Develop Bugs

What the What?!

Moderators, please forgive me in not in the right place...
Came home from a glorious week of camping and decided to check out some 4.4.4 ROM's on my phone...
Already running older version of C-ROM, so backed up and flashed the KK 4.4.4 version. That's where it the wheels came off my bus..
Phone booted so damn slow, then there were hundred's of FC's, rendering the phone unuseable. Rebooted, cleared Dalvik and Cache but same difference. The phone died, the battery would NOT charge! No matter what! Try as I may...NO GO!!! For hours! Feared it was that issue wherein the S3 motherboard dies and the phone has to be replaced by Samsung. Kept trying...finally get the phone to boot into TWRP. Whew!!! Still the phone kept complaining that the battery was dead. WTF?!
Restored the back up I had made...accidentally grabbed another backup from december of last year (Cyanogenmod), so had to recover my C-ROM back instead...RESTORE FAILS! Tried a few times but still failed. Tried to re-flash the latest C-ROM, but STILL fails...everything I'm trying fails.
I read the output and see an error, "Unable to wipe /system" ...found a thread where a user, using TWRP, had the same error with their ROM they were trying to flash. Eventually, the fix was to delete the make_4fs (or whatever it's called) from /sbin directory. Did so and was able to flash my Cyanogen, but could not restore my C-ROM backup. That STILL fails, however, no error in the live output while it's restoring. Just ends up Failing at the end of the restore process. The live logs indicate that it's using the 2fs (or whatever it's called), which was successful in flashing my Cyanogen ROM...why will it not restore my C-ROM back? :crying:
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

kojam said:
Moderators, please forgive me in not in the right place...
Came home from a glorious week of camping and decided to check out some 4.4.4 ROM's on my phone...
Already running older version of C-ROM, so backed up and flashed the KK 4.4.4 version. That's where it the wheels came off my bus..
Phone booted so damn slow, then there were hundred's of FC's, rendering the phone unuseable. Rebooted, cleared Dalvik and Cache but same difference. The phone died, the battery would NOT charge! No matter what! Try as I may...NO GO!!! For hours! Feared it was that issue wherein the S3 motherboard dies and the phone has to be replaced by Samsung. Kept trying...finally get the phone to boot into TWRP. Whew!!! Still the phone kept complaining that the battery was dead. WTF?!
Restored the back up I had made...accidentally grabbed another backup from december of last year (Cyanogenmod), so had to recover my C-ROM back instead...RESTORE FAILS! Tried a few times but still failed. Tried to re-flash the latest C-ROM, but STILL fails...everything I'm trying fails.
I read the output and see an error, "Unable to wipe /system" ...found a thread where a user, using TWRP, had the same error with their ROM they were trying to flash. Eventually, the fix was to delete the make_4fs (or whatever it's called) from /sbin directory. Did so and was able to flash my Cyanogen, but could not restore my C-ROM backup. That STILL fails, however, no error in the live output while it's restoring. Just ends up Failing at the end of the restore process. The live logs indicate that it's using the 2fs (or whatever it's called), which was successful in flashing my Cyanogen ROM...why will it not restore my C-ROM back? :crying:
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried using ODIN to restore back to stock? If you can get the phone up and running, you may be able to restore from your old backups.

Bass_Man25 said:
Have you tried using ODIN to restore back to stock? If you can get the phone up and running, you may be able to restore from your old backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bud.
Oh, I got the phone up and running on the Cyanogen dated dec/2013.
ODIN? Never thought of it. Been such a long time. I do need to get stock on here so I can all the latest official radios etc, then put custom ROMs.
Been such a loooooong time since used ODIN though. Shouldn't be hard to get back on the horse.
Thanks for the suggestion!!!

any idea why this happened? anyone?
as an fyi, I tried to put the lastest SlimROM on but same difference. (i'm really pressed for time always. so I decided this is the quickest thing to try). seems the only thing that will flash is my Cyanogen from December. Strange...
Will have to give ODIN a try if I can ever get the time some day..

Odin shouldn't be a much longer process. Start flash, walk away. When you return 10 minutes to a few hours later, it'll be sitting there waiting for you, all nice and stock!
Anyway, one thing I dont recall seeing you tried is a factory reset. Chances are, that's what caused all your FC. Roms will always take a while on first boot. But all those FC were likely due to incompatible data. Then you may have encountered more data corruption as the system worked overtime trying to resolve all those conflicts.
Its purely a theory, but there's a good chance you will never be able to find exactly what caused all of your issues. Dont lose sleep over it is my best advice! A couple of tips though....
Never wipe/format system! Had you been able to successfully do so, and then nothing would still flash, there would no longer be an o/s to boot into! All roms will format your system partition as the first step in the flash, so there's just no need to do this manually. Most flash failures occur before the flash actually starts, meaning if there's a problem, most times you'll still be able to reboot normally.
Update your firmware. If its been a while since taking an ota or updating via Odin, you're probably on an older firmware build which is known to cause problems with many more recent roms. Most simply will not flash if not updated.
Also, by flashing your up to date firmware in Odin, you will likely fix any corruption which may have occurred on some of those partitions. Good chance you'll be able to flash whatever you want after an Odin firmware update and factory reset.
Hope that helps! Good luck!

DocHoliday77 said:
Odin shouldn't be a much longer process. Start flash, walk away. When you return 10 minutes to a few hours later, it'll be sitting there waiting for you, all nice and stock!
Anyway, one thing I dont recall seeing you tried is a factory reset. Chances are, that's what caused all your FC. Roms will always take a while on first boot. But all those FC were likely due to incompatible data. Then you may have encountered more data corruption as the system worked overtime trying to resolve all those conflicts.
Its purely a theory, but there's a good chance you will never be able to find exactly what caused all of your issues. Dont lose sleep over it is my best advice! A couple of tips though....
Never wipe/format system! Had you been able to successfully do so, and then nothing would still flash, there would no longer be an o/s to boot into! All roms will format your system partition as the first step in the flash, so there's just no need to do this manually. Most flash failures occur before the flash actually starts, meaning if there's a problem, most times you'll still be able to reboot normally.
Update your firmware. If its been a while since taking an ota or updating via Odin, you're probably on an older firmware build which is known to cause problems with many more recent roms. Most simply will not flash if not updated.
Also, by flashing your up to date firmware in Odin, you will likely fix any corruption which may have occurred on some of those partitions. Good chance you'll be able to flash whatever you want after an Odin firmware update and factory reset.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's up, Doc? Sorry for that...
I downloaded Odin this morning. I should have gotten the link from XDA. The site i got it from looked official, however, tons of endless pop-ups after I installed it. Freak!!!
Then found the xda links. Not sure which version to get because i didn't see which one handles the S3. The latest version (3.09) should, no?
As well, where do i get the stock ROM from? Forgive me for all these questions. Been extremely busy with work these past few months. No time to play around with my phone everything. I'm forgetting more than I know.
A full wipe was done. In TWRP, system was check (it's always checked) automatically when wiping to flash a new ROM.
Thanks again!

Everything you need is in my sig. Go to the firmware thread and the stock or root66 firmware listed there us what you flash in odin. Version 3.09 is fine btw.

DocHoliday77 said:
Everything you need is in my sig. Go to the firmware thread and the stock or root66 firmware listed there us what you flash in odin. Version 3.09 is fine btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!

S.O.S!!!
kojam said:
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloaded the rooted firmware from your link and the ODIN (3.09)...
Flashed the firmware (making sure to get the correct one for WIND)...ODIN did it's thing...got a green pass...the phone rebooted...got the Samsung symbol, little swoosh animation, and the accompanying sound effect that goes with the swoosh-thing...THE PHONE NEVER BOOTED UP AN O/S!
Did it at about 11:30 last night, left it, got up this morn, and phone STILL in same status!
Found out that site where I downloaded the firmware had an issue last night. They posted this morn, apologizing to people about a D.O.D attack that may have caused dropped downloads. I downloaded the firmware again this morn, flashed with ODIN, got a pass....SAME THING!!! Phone
Had to quickly pack up my laptop to bring with me to the office. Will try the official, non-rooted firmware to see if I can get it to go.
Problems' that my team went from 12 to 2 people...my partner's off today...and I got a LOUD MOUTH across from me who WILL NOT leave me alone, no matter what I say or do. LOL.
Any suggestions?

In the words of George Costanza:
"I'm BACK, babyyyyyyy!!!!!"
The official firmware worked!
Phone's back online. Thanks for all your help. Will have to see about rooting later...as well, want to see how the battery operates on stock firmware. I've tried EVERYTHING under the sun to preserve batt life and NOTHING worked!!!
Tried EVERY KERNEL noted to be good on battery life, tried TONS of apps that were supposed to help, turned off as much as I could, etc....
batt still not good. I give up. Every diagnostic app says batt is very good. I dunno...

Earplugs! Lol! I definitely feel for you about your work status! Been there!
About the firmware though, if the download had been corrupted, it would've failed the initial check done by Odin. You are probably ok. Dont worry just yet!
If it is hanging up at the Samsung screen, you probably just need to factory reset. Almost always fixes this. (It happens due to incompatible data left from your previous rom)
This will wipe internal sdcard though, so if you haven't backed up yet, the next thing to fo is flash TWRP via Odin. You can then use its built in file manager to copy whst you need first. Or you can then flash an insecure kernel and use adb if you're familiar with that.

The Doc is in!
if the download had been corrupted, it would've failed the initial check done by Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's EXACTLY my thought too. That was really perplexing...
I am up again...
Facotry Reset? How do I do that if stuck at the Samsung splash though?
Now that i know the official firmware works, maybe i'll, try again with the rooted firmware, try to factory reset when stuck, and continue to flash TWRP as you described above. Don't mind factory resetting. I've taken everything I need.
Oh!!!!
I noticed that all the apps I had before flashing the firmware are STILL on my phone. I would have thought that they would have been wiped out completely when lord ODIN was doing her thing.

....and battery life is STILL pretty bad...
Phone's been charging...became fully charged...unplugged it..it was down to 84% after only about 30/mins.
Will see how it goes after doing the factory wipe.
Again, how do i do a factory wipe if stuck at the Samsung swoosh after I re-flash the rooted firmware ?

Maybe your battery is dying. it happens. That would explain a big drop from the start.

To factory reset if you're stuck at boot up, turn the phone off, then boot up into recovery. Hold volume up, home and power. After it vibrates, release power only, continue holding the other two until you see recovery booting up.
If stock recovery is installed, choose factory reset.
In TWRP (probably similar in cwm) go to Wipe and choose factory reset there. In TWRP and CWM, factory resetting does not wipe your internal sdcard. Stock recovery will.
And as for Odin, it doesn't actually touch the user data partition, so all your apps and data are preserved. This is great when just upgrading from one build to the next, but is the reason a factory reset is required if coming from a non touchwiz rom.
---------- Post added at 03:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:53 PM ----------
How old is your battery? The S3 is at the age where people who bought it when it was first released will start to notice the battery is beginning to degrade.
You can also get an app called Better Battery Stats here on xda (paid version in the play store). Its the goto utility for investigating problems with battery drain. Run it for a day after a full charge and then check its logs for persistent wakelocks. The app thread should explain its use better than I can, but if you are having trouble you can always post your bbs log here for one of us to look over. (This isnt my strongest area, but there are a few others around that may also be able to help. )

[Q] Device powercycles when trying to make or recieve phone calls

In the past few days after flashing alliance v2 i noticed that my phone would freeze then power cycle when I attempted to make or receive a call. Everything else works, I tried a different rom and still having the same issue. Any ideas?

eeeeeeeeek said:
In the past few days after flashing alliance v2 i noticed that my phone would freeze then power cycle when I attempted to make or receive a call. Everything else works, I tried a different rom and still having the same issue. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at posts 2 and 3 of this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3067828
HELP!!! Need a PIT file for N4
Odd problems that carry past factory reset and ROM flashes require a better flush. And clean install.

samep said:
Take a look at posts 2 and 3 of this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3067828
HELP!!! Need a PIT file for N4
Odd problems that carry past factory reset and ROM flashes require a better flush. And clean install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I had already started when I saw that, though the second post on that thread is a little confusing. However I had already odin back, booted up, but didn't wipe it, so instead I hooked it up to samsung kies, and did a full restore from kies. Made a test call, still froze, and crashed. So re rooted and put twrp then did an excessive number of advanced wipes. I even used the repair option to repair system then data. Just flashed vision and waiting on it too boot to see. Should I move further questions to that thread?

eeeeeeeeek said:
So I had already started when I saw that, though the second post on that thread is a little confusing. However I had already odin back, booted up, but didn't wipe it, so instead I hooked it up to samsung kies, and did a full restore from kies. Made a test call, still froze, and crashed. So re rooted and put twrp then did an excessive number of advanced wipes. I even used the repair option to repair system then data. Just flashed vision and waiting on it too boot to see. Should I move further questions to that thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd suggest keeping your posts on this thread. Just referred to that to save time.
Try the steps. Ask if not clear. If it sounds too extreme, start with the factory reset, Odin and factory reset again before flashing a deodexed ROM like Alliance. Update with results.

eeeeeeeeek said:
So I had already started when I saw that, though the second post on that thread is a little confusing. However I had already odin back, booted up, but didn't wipe it, so instead I hooked it up to samsung kies, and did a full restore from kies. Made a test call, still froze, and crashed. So re rooted and put twrp then did an excessive number of advanced wipes. I even used the repair option to repair system then data. Just flashed vision and waiting on it too boot to see. Should I move further questions to that thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ii did as follows and tried several other ways, same results on factory image, unless I have a bad image, I pulled it off of one of the forums here

Are you powering down prior to Odin of stock tar? Did you use your PC to download the tar? Have you tried doing this without the sdcard? The full wipes are important.
Try the NIE stock tar.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56853341

samep said:
Are you powering down prior to Odin of stock tar? Did you use your PC to download the tar? Have you tried doing this without the sdcard? The full wipes are important.
Try the NIE stock tar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive wiped everything and formatted data repeatedly......I had a nand backup i forgot about, I'm going to restore that and see. I haven't tried flashing anything without the sd card from recovery, I have removed my SD card for the moment. It does seem like this is the issue, something with the partition. It's of course possible I didn't follow directions properly, though I feel I have. I'll also try NIE if need be. It's very bizzare issue. everything else works fine.
Update: Flashed NK2 stock tar, tried to make a call, same thing, phone freezes and powercycles.
Update 2: I even tried a different dialer, same results. Could a hardware issue cause this?

My suggestion is to try the factory reset, power down, Odin and Dial*##72786# to reprovision the phone; data profile update and try again.
Still fails? Could be hardware failure.
Anyone else?

samep said:
My suggestion is to try the factory reset, power down, Odin and Dial*##72786# to reprovision the phone; data profile update and try again.
Still fails? Could be hardware failure.
Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive done all of this, even the 72786, tried wifi calling too just to be sure. maybe something with the antennai

Outside of a good suggestion, I'd stay with stock, call Sprint support. If not resolved there, setup a tech appointment.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[Q] Help ! can't find the problem with my LG G3...

Help ! I own an LG G3 and randomly had a problem with the stock messaging app as it was failing and crashing, so then I decided to reboot my phone but as it rebooted, it was still the same except it had a stock background, no knock code, and my home + recent apps buttons do not function at all but show touch feedback... also when I long press my recent apps button it brings up the settings tab which it should do, which is odd, also my return/back button still works fine. I switched my background to my original one and enabled knock code again, then tried rebooting, hot booting, and powering off and on the phone but nothing worked it even reset my background again to stock and disabled my knock code. I can answer any questions other questions, Any help would be appreciated, Thank You !
Edit: Notifications do not show and the stock camera shortcut ( Hold volume down ) stopped working.

I'd probably try a factory reset if you haven't already. Also list your current software version and carrier info., which might be helpful to us in helping you.
How to factory reset the LG G3
http://www.androidpit.com/how-to-factory-reset-the-lg-g3

Be sure to backup your messages/address book, that problem sounds like an excellent candidate for a factory reset solution.
redduc900, you have a private message from me.

c627627 said:
Be sure to backup your messages/address book, that problem sounds like an excellent candidate for a factory reset solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Titan Backup (free version ), can I back everything up, factory reset, and the reload my phone ?
redduc900 said:
I'd probably try a factory reset if you haven't already. Also list your current software version and carrier info., which might be helpful to us in helping you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a Sprint phone, software version LS990ZV4
I was gonna use that as a last resort, but I'll give it a try. Guess I'll have to reroot my phone... Again

TheAllOriginal said:
It's a Sprint phone, software version LS990ZV4
I was gonna use that as a last resort, but I'll give it a try. Guess I'll have to reroot my phone... Again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you are rooted, you might try going into your custom recovery and wiping cache and dalvik-cache.
Since you suspect the messaging app, maybe wipe the data for that one as well? You'd lose all your messages, of course.

epidenimus said:
Well, if you are rooted, you might try going into your custom recovery and wiping cache and dalvik-cache.
Since you suspect the messaging app, maybe wipe the data for that one as well? You'd lose all your messages, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a custom recovery, whoops. The messaging app was fixed after the first reboot, which is when my phone booted that all the other problems occurred. Thinking of just backing everything up and factory resetting, although I wonder if I back up my phone and reset it then load my back up would the problem persist ? as maybe it stems off the soft/firmware, feel like this is the problem since the buttons show touch feedback but do not work.

TheAllOriginal said:
I don't have a custom recovery, whoops. The messaging app was fixed after the first reboot, which is when my phone booted that all the other problems occurred. Thinking of just backing everything up and factory resetting, although I wonder if I back up my phone and reset it then load my back up would the problem persist ? as maybe it stems off the soft/firmware, feel like this is the problem since the buttons show touch feedback but do not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you seem to have it resolved.
BTW, a couple of notes and suggestions on best practices:
1. If you root and intend in any way on using the elevated permissions to modify your system, you should install a custom recovery, such as TWRP. This will allow you to backup your entire system at any time and restore in the event of an oooops! event.
2. If/when you have a custom recovery:
NEVER accept an OTA (over the air) update. It will bork your phone.
NEVER perform a factory reset from a stock ROM. It will bork your phone.​

Sprint GS3 wifi not turning on

Hello. When my device was updated to KitKat, the WiFi stopped turning on. It doesn't fail to connect, it just will not turn on at all. I tried an app called "WiFi Fixer", which didn't work, but in the "Known Issues" section it said this was caused by the "Android framework not interacting with the WiFi driver" and said to flash a custom ROM.
I rooted, installed TWRP, and flashed CM 12.1 successfully. The WiFi still wouldn't turn on. I then decided it was probably a hardware issue that coincidentally showed itself at the same time as the update. So then, I installed Cheetah Mobile launcher, and one of their themes, and was resigned to not having WiFi.
I got bored with the CM theme, and installed the Dark Material theme. At this point the phone started acting buggy, not waking from wakelock, force closing, and randomly rebooting. So i then deleted cache and dalvick cache, and re-flashed from the CM 12.1 zip i had saved on my SD. The bugs would not stop, almost making my phone unusable. The only bright side of this was that my WiFi was turning on and working! I thought maybe the hardware problem had fixed itself somehow, but I still wanted to have a usable phone. I kept re-flashing from the existing CM 12.1 zip, the WiFi kept working, but the buggy behavior wouldn't go away.
I figured that maybe the CM 12.1 zip on my SD was corrupted, so I downloaded another copy from CyanogenMod, installed it on my SD, and erased the old copy. Then, I wiped everything and re-flashed with the new zip. The buggy behavior went away, but WiFi stopped working again! I'm thoroughly confused now.
If it's a hardware issue, why does it come and go with ROMs/ themes? I thought it may be a kernel issue, so I flashed Ktoonsez K747 kernel, which is working fine, but I still don't have WiFi. Did the themes I installed earlier change the kernel in some way to make my WiFi work temporarily? Is there a fix for this? Is it a known problem? I researched the forums but the only answers I found for similar problems were from earlier versions (2013) of Android/ CyanogenMod ROMs.
At this point, I'm willing to give anything a try, I've even opened the phone, inspected, un-plugged, and replugged the WiFi antenna. If it was a hardware issue, would I expect to see any damage, like a fried circuit or something? Is there any test to check if it's hardware vs. software?Can I buy a replacement antenna?
I'm pretty broke and can't afford a new phone, which is why I'm trying to resuscitate this one When it works, it's sufficient for my use.
Please help, I really want WiFi back! Thanks in advance for any advice.

Full odin back to stock. Best solution.
Get odin here at the bottom of the page. The firmware is there too. If you create a free account the download goes much faster.
Also, re flashing the same cm12.1 over and over won't help. Have you tried the newest nightly? After odin back to stock, if you want cm, use the latest.
If you don't have a pc, you can try flashfire, but I haven't tried it.

madbat99 said:
Full odin back to stock. Best solution.
Get odin... at the bottom of the page. The firmware is there too. If you create a free account the download goes much faster.
Also, re flashing the same cm12.1 over and over won't help. Have you tried the newest nightly? After odin back to stock, if you want cm, use the latest.
If you don't have a pc, you can try flashfire, but I haven't tried it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm downloading it now. Does it matter that this is an older build? I started with L710VPUDOH1, but this download is a previous version, L710VPUDNJ2.
I found this, which has the L710VPUDOH1 build in a zip...
Google > "L710VPUDOH1 opensource samsung" > first result (I'm too new on XDA to post outside links!)
within the zip is Kernel.tar and Platform. tar. which I have done nothing with, as I'm not sure if it's what I need. Do you think I should flash these? or just go with the NJ2 build?
Thank you for your insight, and taking the time to help me!

dieseldeeznutz said:
Thanks, I'm downloading it now. Does it matter that this is an older build? I started with L710VPUDOH1, but this download is a previous version, L710VPUDNJ2.
I found this, which has the L710VPUDOH1 build in a zip...
Google > "L710VPUDOH1 opensource samsung" > first result (I'm too new on XDA to post outside links!)
within the zip is Kernel.tar and Platform. tar. which I have done nothing with, as I'm not sure if it's what I need. Do you think I should flash these? or just go with the NJ2 build?
Thank you for your insight, and taking the time to help me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. For many reasons. First, its not the rom, its just the update. No one has made a flashable rom zip. Second, official updates won't flash in custom recovery and it would never flash because you're rooted.
So basically its not the full rom, its the official update zip, just a patch.
Gotta flash a .tar. Unless your on the triband model, nj2 should be fine

madbat99 said:
No. For many reasons. First, its not the rom, its just the update. No one has made a flashable rom zip. Second, official updates won't flash in custom recovery and it would never flash because you're rooted.
So basically its not the full rom, its the official update zip, just a patch.
Gotta flash a .tar. Unless your on the triband model, nj2 should be fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashed back to stock, and updated to OH1 successfully, but still no wifi. It's greyed out and won't turn on
I would think it was a hardware problem, except that it all started when my phone updated to 4.4.2. I've found many others with this problem online, but no fixes. Can I flash back to 4.3? or can I flash a new modem/radio(?) file. I thought I saw one in my searches but can't seem to find it now
Thanks again

dieseldeeznutz said:
Flashed back to stock, and updated to OH1 successfully, but still no wifi. It's greyed out and won't turn on
I would think it was a hardware problem, except that it all started when my phone updated to 4.4.2. I've found many others with this problem online, but no fixes. Can I flash back to 4.3? or can I flash a new modem/radio(?) file. I thought I saw one in my searches but can't seem to find it now
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, do not try to flash 4.3. You will hard brick, and your phone will be a paperweight. Same thing if you try flashing any pre Knox modems/radios.
Are you flashing something else with this? It's something on your device if a tar flash in odin didn't fix it. Did you factory reset after odin?

madbat99 said:
No, do not try to flash 4.3. You will hard brick, and your phone will be a paperweight. Same thing if you try flashing any pre Knox modems/radios.
Are you flashing something else with this? It's something on your device if a tar flash in odin didn't fix it. Did you factory reset after odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I factory reset, cleared all caches, rebooted into safe mode, changed wifi settings in service mode... did an ancient Indian wifi fixing dance, spoke soothingly to it, then cursed at it :laugh: maybe it's a hardware problem with coincidental timing that's also happened the same exact way to other people

dieseldeeznutz said:
Yes, I factory reset, cleared all caches, rebooted into safe mode, changed wifi settings in service mode... did an ancient Indian wifi fixing dance, spoke soothingly to it, then cursed at it :laugh: maybe it's a hardware problem with coincidental timing that's also happened the same exact way to other people
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmao, funny. I heard it happening to people a while back. Can't remember what caused or fixed it. Some fixed it with custom kernel but the kernel is waaay outdated now. But it was kt747 by ktoonsez. But its so old. What carrier are you on? Sprint, virgin Mobile, boost?

madbat99 said:
Lmao, funny. I heard it happening to people a while back. Can't remember what caused or fixed it. Some fixed it with custom kernel but the kernel is waaay outdated now. But it was kt747 by ktoonsez. But its so old. What carrier are you on? Sprint, virgin Mobile, boost?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on Sprint.

this just happended to me the other night actually, did you find solution? Apparently just taking out the battery and resetting solved it for a lot of people, but not me. I will tell you what did work though! (keeps randomly doing it again but at least i can gfet it to work aghain even if only for a littlw bit)
First check with root explorer if you have this fike "data\misc\wifi\wpa_supplicant.conf "
I guess it has something to do withthis file, and your android not writing to the right spot, but i honestly have no idea so ill continue. what i did (i saw i didnt have the file either) i dialed *#0011# then hit menu, and then hit wifi, and turned off the bottom switch "wifi power save mode". I exited service menu tried wifi a couple times still same thing, so i went back into service menu and reenabled the switch, then i turned off the phone by pulliung out battery. I logged into my custom recovery and checked out the file explorer in twrp, and voila there that mysery file was! So i cleared dalvick and cache, rebooted into rom, (wicked x v8.2) and attempted wifi and it was working again. so take whatever conclusion youd like but im too tired to keep my eyes open at the moment and good luck, pissed me off cuz wifi was all i had no service, of course

skinnykinney said:
this just happended to me the other night actually, did you find solution? Apparently just taking out the battery and resetting solved it for a lot of people, but not me. I will tell you what did work though! (keeps randomly doing it again but at least i can gfet it to work aghain even if only for a littlw bit)
First check with root explorer if you have this fike "data\misc\wifi\wpa_supplicant.conf "
I guess it has something to do withthis file, and your android not writing to the right spot, but i honestly have no idea so ill continue. what i did (i saw i didnt have the file either) i dialed *#0011# then hit menu, and then hit wifi, and turned off the bottom switch "wifi power save mode". I exited service menu tried wifi a couple times still same thing, so i went back into service menu and reenabled the switch, then i turned off the phone by pulliung out battery. I logged into my custom recovery and checked out the file explorer in twrp, and voila there that mysery file was! So i cleared dalvick and cache, rebooted into rom, (wicked x v8.2) and attempted wifi and it was working again. so take whatever conclusion youd like but im too tired to keep my eyes open at the moment and good luck, pissed me off cuz wifi was all i had no service, of course
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that file on my phone. So I understand, you originally didn't have that file, but after doing the steps you listed it magically appears, and then wifi works? I really wish I could get it to work. Also, you said it keeps happening... so the file keeps dissappearing on you? Thanks for the response.

Note 4 bootloop... hardware failure?

Hi,
I plugged my note 4 into the OEM charger and all of a sudden it just goes into a bootloop continuously.
Occasionally it will reach the home screen and reboot again, but more often than not.. it reboot before the Sprint logo comes up.
Was fine before i plugged it in and was trouble free prior to that.
My phone is stock, not rooted.
The fact that it will reboot even at the Note 4 welcome sign is leading me to believe this could be a hardware issue...
Any ideas?
Anybody had the same situation and had luck troubleshooting or fixing this?
Any and all help i much appreciated...
Regards,
asmd.

Can you boot into recovery?
First thing I'd try is to pull battery, boot into stock recovery and wipe cache and try to boot.
If not booting, try wiping cache and dalvik.
You have the option to just take it in for evaluation but you should determine if you have reactivation lock enabled before doing anything else.
Still not booting? Factory reset. But if you have reactivation lock enabled that is not a good idea. It would be better if one of the two above booted the phone.
If reactivation lock is enabled, you need to install the same update the phone is on to prevent factory reset protection from activating. Don't factory reset yet; Odin or taking in for service may be your only option. If it boots, you should be able to open with same unlock method as before.
If you have reactivation lock disabled, you're free to try factory reset or update to latest through KIES. I've heard Samsung Switch may work too. You could also factory reset and update or emergency recover with one of those.
If still not booting, if it just updated, I'd mention that and not the charger you mentioned. It could be corrupt memory due to battery failing or bad update. The eMMC may be failing too.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

samep said:
Can you boot into recovery?
First thing I'd try is to pull battery, boot into stock recovery and wipe cache and try to boot.
If not booting, try wiping cache and dalvik.
You have the option to just take it in for evaluation but you should determine if you have reactivation lock enabled before doing anything else.
Still not booting? Factory reset. But if you have reactivation lock enabled that is not a good idea. It would be better if one of the two above booted the phone.
If reactivation lock is enabled, you need to install the same update the phone is on to prevent factory reset protection from activating. Don't factory reset yet; Odin or taking in for service may be your only option. If it boots, you should be able to open with same unlock method as before.
If you have reactivation lock disabled, you're free to try factory reset or update to latest through KIES. I've heard Samsung Switch may work too. You could also factory reset and update or emergency recover with one of those.
If still not booting, if it just updated, I'd mention that and not the charger you mentioned. It could be corrupt memory due to battery failing or bad update. The eMMC may be failing too.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply...
Ive been messing with it all morning... and if i leave it a lone and it cools, it will last a little longer than when it becomes warm, rebooting quicker and quicker.
i managed to get into recover and did a factory reset and cleared cache.
it has made no difference.
The longest time its gone before rebooting is the lock screen.... and the it reboots again.
as it warms, it eventually wont even get past the Note 4 welcome screen before rebooting.. and then finally freezing and will require a battery pull.
Makes no difference if its on charge or off.
i have a sinking feeling about this.....

Could be terminal but you haven't tried to flash firmware on partitions with Smart Switch, KIES or Odin yet. Right? You can check the phone status while in download mode to verify reactivation lock is disabled.
Try one of those on PC or take it to Sprint to have it flashed again.
If you purchased at Best Buy and they have a Samsung Experience kiosk, they can do that too. Dunno, maybe it doesn't matter if you purchased there or not but they've flashed my phone a couple of times.
I've tried to guide you down the path of least effort to restore your, if possible. There's still some hope of recovery.
Edit: Your battery could be suspect. Let it cool and plug in to make sure it's at least 60% or higher. If the battery is near a year old, I'd suggest fully charging but get a replacement if you frequently discharge it to 15% or lower. Especially if you use fast charging.
But you've most likely discharged it with all that reboot activity and heating up. Kudos to you if you're managing all that and keep a healthy battery. Otherwise, the battery may be contributing to or causing your issues.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

thank you for the help..
reactivation lock is off.
i can't get it to reliably not reboot anywhere in any screen.. only screen that will stay on for any period of time is recovery... but the phone stays cool.
Its not the battery, i have two, and both do the same thing.. the battery does not get warm, area that gets warm is neft to the battery below the sd card slot. (sd card removed).
Frequency of hang/reboot seems to be related to how warm that area gets.
The most i have managed to do is get into my phone past the lockscreen and it will shortly freeze and reboot as it warms up.. it will reboot at the note 4 welcome screen or sprint logo... and repeat... eventually to hang.
Both batteries are charged fully using the external charger. (samsung oem)
Shame, not a scratch on her....
Oh well, on to Ebay for parts/AS IS and time to move on...

Even if doubtful, I'd still take it back to Sprint or place of purchase.
The Note 4 has a bit of history with eMMC failure. It's even happened with updates and Samsung and Sprint is apparently aware of it. A while back I saw that listed as an ongoing carryover of known issues that needed resolution.
I don't have true stats on exchanges but several users here have repeatedly gotten deals on replacement phones, paying a small percentage when they failed- similar to yours.
OTA updates have also been suspect to cause eMMC failure. But honestly, l don't know what causes this: bad hardware or updates? Maybe it's just bad hardware not taking updates well? Nonetheless, I don't know if I've just been lucky or my hardware is stable. Still going strong here with no hint of failure.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

can i still take it back even though its out of warranty?
nearing 2 years now....

asmd6230 said:
can i still take it back even though its out of warranty?
nearing 2 years now....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No promises. Couldn't hurt. If you don't like the answer you get from first Sprint store, try another.
I would mention that bit of history with the updates.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

asmd6230 said:
Hi,
I plugged my note 4 into the OEM charger and all of a sudden it just goes into a bootloop continuously.
Occasionally it will reach the home screen and reboot again, but more often than not.. it reboot before the Sprint logo comes up.
Was fine before i plugged it in and was trouble free prior to that.
My phone is stock, not rooted.
The fact that it will reboot even at the Note 4 welcome sign is leading me to believe this could be a hardware issue...
Any ideas?
Anybody had the same situation and had luck troubleshooting or fixing this?
Any and all help i much appreciated...
Regards,
asmd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the exact same issue going on with my wives phone. Just started yesterday out of no where rebooting over and over. Never really getting past the Samsung splash screen. She got an update like a week ago, but other than downloading a new app several hours earlier nothing sticks out to why its happening. I was able to once get into safemode, but the phone rebooted a minute into it and typically doesn't even get to the sprint splash screen when I've tried to do it since. It's totally stock and has not been unlocked or rooted. I thought it could be the battery since so many of these boot issues on the Note4 deal with that when googling, but my battery from my working Note4 in her phone does the same thing and her battery in my phone works just fine. I can get into the recovery options menu (volume up + home + power) and I can get into the download area (volume down + home + power) for loading bootloaders and such for long periods of time with no issues. I've cleared the cache with no luck. Haven't tried factory reset yet because I want to try to recover the photos and stuff first. Searching for the issue on google I came across this software (android-recovery.net/android-recovery-mode.html#two) where I was able to use the download area and connect the phone with this app which used its own bootup and it was able to show me all the files on the phone for recovery so we could retrieve them. It wanted $50 to complete the process though and, knowing the advances that everyone here has made on their phones I decided to decline that and search these forums for a way to just access the file directory of my the phone and retrieve my wives stuff prior to factory resetting it. I believe something is wrong with the bootloader of the phone and that is why it cannot get to the android OS to start up, but I could be wrong. Reading various articles made me to believe that if I just were to unlock the phone for rooting that possibly that could fix this issue with the bootloader or at least be able to recover her photos and stuff. I do have insurance on the phone and could get it fixed or replaced, but that would be a $200 deductible I believe and first thing they're going to try is factory resetting the phone which will lose her data we're trying to save.
It almost seems as if I were to get TWRP installed that I'd be able to access the files without the need of loading any ROMs. But I'm not sure if that will work in my case or erase data when I do it. The threads I'm reading aren't clear on that part. I would really be grateful if anyone could help me out with figuring out the easiest way to recover her stuff or get it working. Its been a long time since I've unlocked any phones and they were all iPhones back in the day when they were only on AT&T and I had T-mobile and wanted to it work.

@dsm_gsx97
I would suggest you try Odin and install the same update, if possible. That may be the most likely to retain your data if it's not corrupted.
Unfortunately, I don't think TWRP recovery works for Note 4 to copy data to PC. But if you go with that, know that it will trip Knox and void factory warranty. But if that's not an issue, you could copy data from internal memory to extSdCard to salvage it if it's not corrupt or private.
I know KIES has an emergency firmware recovery mode that may offer to reprogram it. But you may lose your data. Not sure but I think your phone has to booted into system to backup with KIES or Smart Switch?
This thread has the recent available stock tars, Odin and general instructions to get you started.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=63868221
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

samep said:
@dsm_gsx97
I would suggest you try Odin and install the same update, if possible. That may be the most likely to retain your data if it's not corrupted.
Unfortunately, I don't think TWRP recovery works for Note 4 to copy data to PC. But if you go with that, know that it will trip Knox and void factory warranty. But if that's not an issue, you could copy data from internal memory to extSdCard to salvage it if it's not corrupt or private.
I know KIES has an emergency firmware recovery mode that may offer to reprogram it. But you may lose your data. Not sure but I think your phone has to booted into system to backup with KIES or Smart Switch?
This thread has the recent available stock tars, Odin and general instructions to get you started.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=63868221
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the quick response. I would rather not void my factory warranty in case I have to use the insurance to replace it so it sounds like TWRP is out which is why I didn't use it yet because I was worried about that. I did try KIES and it said that firmware upgrade and initialization would erase all data. So I ruled out using that too. I did notice while in the recovery menu of her phone that it says she's on N910PVPU1ANIE ...so I put my phone in recovery menu and I'm on N910PVPU4DPH4. Googling her version it looks like hers is very old and mine is fairly new which makes sense because I did the update a few days ago also. I wonder if hers is so old because that's what the other software program put it on to be able to bootload it to recover the files.
Anyways looking at your link I think I'll try oden with one of the more recent TARs after getting her stuff off with that program. Yes I'll just pay the $50 for peace of mind. I really appreciate your advice. Its not easy gathering all the answers without really being involved on this forum so thank you for that thread. None of the TARs listed is the update I have, but that shouldn't matter should it? As long as its a newer one than what it says she has?

dsm_gsx97 said:
Thank you very much for the quick response. I would rather not void my factory warranty in case I have to use the insurance to replace it so it sounds like TWRP is out which is why I didn't use it yet because I was worried about that. I did try KIES and it said that firmware upgrade and initialization would erase all data. So I ruled out using that too. I did notice while in the recovery menu of her phone that it says she's on N910PVPU1ANIE ...so I put my phone in recovery menu and I'm on N910PVPU4DPH4. Googling her version it looks like hers is very old and mine is fairly new which makes sense because I did the update a few days ago also. I wonder if hers is so old because that's what the other software program put it on to be able to bootload it to recover the files.
Anyways looking at your link I think I'll try oden with one of the more recent TARs after getting her stuff off with that program. Yes I'll just pay the $50 for peace of mind. I really appreciate your advice. Its not easy gathering all the answers without really being involved on this forum so thank you for that thread. None of the TARs listed is the update I have, but that shouldn't matter should it? As long as its a newer one than what it says she has?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it only the OTA update that updated that phone?
NIE is the original-initial release of the Note 4. If OTA tried to update it, it must have failed?
Nonetheless, you should know the history of that phone. I wouldn't install one of those recent updates until you've backed up your data. You may lose your data jumping to a much newer update.
The phone doesn't boot at all? If it does boot, you could run Phone Info for Samsung from Google Play to see what the partitions are actually at. That would help to recover that data if possible to do so. But also KIES could backup data if it boots.
The NIE stock tar is in post #2 of this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56853325&postcount=1
If it boots after Odin, your data may be OK. If not, may be corrupted data or partition.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

samep said:
Was it only the OTA update that updated that phone?
NIE is the original-initial release of the Note 4. If OTA tried to update it, it must have failed?
Nonetheless, you should know the history of that phone. I wouldn't install one of those recent updates until you've backed up your data. You may lose your data jumping to a much newer update.
The phone doesn't boot at all? If it does boot, you could run Phone Info for Samsung from Google Play to see what the partitions are actually at. That would help to recover that data if possible to do so. But also KIES could backup data if it boots.
The NIE stock tar is in post #2 of this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56853325&postcount=1
If it boots after Odin, your data may be OK. If not, may be corrupted data or partition.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She's done plenty of updates over the last few years since we got the phoens. In fact she did that last update a few days before I did. That's why I was confused when I noticed what it said at the top of the bootloader screen for her update version. The phone does not boot at all. Only to the the Samsung splash screen and never gets to the sprint splash screen. It initially would get further, but now doesn't at all. I went ahead and paid for that software and have now backed up all her stuff. Was hoping to fix it without factory resetting the phone. At this point at least I have a backup, but ideally it would save her from losing all her texts and other crap.

dsm_gsx97 said:
She's done plenty of updates over the last few years since we got the phoens. In fact she did that last update a few days before I did. That's why I was confused when I noticed what it said at the top of the bootloader screen for her update version. The phone does not boot at all. Only to the the Samsung splash screen and never gets to the sprint splash screen. It initially would get further, but now doesn't at all. I went ahead and paid for that software and have now backed up all her stuff. Was hoping to fix it without factory resetting the phone. At this point at least I have a backup, but ideally it would save her from losing all her texts and other crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In that case, try the most recent stock tar in the first thread you were about to try.
Something seems off but trying to flash the original stock tar would be problematic if it was updated beyond Android 5.0
If it doesn't boot, you'll most likely have to factory reset it.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Note 4 bootloop
just heat main ic little bit with past and check there is no heatup board on boot.and set is ok.tested