Develop Bugs

Fix for Black/Blank Launcher Screen

So, i have been quietly been looking over the forums and have noticed that alot of users have "accidentally" deleted/disabled/removed their stock LG Launcher (com.lge.launcher2). This causes you to swipe UP to unlock your screen and be presented with a blank black screen.
While everyone is freaking out/pulling out their hair/swapping phones with their local dealer, i have come up with a way to get back to a launcher and go from there. I am not saying this is a fix for the stock launcher, i am merely showing a way to get back to a launcher PERIOD, the rest is up to someone more qualified than I.
This is assuming you have Rooted your phone (which got you into this mess in the first place)
1. If needed (as in, you can't get emails etc) then Hard Reset (battery pull, hold power and volume down, push power button twice)
2. when it reboots, go through the wizard and setup your email.
3. Using a computer, take the .APK i have posted here (ADW launcher) and email to yourself as an attachment. your phone will sound off when that email arrives.
4. Swipe down, open the email and install the attachment.
5. Reboot and Welcome back to the launcher!!
This worked for me when my ADW Launcher was wiped by a backup (my own fault, i will admit) and i just reinstalled GO Launcher from the market after that.

I ran into this little problem the first time I rooted my phone. I debloated it and then thought of running a factory reset - the problem was I froze the stock LG Home launcher so I had no UI.
I was able to fix it by texting myself a www.google.com URL. I read the text through notifications, clicked the linked and it opened the browser. From the browser I entered the Market's URL and I navigated to NoBloat's page. I went to install it and there it gave me the option to open the app from which I was able to to unfreeze LG Home and then restart my phone

Well there ya go, another way to get around this problem!!
Thanks aimhelix for your alternate workaround! Let's keep this up, i am sure these aren't the only ways to fix this problem!

hard reset
aimhelix said:
I ran into this little problem the first time I rooted my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aimhelix, a bit unrelated question... was reading your other post about debloating and you've mentioned doing a hard reset.
So, here it goes:
Is going to Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset and resetting data does the same thing as
- Turn off phone, wait a few seconds.
- Press HOME + VOL DN + POWER until you see a warning for Hard Reset
- Press Power 2x to confirm?
Thanks in advance.

detroitredwings said:
aimhelix, a bit unrelated question... was reading your other post about debloating and you've mentioned doing a hard reset.
So, here it goes:
Is going to Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset and resetting data does the same thing as
- Turn off phone, wait a few seconds.
- Press HOME + VOL DN + POWER until you see a warning for Hard Reset
- Press Power 2x to confirm?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's hard to do that when you don't have a launcher...and by the way, you don't need press HOME button or pull the battery out, VOLUP + POWER is enough

I just threw the battery pull in for the noobs that didn't know when the phone was actually off! lol!!

detroitredwings said:
aimhelix, a bit unrelated question... was reading your other post about debloating and you've mentioned doing a hard reset.
So, here it goes:
Is going to Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset and resetting data does the same thing as
- Turn off phone, wait a few seconds.
- Press HOME + VOL DN + POWER until you see a warning for Hard Reset
- Press Power 2x to confirm?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not quite. A hard reset will wipe your internal SD card. I factory reset won't but it will also wipe user account info from the phone.

aimhelix said:
No, not quite. A hard reset will wipe your internal SD card. I factory reset won't but it will also wipe user account info from the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, actually there is an option to wipe the microSD card using Factory Reset method. If you check this option, the card will be wiped.
While looking for an answer on other threads, my take is - these two methods are the same. Just wanted to get an extra opinion, since I'm completely new to android. Actually, this is for my son's Nitro phone
Thanks for your reply though. I followed your directions disabling the bloatware, very helpful

repherb said:
So, i have been quietly been looking over the forums and have noticed that alot of users have "accidentally" deleted/disabled/removed their stock LG Launcher (com.lge.launcher2). This causes you to swipe UP to unlock your screen and be presented with a blank black screen.
While everyone is freaking out/pulling out their hair/swapping phones with their local dealer, i have come up with a way to get back to a launcher and go from there. I am not saying this is a fix for the stock launcher, i am merely showing a way to get back to a launcher PERIOD, the rest is up to someone more qualified than I.
This is assuming you have Rooted your phone (which got you into this mess in the first place)
1. If needed (as in, you can't get emails etc) then Hard Reset (battery pull, hold power and volume down, push power button twice)
2. when it reboots, go through the wizard and setup your email.
3. Using a computer, take the .APK i have posted here (ADW launcher) and email to yourself as an attachment. your phone will sound off when that email arrives.
4. Swipe down, open the email and install the attachment.
5. Reboot and Welcome back to the launcher!!
This worked for me when my ADW Launcher was wiped by a backup (my own fault, i will admit) and i just reinstalled GO Launcher from the market after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this works perfectly, thank you.
I've attached the zeam launcher apk if folks, like me, want to use a different launcher for this

scott0 said:
this works perfectly, thank you.
I've attached the zeam launcher apk if folks, like me, want to use a different launcher for this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im so stuuuuuck...i even tried this but i get no email...on my phone..all i get is staring at the black screen....heeelp

Have you tried go to https://market.android.com on your computer, find a launcher and install it from there?

[email protected] said:
Have you tried go to https://market.android.com on your computer, find a launcher and install it from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
install it how
through adB?
my pc wont detect phone

Just go to the site, login with your google account (the one you used on the phone)
Then hit the "install" button of the app (this all on the site, nothing need to be downloaded to your computer)
All this assuming you had added google account on the phone before the problem started.

[email protected] said:
Just go to the site, login with your google account (the one you used on the phone)
Then hit the "install" button of the app (this all on the site, nothing need to be downloaded to your computer)
All this assuming you had added google account on the phone before the problem started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i see what u meant but yea i dont have this phone in the list ahhh im goin crazy haha

In that case try send a text message to your phone with a link to the market (again, you can use gmail for that)

[email protected] said:
In that case try send a text message to your phone with a link to the market (again, you can use gmail for that)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait how..compose..the message....i tried it says invalid...lol
plz tell me
---------- Post added at 02:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
youngv408 said:
wait how..compose..the message....i tried it says invalid...lol
plz tell me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this i read
http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=106015
but i dont see anything that says send sms message
---------- Post added at 02:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:40 AM ----------
youngv408 said:
wait how..compose..the message....i tried it says invalid...lol
plz tell me
---------- Post added at 02:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
this i read
http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=106015
but i dont see anything that says send sms message
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ima have my friend text me the link duuuhhh....hopefully i get out of this mess...
and how come this happened...wat did i do wrong...i just flashed original recovery.img ...whats the deal with the black screen

repherb said:
So, i have been quietly been looking over the forums and have noticed that alot of users have "accidentally" deleted/disabled/removed their stock LG Launcher (com.lge.launcher2). This causes you to swipe UP to unlock your screen and be presented with a blank black screen.
While everyone is freaking out/pulling out their hair/swapping phones with their local dealer, i have come up with a way to get back to a launcher and go from there. I am not saying this is a fix for the stock launcher, i am merely showing a way to get back to a launcher PERIOD, the rest is up to someone more qualified than I.
This is assuming you have Rooted your phone (which got you into this mess in the first place)
1. If needed (as in, you can't get emails etc) then Hard Reset (battery pull, hold power and volume down, push power button twice)
2. when it reboots, go through the wizard and setup your email.
3. Using a computer, take the .APK i have posted here (ADW launcher) and email to yourself as an attachment. your phone will sound off when that email arrives.
4. Swipe down, open the email and install the attachment.
5. Reboot and Welcome back to the launcher!!
This worked for me when my ADW Launcher was wiped by a backup (my own fault, i will admit) and i just reinstalled GO Launcher from the market after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this idea. But when I try to install the apk I get the 'There is a problem parsing the package' message and can't proceed. Any more thoughts?

hippohelper said:
Thanks for this idea. But when I try to install the apk I get the 'There is a problem parsing the package' message and can't proceed. Any more thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
goto google play website and install it to your phone from there.
OR follow the unbricking guide in my signature which will allow you to revert to stock, AND install custom roms if you so desire

[Q] Deleted com.android.providers.settings folder. Please help fix!

Hey everyone. I am relatively new to the Android world, especially in terms of rooting and installing custom firmware. I've been running off of nightly builds of CM10.1 for about a month now, and my Google contacts were not syncing the entire time, even though everything else was working fine. On another forum, a user had suggested deleting the "com.android.providers.settings" folder within the data/data directory and then rebooting the phone. This not only didn't fix the problem, but my device is now barely usable. The home button, notifications, lockscreen, quick settings panel, and who knows what else no longer works. Cyanogenmod wouldn't even find an update when searching manually, and I was unable to mount the device to my PC. I was able to re-download a nightly build and upload it to my cloud service and install it from there, but the device is still crippled.
Please feel free to criticize me for being an idiot and not being more cautious before deleting a system folder, but after, any advice as to how repair my device would be greatly appreciated. Outside of what I have done, I am absolutely clueless. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to help me before I do something else to mess it up even further.

i'm assuming you did a full wipe or at least wiped data and both caches when you flashed the update?

xBeerdroiDx said:
i'm assuming you did a full wipe or at least wiped data and both caches when you flashed the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not, nor did I reinstall the Google Apps package. I was going to that next if I did not receive other instruction on here.
Would you recommend I do that now?

pravus87 said:
I did not, nor did I reinstall the Google Apps package. I was going to that next if I did not receive other instruction on here.
Would you recommend I do that now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you dont have a backup to restore, you're going to have to boot into recovery and wipe data, cache & dalvik and flash a rom/gapps.
you can play around with trying to fix this all you want but you'll likely end up doing this reset/reflash in the end.

xBeerdroiDx said:
if you dont have a backup to restore, you're going to have to boot into recovery and wipe data, cache & dalvik and flash a rom/gapps.
you can play around with trying to fix this all you want but you'll likely end up doing this reset/reflash in the end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough. Just did the full restore. Thank you for the quick response.

I did that on my oculus quest 2 does that mean i have to go into usb update mode and reset it?

GbnrVR said:
I did that on my oculus quest 2 does that mean i have to go into usb update mode and reset it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My quest still works bit i havent ran a game

Galaxy S4 will not boot past the load screen/Blue LoD

I tried to fix the google play store error by using the steps provided online (that seemed to work for most people) and now my phone will not boot past the initial galaxy screen. The screen goes blank and then I see a solid blue LED light at the top left of the phone.
I would like to know if backing up files at this point is possible, because I'm assuming the only true fix is a factory reset.
I was told that android has a built in fail-safe that would still allow me to access the files through a PC via USB. That has not worked for me. My computer shows nothing. I wonder if there is a way to reinstall just the android operating system (much like you would do with a windows pc) so that no files are erased and just the OS is reinstalled.
I've tried booting in safe mode, tapping the menu button doesn't do anything.
Any help/advice would be much appreciated. I'm ok with performing a factory reset, I'd just like to back up images and audio files before doing so.
Thanks

InsomniacoreDSPS said:
I tried to fix the google play store error by using the steps provided online (that seemed to work for most people) and now my phone will not boot past the initial galaxy screen. The screen goes blank and then I see a solid blue LED light at the top left of the phone.
I would like to know if backing up files at this point is possible, because I'm assuming the only true fix is a factory reset.
I was told that android has a built in fail-safe that would still allow me to access the files through a PC via USB. That has not worked for me. My computer shows nothing. I wonder if there is a way to reinstall just the android operating system (much like you would do with a windows pc) so that no files are erased and just the OS is reinstalled.
I've tried booting in safe mode, tapping the menu button doesn't do anything.
Any help/advice would be much appreciated. I'm ok with performing a factory reset, I'd just like to back up images and audio files before doing so.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What play store error were you trying to fix and what exactly did you do to try and fix it?
It sure sounds like you've managed to wipe the internal memory clean. If so your only hope is to use Odin to restore it back to stock. If it works it'll work great but you will lose everything on the phone. Though again it really sounds like you have nothing on the phone.
The only other thing to try would be using Odin to flash a recovery. Then boot into recovery and see if you can back up the data partition. If that works you can use the recovery to reinstall a ROM.

Do people not do nandroid backup anymore?
☞ Sent from here☜???

The error I kept getting said "insufficient storage space available."
I had over 3 gigs of space left on my phone's internal memory.
I tried all of the obvious stuff before even seeking help online (clearing cache, making sure the system memory wasnt taken up).
Anytime my phone would attempt to update an app it would fail and remove the app entirely. Amazon Mobile was the first to go. It's only a 5Mb app and it said I didn't have enough storage space...yet I could download a 100Mb app I didn't already have and it would work fine.
I tried online suggestions like removing my google account from my phone, reverting the app store back to the stock version, re-adding the google account, then rebooting, and then my phone stopped working.
I'm pretty sure I know exactly what caused my phone not to be able to boot anymore though. Some people online had success using a google play store market fix app that is on the play store itself (not some sketchy site no one's ever heard of). I tried that, then when I rebooted it seems like my phone was bricked. A lot of people had said that app worked for their GS4's.
Any suggestions? I wish I could just reinstall android, get the files, then restore to factory conditions (if necessary).

I still have no idea what this problem is that you were trying to fix. I have never heard of this.
Still, using Odin to restore your phone to stock will work. Just flash the .tar file in Odin and it will be like you just took the phone out of the box.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.

Skipjacks said:
I still have no idea what this problem is that you were trying to fix. I have never heard of this.
Still, using Odin to restore your phone to stock will work. Just flash the .tar file in Odin and it will be like you just took the phone out of the box.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The number error that came up with apps failed to update was error 923, which is a pretty common one people had trouble with. I tried every solution I could find, and this is what happened

I wanna help you. I really do. But I can't do anything without knowing the step by step details of what you did to get to this point.
Without that info there is no way to help you back out of thsi without a full wipe. So you are stuck with using Odin to do a full restore.

Skipjacks said:
I wanna help you. I really do. But I can't do anything without knowing the step by step details of what you did to get to this point.
Without that info there is no way to help you back out of thsi without a full wipe. So you are stuck with using Odin to do a full restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The step by step details of what I did are a couple posts back (I tried online suggestions like removing my google account from my phone, reverting the app store back to the stock version, re-adding the google account, then rebooting, and then my phone stopped working).
After that I tried a couple of the apps on the google play store that are supposed to be 1 click fixes for the google play store update error. That was my mistake. A lot of people had success with those 1 click fixes, but thats what I believe bricked my phone. I would tell you which app specifically but I can't access my phone (obviously) and they won't come up on the PC version of Google Play search.
Thank you for your desire to help. Is there any other method of communication we could use that might be more efficient for me to be able to answer your questions? IM or fbook chat or something?

InsomniacoreDSPS said:
The step by step details of what I did are a couple posts back (I tried online suggestions like removing my google account from my phone, reverting the app store back to the stock version, re-adding the google account, then rebooting, and then my phone stopped working).
After that I tried a couple of the apps on the google play store that are supposed to be 1 click fixes for the google play store update error. That was my mistake. A lot of people had success with those 1 click fixes, but thats what I believe bricked my phone. I would tell you which app specifically but I can't access my phone (obviously) and they won't come up on the PC version of Google Play search.
Thank you for your desire to help. Is there any other method of communication we could use that might be more efficient for me to be able to answer your questions? IM or fbook chat or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just gave up and wiped all data. I gotta have a working phone for work tomorrow. Trying to download the stock firmware for a full restore. It's taking FOREVER.

Revert to stock : Complete
Hate that I lost everything, but I shoulda been more responsible with backup in the first place. I am with my computers, typically am with my phone, but I was foolish enough to wait until I could get a great deal on a high capacity micro SD card...silly silly me.

delete

Delete

Delete

Delete

Peeptastic said:
Hard reset my phone and now I can't get past the set up screen. It may be because I used titanium backup to free a few apps and did not disable this before the hard reset. I get as far as the wifi setup screen and it won't get any farther. It either gets stuck at "Just a sec" or "checking for updates". I can get into stock recovery and it appears my computer recognizes the ability to adb sideload. Can someone please help me? Thanks either way. Oh, I have the Sprint LS991 G4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
During the initial setup, when you get to the wifi setup screen can you just skip over the wifi setup? Is it possible your wifi isn't working (mine isn't either) and as long as you keep attempting to connect you'll never get past that step in the initial setup process?

oldjackbob said:
During the initial setup, when you get to the wifi setup screen can you just skip over the wifi setup? Is it possible your wifi isn't working (mine isn't either) and as long as you keep attempting to connect you'll never get past that step in the initial setup process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answered in the other thread

Where did you find the answer? Was it a positive answer? I did a similar thing. After root all was good. Foolishly I began using TiB to merge updates of sys apps into the system. I forgot to uncheck gooogle play services. This messed up gpservices and I factory reset. Thus of course left gpservices still messed up as I erased the system version of it along with the system image that I had on internal sd. A begginers mistake by a veteran. Foolish.

shariteau said:
Where did you find the answer? Was it a positive answer? I did a similar thing. After root all was good. Foolishly I began using TiB to merge updates of sys apps into the system. I forgot to uncheck gooogle play services. This messed up gpservices and I factory reset. Thus of course left gpservices still messed up as I erased the system version of it along with the system image that I had on internal sd. A begginers mistake by a veteran. Foolish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Delete

Safest way to re-lock bootloader

What is the safest way to go about re-locking my bootloader? The reason I ask is that many apps on my phone just don't seem to work right, some refuse to open, some crash immediately upon opening, some I have to touch the screen multiple times to go back etc. Trying to figure out what the cause would be and thinking of re-locking the bootloader and factory resetting to see if that fixes it.
Thanks.

naiku said:
What is the safest way to go about re-locking my bootloader? The reason I ask is that many apps on my phone just don't seem to work right, some refuse to open, some crash immediately upon opening, some I have to touch the screen multiple times to go back etc. Trying to figure out what the cause would be and thinking of re-locking the bootloader and factory resetting to see if that fixes it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do the factory reset first before even thinking about locking the bootloader to see if that fixes things. Even then don't lock it!
However, if you must lock it, be full factory stock with no mods or root and stock recovery. Leave OEM unlocking and USB debugging ON until your finished locking it. Good luck to you.

naiku said:
What is the safest way to go about re-locking my bootloader? The reason I ask is that many apps on my phone just don't seem to work right, some refuse to open, some crash immediately upon opening, some I have to touch the screen multiple times to go back etc. Trying to figure out what the cause would be and thinking of re-locking the bootloader and factory resetting to see if that fixes it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't relock the bootloader!! You'll just be asking for trouble and a possible brick. The problem you're having with apps has nothing to do with the bootloader being unlocked. If you're thinking of factory resetting then flash the stock firmware with fastboot. That'll accomplish the same thing and will also put a fresh system on your device.

Thanks, will try the factory reset first and avoid locking the bootloader if at all possible. I have my suspicions on the bootloader causing any issues with the apps, and sounds like it is not that, so am happy to leave it alone. Some of the apps it does not bother me, but for example I picked up a DJI drone and the DJI Go 4 app gets stuck in a loop constantly on my phone, yet works perfectly on my tablet. Figured trying getting the phone as close to factory as possible would be a place to start with figuring it out, just not looking forward to having to re-install all the apps!!

naiku said:
Thanks, will try the factory reset first and avoid locking the bootloader if at all possible. I have my suspicions on the bootloader causing any issues with the apps, and sounds like it is not that, so am happy to leave it alone. Some of the apps it does not bother me, but for example I picked up a DJI drone and the DJI Go 4 app gets stuck in a loop constantly on my phone, yet works perfectly on my tablet. Figured trying getting the phone as close to factory as possible would be a place to start with figuring it out, just not looking forward to having to re-install all the apps!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your tablet on pie? There are apps that have not been updated to support pie os. I'm guessing a drone app hasn't been updated.

Good point, the tablet is not on Pie. Is there a way to check if an app is updated? For example Stringify does not open at all, just hangs on the splash screen until Android asks if I want to close it, yet my phone has a permanent notification that it's running (it used to open). IFTTT will open and work, but after I create a new applet, it shows recommended applets, but won't let me back out of that without clicking it dozens of times. There are other apps that just hang in random spots as well. Figure if I can quickly check if they are updated, that may help.

naiku said:
Good point, the tablet is not on Pie. Is there a way to check if an app is updated? For example Stringify does not open at all, just hangs on the splash screen until Android asks if I want to close it, yet my phone has a permanent notification that it's running (it used to open). IFTTT will open and work, but after I create a new applet, it shows recommended applets, but won't let me back out of that without clicking it dozens of times. There are other apps that just hang in random spots as well. Figure if I can quickly check if they are updated, that may help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know of a good way. I just looked at stringify in the play store and it seems lots of people are having issues, including one who specifically referenced it not working on pie.

Looks like a factory reset did the trick, both Stringify and DJI Go appear to be working, what is now causing me problems is that I no longer have Samsung Wear and cannot find it to install it, which without it, makes my watch all but useless.

naiku said:
Looks like a factory reset did the trick, both Stringify and DJI Go appear to be working, what is now causing me problems is that I no longer have Samsung Wear and cannot find it to install it, which without it, makes my watch all but useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the link for it in apkmirror
https://www.apkmirror.com/?post_type=app_release&searchtype=apk&s=Galaxy+wear

Thanks, found that last night after some hunting around. Everything up and running now.

naiku said:
Thanks, found that last night after some hunting around. Everything up and running now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries