Develop Bugs

[Q] BEST method for restoring FULL FACTORY STOCK?

I attempted to restore my fiance's S3 to full factory stock about a month ago now, after I received a prompt for the ~82MB OTA update, and she didn't... She was tired of me taking her phone and keeping it out of her hot little hands whilst I made nandroids and flashed the latest updates to BlazerROM, and she didn't have a problem with stock ROM, so I figured I'd put it back for her.
Well, I did, and I KNOW I left CWRecovery in, and not sure if I left root or not, but she STILL has not received the OTA update which still bugs me... So I need to know what is the BEST method for FULL STOCK RECOVERY? I don't want her missing out when the Jelly Bean official drops, and I may flash mine back when it hits just to test it out...
I found this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1935973
Which directed me to QBKing's site, but also warned that the video was now somewhat dated...
Am I assume that by saving her text messages and contacts, and flashing the ODIN .tar listed on this page: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1919919 and just letting her re-install her apps, is an effective way to return to FULL and UNMODIFIED stock? Should I run Triangle-Away before proceeding? Will this return the device status to Unmodified (or whatever it says) as opposed to "Custom" in the Status page, as it currently shows for her, in case of warranty needs?
Sorry to be "That Guy", but some of the other topics where a bit vague and lacked details, so I figure if we can get something Semi-Detailed and answering most of the big/general questions, perhaps this could serve as a Go-To thread for others who wish to do this...

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1904099
Thread youve mentioned above also works fine. If using odin method, run triangle away beforehand. Neither method will wipe data. Depending on the rom you're coming from, it may not be necessary. If you flash without wiping and the rom fails to boot(hangs on glowing samsung logo), go back to recovery and factory reset. Itll boot right up

billard412 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1904099
Thread youve mentioned above also works fine. If using odin method, run triangle away beforehand. Neither method will wipe data. Depending on the rom you're coming from, it may not be necessary. If you flash without wiping and the rom fails to boot(hangs on glowing samsung logo), go back to recovery and factory reset. Itll boot right up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i cant thumbs-up you hard enough.... thanks for that awesome pile of resources
JUST TO CLARIFY!
On your thread you updated just this morning with the flash-counter reset included, just run in CWR, and all is good, if not, then factory reset, and all is good? Or factory reset, reflash, all is good?
EDIT: FLashed
In download mode;
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SPH-L710
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE (not sure what that one is haven't done more than root with oden and flash)
System status troubles me... ODEN flash, or let it full reboot? I went into download to check before first initial boot after flash. will allow full boot and see what happens...
EDIT 2: Well, android system status shows Normal... Girl woke up and took her phone back, so will check oden later.

Yup the one updated today is just that. Flash and reboot. Youll be 100% stock
The system status in odin will probably fix itself after booting. If not a factory reset should do it

billard412 said:
Yup the one updated today is just that. Flash and reboot. Youll be 100% stock
The system status in odin will probably fix itself after booting. If not a factory reset should do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to have worked. I wish I had money to donate to your wonderful work. Hopefully she'll be receiving prompts for OTA updates for JellyBean shortly... Thanks for also having it up to date. At least I gather it DOES include the ~82MB update she's been missing... Keep up the wonderful work friend!

Glad to hear it. Much appriciated. Now if only the damn thing would be stickied...XD

billard412 said:
Yup the one updated today is just that. Flash and reboot. Youll be 100% stock
The system status in odin will probably fix itself after booting. If not a factory reset should do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
billard412 said:
Glad to hear it. Much appriciated. Now if only the damn thing would be stickied...XD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoever I need to tell, I support sticky'ing the thread.

[Q] Unable to select /sdcard when in recovery

I have rooted many mobile devices and flashed numerous ROMS. However I recently purchased a Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition and have not been able to get very far in my attempts to root, etc. I have tried Odin and CF-Auto-Root and although it appears to be successful the device is not rooted. I want to install TWRP and then the knox free stock ROM. I am able to push the necessary files to the sdcard with ADB and I can see that the files are in /sdcard using ES File explorer. However when I boot into recovery mode /sdcard is red and at the top of the list and it will not let me navigate to it to install any zip files. I though at first it might be because of the MobileIron I use for company email but I did a factory reset and still have this problem. I just need to root the device so I can use Titanium BU to remove the Samsung apps I don't want. Any help with this would be most appreciated. What do I need to do?
~metafizik

Ultimately I think the first thing I need to resolve is that even though the Odin rooting process appears to be working according to Odin(PASS). The fact is that regardless which combination of Odin 3.07/3.09 and CF-Auto-Root (tried 2 versions) even though Odin says it was successful it turns out the device is not getting rooted. This should be a no brainer but for for whatever reason this device will not root so far.

Bumping this as I have not received any replies. I am hoping that someone has run across a similar situation and can offer some guidance.
Thank you,
~metafizik

metafizik said:
Ultimately I think the first thing I need to resolve is that even though the Odin rooting process appears to be working according to Odin(PASS). The fact is that regardless which combination of Odin 3.07/3.09 and CF-Auto-Root (tried 2 versions) even though Odin says it was successful it turns out the device is not getting rooted. This should be a no brainer but for for whatever reason this device will not root so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you install super su?Did you try to flash twrp.If your not rooted twrp will ask to root.Have you tried to install a root app and see if the permissions pop up?
When you say recovery do you mean the stock one?Im pretty sure i had same problem.It was rooted but i thought it wasnt.

mikep2323 said:
Did you install super su?Did you try to flash twrp.If your not rooted twrp will ask to root.Have you tried to install a root app and see if the permissions pop up?
When you say recovery do you mean the stock one?Im pretty sure i had same problem.It was rooted but i thought it wasnt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a very strange deal. As previously stated I have tried various combinations of Odin and CF-Auto-Root and the Odin process completes with PASS. However when I boot the OS and run Titanium it is never able to gain root access and Root Checker says it is not rooted. Unfortunately even after doing a factory reset the MobileIron Admin console at work says it is rooted so I can't use it for company email. I have definitely tripped the Knox bit. Also I want to install TWRP and have pushed the file to /sdcard and can see it there using a file explorer app. However when I boot into stock recovery I cannot see any of the zip files I have copied there. I also tried to flash TWRP with Odin and again it completes with PASS but TWRP never gets installed. And yes I installed SuperSU but did so from the Play Store.
I purchased this device just last week. I am wondering if maybe Samsung has changed things in the past few weeks and locked these friggin things down even more? This is the first device of many I have owned that I couldn't root or install a custom recovery or ROM. In any case this will definitely be my last Samsung device. I would however like to do whatever I so desire with it since I paid good money for it.

I have resolved all of the problems I was having. They were all due to Knox and my inexperience with it. I was fortunate to have customized my Note 2 before it received the Knox updates. All is well and there is no new unknown vodoo lurking in the latest iteration of Samsung devices.

[Q] i467 OTA update fails at 26%, even after unrooting & flashing to stock 4.1.2.

Hi all,
Thrilled and surprised to see we finally got an update for our AT&T Note 8s, but I'm having issues.
I had my Note rooted and unlocked (in an attempt to use TMo's free tablet data promo) previously, but no custom ROM. I don't recall ever disabling knox or any system apps. I first unrooted within SuperSU, but the update failed. I then tried it both with the AT&T SIM and the TMo SIM, both failed. I tried a standard factory reset, still failed.
I started escalating options then, and used Odin to flash a completely fresh and stock 4.1.2, update still failed. I'd love to use Odin to flash the 4.4.2 image, but I can't find an Odin compatible download of it. I did find a cfg of the OTA update someone uploaded, bu I'll admit to having no idea how to manually apply that.
I had thought I got everything back to completely stock, so I'm not sure what's causing the failure. The info on the Odin screen seems to suggest that too:
odin mode
product name: SGH-I467
custom binary download: no
current binary: Samsung official
system status: official
Any ideas of how to get this updated?
Thanks!
edit: I don't have AT&T service any more (although I still have the SIM), would that have anything to do with it?

IIRC 26% is the file ddexe, which is overwritten by the rooting process. Probably this file didn't get restored properly. If the automagical processes aren't doing it you'd need to go into /system using root explorer or similar to delete the invalid one and rename the _original one to replace it.

Well there was progress, but now it error'ed at 31%. Any other files in particular that I'd need to manually revert? I didn't see any others in system/bin that were _real.
Exact steps were: re-root, used ES File Explorer (with root permissions) to rename ddexe to ddexe_root and then rename ddexe_real to ddexe, removed root via SuperSU, attempted OTA update, got excited when it passes 26%, then got said when it failed at 31%.
Thanks!

There's a log that's generated during the OTA update process, off the top of my head I forget exactly where it is, but some googling should point you in the right direction. Examine the log and you'll see an error along the lines of:
file xxxxxxx: signature does not match

Well, I'm not quite sure which part of my tinkering did the trick, but I've successfully gotten my Note 8 (i467) to update OTA to 4.4.2.
I hadn't tried since December, so I started with just a regular update. It of course failed again, like it had been doing previously.
I then downloaded the 4.1.2 firmware file from sammobile and used odin 3.09 to flash the AP. I was surprised that doing that didn't wipe the device (it was late and I was sleepy), so I decided to try again. This time I added the firmware file to BL, AP, CP and CSC, trying to completely reset everything possible to stock. After 5-10 minutes, odin gave a fail message, but it wasn't clear exactly where or when it failed. The Note also would not boot, it asked for a Kies recovery.
I then used odin one last time to flash just AP. This succeeded and the Note was back up and running, with all my previous data intact. Next I did a factory reset within the Android Settings screen. Once that finished and I connected to wifi, it began to download the OTA update on it's own. And low and behold, it rebooted and got past the 31% mark it kept failing at... and made it all the way to 100%! Success!
So I know a lot of that wasn't necessary (and probably not even correct) but I was fed up with months of trying to get this to update so I just said to hell with it and started tinkering with random things. Just in case someone has the same issue I did and stumbles upon this thread, I wanted to record exactly what I did, even though I'm sure most of it was redundant and unnecessary.

Soft bricked SPH-L710- Possible to recover data or repair without wiping?

I was using Chrome when the phone froze. I restarted it, and now the phone just hangs at the Samsung logo.
I have a completely stock unrooted Sprint SPH-L710. I'm moderately sure the phone is on MD4 since I didn't want Knox. It would be nice if there were a way to double check, though, since I don't remember why it stopped pestering me to upgrade. The phone doesn't boot far enough to get into safe mode, but it will enter recovery and download mode. Clearing the cache in recovery had no effect.
My PC and Kies don't see it when I connect it.
My contacts and photos are mostly backed up, so I'm more worried about salvaging other things, like Chrome bookmarks. My bookmarks aren't synchronized with Google. Apparently root is required to access them, so I never got around to it. It would be nice to recover text messages and gamesaves too. I haven't tried a factory reset yet since that would wipe everything.
What should I do from here? Is it possible to install a custom recovery at this point and use that to backup files?
Or should I try to flash a stock rom from the SD card or Odin? Or will that wipe everything or cause other problems?
I don't have USB debugging activated, so is there anything useful I'd be be able to do with ADB?
Or should I just shrug and go for the factory reset?
Thanks guys.

It's been an educational experience.
Without root or USB debugging enabled, it's apparently impossible to install custom firmware from soft bricked status.
ADB was never even able to see my phone. Not even in recovery or download modes.
Odin is a surprisingly temperamental program. It would see my phone, but not successfully flash until I uninstalled Kies. Rwilco's ROM's and one click flashes were all entirely unsuccessful. It's difficult to find older GS3 ROM's since link rot has claimed nearly all of them. There's about a million skeychy Samsung firmware/update sites, and most of them are worthless.
Heimdall is a little disappointing. You can't just point it at a ROM. You have to track down a Heimdall specific package. I couldn't find a suitable one.
Eventually, I found a sketchy Samsung firmware site that had the MD4 ROM, and it actually flashed in Odin. Then Odin stopped seeing my phone entirely.
So, I ordered a Tmobile Note 4 to use on Ting. It's cheaper, and I like the removable battery and microSD. Just for kicks, I factory reset the S3. To my surprise, the factory reset worked. I guess I should have tried that before I ordered a new phone
In the meantime, I guess I will still try to recover files, demote the S3 to media player/backup phone status, and use the incoming Note 4 as my daily driver.
From here on, I guess it means rooting and monthly backups.
Thanks guys.

When you boot into download mode you'll see your Knox flag if the phone has been upgraded to a Knoxed up firmware. I'm too lazy to check but it looks something like Knox: 0x0 or 0x1.

Sprint Galaxy Note 4 Android 6.0.1 problems

I'll try this again (this website crashed when first posting this)
Leased phone (January 2017) use for my business. Has had (3) OTA updates since April. Started having issues after 3rd update mid-June (freezes / reboots). Most times have to pull the battery to get it to boot. Have wiped & restore several times, from Settings and Recovery boot menu. Cleared App cache and partition cache. Had the local Sprint Store 'supposedly' flash the OS from a PC but nothing improved. Described these issues below but was only met with a blank stare and an offer to open my wallet to replace with a refurbished phone without knowing what is causing the issue.
On some occasions when the device is not responding it heats up. Messages of Apps that stop responding include System UI, Package Access Helper, Touchwiz and Gmail, among others.
When going to Boot recovery menu to try clearing the partition cache the Android Icon shows up with the message 'Installing system update', which it's clearly not doing. Sometimes that's followed by the icon laying down and the message 'No command'. Does this mean the update didn't properly install? Another message I've noticed once the menu comes up is 'dm-verity verification failed . . . '
Further trying to diagnose, Sprint Zone / Device Diagnostics / Flagged / System Updates - always states 'Update now', but Settings / System Update / Software update message reads 'The latest updates have already been installed (N910PVPS4DPE2 / N910PSPT4DPE2 / N910PVPS4DPE2).
Investigated alternatives with Samsung (they replied the same day, Sprint Community message July 20th still hasn't replied) I can take it to a service center to have the hardware checked for a fee but it is not nearby and I'd like to first understand what the issue is.
From what I've described does anyone know what could be causing these issues? I have read where some updates were causing problems but I've tried most of those remedies and nothing has helped yet. Perhaps the Sprint Store, in an effort to extract more money (this is how it seemed) did not or was not able to flash the OS?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

best thing to do is odin back to an older version and retake the update if you wanna go thru that again
but id recommend reverting back to OG5 and then flashing a rom you will have less reboots....as least on my end i did

JLFitzpatrick said:
...When going to Boot recovery menu to try clearing the partition cache the Android Icon shows up with the message 'Installing system update', which it's clearly not doing. Sometimes that's followed by the icon laying down and the message 'No command'. Does this mean the update didn't properly install? Another message I've noticed once the menu comes up is 'dm-verity verification failed . . . '...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock recovery you describe, it's normal for the Android guy to fall down and display the red x or whatever you saw when there's no update to apply but the dm-verity failure isn't normal. It could indicate bad repair or maybe it was rooted at some point? Wiping and Odin flash doesn't always rid the phone of that but Knox trip remains always until Samsung repairs a rooted phone. Dunno the cause of your dm-verity failure but maybe, if it was stock un-rooted all along, it may a read only partition failed or corrupted?
As suggested above, you may fix the dm-verity by taking a couple of OTA updates after Odin flashing an older one. Don't go back any older than OG5 though.
I think the problem may also stem from old data from Lollipop not getting wiped. I'd recommend disabling the reactivation lock on Settings/Security, remove your accounts from phone, a factory reset within Settings, boot to recovery and factory reset and wipe dalvik and cache in stock recovery and power off. Reboot to download mode and flash an older stock tar and let it OTA a couple of times.
That may solve some issues but it could be hardware failure or a corrupt partition. If the dm-verity goes away, see if your problems are resolved. If you didn't root and have a warranty, make whoever warrants it replace it; the failure is legit.
Sprint Zone and ItsOn is garbage IMO. Bloat that kills the experience that Samsung intended. Albeit, Samsung isn't so innocent with bloat ruining the experience either. Just my opinion on the bloat. By the time users add their own bloat, there's but enough RAM and with all the services running, battery takes a hit and phone lags. Run package disabler (search in Google Play) or root to manage it is what I'd suggest. FWIW, I have no random reboots or phone heating up while in standby running Marshmallow. My phone sleeps like a baby.
If no warranty applies and root is an option, you could try rooting with Chainfire Auto Root for Note 4 and then full un-root. The developer removes the dm-verity flag if it's there for modified read only partition reasons. But of coarse that also trips Knox warranty bit, so be aware. Dm-verity can prevent OTA's from updating but that's an alternative with root and Knox trip risks. No warranty should mean less risk unless the phone belongs to your employer.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Thank you for your replies.
I had pointed out the 'dm-verity verification failure' text to the goof-offs at the Sprint Store, you'd think I was speaking in a foreign tongue. Phone is leased on our personal family plan and used for my business. I've never rooted it myself, not sure what the Sprint people did at the store but that text was there before they supposedly flashed the OS.
I apologize but am in over my head with the suggested repairs. Although having upgraded PC's am familiar with the process; revert to previous clean OS and upgrade over that. I'll take your suggestions and just have to study a little more to understand the correct procedure.
Yesterday afternoon I tried the folks at Samsung again since their support team had replied the same day before (still waiting for a support response from Sprint since July 20th) and went to a live support chat. The woman was very helpful but unfortunately, I had to jump off for a meeting. Before I jumped off she had me put the phone into Safe Mode. I had tried to get there before but the instructions I was given were incorrect (not found in recovery boot). It has since been in that mode and has been much more stable, still freezes occasionally but doesn't reboot itself and runs zippy as hell except for momentary freezes. I have the Chat ID # and will try again today to see what they can do before trying other suggestions. I gave them the HEX DEC numbers and it sounded like they could access the phone with those, this morning their Chat was full so I'll have to try later.
samep, if you don't mind can you give me some clarification on your suggestion:
"I think the problem may also stem from old data from Lollipop not getting wiped. I'd recommend disabling the reactivation lock on Settings/Security, remove your accounts from phone, a factory reset within Settings, boot to recovery and factory reset and wipe dalvik and cache in stock recovery and power off. Reboot to download mode and flash an older stock tar and let it OTA a couple of times."​
My interpretation:
Settings / Security / disable reactivation lock
Remove accounts (first back up phone log & sms to samsung account, back up wifi passwords to google account)
Settings / Backup and reset / Factory data reset
Boot to recovery menu / factory reset again (partition and dalvik cache evidently get cleared through reset)
Boot to recovery menu / 'flash an older tar' ? (Is this 'Apply update from ADB (Odin)' or SD card? This is where things get fuzzy. Can I load the stock tar (OS?) to a formatted sd card and apply the update from there or do I have to install Odin on a PC? Where is the best place to get a 'stock tar' (or Odin) from and which version(s) should I use for a Note 4, or is that explained on a particular website. There are many sources of information on Odin and firmware but I'm not sure which to trust if I need to do this would prefer to do this just once.)
Thank you again for your help, and I apologize for my ignorance on this subject.
But the best thing about ignorance is that it can be overcome with a little effort and knowledge.

To answer the question, boot into download mode from powered down state by holding volume down, menu and power. Yes, you use Odin installed on PC for that. But first you need the Samsung USB driver and Odin installed, plus the stock tar.
This thread will get you going with resources and brief instructions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63868221&postcount=1
I'd suggest PC1 stock tar, then let it OTA.
(Your interpretation was mostly right up to the question about how to flash the tar after the factory reset and power down.)
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Thank you samep,
Understanding the tar file versions are listed alpha-numeric the oldest version is PD1 so I will start with that version.
Have downloaded Odin and all three tar files (in case of any issues with PD1). Samsung Chat referred me to bring the phone in, after reviewing information on using Odin will try your suggested method first and then check for dm-verity failure.
Another tar file resource found is updato-dot-com (as a newbie unable to post link):

JLFitzpatrick said:
Thank you samep,
Understanding the tar file versions are listed alpha-numeric the oldest version is PD1 so I will start with that version.
Have downloaded Odin and all three tar files (in case of any issues with PD1). Samsung Chat referred me to bring the phone in, after reviewing information on using Odin will try your suggested method first and then check for dm-verity failure.
Another tar file resource found is updato-dot-com (as a newbie unable to post link):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're feeling overwhelmed, you could bring it in. There's a chance it is hardware and the steps may prove redundant.
Up to you. At least you have something to point to as an issue.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

So I've gone through all the steps, phone is wiped, reinstalled Samsung USB Driver, have Odin open as Administrator and the phone in 'Android Recovery', Phone does not show up in Odin.
Have seen a couple versions of setting a connection (Odin open first, phone connected first); tried all of those and tried Odin open not as administrator. There is no connection. Tried other instructions to put into Developer Mode and enable USB bugging. Nothing, disabled USB bugging and booted back to recovery. Still nothing.
In Recovery mode it does not state 'Odin mode'. Tried the Recovery menu option 'Apply update from ADB' message reads 'Update from external storage diabled'. Tried 'Reboot to bootloader' (WTH), that does show Odin Mode at top of screen but phone still does not show up in Odin on PC. Then have to pull battery to reboot to Recovery mode. What steps am I missing here?
When phone is booted up normally it connects to PC without issue.

Finally got Odin to recognize the phone. Through a few searches I tried one remedy that suggested manually updating the samsung usb drivers in device manager which did the trick. Realized earlier that from recovery mode you do need to select boot to bootloader to get into Odin mode (listed on top).
Installed 6.0.1 - PD1 currently phone is installing OTA updates, hopefully this does the trick. Thanks again for your help.

On Tuesday the phone updated OTA from PD1 (April 27, 2016) installed via Odin to PE1 (June 1, 2016) then PE2 (June 29, 2016). Recovery Mode screen no longer shows dm-verity failure message so that's fixed. Phone is mostly stable, however still not as stable as it was on PE1 from what I recall by the release dates. Phone still freezes although it usually does not crash if I leave it alone but still does crash at least once a day. Safe Mode does not help, as the worst culprits are system Apps (Gmail, Drive are the worst).
It seldom overheats now but did yesterday. 3rd Party CPU cooler found Package Access Helper, Context Service and System UI as causing an issue. Cleared App Cache for all three but problems persist. Clearing App Cache in Settings / Storage takes at least three tries to clear all but 4.00 KB. I have been clearing Partition Cache every morning just to get through most of the day otherwise it will freeze when I first start to use it. Battery is also draining faster than before.
Any suggestions? OTA updates were at work on a stable WiFi signal. I'm thinking of Odin flashing back to PE1 (or PD1) and stopping further OTA updates. Anybody tried this? Will be traveling for a couple of weeks and need a stable phone, like I used to have. Thank you.

Samsung has been having memory management issues. IMO, this is the reason they keep increasing RAM in recent phones and getting help from Google. But 3 gigs of RAM should be sufficient.
A custom ROM may resolve that but you could try a package disabler from Google Play to freeze some unneeded bloat.
I couldn't say which stock version is best because I've ran all of them without random reboots and lag is minimum. The custom ROMs have been daily driver stable for me. I use them when traveling too.
Sending PM to OP as well with additional info.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk