Database Users

failed to root, now bricked, lost in the sauce

Rooting my Galaxy S4 has been one of the biggest pains in my rear ever and now I'm bricked and need a bit of help.
Normally, when I want to root a phone, I come here, to XDA, and follow a nice well written up-to-date thread on how to do it and it works. For the S4 however, I can't find any such threads that are not either old, out-of-date, or they use so many abbreviations for things I have no clue what they are talking about.
I started out with a totally stock Samsung Galaxy S4, was a VPUAMDL.
I used ODIN to push TWRP tarball. I then used TWRP to install the CWM SuperSU zip file.
I noticed when it started up that I had no root, I had the SuperSU program however, it nor another program I got on the marketplace, could confirm root.
Bit of looking I found this: galaxys4root (DOT) com/galaxy-s4-root/sprint-vpuamdl-firmware-update-root-fix/
(sorry, can't post full links yet)
Which basically informed me that VPUAMDL needs a new kernel to remove the SetUID restrictions.
I downloaded that file, and put it on my SD card. Booted into TWRP and installed. now my phone is bricked. gets to the "Samsung Galaxy S4" startup splash screen on black background
I am looking for a kernel that will work, either the stock kernel or not.
I am also looking for a good tut on rooting the S4, as all the tuts I have used have been utter wasted time.
I have ODIN, and can boot TWRP, ODIN mode, etc on my phone.
have no clue where to go from here and Im afraid to start trying to download random files and get everything mixed and confused.
Thanks for any help at all.

CF Auto Root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2291827
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

FanOfSkynyrd said:
CF Auto Root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2291827
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed that page, pushed it, installed fine, 100% no errors.
still bricked at GS4 startup splashscreen.
It did finish successfully and I saw the screen with the red android.
It removed TWRP and replaced it with the stock recovery as it should have.
I am actually surprised myself that it is still bricked at the GS4 splash.

Odin stock everything. See if it boots. Then try to root after that.

Stealyourface said:
Odin stock everything. See if it boots. Then try to root after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am failing to find stock everything to push.
I think I stated that, not sure... hmm
none the less. I do not have a stock kernel or recovery on hand. I can not find one either as there seem to be a plethora of kernels and threads and pages all for different files and downloads. Sifting through trying to find something is becoming harsh. Thus this thread.

You are not bricked if your phone can turn on and go to download mode or recovery.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

GiantJay said:
You are not bricked if your phone can turn on and go to download mode or recovery.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then its whatever you want to call it when it wont boot the operating system and is totally un-usable as a phone or mobile device.

I would go HERE
That is the thread for stock MDL stuff.
Download and flash the kernel and full wipe rom for MDL.
Then upgrade to MF9.

+2 ^^^^ to what he said :edit:
Nice tut on rooting the s4 thanks to mudavo here http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho...to Full Stock [MF9] w/ Root & Custom Recovery
There is also a video tutorial stickied in android devolpment
Sent from myself SPH-L720 using xda app-developers

Thanks guys, going to try some of the stuff from there. Hope i get it going. Need mah phone back! lol

Wooo, those links where just what I needed. Thanks a lot.
Got my phone back on and now I have a stock file in case I muck things up again.

Just make a nand back up and restore when something bad happens ive mucked up alot and it has always saved me
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app while smoking

[Q] LG G2 Bricked! PLEASE HELP!!!

i have the VZW G2 (VS-980) and its stuck in fastboot mode. ive tried all the different methods listed in these forums and nothing has worked. i cant get into download mode as everytime i try, download mode shows for a second then goes into fastboot mode again. PLEASE HELP!!

simon_lefisch said:
i have the VZW G2 (VS-980) and its stuck in fastboot mode. ive tried all the different methods listed in these forums and nothing has worked. i cant get into download mode as everytime i try, download mode shows for a second then goes into fastboot mode again. PLEASE HELP!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How the hell did you brick it? Give us some more background on what tweaks, root methods, flashing recovery methods did you use or else its hard to diagnose the issue.

ericdabbs said:
How the hell did you brick it? Give us some more background on what tweaks, root methods, flashing recovery methods did you use or else its hard to diagnose the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok. i was on stock. rooted with the IO method. wanted to flash a ROM (clean rom). downloaded ROM, wipe dalvik/cache/data. after reboot, phone booted into recovery mode. tried going into download mode to revert back to stock and LG FlashTool failed. said phone was the wrong model number (D802). the ROM i Downloaded said it was for VZW G2. obviously it wasnt. so i finally ended up using fastboot to push boot image and it booted, but in about phone, it says it D802 model (i just got it to boot, where as before i was stuck in fastboot mode). now i need to return to stock, but dont know how. any ideas?

Check out this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2517649&highlight=bricked

Gnarfsan said:
Check out this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2517649&highlight=bricked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, i actually was able to restore a backup i had of my stock rom and that fixed the model number prob, however now i cant get into download mode so i can do a reflash :/

simon_lefisch said:
well, i actually was able to restore a backup i had of my stock rom and that fixed the model number prob, however now i cant get into download mode so i can do a reflash :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even following the steps posted in that thread?

Gnarfsan said:
Even following the steps posted in that thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. not sure why its doing that. is there any way that download mode can be deleted from the phone? also, how do you get into fastboot mode?
EDIT: nevermind. i finally got it into download mode!! (thank god!!) flashing right now. damn that was a pain in the ass. i was starting to freak out that i messed up my phone. this is my first LG phone so this process is a little new to me (been on moto for the last few years) thanks for trying to help me out. this was def a learning experience.

Phew, I'm glad to hear that. Some day I will be in the same situation
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Just a quick question. Why would you even need to go into download mode to flash a Rom? Never once have I done that. Really, just curious.
Thanks Devs. From my VZW G2.

trickster2369 said:
Just a quick question. Why would you even need to go into download mode to flash a Rom? Never once have I done that. Really, just curious.
Thanks Devs. From my VZW G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking the same thing. It's best to stay out of those modes. Get a recovery installed ASAP and do everything that you need to do from there. I recommend TWRP Recovery.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Maybe because when flashing stock rom download mode is needed (atleast in my old sammy phone, maybe same in moto phones)

What's wrong with restoring the backup of the stock rom that should have been made before wiping and flashing a different rom? Not sure what I'm missing here.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app

Download mode is useful to flash the entire phone back to stock using the OEM tools. It's not just for the stock ROM. It's everything. It's useful if you get a bit carried away in TWRP and wipe partitions you really shouldn't be touching. Or if you somehow manage to bork your recovery, or at least can't get into it. It's also good if you want your phone to be completely stock to sell it or to send it in on warranty. I'm sure someone could come up with other scenarios where it's useful.
But yes, it is a good idea to keep a backup of your stock ROM. And as always, know what you're flashing, make sure it's for your phone and check md5s. And be mindful of what you're doing in recovery. You should be able to avoid most issues. Download mode is indeed something you shouldn't be using often but as I said above there are situations where it is useful or necessary. It's actually something I suggest you know how to use. I say it's always a good idea to know how to get back to complete stock for warranty stuff, selling, or if something just goes majorly wrong.

The Rom I was trying to flash was apparently for a different model number, yet it was under the Verizon thread. There was no md5 to cross reference. In the end I ended up finding the proper boot image/twrp files and pushed them via fastboot (since I was unable to use adb) which then allowed more to restore a backup of the original Rom. Just took me all night to finally get back to stock. Then I decided to restore to out-of-the-box stock just to make sure all files weren't corrupted our anything.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Not for nothing, but I ran the LG flash tool without putting the phone in download mode and it worked fine.

Semantics said:
Not for nothing, but I ran the LG flash tool without putting the phone in download mode and it worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.....interesting. I may try that next time I have to flash to stock.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Same Problem
simon_lefisch said:
The Rom I was trying to flash was apparently for a different model number, yet it was under the Verizon thread. There was no md5 to cross reference. In the end I ended up finding the proper boot image/twrp files and pushed them via fastboot (since I was unable to use adb) which then allowed more to restore a backup of the original Rom. Just took me all night to finally get back to stock. Then I decided to restore to out-of-the-box stock just to make sure all files weren't corrupted our anything.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you fill me in on how you used fastboot to install twrp? I am in the same boat right now...

i'm stuck as well in Fastboot and can't figure it out

emmur0 said:
i'm stuck as well in Fastboot and can't figure it out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sent you a pm

You can you adb side load which is the same for flashing rom, pushing, or pulling file from the phone which is the first thing to learn before flashing anything to the new device that you got and know nothing about.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using xda premium

[Q] S4 SGH-1337 Flushed Wrong Rom

Hi Everyone:
I was new to Android, not very new but I did a stupid thing.
My device is SGH-1337 but I use TWRP to install a custom ROM for I9500....now I can still access to TWRP manul and Downloading page (? press volume down and power, then volume up). But once I reboot to system it would stuck at "Galaxy S4" log.
Then I tried google something (that time I still confuse with 1337 and 9500), then I tried few time Odin, but all with 9500 tar files and all result in "Fail".
I didn't backup my system...so now what should I do? Should I download a ROM for Att then flush with TWRP?
Many thanks.

How old is your phone? If you have twrp installed then its older than mine that came with mf3 firmware locked in.one idea is to download a new rom..for the right phone and copy and paste to an micro sd card..turn the phone off and insert card....reboot back to twrp.find the zip on yhe card and install.just 1 idea...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

jasas212 said:
How old is your phone? If you have twrp installed then its older than mine that came with mf3 firmware locked in.one idea is to download a new rom..for the right phone and copy and paste to an micro sd card..turn the phone off and insert card....reboot back to twrp.find the zip on yhe card and install.just 1 idea...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I brought it when it released, early this year.
Thanks for your hint, let me give it try tonight.

Let me know if that works good luck
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

jasas212 said:
Let me know if that works good luck
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2370121
but...after reboot it says "system software not authoorized by AT&T has been found on your phone."

WWWXXX2 said:
I flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2370121
but...after reboot it says "system software not authoorized by AT&T has been found on your phone."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to flash the loki patch after flashing a ROM. Use the search, i'm not sure what section it's in.

DeadlySin9 said:
You have to flash the loki patch after flashing a ROM. Use the search, i'm not sure what section it's in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I was seraching it
Once I update the loki and kernal I can boot to the system..
But once I restart it would stuck at "Samsung" logo......
I tried again in following order:
Install the Rom from TWRP
"not ATT authorized software"
install new kernal
install loki

WWWXXX2 said:
Yes, I was seraching it
Once I update the loki and kernal I can boot to the system..
But once I restart it would stuck at "Samsung" logo......
I tried again in following order:
Install the Rom from TWRP
"not ATT authorized software"
install new kernal
install loki
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TWRP got some issues, it asks about passwork which I don't know
Then it always cannot mount system once restart....

If you are stuck on the white "SAMSUNG" screen with the padlock after flashing a rom, then your issue is caused by TWRP. Flash another recovery like CWM.

Nurmi_CEO said:
If you are stuck on the white "SAMSUNG" screen with the padlock after flashing a rom, then your issue is caused by TWRP. Flash another recovery like CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I am really desperate....
I install CWM from TWRP, and now I cannot boot to recovery, it would stuck at "SAMSUNG" screen with some blue line on left top conner.
Then I tried to use Odin to flush another CWM into it, then Odin said "FAILED" and phone said "SECURE CHECK FAIL"....
I did a lot of search these two days, but none of their thread is helpful....
Any help and idea would be very welcome
Thanks

[Q] Rooted, soft bricked phone with locked bootloader

Basically what the title says.
I just want to preface this by saying I'm a beginner and I have no idea what I'm doing.
I tried to use safestrap and it did delete all my data but I accidently deleted my backup and my ROM I wanted to install.
Safestrap doesn't seem to want to work anymore. It gives me the screen saying that so and so is disabled and it will boot in 10 seconds, but I can't interact with this screen.
What can I do? Safestrap just doesn't work so I can't flash a ROM from SDcard, and the only thing that seems to work is Fastboot, and that's locked, so what are my options?

boobaboobler said:
Basically what the title says.
I just want to preface this by saying I'm a beginner and I have no idea what I'm doing.
I tried to use safestrap and it did delete all my data but I accidently deleted my backup and my ROM I wanted to install.
Safestrap doesn't seem to want to work anymore. It gives me the screen saying that so and so is disabled and it will boot in 10 seconds, but I can't interact with this screen.
What can I do? Safestrap just doesn't work so I can't flash a ROM from SDcard, and the only thing that seems to work is Fastboot, and that's locked, so what are my options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use RSD to flash the firmware from here http://sbf.droid-developers.org/ , you can use House of Moto http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/28162-house-of-moto-23/ , or you can update to stock KK (keep in mind you'll lose root on KK) http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/45495-how-to-xt907-upgrade-to-kitkat-ota/

Sorry but what file am I supposed to be using to flash? The entire folder?
Again, I don't know much about this, I'm just a beginner. I probably should have heeded people's warnings about possibly bricking your phone.

boobaboobler said:
Sorry but what file am I supposed to be using to flash? The entire folder?
Again, I don't know much about this, I'm just a beginner. I probably should have heeded people's warnings about possibly bricking your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The house of moto tutorial tells you exactly what to do with the files and folders and where to put them
Sent from my XT907 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

poppers162 said:
The house of moto tutorial tells you exactly what to do with the files and folders and where to put them
Sent from my XT907 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason my phone didn't want to let anything flash ICS to it so I flashed KitKat instead and everything went OK.

boobaboobler said:
For some reason my phone didn't want to let anything flash ICS to it so I flashed KitKat instead and everything went OK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, good to hear that it worked.
Sent from my XT907 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

boobaboobler said:
For some reason my phone didn't want to let anything flash ICS to it so I flashed KitKat instead and everything went OK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you can't downgrade if your bootloader is locked, but it is good to hear you got it working.

[Q] Need help with VZW Note 3

Hi I rooted my brothers Verizon Samsung Note 3 which was on 4.4.2 NC4, Installed the safestrap recovery and have setup Hyperdrive on rom slot 1. My problem is when I try to access the stock rom slot it hangs at the Verizon logo. I've pulled the battery and same result time after time. I flashed a prerooted de-odexed 4.4.2 nc4 stock rom to the stock slot and it still hangs at the Verizon screen. Today I tried to do a factory wipe on the stock rom slot to see if I could flash another rom to it and it said it could not mount /system and /systemorig. Can anyone provide some info as to how I go about fixing this so he can have his stock rom back? Thank you.

Odin back to a stock ROM, non-rooted. If you want to, you'll have to start the root process from scratch.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

That's what I figured the answer would be. I do have a 4.4.2 NC4 non rooted stock to flash. Thank you for your help.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

One thing you might try first. I don't know about your initial problem getting stuck at the boot screen. But I tried the other day to do a complete wipe and wound up with the "unable to mount" errors. I had to go into the Mount screen in safestrap and uncheck all boxes, then recheck everything. For some reason, I had to click the System box several times to get the checkmark to show up. Might be worth a shot. Helped me avoid the hassle of having to odin back to anything

When I setup the 1st custom rom on the sd card I accidentally did a full wipe and after that I've been getting unable to mount errors like you stated. I will try that this weekend when I see him. Thanks again for the help and I'll report back with the results.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

Clicked system for 10 minutes and the check mark will not show up.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

Sorry to hear that. I wish I knew more about the error. Or the "mounting process" that seems to have failed. It was only by luck that I figured it out on mine. I was already downloading the files to odin my phone back and start over when I lucked out. Figured I would pass it along before you had to lose all you had done. But I'm not sure what else you can do at this point. Maybe someone else will chime in.

I was able to successfully recover from a "hang at the Verizon logo" soft-brick on my NC4 4.4.2 Note 3 by following the directions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2483380 It seems like it might be worth a shot.

I tried flashing 4.4.2 NC4 non rooted and now it just hangs at the Verizon screen. When it boots up it still shows the custom logo under the Samsung Note III logo as well. What can i do or is it time to get a new phone? Thanks.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

MustangCobraGTMan said:
I tried flashing 4.4.2 NC4 non rooted and now it just hangs at the Verizon screen. When it boots up it still shows the custom logo under the Samsung Note III logo as well. What can i do or is it time to get a new phone? Thanks.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm having all the same issues you are... I cant even install new custom modified or non note 3 apks... you may have to factory reset one more time after ODIN.

I can't even get into recovery to factory reset it. We destroyed it. Lol. Just going to buy a new phone.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

Replaced the phone but I'd still like to see if I can fix this one.
Does anyone have a prerooted 4.4.2 NC4 tar.md5 or other tar.md5 that I could flash in Odin? I have tried the stock 4.4.2 NC4 tar.md5 and it still just hangs at the Verizon screen and it just reboots when I try to enter recovery to factory wipe it. I have the 32g pit file already. Thanks.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app