Database Users

[Q] SAM+CWM bootloop nightmare (& my mom-in-law will kill me!)

UPDATE: Problem solved! Subsequent attempts at Odin flashing succeeded. So...Nevermind!
Hello XDA sages!
I'm an avid Android user and I like to mess around, but I have no genuine technical skills or training and it's now bitten me pretty hard. I just got engaged and I was trying to clean out my phone and gift it to my new mother-in-law...with disastrous consequences. So this is my SOS to this incredible community! (Please note, I have searched many other Note 2 bootloop threads but I've seen nothing describing my situation and their solutions have not helped. Though I do apologize if I've missed something!
My current situation:
* Upon restart, the phone (Note 2 GT-N7100, unlocked) is stuck in a terrible bootloop, where the "Samsung Galaxy NoteII GT-N7100" logo appears for 6 seconds, and is then replaced by the Clockwok mod recovery logo (not recovery mode screen, just the hat+geer+orange arrow logo in the center, with "ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.4.3" in small letters at the bottom). That logo lasts for about 1 second and then it goes black for 1 second, then repeats with the Samsung logo. And so on.
* Many other threads have suggesting entering recovery mode by holding power + home + volume up. This only causes the Samsung logo to refresh every few seconds (i.e. it eliminates the Clockwork mod logo interlude but does nothing else)
* Down+power+home does stop the loop and change to the custom OS download option screen. Pressing volume up then does enter the "Downloading..." screen with the picture of the green Android. (pressing volume up restarts the phone and the loop begins again).
* I've tried loading a stock firmware package onto the device in this mode with Odin v.3.0.9 (obtained via this post) but it doesn't recognize my device. I'm guessing this is because USB debugging was not turned on before the crash.
How I got here:
* I first rooted and flashed a custom rom several months ago using the Cynogen Mod custom installer. I installed the only "stable" release for the N7100 (here.)
* About 1 month ago I used the Rom Manager app and CWM to flash OmniRom, from a zip file on my external SD card. Just before the crash happened last night, I successfully completed an OTA to the latest OmniRom nightly.
* As mentioned, I was preparing the phone to be gifted to my new mother-in-law, and wanted to clean it out. I started by booting into recovery mode (from the Rom Manager app) and then initiating a factory reset.
* Upon rebooting, I noticed that somehow a bunch of my data was still hiding on the phone. Photos and videos and some songs were mysteriously still present, and the storage analysis in settings showed only about 6 gigs were free out of 16. A subsequent Factory Reset did nothing to change this. (All other aspects appeared to be working perfectly, however, as far as returning to a clean install of a fresh copy of OmniRom Android 4.4.2 -- no account data was preset, all my apps were gone and all the stock apps were in the default folders, etc.)
* I booted into Recovery Mode and initiated a "Media Data wipe" (I think that's what it was called) in an attempt to clear out the stubborn media files that weren't being erased.
* I then initiated a "data wipe" (which appeared to just be one level of storage hierarchy above the media data wipe I had just completed).
* I'm pretty sure I also separately initiated a "cache wipe". (But not a "Dalvik Cache" wipe that I have seen referenced on other threads, as I don't believe I saw a reference to that within the recovery mode interface).
* After these wipes I restarted, and all appeared to be fine. The stubborn media data was wiped clean. Finally, after logging back into my Google account to use the App Store to download Rom Manager one last time, (and I honestly can't quite remember why I needed to that) I wanted to complete the process with one more factory reset to eliminate my account data before handing over the phone. This time, I initiated the reset from within the settings menu of the phone in normal operational mode. (This was the first of the various factory wipes I've mentioned that I initiated this way -- all the other factory resets were initiated from within recovery mode).
* I think this is when the current loop started. But to be embarrassingly honest, I had the phone face down and didn't look at it after initiating that final factory restart until I subsequently popped out the battery in order to remove the SIM card. I think the factory reset was complete by that time, but I'm not sure. (In other words, I might have interrupted the factory reset by removing the battery before it was complete).
* After that point this evil loop began.
* To my amateurish eye, the two leading contenders for how I did this are a) the "media wipe" or "data wipe" which I completed before the penultimate restart (although the phone did boot and operate just fine after those were completed, or b) the final factory reset which I may have interrupted by removing the battery.
Three other notes which may or may not be relevant:
* Every time I did a factory reset or data wipe and then went to restart the phone from within the recovery mode, a warning screen came on saying that something might have messed up root access and asked me if I wanted to fix. I always said that I did,
* I had selected TWRP recovery in the Rom Manager app on the advice of the Omnirom site, and I think I saw a reference to TWRP on the recovery mode screen, but I had previously installed ClockWorkMod Recovery and thought maybe that was still active in a way it shouldn't be. (I can't remember what those indications were exactly, but I think it might have just been seeing the logo in the recovery page). But the presence of the ClockWorkMod Recovery logo in my evil boot loop makes me think this may be relevant.
* Before my first factory reset I had made a full backup copy of the current Rom (omnirom) onto my external SD card, which is still in the phone.
I would be eternally grateful for any help, tips, references or suggestions! My fate is in your hands!!
Many thanks,
- Your overeager n00b

Try simple things first. Reinstall kies so you know drivers isnt corupted and then flash stock rom with odin. And also try to switch usb cable and if that doesnt work switch to another pc. Try that and well go on.
Edit: i see you solved it gj.

Do not touch somebody else's phone if they are going to kill you when something goes bad

Next time better think twice

Brandzel said:
UPDATE: Problem solved! Subsequent attempts at Odin flashing succeeded. So...Nevermind!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to hear you solved it You flashed stock, i guess?
By the way, I recommend changing the tag to [SOLVED] :good:

[solved] Note 3 bricked for good? No ADB interface to reflash manually.

Hi everybody.
TL;DR
Recovery hangs upon booting and fastboot mode doesn't show up ADB interface on my PC. How to flash the phone?
Long version:
I wonder if you can help me. My old faithful Note 3 is badly misbehaving. Yesterday I filled almost all its internal memory with some movies before heading out on a trip, but some time later when I reset the phone after unusually long boot all user settings were lost. Well, something went wrong, couple of hours later there was reset after reset so I wanted to restore previous backup... but couldn't. TWRP was showing error messages (TAR something something, 255) very shortly into restoring process. It couldn't restore backup but also couldn't make new one as well (similar error with TAR and code 255 when trying to backup user data).
Something was very wrong, so I thought maybe I will flash newer TWRP 3.0 and give it a try but suddenly after next reset I couldn't even get into recovery anymore - TWRP gives me black screen after several seconds into booting it. No icons, no reaction to key presses, nothing. Even holding power button does nothing.
Ooooookay, it's time to enter fastboot mode then and flash new recovery manually. So I enter it, connect phone to my laptop and... nothing! No ADB interface. Some kind of samsung driver is installing, but the most important one, for ADB, just doesn't show up. It's really weird. Reinstalling drivers doesn't help, only the same one device that shows up gets different names, but that's it - no ADB interface, and, effectively, I can't flash anything because fastbot and ADB can't see any device. Odin can't see the phone too.
What's going on? Is the internal flash dying or what? But if so what does it have to do with ADB not showing up? Do you have any ideas that I can try out in this situation? I checked my laptop with a tablet that I have on hand and it shows up its ADB interface without problem in fastboot mode even though it's the first time I connect it to this laptop, so laptop and it's system are fine.
If nothing helps then, well, One+ 3, here I come.
EDIT: Problem solved. Turns out f2fs on data partition crashed and therefore TWRP couldn't start at all. I managed to flash Philz CWM via Odin somehow (after messing with drivers for some more time) which told me there is something wrong with /data because it couldn't mount it at all. It couldn't format it either. Fortunately SlimLP managed to start and after throwing up some errors I managed to do factory reset which formatted the internal memory back to ext4. Then flashing TWRP, formatting data back to f2fs, restoring backup and voila! It works again. Good, I'll wait until Note 8 if there ever will be one.

OP2 Powers ON Automatically into Recovery

Hello Fellows,
First I'd like to explain my situation in details.
my phone fell while i was walking on the street and it got some dirt on it, so ( foolishly ) I decided to clean it.... and yeah... i washed my phone like washing a dish... i like rinsed the phone in water and in other cleaning liquids for no more than 3 seconds it was all quick thingy... anyway after washing it.... i directly powered it ON and it powered but the screen was OFF ( so i decided to power it OFF, solder it and to remove any clues of water inside on the board or something... after that i used a hairdryer ( which is not recommended ) but i used it at a descent distance so that no harm would be caused to the board... as i was only subjecting air to let water if any existed to dry..
i put the phone in rise and kept it for 1 day... after 1 day i wanted to check out how stuff went.. so i powered it ON and the screen actually turned ON and the vibrator, even the hardware back-light lighted up perfectly but here's the problem I'm facing.
the phone only boots into TWRP 3.1.0.0 no matter what i do.. things i tried:
1- flashed some ROM, through TWRP
2- used "Fixed Contexts" in TWRP
3- Repair File System "System partition" through TWRP
4- used file manager inside TWRP and checked if the internal storage is working and indeed i can show all my files, through TWRP
5- also used the file manager to access "System" Partition and everything was there, through TWRP
6- change File System into EXT4 "System partition" through TWRP
7- Resize File System "System partition" through TWRP
8- Wiping all Partitions "Excluding the internal storage"
and NON WORKED..
note that whenever i attempt to flash a ROM the result shows successful with no errors ..
so whats the problem in here?
i have a guess but i need help in order to apply it.. i think the VOL- is pressed and stuck somehow Electrically on the board ( but no physically as i can press the volume down and hear its tap or whatever you call it.. i even managed to boot into fast-boot and it worked.
is there anyway i can disable the vol- button temporary to see if its causing the problem?
the only thing is i cant see my ROM booting... not even the boot animation showing... just the boot-loader and automatically it goes into the recovery
also i have kernel log attached below followed by the recovery log
EDIT: i also forgot to mention that my PC recognize the phone and i have access to my internal storage.. no problems with transfer speed as well
after tons of attempts and searching online and flashing stuff and blablabla... (i flashed every recovery image op2 support )
FINALLY
I found the solution my self, and everything is back to normal...
the phone was stuck at the early stage of the booting process and maybe couldn't find the boot image in order to boot up the android OS, so all i did was i plugged in the phone into the PC, i started everything in fastboot mode on phone and on PC then i just sent the following command to my phone.
Code:
fastboot continue
fastboot then(meaning after the command) wasnt able to recognize the phone anymore so i knew that its now trying to search for partitions other than recovery.. i waited like 10 seconds and booom it booted into the best ROM i've ever used ( and actually missed ) which is Official RR from our great maintainer "nicesoni_ash"
P.S: the vol- as i said was really stuck and i noticed it not working while on RR ROM, so i just clicked it many times and tried mixing vol+ with vol- .. after many many attempts vol- worked and i then rebooted to make sure if everything is back to normal and no recovery auto boots and indeed it smoothly booted up :laugh:
thanks a lot for all who tried to help out in here or on oneplus forums :highfive:
#back_to_resurrect_and_will_always_remix

Did you try reverting to stock ?
Try getting files from here..
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-2/general/rom-mirrors-official-oxygen-os-roms-ota-t3209863

I would consider it as bricked, after all attempts failed and go with the unbrick guide here on xda or oneplus forums, maybe this way it can be ressurected.
You probably have already backed up your data..
Damn, that hurts..

mithu.creative said:
Did you try reverting to stock ?
Try getting files from here..
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-2/general/rom-mirrors-official-oxygen-os-roms-ota-t3209863
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry for this late reply but yes i have tried flashing every ROM from stock to Custom ones even i flashed EVERY SINGLE RECOVERY IMAGE OUR PHONE SUPPORTS XD and non worked... first aid.. qualcomm toolkit... non...

hello bro, i updated a magisk module v4android and when i reboot, it boots up in twrp. and since then it keeps booting into twrp. So, i used fastboot continue and when it boot int the home i deleted that module.
but fastboot continue only works once. After that if i switch-off and switch-on the phone, it goes into twrp. it needs fastboot continue everytime.
please provide me a permanent solution. few other users are facing this too. plz reply i'm waiting.

Hey,
with the help of some others in a Discord server (thanks @thesanjayp#6251 on discord) i managed to find the issue. Appearantly there was a change in /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/misc for some reason. There was a similar problem on the old LG Optimus G Pro which i owned, so i remembered this.
As I'm not sure if we can just wipe the partition or not, i got a working misc.img attached.
In any terminal (adb shell, twrp terminal or an terminal app in a rom) make sure you have su rights, and then execute the following command:
Code:
dd if=/path/to/misc.img of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/misc
Make sure to adapt the path to the misc.img though to the location you saved it to.
The misc.img I used is attached to this post.
PS: Im not responsible for any broken phones if this didnt work for you.

Recovery from bootloop (and other issues)

Ok, so... this is gonna be quite long to tell, but I need to explain the situation as carefully as possible because the problem I have seems to be very specific and potentially solutionless.
So, a week ago my Samung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (SM-P610, CSC: ITV, which is the Italian Country Code and it's for unbranded devices, since my model is Wi-Fi only), suddenly started to restart itself and it's been stuck for days in a bootloop (i.e. it's stuck on the logo and if I hard restart it with Volume Down + Power, it gets stuck there again). Yesterday I found out that it's most likely a software problem, so re-installing the Android version should fix everything up... right? Well, I did just that but the device is still stuck on the bootloop.
Here I want to be more detailed: firstly, I'm 100% positive that the problem I have is NOT due to a virus, as I've never done ANYTHING that could potentially lead me to taking a virus (such as downloading apps outisde Google Play, visiting risky sites etc.); secondly, I followed a procedure that was supposed to repair my device without losing data. That's because I've stupidly never made a backup and I can't afford to make a factory reset. The procedure I followed consisted in finding the Android update I needed with Frija, and then downloading everything in the tablet with Odin. Also, I'm 100% positive that I made NO mistakes during the installation procedure. The only step that I did differently is HOW I installed the update: I did it with Download Mode, not with fastboot, because when I go into Recovery Mode and reboot the device into bootloader, the PC doesn't recognize my Tab, even if the PC does recognize that it's connected, as it makes the typical sound of when you plug something in a USB port (I have the USB drivers installed in my PC, I think it doesn't work because I never unlocked bootloader). What I get when I reboot into bootloader is "entering fastboot..." stuck screen and the PC and Odin aren't able to recognize it.
My questions are therefore these:
Is there a way to make a backup of the data of my device if I can't boot it (maybe via Download Mode)?
Is there a way to make fastboot work if I can't boot my device?
Is there some other way to repair my tablet that I can try?
Thank you for any help, this is my last hope to find a solution for my problem.

neo4458232 said:
When your device is stuck on an Android boot loop issue then you can fix it by simply doing a soft reset. Turn off your device and the problem will be resolved.
Here are the steps to follow:
First, switch off your device and take out your battery from the phone.
If your battery is non-removable then turn off the phone for 3 to 5 minutes and again turn it on.
This method works effectively to fix the error of the boot loop issue. But if a soft reset does not work for you to fix Android phones stuck in the boot loop issue then you should follow the next method.
Method 3: Reboot System in Recovery Mode​Rebooting a phone in the Recovery Mode is known for fixing several errors and issues on your Android phone. So, if you are unable to start your phone in normal mode or your Android is stuck in a reboot loop, then restart your phone in Recovery Mode.
Method 4: Remove and Reinsert SD Card​You may also try to remove the SD card to fix the boot loop in Android. According to several user reports, this trick worked for them. So, you should try this.
First, turn off your phone > remove the SD card > turn on your phone normally, and check if your phone is out from the boot loop or not.
If it is still stuck in the boot loop, then go for the other solution.
Method 5: Reboot the Phone in Safe Mode​This problem may also occur due to problematic 3rd party apps. If you have recently installed an app on your phone and then you started facing this issue, then remove it from your device.
Or, if you are not sure which app is responsible, then try rebooting your phone in safe mode. Doing this will disable all the third-party apps on your Android phone and then you can easily find out if this is the reason behind this issue or not.
To do this, you need to follow these steps:
Start rebooting your phone.
When the device logo appears on the screen, long-press the volume-down button at the same time.
Now, your phone will automatically switch to Safe mode.
If your phone is no more getting into the boot loop, then it means one of the third-party apps installed on the device was causing this issue.
Now, find out the problematic app and uninstall it to fix the Android boot loop without losing data.
Method 6: Use Custom Recovery Mode​When you find your Android is stuck on the startup screen due to the boot loop issue, then you must try to restart the phone in the Custom Recovery mode. Here is the guide to do so:
To enter into the Custom Recovery mode press the Power + Volume down buttons simultaneously.
Select the “Advanced” option in the Custom Recovery menu.
Next, choose “Wipe Dalvik Cache”. Choose “Yes” when prompted for confirmation.
Move to the “Mounts and Storage” option and choose “format/cache”. It will clear the cache files completely.
Restart your device.
Method 7: Fix Android Bootloop Error Via CWM Recovery [For Rooted Phone]​Maybe you are not aware of this method but it’s a useful way to fix the boot loop issue on Android after the update. Remember that this method is only for rooted phones. Here CWM means ClockworkMod and if your phone is stuck on the Android boot loop then it must be downloaded and installed on phone. Read me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying but I already tried every method listed here.

At this point it sounds like you need to bring it in to a local repair shop & see if they have a fix.

The solution is to wait on the turned on screen until the battery dies completely. Then put it to charge and after a bit using the reset combo (pwr+volume down) once the circular battery charging indicator with the green border comes. (It's a matter of luck, this keeps happening to my tablet and even the official samsung store can't fix it even though they took money to do the same)

troubleshooting, bricked overnight

Hi!
I used my S7 Edge for a couple of years and now I am afraid it may have died on me. As always, backups of f.e. pictures are not up to date.
During the night, it lay on my Qi charger. When I took it in hand, the screen was extremely dark and stuck in the "loading Lineage" screen. I tried to reboot. It was stuck on the "Samsung Galaxy" screen.
I wanted to boot into recovery and wipe the cache and see if it works again. But I can't boot into recovery mode. No matter if I connect it to a USB cable, the button command does not work.
Switching the device off also isn't possible. The only way to switch it off is disconnecting the battery (I have opened it to do so).
The only thing I can do is booting into download mode (so I know my volume up button works...).
Several times the screen was stuck on the "empty battery" symbol - which did not change no matter how long I had it in the charger. I can't really replicate how I got to the battery screen. I installed another battery just to see if if by some magic this would change something, but nothing changed about my issue. No boot possible and no booting into recovery.
I thought to myself: Well, maybe if I reinstall TWRP I can get into Recovery again. But when I try Odin I get the error message: "there is no PIT partition"
I know you will want additional info:
sadly, I cant' say which version of lineage I had running. I would have to look into my phone - which I can't.
I installed Lineage a couple of years ago, the phone was rooted and had TWRP recovery. I changed my USB port and Audio port several months ago.
But everything was running fine - I did not change or do anything recently. It happened overnight.
Do you have any ideas what I can do? I am brooding for two days now over this issue and I am at the end of the line here.
Did my memory just die on me? Is it an unfixable hardware issue?
Or software-related and potentially salvageable?
thanks in advance for anybody that bothers with my problem.

PinkElf said:
Hi!
I used my S7 Edge for a couple of years and now I am afraid it may have died on me. As always, backups of f.e. pictures are not up to date.
During the night, it lay on my Qi charger. When I took it in hand, the screen was extremely dark and stuck in the "loading Lineage" screen. I tried to reboot. It was stuck on the "Samsung Galaxy" screen.
I wanted to boot into recovery and wipe the cache and see if it works again. But I can't boot into recovery mode. No matter if I connect it to a USB cable, the button command does not work.
Switching the device off also isn't possible. The only way to switch it off is disconnecting the battery (I have opened it to do so).
The only thing I can do is booting into download mode (so I know my volume up button works...).
Several times the screen was stuck on the "empty battery" symbol - which did not change no matter how long I had it in the charger. I can't really replicate how I got to the battery screen. I installed another battery just to see if if by some magic this would change something, but nothing changed about my issue. No boot possible and no booting into recovery.
I thought to myself: Well, maybe if I reinstall TWRP I can get into Recovery again. But when I try Odin I get the error message: "there is no PIT partition"
I know you will want additional info:
sadly, I cant' say which version of lineage I had running. I would have to look into my phone - which I can't.
I installed Lineage a couple of years ago, the phone was rooted and had TWRP recovery. I changed my USB port and Audio port several months ago.
But everything was running fine - I did not change or do anything recently. It happened overnight.
Do you have any ideas what I can do? I am brooding for two days now over this issue and I am at the end of the line here.
Did my memory just die on me? Is it an unfixable hardware issue?
Or software-related and potentially salvageable?
thanks in advance for anybody that bothers with my problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, try to flash the stock firmware otherwise I really don't know :/

I guess I will lose my data when I install stock firmware, don't I?
What I ask myself is: Is the reason for not being able to boot into recovery that my device always thinks my battery is empty?
Is the fact that I can boot into download mode a sign that my memory and/or motherboard is still intact?

PinkElf said:
I guess I will lose my data when I install stock firmware, don't I?
What I ask myself is: Is the reason for not being able to boot into recovery that my device always thinks my battery is empty?
Is the fact that I can boot into download mode a sign that my memory and/or motherboard is still intact?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using Lineage OS? If yes, then definitely yes. On my Xiaomi, I couldn't get into fastboot mode or into recovery, I don't know why and somehow I got there, I don't even know how I think I held the power mode for a long time and when the phone turned on I held the volume up button to get into recovery finally succeeded on the umpteenth attempt and from recovery I restarted the phone in fastboot mode and flashed the stock firmware. And yes, being able to boot your phone into fastboot is a good sign. It would be worse if it wasn't possible.

I am still stuck with the problem. I can boot into download mode. I can't find a way to boot into recovery.
Is there anything I can do in download mode?
If I find the lineage version I originally installed on my device, could I install it via ODIN and get my phone back without data loss? I have only ever installed ROMs via TWRP.
Just an idea, but as of now I get the error "could not find PIT partition" anyway while trying to reinstall TWRP.

PinkElf said:
I am still stuck with the problem. I can boot into download mode. I can't find a way to boot into recovery.
Is there anything I can do in download mode?
If I find the lineage version I originally installed on my device, could I install it via ODIN and get my phone back without data loss? I have only ever installed ROMs via TWRP.
Just an idea, but as of now I get the error "could not find PIT partition" anyway while trying to reinstall TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can use download mode to install the firmware via Odin. Look

That means giving up hope for my personal data...
But even if I want to do this, I run into the problem, that I can't install anything due to "could not find PIT partition"...