Develop Bugs

SM-T800 Password locked & in Retail Mode. Am I hosed?

So... I bought a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 on ebay. The guy who was selling it said it works fine but it's password locked and he didn't know how to remove it so he was selling it "AS IS FOR PARTS" I thought that shouldn't be hard to fix. Factory Reset and we should be good to go...
However, I'm pretty sure this was a store demo unit and in addition to being password locked its also in Retail mode (At least that's my best guess because I can't get into Factory Reset mode)... Everything that I've read says that Retail mode won't allow you to get to the factory reset screen. I can get into Oden mode but when I try factory reset it gives me a black screen. Can I get rid of the password protection by flashing the firmware in Oden? Once I get into the tablet I think I know how to disable retail mode but I can't get past the log in screen. I didn't want to start messing around with it if its a hopeless cause but if there is a way around this mess I would really appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. Thank you in advance!

This has been posted several times already the past week or so. A quick search would have yielded the answer.
Flash twrp via odin, boot to recovery, factory reset, reboot to download mode, flash stock firmware with odin for the device region.
Done.
I'd also like to query how people are coming by these demo tablets? Are they even legal otherwise why would they be passworded and in demo mode. A little suspicious if you ask me.

ashyx said:
This has been posted several times already the past week or so. A quick search would have yielded the answer.
Flash twrp via odin, boot to recovery, factory reset, reboot to download mode, flash stock firmware with odin for the device region.
Done.
I'd also like to query how people are coming by these demo tablets? Are they even legal otherwise why would they be passworded and in demo mode. A little suspicious if you ask me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I don't know about how all the other people obtained their "demo" tablets, whether legally or otherwise, but I am also one of those "demo" tablet owners. I actually got lucky and came across mine, which is in pristine condition, at my local Best Buy for about $220 a month ago.
Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk

ashyx said:
This has been posted several times already the past week or so. A quick search would have yielded the answer.
Flash twrp via odin, boot to recovery, factory reset, reboot to download mode, flash stock firmware with odin for the device region.
Done.
I'd also like to query how people are coming by these demo tablets? Are they even legal otherwise why would they be passworded and in demo mode. A little suspicious if you ask me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of stores will let you buy the demo unit if you push hard enough (sometimes pushing isnt even required) and they don't have one in stock. That being said; you know little brat kids go through all the tablets just to put passwords on them so no one can test them out. Probably a lost cause, but when I went for a walk last night I decided to stop at Walmart to get a snack and drink and while I was there I wanted to play with some of the other tablets. Before I could do so though, I had to remove the passwords. Thank you for recovery mode.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

All retail stores have a place that processes returns or when they're demos are done to make room for the next new big thing.. the "old" go to reclamation.. I can speak specifically for walmart office depot office max.. this product is then resold to a liquidation buyer or mom and pop stores or online business' .. then they resell.

Jmbl2010 said:
All retail stores have a place that processes returns or when they're demos are done to make room for the next new big thing.. the "old" go to reclamation.. I can speak specifically for walmart office depot office max.. this product is then resold to a liquidation buyer or mom and pop stores or online business' .. then they resell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can speak specifically for Office Depot/Office Max as I am an employee and this is not how they liquidate the "old" models. They do not sell to liquidation buyers, mom and pop stores or online businesses. They clearance out the old stuff and sell it at a marginal discount prior to displaying the new stuff in store.

Completely Stock M9 non-responsive

So I had purchased my HTC One M9 through their website (it guides you where to pay and see the price). I opted out of the warranty because I have never had an issue with any of their phones and I still try to convince people to buy them. Nonetheless, while I was in the middle of a phone call my phone had suddenly just up and died, which i thought to be weird since I waited to leave the house until it hit 80%. I have tried everything I could think of since I have done quite of my own tinkering on previous models. No computer it is plugged into recognizes its' existence. I have been able to hold down the buttons and get it into recovery but everything there fails. I contacted HTC and they told me to try and manually install the update rom but without finding a computer that sees it, there was no such luck. Their only other option they gave me was to send it in and pay $250 to have it looked at. When I bought it brand new it was damn near $800! I'm just wondering if anyone has had this problem or if it is in fact a hardware rather than software issue. I have never tried to unlock it or anything since it came unlocked from the factory. Story of my life...haha

Can you get into your boot loader? That might help your computer recognize the phone.

To buy or not to buy?

Hey, just curious if you guys would buy the PIxel XL, first version. It is from google and I am looking on craigslist. The lady says one day it just stopped booting, she can get the logo to display at boot but then it just stops. She can get to the bootloader and everything from there is fine... Would you guys try and buy it? its for $50 so not a huge loss but I am looking for a new phone as my current one is destroyed - I am fine getting an old phone.
What other questions should I ask? I think its possible to boot into the bootloader to view the IMEI to see if its locked (or not). Looking for suggestions...

Hell-Razor said:
Hey, just curious if you guys would buy the PIxel XL, first version. It is from google and I am looking on craigslist. The lady says one day it just stopped booting, she can get the logo to display at boot but then it just stops. She can get to the bootloader and everything from there is fine... Would you guys try and buy it? its for $50 so not a huge loss but I am looking for a new phone as my current one is destroyed - I am fine getting an old phone.
What other questions should I ask? I think its possible to boot into the bootloader to view the IMEI to see if its locked (or not). Looking for suggestions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Hell-Razor
That's called a bootloop.
As long as there is a Google logo and fastboot access, you're safe.
Well, not really.
If it's Craigslist, then can you organize local pickup? Take your laptop with you, having installed drivers as appropriate from https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb and picked up a factory image from https://developers.google.com/android/images#marlin.
I smell a bargain ... and good luck! The Pixel XL is an AWESOME phone, except for the fact that it has no FM radio nor IR blaster.
And in fact, you can view the IMEI ... in fastboot mode, scroll down using Vol - to "Show Codes" or something ... a screen with the relevant codes and barcodes is shown.
Two questions to ask:
- Check for burn-in and pink discoloration.
- Check for SIM lock and blacklist status using the IMEI number.
That's about it. If the factory image doesn't flash, it's toast, but you might want to pick it up for the display et al.

LG Wing Demo/retail mode fix

Phone cool! My daughter has the v60 dual with case. Cool too
Got ripped off today or at least guy sold me a demo pretending it was a normal phone. $300. Not until on my way home realized wasn't right , so i know a bunch of threadsaabout stau away demo phones can't do much about it.
Well My son kinda removed the baddies for me. Can go into developer mode now. And so far only 2 baddies remain.
1) can't use Android Market, only apks from other sources.
2) cant charge past 50% without phone turned off.
Seen demo mode in develop options guessing bits of it still there somehow.
My son said he could install a stock tmo or something rom to try and get those issues fixed. Then said not recommended unless have copy of demo /retail mode to install incase wifi breaks or bricks somehow.
Anyone know how to backup a stock demo rom with oem recovery?

Samsung S20 with a few shady problems

Hi, I bought a used Galaxy S20 from eBay and everything works fine except benchmarking apps wouldn’t install. Direct APKs don’t work either and the only suggestion I found is to clear Play Store which had no luck. The Galaxy Store works though but they’re mostly outdated or fringe benchmark apps.
Later I found that when I choose Emergency mode in the power off menu, it says “Can’t use Emergency mode on demo phone”. Nowhere else does it mention it’s a demo unit, including boot sequence and demo mode is off in developer options.
Last problem I found while troubleshooting more and found out on another site that the IMEI belongs to a Galaxy J5 Prime from Saudi Arabia... What can I do? Would flashing a firmware help with any of these problems? It’s a Canadian SM-G981W model and I would prefer to flash a US firmware without losing any data if it’s possible. Recovery mode+download mode both work and I don’t think the phone has been rooted as Knox doesn’t seem to be tripped. But I thought that you would need to root in order to fake/spoof IMEI?
Here’s a photo of the phone in download mode, I think it’s missing a few things including the OEM lock status.
https://imgur.com/a/GIp9ffT
Is this fishy or help solve the problems as I’m not super tech savvy Thanks in advance!

That's why nobody should buy a used phone off eBay.

jwoegerbauer said:
That's why nobody should buy a used phone off eBay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where should I buy them then? Swappa and Gazelle don’t deliver to Canada and traditional retailers are way overpriced. To be fair, the seller is pretty smart as the average Joe would probably never notice these issues as the phone works completely normal otherwise.

Return it.

blackhawk said:
Return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would lose out on shipping and the only phone I have and was using broke so that’s why I was replacing it with the S20...