What exactly happens on the phone when factory resetting?
I recently installed an apk that I eventually found out to be virus/malicious scripts. :crying:
I've been decompiling the app and can see that it changes WebView settings, adds on screen press actions and keyloggers, grants access to internal and external storage, adds files to /data/data and much more.
From what I understand in the code it also added a checker that checks for boot completed commands to run scripts on phone startup.
I noticed after having installed the app that a grey screen popped up all the time interfering with what I was doing, but since uninstalling the app and factory resetting my phone that doesn't happen.
I'm afraid some scripts like the keylogger and files in /data/data might still be there.
Does a normal factory reset in recovery mode fix this or do I need to reflash the original samsung software?
My phone is not rooted and bootloader is still locked.
mattan1999 said:
What exactly happens on the phone when factory resetting?
I recently installed an apk that I eventually found out to be virus/malicious scripts. :crying:
I've been decompiling the app and can see that it changes WebView settings, adds on screen press actions and keyloggers, grants access to internal and external storage, adds files to /data/data and much more.
From what I understand in the code it also added a checker that checks for boot completed commands to run scripts on phone startup.
I noticed after having installed the app that a grey screen popped up all the time interfering with what I was doing, but since uninstalling the app and factory resetting my phone that doesn't happen.
I'm afraid some scripts like the keylogger and files in /data/data might still be there.
Does a normal factory reset in recovery mode fix this or do I need to reflash the original samsung software?
My phone is not rooted and bootloader is still locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset restores a device to it's original software configuration. Any software customization is overidden in this process. Custom Scripts and Keyloggers are scrubbed, you don't need to flash the original firmware.
unless you somehow have your /system mounted and writable (which is unlikely possible) and that particular malicious app put something there, you are safe after a factory reset as it will wipe all your /data/data /storage /cache etc.
if you're still not sure just flash the whole original firmware
Related
I wanted to bypass the kitkat restrictions and be able to upload directly to the external SD card with AirDroid, but this seriously backfired on me lol. Ever since editing the platform.xml file in /system/etc/permissions/ and rebooting the phone I've been stuck in a continuous force close loop. I've wiped the cache but this didn't improve anything. I was able to turn all data connections off which actually prevents the force closing from happening, but that seriously diminishes how smart my smartphone is so staying like that is not an option
Now that I've stopped the messages from happening, I've noticed that my internal SD isn't being recognized anymore. Camera doesn't work, the file manager shows zero files and my gallery doesn't show any pictures either. Same for the MP3 player. Most apps are broken now, but some who don't require an internet connection still work.
At this point I'm thinking that I've probably corrupted my internal SD? I think my system partition is fine as I can still run apps and use the system as it should, but I can no longer create files, maps or do anything that requires my internal SD.
Are there any suggestions as to what I should do next? Formatting/factory resets are a last resort so I'm hoping anything can be done to recover my phone! Thanks in advance!
Shuji1987 said:
I wanted to bypass the kitkat restrictions and be able to upload directly to the external SD card with AirDroid, but this seriously backfired on me lol. Ever since editing the platform.xml file in /system/etc/permissions/ and rebooting the phone I've been stuck in a continuous force close loop. I've wiped the cache but this didn't improve anything. I was able to turn all data connections off which actually prevents the force closing from happening, but that seriously diminishes how smart my smartphone is so staying like that is not an option
Now that I've stopped the messages from happening, I've noticed that my internal SD isn't being recognized anymore. Camera doesn't work, the file manager shows zero files and my gallery doesn't show any pictures either. Same for the MP3 player. Most apps are broken now, but some who don't require an internet connection still work.
At this point I'm thinking that I've probably corrupted my internal SD? I think my system partition is fine as I can still run apps and use the system as it should, but I can no longer create files, maps or do anything that requires my internal SD.
Are there any suggestions as to what I should do next? Formatting/factory resets are a last resort so I'm hoping anything can be done to recover my phone! Thanks in advance!
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Click to collapse
Your SD card is recognized by the PC or laptop? I think you wrote some fault in the platform.xml file... can't correct it?
Tkkg1994 said:
Your SD card is recognized by the PC or laptop? I think you wrote some fault in the platform.xml file... can't correct it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My PC is able to recognize the internal memory and that there is only 2,7GB of free space (which seems about right). However, when I enter the drive it appears empty. Windows isn't able to see anything. So in that regard Windows is acting the same as my phone.
As for platform.xml, I added <group gid=”media_rw” /> to “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“ and didn't do anything else besides that. It's really weird how this happened in the first place.
Any suggestions how to go from here? =)
edit;
I also removed the added permission but this didn't change a thing.
Shuji1987 said:
My PC is able to recognize the internal memory and that there is only 2,7GB of free space (which seems about right). However, when I enter the drive it appears empty. Windows isn't able to see anything. So in that regard Windows is acting the same as my phone.
As for platform.xml, I added <group gid=”media_rw” /> to “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“ and didn't do anything else besides that. It's really weird how this happened in the first place.
Any suggestions how to go from here? =)
edit;
I also removed the added permission but this didn't change a thing.
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Click to collapse
Hi
Mate do you have a custom rom? flash NO WIPE so you will restore the system , all apps and data will remain
MAX 404 said:
Hi
Mate do you have a custom rom? flash NO WIPE so you will restore the system , all apps and data will remain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should have probably tried this. Instead I became frustrated with the device and did a factory reset (which didn't solve a thing) so the problem is somewhere in the system which is causing the errors. Going to flash the latest stock rom in a bit and HOPEFULLY the phone will work again.
Shuji1987 said:
Should have probably tried this. Instead I became frustrated with the device and did a factory reset (which didn't solve a thing) so the problem is somewhere in the system which is causing the errors. Going to flash the latest stock rom in a bit and HOPEFULLY the phone will work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets hope so.
Good luck
Shuji1987 said:
Should have probably tried this. Instead I became frustrated with the device and did a factory reset (which didn't solve a thing) so the problem is somewhere in the system which is causing the errors. Going to flash the latest stock rom in a bit and HOPEFULLY the phone will work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset will only wipe the /data part. Because you did something in /system that part is untouched. A reflash should fix it.
Lennyz1988 said:
A factory reset will only wipe the /data part. Because you did something in /system that part is untouched. A reflash should fix it.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I noticed, my bad.
However, I flashed the latest stock rom and did another factory reset but the problem is still present. I keep getting a force close loop. What am I forgetting? What can I still do to fix this problem? I'm at a loss here xd
Shuji1987 said:
Yeah I noticed, my bad.
However, I flashed the latest stock rom and did another factory reset but the problem is still present. I keep getting a force close loop. What am I forgetting? What can I still do to fix this problem? I'm at a loss here xd
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Click to collapse
hi,
As you were "playing around " with your externalSD why you don't copy everything you have on it , format it and see if it works ..before restoring anything onto it
So i installed the samsung s5 lockscreen, or at least attempted to, I never realized you needed to flash in recovery. First I backed my files up. Then with the zip all I did was copy the files down to system in EZ Explorer, when I found out that my settings.apk went missing and the home button didnt work(or the lockscreen) I tried to restore my files, I restart my phone but no change still no settings and home button doesnt interact at all. (Stock S4 with Root)
(Also I cannot install apps anymore) Any help greatly appreciated!
I think you can solve this by Android development bridge (adb). In a few words, this is a way you can modify your internal memory from your ?. So, you have to push all backup.
If you don't know how to use it, in this page there are a lot of helpful post.
marniba1 said:
I think you can solve this by Android development bridge (adb). In a few words, this is a way you can modify your internal memory from your ?. So, you have to push all backup.
If you don't know how to use it, in this page there are a lot of helpful post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry the app creates a backup, or do I need to have a previously installed backup?
Messed up even further!
Guys I tried to factory reset hoping to fix the problem, but as the config window opens up, I'm flooded with errors. My question is should I just install a ROM and hope that fixes it, or just go to my provider and go by the warranty?(Root I used is towelroot, so it should be gone after FR, so the warranty should still be good.)
Found a fix!
I did what it says here, works perfect except for wifi(Other then that its great)
www(dot)droidviews(dot)com/install-android-4-4-2-kitkat-firmware-on-canadian-galaxy-s4/
Hello!
At first, I am sorry that I have so many questions this week, but I need a final solution with my phone.
I used to use some custom ROMs which didn't satisfy me, so I decided to stay on rooted stock rom and just delete the apps I don't need, as I did on my former phones.
Everything runs fine until I start deleting unnecessary apps.
I get a boot loop everytime I deleted apps, even if they are non system apps (like flashlight etc).
I stucks on the motorola logo and stays there, no matter what I deleted.
Anyone who made the same, without boot loop?
And because of that I have a second question, when I backup my system with TWRP, will everything be saved including Whatsapp Messages etc?
Or do I have to re-register my Whatsapp Account after restoring backup?
Thanks in advance
For, 2nd question, Whatsapp account and messages are saved on /DATA Partition, restoring /data will probably Restore your Google/Whatsapp/Other accounts as well installed user apps and their data too,.... Your saved games and whatever it was before backup, you will get same....
And why you are removing System apps..? If it gives you bootloops, Simply just disable them in settings > Apps....
__Madddy said:
And why you are removing System apps..? If it gives you bootloops, Simply just disable them in settings > Apps....
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Click to collapse
Thank you!
Because I want a simple rom, I don't want data of unused apps left on my phone, just of personal reasons.
It's like you have a keylogger or virus on your computer and just saying, "yeah I juxt disable it, that's enough"
I don't care about free space by deleting system apps, I just want to get rid of them because I don't like them
That's why I delete them with a root file manager, and I was always driven good with that way, but since I got the Moto G4, it ain't working no more without boot loop.
Yupp, i also did it with root File Manager.... It was simple to remove system apps till Android 4.4 KitKat, just navigate to System > apps find .apk and delete... But after it, in 5.1 Lollipop, they did change that structure and it became hard...
What i did till now is flash ROM and directly Remove system apps from Custom Recovery, then go for first boot.... During First boot it does optimization of system apps, so remove app before it get optimized or whatever process being done.....
__Madddy said:
Yupp, i also did it with root File Manager.... It was simple to remove system apps till Android 4.4 KitKat, just navigate to System > apps find .apk and delete... But after it, in 5.1 Lollipop, they did change that structure and it became hard...
What i did till now is flash ROM and directly Remove system apps from Custom Recovery, then go for first boot.... During First boot it does optimization of system apps, so remove app before it get optimized or whatever process being done.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's what I'm doing to.
Flashing stock rom, rooting, downloading root file manager, delete apps from /system/app and /system/priv-app, but whatever I delete there, the stock rom stucks in a boot loop, at first I thought it was build in by motorola, but that wouldn't even make sense..
Currently Running busy, will try removing system apps in my device and tell you what to do....?
HE4VYCR0WN said:
Thank you!
Because I want a simple rom, I don't want data of unused apps left on my phone, just of personal reasons.
It's like you have a keylogger or virus on your computer and just saying, "yeah I juxt disable it, that's enough"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing system apps is always iffy and sometimes not recommended. And no it's not like a keylogger or virus at all. I know you don't want them but you can expect problems on your quest.
Anyone? Still having severe issues...
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I have very happily used Cyanogenmod 11 on a Samsung S4 GT-I9505 for many years. Now suddenly after an apparently harmless update of a few Apps (gmail, youtube, firefox and a few more small ones), apps on my phone keep crashing whenever it accesses some deeper app info. Sometimes they even reboot my phone.
Symptoms: With a SIM card, the phone will crash and reboot right after entering the PIN for the SIM card. Without a SIM card, I can get to the lock screen, enter my unlock gesture and then see many, many messages that Trebuchet has crashed. Leaving the phone turned on for a night will result in a working Trebuchet launcher from which I can run most apps, but accessing Settings > Apps, for example, will briefly show the Apps and then crash Settings. Titanium Backup will run for about a minute while "Building data freshness information..." and then crash TB, sometimes even reboot the phone. Dragging an app icon from the launcher onto "App Info" will briefly display the app info while computing disk space and then crash. So I cannot reset cache or app data on the phone itself (I can through adb, though).
What I tried so far: Installed three other launchers but they showed the same symptoms, one even directly rebooted the phone. I booted into recovery and reset the Dalvik cache and let CM rebuild the app details on restart with no apparent positive effect. I tried removing the SD card but did not see any positive effect either. Booting into Safe Mode did not help, I still see systemui and trebuchet crashing upon restart. Also clearing the app data for Trebuchet (through 'adb shell pm clear com.cyanogenmod.trebuchet') did not remove the crashes.
Some more details: I have about 300 apps installed. Internal storage has about 1GB free, the SD card has 400MB available. I can connect to the phone via adb, but 'adb backup' produces only an empty file. I can run Play Store, list my apps, install updates. This is a Samsung S4 GT-I9505 running Cyanogenmod 11.0 based on Android 4.4.4.
Any help would be much appreciated! Moving all my apps and their settings to a new phone or a new OS would be a very big effort which I very much would like to avoid.
Thank you very much in advance!
PS: What would be the best way to make a full backup of the phone before trying out a new ROM?
mb42 said:
Anyone? Still having severe issues...
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Symptoms: With a SIM card, the phone will crash and reboot right after entering the PIN for the SIM card. Without a SIM card, I can get to the lock screen, enter my unlock gesture and then see many, many messages that Trebuchet has crashed. Lill briefly display the app info while computing disk space and then crash. So I cannot reset cache or app data on the phone itself (I can through adb, though)...
/QUOTE]
I guess problem might be with update package. As of best way of backup, I use titanium background and it's pretty good!
Everyone's requirements and usage is different so you might try something else as well.
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Click to collapse
Asder.mko said:
I guess problem might be with update package. As of best way of backup, I use titanium background and it's pretty good!
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Click to collapse
As mentioned, Titanium Backup is one of those apps that crashes.
Any other suggestions what I could do to get rid of those crashes?
Just in case someone else reads this - after a lot of trial and error, I was able to identify a single app (ISS Detector) as the culprit. Uninstalling the app removed all the crashes. Re-installing it would crash-boot the phone immediately after the install was complete!
I have NO IDEA why a normal app would be able to crash the entire OS but I am glad to be able to use my phone again.
mb42 said:
Just in case someone else reads this - after a lot of trial and error, I was able to identify a single app (ISS Detector) as the culprit. Uninstalling the app removed all the crashes. Re-installing it would crash-boot the phone immediately after the install was complete!
I have NO IDEA why a normal app would be able to crash the entire OS but I am glad to be able to use my phone again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
??
And if not would doing a reset of just the settings probably fix it?
Also tried things like clearing cache partition, I didn't really want to do a whole wipe if possible but clearing cache hasn't worked.
It's doing it daily, sometimes a couple of times per day in different apps.
Are there any event logs that would tell me what happened at the point of the restarts?
If I did a while wipe would my settings and apps be restored after? I can't remember about settings but I know it tries to get back your apps but from previous experience you end up with a load you didn't want any more and a load it missed for some reason.
What does anyone think is best?
Thanks
James
A factory data reset might fix it. I would take it to a local repair shop and see what they say. It might be a hardware malfunction in which if so, claim warranty.
I had a problem once with constant restarts, i finally found the problem. I was removing bloatware with ADB and the apps called ANT i removed. They sere somehow linked to the security folder. Once i reinstalled those apps everything was fine.
Also in Device Care you can check if there's an jssue with any apps. (Which May Or May Not Be Related)
my s10 constantly restarts
Darkat70 said:
I had a problem once with constant restarts, i finally found the problem. I was removing bloatware with ADB and the apps called ANT i removed. They sere somehow linked to the security folder. Once i reinstalled those apps everything was fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
How do I use ADB to remove apps? how can I find out which app is the culprit?
I dont want to factory reset my phone, as I will lose a lot of data, I cant back it up, since it restarts as I start backing app, no matter which app I use
Thanks!
acetrip said:
Hi
How do I use ADB to remove apps? how can I find out which app is the culprit?
I dont want to factory reset my phone, as I will lose a lot of data, I cant back it up, since it restarts as I start backing app, no matter which app I use
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get a list of apps
adb shell pm list packages
To uninstall a package
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 (package name)
Reinstall
adb shell cmd package install-existing (package name)
What is causing is difficult but if you have removed ant services for example, then afterwards setup secure folder access this will cause a loop reboot.
Try remembering if you have recently removed anything.