I know I am stupid, but I am trying to just get this phone to work. I did try and search for something that would come close to what I am encountering, but so far I can't find anything that would suggest a possible workaround. So, I hope this is in line with the rules, if not, please let me know and I will remove this myself pronto.
I was on 4.3 (MK2), rooted with TWRP and installed Xposed, all was fine and well, until AT&T decided to attack my phone to "remind" me to update to a newer version. After a few weeks I finally gave in, and knowing that I have somewhat heavily modified this phone, I went ahead and disable and uninstall Xposed, then head on to try and flash NC1 onto this phone via TWRP 3.72.
I was following this post, using post#3, and all was well, expect when I tried to flash AP using Odin, it was late and I failed to catch the fact Odin didn't connect my phone, so I guess the kernel didn't update. Then I went ahead and try booting it up. It got to the AT&T globe logo, only it has orange strips instead of blue. I waited maybe 15 mins for it to boot, and upon thinking it is not working, I pulled the battery and went into recovery and found I had a very early version backup, which I then restored that. It did boot! But the wifi wouldn't turn on, so I went and checked, the baseband was on NC1, but everything else is at MK2 (4.3). At that point, I give up and went to bed.
This morning, after giving it some good thoughts and research, I tried to Odin again, and this time I succeed, Odin recognizes my phone, and it flash the AP as it should. But when I try boot it up, it would only get to "safestrap disabled" and then black screen. After that, I can only get into the custom recovery, but no matter what I try, full/advance wipe, install, it would show something like "E: cannot mount system" so no matter what ROM I downloaded, it would not install, and when I try and re-boot, it would warn me that there is " No System"
So my question now is: since I can still see and access recovery, not all hope is lost, but since this is a work phone, I do need it back up and running, and I need it fast. How should I proceed from here? I tried straight flash a GPE ROM from here, but it would still run into the error of "E: cannot mount system" and trying to wipe/advance wipe would not work either.
If anyone has any idea what kind of problems I am running into, I am all ears to hear and try my best to get my work phone back up and running. Thank you all for taking you time to read, think and maybe help.
iantung329 said:
I know I am stupid, but I am trying to just get this phone to work. I did try and search for something that would come close to what I am encountering, but so far I can't find anything that would suggest a possible workaround. So, I hope this is in line with the rules, if not, please let me know and I will remove this myself pronto.
I was on 4.3 (MK2), rooted with TWRP and installed Xposed, all was fine and well, until AT&T decided to attack my phone to "remind" me to update to a newer version. After a few weeks I finally gave in, and knowing that I have somewhat heavily modified this phone, I went ahead and disable and uninstall Xposed, then head on to try and flash NC1 onto this phone via TWRP 3.72.
I was following this post, using post#3, and all was well, expect when I tried to flash AP using Odin, it was late and I failed to catch the fact Odin didn't connect my phone, so I guess the kernel didn't update. Then I went ahead and try booting it up. It got to the AT&T globe logo, only it has orange strips instead of blue. I waited maybe 15 mins for it to boot, and upon thinking it is not working, I pulled the battery and went into recovery and found I had a very early version backup, which I then restored that. It did boot! But the wifi wouldn't turn on, so I went and checked, the baseband was on NC1, but everything else is at MK2 (4.3). At that point, I give up and went to bed.
This morning, after giving it some good thoughts and research, I tried to Odin again, and this time I succeed, Odin recognizes my phone, and it flash the AP as it should. But when I try boot it up, it would only get to "safestrap disabled" and then black screen. After that, I can only get into the custom recovery, but no matter what I try, full/advance wipe, install, it would show something like "E: cannot mount system" so no matter what ROM I downloaded, it would not install, and when I try and re-boot, it would warn me that there is " No System"
So my question now is: since I can still see and access recovery, not all hope is lost, but since this is a work phone, I do need it back up and running, and I need it fast. How should I proceed from here? I tried straight flash a GPE ROM from here, but it would still run into the error of "E: cannot mount system" and trying to wipe/advance wipe would not work either.
If anyone has any idea what kind of problems I am running into, I am all ears to hear and try my best to get my work phone back up and running. Thank you all for taking you time to read, think and maybe help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you have Safestrap 3.72? It should be working if you do. Either way, try flashing the MK2 AP file/kernel from the downgrade thread or the KitKat Toolkit. That should guarantee it mounts and then you can try again. If that doesn't work, you might just have to ODIN NB1 and start from the downgrade.
DeadlySin9 said:
Are you sure you have Safestrap 3.72? It should be working if you do. Either way, try flashing the MK2 AP file/kernel from the downgrade thread or the KitKat Toolkit. That should guarantee it mounts and then you can try again. If that doesn't work, you might just have to ODIN NB1 and start from the downgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am now just trying to boot up the phone to check, and right now it is stuck at the Samsung Custom lock (white). So I guess either Odin NB1 or MK2 and start from there?
The only thing I think its odd is, it keeps telling me that it can't mount the system, and I can't for the live of me figure why that would even happen....
iantung329 said:
I am now just trying to boot up the phone to check, and right now it is stuck at the Samsung Custom lock (white). So I guess either Odin NB1 or MK2 and start from there?
The only thing I think its odd is, it keeps telling me that it can't mount the system, and I can't for the live of me figure why that would even happen....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had not taken the OTA from AT&T your phone bootloader is still on MK2.
Did you flash NC1 before or after you received OTA from AT&T.
sway8966 said:
If you had not taken the OTA from AT&T your phone bootloader is still on MK2.
Did you flash NC1 before or after you received OTA from AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was not able to take the OTA from AT&T, due to that it was rooted and Xposed, so somehow the system check would backfire. When I got the phone, it was on MK2, and I only rooted it and installed custom recovery, for I only need to be able to delete some stuff at will, thus, the root access.
Actually, since I can't boot pass the Samsung custom lock, is it still possible to use Odin? I would have thought Odin would not recognize the phone since it is not on.....
iantung329 said:
I was not able to take the OTA from AT&T, due to that it was rooted and Xposed, so somehow the system check would backfire. When I got the phone, it was on MK2, and I only rooted it and installed custom recovery, for I only need to be able to delete some stuff at will, thus, the root access.
Actually, since I can't boot pass the Samsung custom lock, is it still possible to use Odin? I would have thought Odin would not recognize the phone since it is not on.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will still work, ODIN requires you to hold one of the volume buttons while powering on to go into download mode on the phone which doesn't require booting to system.
DeadlySin9 said:
It will still work, ODIN requires you to hold one of the volume buttons while powering on to go into download mode on the phone which doesn't require booting to system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so just tried Odin it using the files from Deadly Venom Kitkat Magic Tool. Odin caught the phone alright, but after the files are lined up (the mk2 ones), it give me the following:
Get PIT for mapping..
There is no PIT partition
All threads completed. (succeed 0/ failed 1)
And of course, the top also showed FAIL!
Any suggestions? Try going directly to NB1 and downgrade from there?
iantung329 said:
OK, so just tried Odin it using the files from Deadly Venom Kitkat Magic Tool. Odin caught the phone alright, but after the files are lined up (the mk2 ones), it give me the following:
Get PIT for mapping..
There is no PIT partition
All threads completed. (succeed 0/ failed 1)
And of course, the top also showed FAIL!
Any suggestions? Try going directly to NB1 and downgrade from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So after an all-night, I finally got it back up and running. Here is what I did, in case someone runs into the same problem.
I grabbed the MK2 file here, un-zip it, Odin it to its respective slots, and then flash it. It took over 10 mins, but it did finish the flash, and Odin showed "PASS!"
So, now I have another question, I booted it up like when it first came in the box, so went through and did all the setup. I went into setting, and I see the following:
Android version: 4.3
Baseband: I337-MK2
Kernel: signed Sat Nov 16 14:33:13 KST 2013
Build #: JSS-MK2
So if I want to do this upgrade to 4.4.2/4.4.3 again, would I consider my phone as stock MK2 that has not been tried to upgrade to 4.4.2/4.4.3? I did try and confirmed that I don't have root (obviously), so I guess I have to treat this phone as if it never took any updates/modifications? Then I would ask which route to follow to ensure the best and most confirm result of upgrading to either 4.4.2/4.4.3.
Thanks all for your thoughts on how to de-bug this. :laugh:
iantung329 said:
So after an all-night, I finally got it back up and running. Here is what I did, in case someone runs into the same problem.
I grabbed the MK2 file here, un-zip it, Odin it to its respective slots, and then flash it. It took over 10 mins, but it did finish the flash, and Odin showed "PASS!"
So, now I have another question, I booted it up like when it first came in the box, so went through and did all the setup. I went into setting, and I see the following:
Android version: 4.3
Baseband: I337-MK2
Kernel: signed Sat Nov 16 14:33:13 KST 2013
Build #: JSS-MK2
So if I want to do this upgrade to 4.4.2/4.4.3 again, would I consider my phone as stock MK2 that has not been tried to upgrade to 4.4.2/4.4.3? I did try and confirmed that I don't have root (obviously), so I guess I have to treat this phone as if it never took any updates/modifications? Then I would ask which route to follow to ensure the best and most confirm result of upgrading to either 4.4.2/4.4.3.
Thanks all for your thoughts on how to de-bug this. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes your phone is stock MK2.
I do not know about 4.4.3 but you can find many 4.4.2 custom rom in the developer section.
First you need to root the phone. You can get the required files and instruction from here.
Second, you need to install the custom recovery. Since you are on MK2 you need to use Safestrap version 3.71. You can get the file and instructions here.
Once you have rooted and finish installing the SS (safestrap) you can find the custom rom in the developer section. Find the roms with SS option.
sway8966 said:
Yes your phone is stock MK2.
I do not know about 4.4.3 but you can find many 4.4.2 custom rom in the developer section.
First you need to root the phone. You can get the required files and instruction from here.
Second, you need to install the custom recovery. Since you are on MK2 you need to use Safestrap version 3.71. You can get the file and instructions here.
Once you have rooted and finish installing the SS (safestrap) you can find the custom rom in the developer section. Find the roms with SS option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sway8966, thank you for saving my behind more than once.
I will be following your instruction as to rooting the phone and also install custom recovery. However, if you see my first post, it seems I need to first install SS 3.71 to root, then SS 3.72 to upgrade to NB1/NC1? I will take a safe bet that I can't just use SS 3.72 to avoid brick. Also, that GPE version ROM, I had trouble finding the kernel, would there be a place to find it? Or is it in the package? I un-zipped it, but can't find the file that looks like the kernel in it.
Thanks again. :laugh:
iantung329 said:
Sway8966, thank you for saving my behind more than once.
I will be following your instruction as to rooting the phone and also install custom recovery. However, if you see my first post, it seems I need to first install SS 3.71 to root, then SS 3.72 to upgrade to NB1/NC1? I will take a safe bet that I can't just use SS 3.72 to avoid brick. Also, that GPE version ROM, I had trouble finding the kernel, would there be a place to find it? Or is it in the package? I un-zipped it, but can't find the file that looks like the kernel in it.
Thanks again. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iantung329 I am glad to help you out.
You do not need to install SS recovery first to root the phone. Rooting is done by using the adb command to push the super user in the system area.
Since you are in a MK2 firmware/bootloader Safestrap 3.71 is the only one you can use.
Also your bootloader is MK2 so I would not go to install the NB1/NC1 system file on your phone. SS 3.72 is for the NB1/NC1.
To upgrade your phone to 4.4.2 OS you can find the custom rom packages (including the kernel) in here.
Bootloader MK2 and above can not use the custom kernel since there is no exploit for the kernel out so far. So you need to choose the TOUCHWIZ rom with SS version, not AOSP (Android open-source project) rom.
We are not supposed to tell you which rom to choose because people might not have similar taste or expectation in the choice of rom. Read around and choose the rom that you want.
If you'd asked me, I use Golden Eye rom. I am on NC1. You can see that in my signature section.
I will tell you how I installed the Golden eye rom as an example.
I download the package (zip file), my NC1 stock kernel file and superSU file.
Using the safestrap I installed the package zip file. After the installation finished I installed the NC1 kernel file and SuperSU file. Then I reboot my phone. That is. Other roms might have different instructions.
iantung329 said:
Sway8966, thank you for saving my behind more than once.
I will be following your instruction as to rooting the phone and also install custom recovery. However, if you see my first post, it seems I need to first install SS 3.71 to root, then SS 3.72 to upgrade to NB1/NC1? I will take a safe bet that I can't just use SS 3.72 to avoid brick. Also, that GPE version ROM, I had trouble finding the kernel, would there be a place to find it? Or is it in the package? I un-zipped it, but can't find the file that looks like the kernel in it.
Thanks again. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sway8966 said:
iantung329 I am glad to help you out.
You do not need to install SS recovery first to root the phone. Rooting is done by using the adb command to push the super user in the system area.
Since you are in a MK2 firmware/bootloader Safestrap 3.71 is the only one you can use.
Also your bootloader is MK2 so I would not go to install the NB1/NC1 system file on your phone. SS 3.72 is for the NB1/NC1.
To upgrade your phone to 4.4.2 OS you can find the custom rom packages (including the kernel) in here.
Bootloader MK2 and above can not use the custom kernel since there is no exploit for the kernel out so far. So you need to choose the TOUCHWIZ rom with SS version, not AOSP (Android open-source project) rom.
We are not supposed to tell you which rom to choose because people might not have similar taste or expectation in the choice of rom. Read around and choose the rom that you want.
If you'd asked me, I use Golden Eye rom. I am on NC1. You can see that in my signature section.
I will tell you how I installed the Golden eye rom as an example.
I download the package (zip file), my NC1 stock kernel file and superSU file.
Using the safestrap I installed the package zip file. After the installation finished I installed the NC1 kernel file and SuperSU file. Then I reboot my phone. That is. Other roms might have different instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As sway said, you do not need Safestrap to root, you just use Saferoot and you have root. However, you can actually use SS 3.72 and it would be better to use it since you can then mount /system even while on a 4.4.2 kernel. You can also use the single GPE located in the general section. Sway's ROM flashing instructions are correct, but also remember to flash the kernel module zip in Safestrap, and you would be using the MLD set since you have the MK2 bootloader. The kernels and everything you need are included in the KitKat Magic Toolkit.
DeadlySin9 said:
As sway said, you do not need Safestrap to root, you just use Saferoot and you have root. However, you can actually use SS 3.72 and it would be better to use it since you can then mount /system even while on a 4.4.2 kernel. You can also use the single GPE located in the general section. Sway's ROM flashing instructions are correct, but also remember to flash the kernel module zip in Safestrap, and you would be using the MLD set since you have the MK2 bootloader. The kernels and everything you need are included in the KitKat Magic Toolkit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:crying::crying::crying:
Sigh, I will admit, I have done it again, so I am back to flashing the MK2 file from a few post ago.
I think I will either go with stock rooted ROM or the GPE version, I think the only thing I am missing is the kernel, which I found in one of the post I have to Loki it since I am on AT&T, but I can't find the Loki software, or would that be using Odin as well?
The only reason I am looking to root this phone is so that I can tether. Traveling roughly 2-3 weeks a month ain't fun, but not all hotels have free wifi, so having my phone rooted and able to tether is like a life line. Also, after I tried GB, its wonderful! Apart from I can't find a good quiet time option, everything is awesome being able to use GB and AdBlock. Does either Sway or DeadlySin9 have a good recommendation for quiet time app/mod?
As soon as I get the phone back on stock MK2, I will be looking into either stock root ROM or GPE version. Thanks all! :fingers-crossed:
iantung329 said:
:crying::crying::crying:
Sigh, I will admit, I have done it again, so I am back to flashing the MK2 file from a few post ago.
I think I will either go with stock rooted ROM or the GPE version, I think the only thing I am missing is the kernel, which I found in one of the post I have to Loki it since I am on AT&T, but I can't find the Loki software, or would that be using Odin as well?
The only reason I am looking to root this phone is so that I can tether. Traveling roughly 2-3 weeks a month ain't fun, but not all hotels have free wifi, so having my phone rooted and able to tether is like a life line. Also, after I tried GB, its wonderful! Apart from I can't find a good quiet time option, everything is awesome being able to use GB and AdBlock. Does either Sway or DeadlySin9 have a good recommendation for quiet time app/mod?
As soon as I get the phone back on stock MK2, I will be looking into either stock root ROM or GPE version. Thanks all! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. @DeadlySin9, got the final question (hopefully :fingers-crossed
I am going to flash GPE version (here) and I will be following the direction on that, wipe, flash, kernel then reboot. You mentioned that I should use the MLD kernels, but which one is that in the Kitkat magic tool? AP_MLD, BL_MLD? And now I have SS 3.71 on the phone, would you recommend uninstalling that and install SS 3.72 instead, since I will be flashing GPE version anyway?
Also, what of this ROM (here)? I guess I can't flash this one?
iantung329 said:
OK. @DeadlySin9, got the final question (hopefully :fingers-crossed
I am going to flash GPE version (here) and I will be following the direction on that, wipe, flash, kernel then reboot. You mentioned that I should use the MLD kernels, but which one is that in the Kitkat magic tool? AP_MLD, BL_MLD? And now I have SS 3.71 on the phone, would you recommend uninstalling that and install SS 3.72 instead, since I will be flashing GPE version anyway?
Also, what of this ROM (here)? I guess I can't flash this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, neither of those work. There's one in the General section, with Safestrap in the thread title. That's the one you need. I do recommend going to 3.72 on Safestrap, and you need to use both the AP and BL files in ODIN.
Sent from my SGH-I337 running GPE
DeadlySin9 said:
Actually, neither of those work. There's one in the General section, with Safestrap in the thread title. That's the one you need. I do recommend going to 3.72 on Safestrap, and you need to use both the AP and BL files in ODIN.
Sent from my SGH-I337 running GPE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the only one I can find (here)
Also, by the look of it, paid apps wouldn't work in this ROM, that might be a problem.
Here is another one that I was considering from the start (here), but I am not sure if I should follow the first post or second?
iantung329 said:
This is the only one I can find (here)
Also, by the look of it, paid apps wouldn't work in this ROM, that might be a problem.
Here is another one that I was considering from the start (here), but I am not sure if I should follow the first post or second?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're still on MK2 then you can use the second one. And yeah, you can't download paid apps from the Play Store for some reason.
DeadlySin9 said:
If you're still on MK2 then you can use the second one. And yeah, you can't download paid apps from the Play Store for some reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@DeadlySin9, thanks for pointing out the correct one to use, and yes, I am still stock on MK2, rooted and have not installed SS, pending the version discussion. I will go ahead and install SS 3.72 and the ROM from the first post and :fingers-crossed: that it will work wonders.
The reason that I am choosing this over the GPE, don't get me wrong, GPE I think is better, but no download paid apps is not going to work for me, some apps like, root explorer and a few others are a must on the phone. So that's a bummer. I wish it works, then I can just flash and be in peace.
Thank you @sway8966 also for helping out on this. I just freaked out when I found out the work phone was dead.....