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Hi all,
this is the 3rd time this is happening to me with different ROMs. The problem is:
The phone boots up normal, I can swipe to unlock, enter my PIN, but after pressing OK it won't unlock the SIM. If I lock the screen it won't come back on. It stays black whatever I do. After some time the phone reboots (soft reboot) and everything starts from the beginning.
The first time this happened I was using Modacos Ir9. I had the phone switched off over night and switched it on. Only thing that seemed to help was completely unrooting the phone and rerooting it again.
The second time I was using codeworkx CM9 Builds and tried to update. I restored my nandroid, but it kept happening. Flashing the XXKK1 Radio did the trick here.
Now it is happening again. This time I installed dropbox and the phone froze on the setup wizard...
I don't want to unroot the phone, it takes forever to restore the SD card.
Any advice on this one?
Update:
- Flashed the following radio images without any success: XXKL1, KRKL1, UGKL1 and XXKK1
- Used my older nandroids from CM9 and Modaco Ir10. NOT WORKING
- Wiped every nandroid. NOT WORKING AT ALL
- Reflashed CM9 and Ir10. Still NOT WORKING
I'm so lost I'm going to revert to stock and unroot... and try how far I can throw an 1 month old GNx from the fourth story.
I don't know much on the development part so I don't know why its doing that I can only suggest using odin and going back to stock.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I had similar problems with mine once. Only thing that helped me out wasn't unrooting though. A complete factory reset was enough to make me go on again.
I posted a thread here then to ask people if anyone experianced the same but got no reaction what so ever zo I guess "we" are a dark minority.
I don't know what it caused it or what the solution might be but a Factory reset did it for me.
Good Luck!
C-4Nati said:
I don't know much on the development part so I don't know why its doing that I can only suggest using odin and going back to stock.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time it was working again after reverting to stock. But I bought it to use Custom Roms
I would say go back to stock w/ odin, Wipe everything and start again.
Diger36 said:
I had similar problems with mine once. Only thing that helped me out wasn't unrooting though. A complete factory reset was enough to make me go on again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory Reset wasn't helping unfortunatly.
Flashed the original factory image through fastboot. Now everything is working again. I'm restoring my SD backup now and will try to get CM9 working again.
If it would keep failing in stock I could return the phone. Now I'm left with "hopefully it isn't happening a fourth time" and "My phone doesn't work I need 4 hours to get ich working"
the_alien said:
Factory Reset wasn't helping unfortunatly.
Flashed the original factory image through fastboot. Now everything is working again. I'm restoring my SD backup now and will try to get CM9 working again.
If it would keep failing in stock I could return the phone. Now I'm left with "hopefully it isn't happening a fourth time" and "My phone doesn't work I need 4 hours to get ich working"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fastboot flash stock google images. And your phone isn't bricked. Stop using the term wrong. It's most likely a software issue or you're doing the rom flash procedure incorrectly.
A bricked phone is a phone that is unaw to go into bootloader and recovery mode and cannot start android.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
zephiK said:
Fastboot flash stock google images. And your phone isn't bricked. Stop using the term wrong. It's most likely a software issue or you're doing the rom flash procedure incorrectly.
A bricked phone is a phone that is unaw to go into bootloader and recovery mode and cannot start android.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for using the term wrong, I thought it just referes to broken phones.
The ROM flash is correct and it runs for some time and the problem occours after a few days... the only thing that helped was reverting to factory images and after that restore the nandroid from the "broken" Rom.
So the Rom works... than keeps crashing, I do a nandroid backup and only a factory image stops the crashes. But the Rom keeps working after I restore it.
I can't see why this could be a hardware issue. And I can't see how I should explain it to the store "Yes, it is working but not with custom roms, and I bought the Nexus because of custom roms..."
the_alien said:
Sorry for using the term wrong, I thought it just referes to broken phones.
The ROM flash is correct and it runs for some time and the problem occours after a few days... the only thing that helped was reverting to factory images and after that restore the nandroid from the "broken" Rom.
So the Rom works... than keeps crashing, I do a nandroid backup and only a factory image stops the crashes. But the Rom keeps working after I restore it.
I can't see why this could be a hardware issue. And I can't see how I should explain it to the store "Yes, it is working but not with custom roms, and I bought the Nexus because of custom roms..."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm willing to bet an app is causing it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
One of my colleagues had this issue with an early CM9 build on his Nexus S - turned out it was an app that is incompatible with ICS. Every time it tried to launch a notification, poof. So I would have to side with Josh in the post above mine.
A way for you to verify / discredit this theory would be : When you say it works with the stock ROM, are you re-installing everything you have when you are on stock? My understanding from what you've written above is that you're only getting your full suite of apps back when you restore your (presumably custom ROM) nandroid backup...
Potterified said:
One of my colleagues had this issue with an early CM9 build on his Nexus S - turned out it was an app that is incompatible with ICS. Every time it tried to launch a notification, poof. So I would have to side with Josh in the post above mine.
A way for you to verify / discredit this theory would be : When you say it works with the stock ROM, are you re-installing everything you have when you are on stock? My understanding from what you've written above is that you're only getting your full suite of apps back when you restore your (presumably custom ROM) nandroid backup...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can't be any app or ROM because IF it happens, it happens on all ROMs, regardless of wipe or not.
It just happened again and i wiped everything and tried using AOKP MS 3. Wasn't working... So I tried using the phone without the SIM card, because the hell only breaks loose after entering my PIN. And it worked. I could use the phone...
I put it back in and it worked...
I'm restoring my CM9 nandroid right now. I'm hoping it works...
edit: Nope, ripping out the SIM doesn't work. I'm reverting to stock and wait what happens. If it crashes again I'm trying to return it.
Hey everyone,
So this is my last ditch effort to attempt to save my device. I would really prefer not to perform another warranty exchange given that I am not under insurance, but I'm afraid I have no choice.
My phone was rooted and I was using Darkside without issues, as I had been for the past two weeks. I am always careful when I flash roms and I made sure to follow every possible protocol. That's the background information.
My battery life was running at approximately 6 percent yesterday and I sent a text message as normal, and it was stuck at sending. I tried turning wireless data off from the toggles in the pull-down and it was unresponsive. When I went to Wireless Network in the settings option, my phone rebooted. Once it started up again, my service would not come back, and the phone would continually bootloop once it got past the traditional "media scanner running", etc. My window of opportunity to do anything was really slim.
I charged my phone to see if it made a difference, but it didn't. Tried with my SIM card removed and it still bootlooped. I was able to get to CWM from the advanced power menu before it rebooted again and I fixed permissions and cleared cache and dalvik. Now the phone wouldn't even get past the boot animation before rebooting.
I put the phone into download mode and reverted back to stock using Odin. The phone now got past the boot animation in stock mode, but was unable to find service and after about 10 seconds fell into the same bootloop pattern. I tried removing the SD card but that didn't help either. Using Odin again, I reflashed recovery, followed by root and tried reinstalling a rom through CWM (I have only used regular CWM, not the touch version) with a superwipe to ensure a clean flash. Once again, it wouldn't make it past the boot animation before bootlooping. I reverted back to stock using Odin, and this is where I stand.
I have tried all traditional methods to salvage the phone and, for the life of me, I cannot understand what happened. The only thing I notice is that regardless of how long the phone stays on before rebooting, it is never able to find service. It's like the radio or modem broke and the phone has no other choice but to restart forever. But reflashing the stock UVKL1 should also reflash the proper modem and radio, right?
Has this ever happened to anyone? Any suggestions (aside from the typical reverting to stock) as to how I might be able to stop it? I searched but haven't been able to find a situation quite like this one. Thanks in advance for your help.
Really sorry to hear about your problem. Assuming the 2.3.6 stock image you flashed via Odin is the one provided by Przekret and that that didn't work, then I'd try one or both of these two longshots to try to clear possible corruption problems in either the kernel or modem spaces:
For each of the following wipe cache and Dalvik cache in CWM before flashing and again wipe Dalvik afterwards and also fix permissions:
1) Format system (do this 3x) under mounts & storage in CWM. Flash the standalone Darkside kernel X v1 final immediately after flashing, e.g., the current Darkside rom. (You'll need to wipe data, too, if not coming from a Darkside rom. Do not do any Superwipe - neither the standalone version nor using a flag.)
2) Flash the KID modem (do this 3x). Both Odin- and CWM-flashable versions are available. (You can always flash back to KL1 if the problem is fixed.)
Hope this is clear. It's late! These are both things that have helped get my phone out of troubles, though not as bad as yours. Good luck!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Also if u used the one from przekret then I'm almost positive that Odin package flashes the new radio too. If memory serves me right. Op let us know what happened
Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, nothing has worked. I'm on the phone with T-Mobile, I see no other solution but to get it exchanged under warranty and it's not getting here until March 15th, according to the representative. I suppose I'll just use a replacement phone in the meantime. It's just really weird and frustrating... I could understand a bad flash or something similar, but I followed every step accurately as I always have and everything was working just fine until it randomly decided to die without warning.
Well since you're getting another one anyways I would continue trying to fix this one, just in case you come up with a solution and for another worst case scenario for your new phone.
Powered by the SGSII....
I think your efs folder got corrupted. Its scary to see this happening so often. Many other users have also reported corrupted efs ....
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
shehrammajid said:
I think your efs folder got corrupted. Its scary to see this happening so often. Many other users have also reported corrupted efs ....
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive me for asking, but what is the EFS folder?
I cannot get passed the samsung galaxy s2 screen. When i go to recovery it takes forever to try to wipe cache and system and comes up with miscellaneous red text problems. I have never had this happen and have flashed roms since this phone came out. Does anyone know how to get passed this??? I even odined back to various versions of os to included EK02, EL29, EL29 ROOTED, using one clicks and regular odin. Is there anyway to get passed this problem. I looked all through the forums and still can't get the phone to boot. Please help
Were you trying out CM9/AOKP? Did you do wipe data/factory reset in an ICS kernel?
Yes... I was trying the AOKP :-( I was tired so i may have used clockworkmod to wipe while on ics kernel. I know i should have used mobile odin to change kernel, I had no problem going from ics to ics or ics to GB with AGAT's . Have a made a fatal mistake? You knew exactly which rom i was trying. I know not to do that but i may have on accident. Can i get passed this? I can only get to the samsung galaxy screen. and then it turns off and comes back on. Even with the phone off and on charge... The battery charge icon shows up frozen
Can you get to download mode?
Try to boot into download mode from a cold boot, if you can do that I would suggest using ODIN, the flashing god, to restore your phone back to a stock ROM. Preferably EL29, then if that is successful use ODIN again to flash FF11.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I can get to download mode but when i use OC it gets stuck shortly before the modem flash. I have been successful in using 1.85 with the EL29 tar but it still does the same thing. I will try ff11 to see if that works. So many red text errors in recovery. Sometimes i can wipe data sometimes i can't. I even got to a point where i actually used nandroid to restore my backup of wicked sensations ff11 (which i was success doing a few times before the brick) I will try again... with your suggestions. Thank all of you trying to help. This is very frustrating
UGH!!! Tried the FF11 one click and it still stops at the datafs portion! Just freezes. Going to wait a year to download the odin tar from slow file factory and hope that brings some progress... If anyone knows how to get past this, it would greatly be appreciated
That doesn't sound good. Sorry man. Some people have had luck pulling the battery and leaving out our for a few hours then trying the oneclick again. Sounds like you're hard bricked though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
You're bricked my friend ... there goes another victim
There's a bug in the EMMC firmware that causes the phone to lockup when certain mmc erase operations are done. This basically causes a superbrick which can't be fixed at this time.
The best you can hope for is to map around the problem, which is some effort and you'll always feel you phone isn't complete.
I would suggest you get it replaced.
What is considered mapping around the problem? Is there any way i can return to sprint or will that be a no go seeing how i can't reset the binary counter (as far as a know) without a jig? It is really stranger because i can odin back using a tar but one click odins freeze at data img. I can even get to different recoveries and some are functional for wiping cache and data, even restoring nandroid but once i get to the galaxy s2 screen it's game over. And of course when charging the phone the battery logo is frozen
mremale said:
What is considered mapping around the problem? Is there any way i can return to sprint or will that be a no go seeing how i can't reset the binary counter (as far as a know) without a jig? It is really stranger because i can odin back using a tar but one click odins freeze at data img. I can even get to different recoveries and some are functional for wiping cache and data, even restoring nandroid but once i get to the galaxy s2 screen it's game over. And of course when charging the phone the battery logo is frozen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, exactly the same.
Does any of this add up to yours? What's happening completely sucks. :/
My once bricked....
mremale said:
It is really stranger because i can odin back using a tar but one click odins freeze at data img. I can even get to different recoveries and some are functional for wiping cache and data, even restoring nandroid but once i get to the galaxy s2 screen it's game over. And of course when charging the phone the battery logo is frozen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing is strange about it. The area of flash the /Data partition is mapped to is corrupted at the wearlevelfs level, something that cant be fixed by JTAG. From what I have seen there are 2 levels, the blue light of death and then able to get to recovery and download. The causes are pretty well known, known by Google and some parts of Samsung before we even knew about it.
Have you tried using ODIN to go back to EL26? sometimes EL29 doesn't work when i flash back to that version.
First off, thank you ALL for your replies and attempts to help. It is very appreciated! I odin'd to pretty much every kernel and rom i could. Some got me further than others. The end result was still the same. I get to see either the frozen battery charging icon or samsung galaxy s2 logo and nothing else. I did finally find a stock unrooted EL29 md5 (since everyone is on the one clicks these days) and was able to odin back to stock unrooted with no yellow triangle in hopes that my visit to sprint doesn't bad. This sucks, i can't believe i am hard bricked yet i can odin, get to recoveries, and even flash roms as well as nandroid restore. I looked into the Jtag thing i the post before this one says that's a no go too. Hopefully someone will have a miracle fix or sprint has a heart...
Think those of us with this problem are pretty much screwed...
If this helps anyone out there who may have an answer for me... I had just clean installed AOKP-39 and had a barrage of force closes... I went back into recovery (Actually didn't try flash from ics to ics or ics to gb) to wipe data, cache, ect... and that was the end of my glorious Epic 4g touch! Don't wipe anything people... If you can manage to open mobile odin through all the bs force closes, head back home that way!!!! Still hoping someone has the all spark for my Epic
mremale said:
If this helps anyone out there who may have an answer for me... I had just clean installed AOKP-39 and had a barrage of force closes... I went back into recovery (Actually didn't try flash from ics to ics or ics to gb) to wipe data, cache, ect... and that was the end of my glorious Epic 4g touch! Don't wipe anything people... If you can manage to open mobile odin through all the bs force closes, head back home that way!!!! Still hoping someone has the all spark for my Epic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, so it looks like you had a bad download of AOKP or a bad flash (they happen) and in your panic forgot to Mobile Odin back and instead you reflashed AOKP from the stock recovery?
Sorry to hear about the brick. It's definitely a good lesson for newer members to read. If you have insurance, at least you'll only have to shell out $60 or so.
Yeah, i think it may have been a bad flash. I don't know what the deal was with all the force close notifications. I didn't try to flash back, i tried to do a wipe and then the trouble came. It was bad after that, so i tried to flash and it was the same situation
To those who have recently suffered a brick due to this issue I will kindly suggest still consider taking your phone to Sprint to ask for replacement. It certainly doesn't hurt to try. As a fallback contact Samsung and you can ask them to fix/replace under warranty.
And just to clarify - is there anyone before this rash of bricks that didn't or wasn't able to get their E4GT replaced? Just curious because it seemed like just about everyone was good.
I have figured out that there is something wrong with my phone only when I have CWM5/6 flashed. So this leads me to believe that I need to clean out anything at all that is being left behind after certain flashes. (I get past my unbootable pixelated screen with one ROM that uses the original recovery)
So my question is how can I totally obliterate any and all files left behind or that were damaged by something from a custom flashed ROM?
On top of this question, I am wondering what ROMs are out there in the .tar.md5 file format so that I could use Download Mode to flash another ROM and at least have a working phone??
I find all the ROMs available but only in .zip format.
Sammy firmwares and use Odin.
http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
Return phone to LITERAL factory state
I guess I should have been more clear.
What I mean that I would like to do, is to wipe out ANYTHING on the phone. Completely blank it as if it just rolled off the line. Then install the entire hidden partitions that samsung would do plus then add a new firmware.
The reason is that I cannot use CWM6 and my phone is an expensive paper weight right now. The problem arises from the fact that there has only been one ROM that actually worked for me from the beginning. That is the Bio360, and well originally the factory setup. Since I cannot use CWM and cannot flash a zip which Bio360 comes in. I have no way to enjoy the ROM or my phone for that matter. I have spent about a 100 hours flashing in all sorts of order and arrangements of kernels, ROMS and recovery files using every odin program I could find. Plus I have done about an equal amount of searching in between trying to figure out what has caused the issue. However, since my issue is localized then I would like to return my phone to LITERAL factory state.
Is it possible to format EVERYTHING and rewrite all of the necessary files? THAT would be a complete wipe by my definition.
Thanks for any help people.
I repeat Sammy firmwares had the stock files for you to flash via Odin. It is what you are asking for. Flash one of those roms then do a factory reset or format all partitions. Should be all nice and clean.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
dudejb said:
I repeat Sammy firmwares had the stock files for you to flash via Odin. It is what you are asking for. Flash one of those roms then do a factory reset or format all partitions. Should be all nice and clean.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a backup of \efs before attempting to format everything.
dudejb said:
I repeat Sammy firmwares had the stock files for you to flash via Odin. It is what you are asking for. Flash one of those roms then do a factory reset or format all partitions. Should be all nice and clean.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I already have all of the stock firmwares, but the thing is that that only flashes the actual software that a user uses daily. There is still boot software, recovery files and others within the hidden partition. A bit like a laptop keeps a partition or seperate small hard drive specifically just for a recovery and wipe clean of everything.
I was hoping that perhaps there is a possibility of startin with a clean slate, then re-writing all pertinent information back into the device, then putting the stock ROM etc back.
Again, the reason that I was thinking this would be my last hope is that everytime I use the CWM or anything other than a single ICS with a particular order of flashing the Cranium kernel without Auto-Reboot and then using the NAND Erase All and the other two checked can I get a ROM to work. The challenge is that now after I have got the phone back up and running without the CWM and with ICS is that it will not read a SIM card. I was thinking it was a hardware issue until after another 10 hours of trying various arrangements of flashable files, I finally got the device to not only boot into ICS, but after leaving it for 6 hours I 'awoke' it and it had loaded all the files and I got past the, black screen with pull down menu. I finally had a ROM that worked again even after my green and red pixelated screen issue. That leads me to believe again that it must be a software issue again. Not a hardware.
Thus leading me to think about any other options to literally start the device from scratch. Boot loading files, hidden files, etc etc. Literally EVERYTHING.
Excuse me, this might be a silly question, but as I've read no mention of it: Have you tried KIES?
Many a borked phone has been saved by an emergency recovery through KIES, or so I've been lead to believe. Perhaps it can help you in some way?
Seeing how you're the only one reporting this problem it seems far more likely to be a hardware issue. Maybe your internal drive is damaged? But I do hope I'm wrong in that regard. Anyway, if you haven't already, give KIES a try. It seems impossible to make things worse than they already are.
Good luck!
PS: You could also try the ICS-Leak, as it's a one-click executable containing bootloaders. Might fix whatever's messed up...?
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
Evil Alex said:
Excuse me, this might be a silly question, but as I've read no mention of it: Have you tried KIES? ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I borked my Glide trying different ROMs a little while back and Kies is what brought it back to life. There is an option for firmware updates right below the emergency recovery option that asks you for the model and serial number of your phone. Takes a while but I watched it repartition and flash the hidden partition during the process. Brought the software back to out of the box. HTH.
EaglesIII said:
Thanks for the reply. I already have all of the stock firmwares, but the thing is that that only flashes the actual software that a user uses daily. There is still boot software, recovery files and others within the hidden partition. A bit like a laptop keeps a partition or seperate small hard drive specifically just for a recovery and wipe clean of everything.
I was hoping that perhaps there is a possibility of startin with a clean slate, then re-writing all pertinent information back into the device, then putting the stock ROM etc back.
Again, the reason that I was thinking this would be my last hope is that everytime I use the CWM or anything other than a single ICS with a particular order of flashing the Cranium kernel without Auto-Reboot and then using the NAND Erase All and the other two checked can I get a ROM to work. The challenge is that now after I have got the phone back up and running without the CWM and with ICS is that it will not read a SIM card. I was thinking it was a hardware issue until after another 10 hours of trying various arrangements of flashable files, I finally got the device to not only boot into ICS, but after leaving it for 6 hours I 'awoke' it and it had loaded all the files and I got past the, black screen with pull down menu. I finally had a ROM that worked again even after my green and red pixelated screen issue. That leads me to believe again that it must be a software issue again. Not a hardware.
Thus leading me to think about any other options to literally start the device from scratch. Boot loading files, hidden files, etc etc. Literally EVERYTHING.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have faced the same problem.. after trying to update to ICS my sim is not recognized, even in GB.. It recognizes a new sim but stops working after 20-30 mins in GB... let me know if Kies sorted this out for u.
mrigancb said:
I have faced the same problem.. after trying to update to ICS my sim is not recognized, even in GB.. It recognizes a new sim but stops working after 20-30 mins in GB... let me know if Kies sorted this out for u.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the freeze problem, i try a lot of think (kies doesnt even start to flash), maybe is because the storage from rogers is only 4gb and the rom try to access like a 8gb storage, i dont know, when i flash GB, in the recovery menu, i see a meesage that cant access something. I hope someone can help us. Only ICS works, but, without root or any custom recovery.
I think that it need a clean install, atotal wipe.
THe Kies Give me this error, so i cant try if that can fix the problems
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/411/errorkies.jpg/
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
dokgu said:
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Elesbb. If the goal is jus tto get back to stock, just do an odin flash of the stock ROM. Be advised if you flash the latest Kit Kay update you will nto be able to go back to Jelly Bean. From your post it seems like you are partial to Jelly Bean. So if that's what you want, but sure you use the stock 4.3 ROM. You can find it around here on XDA somewhere with a quick search to make sure you have the right one.
As Elesbb said, you won't loose the 'sim unlock'. But you will lose root. However you can root the stock ROM just fine.
You might also consider one of the myriad of TouchWiz based custom ROMs. They are look just like TouchWiz that your wife wants, but have a lot of optimizations and options in them. Those should flash just like any ROM. If you still get the reboot issue then do the Odin back to stock, reroot, then flash the custom TW roms.
---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------
Thread cleaned.
Rather than bashing a ROM or user let's keep on topic and help the OP resolved the problems he's having. Arguing over the virtues of a ROM doesn't help anyone.
Thank you,
Rwilco12
Before posting this thread I sent the aforementioned guide's poster (arocker). He sent me a reply saying not to use gapps as the stock ROM for Metro PCS already comes with Google apps. I'll try his suggestion first and see if the phone still reboots a lot.
If the problem persists, I will try the solutions mentioned here. Thanks a lot!
elesbb said:
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
dokgu said:
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello PanchoPlanet,
Thanks for the link. I went ahead and tried to unroot without Windows (Mobile Odin) as per the instructions on the link. I downloaded everything and went ahead to install the Mobile Odin APK. When I ran it to install the Flash Kernel, the app told me that the device is not supported.
To my understanding the guide is for M919 devices but should work for my wife's device as well (M919N - Metro PCS). I would like to try the guide for using Windows but I'm not really expecting for it to work or I might mess it up more. I'll try to search some more and provide the links where this forum will lead me to. But if you have any ideas, please let me know asap. Thanks!
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, here's what I found:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446497
It seems like the perfect thread for what I am trying to achieve. Will let you guys know if it is successful. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. Gonna catch some sleep.
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Android_Monsters said:
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And 100% of the time, they eventually just get old.
dokgu said:
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a wierd situation, by swapping batteries you basically performed a battery pull, which acts as a reset, that in it self may have cleared your issue.
Now if battery is bad that could be an unusual problem. Maybe just replacing the battery will be the end of your mystery.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
The batteries are all the same. Don't worry about that.
Even if its a new battery if could have just been bad. A manufacturing defect perhaps.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
dokgu said:
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This battery thing is wacky, anyway swapping batteries should not be a problem, it's just an energy storage container. Pulling the battery isn't like powering down the phone or resetting/rebooting ,sometimes devs request a battery pull to get the proper wipe effect that reboots can't provide.
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
PanchoPlanet said:
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite literally solved the vast majority of my problems this way.
Its a preferred method.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
Sometimes it's that "total disconnect "of power that kind of gets all the ducks lined up in a row and everything flows in the dynaflow.
Good.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
its very important topics and it might seen for every galaxy s4 users.just wonderful topics.
This exact same thing happened on my mother's 6-month old S3. If you're still wondering, you could try putting the old battery and running a CPU stress test app. It should increase the current draw and trigger a shutdown.
EDIT: whoops, sorry to kind of zombie. Didn't check the date.
Sent from my Galaxy S4