Develop Bugs

How to root and still obtain OTA 2.3.4 from Verizon?

Hi Folks,
I'm a noob, but noticed that we can root our Incredible before the new 2.3.4 OTA is accepted from Verizon, thus allowing for future ROM installs, etc.
However, I have read that using Unrevoked to root also installs a custom recovery and that the OTA will only work if my phone still has the stock recovery.
My preference would be to root the phone for enabling my ability to experiment with the inevitable 2.3.4-based ROMs that will have nicer UIs than what Verizon/HTC will provide via Sense 1.0 in the new OS update.
So, I'm curious if there's a straightforward guide for rooting an (AMOLED) Incredible but maintaining all else as stock, please. Yes, I've tried searching here but have thus far found snippets of info that have not yet gelled for me.
I suppose another option is to simply accept the OTA on my stock phone and wait for Unrevoked or another source to figure out how to root the 2.3.4 install. Does that seem likely to occur? It seems that there's still good enthusiasm for this phone, but I'm not familiar with the Developer circles and their interests.
Thanks.
- ooofest

Root, install this and continue on your way.

Oh, so root with Unrevoked (for example), install that OTA-based ROM and not wait for the Verizon OTA, I guess you're offering.
Seems a good option to consider, thanks.
- ooofest

Exactly! Not sure what other option is ever going to be available.

ooofest said:
Oh, so root with Unrevoked (for example), install that OTA-based ROM and not wait for the Verizon OTA, I guess you're offering.
Seems a good option to consider, thanks.
- ooofest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That link is to the OTA, which was taken apart to add root and a few other items to it, and made into a flashable zip. Root with Unrevoked, then flash that zip file.
Way easier than:
Rooting now, and then trying to get stock recovery instead of ClockworkMod Recovery, waiting for the OTA, accepting the OTA, then making sure it all works when it's done.

I wouldn't tell anyone to expect root to be achieved on the OTA simply because most of the effort these days is focused on working the kinks out of east root methods on other devices like the dInc2, EVO Shift, EVO 3D, and the Tbolt. There's already a rooted OTA ROM out there anyways, isn't there?

loonatik78 said:
There's already a rooted OTA ROM out there anyways, isn't there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hence the link I posted in my first response...

I'm glad there is a thread about this. I downloaded the file but I am not sure of how to install it?

socratus said:
I'm glad there is a thread about this. I downloaded the file but I am not sure of how to install it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you rooted?

Oh yeah yeah Im rooted and everything. Just dont know how to install what file or if i should just drag it all to my sd card and install from romanager

socratus said:
Oh yeah yeah Im rooted and everything. Just dont know how to install what file or if i should just drag it all to my sd card and install from romanager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, just install with RM by choosing the "Install from SD" option.

I never install from rm. I manually wipe and install from recovery.

keeps saying htc sence has stopped unexpectedly..

It keeps force closing.. I can not get to any menu or anything, it just keeps cycling and force closing, leaving me no time to perform any actions. HELP pleasse

tried to factory restore it upon boot... didn't work...

I tried to boot into recovery cause i did backup rom before tried to install... but when I get into recovery and select an option is does nothing.
It seems it might allow me to wipe data/ factory reset and also wipe cache paritition. Not sure what i should do until I get an answer.
EDIT... Believe I am restoring right now and everything should be Ok, lol. Damn... I will post results in a little when I am done having a heart attack

Having problems @ the screen where the two balls go around the big circle... just froze..
EDIT.
Still froze.
Got it back to work somehow.. pressed the power button while @ the screen mentioned above and it took me to the home screen.

[Q] Cyanogen 10.1 mod gone wrong.

AT&T Galaxy S3
Mac OSX 10.8
I know I can get my device back, I'm just not sure how. I successfully rooted using CASUAL, no problems there. Got the normal root applications installed, did the Clockwork backup, everything was great.
I then decided to try a custom ROM - the Cyanogen 10.1. It downloaded fine, and I selected to also install Google Apps, then it rebooted and the Cyanogen boot screen with the spinning circle came up. However, this lasted way longer than I thought it should, so I looked it up, and what I got from the research is that I had the wrong gapps on there.
So, I followed the instructions in this thread (same problem as me), and wiped the system. However, I believe I used the wrong list item, and now everything I had is gone. I can't boot from recovery because it doesn't exist, and when booting into CM I just get the same error message that setup has stopped working. I thought maybe I could put a new ROM on the sd card or phone harddrive and boot from that, but both are inaccessible through USB on my Mac.
I can get it into ODIN mode (where it says "Downloading... Do not turn off target!"), which I'm thinking is what I want, and I have Heimdall installed and it runs and recognizes my device, but I cannot for the life of me find a tar.gz file to use.
If anyone can offer any sort of help, I would super appreciate it.

chazbot7 said:
AT&T Galaxy S3
Mac OSX 10.8
I know I can get my device back, I'm just not sure how. I successfully rooted using CASUAL, no problems there. Got the normal root applications installed, did the Clockwork backup, everything was great.
I then decided to try a custom ROM - the Cyanogen 10.1. It downloaded fine, and I selected to also install Google Apps, then it rebooted and the Cyanogen boot screen with the spinning circle came up. However, this lasted way longer than I thought it should, so I looked it up, and what I got from the research is that I had the wrong gapps on there.
So, I followed the instructions in this thread (same problem as me), and wiped the system. However, I believe I used the wrong list item, and now everything I had is gone. I can't boot from recovery because it doesn't exist, and when booting into CM I just get the same error message that setup has stopped working. I thought maybe I could put a new ROM on the sd card or phone harddrive and boot from that, but both are inaccessible through USB on my Mac.
I can get it into ODIN mode (where it says "Downloading... Do not turn off target!"), which I'm thinking is what I want, and I have Heimdall installed and it runs and recognizes my device, but I cannot for the life of me find a tar.gz file to use.
If anyone can offer any sort of help, I would super appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your recovery shouldn't be affected by a wipe (unless you flashed something over it) as ROMs don't flash recovery, therefor vol up + home + power should get you in it. If you success to, You should be able to mount through recovery.
As for Heimdall, it just got S3 support (last week I believe), therefor it might not be easy to find a stock file for it. That being said, if you have access to any Windows pc, that'd be the easiest solution here (using Odin).

Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.

BWolf56 said:
Your recovery shouldn't be affected by a wipe (unless you flashed something over it) as ROMs don't flash recovery, therefor vol up + home + power should get you in it. If you success to, You should be able to mount through recovery.
As for Heimdall, it just got S3 support (last week I believe), therefor it might not be easy to find a stock file for it. That being said, if you have access to any Windows pc, that'd be the easiest solution here (using Odin).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.

chazbot7 said:
Yes, I can still get into the recovery menu, but when I use "backup and restore>restore" it says No files found. Is there anything I can do to just get a working OS running? Or am I just doing it totally wrong, I'm new to the rooting stuff. The Windows computer will be my last resort haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows pc is definitely the easiest option here but you try mounting your SD from recovery, redownload the ROM and Gapps you wanna use, put them on your device and flash them after a factory reset.
If you wiped your SD card, it's normal that you don't have a backup anymore.

BWolf56 said:
Windows pc is definitely the easiest option here but you try mounting your SD from recovery, redownload the ROM and Gapps you wanna use, put them on your device and flash them after a factory reset.
If you wiped your SD card, it's normal that you don't have a backup anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's aaaliiiiiiive! Grabbed an extra micro SD I had, threw Cyanogen 10.1.0 RC4 on it, and installed it just fine. Now updating to RC5. My only question now is how to get Google Apps on there. Does this need to be done beforehand, or can it be done after?

chazbot7 said:
It's aaaliiiiiiive! Grabbed an extra micro SD I had, threw Cyanogen 10.1.0 RC4 on it, and installed it just fine. Now updating to RC5. My only question now is how to get Google Apps on there. Does this need to be done beforehand, or can it be done after?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You usually flash the Gapps right after flashing the ROM, before rebooting.
P.S.: fully reading the instructions helps before flashing
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

BWolf56 said:
You usually flash the Gapps right after flashing the ROM, before rebooting.
P.S.: fully reading the instructions helps before flashing
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, sorry about that. Thanks for all the help good sir. This is actually way faster than my stock ROM, I'm pretty stoked on it, Google Apps or not.

chazbot7 said:
Gotcha, sorry about that. Thanks for all the help good sir. This is actually way faster than my stock ROM, I'm pretty stoked on it, Google Apps or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to apologize. Glad you got it back up! And it was mostly to keep you from making similar mistakes in the future
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

also one thing you need to know
First boot after you flash will always take longer than normal. After that, it's fine

[Q] Recovery bootloop after Odin/Kies/Heimdall STOCK flash, only boots to DL mode

Hi folks, long time reader, first time noob answer seeker.
I'm no stranger to rooting, flashing, hacking about and such - I even spend most of my day as a software engineer, and I've finally given up on this one - so here I am (rock me like a hurricane), please be kind.
SM-900T - It was rocking pretty darn well on Jedi Elite which I had flashed over rooted stock 4.3 MI7 - then (probably after one too many XPosed modules) it just kept rebooting randomly. Thinking it was no biggie, I thought I could just reflash to stock and call it a day. Thirteen or so flashes later, I gave up on 4.3 and figured I'd just take the thing up to 4.4.2 NB4 by upgrading everything to 4.4.2 via Kies.
That's when I first ran into the bootloop issue, read a lot about it, and managed to get it up(ish) on stock, rooted, with Philz 6.X... Couldn't flash a ROM to save myself and wound up with another soft brick.
Flash forward to Friday - decided to start from scratch again - attempted to flash stock 4.4.2 from Kies, from Odin, From Heimdall... Nothing seems to be able to get me out of the current state it's in:
Only boots to download mode. Flashes seem to work fine, but on that first reboot where it tries to go to stock recovery to finish up on the device itself, it never gets there - boot loops trying to load recovery no matter how it wants to get there. If I pull the battery and start up (either straight to system or by cancelling out of download mode), it boot loops trying to load system. Boots fine to download mode, where I attempt to flash again with the same results.
Yes, I've tried Odin 3.0.9, 3.0.7, 1.8.5, Heimdall on Mac, Heimdall on Windows, Kies on Mac, Kies on Windows - repartition via PIT and not. Installed, uninstalled, and reinstalled all software and drivers multiple times, tried multiple cables on multiple USB ports.... Most of the time it looks like it's going to be fine (sometimes the flash fails, usually through Kies), but never surivives that first reboot after the flash.
Every answer I've seen says to do the things I've already done or cannot do (flash stock via Odin, pull the battery and boot to stock recovery and do a factory reset - which I'd LOVE to do, but can't). No problem recognizing the sucker on the PC/Mac
Next step: try flashing a N9005 ROM...
Any other thoughts? I do have another N900T that's working but has a blacklisted IMEI, and I've been tempted to swap the IMEIs a last resort (although either I'm too dumb to make it stick, EFS pro says it succeeds in writing the IMEI after I do a EFS format, but it doesn't stick.... Either I'm missing something, or I need a UART cable) - is there a way of swapping just the radio hardware or just the internal storage? OR, is there a way of taking a full system image of my working phone and making an Odin-flashable tar from that?
Failing any of these options, perhaps I'll wait for an Odin-flashable 4.4.3 if such a thing exists - or, hope to get lucky and swap it out at a store praying they don't see I've tripped Knox.

Looks like you've tried almost everything. Take it in and have them swap it.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Coming from you...
noobtoob said:
Looks like you've tried almost everything. Take it in and have them swap it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from you (I have read, and am quite thankful for, many of your posts), sounds like that might be the best option, however disconcerting.

bondidave said:
Coming from you (I have read, and am quite thankful for, many of your posts), sounds like that might be the best option, however disconcerting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I do have a few ideas... Got done questions though.
1. Do you have an external SD card?
2. It goes all the way through flash on 4.4 even with heimdall?
3. Is there anything you have left out? Even the smallest detail can help, and by the op you are detail oriented, so I just need to know.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

... is there a way of taking a full system image of my working phone and making an Odin-flashable tar from that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I don't have the details handy.
All your attempts suggest to me that you might have some damaged hardware which is causing data corruption during transfer. Open the back and take a good look at the USB port. Tighten the screws and try a transfer while firmly holding the cable in place -- don't move it while transferring.
If that doesn't work then let 'noobtoob' walk you through booting with the removable sdcard. Your second N900T will be needed to write the data to the sdcard. If this works then you can 'dd' write stock partitions to an sd card with #2 then 'dd' write them in #1.
If either of those works then unroot and take it in for warrenty exchange.
Frank

bondidave said:
... then (probably after one too many XPosed modules) it just kept rebooting randomly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This also indicates data corruption, and this is what started it all. Since you have tried various cables and computers that leaves the device, probably the USB port.
Frank

probably the USB port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swapped the main board with the working phone to rule out the USB port - still no luck.
Definitely interested in trying the boot from external SD, I'll do my own search for it, unless you can quickly provide me with a link - but if it's as easy as it sounds (booting off of an SD in order to be able to send ADB commands to dd copy the partitions from the good phone to SD then from the booted SD back to internal) - I'm happy to give it a shot.
Tempted just to swing by TMO just to see if they'll swap it "under warranty" (despite picking it up from a private sale) - the only way they would notice it's been "tampered" with would be to check the knox counter by attempting to run download mode.
Oh, and yes, it does go all the way through with the flash (at least in Odin - I haven't tried a full flash through heimdall, just boot and recovery, Kies occasionally goes through to the end, but sometimes craps out at the same 57% point at which point the emergency restore screen shows up)
Thanks again guys

bondidave said:
Swapped the main board with the working phone to rule out the USB port - still no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, but I still think the problem was initially caused by corruption. Maybe the files you have been flashing are corrupt.
Definitely interested in trying the boot from external SD, I'll do my own search for it, unless you can quickly provide me with a link - but if it's as easy as it sounds (booting off of an SD in order to be able to send ADB commands to dd copy the partitions from the good phone to SD then from the booted SD back to internal) - I'm happy to give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the thread, it would be good to read the whole thing but if you need to save time begin at this message: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48685247&postcount=158
I have not tried this procedure yet but @noobtoob was actively involved in it.
Tempted just to swing by TMO just to see if they'll swap it "under warranty" (despite picking it up from a private sale) - the only way they would notice it's been "tampered" with would be to check the knox counter by attempting to run download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please try the SD-boot first so that we can add that experience to this newly developed procedure.
Oh, and yes, it does go all the way through with the flash (at least in Odin - I haven't tried a full flash through heimdall, just boot and recovery, Kies occasionally goes through to the end, but sometimes craps out at the same 57% point at which point the emergency restore screen shows up)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values.
Frank

Frank Westlake said:
OK, but I still think the problem was initially caused by corruption. Maybe the files you have been flashing are corrupt.
This is the thread, it would be good to read the whole thing but if you need to save time begin at this message: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48685247&postcount=158
I have not tried this procedure yet but @noobtoob was actively involved in it.
Please try the SD-boot first so that we can add that experience to this newly developed procedure.
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values.
Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was for hard brick method and no one has verified it works on 4.4 KK yet. There is an image in there though. My mediafire shows it was downloaded 11 times, but yet not a single "this works on KitKat" response. Located here you will find the kkunbrick.img. There is still a problem flashing anything through heimdall after updating to the 4.4 bootloader, so there is no way to tell if the phone actually took the recovery. I have had to switch to Odin for everything afterwards, and in personal experience 3.07 works best with my phone.
@bondidave I was thinking skipping the sd-card trick for now, and trying just a few other things first. Do you have a nandroid of any 4.4 ROMS saved anywhere? I was going to say try and flash the stock image. After it gets through flash and tries to boot into recovery, go back directly to download mode. Flash philz or twrp, whatever you need to. Try and perform a recovery boot, wipe everything, and nandroid restore of a 4.4 if you have one.
Also if you have an external find the efs fix zip and have handy on an sd-card, do the same steps above except the nandroid restore. Basically if we can get into a recovery we should be ok. I had a similar issue when it was just booting over and over into download mode and this was how I fixed it. I have never used the efs fix zip, but many others swear by it. I was able to recover fortunately enough.
Last resort try the sd-card boot. I don't necessarily think it will work with this particular case as you do not have the dreaded QHUSB_MODE and your phone is still recognized by the computer(s) you have been using.
As far as making a complete system backup of your current phone, I highly recommend against it, unless you just want to extract information from it and not re-write it. This could definitely cause some system corruption on a new device.
If none of these methods work, then try and have them swap it under warranty.

Frank Westlake said:
You have probably tried it, but if not, download fresh copies of everything and check the MD5 values
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yessirreeebobbyjimmy, tried several copies from several different places - that and Kies is a moron and redownloads it every time anyways.

noobtoob said:
My mediafire shows it was downloaded 11 times, but yet not a single "this works on KitKat" response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I download these things just to have them handy if something fails.
Do you have a nandroid of any 4.4 ROMS saved anywhere? I was going to say try and flash the stock image. After it gets through flash and tries to boot into recovery, go back directly to download mode. Flash philz or twrp, whatever you need to. Try and perform a recovery boot, wipe everything, and nandroid restore of a 4.4 if you have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think he got that far into installing 4.4, but I recommend not using anything that was saved after this problem began. If the problem was caused by corruption then the restore will reinstall the corruption.
Last resort try the sd-card boot. I don't necessarily think it will work with this particular case as you do not have the dreaded QHUSB_MODE and your phone is still recognized by the computer(s) you have been using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the problem is bad USB or other bad hardware causing corruption during transfer then the SD-card boot will get past that, then transferring the rest of the partitions by SD-card will continue to be corruption-free. He could then trade-in the phone.
But you are right -- he should try everything else before the SD-card boot. Because if something else succeeds then maybe the hardware is fine, and if he went immediately to SD-card boot he wouldn't know that.
Frank

Thanks for the advice guys - I'm going to try the backup from my other phone, then the efs fix, then the sd-card boot... I'll report back, wish me luck.

A nandroid previous failure, or a ROM install from external SD card was all I meant.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

I got some answers I was looking for here. Glad I read this thread.

Lorettaa said:
I got some answers I was looking for here. Glad I read this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad something good came out of my frustration!
Here's a quick update: I've done everything but the boot from SD card with no luck (and actually thought I had hard(er?) bricked it for a while after trying to copy over a few images from the other phone - turns out it needed to stay with the battery out for at least 20 minutes).
Good news - walked into a TMO brick-and-mortar last night, showed the guy my endless bootloop, and a replacement is on its way to my house for an affordable $20 warranty service fee.
At this point, I'm thinking the internal flash memory is just bad - as a software engineer, I'm ok with chalking this one up to a hardware issue (as much as I was hoping that my first post on XDA would result in some new profound solution to a longstanding issue common to a few folks).
Oh well - new Note 3 on it's way, and a new S5 shortly behind it (didn't hold out much hope on TMO hooking me up, so I ordered an S5)... let the battle of the Samsungs begin!
Thanks again to you guys who helped out - and the whole XDA community in general, I am very grateful.

Finally you made it fix and enjoy the battle between your phones

Well, sucks it couldn't be fixed, but glad you got a replacement on the way. It pretty much sounded like the partitions were well over written before we attempted anything, but always worth a shot.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Yes, but I don't have the details handy.
All your attempts suggest to me that you might have some damaged hardware which is causing data corruption during transfer. Open the back and take a good look at the USB port. Tighten the screws and try a transfer while firmly holding the cable in place -- don't move it while transferring. :good:

Game still detecting root access after unrooting

I had been trying to convince my friend to root her GS3 for a while and she finally did. However, her favorite game series (she won't tell me what it is, but all she hinted at was it is Japanese and costs a pretty penny to buy all of them ) detected the root even with various workarounds attempted and fails to launch. TL;DR, she unrooted her phone(confirmed) and the games are still detecting root and blocking access. I'm sorry that I don't have more information, but I can try to provide answers to specific questions for troubleshooting. Basically, she wants to get her games working in any way possible, rooted or unrooted, at least until she gets a new phone within the next few months. Thanks!

Go into app manager and clear data on the apps she wants to run. It probably saved the info that it had previously detected root is my guess. It will most likely erase any game data if there is any though.

DocHoliday77 said:
Go into app manager and clear data on the apps she wants to run. It probably saved the info that it had previously detected root is my guess. It will most likely erase any game data if there is any though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She gave that a shot with no luck.

I guess you probably will need to flash stock firmware via Odin, then factory reset from stock recovery and start over clean. This will wipe everything including the internal sd card.

DocHoliday77 said:
I guess you probably will need to flash stock firmware via Odin, then factory reset from stock recovery and start over clean. This will wipe everything including the internal sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We'll give that a shot.

Edit: It appears that the Odin flash failed, so they weren't able to do that. Is it possible to use the Odin utility to do a full reformat and flash on this at&t model?
So, she and her significant other (who happens to be a recent CS grad) tried a number of troubleshooting steps including:
hide root via rootcloak (http://www.redmondbeats.net/how-to-hide-root-access-from-specific-apps-on-android-using-rootcloak/)
Unrooted phone
uninstalled root
clear game cache
reinstalled games
factory reset phone
hard reset phone
flash stock firmware (failed) via odin and cwm (http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-t...l-stock-recovery-and-update-ota-on-galaxy-s3/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
http://androidromupdate.com/2012/07/18/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-att-sgh-i747-original-stock-romfirmware/
http://stockroms.net/file/GalaxyS3/SGH-I747/StockROMS.net-SGH-I747_ATT_1_20120522193451.zip
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, the game series that she is having trouble with is developed by Voltage inc., if that helps.

Try flashing this with odin
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2722660
Use odin 3.07 or 3.09 (link in my sig)
You can check re-partition and itll reformat during flash.
If it fails agsin, let me know what it says in Odin's message boc.

Infinite Jest said:
I had been trying to convince my friend to root her GS3 for a while and she finally did. However, her favorite game series (she won't tell me what it is, but all she hinted at was it is Japanese and costs a pretty penny to buy all of them ) detected the root even with various workarounds attempted and fails to launch. TL;DR, she unrooted her phone(confirmed) and the games are still detecting root and blocking access. I'm sorry that I don't have more information, but I can try to provide answers to specific questions for troubleshooting. Basically, she wants to get her games working in any way possible, rooted or unrooted, at least until she gets a new phone within the next few months. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install Xposed Framework (Need root) and download a module called Root Cloak.
The root cloak modules lets you run apps that detect root without removing/disabling root.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/xposed-installer-versions-changelog-t2714053
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-rootcloak-completely-hide-root-t2574647

[Q] Soft Bricked: Forever Gone?

Hey guys!
I know the title of my new thread is probably something that's already been covered, but I feel my case is somewhat... special.
I have an AT&T Samsung Galaxy S III that I got out a few days ago for my friend to use, and I decided the ole TouchWiz wasn't cutting it speed-wise. So, I tried CyanogenMod Installer to quickly and easily install CyanogenMod. While the beginning process went well, the end was a bit different than what was supposed to happen. At the end of the install, when the Installer said "Congrats!", my phone didn't boot up into CyanogenMod. It asked a few question that required me to either use the physical keys or touch to select, though the menu looked just like Recovery Mode with the stock ROM. It asked me weird questions, like "ROOT might need repairing. Repair now?". I just said no to all of them, and the phone booted straight into stock. I tried the Installer several more times after a fresh wipe on the phone, but to no avail. I then went online to research any easier root methods that I could use with this phone, and came across KingoRoot. It rooted my phone perfectly fine! I then tried to flash a custom ROM using ROM Manager from the Play Store, but it said I needed a recovery, and tried to flash one, but it didn't work. By this point, I was tired of fighting an obviously loosing battle, so I hooked it up to Kies to do a complete fresh install, no root. It went fine, until Kies was in the middle of installing the software...
... and puts my phone into Emergency Mode.
I've figured out that it can't boot into Recovery Mode or any OS, but it could boot into download mode. I tried Emergency firmware recovery via Kies, but it didn't work. I also tried re-flashing stock OS using Odin, with a FAIL! message each time.
Can this be fixed? I'm running out of options here. Thanks.

What bootloader or Samsung ROM version was on your phone?
Download the latest tar.md5 version of Philz Touch recovery from here: https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/
Download the latest cm11 for the d2lte from here: https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2lte. Save cm11 to an external SD card.
Download the Gapps from here: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Google_Apps. Save the Gapps file to the external SD card. Place the SD card into the phone.
Boot the phone into download mode, uncheck everything in Odin except f.reset time. Connect the phone and flash Philz. When you see the word "reset" in the status window, remove the USB cable, remove the battery, replace the battery, boot into recovery, wipe data, cache, system, and Dalvik. Flash CM11, flash Gapps, boot phone.

I hope you get this solved, I personly have never seen this mode
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

It worked!
Thank you. I was getting really worried, but now it runs perfectly!
Sorry this respose was so late. I've been busy.

Which method worked? Let us know because it may benefit other users.

The exact method you posted. I did try the d2att Cyanogenmod version, but only d2lte worked.

indecisiveOS said:
The exact method you posted. I did try the d2att Cyanogenmod version, but only d2lte worked.
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Before unification, there were separate builds for the ATT s3 (d2att) and Bell s3 (d2can). Unified builds for both phone versions are now developed under the d2lte label.

Oh, okay. That explains why d2att didn't work with my AT&T device, lol. I just assumed you were thinking of another build when you were typing the first response, so I just tried d2att first, only to realize that d2lte was the appropriate file.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't have a d2att, I used to have the Bell version of the s3 (d2can). I haven't had an s3 for over 18 months!
I recommended the d2att hoping it would work on your phone.

Wow! I got my S3 as a Christmas gift of 2012. I use an iPhone now (gasp - iPhone user on XDA?!) but I sometimes dust off some of my older electronics for random purposes. I live in the U.S., so all my phones and electronics are highly subsidized, bloated, branded, and locked to whatever carrier/manufacturer. But I sure do miss my Galaxy. I made myself try an iPhone, and the experience just wasn't as exciting. The iPhone isn't loaded with carrier "goodies", which I like, but I just miss the experience. I just miss the old days.

I also had an iPhone 6 for a few days and didn't find it to my liking. I prefer the ability to customize the look of my ROM; however, apps on the iPhone just work, unlike some of the Play store apps due to several subtle variations of the OS.

I like the stability of the iPhone, but I love the customization, design elements, and nifty features of Android. Oh, and how could I ever forget my wonderful back and menu keys? But both do have their drawbacks. I just wish there was an OS that just worked, but could be personalized. But that'd be asking for world peace, too.

indecisiveOS said:
I like the stability of the iPhone, but I love the customization, design elements, and nifty features of Android. Oh, and how could I ever forget my wonderful back and menu keys? But both do have their drawbacks. I just wish there was an OS that just worked, but could be personalized. But that'd be asking for world peace, too.
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The first link doesn't seem to work any more? Is there a new site to download Philz Recovery? Thanks.

lajeune69 said:
The first link doesn't seem to work any more? Is there a new site to download Philz Recovery? Thanks.
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I think that was just a temporary URL shortener that only lasted for a little while.

indecisiveOS said:
I think that was just a temporary URL shortener that only lasted for a little while.
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Goo is down.

lajeune69 said:
Goo is down.
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Oh, really? I just thought it had a timestamp or something. My apologies. I clicked that link forever ago, but I think I still have the file. I can put it on a file sharing website later today. I'll share the link later.

You could also install the touch version of cwm from here: https://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager

I think I'm screwed. I'm in a Cyrogenmod boot loop and nothing seems to work. I flash recoveries with Odin but it just goes back to the Cyrogenmod boot loop.

lajeune69 said:
I think I'm screwed. I'm in a Cyrogenmod boot loop and nothing seems to work. I flash recoveries with Odin but it just goes back to the Cyrogenmod boot loop.
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That doesn't sound good. Can it boot into Recovery or Download mode?

I can get to download mode but my computer doesn't see it.