Develop Bugs

[Q] I've messed up terribly. Galaxy S4 Odin firmware flash went wrong.

Okay, so I rooted my phone back in December and had no problems at all with firmware 4.3. I had this app called "Clean Master" I think, so it analyzed my device to clean up "unnecessary" files and such. I go ahead a clean whatever it had "cleaned" and then I noticed that when I went into settings that it started freezing for about a minute or so and had to force close the settings. It also started to restart randomly at times and it got to the point where I just got fed up and looked to the internet. I decided to use Odin to Unroot my phone because at the time that's what I thought was causing the problem. This is where I think (I know) I screwed up. Instead of flashing the stock firmware for the T-Mobile Galaxy s4 I flashed this "GT-I9500-XSE-I9500XXUAME1-ROOTED_MAY4". I think I used this file for rooting but I downloaded so many files to get the rooting to work that I don't remember. This file is neither an .md5 file nor a .tar file. I don't know what I was thinking and I regret the decision. I started the transfer of whatever file that was to my phone using the Custom ROM download screen, and it only took about 4 seconds and said it passed. It reboots but ever since has been stuck on the Samsung Galaxy s4 screen. Recently it now says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again. I've tried connecting the device via Kies but IT DOES NOT CONNECT. I'm beginning to think that I've just completely destroyed the phone and will be needing to by another. Any help would be much appreciated. I've tried everything I know. I've wiped the cache, wiped the data and factory reset the phone, but it won't reboot correctly. I'm stuck people. What can I do?

Can you get into download mode?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

The Sickness said:
Can you get into download mode?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can get into download mode yes.

re:
NEKTAR11 said:
I can get into download mode yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#1: Find the Odin flash rom/firmware for your phone and load Odin with it.
#2: Put the phone into download mode.
#3: plug usb cable into phone and computer.
#4: after you see [COM:xx] light up click START in Odin.
#5: when it gets done flashing let it reboot, have patience.
Forget all about these cleaning utilities, you can do all the cleaning
you want once the phone works properly and once it's rooted.
Only use CF-Autoroot to root the phone for best and trouble free results.
Here is the direct download link for CF-AutoRoot:
http://download.chainfire.eu/328/CF-Root1/CF-Auto-Root-jfltetmo-jfltetmo-sghm919.zip?retrieve_file=1
Good luck!

Misterjunky gives good instruction, if you can get into download mode your phone can be resurrected. In my early days of flashing, I thought I had created an expensive paperweight but the guys on here saved me. One thing, you may have to do a factory reset in stock recovery to get your phone to boot. Happened to me a couple of times.
Good luck.
Flash until you brick!

Ok, so I'm pretty sure I have the right Odin flash firmware, but it all goes really fast and after "aboot.mdn" it stops and it says FAIL. Ok so I tried the md5 file that came with the download and it went through fine, but It's still stuck on the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. Do I need to restart the system now and try the firmware file?

NEKTAR11 said:
Ok, so I'm pretty sure I have the right Odin flash firmware, but it all goes really fast and after "aboot.mdn" it stops and it says FAIL. Ok so I tried the md5 file that came with the download and it went through fine, but It's still stuck on the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. Do I need to restart the system now and try the firmware file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you done a factory reset?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

serio22 said:
Have you done a factory reset?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done it more than I can count, yes.

re: do this next.
NEKTAR11 said:
I've done it more than I can count, yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash this TWRP custom recovery in ODIN then go into recovery mode and
do a full wipe, data, system, dalvik cache, cache and do a Factory Reset.
Here is the direct download link for the Odin flash TWRP recovery:
http://techerrata.com/file/twrp2/jfltetmo/openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.1-jfltetmo.tar
Once that's done go into download mode and flash the
stock official M919 4.2.2 firmware (tar/md5) file.
Good luck!

SO I went into recovery mode, but it stays on the "teamwin" screen.

Pull the battery out of the phone, then put it back in and try to boot into recovery again. Sometimes, the recovery will hang like you described. You might have to repeat this process again and again until you get into the main menu of the recovery.

Okay, so I'm sure I'm doing everything right. I flashed the twrp recovery it restarts my phone. I held the power key, home key, and up key on the phone and released the power button when it shows the text on the top left showing that it is going to start recovery. It goes to a "teamwin" screen but freezes there. Truthfully, do you think I will be able to recover my phone, or will I need to send it in to samsung and pay 70 dollars plus the damages?

Misterjunky said:
Flash this TWRP custom recovery in ODIN then go into recovery mode and
do a full wipe, data, system, dalvik cache, cache and do a Factory Reset.
Here is the direct download link for the Odin flash TWRP recovery:
Once that's done go into download mode and flash the
stock official M919 4.2.2 firmware (tar/md5) file.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think the reason why I can't flash the firmware is because I upgraded to 4.3 and it brought KNOX onto the phone?

NEKTAR11 said:
Okay, so I rooted my phone back in December and had no problems at all with firmware 4.3. I had this app called "Clean Master" I think, so it analyzed my device to clean up "unnecessary" files and such. I go ahead a clean whatever it had "cleaned" and then I noticed that when I went into settings that it started freezing for about a minute or so and had to force close the settings. It also started to restart randomly at times and it got to the point where I just got fed up and looked to the internet. I decided to use Odin to Unroot my phone because at the time that's what I thought was causing the problem. This is where I think (I know) I screwed up. Instead of flashing the stock firmware for the T-Mobile Galaxy s4 I flashed this "GT-I9500-XSE-I9500XXUAME1-ROOTED_MAY4". I think I used this file for rooting but I downloaded so many files to get the rooting to work that I don't remember. This file is neither an .md5 file nor a .tar file. I don't know what I was thinking and I regret the decision. I started the transfer of whatever file that was to my phone using the Custom ROM download screen, and it only took about 4 seconds and said it passed. It reboots but ever since has been stuck on the Samsung Galaxy s4 screen. Recently it now says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again. I've tried connecting the device via Kies but IT DOES NOT CONNECT. I'm beginning to think that I've just completely destroyed the phone and will be needing to by another. Any help would be much appreciated. I've tried everything I know. I've wiped the cache, wiped the data and factory reset the phone, but it won't reboot correctly. I'm stuck people. What can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure some other people have tried this file on a t-mobile variant? because GT-I9500 is indeed for a galaxy s4, but it's for the octa chipset, which is completely different from the t-mobile variant of the s4 since the t-mobile version is similar to GT-I9505, which is a quad core instead of a octa core

Just to give you guys a heads-up, I fixed my phone, but not by the ways you guys suggested. Not that I'm ungrateful, I am very happy you all took the time to help me out and I appreciate the suggestions. Thank you so much.
Oh and I fixed it by going into kies, clicking on "tools", "firmware upgrade and initialisation", and proceeded to follow the steps and type in my Model name and Serial Number.Fortunately they had the ability for my phone to return it COMPLETELY stock.

Thank you!
NEKTAR11 said:
Just to give you guys a heads-up, I fixed my phone, but not by the ways you guys suggested. Not that I'm ungrateful, I am very happy you all took the time to help me out and I appreciate the suggestions. Thank you so much.
Oh and I fixed it by going into kies, clicking on "tools", "firmware upgrade and initialisation", and proceeded to follow the steps and type in my Model name and Serial Number.Fortunately they had the ability for my phone to return it COMPLETELY stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG thank you for this. I actually registered just to thank you for this, I thought I was totally boned.

[Q] Attempted Factory Reset now locked out!

So this may be a stupid question (but it's my first post so go figure) but I've read a few forum posts and I still can't seem to find a resolution.
I'm using a Rogers SGH i3170 with Android 4.3. I used the cf auto root file to root my phone with ODIN and otherwise did not modify the original software I manually installed the SuperSu apk to get around KNOX.
I was going to sell the phone so I went into the backup & reset option to clear out all my information. the phone seemed to clear itself just fine but now it won't go back the 'samsung' boot screen.
It'll show the device name, do the boot animation and otherwise just sits there.
The battery is at 80-90%
My main issue is that I would flash the stock ROM but it also won't go into recovery mode. It just reboots without actually going there.
Did I just brick my phone?
**I'm fairly new to rooting, I've rooted my S4 and Nexus 5 and was able to reset them without issue through the menus without using CWM or TWRP. I'm familiar enough with the processes just need some direction I guess!

Try this: Vol down& power& home. That'll put you into download mode so you can use Odin to return to stock...
You can also try THIS
If that doesn't help then goHERE for more INFO:thumbup:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

LENT0N said:
So this may be a stupid question (but it's my first post so go figure) but I've read a few forum posts and I still can't seem to find a resolution.
I'm using a Rogers SGH i3170 with Android 4.3. I used the cf auto root file to root my phone with ODIN and otherwise did not modify the original software I manually installed the SuperSu apk to get around KNOX.
I was going to sell the phone so I went into the backup & reset option to clear out all my information. the phone seemed to clear itself just fine but now it won't go back the 'samsung' boot screen.
It'll show the device name, do the boot animation and otherwise just sits there.
The battery is at 80-90%
My main issue is that I would flash the stock ROM but it also won't go into recovery mode. It just reboots without actually going there.
Did I just brick my phone?
**I'm fairly new to rooting, I've rooted my S4 and Nexus 5 and was able to reset them without issue through the menus without using CWM or TWRP. I'm familiar enough with the processes just need some direction I guess!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be depending on what options you chose for wiping your data you probably wiped the root folder.
in which case there is nothing to boot to.
I have done that before in error and its a pain.
If you still have a recovery great you just need to flash a ROM.
Otherwise you might have to ODIN a recovery back on and then flash. Which is what I had to do.

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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?

[HELP!] Odin Firmware flash failed at hidden.img. Stuck in DL Mode. T700. Plz Help Me

Hi Everyone,
I am a new owner of a soft-bricked SM-T700. I am feeling very down and need some advice. I will be as thorough as I possibly can and I would truly, truly appreciate some help and advice from you kind folks. This is the first time I have had a bricked device out of my many Android devices.
My PLAN:
-Root
-Custom Recovery
-Nandroid Backup
-Backup EFS
-Flash stock western country firmware
What HAPPENED
Today I bought a wifi T700. I bought it in my hometown, which is China. Whenever I buy a new Android device in China my first action is to ensure it doesn't have any hardware/warranty issues. I then go about reflashing a western firmware so I can use Google services.
1) First I rooted using CF-Auto Root. That worked fine. I confirmed that I had root using an app called root checker.
2) I then attempted to flash TWRP recovery by following the instructions here: http://teamw.in/project/twrp2/238
- First I tried flashing the .tar file using Odin. As soon as I hit 'Start' Odin froze and I got the Windows error saying "Odin Downloader Has Stopped Working", asking to close the program. I close the program. I tried this several times then rebooted. It seemed as though the phone booted fine.
- I then tried using their own software, TWRP manager, here: http://jmzsoftware.com/twrp-manager-4. This app just crashed every time I booted it. I submitted an error log.
- I then tried using 'Flashify' as suggested by someone here on XDA. Once I did that it said flashed successfully and would I like to reboot. I said yes. This is when my troubles started.
3) Upon reboot it immediately booted into a sparse looking 'Download Mode' screen, all in English (the normal one on mine has some Chinese too) without the volume button options to reboot or continue. It just went straight into this screen.
After trying to reboot the phone using several power button holds and key combinations, it appears I am stuck in this screen, so I thought I had no chance of doing a NADROID backup as originally planned, so I decided to try my luck and flash the western firmware.
I tried to flash the version of the firmware provided here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2798835
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23501681358556680
It got all the way through the install until it hit the hidden.img and then failed. I've attached a screen capture.
A few notes;
I have tried using two different USB cables (the one that came with it, and the one that came with my HTC One). I have tried several USB plugs, including the one in the back of my PC. I allowed Odin to do it's MD5 check and it said the file checks out.
I have tried using the Kies emergency Firmware recovery. Pffft! As it that was going to work. Damn Kies.
I sound like I've still got my sense of humor, but actually I am really cut up about this. It is so much money for a tablet and now it is useless unless I can get s firmware that will flash.
I don't have my stock Chinese firmware. That is T700ZCU1ANF4/T700CHN1ANF4/T700ZCU1ANF4/T700ZCU1ANF4 (CHN).
Questions:
Does anyone know where I could find the stock Chinese firmware to try flashing back to that?
Does anyone have the .PIT file and instructions on how to flash that, because I have read in other threads that it solves the hidden.img problem.
Does anyone know why this may have happened and have any alternative suggestions?
Could it have been the TWRP that actually caused this? The thread here indicates others aren't having trouble. Why would it have frozen for me?
I will try anything at this point. I am desperate.
Thanks so much in advance. Please come through XDA! Please come through Galaxy Tab S owners!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------
CLOSURE EDIT: I managed to flash Australian firmware, after reinstalling Kies, uninstalling and reinstalled the device drivers. I also made sure all Kies processes were killed before flashing with Odin.
For people in a similar situation I would urge them to have patience and keep trying to flash stock firmware.

Private Message UpInTheAir and see what he thinks.

Well let me start out by saying i have done some truely horrible things to my tablet in the proceas of porting CM 11. Bad kernels, messing up the partitions, you name it ive probably done it at this point.
I would try using heimdall. Flash one of the recoveries.. and try formatting your partitions.

The program crashing is when you should back off from trying to flash. Reassess what you did and what happened and if it's failing at a point flash the stock back before rebooting.
Continuing blindly was the problem. On something as expensive as a tablet never continue past a point where something goes wrong without reflashing back to stock and starting again.
As eousphoros said Use heimdall and flash a recovery.
Good luck.

eousphoros said:
Well let me start out by saying i have done some truely horrible things to my tablet in the proceas of porting CM 11. Bad kernels, messing up the partitions, you name it ive probably done it at this point.
I would try using heimdall. Flash one of the recoveries.. and try formatting your partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi All,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
You are certainly right that it is my fault and I should have stopped at some point and reassessed what was happening.
Can you please give me some more information about the steps you have offered? I am researching heimdall now, but if you could give some steps or advice that would be much appreciated.
It's probably going to be difficult because I assume we are in different timezones. I will persevere and try to get this worked out.

I have downloaded Heimdall and understand that it is an alternative to using Odin.
I currently have three questions about Heimdall.
1. Do I need to do the install drivers step if I have already installed the drivers for my device? Is this some step that actually replaces the current drivers with ones that are required for Heimdall to operate? I ask them because when I list USB devices, my tab is not shown up as Samsung Composite Device. It is actually shown as two separate entries, looking like generic USB entries.
2. Do I need to have a valid PIT file in order to run a custom Heimdall flash?
3. Which partition should I select if/when I run the Heimdall flash?
I'm dying a little inside every time I look at my tablet

Install heimdall
Download a recovery, I am going to pimp mine. http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/cwm-recovery-6-0-5-0-galaxy-tab-s-8-4-t2824099.
Run sudo ~/git/Heimdall/heimdall/heimdall flash --RECOVERY cwm6.0.5.0-2.img. Wait for it to complete, your tablet will reboot and will probably fail like it has been.
Hold down Power + Vol Down + Home button... wait for the "Press vol up to continue, press vol down to cancel"
Press vol down to cancel, then immediately hold down Power + Vol Up + Home button till you see the recovery screen pop up.
If you get the recovery screen your tablet can probably still be saved. Woo!
So then download http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2798835 (Which i think you already have)
Unzip it, there will be a tar file. tar xvf T700....something.tar.md5 -C some_directory
You will get a bunch of img files. From those you should be able to finish the recovery and hopefully return full function to your device. (Which unless something is physically broken you will most likely be able to do.) Good Luck! And again this is all done at your own risk, please dont sue me.

eousphoros said:
Install heimdall
Download a recovery, I am going to pimp mine. http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/cwm-recovery-6-0-5-0-galaxy-tab-s-8-4-t2824099.
Run sudo ~/git/Heimdall/heimdall/heimdall flash --RECOVERY cwm6.0.5.0-2.img. Wait for it to complete, your tablet will reboot and will probably fail like it has been.
Hold down Power + Vol Down + Home button... wait for the "Press vol up to continue, press vol down to cancel"
Press vol down to cancel, then immediately hold down Power + Vol Up + Home button till you see the recovery screen pop up.
If you get the recovery screen your tablet can probably still be saved. Woo!
So then download http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2798835 (Which i think you already have)
Unzip it, there will be a tar file. tar xvf T700....something.tar.md5 -C some_directory
You will get a bunch of img files. From those you should be able to finish the recovery and hopefully return full function to your device. (Which unless something is physically broken you will most likely be able to do.) Good Luck! And again this is all done at your own risk, please dont sue me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, let me just say that OH MY F#@$ING GOD I THINK THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER!!!! I managed to flash the Australian Firmware successfully. It has now booted fine, I have factory reset and I am in the process of setting up the device afresh.
Having said that, when I do come to reroot and install a custom recovery, I will definitely take a look at yours. Was this here 12 hours ago? I looked and couldn't find anything about CWM except for a short thread and an unofficial port. I have never tried TWRP before and I will avoid it like the plague in the future. I have NEVER had trouble with CWM.
When (if ever) I get the nerve up to give this another go, I will try your CWM.
Thanks again.
I am so relieved right now.....

And make a Nandroid first this time

Hey,
I had the exact same issue with my Galaxy Note 8, every time I tried to install European or custom Rom.
The only way to get the tab back was to flash with the Chinese firmware. You may find it easily on Baidu.
Since it happened also with a note 2 and note 3, I stopped buying Android device in China... Unless you can make sure that you buy a model coming from HK.

Hi everybody.
In order not to create another Thread I would like to leave a request for help in here while searching the answer myself.
I've messed up with SM-T700 and it is suffering a "near brick expirience" now. D:
I wanted to install the TWRP in order to backup the stock ROM before proceeding to anything else. So I put it in download mode. In Odin. 3.09 I put the TWRP under the AP section, the auto-reboot and f-reset were checked. (later I understood that I look at a different chrome tab and followed the instuction for auto-root flashing in via Odin instead of TWRP's. Stupid me) THen I proceeded with flashing and it was succesfull. After that I rebooted to recovery but it was not TWRP but stock. So I went to Download mode again and decided to repeat the procedure. Hower this time, and each time after that Odin stuck with the SetupConnection... The tab itself is stuck in Downloading Do not tur off target!! and does not react to any combinations of buttons.
Looking for a piece of advice here.
At least Odin is detecting the tab is a good sign right?
Attaching the photo and screenshot just in case.

ky3bmu4 said:
Hi everybody.
In order not to create another Thread I would like to leave a request for help in here while searching the answer myself.
I've messed up with SM-T700 and it is suffering a "near brick expirience" now. D:
I wanted to install the TWRP in order to backup the stock ROM before proceeding to anything else. So I put it in download mode. In Odin. 3.09 I put the TWRP under the AP section, the auto-reboot and f-reset were checked. (later I understood that I look at a different chrome tab and followed the instuction for auto-root flashing in via Odin instead of TWRP's. Stupid me) THen I proceeded with flashing and it was succesfull. After that I rebooted to recovery but it was not TWRP but stock. So I went to Download mode again and decided to repeat the procedure. Hower this time, and each time after that Odin stuck with the SetupConnection... The tab itself is stuck in Downloading Do not tur off target!! and does not react to any combinations of buttons.
Looking for a piece of advice here.
At least Odin is detecting the tab is a good sign right?
Attaching the photo and screenshot just in case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replying to myself: The tab began to respond to buttons so now I succesfully rebooted it and will continue with Rooting then recovery
Added: Rooted successful but the same problem as described above occured when I tryied to flash TWRP in Odin under PDA tab unchecked the auto-reboot

ky3bmu4 said:
Replying to myself: The tab began to respond to buttons so now I succesfully rebooted it and will continue with Rooting then recovery
Added: Rooted successful but the same problem as described above occured when I tryied to flash TWRP in Odin under PDA tab unchecked the auto-reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've had a really bad experience with TWRP on this device. Try flashing a firmware from sammobile.com or elsewhere to at least get it up and running again. Try to do that as quickly as possible too, so you don't have to leave the device in download mode all night. I think that is what caused the battery swelling in my first device that I had to return.
I'm going to stick with CWM when I work up the courage to try again....

pierrotee said:
Yeah I've had a really bad experience with TWRP on this device. Try flashing a firmware from sammobile.com or elsewhere to at least get it up and running again. Try to do that as quickly as possible too, so you don't have to leave the device in download mode all night. I think that is what caused the battery swelling in my first device that I had to return.
I'm going to stick with CWM when I work up the courage to try again....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thx for reply. Actually it managed to unstuck from Download mode in 10-15 minutes. It happened twice to me.

ky3bmu4 said:
Hi thx for reply. Actually it managed to unstuck from Download mode in 10-15 minutes. It happened twice to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool! So do you now have root and custom recovery?

pierrotee said:
Cool! So do you now have root and custom recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah))

TWRP installs OK via TWRP Manager
I installed TWRP Manager, selected 'klimtwifi' as the device, and it successfully installed TWRP 2.7.1.1 without a hitch.
From TWRP I then immediately performed a nandroid backup of everything but the caches to my microSD card and encountered no problems.
The last step was to enable writing to my microSD card by installing NextApp SDFix.

My SM-T700 is bricked as well and I tried to flash a custom recovery with Heimdall on Mac but it gave me the Error "Claiming Interface failed". Seems like you really need the pit.

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