Database Users

[Q] Samsung galaxy GT-I9500 that no one can repair!

Hi guys
I really hope someone can help me here as i am reaching dead ends on every door i knock:
I bought a new samsung galaxy S4 GT-I9500 in September 2013 from an ebay seller using paypal, and it was working for 2 weeks no problems at all.
I suddenly charged it once and then after pressing the switch on button, it got stuck at the SAMSUNG boot logo.
I didn't panic because i am sure there is always a way or a flashing technique that fixes these issues (like apple or other devices)
I asked around and some wonderful people in this forum guided me into the use of Odin, i tried many stock firmware but in vain. I did this in different ways too (got some guidance from one of the moderators here and we both got convinced that the flashing was successful but the phone still doesn't boot)
So after everything we tried, i thought i should return it to samsung (London , stratford smart centre). I was shocked to discover that they don't accept to look at it because they said it originated from South africa. Therefore even the existing warranty won't be valid.
I thought i will try contacting the samsung customer services in UK and the response was the same (email and phone)
I then went to look for a good repair company and i end up visiting The geek squad (part of carphone warehouse), they took the phone for a week then they said we cannot repair without giving me a precise reason. I am guessing they didn't try anything since they discovered it originates from South africa.
I called one or two other repair companies but the same answer too.
Finally, i emailed South africa Samsung and the answer was even more shocking. They said it doesn't have an international warranty as the device was not purchased thru the correct channels within the South african market!
My question is, can a device like this be unrepairable? does anyone know any repair shop in the area of London or in England that can deal with samsung galaxy S4 not booting bearing in mind it's a GT-I9500 and not GT-I9505?
I was thinking to send it to South africa but not after the email i received from them
many thanks in advance
Karim

krihoum said:
Hi guys
I really hope someone can help me here as i am reaching dead ends on every door i knock:
I bought a new samsung galaxy S4 GT-I9500 in September 2013 from an ebay seller using paypal, and it was working for 2 weeks no problems at all.
I suddenly charged it once and then after pressing the switch on button, it got stuck at the SAMSUNG boot logo.
I didn't panic because i am sure there is always a way or a flashing technique that fixes these issues (like apple or other devices)
I asked around and some wonderful people in this forum guided me into the use of Odin, i tried many stock firmware but in vain. I did this in different ways too (got some guidance from one of the moderators here and we both got convinced that the flashing was successful but the phone still doesn't boot)
So after everything we tried, i thought i should return it to samsung (London , stratford smart centre). I was shocked to discover that they don't accept to look at it because they said it originated from South africa. Therefore even the existing warranty won't be valid.
I thought i will try contacting the samsung customer services in UK and the response was the same (email and phone)
I then went to look for a good repair company and i end up visiting The geek squad (part of carphone warehouse), they took the phone for a week then they said we cannot repair without giving me a precise reason. I am guessing they didn't try anything since they discovered it originates from South africa.
I called one or two other repair companies but the same answer too.
Finally, i emailed South africa Samsung and the answer was even more shocking. They said it doesn't have an international warranty as the device was not purchased thru the correct channels within the South african market!
My question is, can a device like this be unrepairable? does anyone know any repair shop in the area of London or in England that can deal with samsung galaxy S4 not booting bearing in mind it's a GT-I9500 and not GT-I9505?
I was thinking to send it to South africa but not after the email i received from them
many thanks in advance
Karim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
anyone can recommend a good "hardware" repair shop in England?
thanks

krihoum said:
anyone can recommend a good "hardware" repair shop in England?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might wanna describe your flashing process, otherwise there won't be anybody who can help you. I doubt that this is a hardware related issue...

RobHands said:
You might wanna describe your flashing process, otherwise there won't be anybody who can help you. I doubt that this is a hardware related issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok i will try to do my best to describe what i have done because i did many flashing:
The first ones i tried were suggested by a moderator here:
-install philz recovry, do the wipe, reboot
-install philz recovery, format system, flash your stock firmware (untick "auto-reboot", when it say "pass", remove battery, insert it, wipe data and cache in recovery, reboot.
- flash pit file alone.
- flash pit file with the stock firmware.
(stock firmware i used was from germany because at that time i didn't know the phone originated from South africa:
Germany MBC (May 2013)
PDA: I9500XXUAMDK
CSC: I9500MBCAMD6
Version 4.2.2)
Then i tried a different stock firmware from russia but still didn't work
Later i tried the south africa firmware but still didnt work
Finally i tried the flashing using sboot.tar in odin as pda (the file attached in my thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2265477)
and that didn't work as well
My flashing technique was based on this forum here and i used it with on a computer with windows XP loaded with KIES software (samsung drivers available), using ODIN 3.07. I leave the checkboxes untouched, i.e. AUTOREBOOT & F. RESET TIME checked only. The ID:COM box on ODIN turning blue once the phone is connected.
I click on PDA to select the file or stock rom i flash with, then when the file path is shown and the software is ready i hit START and after few minutes, the flashing completes, making the phone reboot and i see the GREEN label on ODIN stating PASS. Never had any error message
However, the phone doesn't pass the boot logo
I am always willing to do more tests and try any suggestion you can think of
many thanks
Karim

krihoum said:
ok i will try to do my best to describe what i have done because i did many flashing:
The first ones i tried were suggested by a moderator here:
-install philz recovry, do the wipe, reboot
-install philz recovery, format system, flash your stock firmware (untick "auto-reboot", when it say "pass", remove battery, insert it, wipe data and cache in recovery, reboot.
- flash pit file alone.
- flash pit file with the stock firmware.
(stock firmware i used was from germany because at that time i didn't know the phone originated from South africa:
Germany MBC (May 2013)
PDA: I9500XXUAMDK
CSC: I9500MBCAMD6
Version 4.2.2)
Then i tried a different stock firmware from russia but still didn't work
Later i tried the south africa firmware but still didnt work
Finally i tried the flashing using sboot.tar in odin as pda (the file attached in my thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2265477)
and that didn't work as well
My flashing technique was based on this forum here and i used it with on a computer with windows XP loaded with KIES software (samsung drivers available), using ODIN 3.07. I leave the checkboxes untouched, i.e. AUTOREBOOT & F. RESET TIME checked only. The ID:COM box on ODIN turning blue once the phone is connected.
I click on PDA to select the file or stock rom i flash with, then when the file path is shown and the software is ready i hit START and after few minutes, the flashing completes, making the phone reboot and i see the GREEN label on ODIN stating PASS. Never had any error message
However, the phone doesn't pass the boot logo
I am always willing to do more tests and try any suggestion you can think of
many thanks
Karim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest you try other recovery for i9500 like TWRP or CWM and then try flashing.
Have you tried flash custom ROM based on touchwiz?
When flashing PIT-file did you check "re-partition"?

RobHands said:
I would suggest you try other recovery for i9500 like TWRP or CWM and then try flashing.
Have you tried flash custom ROM based on touchwiz?
When flashing PIT-file did you check "re-partition"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont think i have tried those but i am willing to try anything
can i find those you mentioned in this forum? do i need to pay attention to the the version type suitable for my 9500?
many thanks

krihoum said:
i dont think i have tried those but i am willing to try anything
can i find those you mentioned in this forum? do i need to pay attention to the the version type suitable for my 9500?
many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First you should try flashing pit file again with "re-partition" checked and the stock firmware from south africa
If that don't work, try flashing wanam's rom for GT-i9500 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2268569), with cwm (http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/GalaxyS4/GT-i9500/recovery/cofface_I9500_cwm_recovery_en_new.tar). He also has a possible solution if device gets stuck in bootloop, you might try that

RobHands said:
First you should try flashing pit file again with "re-partition" checked and the stock firmware from south africa
If that don't work, try flashing wanam's rom for GT-i9500 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2268569), with cwm (http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/GalaxyS4/GT-i9500/recovery/cofface_I9500_cwm_recovery_en_new.tar). He also has a possible solution if device gets stuck in bootloop, you might try that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i will try these 2 solutions tomorrow from my work place because at home my laptop with windows 7 doesn't recognise the samsung driver for some reason
Just one question: the second solution is based on the memory card , because i don't have any way to access the files on the phone, is that correct?

krihoum said:
i will try these 2 solutions tomorrow from my work place because at home my laptop with windows 7 doesn't recognise the samsung driver for some reason
Just one question: the second solution is based on the memory card , because i don't have any way to access the files on the phone, is that correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you install cwm recovery you can mount the phone storage so you can access it from your pc.

RobHands said:
If you install cwm recovery you can mount the phone storage so you can access it from your pc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent
i will try both methods and i let you know, i really appreciate
One thing i noticed is that no 32GB pit is available for the i9500, can I assume we just need to use the 16gb then?

krihoum said:
Excellent
i will try both methods and i let you know, i really appreciate
One thing i noticed is that no 32GB pit is available for the i9500, can I assume we just need to use the 16gb then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the pit + latest south african rom with re-partition checked and it didn't do anything
(I found only pit for 16gb )
I am doing the second suggestion, i installed the latest CWM 6.0.4.5 and started by wipe data/factory reset
I went to mounts and storage but i guess i cannot mount the phone itself but rather the memory card
I wait until i go home and i use the card loaded with the rom
I hope i am doing this right
many thanks

krihoum said:
I did the pit + latest south african rom with re-partition checked and it didn't do anything
(I found only pit for 16gb )
I am doing the second suggestion, i installed the latest CWM 6.0.4.5 and started by wipe data/factory reset
I went to mounts and storage but i guess i cannot mount the phone itself but rather the memory card
I wait until i go home and i use the card loaded with the rom
I hope i am doing this right
many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have managed to install the wanamlite rom using a memory card loaded with the zip file but although it was successfully installed thru CWM, when i rebooted it has the same symptoms. i.e. samsung galaxy s4 9500 logo then followed by white samsung logo (with interrupted music), then stuck there. i also did re-partition using adonis.pit + stock firmware, then flashed CWM, the wanamlite rom, but in vain.
Am i doing something wrong? or maybe the phone is very much bricked?
any help or suggestion is very much appreciated
thanks

Tried with Kies? There's a procedure that revive your phone.. Once i almost got bricked and I can't do nothing except attaching device to usb port and press a button in Kies.. I don't remember the name... It was like a flash on the fly
Inviato dal mio GT-I9505G con Tapatalk 2

PacStealer said:
Tried with Kies? There's a procedure that revive your phone.. Once i almost got bricked and I can't do nothing except attaching device to usb port and press a button in Kies.. I don't remember the name... It was like a flash on the fly
Inviato dal mio GT-I9505G con Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will check this later but doubt it KIES has a solution for this problem
i am getting desperate to be honest, not sure where to go and what to do, especially it's a new phone used between sep 17 and october 1

krihoum said:
Excellent
i will try both methods and i let you know, i really appreciate
One thing i noticed is that no 32GB pit is available for the i9500, can I assume we just need to use the 16gb then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2269941 (try to use the adonis pit-file from this thread)

RobHands said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2269941 (try to use the adonis pit-file from this thread)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok
i will try this again tonight and i will let you know
i will try any other rom if you think they are custom and might work differently

krihoum said:
I will check this later but doubt it KIES has a solution for this problem
i am getting desperate to be honest, not sure where to go and what to do, especially it's a new phone used between sep 17 and october 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go to instruments, and then emergency firmware restore

PacStealer said:
go to instruments, and then emergency firmware restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't see my phone in KIES for some reason
could be because it's stuck in boot and not being recognised? It keeps saying connecting......
wonder how ODIN is seeing my phone then

krihoum said:
can't see my phone in KIES for some reason
could be because it's stuck in boot and not being recognised? It keeps saying connecting......
wonder how ODIN is seeing my phone then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same to me, you have to try sometimes.. try reboot or get the battery out, try to detach the cable or something, at the end it will work:good:

PacStealer said:
same to me, you have to try sometimes.. try reboot or get the battery out, try to detach the cable or something, at the end it will work:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks but i am starting to giving up, it looks more a hardware failure than software

[Q] Stuck in boot animation-Can't mount \data after KK update with odinPc

Hi all,
After a looong night flashing and downloading again and again trying different methods, I'm out of ideas.
I have a uk n9005 (btu) that was happily running out of the box 4.3 stock until yesterday night. No root, no flash attempts before.
I started by flashing german 4.4 (dbt) without wiping before (big mistake, maybe) and without pit file and no repartition nor bootloader update checked. The error came out and I flashed again with the pit file. I let the phone reboot, but it didn't go further than the boot animation. I take out the battery and boot in the recovery. That is when I saw the can't mount \data error for the first time.
I tried to wipe, although it was impossible since the data was not mounted. However I could (and still can) wipe cache. I restarted the phone, and again the same situation, stuck in boot animation. From this moment I've tried many things:
- Flashing the bootloader separately and then the rom. no results (data not mounted and stuck in boot animation)
- Flashing custom recovery and after, official cm11 nightly and another cm11 based rom. no results (data not mounted and stuck in boot animation)
- Downgrading to 4.3. Not possible. Thank you Samsung!
- Firmware recovery with kies 3.0. no results since 4.4 has not been released for my region (maybe waiting for if to come out would be a solution)
- Flashing Polish and german (againg) 4.4 with and without pit file. no results (data not mounted and stuck in boot animation)
The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried yet is flashing a custom kernel, but I can't see any advantage in doing that. Next approach is taking it to the technical service to see if they can solve this situation. I'm afraid they're going to ask for almost as much money as a new note 3 costs...
P.D: I know I haven't taken part a lot in this forum, but I've been reading it for years, since I started playing with my SGS back in 2011. This is the first time I'm really lost after spending the night searching the forum (not only the note 3 section). This really pisses me off, with my previous phones I could always find a way to bring them back to life, but with SGS4 and SGN3 things are totally different thanks to samsung. (sorry for this looong post)
Thank you in advance

have you checked repartitioning when using the pit file?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50614669&postcount=77

Hundsbuah said:
have you checked repartitioning when using the pit file?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50614669&postcount=77
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, in fact I think it is checked automatically after you select the pit file.
Thank you anyway.
Any other ideas?

Contruk27 said:
Yes, in fact I think it is checked automatically after you select the pit file.
Thank you anyway.
Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try it with different Odin versions?

Pierre118 said:
Did you try it with different Odin versions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope... I used last version, I read somewhere that it was safer...
I will try with an older one when I get home
Thank you for the idea!

Contruk27 said:
Nope... I used last version, I read somewhere that it was safer...
I will try with an older one when I get home
Thank you for the idea!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Let us know the result.

I'd try Odin 3.04, with the original stock polish rom.
I had no trouble using the Polish KK rom that came in 4 pieces, AP, BL, CP and CSC. I flashed 2 Note 3's using this with no problems whatsoever.
I can't say for sure you won't but it's worth a try...
Also, check to see if your Knox warranty has been tripped as this can happen when fooling around with roms.
You will have no love with Kies even when your region receives KK rom as Kies doesn't recognise bootloaders since MJ3... Good going Samsung, have had a few months to fix and have done NOTHING...

ultramag69 said:
I'd try Odin 3.04, with the original stock polish rom.
I had no trouble using the Polish KK rom that came in 4 pieces, AP, BL, CP and CSC. I flashed 2 Note 3's using this with no problems whatsoever.
I can't say for sure you won't but it's worth a try...
Also, check to see if your Knox warranty has been tripped as this can happen when fooling around with roms.
You will have no love with Kies even when your region receives KK rom as Kies doesn't recognise bootloaders since MJ3... Good going Samsung, have had a few months to fix and have done NOTHING...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been searching for a rom in 4 pieces but I haven't find it. I downloaded 2 polish roms and neither of them was in 4 pieces. Can you tell me where can I find it? Because at the moment it's impossible to download anything from sammobile... Thank you!
My knox warranty was tripped just after the fail size error in odin, the first time I attempted to flash. However that's not my main concern now... haha
"Nice" to know that about kies. At this moment, the only reason to buy another samsung phone is the big community behind it :victory:. I thought they were going to do something about the bloatware, but it's getting even worse every time a new phone is announced...

Contruk27 said:
I've been searching for a rom in 4 pieces but I haven't find it. I downloaded 2 polish roms and neither of them was in 4 pieces. Can you tell me where can I find it? Because at the moment it's impossible to download anything from sammobile... Thank you!
My knox warranty was tripped just after the fail size error in odin, the first time I attempted to flash. However that's not my main concern now... haha
"Nice" to know that about kies. At this moment, the only reason to buy another samsung phone is the big community behind it :victory:. I thought they were going to do something about the bloatware, but it's getting even worse every time a new phone is announced...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure anymore, I no longer have the rom... And it was through Sammobile I got it.
Possibly someone might have it and share it with you....

ultramag69 said:
Not sure anymore, I no longer have the rom... And it was through Sammobile I got it.
Possibly someone might have it and share it with you....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's going to be difficult that someone has it, since most people prefer 1 file roms. I will pray to sammobile haha
I'm not an expert, so I don't know if it's something critical for the phone (data mounted) to boot, but whenever I had this problem before with my previous phones, I was able to fix it by flashing a sock rom with odin or going back to the previous rom. So, my main concern now is that after all the flashing I've made, I still can't mount \data.

[Q] (for me) unrecoverable softbrick

Guys, I need a hand here, as I hit a solid brick wall and no amount of scouring the forums helped me find a suitable solution.
Hardware involved:
Galaxy Note 3 N9005 that was running 4.4.2 (bought unlocked)
iMac with Yosemite and Parallels with Ubuntu and Windows 10 with Heimdall and Odin 3.09 installed
What I set out to do: root & install clockworkmod recovery with the ultimate goal to install Linux on Android. I had my previous Note 2 and LG P990 rooted too, so I was not entirely new to the procedure.
What I "achieved": Heimdall would not work at all due to a problem that apparently affects all Samsung 4.4.2 devices. So I got Parallels on my Mac and installed Windows 10 Technical Preview to run Odin. After several attempts I finally managed to got Odin to say "PASS" on the CF Auto-Root procedure. However, the phone would not boot anymore and always return to it's ODIN state. But I also succeeded to get Clockworkmod installed.
With that I installed Cyanogen, thinking to be able to get around the booting problem. I wasn't. Now when booting Cyanogen, I get a message that encryption was unsuccesful and the device needs to be restored.
I would like to comply and downloaded the stock files for restoring through Odin, but now even with the device in the proper ODIN download state, the phone is no longer recognized by the Software. Tried about a hundred times now with reboot etc. and nothing seems to work. Even KIES does note recognize the phone anymore.
I can enter CWM and Odin modes just fine. I just can't boot and I can't get it recognized by my Mac anymore. My best guess is I unintentionally screwed up the partition table / PIT file and now I can't restore it anymore.
I am at the end of the rope here and getting desperate, any suggestions (preferably step by step) would be most welcome!

psearcher said:
Guys, I need a hand here, as I hit a solid brick wall and no amount of scouring the forums helped me find a suitable solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very weird that in Download Mode Odin don't recognize your device. Remember that you need Kies 3 for android 4.4.2 and Kies 3 has to be completely closed for use ODIN.

Joku1981 said:
It's very weird that in Download Mode Odin don't recognize your device. Remember that you need Kies 3 for android 4.4.2 and Kies 3 has to be completely closed for use ODIN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I tried on my Win Laptop from work now and Odin can recognize the Smartphone there. I will take it home on the weekend to go further.
However, a hasty try to flash the stock rom (Vodafone NL Lollipop) resulted in the same "encryption failed" error I had before. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

psearcher said:
Ok, I tried on my Win Laptop from work now and Odin can recognize the Smartphone there. I will take it home on the weekend to go further.
However, a hasty try to flash the stock rom (Vodafone NL Lollipop) resulted in the same "encryption failed" error I had before. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone is unlocked. You had to try the POLAND Lollipop firmware or wait till future udpates.

Joku1981 said:
Your phone is unlocked. You had to try the POLAND Lollipop firmware or wait till future udpates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there Joku!
Just tried the Polish Lollipop Firmware and it still keeps displaying the "Encryption failed" error. It looks like it does not matter which file I flash, it will keep showing the same error.
Like I said, I believe I somehow broke the PIT file of the phone. Any ideas how to fix this?
Regards,
Rene

Try this pit file.
https://meocloud.pt/link/4ebb315a-867c-4469-bfdf-c234ca9f4d1e/PIT-File-DBT VFG-UK-MSM8974.zip/
Put it on pit field. Set repartition on and auto reboot. If all goes well then try to flash the Vodafone NL 4.4.2 rom (it's the one I use so I know that this pit file works with it).
Sent from my SM-N9005
---------- Post added at 09:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 PM ----------
If it doesn't work try to go in TWRP and wipe the /data partition and then reflash the stock rom.
Sent from my SM-N9005

Question solved!
DeuXGod said:
Try this pit file.
Put it on pit field. Set repartition on and auto reboot. If all goes well then try to flash the Vodafone NL 4.4.2 rom (it's the one I use so I know that this pit file works with it).
Sent from my SM-N9005
---------- Post added at 09:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 PM ----------
If it doesn't work try to go in TWRP and wipe the /data partition and then reflash the stock rom.
Sent from my SM-N9005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks DeuXGod, but by now I more or less stumbled on the solution by trial and error. I'll post it here, hoping that somebody may benefit from my endeavours in the future. As a n00b I can't post links though. Sorry for that.
I do not know if all the steps are necessary or correct, but in the end they did lead me back to a working device. :fingers-crossed:
After trying a few PIT files here in the forums, the problems did not go away. Some of them would lead to a phone that just got stuck at the "Samsung" screen and would not fully boot up.
So I got the idea to flash back the "old" Dutch 4.4.2 ROM, which I downloaded from Sammobile and flashed in ODIN. After booting it showed a bit of a different error message, saying the file system was corrupted
I googled for this and stumbled on a small ZIP file that is supposed to fix "cannot mount DATA / EFS errors". I loaded this on my SDXC.
Flashed aforementioned ZIP file through the recovery from the SDXC.
After rebooting it still showed the same error, so I got back to recovery, did a factory reset and a cache wipe.
Another reboot and much to my surprise (and great relief) the phone booted up normally again!
From there I thought that if this worked, the Polish 5.0 should work too. I flashed it. Flashed CF Auto Root after that and everything seems to be working fine!
I set everything up and the phone is now restoring the apps etc. So far looking very good!

[Q] Note 3 Lollypop Flashing Help

Hello all,
I had a galaxy note 3 (SM-N9005, 16GB Hong Kong Version) with last updated to KitKat(OTA). For the first time, i decided to take the risk of flashing the ROM manually and downloaded the Poland Lollypop Rom N9005XXUGBOA5_N9005XEOGBOA4_N9005XXUGBOA1_HOME.tar.md5 and flashed the phone using Odin with only Reset and Reboot flags checked. It failed at ext Image error.
After some reading i find out that HongKong have different partition structure and hence require to flash with a pit, i downloaded a pit file
(SM-N9005_HLTE_HKTW_OPEN_16G) from forums here and tried to re flash it with Reset, Reboot and Repartition flags and this time it stucks at error
PIT Fail : Total Sectors (38777344). I can now only boot up in download mode.
Can anyone let me know is there any chance, whether i can bring my phone back to life.

spandita said:
Hello all,
I had a galaxy note 3 (SM-N9005, 16GB Hong Kong Version) with last updated to KitKat(OTA). For the first time, i decided to take the risk of flashing the ROM manually and downloaded the Poland Lollypop Rom N9005XXUGBOA5_N9005XEOGBOA4_N9005XXUGBOA1_HOME.tar.md5 and flashed the phone using Odin with only Reset and Reboot flags checked. It failed at ext Image error.
After some reading i find out that HongKong have different partition structure and hence require to flash with a pit, i downloaded a pit file
(SM-N9005_HLTE_HKTW_OPEN_16G) from forums here and tried to re flash it with Reset, Reboot and Repartition flags and this time it stucks at error
PIT Fail : Total Sectors (38777344). I can now only boot up in download mode.
Can anyone let me know is there any chance, whether i can bring my phone back to life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you tried to reflash the HK PIT file - what you actually need is a PIT to suit the firmware you want to flash. If you use the HK pit you need to flash a HK ROM.
Also, make sure you actually pull the battery to get into Download mode. i.e. take out battery, wait 10 secs, then put it in and hold down the keys for DL mode. Restarts don't seem to work properly when flashing BL's and Modems so the physical method is needed.
Start by getting the latest HK version and see if Odin will flash it. THEN look at getting a EU pit file to go with BOA5.

Journyman16 said:
It sounds like you tried to reflash the HK PIT file - what you actually need is a PIT to suit the firmware you want to flash. If you use the HK pit you need to flash a HK ROM.
Also, make sure you actually pull the battery to get into Download mode. i.e. take out battery, wait 10 secs, then put it in and hold down the keys for DL mode. Restarts don't seem to work properly when flashing BL's and Modems so the physical method is needed.
Start by getting the latest HK version and see if Odin will flash it. THEN look at getting a EU pit file to go with BOA5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply!!
Yes, it makes sense. So, i am going to download the Hongkong firmware. Will try it and let you know if i got any luck in bringing it up

spandita said:
Thanks for reply!!
Yes, it makes sense. So, i am going to download the Hongkong firmware. Will try it and let you know if i got any luck in bringing it up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a HK S3 and had similar problems. Not sure why Samsung makes them so different. I was new to Androids and thought I had trashed my new phone.
But it's a good way to learn - first you find out what has gone wrong and then how to fix it and before you know it, you are on your way to being flash-addicted.

Thank you
@Journyman16 Thank you very much :victory:, i got my phone up again with the hong kong firmware .... I was also looking for pit file for lollipop polland firmware, but didnt find anyone specific to 16gb note...
Can you direct me to some good resource from where i can go through tit bits of flashing? Particularly regarding this numbering system of Android basebands
As you mentioned, i like the whole incident(Learned something new) .... and dont want to gie up on getting lollipop :highfive:

spandita said:
@Journyman16 Thank you very much :victory:, i got my phone up again with the hong kong firmware .... I was also looking for pit file for lollipop polland firmware, but didnt find anyone specific to 16gb note...
Can you direct me to some good resource from where i can go through tit bits of flashing? Particularly regarding this numbering system of Android basebands
As you mentioned, i like the whole incident(Learned something new) .... and dont want to gie up on getting lollipop :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been a while since I looked at such things but search in Q&A as well as Android Development for things like 'root guide' or perhaps click on the Advanced Search button and look for 'guide' in post headings.
Also as you browse the subjects that interest you there are often links out to tutorials etc. - another reason for always reading a thread before posting.
Good luck on the journey...

Wifi and Bluetooth Problem!

Flashed Phoenix,used several days,suddenly wifi disconnected then in a few seconds connected again,it looped and I rebooted to find wifi isn't working at all,stuck at opening and grey button.
Then I flashed back to morphose,still the same.
So I flashed via Odin the latest Chinese official firmware(ZC???OH2) with 11G pit.This time I got about 15 mins of stable connection.After that the problem occurred again,exactly the same.:crying::crying:
Below is what I have done:
Pressing around the sdcard (it is said to be where the wifi chip is located,and it maybe caused by poor contact)
Reboot a thousand times
Changing kernel(kingz,stock,voltaqe)
Wiping cache and Dalvik
Mortifying build.prop to ro.securestorage.support (maybe not exact)from true to false(said to be a solution)

Forgot to mention :
1.the firmware was a repair firmware(five .md5 files)
2.in that firmware not only wifi but also Bluetooth fails to open

Download the latest single tar.md5 file from sammobile.com or updato.com and flash again. Don't forgot to perform a factory reset from stock recovery before letting the stock ROM boot for the first time.

audit13 said:
Download the latest single tar.md5 file from sammobile.com or updato.com and flash again. Don't forgot to perform a factory reset from stock recovery before letting the stock ROM boot for the first time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply
Should it be 8gb pit or 11gb?
And should it be my region or just the latest firmware no matter from where?

Flash the version for the region that the phone was made for.
Pit file is not needed unless Odin can't read the phone partition information.

audit13 said:
Flash the version for the region that the phone was made for.
Pit file is not needed unless Odin can't read the phone partition information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for bothering again,but i found it was made for Europe.On updato there seems to be no region "europe",only Germany.So which one shall i flash?
Thanks in advance☺

You can try one for Germany. If it is not made for your phone, Odin will halt the flash process.

audit13 said:
You can try one for Germany. If it is not made for your phone, Odin will halt the flash process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I began to wonder if it is correct that the device is European,for it was bought in offical China mainland market?But imei also showed that?
I am such a noob at coping with this kind of weird issue
Anyway i will download both ones and give a try in several days,the download speed is rather slow from updato:crying:
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using XDA Labs

Wait, if it was purchased in China, it's probably made for the Chinese market and will need the firmware version made for one of the Chinese carriers. Odin will not flash non-China firmware on a made-for-China phone.

audit13 said:
Wait, if it was purchased in China, it's probably made for the Chinese market and will need the firmware version made for one of the Chinese carriers. Odin will not flash non-China firmware on a made-for-China phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attachment is my imei searching result,it is shown made for Europe.Besides,I remember flashing other region firmwares and booted normally
And with China baseband I have very bad signal but after flashing other ones it is far better...so I guess it might be a phone wrongly sent to China market or something like that?
The connection to updato is so unstable that I still haven't finished downloading?
Edit:screenshots removed

Boot into download mode and confirm that the phone is a gt-i9500. If it is, flash the latest ROM from sammobile.com or updato.com for the 9500. You'll probably be okay with any ROM from Europe.
Don't flash with a pit file as a pit file is only needed if you need to re-partition the internal memory for some reason or Odin cannot read the phone's partition information.
Edit your post to remove your imei too.

audit13 said:
Boot into download mode and confirm that the phone is a gt-i9500. If it is, flash the latest ROM from sammobile.com or updato.com for the 9500. You'll probably be okay with any ROM from Europe.
Don't flash with a pit file as a pit file is only needed if you need to re-partition the internal memory for some reason or Odin cannot read the phone's partition information.
Edit your post to remove your imei too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No,still no luck at all,wlan still does not work...Whats more in germany firmware i also get "com.android.media has stopped"
This is killing me,my network provider uses TD-SCDMA for 3G,but i9500 don't support that,so i can only use EDGE network,which is extremely slow.Anyway maybe I'll get another phone next month:victory:

audit13 said:
Boot into download mode and confirm that the phone is a gt-i9500. If it is, flash the latest ROM from sammobile.com or updato.com for the 9500. You'll probably be okay with any ROM from Europe.
Don't flash with a pit file as a pit file is only needed if you need to re-partition the internal memory for some reason or Odin cannot read the phone's partition information.
Edit your post to remove your imei too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally discovered something new.I am on miui8,when charging to 100％ wifi connects,and it wont disconnect even unplug the cable until you do a reboot!Dont know if it works on other roms,but it does throw new light on the issue.
But...how does this happen?

This is very strange. I've never come across this situation with any phone.

audit13 said:
This is very strange. I've never come across this situation with any phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!It is said that Wifi and bluetooth are on the same chip,so if bluetooth is now always working even wifi is broken then it cannot be a hardware failure,can it?

It could be a hardware failure but now I'm not sure since you got it to work on a custom ROM.

audit13 said:
It could be a hardware failure but now I'm not sure since you got it to work on a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After testing for an afternoon I discovered:
Wifi will be unable to use the moment battery drops to 81%,it doesnt turns off,but simply shows no item in the list.
If I plug the charger and restart wifi,then it works properly.
If I restart wifi without charging,wifi will be stuck and I have to charge then reboot the phone to get it on again.

Wow, this is even more strange.
Do you have a cell repair shop that can diagnose it for you?

audit13 said:
Wow, this is even more strange.
Do you have a cell repair shop that can diagnose it for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah,but i'd rather get a new phone if it takes much time or money to repair it.The phone is still my daily driver,though i love it,it is indeed out of date,plus the problem.Getting something like a Redmi 5A might be a better choice?Moreover the rom is not that stable,battery life is also poor,but i dare not flash another rom for fear that wifi gets totally broken.
Thanks again for your time?

In this case, have you looked into getting a used motherboard?
I'm not sure where you are located but there is a big market in my city for used phones. When I need a motherboard, I look for people selling phones with smashed screens and working internal components.