My Verizon Wireless Droid 3 stopped booting normally on Tuesday evening. It has not been rooted or anything like that. When I boot it now, once the boot sequence has finished instead of displaying the home screen it stays stuck on the red animated boot screen for a little while and then goes completely blank. I cannot do anything with the phone - none of the buttons work. I can hear some audio notifications however so it seems to be booted completely, but locked to any user input. I get the same behavior when booting it in safe mode. If I call my cell phone from a landline, it receives the call, displays the incoming call on the screen, and I can accept or reject it using the normal screen swipe motions. When the call is answered, I can talk/hear as well as use the in-call dial pad. I cannot, however, use any of the 4 buttons at the bottom of the phone or access the notification bar at the top of the screen. As soon as the call ends, the screen becomes unusable/blank again.
Once booted in this state, after a couple of minutes it sort of resets, in that it sounds/displays the "Droid" message, followed by the red animated boot screen. However, if connected to my computer when this happens, the two external drives do not disappear, which seems to indicate that the phone is still at least semi-booted during this time? If left alone, that cycle repeats and repeats (every few minutes it sounds/displays "Droid" then the red animated boot screen).
When I connect a USB cable to my computer while the phone is up in this state, it displays two empty external drives.
Through research on this forum and others I have downloaded/installed adb and the Android SDK. I cannot get adb to recognize the phone, presumably because I'm quite sure USB Debugging was not enabled on my phone before it started acting up.
When booting via FastBoot and connecting via USB it recognizes a "Android ADB Interface" device in device manager, however adb itself still does not recognize the device.
Doing a factory reset is not an option at this point due to encrypted files/photos on the phone/sd card. I had to turn encryption on in order to use my corporate e-mail on the phone.
The boot menu gives me these options:
Normal Powerup
Recovery
AP Fastboot
BP SBF Flash
BP Only
BP HW Diag & Boot AP
BP Tools
Can anyone give me some advice on gaining access to the phone via adb or anything else? I've seen mention of Early USB Enumeration on some other androids, but am not seeing this option on my phone anywhere.
Forgot to mention that I also tried wiping the phone's cache via the recovery menu, but to no avail.
jessman1128 said:
My Verizon Wireless Droid 3 stopped booting normally on Tuesday evening. It has not been rooted or anything like that. When I boot it now, once the boot sequence has finished instead of displaying the home screen it stays stuck on the red animated boot screen for a little while and then goes completely blank. I cannot do anything with the phone - none of the buttons work. I can hear some audio notifications however so it seems to be booted completely, but locked to any user input. I get the same behavior when booting it in safe mode. If I call my cell phone from a landline, it receives the call, displays the incoming call on the screen, and I can accept or reject it using the normal screen swipe motions. When the call is answered, I can talk/hear as well as use the in-call dial pad. I cannot, however, use any of the 4 buttons at the bottom of the phone or access the notification bar at the top of the screen. As soon as the call ends, the screen becomes unusable/blank again.
Once booted in this state, after a couple of minutes it sort of resets, in that it sounds/displays the "Droid" message, followed by the red animated boot screen. However, if connected to my computer when this happens, the two external drives do not disappear, which seems to indicate that the phone is still at least semi-booted during this time? If left alone, that cycle repeats and repeats (every few minutes it sounds/displays "Droid" then the red animated boot screen).
When I connect a USB cable to my computer while the phone is up in this state, it displays two empty external drives.
Through research on this forum and others I have downloaded/installed adb and the Android SDK. I cannot get adb to recognize the phone, presumably because I'm quite sure USB Debugging was not enabled on my phone before it started acting up.
When booting via FastBoot and connecting via USB it recognizes a "Android ADB Interface" device in device manager, however adb itself still does not recognize the device.
Doing a factory reset is not an option at this point due to encrypted files/photos on the phone/sd card. I had to turn encryption on in order to use my corporate e-mail on the phone.
The boot menu gives me these options:
Normal Powerup
Recovery
AP Fastboot
BP SBF Flash
BP Only
BP HW Diag & Boot AP
BP Tools
Can anyone give me some advice on gaining access to the phone via adb or anything else? I've seen mention of Early USB Enumeration on some other androids, but am not seeing this option on my phone anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you said you can receive calls, during a call, place in speakerphone mode and hit the HOME button. It should background the call to the notification bar and unlock sliding down the notification bar and take you to the home screen. (using AT&T I can do this to stay in call and browse/do whatever on data while in a call).
Have someone (or you) call the phone, press home, then hit Menu > Settings > Applications > debugging and enable USB debugging. This should get you ADB, do NOT hang up during this just in case.
Skreelink said:
Since you said you can receive calls, during a call, place in speakerphone mode and hit the HOME button. It should background the call to the notification bar and unlock sliding down the notification bar and take you to the home screen. (using AT&T I can do this to stay in call and browse/do whatever on data while in a call).
Have someone (or you) call the phone, press home, then hit Menu > Settings > Applications > debugging and enable USB debugging. This should get you ADB, do NOT hang up during this just in case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can place the call in speaker mode, but the home button (plus the other 3) still do not work, nor does the notification bar (although I can see the notification bar). At some point it did delegate the call to the notification bar (although not immediately after placing it in speaker mode), but at that point the rest of the screen went black and only the notification bar was visible (but not accessible). I did receive a message this time, right before answering the call, that process Home Screen was stuck or something and it prompted me to either force close or wait. I told it to wait. And now it just initiated a partial reboot, even though I was still in-call.
Also, in case it's relevant, I am using LauncherPro as my home screen.
jessman1128 said:
Also, in case it's relevant, I am using LauncherPro as my home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like something may have happened to LauncherPro, and since it's your default launcher, the home button isn't going back to regular motorola home. Try booting the phone and (hoping) if it has a data connection, on your PC go to https://play.google.com/apps login, it should display your devices, click on your Droid 3, find LauncherPro, and uninstall remotely. It should be the small trash-can next to where it says 'installed'
OR you can try installing another launcher, such as ADW, Go Launcher, etc. and remotely installing it, then hitting home, which SHOULD reprompt for default launcher/home.
Maybe do a combination of the two, just to insure you're not stuck without a launcher at all, though not rooting, MotorolaHome shouldn't have been affected.
Skreelink said:
Sounds like something may have happened to LauncherPro, and since it's your default launcher, the home button isn't going back to regular motorola home. Try booting the phone and (hoping) if it has a data connection, on your PC go to [] login, it should display your devices, click on your Droid 3, find LauncherPro, and uninstall remotely. It should be the small trash-can next to where it says 'installed'
OR you can try installing another launcher, such as ADW, Go Launcher, etc. and remotely installing it, then hitting home, which SHOULD reprompt for default launcher/home.
Maybe do a combination of the two, just to insure you're not stuck without a launcher at all, though not rooting, MotorolaHome shouldn't have been affected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are a lifesaver. You rock. You are awesome. I'd click Thanks on your post one thousand times if it would let me. I have my phone back!
I followed both suggestions - I loaded the Play store on my computer and installed ADW as well as removed Launcher Pro plus a few other apps. It took I think 3 boot cycles before it finished making all of those changes on my phone (because it would only stay up for 1-2 minutes each time), but once it was done I had my phone back.
I could access my pics on my phone then, but not on my computer. Due to them being encrypted you have to connect in PC Mode for it to decrypt them properly when copying to the computer, but in PC Mode it wasn't registering the right drivers. Took me awhile to track down the proper ones online (I was looking at Verizon when it was actually Motorola drivers I needed), but I finally found them and installed them and just finished copying over all my pics to my computer - and verified they decrypted properly.
In recent weeks I've been kicking around the idea of rooting my phone and installing a custom rom. Thinking this might be a good time to try it now that I have everything copied off of my phone now. I don't know much about custom roms though. Do you happen to know if any of the available ones for D3 will support corporate e-mail?
jessman1128 said:
I could access my pics on my phone then, but not on my computer. Due to them being encrypted you have to connect in PC Mode for it to decrypt them properly when copying to the computer, but in PC Mode it wasn't registering the right drivers. Took me awhile to track down the proper ones online (I was looking at Verizon when it was actually Motorola drivers I needed), but I finally found them and installed them and just finished copying over all my pics to my computer - and verified they decrypted properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good news. But, do yourself a favor - try activating a service that automatically uploads all photos, such as Google+ or Dropbox or Sugrasync. That way if you ever get to a point where you need to factory reset you'll have copies of your photos somewhere else.
jessman1128 said:
You are a lifesaver. You rock. You are awesome. I'd click Thanks on your post one thousand times if it would let me. I have my phone back!
I followed both suggestions - I loaded the Play store on my computer and installed ADW as well as removed Launcher Pro plus a few other apps. It took I think 3 boot cycles before it finished making all of those changes on my phone (because it would only stay up for 1-2 minutes each time), but once it was done I had my phone back.
I could access my pics on my phone then, but not on my computer. Due to them being encrypted you have to connect in PC Mode for it to decrypt them properly when copying to the computer, but in PC Mode it wasn't registering the right drivers. Took me awhile to track down the proper ones online (I was looking at Verizon when it was actually Motorola drivers I needed), but I finally found them and installed them and just finished copying over all my pics to my computer - and verified they decrypted properly.
In recent weeks I've been kicking around the idea of rooting my phone and installing a custom rom. Thinking this might be a good time to try it now that I have everything copied off of my phone now. I don't know much about custom roms though. Do you happen to know if any of the available ones for D3 will support corporate e-mail?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely any roms that are built on the D3 source will unless they stripped it. I use Maverick rom 4.0 myself, it is based on 906 with enhancements, debloat, themed, etc. There are still many bugs to work out on AOSP built roms (cyanogenmod, aokp, etc. Any ics/jb roms). I would suggest sticking with a stable gb rom if it is your business phone.
doogald said:
Good news. But, do yourself a favor - try activating a service that automatically uploads all photos, such as Google+ or Dropbox or Sugrasync. That way if you ever get to a point where you need to factory reset you'll have copies of your photos somewhere else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like a good idea. I wonder, though, if those services would upload the encrypted or decrypted version of the photos. I'll have to test it and see.
Skreelink said:
Most likely any roms that are built on the D3 source will unless they stripped it. I use Maverick rom 4.0 myself, it is based on 906 with enhancements, debloat, themed, etc. There are still many bugs to work out on AOSP built roms (cyanogenmod, aokp, etc. Any ics/jb roms). I would suggest sticking with a stable gb rom if it is your business phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, ok. I'll have to give it some more thought then. It's my personal phone, but I do have my work e-mail setup on it and access it fairly regularly. I don't absolutely need to have my work e-mail on my phone, but it's certainly very helpful to have it setup there.
I've also been thinking about doing a factory reset, as the phone in general has gotten progressively slower as time goes on. Thinking the factory reset might help in that regard. I wonder if there's any way to remove some of the stock Verizon apps I never use when doing a factory reset. I'll have to look into that. I guess I should go search these forums again!
jessman1128 said:
That sounds like a good idea. I wonder, though, if those services would upload the encrypted or decrypted version of the photos. I'll have to test it and see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I setup FolderSync to upload my photos to Google Drive and it is successfully uploading them in decrypted form. Thank you for the suggestion!
Related
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
This is the Google bug that has been posted on it: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3006#makechanges
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Do a hard reset / wipe. That's my suggestion.
Try booting into recovery (Home Button, Vol Up + Power), and resetting your cache and wiping it. Then try logging in with your Google account. If all else fails, try changing your Google password on the PC then logging in on the phone. And then if it still fails, looks like you need to flash the phone again. Next time, don't enter the thing wrong! Stop rushing haha .
I wasn't rushing, I was playing with the lock. It takes about 30 times before it's permanently requiring the username/password. But really...you can't blame me for not expecting this. :/
I'm currently trying to flash a new ROM but I've run into another problem - I can't get it to boot into downloader/recovery. It's not the lack of the 3 button combo - I've managed to reach Recovery and Downloader ONCE each in the past, but never again since.
And now with all my efforts to boot into recovery/downloader, it now cannot boot into normal usability mode (or in my case, locked mode). Instead, the Galaxy S logo loops endlessly.
Sigh.
Have you read the thread for the fix for Galaxy S variants that are lacking the 3 Button Combos? It's in Android Development. Maybe try that? Or, can you still connect the phone and connect with Kies?
I can't turn on the phone anymore, meaning no changing to USB debugging etc. And I'm having problem accessing recovery/download, even though I definitely HAVE done each of them once before and therefore do not have the 3 button problem.
Without turning on my phone, Kies can't detect it
So what happens when you power on?
Now, it shows the first Galaxy S splash screen, then shows the boot logo, then nothing. The boot logo continues to glow endlessly.
Be patient, i waited up to five minutes. If you see the s logo glowing/shining youare ok
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
okpc said:
Be patient, i waited up to five minutes. If you see the s logo glowing/shining youare ok
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's continuously shining. Haven't left it for up to five minutes though... And even then it probably won't help since I'm still locked out of the phone, and unable to access download/recovery mode to reflash it.
After waiting for a long time, the logo disappears, screen goes black. Menu and back buttons light up. Nothing else.
Looks like your going to have to reflash your phone again. Download the desired firmware, open up Odin and put your phone into download mode and start the flashing procedure. Be more careful next time.
PaulForde said:
Looks like your going to have to reflash your phone again. Download the desired firmware, open up Odin and put your phone into download mode and start the flashing procedure. Be more careful next time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice considering he said his 3 button combo stopped working =))
All I did when I got that black screen was adb reboot recovery and wiped and phone bootedup fine. But only if you have debuging enable and and sumsung drivers. Hopes this help.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Can't enable USB debugging when phone can't be turned on at all.
danamoult said:
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok i did the same thing, and spent hours googling.
Tried the key combinations to restore, but never worked.
Heres what worked for me, but, be warned all your contacts will be lost if stored on the phone.
From another phone, call your locked number.
Answer it on the locked phone, then hit the "back" button.
This gives you full access to the phones menus etc.
Hang up on the phone you called from.
Now, go into Applications / Settings / Privacy / Factory Data Reset.
This worked for me whereas all other methods did not.
Once your phone is up and running again, be sure to create your google account on your phone.
That way your protected again. If you didnt previously have the account set up from your phone, like i didnt, then you cannot log in of course.
This works...give it a try. Hope it helps.
danamoult said:
Can't enable USB debugging when phone can't be turned on at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to be able to enter recovery mode for you to solve this problem
danamoult said:
I was playing around with the pattern lock and eventually got the 'Too many pattern attempts!' message, with it asking for my Google username and password to log in.
No matter what, it doesn't accept my username/password. I am 100% sure I've typed it in correctly.
This bug has been around for over a year with many people reporting 'bricked' phones without even doing anything particularly naughty with their phones.
This is the Google bug that has been posted on it: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3006#makechanges
As you can see this has been around for over a year. The 'null'-in-password trick doesn't work, nor does the spamming-home-button trick.
My phone is rooted and with the Voodoo Lagfix-only custom kernel. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dear friend dont worry or panic... i'll tell you a trick , go to the samsung customer care and tell them that your phone gets heated up very often and today it just refuses to boot up normally...
since your device cannot get into recovery mode or download mode the company will never know that you had played with the system files in the device or not... (rooted )..
since the samsung people will also try to get your device in recovery mode.. but when it will not go to the recovery mode you will get a mother board replacement under warranty.....
this heating up of the device is a common problem in the galaxy here in india.. so use this excuse and i know it works 100% ... (just dont tell them that you had rooted and lagfixed your device )
What you describe sounds like a very large security hole if I am reading it correctly.
Are you saying that even if your phone has been locked out from too many lock screen failures, that just answering an incoming phone call gives you full access to the phone? Really?
I just checked on my phone and while I can answer an incoming call while the screen is locked, if I hit the back button or menu button, I just get the lock screen.
I'm missing something here...
OzzYGuY said:
Ok i did the same thing, and spent hours googling.
Tried the key combinations to restore, but never worked.
Heres what worked for me, but, be warned all your contacts will be lost if stored on the phone.
From another phone, call your locked number.
Answer it on the locked phone, then hit the "back" button.
This gives you full access to the phones menus etc.
Hang up on the phone you called from.
Now, go into Applications / Settings / Privacy / Factory Data Reset.
This worked for me whereas all other methods did not.
Once your phone is up and running again, be sure to create your google account on your phone.
That way your protected again. If you didnt previously have the account set up from your phone, like i didnt, then you cannot log in of course.
This works...give it a try. Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
distortedloop said:
What you describe sounds like a very large security hole if I am reading it correctly.
Are you saying that even if your phone has been locked out from too many lock screen failures, that just answering an incoming phone call gives you full access to the phone? Really?
I just checked on my phone and while I can answer an incoming call while the screen is locked, if I hit the back button or menu button, I just get the lock screen.
I'm missing something here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chill my dear friend.... it cant be true.... its just his 1st post.. and samsung cannot be so dumb to leave a password protected keypad that can be cracked so easily.. even i tried the back key on a call with a password lock.. i cannot get passed the lock screen....
Hi guys,
My phone is in a permanent state of rebooting. I have searched these forums and other websites, but none of the solutions I found apply to my situation. I am going to provide as many details as I can here, even if they seem irrelevant.
My phone when it crashed
Sony Xperia V, stock firmware 9.2.a.1.210. (Which is the second latest. Couldn't get latest because neither Sony PC Companion or Update App found updates. This was BEFORE rooting.)
Rooted this morning using Towelroot.
(EDIT) Then I installed latest version of SuperSU.
Unless Towelroot somehow unlocks bootloader, I have a locked bootloader.
Deleted some pre-installed apps (which is why I rooted in the first place). Using Clean Master, I removed:
Google Play Movies
Google Play Books
Google Play Magazines
Sony Select
Sony Music Unlimited
Sony Xperia Link (Not sure about name. Used to view stuff like messages on other devices. Purple icon.)
I think that is all. I'm pretty sure I didn't remove anything vital. (My knowledge of Android is limited, and so I didn't go on a killing spree.)
Using Xperia Smart Connect, (I decided to try it after all), I set up an event. (When connecting to my TomTom Go, switch off Wifi. Afterwards, Switch on Wifi. The TomTom was turned off.)
Everything was fine after that.
The crash
Later on, I wanted to take a picture using the stock app. The app launched and worked for a few seconds, displaying what the camera registered. Then, the screen froze. After some time, I tried turning off my phone, to no avail. So I removed the battery. Re-inserted battery, pressed power button. Since then, my phone keeps on rebooting.
What happens exactly
After I insert the battery and press the power button, the phone vibrates and seems to boot normally. I get the colorful boot animation, followed by the lock screen. A lot of systems seem to be functioning correctly:
The lock screen looks normal. It displays the background I have set (from the stock Winter theme, I think) and shows the authentication dialog (more on that later).
The displayed time was correct after the first few boots, before I removed the battery for longer than a few seconds. After that, it was wrong a couple of times, before getting it right again a few boots later.
Other icons being shown in the status bar: Bluetooth (grayed out, which is normal if there's no connected device), no SIM card, no network, battery status (correct) and Wifi (best reception with constant up and down arrows).
The notification LED works. (Changes with battery status.)
"Battery almost empty" sound when applicable.
My phone never registers any input on the touch screen, save for one time, when it registered the first digit of my PIN code. After a while of displaying the lock screen, the whole screen turns a certain color (I've seen different colors on different occasions: red, purple, ...) like some kind of color filter is being applied. (The image is visible, but in one color.) After, that it fades into black and reboots.
What I have tried
Charging the phone for about an hour. The power led is orange when charging, meaning the battery has a decent amount of juice.
Removed the battery several times (one time for over fifty minutes). After I re-insert it, I need to press power button to get it to boot, which is of course normal. (As opposed another thread I've read, where the phone would boot as soon as the battery was inserted.)
Connecting to PC using USB cable and Sony PC Companion (SPC). SPC can't connect, most likely because the phone reboots before it can finish detection process.
Tried a forced reboot by pressing and holding power+volume up. Has no effect.
After a few reboots, I removed SIM and SD cards. The only effect that had: instead of the enter PIN code dialog, I get the "connect the dots" dialog. (Which makes sense.) No input is being registered. The pattern (dots) used to be my secondary authentication method, the primary being facial recognition. My phone doesn't seem to initiate facial recognition.
Let it reboot repeatedly. I estimate it has rebooted 15-20 times now.
On flashing
If flashing is my only option, I want to try Cyanogenmod instead of Sony firmware. I'd rather not flash at all, though, since I have no experience. All of my data has been backed up, so an internal wipe is no deal breaker.
If I do have other options, I'd prefer the quickest and simplest method of getting my phone operational. Provided there is one...
Phone is acting very irregular. Was able to unlock lockscreen using dot pattern twice, but froze after loading some home screen elements. Didn't get past lock screen on other occasions.
After crashing, sometimes forgot battery level. Claimed almost empty while almost full seconds before that.
Etc etc.
So! Want to flash to Cyanogenmod using this guide.
Downloaded and installed ADB here.
Flashtool drivers here. Installed following drivers from package:
Flashmode Drivers
Fastboot Drivers
Common drivers Blue3.0 board (Xperia V, T, TL, ...)
And a bunch of device specific drivers, since Xperia V wasn't literally listed. ("Xperia VL" came closest but didn't do the trick - ADB couldn't find device.)
Backed up current boot image (ROM) and system. (Couldn't mount \data). I don't think I'll be missing these files?
When trying to push Cyanogenmod zip, adb gives "error device not found".
Download additional drivers here (Sony Xperia VL drivers).
Still not doing the trick. Windows shows a device "Xperia V" with inadequate drivers and won't accept the VL drivers.
Can't seem to find fitting drivers anywhere.
Never mind. Bypassed the entire problem by inserting SD into PC, copying zips I needed to push manually, re-inserting SD into phone, rebooting ("fastboot reboot" from console) and installing zips from recovery menu.
Just writing this down for anyone else who's struggling with this.
Sorry for the messy monologue. Been at this for the better part of the day now, and it's currently 1:47 at night here. So I'm kinda tired. But happy
Still would like to know how to get decent drivers ADB drivers for Xperia V, though.
The "black screen of death" is an error that's been occurring in X1095 devices after the 5.1 update. Google "moto x 5.1 black screen" and you'll see numerous complaints of the same:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-2014/help/help-t3176829
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/c3be8d6f29
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/fe6a7fc56e
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/bbac67c0ef
I encountered this problem while on vacation so I stand to lose all of my vacation photos if I do a factory reset. I would sooner send my phone to a forensics lab and have them de-solder the memory and destructively recover my files, than perform a factory reset.
BUT I would much rather create a fix that everyone can benefit from, if possible.
The symptoms are:
- Phone at lock screen is an unresponsive black screen
- Active display works, but trying to open any apps through notifications brings me to the black screen.
- Camera opens by shaking, but can't interact with the screen. Volume button doesn't take picture. I CAN take pictures by using the camera timer on my Moto 360 watch.
- Voice commands work, Google Now opens normally, but can't interact with it. It invariably brings me to the "Unlock your phone to continue/say cancel to stop" but there's nowhere for me to apply my pattern lock. I am able to tap the blue word "cancel."
- Status bar and software buttons (back, home, recent apps) do not appear in any screens. The only way to determine battery level is through ambient display.
- I CAN launch Navigation through my Moto 360 watch without the "unlock your phone" dialog. Navigation functions normally except rotation is stuck in portrait, and I cannot interact with it except via the watch.
- I CAN send SMS etc through my Moto 360 watch. All of android wear seems to be functioning normally, except after wiping my phone's cache partition through stock recovery I no longer see notifications via watch.
- Phone is continually warm, can barely maintain charge even when plugged in.
- Holding the power button brings up the "Power off" popup which is clickable. Restarting in Safe Mode results in the same but with the words Safe Mode strewn across the lower left.
The culprit appears to be that com.android.systemui is broken, perhaps amongst other things. I believe this because:
- Apps all work fine
- No status bar or nav buttons display
Path #1:
Since the Pure Edition supports ADB Sideload with stock recovery and locked bootloader, my ideal solution would be to create an "OTA" zip package someone could sideload. It would basically spoof an update to replace com.android.systemui and clear all its (presumably corrupt) data. Is this possible? I've spent a lot of time researching, but I can't for the life of me figure out how ota zips are actually formulated. Is it like adb push where I can sideload the .apk I want from the stock ROM, or does it require something more elaborate such as building a version of the OS? This would be perfect because anyone with the Pure Edition could un-brick their phone, at least long enough to recover their files.
Path #2:
Since my Moto 360 seems to have access to my phone, I could conceivably connect it to my computer through adb and create a rescue app that uses the watch to retrieve my files off my phone. This would sadly only work for people who have smartwatches.
Path #3:
Wait for the next official OTA update and hope and pray that it fixes the issue when I sideload it. I have the luxury of setting my phone aside and being patient, but that doesn't work for most people. There is also the chance that the OTA does nothing.
Any advice how to get started on the sideload front? I'm willing to do the leg work, I just need help going the right direction.
bken said:
The "black screen of death" is an error that's been occurring in X1095 devices after the 5.1 update. Google "moto x 5.1 black screen" and you'll see numerous complaints of the same:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-2014/help/help-t3176829
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/c3be8d6f29
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/fe6a7fc56e
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/bbac67c0ef
I encountered this problem while on vacation so I stand to lose all of my vacation photos if I do a factory reset. I would sooner send my phone to a forensics lab and have them de-solder the memory and destructively recover my files, than perform a factory reset.
BUT I would much rather create a fix that everyone can benefit from, if possible.
The symptoms are:
- Phone at lock screen is an unresponsive black screen
- Active display works, but trying to open any apps through notifications brings me to the black screen.
- Camera opens by shaking, but can't interact with the screen. Volume button doesn't take picture. I CAN take pictures by using the camera timer on my Moto 360 watch.
- Voice commands work, Google Now opens normally, but can't interact with it. It invariably brings me to the "Unlock your phone to continue/say cancel to stop" but there's nowhere for me to apply my pattern lock. I am able to tap the blue word "cancel."
- Status bar and software buttons (back, home, recent apps) do not appear in any screens. The only way to determine battery level is through ambient display.
- I CAN launch Navigation through my Moto 360 watch without the "unlock your phone" dialog. Navigation functions normally except rotation is stuck in portrait, and I cannot interact with it except via the watch.
- I CAN send SMS etc through my Moto 360 watch. All of android wear seems to be functioning normally, except after wiping my phone's cache partition through stock recovery I no longer see notifications via watch.
- Phone is continually warm, can barely maintain charge even when plugged in.
- Holding the power button brings up the "Power off" popup which is clickable. Restarting in Safe Mode results in the same but with the words Safe Mode strewn across the lower left.
The culprit appears to be that com.android.systemui is broken, perhaps amongst other things. I believe this because:
- Apps all work fine
- No status bar or nav buttons display
Path #1:
Since the Pure Edition supports ADB Sideload with stock recovery and locked bootloader, my ideal solution would be to create an "OTA" zip package someone could sideload. It would basically spoof an update to replace com.android.systemui and clear all its (presumably corrupt) data. Is this possible? I've spent a lot of time researching, but I can't for the life of me figure out how ota zips are actually formulated. Is it like adb push where I can sideload the .apk I want from the stock ROM, or does it require something more elaborate such as building a version of the OS? This would be perfect because anyone with the Pure Edition could un-brick their phone, at least long enough to recover their files.
Path #2:
Since my Moto 360 seems to have access to my phone, I could conceivably connect it to my computer through adb and create a rescue app that uses the watch to retrieve my files off my phone. This would sadly only work for people who have smartwatches.
Path #3:
Wait for the next official OTA update and hope and pray that it fixes the issue when I sideload it. I have the luxury of setting my phone aside and being patient, but that doesn't work for most people. There is also the chance that the OTA does nothing.
Any advice how to get started on the sideload front? I'm willing to do the leg work, I just need help going the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Path #1:
Won't work for 2 reasons. One, the OTA zips have to be digitally signed by motorola on the stock recovery. To flash another recovery which can use unsigned OTA zips means you would have to unlock the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader erases the phone. Second, flashing stock firmware is confirmed to NOT fix it. The only known fix is format the data partition. Which means the problem is in the data partition somewhere, not in the system partition.
Path #2:
Would not work without root access on the phone. Since you have no root access, again no go.
Path #3:
Maybe in the next update OTA it could be fixed maybe not. This issue also exists in 5.0 as well, but it is much more rare. I had it happen to me on 5.0.
My suggestion:
If you don't wait on an OTA to see if there is a fix, bite the bullet and factory reset, unlock your bootloader. If you have an unlocked bootloader there will be options available to recover your files if this ever happens again via custom recovery like TWRP.
Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk
AGISCI said:
Path #1:
Won't work for 2 reasons. One, the OTA zips have to be digitally signed by motorola on the stock recovery. To flash another recovery which can use unsigned OTA zips means you would have to unlock the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader erases the phone. Second, flashing stock firmware is confirmed to NOT fix it. The only known fix is format the data partition. Which means the problem is in the data partition somewhere, not in the system partition.
Path #2:
Would not work without root access on the phone. Since you have no root access, again no go.
Path #3:
Maybe in the next update OTA it could be fixed maybe not. This issue also exists in 5.0 as well, but it is much more rare. I had it happen to me on 5.0.
My suggestion:
If you don't wait on an OTA to see if there is a fix, bite the bullet and factory reset, unlock your bootloader. If you have an unlocked bootloader there will be options available to recover your files if this ever happens again via custom recovery like TWRP.
Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would Path #2 stand a chance if I only wanted photos? I don't care about all my settings etc that would require root to access - I feel like Wear has at least that much permission on the phone? I really just wish I had a way to launch AirDroid...
It's a shame, I worry about hardware failure so I keep the bootloader locked to preserve my warranty. Then I suffer a software failure that I could easily recover from if I had voided my warranty, but because I didn't, I'm screwed. It always feels like a no-win situation, a gamble between whether software or hardware will fail first.
Maybe if there is an app for your watch that can see and backup your photos. Yes that is possible. But fixing it remotely via the watch is what would need root since it would need to modify files that it doesn't have permission to touch.
Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk
AGISCI said:
Maybe if there is an app for your watch that can see and backup your photos. Yes that is possible. But fixing it remotely via the watch is what would need root since it would need to modify files that it doesn't have permission to touch.
Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't realize that AirDroid 3 allows access to the phone without any inputs from the phone, and luckily I had it installed! I recovered just about everything I wanted. PSA to everyone with a Moto X - Airdroid will save your butt if you get the black screen of death. I'm so happy right now haha
I don't care about fixing my phone, I only wanted my files. I only suggested to fix it via sideload so it would work long enough to recover my data.
adb backup command is your friend.
Only problem is I read somewhere that adb does not work either when you get the blackscreen problem.
Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk
Correct! There is no way to enable ADB debugging for those of us who don't leave it on 24/7. Also, IIRC people haven't had luck connecting to ADB regardless, presumably because I don't think you can connect with ADB until you unlock your phone and accept the computer's fingerprint? Neither of which you can do with a black screen. The only ADB you can access is sideload from recovery. If I had a custom recovery I could adb pull from within recovery, but with stock I cannot...
AirDroid has saved everything I wanted except my SMS, which is funny because it can read my SMS's, so worst case I can copy and paste into a text file... It's a minor thing to lose though. In any case, I'm switching back to my Nexus 4 until this gets sorted - don't want to risk the problem recurring with the Moto X. Maybe when that gets sorted I'll have a chance to offload them. Otherwise, no big loss, I got 99% of what I wanted.
Sorry for bumping an ancient thread BUT I just wanted to update that I fixed my phone and recovered ALL my data. Sideloading the next OTA through stock recovery fixed everything.
Didn't try it until recently; left the phone in a drawer while I went back to my Nexus 4 and then Nexus 5X. Finally gave it a go and it worked! Maybe someone else is in the same boat, and has a soft-bricked Moto X they can finally rescue their data off?
So I shattered my display and the screen wont turn on but it still vibrates when i get notifications, i was wondering if anyone would know of a way to sort of project the display onto a TV or PC so i can use apps that i installed to backup messages and app data and stuff?
I'm pretty sure if the phone still works you can run it in ADP on your PC and basically click through the phone. Then do whatever you need to do and back it up.
BlueForce64 said:
I'm pretty sure if the phone still works you can run it in ADP on your PC and basically click through the phone. Then do whatever you need to do and back it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the problem with that:
ADB doesn't work unless you first enable it in developer options. Once you do that, you have to click yes on a confirmation dialog the first time you use it. Both of these processes require a functioning screen.
If you have an unlocked phone with TWRP installed, and you can blindly convince the phone to boot into TWRP (maybe by booting into bootloader and using fastboot reboot-recovery, but I'll have to check and see if that command works when I get home. I think it does.), you'll be able to access the data on your phone by simply plugging it into a computer. If you do not have TWRP installed, and you have no lockscreen set up (no swipe, no password, no pin, no nothing), you might be able to access the data by plugging it into a computer after it boots.
If none of those situations apply, and the data is worth about $100 to you, you might want to look into a screen replacement service. Sometimes you can find little electronics places in malls or shopping centers that will do it, and I'm pretty sure there are businesses that you can mail your phone to and they'll mail it back once the work is completed. A friend of mine even found a service that sent someone to her house to replace her screen then and there.
Thanks, booting into TWRP worked and I was able to get most of the stuff I needed. I completely forgot I could get into it that way.
I have a Moto G6 XT1925-5 (64GB version) which doesn't want to start up. It's all totally stock, been updated to Android Pie.
It gets as far as the boot animation, and does that for about 2 minutes, then it boot loops and starts all over again. When it bootloops it gets stuck at the first Moto logo screen (not the animated one) for about 3 minutes before carrying on to the boot animation...
This happened once or twice before, we left it overnight and eventually it started up normally. But it's now been five days and it still hasn't started.
I'm not very experienced with Android hacking/modding, etc but willing to try anything. I managed to get into recovery mode and at the top it says (I presume this indicates the firmware version):
motorola/ali_retail/ali
9/PPSS29.55-37-7-6/16c5a7
Unfortunately USB debugging is not enabled. Is there anything that we can do to recover the data that was on the phone before we wipe it - or is there another method we can try to get it to start up? I saw there's a command adb logcat which looks like it might be useful to diagnose the problem but that also requires USB debugging.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
There is no chance for you to recover your data in this mode.
WoKoschekk said:
There is no chance for you to recover your data in this mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
There are several other modes available from the bootloader BP Tools, QCOM, etc but I can't work out how any of them are supposed to work.
One question - on the recovery menu, there is an option 'Mount /system'.
I pressed it and it says at the bottom /system mounted, but then there don't seem to be any obvious ways to access anything.
Is there a way to use this to access OS/kernel logs which might give a clue as to what is going wrong?
Thanks again
Step by step...
The first level of the system, which is accessible for you, is called bootloader menu (fastboot menu). From here you can boot into recovery, system, bootloader itself and some other options you mentioned in your post.
None of these options would help you to solve your problem. These are developer's options.
This level is more or less a one way data connection. The main advantage of this menu is to flash single partitions of your device. But there is no way to get a data output of any partition.
In recovery menu you find the options to wipe your data and to mount /system. Mounting /system won't help you, too. This partition doesn't store anything of personal data. It's read only and not writable for anyone. To be honest, nobody knows exactly the meaning of it in this context. Also you won't access any logs from here.
Generally you can't access the system logs. These informations are only buffered data which is cleared with every reboot. The error message of e.g. the kernel log produced by your system when having a bootloop, is only accessible while your device is looping/freezing. The next reboot erases the logs. They aren't stored somewhere on your device. Even for developers it's very tricky to view the log in such cases.
But what would you do if you get the reason for looping? You are not able to access any system partition. You need root user permissions for that. But rooting your phone will erase all data.
Apart from all that your data is encrypted and remains encrypted until you unlock your screen by fingerprint, PIN or password. No chance to get any useful data as a "third person" outside. It would take several years to decrypt it without the matching key for it.
Thanks so much for this detailed explanation, I really appreciate that you took the trouble to answer the questions in detail and explain what the various options are for.
phone5774 said:
Thanks so much for this detailed explanation, I really appreciate that you took the trouble to answer the questions in detail and explain what the various options are for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem!
Maybe you'll find some of your personal data in your Google Drive account...
How the story ended
Thought I'd come back and post in case it's useful for anyone else:-
Due to a religious festival, we left the phone switched off for three days. After the festival ended, we switched it on, and immediately it did the same thing that it had been doing all along (spend a long time on the initial boot screen then a while on the boot animation before boot looping). Bizarrely even though it had been off it did not prompt for the PIN code.
We then held the power button as though to turn it off (but for some reason, throughout the usual power button never actually turn the phone off, it always attempted to restart immediately) and then next time it came on it asked for the PIN and started up normally!
So all in all that was a grand total of 9 days after the problem first happened. Very inconvenient not to be able to use it for 9 days, but it's now working again. We haven't dared to try to restart it since!
Some closing thoughts:
The storage is very full (99%), we wonder if that had something to do with this problem
We have now enabled USB debugging and bootloader unlocking to make recovery easier in future
phone5774 said:
Thought I'd come back and post in case it's useful for anyone else:-
Due to a religious festival, we left the phone switched off for three days. After the festival ended, we switched it on, and immediately it did the same thing that it had been doing all along (spend a long time on the initial boot screen then a while on the boot animation before boot looping). Bizarrely even though it had been off it did not prompt for the PIN code.
We then held the power button as though to turn it off (but for some reason, throughout the usual power button never actually turn the phone off, it always attempted to restart immediately) and then next time it came on it asked for the PIN and started up normally!
So all in all that was a grand total of 9 days after the problem first happened. Very inconvenient not to be able to use it for 9 days, but it's now working again. We haven't dared to try to restart it since!
Some closing thoughts:
The storage is very full (99%), we wonder if that had something to do with this problem
We have now enabled USB debugging and bootloader unlocking to make recovery easier in future
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I read this last post, I immediately think of a sticky power button, because if you keep holding the power button after the phone has booted it will turn off again, and start up again. And it would also explain the weird behavior you just described of not turning off but rebooting straight away. I'd say: see if you are able to clean de button with a very thin needle or a crafts- or surgical knife around the edges, is might just solve your problem...
mcremco said:
When I read this last post, I immediately think of a sticky power button...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that suggestion. Interesting, not something I'd thought of.
For now the phone is working perfectly, provided that have to restart it (i.e. we make sure not to shut it down or let the battery run out) but I'll definitely bear this in mind if the issue happens again.
The power button is working normally to turn the screen on or off meanwhile.
Thanks again for your input which is really appreciated.
First time trying to restart after the above
Since posting the above messages the phone has been kept on all the time and not restarted.
Today for the first time we accidentally let the battery run out and the phone shut itself down.
We nervously plugged it in and tried to switch it back on... and it started properly first time, so perhaps the underlying problem was simply that the storage somehow got too full (in the meanwhile we have transferred many photos and other media to the computer and deleted them off the phone to free up space).
Posting this in case it helps someone else experiencing a similar problem.