Develop Bugs

[Q] Phone bricked, no ODIN access! E: Unable to mount '/data'

Hello all,
Quick background - my wife's T-Mobile S4 went kaput on our honeymoon last night, but I was at least able to save some of her data. The problem now goes to installing a new ROM on her device.
I have wiped EVERYTHING and formatted the data, but when I install ANY ROM (I've tried multiple), I always get the E: Unable to mount '/data" error. Normally, I would just ODIN the stock tar, then install a custom recovery again and then the ROM, but I only have my work computer for the rest of my honeymoon and I don't have administrative access to run ODIN (you might not think it requires it, but if you're only a standard user then you cannot bypass UAC to run it).
Does anyone have any ideas on how to get this to mount? The phone will not boot past the "Samsung Galaxy S4" screen. I've tried going into TWRP and mounting Data but it will not work.
Any help is greatly appreciated! Please keep in mind that I don't have access to ODIN!
- Taxmaster

Taxmaster said:
Hello all,
Quick background - my wife's T-Mobile S4 went kaput on our honeymoon last night, but I was at least able to save some of her data. The problem now goes to installing a new ROM on her device.
I have wiped EVERYTHING and formatted the data, but when I install ANY ROM (I've tried multiple), I always get the E: Unable to mount '/data" error. Normally, I would just ODIN the stock tar, then install a custom recovery again and then the ROM, but I only have my work computer for the rest of my honeymoon and I don't have administrative access to run ODIN (you might not think it requires it, but if you're only a standard user then you cannot bypass UAC to run it).
Does anyone have any ideas on how to get this to mount? The phone will not boot past the "Samsung Galaxy S4" screen. I've tried going into TWRP and mounting Data but it will not work.
Any help is greatly appreciated! Please keep in mind that I don't have access to ODIN!
- Taxmaster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a twrp issue. Try grabbing the cwm flash able zip and adb push to the sd card and then use twrp to install it. I've read so many issues about twrp. I recommend staying away from it. Philz touch recovery is really awesome too.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

elesbb said:
Sounds like a twrp issue. Try grabbing the cwm flash able zip and adb push to the sd card and then use twrp to install it. I've read so many issues about twrp. I recommend staying away from it. Philz touch recovery is really awesome too.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! I actually downloaded Philz touch recovery in both .zip and in .md5, so that is what I intend to go with. The issue is how I push it using adb, as I believe I need to install something in order to do so, but I don't have any administrative privileges! This is what's preventing me from running ODIN in the first place!
Can you confirm that I can push using adb without installing anything?
Thank you! - Taxmaster

I had this issue. Odin flashing and then booting into "STOCK RECOVERY" after flashing and then a factory reset in the stock recovery followed by a fresh re-flash from Odin worked to get my phone back up and running again.
I don't know how you are going to be able to fix it by just flashing a recovery. I tried for hours and could not get it to boot from just recovery alone.

Monkz said:
I had this issue. Odin flashing and then booting into "STOCK RECOVERY" after flashing and then a factory reset in the stock recovery followed by a fresh re-flash from Odin worked to get my phone back up and running again.
I don't know how you are going to be able to fix it by just flashing a recovery. I tried for hours and could not get it to boot from just recovery alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you noted would be my plan if I had admin rights to my computer, but since I cannot get ODIN, I'm screwed at the moment. I'm hoping someone can assist with the "adb" proposal, however I'm not sure one can download/run adb without installation or prompt from UAC

Taxmaster said:
What you noted would be my plan if I had admin rights to my computer, but since I cannot get ODIN, I'm screwed at the moment. I'm hoping someone can assist with the "adb" proposal, however I'm not sure one can download/run adb without installation or prompt from UAC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe admin is required for adb... You could always try it... worst thing that could happen would be nothing.

lordcheeto03 said:
I don't believe admin is required for adb... You could always try it... worst thing that could happen would be nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using ADB does not require admin privelages, however, if your computer does not have the necessary drivers to detect the device in recovery, then you will have to install the drivers, which then yes UAC is required. HOWEVER, if you have another phone or device that supports MicroSD cards, you can just pop in the MicroSD into a working device and transfer the zip that way, then transfer back the sd card and flash

elesbb said:
Using ADB does not require admin privelages, however, if your computer does not have the necessary drivers to detect the device in recovery, then you will have to install the drivers, which then yes UAC is required. HOWEVER, if you have another phone or device that supports MicroSD cards, you can just pop in the MicroSD into a working device and transfer the zip that way, then transfer back the sd card and flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did exactly what's noted above --> took out the SDcard, put it in another phone, transferred over the .zip, put it back in her phone, went to TWRP, wiped everything on the device, installed the .zip, and rebooted into recovery from TWRP, and then the new recovery booted! I did another wipe/factory reset and then installed a ROM, but when I hit reboot, it didn't reboot past the Samsung Galaxy S4 splash screen , and to make matters worse, when I go to enter recovery pressing home+up+power, it says "Recovery Booting ...." in the top left corner but it won't boot into recovery!!!
Thoughts?
If someone could strip administrative privileges off of a version of ODIN v3 for me, that would be great! I don't see how else to get around this now!
-Taxmaster

Taxmaster said:
I did exactly what's noted above --> took out the SDcard, put it in another phone, transferred over the .zip, put it back in her phone, went to TWRP, wiped everything on the device, installed the .zip, and rebooted into recovery from TWRP, and then the new recovery booted! I did another wipe/factory reset and then installed a ROM, but when I hit reboot, it didn't reboot past the Samsung Galaxy S4 splash screen , and to make matters worse, when I go to enter recovery pressing home+up+power, it says "Recovery Booting ...." in the top left corner but it won't boot into recovery!!!
Thoughts?
If someone could strip administrative privileges off of a version of ODIN v3 for me, that would be great! I don't see how else to get around this now!
-Taxmaster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, are you flashing a ROM for the T-Mobile S4? If no, are you using a T-Mobile kernel? I only ask because a kernel for a different device will normally cause you to not be able to pass the initial Galaxy S4 screen... Also, as far as TWRP goes, sometimes it doesn't go right into recovery. If it fails to enter recovery after a reasonable amount of time, just hold power to turn it off and try again. I've had to do it 2-3 times at least just to successfully enter TWRP.

lordcheeto03 said:
Out of curiosity, are you flashing a ROM for the T-Mobile S4? If no, are you using a T-Mobile kernel? I only ask because a kernel for a different device will normally cause you to not be able to pass the initial Galaxy S4 screen... Also, as far as TWRP goes, sometimes it doesn't go right into recovery. If it fails to enter recovery after a reasonable amount of time, just hold power to turn it off and try again. I've had to do it 2-3 times at least just to successfully enter TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am installing a T-Mobile S4 ROM that uses a custom kernel. The ROM before was the same ROM just a lower revision, same kernel.
With respect to TWRP, I thought it was all gone now that I installed the CWM touch version. I've tried doing it a million times and cannot get back into either TWRP or CWM. At this point, the only thing I can do is turn on the device to see the "Samsung Galaxy S4" screen, attempt booting into recovery but never make it past the screen saying "Recovery Booting", or enter Download Mode but I cannot use it since I can't run ODIN on my work laptop .... stupid admin privileges!

Taxmaster said:
I am installing a T-Mobile S4 ROM that uses a custom kernel. The ROM before was the same ROM just a lower revision, same kernel.
With respect to TWRP, I thought it was all gone now that I installed the CWM touch version. I've tried doing it a million times and cannot get back into either TWRP or CWM. At this point, the only thing I can do is turn on the device to see the "Samsung Galaxy S4" screen, attempt booting into recovery but never make it past the screen saying "Recovery Booting", or enter Download Mode but I cannot use it since I can't run ODIN on my work laptop .... stupid admin privileges!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what happened there.. very strange. But seems as if you have no recovery xD lol Maybe heimdall will work. Never used it not sure if it needs UAC to work. But dont use TWRP anymore
As far as your situation goes, maybe if you have the time and fast enough internet, see if you can download a linux distro (i recommend fedora as it is small and light) then make a bootable USB from that distro (if you have a flash drive) then use Heimdall in linux to flash the tar image.
Or just wait to get home. not sure how long your honeymoon is xD

elesbb said:
Not sure what happened there.. very strange. But seems as if you have no recovery xD lol Maybe heimdall will work. Never used it not sure if it needs UAC to work. But dont use TWRP anymore
As far as your situation goes, maybe if you have the time and fast enough internet, see if you can download a linux distro (i recommend fedora as it is small and light) then make a bootable USB from that distro (if you have a flash drive) then use Heimdall in linux to flash the tar image.
Or just wait to get home. not sure how long your honeymoon is xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I just need to accept that fact that I have been had and that the only thing I can do is wait until I'm home to use ODIN. Absolutely asinine in my opinion, however it seems the only logical conclusion at this point.
If anyone else cares to chime in with suggestions, please let me know!
-Taxmaster

I have had the same problem several times. The only way I have been able to boot up is to completely format data and either restore from backup or reflash a new ROM. If I wipe the dalvik cache after doing so however, it will not boot (hangs at the galaxy s4 screen like you said) and I will have to reflash or restore a 2nd time. (I'm using twrp too, but will switch to cwm if this happens again)
I m curious. Have you run into this problem again? Seems like every time my phone shuts off and tries to boot I have to restore from a backup that is days or weeks old. Super annoying. The first time this happened I restored to stock from Odin and did not use any backups in the hope that it would solve my problem and prevent it from happening again. No such luck.

coolastar said:
I have had the same problem several times. The only way I have been able to boot up is to completely format data and either restore from backup or reflash a new ROM. If I wipe the dalvik cache after doing so however, it will not boot (hangs at the galaxy s4 screen like you said) and I will have to reflash or restore a 2nd time. (I'm using twrp too, but will switch to cwm if this happens again)
I m curious. Have you run into this problem again? Seems like every time my phone shuts off and tries to boot I have to restore from a backup that is days or weeks old. Super annoying. The first time this happened I restored to stock from Odin and did not use any backups in the hope that it would solve my problem and prevent it from happening again. No such luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up having to wait until I got home to use ODIN. I ODIN'd up the stock .tar and then installed Philz touch recovery (CWM-based), then I did a full wipe of everything and installed a ROM. Problem solved.
With that noted, I abandoned TWRP and am now only using CWM on my wife's phone.

Taxmaster said:
I ended up having to wait until I got home to use ODIN. I ODIN'd up the stock .tar and then installed Philz touch recovery (CWM-based), then I did a full wipe of everything and installed a ROM. Problem solved.
With that noted, I abandoned TWRP and am now only using CWM on my wife's phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same, TWRP just has too many problems.
CWM is much more reliable.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda premium

Taxmaster said:
I ended up having to wait until I got home to use ODIN. I ODIN'd up the stock .tar and then installed Philz touch recovery (CWM-based), then I did a full wipe of everything and installed a ROM. Problem solved.
With that noted, I abandoned TWRP and am now only using CWM on my wife's phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were using TWRP 2.6.0, that could have been the problem. I reverted back to 2.5.0.2 and like many others, have had no issues. If you had a TWRP backup, that might have fixed it early on.

[Q] Soft Bricked....can't unbrick or revert to stock rom...any thoughts?

I got a replacement GS3 through insurance and rooted it yesterday. Instead of flashing CWM I tried going with TWRP this time but didn't realize that TWRP doesn't read external SD cards and my roms were all saved on the external SD. And of course, this was after I wiped everything. So I tried unrooting and flashing back the stock firmware but it keeps failing in ODIN. So I tried re-rooting and flashing CWM which works but none of the roms will flash. I keep getting a system 7 error or something to that effect when I try flashing any rom. So now I can either get to recovery mode, or download mode. If I power the phone on it gets stuck on the Galaxy S3 screen. Any thoughts as to processes to try? Links? Threads? I've tried just about everything I could find.

kinjo1023 said:
I got a replacement GS3 through insurance and rooted it yesterday. Instead of flashing CWM I tried going with TWRP this time but didn't realize that TWRP doesn't read external SD cards and my roms were all saved on the external SD. And of course, this was after I wiped everything. So I tried unrooting and flashing back the stock firmware but it keeps failing in ODIN. So I tried re-rooting and flashing CWM which works but none of the roms will flash. I keep getting a system 7 error or something to that effect when I try flashing any rom. So now I can either get to recovery mode, or download mode. If I power the phone on it gets stuck on the Galaxy S3 screen. Any thoughts as to processes to try? Links? Threads? I've tried just about everything I could find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since when does TWRP not read external SD cards? It see's mine just fine, for well over a year. Where is your nandroid backup, you know the one you made before you did anything just incase it didn't go as planned? In any case you didn't give much information to help troubleshoot. 'I tried unrooting' - if you were going to flash a stock ROM there is no need to unroot anything as the stock firmware is just that, stock. How did it fail in ODIN? Did it say why it failed, what file were you trying to flash? More often than not the system 7 error is caused from an out of date recovery, normally i would tell you to start there but given the fact you admitted to just randomly attempting to flash things to the device you are going to want to start from stock. The second sticky thread in this sub-forum is where you should start reading, because based on your post you either need a refresher or never have read it to begin with.

dntesinfrno said:
Since when does TWRP not read external SD cards? It see's mine just fine, for well over a year. In any case you didn't give much information to help troubleshoot. 'I tried unrooting' - if you were going to flash a stock ROM there is no need to unroot anything as the stock firmware is just that, stock. How did if fail in ODIN? Did it say why it failed, what file were you trying to flash? More often than not the system 7 error is caused from an out of date recovery, normally i would tell you to start there but given the fact you admitted to just randomly attempting to flash things to device you are going to want to start from stock. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1725839
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For whatever reason, TWRP wouldn't read my sd card. And when I said I tried unrooting - I just meant flashing back to the stock ROM. Odin fails when it gets to system write. It goes down a bunch of lines of code successfully but when it gets to system write, it fails every time. I've downloaded a few different stock ROM versions for AT&T and tried switching USB ports around my laptop. I've also tried a few different versions of ODIN but I'm not coming up with anything but a soft bricked phone still.

kinjo1023 said:
For whatever reason, TWRP wouldn't read my sd card. And when I said I tried unrooting - I just meant flashing back to the stock ROM. Odin fails when it gets to system write. It goes down a bunch of lines of code successfully but when it gets to system write, it fails every time. I've downloaded a few different stock ROM versions for AT&T and tried switching USB ports around my laptop. I've also tried a few different versions of ODIN but I'm not coming up with anything but a soft bricked phone still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have usb debugging enabled before you attempted to flash via ODIN? It sounds like it doesn't have permission to write to the /system partition. You can try doing a factory reset from recovery to get past the bootloader and make sure, or use Kies to flash to stock via this thread.

dntesinfrno said:
Did you have usb debugging enabled before you attempted to flash via ODIN? It sounds like it doesn't have permission to write to the /system partition. You can try doing a factory reset from recovery to get past the bootloader and make sure, or use Kies to flash to stock via this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could have swore I made sure to check before I started the process but I cant' check now because the phone won't boot. Can't flash back to stock. Can't flash any roms. I can get into download mode and recovery though. It's weird. I've reverted other phones back to stock plenty of times. It just keeps failing no matter what I do with this.

dntesinfrno said:
Did you have usb debugging enabled before you attempted to flash via ODIN? It sounds like it doesn't have permission to write to the /system partition. You can try doing a factory reset from recovery to get past the bootloader and make sure, or use Kies to flash to stock via this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's another question for you, I've looked all over for the newest CWM in .tar format but everything comes in .img format. I can't use the .img in ODIN to flash to the phone and can't boot my phone to use the CWM app to flash. I suppose I could try TWRP again but when I flashed the first time - TWRP wouldn't read my EXT SD card.....

kinjo1023 said:
Here's another question for you, I've looked all over for the newest CWM in .tar format but everything comes in .img format. I can't use the .img in ODIN to flash to the phone and can't boot my phone to use the CWM app to flash. I suppose I could try TWRP again but when I flashed the first time - TWRP wouldn't read my EXT SD card.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you could wipe everything get on odin with 4.1.2 update reboot use cf root to root it (if you dont have root) after reboot download ROM Manager from Play Store install CWM recovery (easiest way to root) hope this works

[SOLVED] How do you enter recovery mode for TWRP ? (Bootloop)

Hello everyone. I was attempting to install the Liquid Smooth 3.0 Beta ROM but it said failed in red words. So i wiped again and installed my backup. Its been stuck in boot loop. I've looked and can't seem to find how to enter recovery mode. I tried holding power + volume up + home and it just restarts the phone before it gets to the boot loop screen. Also, once I get in recovery mode, what would be the next step to fix the boot loop? Right now im reinstalling the ROM I had on backup (intergalactic) . Or should I wipe and re-install the backup?
Thanks
EDIT: Found the combo ( Volume up + home ). Now restoring my backup. If this doesn't fix the bootloop what should I do? Also when I mount my USB in recovery it doesn't show up on my computer.

TrippyAzN said:
Hello everyone. I was attempting to install the Liquid Smooth 3.0 Beta ROM but it said failed in red words. So i wiped again and installed my backup. Its been stuck in boot loop. I've looked and can't seem to find how to enter recovery mode. I tried holding power + volume up + home and it just restarts the phone before it gets to the boot loop screen. Also, once I get in recovery mode, what would be the next step to fix the boot loop? Right now im reinstalling the ROM I had on backup (intergalactic) . Or should I wipe and re-install the backup?
Thanks
EDIT: Found the combo ( Volume up + home ). Now restoring my backup. If this doesn't fix the bootloop what should I do? Also when I mount my USB in recovery it doesn't show up on my computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get to recovery mode, try doing a hard wipe/reset to return your phone to its original settings. You will lose all saved data so please keep your backup. Your phone may not be recognized by the computer in recovery mode but in download mode. Are you using custom recovery or stock recovery? If custom, which one?

Larry2999 said:
If you get to recovery mode, try doing a hard wipe/reset to return your phone to its original settings. You will lose all saved data so please keep your backup. Your phone may not be recognized by the computer in recovery mode but in download mode. Are you using custom recovery or stock recovery? If custom, which one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello. How do I Hard Reset? I am using TWRP recovery mode. I've tried download mode and still not recognized. I also downloaded the latest driver.

TrippyAzN said:
Hello. How do I Hard Reset? I am using TWRP recovery mode. I've tried download mode and still not recognized. I also downloaded the latest driver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good! With TWRP, you will see the wipe option on the home screen immediately you get into recovery mode. Just do the standard wipe and then reboot to system.

Larry2999 said:
Good! With TWRP, you will see the wipe option on the home screen immediately you get into recovery mode. Just do the standard wipe and then reboot to system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just did that, still at the boot screen

TrippyAzN said:
Just did that, still at the boot screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes, it may take several minutes after the reset for your phone to finally boot up so you may have to wait a bit before deciding it didn't work. However, do you recall what (stock) Android version you had before you attempted to flash the custom ROM?

Larry2999 said:
Do you recall what (stock) Android version you had before you attempted to flash the custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before I rooted? I was Jelly Bean 4.1.2 I think. But I flashed many Custom ROMs, the last one was 4.3 . The one I was installing was 4.4.2. But I dont think thats the problem, It just said failed to flash. And the back up restore was successful, just a boot loop. If I could get my computer to recognize my phone I could put my original ROM download in and flash that.

TrippyAzN said:
Before I rooted? I was Jelly Bean 4.1.2 I think. But I flashed many Custom ROMs, the last one was 4.3 . The one I was installing was 4.4.2. But I dont think thats the problem, It just said failed to flash. And the back up restore was successful, just a boot loop. If I could get my computer to recognize my phone I could put my original ROM download in and flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally, if it was just a case of your phone getting stuck in a boot loop, a hard wipe/reset will fix that. If it's still not coming on, then it could be a slightly more severe case of firmware failure which, thankfully, can be easily recovered from since you can get into download and recovery modes. Your best option now would be to flash an official (stock) ROM to get your phone back in working order. From what you've said about the firmware history, stock Android 4.3 would be your best bet as you probably have the 4.3 boot-loader already. You can download the zip file you will find in the discussion thread below and flash this via TWRP recovery. The process is fairly simple. Download the zip file to your PC - do not extract. Verify the MD5. Copy to a micro SDHC card. Place the card in your phone. Boot to recovery mode. Select install and navigate your way to the zip file you just copied. Swipe across the screen to confirm installation. Wait for installation to complete. Clear your cache/dalvik. Reboot your system. Good luck!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
Before flashing custom ROMs, it is always helpful to do a lot of research as there is no easier way to brick or backdoor your phone.
NB
You need a special app to verify MD5. It's just a check to ensure you have the correct file and it downloaded correctly. If you do not have the app, check that the zip you have is about 933MB after download.

Larry2999 said:
Normally, if it was just a case of your phone getting stuck in a boot loop, a hard wipe/reset will fix that. If it's still not coming on, then it could be a slightly more severe case of firmware failure which, thankfully, can be easily recovered from since you can get into download and recovery modes. Your best option now would be to flash an official (stock) ROM to get your phone back in working order. From what you've said about the firmware history, stock Android 4.3 would be your best bet as you probably have the 4.3 boot-loader already. You can download the zip file you will find in the discussion thread below and flash this via TWRP recovery. The process is fairly simple. Download the zip file to your PC - do not extract. Verify the MD5. Copy to a micro SDHC card. Place the card in your phone. Boot to recovery mode. Select install and navigate your way to the zip file you just copied. Swipe across the screen to confirm installation. Wait for installation to complete. Clear your cache/dalvik. Reboot your system. Good luck!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
Before flashing custom ROMs, it is always helpful to do a lot of research as there is no easier way to brick or backdoor your phone.
NB
You need a special app to verify MD5. It's just a check to ensure you have the correct file and it downloaded correctly. If you do not have the app, check that the zip you have is about 933MB after download.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which do I download? First or second link? Also How should I get my computer to recognize my phone? And if I do that, flashing a fresh ROM wont fix the boot loop?

TrippyAzN said:
Which do I download? First or second link? Also How should I get my computer to recognize my phone? And if I do that, flashing a fresh ROM wont fix the boot loop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need the first one since you are on TWRP. You are not connecting your phone to the computer at all so there is no worry about that. You only need to download the image to your computer and then copy it to an external Micro SD card using another device like a camera, phone, SDHC card reader/writer or SDHC card adapter if your PC has the required slot. Once you have the recovery image saved on to the external SD card, insert the card into your phone and boot into recovery mode. You will then install the zip from the card. This ROM should not only fix the boot loop, it will restore your phone to as near factory settings as possible including resetting your flash counter, installing the complete stock system and stock recovery.
Once you have your phone back in working order, you can revert to flashing custom ROMs but please be very careful and do all the research you need. Specifically, you should avoid any ROMs that may attempt to mess with your boot-loader.

Larry2999 said:
You need the first one since you are on TWRP. You are not connecting your phone to the computer at all so there is no worry about that. You only need to download the image to your computer and then copy it to an external Micro SD card using another device like a camera, phone, SDHC card reader/writer or SDHC card adapter if your PC has the required slot. Once you have the recovery image saved on to the external SD card, insert the card into your phone and boot into recovery mode. You will then install the zip from the card. This ROM should not only fix the boot loop, it will restore your phone to as near factory settings as possible including resetting your flash counter, installing the complete stock system and stock recovery.
Once you have your phone back in working order, you can revert to flashing custom ROMs but please be very careful and do all the research you need. Specifically, you should avoid any ROMs that may attempt to mess with your boot-loader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help! That was a great idea, moving my SD card to a different device then putting the .zip in there and flashing from my device. Worked Perfectly. Didn't even have to use the restore file you linked me, I just re-flashed the old ROM i was using ( brand new, not the back up ). And its starting up now, all of my apps, widgets, wallpapers, and messages are exactly how I left them. Which is weird because of how many times I wiped and the fact that I re-flashed a brand new ROM lol.
Man this makes me not want to change ROMs anymore. Small stuff like this makes me paranoid. I don't have a back up phone lol

TrippyAzN said:
Thanks for your help! That was a great idea, moving my SD card to a different device then putting the .zip in there and flashing from my device. Worked Perfectly. Didn't even have to use the restore file you linked me, I just re-flashed the old ROM i was using ( brand new, not the back up ). And its starting up now, all of my apps, widgets, wallpapers, and messages are exactly how I left them. Which is weird because of how many times I wiped and the fact that I re-flashed a brand new ROM lol.
Man this makes me not want to change ROMs anymore. Small stuff like this makes me paranoid. I don't have a back up phone lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to know your phone is now functioning normally. One of your earlier restore operations probably restored your data whilst the new ROM you flashed restored the system without deleting data. Thankfully, you didn't lose anything. Now the phone is back to normal, please be careful with flashing ROMs especially custom ones.

Requesting I747MVLUFNK2 bootloader for Telus Samsung Galaxy S3 with Android 4.4.2

Hello!
I am very new to tinkering with phones. I had a Galaxy S3 sitting idle and thought I'd put Cynaogynmod on it, which is where this all started.
This phone has 4.4.2 installed. Modem = I747MVLUFNK2
I made the mistake of installing I747MUMUEND3 modem. Now my wifi won't turn on. I've done fair amount of searching and couldn't find original modem for 4.4.2. Help please!

Easiest way to fix the issue would be to re-flash the nf2 firmware from sammobile.com. Alternatively, you could download the firmware from sammbile.com, extract the modem, and flash just the modem.

audit13 said:
Easiest way to fix the issue would be to re-flash the nf2 firmware from sammobile.com. Alternatively, you could download the firmware from sammbile.com, extract the modem, and flash just the modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
I have downloaded the firmware from sammobile.com. It is 910MB in size. I was going to put it on phone's memory card and load it via recovery. However, even though I have deleted absolutely everything from the card, Windows is telling me it only has 768MB of 968MB free. I'm not sure what's going on with this. Any ideas?
I really only need the modem firmware, how do I extract just that from the entire thing?
Edit: Okay, so I was able to open the .tar.md5 using 7zip (It complained but opened it). I see a bunch of files in there (see screenshot), which one would correspond to the modem?

The NON-HLOS.bin file is the modem.

I have the whole NK2 firmware (TELUS) on my PC, do you want a download link?

audit13 said:
The NON-HLOS.bin file is the modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I zipped up the file and tried to install it via recovery but it failed. There is not error code, it just says "Installation aborted".
FQuen said:
I have the whole NK2 firmware (TELUS) on my PC, do you want a download link?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I was able to download the entire firmware from sammobile. If you take a look at post#3, it explains why I am not able to put it on the phone's memory card.

As an alternative, you could re-flash the entire ROM using Odin. The file gets transferred to your phone from your PC with the USB cable.
Before flashing anything, you should confirm the bootloader on your phone. You can do this by donwloading the Samsung Phone Info app from the Play Store. Flashing the wrong file can brick your phone.

I can certainly give that a shot. However, right now the problem is I can't access the internet as phone's wifi will _not_ turn on. So there's no way for me to download something off Play store.
Edit: I am learning how to sideload, seems pretty straight forward. Since I already have the correct firmware from sammobile, should be able to side load it. Although, audit13 has now scared me a little I must say.

ohTwadi said:
I can certainly give that a shot. However, right now the problem is I can't access the internet as phone's wifi will _not_ turn on. So there's no way for me to download something off Play store.
Edit: I am learning how to sideload, seems pretty straight forward. Since I already have the correct firmware from sammobile, should be able to side load it. Although, audit13 has now scared me a little I must say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for wifi. Find a link and download the APK file. Copy the apk file to an external sd card and install it from the SD card.

audit13 said:
No need for wifi. Find a link and download the APK file. Copy the apk file to an external sd card and install it from the SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. As per the app, bootloader version is I747MVLUFNK2.
Now, I do have the whole firmware downloaded. I would love to simply install it by copying it onto my sd card and installing via recovery. However, the filesize is 910MB. My sd card is 968MB, I have deleted everything on it and still Windows tells me I only have 764MB free. How can that be?!

ohTwadi said:
Thanks for that. As per the app, bootloader version is I747MVLUFNK2.
Now, I do have the whole firmware downloaded. I would love to simply install it by copying it onto my sd card and installing via recovery. However, the filesize is 910MB. My sd card is 968MB, I have deleted everything on it and still Windows tells me I only have 764MB free. How can that be?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have an externalSD card to put it on by chance? or can borrow one ?
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

Do not unzip the tar.md5 file. You flash the file as is using Odin when the phone is connected to your computer. The phone needs to be in download mode to flash with Odin.

audit13 said:
Do not unzip the tar.md5 file. You flash the file as is using Odin when the phone is connected to your computer. The phone needs to be in download mode to flash with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my bad , not understanding once again. thanks @audit13 for setting me straight.:good:
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

audit13 said:
Do not unzip the tar.md5 file. You flash the file as is using Odin when the phone is connected to your computer. The phone needs to be in download mode to flash with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I had to look up how to use Odin but with it I have successfully flashed stock ROM and my wifi connection is back!
Now, onto the actual task of installing cynogenmod on this S3. Will Google that.

Flash Philz recovery for the d2 LTE, flash SuperSU apk from recovery, copy cm 11 to your phone, boot to recovery, wipe cache, dalvil, system, data, flash cm.

audit13 said:
Flash Philz recovery for the d2 LTE, flash SuperSU apk from recovery, copy cm 11 to your phone, boot to recovery, wipe cache, dalvil, system, data, flash cm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed Philz recovery (philz_touch_5.15.0-i9300.tar.md5) via Odin and now phone wont boot into recovery. I had Auto Reboot checked in Odin but phone booted into Android after. I did eventually get a PASS from Odin.
I can put the phone in Download mode just fine.
If I press Volume UP + Home + Power button, I do see Samsung logo with blue text on top left. Then screen goes blank and then phone boots to Android (seems like it reboots). I had tinkered with rooting the phone before, so I don't have stock recovery software atm. That might be the reason it won't boot into recovery. I would like to go back to stock recovery and give flashing philz recovery a shot again. How do I go back to stock?

Download this version of Phulz: https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/philz_touch_6.48.4-d2lte.zip.md5/
Open Odin, connect your phone, uncheck everything except f.reset time. Flash Philz. When you see reset in the status window, remove usb cable, remove battery, replace battery, boot into recovery.

audit13 said:
Download this version of Phulz: https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/philz_touch_6.48.4-d2lte.zip.md5/
Open Odin, connect your phone, uncheck everything except f.reset time. Flash Philz. When you see reset in the status window, remove usb cable, remove battery, replace battery, boot into recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
The given link to Philz was no good but I was able to find the correct one. I have CM11 running now.
Well, it's interesting that I don't have the Google Play app!
Edit: Never mind. I saw that CM11 does not come with Google Apps. I will flash them separately.
audit13, thank you for all the help!

Glad you got it working.
The link I provided was for the latest version of Philz to be flashed via Odin. Strange but the link works for me. Doesn't matter now

[Q] How to install PAC-man ROM for Galaxy s3

I'm having a very hard time figuring which PAC-man ROM to download for my s3. I've got the thing rooted via towel root and have the free version of ROM manager, but don't know where to go from there. The model number is SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 if it matters.

There are hundreds of threads and post regarding loading roms... ill give you a quick run-down though....
First you need to find & flash a aftermarket recovery program.......(flash via odin) Team Win Recovery (TWRP) or Clockword Mod Recovery(CWMR) I personally like TWRP alot more, and there are a couple other ones, but those are probably the most common.
Once you do that, try booting into recovery mode.... ( turn phone off, then press volume up, power, and menu all at the same time, hold until you see the samsung logo and in top left you will see recovery booting, wait till this screen has past, then let go)
Once done, MAKE A BACK UP!!! Very important step and save it to where you will remember, i personally like to store it on my external SD card.
Load phone back up, download rom and recomended Gapps (google apps) onto computer, connect phone, and transfer onto the phone. (again i prefer to put on my external SD card)
Here is the pac-rom you want. ----> https://s.basketbuild.com/devs/pacman/d2lte/release - choose the .zip not the .zip.md5sum
you will have to look up what Gapps they recomend for their rom... i personally like PA Gapps.
Once loaded, turn phone off, boot to recovery, factory reset, wipe data/clear cache/dalvik cache. Install rom and specified gapps from location you saved on your phone.
I suggest your do a bit more research before you attempt so you are 100% sure you know what you are doing.... i did give a pretty thorough guideline but always double check!!!
Also, i have not tried using pacrom, so i dont know what its like, but i have tried around 4-5 roms and so far my favorite is dirty unicorns, here is the link for the newest stable rom. I am using PAGAPPS stock package with this rom.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95784891001604479
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGED PHONE FROM YOUR MIS-USE OR PERSONAL INJURY!

coyotefiveoh said:
First you need to find & flash a aftermarket recovery program.......(flash via odin) Team Win Recovery (TWRP) or Clockword Mod Recovery(CWMR) I personally like TWRP alot more, and there are a couple other ones, but those are probably the most common.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've downloaded Odin but have no idea of what to do with it. As for TWRP, the download links appear to either be very well hidden or just down completely, and when I tried to install Clockword Mod Recovery via ROM manager, I get a message saying "unsupported device".

BlackGuyRX said:
I've downloaded Odin but have no idea of what to do with it. As for TWRP, the download links appear to either be very well hidden or just down completely, and when I tried to install Clockword Mod Recovery via ROM manager, I get a message saying "unsupported device".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://teamw.in/project/twrp2
top right of screen it says "Get TWRP for your device"
find device and download to computer. Make sure you are running odin v3.09
turn phone off, boot into download mode. (volume down, power & menu all at same time)
open odin
plug into computer
odin will recognize
click pa and find TWRP file.
start and wait till odin says PASS!
Unplug and boot into recovery and continue as per previous instruction.
MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP WHEN IN TWRP!!!!!
If you still cant figure it out, do some more googling. its out there..... i learned how to do it last week for my first time and all i used was google.
again, i am not responsible for a damaged device from improper use and hold no liability what so ever.

coyotefiveoh said:
top right of screen it says "Get TWRP for your device"
find device and download to computer. Make sure you are running odin v3.09
turn phone off, boot into download mode. (volume down, power & menu all at same time)
open odin
plug into computer
odin will recognize
click pa and find TWRP file.
start and wait till odin says PASS!
Unplug and boot into recovery and continue as per previous instruction.
MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP WHEN IN TWRP!!!!!
If you still cant figure it out, do some more googling. its out there..... i learned how to do it last week for my first time and all i used was google.
again, i am not responsible for a damaged device from improper use and hold no liability what so ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to add, when I did find my device in that search bar and clicked on "direct download", I was taken here,( cant type URL, but it should say "/devs/s0updev/gooinsideme/") but there was nothing there so I clicked on "s0updev", but I'm not sure of where to go.
When I clicked on "Market Link", I got a message saying no app found.

Before flashing anything, you should determine which bootloader and modem version is on your phone.
If you run into problems installing the ROM, you need to know the bootloader and modem version on your phone when trying to get back to a stock or working ROM.

audit13 said:
Before flashing anything, you should determine which bootloader and modem version is on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I do that? Also, I'm going to purchase a sim card with a prepaid service for my phone. If I get it activated first, can I still add a custom rom later and not lose anything?
Sorry for asking so many questions, I just wanna be careful.

Is your phone sim unlocked? If not, I recommend unllocking it before installing a custom ROM.
To find out about your bootloader and modem, install the Samsung Phone Info app from the play store. Run it and it will tell you what you need to know.

audit13 said:
Is your phone sim unlocked? If not, I recommend unllocking it before installing a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The place where I bought it from claimed it was completely unlocked. I have no idea of how to check for myself other than a couple of shady payware apps on the playstore.

You can test it by trying a couple of sim cards in the phone. The sim cards do not need to be active and they should from two completely different carrier, rather than a carrier and its sub brand.

audit13 said:
You can test it by trying a couple of sim cards in the phone. The sim cards do not need to be active and they should from two completely different carrier, rather than a carrier and its sub brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I've downloaded the Samsung edition of Phone INFO and found my Bootloader info, but have no idea of where the modem info is. Also, I went back to the store I bought the phone and had them test with an T-Mobile card, and confirmed the phone was unlocked.

Okay, after getting ClockworkMod Recovery successfully flashed, I think I'm finally close to getting this thing going after coming across two tutorials from teamandroid. ("How to Install Android 4.4.2 KitKat on AT&T Galaxy S3 SGH-I747 with PAC-man Custom Firmware" being one of them) I've run into another problem though-
TeamAndroid said:
Complete Step-By-Step Instructions:
Step 1 - Download PAC-man Android 4.4.2 ROM and Google Apps for Galaxy S3 to your computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The download link provided for the ROM is dead. I'm not sure of where to get the latest rom and the matching Google Apps download. If I can get these, I should finally get this thing installed.

There are great ROMs here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-att/development
In order to flash a custom ROM, boot into recovery, format system, Dalvik, data, and cache. Install ROM, install Gapps, done

audit13 said:
There are great ROMs here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-att/development
In order to flash a custom ROM, boot into recovery, format system, Dalvik, data, and cache. Install ROM, install Gapps, done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to install
[ROM][OFFICIAL][KitKat 4.4.4][d2lte] PAC-man 4.4.4.RC-1
Where can I find Gapps?

Gapps link here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2015607

During the ROM install, I got an error and it aborted the installation-

What was the error? The phone needs to be running the latest Philz, CWM, or TWRP.

audit13 said:
What was the error? The phone needs to be running the latest Philz, CWM, or TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formating system
Exracting system files...
Making symlinks
set_metadata_recursive: some changes failed
E: Error in /sdcard/pac_d2lte-RC-1-20140831.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted
I'm running CWM-based Recovery v5.5.0.4

Your recovery is too old.

audit13 said:
Your recovery is too old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager
I found "Samsung Galaxy S3 (AT&T)- 6.0.4.7" Do I need to go back into download mode and flash this with Odin? Do I run the risk of bricking when powering off my phone since I already went trough these steps-
“wipe data/factory reset”
“wipe cache partition”
“wipe dalvik cache”