[Q] Ultra Noob Question, what am I doing wrong to fail custom rom installs. - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III

Ok so I have been trying to mess around with my S3 for the last few days, I just converted over after 6 years of using iOS products and have absolutely no knowledge of Android at all, most of the info I can find that pertains to my device is limited to very basic instructions that make no sense to me having no droid background, I tried following information from other devices and that didn't change any of my issues. I have rooted the phone successfully and with no issues; however my next step of installing a custom rom has had me hit a brick wall.
I have gotten as far as installing the rom onto my phone (CM10) yes I was trying to use the proper d2att version of the nightly updates, most current one. I have CWM running fine, created a nandroid backup, booted back to stock, wiped all the cache's, wiped the phone. But any time I try to install the rom it gives me some BS status 7 error, which from all the searching I did came back with an issue of it not being the correct rom for my phone. But according to everything blasted on this site and on CM's site my phone (Rogers GS3) uses all the d2att stuff, thats what I used to root my phone and as mentioned that went flawlessly, 10 minutes maybe. Big thanks to the people here that put the Toolkit package together.
If it makes any difference I was trying to install via CWM via the install from zip on SD
Terribly sorry if this is the wrong spot for this but its been three hours of horrible frustration on something that people do in a 6 minute video on YouTube, followed one to the word and still had this status 7 error.
TL;DR - Help a converted apple noob with his perpetual status 7 error from hell!

First thing, you posted in the sprint section and as for status7 error I want to say you have a bad download, try downloading it again.

epic4GEE said:
First thing, you posted in the sprint section and as for status7 error I want to say you have a bad download, try downloading it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah crap! Thats what I get for going on a flurrey of cross board reading, could have sworn I was still in the AT&T section, probably wait a day or two for a new download or possibly try and older version. Thanks for the heads up.

Meola said:
Ah crap! Thats what I get for going on a flurrey of cross board reading, could have sworn I was still in the AT&T section, probably wait a day or two for a new download or possibly try and older version. Thanks for the heads up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't hurt to try an older version, or another ROM to make sure your phone runs that ATT coding properly. If a different/older ROM works, then I would chalk it up under the bad download/bad update for that ROM and wait for the next increment. As long as you have the Nandroid (without getting crazy) you should be free to explore different things.

Related

[Q] wipe data/factory reset ? Complete Noob Here.

I have looked around and am still not sure which way would be best to un-root my Evo 4g. Can I just use ( wipe data/factory reset ) then update my contacts thru asurion ? and reload the apps i want from the market ? right now i am in ClockworkMod Recovery v3.0.05 ( it was originally rooted with unrevoked ) not unrevoked forever. I thought i would like to try the latest official build for a while. ( not looking forward to the sprint bloatware ) or would the easiest thing be to try and update to the latest ClockworkMod or some other build. Thanks for any info you might have.
Best way to unroot is to grab the unrevoked s-on tool. Flash that and run a ruu or grab a stock non rooted rom.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
so i guess wipe data is really no good ?
Can I just use ( wipe data/factory reset ) then update my contacts thru asurion ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really sure what you are asking here. A factory reset will NOT unroot you, it will just reset whatever rom you are on. And updating contacts through Asurion? Asurion is your insurance provider, they have nothing to do with contacts....
I thought i would like to try the latest official build for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to unroot to do this, just flash a rooted stock rom. This way you stay rooted. If you unroot, and then update to the latest stock rom, it will be VERY difficult to re-root.
or would the easiest thing be to try and update to the latest ClockworkMod or some other build.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you need to read a LOT more about rooting before you proceed to do any more, you don't really seem to know what's going on. ClockworkMod is your recovery, which has nothing to do with your rom. Updating Clockwork will not update your rom, or unroot you.
LOL I guess you are right. A LOT more reading in my future.. Thanks though.
I guess I will go ahead with the idea to update to the newest rom. I thought because ClockworkMod gave me the option to " wipe data/factory reset. " it would set it to factory default, which I thought might be un-rooted.
Side note: Asurion also syncs my phone contacts. I had to use it once when my phone was lost. to update / sync the new phone. It worked very well. Google sync stopped working long ago. I get an error message every time.
But thanks again. that post was very helpful to point me in the right direction. and make me feel a little foolish LOL BE WELL
DGXYZ said:
Google sync stopped working long ago. I get an error message every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try setting up a new gmail account? or maybe jsut delete it on your phone and re-set it up.
not yet. but i will soon. ill let you know how it goes. I've read that it works for some and not for others. haven't found a lot of info directly from Google though. it seems they don't acknowledge the issue. but I am sure i'm not the only one experiencing the error message.
If you really like the new sprint os but hate the bloatware, why not use a rooted sprint rom that one of the devs has made, kind of exactly what sprint/htc gives you but minus the bloat!
Thanks I will. i'm very new to this, how do i go about getting the correct one ? as you can see from above. I have Alot more reading to do.
just did a search on the rom you are running. How do you like that one.
The Rom I am running is great! Just can't post the link to it in this forum due to forum rules. But the Rom I am running is similar to a stock rom, just not a stock rom of an evo 4g. It's ics os which stands for (ice cream sandwich) the new HTC os. Its the stock upgrade for most of their new phones such as the Samsung Galaxy SII. Evo 4g was left out, but due to the devs on this site and others the evo 4g will be just fine!
Edit: Well there is alot of reading and research involved. But for me the best kind of research is trial and error. I read up on certain roms that interest me that have key perks. Such as ICS (newer roms), or wimax enabled (4g enabled and typically on the older roms). Then I read up on peoples response to the roms, what issues they have had, how they have fixed them, how the developer has fixed them. And then after that I'll flash the roms and see how they run. Usually a day or two of use can tell you if you like it or not. Its like a car test drive!
That's Great. I will look around a little more. and get a new rom, I'll probably try the one you mentioned, ( found the link ) Hey, I really appreciate the info, I just need the time to screw around a little more. LOL. Be Well. I'll let ya know how it goes. It is pretty interesting.
Yes on the site you are currently on, there should be a few helpful tips on how to flash the roms and kernels properly. Good luck, also a bunch of great tips on the CM7 Wiki

[Q] Is the dead Android normal when booting stock recovery?

I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?
internetpilot said:
I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a long time since I've dealt with custom recoveries, but I believe that's just the normal background for it. It's like you're tinkering with the inner working of an Android (wiping cache, etc), so you've opened up the green robot.
That's what I recall from when I still had stock about 9 months ago...
If it shows up like that, that means you have the stock recovery...use GooManager or Rom Manager to install a custom recovery while booted up.
Sent from my buttered S3
Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.
internetpilot said:
Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin
flastnoles11 said:
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!
internetpilot said:
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin
flastnoles11 said:
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.
internetpilot said:
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin
flastnoles11 said:
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).
internetpilot said:
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now
flastnoles11 said:
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I always forget the Odin option for when recovery fails. But I'd be without the data and current configuration (basically starting from scratch).
In the last two days I've seen posts from over a dozen people now who are encountering this issue with brand new Sprint S3's. I'm kinda hoping more and more people encounter this problem increasing the chances of it being resolved... Haha
It doesn't matter once your rooted and booted all you do us download either rom Manager or goo manager and install the custom recovery of your choice from the running phone. Doesn't get any easier.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?
internetpilot said:
Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
edfunkycold said:
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.
deutscher3891 said:
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.
internetpilot said:
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.
deutscher3891 said:
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both directly from Sprint.
lvpre said:
I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem isn't really root. Depending on the method, we can get root. It's the custom recovery that's the problem -- it can't mount anything so you can't flash anything, backup, wipe, etc via recovery.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Problem

Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
dokgu said:
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Elesbb. If the goal is jus tto get back to stock, just do an odin flash of the stock ROM. Be advised if you flash the latest Kit Kay update you will nto be able to go back to Jelly Bean. From your post it seems like you are partial to Jelly Bean. So if that's what you want, but sure you use the stock 4.3 ROM. You can find it around here on XDA somewhere with a quick search to make sure you have the right one.
As Elesbb said, you won't loose the 'sim unlock'. But you will lose root. However you can root the stock ROM just fine.
You might also consider one of the myriad of TouchWiz based custom ROMs. They are look just like TouchWiz that your wife wants, but have a lot of optimizations and options in them. Those should flash just like any ROM. If you still get the reboot issue then do the Odin back to stock, reroot, then flash the custom TW roms.
---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------
Thread cleaned.
Rather than bashing a ROM or user let's keep on topic and help the OP resolved the problems he's having. Arguing over the virtues of a ROM doesn't help anyone.
Thank you,
Rwilco12
Before posting this thread I sent the aforementioned guide's poster (arocker). He sent me a reply saying not to use gapps as the stock ROM for Metro PCS already comes with Google apps. I'll try his suggestion first and see if the phone still reboots a lot.
If the problem persists, I will try the solutions mentioned here. Thanks a lot!
elesbb said:
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
dokgu said:
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello PanchoPlanet,
Thanks for the link. I went ahead and tried to unroot without Windows (Mobile Odin) as per the instructions on the link. I downloaded everything and went ahead to install the Mobile Odin APK. When I ran it to install the Flash Kernel, the app told me that the device is not supported.
To my understanding the guide is for M919 devices but should work for my wife's device as well (M919N - Metro PCS). I would like to try the guide for using Windows but I'm not really expecting for it to work or I might mess it up more. I'll try to search some more and provide the links where this forum will lead me to. But if you have any ideas, please let me know asap. Thanks!
PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, here's what I found:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446497
It seems like the perfect thread for what I am trying to achieve. Will let you guys know if it is successful. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. Gonna catch some sleep.
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Android_Monsters said:
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And 100% of the time, they eventually just get old.
dokgu said:
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a wierd situation, by swapping batteries you basically performed a battery pull, which acts as a reset, that in it self may have cleared your issue.
Now if battery is bad that could be an unusual problem. Maybe just replacing the battery will be the end of your mystery.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
The batteries are all the same. Don't worry about that.
Even if its a new battery if could have just been bad. A manufacturing defect perhaps.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
dokgu said:
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This battery thing is wacky, anyway swapping batteries should not be a problem, it's just an energy storage container. Pulling the battery isn't like powering down the phone or resetting/rebooting ,sometimes devs request a battery pull to get the proper wipe effect that reboots can't provide.
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
PanchoPlanet said:
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite literally solved the vast majority of my problems this way.
Its a preferred method.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.
Sometimes it's that "total disconnect "of power that kind of gets all the ducks lined up in a row and everything flows in the dynaflow.
Good.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)
its very important topics and it might seen for every galaxy s4 users.just wonderful topics.
This exact same thing happened on my mother's 6-month old S3. If you're still wondering, you could try putting the old battery and running a CPU stress test app. It should increase the current draw and trigger a shutdown.
EDIT: whoops, sorry to kind of zombie. Didn't check the date.
Sent from my Galaxy S4

[Q] I think I messed it up pretty bad (VM -> Sprint)?

Good Morning,
First of all, I would like to ask for forgiveness for my first post/thread being a dummy's request thread and would really appreciate your help/guidance if you don't mind.
Cause of my f* up!
First, I don't want to blame the ROM nor my phone, it was my anxiousness to get Kitkat which messed my phone up. It often* used to say, System Update available, +-500 MB downloaded. My carrier said, "They only provide Kitkat upgrade to S4+ and S3 phones that are bought after Kitkat came." however, i the System update downloaded message seems to have deceived me big time. I usually skip it, didn't care much but today, it was different, I wanted* to have Kitkat. Summer vacation started, from today and I said, what the hell, lets give it a try. The phone got stuck with "Rebooting now..." message. I searched in google for quite a long time regarding this issue and majority replies for that problem were questions, "Is you phone rooted?", "Is your phone using custom ROM?" etc. So, I simply searched online how to get back to the stock* ROM? or factory system. (Sorry if I am using weird words here, couple of words, I learned it an hour ago!) I did the flashing? Odin-ed* it with stock ROM and deleted cache, data before doing the actual Odin work though and I don't quite remember the other word, dal.... something. Anyways, I couldn't find any proper Virgin Mobile's stock ROM and I am quite sure, staying awake the whole night is messing up my eyes as well but then again, I found lots of ROM releases for VM but I think I might be doing it wrong. I flashed my phone again, my carrier is Sprint now. :silly:​
I will try my best to recall and provide you with the information that I remember so far before I Odin-ed? Flashed? my phone as the new info seem a little different.
Pre-Flash
Code:
Model # : SPH-L710
Android version : 4.3 Jellybeans
Carrier : Virgin Mobile USA
Network : Virgin Mobile
Rooted : Yes
Recovery Service/system/application : Philz touch recovery (Props to the developer, I've tried couple of those recovery systems under 8 hours of research and trials-errors, yours in the best)
Phone : Samsung Galaxy S III
Main Question
Anything I can do to go back to Virgin Mobile from Sprint? :crying: I can fully access my phone, just no service and all.​
What do I believe I've
A backup from Philz Touch Recovery in my external SD card.
I can still access Recovery menu so I don't think my phone has already turned into a paper weight.
If you have any kind of suggestions regarding this issue, please do provide me with it, I would really appreciate it.
You may also add a little abusive words in it, I don't mind.
intern0t said:
Good Morning,
First of all, I would like to ask for forgiveness for my first post/thread being a dummy's request thread and would really appreciate your help/guidance if you don't mind.
Cause of my f* up!
First, I don't want to blame the ROM nor my phone, it was my anxiousness to get Kitkat which messed my phone up. It often* used to say, System Update available, +-500 MB downloaded. My carrier said, "They only provide Kitkat upgrade to S4+ and S3 phones that are bought after Kitkat came." however, i the System update downloaded message seems to have deceived me big time. I usually skip it, didn't care much but today, it was different, I wanted* to have Kitkat. Summer vacation started, from today and I said, what the hell, lets give it a try. The phone got stuck with "Rebooting now..." message. I searched in google for quite a long time regarding this issue and majority replies for that problem were questions, "Is you phone rooted?", "Is your phone using custom ROM?" etc. So, I simply searched online how to get back to the stock* ROM? or factory system. (Sorry if I am using weird words here, couple of words, I learned it an hour ago!) I did the flashing? Odin-ed* it with stock ROM and deleted cache, data before doing the actual Odin work though and I don't quite remember the other word, dal.... something. Anyways, I couldn't find any proper Virgin Mobile's stock ROM and I am quite sure, staying awake the whole night is messing up my eyes as well but then again, I found lots of ROM releases for VM but I think I might be doing it wrong. I flashed my phone again, my carrier is Sprint now. :silly:​
I will try my best to recall and provide you with the information that I remember so far before I Odin-ed? Flashed? my phone as the new info seem a little different.
Pre-Flash
Code:
Model # : SPH-L710
Android version : 4.3 Jellybeans
Carrier : Virgin Mobile USA
Network : Virgin Mobile
Rooted : Yes
Recovery Service/system/application : Philz touch recovery (Props to the developer, I've tried couple of those recovery systems under 8 hours of research and trials-errors, yours in the best)
Phone : Samsung Galaxy S III
Main Question
Anything I can do to go back to Virgin Mobile from Sprint? :crying: I can fully access my phone, just no service and all.​
What do I believe I've
A backup from Philz Touch Recovery in my external SD card.
I can still access Recovery menu so I don't think my phone has already turned into a paper weight.
If you have any kind of suggestions regarding this issue, please do provide me with it, I would really appreciate it.
You may also add a little abusive words in it, I don't mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a backup you made with Philz, just restore that backup. That's probably the easiest way.
Also, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2774333 This will put you on the last release. Then just ODIN Philz again and re-root.
People have also had luck flashing WickedX on Boost and VM without issue. But you will need the latest firmware to do so...which should be in the link a few sentences up.
Did you try flashing a Virgin APN fix zip?

Flashing 101: From Graduate to Moron (Need Help Flashing T800)

So, let me begin this tale with this disclaimer: I've worked with modding communities across a whole span of genres, from gaming to building computers. I will begin with the assumption that I am at fault in this case and I'm clearly doing something wrong. I've about reached the end of possibilities that I can explore on my own, so it's not like I tried one thing and gave up.
Once upon a time, I knew more about what I was doing than I do now. I first bought the T800 model several years ago, and the first thing I did was learn how to root it and flash CWM recovery. I went on all sorts of adventures with the device but never fully explored the potential; just installed awesome stuff that I thought I would use forever and got rid of bloatware and other useless crap. Flashforward to a few months ago, when I realized I had a really nice tablet that I had spent money on but didn't use like I had wanted to. I'm working more and more on audio mixing, and I wanted to install an app for the tablet that would allow me to remotely operate a mixing board. To my dismay, the app required an updated version of Android, and I hadn't a clue as to how to do that because the tablet was rooted and such and the thing wasn't going to update (was stuck on stock 4.4.2). I don't remember what I had done with it many years ago - at least not very well - and all I had learned was nearly gone. I refreshed a little, made a backup, checked to see what I had and noticed I still had the CWM recovery up, things were still rooted fine, and I was prime for flashing a new ROM and wiping everything. Found the Lineage ROM, slapped that puppy down, aaaand... Verification wasn't happening. Huh? It didn't even try to install, it just gave up and put the stock ROM back on. Tinkered with it for a second and thought, eh, whatever, I'll just let it update itself now that it's been wiped and everything. Only the device still wouldn't let me update it to Marshmallow or whatever update limit it's got.... Awesome... Did a little more research. Oh, my recovery is probably super out of date. Grabbed ODIN, slapped a brand spankin' new TWRP recovery that was geared for my device on it, and decided that I shouldn't go with Lineage. I'll just go with a stock Nougat ROM (can't post a link, but if it's important I can PM it to you if it's relevant).
Followed instructions to the T (as far as I'm aware) and this time did everything with a fresh new outlook into what I was doing. Flashed it, flashed GAPPS, aaaaaand.... Samsung logo won't go away.... -sigh-... Wiped it again, tried to make sure everything was wiped correctly, made sure everything was up to date. Tried again, but alas... Nothing working right for me.
Perhaps during this tale you've already picked up on something I royally messed up. Perhaps you're thinking, "Wow, how did this doofus not brick his tablet?" Am I getting old and stupid? Was there still research I missed? I started with the low road of easy modding and had to force myself to a higher road of deeper learning and STILL came up empty-handed, so now I'm asking this awesome community for a hand. I know you can't do this for me, but I'd appreciate a guiding light, or at the very least a link to an article that I really should have picked up on. Let me know if there's information I've missed that I should also be putting out, and thanks for reading regardless!
If I reached a point where I don't understand what's going on and I am banging my head against the wall, I would download the latest stock firmware for my device from sammobile and flash it with odin. If I recally it correctly, that would be the November 2016 security release of Marshmallow, the last Samsung provided. This should wipe away everything you have on the tablet. Then, if you need to flash root or alternative ROM, flash TWRP and proceed from there.
Akopps said:
If I reached a point where I don't understand what's going on and I am banging my head against the wall, I would download the latest stock firmware for my device from sammobile and flash it with odin. If I recally it correctly, that would be the November 2016 security release of Marshmallow, the last Samsung provided. This should wipe away everything you have on the tablet. Then, if you need to flash root or alternative ROM, flash TWRP and proceed from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much obliged for your response, I've been up for a bit hoping maybe the boot process would just take a while, but no luck there. In the meantime I've been trying a few different Lineage nightly builds and they all seem to result in the same problem; surely they can't all be messed up and it's obviously something I'm doing wrong. My last recourse is to do this terminal fix I found that worked for someone else, but I doubt I'd be that lucky. I will assume that the Nov 2016 Marshmallow release is a google search away (or am I just bad at finding things...), and I'll post back here either within the hour or tomorrow night when I have time to find this build. Again, thank you.
Merancapeman said:
Much obliged for your response, I've been up for a bit hoping maybe the boot process would just take a while, but no luck there. In the meantime I've been trying a few different Lineage nightly builds and they all seem to result in the same problem; surely they can't all be messed up and it's obviously something I'm doing wrong. My last recourse is to do this terminal fix I found that worked for someone else, but I doubt I'd be that lucky. I will assume that the Nov 2016 Marshmallow release is a google search away (or am I just bad at finding things...), and I'll post back here either within the hour or tomorrow night when I have time to find this build. Again, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download the appropriate MM version from below. Boot to recovery, factory reset, flash with Odin.
First boot will take around 10 minutes.
http://updato.com/firmware-archive-...xact=1&r=&v=Marshmallow(Android+6.0.1)&rpp=15
Merancapeman said:
So, let me begin this tale with this disclaimer: I've worked with modding communities across a whole span of genres, from gaming to building computers. I will begin with the assumption that I am at fault in this case and I'm clearly doing something wrong. I've about reached the end of possibilities that I can explore on my own, so it's not like I tried one thing and gave up.
Once upon a time, I knew more about what I was doing than I do now. I first bought the T800 model several years ago, and the first thing I did was learn how to root it and flash CWM recovery. I went on all sorts of adventures with the device but never fully explored the potential; just installed awesome stuff that I thought I would use forever and got rid of bloatware and other useless crap. Flashforward to a few months ago, when I realized I had a really nice tablet that I had spent money on but didn't use like I had wanted to. I'm working more and more on audio mixing, and I wanted to install an app for the tablet that would allow me to remotely operate a mixing board. To my dismay, the app required an updated version of Android, and I hadn't a clue as to how to do that because the tablet was rooted and such and the thing wasn't going to update (was stuck on stock 4.4.2). I don't remember what I had done with it many years ago - at least not very well - and all I had learned was nearly gone. I refreshed a little, made a backup, checked to see what I had and noticed I still had the CWM recovery up, things were still rooted fine, and I was prime for flashing a new ROM and wiping everything. Found the Lineage ROM, slapped that puppy down, aaaand... Verification wasn't happening. Huh? It didn't even try to install, it just gave up and put the stock ROM back on. Tinkered with it for a second and thought, eh, whatever, I'll just let it update itself now that it's been wiped and everything. Only the device still wouldn't let me update it to Marshmallow or whatever update limit it's got.... Awesome... Did a little more research. Oh, my recovery is probably super out of date. Grabbed ODIN, slapped a brand spankin' new TWRP recovery that was geared for my device on it, and decided that I shouldn't go with Lineage. I'll just go with a stock Nougat ROM (can't post a link, but if it's important I can PM it to you if it's relevant).
Followed instructions to the T (as far as I'm aware) and this time did everything with a fresh new outlook into what I was doing. Flashed it, flashed GAPPS, aaaaaand.... Samsung logo won't go away.... -sigh-... Wiped it again, tried to make sure everything was wiped correctly, made sure everything was up to date. Tried again, but alas... Nothing working right for me.
Perhaps during this tale you've already picked up on something I royally messed up. Perhaps you're thinking, "Wow, how did this doofus not brick his tablet?" Am I getting old and stupid? Was there still research I missed? I started with the low road of easy modding and had to force myself to a higher road of deeper learning and STILL came up empty-handed, so now I'm asking this awesome community for a hand. I know you can't do this for me, but I'd appreciate a guiding light, or at the very least a link to an article that I really should have picked up on. Let me know if there's information I've missed that I should also be putting out, and thanks for reading regardless!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, Lineage dev for T800 here.
Did you flash the updated bootloader I link in the OP? Gotta be on the MM one for it to boot past that samsung logo
Can be flashed via ODIN, instructions are on there!
Lemme know if you get it!
DarkExistence said:
Hello, Lineage dev for T800 here.
Did you flash the updated bootloader I link in the OP? Gotta be on the MM one for it to boot past that samsung logo
Can be flashed via ODIN, instructions are on there!
Lemme know if you get it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got back from work, about to test it out and will update on both situations (should one not work out). Regardless of the success, I'm genuinely honored that you guys are helping me in this process and I didn't expect such a warm and welcoming bit of support. Too often I see the "well any bloomin' idiot with enough IQ in his head to tie his shoe could have done this" comment, although I'm almost positive I'm going to get this fixed with your help and realize I've done something super stupid.
Welp, I'm a right idiot. I went with the first option, which was to attempt to flash a stock MM ROM. I followed akopps and ashyx' advice and went to that website where I believed I found the appropriate file and downloaded it. For some odd reason it took about 8 hours to download almost 2gb, which is odd because my net is faster than that. Anyway, I let it sit overnight so no issues there. A while ago I attempted to copy it over to my SD card, which was met with a slew of problems thanks to the copy process being cancelled multiple times. Maybe because the size of it? I had plenty of space. At any rate, it wasn't going to be an issue because I knew it was something I was probably doing wrong and would figure out later. I skipped and went straight toward DarkExistence's fix, which was to make sure I had the MM bootloader (I saw this instruction in your thread but at the time wasn't sure what it entailed and thought I was perfectly safe, and this was sadly before I learned more about what I was doing). Went through that process just in case, wiped, flashed the Lineage ROM , flashed GAPPS, rebooted, aaaand...
Bugger me, it worked.
So now I feel like a proper idiot. I hope this ends up in a google search down the line so other doofuses can stumble upon my own mistake and see that sometimes overlooking one simple thing can make all the difference. Will update in the future should anything change and I find myself doomed once more, but so far things seem tip-top. I checked to see if I could install the mixer remote app I had initially begun this journey for, and lo and behold it is now available for me to download! Now all that's left is to figure out how to root it, and voila! Thank you all so much, I am almost as relieved as I am embarrassed.

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