G900F keeps rebooting at startup screen - Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a Samsung S5 G900F, bought from vodafone on payg. Long story short, it is under warranty, but when I took it to Samsung they said the knox had been tripped. I'm going to pursue this with them, as this phone is used by the mrs and (as far as we know) has never had custom software on it.
Anyway, it started randomly rebooting a while ago, and I tried updating the software with kies, which seemed to fix it for a while. It has now gotten progressively worse, to the point that it is not even getting past either the boot logo, or as part way through the boot process (samsung logo etc). Occasionally, after a cold start, it makes it to the OS, but then reboots shortly after.
I've now tried using odin to install the stock firmware (vodafone branded - G900FXXU1BOJ1_G900FVFG1BOJ1_G900FXXU1BOJ1_HOME.tar.md5). I've also installed philz custom recovery (tried twrp too), and then to install a custom rom. Ive tried cyanogen and phoenix. They install fine, but the phone continues to reboot when starting up. I've not yet managed to get to the OS for either custom rom.
The phoenix rom also came with a bootloader/modem package, which I have installed.
I've run out of ideas. It's probably a hardware fault. But is there anything else I can try before binning it?
Thanks.

KNOX is definitely tripped now even if it was not before (Custom ROMs, and Recovery trip KNOX)
Anyway, you could try flashing the G900F PIT file along with the stock ROM, and see if that helps, the PIT file will 100% delete and recreate the phones partitions, before flashing the ROM, so if it was a firmware bug, that should fix it, if it still does it after that, I'd say hardware
Google G900F PIT file
Add it to the PIT section in ODIN
Add the stock ROM to the PDA or AP section in ODIN
Flash and hope for the best

I tried the PIT file. It flashes successfully. However, the stock rom still fails with "auth SIZE" (cant remember the exact message). Does that mean I've used the wrong PIT? I can still successfully flash custom recovery and then a custom firmware, but the boot loops continue.

Can you double check in download mode, which model S5 is shows?
I expect it to be G900F, but a few people have had something other than what the sticker and box say
And as long as you downloaded the G900F PIT file, then you flashed the correct one
If everything matches G900F, and it's still doing it after flashing PIT, Custom and Stock, and stock is complaining about the wrong size, it looks like something corrupted your phones internal storage
There are manual ways to recreate partitions etc, but you'll have to search them out

Related

Install Recovery and CM on Locked I9500

Hi All,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this as I'm relatively new to posting on XDA. My girlfriend has a Galaxy S4 (I337) that I quickly and easily installed Cyanogenmod on. It's awesome and significantly better than TouchWiz. So, I bought an S4 off Ebay assuming it would be similar enough. It turns out this new S4 is an I9500 and before shipping it was updated to 4.3, which appears to lock the bootloader and prevent downgrading. I've tried Odin, Heimdall, ADB, Philz, Chainfire, Cofface, stock ROMs, etc with no luck. Today I did manage to root the phone and confirm root with TowelRoot. I'm wondering/hoping someone might have some resources to get CM on this thing. While I'd prefer not to brick it I am willing to take risks as I have a Razr (soft-bricked and unbricked) running CM and am relatively comfortable with computers/Linux.
I've been Googling and trying things for a month now and can't even find that much information on the locked bootloader. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
--
SL
The I9500 doesn't have a locked bootloader. You just can't downgrade from 4.3 to 4.2.2 with official roms. Same applies when you are running 4.4, then you also can't downgrade officially.
Just flash a custom recovery true Odin and flash away.
Why would you even want to downgrade? Are you sure you are picking the right files? You cant flash the files for the I337 on the I9500. So just go to the section for the I9500 roms and flash away.
Hi Lennyz1988,
Thanks for the quick reply. I don't specifically want to downgrade but that's the last option I've tried. Ultimately the goal is to put Cyanogenmod on the phone. When I attempt to upload any file via Odin I get "secure magiccode check fail : boot" (or fail : recovery) depending on what I'm flashing. All the reading I've done says that when these phones are updated to 4.3 a fix has been applied that stops Odin from working. Thus, I my last resort is/was to try and downgrade. As I said, I've been Googling for the last month and while few people have posted about this I have not found any solutions.
Hoping someone might have a solution or anything new to try that I haven't tried already, thanks again,
--
SL
Download the latest TWRP recovery:
http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/i9500
Fire it up in Odin under PDA. You need the .tar (DON'T EXTRACT IT).
If it fails:
- Different usb port
- Different cable
- Different pc
- Reinstall drivers
- Make sure Kies is not running the background.
Or you can use heimdall to flash it. Use the command line though:
heimdall flash --recovery nameoftherecovery.img (you need the .img instead of the .tar)
No luck there, Odin still fails with the same message. I have tried Heimdall on 2 different computers (4 different usb cables) and always get the libusb 12 error.
Since I have root access I figured I might be able to wipe the recovery partition from a terminal emulator. I copied recovery.img from the I9500 CWM to the internal sd card. I then went to /dev/block/msm_sdcc.1/by-name to figure out what partition is recovery, turns out its 21. I then did “dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21”. I then booted into recovery and it just hung up. I had previously found a stock recovery partition so I flashed that via Odin (the only file I have found that works flashing via Odin). I could then boot back into the normal recovery. I then tried flashing both recovery and cache with the CF Auto files (cache is partition 18). Same result, it just hangs when trying to boot into recovery. At one point I did manage to flash a recovery that then came up with a warning about “software installed that is not supported by AT&T” and I couldn’t get past that so had to flash the stock recovery again.
On a side note, I accidentally wiped the EFS partition in this process (if found a tutorial that shows the S3 had recovery in partition 10, which is EFS on the S4). As a result 1.) the menu didn’t pop up when I hit the power button and 2.) wifi didn’t work. So, I made an .img of the EFS partition on my GT-I337 and moved it to the I9500 and that worked restoring both. In case anyone makes the same mistake.
I have now also used CWM ROM Manager and GooManger and tried installing recovery that way with no luck.
Just check if the internal memory partitioning is correct ( number, size and format) (use fdisk or parsed).
ODIN will install according to the PIT file and if drivers and cables are OK it is no other explanation than that.
PS: do not trust heimdall data because it just read the PIT file and do not give the true info from the memory part.!
Uhm on the TWRP website they say that the I9500 has it on partition 10.....
This would be the proper partition based on their website:
mmcblk0p10
Are you absolutely sure you have an i9500? Because my guess is that you don't.....
Boot into download mode. What does it say your model is?
Because on the AT&T it's partition 21.... So my guess is that you are messing up....
Thanks everyone for the input/feedback,
Something I think I had forgotten to mention previously, when the initial root/recovery attempts didn't work I downloaded an app to verify it is a genuine Samsung as I have heard of very good knock-offs. It is genuine according to the app.
Good point/catch regarding the location of the recovery partition. Under About Phone it shows as an I9500 and always has. When in download mode it currently shows as I337 but I wasn't sure if that was simply a result of all my attempts so I figured best to go with the one I am certain has been the same since I bought the phone. I had been hesitant to try wiping the recovery with for the I337 as that is how I soft-bricked my RazrHD (ultimately un-bricked it).
Tonight I will try the I337 files and see if Odin is successful. Thanks again.
Damn! Turns out my phone is an I337. The hardward (under the battery) says I9500 and when I plug it into a computer it shows up as I9500. On the weekend I thought I read that there is now the ability to flash recovery and install CyanogenMod on I337 if its updated to 4.4.2. So, I donwloaded the firmware and flashed with Odin. It flashed successfully but now I realize I am mistaken and 1.) cannot flash recovery, and 2.) cannot downgrade. For the time being I have installed Nova Launcher and removed as much of TouchWiz as possible. It's not perfect but at least usable. I'd like to start researching what it would take to flash recovery on this phone but I suspect I'm too busy at this moment.
Thanks everyone for the help,

[Q] SM-G900I

Hi There
Im trying to fix another persons SM-N900I which is stuck in a bootloop.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHONE
What I've been told is that the phone was receiving an OTA upgrade to Lollipop in which it crashed somewhere in the process, which caused the phone to become all glitchy (that's what she said). In addition this caused the KNOX flag to be tripped which meant that the carrier staff refused to honour the warranty saying it was caused by a custom flash.
So attempting to remedy this she tried to use odin to flash a stock rom which sent the phone into an indefinite bootloop. (Sorry no idea what rom she tried to flash or if she clicked something wrong).
WHAT I'VE TRIED
Using Kies to "Firmware Upgrade and Intialisation" with the model number and S/N. This completed successfully with no errors, however after a restart I still get a bootloop.
As in 1 but with factory reset and clearing cache in recovery before flash.
Using odin to flash stock rom from sammobile. Still bootlooped after flash.
Trying stock KITKAT rom from sammobile with odin. Still bootloops after flash.
Installing a custom recovery and installing a couple of custom roms (factory resetting and clearing dalvik cache before install). Still bootloops...
Flashing stock bootloader, and stock rom. Still bootloops...
I wanted to try and flash a PIT file however I get the "secure check fail : PIT" message with and without flashing it with stock rom. Im assuming this is because reactivation lock wasn't disabled.
Not really sure where to go from here?
Thank You
makeez said:
Hi There
Im trying to fix another persons SM-N900I which is stuck in a bootloop.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHONE
What I've been told is that the phone was receiving an OTA upgrade to Lollipop in which it crashed somewhere in the process, which caused the phone to become all glitchy (that's what she said). In addition this caused the KNOX flag to be tripped which meant that the carrier staff refused to honour the warranty saying it was caused by a custom flash.
So attempting to remedy this she tried to use odin to flash a stock rom which sent the phone into an indefinite bootloop. (Sorry no idea what rom she tried to flash or if she clicked something wrong).
WHAT I'VE TRIED
Using Kies to "Firmware Upgrade and Intialisation" with the model number and S/N. This completed successfully with no errors, however after a restart I still get a bootloop.
As in 1 but with factory reset and clearing cache in recovery before flash.
Using odin to flash stock rom from sammobile. Still bootlooped after flash.
Trying stock KITKAT rom from sammobile with odin. Still bootloops after flash.
Installing a custom recovery and installing a couple of custom roms (factory resetting and clearing dalvik cache before install). Still bootloops...
Flashing stock bootloader, and stock rom. Still bootloops...
I wanted to try and flash a PIT file however I get the "secure check fail : PIT" message with and without flashing it with stock rom. Im assuming this is because reactivation lock wasn't disabled.
Not really sure where to go from here?
Thank You
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are using Windows operating system, have you tried running Odin "As Administrator" ( using right click on the mouse when you open Odin ), then try partitioning with the PIT file.

safestrap....unable to mount /system...potential brick??

have rooted s5 on 4.4.4 nk2. Have been trying to install custom roms via safestrap. Apparently i am missing a step. I wipe data, try to install twi5ted Lollipop on custom rom slot....blank screen for over 30 min after reboot, phone gets real hot, take battery out. Try to install on stock rom slot, reboot then get stuck in boot loop and keeps booting into system recovery. I then saw through my hours of searching to format instead of wipe....so i format then try to install, get stuck again, take battery out, get back to safestrap dash now when i try to wipe/format/or even restore my backup it says unable to mount system. When i click reboot system it says no OS installed. After reboot, my custom slot gets erased.
I was about to try an odin flash back to stock but some how was able to get my phone back to a system restore. Why can i not get anything installed? Do i have to have odin to do a custom rom install?????? i know every rom is different but wtf. I have seen multiple videos and threads of people flashing zip via safestrap and rebooting into new rom without flashing kernals via odin or safestrap after rom install.
Also...my phone will not let me download zip files (ex. cm12.1) says unable to create download folder....how close to F'in my phone up am i? I have successfully rooted all phones in the past...s5 is giving me hell!
I just tried installing rom after format, then flash nk2 kernel from odin, still gives boot loop....ive tried everything i have found..never this much problem with custom rom..
When you try to install twisted it needs lollipop firmware which is flashed on odin, and based on your statement it says you're on NK2, a kitkat firmware. Try flashing a stock ncg tar and rerouting, downloading apps, etc. on the phone to see if that works. Also, I noticed you mentioned a cm 12.1 zip not downloading which, while unrelated to your current problem, will cause a bootloop when flashed due to the locked bootloader on the S5, so it isn't a smart idea to even attempt an install.
mrjiggywiggy said:
When you try to install twisted it needs lollipop firmware which is flashed on odin, and based on your statement it says you're on NK2, a kitkat firmware. Try flashing a stock ncg tar and rerouting, downloading apps, etc. on the phone to see if that works. Also, I noticed you mentioned a cm 12.1 zip not downloading which, while unrelated to your current problem, will cause a bootloop when flashed due to the locked bootloader on the S5, so it isn't a smart idea to even attempt an install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, i will try fresh from start ncg. so you have to be on the current kernel that you are flashing a rom for, whether its CM, Twi5ted, Alliance...etc i need to be on rooted 5.0 kernel then flash rom via safestrap?
i was having problems downloading from internet on phone, not downloading rom if thats what you thought i meant. I just tried installing zip for CM 12 via safestrap and got same issue. Phone reboots, goes to black screen and eventually heats up like crazy. .... I just noticed, after my restore ...again... it says safestrap disabled in red on the boot screen, why is that? it says installed and tried reinstalling.
FIXED
So i flashed ncg from odin on the messed up phone and got messed up worse. Ended up getting stuck on first boot image of samsung android s5 boot screen. Finally found original stock firmare file and used odin to complete install stock os and got rid of root. Now back to normal... luckily i figured it out my self! thanks to the 100's who viewed and didnt help and thanks to mrjiggywiggy for giving me some input to help out!

Odin FAIL, size error

Hello there,
I have to Samsung stocks for my German S5; As the instructions propose; I am using Odin 3.11 to install.
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/86258/G900FXXS1CPG9_G900FDBT1CPE2_DBT/
the latest unbranded stock rom (6.01) for the S5.
gives me (almost immediately a FAIL with size error)
I did "step back"; and flashed
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/70389/G900FXXU1CPD3_G900FVD21CPC2_VD2/
bit older, but also 6.01, claims to be branded for Vodafone.
That second one was flashed by the person who sold me that phone last week.
With that second ROM ... Odin keeps working for one, two minutes; before giving me another FAIL / size.
And really funny ... after I flashed the first image, the S5 wouldnt boot any more; tell me about broken installation, and running KIES ...
Now, after I tried to flash the second one (but flashed the first one again afterwards with various PIT files that didn't help) ...
the phone is booting again; showing me exactly the setup that I had before doing the first flash;
all my apps are there, everything. How is that possible?!
Any idea what I could do about that?
Update:
I found another DBT rom, but that one didn't work either.
Finally I pulled the latest "vodafone" ROM and figure a way to overcome the failing ODIN install:
1) I flash the ROM (without using any special PIT files)
2) After flash failing ... I wait some time
3) then I unplug the phone; and restart it into download mode again
4) then I flash the latest twrp recovery
Afterwards, the phone would just boot normally. When flashing the ROM that was previously flashed successfully ... that installation came up;
and when I tried again with the newest vodafone ROM, it did update the apps during startup; and show the new build-time information later on.
So, yes, this worked for me, but obviously a rather weird procedure.

Might have Bricked S7 Edge SM-935FD. Need Help to recover

Hello guys
My phone is Galaxy S7 Edge Duos- SM935FD. I seem to have bricked the device.
Below are the actions I have performed.
1. Flashed TWRP using ODIN as described on https://www.the***********.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s7-edge/
2. Booted successfully into the OS. Found superuser app installed.
3. When I went to back to Flash ROM i erased multiple things such as internal storage/dalvik/cache/system after which device got stuck in bootloop. Showing NO OS.
4. I tried flasing Custom ROM Zip files through OTG. The process failed showing package corrupt and still stuck in bootloop.
I can enter recovery/download mode however cant seem to get the device booted. How can I get the device to work either Custom or stock ROM.
I will be going through some threads in the meantime, your guidance is very much appreciated.
Flash stock rom with Odin: This shouldnt be posted on Development Forum but rayher questions and Answers.
Find what your Stock Firmware for your phone is using Sammobile and flash stock then re do rooting and TWRP Process
zzThrain is right -- I wouldn't risk flashing custom ROMs at this stage, especially because many contain new bootloaders or other stuff that might make this even worse for you. Just pick up the relevant Samsung stock ROM file (from, for example, SamMobile) and see if it boots normally again. Once it does, re-do the process *after checking all MD5s of the files you used* -- I, too, have had it happen before that a download went corrupted and I flashed it. If all is well, get into Download Mode and let Odin rip.
rixon.d9 said:
Hello guys
My phone is Galaxy S7 Edge Duos- SM935FD. I seem to have bricked the device.
Below are the actions I have performed.
1. Flashed TWRP using ODIN as described on https://www.the***********.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s7-edge/
2. Booted successfully into the OS. Found superuser app installed.
3. When I went to back to Flash ROM i erased multiple things such as internal storage/dalvik/cache/system after which device got stuck in bootloop. Showing NO OS.
4. I tried flasing Custom ROM Zip files through OTG. The process failed showing package corrupt and still stuck in bootloop.
I can enter recovery/download mode however cant seem to get the device booted. How can I get the device to work either Custom or stock ROM.
I will be going through some threads in the meantime, your guidance is very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to recovery mode & transfer rom to phone using pc. wipe cache, delvikcache, data only. No need to wipe internal sd. Install rom & reboot.
if you phone goes to recovery or download mode, no need to worry. If it doesn't go to neither recovery nor download mode, them your phone might have probably bricked.
It's my pleasure to help you if you still facing this problem
zzThrain said:
Flash stock rom with Odin: This shouldnt be posted on Development Forum but rayher questions and Answers.
Find what your Stock Firmware for your phone is using Sammobile and flash stock then re do rooting and TWRP Process
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
I tried flashing stock rom from sammobile. I could find for SM-935FD hence downloaded SM-935F.
It got stuck at 90% showing System in ODIN.
From the ZIP file which is the file that needs to be flashed among below ? I tried AP.
AP_G935FXXU2DRB6_CL12365438_QB16944063_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar
BL_G935FXXU2DRB6_CL12365438_QB16944063_REV00_user_low_ship.tar
CP_G935FXXU2DRAG_CL648265_QB8691891_SIGNED.tar
CSC_OJV_G935FOJV2DRAG_CL12785220_QB16560277_REV00_user_low_ship.tar
HOME_CSC_OJV_G935FOJV2DRAG_CL12785220_QB16560277_REV00_user_low_ship.tar
Now when I try again it immediately shows FAIL. Am i Flashing the right stock rom ?
It Worked. Thanks to all who helped.
I wasn't running ODIN as Admin and also was using an slightly older version V3.10.7.

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