HELP - Need empty cache.img for T707A - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hope someone out there can save me.
Got a “new” SM-707A, updated to 5.0.2, all good. By pure stupidity I turned on Reactivation Lock, then I proceed to try to flash a new rom.
Odin was falling (obviously, now that I know the lock prevents flashing), I made a couple of reboots to OS, all was still good, then decide to try a different tar file, and things got bad.
The lock DOES NOT prevent a cache.img to be flashed, but it does the rest. Result? I CAN NO LONGER BOOT.
Now that I know all I have to do is to boot and disable the lock, I can’t boot. Tablet goes into that message saying to recover by Kies (but Kies does not recognize the tab bricked).
So Tab does not boot, and tab does not allow a ROM to be flashed. But I think the issue was that I flashed the cache.img and somehow the Tab got confused.
So I need either a stock or an empty cache.img, I tried some I found for T705, but none worked (I manage to flash them, but phone still does not boot).
Anyone has the stock firmware 5.0.2 for 707A?
Thank you all for your help .

PAragao said:
Hope someone out there can save me.
Got a “new” SM-707A, updated to 5.0.2, all good. By pure stupidity I turned on Reactivation Lock, then I proceed to try to flash a new rom.
Odin was falling (obviously, now that I know the lock prevents flashing), I made a couple of reboots to OS, all was still good, then decide to try a different tar file, and things got bad.
The lock DOES NOT prevent a cache.img to be flashed, but it does the rest. Result? I CAN NO LONGER BOOT.
Now that I know all I have to do is to boot and disable the lock, I can’t boot. Tablet goes into that message saying to recover by Kies (but Kies does not recognize the tab bricked).
So Tab does not boot, and tab does not allow a ROM to be flashed. But I think the issue was that I flashed the cache.img and somehow the Tab got confused.
So I need either a stock or an empty cache.img, I tried some I found for T705, but none worked (I manage to flash them, but phone still does not boot).
Anyone has the stock firmware 5.0.2 for 707A?
Thank you all for your help .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need either. Just boot to recovery and wipe cache.
However I doubt that is the issue.
You probably need to factory reset in recovery.
What was in the cache.img?

Ashyx is right. Unless you screwed your system partition you should be able to factory reset via recovery and reboot.

Sorry, i forgot to add, i cannot boot into recovery. I have no clue why, but Power+UP+Home does not work.
I do not know what was in the cache.img (i tried to flash others, it flashes, but same result), and i cannot find an editor for android 5.x img files (at least not for windows).

PAragao said:
Sorry, i forgot to add, i cannot boot into recovery. I have no clue why, but Power+UP+Home does not work.
I do not know what was in the cache.img (i tried to flash others, it flashes, but same result), and i cannot find an editor for android 5.x img files (at least not for windows).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I highly doubt anything is preventing you from getting into recovery. It's likely user error.
It's HOME + VOL UP + POWER, hold in that order to enter recovery.

Related

[Q] flashing with heimdall ?

hi,
i have a Gio S5660 that i bricked trying to sim unlocking it before putting it on sale.
the device can get into Download mode (no recovery mode though) but Odin 4 doesn't flash anything anymore, tried different roms (stock, moded, froyo, GB) nothing works, Odin 4 says PASS but after rebooting the screen keeps on blinking the ugly Samsung logo.
i tried to make a Heimdall flashing package but when i try to load a rom into the packager i get an error that says no Firmware.xml found.
is it even possible to use Heimdall or other Odin versions to flash a Gio, if so how do u make a package for that ?
supermario00 said:
hi,
i have a Gio S5660 that i bricked trying to sim unlocking it before putting it on sale.
the device can get into Download mode (no recovery mode though) but Odin 4 doesn't flash anything anymore, tried different roms (stock, moded, froyo, GB) nothing works, Odin 4 says PASS but after rebooting the screen keeps on blinking the ugly Samsung logo.
i tried to make a Heimdall flashing package but when i try to load a rom into the packager i get an error that says no Firmware.xml found.
is it even possible to use Heimdall or other Odin versions to flash a Gio, if so how do u make a package for that ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After flashing with odin and get in bootloop, press the power button for 10 seconds, after restart press home and power until get in to recovery, there should factory reset and the most important - fix rfs or something, can't remember now exactly, the phone will reboot automaticaly and you have to wait some time to boot.
Which method did you try to unlock it with?
HEllo,
Same problem, keep blinking trying to boot with Samsung white letters.
FR
What, and how EXACTLY did you tried to flash with odin? (Which rom, Onepackage/multipackage, tar/md5...?)
Hello,
Still fighting to bring it into life.
Well the problem began when unlocking with the thread instructions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1204705
Everything seemed to go as expected but...
After that it never rebooted well, still in cycle on www.samsung letters firs screen.
Even so i tried to flash it with ODIN into Stock Rom 2.3.5 and the same problem.
Sometimes i still can have the "Recovery Mode" and flash other versions, i have the PASS message ok, but when reboot... same problem.
And with the Oneclick Unbrick recovery it fails...
Really worried abou this... nice brick!
Thanks to all that are trying to help!
At the beginning of the process it hads the 2.3.3 version locked to Vodafone.
Maybe you just misspoke, but you can't use Odin if your phone is in recovery mode. It has to be in downloading mode.
In my opinion:
1. Boot into recovery (are you using cwm?)
2. Do a factory reset+wipe everything (incl. dalvik cache)
3. Turn off the phone
4. Download the latest ROM from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16979769&postcount=547
(S5660XXKS2)
5. Boot your phone into downloading mode
6. Flash with Odin (this is NOT "One package", you have to put everything in the right spot /boot, phone, etc/)
Hello again,
Yes i mean Download mode, i', flashing with ODIN but "one package Versions" i'm goin to try next your link already downloading.
Even if i can not unbrick it (wich is strange because i still can flash it) i must thans you very much for great cooperation!
Working...
You're welcome. When I bricked my phone, this is how I got it working again. I hope it works for you too.
Keep my posted...
Hello again,
Well just flashed again with ODIN (not One Package) and last firmware (2.3.5) and the report is that at the end i have the PASS confirmation but phone keeps flashing and does not reboot alone as supposed (waited 15 mn).
Unplug USB cable, battery out, battery in, power on and it returns to its "preference": alternates between dark scredn and those White letters saying SAMSUNG... infinite loop.
This is strange, i'm tired of seaching everything and this is not a normal beahaviour for this procediure.
I can follow all the steps... and at the final... same result.
Don't really know what to do next.
Once more, thanks for all!
Fernando
I'm sorry it didn't work. I have one last suggestion. The firmware you just tried to flash has a few md5 files. Rename them to tar, an extract them. The files you will find inside are the ones you can flash with Heimdall (data.rfs, system.rfs, etc).
I can't tell you much more, because I never used it (just googled a bit right now), but you can probably find a few tutorials about the subject.
Hello,
The fight continues and for all that i've read so far i almost sure that someting happend with the EFS partition.
I think that, case possible, the way is trying to flash an EFS new partition.
Someone knoes ho to do that?
Thanks!
descobrindo said:
Hello,
The fight continues and for all that i've read so far i almost sure that someting happend with the EFS partition.
I think that, case possible, the way is trying to flash an EFS new partition.
Someone knoes ho to do that?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please give more information about stuck on logo (ex: logcat)
and dont play with EFS partition. its very dangerious.
it can really bricked your phone
When you can go to recovery mode with your gio you should flash ext4-formatter.zip(download,put on sdcard,go to recovery find `installzip from sdcard` and flash it.
the internal phone memory has to be in ext4 format ,if not you have the above problems.
after flashing you can install a rom.
By the way,i tryed flashing with heimdall-frontend ,i think it can ,but you have to rename it to a .tar gz file it wil be compiled automatic adding it to heimdall,but...than it says
`firmware.xml is missing from the package` , so...you have to ad(make or edit an existing one,and insert it in the package) that file... which contains name rom ed , than it probably works...
What is heimdall?
sort of odin but odin doesnt run on linux,for flashing
SOLUTION!!
Hey , I figured out a while back how to sort this out... Odin works,The reason though it bootloops is just that the \Data and \Cache Partitions are still in Ext4 Format... Stock Rom uses RFS... So The Solution is - After you Flash Your Stock Rom Via Odin, after it says "PASS" , Unplug USB then Reboot into the stock recovery mode by Holding HOME and POWER Button , Then format Cache and Then Wipe Data/Factory Reset (By doing this it formats back to RFS and then it can operate) ... then reboot to system ... And Voila , It works!!!! (Always works for me)... Hope this Helps Just Remember to USE ODIN (Heimdall apparently not Gio Supported)

[Q] Can boot into Recovery, can't flash rom

So my note 2 had been working very well, but just the other night it turned off and then was stuck at the Samsung logo screen. I attempted to boot into recovery, but it would freeze at the TWRP logo screen. I decided to Odin a new recovery and put the latest version of TWRP on there. I can now boot into recovery, but it asks for a password. I assumed I had just used a bad version, so I tried several others which resulted in the same outcome. Pressing cancel lets me get into TWRP, and it seems as though I can browse files, but trying to perform any other action gives an error message saying that TWRP cannot find the partition for data, system, and a few others.
Is the phone dead? Or is there something I can do to bring it back to life?
captterrible said:
So my note 2 had been working very well, but just the other night it turned off and then was stuck at the Samsung logo screen. I attempted to boot into recovery, but it would freeze at the TWRP logo screen. I decided to Odin a new recovery and put the latest version of TWRP on there. I can now boot into recovery, but it asks for a password. I assumed I had just used a bad version, so I tried several others which resulted in the same outcome. Pressing cancel lets me get into TWRP, and it seems as though I can browse files, but trying to perform any other action gives an error message saying that TWRP cannot find the partition for data, system, and a few others.
Is the phone dead? Or is there something I can do to bring it back to life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to flash a stock rom with Odin.
If this does not work you are facing a compareable problem to mine http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440687 .
Maybe you find a way to get it work in this link.
Sounds like SDS
Luke44 said:
Try to flash a stock rom with Odin.
If this does not work you are facing a compareable problem to mine http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440687 .
Maybe you find a way to get it work in this link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just read through that thread, I'm not sure where I could find the correct pit mapping for this phone though =/
muppetmania said:
Sounds like SDS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really hope it isn't SDS. I can odin a recovery onto the phone, but so far other odin-able images just fail. I'm downloading a pure factory image currently and will check to see how that works,

Galaxy note 2 I317M can’t flash, stuck on Samsung galaxy logo On this one can’t flas

Galaxy note 2 I317M can’t flash, stuck on Samsung galaxy logo
On this one can’t flash anything
With Odin gave error on modem partition (when start to flash). I can flash the recovery partition
With any box on sboot partition
I can go in download mode but CAN’T go in recovery mode, stuck in Samsung galaxy logo
I don’t know anything about the history
Is supposed to be a phone with cracked LCD but after replaced I’m stuck
Thanks for any ideas
P.S
please don't ask me to wipe or entry in recovery mode because the phone is not able, just in download mode
thanks again
Did the device boot up correctly after you received it?
about getting into recovery, just flash one with odin in download mode and see if you can get into it (home + power + volume up (or down, can't remember which of the 2 are for download mode, haven't used it in ages) ) I would recommend TWRP, as that one has a file manager in it you could use to see if there's anything on the device already.
make sure you get the official rom for your device
Code:
sammobile.com
most likely has what you need, downloads are slow though and you need to register but its a good site nevertheless.
make sure the file of the rom isn't corrupted, do a md5 check before you try to flash it. After downloading the rom zip file you need to extract it and point odin to the tar file with the "PDA" button, do not select anything besides "Auto Reboot" and "F. Reset Time" (they should be selected when opening ODIN, leave the other setting checked off)
What settings did you use in odin if i may ask? if you choose to repartition or erase nand or whatever they call it in the newer versions, you might have a serious issue as you have to have a special PIT file to get the partitions back. It also would explain why odin can't flash to the boot partition as its simply not available. If i'm not mistaken the PIT file for our devices isn't available.
could you perhaps explain a bit more in detail what steps you took after you got the device/replaced the screen in combination with odin and such? If you can't flash recovery or a rom through odin, then my best bet would be your device is ready to be thrown in the garbage.
i have the same prob once, and solved it...
here's what i did.
-reflash stock rom via odin
-reboot (boot loop acheived!)
-flash TWRP
-wipe cache/dalvik
-reboot but this time stuck at sammy logo for a while...
i left it alone for a while, about 15 mins. came back, and saw i was at the initial setup screen. try it... it may work for you too.
msk514 said:
i have the same prob once, and solved it...
here's what i did.
-reflash stock rom via odin
-reboot (boot loop acheived!)
-flash TWRP
-wipe cache/dalvik
-reboot but this time stuck at sammy logo for a while...
i left it alone for a while, about 15 mins. came back, and saw i was at the initial setup screen. try it... it may work for you too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he tried flashing with odin though, but he got an error while flashing about the modem partition, either something is broken inside the phone,(missing partitions due to wrong wipe in odin perhaps) or the rom he downloaded is corrupted. Also he seems to have issues with the recovery being unable to be flashed to the device.
as soon as you get the samsung boot logo (not the initial galaxy one where your device model is mentioned) the rom is booting up, first time always takes a while being stuck on the galaxy logo however means there's probably not any boot partition written with a boot.img by odin This could also mean either corrupted rom file or lack of partition to write too. No boot partition means the device simply doesn't know it should load something.
If i understand his post correctly he bought a second-hand device where only the screen was broken. i don't know how the screen got broken in the first place, but if the device took a hard fall, there's a big chance its not only the screen but also some hardware got broken.
i have more details
actualy is a AT&T version (someone changed the screen from a canadian phone but forgot to change the label
I'm able to flash the AT&T rom I317ATTALJ2 from sammobile with odin 9reboot and F. reset time checked) but is stuck on samsung galaxy note 2 logo
I CAN"T entry in recovery mode (don't know why)
only download mode
contramundi said:
If i understand his post correctly he bought a second-hand device where only the screen was broken. i don't know how the screen got broken in the first place, but if the device took a hard fall, there's a big chance its not only the screen but also some hardware got broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bought the phone with cracked screen
after tried many times i asked the owner and he told me the label is from a Canadian phone but the motherboard is from at&t
i can flash ONLY with odin and only I317UCALJ2 firmware. Any other firmware from at&t or not i have error when flash the system partition
i tried also with Octopus Box and Z3x Box. Same error
after flash successfully with odin is stuck in Samsung logo and NO RECOVERY MODE
so don't ask me to wipe
maybe with some Linux commands?
thanks
Sounds like you need the pit file and re partition checked i would look for a pit file for your phone when you find one check repartition
32dave said:
Sounds like you need the pit file and re partition checked i would look for a pit file for your phone when you find one check repartition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't find pit file
i don't know if is the same like i317m or n7105
even like this i think i need a rom with modem, csc, pda and bootloader separated
thanks
nickmatine said:
can't find pit file
i don't know if is the same like i317m or n7105
even like this i think i need a rom with modem, csc, pda and bootloader separated
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to flash http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=37688128 or if you have a different model than 7105 do a google search for a pit file for that phone.
afterwards flash the stock rom for your model (att/tmobile/etc) the rom itself should contain everything you need.
Found a pit file i will upload it here but it is from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2376405 hope this helps
32dave said:
Found a pit file i will upload it here but it is from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2376405 hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seeing as the motherboard is from AT&T should he still use the canadian PIT file?
(don't wanna sound like a noob, and don't have the slightest clue about how the hardware inside the phone actually works so i'm just trying to learn new stuff )
I don't think it makes a difference as far as the pit goes
just let you know i was able to flash a stock rom from at&T and the phone work well now
thanks to everybody:good:

Soft brick that wont go away - stock firmware uneffective

So my issue is pretty similar, see what you guys think. i been trying everything i can think of.
i updated from xtrestolite 2.1 to 2.2 with out wiping. everything worked fine except when i would make calls, the other people could not hear me. so i updated the bootloader and modem again (i had done it before) and the problem persisted. i flashed back to stock and was getting stuck at the s6 edge screen. the only way to get around this was and get my phone to boot was to flash aou kernel. i was still having a similar issue with calling so I download a modem from a diffrent server and all of a sudden, it was working again on stock firmware... AWESOME!
now that i had all that done and my phone working as it should, i reset my phone for the first time and i got the FRP lock, wont boot phone because custom kernel. GREAT
I then flashed stock of6 again, the tar ball, and the 4 piece version. no dice
i then found of8, tried to flash that still no dice.
id love to flash twrp and load a rom on, but FRP is a alsjdflajs.
the phone will flash successfully, but upon reboot, it will go into recovery, run its course, reboot, and get stuck that the galaxy s6 edge screen.
i use the vol and power click during recovery to see what its doing and everything seems to go fine. it will then say failed to mount /data. im hoping flashing this with the pit file will work, but i cannot download the pit file from my work computer (hahah its blocks on 4shard and mega).
anyone have any other advice? i will update if i figure it out.
Regards team,
-Mad
p.s. none of this is xtrestolite's fault, that rom has been nothing but good to me.. my phone has been picky though. after 5.1.1 i had to flash a custom kernel in order for the digitizer to function properly.... any help is appriciated guys.
SO UPDATE!
nothing good, i tried the pit with of6 and of8, no dice. still stuck.
anyone got a s6 edge w a broken screen? you can claim it lost for all i care.
no one?
i guess if anything past flash stock firmware people dont know? was hoping for alittle more insight.
im sure if i could flash a kernel i could get it to turn on, but FRP has be at bay...
no help for you bro...Samsung just needs to release there software fixing for this comunity...I'm looking a for a dev to answer my question in this section about just flashing zip files in twrp instead of using odin or whatever other methods that can avoid all these problems that are all similar...hopefully in next few months it will be addressed
Hey mate, try this...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=61531848
Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk 2
holy... fu34%# /S45it.... IT BOOT?!
after flashing every firmware 100000 times...
THANK YOU!
I initially used odin to flash OI1 update, after a rom I was using caused problems and I got bootloop. It changed bootloader value to b:3 and I'm unable to downgrade now so I used smart switch which didn't recognize device so used emergency recovery and still bootloop. I have factory reset and wipe cache multiple times along with adb side load and individual flashes of bootloader, modem, kernel, flashed custom kernel and twrp to access fix permissions and to mount partitions with advanced wipe etc and still wont boot past logo. Also during one fix attempt phone said can't mount system.. Idk I'm not understanding where the problem is .everything says successful but I'm still in bootloop. Please help. I've spent hours everyday for the past week searching & trying different things that seem might help so open to any suggestions.

Accidentally Soft Bricked Tab S 8.4; tried firmware and PIT flash, no good.

I was given a Galaxy Tab S by a relative who works in a cell phone store. It was a demo device, and it had demo mode enabled. I initially attempted to reboot into recovery and do a wipe from there, but an error came up informing me that "MDM" had blocked this option (I assume MDM to mean manufacturer demo mode). The tablet was still working at this point, so I rebooted and got the exact model number, SM-T700. I googled for a bit and found the recommendation to be to reinstall the firmware. I've done a lot of ODIN flashes before, so I downloaded the correct firmware from the official firmware post here on XDA, rebooted to download mode, and flashed it without issues.
After 30 minutes, the tablet still just showed the Samsung boot screen. I did a hard reboot with volume up + power, and left it. After another 30 minutes, it still didn't show anything. I rebooted to download mode and tried flashing again. Same result. I rebooted to recovery and tried to wipe the device from there. MDM block.
After more searching, I decided to use the PIT file and the firmware file in ODIN. I've had to use PIT files a couple times before, so I was very careful in checking to ensure I had the correct one. I am very confident I did. I flashed that, and still the tablet would not boot.
I then decided to install TWRP and see if I could wipe from there. TWRP gave me some useful information: it returned that it could not mount any of the partitions on the device. 'could not mount /system', 'could not mount /data', etc.
I've done a lot of googling and reading since then, but I can't seem to find anybody else with the result. The closest thing I can find is a similar situation on some ASUS tablets, but the solution would definitely not work here. The only other thing I can find is people recommending to flash the PIT file, which I have no tried a second time and still does not work.
Does anybody have any suggestions? I don't know what else to do.
You didn't need the pit file, so forget about that.
The first thing you should have done is disable the reactivation lock.
Then flash the stock firmware, after that immediately boot into recovery and factory reset.
I would reflash the stock KitKat firmware and immediately boot into recovery after the flash and wipe data/reset
Ensure that during the flashing process there are no errors.
Updating, I got it figured out.
I tried 3 different firmwares, all of which flashed with no errors but did not work. 2 were KitKat, one was lollipop. I tried a fourth firmware (a Korean one from sammobile on lollipop) and it flashed exactly the same as all of the others, but this time it worked. I have no idea what was different with this firmware compared to the other three, but it worked, and I'm happy.
Activation lock cannot be disabled via the demo mode software on Samsung devices (unless there is a method of doing so I am unaware of), so that wasn't an option. I was unable to get the stock recovery to allow a factory reset. Teamwin recovery did allow a factory reset.
Either way, its working now.

Categories

Resources