*[SM-910W8] Broken USB. Root via SD Card?* - Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all,
I'm just about at my wits end here. I have a Note 4 (N910W8) with a failed USB connection and I would really like to root it. The underlying goal is to remove/disable all samsung bloatware.
WRT the USB, I have tried adjusting developer options, *#0808#, updating drivers, changing cables, changing PC's, etc. I've tried everything I could find online. Recently, I took it to a local shop and learned that the problem is not with the USB port/board, but the motherboard itself. I'm not going to pay to replace it. I have googled far and wide. As far as I can tell, this phone will never again connect to a PC via USB. So, download mode and Odin are out.
I have tried TowelRoot, KingoRoot, and other apk's, but I am on Android 6.0.1 (MMB29M/GLW-N910W8VLS1DPK1) so all of these exploits have been patched.
I am able to boot into (stock) recovery mode, so I thought I'd try recovering via SD card, however that doesn't work either. First I get a loading screen of the mascot with a spinning wireframe polygon in his belly and the message "installing system update". Then after ~15 seconds, the mascot is on his back with a red warning symbol over his belly, and the text "No Command." is displayed. I'm not sure what that's all about, because I have the latest update installed.
Any attempts to install CF-Autoroot or another recovery firmware (ie https://samsung-firmware.org/model/SM-N910W8/region/GLW/ , or https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/snapdragon-dev/trltecan-n910w8-aoa1-stock-rooted-t3025538, etc) from SD (in recovery mode) have been met with the same error messages:
E:footer is wrong
E:signature verification failed
I'm not sure why because at least some of these recovery firmwares claim to be official builds. Granted, they are older versions (downgrades), but are signed nonetheless.
I have tried installing TWRP or CWM so I can disable signature verification, but AFAIK the device must already be rooted to install these (which seems like a bizarre catch-22, but maybe I'm confused) so that's a no-go.
It certainly feels like I have explored every possible avenue, but I have one remaining idea. Perhaps if the phone doesn't want to downgrade, I could force its hand by carefully soft-bricking the current rom in a controlled manner, then performing a recovery from SD with an official 4.4.4 KitKat build, and finally, using the towelroot/kingoroot/etc exploit to gain root access.
I mean, why else would there be a recover-from-SD option in the stock recovery menu? There must be a way to get it to accept a recovery build...
It's a last resort. But I'm willing to try it. The phone boots up, but is so bloated and laggy that it's practically unusable. Still. Am I missing anything? Surely there's some way to skip the USB / Odin method. What do you guys think? Is it time to go hulk on this thing? Is there any hope left? Curious to see how much further this rabbithole can go.
Cheers and thanks guys.

I've searched for ways to soft-brick, but have not come across anything. The bootloader appears to be locked, which is odd because I thought that only applied to Verizon variants.
I have recently downloaded an ADB/fastboot package for windows so I could attempt ADB over WiFi, however I can't establish a connection. I thought I'd do some more poking around on the phone side, so I installed some Wireless ADB apps. They all indicate a root is required, so I think that might be a dead end. I also connected to a ubuntu machine. Nothing. The phone charges, but both the PC and Ubuntu machine show zero signs of any connection at all.
There has to be some kind of SD-based solution to this. You can boot a computer from an SD card / USB stick and use that to access files (on an unencryped partition), and I'd be happy to do that here and delete those bloatware APK's directly... but I guess phones don't behave like other computers.
I've picked all the low hanging fruit. A part of me believes that there are some sneaky hacker ways to get at this without USB (ie some sort of rootkit) but that's way beyond my abilities. I'm going to take a break and attack this again once I have fresh ideas.

I'm in the same boat (busted usb port), does your phone still fast charge? Mine stopped fast charging.

I too have the same problem, except with the Note 10.1 2014. I know that is a different forum, but if you find a solution, it might be adaptable to my problem. I too have exhausted all other options as described above. Please someone, there must be a way to root via SD card instead of Odin. Help us please!

Me too. I have a Note Pro 12.1 running Lollipop. USB is busted and I've already replaced the port and ribbon, so it must be the motherboard. I mainly need it for Titanium backup, so I don't have to reinstall large games over my limited connection.

I have the same problem. Note 4 N910H. Not recognized by pc, stopped fast charging shows usb charging in battery settings. AFAIK I just re-rooted the phone before it went bust. There is no solution except changing the motherboard. Also this problem seems to be quite common.

Related

Audio drivers went missing during update

I already opened an RMA for the phone but they have no stock so I figured I'll take another shot at it.
The short version is that my gf messed up and updated the system while transferring her data from her old phone with the tapNgo thing.
I've done multiple facory resets, downloaded the rom from ZTE support, put it on SD, flashed it from recovery and deleted cache and nothing helps.
I don't have the exact error log anymore since I don't have the phone with me now but it reads something along the lines of
loading /proc/devices/audio/sound------ cannot find file/directory.
I looked it up and after a lot of Googling it seems like the symlink to the actual driver folder is missing and I have no idea why.
Does anyone know if i can fix this with an ADB shell?
Alternatively, I tried to follow some of the many guides out there to put the phone in EDL mode and relfash it with XiamiFlash utility but after trying 3-4 downloads and 900 versions of misflash all I ever get is "reading hello packet... unable to communicate to com4"
Haaaalp please?
*edit* this is pretty much exactly the same as what I'm getting: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/sound-card-detected-t3379736
The problem with the phone is it makes no sounds?
gpz1100 said:
The problem with the phone is it makes no sounds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the sound drivers for the OS is missing completely, no sound no microphone.
The syslog looks like this(this is from another phone its its the exact same problem):
AudioDaemon: Opening sound card state : /proc/asound/card---/state
AudioDaemon: Open /proc/asound/card---/state failed : No such file or directory
AudioDaemon: Sleeping for 100 ms
Strange issue indeed. Which model do you have? Which specific firmware file are you flashing to it?
I would think flashing the full unmodified factory firmware using the stock recovery will wipe the phone completely, including the /data partition.
Everything worked before? Help me understand the order of events. What is tapngo?
While in the midst of transferring information to or from the phone, a software update appeared and she accepted/installed it?
Its the A2017U model.
I had tried the 1.1.0 B15 firmware from SD card as well as the 1.0.0 B29 older firmware.
Right now its on B17 Nougat 7.1.1, the phone runs and works perfectly just has no audio hardware.
I wasn't there for the exact procedure but basically she powered it on, it asked for sim, she inserted that, tapped the "transfer my data" and then held the two phones together to get the NFC process started. That starts the bluetooth transfer process and it takes a really long time where it transfers all data and apps from the old phone.
At this point the phone still made sounds when adjusting the volume etc.
Somewhere in that process the "update available" notification came up and she pressed the option to install it.
After I got home I tried to figure out what is wrong, first i thought the phone wasn't registered on the cellphone network but then after a bit i figured out the audio is the issue, then i did a factory reset both from the phone UI and tried again from recovery mode, both times chose the "erase all data" option but neither time did it help at all.
I don't really know enough about phones but i think its the bootloader/something very early on thats messed up. Either that or the audio chip really just did fry.
My hope was to get the full factory image for everything that you need to install with the EDL mode thing but I can't find any good reliable guides for that.
It's the first thread in the development section.. Stickied even.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/edl-emergency-dl-mode-twrp-unlock-t3553514
Get this package - B15-NEW_FULL (Nougat)
I really don't understand zte's numbering scheme. Newer versions get lower numbers. Makes no sense. That's the full firmware except for the fastboot which passes commands. At this point it's a non issue given the issue you're having.
So I don't need to load TWRP on it, I can still keep it just stock with unlocked bootloader?
I tried that miflash thing before, i had it connected un usb download mode but nothing worked for me, I'll try doing this guide when i get home step by step again.
Their firmware numbers is based on numbers and letters 1.0a-z and then 1.1a-z so 1.0z1 is less that 1.1a1
Ok I have an update
Did miflash, nothing changed.
Ulocked bootloader and miflashed the bootloader from the sticky thread.
The phone made the startup sound and audio worked for a few seconds after android started up and then stopped again
*edit*
ok so after it showed signs of life i re-locked the bootloader, and did the OTA updates to 7.1.1 and the audio seems to be working for good now!!
Conclusion seems to be the bootloader was the key to get it working again. Hope this helps others if it comes to it.

[SOLVED (Factory Reset)] Failed Root Attempt - Will not boot past SAMSUNG boot logo

As the title implies, I've failed in my attempt to root my S7 Edge. I can access the custom download tool as well as the TWRP tool that I installed via Odin. However, I have no SD card and my attempts to use ADB have been unsuccessful. Right now I am looking for an option to reset my device to factory settings. I don't care about my previous data, as this is a relatively new phone. However, I believe my warranty is voided, and that is why I am posting here.
What are my options at this point? If it helps, a micro SD is arriving via Amazon tomorrow afternoon. Ultimately, I'd like to be able to install a custom ROM or root my existing Nougat that I started with (my original intention).
As for how the process may have failed, the tutorial I watched didn't seem to make it clear that I had to enable USB debugging. I enabled OEM Unlock, but not USB Debugging. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :good:
EDIT: Smart Switch does not support the device for emergency recovery. I really think I messed up my phone
EDIT 2: After suddenly disconnecting during the download process of a fresh firmware via sammobile, I restarted the device to reach an error screen telling me to use Smart Switch Emergency recovery. However, my device was not supported. Following a guide online, I clicked on the More tab at the top right corner of the Smart Switch program and chose "Emergency software recovery and initialization". I entered the relevant information for my device and the recovery process began (fingers crossed). After it has completed, I am now once again booting my factory firmware. I'll leave this post here because I couldn't find a similar post on the first couple pages of the forum or with the search function.
Now, can anyone direct me to a proper beginners' guide to rooting the S7 Edge? I'm fresh off of iOS, which I've used and been jailbreaking for the past nine years. I thought it would only slightly more complex, but I see due to the many different versions of the same device, rooting can be quite tricky.
Edit 3: New question which I can't find the answer to anywhere... Do you need an SD card to root? I'm resetting my phone for the second time now. Got a boot loop after using ADB sideloader to install supersu.
Where did you get the stock firmware? I have the unlocked sm-g935u... made an unbelievable stupid mistake and my three day old s7 edge is partly functional (only bare essentials), but whatever I did before wasn't wiped when I did a factory wipe so my phone thinks it's rooted even though it most certainly is not. (And many features and apps won't work bc of it. )
I can't find anything useful about theNougat firmware. I'm really desperate. My company bought me this and i broke it within a week. :'(

XT1644 No longer connects to any PC

I have been going nuts as of late trying to figure what happened with my Moto G4+. It was working fine, could connect to my pc no problem, then all of a sudden out of the blue, nothing. It only connects as a charger. I've checked it with different USB cables, different ports, even 3 different computers. Still will only connect as a charger. I've even tried it in recovery mode, still not recognized by any computer. I have not restored the phone as of yet due to a ton of pictures and whatsapp chats that I need to save. I have installed Xender to start to move some stuff off the phone, but I'm not too sure that a factory restore would help this. I have read that it could be a USB issue with the phone, either the port or the chip it uses itself. While I know I can replace the port, the chip is beyond what I have equipment for. I have turned on developer mode, and its set the USB mode to MTP by default, I've tried changing it to PTP as well, but the phone will only charge and is never recognized by the pc. All software and drivers have been updated, uninstalled thoroughly, reinstalled multiple times to no avail.
Is there any chance that this IS some form of software thing? Or am i just going to have to use the Zender app to move things between my phone and pc from now on. Until I can possibly send it off to Lenovo since it IS under warranty.
Any help is appreciated.
Just got off the phone with Lenovo/Motorola, and they are giving me the option that I wasn't wanting to hear, do a complete factory reset on the phone after removing the account information from the phone. Gee, that's what I was trying to avoid. Looks like I'll have to figure a way to completely back up the phone via wireless and hope I can save all my data needed to restore it later.
Will be trying the factory reset, but I'm not feeling very good about this at the moment. Will update later when I can get this done. But in the meantime, please suggestions.
Thank you again.
Provide some more info about what ROM you're running, etc... The more info you can provide about your situation, the more likely you're gonna be helped.
What ROM:
Stock? If so, what version and security patch?
Custom ROM? If so, which one and build date..?
I also have the xt1644 and don't have any issues whatsoever connecting to my Laptop, granted I run Linux on my personal PC. I also have zero trouble connecting to the PC's at my work which all run Windoze.
You mentioned you've tried connecting to your PC thru Recovery, so I would have to assume you have TWRP installed, no? If so, which version and by whom?
I'm running full stock room, no mods, build NJPS25.93-14-4, security patch of March 1, 2017. As for the recovery mode, that was the stock recover/bootloader. To where it should be raw adp mode. Even in that mode it is never seen by the computers I've tried. I can't install the newest security update because it won't mount internal nor external memory. I'm at work at the moment and if you need any more information, please let me know.
Thank you
rainfellow said:
I'm running full stock room, no mods, build NJPS25.93-14-4, security patch of March 1, 2017. As for the recovery mode, that was the stock recover/bootloader. To where it should be raw adp mode. Even in that mode it is never seen by the computers I've tried. I can't install the newest security update because it won't mount internal nor external memory. I'm at work at the moment and if you need any more information, please let me know.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the factory reset work? As I'm suffering from a similar problem
Have not done the reset yet, still finding the best way to back up everything, plus finding the time. Will be doing it sometime this weekend though
I just did the compete factory reset, and as i feared, it made no difference. So all my data is gone (saved what I could) and will have to figure a way to get a backup phone working while I have to send off the phone for repair. At least it's under warranty.
I have the same problem. I didn't do the factory reset (yet), but you confirmed my fear, the factory reset won't fix it. Too bad my phone isn't under warranty anymore.
Did you send it for repair?
What was the problem after all?
My XT1640 seems to be falling apart. Bluetooth stoped working out of the blue. Can't read SD card anymore and now USB connection isn't working.
My apologies for not doing a follow up post. I was able to send it back to Lenovo and the replaced the phone so it's back up and running fine. If it's out of warranty, then I'm not sure what avenue you can take aside from maybe finding one that's got severe screen damage but a good non blacklisted board and change it out. Aside from that, I can't tell you what they found wrong with it. I would assume the usb chip may have gone out, but without knowing the fate of my original phone, I can't say.

How can I recover data from my Core Prime SM-G360G with a broken screen of death? :-o

Hello experts!
First off I do admit I have cross posted some information here. Perhaps I should have just asked here first. As a lot of research I have been doing lead me here. I am also aware of the XY problem. So I am giving what information I have on my problem and what I have done to resolve it. In a nutshell I need to recover app data from internal storage.
So here is yet another story of a dropped Samsung Galaxy BSOD. The broken screen of death! :-o
So I dropped my phone and the screen broke, fixed it then put on a screen protector that fractured the new screen in my pocket, of all things. Through that it spiraled out and it needed a new LCD as well as screen which failed to repair as LCD remains blank now. I suspect the display controller has somehow fried. Decided to give up and buy a new phone.
My broken phone is a Core Prime G360G. The digitizer doesn't respond. The LCD is blank. The side buttons, volume, power and home, work fine.
The good news. It turns on and technically still works. It has no screen lock. I can plug it in to computer via USB and it mounts over MTP. I can also install apps remotely (so to speak) from another computer from the Play site. I've installed Samsung Switch this way. Switch does work and I managed to back up files from the Windows program which is good but in my case it isn't smart enough as it doesn't back up app data which I need. I also have AirDroid installed and can reach it that way I but didn't enable mirroring before the incident. Trying to use that to download an app (~10MB in my case) just results in the browser stalling.
The bad news. It is not rooted. It has stock standard firmware. USB debugging is not enabled. Last time I tested OTG wasn't supported. At least not for OTG USB sticks.
So in effect it's rooted without being rooted! Yes, i know, I know, Android rule of thumb; before you accidentally drop your phone, even without planning it, and not being a seer, enable USB debugging for no apparent reason! It all makes sense now.
I've spent the last two weeks reading forums all over the place, blogs and watching videos about how to recover data with a broken screen. And in almost all cases they tell you to enable USB debugging. Well that's nice advice and about as useful as advising someone with a broken toilet to sit down, do their business and then flush it! And is met with equally crappy commentary pointing the conundrum out.
My computer has Windows (Vista) and Linux (Mint 64). I read all about ADB and installed this on both Windows and Linux. And tried to talk to it that way with adb and fastboot which failed. I then read of Samsung devices being different, with a download mode, and using this Odin or Heimdall program. So I could "see" the process I tested with my new phone (a J5 Prime as it happens) and learned I needed to use download mode and how to enter it on boot. Recovery mode didn't work as expected. Heimdall was the only program that would work. I managed to view the PIT on my J5. Odin did see my phone but I found the interface harder to work with at first.
I tried on my Core. Blindly got it into download mode. Heimdall could see it. But the transport was buggy as I kept getting USB errors. I ended up removing it then compiling Heimdall v1.4.2 from source. This worked better, even though it was giving empty bulk transfer warnings, but it managed to download the PIT file. So at this point I can blindly get my Core into download mode and am able to communicate with it using Heimdall.
This is where I am at. I would prefer it if a screen mirroring app could be installed that would load up and activate remotely when a client run on my computer is loaded up. I don't care if it is VNC or how it connects. But it would need to load itself up on the phone and work without needing intervention on the phone and without USB debugging. If there is an emergency mirroring app on the Play store or even an APK that can be installed remotely, using AirDroid or any other means, I would be happy to test it. I'd write one myself if knew how to write an app! LOL.
If USB debugging could be enabled by any remote means then I am welcome to hear how. It opens a window to possibility. But a window that is hard to open if it's locked.
So I would prefer to keep this at the app level if possible. Since apps can help. But if need be as long as it doesn't destroy data I am willing to install a custom recovery image. It looks like I will need to do this as I have exhausted all other possibilities. At least, when I read of the latest broken screen mirroring app, there is always a catch of it needing debugging or activating on the phone.
Although there is support for other Core Prime variants, support for my specific G360G model seems to be lacking. The information I read looks vague at best. I read about CWM and TWRP. But on the TWRP site, although there is Core Prime images, nothing is listed for exactly a G360G. There is no point to me flashing TWRP recover image only to find it doesn't work and I have bricked recovery mode. I'd look like a right twerp!
So guys, after all the info I have given you, what's the next step? Thanks.
Okay so just an update here. I have some good news and bad news on my part. I've been hacking around with customising recovery and modifying compatible recovery images in order to get debugging activated.
The good news is I got USB debugging enabled. The bad news is my computer is unauthorised.
I'm stuck at this point. I updated the adb_keys file with what was on my computer and it won't budge. I finally get somewhere and now I've once again hit a wall. This is just so annoying. :-x
The final countdown. After months of cracking and hacking I've broken in! I modded my hack to create the needed folder just to be sure and updated my RSA key. Applied the firmware patch and let it reboot. Even while booting I knew something was different. The digitizer started responding to my touch and making water noises. Which was strange as I never noticed it doing that before.
I issued an adb command and it was accepted. I could then browse around the system. I already had screen mirroring software installed and all it needed was USB debugging working and suddenly it worked. This was a blessing as I found that trying to do other things like going into a root shell or do an adb backup caused a requester to come up on screen. Had I not been able to satisfy that on a virtual screen I would have run into the same trap of circles I had just climbed out of. Having a rooted phone with no root access.
I was then able to install a backup app and extract the data out. Hooray! I had actually installed it from Google Play site remotely but found there was no space for it and it had failed. But the account said it was installed. With a view to a mobile I could then remove another app and install it from Play on the phone itself. Given how well this worked once I learned what was needed to be done I suppose I should make up a guide. An automated script to create an ADB patch wouldn't go far astray.

Tab A6 SM T580 (2016) Can't flash ROM, stuck in DL mode

Hi all
As the title says. I've run into problems trying to flash a new ROM.
I used TWRP to flash a custom ROM but didn't like it so wanted to go back to stock. I'm not sure/can't remember what happened (been up till 4am for 2 nights trying to fix it), but it's now stuck. I can get into DL mode (pale blue/turqoise screen) and have tried flashing various stock ROMS but am running into problems that may be driver related.
I don't/have nevwer has Kise installed. I have tried various Samsung USB drivers. Some seem to have been invisible, but the one I'm using now (can't remember version but it's a few vesions old) is visible in Windows 7 device manager as Samsung modem which says it's working (for what that's worth). When I plugged the device in, the taskbar popped up to say the driver was installing.
I've tried a few versions of Odin. They all say <added> in the dialogue box, and 0:[com4] is added to the little box above and changes colour. I'm assuming that means that Odin can see the device ok?
After browsing for the stock ROM BL, AP, and CSC files, they get checked for MD5 which all seems ok, and then when I start Odin, nothing much happens, a few lines of text - file analysis, setup connection, and if I'm lucky it gets to NAND write start... and then nothing. I left it in that state last night and 10 hours later nothing had happened.
I'm hoping that this is something simple but I've exhausted my knowledge and need some help.
Most important question: Is this device recoverable? If not, there's no point in banging my head against the wall.
Secondly, am I on the right track or do I need to be doing something else? (if so, please point me in the right direction)
Is this as simple as the drivers not working right and should I continue to try different driver versions along with different USB sockets and cables? (tried a few cables including what I think is the unused OEM one). Is there a way to check that the driver is actually working or is its presence in device manager the only indication?
I've tried several Odin versions also.
Nothing I've tried has got past the NAND write, and I only managed to get that far last night.
How long approx should it take to flash and is there any progress indication on either Odin or device? (There's no point in waiting an hour if I should see something happening within 2 minutes, I may as well cancel and try something else)
I'm sorry for having to ask because I know to some of you, this may seem a simple problem and you may roll your eyes, but I really have tried everything I know and need to know if there is a chance what I've been doing will suddenly work or if I need to do something else or give up entirely. I never ask for help on a forum without trying my best to research and solve the problem.
TIA
Edit
I tried again, and left it showing at NAND writing, and after annhour or two, it completed, but failed. I don't know if this is a time out thing or whether it tried and failed. Without knowing if I'm on the right track there' s no point in repeating the same actions that are going to fail.
Must admit, expected some kind of response by now.
You may not have all the answers but if you may have part of one answer. I don't have anything to lose because the device will be going into landfill unless something happens.
cecr said:
Must admit, expected some kind of response by now.
You may not have all the answers but if you may have part of one answer. I don't have anything to lose because the device will be going into landfill unless something happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boot into recovery and factory reset. Then, with the latest stock ROM available, flash only the AP and BL modules. If Odin shows "added" when you plug in the cable, then the driver is working. Have you tried a different USB cable?
Did you try using the latest patched Odin? If it says added then the driver is working so it can't be a driver problem. It usually doesnt take more than 10 minutes to flash stock rom so don't wait an hour. As @lewmur said try flashing just the BL and AP files and try different USB cables and sockets also avoid using a USB hub.

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