Had something really weird happen to my S3 guys.
Running teamwin and the Liquid-Smooth ROM. Been that way for 5 months since I bought it with no problems until now.
Plugged the phone up to the charger last night before bed. Woke up and wondered why the charging light was still yellow so I kicked the screen on and it was charging at an extremely slow rate (Around 40mA). Unplugged the charger and the phone made a tone I had never heard before. Noticed two small "glitches" or "artifacts" in the display rendering around the clock area on the home screen. Attempted browsing around the phone. App drawer opened and closed fine but EVERY process or app I would try to launch would crash so I rebooted, and that brings me to where I am now.
The ROM will NOT boot. The phone just sits there at the Galaxy SIII splashscreen. I can boot to Odin/recovery just fine and the internal SD filesystem appears intact and browse-able. Tried totally nuking the data section. Wiped Dalvik/Cache, did factory reset and then wiped the ROM. Tried re-installing the ROM and even re-flashing the radio and it still doesn't boot past the splashscreen.
While I was in recovery it also told me, "Your phone doesn't appear to be rooted. Would you like to install SU?", which is strange because the phone WAS rooted.
Thinking this thing mysteriously turned itself into a paperweight. Any ideas?
Please install a different Non-Liquid Rom. But for best results, First ODIN back to stock and then go from there. Use Root 66 Stock image.
agree with odin flashing root66 firmware. factory reset FIRST though. you will likely be forced to if you dont, and once stock recovery is flashed back on it will wipe internal sd.
if you still have issues after that i would suspect a hardware failure.
Sent from my T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide(HTC Espresso) using Tapatalk 2
Just FYI guys I got it back about an hour after posting this.
Even after wiping both caches, performing a factory reset, fixing permissions and finally nuking the ROM it still would not boot. I then put in a spare SD, used recovery to copy everything from internal to external to save all my valuable data and only after wiping the internal SD was I able to get the phone to boot again after re-installing the ROM.
I then transferred all valuable files back to internal SD, restored from a recovery backup and then was good to go. A bit strange but I got it working again.
Eventually I might upgrade from LiquidSmooth but I like it and have no reason to change for now.
Quick backstory, I tried flashing CM to my S3. Couldn't tell you the build number atm, but it was stable release and I double checked that it was for the correct phone/carrier. CM flashed fine, but had me stuck at the Cyanogenmod load screen. I don't have internet at home right now, and am working 7 days a week, typically for 12 hours. So for about 3 days I was soft bricked, because my CWM recovery couldn't mount my internal sd (where my backup was).
At the next opportunity,I managed to install MOAR rom for my phone. Boots up fine, everything is working, but I have the "No sim card inserted, emergency calls only" on my lock screen (or something to that effect). I can still make calls, text,mms, and even browse the web. However,I don't seem to have 3g or 4g capabilities anymore. My next step would be to re flash the stock Rom, which I have, but fails to install due to the inability to mount the internal sd. It flashes fine, but boots into recovery mode and gives me a bunch of errors about unable to mount e: etc..
I was able to salvage some of my CWM recovery and can restore the system and boot partitions, but my data was corrupted. Even so, doing that still leaves me with the SIM error and no visible mobile data connection. I'm truly lost as to where to go next, any advice is appreciated!
Edit: The only unusual thing I've noticed is my ICCID is listed as "unknown". Not sure if that is helpful!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Spensword said:
Quick backstory, I tried flashing CM to my S3. Couldn't tell you the build number atm, but it was stable release and I double checked that it was for the correct phone/carrier. CM flashed fine, but had me stuck at the Cyanogenmod load screen. I don't have internet at home right now, and am working 7 days a week, typically for 12 hours. So for about 3 days I was soft bricked, because my CWM recovery couldn't mount my internal sd (where my backup was).
At the next opportunity,I managed to install MOAR rom for my phone. Boots up fine, everything is working, but I have the "No sim card inserted, emergency calls only" on my lock screen (or something to that effect). I can still make calls, text,mms, and even browse the web. However,I don't seem to have 3g or 4g capabilities anymore. My next step would be to re flash the stock Rom, which I have, but fails to install due to the inability to mount the internal sd. It flashes fine, but boots into recovery mode and gives me a bunch of errors about unable to mount e: etc..
I was able to salvage some of my CWM recovery and can restore the system and boot partitions, but my data was corrupted. Even so, doing that still leaves me with the SIM error and no visible mobile data connection. I'm truly lost as to where to go next, any advice is appreciated!
Edit: The only unusual thing I've noticed is my ICCID is listed as "unknown". Not sure if that is helpful!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch this video so you can put your phone back to stock and wait 24 hours afterwards so all of the factory updates can be reinstalled on your device and then re-root and reinstall your favorite rom. http://qbking77.com/how-to-unroot/unroot-unbrick-the-samsung-galaxy-s-iii/
At my next available opportunity I hopped online and downloaded the stock Rom over. Re flashed to stock and waited for updates, everything seems to be good now. Re rooted and no issues so far, only just slightly hesitant about putting another Rom on it. Did a full backup of stock non rooted beforehand though, in hopes to avoid another disaster.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
UPDATE: My SIM card was bad. I swapped it for a new one and the entire problem was solved.
I dreaded the thought of wiping my phone and starting over, but I hated losing 4G LTE so frequently that I gave in and wiped my phone in order to get LTE to stick... and it didn't work.
I'm going to give a very thorough account of everything I did so that hopefully someone can point out any particular problem and/or solution to my issues. This plan was largely based around user AznInertia's steps which he reported to have eliminated his mobile data issues.
1) Downloaded Viperone 4.1.0 full, 4.2.1 full, and 4.3.0 OTA. In addition, I downloaded Philz latest custom CWM recovery and the 3.11.605.1 firmware, primarily in order to have the latest radios.
2) Went into fastboot and flashed Philz recovery.
3) Went into recovery and did a Factory Reset wipe.
4) Back to fastboot to flash 3.11.605.1 using santod's instructions.
5) Back to recovery to wipe data again, and install Viperone 4.1.0 full (with option to wipe data again from within Aroma)
5a) proceed to reboot immediately after installation had finished, and ended up with boot loops. Realized I forgot to flash boot.img from 3.11.605.1, so I went back to fastboot and flashed it.
6) Boot loop goes away, Viperone logo appears, takes a really long time, reboots, Viperone logo reappears and finally I get the "Android is optimizing apps" screen. I let it go all the way through and start doing the first time setup. I fill in the Google account info, and Google Play syncs my contacts, and starts downloading apps. Meanwhile, I have absolutely no network service.
7) Reboot to recovery and flash 4.2.1 without wiping. Phone proceeds to Viperone logo and this time gets fully stuck (waited approx. 15 minutes). Help power down to reboot the phone, and this time it kicks over to "Android is optimizing apps," etc.
8) OS fully loads up, and this time I have Verizon Network service, but it's very apparent that 4G LTE isn't sticking, and it keeps dropping down to 3G.
9) Reboot to recovery and flash 4.3.0 OTA (no wipe). Back in the OS, I click Venom Tweaks->Misc->Phone info, drop down to "Set preferred network type:" and I switch it from "CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto" to "LTE, CDMA." Phone goes back to 4G for a moment, and then drops down to 1X.
9a) Back to phone info, switch from "LTE, CDMA" to "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto," phone goes back to 4G briefly and then down to 3G.
I am DESPERATE here, I really want to stick with this ROM, but having been forced by Verizon to increase my monthly payment for 4G and not being able to use it feels like a punch in the nuts. Does ANYONE have ANY ideas on what I could do? Some different order and/or application of the steps I mentioned? I would be so grateful for any kind of help at all. Thanks very much in advance to this amazing and knowledgeable community.
Flash full odex stock ROM and stock recovery.
Perform a factory reset from settings with stock recovery installed.
Then reboot.
Now you can flash a custom recovery and ROM and data should be fine...
The stock recovery factory reset restores the Verizon NV partition responsible for your data issues.
Good luck!
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
santod040 said:
Flash full odex stock ROM and stock recovery.
Perform a factory reset from settings with stock recovery installed.
Then reboot.
Now you can flash a custom recovery and ROM and data should be fine...
The stock recovery factory reset restores the Verizon NV partition responsible for your data issues.
Good luck!
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Santod, I appreciate the help, I read this post and thought, "oh simple, this will be a breeze," and naturally (for me), nothing is working properly.
I tried downloading 3.11.605.1_M7_WL_KK_55_VZW_442_Odex_Full.zip and installing it through Philz recovery. I selected the zip, I get what looks like an ASCII art face, followed by "M7vzw-KitKat, Stock Rooted ROM, Android 4.4.2, Verizon HTC One 3.11.605.1, Packaged by santod." So far so good. Then it's immediately followed by: "format() expected 5 args, got 4. E:Error in /data/media/0/3.11.605.1+M7_WL_KK_55_VZW_442_Odex_Full.zip (Status 7). Installation aborted."
So I thought perhaps I was meant to flash the recovery first? I tried flashing 3.11.605.1_recovery.img, and all I got was the red triangle exclamation point. So I tried 1.10.605.10 instead, and that seemed to do something ("Installing Verizon Wireless" something or other) but no option to install and/or wipe. So I went back to Philz, tried your odex full ROM again, and same thing.
I'm back on ViperOne 4.2.1 for now just to have a workable phone. Please help :crying:
Use CWM recovery .4.5 version to install stock Rom.
Do Rom first then recovery.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
ProcyonSJJ said:
I dreaded the thought of wiping my phone and starting over, but I hated losing 4G LTE so frequently that I gave in and wiped my phone in order to get LTE to stick... and it didn't work.
I'm going to give a very thorough account of everything I did so that hopefully someone can point out any particular problem and/or solution to my issues. This plan was largely based around user AznInertia's steps which he reported to have eliminated his mobile data issues.
1) Downloaded Viperone 4.1.0 full, 4.2.1 full, and 4.3.0 OTA. In addition, I downloaded Philz latest custom CWM recovery and the 3.11.605.1 firmware, primarily in order to have the latest radios.
2) Went into fastboot and flashed Philz recovery.
3) Went into recovery and did a Factory Reset wipe.
4) Back to fastboot to flash 3.11.605.1 using santod's instructions.
5) Back to recovery to wipe data again, and install Viperone 4.1.0 full (with option to wipe data again from within Aroma)
5a) proceed to reboot immediately after installation had finished, and ended up with boot loops. Realized I forgot to flash boot.img from 3.11.605.1, so I went back to fastboot and flashed it.
6) Boot loop goes away, Viperone logo appears, takes a really long time, reboots, Viperone logo reappears and finally I get the "Android is optimizing apps" screen. I let it go all the way through and start doing the first time setup. I fill in the Google account info, and Google Play syncs my contacts, and starts downloading apps. Meanwhile, I have absolutely no network service.
7) Reboot to recovery and flash 4.2.1 without wiping. Phone proceeds to Viperone logo and this time gets fully stuck (waited approx. 15 minutes). Help power down to reboot the phone, and this time it kicks over to "Android is optimizing apps," etc.
8) OS fully loads up, and this time I have Verizon Network service, but it's very apparent that 4G LTE isn't sticking, and it keeps dropping down to 3G.
9) Reboot to recovery and flash 4.3.0 OTA (no wipe). Back in the OS, I click Venom Tweaks->Misc->Phone info, drop down to "Set preferred network type:" and I switch it from "CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto" to "LTE, CDMA." Phone goes back to 4G for a moment, and then drops down to 1X.
9a) Back to phone info, switch from "LTE, CDMA" to "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto," phone goes back to 4G briefly and then down to 3G.
I am DESPERATE here, I really want to stick with this ROM, but having been forced by Verizon to increase my monthly payment for 4G and not being able to use it feels like a punch in the nuts. Does ANYONE have ANY ideas on what I could do? Some different order and/or application of the steps I mentioned? I would be so grateful for any kind of help at all. Thanks very much in advance to this amazing and knowledgeable community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if it makes a difference but try TWRP (I think 2.6.3.4?), I see people having issue with Philz all the time. Use the newest TWRP, you have the sequence of ROMs correct
1.) Clean flash ViperOne 4.1 FULL
2.) Dirty ViperOne 4.2.1 Full
3.) Dirty ViperOne 4.3 OTA
Also, don't install the Full 3.11.605.1 Firmware unless you download the ZIP and remove the boot.img file. If you don't do that that screws up your kernel. To be safe you can just download the flashable radios only once you got through the instructions I included.
- FYI, I never got stuck at #7, so that's odd
I added a firmware zip without the Boot.img yesterday.
But if having the data issues like described above, the factory reset in stock recovery is really what is needed to fix things up...
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
I didn't remove the boot.img file first Now I'm stuck at verizon logo. Not sure what the correct approach to fixing this is. Do I try to reinstall a custom kernel? Do I reflash CWM and do a full wipe and try again? *banging head on desk*
Wait, you said to remove it from the firmware. But this time I didn't flash the firmware, I didn't think I had to. I left boot.img in the 3.11.605.1 ROM though, is that safe? Very confused...
Thanks so much for your support and sticking with me through this.
Update:
1) Went back to CWM 6.0.4.5
2) Flashed Full Odex (with boot.img left in)
3) Back to fastboot, flashed 3.11.605.1 recovery,
4) Entered recovery, red triangle exclamation point. Not sure why my phone doesn't like 3.11.605.1 recovery.
ProcyonSJJ said:
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
I didn't remove the boot.img file first Now I'm stuck at verizon logo. Not sure what the correct approach to fixing this is. Do I try to reinstall a custom kernel? Do I reflash CWM and do a full wipe and try again? *banging head on desk*
Wait, you said to remove it from the firmware. But this time I didn't flash the firmware, I didn't think I had to. I left boot.img in the 3.11.605.1 ROM though, is that safe? Very confused...
Thanks so much for your support and sticking with me through this.
Update:
1) Went back to CWM 6.0.4.5
2) Flashed Full Odex (with boot.img left in)
3) Back to fastboot, flashed 3.11.605.1 recovery,
4) Entered recovery, red triangle exclamation point. Not sure why my phone doesn't like 3.11.605.1 recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You leave the boot.img in if you want to use a stock kernel with a 4.4.2 ROM (like the odex stock rom that you flashed). The problem is that the 3.11.605.1 recovery (with boot.img) is made for 4.4.2 which is the OTA, whereas ViperOne runs on 4.4. I had issues before running stock kernel with the ViperOne rom which runs a slightly different version. I'm hoping it will get fixed later on.
I would redownload 3.11.605.1 recovery and make sure md5 match before flashing
ProcyonSJJ said:
Update:
1) Went back to CWM 6.0.4.5
2) Flashed Full Odex (with boot.img left in)
3) Back to fastboot, flashed 3.11.605.1 recovery,
4) Entered recovery, red triangle exclamation point. Not sure why my phone doesn't like 3.11.605.1 recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is standard stock recovery behavior.
Volume up and power will get you a stock recovery menu.
From here you can do a factory reset.
Or just boot into the system and go to settings > storage I believe, and do a factory reset from there with stock recovery still installed.
It will take care of the rest itself from there.
OK, here's where I'm at.
1) I successfully installed both the 3.11.605.1 ROM and recovery. Booted up the OS, requested a factory restore, the phone rebooted and did that green icon screen indicating that the recovery was doing its thing. (BTW Santos, could never get power + volume up to do anything, not that I tried too hard once I got the factory restore to work through the OS.)
2) Based on Santos's confidence, I didn't bother flashing ViperOne 4.1.0, and went straight to clean flashing 4.2.1. I let it boot up, did the setup, went back to recovery and dirty flashed 4.3.0.
The results: 4G LTE still drops. It seems to hang on better, but it definitely drops back to 3G regardless of what settings I choose. Interestingly, when I changed the preferred network from Global to CDMA/LTE, sometimes it would tell me that there's no network, would I like to switch to Global. When I went back to the preferred network setting, somehow thge setting was changed to GSM. I also noticed something similar if I went into the Misc Phone info setting under Venom Tweaks and tried to force CDMA/LTE only without EvDo.
SO... Now I'm back to square one, determined to figure out the root cause. I'm back to 3.11.605.1, and I'm going to stick with it for around 24 hours to see if it drops to 3G before I proceed to follow AznInertia's instructions and clean flash 4.1.0. At least then I'll know if it drops, it's not the ROM, but its been about an hour and no drop so far. *sigh* Thanks again for your patience and assistance.
Update: An hour and a half later, still connected to 4G. Although, I've been at my home the entire night. The true test will be when I drive to and from work tomorrow.
Update 2: I don't know when it happened exactly, but I dropped to 3G on stock! I'm actually excited because maybe it's just my sim card after all! Hopefully I can just replace it, reinstall ViperOne and put this whole issue to bed!
It could be the SIM card or just your area having 4g issues. I have been on the Rom for awhile and never had an issue with 4g dropping. I do drop to 3g when at work but that's more due to coverage. Hope it's just your SIM card but it's definitely not the Rom.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
ProcyonSJJ said:
OK, here's where I'm at.
1) I successfully installed both the 3.11.605.1 ROM and recovery. Booted up the OS, requested a factory restore, the phone rebooted and did that green icon screen indicating that the recovery was doing its thing. (BTW Santos, could never get power + volume up to do anything, not that I tried too hard once I got the factory restore to work through the OS.)
2) Based on Santos's confidence, I didn't bother flashing ViperOne 4.1.0, and went straight to clean flashing 4.2.1. I let it boot up, did the setup, went back to recovery and dirty flashed 4.3.0.
The results: 4G LTE still drops. It seems to hang on better, but it definitely drops back to 3G regardless of what settings I choose. Interestingly, when I changed the preferred network from Global to CDMA/LTE, sometimes it would tell me that there's no network, would I like to switch to Global. When I went back to the preferred network setting, somehow thge setting was changed to GSM. I also noticed something similar if I went into the Misc Phone info setting under Venom Tweaks and tried to force CDMA/LTE only without EvDo.
SO... Now I'm back to square one, determined to figure out the root cause. I'm back to 3.11.605.1, and I'm going to stick with it for around 24 hours to see if it drops to 3G before I proceed to follow AznInertia's instructions and clean flash 4.1.0. At least then I'll know if it drops, it's not the ROM, but its been about an hour and no drop so far. *sigh* Thanks again for your patience and assistance.
Update: An hour and a half later, still connected to 4G. Although, I've been at my home the entire night. The true test will be when I drive to and from work tomorrow.
Update 2: I don't know when it happened exactly, but I dropped to 3G on stock! I'm actually excited because maybe it's just my sim card after all! Hopefully I can just replace it, reinstall ViperOne and put this whole issue to bed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you were able to get 3.11.605.1 going and got it restored, I went through the same frustration with you and I tried multiple combinations for the 4G drop but the one I suggested was the only way to do it (clean of 4.2.1 and 4.3 full ROM had dropped connections).
If you get dropped connections to 3G its probably: coverage drops or perhaps you need to change SIM card. If you go to the corporate stores (not 3rd party), you can swam SIM for free. If you go to those 3rd party Verizon dealers they charge for SIMs. FYI
So it was the SIM card afterall... *facepalm*
Couldn't find a corporate VZW store, so I had to go to a retailer, and like you said, they charged me. $10, so it wasn't too bad.
But I switched on Wednesday, and I have dropped down to 3G exactly one time, when I was in a particularly bad area. Flashed 4.2.1 clean and 4.3.0 dirty, and have been running fine ever since. Don't know why I waited so long to address the SIM card. I really wish there was some kind of useful diagnostic tool that could identify SIM cards that have gone bad.
Although this thread is Note centric, the second post describes the problem I was having perfectly (understanding after the fact...): http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-nexus/185483-sim-card-ever-go-bad.html
Thanks again for everyone's help. I'm going to modify the original post.
Phone was originally bone stock, I then rooted & installed TWRP recovery, booted into TWRP and did the Backup option and saved it to SD Card, I then flashed CM 12.1 and used it for a little over a month, trying the various Nightly updates.
I decided to go back to the stock rom I had backed up previously, It restores successfully but when I boot the phone everything is crashing once it hits the home screen, "Unfortunately xxxx has stopped" is seen over and over, I can't load anything, even the settings menu crashes.
I then tried rebooting into TWRP and did Factory reset but when I do this It wont ever get past the Samsung logo on reboot.
Not sure what went wrong with the backup or if Im missing a step? I also tried enabling the verify MD5 check option for the Backup and it says everything is fine.
For now I'm back in CM 12.1, Any ideas appreciated!
mathesar said:
Phone was originally bone stock, I then rooted & installed TWRP recovery, booted into TWRP and did the Backup option and saved it to SD Card, I then flashed CM 12.1 and used it for a little over a month, trying the various Nightly updates.
I decided to go back to the stock rom I had backed up previously, It restores successfully but when I boot the phone everything is crashing once it hits the home screen, "Unfortunately xxxx has stopped" is seen over and over, I can't load anything, even the settings menu crashes.
I then tried rebooting into TWRP and did Factory reset but when I do this It wont ever get past the Samsung logo on reboot.
Not sure what went wrong with the backup or if Im missing a step? I also tried enabling the verify MD5 check option for the Backup and it says everything is fine.
For now I'm back in CM 12.1, Any ideas appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the wipe option.. for a clean install?