Samsung KIES3 griefing - Note 3 - Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Issue: Phone instability
Detail: Phone has started to act a little wonky over the past couple days. It's been rooted since February last year and last stable backup was in August (don't have anything that important on it aside from call logs, and photos are stored to SD card+backed up). I've had issues with simple tasks taking too long to complete, and lately SMS seem to be stalling on me (anything from sending to on-screen notifications for recieving). Thinking that Samsung's good old "utilization" of the SD card might be causing unnecessary thrashing about of data to and fro.
So, Samsung decided to push an update to Kies 3. It gets everything down to backing up all apps, text messaging, etc. all the way up to the "call log" where it just sits there and stalls (doesn't do anything) - there are 2 more items to backup after this (photos, calendar, Splanner - which are redundant, remain left hanging in queue) but really would have liked to have had call logs. Good job on Windows 8 for catching this as a potential problem and creating a restore point, but now even the old version does the same thing. Really have to wonder if Kies detects an update - does it normally break like this? I don't have a carbon copy of the original Ki3 installation unfortunately.
Is there a good alternative to Kies? I have Ti Backup but I've only used it once or twice to freeze apps or do things Samshun doesn't allow through its UI. I need something that backs up the whole directory structure of the phone (same as Samsung) but not an entire image recovery - even though phone is just out of warranty, still want to get rid of it soon (sell it) - most recovery methods that aren't done by Kies involving flashing will trip Knox (I used Kingoapp to root only). Does "safe mode" work for backups?
While we're on the subject of said Note 3, out of curiosity, what's the cheapest price you've seen for a replacement stylus? Seems to have been misplaced, the dog hid it or it's been kicked under some furniture somewhere... Have a gut feeling the moment money's plopped down for a spare it will pop out of the abyss, but just in case one really has to replace.
Any help appreciated, thanks ^^

Model: SM-N900W8
Android 4.4.2
NB7 build.
Tried with KingoApp rooted, and unrooted. Both have same result.
The only thing missing from backup is literally "Call logs". Everything else in the backup process seems to work. I could always consult Gmail for call logs but the problem is Google only keeps records, doesn't actually restore these logs to said device upon backup/restore.
I am lacking faith that Kies will actually restore said backup, though, given the current issues. So a crashplan (or, backup, in this case) is needed. I have read of other people having the same issue. The same issue results even if the application has been completely removed, all traces of it cleaned up, and the older version installed.

Related

1.5 -> 2.1 upgrade process?

I'm still running Fresh 1.1. I've been holding off on the upgrade to a 2.1 ROM since I use this phone daily for business, and CAN'T have a ROM that has things missing or broken, or that just has general annoyances that interfere with the usability of the phone. It looks like we finally have some 2.1 ROMs that really are "100%" (there were claims going back awhile ago, but they definitely were not "100%").
My question is: What is the exact upgrade process, and what is the impact of that process? There are tons of threads about these 2.1 ROMs, but none have detailed specific install steps and explain exactly what you're doing. The threads seem to be targeted towards those that have a "disposable" state of their phone, not those that need a consistent and reliable phone.
It seems to be consistent that these upgrades require a factory and dalvik cache wipe. What exactly does that do? I have ~20 apps installed from the market, and they're probably 50/50 paid and free. Will these disappear during the wipe/upgrade process? Will they auto-reinstall from the market? If not, what is the best way to back them up and restore them? What other data will I lose and need to restore after the wipe/upgrade? I'm ready to move to a 2.1 ROM, but can't risk losing data or spending a couple days rebuilding my phone back to a usable state.
cmccracken,
I have been running 2.1 based roms since the Eris leak and have been very satisfied and have come to the place that i am currently experiencing no problems, however, I would advise you to wait if you are using your phone for business because all current Sprint based 2.1 roms Damage, Flipz, Regaw, etc) have the potential to leave you with no audio (no audio in calls, rings, notifications). This is a random problem that is not affecting everyone but just know it could happen. Rethink this move until the devs here can fix the audio problem for sure.
Yowza, that's scary. It would be nice if ROM dev's would actually list known issues and remove bogus "100%" claims. Flakey audio on a phone for even a portion of users is NOT "100%" by any stretch of the imagination.
I'd still like to see an explanation of the upgrade process, and what the impact to apps and data is.
Well, for most people these roms are 100% (just not for a select few and no one knows why yet).
As for impact of data etc. If you upgrade to a 2.1 rom, you will loose everything. All apps will be deleted (although thy can be backed up with Titanium backup, an app on the Market)You can still use your paid apps. All themes will be deleted. All contacts will be deleted, though they will resync as long as you have them backed up through your Google acct. All saved texts and emails will be deleted. This will be a complete wipe and I would strongly advise you to try 2.1 if you were only using your phone for personal use, but business......
cmccracken said:
Yowza, that's scary. It would be nice if ROM dev's would actually list known issues and remove bogus "100%" claims. Flakey audio on a phone for even a portion of users is NOT "100%" by any stretch of the imagination.
I'd still like to see an explanation of the upgrade process, and what the impact to apps and data is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello,
when you change firmware versions (1.5 to 2.1) you will need to wipe data. basically start over. everything on the sd card will stay (pictures, music, anything you've downloaded) but all apps and app data will be gone. never fear, your market history will be there still and any paid apps you don't need to pay again. even your free ones should still be in your download history. then after a while your contacts will get pushed from gmail and pretty much all you will need to set up is individual app settings/ custom ringtones/ custom sense setups.
you get used to it after a few times
EDIT: but yes if you use your "phone" a lot for calling you may experience the no-audio (i haven't...yet) and sometimes your phone will ring and then freeze up you won't be able to answer the call. that's irritating
cmccracken said:
Yowza, that's scary. It would be nice if ROM dev's would actually list known issues and remove bogus "100%" claims. Flakey audio on a phone for even a portion of users is NOT "100%" by any stretch of the imagination.
I'd still like to see an explanation of the upgrade process, and what the impact to apps and data is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first I use my phone to run 2 different businesses and have been running 2.1 since the first eris build with no problems. I would strongly suggest making the change as now we are building off of the actual sprint leaks everything works out of the box. and considering that from the way the 2.1 releases have been for the droid sprints "official" 2.1 will more than likely come in the form of an RUU anyways and you will lose everything. so why not make the switch now.
second yes there are some that have the sound problem but that seems to be the only issue if you use wither damage control or fresh 2.0d the new zen one still needs a fix for the market so that would not be the way for you to go if you dont want to fix it. also just so you know by your logic even the sprint 1.5 release could not be considered "100%" as even it had its bugs and there are people that have issues. you have to understand that we basically have computers in our pockets and with that comes some bugs. hell even the market leader in personal comp OS's (microsoft) just sometimes does not work right on some peoples comps. This is the reality that we live with in a world of tech. in the world of software NOTHING is EVER gaurented to work for 100% of the people 100% of the time. if you can find a company that pulls that off let me know so that I can buy stock. lol
as far as the upgrade process goes it is pretty much the same as when you flashed fresh 1.1 download the zip, put it on the root of your sd card, boot into recovery, choose the wipe option and then choose wipe data/factory rest and wipe dalvick cache, go to the option flash zip from sd, choose the proper file, flash, reboot, enter info, done.
1.5 doesn't work 100% either by our standards. Flipz 1.1 is a step in the right direction, but the underlying version of the OS is flawed.
2.1 makes the phone work better, period. Ive tried almost every ROM around for this thing, and I'd have to say the latest Flipz offerings are pretty spot on. I dont have anything not working at this point. Sure there are some minor annoyances, but nothing deal-breaking. Plus when you get used to the process, its easy to update to a new rom or figure it out and patch yourself if you DO find a problem.
Sure there are some having odd issues, but their numbers are low (or theyre not posting) and every problem ive been able to either
A)try wiping and reflashing more than once
B)go back to my old install via backup/recovery (nandroid...recovery image)
The benefits of 2.1 far outweigh the very minor bugs ive encountered . Just getting rid of the laggy moments sold me on the 2.1 v 1.5.
BTW When is a device ever at 100% working? Ive never seen it.

[Q] System process maxing out CPU

My HTC Evo 4G started showing the CPU maxed out via OSMonitor notification bar last night or this morning (I noticed it when I woke up).
I've done some searching on here and other forums and Google but can't find any solution.
The culprit in OSMonitor is very non-descriptive:
PID: 0, Process Name: System, Load: 85-90%
If I kill that task, then (as you might have guessed) my Evo goes tits up and reboots.
I've gone into "Running Services" and stopped anything that didn't look necessary. So there was literally only "OSMonitorService" and "Touch Input" showing and that made no difference. Not to mention all these services keep re-spawning after you stop them anyways.
I've also tried to turn on airplane mode (basically disable all radios) and it makes no difference. I do notice that for like 3 seconds, the CPU drops to normal, but then it goes right back up again. I rarely use 4G (thanks Sprint for dry raping me for $10/mo BTW)
I've tried Settings > Accounts & Sync > uncheck Background and Auto boxes.
I've enabled USB Debug mode as another forum suggested.
I thought it might be due to some market apps that got auto-updated, but I can't figure out how to find the last apps that were updated!!? The stupid market.android.com doesn't show you this information that I can find! Nor can I see in "Manage Applications" on the phone, a way to sort by most recently updated. I do recall seeing the notification that there were 4 updates, but none of them were anything I'd think that were "important" and all were apps that I've had for a while and have played nice before.
Android: 2.2
Baseband: 2.15.00.11.19
Kernel: 2.6.32.17-gee557fd
Build: 3.70.651.1 CL294884
Software: 3.70.651.1
My phone is rooted via Unrevoked, and has been for about two months now without incident.
Is there any 'strace' kind of tools that can shed more insight on to what this generic "System Process" is looping on? Or more importantly, what app is causing it, as I'm sure "System Process" is the symptom, not the root cause...
I'm about a hair-pin trigger pull away from putting a .40 cal through this POS out of frustration.
On a semi-un-related note, I rooted it for the sole purpose of being able to make a full backup of the phone. Something you'd think would be part of a normal routine that anyone (non-rooted) should be able to do...
So, if I make a TI backup, then format the phone (factory reset), can I selectively keep adding things from TI back into the phone to see what app might be tea-bagging me? Or is it an "all or nothing" kind of thing? Does TI pair up the apps AND the data? For example, can I restore an app, see if it maxes out the CPU, if not, THEN restore the data for it later (such as my shopping lists and aCar and other apps that I've invested a lot of time configuring)?
I've never had to use TI before and I've only had the Evo since the end of December.
DAE51D said:
On a semi-un-related note, I rooted it for the sole purpose of being able to make a full backup of the phone. Something you'd think would be part of a normal routine that anyone (non-rooted) should be able to do...
So, if I make a TI backup, then format the phone (factory reset), can I selectively keep adding things from TI back into the phone to see what app might be tea-bagging me? Or is it an "all or nothing" kind of thing? Does TI pair up the apps AND the data? For example, can I restore an app, see if it maxes out the CPU, if not, THEN restore the data for it later (such as my shopping lists and aCar and other apps that I've invested a lot of time configuring)?
I've never had to use TI before and I've only had the Evo since the end of December.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. You can restore apps one at a time and see what it is. You can also restore data separately.
Yeah that is what i would try if i were you.
You should try to flash a different ROM and see if this still happens.

VM Intercept root, then what?

this is for my girl friends phone and its stock right now and painfully slow so I convinced her to root but I'm used to seeing the ROM's for my phone so I'm not familiar with "what ROM will speed up her phone's response"? She only uses it for alot of texting, FB, and occasional calls. thanks!
Factory reset
I have an Intercept. And yes, it gets painfully slow. The problem is, for some reason, the ROM on the phone fills right up. Here is what I do. I bought a back up app.. MY BACKUP PRO.. $2.99 I think. I back up everything... and then do a factory reset. The phone runs fast... like new.... and then use the app to restore everything. Its a bit of a pain in the ass... but it works. I am sure its less of a pain in the ass than rooting.
I have a little checklist that I did if you are interested. Send me a PM if you want. But every time i reset the phone, it runs like brand new.
I recently picked up two VM Intercepts because, well, they were on sale and for $40 for the phones, it was hard to pass up. Not knowing anything much of the phone before I purchased, I was still surprised on how slow the phone responded at times.
Finally got tired of it and the first thing I did was check to see if the phone was compatible with any of the ROMs I had used previously. It wasn't. So I decided I had to at least try something.
The phone, first off, was a pain to root. I kept getting partial roots. Finally after Googling for a few hours I came across the InterceptRoot.APK and it worked like a charm. Has a built-in backup utility, too. After it finished rooting the phone I installed Titanium Backup and uninstalled the majority of the pre-installed Virgin Mobile Bloatware apps. The only two I have left are "Activate" and "My Account" -- obviously didn't remove any of the actual Android required apps, just the Virgin Mobile specifics. And yes, they were safe to remove, had no issues afterwards.
But man, after removing all the bloatware, the phone runs a good 35% faster. I'd say go for it.
I lost the link I downloaded the rooter at, but if you need it I can upload it and PM it to you.
You guys should check out the sdxdevelopers website. There's a lot more information about the VM Intercept there.
I would say to try using cuteromx, My daughters phone/my old phone, has it installed and using cm01 recovery along with the vampirefos kernel, it is working pretty smooth if i must say so myself.

New i9505G purchased from Google store; issues started once rooted. Please help!

I'll spare everyone the long background details. Suffice it to say, I'm somewhat technical and decided to switch from iOS to Android to be able to tinker with my device.
Got the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition from the Google Play store two weeks ago (4.3, everything updated). All worked well. My only qualms were: USB Audio connection in car did not work anymore with the new phone (no worries; most cars try to aim for the Apple folks anyway), and the SD Card was a huge disappointment because I couldn't freaking do anything with it. Other than that, no issues whatsoever. But it still felt somewhat limited (since my aim to go Android was to do fun stuff with the device).
Yesterday, I decided to root my phone. Used SuperSU v1.65. The process went smoothly via Odin. Rebooted, all was well. So I went ahead and installed apps that would now allow me to really take advantage of being rooted (FolderMount, Titanium Backup Root, Root Explorer).
Used the root explorer to edit the registry appropriately to get around the SD write-protect issue introduced by Android 4.3. Found steps on how to do this online; apparently it's a well-known work-around. Anyhow, that seemed to do it; SD card was now writable.
Used FolderMount to create links/shortcuts in phone memory to media folders on the SD (to free up space on device). Did this only for media; WhatsApp pics, Spotify songs, Titanium backups. Not for any actual apps/utilities.
Anyhow, while I was doing all of this, in my "rooted excitement", I started realizing that my phone wasn't behaving as expected:
1) When connected via USB to a computer the Phone was no longer recognized and opened as a USB device. I tried on a PC w/ Win 7 x64 with and without Samsung Keis software. I also tried on an iMac OSX w/ Samsung Keis for Mac. In either case, the S4 itself did say "Connected as a Media Device" and the Debug mode bean notification appeared as well. I uninstalled and reinstalled drivers and tried a dozen different "solutions" I found online. Nothing worked.
2) Bluetooth stopped working. Essentially, my Bluetooth toggle button is now permanently in the OFF position. When I try to turn it on, it slides over to ON for a few moments (without becoming lit-up), and the phone sits there trying to turn it on, and then promptly returns the slider back to the off position and I am still without Bluetooth.
I googled these two issues extensively and have realized that a lot of people are having them and they keep screaming that the 4.3 update is "broken".
Well, I can attest to the fact that these only started happening once I rooted the phone. I am determined to get to the bottom of it.
I have been going through the phone logs to see any/all error messages in there. Basically these lines are pretty repetitive in there and seem suspect for the Bluetooth issue, at least from what I can tell:
Code:
09-26 20:46:33.280 32033 32033 W Settings: Setting bluetooth_on has moved from
android.provider.Settings.Secure to android.provider.Settings.Global.
09-26 20:46:33.361 1163 1178 D skia : --- SkImageDecoder::Factory returned null
09-26 20:46:33.361 746 1268 W ContextImpl: Calling a method in the system process without a qualified user:
android.app.ContextImpl.sendBroadcast:1297
com.android.server.StatusBarManagerService.sendNotification:175
com.android.server.StatusBarManagerService.updateNotification:782
com.android.server.NotificationManagerService.enqueueNotificationInternal:1738
com.android.server.NotificationManagerService.enqueueNotificationWithTag:1599
My question now is this: since the weekend is approaching, I will have some time to sit in front of my home PC and take care of a few things (work is brutal these days so I don't get much free time during the week). Anyhow, since I will have the time now, should I just go ahead and revert back to factory state and start from scratch again?
For that matter, is there a way for me to even do this? Would just unrooting via SuperSU and then resetting to Factory settings do it?
Any and all help would be much much appreciated. I would rather fix the issues than have to start from scratch, of course.
Wrong section this belongs in Q&A this is for development only. Please review the rules here on XDA. I am going to have your thread moved so you can get help.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2
Sorry! Should've paid more attention to the different categories.
Appreciate the move to the right forum section.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Issues update:
1) USB Connection issue: I have narrowed it down to the "MTP USB Driver" that isn't cooperating.
I have downloaded several different drivers ranging from USB drivers from Samsung (including Keis) to Micrsoft's MTP kit, nothing has worked. What's more is that this issue seems pretty prevalent amongst Galaxy owners but as of yet, I don't see a definite solution posted for it anywhere. I am running Windows 7 x64.
2) Bluetooth issue: I haven't been able to find much material on this. Does anyone here know how I can go about troubleshooting this or even gathering info from my phone to troubleshoot it?
After searching high and low for an answer to this, I ended up doing a factory reset (Menu-->Settings-->Backup & Reset-->Factory Data Reset) and that resolved the issue (while wiping my phone).
Thanks to the Android OS, I let my phone charge overnight while on WiFi and by the morning all the apps were reinstalled and updated, including the OS itself. My Kernal/Baseband/Build versions are all back to the ones I had when I got the phone from the Google Store, so that's comforting.
I had backed-up all my pertinent data to my SD card, so nothing as such was lost in that arena, which is good.
Thanks to all those who attempted to help!

Considering rooting new phone.

In the past I have rooted all the phones I have gotten (all 5 of them) But with the Google pay not working on rooted phones I am giving it some time to think instead of rooting it first thing.
There is ONE issue that pulls me to rooting my phone every time, it is the sorry state of backups in the android eco system, you do have to be rooted to do a proper backup (I read this as Titanium, this saved my butt last year) For me backups are the make or break of this thought process, if I can get a back up system that would backup
1) SMS
2) Phone Log
3) APKs
4) the data to the APKs
with out rooting I would have no need to root. So I ask here, is there any way with out rooting to back up those 4 items, (a nice thing would have it be able to run as a cron job, and upload to my google drive, but those 2 are not 100% need just the first 4 items are what I NEED.
So coming down to it, can I have android pay (unrooted) with proper backups, or do I just say forget android pay it is only a convenience I still have my debit card that works in more places BUT I NEED my backups like a fish needs water. I have only had this phone for 3 days and I am starting to get filled with fear of what would happen to my data if I don't get it backed up soon (I am one of those that has more then one back up solution for my main computer, and test it once every 5 months.)

Categories

Resources