[Q] The Curse of the Eternal Bootloop - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Dear esteemed community members of the XDA developers community website. I have a long and sad story, of which I am hoping you may be able to provide some extra insight into the troubles I have met with my Nexus 4.
I purchased my Nexus 4 (sans rubber feet) last year in August, bought from a Mediamarkt in Berlin during my first travels into Europe, when my Samsung SII met a cruel and drunken fate. When I first got the shining glittering Nexus 4, it notified me of an OTA system update, and doing as instructed I glibly pressed "Update". After the digital progress bar's needle finished injecting its panacea into the phone, it restarted and was then caught in a boot-loop. Frantic, repeated, turning off and on procedures followed, like I was trying to perform CPR at a crash scene. It was out like a light, except its light was still on in the shape of a glowing "X". After trying all the system/cache/data wipes the system tools would allow me, nothing made it budge. I resorted to flash everything to stock with fastboot to successfully get it up and running again, but it was a bad start to a troubled relationship.
A flight back to my home in Australia and some months later (about March this year) I decided to try the OTA update again. I figured after some time, surely they'd have fixed the OTA issues, no? Alas, soft-bricked again -- the glowing "X" taunting me once more. I tried and I tried with all my might to flash all number of versions of Android -- 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 -- using all manners of manual and automated (toolkit) methods, all to no avail. I put the phone in my drawer and borrowed a house mate's iPhone 4, replete with cracked screen.
Fast-forward to a few days ago: my house mate's own Nexus 4 kissed gravity and it was more an expression of a troubled break-up than any affection. She needed her iPhone back and I went back to no phone. There was some kind of bliss in being disconnected, however being a freelance designer and developer, my life-line is work and work is often received and completed via phone duties. Wondering if I could successfully defibrillate life back into this still-new and handsome looking Nexus 4, then the better I would be than without phone. I plugged it all in again, performed a manual flash of KOT49H to finally see past the rotating dots to view the android fellow lying on his back getting some much-needed TLC from some futuristic blue polyhedron tumbleweed. I was "in with a grin" -- the phone and I were back in business.
Lazing about one hung-over Saturday morning with my phone plugged into the charger, me checking out my family and friends' inane burblings on Facebook, the phone winked a red eye at me and went black. I was confused. What happened? Was it something I said? Posted? I tried to turn it on again, and yet silence persisted. It was plugged into the wall, power was on -- there should be juice present within this ripe fruit.
Holding it in my questioning hands, I shakily brought it over to my computer and plugged it into the USB. I tried turning it on again, and the eyes fluttered open, its stare fixated and blank, a rotating vision of 4 dots tumbling in an endless mocking loop. I sighed, "Not again." I tried more methods of flashing and restoring the phone's version of Android, both manual and automated. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. Zero.
Here I am, again at the precipice of uncertainty with this phone's status and fate. No activity beyond those dots locked in an eternal dance of emptiness. The drapes of its consciousness are pulled, no vision of what's on stage or who's singing. Silence. Empty space. Lingering thoughts of my involvement bounding like playful lion cubs through the savannah: "if only I...", "if only it...", etc.
So here, dear reader of an esteemed Android developer community website, I petition you in great need and distress: if perchance you may be able to offer some insight into my troubled 'droid; if maybe there's some way to read some console output of what and where the errors are occuring; if perhaps there's something more physical that could be the cause of such pain and strife. I wish to understand my companion's feelings and thoughts more, to know why it feels such despondency in living and working, and how I may be able to coax it back to consciousness. Perhaps all it needs is to have some other sort of love and kindness, the type I'm potentially not adept at speaking in a language for it to understand. Either way, I would love any information someone may be able to proffer.
Please help me XDA developers -- you're my only hope.

lvl99 said:
Dear esteemed community members of the XDA developers community website. I have a long and sad story, of which I am hoping you may be able to provide some extra insight into the troubles I have met with my Nexus 4.
I purchased my Nexus 4 (sans rubber feet) last year in August, bought from a Mediamarkt in Berlin during my first travels into Europe, when my Samsung SII met a cruel and drunken fate. When I first got the shining glittering Nexus 4, it notified me of an OTA system update, and doing as instructed I glibly pressed "Update". After the digital progress bar's needle finished injecting its panacea into the phone, it restarted and was then caught in a boot-loop. Frantic, repeated, turning off and on procedures followed, like I was trying to perform CPR at a crash scene. It was out like a light, except its light was still on in the shape of a glowing "X". After trying all the system/cache/data wipes the system tools would allow me, nothing made it budge. I resorted to flash everything to stock with fastboot to successfully get it up and running again, but it was a bad start to a troubled relationship.
A flight back to my home in Australia and some months later (about March this year) I decided to try the OTA update again. I figured after some time, surely they'd have fixed the OTA issues, no? Alas, soft-bricked again -- the glowing "X" taunting me once more. I tried and I tried with all my might to flash all number of versions of Android -- 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 -- using all manners of manual and automated (toolkit) methods, all to no avail. I put the phone in my drawer and borrowed a house mate's iPhone 4, replete with cracked screen.
Fast-forward to a few days ago: my house mate's own Nexus 4 kissed gravity and it was more an expression of a troubled break-up than any affection. She needed her iPhone back and I went back to no phone. There was some kind of bliss in being disconnected, however being a freelance designer and developer, my life-line is work and work is often received and completed via phone duties. Wondering if I could successfully defibrillate life back into this still-new and handsome looking Nexus 4, then the better I would be than without phone. I plugged it all in again, performed a manual flash of KOT49H to finally see past the rotating dots to view the android fellow lying on his back getting some much-needed TLC from some futuristic blue polyhedron tumbleweed. I was "in with a grin" -- the phone and I were back in business.
Lazing about one hung-over Saturday morning with my phone plugged into the charger, me checking out my family and friends' inane burblings on Facebook, the phone winked a red eye at me and went black. I was confused. What happened? Was it something I said? Posted? I tried to turn it on again, and yet silence persisted. It was plugged into the wall, power was on -- there should be juice present within this ripe fruit.
Holding it in my questioning hands, I shakily brought it over to my computer and plugged it into the USB. I tried turning it on again, and the eyes fluttered open, its stare fixated and blank, a rotating vision of 4 dots tumbling in an endless mocking loop. I sighed, "Not again." I tried more methods of flashing and restoring the phone's version of Android, both manual and automated. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. Zero.
Here I am, again at the precipice of uncertainty with this phone's status and fate. No activity beyond those dots locked in an eternal dance of emptiness. The drapes of its consciousness are pulled, no vision of what's on stage or who's singing. Silence. Empty space. Lingering thoughts of my involvement bounding like playful lion cubs through the savannah: "if only I...", "if only it...", etc.
So here, dear reader of an esteemed Android developer community website, I petition you in great need and distress: if perchance you may be able to offer some insight into my troubled 'droid; if maybe there's some way to read some console output of what and where the errors are occuring; if perhaps there's something more physical that could be the cause of such pain and strife. I wish to understand my companion's feelings and thoughts more, to know why it feels such despondency in living and working, and how I may be able to coax it back to consciousness. Perhaps all it needs is to have some other sort of love and kindness, the type I'm potentially not adept at speaking in a language for it to understand. Either way, I would love any information someone may be able to proffer.
Please help me XDA developers -- you're my only hope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tl;dr is the phone rooted ?

fahadsul3man said:
tl;dr is the phone rooted ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No

So after skimming through your jibber jabber the problem is the phone gets stuck in the boot loop no matter what method you used ? Try using different ROM instead of the KOT49H I am assuming you are out of warranty by now right ?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Related

Anyone actually got ANY support from Ouya via their support entry website?

So far 13 days since I filled in a support request
1st one for non-delivery of second controller (they have since sent out info to eveyone saying second controllers will be delivered etc etc...)
but never heard anything via support about my direct question.
2nd - Only about 5 days ago
My Ouya is bricked sort of, after the last automatic update it is now stuck in a boot loop, Red/White flashing Ouya icon, then a black screen, then reboots and doe the same again and again.
Still no direct reply from their support about either
Maybe they should redirect their @playouya tweet workers into their pretty slack support team instead of sending out tweets about how happy everyone is and how wonderful their product is.
Just my afternoon grumble...
Pretty much the same issue here. Get the Ouya logo, flashes 4 times, screen goes black for a split second, then repeats.
11 days with nothing but the automated response...
I sent in two support tickets over a month ago and still haven't heard anything aside from the auto-reply. I was hopeful at first, buut I'm not holding my breath anymore.
I actually got fairly quick responses and solutions to the horrible controllers I originally received - but that was back in May because I managed to luck out and get my KS console in one of the first waves before they ran out of replacement "correct" controllers and started getting deluged under a pile of support requests as people actually got their consoles that had supposedly been shipped weeks earlier. (kind of like how the problems with the controllers had supposedly been fixed months before mine was shipped but I still got two controllers with problems they had said were fixed long before mine shipped.)
And to be honest even that wasn't what I'd consider "quick" just "fairly quick" it was a few days to get an actual response which then requested more info and while I replied almost immediately with what they asked for it was another couple of days for the next response which came with a tracking number for the replacement controllers - but even though they generated the tracking immediately it was almost a week before they actually shipped them.
Really not sure how they couldn't have anticipated the size of support staff they'd be needing since it sure seems obvious to me like they were fully aware that they were shipping buggy hardware at least to some KS backers. All I can guess is they were assuming that a lot of the KS backers weren't actually interested in getting a functional console/controller(s) but had deluded themselves into thinking that people were backing solely because they liked the idea.
I posted a ticket about my 3d not working on zen pinball. Got this automated reply. We'll see how long it takes them to tell me they don't support side loaded games.
"Hey there, thanks for dropping us a line. We realize auto-responses suck, but wanted you to know we’re on it! We are working around the clock to answer your questions as quickly as we can (with the most up to date info). Right now, it can take up to 2-3 business days to respond but we aim to be faster."
droiduser said:
So far 13 days since I filled in a support request
1st one for non-delivery of second controller (they have since sent out info to eveyone saying second controllers will be delivered etc etc...)
but never heard anything via support about my direct question.
2nd - Only about 5 days ago
My Ouya is bricked sort of, after the last automatic update it is now stuck in a boot loop, Red/White flashing Ouya icon, then a black screen, then reboots and doe the same again and again.
Still no direct reply from their support about either
Maybe they should redirect their @playouya tweet workers into their pretty slack support team instead of sending out tweets about how happy everyone is and how wonderful their product is.
Just my afternoon grumble...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None same behavior from imwatch

Coming back to MotoActv

Heya,
Life got kinda hectic awhile ago so I had to take a break from XDA, and then my MotoACTV broke shortly after, so I stopped updating the MotoACTV Easy Modder batch script I put out awhile ago since I didn't have anything to test it on. I'm glad to see that development has continued and hasn't completely died. It's also nice that, while we don't have a dedicated forum for the MotoACTV, there is at least a general section to post in now.
Well, I'm happy to say that things have cleared up and I just bought a 16G that will be here tomorrow! I have a few ideas that I want to try to apply with the MotoACTV, if they work, I'll be sure and post a few guides. ClearD said that some of the 16Gs didn't like his ROM, and if mine has the same experience(s), I'm going to try and help him figure out what's going on. Eventually, I have plans to cook my own ROM... But with working 60+ hours a week and class, it might not happen right away.
Glad to see you are back. I have had my MotoACTV for well over a year but just recently started wearing it as a daily watch. I think it is better than most smart watch offerings out today.
BTW, I grew up in League City. Graduated from Clear Creek in '88. Have not lived there since '89 though.
I grew up in Deer Park, moved here my freshman year and graduated from Creek in 05. Still here for now, moving back to Deer Park soon, shorter commute to work.
Nice to meet a local with similar interests.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
Jay4255 said:
I grew up in Deer Park, moved here my freshman year and graduated from Creek in 05. Still here for now, moving back to Deer Park soon, shorter commute to work.
Nice to meet a local with similar interests.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome back, bro!!!
Jay4255 said:
Heya,
Life got kinda hectic awhile ago so I had to take a break from XDA, and then my MotoACTV broke shortly after, so I stopped updating the MotoACTV Easy Modder batch script I put out awhile ago since I didn't have anything to test it on. I'm glad to see that development has continued and hasn't completely died. It's also nice that, while we don't have a dedicated forum for the MotoACTV, there is at least a general section to post in now.
Well, I'm happy to say that things have cleared up and I just bought a 16G that will be here tomorrow! I have a few ideas that I want to try to apply with the MotoACTV, if they work, I'll be sure and post a few guides. ClearD said that some of the 16Gs didn't like his ROM, and if mine has the same experience(s), I'm going to try and help him figure out what's going on. Eventually, I have plans to cook my own ROM... But with working 60+ hours a week and class, it might not happen right away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heck u can share some of your ideas, and then we can all try to see what we can do for them =), these are the things ive done/made so far anyways
-MotoActv DPI (dpi changer for motoactv)
-Init.d (experimental Init.d system for the motoactv, loads init.d scripts on app load, as no app/boot.img can load them on-boot on a motoactv, even the one from pimp-my-rom's developer)
-ALOT of clockfaces
-MotoActv Mod Pack: (contains some usefull mods for it, including my init.d app, motoatv dpi (older version), some init.d scripts, OpenVpn (no GUI), Entropy tweaks (via init.d scripts), Viper4Android sound system+ some .irs files (for bluetooth headsets), sqlite3+optimise script, all my custom clockfaces (sdcard workaround), Gallery+Livewallpapers, ad-block host, /system/xbin files to remount easier when u cant do "adb remount" via computer simply put "sysrw", or "sysro" via any terminal
-ClearDroid UnOfficial rom (used an older version(1.2.0 T2) of his rom and added features such as dual-boot animation (loads boot animation from /data/local/bootanimation.zip, if failed does stock one), my tweaks/apps from my mod pack, and a couple other minor tweaks (including introducing a new way to flash without auto wiping data that he now uses in his rom), and a few kernel tweaks.
Wow, haven't seen you in a while! Damn this brings me back to early last year when this thing was just starting to get some development. I still use your easy modder tool when I need to, and I still proudly wear my Motoactv daily. It's been great and trustworthy, despite my lack of special care(it's a watch, man!). I will wear it till the day I get my Omate Truesmart in October sometime.
I wish I'd taken better care of my MotoACTV wore it to the gym this morning, foolishly forgot I'd left it on top of my bag and watched in horror as it flew off and landed on the hard concrete floor. The screen's now smashed to hell

Be greatful for Android and avoid IOS

I can unreservedly say the M8 is the best phone I have had. While I am sure there are great wish lists of stuff people might like, right now it is pound for pound the best out there.
Couple with the Open source Android and the fantastic crowd of people who offer support...it's a winner.
I have never had an iphone or wanted one. Its proprietary software - leased securely to Apple put me off from day one. Even with Jailbreak.
But yesterday for the first time I got my hands on one. An Iphone 4S to be exact. The next door neighbours daughter asked if I would have a look at it. The reason, she had done an IOS update and her wireless and data weren't working. Just for the experience of playing with it and wanting to help I said I'd have a look. I assumed like most would, that she had done something wrong while updating.
She was correct - no data and no wifi. The wifi was on but simply refused to see any networks. My M8 shows about 10 as does every device in the house. So after a couple of hours reading, it seems like the only option I have is to update the phone. So I installed itunes, connected the phone and let it do its magic. Sure enough after what seemed like ages it rebooted into IOS 7.1.1. .... still with no data and no wifi networks showing.
I received an message from the carrier that something had changed and it included the new APN settings for iphone. I installed it, rebooted and guess what - still no data. So I went to my fav site (unlockit.co.nz) and of course they had the CORRECT apn. Data was fixed!.
Wifi was another problem. Following the Apple websites instruction yielded no results whatsoever. It was then I found the first of many, many threads about broken wifi after updating. But not that it was a software fault due to the flash. Apple state that the hardware must have been faulty prior to the flash. But it was working for those people who have posted. (same as my neighbours daughter who said until she flashed it was working fine)
Apples response - bring it into store - pay $200 and we will sort it.
The press have picked up on it now so it will be interesting to see where it goes. Fortunately one reporter had the same problem and published it.
Morale of the story - Apples aren't the only fruit
Sticking with my HTC One M8
Thread closed,
Thread has been closed as this forum is for the m8 devices only. For posts like this I would suggest posting in the XDA off-topic general section.
Many thanks,
Ghost

Sprint G3 root wake-up call

This whole issue with the Sprint variant of the LG G3 lacking a viable root method has me extremely pissed off.
Not at Sprint or LG. I recognize that it's not in their best interest to make or sell phones that can allow root access with a simple button press. The damage that the average phone user could do would bring their tech support services to a standstill.
Of course, I'm not pissed at the XDA developers. Most of these guys do it for the challenge, and it's not a cheap hobby. Throw in minor distractions like jobs and family issues, and it's easy to understand why they don't jump when people demand that they throw their undivided attention at a device that they may or may not ever really use.
No... I'm pissed at myself. I'm annoyed at my lack of initiative, as I sit around watching the weeks roll by waiting for someone to find a solution to a problem I may be capable of solving. Don't get me wrong... I'm no rocket surgeon who thinks I can do whatever I want through sheer will power. I respect and appreciate the difficulty of developing in the Android ecosystem. But, I also realize that all these developers started somewhere, and all it took to start the ball rolling was the desire to make devices do exactly what they wanted.
Back about 25 years ago, MAME was in it's infancy (it's an arcade game emulator... look it up). I was hoping that someone would make a decent full-size MAME cabinet that would accurately simulate the look and feel of an actual arcade game. After a year of waiting, I lost my patience. I bought a donor cabinet, reverse engineered a front-end that I thought showed promise, and started reading... A LOT. It took a lot of soldering, and trial and error but I ended up with something that I felt was better that anything I'd seen previously. In hindsight, it kinda sucked, but 6 versions later I had a polished arcade emulator that I still own and it's a proud centerpiece of my rec-room. The point of this in not to blow my own horn, but to illustrate that with the right initiative and ability to perform a Google search I could make something that I wanted without having to rely on others. Granted, I did have to rely heavily on the countless people who took the time to document their own technical experiences, but they put it out there for a reason.
I don't expect everyone to follow my lead, but I'm hoping to possibly light a fire under a few people who might have felt the occasional urge to get under the hood of their Android device. If anyone can point me toward a good starting point for developer education, I'd be greatly appreciative. I'm dying to get going on this, and I realize that there will be a root method for my phone looooong before I can even tweak the most elemental code. BUT... I'm hoping that I might be able to help myself and others when I buy my next device, and I challenge anyone who's managed to read all of this novel to do the same.
Might want to fix that ENTER key first.. Your message is good but I have this image of someone frothing at the mouth with the rambling and lack of structure.
I think things like ROOT and bootloader unlocks are a bit beyond the casual hacker these days though.
RHall1340 said:
I think things like ROOT and bootloader unlocks are a bit beyond the casual hacker these days though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the most part, yes. But the exploit that allows root via PurpleDrake is so simple I bet even I could have connected the dots if I had known about the alternate recovery. It was essentially an open door. Of course, I have the benefit of hindsight and I'm still just speculating because I understand how that method works as far as what adb would show about which directories were mounted RW. Knowing what was actually going on in that environment regarding the backup service and how the temp directory was handled by the recovery system took somebody with deeper knowledge and the means to analyze the system behavior.
jcase said himself that he's invested thousands of dollars in hardware that let's him do exactly that, not to mention the hours he and others put in. Like you said, vulnerabilities are getting harder to find with every release, patch, update, etc. And I'm just talking about getting enough access to the file system to slip in the su binary. I don't even know how one could attack the bootloader.
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app

Wirelessly Link 2 Phones to Run as 1 ¿(WiFi/BT)?

Code:
[FONT="Fixedsys"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"] First and foremost, Thanks for stopping by, you may become intreged if you continue reading my thread.
This Idea came to me a long time ago but I am unable to do anything with it as I am not a developer/programmer so I would never be able to create this on my own.
However, being the MadScientist I am (likely only in my own mind) I feel the only thing to do is to pass on the idea to somebody, anybody with the skill set, talents, abilities, or even the right friends list to make my dream a reality. So to the big idea.
I always had the cheap generic phones that were free with the contract, I would go through these phones like water and I came up with an idea that if I could put two phones or even three phones together and make them run as one phone it would be a pretty great phone [¿¿some Dr. Frankenstein ****??lol]
Over the past couple years I've always been interested in developing and apps in programming computers and how they work and operate so I now I'm in love with the expensive flashy phones and I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S7 both Android 6.0.1 O.S.,
Both fully functional. (I'm afraid trying to customize ROM I'll turn my $500 BEAUTY into a fragile useless brick) (or even worse ruin the security features) because of my ignorance in Android Development.
None-the-less if anybody can come up with a way to join two phones to run as one without tearing them apart even if they only communicate with each other through Bluetooth or through Wi-Fi and can even Share/Clone to the partner phone screen through an encrypted nonbroadcasted network or connection that would be neat but it would be great to be able to share processors and sensors or leave on in my car in the parking lot at work and have it relaying a signal to the one in my pocket. I'd love to have them setup where I could use either number on either phone or share one number between the two. If there is any possible way this can happen I would really appreciate some feedback or I might just on a crazy rant and just happened to be the world's smartest retard.
I appreciate you reading the entire rant I appreciate any feedback positive or negative dream Weavers and dream killers is all welcome.[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT="Courier New"][COLOR="red"]Coming live from the other side.
This has been a rant from the MadScientist EvilGenius[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="purple"][I][U][B]MrEcho666[/B][/U][/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[COLOR="yellow"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Asking you to "[U]Stay Classy and Assey[/U]"[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

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