My verizon htc one m9 will not boot past the vendor screen (verizon logo on red background) since 36 hours ago. I do not know exactly what caused this, but I suspect that my device died during a routine OTA update. What I know for certain is that I got a firmware update notification three days ago, which I ignored. 36 hours ago my phone died while I was busy with other stuff, so I'm not sure what it was doing at the time, but after charging it a little bit I turned it on and it got stuck. I'm completely new to this site and to android mods in general, but I tried to do my research.
My device is OS-3.37.605.29, S-ON, bootloader locked, stock ROM.
I believe that I can flash this RUU to my device to restore the stock ROM, however I can't tell whether this wipes my device in the process. Most of the stuff I've read so far says yes, but this thread says it's possible without data loss. But that thread is for the M8, and I've also read that the M9 is pretty different from previous versions.
Is it possible to restore the stock ROM without data loss?
I tried flashing the RUU, did not help. Because it did not help and I still was not able to boot my phone it's hard for me to tell, but I don't think flashing wiped my data. However in my case this was a moot point because after talking to HTC support I decided to factory reset my phone, since HTC said that that's what they would do if I were to send it in. This fixed the issue, so I guess I had corrupted application data or something that was preventing the phone from starting up properly.
At this point I decided to do some of the popular mods I had read about on this site in the process of troubleshooting this issue, since my phone was wiped anyway. I got S-OFF and an unlocked bootloader with sunshine and flashed twrp and supersu. Finally getting rid of vendor bloatware felt really nice! Needless to say now that my device is operational again I am setting up automatic backups with Titanium... a lesson learned the hard way.
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Sup, so in my last post I was told to read some info, get a better idea of what to do and how to move forward.. Problem being is, Where do I start? There is no actual help for the situation I am stuck in.
Im on a unlocked M8, no carrier version. I rooted the device and installed TWRP. This restored my Kit Kat 4.4.4 to 4.4.2. This is the google play edition, I believe.
Here is the Situation.
followed a youtube guide by "unlockr" which seemed to cover every aspect. after the root and with TWRP, phone bugged me to do a update to 4.4.4, I did, went back to TWRP, booted to system and got stuck in a loop.
I was recommended to delete the OTA file to stop this.. I did. Didnt stop the loop, bizarre...
Along this process, In fast boot menu my phone had a *tampered* label up top- further research this is nothing to worry about.
but without the OTA file, and just entering fastboot>twrp>system, this is where the boot loop still persists. S-On is back, no longer S-Off.
I've done my research etc and aware what needs to be done, but unsure on the safe methodology to reach this point. A friend who is helping me has better knowledge for SSung Galaxies and struggling to help me along.
He detailed I need to get back to 4.4.4(to stop this pissing 'you need to update your phone' pop up) - create a back up of this, then root and then from this point I can install custom roms ETC.
How do I install this, set up phone to a point Im happy, make the back up without the boot loop stopping me from doing so, then continue with experimentation etc...?
Like I said, Ive read plenty, but it doesn't help the situation I am in, so please, please don't just tell me to go educate my self, when there's no resources to help me with my problem. I still dont know which OTA is safe for me to use, or how to inject this without the bootloop ruining my life.. again.
P.S in work, Will reply when possible.
Im on a unlocked M8, no carrier version. I rooted the device and installed TWRP. This restored my Kit Kat 4.4.4 to 4.4.2. This is the google play edition, I believe. As far as i know there is no way your android version would downgrade by flashing a recovery. Most likely is you were and still are 4.4.2
Here is the Situation.
followed a youtube guide by "unlockr" which seemed to cover every aspect. after the root and with TWRP, phone bugged me to do a update to 4.4.4, I did, went back to TWRP, booted to system and got stuck in a loop. Golden rule - Never Never Never take an OTA when running a custom recovery.
I was recommended to delete the OTA file to stop this.. I did. Didnt stop the loop, bizarre...
Along this process, In fast boot menu my phone had a *tampered* label up top- further research this is nothing to worry about.
but without the OTA file, and just entering fastboot>twrp>system, this is where the boot loop still persists. S-On is back, no longer S-Off. Also pretty sure flashing a recovery can't turn S-ON and you have to be 100% stock for that anyway (I believe) which you are not. How did you get S-OFF in the first place??
I've done my research etc and aware what needs to be done, but unsure on the safe methodology to reach this point. A friend who is helping me has better knowledge for SSung Galaxies and struggling to help me along. Samsung are completely different. I know as I've rooted my GF's and it was painful
He detailed I need to get back to 4.4.4(to stop this pissing 'you need to update your phone' pop up) - create a back up of this, then root and then from this point I can install custom roms ETC.
How do I install this, set up phone to a point Im happy, make the back up without the boot loop stopping me from doing so, then continue with experimentation etc...?
Like I said, Ive read plenty, but it doesn't help the situation I am in, so please, please don't just tell me to go educate my self, when there's no resources to help me with my problem. I still dont know which OTA is safe for me to use, or how to inject this without the bootloop ruining my life.. again No OTA's are safe to use with a custom recovery.
There are a couple of things I'm not sure on, I think you have done the following so far
1. Unlocked using HTC dev
2. Rooted using the tool kit
3. Tried to install the OTA
4. Got a boot Loop
Is that correct?
Can you get into TWRP recovery?
Also you have a thread about this open already. Either delete that thread or this one.
As far as i know there is no way your android version would downgrade by flashing a recovery. Most likely is you were and still are 4.4.2 - Nope, Upon taking out the box on day 1, there was an update required and did it straight away.. then a smaller one. Guessing thats 4.4.3 and 4.4.4.
Golden rule - Never Never Never take an OTA when running a custom recovery - hahah, Ive established this now >.< I originally saw rooting as a "inject" sort of methodology.. before the os booted.. Thats not the case!
Also pretty sure flashing a recovery can't turn S-ON and you have to be 100% stock for that anyway (I believe) which you are not. How did you get S-OFF in the first place?? - I rooted following "TheUnlockr" video guide, It did say S-OFF, Bootloop and **** up with the OTA removed this I think. This was using the Hasoon2000 AIO tool.
Samsung are completely different. I know as I've rooted my GF's and it was painful - Good to know, I wont take too much advice from him, he did highlight a tool called Odin. Would that be any benefit to myself?
1. Unlocked using HTC dev
2. Rooted using the tool kit
3. Tried to install the OTA
4. Got a boot Loop
Basically.. yes.
Yes I can get into TWRP, but as I say, when I boot to system, this is where the loop starts.. phone starts up normally.. gives me 1min before restarting over and over.
I am sorry, Im aware that another topic is open. I did try to close it, dont have permissions on account. havent used forums in a few years and its all over the shop now hahaha.
Sorry for late reply.. hectic couple of days.
I've had my M8 since about the end of 2014. Originally on Android 4, have since done OTA upgrades to 5 and 6 as they were flagged as available by my carrier (UK, O2).
I've never managed to get HTC Backup on my PC to recognise the phone, even with the original USB cable, so have never done a proper backup (Yes. I know). Fortunately for me, my Gmail contacts list was almost up to date, and apart from my calendar, that was the most important thing to save, so I've just had to grin and bear it.
Because of the lack of proper backup and therefore the facility to restore from one, I'd never done a factory reset after the various OS upgrades, which I've been told might have avoided my present situation, which is that I can't get any further than a bootloop situation. Other than that, I can get into recovery mode, but no further.
I've tried clearing the cache, I've tried a factory reset. Neither of those have got me anywhere.
I've no great desire (at present) to go fiddling with rooting or anything clever with the phone, I'd just like to get it working again. I've downloaded Android Studio to get the SDK for ADB but don't really know what I'm doing, and if I mess around without expert advice I could end up with a hard brick - which is why I'm here.
Can anyone give me some guidance about what I need to do to get my phone working again?
Thanks in advance...
Hi, I have the same problem, started a few days ago when I was trying to download VLC from the play store, the phone rebooted and said optimizing apps.... It has been in an optimizing apps bootloop since - it gets to the end, then says starting android then freezes and reboots, then starts again... I tried clearing the cache and doing the factory reset as well but nothing helps. We could really use some expert help on this :S
If a stock phone isn't booting, and factory reset doesn't help, the OS is possibly damaged or corrupted in some way; and needs to be restored.
If your version has RUU, you can try to run that.
If no RUU for your version, then probably your only choice is to unlock the bootloader, install custom recovery, so you can restore a stock TWRP backup from the following thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/help/tutorial-how-to-stock-stock-twrp-t3086860
I am in a very similar situation, apparently because of a botched automatic system update, almost same symptoms as airick94. I haven't tried a factory reset yet though, because I want to try to recover what I can from the internal storage first. Can I do that through ADB even if my phone is not recognised as a device by the computer?
Hey all,
I've done heaps of searching here and the wider web but only found reference to rooted phones failing to take updates.
I can't get a screenshot on here right now as I'm at work so no wifibut:
- Android OS _______________3.04GB :silly:
- Chrome__________________434MB
- Google Services ___________24.13MB
- etc
When I read about the failed update I checked in there and sure enough I have a 2017-5 patches system update sitting there failed, when I retry it it will download successfully then do step 1/2 of the installation then fail.
So it seems this would be the problem but the phone is definitely NOT rooted, any ideas??
thanks
You speak in codes, man. Could you explain your issue simpler? Right now I see an Android OS usage of 3.04GB. That seems abnormally large times 10. No one should have that, really. So it seems like your Android OS process downloaded multiple copies of system updates in error. Is that your problem?
Your post is still largely incomprehensible, so I won't make a final conclusion.
These are just suggestions:
1) If your phone is downloading system updates over and over, just damn update so it stops, or factory reset your phone.
2) If this is some kind of a rogue app, you are literally funked. Good luck trouble shooting it.
In any case, GL!
Yes, android OS used 3.04GB in ~5 days, my best guess is it was due to repeated attempts at '2017-5 patches system update'
Sorry, when I did a search I got heap of references to rooted phones having this issue so I guess I just talked from that reference point? It seemed to be a known issue but for rooted phones.
I just wanted to be clear that my issue matched those symptoms but was not rooted.
1) I've tried a manual update (many times) fails at the same point, I assume this is what is causing the data usage, as mentioned above.
2) Pretty sure it's not a rogue app
I'll try a factory reset, it's only a couple of weeks old (warranty replacement) so I hadn't really thought to reset straight away.
The phone doesn't necessarily need to be rooted to fail the update. A previously rooted phone can also fail to update as described, but typically that would mean an unlocked bootloader. I would have figured that the phone would have been reimaged and the bootloader locked on a refurbished phone, but maybe that doesn't happen. Is the bootloader unlocked? If so you could image the phone yourself to see if that works to fix it. If the bootloader is locked and a reset doesn't work, then I figure you might need to contact support about getting a different phone.
https://developers.google.com/android/images
I think you've gotten good information from everyone so far but just to add some clarity.
I had this exact same issue and was not rooted but did have an unlocked bootloader.
A factory reset did not resolve it. At the time I had issues, there were questions about rooting the stock images so I flashed PureNexus and have never looked back or had the issue again. Also, Verizon did add data to my plan and credit my account for the additional charges to negate the cost. Hope this helps!
It sounds like an issue with your phone that Pixel support might be able to help you with but they will certainly suggest a factory reset so you should do that first. Since you have a refurbished phone you don't know how the previous owner was using it and its possible a modification he made is still on the phone and causing you problems. If the failed system update isn't actually causing the excess data usage it could also be a carrier issue. I know some Project Fi users had that problem and it was related to the service. Google gave people credit for the excess data. You could also have an app that is interfering with the update so a factory reset should definitely be your first step and I'm guessing it's fairly likely to fix your problem.
I converted my girlfriend (a long-term iPhone user) over to Android, and we got a shared plan with Google Fi. She installed the December OTA update, and today her Pixel XL began bootlooping.
She is running completely stock Android -- I haven't touched it in any way, and she doesn't know anything technical about the phone (so no funny business on her end). The phone was constantly bootlooping, sometimes with artifacts appearing on the screen (which looked like the "static" you'd see on a TV screen not set to any channel). These artifacts wouldn't happen every time, but about 25% of the time they'd appear.
I can boot into the bootloader with zero issues. Fastboot recognizes the device just fine. At first, I couldn't boot into recovery -- it would crash and start bootlooping before loading the recovery screen. Finally, though, I managed to get into recovery and did a standard factory data reset. No dice. I went into recovery again and flashed the OTA image via adb. This solved the "crashing before getting into recovery" issue, but not the general bootloop issue. I can't downgrade the OTA now, either.
My next option is to flash a factory image. However, as I mentioned, the phone is completely stock -- with a locked bootloader. I can't get into the device at all due to the constant bootloops. Is there ANY way to allow OEM unlocking through ADB/Fastboot? I'm running out of options here.
The good news is that Google Fi now supports iPhones, and she still has her old iPhone. I don't know if her Pixel XL is under warranty, though, so I don't know if they can RMA her a new one. Any help?
Update: She talked to Google Fi support (and by "she," I mean her calling me over to explain the technical stuff to the support rep), and they're going to RMA her a new one. Which sucks, but at least she has her iPhone until then. For anyone coming from the future, this thread matched my problem exactly, but ultimately I wasn't able to fix it. Even so, it might come in handy if this ever pops up on a Google search somehow.
Moral of the story: Leave your bootloader unlocked unless you absolutely need it locked. And even then, people were reporting that their phones got bricked.
I'm hoping somebody can provide this recent, stock firmware for me. It's 8.0 with I believe the February 2019 security patch (but I'm not 100% on which security patch). I have a US variant 1710-01 with the build number listed in the title. However, it's been tinkered with and had other stuff flashed. Now I'm having a few issues. The only way to boot is to boot system from bootloader. Trying from recovery or just a normal restart only boots to stock recovery every time. It will also not take security updates (of course).
I want to just return to a fully clean, stock ROM but the only stock files I can find are out of date and will not flash, or came from another variant and screw things up worse.
I'd also be completely happy with Build 27.76-12-28-20, which is the June security patch.
I did find a dump of the ROM, but I'm not savvy enough to make it flashable (at least the system and maybe some other partitions) in fastboot.
**EDIT** link to dump of current stock ROM https://github.com/AndroidDumps/motorola_albus_dump
Thanks anyone who can help.
Wouldn't you be happy with these links?
Thanks. Those were the files I needed.
However, I flashed my current version and was able to re-lock. During the flash, it did give me the "bad ID" or something message while flashing boot and recovery partitions. But I've seen that error many times while flashing a stock ROM. On first boot, I got the notification of an update available. I took the security patch update, which successfully installed. Upon restart after installing the update , my phone was hard bricked.... like done, toss it or replace it hard bricked. Not your fault, and I'm not sure what went wrong. I've heard of similar issues on Moto phones when sideloading an update, but not when doing an OTA.
Anybody have pointers on what may have gone wrong?
OK... strangest thing I've seen for a while with flashing. This is after numerous little attempts to reboot, factory reset, flash partitions, etc. I turned off the phone in the bootloader just so the battery wouldn't go to 0% in bootloader mode. When I went to power it on again to show my wife how screwed up it was, it booted up fine. It says the update completed and it's completely normal now.... EXCEPT that it always boots in to bootloader now instead of booting to system by default. I'm not sure how to fix that. It's not a huge deal, but still not quite right.
Maybe reflashing the boot/bootloader alone will help. Haven't seen this for all the years I work with android.