Develop Bugs

SGH-I747 AT&T Softbricked Maybe Hard

Hi guys I just bought a SGH-I747 AT&T and the issue with it is it goes into Download mode just fine, works with Odin 3.7 loads a stock rom and then it sais reset but the phone doesn't reset just goes to black screen and then Odin sais Pass. I press the power button and Samsung appers and vibrates and goes back to black. When I try Recovery mode it show the blue writing on the left upper and the Samsung and then it goes to black screen. I put two different stock roms and same story. Kies won't recognize it and I installed recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.3-d2att.tar to try to get into recovery mode and of course no luck. Don't know the history on this, so if anyone could help I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

gica69 said:
Hi guys I just bought a SGH-I747 AT&T and the issue with it is it goes into Download mode just fine, works with Odin 3.7 loads a stock rom and then it sais reset but the phone doesn't reset just goes to black screen and then Odin sais Pass. I press the power button and Samsung appers and vibrates and goes back to black. When I try Recovery mode it show the blue writing on the left upper and the Samsung and then it goes to black screen. I put two different stock roms and same story. Kies won't recognize it and I installed recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.4.3-d2att.tar to try to get into recovery mode and of course no luck. Don't know the history on this, so if anyone could help I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
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I found out that the phone had 4.1.1 on it and the guy tried to flash 4.2.2 and upon doing the odin mode flashing odin gave Firmware upgrade encountered an issue Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again So these are just some helpful facts for anyone who has gone through it. Thanks in advance for any help

gica69 said:
I found out that the phone had 4.11 on it and the guy tried to flash 4.22 and upon doing the odin mode flashing odin gave Firmware upgrade encountered an issue Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again So these are just some helpful facts for anyone who has gone through it. Thanks in advance for any help
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Click to collapse
What firmware were you trying to flash via Odin and are you sure the seller didn't previously flash (or try to flash) the 4.3 on it? If it wasn't higher than 4.3, then you may try recovery via Kies as follows ....
Install and launch Samsung Kies on your PC (not Kies 3). Open the Tools menu and select Firmware Upgrade and Initialization
Do not connect your phone to your PC yet. Remove the battery cover and record device info written in the battery compartment
In Kies, enter your phone model (SGH-I747)
Enter the phone serial number and click OK to all the security questions. Follow all the instructions on Kies
Connect the phone when prompted and follow the rest of the instructions
Wait for firmware upgrade to complete
Good luck!
If this doesn't work, then you may try flashing the 4.1.1 stock image via Odin. Look for the correct stock image via the following thread ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
The one you want for Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T (4.1.1) is I747UCDLK3
PLEASE don't try any of the above if you were already on the 4.3 bootloader as things will only get worse.

Larry2999 said:
What firmware were you trying to flash via Odin and are you sure the seller didn't previously flash (or try to flash) the 4.3 on it? If it wasn't higher than 4.3, then you may try recovery via Kies as follows ....
Install and launch Samsung Kies on your PC (not Kies 3). Open the Tools menu and select Firmware Upgrade and Initialization
Do not connect your phone to your PC yet. Remove the battery cover and record device info written in the battery compartment
In Kies, enter your phone model (SGH-I747)
Enter the phone serial number and click OK to all the security questions. Follow all the instructions on Kies
Connect the phone when prompted and follow the rest of the instructions
Wait for firmware upgrade to complete
Good luck!
If this doesn't work, then you may try flashing the 4.1.1 stock image via Odin. Look for the correct stock image via the following thread ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
The one you want for Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T (4.1.1) is I747UCDLK3PLEASE don't try any of the above if you were already on the 4.3 bootloader as things will only get worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already tried the I747UCDLK3 not from the link you gave me though. I did notice that the one you mentioned is a rooted stock do you think I should still do it? The rom flashes fine no errors in Odin but when it sais RESET the phone turns off the download mode and vibrates once then goes black then later Odin sais Pass but I cannot start it it just bootloops and vibrates and it stays that way As far as the Kies procedure you gave me don't I have to be in recovery mode for it to see the phone? I cannot get to that mode just download mode. Let me know thanks for your help

gica69 said:
I have already tried the I747UCDLK3 not from the link you gave me though. I did notice that the one you mentioned is a rooted stock do you think I should still do it? The rom flashes fine no errors in Odin but when it sais RESET the phone turns off the download mode and vibrates once then goes black then later Odin sais Pass but I cannot start it it just bootloops and vibrates and it stays that way As far as the Kies procedure you gave me don't I have to be in recovery mode for it to see the phone? I cannot get to that mode just download mode. Let me know thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were successful in flashing via Odin, I would have suggested you try doing a hard wipe/reset in recovery. However, you said you can't get to recovery mode so this may not work. What happens when you try booting into recovery mode?
For Kies, you wouldn't have to be in recovery mode for the firmware restore to happen. Normally, you would have to connect your (powered-on) phone to your PC for it to be recognized by Kies. However, as you can't power on, we are forcing Kies to prepare the specific required firmware for your device by manually entering in the device information. Thus, when the phone is connected, you have firmware ready to make it work.
It may also be that the firmware you downloaded and flashed via Odin may not be the correct or full version. There are so many sources of "stock" firmware these days that one can never be too sure. You may go to Sammobile.com to download the stock firmware and compare the size of the extracted file to the one you used. The odin flashable tar.md5 file should be about 1.1Gb in size.

Larry2999 said:
If you were successful in flashing via Odin, I would have suggested you try doing a hard wipe/reset in recovery. However, you said you can't get to recovery mode so this may not work. What happens when you try booting into recovery mode?
For Kies, you wouldn't have to be in recovery mode for the firmware restore to happen. Normally, you would have to connect your (powered-on) phone to your PC for it to be recognized by Kies. However, as you can't power on, we are forcing Kies to prepare the specific required firmware for your device by manually entering in the device information. Thus, when the phone is connected, you have firmware ready to make it work.
It may also be that the firmware you downloaded and flashed via Odin may not be the correct or full version. There are so many sources of "stock" firmware these days that one can never be too sure. You may go to Sammobile.com to download the stock firmware and compare the size of the extracted file to the one you used. The odin flashable tar.md5 file should be about 1.1Gb in size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I go in recovery it shows blue writing in left upper corner and Samsung logo and then black screen. I think I did use the Sammobile firmware at 1.1. My clock in download mode shows 6. I don't think that would affect it though. Could it be that Odin doesn't really write the firmware that's why flashing doesn't change anything? I don't think the jig would do anything maybe sending it for a jtag reflash is the trick.
I am lost for now. If you guys can think of anything new let me know and thanks again.

gica69 said:
When I go in recovery it shows blue writing in left upper corner and Samsung logo and then black screen. I think I did use the Sammobile firmware at 1.1. My clock in download mode shows 6. I don't think that would affect it though. Could it be that Odin doesn't really write the firmware that's why flashing doesn't change anything? I don't think the jig would do anything maybe sending it for a jtag reflash is the trick.
I am lost for now. If you guys can think of anything new let me know and thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't mention if you tried the Kies option. I had a similar problem once when upgrade to 4.1.1 via Kies failed during the process and that was how I was able to recover. However, since you bought this from the secondary market, there is no way of telling for certain what the previous owner did wrong which would have been useful for recovery options.
One of the nice things about Odin is that you usually know the results immediately. If it says Pass, therefore, that's likely what it means. So Odin did flash something. But what did it flash? The counter you saw in download mode shows how many custom system installations there have been and 6 does show there has been some previous heavy tinkering with the phone. As you are still able to get into download modes, I would suggest you try flashing custom recovery (TWRP or CWM) via Odin. If this works and you are able to get into recovery mode, you may then try doing a hard wipe/reset via recovery. You may also try flashing the other (rooted) 4.1.1 file via Odin. At this stage, you really have nothing to lose in trying all options. I guess if you can get into recovery mode, the problem is almost solved as this leaves plenty of options.
A jig wouldn't help as that only gets you to download mode which, for now, you don't have a problem with. JTag should always be a last resort option only. Let me know how far it goes and good luck!

When flashing in Odin, did you check auto reboot? If you did, try flashing again but uncheck auto-reboot. When you see Reset in the status windows, disconnect the USB cable, pull out the battery, wait a few seconds until the phone completely shuts down, put back in the battery, get into recovery, wipe cache, do a factory reset, and reboot.

audit13 said:
When flashing in Odin, did you check auto reboot? If you did, try flashing again but uncheck auto-reboot. When you see Reset in the status windows, disconnect the USB cable, pull out the battery, wait a few seconds until the phone completely shuts down, put back in the battery, get into recovery, wipe cache, do a factory reset, and reboot.
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Click to collapse
This damn phone is starting to annoy me. I can still get into download mode but my phone gets usb device not recognized now. I have access to another I747 phone so my question is if I have access to the pit file from that phone can anything be done with the Debrick utility and a SD card with only download mode access? Thanks in advance.

Go into download and let us know what is shown on the screen.

audit13 said:
Go into download and let us know what is shown on the screen.
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Click to collapse
Odin Mode
Product Name: SGH-I747
Custom Binary Downloads: Yes (6 Counts)
Current Binary: Samsung Official
System Status: Official
Qualcomm Secure Boot: Enable
Green Android Icon Downloading...
Do not turn off target!!!

OK I plugged the USB in and out a few times and it allows to write every few tries. Back to my question can I do something in download mode if I have another i747 that I can copy stuff from? I also tried the suggestion to uncheck auto-reset pull the usb cable then the battery and try to go to recovery but it doesn't.Any suggestions are welcomed.

Try flashing a stock 4.1.1 rom from sammobile using Odin. Do not check auto reboot. When you see reset in the status window, disconnect the usb cable, pull the battery, replace the battery, boot into recovery, and wipe. I have done this numerous times on my i747m after flashing custom ROMs.

audit13 said:
Try flashing a stock 4.1.1 rom from sammobile using Odin. Do not check auto reboot. When you see reset in the status window, disconnect the usb cable, pull the battery, replace the battery, boot into recovery, and wipe. I have done this numerous times on my i747m after flashing custom ROMs.
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Click to collapse
I will try it again I think I already did but when I put the battery back and click the Vol+ Home Power I get the blue writing and then black screen. Should I wait like 10 min on the black screen or it should be quick. Thanks

Keep holding the buttons until the blue writing disappears and the green android appears with the green progress bar.

audit13 said:
Keep holding the buttons until the blue writing disappears and the green android appears with the green progress bar.
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Click to collapse
Is there an unbrick.img for 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 I noticed that there are files for 4.3 that allow you to go in recovery and erase stuff reinstall. Let me know cause I sure couldn't find it.

If u can get it into download mode u are never ever hard bricked my friend...take it from a guy who had to dust off his old galaxy sll last weekend & still can't get into d/l mode on my s3 after a week & even with a jig lol
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

gica69 said:
Is there an unbrick.img for 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 I noticed that there are files for 4.3 that allow you to go in recovery and erase stuff reinstall. Let me know cause I sure couldn't find it.
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Click to collapse
The unbricking image only helps you get into download mode from where you can work your way up the rest of the food chain. As you can already get into download mode without difficulties, I doubt if that's what you really need. You are also able to flash ROMs successfully in download mode via Odin so you've gone far up on the food chain already. Perhaps you are not doing the recovery thing correctly enough. Like Audit said, you need to continue holding down the Volume Up and Menu buttons whilst releasing the Power button after you see the first flash until the recovery menu appears and then do a hard wipe/reset.
Perhaps you could also try flashing TWRP via Odin if CWM isn't working.

Larry2999 said:
The unbricking image only helps you get into download mode from where you can work your way up the rest of the food chain. As you can already get into download mode without difficulties, I doubt if that's what you really need. You are also able to flash ROMs successfully in download mode via Odin so you've gone far up on the food chain already. Perhaps you are not doing the recovery thing correctly enough. Like Audit said, you need to continue holding down the Volume Up and Menu buttons whilst releasing the Power button after you see the first flash until the recovery menu appears and then do a hard wipe/reset.
Perhaps you could also try flashing TWRP via Odin if CWM isn't working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried holding the Home and Volume up buttons for 4-5 minutes at which point my fingers got a bit tired. The reason I wanted the unbrick.img is that I am now having issues with the computer recognizing the device in usb. I plugged and unplugged so many times that it no longer works that way so I wanted to do it via sd card. The unbrick.img gets you in recovery mode and download mode as it allows you to boot from the card not from the internal HD. But the only ones I have seen are for the 4.3 issues. And I tried It but did not put my device in recovery.

gica69 said:
I already tried holding the Home and Volume up buttons for 4-5 minutes at which point my fingers got a bit tired. The reason I wanted the unbrick.img is that I am now having issues with the computer recognizing the device in usb. I plugged and unplugged so many times that it no longer works that way so I wanted to do it via sd card. The unbrick.img gets you in recovery mode and download mode as it allows you to boot from the card not from the internal HD. But the only ones I have seen are for the 4.3 issues. And I tried It but did not put my device in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find one either although you may be able to create yours using the command line posted in the thread below ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2549068
You may also try using a jig to get back into download mode. Have you, however, considered exercising any buyer protection options you have on the phone since, it would appear, the guy sold you a lemon?

[Q] galaxy s3 I747 wont boot past Samsung Galaxy s3 Logo, Did i brick my phone???

I was trying to carrier unlock my phone, and to do that i tried to downgrade it 4.3 to 4.1.1, and only after i had pressed the button, i had noticed that this might brick my phone in a comment in one of the forums, this is what i did:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2625461
after following this and trying to run odin with it, odin returned "FAIL", and due to my high level of stupidity at the time, i tried to use the original 4.1.1 as my PDA in odin right after, i didnt reboot or anything, just pressed start again with the other tar.md5 file....
so now i cannot go past the samsung galaxy s3 logo when booting. I CAN go into download mode though, but i have no clue what i am supposed to do afterwards
i have the Galaxy S 3 i747 (was 4.3 before the whole mess) at&t carrier, i am trying to unlock it because i am travelling and need a phone.
please help me fix it, i do not care about the warranty since i dont have it anymore anyways, as long as the phone is working
also, if possible, i also need to unlock it afterwards, any help is HIGHLY appreciated, thanks!

baruchadi said:
I was trying to carrier unlock my phone, and to do that i tried to downgrade it 4.3 to 4.1.1, and only after i had pressed the button, i had noticed that this might brick my phone in a comment in one of the forums, this is what i did:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2625461
after following this and trying to run odin with it, odin returned "FAIL", and due to my high level of stupidity at the time, i tried to use the original 4.1.1 as my PDA in odin right after, i didnt reboot or anything, just pressed start again with the other tar.md5 file....
so now i cannot go past the samsung galaxy s3 logo when booting. I CAN go into download mode though, but i have no clue what i am supposed to do afterwards
i have the Galaxy S 3 i747 (was 4.3 before the whole mess) at&t carrier, i am trying to unlock it because i am travelling and need a phone.
please help me fix it, i do not care about the warranty since i dont have it anymore anyways, as long as the phone is working
also, if possible, i also need to unlock it afterwards, any help is HIGHLY appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downgrading your boot loader from 4.3 is a guaranteed brick. I'm not sure if the brick will get you to the Samsung screen.
If you're already assuming its bricked reboot into recovery and do a full wipe. Restore a nandroid of something if you have one or try flashing a custom ROM. Because Odin failed maybe it never flashed the boot loader.
Worth a try
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Free mobile app

baruchadi said:
I was trying to carrier unlock my phone, and to do that i tried to downgrade it 4.3 to 4.1.1, and only after i had pressed the button, i had noticed that this might brick my phone in a comment in one of the forums, this is what i did:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2625461
after following this and trying to run odin with it, odin returned "FAIL", and due to my high level of stupidity at the time, i tried to use the original 4.1.1 as my PDA in odin right after, i didnt reboot or anything, just pressed start again with the other tar.md5 file....
so now i cannot go past the samsung galaxy s3 logo when booting. I CAN go into download mode though, but i have no clue what i am supposed to do afterwards
i have the Galaxy S 3 i747 (was 4.3 before the whole mess) at&t carrier, i am trying to unlock it because i am travelling and need a phone.
please help me fix it, i do not care about the warranty since i dont have it anymore anyways, as long as the phone is working
also, if possible, i also need to unlock it afterwards, any help is HIGHLY appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the forum! Wished you'd come in much earlier though as you would have found you CANNOT downgrade from 4.3 to 4.1.1 to free unlock. Sorry, but once you are on 4.3, the surest way to unlock is to obtain the unlock code from the carrier or purchase one online. Sounds like you do have a soft brick. If your phone is still booting to the Samsung logo, then it's only a soft brick. Attempting to downgrade the 4.3 bootloader usually results in a hard brick so you may be in luck.
To fix this first, try to see if you can boot to recovery mode and do a hard wipe/factory reset. If you are able to boot to recovery (or download) mode then you have little to worry about. If the reset does not work, you can flash custom recovery via Odin and follow the instructions in the thread below to restore stock 4.3. Afraid, you have to revert to full stock 4.3 to get the phone back in working order and don't even think about 4.1.1.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
If you are not able to get to recovery, then you can see if you can boot from a debrick image following the instructions (on the first page) of the thread below ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2549068
Once your phone is working normally, you can request the unlock code from AT&T via the request form below. If eligible, they should provide this. Otherwise, you would have to buy one online ....
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/
Let me know if you need any further help.

KorGuy123 said:
Downgrading your boot loader from 4.3 is a guaranteed brick. I'm not sure if the brick will get you to the Samsung screen.
If you're already assuming its bricked reboot into recovery and do a full wipe. Restore a nandroid of something if you have one or try flashing a custom ROM. Because Odin failed maybe it never flashed the boot loader.
Worth a try
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried wiping everything, i also wiped cache, still didn't boot, thanks though!
Larry2999 said:
Welcome to the forum! Wished you'd come in much earlier though as you would have found you CANNOT downgrade from 4.3 to 4.1.1 to free unlock. Sorry, but once you are on 4.3, the surest way to unlock is to obtain the unlock code from the carrier or purchase one online. Sounds like you do have a soft brick. If your phone is still booting to the Samsung logo, then it's only a soft brick. Attempting to downgrade the 4.3 bootloader usually results in a hard brick so you may be in luck.
To fix this first, try to see if you can boot to recovery mode and do a hard wipe/factory reset. If you are able to boot to recovery (or download) mode then you have little to worry about. If the reset does not work, you can flash custom recovery via Odin and follow the instructions in the thread below to restore stock 4.3. Afraid, you have to revert to full stock 4.3 to get the phone back in working order and don't even think about 4.1.1.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
If you are not able to get to recovery, then you can see if you can boot from a debrick image following the instructions (on the first page) of the thread below ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2549068
Once your phone is working normally, you can request the unlock code from AT&T via the request form below. If eligible, they should provide this. Otherwise, you would have to buy one online ....
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/
Let me know if you need any further help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am able to get to recovery, but the first link isn't very clear.... i am not really familiar with odin and all this other stuff... lol, i am now downloading the files it says to download in the first link though, can you maybe tell me in a quick list what exactly im supposed to do?
thanks!

baruchadi said:
I tried wiping everything, i also wiped cache, still didn't boot, thanks though!
I am able to get to recovery, but the first link isn't very clear.... i am not really familiar with odin and all this other stuff... lol, i am now downloading the files it says to download in the first link though, can you maybe tell me in a quick list what exactly im supposed to do?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's time to start reading. Before doing any flashing/modding, you should make sure you understand what you're doing and know the risks.
Now as for Odin, it's quite straight forward. Phone needs to be in download mode, you put the PDA file in Odin and flash (if it's a Odin one-click, just need to hit start). One thing is to not interrupt it! Especially if flashing bootloaders cause that will brick your phone. Also, don't downgrade bootloaders.
There are a few guides in the sticky, I suggest you take an hour or two reading them so things like that don't happen again (or that you know what to do if it does).
GL!

baruchadi said:
I tried wiping everything, i also wiped cache, still didn't boot, thanks though!
I am able to get to recovery, but the first link isn't very clear.... i am not really familiar with odin and all this other stuff... lol, i am now downloading the files it says to download in the first link though, can you maybe tell me in a quick list what exactly im supposed to do?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright. If wipe/reset didn't work, you'll need to restore full stock 4.3 via custom recovery. Here's what we need to do....
1) Download the Odin flashable *.Tar file for custom recovery. I prefer TWRP because of the GUI so that's where I'm pointing you to ...
http://techerrata.com/file/twrp2/d2att/openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.1-d2att.tar
2) Download the stock restore file for 4.3 from the thread below... If you are using TWRP, then the first link is the one you need
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
3) Copy the stock restore zip file to a good quality (micro) SD card
4) I presume you have Odin already so you will use this to flash custom recovery to your phone. Run Odin.exe on your PC. If you are using Odin v.3.09 then you need the AP tab. For all other versions, use the PDA tab. Navigate to the custom recovery *.Tar file you downloaded earlier and place this in the PDA (or AP tab). Leave the default settings as is and do not check/uncheck any boxes other than the default settings.
5) Boot the phone to download mode via the 3-button combo (Volume Down/Home/Power). When you get to Odin (Download) mode, press volume up to continue. Connect the phone to your PC with a good quality micro USB cable. Wait until Odin has recognized the device then click on the Start button to start firmware installation (flashing). Wait for the flashing to end and the <Pass> message. Disconnect the phone from the PC and pull the battery to stop auto reboot.
6) Place the micro SD card with the stock restore zip in your phone. Replace the battery and boot to recovery mode. If you were successful with the firmware flashing above, it should boot you to custom recovery.
7) Select install from external card and navigate to the stock restore zip file. Select this file and swipe the screen to start firmware installation. Wait for installation to complete. Then clear your cache/dalvik and reboot to system.
This will hopefully do it.

[Q] ?Bricked

Hi, I have a Fame, bought last December.
I followed instructions here to root it, which worked, and installed Titanium backup to wipe some bloatware and do the backups. I did not flash a rom or do anything else. It was working fine for several months until this morning. It had turned itself off while charging overnight. At first when I switched it back on it flashed "Samsung Galaxy Fame (model number etc)" a couple of times then died. I took out and replaced the battery and sim; and removed the external SD card, and tried again - it flashed "Samsung" once and is now completely dead.
Where should I go from here? Novice-friendly / idiot-proof advice please.
I have the Titanium files on my dropbox, do I need to do anything with them to stop them being wiped or overwritten or..??
Thanks very much.

if you can go to download mode/called by Odin Mode,,you're safe i think ..cuase you can flash stock and fresh firmware
try download from sammobile.com
after you try to flash it,,tell what happening

faizauthar12 said:
if you can go to download mode/called by Odin Mode,,you're safe i think ..cuase you can flash stock and fresh firmware
try download from sammobile.com
after you try to flash it,,tell what happening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I don't know what that means (sorry!). Is there a tutorial for Odin?
I tried the volume down+home+power button and got an option/warning to install a ROM or restart the phone, I tried to restart but got the flashing text again. Does this help /mean anything?

Ok, so I think I need Odin to get CWM, and CWM to flash a ROM. Correct?
I got Odin, and tried to get CWM from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50518132 but I don't have the recovery.tar.md5 that is supposed to have been unzipped from somewhere? I did download and extract the files linked to on that first post.
The phone IS connecting in Odin mode but I'm not sure what to do next?

Last update for the evening.
I used this tool http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446269 to create the .tar.md5 file. Odin confirmed it was valid and it loaded onto phone.
I used the three button reset, and pressed "cancel" to restart phone, expecting the black and orange as shown here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50518132
Instead I seem to have the original/normal display. Installed apps are still there but date/time is wrong.
So now I don't actually know what I've done to it!

J-o-t-S said:
Thanks, but I don't know what that means (sorry!). Is there a tutorial for Odin?
I tried the volume down+home+power button and got an option/warning to install a ROM or restart the phone, I tried to restart but got the flashing text again. Does this help /mean anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's right man
after you found like that,,pres volume up,,and then connect your phone to pc with cable data
and open odin on PC,,and search the firmware and flash it <<in sammobile you can see the tutorial when download the firmware
J-o-t-S said:
Last update for the evening.
I used this tool http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446269 to create the .tar.md5 file. Odin confirmed it was valid and it loaded onto phone.
I used the three button reset, and pressed "cancel" to restart phone, expecting the black and orange as shown here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50518132
Instead I seem to have the original/normal display. Installed apps are still there but date/time is wrong.
So now I don't actually know what I've done to it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you want a fresh one,,don't use cwm,,flash with lastest firmware,,you can download from sammobile.com

Note 2 stuck at Start Up screen. Please help

My Galaxy Note 2 is stuck at the Start up screen screen. Where its an all black bg and simply says Samsung Galaxy Note II
I have tried using recovery mode, cleared cache, and reset to factory. Neither troubleshoot method worked.
I have tried numerous Odin autoroots. none work. Whenever I try to root it fails. Im guessing it might be because I dont have Dev Debug enable and I cant get into my phone to enable it. because of this issue
I have tried looking for TWRP .tar but every file I download the file is always a .img
The Model of the phone is a SGH-T889 (T-mobile Note II)
I am all out of ideas, and I dont know what to do. I have been search for answers for hours and everytime I think I found a solution it doesnt work.

What ROM was your phone on when this happened ?
Can you get int to download mode ? If yes try flashing stock ROM and see if it helps.

ciphercodes said:
What ROM was your phone on when this happened ?
Can you get int to download mode ? If yes try flashing stock ROM and see if it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was on the offical default rom. the phone was never modded, or rooted.
My niece downloads a bunch of kiddie games onto the phone, we constantly have to uninstall them. My thoughts and the T-mobile tech suspects that it the crash may have been caused my too many updates or a bad updated file most likely due to the games or game.
I can get the phone into download mode, and recovery mode.
In reovery mode I have 6 options
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from external storage
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cashe partition
apply update from cache
I have tried Apply update from cache, Wipe cache partition, then Wipe data.factory reset. I also attempted to put a CF auto root .md5 file and a KIES .md5 file which I believe is a stock firmware file on a SD card. to try to use the apply update from external storage option, but neither file showed up when I went into the option. So I guess I didnt have the right sort of file.
So recovery didnt work so I tried using Odin v3.07 and Odin v3.09 with CF auto root files for the SGH-T889, that didnt work, ecerytime I tried to apply it, It was always Fail within seconds. I tried other root files that are made for other versions of the Galaxt Note 2 like the GT-N1700 but those also simply failed.
I tried using what I believe to be stock frimware files with Odin. and those also Failed.
Im not exactly the best person with these. I learn mostly what I know from the internet and reading various forums, youtube videos, and other people experiences. I cannot find anyone who's problem has not yet been fixed through the above methods. so I really dont know where to go from here.
I think the reason I cant Flash from PC is because it might be possible USB Debugging is not enabled. Not sure if this is what is causing all the Fails in odin

BramaKnox said:
It was on the offical default rom. the phone was never modded, or rooted.
My niece downloads a bunch of kiddie games onto the phone, we constantly have to uninstall them. My thoughts and the T-mobile tech suspects that it the crash may have been caused my too many updates or a bad updated file most likely due to the games or game.
I can get the phone into download mode, and recovery mode.
In reovery mode I have 6 options
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from external storage
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cashe partition
apply update from cache
I have tried Apply update from cache, Wipe cache partition, then Wipe data.factory reset. I also attempted to put a CF auto root .md5 file and a KIES .md5 file which I believe is a stock firmware file on a SD card. to try to use the apply update from external storage option, but neither file showed up when I went into the option. So I guess I didnt have the right sort of file.
So recovery didnt work so I tried using Odin v3.07 and Odin v3.09 with CF auto root files for the SGH-T889, that didnt work, ecerytime I tried to apply it, It was always Fail within seconds. I tried other root files that are made for other versions of the Galaxt Note 2 like the GT-N1700 but those also simply failed.
I tried using what I believe to be stock frimware files with Odin. and those also Failed.
Im not exactly the best person with these. I learn mostly what I know from the internet and reading various forums, youtube videos, and other people experiences. I cannot find anyone who's problem has not yet been fixed through the above methods. so I really dont know where to go from here.
I think the reason I cant Flash from PC is because it might be possible USB Debugging is not enabled. Not sure if this is what is causing all the Fails in odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets see if we can get this resolved.
1) Do you remember what version of Android the phone was on 4.3 or 4.1.2 ?
2) Put your phone in download mode then connect to your computer via usb. Start Odin in admin mode (right click and run as admin).
3) Now do you see ID:COM section turn blue ? Under message you can see "Added!". If you see this then phone is recognized by Odin.
4) If your phone was on 4.3 then download this most up to date firmware - from here http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/22863/T889UVUCMK7_T889TMBCMK7_TMB/
5) Once downloaded, extract the file(use 7zip or winrar), once extracted you will see a file with .md5 extension.
6) Now going back to ODIN, click on PDA and then browse to this file which you just extracted.
7) This takes some time, once done you should see a message like "Checking MD5 finished successfully", "Leave CS".
8) You can leave Auto reboot and F-reset time checked.
9) Now click Start and let the process finish.
10) If everything goes fine you should see a green message "Pass"
Let me know how it goes.

I have the same problem as the OP (boots only up to Samsung logo with black bg) but it was not caused by niece downloading games but instead from trying to install jedi masterx2 rom.
I did what ciphercodes recommended and put phone in download mode and odin went through the motions of installing the stock os (in my case version 4.3) but after apparently installing the rom it again booted up to Samsung note II logo in black bg.
luckily I can install either Clockword mod recovery v6.0.4.3 or teamwin v2.8.6.0
The clockword mod recovery can read the external sd card (whereas funnily enough the teamwin can't) and I can attempt recovery from previous backups on cmr or to install a rom from zip file but neither of these work - reboots again to Samsung logo in black background after apparently installing the rom.
both teamwin and cwr mention that they can't mount system and that's probably why no rom is install either using cwr or odin so my guess is that I have to reformat the partitions cause probably efs file is corrupt but I don't know how to do that and I have done extensive search in google but have not found a solution
so ciphercodes if you or anyone reading this can help please reply to this message

ciphercodes said:
Lets see if we can get this resolved.
1) Do you remember what version of Android the phone was on 4.3 or 4.1.2 ?
2) Put your phone in download mode then connect to your computer via usb. Start Odin in admin mode (right click and run as admin).
3) Now do you see ID:COM section turn blue ? Under message you can see "Added!". If you see this then phone is recognized by Odin.
4) If your phone was on 4.3 then download this most up to date firmware - from here
5) Once downloaded, extract the file(use 7zip or winrar), once extracted you will see a file with .md5 extension.
6) Now going back to ODIN, click on PDA and then browse to this file which you just extracted.
7) This takes some time, once done you should see a message like "Checking MD5 finished successfully", "Leave CS".
8) You can leave Auto reboot and F-reset time checked.
9) Now click Start and let the process finish.
10) If everything goes fine you should see a green message "Pass"
Let me know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am uncertain of which version the phone was on. If you need I can call t-mobile and have them tell me which version it was on.
I did these steps. the file took a hour to download. and It still didn't work. I follow all steps down to the exact. and when I pressed start. within one second it said FAIL. just the other attempts I made.

BramaKnox said:
I am uncertain of which version the phone was on. If you need I can call t-mobile and have them tell me which version it was on.
I did these steps. the file took a hour to download. and It still didn't work. I follow all steps down to the exact. and when I pressed start. within one second it said FAIL. just the other attempts I made.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless your t889 Note II was sitting in a drawer and not being updated for the last year or so you probably have 4.3
When you go to download mode do you see "custom binary download: yes ..."
and do you see "knox warranty void:" ?
if so, your phone has been rooted.
but unlike your case, when I try to install stock rom through Odin, it goes through the motions of installing and gives message pass - that is that the stock rom has been installed, but unfortunately it has not installed any rom that my phone can read.

koyanishi said:
Unless your t889 Note II was sitting in a drawer and not being updated for the last year or so you probably have 4.3
When you go to download mode do you see "custom binary download: yes ..."
and do you see "knox warranty void:" ?
if so, your phone has been rooted.
but unlike your case, when I try to install stock rom through Odin, it goes through the motions of installing and gives message pass - that is that the stock rom has been installed, but unfortunately it has not installed any rom that my phone can read.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it says
Product Name: SGH-T889
Custom Binary Download: No
Current Binary: Samsung Official
System Status: Official
Knox Warranty Void: 0
RP SWAEV: A2

BramaKnox said:
No it says
Product Name: SGH-T889
Custom Binary Download: No
Current Binary: Samsung Official
System Status: Official
Knox Warranty Void: 0
RP SWAEV: A2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you have an un rooted 4.3 rom because the 4.1.2 did not have knox

koyanishi said:
Then you have an un rooted 4.3 rom because the 4.1.2 did not have knox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thank you, well then link ciphercodes gave me for the firmware was the right one. But still Failed. *Sigh*

BramaKnox said:
Okay thank you, well then link ciphercodes gave me for the firmware was the right one. But still Failed. *Sigh*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since your phone is not rooted then I think that ciphercodes advice will not work as you can only install a stock rom that way only if your phone is first rooted.
Probably you should try to root your phone using instructions from this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562994
But this might not work for you as it could be that efs file is corrupted or something else as we both boot up to a black screen that only has Samsung logo

koyanishi said:
Since your phone is not rooted then I think that ciphercodes advice will not work as you can only install a stock rom that way only if your phone is first rooted.
Probably you should try to root your phone using instructions from this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562994
But this might not work for you as it could be that efs file is corrupted or something else as we both boot up to a black screen that only has Samsung logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the chainfire root fail as well. I have tried every file for all the Galaxy II's including mines. none work. Always FAIL in Odin. I'm guessing there is just nothing I can do

BramaKnox said:
Yeah the chainfire root fail as well. I have tried every file for all the Galaxy II's including mines. none work. Always FAIL in Odin. I'm guessing there is just nothing I can do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since your phone is not rooted you may be able to get it repaired under warranty. I think that Samsung warranty is only good for a year, but if you purchased your phone with a American Express gold card (I think other gold cards will also apply) your warranty is extended to double what the original was. So perhaps you have a chance to have your credit card pay for the repair.
Otherwise:
I am no expert but if you want to continue playing with your phone before you get expert advice you may want to play with the recovery mode. To enter recovery mode press volume up and home and power buttons at the same time. once you feel vibrate or after a while release the power button but continue to hold volume up and home buttons and then you will enter recovery mode. you may want to go to menu that says wipe data/factory reset and see if that works. It may be that it is like my phone and the system cannot be mounted in which case you will get that message. After you are through to get out of this menu remove the battery.
But please be aware that I am no expert and you are using this info at your own risk
but I think of doing something catastrophic using this advice in my non expert opinion is small.

koyanishi said:
Since your phone is not rooted you may be able to get it repaired under warranty. I think that Samsung warranty is only good for a year, but if you purchased your phone with a American Express gold card (I think other gold cards will also apply) your warranty is extended to double what the original was. So perhaps you have a chance to have your credit card pay for the repair.
Otherwise:
I am no expert but if you want to continue playing with your phone before you get expert advice you may want to play with the recovery mode. To enter recovery mode press volume up and home and power buttons at the same time. once you feel vibrate or after a while release the power button but continue to hold volume up and home buttons and then you will enter recovery mode. you may want to go to menu that says wipe data/factory reset and see if that works. It may be that it is like my phone and the system cannot be mounted in which case you will get that message. After you are through to get out of this menu remove the battery.
But please be aware that I am no expert and you are using this info at your own risk
but I think of doing something catastrophic using this advice in my non expert opinion is small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the warranty is expired. and I have tried recovery mode. thats actually the first step before trying to apply a firmware. So recovery hasnt worked either. Guess I will just have to get a new phone. thank you all for oyu help tho. I apperciate it

I was just reading through the thread.. It doesnt seem like you tried flashing Tmobiles Stock 4.3 Firmware in download mode. If you tried to flash a 4.1.2 Firmware when the phone was already updated then I think thats where it failed. Try again but with the 4.3 Firmware through ODIN. After it finishes try rebooting it manually and/or if it doesnt boot again then go back into recovery and factory/data reset again...shouldnt hurt to try..

Double0EK said:
I was just reading through the thread.. It doesnt seem like you tried flashing Tmobiles Stock 4.3 Firmware in download mode. If you tried to flash a 4.1.2 Firmware when the phone was already updated then I think thats where it failed. Try again but with the 4.3 Firmware through ODIN. After it finishes try rebooting it manually and/or if it doesnt boot again then go back into recovery and factory/data reset again...shouldnt hurt to try..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my knowledge the other person who first replied gave me 4.3 firmeware fild link. But in the chances of it could u provide me with a link to a 4.3 firmware u believe will work, because all the ones I found have not worked

Note 3 Stuck on Tmobile Splash Screen - How to recover without losing data?

I have a galaxy note 3 which is stuck on the Tmobile splash screen.
I am not sure if this phone is rooted or not.
I don't want to wipe the phone because there is contacts and things which need to be recovered.
We can get into recovery mode, but not into Safe mode.
Can someone provide some tips?

If your contacts are synced with a Google account, they should appear if you sign in on another phone.
Flashing a ROM to a phone will carry risks; therefore, no matter what you do, you may wind up losing all of the data. That being said, you could try reflashing the stock ROM with Odin and it may boot without wiping.
You could also flash TWRP to the phone, boot into TWRP, mount the data partition, connect it to a computer, and copy off the data. Alternatively, you could try and copy information from the phone to a micro SD card in TWRP.

Did you fix your issue? I had this problem when....
Flash Fix said:
I have a galaxy note 3 which is stuck on the Tmobile splash screen.
I am not sure if this phone is rooted or not.
I don't want to wipe the phone because there is contacts and things which need to be recovered.
We can get into recovery mode, but not into Safe mode.
Can someone provide some tips?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you have fixed your issue by now however if not then please try this.
1. Remove your battery from the phone
2. Hold your phone (volume down button + home button) then slide the battery in and power the phone. *Note you must hold the (volume down button + home button) until you get the warning about installing custom OS.
+Once you reach Warning OS page, at this point Oden should see your phone so you can download a custom recovery like CWM / TWRP
3. Download (Oden + Device Drivers & TWRP) --- I just found out that I need to post 10 times before I can link to outside files so I hope you get the links. If not then PM me and I will try to send directly to you.
HTML:
https://download.chainfire.eu/354/CF-Root/CF-Auto-Root/CF-Auto-Root-hltetmo-hltetmo-smn900t.zip
CF-Auto-Root which includes your phones correct Oden version
https://dl.twrp.me/hlte/twrp-2.8.7.0-hlte-4.4.img.tar"]TWRP.
4. Extract the CF-Root folder you downloaded using 7zip and you will see Oden. Install Oden on your PC.
5. Connect your phone to your computer and look for a so your connected to Oden and then flash TWRP .tar file to your phone. Once it flashes then your phone should reboot automatically and you should have access to your old data.
This happen to my Note 3 T-Mobile phone when I was trying to flash the wrong versions. If you are confused about the directions then I will do my best to make a video for you. It might take me a day or two to respond with the video. Hope this helps! Let me know how it works out or if you have any questions.
Also, once you gain access to your phone again I recommend taking a look at some of the ROM's on this website! There are some developers who have put quality time into making their ROM's SOLID working systems.
Always remember to give support as this is what makes this community attract real talent!

I do not recommend CWM as it is very outdated.
Rooting is not required to flash TWRP, only Odin and the tar version of TWRP.
The phone can be rooted by flashing supersu from TWRP too.