So I have had this US beta streak since around January, the one that says 'Dell Confidential' at boot up, but it's never really worked correctly. I purchased it from a person that I know that got it through some sort of beta testing; the details weren't provided and I didn't press him for them. Anyways, I am currently trying to get the clockwork recovery flashed and able to be booted into, although the streak is giving me every possible problem I can imagine. I'll try to provide as much background info as I possibly can.
Firmware: 1.5
Baseband Version AUS_090716_01_BOSS_EVT2_3135
Kernel Version 2.6.27
Build Number QTC_3135
OEM Version: AustinBuild_090724_03_boss_evt2_3135_FixTouchSuspend
Under About Phone > Status
IMEI 011954000020995
IMEI SV 00
Service Tag FF8R6K1 (which dell.com cannot find)
The Problems:
When I try to get into bootloader to get into fastboot, by holding the camera button down while hitting the power button, rather than going into the screen that is shown in all of the different tutorial threads, I instead go into some sort of a diagnostic menu that doesn't have an option for fastboot, as much as I have seen. There is a picture attached below.
I (think) that I can get the phone recognized by adb, although I am not totally positive. When in cmd in windows, and I type adb devices, instead of getting the proper serial number of my devices, it shows instead 0123456789ABCDE (I may not have that exact, but it does start at 0 and ends in hex at E or F, I can't remember right now and don't have it connected at the moment.)
There was one time where I was able to flash recovery.clockwork.img to where it said that it successfully flashed the img, but when I go to try and boot into recovery by holding both volume up and down at the same time, and then hitting power, the phone just hangs at a blank, black screen. It will stay there for 30 minutes and not do a thing, I can't see it via adb or fastboot.
So I then gave recovery.alt.img a shot, was able to successfully flash that, or so it told me that it was successful, but still the same problem: just a black screen.
The reason that I think that it actually was working was that after flashing the recovery image both times, I sent the command adb reboot recovery, and the phone reboots, but not into recovery, just into android. adb reboot-bootloader doesn't work at all and returns an error or nothing, I can't remember.
I then focused my attention on trying to get fastboot to work, assuming that adb was not working at all. This is where fastboot gets strange. The only way for me to get the command 'fastboot devices' to show anything at all is by holding the volume down button prior and then hitting the power button to start it. This puts the phone into essentially a 'soft brick', which my friend calls 'safe mode', where it gets totally stuck at the 'Dell Confidential' screen and will not progress past it no matter what.
So, once I am in 'safe mode', I am able to then issue a 'fastboot devices' command, which ... partially works? I hope that my totally unsure tone of voice was able to be conveyed through that message, because the info returned once that command is sent is totally confusing to me. Unlike before, where I feel as though the Streak is just lying to me by saying 0123...DEF for the device ID, for fastboot devices it just gives me a question mark .. yes, simply a ?
The weird thing is that it will follow commands. I was able to flash recovery.clockwork.img to the streak, it gave me a read out that said successful, and I got very excited. And then I pulled the battery, put it back in, held both the volume buttons, and .... the same result, the black screen. So, not allowing myself to be deterred, I got right back into fastboot, or at least my quasi working version of fastboot which may not be working at all, and flashed recovery.alt.img, which turned around and told me that it was successful as well. This time, not allowing myself to get excited, I pulled the battery and, with both volume buttons held down, hit power to try to get into recovery.
Again, I was let down and found only a blank screen. At this point, I have no idea what else to try. With the bootloader not being where it's suppose to be, not really being able to get into fastboot or adb (I think), I turn to xda to try and find some answers. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I am doing wrong or might be missing. I am hoping that it is something that is really obvious that I feel very stupid, like I'm hitting the wrong set of volume buttons, but ... I don't think it's that easy.
Again, I feel as though the phone was getting the commands from fastboot because I sent fastboot reboot recovery, and the phone rebooted, just not into recovery but android. Same thing for bootloader, it just didn't work at all
Also, as for android 1.5 itself, almost nothing works. This appears to be running a very early edition of android where most apps just end up with: Sorry! No applicatons can perform this action, so the One touch root is kind of out of the question.
I was able to do the dialer unlock method to get EMList, but the similarities end there. I don't have the Unknown sources option or anything else after leaving dialer.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated and will be accepted and followed (within reason). I'm just at the point where I'm hoping that it's not totally broken and that with determination and hard work and some critical thinking I (we) will be able to get it working again. Hopefully it isn't a paperweight.
Thanks,
Thursday
Hey there.
I flashed a new ROM (Kaos Droid 7.0.0) and the fitting gapps some minutes ago from CWM Touch. Everything worked as supposed, no errors, no warnings, nothing. Then I rebooted the Nexus 7 and now it's stuck in the worst bootloop I have seen so far:
The Google Screen appears, stays for some seconds, then I see a screen with the CWM Logo and the text "ClockworkmodRecovery 6.0.38", after this the device seems to reboot and the sequence starts from the beginning again.
I can not get into recovery, I can connect to my PC via USB but connection and disconnection happens every few seconds (because of the bootloop).
I guess that's it for my Nexus 7 or does anyone have an idea what I can try to do. I'd be really thankful.
Jagutherrschaften said:
Hey there.
I flashed a new ROM (Kaos Droid 7.0.0) and the fitting gapps some minutes ago from CWM Touch. Everything worked as supposed, no errors, no warnings, nothing. Then I rebooted the Nexus 7 and now it's stuck in the worst bootloop I have seen so far:
The Google Screen appears, stays for some seconds, then I see a screen with the CWM Logo and the text "ClockworkmodRecovery 6.0.38", after this the device seems to reboot and the sequence starts from the beginning again.
I can not get into recovery, I can connect to my PC via USB but connection and disconnection happens every few seconds (because of the bootloop).
I guess that's it for my Nexus 7 or does anyone have an idea what I can try to do. I'd be really thankful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, Jagutherrschaften...
Try pressing VOLUME DOWN + THE POWER ON KEY and HOLD BOTH for 30 seconds (or as long as it takes to break out of the 'bootloop').
(or BOTH VOL KEYS + POWER ON if the above doesn't work... although it should).
Keep them pressed until you boot you into the bootloader....
You should now be free to run fastboot commands, to either fastboot flash back to factory stock... or you could attempt to just boot into recovery, and maybe do a Nandroid Backup restore from your previous setup (assuming of course, you created one).
Anyway... as long as you can still access the bootloader... all is not lost.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hi, Jagutherrschaften...
Try pressing VOLUME DOWN + THE POWER ON KEY and HOLD BOTH for 30 seconds (or as long as it takes to break out of the 'bootloop').
(or BOTH VOL KEYS + POWER ON if the above doesn't work... although it should).
Keep them pressed until you boot you into the bootloader....
You should now be free to run fastboot commands, to either fastboot flash back to factory stock... or you could attempt to just boot into recovery, and maybe do a Nandroid Backup restore from your previous setup (assuming of course, you created one).
Anyway... as long as you can still access the bootloader... all is not lost.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I can't boot into bootloader. I tried every single combination of keys. The bootloop goes on and is completely unimpressed by my keypresses. Bad bad thing.
Jagutherrschaften said:
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I can't boot into bootloader. I tried every single combination of keys. The bootloop goes on and is completely unimpressed by my keypresses. Bad bad thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How fast is the bootloop? and how long are you pressing the buttons for?
Lean on them, as it where, for a good minute or so... the device has to pick up the 'interrupts' sooner or later.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
How fast is the bootloop? and how long are you pressing the buttons for?
Lean on them, as it where, for a good minute or so... the device has to pick up the 'interrupts' sooner or later.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answers. I tried every combination and kept the keys pressed for 2 mins. Nothing. The only thing I can actually do is shut the device down by pressing POWER + VOL UP for a long while.
If bootloop doesnt stop and you cant get into bootloader....then just long press power button..that should stop the cycle...and then volm down plus power button....should get u into bootloader..atleast worked for me..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Now here is what it looks like (doesn't matter if I press keys or not): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12668781/Nexus7_bootloop.mkv
The normal method you described neo45215 doesn't work for me as well.
Jagutherrschaften said:
Thank you for your answers. I tried every combination and kept the keys pressed for 2 mins. Nothing. The only thing I can actually do is shut the device down by pressing POWER + VOL UP for a long while.
Here is a video what it looks like (if I press keys or not or keep keys pressed or not doesn't matter):
www.michi-fehr.de/Nexus7_bootloop.mkv
(Sorry, youtube messes with me as well. Seems not to be my day today.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm... this is a strange one...
Just had a look a your video... and I've seen a few bootoops, but never one involving a Custom Recovery and ONLY the Bootloader Unlock screen (yes, that is the Bootloader - it's just not normally recognized as such, because it's not in FASTBOOT mode).
If you've shutdown the tablet by pressing VOL UP + POWER ON, you've effectively booted the device into APX mode (it looks like it's shutdown, but it isn't) - if it is in APX mode, the device is now awaiting for you to run some nvFlash commands, which currently can't be done (though there is now, a very specific exception, which is not applicable here).
I agree with the previous poster, @neo45215, VOLUME DOWN (hold), then POWER BUTTON, (whilst still holding VOLUME DOWN), should boot you into the bootloader... but I think precise timing is required. Please read the following, carefully, several times.
----------------------------------------
QUOTE from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2133986
"Starting from booted or boot-looping OS:
Power (10-15 seconds) -> Normal OS Boot**
** Bootloader Interrupt: In any of the cases where you hold the power button down to try to break out of the current operating mode, if you press the Vol-Down button right after you first see the black and white screen with the Google logo, the tablet will proceed immediately to bootloader/fastboot mode, rather than booting the normal OS. You need to be ready though - you only get about 1 or 2 seconds to do this! (Thanks to RMXO for pointing this out) Note that this means you can get to the bootloader directly from any other mode!
This also explains why, when attempting a cold start using Vol-Down + Power, if you accidentally let go of the vol-down button when the screen first lights up, the Nexus 7 will boot to the normal OS. In this case, pressing Vol-Down initially is actually superfluous - what makes the device go into bootloader/fastboot mode is the Vol-Down press immediately following the google splash screen - there actually is no unique "Go to fastboot from a cold start" method."
----------------------------------------
I'm at loss to suggest anything more helpful... this looks like the bootloop from hell! But I'm convinced, that with the correct timing and persistence, some key-combo interrupt could break the Nexus 7 out of it.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Mmm... this is a strange one...
Just had a look a your video... and I've seen a few bootoops, but never one involving a Custom Recovery and ONLY the Bootloader Unlock screen (yes, that is the Bootloader - it's just not normally recognized as such, because it's not in FASTBOOT mode).
If you've shutdown the tablet by pressing VOL UP + POWER ON, you've effectively booted the device into APX mode (it looks like it's shutdown, but it isn't) - if it is in APX mode, the device is now awaiting for you to run some nvFlash commands, which currently can't be done (though there is now, a very specific exception, which is not applicable here).
I agree with the previous poster, @neo45215, VOLUME DOWN (hold), then POWER BUTTON, (whilst still holding VOLUME DOWN), should boot you into the bootloader... but I think precise timing is required. Please read the following, carefully, several times.
----------------------------------------
QUOTE from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2133986
"Starting from booted or boot-looping OS:
Power (10-15 seconds) -> Normal OS Boot**
** Bootloader Interrupt: In any of the cases where you hold the power button down to try to break out of the current operating mode, if you press the Vol-Down button right after you first see the black and white screen with the Google logo, the tablet will proceed immediately to bootloader/fastboot mode, rather than booting the normal OS. You need to be ready though - you only get about 1 or 2 seconds to do this! (Thanks to RMXO for pointing this out) Note that this means you can get to the bootloader directly from any other mode!
This also explains why, when attempting a cold start using Vol-Down + Power, if you accidentally let go of the vol-down button when the screen first lights up, the Nexus 7 will boot to the normal OS. In this case, pressing Vol-Down initially is actually superfluous - what makes the device go into bootloader/fastboot mode is the Vol-Down press immediately following the google splash screen - there actually is no unique "Go to fastboot from a cold start" method."
----------------------------------------
I'm at loss to suggest anything more helpful... this looks like the bootloop from hell! But I'm convinced, that with the correct timing and persistence, some key-combo interrupt could break the Nexus 7 out of it.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for your help, I have tried everything, I can't get anywhere... neither bootloader nor recovery.
Additionally I can't make the device do anything I want by adb.
And as a "bonus" I can't send my Nexus7 to repair because this stupid bootloop shows "ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.3.8" :silly:
Jagutherrschaften said:
Thanks a lot for your help, I have tried everything, I can't get anywhere... neither bootloader nor recovery.
Additionally I can't make the device do anything I want by adb.
And as a "bonus" I can't send my Nexus7 to repair because this stupid bootloop shows "ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.3.8" :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really sorry to hear this... it is baffling:.
I've been hanging around on XDA since January, and I've come across a lot of weird behaviour, reported by other posters. But this is something that is outside my experience.
A few questions... (no guarantees, but I'll try to see if I can come up with something)...
Can you post download links for EVERYTHING you've flashed...
The ROM, the Gapps, the CWM recovery.
Also, what order did you flash them in?
Did you use fastboot? or a Toolkit at any time?
Where you rooted BEFORE you embarked on this endeavour?
How did you acquire root?
How long have you had the Nexus 7?
Is it a WiFi only model or a WiFi and 3G model?
Have you flashed any other Custom ROMs prior to this one?
If, so, any problems?
Do you know your current bootloader version number?
What was the battery status (percentage) prior to you flashing this ROM?
Sorry for all the questions... but something, some tiny litlle detail, might set a 'eureka!' light bulb off in my head.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Really sorry to hear this... it is baffling:.
I've been hanging around on XDA since January, and I've come across a lot of weird behaviour, reported by other posters. But this is something that is outside my experience.
A few questions... (no guarantees, but I'll try to see if I can come up with something)...
Can you post download links for EVERYTHING you've flashed...
The ROM, the Gapps, the CWM recovery.
Also, what order did you flash them in?
Did you use fastboot? or a Toolkit at any time?
Where you rooted BEFORE you embarked on this endeavour?
How did you acquire root?
How long have you had the Nexus 7?
Is it a WiFi only model or a WiFi and 3G model?
Have you flashed any other Custom ROMs prior to this one?
If, so, any problems?
Do you know your current bootloader version number?
What was the battery status (percentage) prior to you flashing this ROM?
Sorry for all the questions... but something, some tiny litlle detail, might set a 'eureka!' light bulb off in my head.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I'll try to answer as detailed as possible:
ROM KaosDroid7.0.0
FittingGApps
CWM Recovery (Touch) was installed through ROM Manager Premium
The order of what I did was: I made a backup in Titanium Backup Pro, then I made a nandroid backup by ROM Manager Premium. I went to recovery, wiped /cache and /data, then flashed KaosDroid7.0.0, flashed GApps and rebooted. After my Nexus7 had fully booted I restored some user apps and settings via Titanium Backup Pro. I had to reboot. After that I explored that clock was force closed whenever I tried to access the alarm clock. I wondered if I could possibly have overseen a checkmark when restoring with Titanium Backup Pro (maybe forgotten to untick a system app or setting) which could lead to the force close. So I decided to start over again.
This time I thought about using ROM Manager Premium for wiping and flashing. I started the app and it told me there was an update for CWM Recovery. So I installed this update through ROM Manager Premium - CWM Recovery Touch 6.0.3.8. I rebooted and went to recovery to flash ROM and GApps again the normal way. Before flashing I wiped /cache and /data again. Everything went fine until I rebooted the tablet and found myself in this "bootloop of hell" as you called it... After having tried a lot to break it, I opened the Nexus7 to remove battery for the first time.
OK, now the other questions:
I bought my Nexus7 about 11 months ago, it's the 16 GB WiFi only version. I aquired root by using this Toolkit and everything went really smooth. I tried several ROMs yes, after some time I came across KaosDroid (don't exactly know which version I started with, maybe v5.0.0) and really liked it. I flashed a new version whenever there was one and never had any problems before.
I am not sure about my current bootloader version, I have some not too long ago nandroid backups on my PC, can I find out anywhere in there? About battery, it was 55 % or so before I started flashing, maybe even more.
The way I see this is: It looks like ROM Manager has messed something up. I have never seen a screen like the ROM Manager screen that occurs in the bootloop right after the Google screen before. Unless maybe when making a nandroid backup through ROM Manager, not sure about this. But it shouldn't be there in a normal boot sequence as far as I understand it.
The only way I can access my Nexus7 is via USB on my PC. And I have like 5 seconds to act while this ROM Manager screen is on, that's the time frame when my PC says "Nexus7 connected" and even the Toolkit finds the device and says it's in "ADB mode", then prints the serial number, but sadly after that it waits for the device to enter adb mode forever.
EDIT: And of course I can get access in APX mode, but from what I have read there is no way to do anything because commands etc. to install a new bootloader are not known (yet?).
Thanks a lot for your help and patience, it actually helps to know there is someone who reads this :good:.
It's not the end of the world if I can't reanimate my Nexus7 but it served me so well for almost a year and I really like it .
Jagutherrschaften said:
OK, I'll try to answer as detailed as possible:
ROM KaosDroid7.0.0
FittingGApps
CWM Recovery (Touch) was installed through ROM Manager Premium
The order of what I did was: I made a backup in Titanium Backup Pro, then I made a nandroid backup by ROM Manager Premium. I went to recovery, wiped /cache and /data, then flashed KaosDroid7.0.0, flashed GApps and rebooted. After my Nexus7 had fully booted I restored some user apps and settings via Titanium Backup Pro. I had to reboot. After that I explored that clock was force closed whenever I tried to access the alarm clock. I wondered if I could possibly have overseen a checkmark when restoring with Titanium Backup Pro (maybe forgotten to untick a system app or setting) which could lead to the force close. So I decided to start over again.
This time I thought about using ROM Manager Premium for wiping and flashing. I started the app and it told me there was an update for CWM Recovery. So I installed this update through ROM Manager Premium - CWM Recovery Touch 6.0.3.8. I rebooted and went to recovery to flash ROM and GApps again the normal way. Before flashing I wiped /cache and /data again. Everything went fine until I rebooted the tablet and found myself in this "bootloop of hell" as you called it... After having tried a lot to break it, I opened the Nexus7 to remove battery for the first time.
OK, now the other questions:
I bought my Nexus7 about 11 months ago, it's the 16 GB WiFi only version. I aquired root by using this Toolkit and everything went really smooth. I tried several ROMs yes, after some time I came across KaosDroid (don't exactly know which version I started with, maybe v5.0.0) and really liked it. I flashed a new version whenever there was one and never had any problems before.
I am not sure about my current bootloader version, I have some not too long ago nandroid backups on my PC, can I find out anywhere in there? About battery, it was 55 % or so before I started flashing, maybe even more.
The way I see this is: It looks like ROM Manager has messed something up. I have never seen a screen like the ROM Manager screen that occurs in the bootloop right after the Google screen before. Unless maybe when making a nandroid backup through ROM Manager, not sure about this. But it shouldn't be there in a normal boot sequence as far as I understand it.
The only way I can access my Nexus7 is via USB on my PC. And I have like 5 seconds to act while this ROM Manager screen is on, that's the time frame when my PC says "Nexus7 connected" and even the Toolkit finds the device and says it's in "ADB mode", then prints the serial number, but sadly after that it waits for the device to enter adb mode forever.
EDIT: And of course I can get access in APX mode, but from what I have read there is no way to do anything because commands etc. to install a new bootloader are not known (yet?).
Thanks a lot for your help and patience, it actually helps to know there is someone who reads this :good:.
It's not the end of the world if I can't reanimate my Nexus7 but it served me so well for almost a year and I really like it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello again, Jagutherrschaften...
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, but I've been really busy with non-Android stuff all day.
Before I signed off XDA early this morning, (Fri, UK time)... and before you posted your explanation of how you got into your undesirble predicament, I was trying to think why your Nexus 7 is attempting to boot into CWM. It's something I've never seen before... it occurred to me, CWM may have been incorrectly flashed to the boot partition, instead of the recovery partition. This would go some way to explaining why your Nexus 7 is attempting to boot into CWM instead of normal Android.
So in an attempt to replicate your situation, I fastboot flashed CWM on my Nexus 7, to the boot partition with...
Code:
fastboot flash boot recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.3.8-grouper.img
...instead of (and correctly)...
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.3.8-grouper.img
Upon completion of this flash, I hit START (from the bootloader)... and as expected my Nexus 7 booted into the Google logo, and then directly into CWM.
...but it didn't bootloop as depicted in your video, it just ran CWM as normal..
I booted several times into CWM, but no bootloop. (It's kind of weird having two custom recoveries installed... there's an option in CWM to restart Recovery, which upon tapping, my N7 booted straight into TWRP !, which is my Custom Recovery of choice. And resides correctly in the recovery partition. I had to make a conscious effort to reboot as normal, in order to boot into CWM).
Anyway, more puzzled more than ever, I fastboot flashed the Jellybean 4.3 stock boot .img back to it's rightful place, rebooted the tablet, to make sure everything was working as normal, and went to bed.
Later, after you posted, I re-read it many times (and took a look at the links), and re-watched your video several more times (by the way, Nandroid backups don't backup the bootloader), and nothing occurred to me; no 'euraka' ! moment.
The bootloader is obviously still intact... if it wasn't, then your Nexus 7 wouldn't boot at all. Besides, it's there, visible, with the unlocked padlock symbol !
I'm inclined to tentatively agree with your assessment that ROM Manager screwed something up. I haven't used ROM Manager for ages, due to known issues on my Advent Vega. And on the Nexus 7, I just use fastboot. On the Vega, you use a command called flash_image to flash images, and is syntactically very similar to fastboot.
Sticking with my Vega for a moment... some users are unable to boot into CWM at all. And nobody seems to know why. But a while ago, somebody did some research into this problem, and it was speculated that on some Vegas there are BAD NAND BLOCKS (like bad sectors on a hard drive, only on a chip instead) in the MISC partition, where a binary state flag is set, telling the tablet to boot into Recovery instead of Android.
Now it's a bit a leap... and hugely speculative... but I wonder if the MISC partition on your Nexus 7 may have become corrupted... ?POSSIBLY? as a result of using ROM Manager... and that is telling the tablet to boot into Recovery instead of Android.
This is a far from satisfactory explanation, though, for several reasons...
* I'm not sure how far you can extrapolate the partition structures of one completely different tablet to another completely different tablet.
* It doesn't explain why your tablet is bootlooping and mine didn't (after replacing the stock boot.img with the CWM recovery .img in the boot partition.
* And finally... I'm still baffled why VOL DOWN+POWER ON doesn't break out of the bootloop and boot directly into the bootloader. Everything I know about the Nexus 7 tells me that this should happen... and it's always been the case, that as long as you can access the bootloader, the tablet is recoverable.
I'm afraid I have nothing else to suggest or try... other than what you've tried already.
I can only offer my apologies that I was unable to assist you... maybe somebody with more technical expertise might offer some new insight or suggestions.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hello again, Jagutherrschaften...
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, but I've been really busy with non-Android stuff all day.
Before I signed off XDA early this morning, (Fri, UK time)... and before you posted your explanation of how you got into your undesirble predicament, I was trying to think why your Nexus 7 is attempting to boot into CWM. It's something I've never seen before... it occurred to me, CWM may have been incorrectly flashed to the boot partition, instead of the recovery partition. This would go some way to explaining why your Nexus 7 is attempting to boot into CWM instead of normal Android.
So in an attempt to replicate your situation, I fastboot flashed CWM on my Nexus 7, to the boot partition with...
Code:
fastboot flash boot recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.3.8-grouper.img
...instead of (and correctly)...
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.3.8-grouper.img
Upon completion of this flash, I hit START (from the bootloader)... and as expected my Nexus 7 booted into the Google logo, and then directly into CWM.
...but it didn't bootloop as depicted in your video, it just ran CWM as normal..
I booted several times into CWM, but no bootloop. (It's kind of weird having two custom recoveries installed... there's an option in CWM to restart Recovery, which upon tapping, my N7 booted straight into TWRP !, which is my Custom Recovery of choice. And resides correctly in the recovery partition. I had to make a conscious effort to reboot as normal, in order to boot into CWM).
Anyway, more puzzled more than ever, I fastboot flashed the Jellybean 4.3 stock boot .img back to it's rightful place, rebooted the tablet, to make sure everything was working as normal, and went to bed.
Later, after you posted, I re-read it many times (and took a look at the links), and re-watched your video several more times (by the way, Nandroid backups don't backup the bootloader), and nothing occurred to me; no 'euraka' ! moment.
The bootloader is obviously still intact... if it wasn't, then your Nexus 7 wouldn't boot at all. Besides, it's there, visible, with the unlocked padlock symbol !
I'm inclined to tentatively agree with your assessment that ROM Manager screwed something up. I haven't used ROM Manager for ages, due to known issues on my Advent Vega. And on the Nexus 7, I just use fastboot. On the Vega, you use a command called flash_image to flash images, and is syntactically very similar to fastboot.
Sticking with my Vega for a moment... some users are unable to boot into CWM at all. And nobody seems to know why. But a while ago, somebody did some research into this problem, and it was speculated that on some Vegas there are BAD NAND BLOCKS (like bad sectors on a hard drive, only on a chip instead) in the MISC partition, where a binary state flag is set, telling the tablet to boot into Recovery instead of Android.
Now it's a bit a leap... and hugely speculative... but I wonder if the MISC partition on your Nexus 7 may have become corrupted... ?POSSIBLY? as a result of using ROM Manager... and that is telling the tablet to boot into Recovery instead of Android.
This is a far from satisfactory explanation, though, for several reasons...
* I'm not sure how far you can extrapolate the partition structures of one completely different tablet to another completely different tablet.
* I't doesn't explain why your tablet is bootlooping and mine didn't (after replacing the stock boot.img with the CWM recovery .img in the boot partition.
* And finally... I'm still baffled why VOL DOWN+POWER ON doesn't break out of the bootloop and boot directly into the bootloader. Everything I know about the Nexus 7 tells me that this should happen... and it's always been the case, that as long as you can access the bootloader, the tablet is recoverable.
I'm afraid I have nothing else to suggest or try... other than what you've tried already.
I can only offer my apologies that I was unable to assist you... maybe somebody with more technical expertise might offer some new insight or suggestions.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey again GedBlake.
The last thing you have to do is apologize for helping me a lot, reading through all my text and making things clear for me. And even more you flashed stuff to your device to test if my situation can be reproduced - good that it's not . You've spent a lot of free time just to help, that's really great :good:.
With my bootloader still being intact and the device being recognized by my PC I wonder if maybe I can manage to fastboot flash a different bootloader and/or a new recovery which might maybe break the silly loop when booting. That's my only idea left but if the bootloader isn't in fastboot mode at some time during the loop this won't work too. But I'll give it a try, it's better than cutting tomatoes on my Nexus7 :laugh:.
Thank you very much for your help. If there is anything worth reporting I will of course.
Jagutherrschaften said:
Hey again GedBlake.
The last thing you have to do is apologize for helping me a lot, reading through all my text and making things clear for me. And even more you flashed stuff to your device to test if my situation can be reproduced - good that it's not . You've spent a lot of free time just to help, that's really great :good:.
With my bootloader still being intact and the device being recognized by my PC I wonder if maybe I can manage to fastboot flash a different bootloader and/or a new recovery which might maybe break the silly loop when booting. That's my only idea left but if the bootloader isn't in fastboot mode at some time during the loop this won't work too. But I'll give it a try, it's better than cutting tomatoes on my Nexus7 :laugh:.
Thank you very much for your help. If there is anything worth reporting I will of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your kind words... they're appreciated.
Unfortunately, before you can fastboot flash anything, the Nexus 7 needs to be properly booted into the bootloader (the screen with the green Android lying on its back, and the word START adjacent to the POWER BUTTON)... and that requires breaking out of the bootloop first.
Indeed, if the VOL DOWN+POWER ON button combo was working as it should... breaking out of the bootloop would AUTOMATICALLY boot your Nexus 7 into the bootloader.
Finally, your bootloader doesn't need to re-flashed. One you have a stable bootloader boot, normally, (and the easiest way), would just be to flash back to factory stock.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Thanks for your kind words... they're appreciated.
Unfortunately, before you can fastboot flash anything, the Nexus 7 needs to be properly booted into the bootloader (the screen with the green Android lying on its back, and the word START adjacent to the POWER BUTTON)... and that requires breaking out of the bootloop first.
Indeed, if the VOL DOWN+POWER ON button combo was working as it should... breaking out of the bootloop would AUTOMATICALLY boot your Nexus 7 into the bootloader.
Finally, your bootloader doesn't need to re-flashed. One you have a stable bootloader boot, normally, (and the easiest way), would just be to flash back to factory stock.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey again.
Thanks for your explanation, I am not really a newbie with PCs and Tablets etc. but some things are not very interesting until you really need to know them. Like bootloader and fastboot in Android.
So the conclusion in my case is that maybe some day someone will find out how to get access to the N7 via APX - or to be precise, someone finds out or gets to know the necessary commands to flash something to the N7 over the APX-interface. Right?
Because from what I've read it doesn't really make sense to send my N7 in for repair right? Although it hasn't even had its 1st birthday yet I have no chance to get a warranty repair or exchange as it's very obvious I rooted the device and flashed stuff (the damned ROM Manager-screen clearly shows this). And ASUS charges 90 $ (or €, don't know) just for diagnosis, that's a bit much for a device that cost 199 €.
Any further advise? Could I buy a broken N7 from eBay for example and repair mine this way? I would have to change the mainboard right?
Have a nice sunday everyone .
U said you opened the battery...so wen u plugged it back in again,u shouldn't be in bootloop technically... Just a boot!...wat happens if u press the volm down and power button combo just as u insert the battery?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Jagutherrschaften said:
Hey again.
Thanks for your explanation, I am not really a newbie with PCs and Tablets etc. but some things are not very interesting until you really need to know them. Like bootloader and fastboot in Android.
So the conclusion in my case is that maybe some day someone will find out how to get access to the N7 via APX - or to be precise, someone finds out or gets to know the necessary commands to flash something to the N7 over the APX-interface. Right?
Because from what I've read it doesn't really make sense to send my N7 in for repair right? Although it hasn't even had its 1st birthday yet I have no chance to get a warranty repair or exchange as it's very obvious I rooted the device and flashed stuff (the damned ROM Manager-screen clearly shows this). And ASUS charges 90 $ (or €, don't know) just for diagnosis, that's a bit much for a device that cost 199 €.
Any further advise? Could I buy a broken N7 from eBay for example and repair mine this way? I would have to change the mainboard right?
Have a nice sunday everyone .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, Jagutherrschaften...
Really sorry it had to end like this... but... perhaps it doesn't...
Nothing about your situation makes logical sense... but reading through your posts again, I find this- On the 3rd October, you posted...
Jagutherrschaften said:
Thank you for your answers. I tried every combination and kept the keys pressed for 2 mins. Nothing. The only thing I can actually do is shut the device down by pressing POWER + VOL UP for a long while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QUOTE FOR EMPHASIS:- "...by pressing POWER + VOL UP for a long while..."
This key press combo doesn't actually shut down the device... it just pushes it into APX mode. It just looks like it's shutdown.
But that's not my point... my point is your Nexus 7 detected that key press interrupt... and acted accordingly.
It did what it was supposed to do.
Maybe you hit the buttons at JUST THE RIGHT INSTANT during the bootloop... and if it can do it for one key press combo... it can do it for another. Namely, POWER+VOL DOWN.
And for this reason... I think you need to try and try and try and try and try again... until you hit the same PRECISE TIMING SWEET SPOT... such that POWER+VOL DOWN takes you into the bootloader.
Vary the timings a bit here and there... alternate pressing the buttons, both before AND after when the Google logo appears.
By your own account... you've already done it once (you just got into the wrong mode... APX mode instead of bootloader mode).
But here's the danger... if after your Herculean efforts, you do manage, finally, to access the bootloader... you absolutely cannot afford to reboot the device normally until after you've fastboot flashed back to factory stock... otherwise the whole cycle will begin again.
So... you need, in preparation...
* A fully charged Nexus 7.
* All the drivers needed (if you don't already have them) installed on your PC.
* The Jellybean 4.3 Factory Stock image downloaded (see my Sig, second link) and unzipped and ready to go.
* A working knowledge of how to use Fastboot.
* And finally... an indomitable spirit! of perseverance... and, of course, a fair amount of free time.
------------------------------------------
I am convinced that your tablet is recoverable.
It's gotta be worth a shot... "once more unto the breach, dear friends", as old Bill Shakespeare would have it.
Anyway... the very best of luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
GedBlake said:
Hi, Jagutherrschaften...
Really sorry it had to end like this... but... perhaps it doesn't...
Nothing about your situation makes logical sense... but reading through your posts again, I find this- On the 3rd October, you posted...
QUOTE FOR EMPHASIS:- "...by pressing POWER + VOL UP for a long while..."
This key press combo doesn't actually shut down the device... it just pushes it into APX mode. It just looks like it's shutdown.
But that's not my point... my point is your Nexus 7 detected that key press interrupt... and acted accordingly.
It did what it was supposed to do.
Maybe you hit the buttons at JUST THE RIGHT INSTANT during the bootloop... and if it can do it for one key press combo... it can do it for another. Namely, POWER+VOL DOWN.
And for this reason... I think you need to try and try and try and try and try again... until you hit the same PRECISE TIMING SWEET SPOT... such that POWER+VOL DOWN takes you into the bootloader.
Vary the timings a bit here and there... alternate pressing the buttons, both before AND after when the Google logo appears.
By your own account... you've already done it once (you just got into the wrong mode... APX mode instead of bootloader mode).
But here's the danger... if after your Herculean efforts, you do manage, finally, to access the bootloader... you absolutely cannot afford to reboot the device normally until after you've fastboot flashed back to factory stock... otherwise the whole cycle will begin again.
So... you need, in preparation...
* A fully charged Nexus 7.
* All the drivers needed (if you don't already have them) installed on your PC.
* The Jellybean 4.3 Factory Stock image downloaded (see my Sig, second link) and unzipped and ready to go.
* A working knowledge of how to use Fastboot.
* And finally... an indomitable spirit! of perseverance... and, of course, a fair amount of free time.
------------------------------------------
I am convinced that your tablet is recoverable.
It's gotta be worth a shot... "once more unto the breach, dear friends", as old Bill Shakespeare would have it.
Anyway... the very best of luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@neo45215:
Technically yes, but my N7 doesn't seem to know this . Of course I've tried to get into fastboot mode right after putting back the battery as well. No chance, same bootloop.
@GedBlake:
Thanks for the encouragement, I will for sure give this a try (or several long trys to be precise). Hopefully tonight I'll have a lot of time to press keys .
And my answer to what Bill says would be: "To infinity... and beyond!"
No success so far, I tried pressing buttons for at least 1 h, nothing...
Just wanted to update the status .
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 mit Tapatalk 4
Facing same problem
Hello guys. I've done pretty much the same thing and my tab is in the same boot loop that this thread is all about.
The interesting thing is that the ROM I flashed is also KaosDroid7.0.0. I'm unable to prevent any further insight. Sorry for bumping. My clockwork mod version is btw, 6.0.4.1 which proves that the problem might not be clockworkmods or even ROM manager's problem. Since I hadn't used ROM manager.
Also, Is there any way whatsoever to use this APX mode? To fix my nexus.
---------- Post added at 02:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 PM ----------
Well, I followed OP's steps almost exactly. First I'd restored the Kitkat factory image, and then I'd proceeded to install the KD 7.0.0. And after that, I realised I'd forgotten to flash Gapps. So I rebooted and then went into CWM to reflash and after that is when my Nexus 7 became useless :crying:
---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:05 PM ----------
Jagutherrschaften, did you send in your Nexus 7 for repair?
I feel really dumb, but I've got a few new Tab A 10.1 SM-T580s for my work, stock ROM, not rooted. I loaded some device management software that allowed me to blacklist the Settings app (my fault for not paying attention to what boxes I was checking).
Where I'm at:
- Devices all bootloop at the 2nd Samsung screen.
- I can get into recovery mode (power + up + home) and have tried all the options. I can't reset to factory because the device management software blocks it.
- I can't get into download mode (power + down + home) no matter what I tried*. Device boots like normal and instead of download shows the 2nd Samsung logo briefly and then the device reboots (power + down soft reset) over and over until I let go. When I let go, the device will re-enter bootloop, unless it's plugged in. If it's plugged in, I get the battery charging icon, then a battery percentage indicator, then I can unplug the device and it will "turn off".
- Tried opening it up and pulling the battery connector and letting it sit for a bit. Did not make a difference.
*Here's the weird thing: I did somehow manage to get one of the devices into download mode, so I know it's possible. Once in download, I Odin'd the stock firmware, booted it back up, and it's been fine since. But for the life of me I can't figure out what magical steps I performed on this one device that I can't replicate on the other 3.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to where to go from here. I'm leaning hard into buying/making a jig, but I'm hoping there's something simple I missed.
Thanks,
Chris
chrisk82 said:
I feel really dumb, but I've got a few new Tab A 10.1 SM-T580s for my work, stock ROM, not rooted. I loaded some device management software that allowed me to blacklist the Settings app (my fault for not paying attention to what boxes I was checking).
Where I'm at:
- Devices all bootloop at the 2nd Samsung screen.
- I can get into recovery mode (power + up + home) and have tried all the options. I can't reset to factory because the device management software blocks it.
- I can't get into download mode (power + down + home) no matter what I tried*. Device boots like normal and instead of download shows the 2nd Samsung logo briefly and then the device reboots (power + down soft reset) over and over until I let go. When I let go, the device will re-enter bootloop, unless it's plugged in. If it's plugged in, I get the battery charging icon, then a battery percentage indicator, then I can unplug the device and it will "turn off".
- Tried opening it up and pulling the battery connector and letting it sit for a bit. Did not make a difference.
*Here's the weird thing: I did somehow manage to get one of the devices into download mode, so I know it's possible. Once in download, I Odin'd the stock firmware, booted it back up, and it's been fine since. But for the life of me I can't figure out what magical steps I performed on this one device that I can't replicate on the other 3.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to where to go from here. I'm leaning hard into buying/making a jig, but I'm hoping there's something simple I missed.
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the problem is obviously the device management software, contacting their tech support would be my first step. None of us are going to be familiar with their software.
lewmur said:
Since the problem is obviously the device management software, contacting their tech support would be my first step. None of us are going to be familiar with their software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I contacted their support, which is how I found out about the Settings blacklist issue. They said to contact Samsung to get the device reset. Samsung said I'd have to take the device to a retail chain, though it was unclear as to what the retail chain was going to be able to do that I couldn't with a copy of the firmware.
Also, the fact that I was able to get one of the devices un-borked makes me think the device management software shouldn't be blocking download mode, but I can double check with them.
Edit: FWIW, contacted the company (ManageEngine, since I didn't note it before), they said their software should not block the hardware key commands.
Thanks,
Chris
chrisk82 said:
I contacted their support, which is how I found out about the Settings blacklist issue. They said to contact Samsung to get the device reset. Samsung said I'd have to take the device to a retail chain, though it was unclear as to what the retail chain was going to be able to do that I couldn't with a copy of the firmware.
Also, the fact that I was able to get one of the devices un-borked makes me think the device management software shouldn't be blocking download mode, but I can double check with them.
Edit: FWIW, contacted the company (ManageEngine, since I didn't note it before), they said their software should not block the hardware key commands.
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pilot error.
I've never heard of any management software capable of preventing downloading mode.
It's just not possible.
Either you're not holding the buttons in the correct sequence or not holding for long enough.
If you can boot to recovery then just select 'Boot to Bootloader' from the list.
ashyx said:
Pilot error.
I've never heard of any management software capable of preventing downloading mode.
It's just not possible.
Either you're not holding the buttons in the correct sequence or not holding for long enough.
If you can boot to recovery then just select 'Boot to Bootloader' from the list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was my assumption as well. I did get hold of one of our old tablets (also a SM-T580, but purchased 6 months ago) and it went right in to download mode. Went back to the non-working device with the exact same button sequence, and it just started boot looping again. Even the one that I successfully re-flashed won't go in to download mode, so I'm really beginning to wonder if I got a bad batch.
"Booting to bootloader" just reboots the device as normal.
I found a "Samsung 300K Tool" that's intended to mimic the USB jig trick. Puts the old device straight in to download mode, new devices reboot, no download mode.
Only thing I can think is looking at the build versions, the newer ones are on a different version, so maybe Samsung changed something.
Old one is
Kernel 3.18.14-11346422
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQF1
New one is
Kernel 3.18.14-12479655
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQL1
I'll see if I can get anything further out of Samsung support (weren't very helpful first go round, so I won't hold my breath).
Thanks,
Chris
chrisk82 said:
This was my assumption as well. I did get hold of one of our old tablets (also a SM-T580, but purchased 6 months ago) and it went right in to download mode. Went back to the non-working device with the exact same button sequence, and it just started boot looping again. Even the one that I successfully re-flashed won't go in to download mode, so I'm really beginning to wonder if I got a bad batch.
"Booting to bootloader" just reboots the device as normal.
I found a "Samsung 300K Tool" that's intended to mimic the USB jig trick. Puts the old device straight in to download mode, new devices reboot, no download mode.
Only thing I can think is looking at the build versions, the newer ones are on a different version, so maybe Samsung changed something.
Old one is
Kernel 3.18.14-11346422
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQF1
New one is
Kernel 3.18.14-12479655
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQL1
I'll see if I can get anything further out of Samsung support (weren't very helpful first go round, so I won't hold my breath).
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold the 3 buttons in this order and ensure they are firmly pressed. If you fail to hold the HOME button in it will continually reboot.
HOME + VOL DOWN + POWER.
It's best if you can do this from Power off.
When the device starts up hold for another few seconds and then let go.
chrisk82 said:
This was my assumption as well. I did get hold of one of our old tablets (also a SM-T580, but purchased 6 months ago) and it went right in to download mode. Went back to the non-working device with the exact same button sequence, and it just started boot looping again. Even the one that I successfully re-flashed won't go in to download mode, so I'm really beginning to wonder if I got a bad batch.
"Booting to bootloader" just reboots the device as normal.
I found a "Samsung 300K Tool" that's intended to mimic the USB jig trick. Puts the old device straight in to download mode, new devices reboot, no download mode.
Only thing I can think is looking at the build versions, the newer ones are on a different version, so maybe Samsung changed something.
Old one is
Kernel 3.18.14-11346422
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQF1
New one is
Kernel 3.18.14-12479655
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQL1
I'll see if I can get anything further out of Samsung support (weren't very helpful first go round, so I won't hold my breath).
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't a problem with the build.
Kernel 3.18.14-12479655
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQL1
This is the latest build from Samsung. Mine has that exact same build and it goes to download without any problem. I still say the problem is with the "device management software". THAT is what is different.
I'm confused as to how you are veryfying the builds if the device cannot boot?
ashyx said:
I'm confused as to how you are veryfying the builds if the device cannot boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The build shows in the recovery screen. But not the kernel version.
---------- Post added at 12:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 PM ----------
chrisk82 said:
This was my assumption as well. I did get hold of one of our old tablets (also a SM-T580, but purchased 6 months ago) and it went right in to download mode. Went back to the non-working device with the exact same button sequence, and it just started boot looping again. Even the one that I successfully re-flashed won't go in to download mode, so I'm really beginning to wonder if I got a bad batch.
"Booting to bootloader" just reboots the device as normal.
I found a "Samsung 300K Tool" that's intended to mimic the USB jig trick. Puts the old device straight in to download mode, new devices reboot, no download mode.
Only thing I can think is looking at the build versions, the newer ones are on a different version, so maybe Samsung changed something.
Old one is
Kernel 3.18.14-11346422
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQF1
New one is
Kernel 3.18.14-12479655
Build NRD90M.T580UEU2BQL1
I'll see if I can get anything further out of Samsung support (weren't very helpful first go round, so I won't hold my breath).
Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the "Update from ADB" option work in recovery? If so, you could extract the image files from the .tar file and use ADB to flash them individually.
lewmur said:
Does the "Update from ADB" option work in recovery? If so, you could extract the image files from the .tar file and use ADB to flash them individually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't work like that. Update zip packages are signed.
For that to even have a chance you need to catch the OTA.
ashyx said:
Hold the 3 buttons in this order and ensure they are firmly pressed. If you fail to hold the HOME button in it will continually reboot.
HOME + VOL DOWN + POWER.
It's best if you can do this from Power off.
When the device starts up hold for another few seconds and then let go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried this from a device with a dead battery charged up to over 20% (maybe needs more?), still boots up to normal Samsung start screen and loop.
ashyx said:
I'm confused as to how you are veryfying the builds if the device cannot boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the build and kernel off the one device I was able to reflash (which has rebooted unexpectedly a few times now, so that's concerning). I suppose it's not a safe assumption they're the same as the boot-loopers.
lewmur said:
Does the "Update from ADB" option work in recovery? If so, you could extract the image files from the .tar file and use ADB to flash them individually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does, and I did try that route, but as was noted, it doesn't validate the zip as signed. I'd assume the same result if I loaded the zip off the SD Card. And since that option mounts ADB in sideload only, I can't do much else with it.
I've re-contacted Samsung, and they insist that if I take them to the local Best Buy, there's a Samsung tech there that can get them working. So I'll take the devices there, and report back what I find out. I'm highly skeptical, but we'll see.
Thanks again for all the suggestions and help.
Chris
A quick update:
Took the tablets to the nearest local Best Buy, they looked at me like I had horns when I said Samsung sent me there. Of course, the Samsung rep (who everybody assumed was just a sales rep) was only there on weekends. So maybe others would have had better luck.
In this case, with them still under warranty, I called Samsung back and got them shipped out to a repair center to be flashed by Samsung.
So no clear answer one way or the other, I'm still a bit skeptical of the device management software preventing the download keys, but who knows. Hopefully they'll be back from Samsung shortly all shiny and new and I can try again (make sure to not disable factory reset in the future, I guess).
Chris
Just to final update:
Utilmately, lewmur was correct.
Devices came back from Samsung with their main boards replaced and I was able to get in to download mode...until I put the device management software on them. I re-contacted ManageEngine support, got a different person, and they pointed to a security setting called "Safe Mode" that their software provides that only applies to Samsung devices to prevent ODIN mode. Sorry to have wasted everybody's time on my not understand the software, but thanks again for the suggestions.
Chris