[Q] Going insane with battery drain - Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Sorry, I am frustrated and quickly going insane. I wrote a very long post and then the browser froze and would not come back. Apologies if the first post ever shows up. Also, apologies for the length of this question but I want to give as much background as possible.
Total noob here as far as doing anything special with my GT-N7000 running 4.1.2. It has been running JB for a while without problems but after an external SD got corrupted about a month ago, the battery is draining horribly. Right now phone is off because both batteries on hand went down to 3% after a few hours. I have original battery plus 2 new OEM ones, so unless the new ones are defective, it should not be the battery itself that is the problem.
After the SD card got corrupted (spontaneously unmounted one day and then got progressively worse despite re-formatting), I got a replacement card. I did a factory reset and moved back only those photos that I checked showed up okay in Windows photo viewer. Also, after I did my factory reset, I did not use a backup to restore, I manually downloaded the apps I use again and re-input, manually, all my settings and data. Other than the photos (about 150 jpg) I also have maps for offline gps (GPS navigation & maps by skobbler) on the card, nothing else that I put on the card.
I keep GPS off unless I am actively using it, same with wifi and bluetooth and I don't have 4G. I disabled many apps I don't use like live wallpapers, Google Play books, etc. I have disabled all automatic syncing & location services. I keep background processes limit at 3. I have power saving setting on.
Still, my battery drains horrifically, even when plugged into an outlet or my USB port & showing charging. It drains especially when I am downloading apps, for example, downloading maps for offline GPS took the battery from 88% to 12% in less than 1 hour (and no, my phone did NOT get hot).
I searched through many discussions lists about battery drain. Some suggested it was a JB problem but I ran JB for many months before this problem occurred. Others suggested a corrupt file system, but this is a new external SD card, and I reformatted it just in case, and I checked the files for corrupt images before moving them back. I am not sure how my internal SD would have become corrupted by the external SD but maybe that is the problem? How would I test for a corrupt filesystem on my internal SD?
I tried a battery doctor app to see if it was just the battery monitor that was defective, but the percentages agreed. I got so desperate that I rooted my phone to consider deleting some of those apps I had previously disabled. Rooting worked but I did have problems with CWM. (I assume this is not related since I only rooted a few days ago and the battery drain has been ongoing for a month.Using ROM Manager from the app store CWM would not work & I saw a note saying something about Samsung owners having to have a compatible kernel first. I did not know how to check that so tried a different method to get CWM on the phone (booted into recovery and installed Philz Touch 5 from a zip file on my external SD card). That worked but there is a newer version and although I could get it to install, once it was installed, I could not boot regularly, only into recovery mode. So I reverted back to Philz Touch 5.)
Anyway, since I had root I got Titanium backup & did a backup. I also used Philz Touch 5 to wipe the phone (although not a complete wipe of all cache & such since I am a noob and don't understand Dalvik cache etc). After the wipe I did NOT restore from the backup. Once again I re-downloaded my apps and re-input my settings and data.
I tried looking at wakelocks although maybe I need more guidance on what I am looking for. Nothing stood out at least to me. I also looked at things that check CPU usage, but again, nothing stood out. I did not take screen dumps (if someone would give me explicit instructions on how to do that -- assume I am a moron -- I could re-install those apps and check).
I am not sure what to try next. Do I assume my new OEM batteries are duds & order some off Amazon (one brand was recommended in another forum)? Is there a way to test my internal SD to find corrupted filesystem? If so, then would I reformat the internal SD and would that solve the problem? Should I delete those apps I disabled in the past? Some I could not disable before (AllShare, TouchWiz) and maybe those are the problem. I did notice TouchWiz was high on CPU usage & have not the foggiest notion what it does but I could not disable it before root. Other options -- I could try a custom ROM I guess, but as I noted earlier, I was having trouble with the newest version of Philz Touch 6. So this frightens me.
I would appreciate any guidance and suggestions you might have. If you folks can solve my battery drain problem, I would thank you a thousand times (although I don't think that is actually allowed by the forum)
.

Sorry, I am frustrated and quickly going insane. I wrote a very long post and then the browser froze and would not come back. Apologies,
I would appreciate any guidance and suggestions you might have. If you folks can solve my battery drain problem, I would thank you a thousand times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So Ok Do as what I say!
1. Remove SD CARD, and backup internal memory of your phone to your pc.
2. Go to philz, wipe everything. full wipe to install a new rom!
after that go to Mount option in recovery and wipe eMMC
3. Reboot to Download mode by (VOL Down + Home + Power)
4. Go to Odin
5. Download a Stock ROM for Samsung Galaxy Note (www.sammobile.com/firmware)
6. Go to Odin and put the .tar.md5 rom in the Pda option on the odin
7. Flash the firmware and then let the ROM Settle do 2-3 Reboots and then update again about battery life
8. Do not insert that SD Card...

clarification please
NoteboyTech said:
So Ok Do as what I say!
1. Remove SD CARD, and backup internal memory of your phone to your pc.
2. Go to philz, wipe everything. full wipe to install a new rom!
after that go to Mount option in recovery and wipe eMMC
3. Reboot to Download mode by (VOL Down + Home + Power)
4. Go to Odin
5. Download a Stock ROM for Samsung Galaxy Note
6. Go to Odin and put the .tar.md5 rom in the Pda option on the odin
7. Flash the firmware and then let the ROM Settle do 2-3 Reboots and then update again about battery life
8. Do not insert that SD Card...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope this reply goes through. I input the captcha multiple times correctly, as far as I can tell, but it never takes.
I am running official JB 4.1.2 that was pushed out to GT-N7000 users so I am not sure how another stock ROM would help but I might try that. I bought my phone via Amazon from a German company, but I don't know which Germany to choose from the lists in Sammobile. Would my build number XXLT4 tell me that or where do I find out which German stock ROM to use?
Also, you tell me not to insert my SD card. The corrupted one is already gone (send back to SanDisk for a replacement & that replacement sent back since it was defective). I am currently using a much smaller (16GB) Sandisk micro SD that I used prior to my 64GB one that got corrupted. Do you mean don't insert even the 16GB one or the new 64GB one that should be arriving in the mail in a day or so? I really need the extra space for the offline maps (they take up 7GB) so without an external SD card I am very limited in what else I can put on my phone. Or do you just mean, don't insert the SD card until after the battery drain issue seems to be solved?
I also wonder if my USB port is screwed up and needs to be replaced. I have noticed that with my original cable, at times it loses connection to my Netbook or my office computer. I bought another OEM cord, but that also has the problem. I tried cleaning out the port with compressed air but still toggles being connected & not. I had heard that a bad connection could drain your battery even while it says it is charging, so possibly that is another problem. Opening up my Note to replace it scares me even more than trying a new ROM, so I will follow you suggestions and go from there.
thx

First do as what I say... i am saying not to use your sd card because.. if the battery drain is because of sd card then it should improve.. or maybe mediascanner stuff.. dont use offline maps...yet... just download any jelly bean firmware any country..
And then flash it the way I told you above
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Not seeing PDA as an option in ODIN
NoteboyTech said:
First do as what I say... i am saying not to use your sd card because.. if the battery drain is because of sd card then it should improve.. or maybe mediascanner stuff.. dont use offline maps...yet... just download any jelly bean firmware any country..
And then flash it the way I told you above
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded ODIN and upzipped it but the file download options I see are BL AP CP and CSC, not pda option I in the messages, I keep seeing <ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Removed!!
<ID:0/004> Added!!
and again my USB connection is toggling on and off.
Finally got it to download (put in AP option in ODIN). Seemed to work, rebooted it said it was removed at the end even though I did not get the "device removal sound so I assume twice so far but it is rebooting into German. It is installing the apps that came with the device (shopping and hotels and taxi) right now. Okay, so now back at the beginning where it wants me to set up the phone again.
Do I just use my backup for recovery, or should I start anew?.

OK what next
So now that my Note is back to stock and no longer rooted, should I be looking for battery drain as is with all those apps running that I disabled previously, that is, as if I had done absolutely nothing to the phone? Or should I try to reconfigure the phone as I had it before, that is, manually disable all those apps again, change my settings back to how I had it before, re-input my data, and reinstall many of my most used apps? Some of the tools I had used before required root to run (SD maid) so I won't download those, obviously.
I guess I am asking, now that the phone is back to stock ROM, unrooted, etc, what are my next steps?
PS I will send this as a message also because I am having a hard time getting back to this thread on different computers. I thought I had set it to notify me when replies appeared but I am not getting any (wondering if my iPad -- which is a useless piece of junk --- is blocking notifications)
thanks

Related

[Q] keep rebooting and no recovery mode

Purchased two Bell Canada Samsung Galaxy S as-is from local kijiji.
They all performing the same thing, rebooting at Galaxy S logo, GT-I9000M page, it won't go any further. and there is no recovery mode at start-up.
Here are the steps which I have played with for past two days.
1. Trying to get to recovery mode
- tried ADB, but it doesn't work, since "USB debug" is not on, and it won't accept as a device, and I am not able to turn that on, since I can't even get on the main screen.
- tried three key combo, vol up + home + power on, at least a hundred times for past two days, it doesn't work. fortunately download mode is working (at least I have more option to try). and I know how to get to recovery mode, I played with my friend's before.
2. Trying to use ODIN to flash the firmware
- unchecked "re-partition", unchecked "bootloader", pick 512 as PIT and then choose following as PDA
JH2, JK3, JK4, JL2
always successful on refresh, but phone still does the same, stuck at LOGO page
- also tried, checked "re-partition", and checked "bootloader", pick 512 as PIT and repacking following into PDA, Phone/Modem, CSC, still won't work...
JP series, JH, JK series, JL
At the beginning I though it was problem on CSC, I didn't use correct one to match my phone model #, but what's mine??? I can't go into my phone to check. I checked my friend's I9000, he used I9000BMCJK4, and I assume all JK series should work with me, since our IMEI are similar. And I tried many times on different cache.rft as CSC.tar, still no luck for me
I go crazy now, $400 USD gone. Seriously needing help. Any help is highly appreciated.
try the one jl2 download file and samsungfirmwares.com it flashes a special bootloader that may fix things.. it should be a single file you put in as pda nothing else..
if not they may have permantely trashed internal memory and you are sol.
lgkahn said:
try the one jl2 download file and samsungfirmwares.com it flashes a special bootloader that may fix things.. it should be a single file you put in as pda nothing else..
if not they may have permantely trashed internal memory and you are sol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried one of JL2 file from somewhere (don't remember where), but I will get one JL2 file from samsungfirmwares.com again, see if that works.
Do you mean, only choose the file for PDA, left PIT empty, and get everything uncheck?
permantely trashed internal memory? are these the common problem with this model? I got two of these, and both of them have the same issue, I think, there should be a way to slove it, right? Should I give up these thoughts???
anyways, thanks anyways, I will report back after I flesh JL2 from samsungfirmwares.com
Ok, you need to flash jl2 with pda, repartition, pit file and the secondary boot loader... The SBL(secondary boot loader) is what will actually fix your phone
Hopefully it will work.
Sent from my GT-I9000m using XDA App
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> cache.rfs
<ID:0/005> Sbl.bin
<ID:0/005> zImage
<ID:0/005> factoryfs.rfs
<ID:0/005> modem.bin
<ID:0/005> param.lfs
<ID:0/005> Removed!!
<ID:0/005> Completed..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)
Still no luck on this firmware, I9000UGJL2, by the way, should be samfirmware.com instead of samsungfirmwares.com
above message I got from ODIN3 v1.30, it looks fine for refresh, but it doesn't work. the phone keep rebooting, it won't pass LOGO page, again, only download mode I can use.
HELP! HELP! HELP!
any leads???
is "<ID:0/005> Sbl.bin" secondary boot loader???
I got the file for PDA, I9000UGJL2, is this the one? if not, where should I get it? how do I update it?
I did it again, with "re-partition" checked, PIT choosed as s1_odin_20100512.pit, I9000UGJL2_homebinary_add_param.tar (which I just downloaded from samfirmware.com), it still doesn't work.
anything else I can try? maybe something simple I didn't do???
I too am a bell user I had the same problem a few weeks back. This is going to sound messed up, but i'm going to do my best to explain how I solved the problem.
DO NOT MULTI-TASK ON THE COMPUTER WHILE DOING THIS. CLOSE ALL OTHER APPLICATIONS.
-remove external sd and sim card
-go into download mode (hold vol down+power+home).
-turn on ODIN
-plug in usb (both computer and phone)
-check re-partition
-ONLY use the 512 pit file. DO NOT use a rom.
-start ODIN and it should only take a minute. this will wipe your device completely but still allow you to access download mode.
- remove usb close ODIN
- start up ODIN again and connect usb
- use 512 pit and JP1 or JP2 rom.
- After flashing, this SHOULD give you an error and send you straight into recovery mode. you're looking for a specific error code. you need the error to have "sl01" or "sl10" (whichever, i forgot which it was) at the end of the path. if the end of the path has "m(something)" then use a different rom till you get the "sl10".
these errors are internal sd errors which your phone is experiencing right now, but the phone is fixable from the "sl10" error.
continuing...
- once you get the "sl10" error, close ODIN, unplug USB, turn off phone.
- go back into download mode.
- boot up ODIN with 512 pit and ULG2 rom.
- plug in phone
- start flashing.
this can give you two outcomes:
1) fixed galaxy S
2) error code with "m(something)" at the end of the error path.
if it's #2 do this all over again until it works.
This took me 3 days to figure out these steps, 10 hours each day. although it doesnt seem to make sense, my phone is working right now and it is where I am writing all this from. My only explanation is that Bell gets ****ty product from samsung. it's almost impossible to flash custom roms on a bell galaxy i9000 because the internal SD seems to have trouble being mounted.
i hope this helps and i hope it doesnt take long for you to fix this problem.
btw, if it does get fixed data connection wont be available. to enable it go to your apn settings. create new named "Bell" with apn as "pda.bell.ca" and leave all other options blank. data should be restored after that.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA Premium App
jt_kyle said:
I too am a bell user I had the same problem a few weeks back. This is going to sound messed up, but i'm going to do my best to explain how I solved the problem.
DO NOT MULTI-TASK ON THE COMPUTER WHILE DOING THIS. CLOSE ALL OTHER APPLICATIONS.
-remove external sd and sim card
-go into download mode (hold vol down+power+home).
-turn on ODIN
-plug in usb (both computer and phone)
-check re-partition
-ONLY use the 512 pit file. DO NOT use a rom.
-start ODIN and it should only take a minute. this will wipe your device completely but still allow you to access download mode.
- remove usb close ODIN
- start up ODIN again and connect usb
- use 512 pit and JP1 or JP2 rom.
- After flashing, this SHOULD give you an error and send you straight into recovery mode. you're looking for a specific error code. you need the error to have "sl01" or "sl10" (whichever, i forgot which it was) at the end of the path. if the end of the path has "m(something)" then use a different rom till you get the "sl10".
these errors are internal sd errors which your phone is experiencing right now, but the phone is fixable from the "sl10" error.
continuing...
- once you get the "sl10" error, close ODIN, unplug USB, turn off phone.
- go back into download mode.
- boot up ODIN with 512 pit and ULG2 rom.
- plug in phone
- start flashing.
this can give you two outcomes:
1) fixed galaxy S
2) error code with "m(something)" at the end of the error path.
if it's #2 do this all over again until it works.
This took me 3 days to figure out these steps, 10 hours each day. although it doesnt seem to make sense, my phone is working right now and it is where I am writing all this from. My only explanation is that Bell gets ****ty product from samsung. it's almost impossible to flash custom roms on a bell galaxy i9000 because the internal SD seems to have trouble being mounted.
i hope this helps and i hope it doesnt take long for you to fix this problem.
btw, if it does get fixed data connection wont be available. to enable it go to your apn settings. create new named "Bell" with apn as "pda.bell.ca" and leave all other options blank. data should be restored after that.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great!!! Another option I can try. Thank you.
I will try it out right after my work. so the idea behind this, is bricking it into recovery mode and S10 error code. and then fresh right back with correct ULG2 (is this correct? frist time heard about this rom)
anyways, I will post back with result.
Where can i find this ULG2 rom?
did it work?
Thananjeyen said:
Where can i find this ULG2 rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think jt_kyle meant I9000UGJL2
and you can get them from samfirmware.com
Paallikko said:
did it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, lucky I got one of my Bell Samsung phone work. Since I done a million times of refreshing and rebooting and etc... I am not sure what I did, now I still trying to remember last 10 steps I did to make this work.
But definitely, I could not have done this repair without jt_kyle. Thank you so much, jt_kyle.
jt_kyle, Thank you!!!
but none of JP1 or JP2 is givining me the error "tl10", I tried
I9000DXJP1
I9000TGYZSJP2
I9000XXJP1
I9000XXJP2
it come out error started with "m..."
I just keep refreshing each on PDA 3 to 4 times, and choose with re-partition or without. At the end I try a few another ROMs as well, I still get no "tl10", but somehow, just that magicical moment, the screen come out a set of commands that look like format sd card, so I got excited, fresh it with JL2. It is back to work.
still no clue the steps of fixing the problem.
one done, the another one to go.
any more ideas please, and I think I am really close to solve this one now.
Thank you All
FIX
Look for a file called I9000UGJL2Complete follow the same steps pit and so on after your phone boots up youll have a blank baseband then you get the I9000UGJL2 modem and flash it where it says phone this has unbricked a few for me hope this helps
EVERED78 said:
Look for a file called I9000UGJL2Complete follow the same steps pit and so on after your phone boots up youll have a blank baseband then you get the I9000UGJL2 modem and flash it where it says phone this has unbricked a few for me hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have a way for me to give you this file i do have it just not sure how to do so because its 286MB
Could it be dead?
Since you have one of the infamous i9000m's it might also just be a dead SD card? You might try calling samsung and trying to get it repaired under warrenty as they are all under a year old (try and flash jl2 first even it will not boot up). It sounds like no receipt may not be an issue.
Lots of info from allgamer's list of i9000m issues in the general section.
At least you have one in the meantime!
same problem
Hey ive got pretty much the same problem that you had. Only differences are that I'm from Australia and am on Virgin network.
My phone became semi bricked one day when it restarted and since the 3 button combinations did not work i ordered in a USB jig which i received today. I used odin 1.8 to try and flash to I9000BVJJPD which i got from samfirmware.com but it ended up stuck on the logo screen vibrating once in a while. I decided to repeat it with no avail and began to use other roms and use .PIT.
This is where my phone became even worse and is now in it's current position; rebooting at the GT-I9000 page. I tried the method that jt_kyle suggested, substituting australian roms instead but it is still in the same position.
Does anyone have any other suggestions or should i just try getting a warranty?
Look for the ugjl2 complette and repeat what I said
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
EVERED78 said:
if you have a way for me to give you this file i do have it just not sure how to do so because its 286MB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I have this I9000M_JL2_JL2_JL2_JL2_UG_BMC file, is the same file that you are talking about? JL2 Complete?
I tried this file many times, it won't work neither.
for past one hour I played around this phone, trying to repeat the steps I did for the first phone. Unfortunately, nothing is working for me AGAIN!
but I got these error page all the time, like following...
update media, please wait
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
(I/O error)
E:copy_dbdata_media:Can't mount SDCARD:
I think that's bigest problem in my case, and for a lot of people in this forum. Do any people has a good solution for this???

Firmware upgrade encountered an issue Message.

Hello, guys.
I was trying to install a new rom to my Galaxy Note. and when wiping out the user data (to get the phone ready to install the new rom) he phone reboot and got stuck on the start up logo. Waited for a long time but it didn't do any thing. So a remove the baterry and turned it back on. But but it did the same.
I then decided to flash it using Odin but it got stuck almost at the end of the proccess. Now my battery is almost dead and the only thing on the screen is a flashing message. Firmware upgrade encounter an issue.
HELP!!! THIS IS MY NEW PHONE!!!!
estebandilone said:
Hello, guys.
I was trying to install a new rom to my Galaxy Note. and when wiping out the user data (to get the phone ready to install the new rom) he phone reboot and got stuck on the start up logo. Waited for a long time but it didn't do any thing. So a remove the baterry and turned it back on. But but it did the same.
I then decided to flash it using Odin but it got stuck almost at the end of the proccess. Now my battery is almost dead and the only thing on the screen is a flashing message. Firmware upgrade encounter an issue.
HELP!!! THIS IS MY NEW PHONE!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which rom you were on before trying to flash? And what did you try to install?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
I was on Android 4.0.3 the German realesed.
N7000XXLPY---------4.0.3---------2012 May
I downloaded it from the forum and it was working nicely. I just wanted to try a different rom. But I didn't get to do nothing just to clear the data which never ended and crash my phone..
Stuck after wiping user data, Odin hanging at the end..where exactly did it stop working?
I'd say that it's definitely superbricked.
you can do that:
- go on recovery (Try vol up + home + power)
- mount usb storage and put abyss kernel in a directory
- flash abysskernell4.00
- reboot recovery
- wipe data cache and dalvik
- power off
- power on
if it's stay on boot logo :
- power off
- vol down + home + power (download mode)
- flash your note with odin pc with this method
- dl mobil odin and flash ics open germany with this method
Noizy.
I will try that, but now i have to charged my battery to be able to do it.
When trying to flash the green bar on Odin gets almost to the end ot the proccess but then it just sits there and doesn't do anything...
estebandilone said:
I will try that, but now i have to charged my battery to be able to do it.
When trying to flash the green bar on Odin gets almost to the end ot the proccess but then it just sits there and doesn't do anything...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you paste the Odin log perhaps? That would help the people around here give you a solution, if any.
Right now I am downloading the files from the commment above... I will try that and post whatever it happened!!! My internet conection is just a Mega so it takes me a while to download all the files to try it... But I am almost done!!
This is what I have on Odin. It almost get to the end of the green bar.
<ID:0/012> Added!!
<ID:0/012> Odin v.3 engine (ID:12)..
<ID:0/012> File analysis..
<ID:0/012> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/012> Initialzation..
<ID:0/012> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/012> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/012> factoryfs.img
<ID:0/012> NAND Write Start!!
This is the message Showing..
Is your LPY Rom rooted? If yes, then how?
Did you flash CF-Root LPY kernel, or did you root it using Dr.Ketan's method?
This is a screen shot of the screen.
Yes it's rooted and I used Dr.Ketan's method..
I'm afraid you have a brick on your hands, mate. Take your Note to the
nearest service centre for MoBo replacement.
That I can't do. I bought from a third person... So I don't have any warranty... Let me ask you a question. The fact that I can get into recovery mode doesn't make a difference?
estebandilone said:
This is a screen shot of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Duno if this method will work for u but it works for me n my friend...
1stly i pressume u are able to boot into download mode...
2ndly, d/l a rooted GB Rom...
3rdly, restart pc/lappy
4thly, change another USB port (changed port works for me n my friend)
5thly, fire up PC Odin... put Note into download mode n connect...
Lastly select the rooted GB rom under "PDA"..
keep finger cross
Noted From My G.NOTE Using XDA Premium
I am trying again.
Not working... Don't know what to do
It's superbricked, for sure. All you can do is send it for repairs - motherboard replacement.
[Solve on [email protected]] Similar Case for reference
estebandilone said:
Not working... Don't know what to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey dude, I had a similar case when I was upgrading my S2 officially because my USB was loose, I got the update 60% and came to a halt, my phone wasn't even rooted by then.
Here's what I did and here's what you can try:
1. root my phone (for your case, re-root your phone or even unroot then re-root it again, there may be some files damaged when your phone lost power).
2. install original kernel and Stock ROM (there might be original files which are needed from the original to make things work when you switch ROMs)
3. reboot and see if things are fine.
If you get back to running normal, then you can install whatever Custom ROMs you like.
Hope this help! Get back to me with the latest situation.

Suddenly cant boot my phone, or get into recovery

Hello gentlement. I have an Galaxy S I9000, and i have used a custom rom for about 2-3 months, unfortunately i can't remember which one, and as i cant boot my phone, im not sure how i can find out. I flashed it using Odin and Clockwork mod, both of which worked great. The problem now started out with me not being able to start my phone while charging, didn't pay much attention to it and just waited until it was charged, or unplugged it, started it, then charged it while it was on.
Now im having a different problem. I cant start my phone, the startscreen just says "Samsung galaxy S" etc, and it tries to reboot again and again.
I can start the phone into "download mode", but recovery mode doesnt seem to work.
Since the rom has been working flawlessly in the past, im not sure its the roms "fault"; might just be my phone singing on it's last verse.
Does anybody know what can cause this, or have a fix i can do in download mode?
I think i have read all the necesarry stickies, if i've missed something i apologize.
Thanks for all responses, regards - superegge
When this happens on ICS I reflash a kernel through odin in download mode and then reflash the ROM.
If your ROM is non wipe you could try this, otherwise I'd just try flashing a kernel and see if it boots.
superegge said:
Does anybody know what can cause this, or have a fix i can do in download mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First power down, remove battery, remove sim card and EXT SD card, preess power button for a min, reinsert battery and power it....
If still the same, flash a pit file as per guide given in Quick Fixes link below
xsenman said:
First power down, remove battery, remove sim card and EXT SD card, preess power button for a min, reinsert battery and power it....
If still the same, flash a pit file as per guide given in Quick Fixes link below
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both for responses. I've tried following your guide many times now, installed odin etc. But everytime i try to flash my phone, this happens:
<ID:0/007> Added!!
<ID:0/007> Odin v.3 engine (ID:7)..
<ID:0/007> File analysis..
<ID:0/007> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/007> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/007> Removed!
Sometimes it gets to some zImage thing, but my device is still "removed" shortly after. Is it maybe a faulty cable?
Will check back in tomorrow, need to sleep now. Again, thanks for your help
superegge said:
Sometimes it gets to some zImage thing, but my device is still "removed" shortly after. Is it maybe a faulty cable?
Will check back in tomorrow, need to sleep now. Again, thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, it could be due to cable or mostly the PC, try on lap top or another PC, added concerning this to Quick fixes, take a rest first,
ive had the same problem with Odin. But that had to do with rooting, and the oneclick superuser program.
Hopefully it will work when you try on a new pc. Good luck superegge!

Mmc read fail... please help

I'm getting the occasional mmc read fail when I turn on my phone... it goes straight into download mode... i have to remove the battery and turn it back on then it would work... is there any fix for that?
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Did you find a solution?
I was having the same issue. I flashed N910TUVU1COD6_N910TTMB1COD6_TMB then immediately got an OTA update and I havent seen the problem for like a week.
willyx said:
Did you find a solution?
I was having the same issue. I flashed N910TUVU1COD6_N910TTMB1COD6_TMB then immediately got an OTA update and I havent seen the problem for like a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is back
I'm having the same issue. I'm going to reflash to stock KK then see if that works... we'll see...
HellsBells said:
I'm having the same issue. I'm going to reflash to stock KK then see if that works... we'll see...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem.
did reflashing stock KK fix it?
People if you find a solution or not to a problem, please come back to thread and post solution so others can get help from your success.
This is how forums work.
Pp.
PanchoPlanet said:
People if you find a solution or not to a problem, please come back to thread and post solution so others can get help from your success.
This is how forums work.
Pp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my gf's note 4 had the same problem with emmc error. I tried to flash the heck out of it in odin and failed numerous times. Passed once on odin but refused to boot into android. Flashed odin again and that was the last time... it refused to turn on at all. It did not charge when i plugged it in also. Dead. People have a lot of this problem apparently. Only solution is replacement. Luckly t-mobile was nice enough to replace her's as a one time courtesy even though my warranty was out months ago. Im just glad i pushed its death early and found out why she started having reboots after the lollipop 5.1.1 update. Good luck with yours.
Good info.
Pp.
I know I'm beating a dead horse/thread, but after playing with a phone that has this problem I'm thinking it's a power issue. Specifically, with the battery prongs. I had this problem and would sometimes have to wait 5-10 minutes for the phone to be responsive to rebooting after a battery pull. Sometimes it would boot to say mmc read fail, and other times it would boot without a problem. I found that pushing in the prongs a couple times with a coin our even sometimes with the battery corner would let it boot right away after I put the battery back in. Weird, and still a hardware issue that would require a new motherboard unless you're a solder-master, but it could be useful info for someone. Another symptom the phone has is that it wouldn't survive the reboot process very often, but a hot reboot worked every time. That was another thing that made me think it was a power issue.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA-Developers mobile app
Guys, I think I fixed my Note 4 by reflashing to stock DOK2. I did this before many times with a full reset, but this time I used a slightly different method and another cable.
Here were my symptoms-
1. mmc read fail most of the time - 80-90% on cold boots.
2. The Wakelock app had to be running at all times to hold a partial wakelock, or the phone would freeze when going into deep sleep.
3. Phone would not charge when powered-off.
4. Freeze on reboot. Only hot reboots worked.
5. Unable to power on without removing sd-card, sim, battery, and power drain (vol-up, vol-down, home button, power for 20-30 seconds)
I have not seen any of these symptoms since I reflashed the phone about 12 hrs ago. Shutdowns/restarts no longer causes the phone to freeze. Deep-sleep works.
These are the EXACT steps I took, and I really hope this helps someone out. Some steps/options may be unnecessary, but I'm not leaving anything out just in case. I spent way too much time troubleshooting this problem, and I gave up on the phone about a month ago. I was actually looking for mainboards to buy on ebay.
1. Start with a cold Note4. Remove everything from the phone and leave it alone for an hour. Mine was sitting on my desk for a month. I don't know if this helps or not.
2. Use a good cable. My original Note4 cable still worked, but I found out it was going bad by using the Ampere app on my Galaxy S5. My Galaxy S5 would only charge at 450ma using the Note4 cable, which is ridiculously slow. My Anker cable charged at 1800ma.
3. Download the DOK2 firmware and unzip it using the SamFirm program. (Model SM-N910T, Region TMB)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647
4. Use Odin v3.10.7 to flash.
i. DESELECT Auto-Reboot, and SELECT Re-Partition. F.Reset Time can be left checked.
ii. Get the T-Mobile 910T Pit file and select it in Odin.
iii. Click on AP and select the firmware unzipped from Step 3.
iv. Flash away!
5. When Odin completes (hopefully successfully), wait about a minute or so.
6. Restart the phone and immediately go into stock recovery.
i. Hold down all buttons until the phone resets (vol-up, vol-down, home, power)
ii. Let go of the vol-down button and the phone will go into recovery.
7. Wait a couple minutes for recovery to do what it needs to do. The phone will restart automatically.
8. Wait for the phone to boot into Android, but don't bother going through the setup wizard. Skip as much as you can.
9. Do a factory reset from inside Android. Settings/General/Backup and reset/ Factory data reset.
10. Wait for the phone to boot into recovery and wipe all data. I noticed when the phone was in recovery that it installed some kind of system update before wiping data.
After these steps, hopefully you'll have a working bone-stock Note4!
mtran1977 said:
Guys, I think I fixed my Note 4 by reflashing to stock DOK2. I did this before many times with a full reset, but this time I used a slightly different method and another cable.
Here were my symptoms-
1. mmc read fail most of the time - 80-90% on cold boots.
2. The Wakelock app had to be running at all times to hold a partial wakelock, or the phone would freeze when going into deep sleep.
3. Phone would not charge when powered-off.
4. Freeze on reboot. Only hot reboots worked.
5. Unable to power on without removing sd-card, sim, battery, and power drain (vol-up, vol-down, home button, power for 20-30 seconds)
I have not seen any of these symptoms since I reflashed the phone about 12 hrs ago. Shutdowns/restarts no longer causes the phone to freeze. Deep-sleep works.
These are the EXACT steps I took, and I really hope this helps someone out. Some steps/options may be unnecessary, but I'm not leaving anything out just in case. I spent way too much time troubleshooting this problem, and I gave up on the phone about a month ago. I was actually looking for mainboards to buy on ebay.
1. Start with a cold Note4. Remove everything from the phone and leave it alone for an hour. Mine was sitting on my desk for a month. I don't know if this helps or not.
2. Use a good cable. My original Note4 cable still worked, but I found out it was going bad by using the Ampere app on my Galaxy S5. My Galaxy S5 would only charge at 450ma using the Note4 cable, which is ridiculously slow. My Anker cable charged at 1800ma.
3. Download the DOK2 firmware and unzip it using the SamFirm program. (Model SM-N910T, Region TMB)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647
4. Use Odin v3.10.7 to flash.
i. DESELECT Auto-Reboot, and SELECT Re-Partition. F.Reset Time can be left checked.
ii. Get the T-Mobile 910T Pit file and select it in Odin.
iii. Click on AP and select the firmware unzipped from Step 3.
iv. Flash away!
5. When Odin completes (hopefully successfully), wait about a minute or so.
6. Restart the phone and immediately go into stock recovery.
i. Hold down all buttons until the phone resets (vol-up, vol-down, home, power)
ii. Let go of the vol-down button and the phone will go into recovery.
7. Wait a couple minutes for recovery to do what it needs to do. The phone will restart automatically.
8. Wait for the phone to boot into Android, but don't bother going through the setup wizard. Skip as much as you can.
9. Do a factory reset from inside Android. Settings/General/Backup and reset/ Factory data reset.
10. Wait for the phone to boot into recovery and wipe all data. I noticed when the phone was in recovery that it installed some kind of system update before wiping data.
After these steps, hopefully you'll have a working bone-stock Note4!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem and if i try thing u said i got this msg :
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Binary Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/014> Added!!
<ID:0/014> Odin engine v(ID:3.1100)..
<ID:0/014> File analysis..
<ID:0/014> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/014> Initialzation..
<ID:0/014> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/014> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/014> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/014> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/014> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/014> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/014> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/014> sbl1.mbn
<ID:0/014> rpm.mbn
<ID:0/014> tz.mbn
<ID:0/014> sdi.mbn
<ID:0/014> NON-HLOS.bin
<ID:0/014> boot.img
<ID:0/014> recovery.img
<ID:0/014> system.img.ext4
<ID:0/014> FAIL! (Write)
<ID:0/014>
<ID:0/014> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
<ID:0/014> Removed!!
Only thing i manage to do its to flash only pit ( works fine) flash recovery ( works fine) from recovery i can flash any !! But if i turn phone i have random resets, random turn off's, cant power on need to discharge!
Random freezes for like 10-15s, if i turn camera on camera is working fine but i cant use any batons like record take picture or even physical batons if i w8 15s then it can be used! Phone is trash now and cant fix it... any1 got some solution?
saky90 said:
any1 got some solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you'll find that the only solution is to replace your motheboard. The emmc is dead. No fix for that. I went through it too, as have many others. It seems Note 4's did not have the best quality control.
Hmm... I Just had that happen to my 910t3 after flashing marshmellow. The kies message popped up saying there was an error with the firmware update and told me to use the emergency restore thing... I pulled my battery and flashed it from another source and everything went fine scared the cap out of me.
thanks...it work for me
mtran1977 said:
Guys, I think I fixed my Note 4 by reflashing to stock DOK2. I did this before many times with a full reset, but this time I used a slightly different method and another cable.
Here were my symptoms-
1. mmc read fail most of the time - 80-90% on cold boots.
2. The Wakelock app had to be running at all times to hold a partial wakelock, or the phone would freeze when going into deep sleep.
3. Phone would not charge when powered-off.
4. Freeze on reboot. Only hot reboots worked.
5. Unable to power on without removing sd-card, sim, battery, and power drain (vol-up, vol-down, home button, power for 20-30 seconds)
I have not seen any of these symptoms since I reflashed the phone about 12 hrs ago. Shutdowns/restarts no longer causes the phone to freeze. Deep-sleep works.
These are the EXACT steps I took, and I really hope this helps someone out. Some steps/options may be unnecessary, but I'm not leaving anything out just in case. I spent way too much time troubleshooting this problem, and I gave up on the phone about a month ago. I was actually looking for mainboards to buy on ebay.
1. Start with a cold Note4. Remove everything from the phone and leave it alone for an hour. Mine was sitting on my desk for a month. I don't know if this helps or not.
2. Use a good cable. My original Note4 cable still worked, but I found out it was going bad by using the Ampere app on my Galaxy S5. My Galaxy S5 would only charge at 450ma using the Note4 cable, which is ridiculously slow. My Anker cable charged at 1800ma.
3. Download the DOK2 firmware and unzip it using the SamFirm program. (Model SM-N910T, Region TMB)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647
4. Use Odin v3.10.7 to flash.
i. DESELECT Auto-Reboot, and SELECT Re-Partition. F.Reset Time can be left checked.
ii. Get the T-Mobile 910T Pit file and select it in Odin.
iii. Click on AP and select the firmware unzipped from Step 3.
iv. Flash away!
5. When Odin completes (hopefully successfully), wait about a minute or so.
6. Restart the phone and immediately go into stock recovery.
i. Hold down all buttons until the phone resets (vol-up, vol-down, home, power)
ii. Let go of the vol-down button and the phone will go into recovery.
7. Wait a couple minutes for recovery to do what it needs to do. The phone will restart automatically.
8. Wait for the phone to boot into Android, but don't bother going through the setup wizard. Skip as much as you can.
9. Do a factory reset from inside Android. Settings/General/Backup and reset/ Factory data reset.
10. Wait for the phone to boot into recovery and wipe all data. I noticed when the phone was in recovery that it installed some kind of system update before wiping data.
After these steps, hopefully you'll have a working bone-stock Note4!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot....
it work for me...
mtran1977 said:
Guys, I think I fixed my Note 4 by reflashing to stock DOK2. I did this before many times with a full reset, but this time I used a slightly different method and another cable.
Here were my symptoms-
1. mmc read fail most of the time - 80-90% on cold boots.
2. The Wakelock app had to be running at all times to hold a partial wakelock, or the phone would freeze when going into deep sleep.
3. Phone would not charge when powered-off.
4. Freeze on reboot. Only hot reboots worked.
5. Unable to power on without removing sd-card, sim, battery, and power drain (vol-up, vol-down, home button, power for 20-30 seconds)
I have not seen any of these symptoms since I reflashed the phone about 12 hrs ago. Shutdowns/restarts no longer causes the phone to freeze. Deep-sleep works.
These are the EXACT steps I took, and I really hope this helps someone out. Some steps/options may be unnecessary, but I'm not leaving anything out just in case. I spent way too much time troubleshooting this problem, and I gave up on the phone about a month ago. I was actually looking for mainboards to buy on ebay.
1. Start with a cold Note4. Remove everything from the phone and leave it alone for an hour. Mine was sitting on my desk for a month. I don't know if this helps or not.
2. Use a good cable. My original Note4 cable still worked, but I found out it was going bad by using the Ampere app on my Galaxy S5. My Galaxy S5 would only charge at 450ma using the Note4 cable, which is ridiculously slow. My Anker cable charged at 1800ma.
3. Download the DOK2 firmware and unzip it using the SamFirm program. (Model SM-N910T, Region TMB)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647
4. Use Odin v3.10.7 to flash.
i. DESELECT Auto-Reboot, and SELECT Re-Partition. F.Reset Time can be left checked.
ii. Get the T-Mobile 910T Pit file and select it in Odin.
iii. Click on AP and select the firmware unzipped from Step 3.
iv. Flash away!
5. When Odin completes (hopefully successfully), wait about a minute or so.
6. Restart the phone and immediately go into stock recovery.
i. Hold down all buttons until the phone resets (vol-up, vol-down, home, power)
ii. Let go of the vol-down button and the phone will go into recovery.
7. Wait a couple minutes for recovery to do what it needs to do. The phone will restart automatically.
8. Wait for the phone to boot into Android, but don't bother going through the setup wizard. Skip as much as you can.
9. Do a factory reset from inside Android. Settings/General/Backup and reset/ Factory data reset.
10. Wait for the phone to boot into recovery and wipe all data. I noticed when the phone was in recovery that it installed some kind of system update before wiping data.
After these steps, hopefully you'll have a working bone-stock Note4!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SamFirm will only get epg2?
[/COLOR]
Pinan said:
I believe you'll find that the only solution is to replace your motheboard. The emmc is dead. No fix for that. I went through it too, as have many others. It seems Note 4's did not have the best quality control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me...that's what i thought and everybody else until...i saw mtran1977 solution and try it myself. It's really working guys... it's definitely sofware issue not hardware. Cheers
<ID:0/014> system.img.ext4
<ID:0/014> FAIL! (Write) 1/3 of the bar than FAIL
<ID:0/014>
<ID:0/014> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
<ID:0/014> Removed!!
Sometimes stuck on
<ID:0/004> boot.img
<ID:0/014> FAIL! (Write)
Assuming it still have something to do with Emmc Chip or Power IC chip.
I will try to take it apart and reheat those chips tomorrow could be pins under the chip got disconnected after drops
monkeyass408 said:
my gf's note 4 had the same problem with emmc error. I tried to flash the heck out of it in odin and failed numerous times. Passed once on odin but refused to boot into android. Flashed odin again and that was the last time... it refused to turn on at all. It did not charge when i plugged it in also. Dead. People have a lot of this problem apparently. Only solution is replacement. Luckly t-mobile was nice enough to replace her's as a one time courtesy even though my warranty was out months ago. Im just glad i pushed its death early and found out why she started having reboots after the lollipop 5.1.1 update. Good luck with yours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
update: the same thing is happening with my note 4 now. Although it didnt fail completely like hers, it has reboots and extreme stutters. Tired going lollipop and MM. Nothing has work. I even tried to repartition my emmc. Same shiet. POS samsung has really poor quality. Its definitely a hardware issue. I think the mainboard is failing. Damn two note 4s down to crap. My family bought a total of 4. I hope my other family members' notes last. I highly doubt it. I loved these phones too and babied it. We bought it day one. All the model sm-n910t.
mtran1977 said:
Guys, I think I fixed my Note 4 by reflashing to stock DOK2. I did this before many times with a full reset, but this time I used a slightly different method and another cable.
Here were my symptoms-
1. mmc read fail most of the time - 80-90% on cold boots.
2. The Wakelock app had to be running at all times to hold a partial wakelock, or the phone would freeze when going into deep sleep.
3. Phone would not charge when powered-off.
4. Freeze on reboot. Only hot reboots worked.
5. Unable to power on without removing sd-card, sim, battery, and power drain (vol-up, vol-down, home button, power for 20-30 seconds)
I have not seen any of these symptoms since I reflashed the phone about 12 hrs ago. Shutdowns/restarts no longer causes the phone to freeze. Deep-sleep works.
These are the EXACT steps I took, and I really hope this helps someone out. Some steps/options may be unnecessary, but I'm not leaving anything out just in case. I spent way too much time troubleshooting this problem, and I gave up on the phone about a month ago. I was actually looking for mainboards to buy on ebay.
1. Start with a cold Note4. Remove everything from the phone and leave it alone for an hour. Mine was sitting on my desk for a month. I don't know if this helps or not.
2. Use a good cable. My original Note4 cable still worked, but I found out it was going bad by using the Ampere app on my Galaxy S5. My Galaxy S5 would only charge at 450ma using the Note4 cable, which is ridiculously slow. My Anker cable charged at 1800ma.
3. Download the DOK2 firmware and unzip it using the SamFirm program. (Model SM-N910T, Region TMB)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647
4. Use Odin v3.10.7 to flash.
i. DESELECT Auto-Reboot, and SELECT Re-Partition. F.Reset Time can be left checked.
ii. Get the T-Mobile 910T Pit file and select it in Odin.
iii. Click on AP and select the firmware unzipped from Step 3.
iv. Flash away!
5. When Odin completes (hopefully successfully), wait about a minute or so.
6. Restart the phone and immediately go into stock recovery.
i. Hold down all buttons until the phone resets (vol-up, vol-down, home, power)
ii. Let go of the vol-down button and the phone will go into recovery.
7. Wait a couple minutes for recovery to do what it needs to do. The phone will restart automatically.
8. Wait for the phone to boot into Android, but don't bother going through the setup wizard. Skip as much as you can.
9. Do a factory reset from inside Android. Settings/General/Backup and reset/ Factory data reset.
10. Wait for the phone to boot into recovery and wipe all data. I noticed when the phone was in recovery that it installed some kind of system update before wiping data.
After these steps, hopefully you'll have a working bone-stock Note4!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried this. everything went though successfully but no change. Its a hardware issue.
monkeyass408 said:
update: the same thing is happening with my note 4 now. Although it didnt fail completely like hers, it has reboots and extreme stutters. Tired going lollipop and MM. Nothing has work. I even tried to repartition my emmc. Same shiet. POS samsung has really poor quality. Its definitely a hardware issue. I think the mainboard is failing. Damn two note 4s down to crap. My family bought a total of 4. I hope my other family members' notes last. I highly doubt it. I loved these phones too and babied it. We bought it day one. All the model sm-n910t.
i tried this. everything went though successfully but no change. Its a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your follow-up. Did either of the phones ever get dropped? I'm wondering about the battery prong suggestion by 'upncoming' earlier in the thread.
I'm scheduled for a replacement next week for similar issues. This'll be my third Note 4, hopefully it'll last.
duh-rel said:
Thanks for your follow-up. Did either of the phones ever get dropped? I'm wondering about the battery prong suggestion by 'upncoming' earlier in the thread.
I'm scheduled for a replacement next week for similar issues. This'll be my third Note 4, hopefully it'll last.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mines- never dropped. hers- dropped many times. Both still pristine condition. As soon as i am able to get another phone im going to sell my replacement because its pointless to pay insurance for an old phone. I love the note 4 but two phone failing on me is not acceptable. I just dont know what to get now. Very little choice in phones with removable battery now a days. Going to miss that IR blaster too. LG v20 or V10 i suppose. BTW my gf and i share three batteries over the course of a year and some months. All three batteries deteriorated at and shuts down at 15-20%. Heavy users like my other two family member , the battery would die at 30-40%. So i am strongly against sealed batteries. It pisses me off that a 700-800 dollar device cannot even last 2 years.

Is my phone bricked or is there a way out of this?

Backstory:
Friday morning I woke up to find my phone was off. I had fallen asleep watching netflix the night before.
Hit the power button, nothing. Checked power plug, different cable, etc. Nothing seemed to turn it on.
Eventually found after jumping online that volume down + power would soft reset the phone.
That worked, phone goes to samsung logo and sits there. I reboot it a few times and it finally comes up. Stays on for 1-2 minutes then restarts on its own.
Basic search online shows to wipe the cache partition, I do that. Phone boots up ok, lasts about 5 minutes then reboots on its own.
I get all my data backed up (in between reboots) and decide to factory data/wipe via the menu ( volume up, bixby, power if I remember now)
After that...phone starts up as if new and I'm going through the setup. While going through the setup, phone reboots on its own.
I make it again halfway through the setup, and it reboots again. I can't get through setup of the phone at this point.
I repeat a few times of wiping cache, factory data reset.
Now the phone hangs on the Samsung screen and just boot loops. I go ahead and poke around online some more and download Odin plus a painstaking 24 hour download of the stock firmware for the SM-N950U1 (XAA) (Unlocked) Note 8 firmware, then proceed to run through Odin hoping that I can go ahead and just reflash the phone and basically re-install the OS to factory specs.
Low and behold, FAIL on the flash from Odin, it hangs on system.img.ext4 after about 5 minutes of running, says FAILED (auth) in Odin, and on the phone screen it says "Secure Check Fail : system"
Also, now when I boot into Download mode, I hit Volume Up for Continue and it says that an error has accured and to replace or re-install via Smart Switch (which I tried doing but can't get it to work, it says my device is not supported once I connect it)
Lastly, just turnign on the phone normally trying to boot up, it just loads a blue screen that says "Please re-install the factory image" or something to that effect.
I know this is long, but is there anything I can do to get this to take the stock firmware again? I can still connect to Odin and it will try to run through a process, it just fails every time.
Is there some special combination of Odin, USB drivers and firmware that might work? I keep reading that these phones are tricky and I've tried every cable and USB port that I can on my computer, reading that it could be as simple as that.
Anyways, I'm at a loss...any help would be appreciated. I know this was a long read.
on edit: should have included phone info -
Galaxy Note 8 - Model SM-N950U1 ZKAX (XAA based on Downloader info display)
Bought Unlocked from Samsung in October of 2017, have installed all OTA updates as they've come in. No other modding or messing around on this phone. I have rooted many phones in my time but haven't in a couple years.
More info:
Odin 3.13.1
Downloaded file was SM-N950U1_1_20190306182853_ecpwgsj7rn_fac.zip, 3.6 gigs, was supposed to be for XAA Unlocked Note 8 as of July of 2019, I'm assuming latest update?
I am update to date on my OTA updates, I an unlocked phone but on the Verizon network. I'm reading that I have to flash my phone with whatever build my phone was on, ie..not too new or too old, correct? Maybe the build I downloaded was too new? To my knowledge, I have no way of finding out what build I was on at this point...
Error report from Odin:
<ID:0/006> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..
<ID:0/006> File analysis..
<ID:0/006> Total Binary size: 6043 M
<ID:0/006> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/006> Initialzation..
<ID:0/006> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/006> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/006> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/006> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/006> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/006> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/006> abl.elf
<ID:0/006> bksecapp.mbn
<ID:0/006> xbl.elf
<ID:0/006> tz.mbn
<ID:0/006> hyp.mbn
<ID:0/006> devcfg.mbn
<ID:0/006> pmic.elf
<ID:0/006> rpm.mbn
<ID:0/006> cmnlib.mbn
<ID:0/006> cmnlib64.mbn
<ID:0/006> keymaster.mbn
<ID:0/006> apdp.mbn
<ID:0/006> msadp.mbn
<ID:0/006> sec.dat
<ID:0/006> NON-HLOS.bin
<ID:0/006> storsec.mbn
<ID:0/006> boot.img
<ID:0/006> recovery.img
<ID:0/006> system.img.ext4
<ID:0/006> FAIL! (Auth)
<ID:0/006>
<ID:0/006> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UPDATE:
Out of nowhere I was able to use Odin 3.13b (patched) (used many times before with no success) and a May 2019 Andoird 9 XAA version of the firmware.
Odin PASSED and now I get the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 screen when it boots up...however it just boot loops this screen with two small vibrations in between reboots.
I have recovery mode again now, and Download mode is back to normal, but it still won't boot into Android.
Also randomly I'm getting pixels across the screen (a thin line) of red or white pixels that blink on and off, then go away once I'm fulling booted into either recovery or download mode. Just odd, never saw that before this all happened.
Where can I go from here? Now that I have somewhat of a restored phone, at least being able to get to all of the recovery/downloader menus like normal, what would you do from this point to actually boot into the OS?
Thanks!
playbacktri said:
UPDATE:
Out of nowhere I was able to use Odin 3.13b (patched) (used many times before with no success) and a May 2019 Andoird 9 XAA version of the firmware.
Odin PASSED and now I get the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 screen when it boots up...however it just boot loops this screen with two small vibrations in between reboots.
I have recovery mode again now, and Download mode is back to normal, but it still won't boot into Android.
Also randomly I'm getting pixels across the screen (a thin line) of red or white pixels that blink on and off, then go away once I'm fulling booted into either recovery or download mode. Just odd, never saw that before this all happened.
Where can I go from here? Now that I have somewhat of a restored phone, at least being able to get to all of the recovery/downloader menus like normal, what would you do from this point to actually boot into the OS?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once odin says success, boot into recovery and and reboot else format via recovery and reboot
its_me_Sandy said:
Once odin says success, boot into recovery and and reboot else format via recovery and reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Sandy! Since my last update, I do remember trying to boot into the phone and I think I either tried to wipe the partition cache again, then factory reset again...then after that all failed I tried to run Odin again and it failed and put the phone back to its previous condition.
Since then I've had no luck at getting Odin to pass on a flash again. I don't know why it worked that one time, but I haven't had any luck getting it to pass again.
I took it to a uBreakiFixit store via Samsungs recommendation and they told me they couldn't do anything with it, and to mail it to Samsung directly. They made a comment that this sounded like a motherboard issue in the phone and they couldn't help at all with that.
Anyways, that is where my story ends for now. I've already ordered a replacement phone, so this is now going into the scrap pile and maybe one day in the next year or two there will be an easy or cheap fix for it, although I doubt it.
playbacktri said:
I had fallen asleep watching netflix the night before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Netflixxx??? Sure, call it whatever you want. Once there isn't any screen burn-in to prove otherwise, it is fine. :angel:
playbacktri said:
Where can I go from here? Now that I have somewhat of a restored phone, at least being able to get to all of the recovery/downloader menus like normal, what would you do from this point to actually boot into the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the phone stay on for longer than the 5 minutes on the download/recovery mode screen? If it was up to me, I wouldn't have wiped the phone to factory or flashed another ROM in the first place. If the last thing you did was to fall asleep before a perfectly working phone then all that happened, I'd have recommended rebooting the phone in "safe-mode" by rebooting with the "recent / back" capacitive button pressed. This would disable all third-party apps causing the issue. I recommend that you try the process with the LATEST file for that phone including CSC with the latest patched version of ODIN, on a completely different Windows PC running a 32-bit copy of Windows 7 (not 10).
playbacktri said:
They made a comment that this sounded like a motherboard issue in the phone and they couldn't help at all with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know for the Note 5 models, some of them came with bad eMMC chips which required flashing a special ROM to not use those specific memory addresses (at the sacrifice of having reduced internal storage capacity). I recall reading about some S8 and Note8 models being bricked if the battery is allowed to be drained without doing the first firmware update to the (then) latest version of Nougat.
Anonymously_Unknown said:
Netflixxx??? Sure, call it whatever you want. Once there isn't any screen burn-in to prove otherwise, it is fine. :angel:
Does the phone stay on for longer than the 5 minutes on the download/recovery mode screen? If it was up to me, I wouldn't have wiped the phone to factory or flashed another ROM in the first place. If the last thing you did was to fall asleep before a perfectly working phone then all that happened, I'd have recommended rebooting the phone in "safe-mode" by rebooting with the "recent / back" capacitive button pressed. This would disable all third-party apps causing the issue. I recommend that you try the process with the LATEST file for that phone including CSC with the latest patched version of ODIN, on a completely different Windows PC running a 32-bit copy of Windows 7 (not 10).
I know for the Note 5 models, some of them came with bad eMMC chips which required flashing a special ROM to not use those specific memory addresses (at the sacrifice of having reduced internal storage capacity). I recall reading about some S8 and Note8 models being bricked if the battery is allowed to be drained without doing the first firmware update to the (then) latest version of Nougat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, all good info. I do know in the middle of it all going down in the beginning, that I had booted into safe mode a couple of times, back when it was working. It still was restarting on its own, in the middle of me using apps, etc.
I am using windows 7, but 64 bit version. I might be able to run a program as if it was 32 bit mode, if that helps or is really the same. I don't have access to a computer that is 32 bit still. Everything I have is 64 bit (windows 7, 8, 8 and 10)
I was using Odin 13.1.3b (Patched) and I tried the most recently released firmware all the way back to January of 2019 when I believe Pie came out. I even tried an 8.0 version which failed instantly, hah. The firmware's that I tried were all off of Sammobile and had the 4 files (BL, AP, CS, CSC files) so I guess I was trying what you suggested...latest version, patched odin, etc. Unless there is more to it...
Thanks for the suggestions and feel free to let me know if it sounds like I did anything the wrong way. Oh yes, the phone does stay on in Download mode as long as I would like it to.
The phone rebooting every 5 or so minutes may be caused by a bad battery. I've had my Note 3 randomly reboot every once in a while out of the blue. Sometimes it won't go beyond the boot up screen at all either. Swapped the battery with a third-party one (Anker) and still works fine today as my secondary phone. The interesting thing is that it absolutely showed no symptoms of a dying battery until it started rebooting at random. But it worked absolutely alright when plugged in though. Did you try to use the phone when its plugged in to a powerful enough charger? It could rule out a defective battery
athulkrishnan97 said:
The phone rebooting every 5 or so minutes may be caused by a bad battery. I've had my Note 3 randomly reboot every once in a while out of the blue. Sometimes it won't go beyond the boot up screen at all either. Swapped the battery with a third-party one (Anker) and still works fine today as my secondary phone. The interesting thing is that it absolutely showed no symptoms of a dying battery until it started rebooting at random. But it worked absolutely alright when plugged in though. Did you try to use the phone when its plugged in to a powerful enough charger? It could rule out a defective battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same thought about the battery, maybe it was dropping voltage fast in a blip of weakness and was triggering a reset/power cycle.
I don't remember if it stayed on 100% of the time when I had it plugged in after it started to have issues. I only had it running for about 12 hours before the factory reset/data wipe ended up tanking it.
As of right now, I have been plugging it in to run Odin on it and it stays on forever without issues, it actually stays on for quite a while without being plugged in too, in fact I haven't seen it reboot from the downloader menu at all on its own, and it has sat there for a good 30 minutes with the screen on in downloader mode a few times without being plugged in...hmm.
Anyways, I can't get it to take a flash/rom whatever at all, it fails every time except for that 1 time, and even then it just boot looped.
I'm assuming hardware failure at this point :\
playbacktri said:
I had the same thought about the battery, maybe it was dropping voltage fast in a blip of weakness and was triggering a reset/power cycle.
I don't remember if it stayed on 100% of the time when I had it plugged in after it started to have issues. I only had it running for about 12 hours before the factory reset/data wipe ended up tanking it.
As of right now, I have been plugging it in to run Odin on it and it stays on forever without issues, it actually stays on for quite a while without being plugged in too, in fact I haven't seen it reboot from the downloader menu at all on its own, and it has sat there for a good 30 minutes with the screen on in downloader mode a few times without being plugged in...hmm.
Anyways, I can't get it to take a flash/rom whatever at all, it fails every time except for that 1 time, and even then it just boot looped.
I'm assuming hardware failure at this point :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check kernel to know what cause the issue cause if you can stay on download mode without restart the device and it just restart when boot so it is not hardware problem
ZeroXO said:
You can check kernel to know what cause the issue cause if you can stay on download mode without restart the device and it just restart when boot so it is not hardware problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. How would I go about doing that?
Just an update...
I sent the phone to Samsung and they said it needs:
Std. Repair Fee : $64.95
LCD Repair Fee : $134.05
PBA Repair Fee : $409.00
Tax : $50.16
Total $658.16
I imagine this is pretty standard for them to just basically rebuild the phone when things are behaving normally, and just pass that cost onto the consumer instead of actually trying to fix anything, hah...
Oh well, phone done and I moved on to a non-samsung replacement. No reason the phone should have just tanked after not even 2 years. It has had its occassional drops (always in a case), never got wet or dunked in water, etc. I've had phones that are still operating today that have been through worse.
Time to move on!
playbacktri said:
Just an update...
I sent the phone to Samsung and they said it needs:
Std. Repair Fee : $64.95
LCD Repair Fee : $134.05
PBA Repair Fee : $409.00
Tax : $50.16
Total $658.16
I imagine this is pretty standard for them to just basically rebuild the phone when things are behaving normally, and just pass that cost onto the consumer instead of actually trying to fix anything, hah...
Oh well, phone done and I moved on to a non-samsung replacement. No reason the phone should have just tanked after not even 2 years. It has had its occassional drops (always in a case), never got wet or dunked in water, etc. I've had phones that are still operating today that have been through worse.
Time to move on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you still have the phone, try using Samfirm (samsung firmware downloader from xda) to download firmware with that. It's a lot faster than 100 kb/s you're used to.
If your region firmware doesn't work, you can try and flash another region.
P.S. If you download firmware via Samfirm, you can't find older veraion than the latest.
And if you use Samfirm, remember to install it's system requirements listed on it's page.
Also, when you boot it up, you will see:
Device model:
Region:
Auto/manual buttons
Keep it on auto mode
Then under model type: SM-N950U1
And under region type: XAA
Click check for updates, and then download (make sure automatic decrypt is checked, and make sure you know where you saved the file)
After you download it open odin 3.13.1 (it can be plain old 3.13.1, it doesn't have to be patched one)
Load up the files
Enter download mode on your note8
Now flash
If for some reason that doesn't work, then you have no choice but to check the checkbox in odin named "Nand erase all" load up the files and press start. DISCLAIMER: MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE DOESN'T DISCONNECT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROCESS, VERY IMPORTANT.
Use nand erase all ONLY if the regular method doesn't work
P.S.S. If for some reason the flash fails, and you want to retry, you will need to reboot to download mode again (regardless you are already in download mode)
To do this, just hold bixby+volume up+power, the phone will power off, and power back on in download. When you see the warning screen again, let go of all the buttons, and press volume up to continue.
P.S.S.S. When you are loading up files in odin, make sure you choose CSC, and NOT CSC_HOME
After all that, the phone should factory reset itself and problem should be fixed.
If it still loops, factory reset in recovery.
That's all you need to know about your situation.
If the above doesn't work, then it must be a bad UFS chip.
It's better to try before offering your phone to scrap metal.
playbacktri said:
Oh well, phone done and I moved on to a non-samsung replacement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is unacceptable.
I agree with trying Xenos7's detailed steps to resolve the issue. You have nothing to lose at this point (other than the NAND erase failing).
Xenos7 said:
If you still have the phone, try using Samfirm (samsung firmware downloader from xda) to download firmware with that. It's a lot faster than 100 kb/s you're used to.
If your region firmware doesn't work, you can try and flash another region.
P.S. If you download firmware via Samfirm, you can't find older veraion than the latest.
And if you use Samfirm, remember to install it's system requirements listed on it's page.
Also, when you boot it up, you will see:
Device model:
Region:
Auto/manual buttons
Keep it on auto mode
Then under model type: SM-N950U1
And under region type: XAA
Click check for updates, and then download (make sure automatic decrypt is checked, and make sure you know where you saved the file)
After you download it open odin 3.13.1 (it can be plain old 3.13.1, it doesn't have to be patched one)
Load up the files
Enter download mode on your note8
Now flash
If for some reason that doesn't work, then you have no choice but to check the checkbox in odin named "Nand erase all" load up the files and press start. DISCLAIMER: MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE DOESN'T DISCONNECT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROCESS, VERY IMPORTANT.
Use nand erase all ONLY if the regular method doesn't work
P.S.S. If for some reason the flash fails, and you want to retry, you will need to reboot to download mode again (regardless you are already in download mode)
To do this, just hold bixby+volume up+power, the phone will power off, and power back on in download. When you see the warning screen again, let go of all the buttons, and press volume up to continue.
P.S.S.S. When you are loading up files in odin, make sure you choose CSC, and NOT CSC_HOME
After all that, the phone should factory reset itself and problem should be fixed.
If it still loops, factory reset in recovery.
That's all you need to know about your situation.
If the above doesn't work, then it must be a bad UFS chip.
It's better to try before offering your phone to scrap metal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I feel like I've done all this, except for the nand erase all method, so I'll try that when the phone gets here. Samsung is shipping it back.
I don't remember what I've said I've done to this point in this thread, but I've downloaded every firmware version from sammobile for the sn-950u1 xaa from the most recent and back to January. Also downloaded them all for the Verizon version since I'm on their Network but on an unlocked phone.
None of them work, it had failed every time, except for one worked one time as a success flash in Odin but still didn't boot up the phone.
I'll try the nand erase option once the phone comes back. Would be nice to have it as a working device again for sure...
playbacktri said:
So I feel like I've done all this, except for the nand erase all method, so I'll try that when the phone gets here. Samsung is shipping it back.
I don't remember what I've said I've done to this point in this thread, but I've downloaded every firmware version from sammobile for the sn-950u1 xaa from the most recent and back to January. Also downloaded them all for the Verizon version since I'm on their Network but on an unlocked phone.
None of them work, it had failed every time, except for one worked one time as a success flash in Odin but still didn't boot up the phone.
I'll try the nand erase option once the phone comes back. Would be nice to have it as a working device again for sure...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you download firmware using samfirm firmware download tool (windows program) located on xda. I also wrote you how to find your region, so use that.
Don't worry about speed, I use samfirm to download firmwares at 4.5 mb/s
It finishes in less than an hour
Xenos7 said:
Make sure you download firmware using samfirm firmware download tool (windows program) located on xda. I also wrote you how to find your region, so use that.
Don't worry about speed, I use samfirm to download firmwares at 4.5 mb/s
It finishes in less than an hour
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone came in today, I'm working through your instructions now. Currently downloading the firmware through SamFirm as we speak. I'll give an update once I"m done!
UPDATE:
Ok, I so I used SamFirm to download the firmware, etc.
I put in as an SM-N950U1 and XAA. It downloaded its file, did the cr3 check and then decrypted the file. I then extracted the contents to access the 4 files.
Turned on Odin 3.13.1, loaded up the files accordingly and proceeded to flash. Result = FAIL after trying to write system.img.ext4 for a few minutes.
I went ahead and tried it again with checking the Nand Erase option. Same result, FAIL after writing system.img.ext4 for a few minutes.
Any other suggestions? Thanks!

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