Hello.
I am writing here as i am hoping that one of You experienced android users will be able to help me to fix my phone (i8150).
I am rather new to android and so far i have been following instructions very carefully and it wasn't the very first time i was flashing rom.
I did rooted my phone, flashed CWM Recovery via adb, used titanium backup, root explorer etc. Also its been long time since i started using Kezra V4 rom with ICS theme, unmodified vold.fstb. I never ever had any issues with the phone or rom.
To make things as clear as possible i will start with the brief info on what i did to my phone last week.
Last weekend (a week ago) i did a fresh install of Kezra v4 rom with ics theme, original vold.fstab, root explorer and launcher pro (placed in system/app).
Flashing process went fine, no errors in CWM (and yes i did wipe dalvik, cache, formatted system). Several apps were restored with titanium. Phone and rom were working as intended, no signs of slowdowns, errors etc.
Couple days latter i decided to add 1 ringtone and 1 notification sound. Both are ogg files and were placed to system/media/audio/ringtones and notifications. I did remember to mount as r/w change permissions and remount it as r/o. I rebooted phone once but i didn't see new ringtone or notification sound on the list so i rebooted it again. After second reboot the phone booted without any problems but once the system was loaded touch screen stopped to respond and the phone froze. I rebooted it again and this time everything went back to normal.
Yesterday i tried to copy new Kezra rom to my INTERNAL sdcar in order to flash it with CWM. But instead of that i stumbled upon a problem that is beyond my knowledge and comprehension. I DID NOT FLASH ANYTHING AT THIS POINT AS I LOST ACCESS TO CWM
- CWM Recovery disappeared - when i am trying to boot to CWM my phone turns off. There is very very very quick flash of the screen showing recovery but that is it.
- when copying 270mb rom to INTERNAL sdcard it stops at 10% with message that the file can not be read
- when copying smaller files, files are being copied from pc to phone but once the phone (usb storage) is disconnected from pc the files that were copied to internal sdcard are not there as if they were never copied
- i can copy files from external sdcard to internal sdcard with rootexplorer but after rebooting phone the files are gone from internal sdcard
- i can install any app from market or from sdcard but after rebooting, the installed app is gone, it doesnt exist in data/app, the cache files on internal sdcard are gone as well and the installed app is not on the list
- i can take pictures and if they are saved to internal sdcard they vanish after rebooting phone
- if i change any settings of the phone (volume, brightness, wifi settings, any settings) after rebooting phone the settings that i changed are reverted to the state from before rebooting
- i did try to delete those 2 files - ringtone and notification sound from the system/media/audio/ringtones and notification but after rebooting the phone they are still there not deleted (i do remember abot mounting r/w r/o and permissions)
- after formatting internal usb storage (settings/storage/format usb) and rebooting phone all the files are there - as if it was not formatted at all
- after formatting internal usb storage from pc and rebooting phone all the files are there - as if it was not formatted at all
- after "factory reset data" and rebooting phone nothing has changed as if it has not been reseted
- i tried to update superuser binary (my binary is 3.0.3) via wifi - there is new ver 3.0.3.2(ok), update(ok), downloading(ok),
gaining root(ok),remounting /system as rw (ok), md5sum(ok), changing file mode to 06755(ok), moving su (ok), checking md5sum(ok),
remounting /system as ro(ok), installed ver 3.0.3, update failed - superuser message -> "this updater cannot update the su binary on phones that have some kind of write protection on the system partition like S-ON"
Now i guess you are wondering if the phone works. Yes it does.
- it is eu phone bought in England and used in England
- the phone is not assigned to a network carrier, it is not locked in any way - network lock (off), network subset lock (off), SP lock (off), CP lock (off)
- I can make/receive calls and messages
- wifi, g3, tethering, bluetooth, gps, camera etc. are working fine
- all the applications including new apps are working fine as long as i don't reboot phone.
- I don't experience any slowdowns, crashes or freezes
- I have access to system files via root explorer, the phone is rooted
- i don't get any messages that file system is write protected
- rumdump works
- download mode works
Here is what i tried so far:
- flash CWM Recovery via adb but after rebooting i still have no access to recovery (no errors in adb - process completed)
- flash original stock recovery via adb but after rebooting i still have no access to recovery (no errors in adb - process completed)
- flash CWM Recovery via ODIN but after reboot i can not boot to CWM
- flash stock rom I8150XXKK1 via ODIN - no changes to rom. Phone is loadin the old rom
ODIN Explanation:
In both cases of flashin CWM and stock rom i followed the procedure step by step with and without automatic reboot. ODIN says that flashing is done and PASS. During automatic reboot phone doesnt reboot it only turns off. After manual reboot phone is loading old rom (Kezra V4 installed a week ago) and there is no sign of CWM.
So now i am wondering:
- is it software or hardware issue
- how can i identify and isolate the problem
- how to make the phone to save the changes after reboot
- how to get a working CWM Recovery so i can flash the phone
- How to make ODIN to flash the phone
What do You make out this?
Man.....I am so sorry.
I have never seen such a well documented OP...
Congrats on that first!!
I really am at a loss as to what to suggest, as you have covered so many bases yourself.
Just to me, looking again at your post, I don't really think those .ogg files have anything to do with it.
It seems your problems originated with flashing the Kezra Custom ROM.
To lose your Recovery Partition must mean some data corruption introduced by the flashing process.
I know you have flashed stock with ODIN, this was One Package??
I am not sure, but I think there may be Stock ROM which has seperate files.......???
It is just a suggestion, perhaps someone else may know.....
At least this will bump your post!!!
All I can say further is best of luck....hope it can be solved.
Also, there also is return for repair to Sammy.....as we say in Ireland.... Play the eejit!!
Sent from my SGW GT-I8150 using Tapatalk!!
Thanks Irish for taking your time to reply.
Well... yes i did my best to make the post as much descriptive as possible due to the nature of the issue itself.
When it comes to ODIN it was one file only. I didn't try with multiple files.
I don't think that ogg files itself are the source of all that mess. On the other hand i wouldn't blame Kezra rom.
As you noticed i tried to track down the time and place when it happend and how it all started.
It may be a coincidence but i suspect that "ogg glitch" (keep in mind that was the very first fail reboot and system crash of my phony since i bought it) has something to do with it. Why? All the settings, apps etc. in the phone are as they were set on Wednesday 28.03 including Alarm set to 8:00am. Same day "ogg glitch" occurred. Betwene Wednesday and Now no flashing has been done except all the mentioned steps (failed) that i have taken in order to restore my phone. Every time i reboot the phone, all the setting, apps etc. are being reverted to the state from before "ogg glitch"
Another thing is the message given by superuser while trying to update su binary. "Some kind of write protection like S-ON". (at this point i didn't have time to do a in depth search on "S-ON")
Now... i am not an expert but it makes me wonder... is it?
- internal phone memory (the chip itself) is corrupted or damaged
- the file system of internal memory is corupted
- system partition is corupted
- there is an issue with root access and permissions
- while copying ogg files to /system/... i made a mistake at some point and set wrong mount rw/ro and wrong permissions
- is such thing as "recovery loop" possible - after every each reboot the phone is "restored" to the state from before "ogg glitch"
When it comes to return to Samsung... The phone is not only working but is rooted, has a custom rom... She is not a VIRGIN mate.
Sorry, I didn't mean to say that Kezra's ROM is at fault......phew...nearly got into trouble there.
I meant that during the flash of the ROM, there may have been an event, loss of power??? which has caused corruption of the Partition system on your phone??
I know there is no locked Bootloader on our phone, which is what s-on indicates....usually HTC phones have/had this....hence problems with flashing Custom ROM's Recovery......
Somehow, your phone has got into a state which mimics locked bootloader, has to be corruption, IMO.
If you can locate ODIN files to flash separately, maybe will work, but I'm not sure..
As for returning to Samsung......
there is a thread here somewhere, Rio Saputro, where Sammy has accepted phones with boot-loops back for repair, due to hardware issues, so I am not sure haw much checking they do!!!
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
jbs.sc said:
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, your phone is not bricked.. Just download the Asian firmware from the development thread (it will have multiple files inside the package) and flash it through Odin (look for flashing process for multiple file package), you will be good to go.
Sent from my Novo704FC-E2 using Tapatalk
I have already tried multi part asian firmware provided by THE-E.
Same thing as with one file firmware.
With auto reboot phone just turns off and doesn't turn on.
Without auto reboot... well it just stays on and that's it.
After manual reboot i am back to the old rom.
I am using odin 4.43
Should i try other versions?
I do have factory gurantee on my phone till 2013 and if they won't accept it...
oh well s*** happens... not for the first nor the last time in my life. There is no fun of modding without a risk.
jbs.sc said:
I can still access download mode but i think i wont be able to flash anything.
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GTI8150
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT KERNEL: UNKNOWN !!
Irish would You be so kind and compare that info with your downlod mode please?
Otherwise i think i will have to return my W to Samsung.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi friend.....
Not sure what your current state of play is, but my download mode was exactly as you have quoted above.
see this from last Christmas,
when I was in despair.....symptoms very similar to what you have now, after failed ODIN flash....I had no recovery and my phone would not boot, just download mode, as you have above.
However, I solved it pretty easily, after modifying my ODIN settings.
Unfortunately THE-E's instructions said "unmark Auto Reboot"......which is not correct.....
this meant the Flash never completed.......
See here for my celebratory post, much relieved...
This was very much like your recent experience.
I think there may be some hope/help for you there!!!!
Let me know......bast of luck......
Irish,
I did try with auto reboot marked. When ODIN starts the procedure of auto reboot the phone turns off but it doesn't turn on. ODIN waits for the phone till the flashing is completed and says PASS but the phone stays turned off anyway.
Btw. Perhaps i should use KIES to try to update and brick my phone.
I would have a valid reason to claim warranty
jbs.sc said:
Irish,
I did try with auto reboot marked. When ODIN starts the procedure of auto reboot the phone turns off but it doesn't turn on. ODIN waits for the phone till the flashing is completed and says PASS but the phone stays turned off anyway.
Btw. Perhaps i should use KIES to try to update and brick my phone.
I would have a valid reason to claim warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK.....I think that was my last shot......I am out of ideas!!!
Maybe post screen shot of ODIN procedure if you can??
I can't remember how my phone reacted after PASS and Reboot, but that doesn't sound right.......
Can you post the ODIN Message output.....just so ppl can compare and perhaps help.
OK i tried to flash it again just to take screenshots. And again same thing.
OK.....just have a look at my thread here.......
which is a pdf of the Service manual I "procured"
There is something there about ODIN, which Samsung use as well....
I just noticed a little thing when using multiple files.....
they have also set the " Reset Time = 300" for their Flash.......
P.21....or [6 Level 1 Repair]........
the pdf files are a little out of sequence!!!!
Also, try flash without SD or SIM card inserted.....
Irish,
Just to let you know. I did what you suggested.
Flashing with timer, without sim card and without external memory did't help.
As far as i remember someone had similar problem, unfortunately solution was never found.
I think when it comes to ODIN i run out of options.
Thanks for all the help and assistance.
OK......out of suggestions here!!
It is just such a pity.....
download mode normally means "no brick-can flash"
Sorry we could not fix.....next move?? Sammy??
Best of luck anyway!!
Sent from my SGW GT-I8150 using Tapatalk!!
Did you try to flash only boot img? Not sure if that's possible but it looks like your boot is messed up.
Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
I dont think it makes any difference what am i flashing.
Whether it is software or hardware problem it prevents phone from auto rebooting (and applying any changes made during flashing process)
Not only during ODIN auto reboot but also from download mode reboot (once in download mode you can press volume down button to reboot phone)
Just thinking if you try to do it part by part and not whole firmware in 1 go. But if you manage reflash image boot hope you should by fine
IS the android recovery menu stored in the bootloader?
Does the bootloader corresponds to the file boot.img on SP FLASH TOOL?
I have an alcatel 7047 xpop c9 (with MT6582M processor) . It power on and automatically goes to android recovery menu and there is no way to let it exit from this mode or to power off because the battery is not removable.
It seems that the problem appeared during an upgrade, because the battery discharged during the process.
Today i tried to use SP FLASH TOOL version 5 in order to write the flash, included preloader, boot, recovery etc., by using a backup for this phone found on internet. After flashing everything i tried to reboot the phone but each time the same menu is shown.
Question: does the boot.img file overwrites the bootloader? How could I understand what is the problem? Could I enable some print or log, even remote logging, in order to better understand what is going wrong?
Yesterday i also tried the upgrade tool from alcatel website (it reloads all the original files but the result is the same).
EDIT: i was able to open the case, remove the battery and replug it, but the problem is still the same: Reconnecting the battery and powering the phone, it automatically goes in the recovery menu.
Wow
Wow, no reply. Is it there someone hereeeeeeeee?
gaucho1978 said:
IS the android recovery menu stored in the bootloader?
Does the bootloader corresponds to the file boot.img on SP FLASH TOOL?
I have an alcatel 7047 xpop c9 (with MT6582M processor) . It power on and automatically goes to android recovery menu and there is no way to let it exit from this mode or to power off because the battery is not removable.
It seems that the problem appeared during an upgrade, because the battery discharged during the process.
Today i tried to use SP FLASH TOOL version 5 in order to write the flash, included preloader, boot, recovery etc., by using a backup for this phone found on internet. After flashing everything i tried to reboot the phone but each time the same menu is shown.
Question: does the boot.img file overwrites the bootloader? How could I understand what is the problem? Could I enable some print or log, even remote logging, in order to better understand what is going wrong?
Yesterday i also tried the upgrade tool from alcatel website (it reloads all the original files but the result is the same).
EDIT: i was able to open the case, remove the battery and replug it, but the problem is still the same: Reconnecting the battery and powering the phone, it automatically goes in the recovery menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just discovered your post. Have you solved the issue?
First of all, the recovery image is not stored in the bootloader...whatever you meant by that. It is stored in the recovery partition. The boot.img is NOT the bootloader. It is the kernel. And it is stored in the boot partition. Those questions simply sound like you are trying to figure out why your phone is booting into recovery. Even after you have restored the STOCK ROM using Alcatel's Mobile Upgrade S.
My first thought was that you have no system image or that your custpack partition is corrupted. But those issues would lead to a boot loop or you would just hang on the boot logo and not move forward. Plus you restored the stock ROM. So that's really strange that you're booting only into recovery each time.
However what is more likely is that you are not starting your phone correctly. I once had a lady with the exact same issue. Her phone developed this strange problem where it would only boot into recovery. Her phone was completely stock. She never did anything with her phone except use it like a non-techie would use their phone. She didn't even know what recovery meant. All she knew was this strange menu always appeared when she started her phone.
BUT, when I booted her phone...guess what? It booted up just fine! But with her, her phone would always boot into recovery. You know why? I watched her boot her phone. She had developed a new habit every time she started her phone of inadvertently applying pressure on the Volume UP button while she was turning on her phone...because it was on the opposite side of the phone from the power button.
It's really weird that the problem persists even after you flashed back to stock. If that's the case, my only other guess is that your motherboard is damaged, or perhaps it's not you who is holding down the vol+ button...maybe it's just stuck.
NO ONE?????
ODIN --> Flash Stock Recovery (AP) with NAND Erase All Option Checked (because it seemed to make sense) + Auto Reboot + F. Time Reset --> Reboots to Stock Recovery (did not work before) --> Reboot into Recovery --> Wipe Data/Cache and Dalvik just to be safe (this crashed it before) --> Reboot. THE END
TL/DR: I am currently stuck on recovery/update mode. Any attempt to wipe data or clear dalvik crashes it. any attempt to access data through TWRP crashes it. Flashing stock rom or custom rom does not help. Somethings wrong with /data? It thinks it has root from the CF Auto Root, but does not really? Something wrong with partitions? Should I wipe the nand with ODIN 3.10? Repartition? ugh ... Please help ...
I have searched the forums and found nothing that describes this issue precisely. I have also tried to apply various suggestions to repair, which, for the most part seems to have made it worse. I am hoping that people still look at this forum.
PC - Windows 7
Initially @4.2.2 ---> Touchwiz debloated stock ROM which I rooted. It worked for a couple years, but the device crashed frequently. I do not recall much about the installation, but believe that I used CWM/TWRP at the time. After installing the ROM, I ran triangle away (out of the box, it had 4.1.2, i recall)
I decided to upgrade to the most recent stock ROM (4.4.2). In order to do so, I used an easy installer I found else where on XDA. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2773712 ---ODIN One Click exe). The device was not initially recognized, so I reinstalled the official driver package (said that they already existed, but I installed again anyway). Ran 1-click and it appeared to work.
Initially, the device booted (long startup) and seemed to function. It also preserved all data and programs (presumably did not touch the internal memory - 16 GB) and possibly root /data.
I then tried to root through most recent ODIN with CF auto root. This appeared to work and rebooted (again, showing the updating android apps screen before fully booting).
The only thing that i could find that had changed was the wallpaper (showed on lock screen but not on home screen). I could no longer find the image, so tried to go to /data/data to find it with root explorer equivalent. This is where it started to act weird.
NOTE: I did not clear anything (system cache, etc. at any point)<--a lie (see below)
It showed the root folder fine, but when I clicked on /data it took a while and could not access it. It either rebooted itself or I rebooted, but this time it was stuck in a boot logo loop. I entered download mode and flashed TWRP through ODIN. I set it to not reboot automatically so that the bootloader was not overwritten automatically (thus losing recovery). TWRP came up. The computer recognized it as a Media Device after I mounted USB storage. Just in case, I copied all of the important files from the internal SD Card to my computer. I then tried to go to the file explorer to copy the wall paper and it forced a reboot. At this point it was stuck on a logo screen boot loop again. I was able to enter Download mode and reflash TWRP. This allowed me to enter recovery again, however, now it would only boot directly into recovery (or Download mode if I did the button combo). The interesting thing was that it would reboot two or three times before successfully entering TWRP.
I believe I tried to reflash the stock ROM at this point, which might have worked but made no difference.
I was also having a lot of problems getting Windows to properly recognize the device. I had to reinstall the drivers a couple times. I tried Kies after the problems started and it tried to connect by failed. The diagnose connection did not work either. I was not able to get Kies to connect though I tried several times throughout the attempted repair
I downloaded a stock-rooted 4.4.2 ROM from here and tried to flash it. It failed.
I also tried to flash via Heimdall, but initially could not find any stock ROMs for Heimdall for the Galaxy 8. (The driver utility that is included helped to get the phone recognized by Windows sporadically).
I decided to switch over to CWM touch recovery, which I flashed via ODIN (I was having issues with TWRP again and also could not get windows to recognize the device as a media device when I mounted USB storage). This worked after a couple tries and I was able to enter CWM. I attempted to flash the stock ROM but it failed. Either at that point or when I tried to mount data it returned an error that device did not have root. Again, it would only boot into CWM (on its own) or Download mode (with key combo). At some point around here I cleared the cache and dalvik (error) after it returned an error saying insufficient space when trying to flash ROM.
I dissected the .exe from the autoflash used in the beginning (stock unrooted 4.4.2) and used the contents (system.img, cache.img, hidden.img, tz.img, recovery.img and one other I do not remember) in Heimdall to create a Heimdall package. At this point I figured out I did not need to create the package, but just specify the individual files. I flashed. It appeared to complete System.img successfully and then failed. Tried again with the same result.
Now when I rebooted, it would enter download mode with the Key combo, but otherwise it booted instantly to an error screen to the effect that a firmware installation had failed and to use the repair function in Kies to fix. Kies still did not recognize it.
At this point, I figured I should stop. Currently I can get to the download screen or the error screen. The computer recognizes it but intermittently fails to install driver. Zadig.exe sees it as Gadget Serial. Sometimes Windows just sees it as SAMSUNG_Android, in which case drivers fail. Once or twice I got it to recognize it as Samsung USB Composite Device, but Kies would still not work.
That's all i have for now. If more information is needed, let me know and I will update the post when I get home from work tonight (this is from memory).
Thank you
UPDATE: last night I went home and was able to get it back to the point where I could flash TWRP or CWM recovery. If I try to flash Stock Recovery, it fails. A minor problem is that I cannot turn it off - it just turns it self on again, so the battery keeps running down.
Hi,
Using latest Odin I am trying to return to my phone to stock but cannot
I have tried 4 different firmware’s already (over 20 times) and each one will PASS the flash process, phone rests, installing system update (stops at around 30%) and during the blue screen the update stops, resets, receive Erasing message for a bit and then NO COMMAND and phone will simply not boot. (with some flashes the stock recovery is not even available, working or present)
... only way to boot the phone is to install TWRP... installing the NO VERITY file seems to help in booting…
I have noticed when i plug the phone is it comes up as another device name (from a previous ROM) so i am guessing it hasn't been wiped correctly (i did formats, factory resets, wipes many many times and no change)
Back in DOWLOAD MODE under system status = CUSTOM (after flashing stock firmware)
My guess is that the new firmware I flash simply wont stick, or is half installed, or could be something to do with encryptions,
Some of the logs I see include:
Failed to open recovery
Reboot recovery cause UNKNOWN
E: Failed setting up dirty target
Fail to mount /system as rw
i have no idea what else to try
Need info on phone model and current firmware and firmwares you are flashing etc
I'm trying to install LineageOS 17 on a OnePlus 6.
I can boot into twrp and the install process appears to work successfully. I can swap slots and install into either slot.
When I reboot the phone I get to the screen that says "Start" and "Fastboot mode" at the top. If I try to start the phone it comes back to this screen. When I go back into twrp, the contents of /sdcard is empty. I can copy over files using adb push, install the rom and then reboot. However, every time I reboot it seems like it completely wipes the phone including the install it's just done and /sdcard is also wiped.
When I booted into twrp previously, it required my unlock code. It now no longer does that. I wonder if this is part of the problem?
If I install just oxygenos, it takes me to the oxgenos recovery screen but I cant' do anything from there. I'm guessing that won't allow me to boot with an unlocked bootloader?
Can anyone advise how I can get out of this? Installing anything using twrp looks like it works, but it's like it gets wiped every time I reboot.
I can't even seem to get OxygenOS back to working.
Can anyone give me some tips on where to go from here? Nothing I can do from TWRP seems to help. I have tried wiping everything in both slots and reinstalling oxygen, no luck
Still stuck?