn on USB connection when connected to comp. So you can load the gapps to your SD card. Then re wipe phone through recovery, reflash the rom , the in the same menu reflash gapps. Then reboot. It should then load properly . Otherwise. If you can access download mode, restore stock rom with Odin, reroot and try again from step one.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

If you fix your phone try using twrp instead of cwm thats what i had to do and DL the 2013 version of gapps. I have the latest pacman ROM and the only thing i had to do after install was clear data and cache for the rom control via apps-all-rom control. Well hope this helps.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

SamsungGui said:
If you fix your phone try using twrp instead of cwm thats what i had to do and DL the 2013 version of gapps. I have the latest pacman ROM and the only thing i had to do after install was clear data and cache for the rom control via apps-all-rom control. Well hope this helps.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, I just installed both LiquidSmooth again followed by GApps, factory reset the phone, and restarted. Now the phone will not start up (even the vibration) or allow a shift into cwm. Why did this happen? Is there a way to reverse this since now I've lost the ability to even access the cwm?
At this point, I just want to restore to the original loadout, but I've been unable to do that too.
By the way, I do appreciate all the advice on this problem. I'm frazzled beyond belief and have a very expensive paperweight currently.

OneIdiotInATree said:
Alright, I just installed both LiquidSmooth again followed by GApps, factory reset the phone, and restarted. Now the phone will not start up (even the vibration) or allow a shift into cwm. Why did this happen? Is there a way to reverse this since now I've lost the ability to even access the cwm?
At this point, I just want to restore to the original loadout, but I've been unable to do that too.
By the way, I do appreciate all the advice on this problem. I'm frazzled beyond belief and have a very expensive paperweight currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you have the ROM of choice and compatible Google apps on your SD card.
Now do the following
1. Pull battery out of phone
2. Put battery into phone
3. Boot into recovery (volume +, home button, power button)
4. Wipe cache
5. Wipe dalvik cache
6. Wipe data/factory reset
7. Install ROM
8. Install gapps (Google apps)
9. Wipe cache
10. Wipe dalvik cache
11. Reboot phone
Once booted up and logged into Google account, go to play store, search for goo manager, download goo manager, open goo manager and press the menu button and install the open recovery script....now you'll have twrp (team win recovery project).
|When Emotion Goes Up, Logic Goes Down|
|Even If You Fall Face First You're Still Moving Forward|

707BeastMode707 said:
Make sure you have the ROM of choice and compatible Google apps on your SD card.
Now do the following
1. Pull battery out of phone
2. Put battery into phone
3. Boot into recovery (volume +, home button, power button)
4. Wipe cache
5. Wipe dalvik cache
6. Wipe data/factory reset
7. Install ROM
8. Install gapps (Google apps)
9. Wipe cache
10. Wipe dalvik cache
11. Reboot phone
Once booted up and logged into Google account, go to play store, search for goo manager, download goo manager, open goo manager and press the menu button and install the open recovery script....now you'll have twrp (team win recovery project).
|When Emotion Goes Up, Logic Goes Down|
|Even If You Fall Face First You're Still Moving Forward|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finished most of these steps, but when I rebooted my phone after installing both LiquidSmooth and Gapps, it refused to start. Now I can neither turn it on or go back into recovery mode. The phone is just dead now. What would cause this? I've taken the battery (and everything else for that matter) out again and again, charged it for the last hour, and nothing has changed.

Okay follow this to get to stock and make sure it can at least do that. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2136921
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

OneIdiotInATree said:
I finished most of these steps, but when I rebooted my phone after installing both LiquidSmooth and Gapps, it refused to start. Now I can neither turn it on or go back into recovery mode. The phone is just dead now. What would cause this? I've taken the battery (and everything else for that matter) out again and again, charged it for the last hour, and nothing has changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you have a T-Mobile phone?

monkeypaws said:
Okay follow this to get to stock and make sure it can at least do that. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2136921
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the set of instructions, but I am unable to either start it (power button), put it in cwm (pwr+up+home) or download mode as mentioned (pwr+down+home). I don't get a vibration; I don't get anything. Is this totally bricked now? Since the device isn't on, I can't do anything with Odin or the SD card.

What country do you live in, and how did you acquire your phone? Looks like you maybe have the intl version.

I would say try to get into download mode with the physical bottons if that dint work try a jig u can get on ebay like 5 bucks they are always handy.if u can get in to dl mode odin a root66.tar then install recovery.if that dobt worj u prib install liquid rom but fir diff device abd hard brixk u f that case hope u have insurance ti replace they will never know u rooted ir have it jtaged

Its bricked, jtag repair only way .
Stop flashing in my opinion theres a huge issue with the t999 rom compatility and someone mentioned of tw roms being labeled as aosp.roms,I would root but stay away from flashing.until someone figures this out .Theres way to many brick topics lately i find to be oddly connected to the same causes .
Some will say bs but trust me theres something going on..even the most experienced flashers are bricking the t999 its to me the most easiest brickable device i ever delt with.

lojak29 said:
Its bricked, jtag repair only way .
Stop flashing in my opinion theres a huge issue with the t999 rom compatility and someone mentioned of tw roms being labeled as aosp.roms,I would root but stay away from flashing.until someone figures this out .Theres way to many brick topics lately i find to be oddly connected to the same causes .
Some will say bs but trust me theres something going on..even the most experienced flashers are bricking the t999 its to me the most easiest brickable device i ever delt with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it honestly sounds like he has he international version not the US variant. so i think thats the mistake not the phone

lojak29 said:
Its bricked, jtag repair only way .
Stop flashing in my opinion theres a huge issue with the t999 rom compatility and someone mentioned of tw roms being labeled as aosp.roms,I would root but stay away from flashing.until someone figures this out .Theres way to many brick topics lately i find to be oddly connected to the same causes .
Some will say bs but trust me theres something going on..even the most experienced flashers are bricking the t999 its to me the most easiest brickable device i ever delt with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
99% of the bricking is user error...the reason for the increase in "bricked" topics is cause by the amount of users of the T999...its the most heavily used phone by a wide margin now.
Ive far from an expert but have been flashing since the G1 days and have experience with many phones...in my opinion the t999 is darn near unbrickable unless you didnt follow the directions or use a reputable developer when selecting a rom...
To the OP:
What is the actual model of your phone ? you came with an issue and have not really posted much about the specifics of your phone...
sounds like your phone is not partitioned correctly which probably happened by not following the correct directions
there is so much more info needed to diagnose your issue its silly...
Ive been using wicked roms from day one on the t999 and I dont remember seeing anyone hardbrick a phone yet and there are thousands of users using wicked roms...
---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM ----------
Also...was your phone charged when you last tried to flash something? long ago my phone died while flashing ( lessoned learned) ...
pull the battery for awhile...put it back in and try to charge it...
then try to odin back to stock after its charged...

Even if AOSP and TW ROMs were labelled wrong... what difference would it make ? Sure, it could be misleading and all but it's hardly going to brick a phone just give you something you might not have exactly wanted (if that's even actually happening).
I also wonder if this phone is actually an International version instead of the T-Mobile one.
OP, it looks like you need JTAG repair now. If you don't honestly know what exact model you have talk to the JTAG repair service people about it - since they can most likely JTAG either they can just tell you which phone you have once they've fixed it.

Pennycake said:
Even if AOSP and TW ROMs were labelled wrong... what difference would it make ? Sure, it could be misleading and all but it's hardly going to brick a phone just give you something you might not have exactly wanted (if that's even actually happening).
I also wonder if this phone is actually an International version instead of the T-Mobile one.
OP, it looks like you need JTAG repair now. If you don't honestly know what exact model you have talk to the JTAG repair service people about it - since they can most likely JTAG either they can just tell you which phone you have once they've fixed it.
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Click to collapse
OP just has to remove the battery cover and battery and bam! There's a label with Sammy's logo along with device model and other info about the phone.
|When Emotion Goes Up, Logic Goes Down|
|Even If You Fall Face First You're Still Moving Forward|

Issue with booting on 4.3

Alright, so I am having this weird issue. I thought I found the fix for it several times, however, NO dice.
I've researched for a few hours now, I just don't know if I have over looked it or what. If it has been answered, I apologize.
I looked at the modified recoveries thread for newer s3 devices, but it doesn't seem to fit my area of error.
The Details:
I've been really curious to try some 4.3 roms. Of course, they are for D2SPR. I get them to flash correctly, after a full wipe. The issue happens right after I set everything up in the phone, and reboot. When I reboot I get hung at the splash screen. I have tried to reflash the rom muliple times only to fall flat on the splash screen again. Now, I don't have an SD Card in the phone, except, I left a TW rom in a folder. I use twrp, forgot to mention that. I rewiped the phone and installed that touchwiz rom, and still it wouldn't allow me to get past splash into that tw rom.
So the only way that I could think of to get out of this hole was to flash the rooted LJ7 tar file I have through ODIN. After getting the S3 into download mode, Odin successfully push LJ7 into my phone. Now again, I had an issue getting it to boot. I read somewhere that when this happens, I need to check the Erase NAND option in Odin. So I tried that out and forced LJ7 back on. After successfully flashing, it boots but gets stuck on the boot animation; the fix to that is booting into stock recovery and wiping once more. Then you are able to get into the OS.
I let the phone sit and take the OTAs till I get from LJ7 to MD4 so I re-root the phone using Odin and Chain Fire's root method. Now I am able to flash the recovery (TWRP) using OpenScript through Goo Manager.
I've only tried flashing Illusion and Carbon's 4.3 rom. The second time I used Carbon's rom. Same results. So I have no Idea what the heck is going on. Can anyone explain this to me better or point me into the direction that I need to go?
Thanks much!

your not the only one that has this problem i have the same thing have tried everything and most of the 4.3 roms same thing. no one on xda seems to know at least i havent gotten any help or responses i have just given u on 4.3. good luck finding any ideas.

Set it up I'm sure you restored some apps and data which may no longer be compatible. Or data which is corrupting the 4.3 rom. Try just flashing the rom setting up your Google account and don't add any apps. See if it does it.
Either way this seems to be a common issue across different devices and 4.3 seems it's part of using roms built on leaks and ports. None are bug free. Very similar to all gb leaks back in the day that would go into bootlooping.
Have a great day!

bbrita said:
your not the only one that has this problem i have the same thing have tried everything and most of the 4.3 roms same thing. no one on xda seems to know at least i havent gotten any help or responses i have just given u on 4.3. good luck finding any ideas.
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Click to collapse
Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one, however, it's horrible that it's happening to others. I appreciate you spreading the info!
edfunkycold said:
Set it up I'm sure you restored some apps and data which may no longer be compatible. Or data which is corrupting the 4.3 rom. Try just flashing the rom setting up your Google account and don't add any apps. See if it does it.
Either way this seems to be a common issue across different devices and 4.3 seems it's part of using roms built on leaks and ports. None are bug free. Very similar to all gb leaks back in the day that would go into bootlooping.
Have a great day!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I go to set up, I just install about 15 apps, I don't restore. I just download them fresh. I had a habit of doing that and it just stuck. I don't restore anything with Titanium or and root backup/restore app. Could one of those apps not be updated then that causes the partitions to get locked up, or just corrupt /data in general? If that's whats happening.
I just find it extremely odd that I (maybe others), can't wipe, and then re flash another rom; actually I can, it just gets stuck at the splash and never goes forward, that is what had me confused most. If I had an sd card, and formatted data itself, would that fly?

thanks Ed i have tried this after the first 2 tries . i dont have any problems installing 4.3 its just after rebooting it gets stuck. Like you said there are always bugs Im fine with using other roms for now. Hopefully when an official 4.3 drops problems will go away

[Q] Bricking Issues

Three times now I have bricked my Samsung S3 (SGH-T999) by flashing a new Rom that should work ok. I flashed my recovery with Multiboot v2.11 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2684052). Booted into Recovery, created the new Rom, selected the new Rom, installed the new Rom and attempted to boot into th new Rom. at that poin t my phone went dark, it would not power up no matter what I did. Plugged in I would see the object "qhsusb_dload" in the Device Manager (Windows 7). From there I learned it was bricked. I have been able to recover in all instances
Can anyone possibly shed some light on what might be going on??
Thanks,
Robert

First thing I'm noticing is you are using multi boot for the I747. Probably doesn't matter much but you really can't know for sure. We gave our own multi boot thread btw.
The only other thing is the roms. You need to tell us exactly what you flashed, how you flashed and what recovery you used. (Links can be a big help so we don't have to spend extra time verifying that we understand correctly which ones you are referring to.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

DocHoliday77 said:
First thing I'm noticing is you are using multi boot for the I747. Probably doesn't matter much but you really can't know for sure. We gave our own multi boot thread btw.
The only other thing is the roms. You need to tell us exactly what you flashed, how you flashed and what recovery you used. (Links can be a big help so we don't have to spend extra time verifying that we understand correctly which ones you are referring to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doc,
Thanks for your reply. My phone is a Samsung S3 (SGH-T999 T-Mobile). To start with, I already had TWRP 2.8 installed.
I followed this link for a starting point: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2646528
Recovery File: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=12831 (d2tmo-twrp2.7-mb-v2.11.zip)
Flashed the new Recovery from the old recovery. No problems installing or using the new recovery.
I had tried Android Revolution HD from (http://joyofandroid.com/10-best-custom-roms-samsung-galaxy-s3/) and soon realized that was for the i9300. Needless to say that bricked my phone the first time. Flashed everything back to stock.
Next I tried FlashingDroid from the same link as above with the same results.
In the Multiboot TWRP 2.7 I would simply do the following:
- Create the Rom Space using the img option
- Set the Rom to the newly created space.
- Flash the new Rom.
- Set Boot to new Rom.
All seemed to go ok, but when it rebooted it was bricked. My phone would not power on either on battery or plugged in. When plugged in I would see an unloaded device named "qhsusb_dload". From what I briefly read on that, it is a very distinct indication that your phone is bricked.
From that point I would image my sd card with a debrick image, reboot into download mode and reflash back to stock...
If there is a better way, please direct me to the correct docs.
Thanks,
Robert

I tried yet again from a fresh flash with the same results. Somethings not right can anyone shed some light on what I might do to be able to use this Multiboot option?
Robert

Never heard of "FlashingDroid" but it is also an i9300 rom. The ONLY roms you should be using are ones in our Development and Original Development sections. Everything in our forums here is as safe as your going to get. (There's always some risk when flashing). I highly recommend Against flashing anything from any other site or Google search.
I didn't look to verify, but I'm betting every rom on that page you linked is for the i9300. Pretty much every time you see something about the S3 online, they are talking about the i9300. They will specifically refer to the model number and/or carrier otherwise.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Doc,
What I really do not understand is how this is bricking my phone. One would think if I reset the Multiboot options back to Internal away from the new Rom I created that it would still be able to boot my original Rom? Isn't that one of the reasons to have a Multiboot feature?
Robert

I'm not completely sure on that one tbh. I do know that just because it's not internal and it's on your SD card, those i9300 roms are not going to work. (I don't use multi boot so I'm not really well versed on how it all works, but if it has to symlink partitions for example, when you try to reboot to the internal rom it would need to reset those links, but if they are linked to the wrong partitions, it probably wouldn't boot at all. Keep in mind that is more a guess, but the logic seems right to me.
Bricks occur because when flashing an i9300 rom, it flashes the kernel to the wrong partition. (One of the bootloaders if I remember right). So if it does operate using symlinks, it'll try to access the bootloader and will get redirected to the i9300 kernel resulting in the inability to boot.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

I never heard of multiboot what is it? Is it like a custom recovery. By the way I heard the best custom recovery that is really safe is ClockworkMod you can even flash it as a zip so that it isn't permanent. Bit I'm using it and I haven't found anything wrong with it so far. It even tells you when the ROM isn't the right one for your phone. (Status 7) so that you don't brick your phone.
Just wanted to give you a heads up.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app

I highly suggest reading all the stickied threads for starters. Multi boot has its own thread in development. Cwm is not the only recovery, none are permanent (in the way I'm guessing you referred to it) and all will throw status errors when necessary. All the recoveries are good. Just comes down to personal preference.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk