Database Users

[Q] Help, tried to upgrade and now doesn't work

I got my I5800 today, and knew about 2.2 and wanted to upgrade. I followed the guide, downloaded odin, ops files, all that. The process seemed to go well, it rebooted and then stayed at the "Samsung" screen and I waited over 20 minutes and nothing..
Now my phone doesn't work.. Doesn't go past the SAMSUNG screen...
Someone please help, I'm at noob with androids :/
Edit: Reverted back to the firmware version I wrote down that it had, and tried again and it worked

You don't need to start a new thread to report this...
Read This at first:
RTFM
Later you RTFM, you just can use the "Search" tool to find solutions...
If you don't do this, you are not able to flash/restore or do anything in advance. You just need to be a simple user...
Its like to buying a new TV or Microwave oven, at first you RTFM to power on later...
Please, just read!

[INFO]TF101 WW and Unroot

I would like to unroot my tf101, rooted with nvflash without wipe anything, to return with stock 3.1 and apply the lastest asus update released two days ago.
How can i do?
Where i can find the right files?
I have cmw instralled...if helps...

yes I am also interested in this info. Just picked up the tf101 and would like to root it but keep my options open if something goes wrong.

+1 - also interested

+1 - also interested
I will settle also for a full restore which wipes everything. I've tried all relevant threads in this forum, all my efforts were in vain until now

really.. all you guys ? I know you are noobs by your post count but come on. Look in the development section and there is a thread labeled EASY UNROOT. Didnt even have to search, just browse. Or search for unroot and it would have come up anyways.
Link for added ease:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1154947

I understand what you mean, but i'm an italian user and i don't realy understand your technical english, expecially after a 137 thread's pages, so i opened this thread to see if there is someone that (maybe) can explain in simple words the proper procedure.
In the meanwhile, i have found this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14940441&postcount=2
it should be my answer?

yeah, i think that should be ur solution. i am using same method as well when i unroot back
just boot ur TF into APX mode(Power + Volume Up) while connected to ur PC, it will detect device(ur TF screen will still be off), install the drivers from the first link, then the file u downloaded from the second link, extract it and find the "download.bat" inside it, run it, sit back and watch the magic.. after a few minutes u will be back to stock

BBXiong said:
yeah, i think that should be ur solution. i am using same method as well when i unroot back
just boot ur TF into APX mode(Power + Volume Up) while connected to ur PC, it will detect device(ur TF screen will still be off), install the drivers from the first link, then the file u downloaded from the second link, extract it and find the "download.bat" inside it, run it, sit back and watch the magic.. after a few minutes u will be back to stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked perfectly!
Downloading the lastest OTA update right now!
Thanks very much!!

[Q] Xoom files doesnt change

Hello guys,
i got a serious and frustrating problem here.
A few days ago my xoom was stuck on the M screen, so I used a thread in the forum and recovered it.
It solved myh problem back then, but since I had 3.2 before this and the solution injected me with Android 3.01 my problems started to show themselves.
the first one is that
<b> Through Fastboot, RecoveryMod, ADB </b> and any other way you can Imagine to install a new ROM or even remove or create a file,
All of them show success message but when I check them out I see no changes.
i tried fastboot and Recovery to install nearly every ROM,Recovery and bootimage in this site but so far it was wild goose chase.
so I want to ask if I'm doing anything wrong or if you need any more information here, but please help me with this

wow I cant believe it, All these masterminds here and no answer to my distress signal??
Guys I am so in trouble and this is the only place I hoped to get answered.
I can provide you with more info if you need, but please dont say I'm on my own here.
all these years this forum was the last hope for me.
i know I'll get my answer here one day

You are not being very clear about what you have done,, but I'm assuming that you reinstalled the stock image that got you back to HC 3.01. Can you see if you are able to get OTA updates to get you back to at least 3.1, or 3.2 if possible?

If that's my problem forgive me please, Ive written that post in 3:00AM
for the sake of clearity I should add some info:
1. I even tried stock ROMs but you see I cant even flash them (Not from Recovery nor Fastboot) the steps seem successful : it opens the package,it installs them and it says everything was a success. But when I restart the device I see nothing has changed.
2. OTA updates are the same, they keep downloading and when the sysem reboots to recovery to install them it cant find them.
3. You dont believe it if I say even files and programs that I remove from device by my hand(Android OS) are back after the first restart.
And you see it's dark magic! everything from a file to a partition are back by one reboot. I dont know what should I call it but I havent seen anything like it on the whole Internet.
So seems like I should make a competition for the xda experts here
Can you publish it so all of them can see it?

Mohfath said:
If that's my problem forgive me please, Ive written that post in 3:00AM
for the sake of clearity I should add some info:
1. I even tried stock ROMs but you see I cant even flash them (Not from Recovery nor Fastboot) the steps seem successful : it opens the package,it installs them and it says everything was a success. But when I restart the device I see nothing has changed.
2. OTA updates are the same, they keep downloading and when the sysem reboots to recovery to install them it cant find them.
3. You dont believe it if I say even files and programs that I remove from device by my hand(Android OS) are back after the first restart.
And you see it's dark magic! everything from a file to a partition are back by one reboot. I dont know what should I call it but I havent seen anything like it on the whole Internet.
So seems like I should make a competition for the xda experts here
Can you publish it so all of them can see it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I have seen someone with the same problem here on this forum, but I can't recall exactly what the solution was.
Can you describe, step by step what you are doing, what cable you are connecting to your pc with, etc?

okantomi said:
Actually, I have seen someone with the same problem here on this forum, but I can't recall exactly what the solution was.
Can you describe, step by step what you are doing, what cable you are connecting to your pc with, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be relief to know this could be solvable.
I will look more too.
As for your post I must say:
1. I plug the Xoom to the PC using the included cable
2. I start the xoom and start fastboot
3. on the PC system has the drivers and completely knows it
4. I start with SDK:
I. Fastboot oem unlock (Completing onscreen instructions and reboot device)
II. Fastboot mode again I use Fastboot flash boot boot.img
III. Continuing with Recovery,System
IV. Rebooting the device anything is the same.
My ROM is unchanged by the process and keeeeeeeeps giving the damn error of System process error please submit
5. And with ClockworkrecoveryMod I have the stock ROM on my sd card.
I. I choose install zip from sd card.
II.Choose the correct zip file and start flashing.
III. Choosing Wipe Data/Factory reset will take the device into a complete hang. unless I first use the mount page to mount the System/Data
IV. I reboot the device and ..... you know nothing changed.
so thats my story.
Still hope to find something about it.

Thanks...that was helpful. But now I want to know the following:
Were you rooted before the trouble started?
What did you do to recover?
If rooted, what version of CWM recovery did you have installed? Did you do a nanadroid backup? (I guess the answer is no, because you could have just restored with that).
What recovery are you accessing when trying to flash a zip file?
If you can answer these questions I will continue to wrack my brain trying to recall where I saw that thread.
Edit: please check out this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1370312
Some of what I said to him may help you .

okantomi said:
Were you rooted before the trouble started?
What did you do to recover?
If rooted, what version of CWM recovery did you have installed? Did you do a nanadroid backup? (I guess the answer is no, because you could have just restored with that).
What recovery are you accessing when trying to flash a zip file?
If you can answer these questions I will continue to wrack my brain trying to recall where I saw that thread.
Edit: please check out this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1370312
Some of what I said to him may help you .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Being rooted? -> Yes, The world is more beautiful with root!
to recover -> I followed this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1097997 Shame it was Android 3.0
I use ClockworkRecovery 3.0.0.28 and I cant upgrade it cause of ... you know
And for your help I must say you are definitely the most caring person I know...
I'm off to check the provided link now

I was thinking of something that might be a reason.
I have this tiny problem:
When I go to CWM and choose Erase userData/Factory Reset Device Hangs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking of may be the userdata partition is corrupted and I gotta find a way to flash it completely.
Somehow I used Fastboot utility to do this and after saying Success, Nothing changed again.
Do you know any other way to physically do this job?

Vibrant stuck on boot loop

My vibrant is stuck on a boot loop, i was in the middle of installing ics and now it is in a boot loop. What can i do, if you want i can post of video of this boot loop for any advice.

lovenokia said:
My vibrant is stuck on a boot loop, i was in the middle of installing ics and now it is in a boot loop. What can i do, if you want i can post of video of this boot loop for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because you didn't care to read ANY of the stickies around... I'll make sure you do, i'll give you instructions but lets see if you can go back a page and click the stickies to learn how to do all of this:
you will need to get into download mode, and odin - this is the safest and recommended route
if you want to take a bit of a risk you can try to go into recovery and flash the ROM you were in before - this can lead to more bootloops/brick

here is the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwNzHqezAuU&feature=youtu.be

If only there was a guide that explained what to do when you get a bootloop while installing ICS. Hmmm. (Hint: see my sig).
If that doesn't work, rider's is the way to go.
Edit:: saw that you posted your video. That is a fast ass bootloop. Hit your thanks button by accident. Anyways try pulling your battery and booting into recovery and reflashing ICS again over itself. Did you wipe and factory reset?

i am a dumbass that followed a youtube video tutorial congratulations to me(pissed >(, i went straight from eclair to ics. wopdee do. I got odin in a ".rar" file and cant open it, but i prob have the wrong odin then right?

Not sure about your Odin file but check my guide for clear instructions. Need to go from 2.1 to CM7 to ICS flavor.

Alright i am lost and pissed? what should i do now, (i did my touchpad just fine to ics) to let you know that i am not a complete n00b about this, but the vibrant is not liking me...

ok, now that i've seen the video this is not any normal BOOT LOOP.
What exactly did you do to get this? Which flashing procedures did you look at?
Can you at all get into recovery/download mode?* most important question*
Do you have Froyo Bootloaders or GB bootloaders? (if you don't know what these are and have not messed with bootloaders you are on Froyo.)
I have just read what the recovery says through the video
It pretty much says that it is trying to flash ICS PASSION, but it cannot because your sdcard is either a) wiped b) not mounted c) the ICS PASSION file is corrupted and/or ics passion has been deleted somehow.
-after reading some latest posts from you, i'm sorry for making you feel like a dumbass but you did not read the instructions, mainly the stickies, and did not follow the instructions on how to get to ICS from eclair. That is why. Many do not and I prefer not to give any help at all to people who can't help themselves, but I understand your situation and i'll try to help. Sorry for offending you if I did, its just that some people need to be treated that way so they open their eyes and start reading around.

i understand that, but i did a battery pull and the samsung vibrant is still doing the same thing, when i hold power and volume down it stays at the "vibrant" thing but that is it, i can do anything else but watch it boot loop.

okay, i did a wipe on my sd card before installing, let me try to find the youtube guide

here is the guide that i followed, i just went from step three onward because it was rooted but nothing else
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iryi3TzylN4

Rider, see if you can help him out. My boy just woke up. Let me get him back to sleep and ill be back after these messages.
PS I just PM'd him the CM7 Rom.

thanks, i hope someone can help me out.

lovenokia said:
thanks, i hope someone can help me out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read this post, i think you missed it, answer the questions while i watch the video guide and see if theres anything wrong in there.
xriderx66 said:
ok, now that i've seen the video this is not any normal BOOT LOOP.
What exactly did you do to get this? Which flashing procedures did you look at?
Can you at all get into recovery/download mode?* most important question*
Do you have Froyo Bootloaders or GB bootloaders? (if you don't know what these are and have not messed with bootloaders you are on Froyo.)
I have just read what the recovery says through the video
It pretty much says that it is trying to flash ICS PASSION, but it cannot because your sdcard is either a) wiped b) not mounted c) the ICS PASSION file is corrupted and/or ics passion has been deleted somehow.
-after reading some latest posts from you, i'm sorry for making you feel like a dumbass but you did not read the instructions, mainly the stickies, and did not follow the instructions on how to get to ICS from eclair. That is why. Many do not and I prefer not to give any help at all to people who can't help themselves, but I understand your situation and i'll try to help. Sorry for offending you if I did, its just that some people need to be treated that way so they open their eyes and start reading around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
----
Okay..... so after watching that guide. I have never seen ANYONE using that method, mainly because he didn't flash ANY kind of CM7 kernel etc.
Most of his instructions were right, but he just did something on his phone that seemed unusual, but i guess worked for him...

xriderx66 said:
ok, now that i've seen the video this is not any normal BOOT LOOP.
What exactly did you do to get this? Which flashing procedures did you look at?
Can you at all get into recovery/download mode?* most important question*
Do you have Froyo Bootloaders or GB bootloaders? (if you don't know what these are and have not messed with bootloaders you are on Froyo.)
I have just read what the recovery says through the video
It pretty much says that it is trying to flash ICS PASSION, but it cannot because your sdcard is either a) wiped b) not mounted c) the ICS PASSION file is corrupted and/or ics passion has been deleted somehow.
-after reading some latest posts from you, i'm sorry for making you feel like a dumbass but you did not read the instructions, mainly the stickies, and did not follow the instructions on how to get to ICS from eclair. That is why. Many do not and I prefer not to give any help at all to people who can't help themselves, but I understand your situation and i'll try to help. Sorry for offending you if I did, its just that some people need to be treated that way so they open their eyes and start reading around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no i cant get into recovery mode
i did not mess with any bootloaders
i wiped, unmounted as in not plugged in then yes, i installed zip from phone unmounted

Dude that video is wack. He pirates one version of CWR but once it boots up is a completely different version. Check out the numbers on top. The edits are terrible. Cuts out some pretty huge points. Plus he starts out with Passion beta 1 on his settings screen before he edits back to show you how to do it, but ends up with RC1.

so am i screwed? if i am than thanks for trying to help me though.

No you are not screwed. Odin back to stock 2.1 and then follow the instructions. Don't sweat getting Gingerbread bootloaders for now. Get your phone in download mode.
You probably won't know this but even if you phone doesn't show download mode on its screen, you want that yellow COM box to light up in Odin. Once you see that, profit.

Woodrube said:
Dude that video is wack. He pirates one version of CWR but once it boots up is a completely different version. Check out the numbers on top. The edits are terrible. Cuts out some pretty huge points. Plus he starts out with Passion beta 1 on his settings screen before he edits back to show you how to do it, but ends up with RC1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i'm completely confused from the video as well...
lovenokia said:
so am i screwed? if i am than thanks for trying to help me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First read the post above this and try to get odin to light up yellow, if it does, no JIG needed, odin and you should be good. If that does not happen, then you will need a JIG.
Since you cannot get into recovery or download mode, I would try a JIG before claiming that your phone is a brick.

does the odin and stock rom from the video that i used work? or where should i get the odin and stock rom this time without effing up?

Failed to flash GApps, soft brick, nightmare.. A novel with a solution.

This started as a beg for help thread, but since the GS4 is coming up on 3 generations old, help is quite slow, yet does still exist as of this edit (3-20-15).
None the less, I will try to explain what happened so that people searching for similar problems might find this thread and resolve their issues.
I soft bricked the phone flashing PacMan. ... The instructions CLEARLY stated that you need to flash the rom, then flash GApps. Well, I forgot to Flash Gapps because I was so excited that I had a successful root and new rom to test that I finger ganged the phone.... The phone booted just fine and worked just fine, but I did not have ANY google apps, and went into a panic... LESSON #1 DO NOT PANIC......
What I failed to realize is that Android Lolipop (at least PacMan's version) requires the user to select options in the developer section of the settings menu to enable you to boot into your custom recovery after you have flashed your custom rom.... I DID NOT KNOW THIS and the information was NOT readily available. So what happened was I panicked and tried to flash another recovery which was apparently NOT the correct recovery for my phone.. (the cascade of errors began here). My phone was soft bricked and NOTHING I did would get me out of it.
So, after at least 50 attempts using Odin to try and flash a good recovery, re-root the phone, whatever I could think of, I finally got out of soft brick, and back to a working phone, yet still no google apps, and no recovery (or so I thought).
By this time, I had asked ....no. begged for help on 2 or 3 different threads to no avail when what I thought was a brain storm came to me.... I googled and located the google play store apk, and google play services apk and thought that if I could just get these 2 things installed, I would be able to log onto the google play store and download the apps I need and all would be right with the world....... Yeah.... Remember the cascade of errors thing I mentioned a few lines up ^^^ ?
Once I installed those 2 apk's and rebooted the phone, I was in nag screen hell with no way out, no custom recovery (remember...or so I thought) and no way to access ANYTHING on the phone because literally the second I hit "ok" on the nag screen, it would immediately pop back up...This "nag screen" was the one that pops up and tells you that "google play services has stopped working".. I came inches away from launching the phone against the wall and buying another one... something... anything but a Samsung GS4.
So here we are, 14 hours (of actual face in the phone, Odin, XDA, Google, YouTube) frantically searching for ANY solution.....and NOTHING presented itself, when I decided to take a step back and walk away from it for a couple of hours.......
The next thing I tried was pounding my way through the nag screen... Literally hitting the "ok" toggle to clear the screen, while instantly trying to hit any other button on the screen to get me into the settings menu, because during my little self imposed time out, I had an epiphany.... of sorts..... What really happened is that I remembered seeing a "factory reset" toggle in the settings menus somewhere.....and I was determined to find it........ SO....... 13,386,329 clicks of the "ok" button later, I managed to engage the factory reset switch at the exact right moment, followed by another 4,388 presses of the "ok" button to get to the "confirm" button.......... and like a beacon from heaven...... My phone rebooted, and factory reset, and the #%g^7**&^|@# nag screen was GONE !!!!! Oh my GOD it was GONE !!!!!!! After recovering from my full blown conniption, catching my breath and feeling like a raver must feel after a good night of Molly and glow stick euphoria, I had a working phone again..... almost.
What I did next was go immediately to Odin, re-root the phone, install a DIFFERENT rom, and the latest version of TWRP and like another beacon from the gods I had a wonderfully functional phone with all of the google apps I needed.... and all was good with the world........Pretty much....
I am nearly certain that I cost myself 5 years of healthy living with the stress I imposed upon myself throughout this ordeal ---- The following are lessons learned. Hopefully they save you from madness...
(1) Do NOT use a USB hub to connect your phone to the computer. The phone MUST be connected directly to a USB port on your machine.
(2) Understand the workings of the rom you are going to flash BEFORE you flash it.
(3) DO NOT PANIC
(4) DO NOT randomly install apk's just because you think you are smarter than a 5th grader, and you are so mad your phone doesn't work, you are going to try anything regardless of how retarded it might be.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST and actually probably the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is locate, download and CONFIRM GOOD a stock firmware for YOUR phone BEFORE YOU ROOT or flash a new rom..... If you get to brick he11 like I did, you will spend more time searching for the tools to get back to zero than you can imagine. You will be revved up, angry with the world, and your google fu will fail you......miserably I might add......
Get all of your ducks in a row BEFORE you root, and before you flash a new rom. That means finding the stock firmware and opening it up in Odin with your phone connected to CONFIRM you have a good firmware to go back to should you fail miserably.... Your very sanity could depend on it...

Team Scream said:
Does anyone have and is willing to share a stock Galaxy S4 rom so I can go back to stock on my phone? I am currently soft bricked and completely dead in the water...
I need to be able to flash the rom using Odin since that is the ONLY way I can communicate with this phone right now....I can flash whatever recovery I want using Odin, but I cannot boot into that recovery once successfully flashed with Odin. It boot loops and goes back to the completely useless PacMan 5.02 rom I flashed previously that repeatedly shows the "google play services has stopped working" screen.... and no number of attempts to clear it by hitting ok will get me to a working desktop
I bricked my phone by flashing PacMan and forgetting to flash GAPPS before rebooting, then trying to install google play services apk and google play store apk manually because I could not get back into recovery for whatever reason....
I have spent the ENTIRE day searching for a stock rom that I can flash with Odin so I can at least get back to zero with this S4 which is actually a brand new phone for me....
PLEASE do not link me to mediafire or rapidgator downloads because I have tried every one of those that google will reveal.. I need one that YOU know is good, and will work. NONE.... NOT ONE of the files I have been able to find online are legitimate .tar files... They ALL unzip with errors and I have tried them on multiple computers.....Multiple download attempts and NOTHING... I have literally been at this for 10 hours now and really need some love.
On a side note, if I can pull the stock rom from my wifes brand new S4 without screwing up her phone, PLEASE tell me how to do that. She literally picked up her brand new replacement S4 today...
Any help is genuinely appreciated... PLEASE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung Galaxy S4 (SPH-L720)/Stock ROMs

KennyG123 said:
http://www.rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung Galaxy S4 (SPH-L720)/Stock ROMs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man thank you! THANK YOU! I really appreciate it... I woke this morning to find this reply after leaving my computer running all night for another corrupted downloaded image file.... I have my fingers crossed !!! THANK YOU
P.S. how do I know which one of those files I actually need? I have no idea what the difference is in each of those folders.... Forgive me for noob but I really am pretty noob at this.....

I just looked at the link to help you and noticed that Wilco stops at the NAE baseband. A lot of phones are on the NG2 baseband and if you have a 720T, it could be even a different baseband. Go to settings, "About Phone". Look for" "Baseband" and "Model Number". Write that information down. Once you have that, the last three characters are what is in the list in the link KennyG123 sent you. (For example, I have the original S4 so I have a SPH-L720 and my baseband is L720VPUFNG2 (or NG2 for short. Which was not on that list.) If it is not on the list, go to www.sammobile.com and search for your model number (For example, I am on the SPH-L720. If you just bought your phone from Sprint, you probably have the SPH-L720 or SPH-L720T). You can download the tar file from there. It is a little slow but it will get it done for you. The tar file for both phones are here in this forum if you want to search but going to Sammobile would probably be a little easier from the sounds of it.

dyandell said:
I just looked at the link to help you and noticed that Wilco stops at the NAE baseband. <snip>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey brother, thank you so much for the help and reply. I might have forgot to mention that I cannot get into the phone to read the model # or get any information from it at all. The nag screen telling me that google play services has stopped working is so persistent that I can't do anything with the phone once it boots.
Is there a way to brute force wipe the phone so that the only thing left when that process is done is a custom recovery like TWRP or Philz or anything other than stock?
If so, would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of a tutorial that would help me get through that process.... I am either not using the right search terms or I am just too old to be good at this and should have stayed home when the rooting lessons were being handed out...
Anyway, I genuinely appreciate your help... Thank you so much !!

Ok I was able to pound my way through the nag screen to the settings menu and eventually got to the baseband and model #
baseband: L720TVPUBOA3
model #: SPH-L720
I have tried 3 times to download the only version I can find on the sammobile.com website using the baseband to search and the file fails to download after getting about 2/3 complete.... I have tried it on 2 separate computers from 2 different locations now...... This is horrifying ...... Every single force that can be working against me, is working against me.
Ugh...... If you have a link to a method I can use to force wipe the phone without a stock rom, but with a recovery I can boot into to flash a rom I have on my external SD card, I would love to see it...... im losing my mind here...
<<<<<<<< EDIT>>>>>>>>>
I was also able to pound my way into the settings menu and do a factory reset which removed the google play nag. From there I was able to root around in the developer options folder where I discovered that in order to be able to boot into recovery, you need to select the "boot options" tab and allow the device to boot into recovery....
I know this device is old now and most people have moved on, and I am pleased that there are some people who stick around here to keep this device alive. I only wish that someone would have advised me to check the boot options selection when I indicated I could not boot into recovery... That would have saved me 2 days of manic obsessive he11....... This was complete he11...... But I am on the other side of it now, and have reflashed another rom... I am back among the living.

Team Scream said:
Ok I was able to pound my way through the nag screen to the settings menu and eventually got to the baseband and model #
baseband: L720TVPUBOA3
model #: SPH-L720
I have tried 3 times to download the only version I can find on the sammobile.com website using the baseband to search and the file fails to download after getting about 2/3 complete.... I have tried it on 2 separate computers from 2 different locations now...... This is horrifying ...... Every single force that can be working against me, is working against me.
Ugh...... If you have a link to a method I can use to force wipe the phone without a stock rom, but with a recovery I can boot into to flash a rom I have on my external SD card, I would love to see it...... im losing my mind here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint phones have always been able to downgrade and thinking that has not changed. You should be able to Odin the last one listed on the link I gave you...NAE...then your phone should boot...you can then take the Sprint OTA if you like then root and recovery as normal. Then you can get to the stuff on your SD and flash. The only issues I remember popping up these days is if you mismatch the modem and OS...which wouldn't be the case if you Odin'd NAE.

Team Scream said:
Ok I was able to pound my way through the nag screen to the settings menu and eventually got to the baseband and model #
baseband: L720TVPUBOA3
model #: SPH-L720
I have tried 3 times to download the only version I can find on the sammobile.com website using the baseband to search and the file fails to download after getting about 2/3 complete.... I have tried it on 2 separate computers from 2 different locations now...... This is horrifying ...... Every single force that can be working against me, is working against me.
Ugh...... If you have a link to a method I can use to force wipe the phone without a stock rom, but with a recovery I can boot into to flash a rom I have on my external SD card, I would love to see it...... im losing my mind here...
<<<<<<<< EDIT>>>>>>>>>
I was also able to pound my way into the settings menu and do a factory reset which removed the google play nag. From there I was able to root around in the developer options folder where I discovered that in order to be able to boot into recovery, you need to select the "boot options" tab and allow the device to boot into recovery....
I know this device is old now and most people have moved on, and I am pleased that there are some people who stick around here to keep this device alive. I only wish that someone would have advised me to check the boot options selection when I indicated I could not boot into recovery... That would have saved me 2 days of manic obsessive he11....... This was complete he11...... But I am on the other side of it now, and have reflashed another rom... I am back among the living.
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Click to collapse
Glad you got it fixed! I have had my phone for over a year now and never heard of a boot options tab. I guess you learn something new every day.

Also glad you got it fixed. But let's keep this open in case someone else has the same or similar issue.

KennyG123 said:
Sprint phones have always been able to downgrade and thinking that has not changed. You should be able to Odin the last one listed on the link I gave you...NAE...then your phone should boot...you can then take the Sprint OTA if you like then root and recovery as normal. Then you can get to the stuff on your SD and flash. The only issues I remember popping up these days is if you mismatch the modem and OS...which wouldn't be the case if you Odin'd NAE.
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Click to collapse
Well not being able to leave well enough alone, I locked my phone up again.
Because I was able to get out of soft brick without needing a stock firmware, I never bothered downloading NAE from the link you provided.
Turns out after 2 separate downloads (one using Chrome and one using Firefox) I have determined that the md5.tar files on that site http://www.rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S4%20%28SPH-L720%29/Stock%20ROMs are worthless.... BOTH downloads failed in Odin before I could even get out of the gate....
They failed the md5 check that Odin performs and would not allow me to continue.... IS there something I am missing?

Team Scream said:
Well not being able to leave well enough alone, I locked my phone up again.
Because I was able to get out of soft brick without needing a stock firmware, I never bothered downloading NAE from the link you provided.
Turns out after 2 separate downloads (one using Chrome and one using Firefox) I have determined that the md5.tar files on that site http://www.rwilco12.com/downloads.php?dir=Files/Devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S4%20%28SPH-L720%29/Stock%20ROMs are worthless.... BOTH downloads failed in Odin before I could even get out of the gate....
They failed the md5 check that Odin performs and would not allow me to continue.... IS there something I am missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove the .md5 extension at the end and try again.

KennyG123 said:
Remove the .md5 extension at the end and try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet baby Jeezes please tell me that is not all I had to do.... I spent 4 hours staring at the screen downloading files last night .... I waited 4 hours and finally could not stay awake any more but I finally got the OA3 firmware from SamMobile downloaded successfully. I left the .md5 extension and it is now flashing via Odin as I type this.... I could have saved myself a few more hours of misery if I had known you can remove the .md5 extension..... This learning curve is hard on an old man like me hahaha!
Thanks Kenny
<edit> Ahhhhh.... the sweet smell of success !!! I am now booted back into a stock phone!!!
Man I hope this thread can help save someone else from the anguish I have put myself through with this thing....

Team Scream said:
Sweet baby Jeezes please tell me that is not all I had to do.... I spent 4 hours staring at the screen downloading files last night .... I waited 4 hours and finally could not stay awake any more but I finally got the OA3 firmware from SamMobile downloaded successfully. I left the .md5 extension and it is now flashing via Odin as I type this.... I could have saved myself a few more hours of misery if I had known you can remove the .md5 extension..... This learning curve is hard on an old man like me hahaha!
Thanks Kenny
<edit> Ahhhhh.... the sweet smell of success !!! I am now booted back into a stock phone!!!
Man I hope this thread can help save someone else from the anguish I have put myself through with this thing....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure it will! Glad you got it working and glad I helped! Some versions of Odin don't care about the md5 extension and others barf it up. With the way your luck went....well...don't buy a lottery ticket this week...hahaha.