Database Users

ICS ROMs for the Fascinate

Hey guys,
I recently tried flashing the Team Hacksung ICS port, Gummy Fascinate, and AOSPK and they all have the same issues for me. I understand that these are in an alpha state but none of the "Not Working" sections include the problems I am having. First, I cannot receive text messages but I can send them. Second, when exiting an app or the settings menu, the home screen takes five seconds to reset (all of the icons/dock are gone, only the wallpaper shows at first). Third, the launcher becomes incredibly slow after only a few minutes. I close out of all of the apps that are running using the new multitasking feature (holding the home button) but the phone remains sluggish until I reboot it. Then, it is lightning fast until I open any app. Fourth, scanning of my SD card seems to stop after a few seconds after booting. I have about 14 GB of music on my SD card and it only loads the first few artists. It does this every time I boot up so I can never see the entire library. Fifth, sometimes the app I am using will close and I am forced to wait for the home screen to reset, as I mentioned before. No error messages for force closing appears. Sixth (this is only a minor inconvenience but I want to understand why it happens), when I use SMS Backup + to restore my texts, the minute I leave the app or let the screen turn off, it returns to "Idle mode and I have to restart the entire process over again.
TL;DR I have a bunch of issues that other users don't seem to be having and they are not listed on the "Not Working" sections of the ROMs.
I would appreciate if anyone could help me come up with a solution to any one of these problems. I am looking forward to using ICS!

What method are you using to install ics based roms?

I flash back to stock EH03 and then follow these directions to the letter: http://exzacklyright.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-flash-ics-on-verizon-samsung.html

Those instructions are pretty good aside from the part in step 8 that suggests flashing the radio. It's already included in the EH03 package so it's just redundant, but those instructions are essentially the same as my procedure and I'm on build 6 without the issues you're experiencing (as are other people).
I'm curious if you have the same problems on other roms or is it just ICS? Have you ever messed around with overclocking and maybe got a bit aggressive? I know that if you're not careful and know what you're doing with the new overclocking and voltage control that are a part of glitch v14 you could certainly damage your phone. If it's just ICS roms and you've never messed with OC, I'm not really sure why you'd be running into those issues.

smokinbeanbean1992 said:
I flash back to stock EH03 and then follow these directions to the letter: http://exzacklyright.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-flash-ics-on-verizon-samsung.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried a different sd card?

I only have these problems on ICS. I don't flash EH03 everytime like it suggests in the instructions. My last SD card was fried by CM7 so this SD card is brand new and I'm pretty sure it's a class 10, so speed shouldn't be an issue. Could it really be the SD card that's causing these problems?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Also, I have messed around with glitch v14 and overclocking to attempt to alleviate the sluggishness and I used to use v12 and v13 with CM7 before with no issues. V14 did not help at all so I'm on the stock CM9 kernel and I have erased the voltage settings.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

smokinbeanbean1992 said:
I only have these problems on ICS. I don't flash EH03 everytime like it suggests in the instructions. My last SD card was fried by CM7 so this SD card is brand new and I'm pretty sure it's a class 10, so speed shouldn't be an issue. Could it really be the SD card that's causing these problems?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt say it was the sd card, just simply asked if you have tried another...relax grasshoppa. If you dont follow instructions expect stuff not to work right.

Not sure if it will make a difference, but I ODIN and repartitioned to stock verizon DL09.. then CWM, wipe, build two, wipe, gummyfassy...
I have run into some strange issues when I reverted to another stock verizon package other than DL09 before flashing custom roms.. so out of superstitions sake, I always default to DL09.

elarson006 said:
Not sure if it will make a difference, but I ODIN and repartitioned to stock verizon DL09.. then CWM, wipe, build two, wipe, gummyfassy...
I have run into some strange issues when I reverted to another stock verizon package other than DL09 before flashing custom roms.. so out of superstitions sake, I always default to DL09.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use to have to do the same thing when I was on the stock sd card. Pretty sure the op did not odin back to stock anything going by his last post. I agree tho it wouldnt hurt to try stock ed05 or dl09, but dl09 should no longer be necessary.

I wasn't angry or anything, I was just wondering if the SD could be a problem. I always flash back to the stock EH03 ROM before flashing ICS or CM7 but do you think I should go all the way back to DL09?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

I don't think it would harm anything to go to a more previous version. Make sure you repartition using the .pit file when flashing in ODIN if coming from MTD rom

Every time i tried all the ICSs I odined to EH03 as my starting point, then odined CWM4 fixed for CM7, then I flashed ICS Hacksung 3 first......Reboot...Reboot into recovery, Flash ICS 6 [or what ever new flavor you would like] then flash Gapps 7.1....Reboot.... Enjoy
Start from scratch and you will be good to go.
Droidstyles is the man when it comes to guides!

Ok, so at what point do you personally wipe data/cache/dalvik? I flash to stock, flash CWM fixed, wipe all three, install THS build 2, reboot, wipe all three, flash ICS rom of choice, flash all three, install gapps 7.1, and reboot.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

usually before you flash a full rom:
Odin EH03
LET THE PHONE BOOT
pop battery
Odin CWM4 for CM7
[three finger salute]
Wipe the three
Flash THS 3
Let Phone boot, then reboot to recovery using the power button [DO NOT 3 finger!!!!]
Wipe the three
Flash THS 6 [or any of the others, you dont need to flash all three just which ever your end game is, i recommend THS 6 not 6.1 for starters]
*No need to wipe or reboot in between these two*
Flash Gapps 7.1
Then reboot and enjoy

Ok I'll give that sequence a shot. Thanks for your help everyone!

Well I don't know what it was but my phone is working flawlessly now. Thanks again everyone!

There is a thanks button for this...

Ah yes, I forgot about that

smokinbeanbean1992 said:
Ah yes, I forgot about that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure your issue came from wiping the 3 after you flashed ics.
Should go like this
after flashing build 2
Wipe the 3
Flash your choice ROM
Flash gapps
Reboot
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium

HELP! Odin and Heimdall won't work... Alternative to flash to stock?

First, let me get the formalities out of the way... long time lurker, first time poster. I hope you guys can help me out!
My GS4 semi-bricked while trying to restore my phone from LiquidSmooth ROM . My phone had no MAC address nor IP address after I flashed to LiquidSmooth, so I figured I needed to restore files I may have accidentally deleted.. The phone became stuck on the splash screen so I tried pulling the battery, going into recovery, and clearing cache/dalvik. No luck.
So then I tried to restore using a backup that I had made before flashing, but then it got stuck on the AT&T screen. Tried to clear cache/dalvik, but it didn't work. I thought maybe the back up didn't work because I was flashed into a different ROM, so I downloaded this stock rom by scrosier, and tried again... but to no avail.
Now I want to try flashing the phone back to stock, but I have a early 2008 MacBook running 10.7.5 (Lion). Odin is windows only, and Heimdall doesn't work on my version of OS X (keeps crashing the moment I open it). I thought maybe updating my MacBook to Mountain Lion (10.8) might work, but Mountain Lion is not supported on my Macbook, thus cannot update OS X... and I don't have access to a PC at this moment either.
Is my only option to go out and buy windows and install on bootcamp? Does anyone know if I could flash my phone back to stock using the computer I have now?
Sorry if my post didn't make any sense. I'm in a hurry and I want to fix my phone already! Thanks in advance
EDIT:
I have TWRP 2.5.0.3 on my phone

sebbo1 said:
First, let me get the formalities out of the way... long time lurker, first time poster. I hope you guys can help me out!
My GS4 semi-bricked while trying to restore my phone from LiquidSmooth ROM . My phone had no MAC address nor IP address after I flashed to LiquidSmooth, so I figured I needed to restore files I may have accidentally deleted.. The phone became stuck on the splash screen so I tried pulling the battery, going into recovery, and clearing cache/dalvik. No luck.
So then I tried to restore using a backup that I had made before flashing, but then it got stuck on the AT&T screen. Tried to clear cache/dalvik, but it didn't work. I thought maybe the back up didn't work because I was flashed into a different ROM, so I downloaded this stock rom by scrosier, and tried again... but to no avail.
Now I want to try flashing the phone back to stock, but I have a early 2008 MacBook running 10.7.5 (Lion). Odin is windows only, and Heimdall doesn't work on my version of OS X (keeps crashing the moment I open it). I thought maybe updating my MacBook to Mountain Lion (10.8) might work, but Mountain Lion is not supported on my Macbook, thus cannot update OS X... and I don't have access to a PC at this moment either.
Is my only option to go out and buy windows and install on bootcamp? Does anyone know if I could flash my phone back to stock using the computer I have now?
Sorry if my post didn't make any sense. I'm in a hurry and I want to fix my phone already! Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are able to access recovery then do this:
Put Liquid Smooth and its gapps on the external card using a card reader
Go into recovery, factory reset, wipe both caches, format /system, flash the rom and gapps, reboot

Colonel Sanders said:
If you are able to access recovery then do this:
Put Liquid Smooth and its gapps on the external card using a card reader
Go into recovery, factory reset, wipe both caches, format /system, flash the rom and gapps, reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually tried to reflash Liquid Smooth and wiped cache / factory reset, but once it reboots, a screen pops up that says "Android is updating" and updates 120 files. However, when it finishes, it gives me an error along the lines of "Unfortunately... something something," and instantly reboots. Then it hangs on the Liquid Smooth splash screen. Couldn't get a good look at what the message said because it happens so quickly.

sebbo1 said:
I actually tried to reflash Liquid Smooth and wiped cache / factory reset, but once it reboots, a screen pops up that says "Android is updating" and updates 120 files. However, when it finishes, it gives me an error along the lines of "Unfortunately... something something," and instantly reboots. Then it hangs on the Liquid Smooth splash screen. Couldn't get a good look at what the message said because it happens so quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then I suggest you flash a different ROM. Try out Slim. Liquid Smooth is just a Slim ripoff.
Put Slim and the Addons on the SD, and flash it like you would when changing ROMs. A clean wipe.

Colonel Sanders said:
Then I suggest you flash a different ROM. Try out Slim. Liquid Smooth is just a Slim ripoff.
Put Slim and the Addons on the SD, and flash it like you would when changing ROMs. A clean wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give that a shot. Do you recommend the new 4.3 Google Edition Slim Rom?

sebbo1 said:
I'll give that a shot. Do you recommend the new 4.3 Google Edition Slim Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not Slim, he just put Slim because it's slimmed down. I haven't personally tried it. I'm a tester for SlimRoms, so thats all I ever run. Test builds. It does look nice though, but it won't have near the customization of Slim.

Colonel Sanders said:
That's not Slim, he just put Slim because it's slimmed down. I haven't personally tried it. I'm a tester for SlimRoms, so thats all I ever run. Test builds. It does look nice though, but it won't have near the customization of Slim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about slimroms.net? If you are, which addons do I download?
EDIT: nevermind. I downloaded the AIO (all in one)

sebbo1 said:
Are you talking about slimroms.net? If you are, which addons do I download?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, slimroms.net
It just depends on whether or not you want all of the Google apps typically in a regular gapps pkg, or a stripped down version. I use the AIO_Addons, or you could get the Aroma, so you can pick and choose. The Slim_gapps is a stripped down version.

Colonel Sanders said:
Yes, slimroms.net
It just depends on whether or not you want all of the Google apps typically in a regular gapps pkg, or a stripped down version. I use the AIO_Addons, or you could get the Aroma, so you can pick and choose. The Slim_gapps is a stripped down version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One last question before I flash the rom. Is it loki'd? I don't see the answer on the website

sebbo1 said:
One last question before I flash the rom. Is it loki'd? I don't see the answer on the website
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time I flashed a weekly, it wasn't loki'd, but that was a while back. I'm running test builds from black_jck, and build my own sometimes. I mentioned it to him that the weekly wasn't loki'd but that was a while back, so I can't speak for them now. The official builds are. If you're going to flash the weekly, flash loki_doki just to be safe.

Colonel Sanders said:
Last time I flashed a weekly, it wasn't loki'd, but that was a while back. I'm running test builds from black_jck, and build my own sometimes. I mentioned it to him that the weekly wasn't loki'd but that was a while back, so I can't speak for them now. The official builds are. If you're going to flash the weekly, flash loki_doki just to be safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, so I flashed Slim and the AIO_addons, and rebooted the phone.
Once it was rebooting, the screen i mentioned earlier popped up, that said "Android is updating" and went through 109 files. When it was done, an error popped up quickly, saying that "Unfortunately..." and I couldn't read the rest before the phone rebooted. I let the screen hang for about 10 minutes, pulled the battery, cleared cache and dalvik, and rebooted again. No luck.
I think my best option now would be to return to stock, but I can't using my macbook. So my original question still stands.. How can I return to stock without using Odin and Heimdall?

sebbo1 said:
Alright, so I flashed Slim and the AIO_addons, and rebooted the phone.
Once it was rebooting, the screen i mentioned earlier popped up, that said "Android is updating" and went through 109 files. When it was done, an error popped up quickly, saying that "Unfortunately..." and I couldn't read the rest before the phone rebooted. I let the screen hang for about 10 minutes, pulled the battery, cleared cache and dalvik, and rebooted again. No luck.
I think my best option now would be to return to stock, but I can't using my macbook. So my original question still stands.. How can I return to stock without using Odin and Heimdall?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say so myself, Odin back to stock, but since you have a mac and I'm not sure if Heimdall support the S4 try this:
Factory Reset
Wipe Cache
Wipe Dalvik
Format /system
Format /data
Format /internal (If CWM-based recovery)
Flash ROM, addons, reboot

sebbo1 said:
Alright, so I flashed Slim and the AIO_addons, and rebooted the phone.
Once it was rebooting, the screen i mentioned earlier popped up, that said "Android is updating" and went through 109 files. When it was done, an error popped up quickly, saying that "Unfortunately..." and I couldn't read the rest before the phone rebooted. I let the screen hang for about 10 minutes, pulled the battery, cleared cache and dalvik, and rebooted again. No luck.
I think my best option now would be to return to stock, but I can't using my macbook. So my original question still stands.. How can I return to stock without using Odin and Heimdall?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to mention, the red LED light flashes every once in a while while on the Slim screen

sebbo1 said:
I forgot to mention, the red LED light flashes every once in a while while on the Slim screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means the battery is low... Charge it up some... Check your PM for my gmail if you need some help, posting back and forth can take a while.

Well thanks for all your help! Happy that my phone is working again without having to flash to stock.
Phone booted normally once I switched to SlimBean. Much snappier and responsive than LiquidSmooth. Fixed the problems I was having with WiFi also.
Still haven't figured out a way to flash to stock using OS X Lion since Heimdall doesn't work and Odin is Windows only... Mods please lock or close thread because I don't need help anymore

sebbo1 said:
Well thanks for all your help! Happy that my phone is working again without having to flash to stock.
Phone booted normally once I switched to SlimBean. Much snappier and responsive than LiquidSmooth. Fixed the problems I was having with WiFi also.
Still haven't figured out a way to flash to stock using OS X Lion since Heimdall doesn't work and Odin is Windows only... Mods please lock or close thread because I don't need help anymore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it going man, and enjoy Slim, it's hands down the best ROM there is if you prefer minimal with tons of customization options.

Need help, please!

Hi all,
Recently I've had a few troubles with flashing ROMS, to the point where I cant start my phone without it rebooting. I've been using CWM PhilZ 6.0.4.4, GT-I9505 and I did a full wipe everytime.
Originally I was on Omega 10 and decided to try out a new ROM (phone kept dying at 15% for some reason as well). Flashed PACman ROMs latest nightly and had some troubles getting past the set up as it froze every time, and when I tried rebooting it, it would simply not start. It was suggested to upgrade my recovery, so I did so from PhilZ CWM 3.0.3.3 to 3.0.4.4. Tried it again and it worked fine, but due to my own clumsiness I accidentally restored system data from Omega to PACman. Obviously it wouldn't start properly after that, reflashed again and was very careful to only restore apps (restored SMS as well as .xml). Everything was fine except a few bugs here and there, but then I rebooted it and it just wouldn't start.
After that I tried cyanogenmod, as I thought it would be more stable. Pretty much same thing happened, less bugs but when I tried rebooting it just wouldn't start.
Given up by this point, I tried reflashing Omega v10. It worked perfectly for a few hours, flashed the latest 3minit framework and ausdim kernel. The next day, my phone suddenly died at 42% and when I try to start it up it gets stuck at the Omega logo. Went into recovery, tried doing full wipe again and cant get past setup without it turning off. Furthermore, when I try to reflash, it just unpacks the zip but turns off randomly.
I'm not quite sure what to do next, I'm thinking it's my recovery not doing wipes properly since when I try to wipe dalvik it says "path not found", and if I try to reboot with recovery it says "root may have been lost, would you like to root?"
Sorry for the whole wall of text, just thought all the information would be better than not enough! If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated as I cant even access my phone currently
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

Battery
Williamharv said:
Hi all,
Recently I've had a few troubles with flashing ROMS, to the point where I cant start my phone without it rebooting. I've been using CWM PhilZ 6.0.4.4, GT-I9505 and I did a full wipe everytime.
Originally I was on Omega 10 and decided to try out a new ROM (phone kept dying at 15% for some reason as well). Flashed PACman ROMs latest nightly and had some troubles getting past the set up as it froze every time, and when I tried rebooting it, it would simply not start. It was suggested to upgrade my recovery, so I did so from PhilZ CWM 3.0.3.3 to 3.0.4.4. Tried it again and it worked fine, but due to my own clumsiness I accidentally restored system data from Omega to PACman. Obviously it wouldn't start properly after that, reflashed again and was very careful to only restore apps (restored SMS as well as .xml). Everything was fine except a few bugs here and there, but then I rebooted it and it just wouldn't start.
After that I tried cyanogenmod, as I thought it would be more stable. Pretty much same thing happened, less bugs but when I tried rebooting it just wouldn't start.
Given up by this point, I tried reflashing Omega v10. It worked perfectly for a few hours, flashed the latest 3minit framework and ausdim kernel. The next day, my phone suddenly died at 42% and when I try to start it up it gets stuck at the Omega logo. Went into recovery, tried doing full wipe again and cant get past setup without it turning off. Furthermore, when I try to reflash, it just unpacks the zip but turns off randomly.
I'm not quite sure what to do next, I'm thinking it's my recovery not doing wipes properly since when I try to wipe dalvik it says "path not found", and if I try to reboot with recovery it says "root may have been lost, would you like to root?"
Sorry for the whole wall of text, just thought all the information would be better than not enough! If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated as I cant even access my phone currently
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to me that you are having battery issues. You might need to get a replacement. If that doesn't work you could try flashing a pre-knox ROM though ODIN 3.04. This would mean starting from scratch, but it could be your solution.
Quick question. Are you downloading the ROMs with your phone or downloading them with your computer then moving them to your phone via usb? because it might be your pc's/usb fault.

I also think there's a problem with your battery, it might need to be replaced.

ebahena said:
Seems to me that you are having battery issues. You might need to get a replacement. If that doesn't work you could try flashing a pre-knox ROM though ODIN 3.04. This would mean starting from scratch, but it could be your solution.
Quick question. Are you downloading the ROMs with your phone or downloading them with your computer then moving them to your phone via usb? because it might be your pc's/usb fault.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply! Would the battery explain why my ROMS wouldn't start though? Such as how Omega got stuck at the logo. I will try using my friend's battery, or just keeping the phone on charge whilst doing it and see how that works.
Im sending them through Usb currently, is there any other way to get it on my phone as I can't turn it on to send it over wifi :/
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

Whenever you flash stock tar through Odin, the phone will restart by itself and wipe cache. After it does this, you should factory wipe and no more bootloop, or soft bricks. I would start from scratch if i were you. If you have working custom recovery installed., I would go in and do a format, not a wipe, but format the sdcard and restart into download mode and flash stock tar, cf auto root, and then flash a custom recovery. And then decide what rom to flash.

norml said:
Whenever you flash stock tar through Odin, the phone will restart by itself and wipe cache. After it does this, you should factory wipe and no more bootloop, or soft bricks. I would start from scratch if i were you. If you have working custom recovery installed., I would go in and do a format, not a wipe, but format the sdcard and restart into download mode and flash stock tar, cf auto root, and then flash a custom recovery. And then decide what rom to flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the reply i just got home so I'll try this soon, would it be risky though since my battery and/or cable may be damaged, meaning if it turns off during flashing stock, I'll get a hard brick?
Update: just reflashed Omega whilst it was on a charger and it actually worked.
Does this suggest that the battery is damaged?

Sounds to me like a definite battery problem.
Samsung recalled batteries with a serial number starting with BD. have a look and check your battery mate.
Also check it's not swollen
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app

Obagleyfreer said:
Sounds to me like a definite battery problem.
Samsung recalled batteries with a serial number starting with BD. have a look and check your battery mate.
Also check it's not swollen
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked my battery, it does start with BD, and it does appear to be somewhat swollen.. I haven't noticed it before :l Could I just return it to Samsung for a replacement, without going back to stock ROM? I'm currently in Australia, haven't really seen a Samsung support center anywhere nearby.
Update: got my hands on a new battery, everything seems to be working great now. Flashed paranoid android, no reboots or any other problems.
Thank you so much to everyone who helped

[Q] Help a noob, cannot boot after trying to flash stock rom

So I'm pretty desperate and I apologize if similar info was posted somewhere else. I've been researching several hours but couldn't find anything.
I originally installed CM11 and decided to experiment with a different rom TriForce ROM [TouchWiz]. I put the zip file on my SD card and booted into clockworkmod it gave an error of bad zip. I tried different usb port to transfer the zip, downloaded it multiple times with no result. So I decided to try a different rom Stock_Rooted_Deodexed_MF9_Rom.zip. The installation finished but the phone would not boot.
Recently I flashed the stock rom from odin, it finished successfully but still not boot, Galaxy sreen lights up quickly and that's it.

rmngorelov said:
So I'm pretty desperate and I apologize if similar info was posted somewhere else. I've been researching several hours but couldn't find anything.
I originally installed CM11 and decided to experiment with a different rom TriForce ROM [TouchWiz]. I put the zip file on my SD card and booted into clockworkmod it gave an error of bad zip. I tried different usb port to transfer the zip, downloaded it multiple times with no result. So I decided to try a different rom Stock_Rooted_Deodexed_MF9_Rom.zip. The installation finished but the phone would not boot.
Recently I flashed the stock rom from odin, it finished successfully but still not boot, Galaxy sreen lights up quickly and that's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Restore from nandroid backup. I hope you made one. Try going into recovery do a factory reset and wipe all cache and data and what not and then install a ROM from Odin.

rmngorelov said:
So I'm pretty desperate and I apologize if similar info was posted somewhere else. I've been researching several hours but couldn't find anything.
I originally installed CM11 and decided to experiment with a different rom TriForce ROM [TouchWiz]. I put the zip file on my SD card and booted into clockworkmod it gave an error of bad zip. I tried different usb port to transfer the zip, downloaded it multiple times with no result. So I decided to try a different rom Stock_Rooted_Deodexed_MF9_Rom.zip. The installation finished but the phone would not boot.
Recently I flashed the stock rom from odin, it finished successfully but still not boot, Galaxy sreen lights up quickly and that's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you're using roms for your version of your phone. the MF9 bootloader is really old and probably wont install anymore. My phone did this before and I thought I bricked it, but I kid you not I took the battery out and removed the SIM card and rebooted and it booted up just fine. May not work for you, but I suggest you go back to update stock firmware then try again. If you're using the triband model, there's a post around here somewhere with confirmed roms that wont brick your device. I'm currently using the Google Play Edition Stock ROM and it's working GREAT.
Link for new firmware (NG5 Firmware): https://mega.co.nz/#F!0JdRkIZR!AqqKdbvba_Hpg5VrCmrbPw

i7vSa7vi7y said:
Restore from nandroid backup. I hope you made one. Try going into recovery do a factory reset and wipe all cache and data and what not and then install a ROM from Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I restored to this stock ROM before and everything worked well. Currently I can't boot into recovery, Samsung flashes once and that's it, that's why I'm desperate the only thing I can do is boot in to download mode for odin.

silentdeath631 said:
Make sure you're using roms for your version of your phone. the MF9 bootloader is really old and probably wont install anymore. My phone did this before and I thought I bricked it, but I kid you not I took the battery out and removed the SIM card and rebooted and it booted up just fine. May not work for you, but I suggest you go back to update stock firmware then try again. If you're using the triband model, there's a post around here somewhere with confirmed roms that wont brick your device. I'm currently using the Google Play Edition Stock ROM and it's working GREAT.
Link for new firmware (NG5 Firmware):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it matter that I can't get into recovery to clear the cache first before trying new roms?

silentdeath631 said:
Make sure you're using roms for your version of your phone. the MF9 bootloader is really old and probably wont install anymore. My phone did this before and I thought I bricked it, but I kid you not I took the battery out and removed the SIM card and rebooted and it booted up just fine. May not work for you, but I suggest you go back to update stock firmware then try again. If you're using the triband model, there's a post around here somewhere with confirmed roms that wont brick your device. I'm currently using the Google Play Edition Stock ROM and it's working GREAT.
Link for new firmware (NG5 Firmware):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'm doing something foolish but every time I try to download files from the link you gave I get a decryption error so I can't download them zip or original.

rmngorelov said:
I restored to this stock ROM before and everything worked well. Currently I can't boot into recovery, Samsung flashes once and that's it, that's why I'm desperate the only thing I can do is boot in to download mode for odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just hold home power and volume up. Right when you see text at the top left let go. You have to have the right timing

i7vSa7vi7y said:
Just hold home power and volume up. Right when you see text at the top left let go. You have to have the right timing
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Click to collapse
After almost eight hours of troubleshooting I finally got it to work.
I've tried flashing clockworkmod several times to see if I could get into recovery with no result so I gave up on that and I flashed the newest stock rom I could find L720VPUFNG2_L720SPTFNG2_SPR and it was still not booting. Than I thought maybe twerp would make a difference and god almighty it finally booted! I felt as if I gave birth to a child after eight hours of labor!
Now I'm extremely paranoid about touching anything because it took me forever to do this. Does anyone know why flashing twerp would make such a difference? I know this sort of stuff can get extremely complicated but I'd like to try to understand.
I hope my foolish agony contributed to this community if not in any other way except by the comedic relief caused by my ignorance.

rmngorelov said:
After almost eight hours of troubleshooting I finally got it to work.
I've tried flashing clockworkmod several times to see if I could get into recovery with no result so I gave up on that and I flashed the newest stock rom I could find L720VPUFNG2_L720SPTFNG2_SPR and it was still not booting. Than I thought maybe twerp would make a difference and god almighty it finally booted! I felt as if I gave birth to a child after eight hours of labor!
Now I'm extremely paranoid about touching anything because it took me forever to do this. Does anyone know why flashing twerp would make such a difference? I know this sort of stuff can get extremely complicated but I'd like to try to understand.
I hope my foolish agony contributed to this community if not in any other way except by the comedic relief caused by my ignorance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends what recovery you had and what version. I personally like Philz touch recovery but TWRP is good. Now wipe and flash a ROM my friend or restore a backup

rmngorelov said:
After almost eight hours of troubleshooting I finally got it to work.
I've tried flashing clockworkmod several times to see if I could get into recovery with no result so I gave up on that and I flashed the newest stock rom I could find L720VPUFNG2_L720SPTFNG2_SPR and it was still not booting. Than I thought maybe twerp would make a difference and god almighty it finally booted! I felt as if I gave birth to a child after eight hours of labor!
Now I'm extremely paranoid about touching anything because it took me forever to do this. Does anyone know why flashing twerp would make such a difference? I know this sort of stuff can get extremely complicated but I'd like to try to understand.
I hope my foolish agony contributed to this community if not in any other way except by the comedic relief caused by my ignorance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im having similar issues. which version of TWRP worked for you?
thank you

fearthemarchx said:
im having similar issues. which version of TWRP worked for you?
thank you
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Click to collapse
I recommend flashing the newest one here using odin
http://teamw.in/project/twrp2
Then once you are able to boot into recovery go to wipe and perform both factory reset and format data. Then install whatever rom you like, I used Sprint Galaxy S4 SPH-L720 VPUFNAE (Androdi 4.4.2) found here
http://galaxys4root.com/galaxy-s4-stock-firmware/ (or maybe find a newer stock rom if this one gives you errors)
Just copy the zip file to the phone, boot into twrp, do wipe factory reset again, select install then select the zip in whatever directory and you should be good to go. Make sure you do a back up in twrp once you get the phone to boot so you can always revert to stock.
I hope I was thorough enough that some of the information was useful. Let me know if you need any more help.

only certain recoveries will stick. ive tried the most recent twrp, with no luck. only a few versions of philztouch work.
Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app

fearthemarchx said:
only certain recoveries will stick. ive tried the most recent twrp, with no luck. only a few versions of philztouch work.
Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Format with philztouch that works then try flashing a new stock rom with odin. That should bring everything back to stock including the recovery.

ive tried. when i flash rom via odin i only get a blue "recovery booting" at the top of boot screen. even when i only power on, not into recovery. im going to attempt to flash rom provided in previous post via philz.
Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app

fearthemarchx said:
ive tried. when i flash rom via odin i only get a blue "recovery booting" at the top of boot screen. even when i only power on, not into recovery. im going to attempt to flash rom provided in previous post via philz.
Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're in download mode when you flash from odin right? If you your getting an error flashing, try a different stock rom after reformating/resetting to factory (it's crucial to clear the cache before trying a different rom). I had to try a few roms before I found one that worked.

[Q] Can't flash any lollipop ROM

having problems flashing a lollipop ROM. Ive never had any problems like these in the past, all other upgrades have gone smoothly
I am running into two problems. Either I will get stuck staring at a boot animation which never goes away, or I actually get through and all Google services go crazy and force close, with the google first time setup repeatedly trying to start and force closing itself so it is impossible to do anything on the phone.
The best I have done so far is flash a ROM without Gapps, but then for some reason I was not able to download any apks so there was no way to get the Play store on the phone.
If anyone could help me I'd appreciate it

brettzz said:
having problems flashing a lollipop ROM. Ive never had any problems like these in the past, all other upgrades have gone smoothly
I am running into two problems. Either I will get stuck staring at a boot animation which never goes away, or I actually get through and all Google services go crazy and force close, with the google first time setup repeatedly trying to start and force closing itself so it is impossible to do anything on the phone.
The best I have done so far is flash a ROM without Gapps, but then for some reason I was not able to download any apks so there was no way to get the Play store on the phone.
If anyone could help me I'd appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under exact same position. downloaded 2-3 lollipop rom, different size of gapps from diff sites same place.
solution is to flash factory image and everything works. now I am waiting for 5.1 OTA update and later try again few roms.
So best flash factory image as of now.

just as an update I tried a different kitkat rom and it went smoothly
not sure why lollipop is not working, one difference is when I reboot from recovery after flashing lollipop it tells me root may have been lost, and I get an option for 'yes, fix root' and it reboots.. when flashing kitkat didnt see that message it just rebooted

brettzz said:
just as an update I tried a different kitkat rom and it went smoothly
not sure why lollipop is not working, one difference is when I reboot from recovery after flashing lollipop it tells me root may have been lost, and I get an option for 'yes, fix root' and it reboots.. when flashing kitkat didnt see that message it just rebooted
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Click to collapse
What recovery and version are you using. You may have to update your recovery.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

jd1639 said:
What recovery and version are you using. You may have to update your recovery.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
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hm looks like I was on a slightly outdated one I have updated and will see if this works now

brettzz said:
hm looks like I was on a slightly outdated one I have updated and will see if this works now
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aha that did it
thank you very much!