[Q] Modified Platform.xml most apps crash and phone is unuseable - Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys, I'm having a serious problem with my Note 3 running kitkat, I attempted to modify the platform.xml and I don't exactly know what I did but i was attempting to allow apps to write to my external SD card, but I didn't change the permissions on it now the device literally is as about as useful as a brick.
-It will not run apps
-Internet doesn't work
-Various other problems
I've had a look at some other threads but my knowledge on androids is quite little, It was rooted by a friend who didn't exactly explain Rom's for android. So I'm wondering what I can do because I have some important things on my phone I do not want to loose, and from what i'm aware of a factory reset isn't the best option, if there's a way other than factory restoring it, I did see another solution with using ADB I think it was but i'm sure there is another way I can fix it. Note: Cannot browse any files or modify them they're not visible.
Thanks
Edit: Tried a factory restore from the restore menu I had with the root called CWM-base recovery same issue still popped up.
2nd Edit: Fixed the issue wasn't easy(This is for the people that have the same issue) I basically used android debug bridge to install root explorer, just download the android SDK from google and look up a tutorial on how to install apps, I modified the xml file to a stock one I had in the /system before I modified it, due to the apps crashing nothing would open so I couldn't do this, after that I restarted the phone made sure the apps crashed again, this was a good thing that they crashed, all I did after that was a factory reset never lost app data or my text files, everything is working and thank you guys for the help Some of my apps were gone but I had written them down so yeah, it was an annoying issue not exactly an easy fix b ut it works.

Hey. If u perform data wipe in recovery, u do not lose any files from your phone so this should be safe.
Unfortunately I have no idea how to fix the problem with XML file, but u can safely wipe your phone or reflash your rom.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
Hey. If u perform data wipe in recovery, u do not lose any files from your phone so this should be safe.
Unfortunately I have no idea how to fix the problem with XML file, but u can safely wipe your phone or reflash your rom.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"data wipe in recovery" By this do you mean the volume up + volume down + home till you get to the menu and press the restore? I just read this somewhere sorry for the noob question?

U press home +volume up +power button combo, until it reboots into recovery. Then you select wipe and factory reset or similar option. Just do not perform perform any formats, cause that's what erases your data. fingers crossed!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
U press home +volume up +power button combo, until it reboots into recovery. Then you select wipe and factory reset or similar option. Just do not perform perform any formats, cause that's what erases your data. fingers crossed!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pressed that some little blue and yellow writing came up and my phone's screen went black I guess it either ran out of charge or something else i'll just wait and thanks so much for the help.

Always remember to have your phone over 30-40% of battery when u go to recovery to avoid your phone going off when messing with your phone
If u can get your phone to recovery, you can try to copy important files from there to your of and completely wipe everything and flash a new ROM.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
Always remember to have your phone over 30-40% of battery when u go to recovery to avoid your phone going off when messing with your phone
If u can get your phone to recovery, you can try to copy important files from there to your of and completely wipe everything and flash a new ROM.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So once my phone comes back on I can do a factory reset and hope for the best? I don't really want all of my apps to go or anything i've installed on the actual device, so when I do a factory reset will this remove everything i've got, i'm not entirely sure how i'd copy the files on to my pc because I couldn't browse anything on the device last time i plugged it in after I modified the platform.xml

You will keep your files but all the apps will be removed, so you will need to install them back. Probably you could copy the file you messed up from someone else and try to get tour phone back up but I am not sure how to do it.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
You will keep your files but all the apps will be removed, so you will need to install them back. Probably you could copy the file you messed up from someone else and try to get tour phone back up but I am not sure how to do it.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks a ton for the help, I'm going to see if there's a way to use the adb utility to pull the file I damaged get a stock one and push it, I don't know if it will work but i'll give it a go, or should I just do a factory reset? I'd prefer to keep my apps but if it means I have to wipe them I will.

You can give it a try and then if it doesn't work, do the factory reset
Let us know how u do
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
You can give it a try and then if it doesn't work, do the factory reset
Let us know how u do
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the factory restore, via the boot thing same issue and the stupid app crashing, I'm puzzled on what to do. Any other solutions I'm concerned my phone is literallly broken now.

Factory reset does only reformat cache, Dalvik and data partition. If you tinkered with your system one and rendered something useless, it won't help you at all to do a factory reset. It just does not touch the normally READ ONLY system. If you wanna fix it, and you have no setting to fix permissions in TWRP/CWM you have to reflash the system, either by reflashing the custom ROM you used from there or by using Odin and flashing the original system back to it. This is why you ALWAYS should have a TWRP (or if you really think about outdated stuff... CWM) FULL backup ready and armed.

emuandco said:
Factory reset does only reformat cache, Dalvik and data partition. If you tinkered with your system one and rendered something useless, it won't help you at all to do a factory reset. It just does not touch the normally READ ONLY system. If you wanna fix it, and you have no setting to fix permissions in TWRP/CWM you have to reflash the system, either by reflashing the custom ROM you used from there or by using Odin and flashing the original system back to it. This is why you ALWAYS should have a TWRP (or if you really think about outdated stuff... CWM) FULL backup ready and armed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't think about fixing permissions. Worth giving it a try.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Related

[Q] anyway to get internal sd data off when stuck in bootloop?

@ mods i realised my mistake in posting this in the wrong section and posted in the right one but people are replying to this one......so please dont delete this just yet
I in my infinite wisdom tried to mod a file on my phone. I did a titanium backup 1st but forgot to move it to my external SD Doh!
So that went wrong and now I'm stuck in a boot loop with only the stock recovery screen. Need to install stock rom and adb not recognized. (Im sure ill figure that) but my main question is, is there some way to recover data from the internal "sd" memory?
I really appreciate any advice anyone can give
I am not sure if I understood your question.. if you have CWM then just access recovery mode and you will have an option to mount the SD and you will be able to access all your files via USB from your PC
?
I don't have cwm . Like I said I only have the stock recovery screens I.e factory reset and download mode.
Do a factory reset, it won't erase your data.
Not sure that would work. It says wipe user data and factory reset so surely it would wipe my data. Plus I don't think that'll work anyway as I changed a file which caused the boot loop so I don't think a factory reset will fix that file.
Androboyben said:
Not sure that would work. It says wipe user data and factory reset so surely it would wipe my data. Plus I don't think that'll work anyway as I changed a file which caused the boot loop so I don't think a factory reset will fix that file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what info are you trying to get off the device? the sms etc are stored on your data and will be wiped by a reinstall/factory reset
anything on the usb side for storage will not get touched
Factory reset wont clear anything on the internal_sd
thank you.....but
thanks for the replies peeps ill trust your knowledge (and have pressed the thanks button )
got a day off tomorrow so gonna try and get it up and running again,
Question though, being as i buggered up the stock rom wont flashing the new rom (when i figure out how) delete internal data either.
the reason im being carefull is i did some awesome illustrations (imo) for a childrens book im writing so hoping to save those.
Androboyben said:
thanks for the replies peeps ill trust your knowledge (and have pressed the thanks button )
got a day off tomorrow so gonna try and get it up and running again,
Question though, being as i buggered up the stock rom wont flashing the new rom (when i figure out how) delete internal data either.
the reason im being carefull is i did some awesome illustrations (imo) for a childrens book im writing so hoping to save those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it depends on if you use a wipe or non wipe rom, a non wipe wil lkeep qall the data stored on the android system intact but you might get bootloops if it doesnt replace the file you say you deleted
took the plunge......alls good
Richy99 said:
it depends on if you use a wipe or non wipe rom, a non wipe wil lkeep qall the data stored on the android system intact but you might get bootloops if it doesnt replace the file you say you deleted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Richy99, i took the plunge and followed nasgilani's guide to installing stock rom, i was supprised when it completed that even my home screens etc were as they were before (appart from widgets being blank) and glad to see "as you all said" my data intact.
i shall be more cautious before i start messing with mods next time
basically internal usb storage of 11gb will never be touched when you factory reset nor wil lanything on an external sd card
the only thing that gets wiped is the 1gb internal space for the rom and data on that partition such as sms/email etc
I know this is an old topic but I noticed it wasn't exactly answered.. I'm trying to send mine back to the factory for warranty because the power button no longer functions. I have the stock rom and recovery and I'm stuck in boot loop because I can't execute factory wipe with the power button. I'd like to pull my data off of the internal SD but am unable to fix the bootloop without forcing the wipe.
I know metter is over now, it was just ur worrying, otherwise wiping cache,wiping data from recovery , flashing stock rom (wipe/non wipe) nothing.will erase data on internal memory.
Just for knowledge
aroma file manager is available, which works from recovery, it can work even you device stucked, unable to boot..
Edit ; sometime you feel ashamed, just come to know this is 6month old topic
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

[Q] Stuck on the X logo, pls help...

Guys, its my first time to try to do some modding on Android and unfortunately Im stuck with a problem.
I did a good install with drivers, unlocked it successfully then installed TWRP 2.5 mako. after installing TWRP, I locked my phone again. Then I went to TWRP recovery then made a backup. After backup was complete, I was to reboot but was prompted something like "my device seemed not to be rooted. Do you like to install SU?" But I choose "dot not install" instead. Then it rebooted. Then the Google logo showed up longer than usual, then the X logo and was stuck on it from there. I waited till morning thinkin the phone might be configuring itself for the first time after all the things I have done but to my surprise, when I got up this morning, still on the X logo! I then tried to reset by pressing the power button for some seconds. It rebooted but same thing happens, google logo showed up for a longer time than usual then stuck again on the X logo. Then I tried fastboot, it did went to fastboot. Tried to reset bootloader, tried using TWRP reset system and reboot but still no success.
What do you think happenede and what did I do wrong? What should I do now to fix this.
Im really nervous now thinking I might have bricked my phone. Im a newbie so I really have no idea..
Hope you guys could help. Thanks!
Try clearing cache in twrp if that doesn't work flash the stock recovery and clear cache from there.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4 Beta
El Daddy said:
Try clearing cache in twrp if that doesn't work flash the stock recovery and clear cache from there.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply. You mean using "Wipe" in twrp right? After choosing wipe, i was prompted with 2 button options and a swipe option. 1 button was "advance wipe", the other was "format data" and the swipe option was "swipe to factory reset" what should I use? It says "factory reset wipes data, cache and dalvik (not including internal storage). Most of the time this is the only wipe that you need." You mentioned to try to clear cache, do you mean to say the data and dalvic as well? If so then should I choose the swip option which is "factory reset"?
Thanks again..
Nope just the cache. This phone sometimes has issues when wiping data/cache from the bootloader. (Which is what happens when you unlock the bootloader) The way to fix the bootloop problem is to wipe cache using the stock recovery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
vinz_bangiz said:
thanks for the reply. You mean using "Wipe" in twrp right? After choosing wipe, i was prompted with 2 button options and a swipe option. 1 button was "advance wipe", the other was "format data" and the swipe option was "swipe to factory reset" what should I use? It says "factory reset wipes data, cache and dalvik (not including internal storage). Most of the time this is the only wipe that you need." You mentioned to try to clear cache, do you mean to say the data and dalvic as well? If so then should I choose the swip option which is "factory reset"?
Thanks again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try factory reset first if that doesn't work you may have to sideload a ROM onto it. The same thing happened to me a couple of times. Sometimes a factory reset worked but most of the time I ended up sideloading.
El Daddy said:
Nope just the cache. This phone sometimes has issues when wiping data/cache from the bootloader. (Which is what happens when you unlock the bootloader) The way to fix the bootloop problem is to wipe cache using the stock recovery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so just to clear, i would not try anymore to clear cache via twrp or should i try it first before flashing stock recovery and clearing it from there? To be honest, im quite careful now in every move ill make coz Im afraid i might make matters worst.
Pls advice. thanks for your patience.
by the way, in case I would really need to flash stock rom, how to do it and where to get right stock recovery?
Thanks again!
All the info to flash recovery and resources are here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2010312
Basically, download the stock image. Extract the folder down til you see the recovery.img.
Then using fastboot type the command:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Then boot into recovery and clear cache.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
El Daddy said:
All the info to flash recovery and resources are here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2010312
Basically, download the stock image. Extract the folder down til you see the recovery.img.
Then using fastboot type the command:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Then boot into recovery and clear cache.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh ok. I understand now. Sorry, its my first time so im not that familiar yet on how things go. I did a lot of reading and browsing as well but xda sure is very overwhelming in information..
P41ll37 is suggesting sideload which I also am not yet familiar with. i tried to search it but most of it led to using a toolkit. I mentioned in another post that I made that I wanted to learn instead of jsut being able to fix my problems. Could you advice me as well or lead me to the right link to know how to do this.
Thanks!
Guys! before trying anything else, I tried to clear cache using TWRP and choosing advance then marked the delvic cache and cache then restarted system, was asked if I wanted to installed SU, this time I choose yes, it rebooted by itself, but still nothing happened. same stuck on X logo problem.
But then, I tried wipe again in TWRP this time choosing factory reset, then restarted system again, google logo did stay a longer but not as long as before, then X logo appeared and stayed there like forever but after a minute or so.. FINALLY! it went to the Welcome screen asking for what language I should use.
So i guess this means it is fixed already?
Also, since I choose to install SU a while ago, does this mean my phone is already rooted as well? How would I know? Well, maybe installing a root app like titanium backup should tell right?
If so, then looks like I have advanced already on my step by step learning to mod my phone. I was only in the unlocking and custom recovery part last night. Tonight was supposed to be rooting and putting custom rom but I was still trying to learn thru our forum guides.
I wana thank you guys for your time, kind help and suggestions. This was my first experience in modding and right away I was faced with a problem to be solved. This is good anyway as a learning experience.
One last thing, could you guys tell what really happend, how I went into this kind of problem or what caused it? As I mentioned, I was noping not only to mod or fix my phone but rather really learn on how to do or fix things. Like a difference between a toolkit and manually doing it. Right?
Thanks again guys!
vinz_bangiz said:
Guys! before trying anything else, I tried to clear cache using TWRP and choosing advance then marked the delvic cache and cache then restarted system, was asked if I wanted to installed SU, this time I choose yes, it rebooted by itself, but still nothing happened. same stuck on X logo problem.
But then, I tried wipe again in TWRP this time choosing factory reset, then restarted system again, google logo did stay a longer but not as long as before, then X logo appeared and stayed there like forever but after a minute or so.. FINALLY! it went to the Welcome screen asking for what language I should use.
So i guess this means it is fixed already?
Also, since I choose to install SU a while ago, does this mean my phone is already rooted as well? How would I know? Well, maybe installing a root app like titanium backup should tell right?
If so, then looks like I have advanced already on my step by step learning to mod my phone. I was only in the unlocking and custom recovery part last night. Tonight was supposed to be rooting and putting custom rom but I was still trying to learn thru our forum guides.
I wana thank you guys for your time, kind help and suggestions. This was my first experience in modding and right away I was faced with a problem to be solved. This is good anyway as a learning experience.
One last thing, could you guys tell what really happend, how I went into this kind of problem or what caused it? As I mentioned, I was noping not only to mod or fix my phone but rather really learn on how to do or fix things. Like a difference between a toolkit and manually doing it. Right?
Thanks again guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
basically whenever you flash a factory image (and perhaps even some custom ROMS) you have to do a factory reset for really two reasons. The first reason is to get it out of bootloop. For some reason whenever the phone is flashed it will go on endless loop until you boot into recovery and factory reset. Also, you will need to check your storage after you flash. The phone has a tendency to lose half its memory after a flash. Check storage and if at half memory do another factory wipe and you should be good to go.
The easiest way I do it is to simply reboot the phone after flashing the files, I then allow the phone to reboot and get stuck on the bootloop. I then hard shut the phone off by holding down power. Once shut down boot into fastboot and then fastboot boot TWRP recovery where I then wipe the phone. After it reboots it will stick on the X logo for a few minutes and get to the welcome screen. From there log in and get it set up again.
Also, this is where you should check storage. I notice that more often than not mine still is only half storage (despite my TWRP wipe), so I use the phone to factory reset and then when it reboots the phone has full storage again.
Im sure there is probably someone out there with a better system but that is how I do it.
thos25 said:
basically whenever you flash a factory image (and perhaps even some custom ROMS) you have to do a factory reset for really two reasons. The first reason is to get it out of bootloop. For some reason whenever the phone is flashed it will go on endless loop until you boot into recovery and factory reset. Also, you will need to check your storage after you flash. The phone has a tendency to lose half its memory after a flash. Check storage and if at half memory do another factory wipe and you should be good to go.
The easiest way I do it is to simply reboot the phone after flashing the files, I then allow the phone to reboot and get stuck on the bootloop. I then hard shut the phone off by holding down power. Once shut down boot into fastboot and then fastboot boot TWRP recovery where I then wipe the phone. After it reboots it will stick on the X logo for a few minutes and get to the welcome screen. From there log in and get it set up again.
Also, this is where you should check storage. I notice that more often than not mine still is only half storage (despite my TWRP wipe), so I use the phone to factory reset and then when it reboots the phone has full storage again.
Im sure there is probably someone out there with a better system but that is how I do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. really very informative!
The easiest way I do it is to simply reboot the phone after flashing the files, I then allow the phone to reboot and get stuck on the bootloop. I then hard shut the phone off by holding down power. Once shut down boot into fastboot and then fastboot boot TWRP recovery where I then wipe the phone. After it reboots it will stick on the X logo for a few minutes and get to the welcome screen. From there log in and get it set up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, this is exactly what I did and the one that solved my problem.
Also, this is where you should check storage. I notice that more often than not mine still is only half storage (despite my TWRP wipe), so I use the phone to factory reset and then when it reboots the phone has full storage again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About this, are you referring to the remaining free storage or that actual usable storage of the phone. To my knowledge, a new 16gb nex4 would actually give you about 12+gb of free usuable space. Do you mean I should observe if this has dropped to about 6gb? or are you reffering to for example I have 5gb remaining free space before flashing and rebooting then after this I should observe if the "remaining free" space is now only around 2.5gb after rebooting it?
Looking forward to your clarification.. thanks again!

I can not enter camera, storage, or connect to a pc.

After rooting and getting different ROMs. Something happened and I get all these error messages on different things. It is most likely a corrupt file, but when I factory reset, it is still the same. How do I fix this? I factory reset and didn't even restore anything. I am on basically a new phone. I also still have all my app data though.
egasseMneddiH said:
After rooting and getting different ROMs. Something happened and I get all these error messages on different things. It is most likely a corrupt file, but when I factory reset, it is still the same. How do I fix this? I factory reset and didn't even restore anything. I am on basically a new phone. I also still have all my app data though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to do a full wipe, meaning everything (except the sdcard), especially the system.
How are you doing the factory reset btw? If you're doing it via the recovery, you're good to go. After doing the factory reset, go into the advanced wipe section and wipe the system also. If you are using TWRP, you can select system on the first screen after choosing wipe.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013)
Berrydroidcafe said:
You need to do a full wipe, meaning everything (except the sdcard), especially the system.
How are you doing the factory reset btw? If you're doing it via the recovery, you're good to go. After doing the factory reset, go into the advanced wipe section and wipe the system also. If you are using TWRP, you can select system on the first screen after choosing wipe.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Clockwork. Thank you. Don't think I will do it today though. I have already spent too much time.
egasseMneddiH said:
I am using Clockwork. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I don't have cwm installed, I'd be doing you a disservice, but try wiping everything from the recovery and try again. Most roms will wipe system and so forth, but not all of them does a good job of it and end up leaving bits and pieces lying around.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013)

Reset S4 with broken LCD

Hi guys, i've broken my Galaxy s4 lcd some day ago, and yesterday i've decided to sell it on ebay.
But now i have to wipe it. The problem is that i am running a custom Touchwiz rom and Philz touch recovery. So i don't think i can use Kies to make a factory reset.
I can use Odin to flash a stock image etc... But i don't know how to solve completely my problems.
Can someone help me? Thx
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=41392134
Take help from this
"If someone helps, never forget to hit thanks ? "
DeepankarS said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=41392134
Take help from this
"If someone helps, never forget to hit thanks ? "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the replay.
However, the Galaxy S4 doesn't have fastboot mode, but only download mode and recovery mode, so I don't know how to use the commands...
OmniSlyfer said:
Thank you for the replay.
However, the Galaxy S4 doesn't have fastboot mode, but only download mode and recovery mode, so I don't know how to use the commands...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin will fix it.
Flash the stock ronin Odin. All your user data will be (sort of) removed.
A skilled user could still recover your user data' but most people won't even know its there.
You will not need the phone's screen to work at any point in the Odin process.
Skipjacks said:
Odin will fix it.
Flash the stock ronin Odin. All your user data will be (sort of) removed.
A skilled user could still recover your user data' but most people won't even know its there.
You will not need the phone's screen to work at any point in the Odin process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok perfect
I've just finished to flash the stock rom, I hope evrything worked fine. I'll try to install Kies3 to see if I can maybe do another wipe or something else to delete definately all my data inside (including photos etc...). Any suggestions?
OmniSlyfer said:
Oh ok perfect
I've just finished to flash the stock rom, I hope evrything worked fine. I'll try to install Kies3 to see if I can maybe do another wipe or something else to delete definately all my data inside (including photos etc...). Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin will wipe the data as well as Kies will.
But neither really removes the data. Both just remove the directory structure which makes it easy to sort the data.
To really remove the data you need to overwrite it with new data. That is much more difficult to do without access to the screen on the phone.
You could do it in recovery with the device mounted via usb to a computer. But you generally need to select that in recovery using the touch screen.
You can also push data to the device to overwrite using adb, but its more difficult.
All in all though...unless you have evidence of your participation in a crime on the phone, don't be so worried about it. It will be okay.
Skipjacks said:
All in all though...unless you have evidence of your participation in a crime on the phone, don't be so worried about it. It will be okay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahahahahah
Skipjacks said:
Odin will wipe the data as well as Kies will.
But neither really removes the data. Both just remove the directory structure which makes it easy to sort the data.
To really remove the data you need to overwrite it with new data. That is much more difficult to do without access to the screen on the phone.
You could do it in recovery with the device mounted via usb to a computer. But you generally need to select that in recovery using the touch screen.
You can also push data to the device to overwrite using adb, but its more difficult.
All in all though...unless you have evidence of your participation in a crime on the phone, don't be so worried about it. It will be okay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahahah. Thank you so much for the explanation
I think the buyer will find some photos of me in the phone, i hope he will not die coz of my ugly face
I think this thread can be closed.
Skipjacks said:
Odin will wipe the data as well as Kies will.
But neither really removes the data. Both just remove the directory structure which makes it easy to sort the data.
To really remove the data you need to overwrite it with new data. That is much more difficult to do without access to the screen on the phone.
You could do it in recovery with the device mounted via usb to a computer. But you generally need to select that in recovery using the touch screen.
You can also push data to the device to overwrite using adb, but its more difficult.
All in all though...unless you have evidence of your participation in a crime on the phone, don't be so worried about it. It will be okay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since Google implemented Trim in Android 4.3, it's impossible (as of yet) to recover deleted data. I tried several guides here on XDA on data recovery and none of them work anymore.
See for example this article.
http://forensic.belkasoft.com/en/why-ssd-destroy-court-evidence
So basically if you delete a file or format your system, the data is really gone.
Lennyz1988 said:
Since Google implemented Trim in Android 4.3, it's impossible (as of yet) to recover deleted data. I tried several guides here on XDA on data recovery and none of them work anymore.
See for example this article.
http://forensic.belkasoft.com/en/why-ssd-destroy-court-evidence
So basically if you delete a file or format your system, the data is really gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That article was one of the most awesome nerdy things I ever read. I had no idea about the garbage collectors on solid state memory.
Skipjacks said:
That article was one of the most awesome nerdy things I ever read. I had no idea about the garbage collectors on solid state memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my experience, flashing stock firmware with Kies DOES NOT wipe the user data/files from phones SD card. I have to always do factory reset from stock recovery to wipe it.
tomtro74 said:
From my experience, flashing stock firmware with Kies DOES NOT wipe the user data/files from phones SD card. I have to always do factory reset from stock recovery to wipe it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wont ever wipe the external sd card
The internal sd card should depend on the tar file and if it formats that partition or not.
I never really paid attention to it myself because I have never had to flash a full stock restore on my S4 so I have no idea what the standard for S4 firmwares is.
The internal data partition though should be wiped with a full stock firmware in odin every single time.
Skipjacks said:
It wont ever wipe the external sd card
The internal sd card should depend on the tar file and if it formats that partition or not.
I never really paid attention to it myself because I have never had to flash a full stock restore on my S4 so I have no idea what the standard for S4 firmwares is.
The internal data partition though should be wiped with a full stock firmware in odin every single time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it's not. Believe me. I used to flash stock rom on S4 number of times and I can confirm that flashing stock rom with Odin DOES NOT WIPE any user data. Your photos and other files stays intact as well as the apss ( you may loose some apps internal data ) until factory reset is performed either from stock recovery or from rom itself.
tomtro74 said:
Well, it's not. Believe me. I used to flash stock rom on S4 number of times and I can confirm that flashing stock rom with Odin DOES NOT WIPE any user data. Your photos and other files stays intact as well as the apss ( you may loose some apps internal data ) until factory reset is performed either from stock recovery or from rom itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well how about that.....you learn something new every day!
OmniSlyfer said:
Hi guys, i've broken my Galaxy s4 lcd some day ago, and yesterday i've decided to sell it on ebay.
But now i have to wipe it. The problem is that i am running a custom Touchwiz rom and Philz touch recovery. So i don't think i can use Kies to make a factory reset.
I can use Odin to flash a stock image etc... But i don't know how to solve completely my problems.
Can someone help me? Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your S4 opens, just connect it to the PC and then the internal memory will appear
delete whatever you wants

Android is starting... Optimising app xx of xx on every boot

Hi all,
Have had my Nexus 10 with a few years now and rooted it not long after I got it, stuck with stock rom though.
All was fine until I updated to the latest LMY49H Build using NRT (Nexus Root Toolkit) which I always do and it has never let me down.
But with this update I get the swirling balls, Android boot screen then about 10 minutes of "Android is starting... Optimising app xx of xx". I have wiped via settings, via recovery (TWRP and stock), Flash Stock and Unroot (NRT), Root (NRT which wipes data), cleared cache, dalvik, data using TWRP but every time I end up with this optimising apps screen.
I have tried restoring previous versions at setup (apps, wallpapers etc.) and I have skipped all setup options for a clean fresh copy but always with the same result.
I have been looking around but didn't find someone running stock rom with the same problem, If I missed it then I'm sorry.
Please someone help me as I'm going on a trip soon and will need my tablet!
Could be your flash memory is wearing out. When you are using TWRP try copying a file then reboot into TWRP and see if the file is still there. If it is gone it is bad flash memory and you need a new motherboard...
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
psiphi said:
Could be your flash memory is wearing out. When you are using TWRP try copying a file then reboot into TWRP and see if the file is still there. If it is gone it is bad flash memory and you need a new motherboard...
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I don't get what you mean. do you mean to flash a file? (or at least see if TWRP finds the file?)
e.g. copy a file, supersu.zip or something in downloads folder, then boot into TWRP to see if its in the folder ready to flash?
Oh I hope its not the motherboard, the tablet has hardly been used compared to others I know of.
Do you know if its safe to revert to a previous version of android using NRT? LMY49H or even G? I was happy enough with those versions and only updated thinking it would clear the security update (7.2mb) which I ended up doing manually anyway (Unroot & Update, install security update, Root).
I had a problem like this years ago when I flashed a ROM to my old Galaxy S4, flashing a different ROM fixed the problem then, I'm hoping it will now too!
Thanks for your help
fado5ster said:
Sorry I don't get what you mean. do you mean to flash a file? (or at least see if TWRP finds the file?)
e.g. copy a file, supersu.zip or something in downloads folder, then boot into TWRP to see if its in the folder ready to flash?
Oh I hope its not the motherboard, the tablet has hardly been used compared to others I know of.
Do you know if its safe to revert to a previous version of android using NRT? LMY49H or even G? I was happy enough with those versions and only updated thinking it would clear the security update (7.2mb) which I ended up doing manually anyway (Unroot & Update, install security update, Root).
I had a problem like this years ago when I flashed a ROM to my old Galaxy S4, flashing a different ROM fixed the problem then, I'm hoping it will now too!
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not flash your memory but check your: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory
And yes it is safe to restock (another) ROM.
fado5ster said:
Sorry I don't get what you mean. do you mean to flash a file? (or at least see if TWRP finds the file?)
e.g. copy a file, supersu.zip or something in downloads folder, then boot into TWRP to see if its in the folder ready to flash?
Oh I hope its not the motherboard, the tablet has hardly been used compared to others I know of.
Do you know if its safe to revert to a previous version of android using NRT? LMY49H or even G? I was happy enough with those versions and only updated thinking it would clear the security update (7.2mb) which I ended up doing manually anyway (Unroot & Update, install security update, Root).
I had a problem like this years ago when I flashed a ROM to my old Galaxy S4, flashing a different ROM fixed the problem then, I'm hoping it will now too!
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I mean just copy a file to it that is not already there and rebooting it and seeing if the file is still there.
If it works then you probably don't have a hardware issue.
It is always worth trying to flash a known working rom, though you may need to hard reset to get it working.
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
mr.natural said:
Not flash your memory but check your: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory
And yes it is safe to restock (another) ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I know what flash memory is, I mean I didn't know what he meant by copy using TWRP.
I may try flash the previous LMY49H ROM then
psiphi said:
Right, I mean just copy a file to it that is not already there and rebooting it and seeing if the file is still there.
If it works then you probably don't have a hardware issue.
It is always worth trying to flash a known working rom, though you may need to hard reset to get it working.
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK cool, thanks for clearing that up..
This literally just started when I updated to the new ROM (LMY49J). I have done a full wipe already so hard reset shouldn't be a problem, nothing left on it now anyway. Think I may have done it already tho
Before the update I had a full TV series and a few movies saved into it and it had no problems playing/saving anything. Think I may try stock flash & unroot with LMY49H and see how that goes.. I'm away from it at the moment so hopefully will try tomorrow.
I have a feeling it is saving files though, displayed my old wallpaper when I restored from previous tablet option on setup. Must be saving this picture somewhere after initial download at setup. It is booting up eventually like, just after it optimizes the apps, maybe 5-10min.
What other issues could I be having?
You really have to create or copy something new and reboot the tablet to test. Files and setting will stay in the cache and so give the illusion working unless you reboot.
Also are you doing a clean shutdown via the menu after hitting the power button for no more than 2 seconds? Doing power off without going through menu can cause your behavior.
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
psiphi said:
You really have to create or copy something new and reboot the tablet to test. Files and setting will stay in the cache and so give the illusion working unless you reboot.
Also are you doing a clean shutdown via the menu after hitting the power button for no more than 2 seconds? Doing power off without going through menu can cause your behavior.
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I will try copy something tomorrow.. A TV show or something..
Yes I always hit power button and select "Power Off" and let it shut down, have since day 1!
Will keep you updated,
Thanks again
fado5ster said:
OK I will try copy something tomorrow.. A TV show or something..
Yes I always hit power button and select "Power Off" and let it shut down, have since day 1!
Will keep you updated,
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to copy something in recovery mode with twrp. From a different directory (or usb stick to your device) and then reboot to see if it is still there.

Categories

Resources