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I recently obtained a Samsung Rugby Smart, my father upgraded to a new phone and I received his old Rugby, the Rugby is less than a year old and still covered under warranty. This is the first Smartphone I've owned, though I have experience with the Google Nexus 7 so I'm not completely out of the loop on how the devices works.
About a week or a little more after I got the phone and got it set up and rooted the auto-rotate function stopped working, the phone is permanently stuck in landscape regardless of whether or not auto-rotate is toggled. I've read through several threads, removed battery while the phone is on, performed a factory reset three times now, etc, and while I have downloaded an app that allows me to change the rotation I do not consider that to be a fix to the problem. I've been in contact with the manufacturer and the next time I call them I will be approved to send the phone in to be repaired or replaced. I would, however, prefer not to do that and am hoping that someone here might have different suggestions.
That said, if i do need to send it in to be replaced, I obviously need to remove root before I do that. I've been looking at the Kingo Root Android app so far this morning, but it doesn't seem to support my Rugby, what are the suggestions for the safest method of removing root from the phone? I've been reading around the forums but would like a second opinion.
RainbowMagicMarker said:
I recently obtained a Samsung Rugby Smart, my father upgraded to a new phone and I received his old Rugby, the Rugby is less than a year old and still covered under warranty. This is the first Smartphone I've owned, though I have experience with the Google Nexus 7 so I'm not completely out of the loop on how the devices works.
About a week or a little more after I got the phone and got it set up and rooted the auto-rotate function stopped working, the phone is permanently stuck in landscape regardless of whether or not auto-rotate is toggled. I've read through several threads, removed battery while the phone is on, performed a factory reset three times now, etc, and while I have downloaded an app that allows me to change the rotation I do not consider that to be a fix to the problem. I've been in contact with the manufacturer and the next time I call them I will be approved to send the phone in to be repaired or replaced. I would, however, prefer not to do that and am hoping that someone here might have different suggestions.
That said, if i do need to send it in to be replaced, I obviously need to remove root before I do that. I've been looking at the Kingo Root Android app so far this morning, but it doesn't seem to support my Rugby, what are the suggestions for the safest method of removing root from the phone? I've been reading around the forums but would like a second opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Temp-unroot would help in this situation, I think..
MayB4ck said:
Temp-unroot would help in this situation, I think..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not something I am familiar with, how does it work?
Long story short samsung repaired my phone and I think they sent back retail ed.
How can I tell
in download mode it says qu
qualcom secureboot : enabe (csb) is
that reads to me like boot loader is locked.
Anyone?
pospower said:
Long story short samsung repaired my phone and I think they sent back retail ed.
How can I tell
in download mode it says qu
qualcom secureboot : enabe (csb) is
that reads to me like boot loader is locked.
Anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Under Download Mode it says "Mode: Developer" if it's still a Developer Edition. The guy I got mine from had the same thing happen. The first time he sent it in they sent it back with retail firmware in it. He got back in touch with them, sent it back and the second time they got it right. But before it came back he switched to T-Mobile. He sold me his Verizon Note 4 Dev Ed. It's working like it's supposed to now.
They can do it right but you'll probably have to hassle them to get it done. Good luck. :fingers-crossed:
Important note!!
stueycaster said:
Under Download Mode it says "Mode: Developer" if it's still a Developer Edition. The guy I got mine from had the same thing happen. The first time he sent it in they sent it back with retail firmware in it. He got back in touch with them, sent it back and the second time they got it right. But before it came back he switched to T-Mobile. He sold me his Verizon Note 4 Dev Ed. It's working like it's supposed to now.
They can do it right but you'll probably have to hassle them to get it done. Good luck. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TO ALL OWNERS OF THE SAMSUNG NOTE 4 DEVELOPER EDITION (VERIZON)!
IF YOU HAVE DORKED UP YOUR PHONE - i.e. if you flashed the OTA with greater than version BOAF (or any version which took your developer phone and cooked it into a retail item), please read...
I just sent in my phone to Samsung, as I was one of "those" who accidentally whacked my Note 4 back to retail stone age!!
My phone is on it's way back, they overnighted the device.
Not only did they reflash my phone back to developer (gosh, would just love that ability to do that, yes!!), but my screen had burn-in and asked if they could replace the screen - I'd pay for it. They charge $237.01 to do it, BUT (BIG BUTT) the deemed it a manufacturer defect, and replaced it for no charge - NICE!
But, there are a few things to note: that's if you want to preserve the Note 4 for a while.
1. If you are stuck in retail mode, Samsung will fix it, at no charge. it takes a little less than two weeks to get it back to you.
a. Call 888 987-4375, follow the prompts, when you get to your first representative, ask them to pass you through to a service / support supervisor. Then, state you have a developer edition in which got put into retail mode (say it took an update) and you'd like it to be flashed back to developer - PLEASE NOTE: They will push it back to KitKat (ANJ5) "what the phone came with". They should not give you a hassle, they'd be glad to do it as a free service.
b. If there is another legit issue (like screen burn-in; in my case) they will diagnose it, and screen burn is typically covered, even out of warranty - pending any determination of additional abuse, but they will generally cover it. Additionally, any other defect that they may find, they will replace as...
c. Historically, my experience with Samsung is, even if the device, monitor, tv, computer etc is not functioning properly, even out of warranty they will repair it, again, pending any signs of abuse. this has been my experience - i.e. in 2003 I had a Samsung monitor which had a intermittent bug in it - even 2 years after the initial complaint and out of limited warranty, they had a new monitor in my hands next day, couldn't have been nicer too me, and I did not have to ask, they offered.
So, having said that - Though I think Samsung is completely dog-gone batty for doing up the Note 5 / S6 the way they did (sooooooo applesque) - they do stand behind their products.
anticloud said:
TO ALL OWNERS OF THE SAMSUNG NOTE 4 DEVELOPER EDITION (VERIZON)!
IF YOU HAVE DORKED UP YOUR PHONE - i.e. if you flashed the OTA with greater than version BOAF (or any version which took your developer phone and cooked it into a retail item), please read...
I just sent in my phone to Samsung, as I was one of "those" who accidentally whacked my Note 4 back to retail stone age!!
My phone is on it's way back, they overnighted the device.
Not only did they reflash my phone back to developer (gosh, would just love that ability to do that, yes!!), but my screen had burn-in and asked if they could replace the screen - I'd pay for it. They charge $237.01 to do it, BUT (BIG BUTT) the deemed it a manufacturer defect, and replaced it for no charge - NICE!
But, there are a few things to note: that's if you want to preserve the Note 4 for a while.
1. If you are stuck in retail mode, Samsung will fix it, at no charge. it takes a little less than two weeks to get it back to you.
a. Call 888 987-4375, follow the prompts, when you get to your first representative, ask them to pass you through to a service / support supervisor. Then, state you have a developer edition in which got put into retail mode (say it took an update) and you'd like it to be flashed back to developer - PLEASE NOTE: They will push it back to KitKat (ANJ5) "what the phone came with". They should not give you a hassle, they'd be glad to do it as a free service.
b. If there is another legit issue (like screen burn-in; in my case) they will diagnose it, and screen burn is typically covered, even out of warranty - pending any determination of additional abuse, but they will generally cover it. Additionally, any other defect that they may find, they will replace as...
c. Historically, my experience with Samsung is, even if the device, monitor, tv, computer etc is not functioning properly, even out of warranty they will repair it, again, pending any signs of abuse. this has been my experience - i.e. in 2003 I had a Samsung monitor which had a intermittent bug in it - even 2 years after the initial complaint and out of limited warranty, they had a new monitor in my hands next day, couldn't have been nicer too me, and I did not have to ask, they offered.
So, having said that - Though I think Samsung is completely dog-gone batty for doing up the Note 5 / S6 the way they did (sooooooo applesque) - they do stand behind their products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that is really good to know. [emoji2] Thanks for the info.
Sent from my SM-N910V DE w/ MoRom
Can someone take a picture of the download screen that shows its a developer edition. I'm having a hell if a time communications with plano repair. They are either playing dumb or they are dumb. Got phone back broken first time second time broken but locked. Now they are sending me emails saying phone checks out fine what is the problem. I need to show them what an unlocked boitliader looks like I think it im going to get a retail phone back again.
pospower said:
Can someone take a picture of the download screen that shows its a developer edition. I'm having a hell if a time communications with plano repair. They are either playing dumb or they are dumb. Got phone back broken first time second time broken but locked. Now they are sending me emails saying phone checks out fine what is the problem. I need to show them what an unlocked boitliader looks like I think it im going to get a retail phone back again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not too clear but maybe it'll be Ok.
Update: Did you follow the directions posted by @anticloud one post above my last post? Who is plano repair? The only people who have a prayer at knowing how to deal with a Dev Ed phone is Samsung Corporate Headquarters. And even there only a small handful of people who actually set up the Dev Ed phones are going to know what to do.
Installed CyanogenMOD and it still resets, locks up and has other performance related issues.
I did an OTA update to Marshmallow originally. This corrupted my SD card and then caused about 10 resets a day, ranging from when I was using it lightly to heavily or even when it was sleeping/screen off. If I woke it up it would reset or I could feel it reset when it was in my pocket.
First thing I did was a factory reset. I tried other tricks such as swapping out the battery, SD card (or none at all), clearing cache, etc.... Nothing worked. So I tried installing CyanogenMOD, and I failed. But I got the phone back to BPA1. I updated back to marshmallow via my computer and the Verizon software updater.
About a day later the resets and lockups came back. I kept it light of apps but did slowly begin to reinstall some of my usuals (from the play store).
I had some more time so I tried installing Cyan again and was successful. It took a long time to load and optimize but it worked. I used gapps mini and the only step I did not follow in the guide was I did not install xposed.
It's been running for about 12 hours and has hanged, locked up and rebooted on me multiple times. Chrome even locks up (it will stop resounding, I'll get the message asking if I want to wait or close at the same time it starts responding again.)
When it reboots, it still takes forever and even optimizes apps (that I assume have already been optimized). I've seen two boot screens for it, one the little alien guy and the other with gears turning. It did the gears the second time I booted and then I haven't seen them again.
I'm not sure what my next step should be. Maybe I'll try reflashing Cyanogen. I have a feeling it's a hardware issue at this point, but I'm open to ideas. Are there any good diagnostic tools that could help my situation?
The phone is out of warranty and I'm sure that now that I've installed Cyanogen, the warranty was voided anyway. It's a shame because this phone was perfect up until the marshmallow update. I probably had 5 lockup/boots in the year or two I've had it.
Why are you using cyanogenmod in the first place. The support for that has ended. Go to the lineage os nougat thread and use that instead.
HORIZONx720 said:
Why are you using cyanogenmod in the first place. The support for that has ended. Go to the lineage os nougat thread and use that instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Admittedly, I did not even know about lineage until my phone was wiped with no OS. I did a quick Google search for it but could not find a Verizon note 4 mod. Now that I am not pressured to find a fix, I'll research it a bit more. Thank you.
I tried EmotionOS and NSeven, but both share the same error.
Emotion FCs random processes sporadically and then when my cell/data switches to Searching, it crashes multiple processes until the UI (trebuchet is default for Emotion?) and/or settings FCs and I have to restart. I am also stuck on 3G on that platform. I'm guessing network connectivity / switching is the root of the problems.
Nseven installed and right at the Welcome Screen where I pick my language, Google Play Services started crashing. I only had the option to click OK and then every 5 seconds after that, it kept crashing. I set up the phone, restarted and Google Play Services started crashing again. I am in the process of restoring back to Emotion, as it is the most stable platform so far.
I tried a new SIM card, hoping this was the problem but to no avail.
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm guessing its hardware at this point, but since it happened on an OTA Update and I can reproduce the same errors every time, I'm hoping there's still an option left for a fix.
Holy crap. As I was typing this and restoring Emotion, it fully installed and booted. I have 4G! I don't know if that will fix the FC issues, but I have regained a little hope!
I'm still getting FCs and restarts. The more I use it the more it happens, but at least with EmotionOS, It's more limited. Only about 3 or 4 a day compared to 10-20.
I'll try one more flash and I guess tough it out until my contract is up in April.
I can't help you with EmotionOS (haven't tried it yet), but if you want to stop the Google Play Services crashing in NSeven you can make your way to Settings - Applications, then select Google Play Services - Permissions and give it all permissions. It's a bit of a chore to get there when the warning pops up every five seconds, but it will stop once you do that.
So my plan is up and I'm probably switching away from Samsung after this incident. Looking into the pixel or XL. If the v20 is out for Verizon, I might get that but I'll see what looks good when I go to the store today or tomorrow.
I think I've narrowed down my issue to a heat issue. I fixed the 4g and Google play crashes but my phone still locks up or apps start a cascade of crashes. If I power down, I can't restart the phone. If I restart, it powers down but does not turn back on. I remove the battery for 10+ seconds, put it back in for 10+ seconds and it won't turn back on. I'll leave the battery out for minutes to an hour and its a crap shoot.
I can only boot normally or to download mode. TWRP no longer loads. I tried reflashing it and I get a no pit fail. I'd probably look into fixing this but at this point it's not worth it.
What I discovered works is putting the battery and phone on a cool surface, putting the battery back in and placing that on a cool surface and then try to boot up. However, neither my phone nor the battery feel warm to the touch. So that indicates to me something is either off in the sensors, preventing it from turning on or more likely it's a power issue or at least a hardware issue, preventing a constant current or something along those lines. Dips in power could explain apps crashing and the system inexplicably turning off. It would also explain why I can't turn it on easily.
It's really a shame because I liked this phone so much and if the new note was out, I might give it the benefit of the doubt. But last night my Samsung tablet decided to install the updates I've been putting off because they're the same ones that broke this phone. So timing wise, I'm done with Samsung and will try a new brand. Only issue I see with pixel is it doesn't have a removable battery so hopefully I don't run into this issue on that device!
Thanks for all the help xda. If it was a solvable problem, I'm sure I could have fixed it with your help.
Final entry.
I got the v20, and spent a day trying to get my note back to factory. I thought I was doing something wrong, but eventually flashed a kernel, recovery, bootloader and then full Rom (I think it was BPA1 but it could have been CPF3, I don't have it in front of me). I was getting error after error, no PIT partition, mmc check fail, use the Samsung Recovery Assistant, and a few others (again, it's not in front of me so I may have gotten it wrong). The big one was a write disk failure when I was trying to flash the full Rom. I fixed that by flashing kernel, bootloader, recovery, then sticking the battery and the phone on the freezer for ~5 minutes before trying to flash the full Rom.
I updated via USB after that using recovery assistant. Probably completely unnecessary, they just needed to get to the factory reset screen, but when I bought my phone, I couldn't trade in the note because i couldn't turn it on. They gave me $86 for it. Anything less and i would have considered just taking a hammer and microwave to it. Good riddance!
Still a little sad, I loved this phone right up until marshmallow dishonored and killed her.
trickyvinny said:
Final entry.
I got the v20, and spent a day trying to get my note back to factory. I thought I was doing something wrong, but eventually flashed a kernel, recovery, bootloader and then full Rom (I think it was BPA1 but it could have been CPF3, I don't have it in front of me). I was getting error after error, no PIT partition, mmc check fail, use the Samsung Recovery Assistant, and a few others (again, it's not in front of me so I may have gotten it wrong). The big one was a write disk failure when I was trying to flash the full Rom. I fixed that by flashing kernel, bootloader, recovery, then sticking the battery and the phone on the freezer for ~5 minutes before trying to flash the full Rom.
I updated via USB after that using recovery assistant. Probably completely unnecessary, they just needed to get to the factory reset screen, but when I bought my phone, I couldn't trade in the note because i couldn't turn it on. They gave me $86 for it. Anything less and i would have considered just taking a hammer and microwave to it. Good riddance!
Still a little sad, I loved this phone right up until marshmallow dishonored and killed her.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know a lot of people are blaming software, but I'm fairly certain that the problems in many cases are caused by failing hardware. I went through many of the same trials and tribulations with my Note 4 (except I never rooted the phone). I finally contacted Samsung Customer Support and sent the phone in for repair. They replaced a lot of the hardware including the motherboard and returned the phone in "like new" condition. I've been using it for a few weeks now and the performance is flawless.
I was planning to get either the V20 or the G6 if I wasn't able to get the phone fixed. How do you like the V20?
I'd agree that it's most likely hardware and having to put everything in the freezer for it to when confirms it for me although I have no real expertise to say so. But I'd argue that the update created the hardware issue, it was night and day with the update. It was working 100% and then directly after the update to marshmallow, it started having catastrophic issues. Oh well, it's nice not having to pull the battery every hour or so.
V20 is pretty nice. Having used EmotionOS for a few months the switch to the Nougat was pretty smooth. The xda forums for it are a little more limited but I didn't start messing with my phone until it broke and I'm hesitant to try with a new phone given my limited knowhow.
To be honest it's not a big difference in day to day usage from the note 4. Which I like!
+ I never used the finger print scanner but really like it on the v20. I didn't bother with a screen lock before but now I'm protected and have a just as quick access.
-the grip is too slick, I feel like I will drop it. The note had that rougher back which I liked better. A case or a replacement cover should fix that though.
+ I like this top menu screen, I have quick access to a few select apps or can turn the flashlight on or whatever. I'd like it more customizable, I find I switch screens too much when trying to just pull my top menu down. If I could put everything on one tab and combine their special buttons (ie the flashlight button) with apps, it would be perfect.
-the back button and menu button are switched. I can probably customize that but I don't yet know how and by the time I figure it out, I will have relearned that habit. It actually is probably a better placement for how I hold the phone but I'm a big fan of choices.
+ upgraded camera, sound, storage. I don't notice the screen size difference, but it is a lighter phone.
-bloatware
All in all its a good shift from the note 4. I'm happy to be off of Samsung and still have the same basic user experience.
trickyvinny said:
So my plan is up and I'm probably switching away from Samsung after this incident. Looking into the pixel or XL. If the v20 is out for Verizon, I might get that but I'll see what looks good when I go to the store today or tomorrow.
I think I've narrowed down my issue to a heat issue. I fixed the 4g and Google play crashes but my phone still locks up or apps start a cascade of crashes. If I power down, I can't restart the phone. If I restart, it powers down but does not turn back on. I remove the battery for 10+ seconds, put it back in for 10+ seconds and it won't turn back on. I'll leave the battery out for minutes to an hour and its a crap shoot.
I can only boot normally or to download mode. TWRP no longer loads. I tried reflashing it and I get a no pit fail. I'd probably look into fixing this but at this point it's not worth it.
What I discovered works is putting the battery and phone on a cool surface, putting the battery back in and placing that on a cool surface and then try to boot up. However, neither my phone nor the battery feel warm to the touch. So that indicates to me something is either off in the sensors, preventing it from turning on or more likely it's a power issue or at least a hardware issue, preventing a constant current or something along those lines. Dips in power could explain apps crashing and the system inexplicably turning off. It would also explain why I can't turn it on easily.
It's really a shame because I liked this phone so much and if the new note was out, I might give it the benefit of the doubt. But last night my Samsung tablet decided to install the updates I've been putting off because they're the same ones that broke this phone. So timing wise, I'm done with Samsung and will try a new brand. Only issue I see with pixel is it doesn't have a removable battery so hopefully I don't run into this issue on that device!
Thanks for all the help xda. If it was a solvable problem, I'm sure I could have fixed it with your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had the exact same problem with my note 4. It wouldn't last 30 seconds at a lock screen from a cold battery before it would start boot looping, and the longer you left it in, the worse it got. Google told me I needed a new battery from several other forums and places I read. So I ordered one and replaced with a genuine Samsung one direct from them, and it didn't change anything.
I figured out it was heat related and I had it sit on an ice pack and it would run and work fine as long as the ice pack held out, about 2 hours. I've down graded, flashed, rooted the boot loader, installed a recovery console, flashed to different versions, all have the same problem. So I've kind of reserved myself to the fact it must be a hardware problem. Perhaps it was caused by the update, but nothing software change wise seems to be able to fix it. Did wake-loc fix as well. I've spent the last week with mine trying everything in the world and every evening having it on the ice pack hooked up trying whatever I could think of or read up on doing, and basically as soon as it warms up, it starts doing it again.
Heres a pic; http://imgur.com/a/5L64V
In my experience, it gets worse and worse. The day I bought my v20, I tried to trade it into Verizon but couldn't even turn it on in front of the rep. I thought I had timed the new phone perfectly but still wanted the $80! Fortunately I got it working after the weekend and just stuck everything in the freezer before I walked to Verizon.
trickyvinny said:
In my experience, it gets worse and worse. The day I bought my v20, I tried to trade it into Verizon but couldn't even turn it on in front of the rep. I thought I had timed the new phone perfectly but still wanted the $80! Fortunately I got it working after the weekend and just stuck everything in the freezer before I walked to Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just out of curiosity, what phone did you wind up going to?
The LG v20 and so far so good!
Keeping this concise. Background:
I've been using Windows Phone devices for 8 years. My original 8yr old Samsung Focus is still kicking.
I figured it was about time to jump to Android and picked up a "used for 3 months" Pixel XL. Originally purchased from the Google Store. (purchaser forwarded his receipt).
Bought first week of November, didn't use for a month as I didn't have a case, then used on WiFi but didn't have a sim in it until December 20th or so.
It had been running great. Now that I think of it, it had shut off twice from ~30% battery but in extreme cold. Thought it was cold related.
Two nights ago I set it down to go to sleep. I woke up, it did not.
At first I thought the screen died. I would get the odd vibration when long-pressing power for example, but never anything on the screen. The power + vol brought up the quickboot/recovery but:
"start" results in a blank screen
""restart bootloader" goes to blank screen
"Recovery mode" flashes a white screen with the Google logo for half a second then blank screen
"Barcodes" displays barcodes
I recently picked up a USB C > USB 3 cable and plugged it into my Win10 PC. It showed "Android Device Ready" but I expected to see some removable drive show up (dunno, had never hooked it up to my PC before to know what the usual behaviour should be).
Today, when trying to start it again it flashed the battery/charge icon for half a second, then blank screen.
I had a chat with a Google support agent who got me to try a remote erase which, I'm guessing, hasn't been received by my phone.
So my Android experience thus far has been: spending more than I've ever spent on a phone for a device that I accessed wifi on for a few weeks, then started to set up as my daily driver for a few weeks, just in time for it to seemingly die. Oh yeah, and of course, it's out of warranty. This world is new to me. Google's suggestion was to send it in to a partner for repairs (who knows how much that will cost). I'm hoping there's something else I can try before resorting to that.
Originally I was hoping to get some data off it. I'm not familiar with what Google backs up within Android (I had those settings checked, but no third party backup apps). I guess my photos should be backed up which would have been the biggest thing. Now I'd just like to recover the device without having to spend more money!
Oh, previous owner had Oreo 8.1 on it.
Any guidance would be most appreciated. Back to my trusty 5+ yr old Lumia 1020 in the interim!
tyyan said:
Keeping this concise. Background:
I've been using Windows Phone devices for 8 years. My original 8yr old Samsung Focus is still kicking.
I figured it was about time to jump to Android and picked up a "used for 3 months" Pixel XL. Originally purchased from the Google Store. (purchaser forwarded his receipt).
Bought first week of November, didn't use for a month as I didn't have a case, then used on WiFi but didn't have a sim in it until December 20th or so.
It had been running great. Now that I think of it, it had shut off twice from ~30% battery but in extreme cold. Thought it was cold related.
Two nights ago I set it down to go to sleep. I woke up, it did not.
At first I thought the screen died. I would get the odd vibration when long-pressing power for example, but never anything on the screen. The power + vol brought up the quickboot/recovery but:
"start" results in a blank screen
""restart bootloader" goes to blank screen
"Recovery mode" flashes a white screen with the Google logo for half a second then blank screen
"Barcodes" displays barcodes
I recently picked up a USB C > USB 3 cable and plugged it into my Win10 PC. It showed "Android Device Ready" but I expected to see some removable drive show up (dunno, had never hooked it up to my PC before to know what the usual behaviour should be).
Today, when trying to start it again it flashed the battery/charge icon for half a second, then blank screen.
I had a chat with a Google support agent who got me to try a remote erase which, I'm guessing, hasn't been received by my phone.
So my Android experience thus far has been: spending more than I've ever spent on a phone for a device that I accessed wifi on for a few weeks, then started to set up as my daily driver for a few weeks, just in time for it to seemingly die. Oh yeah, and of course, it's out of warranty. This world is new to me. Google's suggestion was to send it in to a partner for repairs (who knows how much that will cost). I'm hoping there's something else I can try before resorting to that.
Originally I was hoping to get some data off it. I'm not familiar with what Google backs up within Android (I had those settings checked, but no third party backup apps). I guess my photos should be backed up which would have been the biggest thing. Now I'd just like to recover the device without having to spend more money!
Oh, previous owner had Oreo 8.1 on it.
Any guidance would be most appreciated. Back to my trusty 5+ yr old Lumia 1020 in the interim!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset.
Sounds like a hardware problem. Most likely a motherboard issue. Try flashing the official 8.0 factory image first though.
Hi all, I have a problem with my stock T-Mobile US S9. A few months ago this weird thing happened where if I turned on my screen immediately after it turned itself off, only the top few lines would be visible. The whole screen would take input, but you could only see a little below the status bar, maybe. If I waited a bit and then turned the screen on, it would work normally, with the whole screen visible and looking fine.
It's gotten progressively worse to the point where this happens most of the time I turn the screen on. However, I've found two workarounds:
1) My Always On Display is set to turn on when I tap the phone. If I do that, the AOD works as normal, and if I then turn on the phone screen the phone screen works fine. This only works when Always on display is set to turn on on tap. It does not work if AOD is set to always be on.
2) If, when my screen is glitching out I hold the screen up to a reeaally bright light (like inches from a lightbulb), the rest of the screen turns on. It's weirdly green tinted and kind of stuttery.
Turning off automatic brightness does not fix this issue. If tried booting in safe mode and even factory resetting the phone. Issue still persists, including on screens like when the phone enters recovery mode.
The fact that I can get the screen working normally using workaround #1 makes me think this is a software issue, but the fact that it happens on the recovery screen makes me think it's pretty low-level. Any ideas? Anyone else had a similar issue?
I gave Samsung tech support a call and the level 1 tech I spoke with seemed to think that it was a software issue and that I should bring it in to be looked at by a technician. I'm in Maine at the moment and there's no Samsung or UBreakIFix stores within two hours, so she suggested taking it to Best Buy to look at. Not amazingly helpful or surprising.
If it's a software issue though... I mean this is my fourth Android phone and I've rooted and flashed ROMs on all the previous phones anyway. I don't want to lose Samsung Pay, so I'd rather not unlock the bootloader, but is there a way to flash the stock operating system or something? The exact model number is SM-G960U
It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
*make sure all system apks are running on factory load and have not been updated after the reload.
Updates, destroyers of worlds...
blackhawk said:
It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
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If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.
jptiger said:
If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.
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If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.
blackhawk said:
If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.
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That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.
jptiger said:
That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.
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In that case you have nothing to lose by reflashing it. Hopefully that gets it.
Otherwise it be hardware... probably a good chance this actually the cause.
The good news is the 9's are available for a couple hundred in good condition if need be.
I was considering getting the 9 as a second phone (have the 10+) as the 10+'s haven't come down much in price.
Samsung current lineup sucks.
Huh. Well, before reflashing, I tried something I found other people suggesting for a related problem: https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5...t-bars-black-screen-issue/td-p/1745470/page/7
It's an app called OLED Saver. It's not perfect, the screen still has an odd green tint to it unless I use one of the tricks I was describing above. But I no longer have the issue where most of the screen isn't visible.
I might try reflashing anyway, will post results if I do.
Yeah, no joy. Reflashed by downloading the latest firmware using Frija for SM-G960U with TMB as the CSC, and flashed using Odin v3.13.3. If anything the problem is slightly worse now, but OLED Saver still mostly seems to fix it. I guess it's just a hardware issue with a weird software workaround...
Same type of brightness problem here as you describe, on my new S9 (G960U) - - Model starqltesq - CSS XAA
The product is under guarantee, but as it is imported from Hongkong to France, I don't have accesss to the Samsung local representatives and have probably to send it back to Hongkong ...
I will keep you updated if I learn something about the problem and the solution ....
Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.
Bhonka said:
Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.
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Disable animations instead. It wastes resources. Personally I like seeing a fast, snappy OS do it's thing with no middle man needed. Lol, you end up waiting for the animations rather than the OS.
I've heard of people flashing custom roms and that resolved the issue permenetly, but can't find anyone willing to give some real feedback. I posted a topic asking this question, but haven't gotten any replies..
Not very helpful, but a work around could be to use Screen Filter
I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.
Eve&Me said:
I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.
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Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?
Some people noticed that problem after upgrade Android 9 to 10.
At this moment we have some facts:
1) OLED saver temporary solves problem
2) disconnect NFC module solves problem, some people on xda and on the yt confirm that
3) heating back cover using heat gun can help - I Discovered that some weeks ago
Interesting comment from the yt:
Sour Words
Sorry to say this, but green screen issue is a hardware fault not something an update can fix. One of the updates from Samsung is causing the CPU to over heat and in return permanently damaging the oled screen. Not only that but also compromising the battery as well. The only fix is the replacement of both the oled screen and battery. This repair is entirely the fault of Samsung due to a faulty update that over works the CPU capacity. Therefore my advice is for you to return your device back to Samsung and lodge an assessment request. They charge a small fee for the assessment, but the entire repair should be compensated by Samsung. Be firm and keep the pressure via emailing them to insist on Samsung covering the repair costs. My Note 9 is almost 3 years old when green screen issue happened. They fixed the entire thing free of charge. But I kept firm and didn't let them bully me into charging me for the repairs, which was their fault in the first place. I must admit, my phone despite its age, is in perfect condition. Not a scratch on it. Which I know contributed winning my argument for the repairs. So if you have psychical damage, I doubt you will have a chance. Good luck to all who will give this successful method a go.
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mreminemfan4ewver said:
Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?
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When we disassembly NFC Module, the phone will give LOW TEMPERATURE warning. And make us cant charge the phone