Flashed a T-mobile rom - Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So using safe strap, I successfully flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2468083 From the T-mobile thread. The Phone fired up, the only thing I havent gotten to work yet is WIFI.
Now Kies is recognizing the phone as a T-mobile phone.
Does that mean i can use Kies to flash the T-mobile Bootloader on it, and make it a T-mobile phone with unlocked bootloader ?
Or will this result in a complete Hard brick ?

jmichaels1982 said:
So using safe strap, I successfully flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2468083 From the T-mobile thread. The Phone fired up, the only thing I havent gotten to work yet is WIFI.
Now Kies is recognizing the phone as a T-mobile phone.
Does that mean i can use Kies to flash the T-mobile Bootloader on it, and make it a T-mobile phone with unlocked bootloader ?
Or will this result in a complete Hard brick ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies talks to the O/S (at first, at least), not the bootloader - so that is why it thinks the phone is a T-Mobile version. It probably does not even check the bootloader version.
Note that the way Safestrap works, flashing of a kernel appears to work, but only because Safestrap has replaced the /dev/block/mmc* filesystem entry that normally points to the (flash memory) boot partition with a symbolic link to the null device (/dev/null); so /system (the "ROM") gets flashed, but the the flashing of the kernel never actually happens - that data is literally thrown away (the Verizon kernel is left untouched). That's the way Safestrap is supposed to behave ... so that ROM devs don't need to prepare a normal ROM and also a "Safestrap Version". The kernels get thrown away when using Safestrap even though the recovery will shown them as having been flashed.
So, what you have now on your phone is T-Mobile /system + VZW kernel (boot). That's probably why WiFi isn't working (for instance if WiFi was implemented as a loadable kernel module in the T-Mobile case ... kernel modules can only rarely be interchanged between different kernels.)
I do not believe it is safe to believe that because Kies sees "T-Mobile" that you have found a gateway for converting a SM-N900V into a SM-N900T.
iirc, the partitioning layout is different between the VZW version and the Tmo version; since even a full Odin flash does not replace all the original partitions (efs and others), I'm pretty skeptical that what you suggest will work the way you want it to. I don't think Kies ever does re-partitioning (not to mention that neither Kies nor Odin can replace information that doesn't exist in the flash imaging files).
What you are suggesting is completely uncharted territory; if you take the plunge I think you should assume that it is at least as likely that you will have a hard brick as any other possible alternative... ... and that a hard-brick outcome is probably the most likely.
If you are feeling bold with your money, take all the usual precautions - in addition to backing up all your files do a
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=8192 count=256000 of=/sdcard/200mb_mmcblk0_dump.bin
on the off chance that a "SD card unbricking" method would work. (afaik, that method has not been reported to work successfully on a SM-N900V to date).
.

Thank you
bftb0 said:
Kies talks to the O/S (at first, at least), not the bootloader - so that is why it thinks the phone is a T-Mobile version. It probably does not even check the bootloader version.
Note that the way Safestrap works, flashing of a kernel appears to work, but only because Safestrap has replaced the /dev/block/mmc* filesystem entry that normally points to the (flash memory) boot partition with a symbolic link to the null device (/dev/null); so /system (the "ROM") gets flashed, but the the flashing of the kernel never actually happens - that data is literally thrown away (the Verizon kernel is left untouched). That's the way Safestrap is supposed to behave ... so that ROM devs don't need to prepare a normal ROM and also a "Safestrap Version". The kernels get thrown away when using Safestrap even though the recovery will shown them as having been flashed.
So, what you have now on your phone is T-Mobile /system + VZW kernel (boot). That's probably why WiFi isn't working (for instance if WiFi was implemented as a loadable kernel module in the T-Mobile case ... kernel modules can only rarely be interchanged between different kernels.)
I do not believe it is safe to believe that because Kies sees "T-Mobile" that you have found a gateway for converting a SM-N900V into a SM-N900T.
iirc, the partitioning layout is different between the VZW version and the Tmo version; since even a full Odin flash does not replace all the original partitions (efs and others), I'm pretty skeptical that what you suggest will work the way you want it to. I don't think Kies ever does re-partitioning (not to mention that neither Kies nor Odin can replace information that doesn't exist in the flash imaging files).
What you are suggesting is completely uncharted territory; if you take the plunge I think you should assume that it is at least as likely that you will have a hard brick as any other possible alternative... ... and that a hard-brick outcome is probably the most likely.
If you are feeling bold with your money, take all the usual precautions - in addition to backing up all your files do a
# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=8192 count=256000 of=/sdcard/200mb_mmcblk0_dump.bin
on the off chance that a "SD card unbricking" method would work. (afaik, that method has not been reported to work successfully on a SM-N900V to date).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your very thorough & patient explanation. I used to have a DEV ED. phone, and used Kies on it, that resulted in flashing retail edition bootloader on mine & locked the phone up. It no longer says Developer mode on the phone.
I finally got through to Samsung, and for now they have agreed to re-flash it with Developer Edition bootloader after a lot of talk.
But as it stands I have no warranty on the phone, so I cant attempt it.
The idea came to me when I used Kies and it converted my Dev Edition to Retain edition.
I did know that safe strap will not flash the kernel, but I also do know that T-mobile kernels are compatible with Verizons. So I was looking for T-mobile rom that has no Aroma in it, because I am thinking about joining t-mobile.
With a locked bootloader, i figured as long as the rom does not have Aroma in it, every thing should work and boot up, and i was right, except for the wifi thing.
Didnt know all the technical details though, so thank you for shedding light. I did lose my efs partition many times when my phone was DEV ED, but lucky I used TWRP to back up my efs, so I restored it, and it fired right up. It saved me from many bootloops, but your point did remind me, that odin does not restore efs, I think.
Not sure how kies is any different than odin.
Thanks again !
EDIT: NVM about wifi not working, I flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588075 and now everything works, just waiting on my SIM to see if wifi calling and T-mobile data will work.

@jmichaels1982
Hey I mis-spoke ... sort of ... about the partitioning difference between the T-mobile (SM-N900T) and the VZW variant (SM-N900V). I wasn't absolutely sure, and saw a thread where someone said "I thought they were the same", so I did a little checking around.
I went over into the T-Mobile forum and found a thread where someone was providing a big "SD card unbrick image" for that phone (SM-N900T). The front end of that thing contains the partition table for the SM-N900T, so I compared it to the partition table in my (VZW SM-N900V) phone (using "gdisk" on linux - it will report the partition table from the primary GPT even though the secondary GPT is missing. You only need about 33 512-byte blocks from the beginning of the device /dev/block/mmcblk0 to get this info.)
Turns out that all the low level stuff - partitions 1 through 22 - have the exact partitioning on the Tmobile phone as on the VZW phone. (But that is no guarantee of identical contents of course). But the last three partitions are different, starting with the /system partition. The /system partition is a different size (even though it starts at the same LBA/sector offset), and the /cache and /data partitions are not only different sizes but start at different LBA block offsets, as well.
Code:
$ diff vzwpart.txt tmopart.txt | more
1c1
< Disk vzw-GPT.img: 8192 sectors, 4.0 MiB
---
> Disk Tmo-GPT.img: 8192 sectors, 4.0 MiB
[color=green]Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name[/color]
32,34c32,34
< 23 376832 5931007 2.6 GiB 8300 system
< 24 5931008 8028159 1024.0 MiB 8300 cache
< 25 8028160 61071326 25.3 GiB 8300 userdata
---
> 23 376832 5414911 2.4 GiB 8300 system
> 24 5414912 6438911 500.0 MiB 8300 cache
> 25 6438912 61071326 26.1 GiB 8300 userdata
So, this is where it gets a little interesting. The stuff which is sized identically in the device parititioning is all the low-level stuff (apnhlos, modem, sbl1, dbi, ddr, aboot, rpm, tz, pad, param, efs, modemst1, modemst2, boot, recovery, fota, backup, fsg, fsc, ssd, persist, persdata).
If it were possible to do what you suggested - flash the low-level Tmobile bootloader without completely bricking the phone - then the phone would not boot to the OS correctly, but it might be able to take a re-partitioning operation in Odin and actually repartition the device with the T-mobile layout. I don't know if the Kies images are the same as the Odin images - it is possible that Kies never performs PIT re-partitioning.
Still, this is highly highly speculative. And again it is worth nothing that full Odin flashes don't provide data for any of the partitions highlighted in red above. So all sorts of stuff could go wrong.
I think you are to be congratulated if you are able to get Sammy to re-flash your DE phone. That's an achievement given Samsung's DE support policy, which appears to be "none whatsoever". And it is certainly likely to be much safer than what is discussed above.
Just out of curiousity, do you remember what it was that happened to you in the past that bolluxed up your EFS partition?
cheers

That was very interesting. I'm hoping the story will complete.
SM-N900V DE

jmichaels1982 said:
Thank you for your very thorough & patient explanation. I used to have a DEV ED. phone, and used Kies on it, that resulted in flashing retail edition bootloader on mine & locked the phone up. It no longer says Developer mode on the phone.
I finally got through to Samsung, and for now they have agreed to re-flash it with Developer Edition bootloader after a lot of talk.
But as it stands I have no warranty on the phone, so I cant attempt it.
The idea came to me when I used Kies and it converted my Dev Edition to Retain edition.
I did know that safe strap will not flash the kernel, but I also do know that T-mobile kernels are compatible with Verizons. So I was looking for T-mobile rom that has no Aroma in it, because I am thinking about joining t-mobile.
With a locked bootloader, i figured as long as the rom does not have Aroma in it, every thing should work and boot up, and i was right, except for the wifi thing.
Didnt know all the technical details though, so thank you for shedding light. I did lose my efs partition many times when my phone was DEV ED, but lucky I used TWRP to back up my efs, so I restored it, and it fired right up. It saved me from many bootloops, but your point did remind me, that odin does not restore efs, I think.
Not sure how kies is any different than odin.
Thanks again !
EDIT: NVM about wifi not working, I flashed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588075 and now everything works, just waiting on my SIM to see if wifi calling and T-mobile data will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using a Verizon Note 3 (retail version) and I am using it on Tmobile network. I would love to have a working tmobile rom on my note3 (wit hwifi calling).
Any reason why you didn't try 4.4.2 version of tmobile rom? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2468083
From tweaked, which zip file did you flash?
One more thing, did you change the updater-script from the Tmobile rom?
If you share you steps (noob version) I will follow them and report back asap.
Thanks

Related

Help me port CWM Recovery to my tab! VZW SCH-I705

Hi all,
I've got a VZW G Tab 2 7.0 Got it rooted and now looking to port CWM over to it.
I found This guide to port cwm, however he states it won't work for Samsung devices. I also attempted using the Recovery Builder with no luck. It wouldn't boot into CWM at all.
My question is.. can somebody give me some tips on how to port CWM to my tab? I've got some experience with programming/scripting/linux, but no idea where to start!
Thanks in advance
That guide is old, so it should work for Samsung devices now. Back in the days of the original SGS phones, it didn't due to a different recovery/kernel setup. If you can pull the boot.img and recovery.img from the tablet, it should be relatively easy to get it to work. Seeing as people have rooted the I705, that should be easy enough to do.
Ah ok that's good to know. I have already pulled all of the stock partitions for my own keepsake. I'll do what I can. Thanks man.
Well I followed the guide to exactly and got a recovery.img.. same result as I had using the 'builder'. The device reboots, little blue words saying 'recovery booting'. Screen goes black, then lights up with black background, flashes once, then reboots normally.
recovery.fstab has the correct values for this tab.
Code:
/boot emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
/system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p14
/data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15 length=-16384
/cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p17
/recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p18
/sdcard vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /dev/block/mmcblk1
/efs ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
/modem emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
Would a locked bootloader prevent a CWM from booting? How would I tell if it is? In 'download mode', in the top left corner it says the following:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SCH-I705
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Official
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: Enabled
Then in the middle of the screen it says 'Downloading.. do not turn off...'
Don't know if this means the BL is locked or not, though.
My recovery.img download
If anyone want's me to post any more info let me know.
EDIT: What else needs to be done to build a successful recovery? I hardly think it's as easy as it is in the guide.. though I could be wrong.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=31671148&postcount=21 No feedback? Fail?
ketut.kumajaya said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=31671148&postcount=21 No feedback? Fail?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't notice that! I stopped following since It seemed the others did as well. Yes... fail. I'll check that out.
I'd like to know more about the process, though. So my questions still stand
I have my own scripts to unpack and repack boot.img or recovery.img using unpackbootimg and mkbootfs tools. What I've done:
1. Unpack yours stock recovery
2. Add CWM's /res/keys contents to yours recovery /res/keys
3. Repack the recovery
Code:
$ unpackbootimg.sh recovery.img
Edit /res/keys
Code:
$ repackbootimg.sh recovery.img
I'm getting the same reboot issue after trying to access recovery using yours. :/
If the SGS3 for Verizon is any indication, it may very well be that the Verizon GTab2 has a locked bootloader, which doesnt allow unsigned recovery images. You were doing the right steps to test though.
Here is my suggestion (I don't own this tablet, but im trying to see if I can help you out)
First, Use the image you built using recovery builder
open odin
uncheck "Auto Reboot"
Flash your Recovery Image
Make sure it didnt say "Failed" under Message, if it did, its probably locked. If not, read on
At this point, close Odin, but leave your tab attached to the PC
Hold down the power button until you get the "battery charging" image
Unplug from the PC
Hold Volume Up + Power until the first Samsung Splash appears then let go
See if CWM loads
Once you exit, CWM SHOULD tell you that ROM will overwrite it, if you want to fix that, pick Yes
You now have CWM (crossing fingers)
report back and let me know
It failed.. so I'm assuming it is locked then..
MrHyde03 said:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SCH-I705
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: NO
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Official
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: Enabled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used a Qualcomm chipped device, but I'm going to guess that the above highlighted part is your issue. Until that says "Disabled" you get to have fun with whatever VZW gives you and nothing more.
Well my gs3 says that also and i have the bootloader unlocked. Both devices show it greyed out.
Being that its Verizon I will go ahead and say its locked. That means unless someone finds an exploit you won't get a custom.recovery to work.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium
Yeah... that's what I was afraid of.. had high hopes though! I may never be able to crack it myself... but I'm not gonna give up. Besides, gotta learn somewhere so what better place to start. I'll probably start off by studying the gs3 unlock... seems sensible. Anyone have some tips for a noob 'developer'?
MrHyde03 said:
Yeah... that's what I was afraid of.. had high hopes though! I may never be able to crack it myself... but I'm not gonna give up. Besides, gotta learn somewhere so what better place to start. I'll probably start off by studying the gs3 unlock... seems sensible. Anyone have some tips for a noob 'developer'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't know where to start, I wouldn't start with the bootloader. Also, the best person to talk to would probably be Adam Outler. As far as I know, the unlocked VZW SGS3 is because they got lucky and someone sent them, or someone found, an unlocked bootloader that could be flashed to the device.
I was reading through the original s3 bootloader thread and they were saying that even with the bootloader locked, you would still be able to load a recovery and flash TW roms etc. /boot is encrypted and /recovery is not. That still prevents ODIN flashes, but not using dd from ADB. If this device is anything like the s3 (which so far as I, it is) than the same *should* apply here.
Most of the attempts I've had were from ADB using dd. Any truth to this? I don't care to have custom kernels or even CM10. Just would like to make backups and I'd like to get started with ROM development.
I kinda believe my recovery is NOT encrypted/locked because if it was I'd assume I'd get that nasty VZW Warning screen which I don't.. thus I should be able to load custom recoveries.
You still would need an exploit in order to even attempt a custom recovery. Pretty much anything out of Verizon will be locked even the sgs3 needed an exploit in order to load recovery I be leave. Your best bet as mentioned before would be to contact one of the experienced devs to see if they can help.
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda premium
I don't think there needs to be an exploit for recovery. I've been reading up on all the original dev on that device and there were recoveries before it was unlocked.
I tryed these steps. Now I have a brink device that won't even turn on at all.. I have tryed everything I can.. Does anyone have any clues how to get this thing back up and running..
What steps? This isnt a tutorial and there currently isnt a working recovery for this tab.
Im currently compiling another one with some modifications. We'll see..
Sent from my SCH-i705 using xda app-developers app

Just a warning

I have had my Maxx HD since launch and unlocked very soon after it became available,
Recently I downgraded from the last OTA with matgroffs 1.21 utility and enjoyed a wonderful clean slate experience but after a while (today) I went for the OTA to get prepared for KK coming soon hopefully, the install failed entirely and my bootloader is now back in a locked state the phone is stuck in fastboot and will not take a flash from any utility on here, 1.21, 1.3x 2.0 ext including rsd lite.(RSD will not even detect the phone)
Ive tried the utilities on Mac and Windows 7, nothing has worked so I broke down and called verizon and ordered a recertified razr HD for a discounted price.
So just a warning there is a way the bootloader can get relocked. will take a picture and load soon to show the screen of the phone incase someone can help. Just a side note my vibrate motor failed and I have been having 4g radio problems before I went back on matgroffs utility.
You tried house of moto to fastboot flash 98.30.1? Sux they found a way to relock them...
Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
This only shows up when you get the GPT error. It will still be unlocked once you get this restored. This came up when the OTA was released. A few people with unlocked BL had this GPT error. There's a fix somewhere around here, just search for the error.
RikRong said:
This only shows up when you get the GPT error. It will still be unlocked once you get this restored. This came up when the OTA was released. A few people with unlocked BL had this GPT error. There's a fix somewhere around here, just search for the error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@AndroidGreg
There's a line in the fastboot xml file with gpt_main0.bin (somithing really similar to that, been a while since I flashed it...) and all that's necessary is removing that line and flashing the fastboot with rsd, or just manually flash the fastboot skipping that partition, either or will work and fix the problem. Even though the bootloader is unlocked, that particular partition IS still controlled by securtiy and is blocked from downgrading -- luckily for us the partition table never changed between rom versions so it's perfectly safe to flash or not to flash it.
I've never flashed with RSD, but IIRC, there's also two more lines in the fastboot's xml that need to be removed for it to properly flash. I've only flashed my phone with moto-fastboot from linux and used MythTools from windows -- MythTools is an interactive script for the Atrix HD to flash stock fastboots, root, unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery, boot logos, and soon different radios -- Similar to Mattlgroff's tool.
The Atrix HD has the exact same issue with that partition.
download the sbf file from http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=5
install these drivers https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481/action/auth
connect the phone in fastboot mode.
now extract the "fastboot_rsd.zip " to a folder.
extract the contents of the downloaded sbf/xml file into the fastboot_rsd.zip folder
execute "flash_fastboot_erase_userdata"
worth a shot.
always works for me..
good luck.
RSD does not detect the phone at all, only the quick utilities did and they failed. Verizon overnighted my new phone and its here already, not unlockable im just gona root and keep it for a while till I switch to strait talk with the nexus 5, I cant afford $100 a month anymore anyway.
First off, thanks to the OP for posting this. This was exactly my thought on getting the KK update when it arrived then building phone back up with the mods and apps I have currently - flash back using 1.21, update, use TiBu to reinstall everything. Sux to see that didn't work, but thank you for posting the warning to others.
Not that I'm hoping to see others attempt this and fail or somewhat ruin their phone, but has anyone else had this experience? Anyone verify this method isn't possible to keep unlocked bootloader and a fully working device?
If not possible, hopefully someone will build a flashable version of the OTA KK update when it FINALLY arrives. I'm way too unstock for the update to work OTA, that's a fact.
LifeAsADroid said:
First off, thanks to the OP for posting this. This was exactly my thought on getting the KK update when it arrived then building phone back up with the mods and apps I have currently - flash back using 1.21, update, use TiBu to reinstall everything. Sux to see that didn't work, but thank you for posting the warning to others.
Not that I'm hoping to see others attempt this and fail or somewhat ruin their phone, but has anyone else had this experience? Anyone verify this method isn't possible to keep unlocked bootloader and a fully working device?
If not possible, hopefully someone will build a flashable version of the OTA KK update when it FINALLY arrives. I'm way too unstock for the update to work OTA, that's a fact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It only shows that his BL is locked because of the GPT error. I can assure you it is still unlocked. Many, many people updated and we still have unlocked BLs. Heck, I've flashed the latest OTA on my M and HD with RSD and am still good. He just needs to fix the error, but he have up and got another phone.
RikRong said:
It only shows that his BL is locked because of the GPT error. I can assure you it is still unlocked. Many, many people updated and we still have unlocked BLs. Heck, I've flashed the latest OTA on my M and HD with RSD and am still good. He just needs to fix the error, but he have up and got another phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. The Atrix HD gives us this error if we flashed the stock Mexican firmware (our latest) and try to flash anything below it, or the Bell firmware (2nd newest) and anything below that, and so on and so forth. All that's necessary is to remove the gpt flashing line and go again....just like we have to remove the oem lines from the fastboot xml.
First time I had that error, I went WTF (the first flash after unlocking my bootloader if ya'll's curious), knew that GPT is a partition table from grub experience, figured that the partition table has never changed since stock ICS roms, removed the GPT line, flashed ICS, and I was happy.
I'd love to be able to combine all the data, system, cache, and any other partition that don't need a fixed place (like modem, etc) and be able to use ZFS or BTRFS volumes to maximize the amount of storage we can have -- I've always wondered why they don't do something like that already...
Ok 3 computers 1 xp and 2 windows 7, nothing, mac nothing, even made a factory cable because the battery just got to low, nothing, no computer will detect it, using any of the 3 motorola branded usb cables plugged directly into the laptops. Now the utilities from matgroff and the other guy (cant think of his name but he made the 2.0 utility) will not even try to flash the phone they say please plug a phone in that is in fastboot mode, I
Serious question, but have you tried Linux? My old Bravo wasn't detected by Windows (XP or 7, been 2 years now) after a bad RSD flash, but I was able to manually flash it from Linux (either Manjaro or Debian Testing). After that, to this day it'll flash with RSD, but it isn't detected properly. I still flash it, and almost everything else, from Linux because I don't trust flashing from Windows anymore. I made an exception recently to help with a tool and because my Linux partition was down for a month.
LifeAsADroid said:
First off, thanks to the OP for posting this. This was exactly my thought on getting the KK update when it arrived then building phone back up with the mods and apps I have currently - flash back using 1.21, update, use TiBu to reinstall everything. Sux to see that didn't work, but thank you for posting the warning to others.
Not that I'm hoping to see others attempt this and fail or somewhat ruin their phone, but has anyone else had this experience? Anyone verify this method isn't possible to keep unlocked bootloader and a fully working device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried doing the exact same thing as the OP - factory reset to "stock" and then flash back up in preparation for KK, after using TiBu to save everything and using SafeStrap to make a Nandroid (very thankful I did). I ended up with the identical screen that the OP had, even stating that my previously unlocked BL had been apparently "relocked." For me, RSD Lite did recognize my phone (I updated RSD to the latest version beforehand), however it would not flash anything for me (the flashing process would start and then immediately say "failed").
See my post for the details and the solution I used: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2674431.
I was completely freaked out for a couple of hours until I stumbled upon bweN diorD's GPT partition fix. And then everything was fine for me.
Hope this helps anyone who falls into the same trap.
AndroidGreg said:
I have had my Maxx HD since launch and unlocked very soon after it became available,
Recently I downgraded from the last OTA with matgroffs 1.21 utility and enjoyed a wonderful clean slate experience but after a while (today) I went for the OTA to get prepared for KK coming soon hopefully, the install failed entirely and my bootloader is now back in a locked state the phone is stuck in fastboot and will not take a flash from any utility on here, 1.21, 1.3x 2.0 ext including rsd lite.(RSD will not even detect the phone)
Ive tried the utilities on Mac and Windows 7, nothing has worked so I broke down and called verizon and ordered a recertified razr HD for a discounted price.
So just a warning there is a way the bootloader can get relocked. will take a picture and load soon to show the screen of the phone incase someone can help. Just a side note my vibrate motor failed and I have been having 4g radio problems before I went back on matgroffs utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this same problem when i tried to go back to stock a while back. You need to flash the gpt_main0.bin file to fix it. Here are the steps I used to fix the problem: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47716278&postcount=57
Another user took my steps and edited a script so give this a shot if you want to run something thats automatic: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48587194&postcount=89
scoobaspeaz said:
I had this same problem when i tried to go back to stock a while back. You need to flash the gpt_main0.bin file to fix it. Here are the steps I used to fix the problem: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47716278&postcount=57
Another user took my steps and edited a script so give this a shot if you want to run something thats automatic: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48587194&postcount=89
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@AndroidGreg, do you still have the phone?
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

[Noob friendly] Basics about the G2 (bootloader, rom, etc.)

Some basics - About bootloader, kernel, recovery, rom, /system and some other partitions.
There are many noobs out there and sometimes even I am one. Two days ago @Closed Force asked me, where I know my stuff from and why things are like they are... So I finally decided to write this little guide about how Android devices basically work and what are the special things about our G2.
If you find wrong facts or any other mistakes (grammatical, language, contentwise), please bear with me. That's how I read it in the forums. And of course not everything written on XDA is correct. So please tell me by PM, or by posting in this thread if you have additions, corrections or any other concerns about this OP.
Where I got to know all this stuff? Reading, reading, reading. I first started modding my old HTC desire like 4 years ago. Since then and even before I'm reading. Mainly here on XDA but also on some german forums and wikis. It might have taken me easily 200 hours or more. So the only way to learn for a newbie (and everyone else too) is reading.
Personally I own a D802 variant. I know about some things that were different in details for the US variants, but things should be right as they are.
Finally thanks to
@d00lz for some extra research/additions and a quick read through.
@Art Vanderlay for some additions.
So let's get started:
When you press the power button, your device will load the Bootloader. The Bootloader afterwards wil load either the Recovery Image (recovery.img), the Kernel (boot.img) or the Download Mode Bootloader (laf.img), depending on the keys you press. At the moment there are three different bootloaders; The Jellybean one, the KitKat one, and the new Lollipop one. Not one of these Bootloaders can be unlocked yet, so there are workarounds which allow us to boot custom ROMs (specifically Kernels, but more about that later) and custom Recoverys. At the beginning there was the Jellybean Bootloader. The Developers (sorry, I don't know which ones) found out how to get around the locked Bootloader pretty early. They called this workaround Loki. It's intergrated into nearly every ROM except the ones which require the KitKat Bootloader (but that's usually not the reason they don't support the JellyBean one). Anyways, soon the KitKat update came and so did the new KitKat Bootloader. Sadly, LG patched the Loki exploit with this new update. However, the Developers found a new way to get the Bootloader booting files which weren't signed by LG. They called this workaround Bump. Bump basically imitates the LG signature so the bootloader thinks this file was really signed by LG. Obviously this workaround works with the JellyBean Bootloader too. In the Lollipop Bootloader this exploit has been closed and no one knows how to get around the new Bootloader, yet. In conclusion to Bootloaders, as long you have a working Bootloader, your device is not dead. You can usually recover it in some way.
The G2 has about 30 partitions (for a more detailed explanation, look here, thanks @d00lz). Each partition has its own purpose. One of them is the Recovery partition. Imagine: A Recovery partiton and a working Bootloader are everything you need to keep your phone working. It's kind of an Operating System in itself, completely independent from Android or anything else stored on your Mobile. The great thing about the Recovery partition is that it's so small that it can be run directly in the RAM. This means it's capable of modifing EVERY goddamn partition on your Mobile, including the Bootloader and the Recovery partition itself (means you can flash a new recovery.zip in your current recovery). Attention: if you are using the Recovery with a 4.4 KitKat Bootloader, it needs to be a Bumped Recovery. If it isn't bumped the Bootloader realizes that the Recovery is not genuine and generates a "Secure Boot Error".
Same thing goes for the Kernel. The Kernel is located in your /boot partition (found gzipped inside your boot.img) and is loaded by the Bootloader when you only press the Power Button and you let your Mobile boot normally. This is the reason why your Kernel also needs to be Bumped if you want to get your system booting on a KitKat Bootloader. When 4.4 KitKat came out, most Developers switched over to using LG's 4.4 KitKat sources for their projects. After a while it was realized that 4.2 JellyBean sources were a lot more reliable for AOSP baed ROMs. This is why most AOSP ROMs use the 4.2 JellyBean Bootloader and the 4.2 JellyBean Kernel sources while Stock based ROMs use the 4.4 KiKat Bootloader and 4.4 KitKat Kernel. There are different Kernels for AOSP ROMs and for Stock based ROMs. This is because Stock Kernels support some ROM functionalities that AOSP ROMs don't have, for example; Knock Code. (Note: Knock Code isn't open source, which is also another big reason why it isn't available for AOSP ROMs.) So there are huge differences between Stock and AOSP based ROMs/Kernels. The Kernel (without factoring in the AOSP and Stock issue) can be switch at anytime you want.
Now about the /data partition... All your personal stuff, including Apps, System Settings, App Data and so on will be stored there. The reason why you should clear it every time you change the ROM is that there are many variables set by the ROM you are coming from. Your current ROM may have some tweaks the new one doesn't have which means the new ROM doesn't know how to handle them which leads to crashes and instability.
Now let's get to the ROM... Having a 4.2 JellyBean Bootloader and a 4.2 JellyBean Kernel doesn't mean the top layer has to be 4.2 too. Most of the AOSP based ROMs are based on Googles KitKat or Lollipop sources. And this is true KitKat or Lollipop, with all its functionalities. Those huge version differences cause some problems in development. No wonder some things do not work properly today, but it's still the best working combination at the moment. It's kind of a wonder how it works as it is, but let's be happy with it. I'm very curious how AOSP ROMs with Lollipop Kernel sources will work. Your ROM and your entire existing Operating System is found in the /system partition. This is why it's the main partition which is modified while flashing. Which partitions will be modified and (how) is written in the updater-script file of the file you're going to flash. Theoretically, running a updater-script of a ROM which changes the Bootloader (/aboot partition) can brick your device. That's also the reason why you should only flash stuff made for your device only!
As already said an updaterscript can modify every partition through the recovery. All ROMs bring their own kernel, so you basically don't have to care about it, except you want to use a non-bumped ROM (with kernel) together with the KitKat bootloader.
Finally something about the baseband/modem (these terms are interchangeable). I noticed that the Developers or rather the Original Posters sometimes don't know which baseband the user should use with the ROM. In earlier days the wrong baseband could make the ROM bootloop. Today most ROMs work with most basebands. It's obviously best if you stay on the one you currently are on and just flash another one if something doesn't work (auto-rotation for example). The baseband can be flashed at any time and is on it's own partition.
Okay Download Mode time. It's part of the laf partition (laf.img). This partition is used by LG and it's PC software to recover the phone and bring it back to Stock. It's a partition in itself, but not completely independent of the Bootloader. It's because of this that you can of course have a fully working Bootloader, but a dead Download Mode. This means you will not be able to flash a .KDZ/.TOT file the next time you are in big trouble! ^^
Okay to wrap up I should mention the EFS partition. The EFS partition stores your device's IMEI (and the serial number as far as I know) of your device. NEVER wipe it. With a empty EFS partition you can use your mobile as a brick, ok maybe you can use it as a media tablet, but that's it (WiFi still works, @Art Vanderlay tested; see below).
Again: if you got questions/additions/correction or see a mistake, post below, or PM me, I'll edit this post...
reserved
Great post. A thread like this should be the first thread you read as soon as you enter the LGG2 sub forum.
Expect a private message soon.
Also, reserved for possible future additions .
d00lz said:
Great post. A thread like this should be the first thread you read as soon as you enter the LGG2 sub forum.
Expect a private message soon.
Also, reserved for possible future additions .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And you could modify your signature now^^
Sunandroid said:
And you could modify your signature now^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice write up Sunny. You can credit Dan Rosenburg for creating loki. I can also confirm that wifi still works without modemst1 and modemst2 aka efs. My phone suffers for this thread.
@Sunandroid
Perfect! This was all I was looking for. Now I finnaly understand how my G2 works and I'll most likely not need to ask more "noob questions" in this matter.
But I would like to ask some questions because I've left with doubts after reading the OP.
As long as I have /recovery/ and /aboot/ working, I can recover my device exclusively with software. Is this right?
I've concluded that you need /aboot/ to be able to enter in /recovery/ and with recovery you can mess up with any other partition.´
How can I tell if /modem/ found here is compatible with my device? Are all /modem/ partitions the same in the same models? For example, I'm from Portugal so I have a Portuguese D802 LG G2 (if I type its IMEI in a site, it recognizes it as portuguese). If I flash a German D802 modem or English or even American, considering that they are all from D802 would they work flawlessly with my device?
Why does /modem/ cause auto-rotation to work? What exactly is /modem/?
I have a backup of all the partitions in my laptop (made via TWRP). But what happens if I accidentaly lose my /efs/ partition? Can I flash another phone's /efs/?
Rayaxe said:
@Sunandroid
Perfect! This was all I was looking for. Now I finnaly understand how my G2 works and I'll most likely not need to ask more "noob questions" in this matter.
But I would like to ask some questions because I've left with doubts after reading the OP.
As long as I have /recovery/ and /aboot/ working, I can recover my device exclusively with software. Is this right?
I've concluded that you need /aboot/ to be able to enter in /recovery/ and with recovery you can mess up with any other partition.´
How can I tell if /modem/ found here is compatible with my device? Are all /modem/ partitions the same in the same models? For example, I'm from Portugal so I have a Portuguese D802 LG G2 (if I type its IMEI in a site, it recognizes it as portuguese). If I flash a German D802 modem or English or even American, considering that they are all from D802 would they work flawlessly with my device?
Why does /modem/ cause auto-rotation to work? What exactly is /modem/?
I have a backup of all the partitions in my laptop (made via TWRP). But what happens if I accidentaly lose my /efs/ partition? Can I flash another phone's /efs/?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could help you this way...
about /aboot and /recovery: yes you are right. It is even better, if you have an intact laf too. That's the download mode. But as long the other two work, you can fix the laf partition easily. But if you get into the situation, that only those two are working, better don't flash a bootloader (=/aboot). If it's the wrong one your device is bricked.
Aboot is the key to your device. Everything else is fixable. At least with a little bit of knowledge and time. But better don't try it out.
No, the modems are not all the same. There are (sometimes depending on the branding) extremely small differences between the basebands/modems. I personally never had the problem, that I couldn't get any connection at all. But that's not fatal. Just flash another one and try again if it works. Btw: I once made a test in some german forums with different KK basebands. I'm not sure anymore, but the differences were minimal and I think killed my connection totally.
If you loose your efs stuff, your device is a brick with extended functionalities. The IMEI and some other data stored in the efs partition is worldwide unique. So you can't just pick the one of another phone (except the other G2 is bricked or whatever). You need the IMEI for general network connection. So it will still boot up, but you won't be able to text or call anyone with this phone.
Okay ^^
So this is a full backup of all the needed partitions right? http://prntscr.com/76edu4
Should I convert these files to something like .img to be able to flash in the phone just in case I get something that disables my TWRP access?
Rayaxe said:
Okay ^^
So this is a full backup of all the needed partitions right? http://prntscr.com/76edu4
Should I convert these files to something like .img to be able to flash in the phone just in case I get something that disables my TWRP access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I guess so. As long as you ticked everything when you backed up (with blastagators TWRP!; the official one doesn't allow to backup the efs stuff), this should be fine.
Well you could. But tbh I have no idea how to convert those files into .img files. But it isn't necessary anyways: It's unlikely that you loose the efs data on your phone unless you brick it somehow. If the phone stays recoverable, The first thing you are going to do is: flashing bootloader, laf and boot.img. Then you will go back to stock through the download mode. Once you've done this it's an easy one to install twrp again and restore the efs backup. No one is gonna flash ~32 partitions by hand. There are "easier" and more usefull ways to recover the device.
Oh and btw: no backup contains the bootloader, laf and boot (recovery developer don't implement this for some reasons). But this doesn't matter. The only thing you really need is the efs backup (which partitions exactly you can see here). Everything else isn't unique and can be extracted out of kdz files and restored this way.
Edit: the two partitions mentioned here are
Sunandroid said:
Okay Download Mode time. It's part of the laf partition (laf.img). This partition is used by LG and it's PC software to recover the phone and bring it back to Stock. It's a partition in itself, but not completely independent of the Bootloader. It's because of this that you can of course have a fully working Bootloader, but a dead Download Mode. This means you will not be able to flash a .KDZ/.TOT file the next time you are in big trouble! ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My PC doesn't install any driver when my phone is on download mode,
On recovery mode (twrp) i have MTP access but on download mode i'm not having any access,
does that mean my download mode is dead?
GoPogoOreo! said:
My PC doesn't install any driver when my phone is on download mode,
On recovery mode (twrp) i have MTP access but on download mode i'm not having any access,
does that mean my download mode is dead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has nothing to do with this thread here. The issue is different. But I have no clue what it might be... If I can elaborate a maybe working answer I'm gonna answer you in the noob thread.
Sunandroid said:
This has nothing to do with this thread here. The issue is different. But I have no clue what it might be... If I can elaborate a maybe working answer I'm gonna answer you in the noob thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh btw i tried your (noob friendly) no download mode, no recovery mode ..... using slax,
when i typed ls /dev/sd* it's only showed my PC (only one sda) and there is no sdb, not even one
Weirdly i can access TWRP, but i can't make any custom rom boot,
Man this is frustating
I have a phone, G2 D802 Int., which probably has a corrupt EFS partition. I guess the owner broke it flashing incompatible things into it. As a result of the corruption, ESN/IMEI is lost. It shows null. But very interestingly, the EFS partition mustn't have been wiped because by chance of a boot among a hundred, it shows up the ESN. If by chance you come across to ESN, everything operates normally. And if you reboot the phone, ESN is gone again..
I managed to make recovery work again, by upgrading the phone to lollipop. (It was another time I came across ESN.) But no download mode, USB is never identified (unkonwn usb device), USB modes cannot be changed, unless by chance you come across, USB debugging is no more either.
I was thinking to backup some necessary partitions from a working phone of the same variant, but since it's "unknown device", I cannot query it as a disk. Neither it works in Ubuntu. ls /dev/sd* doesn't show the phone. It even doesn't show the working phone.
Any idea about how I can fix the corrupted EFS partition?
pisisler said:
I have a phone, G2 D802 Int., which probably has a corrupt EFS partition. I guess the owner broke it flashing incompatible things into it. As a result of the corruption, ESN/IMEI is lost. It shows null. But very interestingly, the EFS partition mustn't have been wiped because by chance of a boot among a hundred, it shows up the ESN. If by chance you come across to ESN, everything operates normally. And if you reboot the phone, ESN is gone again..
I managed to make recovery work again, by upgrading the phone to lollipop. (It was another time I came across ESN.) But no download mode, USB is never identified (unkonwn usb device), USB modes cannot be changed, unless by chance you come across, USB debugging is no more either.
I was thinking to backup some necessary partitions from a working phone of the same variant, but since it's "unknown device", I cannot query it as a disk. Neither it works in Ubuntu. ls /dev/sd* doesn't show the phone. It even doesn't show the working phone.
Any idea about how I can fix the corrupted EFS partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I luckily never had to try it, but scroll down a bit over here: http://www.droidviews.com/how-to-backup-and-restore-lost-imei-on-lg-g2/
I wish you luck!
Sunandroid said:
I luckily never had to try it, but scroll down a bit over here: http://www.droidviews.com/how-to-backup-and-restore-lost-imei-on-lg-g2/
I wish you luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know that, but since I cannot take the device to USB debugging mode, it's not the first step I could take. "USB device descriptor is failed", this is what I get when I plug the phone.
pisisler said:
Yes I know that, but since I cannot take the device to USB debugging mode, it's not the first step I could take. "USB device descriptor is failed", this is what I get when I plug the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what is the current state of your phone? You have twrp installed. Can you push stuff through adb when you are in the recovery (this is pretty important, since we maybe can fix the download mode this way)? Does it boot into android?
@Sunandroid, device operates normally except the voice call & data, since these depend on IMEI. The phone boots normally, and everything is working, only the IMEI shows as "null". Additionaly, cannot enter to download mode, no recovery installed, original recovery is working, which is used to do a factory reset only. No USB debugging, it says "USB device descriptor failed". Thus no adb.
pisisler said:
@Sunandroid, device operates normally except the voice call & data, since these depend on IMEI. The phone boots normally, and everything is working, only the IMEI shows as "null". Additionaly, cannot enter to download mode, no recovery installed, original recovery is working, which is used to do a factory reset only. No USB debugging, it says "USB device descriptor failed". Thus no adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read about this issue (device descriptor...) just now, it is not software but hardware related.
I've heard of people solving that issue but I couldn't manage to do. Gave the phone to my customer back after 4 days. Importer service put the phone out of warranty and offered him a motherboard replacement for 75 $ and it's pretty fair I think. After all it comes funny when he says he's gonna file a case about returning the phone and take his money back. Well, it's up to him to end up with nothing in hands after months of waiting for a case.
Shortly, this file has been closed without a reasonable solution.
Thanks for your effort @Sunandroid.
pisisler said:
I've heard of people solving that issue but I couldn't manage to do. Gave the phone to my customer back after 4 days. Importer service put the phone out of warranty and offered him a motherboard replacement for 75 $ and it's pretty fair I think. After all it comes funny when he says he's gonna file a case about returning the phone and take his money back. Well, it's up to him to end up with nothing in hands after months of waiting for a case.
Shortly, this file has been closed without a reasonable solution.
Thanks for your effort @Sunandroid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear that. Hitting the thanks button doesn't hurt.

[SOLVED] Phone reboots to recovery, even after TWRP restore?

*I flashed a CM12.1 nightly on top of one that was a couple days old, and the new one had all kinds of force closes. This was through CM's internal update function, which sets a recovery script and reboots into recovery to install it (which BTW failed).
So I went into TWRP and flashed the backup I made not a couple hours earlier. But now I have kind of a bootloop. Most of the time, the LG logo shows up, then it just reboots back into recovery. One time it got stuck on the logo, and I was able to see it with ADB but it told me init.sh was missing when I tried to adb shell into it.
I have three backups I tried restoring, which had /boot, /recovery, /system and /data, plus I wiped the Dalvik cache and /cache, but nothing I've tried will kick this thing loose. I've even tried formatting it back to EXT4 from F2FS, and erasing and recreating the partitions in fastboot. It seems like there's a flag somewhere telling it to reboot into recovery, but I can't find anything pertinent online. I'm really at a loss as to how to fix it, and out of ideas now.
Have you tried using the lg support tool to bring the phone back to stock?
audit13 said:
Have you tried using the lg support tool to bring the phone back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I was going to edit the OP to say I've also now tried to flash back to stock, using the 20a KDZ and the LG Flash Tool 2014. When it gets to the point where it's actually about to flash, it says "USB is not connected". I have all the latest drivers, and have tried different cords, to no avail. It has been transferring files while connected in TWRP, so I'm not sure what that's about.
What about using the lg support tool to flash stock?
LG Mobile Support Tool is what LG Flash Tool calls to actually flash the ROM (otherwise you have to depend on what LGMST decides to download). It saw the phone the last time I used it, but wouldn't show LP 5.0.2 as being an available update, even though it had been released.
This thread has the instructions I've been working off of, which was posted around the time the ROM was released. It "should" work, it just doesn't. If I'm not mistaken, there may be another tool you can use, but I haven't been able to find it.
There's one other way I suppose I could go about this, but it would be delicate. I could push all the individual IMG files from a ZIP archive I have of the KDZ, but I don't know what all the partition names are, and there are like 10 of them, including laf, aboot, etc. For example, the /data partition is actually named "userdata" when you use fastboot flash.
I didn't know about the difference between the LGMST and Flash Tool.
All I know is that the LGMST was able to download the correct LP ROM for my phone, install it, and get me back to stock after I screwed things up when trying to get root.
i have same problems , here is my solutions
- use SKR tool -> 4 .fix utility -> 5.unbrick ,
if u want go back to stock, try use TOT file to go back JB
cant use kdz way
Dễ.Thương said:
i have same problems , here is my solutions
- use SKR tool -> 4 .fix utility -> 5.unbrick ,
if u want go back to stock, try use TOT file to go back JB
cant use kdz way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+Thanks, I have never even heard of that. But I'll give it a try. By any chance were you using F2FS?
Though I am not sure, but I'm leaning towards some kind of hardware failure -- this is a refurbished phone, so there's no telling what it's been through inside. T-Mobile sent another one overnight, which I should have in a few hours, but I still need to clean up this one if it has to go back.
audit13 said:
I didn't know about the difference between the LGMST and Flash Tool.
All I know is that the LGMST was able to download the correct LP ROM for my phone, install it, and get me back to stock after I screwed things up when trying to get root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine told me I had the latest version, which is peculiar. Was your phone rooted at the time? Because I could understand it refusing in that case: I ran into a soft-brick on a D800 because of an OTA once. Otherwise, I'm not sure why one would work, and the other wouldn't.
voxluna said:
+Thanks, I have never even heard of that. But I'll give it a try. By any chance were you using F2FS?
Though I am not sure, but I'm leaning towards some kind of hardware failure -- this is a refurbished phone, so there's no telling what it's been through inside. T-Mobile sent another one overnight, which I should have in a few hours, but I still need to clean up this one if it has to go back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont use f2fs , just use SKR tool with luck but i think u need flash a stock rom first
Dễ.Thương said:
i dont use f2fs , just use SKR tool with luck but i think u need flash a stock rom first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I ask is that I had a debate in another thread about using F2FS instead of EXT4 for the filesystem. Most people suggested it's buggy and causes problems, so I wondered if that's what happened here.
When I used lgmst, my phone was giving me boot certification errors. I played around some more with it and then it would only go to download mode.
I connect the phone in download mode and the program downloaded and installed the latest LP rom for my 802 from UAE.
audit13 said:
When I used lgmst, my phone was giving me boot certification errors. I played around some more with it and then it would only go to download mode.
I connect the phone in download mode and the program downloaded and installed the latest LP rom for my 802 from UAE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u can boot your phone ,try to use Tot file , lg flash tool doesnt work anymore
LGMST fixed my 802 so there was no need for a tot file.
audit13 said:
When I used lgmst, my phone was giving me boot certification errors. I played around some more with it and then it would only go to download mode.
I connect the phone in download mode and the program downloaded and installed the latest LP rom for my 802 from UAE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I had a D802 -- it's ubiquitous, and thus has more support on XDA, I think. I'm not sure why T-Mobile chose to have a customized model. Same goes for AT&T, since they both use the same frequencies... and I don't know what the hell Verizon was thinking with those hideous buttons. The only differences I see between most of them is the SAR.
I am not sure that all g2 phones support the same frequencies. My 802 will not connect to LTE in Canada.
audit13 said:
I am not sure that all g2 phones support the same frequencies. My 802 will not connect to LTE in Canada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, they don't, especially Verizon and Sprint being entirely incompatible because of CDMA. I looked it up just now, and while there are several variations of your phone, it actually looks like it has a lot less frequencies than the T-Mobile device. I was under the impression it was the other way around, but I dunno exactly -- yours is supposed to be a D803 up there. It depends on the carrier/region, and which LTE bands they're using. It may be that you get LTE somewhere else eventually.
I don't know why the hell they don't just make the phone with all the bands you expect to encounter on a continent, but I'm sure it has to do with lock-in. Because the SoC should already have that stuff baked in.
I actually have an 802 (International version, unlocked) that I bought off a guy on Kijiji. It was an incredibly cheap price because it had some scratches on the screen which are not very noticeable. Once I applied a tempered glass screen protector, you could only see the scratches from an oblique angle. The guy even included an official LG flip case which wakes and sleeps the phone This phone even has a stock LP ROM.
I love the glass protectors! That gel adhesive just melts on the screen and leaves not a single bubble. And yeah, it gets into scratches and improves them, too. I'll never use film ones again. I've personally never broken a screen, but Gorilla Glass can be scratched under the right conditions. Hey, as long as it's working for you, cheap is always good. HSPA+ isn't anything to sneeze about either -- I've had some amazing speeds on T-Mobile with it, for years now. It's a great fallback for LTE.
Okay, I managed to recover the original phone!
Something in my previous build was triggering the boot loop into recovery. This happened when the CyanogenMod updater tried to flash a new nightly, so there's a possibility it set a flag that kept it looping. But it's also possible Xposed went haywire somehow, and/or a module did. I'm not really sure why it decided to fail like this, when I had been using it without issue.
All my backups did the same thing, yet those builds ran okay when I backed them up. And I don't know why I could see the COM41 port, but not use it -- the drivers were perfect, I went to a lot of trouble to uninstall and replace them. That meant no LGFlashTool, and manual restoration (ye olde commande line).
So, what I did was use fastboot to flash every partition I could get my hands on, not just the ones you can format in TWRP. I used the 20c files from here. You basically do:
fastboot erase aboot
fastboot flash aboot.img
fastboot erase laf
fastboot flash laf.img​...etc. Then you format the /system partition, and flash a Cyanogenmod nightly into there. I also flashed the /data partition, but left /data/media alone, which saves the internal storage. Then I erased and flashed /recovery just for good measure.
This is a somewhat specific fix, but maybe if someone else comes across it, it can help.

unlock boot loader US996

Is this do-able with out unlock.bin??
I've tried using adb/fastboot. ADB reports the device OK; fastboot can't see the device.
I've tried all manner of drivers to load........ I know there are separate drivers for adb and fastboot.
This is driving me nuts.
Finally, are there different SUB-variants of the 996?? One generic and one US Sprint??
Thanks
You must use dirtysanta to root
[Guide][Tutorial] Root TWRP LG V20 using Dirtysanta[Most Variants][Noobfriendly]
Good day, Here's the modified dirtysanta method to root LG V20 and install TWRP. This guide will help you in rooting your device with much easier situation. Before you begin: (Your phone's internal storage will be wiped or simply formatted or...
forum.xda-developers.com
ROMSG said:
You must use dirtysanta to root
[Guide][Tutorial] Root TWRP LG V20 using Dirtysanta[Most Variants][Noobfriendly]
Good day, Here's the modified dirtysanta method to root LG V20 and install TWRP. This guide will help you in rooting your device with much easier situation. Before you begin: (Your phone's internal storage will be wiped or simply formatted or...
forum.xda-developers.com
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The only issue with that response: The DirtySanta thread you link to lists the following devices, admonishing that any others will get bricked:
- Verizon (VS995)
- Sprint (LS997)
- ATT (H910)
- Korean(F800L)
- USS996 (BPT, UCL)
- Canadian (H915)
Unless there's a typo in it, the USS996 is NOT the same as the US996. The US996 is a carrier unlocked US variant. The other US996 is locked to US Cellular. A bit of clarity is necessary here...
Graf_Eberstein said:
The only issue with that response: The DirtySanta thread you link to lists the following devices, admonishing that any others will get bricked:
- Verizon (VS995)
- Sprint (LS997)
- ATT (H910)
- Korean(F800L)
- USS996 (BPT, UCL)
- Canadian (H915)
Unless there's a typo in it, the USS996 is NOT the same as the US996. The US996 is a carrier unlocked US variant. The other US996 is locked to US Cellular. A bit of clarity is necessary here...
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I found this some of the Links are broken.
V20 [H915|US996] DirtyElf Bootloader Unlock and Root guide
Firmware
US99610f_00_1205.kdz
usb drivers for windows
Terminal Emulator for Android "f-droid Download APK at bottom of page"
Before you flash the KDZ to downgrade your firwmare make a DUMP backup of ALL files first it will have your EFS and that's very very important it has your IMEI number. You don't need to dump system or cache.
Darnrain1 said:
I found this some of the Links are broken.
V20 [H915|US996] DirtyElf Bootloader Unlock and Root guide
Firmware
US99610f_00_1205.kdz
usb drivers for windows
Terminal Emulator for Android "f-droid Download APK at bottom of page"
Before you flash the KDZ to downgrade your firwmare make a DUMP backup of ALL files first it will have your EFS and that's very very important it has your IMEI number. You don't need to dump system or cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I am looking that over. One question I do have for you: Is that dump backup needed for anything beyond the EFS to get the IMEI? Asking only because I was able to extract the IMEI already. I'm not physically working on this till the weekend, so I'm going to read up/download stuff in the interim and go from there. If I end up with questions (and I just might from the bit I've read so far*), I'll append this post or reply to it.
* This is an example of where the uncertainty sets in: "For official US996 model owners that do not want to void their warranty, follow the Dirtysanta Sprint(LS997) method but make sure to flash a US996 Stock rom instead." I'm assuming "official" applies to an actual V20 model US996, regardless of carrier/unlock status. I'm extrapolating that the H915 is an US996 with a differently configured kernel. Since the LS997 is only mentioned separately, is the 997 a CDMA version of the (GSM) 996?
LTE is inferred, GSM is for distinction, so I'm assuming the 915 and 996 are GSM devices. I also know Sprint is/was a CDMA carrier. CDMA hardware would infer different modules would be loaded by the kernel, than for GSM, and could therefore hang or brick the device. At least that's where the rail line used by my train of thought takes me. Or, does the difference between CDMA and GSM versions not matter?
You are correct about the broken links: Tilde88's US996 100% Stock deODEXEd Rom, which is listed in the linked article, is a bad link. I did some fairly general "looking" for that ROM elsewhere, found a couple of articles when Google-searching, but haven't had a chance to check those out (that will have to wait until tomorrow). If it turns out that there is no alternate link to the ROM, are there any other ways of getting it, short of looping @Tilde88 in?
Graf_Eberstein said:
Thank you! I am looking that over. One question I do have for you: Is that dump backup needed for anything beyond the EFS to get the IMEI? Asking only because I was able to extract the IMEI already. I'm not physically working on this till the weekend, so I'm going to read up/download stuff in the interim and go from there. If I end up with questions (and I just might from the bit I've read so far*), I'll append this post or reply to it.
* This is an example of where the uncertainty sets in: "For official US996 model owners that do not want to void their warranty, follow the Dirtysanta Sprint(LS997) method but make sure to flash a US996 Stock rom instead." I'm assuming "official" applies to an actual V20 model US996, regardless of carrier/unlock status. I'm extrapolating that the H915 is an US996 with a differently configured kernel. Since the LS997 is only mentioned separately, is the 997 a CDMA version of the (GSM) 996?
LTE is inferred, GSM is for distinction, so I'm assuming the 915 and 996 are GSM devices. I also know Sprint is/was a CDMA carrier. CDMA hardware would infer different modules would be loaded by the kernel, than for GSM, and could therefore hang or brick the device. At least that's where the rail line used by my train of thought takes me. Or, does the difference between CDMA and GSM versions not matter?
You are correct about the broken links: Tilde88's US996 100% Stock deODEXEd Rom, which is listed in the linked article, is a bad link. Since I haven't gotten past the first post yet, I'm going to see if I can find that elsewhere and report back.
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Sometimes downgrading your firmware to root your phone will corrupt your EFS on the phone and you have to restore it to get cell service working again or to bring back your IMEI number.
There are four files that are your EFS.
With the phone powered off, hold the down vol and plug in usb to computer to restore EFS.
fastboot flash fsg fsg_COM6
fastboot flash misc misc_COM6
fastboot flash modemst1 modemst1_COM6
fastboot flash modemst2 modemst2_COM6
fastboot reboot
Darnrain1 said:
Sometimes downgrading your firmware to root your phone will corrupt your EFS on the phone and you have to restore it to get cell service working again or to bring back your IMEI number.
There are four files that are your EFS.
With the phone powered off, hold the down vol and plug in usb to computer to restore EFS.
fastboot flash fsg fsg_COM6
fastboot flash misc misc_COM6
fastboot flash modemst1 modemst1_COM6
fastboot flash modemst2 modemst2_COM6
fastboot reboot
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Thank you.
FYI, I just amended my prior response (above) re. the ROM as well.
Graf_Eberstein said:
Thank you.
FYI, I just amended my prior response (above) re. the ROM as well.
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Your welcome,
Stock Oreo Rom, flash in order But there are a lot more roms for the Lgv20 you can look around if you want.
LG V20 ROMs, Kernels, Recoveries, & Other Developm
US996 DIrtysanta Rom
ezV2020 kernel for Oreo link
Magisk-v21.4.zip
Latest version of twrp link
Darnrain1 said:
I found this some of the Links are broken.
V20 [H915|US996] DirtyElf Bootloader Unlock and Root guide
Firmware
US99610f_00_1205.kdz
usb drivers for windows
Terminal Emulator for Android "f-droid Download APK at bottom of page"
Before you flash the KDZ to downgrade your firwmare make a DUMP backup of ALL files first it will have your EFS and that's very very important it has your IMEI number. You don't need to dump system or cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I finally got to where I'm able to run that dump backup. I've been at it for the better part of 8 man hours, and it keeps crashing. Finally got everything backed up except SYSTEM IMAGE. Whenever I try to back up that segment, the backup crashes. You said I don't need to do this against CACHE, which I get. There's both a SYSTEM and a SYSTEM IMAGE, so now I'm wondering if you meant the latter instead of the former... If not, how do I get past this obstacle?
FWIW, I'm writing to an otherwise empty, brand new 32 GB Class 10 card. Initially I was using a surplus 16 GB card, then realized that I was coming up around 4 GB short, and pegged the failure on that. But the same happens on the larger card. In case it matters, the backup gets to about 60% before failing...
Graf_Eberstein said:
Ok, so I finally got to where I'm able to run that dump backup. I've been at it for the better part of 8 man hours, and it keeps crashing. Finally got everything backed up except SYSTEM IMAGE. Whenever I try to back up that segment, the backup crashes. You said I don't need to do this against CACHE, which I get. There's both a SYSTEM and a SYSTEM IMAGE, so now I'm wondering if you meant the latter instead of the former... If not, how do I get past this obstacle?
FWIW, I'm writing to an otherwise empty, brand new 32 GB Class 10 card. Initially I was using a surplus 16 GB card, then realized that I was coming up around 4 GB short, and pegged the failure on that. But the same happens on the larger card. In case it matters, the backup gets to about 60% before failing...
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Your phone is rooted great.
DUMP backup with LGUP. Might not be to late. Just hold vol up and plug in usb to phone and computer. Go into LGUP and choose DUMP all files. You don't need to dump system or cache. This will save all the files on your computer. Back the files up like google drive or something.
Take battery out and put back in. Then you want to boot into twrp and do a format.
Then your ready to install an OS on your phone. Why don't you check out my rom I made it's stock Oreo debloated. There are some good guides on there also you can follow. link
If you need any more help just ask. I don't mind.
I just wanted to thank you for the guidance to date. Great news: After many fits, starts, wrong turns, interruptions, and muckups both real and imagined, my V20 now has Oreo Lemondrop installed, and I presume it is also rooted.
With the initial hurdle overcome, it's time for new questions (see photos for the first three):
* The device reports no S/N. Normal?
* The OS reports no kernel version. Normal?
* The device still boots to the red triangle before loading Lemondrop. I was under the impression that would go away now, or am I wrong?
* A lot of games and other crud is being installed by Mobile Services Manager. Is that because I missed something?
The latter may not matter much: I'm going to move the SIM from my regular phone to the V20 to see if it will make/receive calls. If it does, it'll get a SIM of its own, so I can use it as a second line. If it doesn't work (I've seen posts about bands not working, etc), I'll be done with it altogether.
However, should the phone work, what'll make this whole enterprise a complete success, will be to install a more current Android release; I'm expecting 10 or 11, but would be tickled if it's 12 or 13. But first things first...
Graf_Eberstein said:
I just wanted to thank you for the guidance to date. Great news: After many fits, starts, wrong turns, interruptions, and muckups both real and imagined, my V20 now has Oreo Lemondrop installed, and I presume it is also rooted.
With the initial hurdle overcome, it's time for new questions (see photos for the first three):
* The device reports no S/N. Normal?
* The OS reports no kernel version. Normal?
* The device still boots to the red triangle before loading Lemondrop. I was under the impression that would go away now, or am I wrong?
* A lot of games and other crud is being installed by Mobile Services Manager. Is that because I missed something?
The latter may not matter much: I'm going to move the SIM from my regular phone to the V20 to see if it will make/receive calls. If it does, it'll get a SIM of its own, so I can use it as a second line. If it doesn't work (I've seen posts about bands not working, etc), I'll be done with it altogether.
However, should the phone work, what'll make this whole enterprise a complete success, will be to install a more current Android release; I'm expecting 10 or 11, but would be tickled if it's 12 or 13. But first things first...
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Click to collapse
Yeah no SN and no Kernel is normal. It's also normal to have the boot screen come up, it's because your phone is rooted now.
I have to run Oreo because LTE is not working in crDroid or Lineage os. There are proprietary drivers that are in Oreo to make LTE work and they are not in any other android os. But if all you need is 4G then maybe another os would work for you. In the USA they did away with 4G only LTE now. So I thought I would make the Lemon Drop rom, if I have to use Oreo why not make it fast. Plus most everything works in Lemon Drop. Like second screen and so on. I have used crDroid before it's good I will link the files for you.
Update: I found and removed Mobile Services Manager in the latest version of Auto_Debloat. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
crDroid 11 just format and flash in twrp reboot.
also flash Magisk-v21.4.zip so you can have root.
you may have to flash twrp also I am not sure, it's been awhile before I install crDroid. You can always flash twrp in fastboot mode if you have to.
Take Care.
Darnrain1 said:
Yeah no SN and no Kernel is normal. It's also normal to have the boot screen come up, it's because your phone is rooted now.
I have to run Oreo because LTE is not working in crDroid or Lineage os. There are proprietary drivers that are in Oreo to make LTE work and they are not in any other android os. But if all you need is 4G then maybe another os would work for you. In the USA they did away with 4G only LTE now. So I thought I would make the Lemon Drop rom, if I have to use Oreo why not make it fast. Plus most everything works in Lemon Drop. Like second screen and so on. I have used crDroid before it's good I will link the files for you.
Update: I found and removed Mobile Services Manager in the latest version of Auto_Debloat. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
crDroid 11 just format and flash in twrp reboot.
also flash Magisk-v21.4.zip so you can have root.
you may have to flash twrp also I am not sure, it's been awhile before I install crDroid. You can always flash twrp in fastboot mode if you have to.
Take Care.
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Thank you again, and you're welcome for the bit on the Mobile Services Manager. My apologies for the lag in responding too; real life got in the way for a bit there. I'll look into your suggestion as I get a chance and will report back.
Graf_Eberstein said:
Thank you again, and you're welcome for the bit on the Mobile Services Manager. My apologies for the lag in responding too; real life got in the way for a bit there. I'll look into your suggestion as I get a chance and will report back.
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Not a problem. Because I only have an H910 I didn't get all the bloatware on other lgv20 phones. But that Mobile Services Manager is a huge bloatware that installs more bloatware. So I thought I would try and find it and remove it in the latest version. You can update Auto_Debloat and it should get rid of that Mobile Services Manager for you. All you have to do is just flash the new version in twrp and reboot.

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