Develop Bugs

[Q] Phone stuck at "Samsung Galaxy S II" Logo

I'm not new to rooting, I'm coming from the Samsung Epic 4G.. My new Epic Touch 4G is stuck at the Samsung Galaxy II GT-I9100 Logo.. Really annoying. Here's what happened...
I rooted my new Epic touch with this link: http://www.forums.acsyndicate.net/s...lus-Stock-Rooted-BusyBox-CWM5-and-Plus-Tweaks
Everything was working fine.. I then wiped the phone (the usual) and flashed the stable Starburst ROM
I rebooted and started getting an error saying "Sorry! The application Status Bar (processcom.android.systemui) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."
The notification bar was not present at all.. Soft reboots started recurring so I tried to restart but it didn't work. I ended up pulling the battery.
I then entered CWM and took a different approach.. I followed some steps from "Weltwon" (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1276320&page=169) and it didn't even get pass the "Logo" screen.. I pulled the battery once again (uh-oh)...
After putting the battery back in, I entered download mode and tried to Odin back to EG30 but it still stalled at the "Logo" screen.
Being that I wasn't coming from another ROM, is it possible that I messed something up when I formatted system in the "mounts and storage" tab?
Hopefully it's not a goner.. Any help would be appreciated.

Here's my Odin log after using the stock kernal pulled tar file..
No pit was added..
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> zImage
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/003> RES OK !!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Completed..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)

so let me get this straight.. you odin and everything was working properly. then you wanted to flash a custom rom and then you got errors. now you tried to odin again and you get stuck at samsung screen?
have you done this?
- ODIN with a different usb cable, or computer?
- redownload the roms?
ODIn to stock should boot and fix your errors in my expereince..

SocialReject said:
I'm not new to rooting, I'm coming from the Samsung Epic 4G.. My new Epic Touch 4G is stuck at the Samsung Galaxy II GT-I9100 Logo.. Really annoying. Here's what happened...
I rooted my new Epic touch with this link: http://www.forums.acsyndicate.net/s...lus-Stock-Rooted-BusyBox-CWM5-and-Plus-Tweaks
Everything was working fine.. I then wiped the phone (the usual) and flashed the stable Starburst ROM
I rebooted and started getting an error saying "Sorry! The application Status Bar (processcom.android.systemui) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."
The notification bar was not present at all.. Soft reboots started recurring so I tried to restart but it didn't work. I ended up pulling the battery.
I then entered CWM and took a different approach.. I followed some steps from "Weltwon" (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1276320&page=169) and it didn't even get pass the "Logo" screen.. I pulled the battery once again (uh-oh)...
After putting the battery back in, I entered download mode and tried to Odin back to EG30 but it still stalled at the "Logo" screen.
Being that I wasn't coming from another ROM, is it possible that I messed something up when I formatted system in the "mounts and storage" tab?
Hopefully it's not a goner.. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Silly question, but did you actually flash a ROM or just kernels after performing Weltwon's steps? I don't know what he was posting that regarding, but it seemed his instructions asked you to format /system (ie erase your ROM) but never mentioned flashing your new ROM by CWM or by Odin. Perhaps that was just understood in the context he was replying to, but if you didn't do so, you'd have a kernel on your phone but no ROM, meaning you could boot into Recovery, but there would be no ROM to boot into.

sfhub said:
Silly question, but did you actually flash a ROM or just kernels after performing Weltwon's steps? I don't know what he was posting that regarding, but it seemed his instructions asked you to format /system (ie erase your ROM) but never mentioned flashing your new ROM by CWM or by Odin. Perhaps that was just understood in the context he was replying to, but if you didn't do so, you'd have a kernel on your phone but no ROM, meaning you could boot into Recovery, but there would be no ROM to boot into.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm gonna just throw it away...
I woke up this morning and tried to boot into recovery and got a black screen sorta like this... "Phone . . Triangle with exclamation mark inside . . Computer"
I go into download mode and it says my Product name is GT-9100 !?
No computer ever recognizes it as a device, it's just a paper-weight now smh

if you cant get into download mode you might be screwed.. if you can tho, i recommend flash the eg30 with root, not just a kernel.. using odin and having it put in the pda slot with just auto reboot checked.. flashing just a kernel won't fix your problems

elliwigy said:
if you cant get into download mode you might be screwed.. if you can tho, i recommend flash the eg30 with root, not just a kernel.. using odin and having it put in the pda slot with just auto reboot checked.. flashing just a kernel won't fix your problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can get into download mode but the phone isn't recognized at all, by any of my computers.. My product name says GT-I9100 rather than SPH-D710. weird

hm.. if you can get into download mode try this guid out.. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1282415
Make sure you have correct drivers of course, make sure you try dif usb ports if possible and dif cables if possible.. maybe even a dif. odin

SocialReject said:
I can get into download mode but the phone isn't recognized at all, by any of my computers.. My product name says GT-I9100 rather than SPH-D710. weird
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you flash a rooted kernel, all our phones say GTI9100....

wase4711 said:
when you flash a rooted kernel, all our phones say GTI9100....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. Well, I've tried different drivers.. Even reinstalled Kies but the phone won't recognize at all. I'll try some more USB cords.

wase4711 said:
when you flash a rooted kernel, all our phones say GTI9100....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea.. it does say GT I9100 with a exclamation mark in a yellow triangle.. besides that, his phone still isnt booting lol.. all you need is to get your pc to see the phone.. when you open Odin and plug phone in while in download mode, you don't get a COM to light up?? try using different version of Odin.. try restarting your pc etc etc.. try another computer if possible too.. trial and error lol, id keep putting your phone into download mode too.. i had this problem with my OG Epic.. it took a while but I finally got it to read in ODIN

elliwigy said:
Yea.. it does say GT I9100 with a exclamation mark in a yellow triangle.. besides that, his phone still isnt booting lol.. all you need is to get your pc to see the phone.. when you open Odin and plug phone in while in download mode, you don't get a COM to light up?? try using different version of Odin.. try restarting your pc etc etc.. try another computer if possible too.. trial and error lol, id keep putting your phone into download mode too.. i had this problem with my OG Epic.. it took a while but I finally got it to read in ODIN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin can't recognize it because my computer doesn't even recognize it. I plug it in and go to device manager and there's no signs of it. Maybe it's the drivers, idk. I haven't even activated it to Sprint yet so I doubt that they help a "stranger"

Try a USB jig
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2

I heard usb jig only works if I can't already get into download mode.
Sent from the future.

can't wipe phone, reboots about 5 seconds into wipe, help?

The title really says it all...I am trying to wipe my phone to put on wicked 9.1 and try some new kernels, but every time I go into recovery and tell it to do a factory reset/wipe, the phone goes on like it is gong to wipe but then about five seconds in, it just reboots. Hours right back into the normal boot procedure and boots up fine like I never told it to wipe.
still pretty new to all of this, I mean I got clockwork recovery on and have learned to flat kernels kitchens and roms, but that's about it. I've never had a problem like this before, but I can't figure out what to do to wipe my phone.
IHave also tried just installing the new room and telling the installer to wipe, but then it just reboots when it gets to that point.
Is there a different way to wipe the phone? I don't want to lose my personal data such s photos calender etc, I understand I'll lost sms longer normal but I back those up so that is ok
Any help for a kind of newbie?
on advance

Also have tried going to Mount/format partition on recovery and manually formatting the data partition...same thing phone just reboots after a couple seconds and acts like I did nothing at all to it
If I was too go to factory reset in the settings menu while the phone is booted up normally what would happen? It scares me cuz it looks like it would kill everything
Oh and I screwed up and accidentally deleted my nandroid backup...yea I'm dumb

Download goo manager.
Hit menu.
Choose "install open recovery script".
Verify it has identified your device correctly.
Let it download and install TWRP.
Reboot into recovery.
Make backup using TWRP.
???
Profit.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

re: rebooting issue
asaqwert said:
The title really says it all...I am trying to wipe my phone to put on wicked 9.1 and try some new kernels, but every time I go into recovery and tell it to do a factory reset/wipe, the phone goes on like it is gong to wipe but then about five seconds in, it just reboots. Hours right back into the normal boot procedure and boots up fine like I never told it to wipe.
still pretty new to all of this, I mean I got clockwork recovery on and have learned to flat kernels kitchens and roms, but that's about it. I've never had a problem like this before, but I can't figure out what to do to wipe my phone.
IHave also tried just installing the new room and telling the installer to wipe, but then it just reboots when it gets to that point.
Is there a different way to wipe the phone? I don't want to lose my personal data such s photos calender etc, I understand I'll lost sms longer normal but I back those up so that is ok
Any help for a kind of newbie?
on advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the best and most surest way to get your phone ready to flash the "Wicked 9.1" or any other custom rom.
(You made a good choice of wanting to flash the Wicked 9.1 rom, it's the best custom rom currently available for our phones.)
Since the recovery mode (wipe) is not functioning properly you will need to Odin flash the stock rooted rom
before flashing any of the custom roms.
By doing the following you will NOT loose any pictures, videos or emails
and you will not loose anything which is on the internal or external sdcard.
You will as you said loose sms UNLESS you go to the play store and download sms backup/restore app.
Here is a link for the SMS backup restore app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...estore&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd
If you already have a backup/restore app like Titanium backup I would advise to backup all your apps first.
That way you will be able to restore the backup/restore sms app but you will be able to restore all your other
apps too after flashing the wicked rom.
After you backed up the sms using this app and after you have flashed the wicked rom you will need to
re-download this backup/restore sms app from the play store in order to restore your sms after you have
flashed the wicked rom.
This step by step is the best, most reliable and cleanest way to restore your phone to a stock rooted T999
and will get the phone ready for the new custom wicked rom to be flashed without any further problems.
Here is the step by step guide:
After you have followed these instructions your phone will be in the same condition
as it was the day you purchased it except for the benefit of being rooted.
Download the stock-rooted T999 firmware: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390169635556426451
After downloading it make a folder on your desktop and unzip the file
using Winzip or 7zip so the .TAR file is in the new folder you just made.
Download ODIN it's required for flashing the stock rooted firmware (a windows app) http://d-h.st/Q14
After it's downloaded extract Odin into the same folder you made containing the T999 TAR file.
Download the stock-rooted Odin flash firmware for the T999 Tmobile Galaxy S3
Run Odin by double clicking the Odin.exe within the same folder as the TAR file you extracted
Turn off your phone and boot into DOWNLOAD MODE (Volume Down + Home + Power Hold until phone powers up, then release and press Volume Up to enter Download Mode)
Once in Download Mode, connect the USB/Charger cable to the phone and plug into the USB port on your computer.
You should now see a COM** port listed toward the top-left of Odin (under ID:COM)
Click on the PDA button in the middle-right area of Odin.
Browse to and select the firmware you downloaded (TAR file)
Make sure Auto-Reboot and F. Reset Time are the only options checked and that PDA is the only other thing checked.
TRIPLE CHECK your settings and that you have selected the correct firmware for your model phone and are using the correct options.
If you are using a laptop, make absolutely sure you are plugged in, or if on battery, that it is charged enough and will not go into sleep mode during flash.
Click Start to begin the flash. This will take a while, so be patient!
Once complete, in the top-left box in Odin, it will say PASS and the phone should have automatically rebooted.
You may unplug the phone and close Odin if you wish.
Wait at least 5-10 minutes for the system to boot the first time and then build its cache! (It may seem to hang during boot, this is normal and you must be patient!!!)
Good Luck!

Didn't work at all...I'm fact, now I can't even boot into recovery it just reboots after a few seconds at the teamwin screen....
Also before I did this last thing with goo manager, I tried fixing permissions and the same thing happened it just reboots a few seconds after telling it to fix permissions in recovery
I'm really worried...I can't even get into recovery and I'm scared I'm gong to have a broken phone here shortly
Even worse my phone is my only internet connection right now

Misterjunky said:
Here is the best and most surest way to get your phone ready to flash the "Wicked 9.1" or any other custom rom.
(You made a good choice of wanting to flash the Wicked 9.1 rom, it's the best custom rom currently available for our phones.)
Since the recovery mode (wipe) is not functioning properly you will need to Odin flash the stock rooted rom
before flashing any of the custom roms.
By doing the following you will NOT loose any pictures, videos or emails
and you will not loose anything which is on the internal or external sdcard.
You will as you said loose sms UNLESS you go to the play store and download sms backup/restore app.
Here is a link for the SMS backup restore app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...estore&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd
After you backed up the sms using this app and after you have flashed the wicked rom you will need to
re-download this backup/restore sms app from the play store in order to restore your sms after you have
flashed the wicked rom.
This step by step is the best, most reliable and cleanest way to restore your phone to a stock rooted T999
and will get the phone ready for the new custom wicked rom to be flashed without any further problems.
Here is the step by step guide:
After you have followed these instructions your phone will be in the same condition
as it was the day you purchased it except for the benefit of being rooted.
Download the stock-rooted T999 firmware: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390169635556426451
After downloading it make a folder on your desktop and unzip the file
using Winzip or 7zip so the .TAR file is in the new folder you just made.
Download ODIN it's required for flashing the stock rooted firmware (a windows app) http://d-h.st/Q14
After it's downloaded extract Odin into the same folder you made containing the T999 TAR file.
Download the stock-rooted Odin flash firmware for the T999 Tmobile Galaxy S3
Run Odin by double clicking the Odin.exe within the same folder as the TAR file you extracted
Turn off your phone and boot into DOWNLOAD MODE (Volume Down + Home + Power Hold until phone powers up, then release and press Volume Up to enter Download Mode)
Once in Download Mode, connect the USB/Charger cable to the phone and plug into the USB port on your computer.
You should now see a COM** port listed toward the top-left of Odin (under ID:COM)
Click on the PDA button in the middle-right area of Odin.
Browse to and select the firmware you downloaded (TAR file)
Make sure Auto-Reboot and F. Reset Time are the only options checked and that PDA is the only other thing checked.
TRIPLE CHECK your settings and that you have selected the correct firmware for your model phone and are using the correct options.
If you are using a laptop, make absolutely sure you are plugged in, or if on battery, that it is charged enough and will not go into sleep mode during flash.
Click Start to begin the flash. This will take a while, so be patient!
Once complete, in the top-left box in Odin, it will say PASS and the phone should have automatically rebooted.
You may unplug the phone and close Odin if you wish.
Wait at least 5-10 minutes for the system to boot the first time and then build its cache! (It may seem to hang during boot, this is normal and you must be patient!!!)
Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks so much!!! by saying it didn't work at all, i meant the goo manager thing... i am just going to start trying what you've said here now...
thank you SO much, this is what forums should be about... thank you for not telling me to go search or stuff like that, cuz i didn't know what to search for or what i could even try at this point, and i don't want to risk ruining a phone i can't afford to replace!!
thanks again
will update on the results....

also what recovery is the best one currently? would you recommend the one that is installed by GooManager or should i go back to clockwork mod recovery? or the TWRP or whatever is it called?? just don't know enough about what is current... am a single daddy now and can't really afford that much time to muck about with my phone.... basically i take a night every couple of weeks to find out if there is a new ROM or Kernel that i could benefit from but i just can't seem to make/find the time to keep up to date on everything.....
thanks again!

re: flashing
asaqwert said:
also what recovery is the best one currently? would you recommend the one that is installed by GooManager or should i go back to clockwork mod recovery? or the TWRP or whatever is it called?? just don't know enough about what is current... am a single daddy now and can't really afford that much time to muck about with my phone.... basically i take a night every couple of weeks to find out if there is a new ROM or Kernel that i could benefit from but i just can't seem to make/find the time to keep up to date on everything.....
thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used both CWM and TWRP (goomanager) and TWRP for me is the best.
If I were you I would not mess with any kernels until you get a better understanding
about customizing your phone, flashing, adding mods, what kernels do and why many
people like to change the stock kernels to custom kernels.
I have tried all the custom kernels and I cannot see the purpose of doing so.
With custom kernels you can make the phone respond faster but then you
sacrifice battery life, if you want better battery life you can adjust these kernels
so they use less battery power but then you sacrifice the phone's responsiveness.
I think that the manufacturer of the phone got it just about right with the stock kernel.
A good balance between speed and battery consumption.
Good Luck!

OH MY GOD... what the hell do i do... i'm getting so choked here now...
tried ODIN, wouldn't work... it gave me the following output:
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> root66_TMO_T999UVDLJA.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/004> Odin v.3 engine (ID:4)..
<ID:0/004> File analysis..
<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/004> Initialzation..
<ID:0/004> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/004> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/004> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/004> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/004> FAIL! (Auth)
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
what do i do??? it won't let me do anything... i'm just freaking right out now...
whenever it tries to do anything with the data partition it seems to just force reboot.,..
any ideas? please help me here...

re: try this
asaqwert said:
OH MY GOD... what the hell do i do... i'm getting so choked here now...
tried ODIN, wouldn't work... it gave me the following output:
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> root66_TMO_T999UVDLJA.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/004> Odin v.3 engine (ID:4)..
<ID:0/004> File analysis..
<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/004> Initialzation..
<ID:0/004> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/004> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/004> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/004> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/004> FAIL! (Auth)
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
what do i do??? it won't let me do anything... i'm just freaking right out now...
whenever it tries to do anything with the data partition it seems to just force reboot.,..
any ideas? please help me here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this, do the same thing you done before but instead of using the stock rooted firmware
try this one: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390169635556426424
This is the 100% stock firmware WITHOUT root.
The firmware is identical to what all the T999 phones came with from Samsung.
If this flashes successfully you will need to ROOT the phone before you do anything else.
Right now your phone is in the same condition as it was before trying to flash the stock rooted firmware.
Good Luck.

sorry for the freak out post, i just actually AM freaking out.... when i was mucking about with ODIN i realized i had used it before with the SGS3 toolkit for snapdragon v2.1, so i figured maybe i could try to put a stock rom on that way, well all i could get on was a stock recovery, then i put on a CWM recovery using the toolkit and ODIN, and for whatever reason, that recovery will only read my external SD card and not my internal one, and will only let me flash off that... some how, and thankfully, i had a FreeGS3 7.1 rom on there that i was able to flash, as it wouldn't boot up at all after the failure with ODIN... now i got it booting into FreeGS3 7.1 but it is acting really odd... slower than anything, it's slower than my old HTC maple was, feels like an old phone on froyo or something....
so any other idaes? thanks for the help so far
p.s. about the kernels, i've had pretty good luck up until now with sticking with kernels by some of the really experienced devs, like morphic and faux123, and the biggest reason i want to muck about with them is so that i can undervolt my phone, and get a little longer battery life.... i can deal with a LITTLE bit of a loss of performance, as i rarely do much more than browse the web, text, email, and call on my phone, maybe read the news on the BBC app, and do other stuff like that, but no gaming ever, and don't watch much for video on it either, so i really can't tell the difference in speed too much if i have it set up for slightly better battery life
but at this point, i honestly just want it to work again! i just want to be able to wipe it and start from square one! i don't think i could even bring it back to the store for a warranty because they're going to obviously see that i had a different ROM on it than stock

Misterjunky said:
Try this, do the same thing you done before but instead of using the stock rooted firmware
try this one: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390169635556426424
This is the 100% stock firmware WITHOUT root.
The firmware is identical to what all the T999 phones came with from Samsung.
If this flashes successfully you will need to ROOT the phone before you do anything else.
Right now your phone is in the same condition as it was before flashing the stock rooted firmware.
Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before i do this, i'm just wondering if you have any idea why it might be acting this way? i just feel like i'm going to have the same kind of trouble i just had with this rom, as it was obviously having issues with wiping the data partition and/or another area.... i just don't want to muck about too much and end up with a brick... so any ideas why it is doing this and if there is just simply some sort of command i can use to force it to do a wipe, using ODIN or the toolkit, or something else? if so, i'd need some help getting it right, thats for sure
i also am using my phone to tether my computer, as we don't have internet at home for this month, so i really kind of need to know if something SHOULD work or if it is just a shot in the dark, beause if it is a shot in the dark and it fails and i can't get my phone booted again, then i can't even get on the net to post info and get more help.... i'll be screwed and i just realized that my boss wanted to call me in the morning, i thought he was calling friday morning not tomrw

asaqwert said:
before i do this, i'm just wondering if you have any idea why it might be acting this way? i just feel like i'm going to have the same kind of trouble i just had with this rom, as it was obviously having issues with wiping the data partition and/or another area.... i just don't want to muck about too much and end up with a brick... so any ideas why it is doing this and if there is just simply some sort of command i can use to force it to do a wipe, using ODIN or the toolkit, or something else? if so, i'd need some help getting it right, thats for sure
i also am using my phone to tether my computer, as we don't have internet at home for this month, so i really kind of need to know if something SHOULD work or if it is just a shot in the dark, beause if it is a shot in the dark and it fails and i can't get my phone booted again, then i can't even get on the net to post info and get more help.... i'll be screwed and i just realized that my boss wanted to call me in the morning, i thought he was calling friday morning not tomrw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I can think of right now is that you tried to flash some custom kernel or rom which
was not compatible with the phone if this is the case then that's what started the problem.
If the above is true then I would try to flash the STOCK kernel without trying to WIPE anything.
Here is the STOCK kernel you can flash in TWRP or CWM: http://dl.xda-developers.com/attach.../51821620/1/4/3/4/1/6/1/T999UVALH2-Kernel.zip
Try flashing this stock kernel first, if it does not help I would go ahead and ODIN flash the un-rooted stock firmware.
As long as you can get into download mode your phone is NOT bricked.
Good luck!

Did you try verifying the checksum?

First, yea checksum is all good
, that kernel won't download it just says error 410 - gone
other links?
,Honestly, I don't feel it is anything to do with the kernel...I think that something has changed some setting to do with the data partition or something
you do a factory reset/ wipe, what exactly does the phone wipe? Can I do this manually with adb or something? If so, how? Sorry to ask for this kind of help but I'm at my wits end, I'm honestly just about to lose it, the other reason I wanted to flash wicked 9.1 is that my phone was getting slow and unusable something was going on with it....I'm honestly almost in tears with this as I can't afford to buy anything right now and I need my phone to work for work, or I can't make ANY money, so right now I'm screwed. I've never had anything even similar to this happen before
Please help me get this back to working....as it is it is unusable and laggy to they point where I can't do much of anything....I'm actually at Tim Horton's on their Wi-Fi with my laptop trying to get it to work because my phone is so messed up

Factory reset wipes your data partition. And I guess some other things. What was it you tried to Odin? Was it stock UVDLJC? Try both Odin versions in my signature, as some people have had issues with the newer one.
I recommend trying that. Because if that doesn't work, my money is on hardware failure.

Aerowinder said:
Factory reset wipes your data partition. And I guess some other things. What was it you tried to Odin? Was it stock UVDLJC? Try both Odin versions in my signature, as some people have had issues with the newer one.
I recommend trying that. Because if that doesn't work, my money is on hardware failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm trying to flash basically anything that might help me be able to wipe my phone so that I can either go back to stock and warranty the phone if there are legit problems with the hardware, or what is more likely is that there is just some file that got corrupted and is forcing the phone to reboot when I try to wipe. In that car I just want to be able to wipe and install wicked 9.1.
Dos anyone have a working link to the stock kernel? The link provided above does not work
And are there any other ideas? I just find it hard to believe that there is a hardware failure when the phone has been working fine, just getting a little laggy, and honestly I just wanted to upgrade to the new wicked Rom....I just find it very hard to imagine that a hardware issue is causing me to not be able to wipe but I can still use the phone normally in every other way
Again, is there a way to manually wipe using adb ro some other program? If so how, and what exactly do I wipe and what do I leave alone? I've managed to copy everything I want to save over from my phone so I should be ok to format whatever I need to
Please help! And thanks again and thanks in advance
Oh and by ghee way Odin will let me flash a new recovery, it is only when I try to flash one of the two stock roms that were linked above that it errors out....I haven't tried anything else with Odin yet, not really sure how
I flash a normal Rom file with Odin? How so?

Aerowinder said:
Factory reset wipes your data partition. And I guess some other things. What was it you tried to Odin? Was it stock UVDLJC? Try both Odin versions in my signature, as some people have had issues with the newer one.
I recommend trying that. Because if that doesn't work, my money is on hardware failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh and when i go to the link for the older version of odin that is in your sig, it says that it can't find it....any help there?

this is what i got with the Odin 1.85 that i got from your sig... i got it working, was something in my hosts file blocking access to the site... my bad there
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> root66_TMO_T999UVDLJA.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
any ideas?
also, on the phone screen itself, it says the following:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SGH-T999V
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: Yes (5 Counts)
CURRENT BINARY: Custom
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE
SECURE CHECK FAIL: aboot
so any ideas what the crap is going on?

So do you have a t999 or a t999v?
You can access the proper t999v firmware from my signature.

s3 shutting off on its own and rebooting =/

So this problem just started today and came out of no where without any precursors. Worse thing is away from home working in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico without any real Tmo stores in the 5 hour vicinity.
My phone pretty much vibrates and turns on when battery is put in. Sometimes it will boot up, sometimes it wont. And when it does boot up, it will easily shut off or stay on for 10 minutes at the most.Tried a few other batts, but same thing. i even reflashed frosty rom and same thing.
I called tmo and they're working on sending me a phone as it is apparent that its a hardware issue- however it won't help my dependence on this phone as it I rely on it for work and daily duties.
I'm rooted via samsung toolkit and running frosty JB. I completely forgot how to revert back to stock as I am also using custom recovery from toolkit. Any direction? Also, will Tmo care if I leave the flashcounter untouched?

Yes they care if the flash counter is touched . use the search button or Google how to revert back to stock with 0 flash counter ..
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

can i just triangle away -> reflash stock recover thru odin via toolkit -> flash stock boot image via toolkit ....and done?

liberalswine said:
can i just triangle away -> reflash stock recover thru odin via toolkit -> flash stock boot image via toolkit ....and done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heres the tutorial http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2136921

ok why not go back to nandroid? its not a hardware issue there must be some kind of bugs

re: step by step info.
liberalswine said:
So this problem just started today and came out of no where without any precursors. Worse thing is away from home working in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico without any real Tmo stores in the 5 hour vicinity.
My phone pretty much vibrates and turns on when battery is put in. Sometimes it will boot up, sometimes it wont. And when it does boot up, it will easily shut off or stay on for 10 minutes at the most.Tried a few other batts, but same thing. i even reflashed frosty rom and same thing.
I called tmo and they're working on sending me a phone as it is apparent that its a hardware issue- however it won't help my dependence on this phone as it I rely on it for work and daily duties.
I'm rooted via samsung toolkit and running frosty JB. I completely forgot how to revert back to stock as I am also using custom recovery from toolkit. Any direction? Also, will Tmo care if I leave the flashcounter untouched?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can get the phone into download mode here is a sure fix for it, if you have a windows computer handy you
will need to use that OR you can go to the play store and download "mobile odin" and flash the stock rooted T999
rom without the need for any computers at all.
This guide will get your phone back up and running properly, doing anything else will just prolong your problem.
Easy and sure way to fix error 7 and other issues or problems - Here is the step by step guide:
After doing this you will end up with a stock-pre-rooted T999 Tmobile Touchwiz 4.1.2 rom which works properly.
You will not loose any of your pictures, videos or music by doing this.
Download the newest pre-rooted Samsung Galaxy S3 T999 Jellybean v4.1.2 rom: T999_UVDMD5
After downloading make a folder on your computer's desktop and unzip the
file using Winzip or 7zip so the .TAR file is in the new folder you just made.
Download and extract Odin into the same folder you made containing the TAR file
Here is the link for Odin: http://d-h.st/Q14
Download ODIN which is required for flashing the stock rooted firmware (a windows app)
Download the Odin Flash firmware for T999 Tmobile then copy it to the same folder as Odin
Run Odin by double clicking the Odin.exe within the same folder as the TAR file you extracted
Turn off your phone and boot into DOWNLOAD MODE (Volume Down + Home + Power Hold until phone powers up, then release and press Volume Up to enter Download Mode)
Once in Download Mode, connect the USB/Charger cable to the phone and plug into the USB port on your computer.
You should now see a COM** port listed toward the top-left of Odin (under ID:COM)
Click on the PDA button in the middle-right area of Odin.
Browse to and select the Firmware you downloaded (TAR file)
Make sure Auto-Reboot and F. Reset Time are the only options checked and that PDA is the only other thing checked.
TRIPLE CHECK your settings and that you have selected the correct firmware for your model phone and are using the correct options.
If you are using a laptop, make absolutely sure you are plugged in, or if on battery, that it is charged enough and will not go into sleep mode during flash.
Click Start to begin the flash. This will take a while, so be patient!
Once complete, in the top-left box in Odin, it will say PASS and the phone should have automatically rebooted.
You may unplug the phone and close Odin if you wish.
Wait at least 5-10 minutes for the system to boot the first time and then build its cache!
(It may seem to hang during boot, this is normal and you must be patient!!!)
Good Luck!

umm, well i was able to setup and root the new phone that came in.
However, i'm having issues loading the stock .tar file I downloaded through Odin and receive this message:
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)
I also was unable to flash stock recovery file via odin and received the same message. Any thoughts?

re: Odin flash
liberalswine said:
umm, well i was able to setup and root the new phone that came in.
However, i'm having issues loading the stock .tar file I downloaded through Odin and receive this message:
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)
I also was unable to flash stock recovery file via odin and received the same message. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a lot of people who don't have a tmobile T999 phone but instead they have a I9300 I hope you are not one of those people.
Everything found here in this thread pertains to the T999 Tmobile S3 phones. (sorry about having to make this comment but I just had to)
Forget about flashing stock recovery file with ODIN that was not part of the step by step instructions.
Only follow the step by step or things may get more complicated.
Did the [COM:XX] light up green or yellow in Odin after you plugged it into the usb of the computer before you started the flash?
BE SURE YOUR PHONE IS A Galaxy S3 Tmobile T999 (or you might end up with a shiny brick).
Unplug the usb cable from the phone before anything else and do NOT change any of the default settings in Odin.
#1: Open Odin
#2: Put the TAR file into the PDA slot in Odin
#3: Put the phone into download mode
#4: Connect the usb cable from computer to the phone
#5: Be sure that the [COM:XX] lights up in Odin
#6: Start the flash and have patience it may take up to 10 minutes
Good luck!

I was able to get it connected after trying out several different USB ports as the main culprit. But now Odin has been stuck for an hour and a half...
<ID:0/006> Added!!
<ID:0/006> Odin v.3 engine (ID:6)..
<ID:0/006> File analysis..
<ID:0/006> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/006> Initialzation..
<ID:0/006> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/006> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/006> boot.img
I'm not sure if I should let it sit longer. It has been exactly one hour, 32 minutes. What to do...?

re: try this.
liberalswine said:
I was able to get it connected after trying out several different USB ports as the main culprit. But now Odin has been stuck for an hour and a half...
<ID:0/006> Added!!
<ID:0/006> Odin v.3 engine (ID:6)..
<ID:0/006> File analysis..
<ID:0/006> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/006> Initialzation..
<ID:0/006> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/006> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/006> boot.img
I'm not sure if I should let it sit longer. It has been exactly one hour, 32 minutes. What to do...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should not take any more than at most 10 minutes. No need to let it sit there not doing anything.
Perhaps the TAR file got corrupted during the extraction or perhaps for whatever reason the
actual download of the rom got corrupted during downloading.
If I were you I would re-download the T999 stock rooted rom again and start all over, be sure you delete the
download which you first downloaded as to not make a mistake and use the first download.
Be sure that your battery is charged, if the battery is too low it may not want to continue the Odin flash.
So turn off the phone and plug it into the WALL charger it will charge 20% faster than usb, let it charge
for at least 45 minutes before trying to flash again.
Good luck.

i'm trying once more. The download file seems legit. =/

You can also find the firmware and a lot of info in my thread. Link in sig.
Do you have kies installed? If so get rid of it. It screws with Odin.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Currently stuck in this process:
<ID:0/006> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> T999UVDLJC_T999TMBDLJC_T999UVDLJC_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/006> Odin v.3 engine (ID:6)..
<ID:0/006> File analysis..
<ID:0/006> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/006> Initialzation..
<ID:0/006> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/006> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/006> aboot.mbn
its been about 12 minutes

It's been over 30 minutes again and this is beginning to frustrate me. Everything looks good, but Odin just seems unresponsive and doesn't get anywhere past the firmware installation. I've tried two different stock firmware downloads. One directly from the tutorial previously listed, and one updated through samsung toolkit. Not sure what's going on and I need to return this phone back to Tmo

That sounds like a problem a lot of people have when kies is installed. If you don't have it installed you may want to try reinstalling the latest usb drivers. Ill post the link in a few mins.
For now though, be patient and see if it fails out. Avoid interrupting the process unless absolutely necessary.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Just uninstalled kies though I'm not quite sure if it's culprit here. Re attempting, i hope this works otherwise I'm out of options to getting my phone back to stock in time.
Does any one know if tmo/samsung really checks the phone once my "defected" unit is sent back?

liberalswine said:
Just uninstalled kies though I'm not quite sure if it's culprit here. Re attempting, i hope this works otherwise I'm out of options to getting my phone back to stock in time.
Does any one know if tmo/samsung really checks the phone once my "defected" unit is sent back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies also contains the USB drivers, so you will probably need to reload those.
Here is the link to my drivers folder. Latest version I have is 1.5.23.0.
http://androidfilehost.com/?a=show&w=files&flid=1368

re: Odin flash.
DocHoliday77 said:
Kies also contains the USB drivers, so you will probably need to reload those.
Here is the link to my drivers folder. Latest version I have is 1.5.23.0.
http://androidfilehost.com/?a=show&w=files&flid=1368
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About 5-6 or so posts ago I told liberalswine to uninstall kies, reboot computer and I gave him the official samsung
link for the proper usb drivers, I am not sure if he already uninstalled kies and & installed the samsung usb drivers
and if he rebooted the computer one more time before trying to odin flash the stock-rooted T999 4.1.2 firmware.
It's really strange that he is having so much trouble flashing the firmware with Odin
unless the actual TAR file is corrupted in one way or another.
I already told him to re-download the firmware and try the odin flash again a couple hours ago.
Just thought to let you know.

re: don't understand the question
richadorsey4 said:
Do we need to uninstall the stock app to flash this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to give you a informed answer, but your question lacks any specifics,
I just don't know exactly what you mean or are talking about, looking back at some
previous posts here I see nothing that pertains to uninstalling any apps.
Try to ask your questions with a lot more details so we can know what exactly are asking about.

Misterjunky said:
About 5-6 or so posts ago I told liberalswine to uninstall kies, reboot computer and I gave him the official samsung
link for the proper usb drivers, I am not sure if he already uninstalled kies and & installed the samsung usb drivers
and if he rebooted the computer one more time before trying to odin flash the stock-rooted T999 4.1.2 firmware.
It's really strange that he is having so much trouble flashing the firmware with Odin
unless the actual TAR file is corrupted in one way or another.
I already told him to re-download the firmware and try the odin flash again a couple hours ago.
Just thought to let you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any official FW will have an md5sum that Odin will check. If using anything else its wise to always check the md5 on dev-host or AFH and make sure what you download matches.
As for drivers, Sammy doesnt release the usb drivers as a standalone install, only with kies. Never found them anyway. Also forgot to mention, that link you posted is bad, so you may want to recheck it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

[Q] Flashing 4.4.4 in N910V Odin FAIL

I don't think this has already been answered here but this is my problem.
So I bought the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 from Amazon brand new with Lollipop 5.0.1 already preinstalled. After using it for a while I've noticed lag in Google Maps and the Google App. I then watched and read some tutorials about how to downgrade to KitKat 4.4.4 and using Odin, I successfully rolled back with no problem.
However, I was facing OTA update notifications quite frequently and I knew there was a way to turn them off I just never bothered to do so. Eventually I hit update on accident and I was forced to wait for the update to finish knowing that I could easily rollback to 4.4.4 right after. Well, once Lollipop finished it's 5.0.1 update (same one I had before), I headed back onto Odin, wiped cache partition using plain recovery mode, then went into download mode to prepare to flash 4.4.4 like I've done previously. Unfortunately, Odin said FAIL and no matter what I've tried it would always say FAIL. I've tried different USB ports, different USB cables...nothing. I then tried to root my device using CF Auto Root through Odin hoping to get TWRP and install CM12.1 , to which I was greeted with another FAIL in Odon. I am not sure why this is happening since I have done this before and it worked no problem. I doubt that my bootloader is locked because its the same 5.0.1 update that I had previously. I will post the FAIL details of Odin later when I get computer access since I am typing this on my phone.
Please help.

densmenace said:
I don't think this has already been answered here but this is my problem.
So I bought the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 from Amazon brand new with Lollipop 5.0.1 already preinstalled. After using it for a while I've noticed lag in Google Maps and the Google App. I then watched and read some tutorials about how to downgrade to KitKat 4.4.4 and using Odin, I successfully rolled back with no problem.
However, I was facing OTA update notifications quite frequently and I knew there was a way to turn them off I just never bothered to do so. Eventually I hit update on accident and I was forced to wait for the update to finish knowing that I could easily rollback to 4.4.4 right after. Well, once Lollipop finished it's 5.0.1 update (same one I had before), I headed back onto Odin, wiped cache partition using plain recovery mode, then went into download mode to prepare to flash 4.4.4 like I've done previously. Unfortunately, Odin said FAIL and no matter what I've tried it would always say FAIL. I've tried different USB ports, different USB cables...nothing. I then tried to root my device using CF Auto Root through Odin hoping to get TWRP and install CM12.1 , to which I was greeted with another FAIL in Odon. I am not sure why this is happening since I have done this before and it worked no problem. I doubt that my bootloader is locked because its the same 5.0.1 update that I had previously. I will post the FAIL details of Odin later when I get computer access since I am typing this on my phone.
Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is that if you are on 5.0.1 and take a newer update, you can no longer roll back to 4.4.4. This is why there is a debloat program to prevent the OTA updates. I was in the same boat - got a new GN4 which came preinstalled with 5.0.1. I decided not to install the SIMM card and set the phone up instead over wifi so Verizon wouldn't see it until I had protected myself against the forced updates. I hope I'm wrong in that there is still a way for you to roll back to 4.4.4. Good luck.

Happen to use on sprint they locked our bootloader kies don't even work no more

This is the detailed info I receive upon failure of flashing CF Auto Root.
Code:
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> recovery.img
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> cache.img.ext4
<ID:0/003> FAIL! (Auth)
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Also in the top left corner in red it says "SECURE CHECK FAIL : recovery
What does this mean? Is there a way I can flash anything on my Note 4?

The latest OTA from Verizon prevents users from being able to downgrade the Note 4. That's why it fails in odin. No going back now.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

outcasted2003 said:
The latest OTA from Verizon prevents users from being able to downgrade the Note 4. That's why it fails in odin. No going back now.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got this failed message when I attempted to update, now I'm stuck with the phone only booting into Odin Mode where it says "Software Update Failed" How can I recover from here? Any help is very much appreciated.

I'm assuming you had stock verizon retail lp build ending in OF1 or OG5? If it was then you can NOT downgrade or flash the note 4. The only way to fix it that I know of is to run the Verizon Upgrade/Repair Assist Program.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk

Galaxy SGH-I747 on 4.2.2 ROOTED Softbricked after AT&T OTA

Had stock AT&T SGH-I747 at Android 4.2.2 rooted with chainfire working fine. Today an update installed automatically and now I'm dead.
At first, it would show the Samsung logo and maybe another, then just go black.
Now normal booting, or attempting to boot into recovery gives: "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
If attempt to boot into download mode, it succeeds. But everything will end up with "FAIL!" in Odin and show "fused 3 > binary 0" on the phone. I've tried multiple Odins: v3.10.6, 3.09, 3.07 and multiple recoveries (Clockwork 6.0.4.7, etc.) and stock ROMS (UCALG1, UCDLK3).
Even Kies "Firmware Upgrade and Initialiasion" option, where you enter in SGH-I747 and the serial number will go through all the motions and then fail, with the same "fused" message showing on the phone.
Grendelin had the most similar situation (I can't post external links yet, but you can get to it at http:__androidforums.comthreads_at-t-gs3-at-t-issues-after-downloading-newest-update.860382_ by replacing _'s with /'s) as me but the difference is that he was able to flash a recovery image which led to further restoration.
Please help. If it's not possible to recover this, I would just like to get a couple years' worth of pictures from /sdcard/DCIM/*.

When you boot into download mode, do you see anything about warranty bit?
You could try and flash TWRP using Odin, then boot to TWRP and mount the data partition to see if you can copy the data from the phone to your computer.

audit13 said:
When you boot into download mode, do you see anything about warranty bit? You could try and flash TWRP using Odin, then boot to TWRP and mount the data partition to see if you can copy the data from the phone to your computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried TWRP (specifically twrp-2.8.7.0-d2att.img.tar) using Odin and it gave all the usual signals that it's working before the box turns red and it says "FAIL!" on it. Here's its log in case it's useful:
Code:
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialization..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload
<ID:0/003> recovery.img
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Yes download mode does mention the waranty bit. Here's the full text:
Code:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SGH-I747
CURRENT BINARY: Custom
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE
Warranty Bit: 1
BOOTLOADER RP SWREV: 3

Are you using version 3.07 of Odin? Did you uncheck everythign except f.reset time before flashing?
What about flashing Philz Touch for the d2lte? I was suggesting TWRP because you may be able to re-flash a rooted nj1 system and boot img.
I asked about warranty bit to make sure that the phone was running a 4.3 or newer bootloader. As you may know, the 4.3 bootloader cannot be downgraded so you can't flash anything from sammobile.

Yes, 3.07, and there were only two things checked, "F. Reset Time" and "Auto Reboot". At your suggestion I unchecked the latter but it appeared to have no effect on the flashing success.
Can't get to philz's dev files at the moment since his page at goo.im is down.
I don't understand what is meant by 4.3 bootloader. Isn't 4.3 referring to the Android version? While Android lists the bootloader version in its properties, Android in principle shouldn't be concerned about what lower level, hardware specific bootloader brought it up, should it?
I really need my phone back

dreamluvr said:
Yes, 3.07, and there were only two things checked, "F. Reset Time" and "Auto Reboot". At your suggestion I unchecked the latter but it appeared to have no effect on the flashing success.
Can't get to philz's dev files at the moment since his page at goo.im is down.
I don't understand what is meant by 4.3 bootloader. Isn't 4.3 referring to the Android version? While Android lists the bootloader version in its properties, Android in principle shouldn't be concerned about what lower level, hardware specific bootloader brought it up, should it?
I really need my phone back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really hate to tell you this but I don't think your going to get this fixed yourself. If Odin is failing like that your probably going to need a debricking service that can flash your emmc directly. If you can get a recovery back on then you'll be fine cause you can then flash firmware to repair the damage the OTA did. Keep trying I guess but ultimately you'll probably need the debricking service.
When bootloaders are refered to as 4.3 or 4.4.2 is just referring it to the OS version they came with in the OTA. And while on a pc this is true windows isn't dependent on the lower lever firmware, Android kinda is... least the OEM's have made it that way.

Most people say that if you can reach download mode then you're OK. I can't believe this ****ing phone is just going to sit here and reject everything that's sent to it. In some cases I'm sending it stock stuff.
It's bull**** that AT&T can just impose their updates like this. Yes I had modifications that probably interfered with their intended update, but they obviously exercised no caution, not checking that everything was in their expected state before overwriting.
I'm upset that I supported a gimped device, one that's cryptographically preventing user modifications when it's user paid for.
Is there no hope in simply making a disc image, mounting it, and recovering /sdcard/DCIM ?

I had a similar problem a week ago. I got this i747 and decided to wipe it using kies. I didn't know about the boot loader problem after the kitkat OTA upgrade. So I had a soft brick like you. I ran into the same problems using Odin to flash the twrp tar and various other images. What I decided to do was flash twrp multiple time using odin. But during one of the reboots I think I removed the cable and put it back (maybe even pulled the battery?) in time for odin to check and say it was successful. Then i had a semi-functional twrp to flash the rooted ucfnj1 image from the i747 dev forum. I still have root issues, but my phone works.

bump before I mail it off to unbrick service
looking for any ideas
short summary: canNOT boot into recovery, CAN boot into download, but Odin always fails and phone says "fused 3 > binary 0"
EDIT (Sept 8, 2015): I used mipick22's JTAG services on ebay and he fixed it. Good price, good communication, etc. Says he's a member on here but didn't give his username.