[Q] Can someone help me with a soft brick? - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So, I believe that I have just backed myself into a horrible (but probably not) soft brick. Basically, I was trying to change the DPI in order to get into tablet UI (and now I don't even know why because I really didn't care that much). I downloaded an app, changed the DPI, and rebooted. Now when it reboots it goes past the Google image and then there is just a black screen. I know how to get into recovery, but I don't know what to do there and I don't think I have CWM installed, so I'm pretty sure I can't just wipe it. So, can anyone help out with this one?
EDIT: Found my way into recovery. Wiped data, cache, and dalvik. When I reboot I still just get a black screen. It's impossible to hard brick a Nexus device...right?

MAYBE, i just saw the title of this youtube video, this will help:
[NEXUS 7] How to return to Stock / Unbrick your Device - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-EF0QC0Gc&feature=plcp

AtropineNa said:
MAYBE, i just saw the title of this youtube video, this will help:
[NEXUS 7] How to return to Stock / Unbrick your Device - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-EF0QC0Gc&feature=plcp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'll give it a try!

AtropineNa said:
MAYBE, i just saw the title of this youtube video, this will help:
[NEXUS 7] How to return to Stock / Unbrick your Device - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-EF0QC0Gc&feature=plcp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! That worked perfectly and now my device is back to normal! If the mods would like to get rid of this thread now, feel free to.

jtc276 said:
Awesome! That worked perfectly and now my device is back to normal! If the mods would like to get rid of this thread now, feel free to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice i'm glad the video helped, make sure to thank the person who made it

Questions go in the Q&A section

Related

[Q] Helllllllllllllllp! xperia x10 stuck

hi all, im new here, im hoping and praying that someone can help me, i one click rooted my xperia x10, and installed type press font changing program, rebooted phone and now it wont do anything, its stuck on sony ericsson screen. is my phone now broke??? all my pics of grandchildren are in there , please help me. liz
liza283 said:
hi all, im new here, im hoping and praying that someone can help me, i one click rooted my xperia x10, and installed type press font changing program, rebooted phone and now it wont do anything, its stuck on sony ericsson screen. is my phone now broke??? all my pics of grandchildren are in there , please help me. liz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like something's messed up from using the font changer and that a wipe is necessary. However there's a chance that you won't lose the pictures. Photos taken by the camera apps are stored in the memory card in the DCIM folder, so before panicking you might want to look for them on the memory card.
Hope it helps.
ddewbofh said:
It looks like something's messed up from using the font changer and that a wipe is necessary. However there's a chance that you won't lose the pictures. Photos taken by the camera apps are stored in the memory card in the DCIM folder, so before panicking you might want to look for them on the memory card.
Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a wipe will not wipe the sdcard
Also stating a phone sucks because you've done somthing which your not suppose to is wrong. Its your fualt not the x10 =)
Ingore, Im a t*at
hal752 said:
a wipe will not wipe the sdcard
Also stating a phone sucks because you've done somthing which your not suppose to is wrong. Its your fualt not the x10 =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reread the post, it talked about being stuck. Not that it sucked.
I had the same problem and had to reflash. I found the problem occurred when I tried changing too many fonts. Just change droidsans and droidsans bold. Hope this helps.
ddewbofh said:
Reread the post, it talked about being stuck. Not that it sucked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad, Half asleep lol.
bare in mind that some fonts are not supported by your phone so in case that you have flashed them alread, then your phone won't boot up. I don't have the exact solution for it but in the font section you may find better answers.
Hope to solve your problem soon.
ive not said that the phone sucks, i merely said that my phone was stuck! i love my new phone.
thanks
thanks for all your responses, i'm a newbie at this rooting thing, it all seemed to go straight forward and according to the instructions, until, i went into messaging to send a message using the new font. but it wasnt there. so i went into the fonts part to find one and pressed it and then i think at this stage the phone rebooted to take affect. been stuck ever since. i'll go try the font section now to see if i can get some advice there too. thanks again
liza283 said:
i'll go try the font section now to see if i can get some advice there too. thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The chances are you will have to reflash, I've done it myself with an incompatible font and had to reflash to sort it.
flash
hi, if i have to do this re flash thing, does that mean all the apps i downloaded etc will be gone? is there anyway of accessing the phone in this state to get the stuff off it?
hi, when you reflashed, did u manage to keep ur apps and stuff you had downloaded?
liza283 said:
hi, when you reflashed, did u manage to keep ur apps and stuff you had downloaded?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some have said the repair method keeps them, but when I flash I do it fully so couldn't answer that question.
First of all you have to reflash your phone, root it again, install SuperUser and busybox then you are able to change the font(s)
Sent from my rooted 026 x10i using XDA App
hi, i did that superuser and busybox thing, and thats y im now where im at. please help. im really stuck now, as i dont know how to reflash. i wish i'd left the blinking thing alone. i just want it back to normal and with the programs id purchased and the pics of my grandkids.
Don't worry about the pics. Your apps may be a different story.
Flashing your phone is easy and there are many pages to reference. Just go to the android dev section.
liza283 said:
as i dont know how to reflash. i wish i'd left the blinking thing alone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have PC Companion installed?
on the phone or on the laptop?i don';t thinki have it on either
Poor post.....
All apps, free or purchased should be logged by your gmail account so you should not have to re-purchase anything. Also, first start of market after a re-flash should show you all apps last installed on you phone in the downloaded section, but only once! So best be at a wifi network for fastest re-download. I am fairly certain of this but please correct me if i'm wrong, dont wanna be fooling anyone. One other thing i recall reading is, if pressing (and maby holding) volume down right after the buzz when powering on, should get you into fail safe mode. Maby you can jot down you apps or even repair the damage from there. Hope any of this helps. Good luck!
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

Possible Brick?[Solved with Nandroid Backup]

I know you guys hate when people jump the gun...but I'm honestly running out of ideas here. Earlier today I tried to use LCD Density changer on my Nexus S...whether this was stupid on my part, you all can decide later. As for now my nexus boots a black screen. I'm only posting here cuz maybe in finding a solution we can uncover a bit about how the nexus is set up, because it seems to refuse any changes made to the system through fastboot or adb push.
I have tried just about every option to restore the system to stock format, and need help getting my nexus back to booting condition. I've tried fastboot flashing the system.img and just get a "write failed" error. I've pushed the whole system dump to /system through adb and when i reboot it is still missing the files i just pushed. I've flashed different boot.img's in combination with the first two steps, and still my phone remains unbootable.
Any ideas what could be going wrong?
fykick said:
I know you guys hate when people jump the gun...but I'm honestly running out of ideas here. Earlier today I tried to use LCD Density changer on my Nexus S...whether this was stupid on my part, you all can decide later. As for now my nexus boots a black screen. I'm only posting here cuz maybe in finding a solution we can uncover a bit about how the nexus is set up, because it seems to refuse any changes made to the system through fastboot or adb push.
I have tried just about every option to restore the system to stock format, and need help getting my nexus back to booting condition. I've tried fastboot flashing the system.img and just get a "write failed" error. I've pushed the whole system dump to /system through adb and when i reboot it is still missing the files i just pushed. I've flashed different boot.img's in combination with the first two steps, and still my phone remains unbootable.
Any ideas what could be going wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it safe to say you didnt do nandroid restore prior?
Yes, that is correct...didn't think it'd cause this much of a problem(stupid me). I asked earlier if maybe some could upload a nandroid restore for me so I could at least attempt that. But I got no response, so I'm still in the dark.
fykick said:
Yes, that is correct...didn't think it'd cause this much of a problem(stupid me). I asked earlier if maybe some could upload a nandroid restore for me so I could at least attempt that. But I got no response, so I'm still in the dark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I get home in an hour, I'll factory wipe and make a backup of the stock rom for you.
Any recommendations on where to upload?
I got you man im backing up right ow....going to wipe then backup again and ill upload it so give me a bit
maybe ill be really nice and include some custom transitions for you
Only been 1 day since it came out, since it boots to black, take it back to the store, act stupid, get another one. Solved.
nandroid
pm'ing you the link
let me know if it works
mount usb storage copy and paste the into clockworkmod/backups
unmount usb storage and restore....gave you all the goodies too
nxt said:
Only been 1 day since it came out, since it boots to black, take it back to the store, act stupid, get another one. Solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahahaha best thing I've heard all day
Apparently the NS is super-brickable, according to JBQ (@jbqueru) on android-building:
-Even though Nexus S is designed to be suitable for AOSP work, there
are some caveats. I very strongly recommend against trying to use
Nexus S for anything related to AOSP at the moment. Trying to unlock
or use your Nexus S for AOSP work could easily turn it into a Nexus B
(where B means "brick"); I have two of those, they're not very useful.
I'll send some guidelines about what is currently possible once I've
finished pushing the source code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there anyway I can get the link for that nandroid? I seem to have messed my system files up as well.
wdfowty said:
Hahahahaha best thing I've heard all day
Apparently the NS is super-brickable, according to JBQ (@jbqueru) on android-building:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that is a frightening prospect;( How can google make a dev phone thats super brickable... hmmm
JD
AndHel said:
Is there anyway I can get the link for that nandroid? I seem to have messed my system files up as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I get the link for the stock nandroid also? I need to use a secure boot image.
Okay, thank you very much for the Nandroid. It worked and I'm back up and running.
OKay
So i sent the backup to at least 3 people anyone care to let me know hows its going and whether or not they like the customizations
drexman8244 said:
So i sent the backup to at least 3 people anyone care to let me know hows its going and whether or not they like the customizations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe you can upload it to mediafire or somewhere else, and create a thread? it might help others out
ill take your advice on that Thanks
adb push may not have been working because your system wasn't mounted properly in Clockwork recovery. I had this issue when trying to root. In Recovery, go to Mounts & Storage and hit "Mount System" THEN adb push the system dump.
You probably didn't need to nandroid. Could have just used adb to reset the density line in your build.prop I assume?
fykick said:
Okay, thank you very much for the Nandroid. It worked and I'm back up and running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please mention it on the Thread Title PROBLEM SOLVED.
An nandroid backup can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877601
Hi guys, i'm the developer of LCD Density Changer. Sorry about the problems it caused.
Is it true that the Nexus S, doesn't support a density change. That would be a real bummer! Not for the app, but in general. I just don't hope Google blocks a density change in their new Android versions.
A question: does the "preview/temporarily" density change works in the LCD Density Changer app. If so, there is still hope.
Meanwhile, based on these reports I will put up a note to warn Nexus S users.

Is unlocked BL needed for HDMI Landscape Mirroring?

in "HDMI Landscape Mirroring" post, i cant find any information.
Well if your going to root why stop there
It litterally takes 5 minutes to unlock it
Do a YouTube search about it see for your self its not too compicated
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
ccxp188 said:
in "HDMI Landscape Mirroring" post, i cant find any information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe so, but I'm not sure. I modified WebTop to work over HDMI without an unlocked bl so probably just root access is fine.
Hey guys, sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but is it possible to get Landscape mirroring working with stock 2.3.4? (Rooted)
I really only want it so I can play my emulators over HDMI and was hoping I wouldn't need any custom ROMS.
HeavensSword said:
Hey guys, sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but is it possible to get Landscape mirroring working with stock 2.3.4? (Rooted)
I really only want it so I can play my emulators over HDMI and was hoping I wouldn't need any custom ROMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure it's not possible. Few have tried, but had lots of problems with FC's and such.
Ok, thanks for the reply.
For what it's worth -- and I only just did this a couple weeks ago -- the Darkside rom does have landscape mirroring capability, and it is decidedly faster than using the webtop over HDMI. No, it's not at full 1080P; yes, every once in a while it gives a minor skip; but it works smoothly without issues and is a great feature of the phone now.
So if you're willing to take the plunge with unlocking the bootloader, you'd likely be happy with the results for your emulator.
Hmm I'll consider it. I was all for flashing it with a ROM when I first got the phone, but since it took awhile before people were able to unlock the bootloader I have become use to the stock blur.
I guess my only real concern is reading stuff like "must perform a complete wipe before flashing the ROM". What exactly would be the general process? I take it I would backup all my files and apps and then just re-add them after applying the ROM?
Honestly if darkside is pretty stable (no random crashes or bugs) i think I'll go for it; I definitely love the idea of having a portable snes/psx/gba/etc. that i can just connect straight to a tv and pull out a BT controller.
Darkside is pretty "noob friendly" (why I went with it first, ha!) -- it retains motoblur, but themed, and if you're used to the stock experience you'll already know your way around the phone. Looking around the dev thread some people have had random things not working; I've had exactly zero problems or issues to fix. I'm on a US Atrix, AT&T.
I used this friendly how-to when unlocking my bootloader and flashed the ROM. Highly recommended. In general, the process was:
- Get Titanium Backup (for apps) and Mybackup Root (for SMS/phone logs/etc) from the market for free; use these to back up your user data. Unlocking will reset your phone to factory.
- Unlock bootloader and install romracer's recovery. Make complete nandroid backup using that recovery; it's like a "restore point" if you ever need to go back to stock. (At this point I needed to go to bed, so I took the opportunity to restore my apps and data to make sure everything was still there. It was. So I was still on stock Gingerbread, with root access retained and an unlocked bootloader.)
- If you read the OP in the Darkside thread, he recommends a specific set of instructions to ensure a clean install: you first "fastboot -w" in fastboot mode to do an initial wipe, then reboot & enter recovery mode to clear three specific caches. THEN flash the rom, as you've placed it on your SD card by this point. The instructions are pretty clear -- follow as described and you shouldn't have any problems.
Finally, the emulators I have are nesoid and snesoid; they both work great on my TV. I haven't used an n64 emulator which is likely more demanding on the processor, but so far I'm happy.
Awesome! Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.
If I get some time tonight I think I'll take the plunge.
:
HeavensSword said:
Awesome! Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.
If I get some time tonight I think I'll take the plunge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darkside was my first custom rom flash, honestly can't be happier. The LS hdmi mirror is a little choppy but not to bad. Just change Settings -> Hdmi-> Overscan. Good luck, and make sure to calibrate your battery!
Well I have Darkside flashed on my phone successfully. Once again thanks for all the help.
Punkrocknerd said:
:
Darkside was my first custom rom flash, honestly can't be happier. The LS hdmi mirror is a little choppy but not to bad. Just change Settings -> Hdmi-> Overscan. Good luck, and make sure to calibrate your battery!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip and I just installed the battery calibration app from xda.

Weird issues after kitkat upgrade

Was happily on CM and for some reason decided to try stock kitkat. Did everything via tutorial and all went all well - but been getting some strange issues which has made my phone unusable.
When i press vol up/down it takes ten seconds to pop up. Sound does not work at all whether calling/playing music. Settings f/c when I attempt to click the sound menu. I believe everything else is working fine.
Tried reflashing stock firmware countless times... Tried flashing numerous custom 4.4 roms.
Australian bought phone if it makes any difference.
Please help as Im stuck using a spare iphone 4 and its killing me! haha.
Thanks,
Riimez said:
Was happily on CM and for some reason decided to try stock kitkat. Did everything via tutorial and all went all well - but been getting some strange issues which has made my phone unusable.
When i press vol up/down it takes ten seconds to pop up. Sound does not work at all whether calling/playing music. Settings f/c when I attempt to click the sound menu. I believe everything else is working fine.
Tried reflashing stock firmware countless times... Tried flashing numerous custom 4.4 roms.
Australian bought phone if it makes any difference.
Please help as Im stuck using a spare iphone 4 and its killing me! haha.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's start from the beginning.
Can you describe your method of flashing in case you are doing something wrong? Please describe as much information as possible.
What is your phone model?
y2kkingboy said:
Let's start from the beginning.
Can you describe your method of flashing in case you are doing something wrong? Please describe as much information as possible.
What is your phone model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
9005. sorry it was a couple of days ago so I dont really remember. I flashed a 4.4 bootloader (standalone) then tried flashing a 4.4 rom i believe it was sweetrom.
Riimez said:
9005. sorry it was a couple of days ago so I dont really remember. I flashed a 4.4 bootloader (standalone) then tried flashing a 4.4 rom i believe it was sweetrom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the best thing to do now is to flash stock ROM and make sure to full wipe everything even internal memory.
If you have external memory, back up what ever you think necessary to it, the remove it from the device and keep it out.
That clean start well give you a good indication whether the problem is based on a bad flash or there is something wrong with the device.
If everything is running smoothly, we will see about flashing custom ROM.
y2kkingboy said:
I believe the best thing to do now is to flash stock ROM and make sure to full wipe everything even internal memory.
If you have external memory, back up what ever you think necessary to it, the remove it from the device and keep it out.
That clean start well give you a good indication whether the problem is based on a bad flash or there is something wrong with the device.
If everything is running smoothly, we will see about flashing custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep its what ive done, reflashed stock completly and removed sd card. Still no dice - running complete stock 4.4 still with this problem.
Could this be an EFS problem?
If it were an efs problem you wouldn't even boot in most cases.
Can you describe how you flashed stock ROM? Maybe you did it wrong.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Sorry to hear that..base on my experienced happened also on my S4..luckily still under warranty..have to wait for 2 weeks...company says faulty mother board and speaker. Hope this helps....
Sent from my SM-N900 using xda premium
Riimez said:
Was happily on CM and for some reason decided to try stock kitkat. Did everything via tutorial and all went all well - but been getting some strange issues which has made my phone unusable.
When i press vol up/down it takes ten seconds to pop up. Sound does not work at all whether calling/playing music. Settings f/c when I attempt to click the sound menu. I believe everything else is working fine.
Tried reflashing stock firmware countless times... Tried flashing numerous custom 4.4 roms.
Australian bought phone if it makes any difference.
Please help as Im stuck using a spare iphone 4 and its killing me! haha.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NEE region? - if so it has issues with 4.4.2, @nex7er had the same issues, and if you're using SweetROM I believe he pm'd not-i the fix for it. -- It can be fixed though.
Maybe completely wipe it (System, Data and all) and then Flash stock with Odin?
After kitkat upgrade.. if i use camera app such as camera 360 Or picsart, i can't save my photo to sdcard. It's error, Has anyone had or know how to resolve this problem???
Blancos4Lyf said:
Maybe completely wipe it (System, Data and all) and then Flash stock with Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Still no dice.
Riimez said:
Yep. Still no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did post the reason on the last page what I think it might be...... if you're in a Nordic region or even have a nordic model it's a common problem, if you search around you'll see others that have the same issue (notably ne7xer). -- If it's not that, then it's a warranty job due to faulty HW
EDIT: you could try a complete wipe including re-partitioning, but that's a bigger job that you'd want to do in all honesty.
radicalisto said:
I did post the reason on the last page what I think it might be...... if you're in a Nordic region or even have a nordic model it's a common problem, if you search around you'll see others that have the same issue (notably ne7xer). -- If it's not that, then it's a warranty job due to faulty HW
EDIT: you could try a complete wipe including re-partitioning, but that's a bigger job that you'd want to do in all honesty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be my last option considering knox is tripped..
Got a link to a tutorial for re-partitioning?
Grab a PIT file for your device; - then you flash firmware with Odin / PIT file. - I have never done it, nor do I fancy doing it, but have a read (journeyman posted asking how and done it, it's in this section Q+A) - I can never remember whether you flash the PIT first then the firmware or both together. I wouldn't want to hazard a guess just in case though.
But if you've tripped KNOX, then yes, seems like it could be your last option, unless you have tried some various custom ROMs? ( I know sweetROM seems to be the master fix for any issues peple have on KK atm) could just be a stock issue currently that will more than likely get a fix at some point.
EDIT As yours is an AU phone, possible it could be a HK model? - from KOGAN? I know some AU users have had HK models from them.
EDIT2: When I flashed HAL ROM, @theresident stated in his how to OP that we needed to format /system during install - It's possible this may also fix it, but that wipes your entire system obviously and *IF* it doesn't boot up you then have issues
EDIT3 : quote from HAL ROM OP
Instalation:
1. Copy the zip to the phone
2. Reboot to Recovery/CWM
3. Wipe Data/Factory Reset
4. Wipe Cache
5. Wipe Dalvik Cache
6. Mounts and Storage then click "Format /System" (This won't delete any of your data)
7. Install.. wait one minute and ROCK !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crazy_777 said:
After kitkat upgrade.. if i use camera app such as camera 360 Or picsart, i can't save my photo to sdcard. It's error, Has anyone had or know how to resolve this problem???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are hijacking.
Anyway,
1. Install es file manager or any file reader with root.
2. navigate to /System/etc/permissions
3. open "platform.xml" file to edit
4. look for the stack that has "WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
you will find something like <group gid="sdcard_r" />
5. make sure these lines are there, if not, add them
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
<group gid="media_rw" />
That's it

Weird STRIPES in CAMERA view

Hi there.
Just check the video, everything's in there.
Forgot to mention that I'm rooted and with TWRP recovery flashed.
Not sure how long I have those stripes, if you guys have no idea what is causing them, I think the best way to go will be returning to absolutely stock, and step by step install every mod I had and need (root, recovery, XCam adv. drivers etc.) with tests inbetween them. What do you think?
up, I guess...
Stripe caught on photo! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18111725/20150702_095914.jpg
Any idea? Visible in different camera apps too (lgCamera etc.)
No one?
Anyone?
I'll give you a free bump.
I had this problem before, asked for help on it and never got any help.
Unfortunately this is how things are in these G2 forums, just be happy no one has said "try searching".
I hate it here.
Mine went away on its own I guess since it's not happening anymore.
My videos would also freeze frame for minutes.
Try the xcam flashable mod or try CM with Google camera app(included in stock flashable gapps)?
Maybe when I ToT/KDZ restored it might have done something to fix it but it wipes your internal storage too.
Sent from my Android using Tapatalk.

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