Develop Bugs

Factory Restore an Encrypted Galaxy S3

Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.

I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.

Eddie,
Thanks for your response.
1) I used stock method for encryption
2) Decrypt the phone is not possible apparently,only way is to factory restore the phone apparently
3) I went to the AT&T store and they were unable to factory restore (using the standard methods). They offered an exchange but since I purchase over the phone at a discounted price, I have to do the exchange using that method. Before shipping back the phone, I was wondering if I could fix it myself with the help of knowledgeable people.
CZ Eddie said:
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I have never used the encryption but if the phone can turn on and is usable, cant you go into the encryption settings and turn encryption off? then you should be able to do anything (may be best to start with a factory restore first just so you have a fresh slate to work with)

1ofAKind said:
Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1ofaKind,
Had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me. Encrypted my S3 in order to access work exchange server. Tried CWM but cannot mount /emmc/ problem after booting into recovery. Have not tried to factory reset yet as I am wanting to learn more before I go that route. But basically I am in the same boat as you. The only difference is I was not required to encrypt an external SD card when I put it in my phone. Read about flashboot as well...maybe the only way to actually factory reset after encryption??
Sorry I cannot offer any solutions at the moment...but I will keep scouring the forums looking for a way.
If I learn something valuable, I will try to post it here to help ya out.
EDIT: Maybe you have read these threads, but there is some decent info in them. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1451655 & http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392037
good luck

Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

I'm in the same boat here - had to encrypt my GS3 in order to receive corporate (Exchange Server) emails. Now can't update the OS on the phone which is more important to me than receiving corporate emails on the device.
Can someone tell me how to decrypt (UN-encrypt) the phone? Everything I've read says that a factory reset won't do it.
Please help!

CZ Eddie said:
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried this? If so, did it work?

I clicked install rom from sd card in cwm selected f/w which i had copied into internal memory. Did factory reset in recovery.

Odin it back to stock.

This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.

sid9102 said:
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...

tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.

tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN (for me at least) wont see anything since im using Windows 8. On Windows 7, however, it works just fine.

Factory reset encrypted phone
hi,
I'm using CM11 as a rom.
I didn't want to reinstall stock rom, just to root it again later.
Installing updated version from external SD didn't work (updated the ROM but no decryption)
Tried to factory reset from recovery - didn't work, as the internal storage is encrypted it can't mount /sdcard/
however, from within settings menu, in backup&restore there's an option to do a factory reset - this is formatting internal memory altogether.
worked like a charm.

oxidase said:
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this is very old but I am going to make a note here in case anyone else gets into this problem. When you go back to stock, do the factory reset using the STOCK recovery. Don't install TWRP or anything else until you have cleared the encryption. At least, that's what worked for me.

Need major help/advice from the community

I'm so disconcerted right now. I have the Verizon LG G3, everything stock but rooted, and just recently was fiddling with the Bump bootloader bypass. Everything was going well, and I remember this thread from a while back because I'm heavy on customizing my phone. Long story short, I download the "Clean Lockscreen" mod, flashed it, and now I get a "unfortunately the process com.android.systemui has stopped" when I boot up my phone. Skips the lockscreen, the home pages load up normally, but the only thing I can interact with is the Power Menu and the "Ok" to dismiss the "unfortunately..." message.
(mod was directly from http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/themes-apps/theme-g3-clean-look-kk-4-4-2-t2834442)
Short of factory resetting, is there any quick dirty fix that will let me stop having a panic attack? I'm so lazy/dumb for not having a backup, but I was so eager to start flashing things I couldn't be bothered to set one up. I gambled and lost. Hard.
Also, is there anyway to extract my photos before, worst case scenario, I do have to factory reset? I have so many pictures since I bought this phone that losing them all because of this little mistake is what's driving me crazy, on top of losing every little tweak I did here and there for the past few months.
Lastly, if I do factory reset, does that also erase everything on my SD card? The Quick Circle case is on there pretty snug.
**My theory is that someone with a Verizon LG G3 V10B (didn't update because I was afraid to lose root) has the original file that whatever the "Clean Lockscreen mod" file replaced, and I can just flash that and be sane again** please please please
TL;DR --> Verizon user, got Bump, got excited, started flashing things with no backup (dumb dumb dumb), going crazy, now hoping that I can replace that one thing I flashed with the stock original and be fine (whatever the Clean Lockscreen mod changed)

BE VERY CAREFUL READING THIS POST, IF YOU FOLLOW MY SUGGESTIONS AND LOSE YOUR PICTURES FOR ANY REASON I AM NOT RESPONSABLE.
~ You shoulda done a backup.
Just booting into recovery is 90% of the work needed to do a backup, The other 10% of the work is just clicking "backup" and waiting 15 seconds. (You were just lazy/impatient, Not dumb.)
~ Did you flash a mod that was specifically for your exact model?
~ Can you still get into your custom recovery?
~ Before you try anything in my list I would first see if you can locate the stock lockscreen files on the internet for your model and flash them back onto your phone.
~ The FC issues you're having is usually related to not having the proper permissions.
If you can still go into recovery, Boot into recovery and wipe the Cache, Dalvik cache, & go to advanced and click fix permissions.
~ It looks like to me that your launcher may be pooched.
(In my experience the lockscreen/keyguard seems to be tied to the actual launcher/UI itself, Which is why I believe your UI is broken)
Because you can't install a new launcher in the operating system I would try and find a flashable .zip version of another launcher, like nova launcher or something and flash that in recovery.
~ I'm 99% sure a Factory reset won't help your situation.
I'm almost positive you're gonna have to re-flash your firmware to return your phone to working condition.
~ Try a dirty flash, Using same type of rom. (YOU "COULD" LOSE YOUR PICTURES DOING THIS, BUT PROBLY WON'T, Use as one of your last resorts)
Try and find a flashable .zip rom that is flashable in recovery, One that is the same type as your current rom and try a dirty flash "without" wiping anything.
Only flash using the recovery without wiping "OR YOU WILL LOSE ALL YOUR PICS", Also if you flash using your PC it WILL DELETE EVERYTHING.
(If your current rom is stock or stock based rom, Find a stock/stock based .zip based rom and dirty flash in custom recovery)
(If your current rom is AOSP based rom, Find a AOSP based .zip based rom and dirty flash in custom recovery)
After you dirty flash, Backup your pictures & anything else you may need then do a clean flash.
~ There are apps that can recover "deleted/inaccessible" data. (THIS IS ABSOLUTLY LAST RESORT, DON'T TRY THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO OTHER OPTION.)
When you delete something off a storage device, It doesn't delete the actual data, It deletes the operating systems directories where the said info is stored, Resulting in what looks like to the operating system as "empty space" Which it actually isn't.
If you "have to" wipe your phone before being able to recover your pictures, Avoid installing ANYTHING you can (If/when possible) until you recover your pictures if you have to wipe your phone, Because anything that goes on your phone while your stuff is deleted CAN be overwritten. (You're gonna have to google a bit to find what apps are capable of this on android.)

[Q] Stuck at logo after restore to stock ROM

Newbie here.
My SGH-T989 was getting stuck at Samsung logo during bootup [tried everything else before odin] so I used Odin (both ver 1.85 and ver 3.09) to flash the phone using stock ROM (4.1.2 from sammobile.com). However it never gets out of the stuck mode so I tried even the older ICS version. The phone still remained stuck so I went back to 4.1.2 version. Again, no change. Tried all these few times and everytime the ROM flashing succeeds but the phone doesn't bootup.
I DON'T want to do a factory reset yet because I want to retrieve the contacts and pictures. So I did research and got contradictory info hence simple newbie questions.
1. By flashing it with stock ROM using odin, did I loose my contacts, pictures etc? I believe the answer is NO. Please confirm.
2. If I root my phone is there a chance that I may be able to recover the phone. It is likely that my stock ROM was just fine from the beginning but something else like an app is causing a problem. In that case even rooting the phone may not change anything. Is this likely or am I missing something?
3. If I attempt to do a custom recovery using CWM or TWRP, is there a chance that I may be able to retrieve my contacts and pictures? Or have I already lost them?
Thanks in advance.
Jay

You will not loose your pictures, they are stored in your phone's Internal SD and WILL NOT be deleted with a factory reset. I do believe, however, that by returning to stock with ODIN, you have lost all of your contacts unless you synched them with google.
The only way to loose your pictures is by formatting (not factory resetting) your phone
I think that's what's causing your problem, you need to do a FULL WIPE and then install a ROM for it to work properly. I do think all your contacts are lost though, so might as well go for it.
Again, your pictures are all safe, you can even enter recovery mode and mount as USB to recover them if you have any doubt.

Recovering data from boot looping device (or fixing it)

My friend has an AT&T S6 Edge+ that is boot looping. Initially it was just frozen/unresponsive on the home screen. Rebooting just went to a boot loop showing the Samsung splash screen over and over again, although once in a while it does actually seem to do something which appears to be perhaps a failed attempt to apply an update (see attached image)
All I really want to do is to recover contacts from it. For some reason it seems the device was not configured to sync them to Google (or Samsung Cloud afaik), and they are not stored on the SIM, so they must be on the device only. If my best option is to try to fix the boot looping (i.e. get it to boot) in order to recover this data, let me know.
I have done recovery and rooting and custom ROMs on Nexus/Pixel devices for years, but never on a Samsung device. This was running the stock ROM (but I am not sure of which version exactly)
Is it conceivable that I could use ODIN to flash the same (or perhaps a slightly newer) AT&T ROM onto it in order to get it to boot? Does that flashing process have to wipe the user data from the device? (I have already download a fairly recent AT&T ROM) This won't cause a KNOX issue, will it?
Is there another way? Can I install a custom recovery on it and access user data via ADB? Seems like that might require it to have an unlocked bootloader, right? And I bet there is no way to unlock the bootloader without first booting it and enabling "OEM unlock", is there?
Does anyone know where the Samsung Contacts app stores its data? What is the full package name of that app?
Would it be better to post this on the regular "Galaxy S6" non-Edge+ forum? Or on the non-carrier-specific forum?
Do people in AT&T stores have the ability to repair the OS or access data with a device in such a state?
Take it easy on me because I am a noob with Samsungs but otherwise pretty experienced with this sort of stuff.

scootley said:
My friend has an AT&T S6 Edge+ that is boot looping. Initially it was just frozen/unresponsive on the home screen. Rebooting just went to a boot loop showing the Samsung splash screen over and over again, although once in a while it does actually seem to do something which appears to be perhaps a failed attempt to apply an update (see attached image)
All I really want to do is to recover contacts from it. For some reason it seems the device was not configured to sync them to Google (or Samsung Cloud afaik), and they are not stored on the SIM, so they must be on the device only. If my best option is to try to fix the boot looping (i.e. get it to boot) in order to recover this data, let me know.
I have done recovery and rooting and custom ROMs on Nexus/Pixel devices for years, but never on a Samsung device. This was running the stock ROM (but I am not sure of which version exactly)
Is it conceivable that I could use ODIN to flash the same (or perhaps a slightly newer) AT&T ROM onto it in order to get it to boot? Does that flashing process have to wipe the user data from the device? (I have already download a fairly recent AT&T ROM) This won't cause a KNOX issue, will it?
Is there another way? Can I install a custom recovery on it and access user data via ADB? Seems like that might require it to have an unlocked bootloader, right? And I bet there is no way to unlock the bootloader without first booting it and enabling "OEM unlock", is there?
Does anyone know where the Samsung Contacts app stores its data? What is the full package name of that app?
Would it be better to post this on the regular "Galaxy S6" non-Edge+ forum? Or on the non-carrier-specific forum?
Do people in AT&T stores have the ability to repair the OS or access data with a device in such a state?
Take it easy on me because I am a noob with Samsungs but otherwise pretty experienced with this sort of stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash the latest firmware via Odin under CSC. Just make sure to untick F. Reset under options and choose HOME CSC as it will keep device data intact, leaving the contacts you are trying to get. Not sure if that will fix the issue on your friend's phone though. Good luck!

Rehvix said:
You can flash the latest firmware via Odin under CSC. Just make sure to untick F. Reset under options and choose HOME CSC as it will keep device data intact, leaving the contacts you are trying to get. Not sure if that will fix the issue on your friend's phone though. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help @Rehvix. I thought CSC was just for location/carrier features. Do you think that will fix the boot loop? Is that a common situation? I was thinking I might have to flash the Android System which I believe is "AP". Maybe I should try CSC first and then AP. What effect will unticking the "F Reset Time" have? Does that option (if ticked) just reset a flash counter? And in the ROM that I got from another post on XDA (version G928AUCS5ERA2), there is only one CSC_ATT.....tar.md5. There is no separate CSC file with HOME in the name. Maybe I need to read up on Odin some more.

scootley said:
Thanks for the help @Rehvix. I thought CSC was just for location/carrier features. Do you think that will fix the boot loop? Is that a common situation? I was thinking I might have to flash the Android System which I believe is "AP". Maybe I should try CSC first and then AP. What effect will unticking the "F Reset Time" have? Does that option (if ticked) just reset a flash counter? And in the ROM that I got from another post on XDA (version G928AUCS5ERA2), there is only one CSC_ATT.....tar.md5. There is no separate CSC file with HOME in the name. Maybe I need to read up on Odin some more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize for creating confusion. CSC is used on phones starting with the s7 because the firmwares started getting really big so they had to break them up into chunks for flashing. For the s6 edge+ there will only be one AP file, as you mentioned. This one should end in HOME (mine goes G928TUV...EQC6_HOME.tar.md5). Flashing this should upgrade the OS to the latest version without wiping it, unless the SD Card is bad, it may or may not flash at all.
As for F Reset Time, it's not factory reset as I believed it was. It resets the flash counter, so you would want to leave that checked.

Want to securely wipe a phone I bought online...is flashing factory ROM enough?

So, I'm paranoid. I am buying a used phone online, and want to make sure nothing devious has been installed on it to hack my data, keylog me, etc.
As I understand, even a hard reset from recovery screen will NOT wipe out specialized hacks that might invade the OS/kernel...and that only flashing a factory ROM will guarantee a clean phone.
So, I was wondering,
(a) to flash a factory ROM, is all you have to do is download the appropriate ROM for your phone (in my case, the HTC M8 from HTCs official ROM download page), plug phone in, run the exe, and enjoy? Or is there some other intermediate step?
(b) Also, is there a (significant) chance of bricking it just by flashing that ROM (with good USB cable, full battery, etc)?
Thanks all!

on xda there is a lot of smartphone supported, uses the search function