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Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Eddie,
Thanks for your response.
1) I used stock method for encryption
2) Decrypt the phone is not possible apparently,only way is to factory restore the phone apparently
3) I went to the AT&T store and they were unable to factory restore (using the standard methods). They offered an exchange but since I purchase over the phone at a discounted price, I have to do the exchange using that method. Before shipping back the phone, I was wondering if I could fix it myself with the help of knowledgeable people.
CZ Eddie said:
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used the encryption but if the phone can turn on and is usable, cant you go into the encryption settings and turn encryption off? then you should be able to do anything (may be best to start with a factory restore first just so you have a fresh slate to work with)
1ofAKind said:
Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1ofaKind,
Had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me. Encrypted my S3 in order to access work exchange server. Tried CWM but cannot mount /emmc/ problem after booting into recovery. Have not tried to factory reset yet as I am wanting to learn more before I go that route. But basically I am in the same boat as you. The only difference is I was not required to encrypt an external SD card when I put it in my phone. Read about flashboot as well...maybe the only way to actually factory reset after encryption??
Sorry I cannot offer any solutions at the moment...but I will keep scouring the forums looking for a way.
If I learn something valuable, I will try to post it here to help ya out.
EDIT: Maybe you have read these threads, but there is some decent info in them. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1451655 & http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392037
good luck
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
I'm in the same boat here - had to encrypt my GS3 in order to receive corporate (Exchange Server) emails. Now can't update the OS on the phone which is more important to me than receiving corporate emails on the device.
Can someone tell me how to decrypt (UN-encrypt) the phone? Everything I've read says that a factory reset won't do it.
Please help!
CZ Eddie said:
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried this? If so, did it work?
I clicked install rom from sd card in cwm selected f/w which i had copied into internal memory. Did factory reset in recovery.
Odin it back to stock.
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
sid9102 said:
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN (for me at least) wont see anything since im using Windows 8. On Windows 7, however, it works just fine.
Factory reset encrypted phone
hi,
I'm using CM11 as a rom.
I didn't want to reinstall stock rom, just to root it again later.
Installing updated version from external SD didn't work (updated the ROM but no decryption)
Tried to factory reset from recovery - didn't work, as the internal storage is encrypted it can't mount /sdcard/
however, from within settings menu, in backup&restore there's an option to do a factory reset - this is formatting internal memory altogether.
worked like a charm.
oxidase said:
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this is very old but I am going to make a note here in case anyone else gets into this problem. When you go back to stock, do the factory reset using the STOCK recovery. Don't install TWRP or anything else until you have cleared the encryption. At least, that's what worked for me.
Hey guys.Im kinda a noob, so bear with me. I have a SGH i747 (att galaxy s3) and I rooted it on my mac using motochopper. I backed up all my apps and system data with titianium backup to my SD card, and i also backed up my stock ROM to my internal storage using ROM Manager. I then downloaded liquid smooth using my phones browser, and then I selected it within ROM manager and clicked "reboot and install' (keep in mind, i didn't wipe memory or anything) So it was stuck at the boot screen. Then i realized what i did and went and wiped data/factory reset, dalvic cache, and the other cache, within Clockworld mod recovery (vol up + power + home). After that, it worked, but only to find that all my apps were gone, and the play store and browser app didnt work. so basically softbricked however I can make phone calls and text (lost all contacts). Then i went into cwm and tried to restore my phone, at first it came up with two backups (neither of which had the name I named my backup) but said no files found and then when I mounted my storage, the bottom one said md5 mismatch but the top one worked. the top one would work for about 6 min then while it was restoring data it would reboot into liquid smooth and i would have like 3 apps i didnt have before (other times i would get stuck at the boot screen). I also tried restoring it right after I wiped data/ factory reset and cleared the caches, but then it would get stuck at the liquidsmooth boot screen. Tried pretty much everything.
I just want my phone back the way it was before root or anything, with all my data. But I backed up all my stuff besides apps to KIES, so willing to reset it to stock firmware if possible
need all the help i can get. thank you all very much
SuaveNNR said:
words...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, when you did a factory reset, that wiped out all your apps, contacts, personal data, etc. No big deal. Your phone is in good shape, not bricked in any way, you just don't have all your personal stuff.
The only way to get it back to stock is to flash a stock firmware via ODIN or mobile ODIN, tutorials for doing both can be found here. I'm not 100% on how to do it (ODIN) with a mac other than either booting windows if you have the capability on your computer or running windows in a virtual box and using odin that way.
Or...if you have an SD card you could stick it in your computer, download another rom or liquid smooth again and reflash the proper way in recovery to get it to work. It sounds like you neglected to flash the separate GAPPS file that is required for the AOSP ROMS.
All is good. Your phone is not in bad shape. Take a breath, do some research before you flash anything else. Don't compound the problem by flashing random things that you think might help.
worked. I owe you much gratitude
FIESTY2 said:
Well, when you did a factory reset, that wiped out all your apps, contacts, personal data, etc. No big deal. Your phone is in good shape, not bricked in any way, you just don't have all your personal stuff.
The only way to get it back to stock is to flash a stock firmware via ODIN or mobile ODIN, tutorials for doing both can be found here. I'm not 100% on how to do it (ODIN) with a mac other than either booting windows if you have the capability on your computer or running windows in a virtual box and using odin that way.
Or...if you have an SD card you could stick it in your computer, download another rom or liquid smooth again and reflash the proper way in recovery to get it to work. It sounds like you neglected to flash the separate GAPPS file that is required for the AOSP ROMS.
All is good. Your phone is not in bad shape. Take a breath, do some research before you flash anything else. Don't compound the problem by flashing random things that you think might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to friends PC and ran odin. worked perfectly. no problem losing all my data as long as i have a phone that works. thank you
I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.
gvazquez82 said:
I apologize in advance if any of this makes you roll your eyes at my stupidity.
Good Afternoon
I have an ATT samsung galaxy s3, Because of the glitches with 4.3 I was experiencing I decided to install custom software on my phone. So I looked up guides and got everything I needed. I did manage to get root access, and verified with super user. I also installed TWRP and CWM because each kept giving me errors when I tried to install CM 11 onto my phone. I tried CWM first, and when that didn't work I tried TWRP. It says there was no MD5 information found when I try to install any mod. how ever I have used the md5 file checker program and the MD5 matches up to what was listed in this one for example.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2518998
Download:
CM 11.0 Unofficial Beta 7 for d2tmo and d2att
MD5: ef93957db1e6704f23f9015231a82826
So the MD5 matches, yet when I try to install it keeps giving me errors. I also tried other versions of CM that I found on here via links. Right now my phone has no OS as another guide I read some where also said to wipe system data (sorry if that was stupid, I was just following a guideline) And even more stupid, no I don't have a backup because in my naivety and stupidity I didn't think I'd need one as it seemed so simple from all the guides and videos I'd seen.
Yesterday a friend of mine knowledgeable with tech stuff took one of the original stock Image ROMs I'd downloaded and using linux and some program he managed to do some crazy stuff I can't even describe on here. All I saw was a lot of typing of command lines and it got my phone working again, how ever it wasn't exactly the stock image I guess because the phone would not make or receive calls/texts.
Since my phone was powering on again and the android OS was loading I figured I could connect it to my computer and use KIES to download the official latest update so my phone would be back on the legit software. But trying to do that...well broke my phone again. So I'm at a loss now of what to do. Right now I can still get to download mode on my phone, but when I try to get into recovery mode I get an error that "firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in KIES & try again." Which I've tried, and every time I try it gives me an error message.So I'm at a loss of what to do next.
So I'd like to get a working OS on my phone asap so I can get calls and texts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And being new I'm sorry if I broke any taboos or did not give some information that is typically given when describing a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient
MrHaPpY66 said:
same error happened to me yesterday and spent the whole day figuring it out. get into download mode. boot up ODIN and reflash your preferred custom recovery. after that, i couldn't find anything else to restore my phone with so i installed 4.3 leaked from here. doesn't matter which one you select. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498233. place it on your sd card and head into recovery mode, wipe data/factory reset and cache. head to install zip from sd card and select the 4.3 zip you downloaded. reboot system and it should work. the at&t boot screen takes a while so be patient
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all thank you for trying to help me, I hope you are having a good Thanks Giving.
I used the thread you linked to, and downloaded the version with out knox. I followed the instructions
transferred ROM and flashed kernel file to SD card
used odin to flash TWRP,
used twrp to flash rom and kernel file.
and it takes the file thankfully, there's only one issue. My phone can't make or receive calls/texts. Is yours able to?
I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Next Update
the bootloader I flashed apparently flashed to the external sd card? I flashed another one and it is booting from the internal sd. I had to flash a different modem the one in the bootloader/modem file I flashed from the link above didnt take? I got most everything sorted out, but im getting tired, it has been an all night adventure. its 08:23 est now
sorry for the delay in updating this I had to get some rest.
theramsey3 said:
I messed up and was playing with things That I had no business playing with and decided that I should do a restore of a backup (TWRP) I made as soon as I rooted the 4.3 OTA. well it has soft bricked my phone. it was a TWRP 4.3 Nandroid and has me messed up a little.
so far I tried My nandroid (no dice now a soft brick) cleared cache and dalvik, It was booting as far as the white at&t spinning thing,
Factory reset same on booting,
Tried a format of the internal sd this is where it gets sketchy it now goes as far as the second samsung screen(the one that says Samsung GALAXY S III)
4.3 OTA .zip (no dice TWRP wont flash it) same on the booting 2nd samsung boot screen
Tried the files in the link above and got a Hard brick
Used the debricking .IMG file and got TWRP and download mode back
Any suggestions?
Looks like I might need a JTAG/RIFF BOX for this one. If nothing else I spent many Hours of darkness discovering the darkness of android 4.3
If I get recovered from this and with a different rom like 4.1.2 I will be happy. the 4.3 OTA was very stable but I did miss wifi tether and the whole hardbrick thing was kind of a bummer. it would be real nice to have an ODIN file to fix this (AHEM samsung) or atleast perhaps stopped the progression of it to a hard brick.
New update
I got my phone booting up again however there is a catch. That unbrick.img file on my 16GB sd card is still required to boot the phone and I have no cell service what so ever. Tried to check apn settings because at home I sometimes get poor service and I run net10 so I was going to fix my apn and it says insert sim??? the sim is properly inserted???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.
spongdangly said:
Go into Settings, About Phone, Status and check to see if your IMEI and Serial Number are present. If you only lost your IMEI there's a guide on how to inject it back (I'm not sure where the guide is). However if you've lost your serial number and don't have a Nandroid that can restore it I don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give that a shot, but what's an APN, sorry. And how do I create one, and is it needed for me to do so?
gvazquez82 said:
i have my serial number showing but no IMEI number. So is that all that's needed for me to be able to call and text again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be, I'm working right now so I don't have time to fine the guide on how to inject your IMEI. If I remember correctly it involves using QPST. If you have an old (or any) working Nandroid backup that should fix the problem.
FYI, make sure you don't use the guide for the international S3 as it has different hardware and folder structure/contents.
As for the APN, it should automatically fill itself in since it reads it off the SIM Card (I might be wrong).
theramsey3 said:
I updated my post above and showed my soultion. I simply had to flash a new modem and almost everything was kosher. I also had to flasah a different kernel but that was for preference not because things werent working.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47817339&postcount=23 Modem download
I used that modem, flash it and see if your problems go away. I use Net10 so after I flashed the Modem I had to create an APN aswell, but that is nothing new for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it and it work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
67 texts just came in. Sir, I thank you oh so kindly. You have made this gloomy rainy day oh so joyous.
No problem. Glad I could help you.
The real credit should go to -Mr.X-, loserskater and anyone else(no disrespect there were alot of files) whose stuff I tried to flash lastnight thank you all in the dev community who contribute.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.
gvazquez82 said:
So I guess the next question, do I try again to install kit kat on my phone.
I've already made bucks of my existing working phone haha....but I'd still like to have kitkat in place. I believe the issue of my phone not reading MD5 confirmations would still be in place, does anyone know how to remedy that situation?
At the same time I'm more than happy to leave my phone as is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.
flexfulton said:
Pretty sure you can turn off MD5 checks in TWRP. Probably in CWM too. Sorry if this has been mentioned. Didn't have time to read the whole thread. Just skimmed through.
2nd, there is a major difference between an IMEI that reads 0 and an IMEI that shows unknown. If it shows an unknown simply reflash your ROM and modem and you will be good to go. Sometimes a reboot is all you need. If your IMEI is showing a 0 on the other hand its gone and will require that it be injected back in which is a messy situation that usually results in tour phone being stuck on EDGE.
3rd, as someone mentioned on the previous page, restoring a working nandroid will NOT reinject your IMEI if it shows up as 0. No amount of flashing anything will get it to come back. Not even stock. It needs to be reinjected manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you know of a good stable kit kat like ROM I could use for the s3? And any speculation as to why the ROMs werent taking for me?
So recently I had a Galaxy S3 whose charger port failed and I could no longer use the phone. So I had a replacement sent to me via my phone insurance company.
I stuck with TouchWiz for a few days since the phone was new, and everything worked just fine, camera, snapchat, chrome, you name it. I attempted to use the CMInstaller to remove Touchwiz and go to CM. However, during the installation process, everything appeared to be going smoothly, then the android with its chest open with the red triangle popped up briefly and the phone asked me to choose to root the phone. I hit yes, and the phone rebooted, at first with the CM logo, then it proceeded to boot into TouchWiz, with no sign of Cyanogen.
I did some research and found that this is because the replacement phone has Knox on it, preventing tampering. While I'm fine with TouchWiz for now until I can get a new phone in November, my phone has been acting a bit strange.
I can't download pictures from anywhere, whether its Chrome or Facebook or Twitter (where profile pictures won't even load). In Snapchat, I can only view pictures sent to me, but I can't view videos, I can't send pics or videos, and I can't load stories. Instagram closes when a video post pops up in my feed, but photos are fine. The Spider-Man game that I downloaded from the Play Store won't download the additional file that's needed to even start the game. My camera tells me to insert an SD card before using the camera, even though there is an SD card in the phone that I store music on for Poweramp (which works fine).
Other than these instances, the phone works fine. I'd just like to be able to use the apps I want. I did a factory reset from the settings menu to wipe stuff off the phone and see if that would get these apps to function correctly with no success.
Device info:
Model: SGH-I747
Android 4.4.2
Baseband: I747UCUFNE4
Kernel: 3.4.0-1514807
Build: KOT49H.I747UCUFNE4
I checked with Kies to see what it would do with the Firmware upgrade and initialization, since that was what the guide on here said to do. It's saying it will initialize my phone to 4.1.1 Baseband I747UCDDLK3, but downgrading will brick my phone, if I'm not mistaken.
So I don't know what to do now.
So my question is this: Can/Should I use Kies to attempt to restore my phone or did I permanently bork the hardware?
Try flashing the stock NE4 rom from enewman17s thread in development section. If im not mistaken it will have tge fix for external sd and the insecure kernel should solve the internal sd issues.
This is due to seLinux primarily, not knox. So its something we will have to deal with on every device running stock from now on. The alternative I believe is to format the card and factory reset. If you start everything fresh it should work ok when full stock.
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The problem I'm having with that idea is that I'm not sure I have root access, so I don't think I can flash a rom. If I can boot into recovery, I'll give it a try, but I'm not positive if it'll work.
Thanks for the tip!
You dont need to be rooted. Just need custom recovery.
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DocHoliday77 said:
Try flashing the stock NE4 rom from enewman17s thread in development section. If im not mistaken it will have tge fix for external sd and the insecure kernel should solve the internal sd issues.
This is due to seLinux primarily, not knox. So its something we will have to deal with on every device running stock from now on. The alternative I believe is to format the card and factory reset. If you start everything fresh it should work ok when full stock.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
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Hi again,
I tried formatting and factory resetting. So I'm going to try the NE4 ROM, but I can't seem to find it. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? Thanks for all your help!
This thread may help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2789917
Okay, so I flashed that ROM from enewman's thread and it said it flashed successfully.
After it flashed, I went to do all three wipe options, and it rebooted in the middle of doing so. My phone rebooted normally into TouchWiz, and nothing was wiped and all my apps were still present.
I'm still having the same persistent problems as before. I think attempting another wipe may help, but I figured I'd check in with progress and see if anyone has any suggestions.
Thanks again.
Boot back into recovery and instead of factory resetting, choose Format /data.
This will wipe your internal sd card, just so you know. If that doesn't help, go back to the thread audit13 linked, reflash the rom, then the stock recovery. Reboot recovery and factory reset again. Then reboot and test. Pretty sure choosing format /data will be enough though.
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I was using Chrome when the phone froze. I restarted it, and now the phone just hangs at the Samsung logo.
I have a completely stock unrooted Sprint SPH-L710. I'm moderately sure the phone is on MD4 since I didn't want Knox. It would be nice if there were a way to double check, though, since I don't remember why it stopped pestering me to upgrade. The phone doesn't boot far enough to get into safe mode, but it will enter recovery and download mode. Clearing the cache in recovery had no effect.
My PC and Kies don't see it when I connect it.
My contacts and photos are mostly backed up, so I'm more worried about salvaging other things, like Chrome bookmarks. My bookmarks aren't synchronized with Google. Apparently root is required to access them, so I never got around to it. It would be nice to recover text messages and gamesaves too. I haven't tried a factory reset yet since that would wipe everything.
What should I do from here? Is it possible to install a custom recovery at this point and use that to backup files?
Or should I try to flash a stock rom from the SD card or Odin? Or will that wipe everything or cause other problems?
I don't have USB debugging activated, so is there anything useful I'd be be able to do with ADB?
Or should I just shrug and go for the factory reset?
Thanks guys.
It's been an educational experience.
Without root or USB debugging enabled, it's apparently impossible to install custom firmware from soft bricked status.
ADB was never even able to see my phone. Not even in recovery or download modes.
Odin is a surprisingly temperamental program. It would see my phone, but not successfully flash until I uninstalled Kies. Rwilco's ROM's and one click flashes were all entirely unsuccessful. It's difficult to find older GS3 ROM's since link rot has claimed nearly all of them. There's about a million skeychy Samsung firmware/update sites, and most of them are worthless.
Heimdall is a little disappointing. You can't just point it at a ROM. You have to track down a Heimdall specific package. I couldn't find a suitable one.
Eventually, I found a sketchy Samsung firmware site that had the MD4 ROM, and it actually flashed in Odin. Then Odin stopped seeing my phone entirely.
So, I ordered a Tmobile Note 4 to use on Ting. It's cheaper, and I like the removable battery and microSD. Just for kicks, I factory reset the S3. To my surprise, the factory reset worked. I guess I should have tried that before I ordered a new phone
In the meantime, I guess I will still try to recover files, demote the S3 to media player/backup phone status, and use the incoming Note 4 as my daily driver.
From here on, I guess it means rooting and monthly backups.
Thanks guys.
When you boot into download mode you'll see your Knox flag if the phone has been upgraded to a Knoxed up firmware. I'm too lazy to check but it looks something like Knox: 0x0 or 0x1.