Develop Bugs

[Q]Soft Brick boots to development warning screen

DISCLAIMER: I'm completely lost, so please break things down into bite-size steps or at least expect some follow-up questions on my part. I'm one of those desperate guys who is attempting to just have a working phone tomorrow. Any help will get as many presses of the thank button as I can possible give.
After several hours of plodding and poking and searching I've managed to do some possibly irreparable damage to my htc one v. Whenever I try to boot the phone it starts up with the htc developer red text "development use only" etc etc. I can access the bootloader and recovery thankfully, so I guess there's hope.
I think the source of my troubles is what's addressed by the essential reading at the top of this sub-forum, ie distinguishing between GSM and CDMA. I think (and this is an assumption here) that despite being in the USA on virgin, the fact that I can shove a sd-card in there means it's GSM (correct me if I'm wrong. please). EDIT: It seems that the phone only works with the CDMA version of TWRP, so I guess that might be an indicator.
Info: htc one v, virgin USA, using TWRP 2.3.3.0, attempted to flash Rom using various versions of Paranoid Android
What I've done thus far:
1. Unlocked bootloader
2. Flashed recovery
2.5. Created backup
3. rooted device (I downloaded rootchecker or somesuch app and was able to confirm that I had rooted my device)
4. Wiped cache and dalvik cache (I think that's what it's called).
5. Attempted to do a factory reset (failed).
6. Attempted to flash ROM (failed)
7. Restarted Device (got stuck on dev screen for the first time).
8. Tried recovering using backup created earlier (which just booted me into the dev screen of doom again).
9. Tried partitioning sd card in an attempt to perform a factory reset (wiped everything including backup).
10. Factory Reset failed with a message about not being able to mount /sd-ext.
11. Tried flashing rom again with different version of PA for shiggles (it worked! oh frabjous day!)
12. Rebooted phone only to get stuck on the dev screen again.
Guides I've used/perused/glanced at:
1. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2154635
2. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1598964
3. http://www.idroidspace.com/jelly-bean-4-2-2-paranoid-android-custom-rom-for-htc-one-v/
4. http://techmell.net/android-tips/ho...paranoid-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-custom-rom/
5. http://androidlegend.com/upgrade-ht...ing_wp_cron=1369722527.0674550533294677734375
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3pof_WSEEI
I've been at this for nigh on 7 hours and all I have to show for it is a phone I can't use. Help.

Let's try this in order: if you are with Virgin Mobile, it is a CDMA. GSM phones take a sim card, both versions accept an sd card for storage.
Everything looks good until:
#5 The failed warning is due to lack of a SD EXT partition on your sd card. If you didn't re-partition it, you will get that failed warning. No big deal as it is wiping everything else correctly.
#6 You also need to wipe system prior to flashing your new rom.
After flash your new rom, you will need to connect to your pc and boot into bootloader. Make sure it says "Fastboot USB" at the top your phone screen. You have to flash the boot.img for the specific rom you are trying to install. See the rom thread for the correct method.
Check your radio and Hboot version in bootloader. If you have the newer radio (xxx.xxx.928) and Hboot (1.57), you are limited on the roms that will actually work. Check the CDMA development thread for roms that specify OTA compatible.
Good luck. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

pedantfool said:
DISCLAIMER: I'm completely lost, so please break things down into bite-size steps or at least expect some follow-up questions on my part. I'm one of those desperate guys who is attempting to just have a working phone tomorrow. Any help will get as many presses of the thank button as I can possible give.
After several hours of plodding and poking and searching I've managed to do some possibly irreparable damage to my htc one v. Whenever I try to boot the phone it starts up with the htc developer red text "development use only" etc etc. I can access the bootloader and recovery thankfully, so I guess there's hope.
I think the source of my troubles is what's addressed by the essential reading at the top of this sub-forum, ie distinguishing between GSM and CDMA. I think (and this is an assumption here) that despite being in the USA on virgin, the fact that I can shove a sd-card in there means it's GSM (correct me if I'm wrong. please). EDIT: It seems that the phone only works with the CDMA version of TWRP, so I guess that might be an indicator.
Info: htc one v, virgin USA, using TWRP 2.3.3.0, attempted to flash Rom using various versions of Paranoid Android
What I've done thus far:
1. Unlocked bootloader
2. Flashed recovery
2.5. Created backup
3. rooted device (I downloaded rootchecker or somesuch app and was able to confirm that I had rooted my device)
4. Wiped cache and dalvik cache (I think that's what it's called).
5. Attempted to do a factory reset (failed).
6. Attempted to flash ROM (failed)
7. Restarted Device (got stuck on dev screen for the first time).
8. Tried recovering using backup created earlier (which just booted me into the dev screen of doom again).
9. Tried partitioning sd card in an attempt to perform a factory reset (wiped everything including backup).
10. Factory Reset failed with a message about not being able to mount /sd-ext.
11. Tried flashing rom again with different version of PA for shiggles (it worked! oh frabjous day!)
12. Rebooted phone only to get stuck on the dev screen again.
Guides I've used/perused/glanced at:
1. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2154635
2. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1598964
3. http://www.idroidspace.com/jelly-bean-4-2-2-paranoid-android-custom-rom-for-htc-one-v/
4. http://techmell.net/android-tips/ho...paranoid-android-4-1-2-jelly-bean-custom-rom/
5. http://androidlegend.com/upgrade-ht...ing_wp_cron=1369722527.0674550533294677734375
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3pof_WSEEI
I've been at this for nigh on 7 hours and all I have to show for it is a phone I can't use. Help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM you have flashed?
Did you install boot.IMG according to your ROM?
Sent from my HTC T320e

If you're restoring "stock" sense 4.0 ROM, you need to flash a kernel that will work with it. Try Titanium-KISS or Stock. The stock one should have been kernel should have been backed up, it's labeled boot.IMG in the backup folder. EDIT: Since you are CDMA, you need to flash this kernel in Fastboot to get it to boot: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024758. Be sure you flashed the CDMA ParanoidAndroid as well, and not the GSM one.

followup
FIRST: Just thought of something that might be very important, I only had a version of android 4.0 installed on my phone. Will that make a difference when installing roms intended for later versions of android? If so, I feel like a huge knuckle-dragging fool.
Update: Was able to install and boot using PACman, but ran into a boot-loop.
But to follow up to your questions:
MameTozhio said:
If you're restoring "stock" sense 4.0 ROM, you need to flash a kernel that will work with it. Try Titanium-KISS or Stock. The stock one should have been kernel should have been backed up, it's labeled boot.IMG in the backup folder. EDIT: Since you are CDMA, you need to flash this kernel in Fastboot to get it to boot: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024758. Be sure you flashed the CDMA ParanoidAndroid as well, and not the GSM one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll admit I've had a hard time find a definitive version of PA or really any other Rom. I've tried going through their thread here and downloading one of the "stables" (http://goo.im/devs/gannon5197/paranoid/primoc/stables/). I've also used other unofficial versions of PA (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1799372). I'm currently downloading PACman to see if that will make any difference.
[email protected]@ said:
Which ROM you have flashed?
Did you install boot.IMG according to your ROM?
Sent from my HTC T320e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did flash my boot.img using the method explained here:
Copy the kernel image (boot.img file you have extracted from zip file of ROM) to folder in which you have kept your fastboot files.
In the same folder, right click while holding shift button and select ‘Open command window here’.
A command window will appear on your screen. In command window type ‘fastboot flash boot boot.img’ and press enter.
On your screen you will get message ’OKAY/Finished’. You have successfully flashed kernel. Now you can disconnect your phone from computer.
http://androidlegend.com/upgrade-ht...ing_wp_cron=1369722527.0674550533294677734375
riggerman0421 said:
#5 The failed warning is due to lack of a SD EXT partition on your sd card. If you didn't re-partition it, you will get that failed warning. No big deal as it is wiping everything else correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to think I'd partitioned it properly, but I keep getting a "unable to mount sd-ext" or "unable to wipe sd-ext" message when I attempt a factory reset. I've tried formatting the the mini sd and set the file type to FAT32, but to no avail as the errors persist. I know you said not to be too concerned, but I keep failing the system wipe from your next suggestion because of that error.
#6 You also need to wipe system prior to flashing your new rom.
After flash your new rom, you will need to connect to your pc and boot into bootloader. Make sure it says "Fastboot USB" at the top your phone screen. You have to flash the boot.img for the specific rom you are trying to install. See the rom thread for the correct method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now how important is it that I flash the boot.img after I have flashed the rom? I've been doing it beforehand, but does doing it afterward make a difference?
Check your radio and Hboot version in bootloader. If you have the newer radio (xxx.xxx.928) and Hboot (1.57), you are limited on the roms that will actually work. Check the CDMA development thread for roms that specify OTA compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those both match my radio and bootloader, what does that imply? I'm planning on flashing this rom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1948034
Will that work?

No, it won't. You have the newer updated hboot and radio. That is the source of your boot loops. The only compatible roms at this time are MyOneV, ExtremeSemse, and RhythmicRom. You can also use Cyanprimo, but you'll have flash the boot.img from RhythmicRom.

Now I've downloaded RythmicRom and I'm still stuck in a boot loop. I'm sorry for being a bit thick, but could you link some roms that would be compatible or explain what I need to be looking for?
Version I downloaded: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2147407

You'll need to download the 1.2 update, then extract the boot.img from that. The boot.img in the Rom doesn't work with the new update.

So I've been reading up on the issue over here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2018518&page=14
and while I don't claim to understand it all, I believe I get the gist of it.
I also've managed to get RythmicRom working thanks to riggerman. I guess I'll just play the waiting game until someone rolls out a fix or just replace my phone (though that's very much in the long-run).
Once again, thanks to everyone and hopefully this will be the last we see of this mess.

Glad you got it running, and glad I could help.

Boot loop and factory image restore

Hi,
I'm writing here as a last hope, after I've tried every possible solution I could find online. Any help here will be very much appreciated.
Couple of days ago I received my fresh Nexus 5X, that I plan to use with Project Fi.
After unlocking the bootloader (with Google Support blessing!) and installing TWRP+SuperSU, I ran into problems, big problems.
Following the Android wizard setup, I connected to the wifi and the phone started downloading an update of ~79Mb.
When rebooted, though, it started TWRP, and it didn't go ahead.
To play safe, I decided to do a factory reset, using the official ROM from Google, replacing also TWRP with the original recovery (I basically did every step in the "flash-all.sh" script).
That didn't work either, and the phone now gets stuck at the boot animation.
I've tried also wiping partitions using both fastboot ("fastboot -w...") and TWRP, but nothing worked.
Another diagnostic symptom.
I've noticed that the recovery (TWRP for sure, the stock one not so much sure) had problems finding the sdcard partition ("unknown volume for path couldn't mount sdcard installation aborted").
Could that be a source of issues?
I thought that it would be possible to do a factory reset, but I'm probably missing something.
At this point, I'm completely lost and I don't know what to do.
Thanks in advance.

Try the flash all script again with latest firmware and let it boot up completely. It will take a while, once booted, flash TWRP and root if you want.

ntropia said:
Hi,
I'm writing here as a last hope, after I've tried every possible solution I could find online. Any help here will be very much appreciated.
Couple of days ago I received my fresh Nexus 5X, that I plan to use with Project Fi.
After unlocking the bootloader (with Google Support blessing!) and installing TWRP+SuperSU, I ran into problems, big problems.
Following the Android wizard setup, I connected to the wifi and the phone started downloading an update of ~79Mb.
When rebooted, though, it started TWRP, and it didn't go ahead.
To play safe, I decided to do a factory reset, using the official ROM from Google, replacing also TWRP with the original recovery (I basically did every step in the "flash-all.sh" script).
That didn't work either, and the phone now gets stuck at the boot animation.
I've tried also wiping partitions using both fastboot ("fastboot -w...") and TWRP, but nothing worked.
Another diagnostic symptom.
I've noticed that the recovery (TWRP for sure, the stock one not so much sure) had problems finding the sdcard partition ("unknown volume for path couldn't mount sdcard installation aborted").
Could that be a source of issues?
I thought that it would be possible to do a factory reset, but I'm probably missing something.
At this point, I'm completely lost and I don't know what to do.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if you need a modified boot.img or kernel since you are rooted .In my experience since Android 5.1.1 you need a custom kernel for root and sometimes a modified boot.img after flashing twrp
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA Free mobile app

androidddaaron said:
I wonder if you need a modified boot.img or kernel since you are rooted .In my experience since Android 5.1.1 you need a custom kernel for root and sometimes a modified boot.img after flashing twrp
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an interesting perspective, actually.
I didn't know that you needed a special image for rooted devices.
Although, I would imagine that's always possible to 'un-root' it, and honestly I was hoping that 'fastboot flash -w...' would have removed any trace of the root.
Is that the case?
Either way, where could I find these modified images?
Thanks a bunch!

Solved
I found the solution which, as it happens when nothing seems to be wrong, was fairly trivial.
Basically, the scripts provided with the stock ROM from Google has problems, and this last command fails:
Code:
fastboot update image-bullhead-mmb29p.zip
saying that system.img is missing.
To fix that, you have to manually extract the content of the files and proceed to flash manually userdata, system, etc...
The problem is that if you don't flash also vendor.img, you're in trouble, and the device will not boot.
Some of the guides that I've found were suggesting that you need to do it for the Nexus 9, and I didn't notice when other guides were mentioning it.
Once you flash the vendor.img, the boot loop is gone.
I'll put it here, I hope it can be helpful to somebody.
Thanks to androidddaaron and k.s.deviate for the support!
(I've thanked also used the thank button near the posts, but if there's more to do, let me know)
Now, back to mess up the Project Fi SIM...

How Do I Flash Factory Image?

It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.

acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your wanting to flash a factory image, you'll need a few things first.
I would highly recommend that you look over the linked thread carefully. It has many links and tips to help you on your way :good:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/how-to/guide-unlock-flash-root-pixel-2-xl-t3702418

acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://developers.google.com/android/images

Make sure you have the latest adb and fastboot. Get them from Google...
Go get the latest image and Unzip it. Do not Unzip the folder inside. Move everything you just unzipped into the folder with adb and fastboot.
Now, if you've unlocked and unlocked critical, great. If you haven't unlocked critical, you'll have to. The system image won't install if the bootloader is out of date. Sadly, this will wipe your data.
If both are already unlocked, then open the flash-all file with a text editor and remove the,"-w" and the space preceding, then save the file. Removing the -w will keep your data. Run the flash-all.bat file and in about 10 minutes everything will be flashed.

back to stock
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls

lomski said:
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing!! Forget fast!! You need to fastboot flash a full factory image with the -w still in the script. Maybe even do it twice. Then go in and do a factory reset from the OS for good measure. Once that is done and you know it reboots you can go through the locking command. I would NOT toggle the OEM switch in dev though.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

So this has been a a very frustrating experiance but I think I've got everything working again. I don't know how many times I've flashed different factory images and then tried to install TWRP and then install a new custom rom. So I want to explain all of the steps I took (if I remember them all).
0. I couldn't boot into my system but had TWRP installed. At this point I should have tried to get all my data from the sd card via "adb pull /sdcard" .
1. I didn't find any option to fix my system. So I followed this guide to install a factory image (link).
3. I skipped through all of the setup processes and gave my phone wifi. Then I went into the system and did a factory reset.
4. After skipping thourgh the setup again I enabled adb and bootet into the bootloader "adb reboot bootlader"
5. From the bootloader I booted into TWRP by "fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0.0-taimen.img. In the recovery I set the display time out to 300s because for some reason once the phone timed out I could get into twrp any more and the screen stayed black.
6. I transferred the twrp installer and my rom by " adb push TWRP_installer.zip /sdcard/Download" and " adb push ROM.zip /sdcard/Download"
7. I first added the TWRP installer to the flash queue and then I added the rom and then falshed them both. This allowed me to install the rom.
8. For some reason TWRP was not installed. So repeat step 5 and only flash the TWRP_installter.zip
Problems I had:
- In twrp I often got errors that said unable to mount system or vendor. I decided to ignore the error but this thread might help
- Installing TWRP while the stock rom is installed led to the problem that touch didn't work in TWRP
- Entering a pin for the stock rom and then installing TWRP led to TWRP asking for a pin to decrypt my data. Apparently this is not the case if you use a stock image which is older

After flashing stock ROM ota and twrp installer zip the only way to get TWRP to respond to touch is if you disable screen lock and connect to your PC before booting TWRP.
I've found the most reliable way to flash factory images is do it manually with fastboot, latest platform tools installed and a Linux OS like Ubuntu or pop os.
But first do some research and get comfortable with fastboot commands. And dear god don't relock your bootloader unless you're ?% sure it's totally stock.

@schpongo,
Also, a good point to keep when flashing via TWRP is to flash/install ONE AT A TIME. As per the great @Az Biker, you should even reboot to the bootloader after each subsequent flash/install. So, in your case, it seems that you might/should be rebooting to the bootloader three times; one for TWRP installation, one for flashing the custom ROM, and one more for any other subsequent installation (i.e. custom kernel or custom font)...
Also, as it's been said before, but stock kernel doesn't play nice with touch commands on TWRP, and (usually) the only way around it is to reboot into bootloader using the adb command -- as opposed to holding the volume-down button or from an app.
I know you figured this all out already, but it might bear repeating just in case you didn't know and/or to help any other users here...

OmniROM stuck at boot animation load screen

Moto G Stylus Metro PCS brand:
I'm brand new to this subject so please forgive any ignorance. I'm decent with linux but new to android stuff.
Tried flashing the latest weekly build of OmniROM - now seems to be stuck at boot screen and won't go past. I am coming from latest OTA update from Motorola.
Phone was not rooted prior to starting this.
I also accidentally wiped slot A with my factory image on it (oops).
TWRP did not ask for any decryption key so I ran:
fastboot erase userdata
and this seemed to fix errors that I was getting while flashing with respect to denying access.
What I've done:
-Unlocked bootloader
-Installed TWRP 3.5.0-10 from the g-stylus forum.
-wiped and formatted via TWRP
-flashed 5/23 weekly build of OmniROM
Now no matter what I do or what slot I flash to it will not get past the Omni boot load animated screen. I've run this for almost 2 hours and nothing happens.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

nutsnax said:
Moto G Stylus Metro PCS brand:
I'm brand new to this subject so please forgive any ignorance. I'm decent with linux but new to android stuff.
Tried flashing the latest weekly build of OmniROM - now seems to be stuck at boot screen and won't go past. I am coming from latest OTA update from Motorola.
Phone was not rooted prior to starting this.
I also accidentally wiped slot A with my factory image on it (oops).
TWRP did not ask for any decryption key so I ran:
fastboot erase userdata
and this seemed to fix errors that I was getting while flashing with respect to denying access.
What I've done:
-Unlocked bootloader
-Installed TWRP 3.5.0-10 from the g-stylus forum.
-wiped and formatted via TWRP
-flashed 5/23 weekly build of OmniROM
Now no matter what I do or what slot I flash to it will not get past the Omni boot load animated screen. I've run this for almost 2 hours and nothing happens.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weekly builds may be unstable. I'm actually curious on how you got a hold of such build for the this device. Most, if not all ROMs are unofficial for the stylus and updates for each rom varies by contributed developers.....
However, you say you're decent with Linux. I'm sure there's some developers here that would help you with various tools to learn on how to make your own version of any type of OS.
As for OmniRom, I'd probably ask @vache for some help, for he has his own unofficial version.
Also, I recommend that you have the latest platform tools and the moto software tool if you don't have these yet...

nevermind I got it working. I was flashing p2pstate.bin directly (somehow this works?) when instead I was supposed to extract the image files and flash the respective files.
Seems to boot up now. Thanks!

nutsnax said:
nevermind I got it working. I was flashing p2pstate.bin directly (somehow this works?) when instead I was supposed to extract the image files and flash the respective files.
Seems to boot up now. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good you got it to work. One developer once told me, when all else fails, think outside of the box. You'll eventually get it to work somehow

I have your solution cuz I went through the same thing.. you have to start out with stock Android 10 so you have to be bootloader unlocked and rooted that way you can downgrade your software and it's only the super images that you have to downgrade.. so just flash your supers and you'll be fine but they have to be stock Android 10 it doesn't matter what firmware version because you're keeping the same modem file

Help Needed - Reverting back to stock from Lineage - Google Pixel XL Marlin

So after years of never needing to create an account.....I am stuck. Hoping yall can help me out.
I HAD lineage OS installed and everything was working fine. I wanted to revert back to stock so that I could get the google photos unlimited upload back.
I HAD lineage recovery installed but now I am soft-bricked and cant get into recovery.
My bootloader is unlocked and fastboot is working.
When recovery was working, I tried to install the full OTA and that failed so that lead me to the Full Factory Image.
I try to run the flash-all.sh script and it does all sorts of failing. (See flashAllLog.txt) I believe the crux of this is:
When I installed LineageOS, my phone started identifying as a Pixel 3 which was strange but whatever. When I am trying to run this flash-all basically it says that my bootloader is newer and it needs an older version.
So then I thought well maybe I need to erase the slots (eraseLog.txt). Those all worked fine but I still couldnt flash all
So then I was thinking maybe if I just flash the bootloader manually (manualBootFlashLog.txt). But that failed as well.
Am I just boned here or is there an android wizard out there who can point me in the right direction. Please let me know of ANY other information I could possibly provide

Here are 4 options, there's more even tedious stuff you could try but Id start with these
1.) Have you tried to just use fastboot to BOOT into the recovery.img file from the factory image zip (not flash it) and then you can sideload the OTA from there?
2.) You can also try to edit the flash-all file so it doesn't re-flash the bootloader. Just flash system, data partitions etc.
3.) Try another factory image. I assume you tried to flash the latest Android 10 full factory image, maybe try an older one? Maybe even Android 8 or 9 and the just take the OTA update in settings.
4.) Also can try to boot (not flash) lineageos recovery to see if you can at least flash back into LineageOS (or maybe a different custom ROM, PixelExperience for example enables the unlimited Google Drive storage) to get a working device again.