Samsung Fascinate Loop - Fascinate General

Today I DEcided To Root My Friends SGS Fascinate, All i wanted to do is replace the stock launcher with a newer one on root explorer, but messed it up, the TwLauncher kept FC and i could get out of it, i then came here and started flashing "Recoveries" but all it did was make it worse, right now im waiting for a download to finish with the DI01.bin to see if Odin3 can help, and on top of that the clockworkmod that is flashed on the device is damage somehow doesnt want to mount the sd card where i have the backup and the roms , since i cant flash anything aFTER 12 HOURS ON THE SITE AND TO NO SUCCESS i come to you guys.
I know you have your own business and problems but thats what were here for helping each other
i would appreciated much if anyone can help
treborbula

treborbula1 said:
Today I DEcided To Root My Friends SGS Fascinate, All i wanted to do is replace the stock launcher with a newer one on root explorer, but messed it up, the TwLauncher kept FC and i could get out of it, i then came here and started flashing "Recoveries" but all it did was make it worse, right now im waiting for a download to finish with the DI01.bin to see if Odin3 can help, and on top of that the clockworkmod that is flashed on the device is damage somehow doesnt want to mount the sd card where i have the backup and the roms , since i cant flash anything aFTER 12 HOURS ON THE SITE AND TO NO SUCCESS i come to you guys.
I know you have your own business and problems but thats what were here for helping each other
i would appreciated much if anyone can help
treborbula
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you still get your phone into download mode? If you can, follow the instructions in the sticky post titled " how to recover your fascinate from any brick... " by Dalev.
PWGB,TKSGB10-14, adren shot xix, honeycomb2.03, ec09 radio.

No offense, but judging by your post you have no business flashing/rooting anything if you don't understand what your doing, let alone on someone else's phone.
Sent by way of the GB delivery truck..

You can install different launchers without being rooted...just an fyi
Swyped via Tapatalk

Related

I think I'm bricked.

I've had my fascinate for about 3 weeks and I rooted it and overclocked. I flashed a 2.2 rom that was for a I9000 because my buddy said it worked on his captivate. When it come back on after reboot the screen said galaxy s I9000 and that's it it just kept running that and nothing else. I could get into factory recovery but I can't do anything from there except reboot. and it won't flash update zip either. I will go into download mode and I tryed odin restore now it just has samsung across the screen. Am I bricked cuz I can't get anything to work?
Oh now I've manage to get into CWM recovery but it won't let me apply any zip files or restore any back ups, is that vodoo messing things up?
So you flashed a ROM that isn't compatible with your phone? And you are suprised that it broke?
As for downgrading you might try to find the stock image via: hxxp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=782204&highlight=odin
If that doesn't work you better figure out a good excuse for the Verizon store...
Good luck!
frostysax said:
Oh now I've manage to get into CWM recovery but it won't let me apply any zip files or restore any back ups, is that vodoo messing things up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you running a kernel with Voodoo installed and active when you flashed the ROM?
If you're filesystem is still ext4 and you don't have a Voodoo kernel running, I'm thinking you've got a date with Odin at best.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Odin. I would like to think you should be able to remove it via the uninstaller listed on that page as well, ?if it is voodoo, but if you can't install anything with CWM then I know it won't work. :/ Also, did you disable voodoo first?
He was valid in trying something different... I don't believe using a ROM from another phone entirely was a good idea, but eh, now we know for sure not to do it.
Yes gentlemen I think its bricked. I have tried the odin restore, I have put the stock image on the SD card using my htc eris and put it in CWM/backup and then put the card back in the phone and tried a backup/restore it still comes up can't mount data every time it says E:Can't mount /dev/block mmcblk0p2(File exist) Can't mount data . I really don't think there's anything left for me to try fellas. I just got my service put back on the eris. If I can't get into it you can't prove its been rooted can you I still got a week left before my 30 days is up. I some wan't to experament with any solutions I am wide open before I put this in the mailbox and send it back. Thanks for your help guys but I will get me another, I guess you know what not to do now"LOL"
frostysax said:
Yes gentlemen I think its bricked. I have tried the odin restore, I have put the stock image on the SD card using my htc eris and put it in CWM/backup and then put the card back in the phone and tried a backup/restore it still comes up can't mount data every time it says E:Can't mount /dev/block mmcblk0p2(File exist) Can't mount data . I really don't think there's anything left for me to try fellas. I just got my service put back on the eris. If I can't get into it you can't prove its been rooted can you I still got a week left before my 30 days is up. I some wan't to experament with any solutions I am wide open before I put this in the mailbox and send it back. Thanks for your help guys but I will get me another, I guess you know what not to do now"LOL"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wells... Sorry dude. Did you flash System, kernal and pit with Odin?
yes I did but nothing happened when I went to the pit file. Itook it out of m downloads put it in odin with the pit button and hit start,am I doing that right thats the only thing that I did'nt see anthing happen when I hit start. How do you fun the pit file in odin?
I ran into the same exact issue on day 1 with my Fascinate, minus flashing a ROM meant for another phone. I could boot, but my phone wiped to factory at every boot, and I couldn't even run the ota. I exchanged it that same day, and no troubles since. Good luck.
Sent from my Fascinate using the XDA app
you flashed your radio...it's bye bye... Go to verizon and try to blame it on the ota after you flash back to stock...
If you don't know what your doing.... dont do it... That is the number one rule in flashing roms....
Ya well I guess its an expensive paperweight now.I will take your advise and blame it on the OTA. I odered this one over the phone so they have to mail me another one no matter what. You live and learn and that was a great lesson on what never to do. Thanks for all your help I still have my eris to play with for now,I'm running nonsensikal froyo. Perhaps I will zip a new rom on that"LOL"
frostysax said:
Ya well I guess its an expensive paperweight now.I will take your advise and blame it on the OTA. I odered this one over the phone so they have to mail me another one no matter what. You live and learn and that was a great lesson on what never to do. Thanks for all your help I still have my eris to play with for now,I'm running nonsensikal froyo. Perhaps I will zip a new rom on that"LOL"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1: If you're going to mod your phone, you should have insurance, and be prepared to use it.
2: "Blaming it on the ota" just makes everyone suffer. You think that $600 phone will just pay for itself? Not likely. Consumers end up footing the bill, every time. And, in turn, companies like Motorola place E-fuses in their phones to prevent this very thing from happening to cover their bottom line, which in turn affects the modding community too by reducing access to devices.
3: Those phones do get tested when returned. They can/will see that it doesn't have proper software in it when they go to refurb it. And they have no problem charging your account for an out-of-warranty exchange after the fact.
Normally I would agree.... but...
1.they charge 600 dollars for a phone that is not worth 600.
2. There wouldn't be a problem if they didn't hold back the release of a new ota. (With a new update these phones are easily fixable.)
3. They over charge cellphone service. And add 300 dollar cancellation fees.... come-on they don't mind screwing us... screw them.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
There is no excuse for fraud. This is 100% user error. Own up and pay for your choice to ignore the big warning at the top of every flashing thread.
Sent from my Voodoo-powered Fascinate with XDA
Are you serious. I just paid AT&T $300 dollars to cancel an expensive contract just to go to verizon and end up paying more. If you think the phone company is suffering you are sadly mistaken my friend. I have two phones on my contract and pay right at $250 a month, they ain't hurtin for money. I tell you what, if you bricked your phone and it was within your 30 days, now be honest would you call them and say hay I just voided my warrenty and I need to pay for this phone and give you more money for another one or would you try and come up with something else to say. It could happen to you
I do not believe you are bricked. Follow all instructions for odin and also fix the mbr using original.mbr or the program provided by adrynalyne.
Ethics aside, flashing a rom should not brick your phone. Unless you used Odin, and pushed the "radio" button, it can be fixed. Adrynalyne's voodoo removal fix should fix almost any phone problem. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=804784
Try it and see if it works.
what is "mbr "I have not tried that yet and where would I find info on it? What roll does the pit file play in odin restore? is there a certain way to do the pit file? Everything flashed but when I got to the pit file put in odin and hit start nothing happens is that normal? Anymore feedback I will anything at this point, Thanx guys,
Pit is for partition mapping. Mbr is master boot record. From what I saw in one of your earlier posts it looks like your mbr is messed up. Use adrynalynes guide in the post linked to you above by Sgtmack.
I went to the above web site and downloaded the stock kernal but when Iwent to download the mbr file it sent me to a web page with almost nothing on it. again I ask when I do the pit file in odin can someone give me step by step cuz I feel like I 'm doing something wrong here.

restore from ROM manager bricked my phone

I did a search and couldn't find much help.
I recently dropped my phone and the screen got a slight crack, so the insurance company sent me a new one.
I figured I'd use ROM manager to backup my old phone, and restore it on my new phone.
New phone restores, reboots, and gets stuck at the black Vibrant screen.
I can get back into recovery mode fine, but nothing seems to work.
I let it sit at the Vibrant screen for about an hour before I try again.
Its attempt 3 when I decided to come on this site for some help.
Specs:
Stock
Rooted
Launcher pro
Nothing too much to be confusing and brick, so wtf?
Oh and I understand I could use odin to reflash my phone, please please please don't suggest odin, because I don't own a PC, I own a mac. Please don't tell me to go out and buy a PC or to download a program that costs $50 to use PC programs on a mac. I could have told myself that kind of information.
HELP, my brand new phone is destroyed wahhhh
From the sound of it you still have your old phone. If so, rather than restore using nandroid, try downloading a copy of titanium backup to backup/restore your apps. I have found that sms restore does a good job restoring texts. For me those two apps get the job done restoring my info. Also, if you haven't, sync your contacts to google and they will auto sync upon load. Of course this all assumes you still have your old phone in working order. ..
Also, there are stock roms flashable via clockwork that basically do the same as odin. Check the ' bible' sticky for links.
Hope this helps
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
a400meter said:
From the sound of it you still have your old phone. If so, rather than restore using nandroid, try downloading a copy of titanium backup to backup/restore your apps. I have found that sms restore does a good job restoring texts. For me those two apps get the job done restoring my info. Also, if you haven't, sync your contacts to google and they will auto sync upon load. Of course this all assumes you still have your old phone in working order. ..
Also, there are stock roms flashable via clockwork that basically do the same as odin. Check the ' bible' sticky for links.
Hope this helps
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have my old phone in working order, but that doesn't help the fact that my new phone is stuck on bootup, and can only enter recovery mode...
yelowbottlecaps said:
I still have my old phone in working order, but that doesn't help the fact that my new phone is stuck on bootup, and can only enter recovery mode...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way I can think of that a nandroid restore would soft brick you, is because you have restored a version of android with a different kernel.
If the original phone had the original firmware (JFD), and the replacement had the most recent (JI6), this is what would be expected to happen.
Since you seem unable and unwilling to use Odin, your going to have to tell us more details (i.e. which versions of the firmware as related above were actually in play) before we can begin to help. If you don't know, well....
You can also simply take it back to a local T-Mobile store and do another swap, or you can find a friend with a Windows PC and Odin (or Samsung's Mini KIES with JI6). These are your only real options...
both phones had JI6
Thank you for the quick responses.
I'm not unwilling to use odin, but unless anyone knows of a free software to use PC programs on a mac, I'm SOL.
so, you got the new phone, rooted, got rom manager and then got clockwork recovery right?
You did a nandroid backup right (on the new phone), before flashing anything right?
Why not just download Fusion and flash that to get the phone up and running?
yelowbottlecaps said:
both phones had JI6
Thank you for the quick responses.
I'm not unwilling to use odin, but unless anyone knows of a free software to use PC programs on a mac, I'm SOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well hmm....so much for guessing on my part. Crossing different build kernels is one sure fire way to brick...
Well, there is a solution for Mac and Linux for reloading firmware on a Samsung phone from Download Mode, an open project called Heimdall. It does everything Odin does, but without a GUI, so it depends on how comfortable you are with commandline/shell.
I'll pass you the relevant links so you can see for yourself what's going on.
[PROGRAM] Heimdall - Cross-Platform Open-Source Flashing Software (1.0.0 Available)
Heimdall's Website, with downloads...
XDA Dev Thread with JI6 Odin .tar file....
Best of luck!
s15274n said:
so, you got the new phone, rooted, got rom manager and then got clockwork recovery right?
You did a nandroid backup right (on the new phone), before flashing anything right?
Why not just download Fusion and flash that to get the phone up and running?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True that...Why didn't I think of that obvious ploy. If he can get into Recovery, and bounce over to clockwork...Well now's a good a time as any to try Bionix or Bionix Fusion...or a few other of the CW Recovery installable builds...Definitely easier than Heimdall or working out Odin on a mac....and definitely preferable to staring at a Vibrant logo...
{{facepalm}}
masterotaku said:
Well hmm....so much for guessing on my part. Crossing different build kernels is one sure fire way to brick...
Well, there is a solution for Mac and Linux for reloading firmware on a Samsung phone from Download Mode, an open project called Heimdall. It does everything Odin does, but without a GUI, so it depends on how comfortable you are with commandline/shell.
I'll pass you the relevant links so you can see for yourself what's going on.
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there was a step by step walkthrough, I have no problem trying this out.
But I downloaded it and have no idea what I'm doing. Therefore, still SOL
^ are you? You didn't answer my questions.
I'm gonna guess and say you also dl'd the oclf from the market to root too... so now you can't get back into CwR... right?
If you can get adb to recognize your phone then your not SOL. Im not sure what the exact command lines would be but you could delete the update.zip and replace it with another ROM. GL
I just tried using Odin on my roommates PC. An error happened and now the phone is showing a picture of a phone, a couple dots, an exclamation mark, a couple dots, and a computer.
Nothing I can do is taking it out of this screen. Unplugged from computer, took out battery, took out sd card, put it back in... nothing
Am I bricked for good now?
This is a terrible day.
edit: i managed to be able to get the phone into download mode.
No you are not completely bricked! Honestly that is almost impossible on this phone. The only way you'll lose this phone is if YOU give up.
Just keep trying and take a few deep breathes. Take a break actually. Just redo the process from step one.
Edit: you're half way there. Just flash Eugene's froyo that doesn't brixk, reboot, flash JFD or JI6, reboot... then you'll be right back to out of the box status.
All~G1 said:
I'm gonna guess and say you also dl'd the oclf from the market to root too... so now you can't get back into CwR... right?
If you can get adb to recognize your phone then your not SOL. Im not sure what the exact command lines would be but you could delete the update.zip and replace it with another ROM. GL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If someone can back this up with some instructions that would be amazing.
All~G1 said:
No you are not completely bricked! Honestly that is almost impossible on this phone. The only way you'll lose this phone is if YOU give up.
Just keep trying and take a few deep breathes. Take a break actually. Just redo the process from step one.
Edit: you're half way there. Just flash Eugene's froyo that doesn't brixk, reboot, flash JFD or JI6, reboot... then you'll be right back to out of the box status.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the motivation!
yelowbottlecaps said:
Thank you for the motivation!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, we've all been there. It took me 6 hours lol. Best part is after you go through this once it will only take you 5-10 mins the next time. The hard part is just getting everything setup in the mist of anger, frustration, fear & panic.
All~G1 said:
No worries, we've all been there. It took me 6 hours lol. Best part is after you go through this once it will only take you 5-10 mins the next time. The hard part is just getting everything setup in the mist of anger, frustration, fear & panic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and in the midst of a roommate that needs his pc back.
I still need a fix that would work for macs... if not, I'd have to wait for my roommate to let me bum his pc again
Do my posts not show up or something? wtf.
s15274n said:
Do my posts not show up or something? wtf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/me pats s15274n on the back....don't get mad...get even! =P
Honestly, sounds like yelow's focusing on getting all the help s/he needs from All~G1. I wouldn't worry about it.
~SB

Touchwiz Update bricked my non-rooted Tab (static lines across screen)!

I decided to go ahead with the TW firmware upgrade. Everything seemed to be going fine until I tried to install it and it told me there was an error and I needed to hook it up to Kies first. I had already been using Kies with it on my Macbook for a couple weeks now so I went ahead and plugged it in. Kies recognized it as usual and all the information came up.
So I went on and tried to install again and it said it needed to reboot.
It reboots and comes to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 screen like normal (right before it starts the galaxy animation). Next thing I know it comes to a screen that looks like the attached images! I immediately unplugged it from Kies and shut it down. Every time I start it back up it does the same thing. I honestly have NO idea what to do. I can't even return it as it's past the 14 day period and I (stupidly) didn't buy Staples' bogus $160 insurance.
I was not rooted before. This was a stock tab that I bought at staples. It had the firmware 4.24 when I bought it, I think.
Please, any help is appreciated. I tried doing firmware recovery in Kies but the pop up comes up in Korean and I have no idea what it says...
Edit: More info. I'm not the only one with this problem. Two other people have posted on AndroidPolice about this. http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/08/04/samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-wifi-touchwiz-ux-update-is-now-live/
The software is definitely running underneath all that mess but it's literally impossible to see what is going or to touch anything.
I guess this thread is about the same issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1203610
Thanks, I'm checking the thread out now. I probably should have searched more than just Google before posting but I freaked out when it happened.
No need to freak out . we have xda and dev to solve all our problems
i have exactly the same problem as you... what should i do now?
I get the same screen but after rebooting! pfft it's making me really sad :\
I'm sorry but I tried reading this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1171089 and couldnt understanding what should I do!
What CWM + my device is not rooted, all I could understand is that the thread contains instructions on how to root your device..
I just want my normal screen back!
Please tell me what to do in simple english :\
And now I did a wipe and the stripes are gone, but the screen is black instead :\ still not working. Please help me!
Are you sure you didnt sit on it?
Amal Kadi said:
I'm sorry but I tried reading this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1171089 and couldnt understanding what should I do!
What CWM + my device is not rooted, all I could understand is that the thread contains instructions on how to root your device..
I just want my normal screen back!
Please tell me what to do in simple english :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha i had the same problem go look at my threat that was posted above. in thier someone posted instructions on what to do the link you posted contains the download to the things needed heres a basic rundown of what you need to do
install clockwork recovery mod "CWM" to replace your bootloader.
download and install stock 3.1 and you should have your tab back to normal.
my help thread has the instructions to instal CWM
tonyurquiza said:
haha i had the same problem go look at my threat that was posted above. in thier someone posted instructions on what to do the link you posted contains the download to the things needed heres a basic rundown of what you need to do
install clockwork recovery mod "CWM" to replace your bootloader.
download and install stock 3.1 and you should have your tab back to normal.
my help thread has the instructions to instal CWM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I need to follow all the steps for rooting except the last one which is the actual rooting? Great thanx! Do I need to use Kies? My current computer is Mac but I guess I need to download those things to a Windows machine to make it work, right?
Thank you very much
I had the same problem. I upgraded the update on my non-rooted tablet and got the funked up video mess. Per instructions from Samsung support, I hard booted to the recovery menu (power+vol down, then power up, down on download screen) and did the factory wipe. After that I ended up with the black screen. I could tell things were working in the back but couldnt see a thing. I figured I would throw it on the Kies and it saw that there was a factory upgrade so I let the Kies run through it and it works fine now.
Dont know if this will help w/other but it worked for me.

[Q] Trying to use a mac to root/unroot galaxy note 10.1

I apologize for posting in the wrong thread for this question, if i am, please redirect to the correct thread..
I was trying to load up a custom rom and i did everything necessary for me to run a custom rom, but i forgot i cant mount my sd card and now im stuck with note 10.1 that has no rom on it. I cant revert because i wiped everything so my backup is gone and so is my custom rom i was going to install. I know im a moron but it really did slip my mind.. i havent updated since december.
My question is, "can i unroot to go back to factory settings with a mac?" or "can i still install a custom rom with a mac some way some how?"
For the past 2 hours i have been searching and found no results..
I dont have a windows computer, im stuck with a mac until next week and i already have the roms (custom and factory) downloaded and ready to install. im working until 4pm tomorrow and i have all my stuff on my note (games, movies, ect) to keep me busy so im in need of some help or some directions on where to start. I noticed a thing called Heimdall 1.4.0 but i seriously dont know how to use that and i dont want to brick my device..
Any help at this point would be great, if not, thanks anyways..
by the way, im using clockworkmod recovery v6.0.1.1.. Thanks again

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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.

Categories

Resources