Develop Bugs

3 button download/recovery mode saved my butt.

Within the 14 days return policy I took my Galaxy back after it bricked for no reason. I was almost stock other than unlocking it and running ADW. Too many things wrong with them so I gave it one more chance with a replacement. The new one has a working recovery/download mode so that's the biggie for me. The lag seems better and the GPS actually works. Great, I feel better. But I decided that I won't root it yet since 2.2 is coming soon. I'll let it flash as designed before digging deep.
Yeah, right. After noticing that the WiFI is still flaky at random times I turned it off again today when it wasn't passing any data. 3G still working so fine. But then the Market started to FC which I've not seen at all. I shut it down and rebooted again which is the fix for my WiFI. Well, it once again decided to brick just like the last one. I get past the logos and then just a black screen. She's bricked and I didn't even root it this time. Only thing not stock was ADW launcher instead of the Samsung thing that I don't like.
So I put her into recovery mode and did a factory reset. That fixed it and I setup all over again. Luckily with 2.1 you get a list of all your previously installed apps in Market the first time you enter so if you don't leve the app you can quickly install everything again. 20 minutes later I'm back in business except this time I'll stick with the launcher it came with, can't think of anything else that would cause this sudden bricking other than the wonder phone might be a piece of crap. I just don't know yet.

By reading the title I thought you meant that Samsungs new update to activate the 3 button combo had saved you. Having a phone with download mode enabled is quite hard to brick, you can always just put it into download mode and reflash with Odin.

That's the point, my replacement phone came with the update that Samsung is pointing people to. Labeled the same as the previous update but indeed has the button thing fixed. Until the next update comes along I'm not touching Odin or anything else, these phones have enough troubles as it is. I'm still concerned that mine bricked again simply by turning it on.

3rdcoast said:
That's the point, my replacement phone came with the update that Samsung is pointing people to. Labeled the same as the previous update but indeed has the button thing fixed. Until the next update comes along I'm not touching Odin or anything else, these phones have enough troubles as it is. I'm still concerned that mine bricked again simply by turning it on.
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This is just my opinion but I don't think the phone would have come with the update, it would have just been an untainted unit that didn't exhibit this problem. Only a subset of new units were lacking the download and recovery modes and the fix released a couple of days ago was designed to correct that problem.
These modes are a standard feature of pretty much any Android device.
At any rate, good to hear that you have a fully functioning unit out of the box. I had to go to some length explaining and demonstrating the issue to the store from which I got my unit lacking these modes as well as my carrier until the fix came out and I fixed it myself.

I don't know either. I based my guess on the fact that Sam's fix happened to be an update that version matches what mine now shows. And my situation is a prime example why all phones need this mode. Not everyone would fix it the way I did but it only cost me 30 minutes and a few curse words because my pictures are all gone before I could get them off but I'm back up and running and that had to save somebody a few hundred dollars.
I'm still very nervous though, it did brick this morning without me doing anything. This time I don't even have NoLED or ADW but I can't leave it that way forever. My trusty Magic is way more tolerant of OS abuse.

[Q] Reboots, not able to boot, 5 vibrates.

Background: Very familiar with the Eris, rooted it, flash ROMs frequently, never had an issue.
So I bought the phone on eBay, only issue was the phone was a bit beat up and the screen had been replaced. No big deal. Turned it on everything was fine, worked for about a day, then I decided to flash another ROM. Flashed the ROM and the phone would reboot every time I got to the lock screen UNLESS I had signal, then it would work. This issue happens to EVERY ROM I flash. I wiped cache,dvlik-orwhatever, full wipe, everything each time I would flash a ROM, and none of them have been stable. After flashing the first ROM I also ran into the turn off and vibrate 5 times with a flashing green light problem. I have gotten out of this twice with the USB pull method. I have researched these issues, I have tried flashing quite a few ROMs, and nothing seems to work flawlessly. Is the DI just a terrible phone or do I just have a bad unit? The main issue seems to be with signal, such as if I go from airplane mode on to off it will reboot and then get stuck in a boot cycle and the issue with flashing the phone and having to have signal before I can unlock the phone.
I am currently about to flash the PB31IMG to see if it will resolve the issues and then attempt to re-root. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as nothing has seemed to work so far. I would key you into what I have tried but I don't remember. Basically all the things to fix the 5 vibrate issue and general flashing woes.
Update:
Still no good. Flashed the PB31IMG via vol. down and power and it still did a reboot. Unlocked, got to the white HTC screen, and restarted. Booted the second time, got to the lockscreen, and rebooted before I could even slide down the unlock. Third reboot, got to activation this time, then it rebooted. Fourth reboot, go to activation, then rebooted. Fifth reboot, got to lockscreen, then rebooted before I could slide down.
So yeah. basically you can see what I am dealing with. And it is not fun. I have tried SD card in, SD card out. Just did its 6th reboot, didnt even get to the unlock screen before rebooting.
UPDATE 5/3:
Link to the video of whats happening. Nothing special and I recorded it with my Eris, but you'll at least see the timing of the reboots and what not. And ignore the breathing. lol. Just turn off the sound. Right after the video ended it did a 5 vibe. Pulled the battery and now it's just doing bootloops.

I have never had the random reboots before, at least not at the rate and consistency you have been. To me it sounds like something went wrong in the rooting process and I would recommend unrooting and rerooting.
As for the flashing green light and 5 vibrates, I have so insight on this. It can happen if you press power and Vol+. I think it puts it in a safety mode and the only way to get out of it is a battery pull. So if you ever get stuck in a situation like this wait 10 minutes and try to turn it back on normally. If this doesn't work try booting into hboot (power + vol down) if this doesn't work power + vol up has worked for some people too.
There are cases however, where battery pulls don't help either. And no matter what the person tries the phone won't turn back on. This is a hardware problem and the only way to fix this is getting a new phone.

Dhessler5 said:
I have never had the random reboots before, at least not at the rate and consistency you have been. To me it sounds like something went wrong in the rooting process and I would recommend unrooting and rerooting.
snipped.
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Would flashing the PB13IMG in Hboot unroot it or would I need to follow the guide? Just curious as I have never unrooted before, but I do know there is a guide for it.
The 5 vibrate thing is under control, it just has happened so I wanted to make it known.
And thanks for the info.

I would follow the guide for it, it would be the easiest and safest way and if you run into any problems they would be able to help you out and know exactly what to tell you. I have yet to unroot too so I don't want to tell you something without being 100% sure so I recommend the guide.

Alright, so it turns out flashing the image I flashed via Hboot is a way to unroot. :/ And that is when I got all the reboots in the beginning (the ones specifically posted, its not the first time). I am going to flash again once more to see if I can get a flawless start.
Still no good, flashed it again via Hboot and it restarted again. This timeat the white HTC screen after unlocking but before activation. :? Hm. Better than nothing, after the first reboot it fully loaded and everything is fine so far. Lets just home it doesn't slowly begin to degrade like last time.
A while ago while running the peanut stock ROM, every time my phone would reboot some apps would loose information (such as log in) and I was eventually unable to access the EPST settings.

If you rerooted your phone you could try to go into hboot and then recovery and "fix permissions." I am not sure if this will do any good but it couldn't hurt.
Also if it is unrooted you could try to bring it in to Verizon and see if they will give you a new phone or a restored one.

Make sure you have the stock Rom if you bring it back to Verizon also
sent from my dinc

sorry to hear this happened on an ebay phone... I've had it happen to 3 of mine... warranty took care of it since I'm still within my date. but after one year what do I do? luckily I bought my bros early upgrade meaning the Inc2 will suffice until april 2012

ohh yea my point sorry: I had an Eris before the Inc. //////had many problems after 5 they gave me the Inc if I agreed to drop my current one year contract and get a new two year paying the two year price PLUS got credited $199 for the Eris, and got to keep it, so I thought I made out until I realized this phone isn't gunna last two years. ANYWAY. I bought the Eris off Ebay, they gave me warranty after warranty no problem, best of luck

I have had my Inc for a year and have not had any issues. I would say you bought a bad model from someone on eBay. The 5vibration green light is indicative of a hardware failure and I have not seen anyone have a fix for it.

Sorry to say but I have seen no one, NO ONE recovery from the 5 vibs of death. From what I have gathered it is some sort of qualcomm download mode and I know of no way out. I have a feeling it is caused by pressing the vol + and vol - and power while trying to get into hboot.
This is just an uneducated guess. If your willing to part with the device I would love to get my hands on a 5 vibs phone.

Since it happens when the phone loses the signal, I'm wondering if it might be a radio issue. Which radio version is installed? It could be incompatible for your area/ROM/whatever.
Another thought: you said the screen was changed out. It is very possible that the kernal installed won't work for an lcd screen.
Anyway, more things to check and to test. Good luck!

mine always happened when i accidently pushed the vol + instead of vol -
twice it happened

ACD168 said:
mine always happened when i accidently pushed the vol + instead of vol -
twice it happened
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That should be 3 vibs, not the 5.

they both won't work after wards thought as far as my testing.. had to get warranty replacements

I remember reading Chingy fixed 5 vib. It's not the end. I've seen other people fix it with ruu.

I couldnt fix mine when I got the 5 vibrations and I tried everything. My theory is that it has something to do with a messed up kernel flash since the baseband and kernel are apparently linked and I saw somewhere that flashing the same baseband 2x will cause this. It happened to me when I tried to flash a kernel twice (the first time it failed), some people could be getting this when flashing roms since they install new kernels also.

You can flash radios and kernals twice. There was one leaked radio in the past that caused problems from being flashed twice, but it isn't typical
Edit: I think chingy said something about trying a hundred different things, but eventually he got it to work by connecting to PC with battery removed. I could be wrong though because I read that post months ago. I know he got it working again by wiping system and starting fresh

I had the 5 vibs on mine a few weeks ago. It was an unfortunate event. I had the phone for almost a year, bought it new too. I had probably flashed at least a hundred times (thank you nighties for feeding my ROM flashing addiction) but I digress.
I was at work when it happened. If I remember right I believe I was re-installing a pandora apk when my phone did the vibs and led. As an fyi it is the same apk I am using now and it works fine. I initially thought oh well I'll fix it when I get home, surely someone has the answer...sadly not. I spent quite a while searching threads and google to no avail.
I was able to get it unrooted through hboot tho. I was also able to get it to boot when usb was connected to my PC, but as soon as I unplugged it would do the vibs again.
I don't like to admit defeat, but I had clearly lost. I called and got a replacement device sent (and an extended battery because the guy thought it could have been a battery issue, lucky me)
All I can do now is hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does hello warranty man. If someone does find a fix I would love to know about it for future reference.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

Trifurcated said:
I had the 5 vibs on mine a few weeks ago. It was an unfortunate event. I had the phone for almost a year, bought it new too. I had probably flashed at least a hundred times (thank you nighties for feeding my ROM flashing addiction) but I digress.
I was at work when it happened. If I remember right I believe I was re-installing a pandora apk when my phone did the vibs and led. As an fyi it is the same apk I am using now and it works fine. I initially thought oh well I'll fix it when I get home, surely someone has the answer...sadly not. I spent quite a while searching threads and google to no avail.
I was able to get it unrooted through hboot tho. I was also able to get it to boot when usb was connected to my PC, but as soon as I unplugged it would do the vibs again.
I don't like to admit defeat, but I had clearly lost. I called and got a replacement device sent (and an extended battery because the guy thought it could have been a battery issue, lucky me)
All I can do now is hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does hello warranty man. If someone does find a fix I would love to know about it for future reference.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
I think the 3, vibrate and 5 vibrate are connected because both times I had the 3 vib I had the same problems, would turn on when connected to usb then 3 vib and green flashing light... weird.

[Q] Brand New Galaxy Nexus not loading/Logo boot-loop

Hey guys,, just got my new Galaxy Nexus, brand new one
Charged it to full as it said in the manual and turned in on, it got into the first 'setup' window and decided to crash, ever since it's boot-looping on the Google logo like in this video and won't do anything else.
I tried factory reset from recovery, I tried to remove battery and try again, I tried with and without SIM, same thing...
now my question is - did i get a faulty phone and i should replace it or it's something I can fix myself? Thank you

As long as there's no icon of a lock under the google logo in the first screen you see while booting, it's a production problem.
all options given to you by people around here about how to unlock it and try to fix it yourself are redicioulus in your case. When you have the phone for less than 7 or 14 days (depending on the country you life in, best way to check is by going over the shop receipt it should be mentioned all the way down. If you bought it online you got a mail) you can walk to the store and demand a new one. If they tell you that they send it to the factory point them on the law and the promises on their receipt... you have the right to give them the package back and pick a new one from the shelf with the same price.
But remember to take everything you bought (cables, earplugs, guide, the cardboard inside the box and the box itself) with you! If you don't they will tell you that you did not bring anything and have no right to pick a new one.
Just get a fresh one it's the best way for you since this problem emerged within the first few hours (and literally on it's first boot). It's most likely a production error. Waiting for a fix at the factory will cost you weeks... and many people report scratches on their screen and broken covers since the phones are not always treated nicely during their travel and fix.
Please post future news on your case here... it's a great help for people with the same problem.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

Same problem but after months
Hi there,
I just had the exact same problem, with a difference : my phone had been working just fine for months. Now, impossible to get it to boot. It cycles the "Google" screen, and that's it. I found that when I hold the volume button down as I start the phone it shows "odin mode", but I do not know what it is for and it does not seem to download anything.
Any ideas?

When it happens right after you purchased the phone, it's better to bring it back to where you bought it from.
On the other hand, try this. Hope this helps.

Is this what a hard brick tastes like? (Not a MM thread)

Well, I'm at wit's end. I'm usually pretty decent at borking and consequently unborking a phone. But I think I'm stumped this time; and am hoping that the community here can help me out. Though, to be fair, I suspect that rolling back to my old phone and eventually buying a new one is my only recourse.
So I imported an H815 Open EU from Handtec UK. No real issues on that front. I eventually unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, and used the KDZ method to (clean) flash my way up to Europe OPEN H81510D initially, and then around two months ago, to Europe OPEN H81510E. I've been running that software without issue since that clean flash. And all this time I've been rooted through the TWRP method.
While this is (was?) my first LG phone, it isn't my first Android experience. So I've been using TiBu to back up my apps nightly, was running Kickoff's lovely hybrid theme, and had a few Xposed modules activated to tweak my experience a bit from stock behavior. I was curious about Marshmallow, but autoprime's warning that it could be non-final test software and the fact that Xposed doesn't work on it kept me from indulging that curiosity.
Everything has been going swimmingly until today. No major issues that I couldn't solve on my own. Certainly nothing that booting into recovery and clearing caches didn't fix. I was out and about engaging in a chat via Hangouts with a friend when my phone suddenly crashed and black-screened. I wasn't plugged into the wall or my PC, and I hadn't performed any kind of major update since the 10E flash a month or two ago. I had not installed any new Xposed modules or any rogue Google Play store apps. I was just using my phone normally and it crashed.
I popped out the battery and played around with it, trying to get it to boot up. I couldn't access recovery or even get beyond the LG logo. It would just hang there and after a few seconds, black-screen. Only popping the battery out and reinserting it would allow me to try again. I eventually left it alone until I got home, at which point I figured I'd try for download mode and reinstall the 10E KDZ via a CSE flash. It's always been a last resort, but a reliable one. I successfully performed the CSE flash of the 10E KDZ.
I thought it did the trick, as I got past the static LG logo for the first time and saw the LG boot animation, but it hung towards the end of the animation and black-screened again. Tried a few more reboots. Recovery mode still not accessible. Download mode was only accessible every third or fourth attempt. Finally got back into download mode and figured I'd try to roll back to 10D (I still had the KDZ I had previously used saved, just in case). Everything seemed to start going fine. Download mode's circle arrow animation on the phone was doing its thing, and then I hear the USB connection drop out. The arrow animation hangs, and the phone black screens. LG Tool 2014 spits out an error I can't read (the software is all question marks for me at this stage). Before it black-screened, it appeared that download mode hadn't progressed beyond 0%.
Now the phone is completely unresponsive. Popping out the battery and reinserting shows no signs of life. No USB sounds from my PC. No static LG logo. No recovery mode or download mode. Not even the lonely flash of an LED.
I've never had a phone hard brick, but I imagine this is what it tastes like.
So I'm probably out of luck, right?
I apologize for the long story. Thanks in advance for sticking around.

Maybe a stupid question but still deserves to be asked, what does pluging the phone in a wall socket gives you?
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using Tapatalk

that is strange to happen randomly. The same thing happened to one of my old devices, a 1st gen moto atrix after I dropped it. I can get it to boot up but eventually it acts like the battery is pulled and just reboots. I'm convinced some wires or chip has been damaged inside even though it was only a 2 foot drop on thick carpet... not a whole lot you can do off warranty. Good luck.

Yeah, I figured the phone was toast. Of course the only time I hard brick a phone, it'd be the one time I import one from another country. Alas.
I think I'll return to my Galaxy S4 for now and pick up a Moto X Pure in a week or two, if no other ideas or opportunities present themselves.
As for having the phone plugged in, I just mentioned it in passing in order to rule out a power surge or short or whatever. Just to be completely clear about what I was doing with my phone.

There are already a few other threads on this man. Try to read first and post. Probably it's a motherboard problem. See the date of manufacturing of your device.

I read completely through the first 5 or 6 threads I saw on bricks and was overwhelmed by Marshmallow woes. Mobo, huh? That's a damn shame. Thank you.

Marshmallow broke my phone so I...

Installed CyanogenMOD and it still resets, locks up and has other performance related issues.
I did an OTA update to Marshmallow originally. This corrupted my SD card and then caused about 10 resets a day, ranging from when I was using it lightly to heavily or even when it was sleeping/screen off. If I woke it up it would reset or I could feel it reset when it was in my pocket.
First thing I did was a factory reset. I tried other tricks such as swapping out the battery, SD card (or none at all), clearing cache, etc.... Nothing worked. So I tried installing CyanogenMOD, and I failed. But I got the phone back to BPA1. I updated back to marshmallow via my computer and the Verizon software updater.
About a day later the resets and lockups came back. I kept it light of apps but did slowly begin to reinstall some of my usuals (from the play store).
I had some more time so I tried installing Cyan again and was successful. It took a long time to load and optimize but it worked. I used gapps mini and the only step I did not follow in the guide was I did not install xposed.
It's been running for about 12 hours and has hanged, locked up and rebooted on me multiple times. Chrome even locks up (it will stop resounding, I'll get the message asking if I want to wait or close at the same time it starts responding again.)
When it reboots, it still takes forever and even optimizes apps (that I assume have already been optimized). I've seen two boot screens for it, one the little alien guy and the other with gears turning. It did the gears the second time I booted and then I haven't seen them again.
I'm not sure what my next step should be. Maybe I'll try reflashing Cyanogen. I have a feeling it's a hardware issue at this point, but I'm open to ideas. Are there any good diagnostic tools that could help my situation?
The phone is out of warranty and I'm sure that now that I've installed Cyanogen, the warranty was voided anyway. It's a shame because this phone was perfect up until the marshmallow update. I probably had 5 lockup/boots in the year or two I've had it.

Why are you using cyanogenmod in the first place. The support for that has ended. Go to the lineage os nougat thread and use that instead.

HORIZONx720 said:
Why are you using cyanogenmod in the first place. The support for that has ended. Go to the lineage os nougat thread and use that instead.
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Click to collapse
Admittedly, I did not even know about lineage until my phone was wiped with no OS. I did a quick Google search for it but could not find a Verizon note 4 mod. Now that I am not pressured to find a fix, I'll research it a bit more. Thank you.

I tried EmotionOS and NSeven, but both share the same error.
Emotion FCs random processes sporadically and then when my cell/data switches to Searching, it crashes multiple processes until the UI (trebuchet is default for Emotion?) and/or settings FCs and I have to restart. I am also stuck on 3G on that platform. I'm guessing network connectivity / switching is the root of the problems.
Nseven installed and right at the Welcome Screen where I pick my language, Google Play Services started crashing. I only had the option to click OK and then every 5 seconds after that, it kept crashing. I set up the phone, restarted and Google Play Services started crashing again. I am in the process of restoring back to Emotion, as it is the most stable platform so far.
I tried a new SIM card, hoping this was the problem but to no avail.
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm guessing its hardware at this point, but since it happened on an OTA Update and I can reproduce the same errors every time, I'm hoping there's still an option left for a fix.
Holy crap. As I was typing this and restoring Emotion, it fully installed and booted. I have 4G! I don't know if that will fix the FC issues, but I have regained a little hope!

I'm still getting FCs and restarts. The more I use it the more it happens, but at least with EmotionOS, It's more limited. Only about 3 or 4 a day compared to 10-20.
I'll try one more flash and I guess tough it out until my contract is up in April.

I can't help you with EmotionOS (haven't tried it yet), but if you want to stop the Google Play Services crashing in NSeven you can make your way to Settings - Applications, then select Google Play Services - Permissions and give it all permissions. It's a bit of a chore to get there when the warning pops up every five seconds, but it will stop once you do that.

So my plan is up and I'm probably switching away from Samsung after this incident. Looking into the pixel or XL. If the v20 is out for Verizon, I might get that but I'll see what looks good when I go to the store today or tomorrow.
I think I've narrowed down my issue to a heat issue. I fixed the 4g and Google play crashes but my phone still locks up or apps start a cascade of crashes. If I power down, I can't restart the phone. If I restart, it powers down but does not turn back on. I remove the battery for 10+ seconds, put it back in for 10+ seconds and it won't turn back on. I'll leave the battery out for minutes to an hour and its a crap shoot.
I can only boot normally or to download mode. TWRP no longer loads. I tried reflashing it and I get a no pit fail. I'd probably look into fixing this but at this point it's not worth it.
What I discovered works is putting the battery and phone on a cool surface, putting the battery back in and placing that on a cool surface and then try to boot up. However, neither my phone nor the battery feel warm to the touch. So that indicates to me something is either off in the sensors, preventing it from turning on or more likely it's a power issue or at least a hardware issue, preventing a constant current or something along those lines. Dips in power could explain apps crashing and the system inexplicably turning off. It would also explain why I can't turn it on easily.
It's really a shame because I liked this phone so much and if the new note was out, I might give it the benefit of the doubt. But last night my Samsung tablet decided to install the updates I've been putting off because they're the same ones that broke this phone. So timing wise, I'm done with Samsung and will try a new brand. Only issue I see with pixel is it doesn't have a removable battery so hopefully I don't run into this issue on that device!
Thanks for all the help xda. If it was a solvable problem, I'm sure I could have fixed it with your help.

Final entry.
I got the v20, and spent a day trying to get my note back to factory. I thought I was doing something wrong, but eventually flashed a kernel, recovery, bootloader and then full Rom (I think it was BPA1 but it could have been CPF3, I don't have it in front of me). I was getting error after error, no PIT partition, mmc check fail, use the Samsung Recovery Assistant, and a few others (again, it's not in front of me so I may have gotten it wrong). The big one was a write disk failure when I was trying to flash the full Rom. I fixed that by flashing kernel, bootloader, recovery, then sticking the battery and the phone on the freezer for ~5 minutes before trying to flash the full Rom.
I updated via USB after that using recovery assistant. Probably completely unnecessary, they just needed to get to the factory reset screen, but when I bought my phone, I couldn't trade in the note because i couldn't turn it on. They gave me $86 for it. Anything less and i would have considered just taking a hammer and microwave to it. Good riddance!
Still a little sad, I loved this phone right up until marshmallow dishonored and killed her.

trickyvinny said:
Final entry.
I got the v20, and spent a day trying to get my note back to factory. I thought I was doing something wrong, but eventually flashed a kernel, recovery, bootloader and then full Rom (I think it was BPA1 but it could have been CPF3, I don't have it in front of me). I was getting error after error, no PIT partition, mmc check fail, use the Samsung Recovery Assistant, and a few others (again, it's not in front of me so I may have gotten it wrong). The big one was a write disk failure when I was trying to flash the full Rom. I fixed that by flashing kernel, bootloader, recovery, then sticking the battery and the phone on the freezer for ~5 minutes before trying to flash the full Rom.
I updated via USB after that using recovery assistant. Probably completely unnecessary, they just needed to get to the factory reset screen, but when I bought my phone, I couldn't trade in the note because i couldn't turn it on. They gave me $86 for it. Anything less and i would have considered just taking a hammer and microwave to it. Good riddance!
Still a little sad, I loved this phone right up until marshmallow dishonored and killed her.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know a lot of people are blaming software, but I'm fairly certain that the problems in many cases are caused by failing hardware. I went through many of the same trials and tribulations with my Note 4 (except I never rooted the phone). I finally contacted Samsung Customer Support and sent the phone in for repair. They replaced a lot of the hardware including the motherboard and returned the phone in "like new" condition. I've been using it for a few weeks now and the performance is flawless.
I was planning to get either the V20 or the G6 if I wasn't able to get the phone fixed. How do you like the V20?

I'd agree that it's most likely hardware and having to put everything in the freezer for it to when confirms it for me although I have no real expertise to say so. But I'd argue that the update created the hardware issue, it was night and day with the update. It was working 100% and then directly after the update to marshmallow, it started having catastrophic issues. Oh well, it's nice not having to pull the battery every hour or so.
V20 is pretty nice. Having used EmotionOS for a few months the switch to the Nougat was pretty smooth. The xda forums for it are a little more limited but I didn't start messing with my phone until it broke and I'm hesitant to try with a new phone given my limited knowhow.
To be honest it's not a big difference in day to day usage from the note 4. Which I like!
+ I never used the finger print scanner but really like it on the v20. I didn't bother with a screen lock before but now I'm protected and have a just as quick access.
-the grip is too slick, I feel like I will drop it. The note had that rougher back which I liked better. A case or a replacement cover should fix that though.
+ I like this top menu screen, I have quick access to a few select apps or can turn the flashlight on or whatever. I'd like it more customizable, I find I switch screens too much when trying to just pull my top menu down. If I could put everything on one tab and combine their special buttons (ie the flashlight button) with apps, it would be perfect.
-the back button and menu button are switched. I can probably customize that but I don't yet know how and by the time I figure it out, I will have relearned that habit. It actually is probably a better placement for how I hold the phone but I'm a big fan of choices.
+ upgraded camera, sound, storage. I don't notice the screen size difference, but it is a lighter phone.
-bloatware
All in all its a good shift from the note 4. I'm happy to be off of Samsung and still have the same basic user experience.

trickyvinny said:
So my plan is up and I'm probably switching away from Samsung after this incident. Looking into the pixel or XL. If the v20 is out for Verizon, I might get that but I'll see what looks good when I go to the store today or tomorrow.
I think I've narrowed down my issue to a heat issue. I fixed the 4g and Google play crashes but my phone still locks up or apps start a cascade of crashes. If I power down, I can't restart the phone. If I restart, it powers down but does not turn back on. I remove the battery for 10+ seconds, put it back in for 10+ seconds and it won't turn back on. I'll leave the battery out for minutes to an hour and its a crap shoot.
I can only boot normally or to download mode. TWRP no longer loads. I tried reflashing it and I get a no pit fail. I'd probably look into fixing this but at this point it's not worth it.
What I discovered works is putting the battery and phone on a cool surface, putting the battery back in and placing that on a cool surface and then try to boot up. However, neither my phone nor the battery feel warm to the touch. So that indicates to me something is either off in the sensors, preventing it from turning on or more likely it's a power issue or at least a hardware issue, preventing a constant current or something along those lines. Dips in power could explain apps crashing and the system inexplicably turning off. It would also explain why I can't turn it on easily.
It's really a shame because I liked this phone so much and if the new note was out, I might give it the benefit of the doubt. But last night my Samsung tablet decided to install the updates I've been putting off because they're the same ones that broke this phone. So timing wise, I'm done with Samsung and will try a new brand. Only issue I see with pixel is it doesn't have a removable battery so hopefully I don't run into this issue on that device!
Thanks for all the help xda. If it was a solvable problem, I'm sure I could have fixed it with your help.
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I have had the exact same problem with my note 4. It wouldn't last 30 seconds at a lock screen from a cold battery before it would start boot looping, and the longer you left it in, the worse it got. Google told me I needed a new battery from several other forums and places I read. So I ordered one and replaced with a genuine Samsung one direct from them, and it didn't change anything.
I figured out it was heat related and I had it sit on an ice pack and it would run and work fine as long as the ice pack held out, about 2 hours. I've down graded, flashed, rooted the boot loader, installed a recovery console, flashed to different versions, all have the same problem. So I've kind of reserved myself to the fact it must be a hardware problem. Perhaps it was caused by the update, but nothing software change wise seems to be able to fix it. Did wake-loc fix as well. I've spent the last week with mine trying everything in the world and every evening having it on the ice pack hooked up trying whatever I could think of or read up on doing, and basically as soon as it warms up, it starts doing it again.
Heres a pic; http://imgur.com/a/5L64V

In my experience, it gets worse and worse. The day I bought my v20, I tried to trade it into Verizon but couldn't even turn it on in front of the rep. I thought I had timed the new phone perfectly but still wanted the $80! Fortunately I got it working after the weekend and just stuck everything in the freezer before I walked to Verizon.

trickyvinny said:
In my experience, it gets worse and worse. The day I bought my v20, I tried to trade it into Verizon but couldn't even turn it on in front of the rep. I thought I had timed the new phone perfectly but still wanted the $80! Fortunately I got it working after the weekend and just stuck everything in the freezer before I walked to Verizon.
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Just out of curiosity, what phone did you wind up going to?

The LG v20 and so far so good!