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Hello, I managed to soft brick my phone while overseas and am writing this message at 2:00am in the morning (at least in this time zone) after two days of trying to fix it. Some background info--I'm usually based in the U.S., have a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ with service from T-mobile. Have never rooted or modified the phone in any way. I'm using a macbook pro laptop (running a windows virtual machine/vmware, on the mac) on this trip.
While on this current trip to Asia (currently in the Philippines) (much to my surprise it seems like the phone was getting 4G data here), I accidentally bumped the "yes" button on t-mobile's persistent OTA upgrade request box and the phone started a OTA upgrade, I assume to Android 6.0.1. I kept an eye on the phone as it went through various stages of progress in the upgrade. didn't see any error messages. It eventually restarted, got to the T-mobile screen, and got stuck there. That was two days ago. I've done quite a bit since that time to try to figure out what went wrong, searched all over online to find potential solutions. it goes without saying if there is any way possible i need to recover many important files on the device, so a reset is the option of last resort.
Long story short, seems like the farthest I can get on the phone is to Android Recovery mode, or the download screen. I installed the android tools and have "adb" working from the mac command line. Bad news is, it looks like I didn't have USB debugging mode activated on the phone, now I can't see any possible way to activate usb debug mode because the phone just won't boot past the t-mobile screen. I can get adb to detect the phone for a moment if I select "apply update from adb" on the recovery mode screen but that's about it, haven't been able to issue any other commands to the phone through adb other than detect and sideload.
tried to reload the android image...via command line adb sideload G928TUVU2DPD1 but get error messages about failure to verify (i think), anyways adb sideload wasn't happening. I installed Odin on my windows VM, attached the usb bridge from the mac to the windows vm and Odin was able to see the device. I was able to successfully push G928TUVU2DPD1 to the phone's download mode, both Odin and phone seemed happy about the file transfer, the phone went through a install process, restarted, with the exact same result as when the OTA update finished - phone stuck at the t-mobile screen after reboot.
I tried to load TWRP to the phone with hopes to run backups, and was actually able to transfer TWRP to the phone using Odin, yet TWRP wouldn't install -- the phone complained of the unauthorized binary. i guess the phone has to be rooted first or something else needs to be flashed to defeat the binary check, haven't tried that yet.
So I'm stuck with a soft bricked phone for now, yet instinct tells me with Odin working and talking to the phone, I should be able to install -something- that will get me back in business...that's why I'm posting this message, to ask for help as it seems like this group is the go to place for this type of specific info.
i am not at all familiar with custom android work yet have been active with tech stuff for the greater part of my life, plenty of coding and experience dating back years and have done dev work in most of the popular languages, very comfortable with command lines, log files and so forth...just never had a reason to mess around at a low level with my android phone until the past 48 hours, so i'm not really familiar. does anyone have any ideas? as a next step i'm thinking of trying to push a downgrade to the phone through Odin which I suppose would be Android 5.1.1 , although I haven't yet located binaries that feel exactly right for t-mobile and s6 edge+ ... sigh, this has been quite a time consuming way of learning the bricked phone recovery process..
:good:
thanks in advance for any ideas or help on this...it's quite disturbing to be on a business trip with no phone, and the past 6+ months worth of not backed up (gulp) data still sitting on the device (hopefully)..
here's some data from the Android Recovery screen:
6.0.1/MMB29K.G928TUVU2DPD1
samsung/zenltetmo/zenltetmo
was flipping through the recovery logs and i notice quite a few log entries about "couldn't find any tzdata when looking for localtime!" , I notice entries like "Starting recovery on Fri Jan 2 03:55:29 2015" -- i'm wondering if the phone is having trouble setting internal time and date which might be preventing it from booting...just a theory.
sorry for the long message, wanted to completely describe this fun scenario, just in case anyone has any ideas..thanks again
keep trying to load TWRP from the download screen on my phone...but get the "custom binary blocked by FTP lock" message. There's no way to change any settings on the phone as it still won't boot past the t-mobile screen..
platinum5 said:
keep trying to load TWRP from the download screen on my phone...but get the "custom binary blocked by FTP lock" message. There's no way to change any settings on the phone as it still won't boot past the t-mobile screen..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you download Odin?
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
yes i have installed Odin and it's working fine...I can push files to the phone in download mode and it works fine, but the Android images i have loaded so far all seem to result in the phone getting stuck at the t-mobile screen...it won't go past there
Did you ever get this figured out? My guess is it has something to do with not being connected to t-mobile home network. The fact you can get to download mode & Odin sees your phone should mean all hope is not lost yet on recovering your files and getting it working again.
Twrp isn't going to work unless you had root installed with the USB debugging & oem unlock option turned on in developer mode.
Maybe try asking in some of the other s6 forums. There's a lot of knowledgeable people here & I'm sure someone knows how to fix this.
Goodluck, I hope you get it figured out, I know how frustrating it can be.
My Nexus 5X just corrupted itself a couple days ago and unfortunately I did not enable OEM unlocking before that happened. I was running stock, un-rooted and from looking online the past couple days I see no way to unlock the bootloader so I can wipe everything and re-flash. I can get into fastboot, but not recovery mode. Recovery mode just says "No Command" with the little android on its side. I have tried all the fastboot commands that one would normally try and they all return some version of "device is locked" error messages. Is there any way at all to unlock the bootloader or flash stock, or otherwise get into recovery without checking that OEM unlocking option in the Developer Options of the OS? I don't care about my data, I just want to get my phone working again. It's out of warranty so I am willing to try anything to get it working again.
I'm in the same situation
This is why I always enable Oem unlocking on all devices I own regardless of security for things like this .
_Ghost said:
This is why I always enable Oem unlocking on all devices I own regardless of security for things like this .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, im going to be doing that from now on. I am pretty sure it was an OTA update that did it. It had just updated a day or two before. I was able to get into Recovery and sideload a different OTA update. The update failed and the phone rebooted, but it rebooted into Android. I was able to get my data off and all seems stable for now.
How did you fix it?!
coryrwest said:
Yeah, im going to be doing that from now on. I am pretty sure it was an OTA update that did it. It had just updated a day or two before. I was able to get into Recovery and sideload a different OTA update. The update failed and the phone rebooted, but it rebooted into Android. I was able to get my data off and all seems stable for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in this exact situation. Phone out of warranty, just want to get it back on, don't care about the data on it.. but the "device state" is locked. I can get it into recovery but the sideload fails, I think because the device is locked. How did you get your phone to work again??
I've tried following these instructions (I'm new and can't post a URL: [ttps://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz6x7k-VkpUJam5Mc1hKa09PVGc/view) and it fails during step 19.
I've also tried these instructions (I can't post the URL but if you google this exact phrase, it's the first link: Nexus 5X Bootloop Fix - The Step-by-step DIY Guide - TechBii) but the phone is locked so I can't do it.
Help!
See this post please: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/petition-google-release-official-t3672987
Thanks
So did you ever get it to work or just thre the phone in the garbage, @coryrwest
See my latest post in the thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71241965&postcount=4
How?
coryrwest said:
Yeah, im going to be doing that from now on. I am pretty sure it was an OTA update that did it. It had just updated a day or two before. I was able to get into Recovery and sideload a different OTA update. The update failed and the phone rebooted, but it rebooted into Android. I was able to get my data off and all seems stable for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having a similar issue, how did you exactly get it into recovery? Cause mine will simply keep rebooting if I select recovery mode from bootloader
Hey guys,
I would have liked to get the OREO update, because it said every time is up-to-date, and I wasn't patient. because all of these already get it, and the battery life was terrible with, and I have just 30 days to cancel the phone if I'm unsatisfied with it, so it was urgent for me to update and try it.
But I didn't know enough from the newest devices, so that I need unlocked bootloader to flash STOCK ROM or ROOT or for flash RECOVERY
Mine is XT1789-06, I tried to flash first this ROM:
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=962187416754456314
It didn't tell this is TMO. :/
This changed my baseband to TMO and my boot image to T-mobile, after I didn't have signal and the fingerprint sensor didn't work.
I wanted fix it with RETAIL ROM flashing.
I tried to flash this: https://androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=241773
After that my phone didn't boot, says your device is corrupt.
Cause this I tried to flash back the previous version so this: NASH_RETAIL_7.1.1_NPXS26.122-68-4_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip
from here https://firmware.center/firmware/Motorola/Moto Z2 Force/Stock/
But no result. The baseband stucked on TMO, the phone is not start up. Fall back to fast boot mode.
After and mean while these things I tried many things.
The Motorola Device Manager isn't working at all.
The Software Upgrade Assistant what the phone want when show boot up failed message isn't working just say processing device information and isn't going further. I don't understand why the phone ask it, because that is for verizon phones.
The RSD lite says the model name is Fastboot nash S and isn't start to flash anything, when I press the start it says the phone failed to switch to fastboot mode, but it's in that.
I tried already flash more different ROMs, but didn't work one of them .
Recovery is unable, the phone isn't rooted, the bootloader is locked, however sometimes it showed ""Your device software cannot be checked for corruption. Please lock the bootloader", but I checked in the powershell and in fastboot mode I looked what phone says, so it's locked.
I was thinking maybe if I unlock it will solve the problem, but I can't turn it on, so the developer options are unavailable and I don't know maybe it won't help, if I can do it somehow.
Now if I want turn on the phone it's going to fastboot mode right away or say your device is corrupt... and after.
I can't try flash it through Qualcomm 9008 because the PC recognise the device for fastboot device.
In the device manager the computer shows Motorola ADB interface.
I try to unbrick for 3 days, please help me.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Same here, if you find anything out DM me
I already contacted with the phone, I will bring back to Repait it.
I couldn't find out nothing, I tried everything what was possible.
i think i found a solution i just dont know how it works exactly, something to do with a batch file and a full flash of the phone
https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-force/how-to/how-to-return-to-stock-sprint-t3694783 im going to try this and let you know
Greetings,
I have a certain problem, i have an Samsung J6 Plus which has suddenly rebooted and since then it just turns on the samsung logo, then it turns off the screen, then the screen flashes and finally it reboots again.
I have tried everything, the phone has a pie binary so i could only flash one rom i found.
But even after flashing every part of OS on its own, performing a NAND Erase and re-partitioning with pit file, i still get the same result. The phone restarts after the flash, and then turns off the screen, flashes etc...
Every time the same, no matter what i try.
Has anyone experienced similar problem ?
I have read about 15 of other threads here with similar problems and tried every solution that works for some people but nothing works for me.
stefan1301 said:
Greetings,
I have a certain problem, i have an Samsung J6 Plus which has suddenly rebooted and since then it just turns on the samsung logo, then it turns off the screen, then the screen flashes and finally it reboots again.
I have tried everything, the phone has a pie binary so i could only flash one rom i found.
But even after flashing every part of OS on its own, performing a NAND Erase and re-partitioning with pit file, i still get the same result. The phone restarts after the flash, and then turns off the screen, flashes etc...
Every time the same, no matter what i try.
Has anyone experienced similar problem ?
I have read about 15 of other threads here with similar problems and tried every solution that works for some people but nothing works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't have used the nand erase option, that is an easy way to brick the device when used improperly. I doubt you will be able to repair it with Odin now.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
You shouldn't have used the nand erase option, that is an easy way to brick the device when used improperly. I doubt you will be able to repair it with Odin now.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, you see, i did it as a last option, because i tried to flash several different roms before that, and at first it didn’t let me flash Oreo and older, just failed in odin, because of Pie binary.
So i flashed official pie ( first time only AP, and second time all files), and it didn’t help either, the phone was still acting the same (the same thinh happens like before all the flashing).
I can’t boot into recovery, it ends up being the same as trying to boot normally, and it won’t let me flash other recovery because of the frp.
stefan1301 said:
But, you see, i did it as a last option, because i tried to flash several different roms before that, and at first it didn’t let me flash Oreo and older, just failed in odin, because of Pie binary.
So i flashed official pie ( first time only AP, and second time all files), and it didn’t help either, the phone was still acting the same (the same thinh happens like before all the flashing).
I can’t boot into recovery, it ends up being the same as trying to boot normally, and it won’t let me flash other recovery because of the frp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds to me like the hardware itself is bricked or damaged. If that is the case, the only option is to replace the motherboard.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Try to flash latest rom
Here is the solution
stefan1301 said:
Greetings,
I have a certain problem, i have an Samsung J6 Plus which has suddenly rebooted and since then it just turns on the samsung logo, then it turns off the screen, then the screen flashes and finally it reboots again.
I have tried everything, the phone has a pie binary so i could only flash one rom i found.
But even after flashing every part of OS on its own, performing a NAND Erase and re-partitioning with pit file, i still get the same result. The phone restarts after the flash, and then turns off the screen, flashes etc...
Every time the same, no matter what i try.
Has anyone experienced similar problem ?
I have read about 15 of other threads here with similar problems and tried every solution that works for some people but nothing works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issue after oreo update for j7 nxt so what i did is easily rooting phone via Magisk!
Ahh,, maybe u have frp lock?
Just google for (Combination rom of your device) then flash it with odin. After that you can go to settings -> about device -> software information -> Build number (click on this option 5-7 times).
Then back to settings you'll see an additiona setting (Developer options) go inside it and click on (OEM unlocking) and cograts you have unlocked frp lock
Note : there is a fairly chance that you won't find this option (OEM unlocking)! So what to do? You just need to trick the phone by changing the date/time for 2014 and restart then check if it's there if still not there just try again with different dates for ex. 2013 and restart (keep doind this and every restart check the developer options section, Just KEEP TRY!! until you find the button there in developer options
After that go flash the stock rom then install TWRP then ROOT via Magisk and you're all done
alaanhaliko said:
I'm having the same issue after oreo update for j7 nxt so what i did is easily rooting phone via Magisk!
Ahh,, maybe u have frp lock?
Just google for (Combination rom of your device) then flash it with odin. After that you can go to settings -> about device -> software information -> Build number (click on this option 5-7 times).
Then back to settings you'll see an additiona setting (Developer options) go inside it and click on (OEM unlocking) and cograts you have unlocked frp lock
Note : there is a fairly chance that you won't find this option (OEM unlocking)! So what to do? You just need to trick the phone by changing the date/time for 2014 and restart then check if it's there if still not there just try again with different dates for ex. 2013 and restart (keep doind this and every restart check the developer options section, Just KEEP TRY!! until you find the button there in developer options
After that go flash the stock rom then install TWRP then ROOT via Magisk and you're all done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OEM unlock does not "by itself" remove FRP, there is more to the process than just enabling OEM unlock, removing the Google account from the device and disabling MDM(find my device) is what actually "unlocks" FRP.
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2016/05/understanding-and-bypassing-reset-protection/
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
OEM unlock does not "by itself" remove FRP, there is more to the process than just enabling OEM unlock, removing the Google account from the device and disabling MDM(find my device) is what actually "unlocks" FRP.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since he didn't mention about getting this message "only official binaries are allowed to be flashed"
Then itsn't something related to RMM.
Also as what he said he can't flash TWRP as he gets "OEM LOCK" it's also called "FRP LOCK" the type of lock i'm talking about is in (download mode) that doesn't allow to install custom binaries, so the only solution is tirning (OEM lock) option and that's enough to flash custom binaries such as TWRP.
The type you are talking about seems to be RMM lock which could be fixed using Miracle Box but as it's not allowed to dicuss this stuff here in xda + his problem is frp locked and phone doesn't booting, so the only solution we can provide in this situation is Combination rom which will boot even if you bricked your phone, even if you've Rooted and bricked your device's kernel (even if it won't boot anymore).. combination should boot, i faced the exact issue but as i explained in my last post. And hmm it could be 80% the solution.
Thank for your reply.
Your Iraqi friend,
My regards.
alaanhaliko said:
Since he didn't mention about getting this message "only official binaries are allowed to be flashed"
Then itsn't something related to RMM.
Also as what he said he can't flash TWRP as he gets "OEM LOCK" it's also called "FRP LOCK" the type of lock i'm talking about is in (download mode) that doesn't allow to install custom binaries, so the only solution is tirning (OEM lock) option and that's enough to flash custom binaries such as TWRP.
The type you are talking about seems to be RMM lock which could be fixed using Miracle Box but as it's not allowed to dicuss this stuff here in xda + his problem is frp locked and phone doesn't booting, so the only solution we can provide in this situation is Combination rom which will boot even if you bricked your phone, even if you've Rooted and bricked your device's kernel (even if it won't boot anymore).. combination should boot, i faced the exact issue but as i explained in my last post. And hmm it could be 80% the solution.
Thank for your reply.
Your Iraqi friend,
My regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I'm talking specifically of FRP lock.
The point you make about binaries has nothing to do with FRP. Binaries can be blocked on both FRP locked and FRP unlocked devices. The binaries only prevent flashing firmware with a lower binary than the current binary installed on the device. Binary version is related to RMM or KG state, not FRP. FRP is directly related to MDM and only "partially" related to the things you mention and only because there are other "tamper-proof" elements that "can" trigger FRP. Have you ever noticed that a device that does not have a Google account signed in does not encounter FRP issues when the device is factory reset, but if there is a Google account signed in the device, factory reset triggers FRP? If it were as you you seem to be suggesting, FRP would be triggered on devices that have no Google account associated to them when attempting to flash/modify the device, but this is not what happens.
OEM unlock really only applies to unlocking bootloader in order to flash unapproved software or make modifications to the system partition without being blocked.
https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2016/05/understanding-and-bypassing-reset-protection/
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Before I get going - yes I know I messed up. I do have plenty of experience flashing ROMs etc, albeit I'm absolutely not an expert. This was purely a not thinking moment.
So I flashed my Samsung Tab S4 with Kali Nethunter a while back, not really used the tab since. Without a great deal of thought, I decided to put the device back to factory. I went back into the OS and flicked the OEM toggle - utter braindead move. Obviously the device now comes up with a warning, the exact wording is:
"Security Error: This device has been flashed with unauthorized software & is locked. Call your mobile operator for additional support. Please note that repair / return for this issue may have additional cost"
I can still access download mode.
Right, now you've finished laughing/cussing me I did some digging and apparently I can still flash with Odin if its the official ROM? I went to SAMMobile and downloaded the latest ROM and Odin fails with a write error.
What I need to know is:
How bad have I messed up?
Is this recoverable?
Any help appreciated.
Hello there,
So yes, pretty bad mistake but these things happen but it should be recoverable. Just follow the link to get your device booted up! Hopefully the link is for your variant, if not look into installing twrp recovery for your device. Once installed you can back up your data and flash the rom compatible using twrp. Then set up the device and restore your data but make sure it's unlocked or your error may repeat itself! Also you have to find the right version of Odin, they do vary some are patched. Have fun!!
Recovery
Hi,
Thanks for the reply Jedi.
It already has TWRP on it, but recovery is inaccessible since I turned the OEM lock back on. The only thing I can now access is download mode but it can't seem to write to it, which I'm guessing is because the OEM lock is back on. I thought I might still be able to write the official Samsung ROMs even with the OEM lock but it doesnt seem like its the case. Obviously no access to ADB to do a Fastboot unlock either. Fresh out of ideas.
Any other solutions?
bump - anyone? lol, really not looking for an expensive door stop.
It seems you're at the dead end. However, there might be a solution for this, not sure though does it work. But go to OnePlus forum and you'll find how to recover from bricked device. You still got hope because of TWRP. good luck bro
OK, so for anyone wondering if this is fixable, the answer is YES!
You can flash the standard ROM even with the bootloader locked. Clearly what I downloaded from SAMMobile wasnt compatible, however when I used Frija, it found and downloaded the correct ROMs.
Another sticking point of this was the infamous USB 2.0 issue, I assumed the ROM was failing again, however when I finally could be arsed to try it on my old PC, its worked like a charm.
So there you have it:
Latest version of Odin
Latest Samsung USB drivers
Latest ROM downloaded from Frija
Put the tablet into download mode and flash away.