Help me! Hard brick & unable to transfer files to phone. - AT&T Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

much to my dismay, i have managed to be ignorant, impatient, and careless enough tonight to do the following to my precious note3:
1) wiped the stock rom slot on my phone via safestrap
2) thus, also deleted every single file on my internal storage (documents, pictures, personal memories, basically all files, titanium backup files, everything)
3) to hammer my point home: i lost everything that made my phone feel like my own and there's a sinking feeling in my stomach as i write this.
what was I trying to accomplish?
1) switch from KK Knoxraid to JB Firenote x7
what instructions did i follow? the instructions I found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2707555
what went wrong?
1) smooth sailing right up until the point where i was in Recovery (SafeStrap 3.71) and I tried to flash JB FireNote X7. (smart, right? not...)
2) i noticed a strange error message that told me something about error datamedia/media - something about it not existing. i suspected there was some hiccup so i brilliantly wiped everything again and tried to re-flash, only to realize WHY there were instructions telling me to put the flashable ZIP on my external SD card
3) i no longer have any backups to restore via safestrap, nor any roms on my internal or external sd card
4) most disappointingly: i also do not seem to have any way to transfer any files from my computer to my phone. but then, I do not know what all the options are for doing so.
Now, after some research I understand that this is not as simple as the instructional thread made it out to be. at least not in my situation. I should have reverted back to JB, after using KK. But now i'm here and I do not know what to do. Hopefully what follows will help some other poor soul (read: idiot) that finds themselves in the same situation.
What am I trying to accomplish now:
1) Ideally, restore every file that i just wiped from my internal storage. i know this is a long shot, but i thought I'd throw it out there.
2) Most importantly: get my phone working again! preferrably with FireNote x7 ROM in my stock slot
Where am I at the moment?
1) in front of my computer at 12:45 in the morning in a cold sweat (not actually sweating, but you get the picture)
2) looking at the ADB sideload screen in Safestrap recovery 3.71. to make things worse, it appears that it does not work and it will not let me return to the main menu. Why did I do this? i panicked. have you ever panicked? i did, and i feel stupid
Help!

Apparently, it was only soft bricked. I decided to forgo any hope of restoring my wiped internal storage files and followed the instructions in the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2559715
I seem to be on the road to recovery. So far I have successfully restored my phone back to stock.
Important note: I was using a Windows 8.1 computer to perform the restore and I had trouble using zadig.exe from Heimdall - it said the driver installation failed. Windows 8.1 protects itself by forbidding unsigned driver installations. I found the way around this by using the guide on this website here: http://revryl.com/2013/08/06/install-unsigned-drivers/
Cheers, with a heavy heart
the Capt.

You did exactly what I was going to suggest, so no need to repeat it. Now just install Safestrap, leave the stock slot alone and have fun.
(You may want to go to airplane mode immediately and freeze the updater so you don't get bothered by 4.4.2 [or let it update to NB4, then freeze it].)
BTW, if you ever do hard brick it (or if anyone comes here because he hard bricked his phone) a Samsung Dongle (which you can make if you have a microUSB plug and about half an inch of 1 wire from a stranded about #18 - and can solder - just short pins 4 and 5, or you can buy for about $2 on eBay) will bring a hard-bricked N3 to the download screen. From there you can Odin it back to life.

Related

This can't be happening... [SOLVED]

So today i finally get the gusto mod my phone Android Dev 1. After downloading all the files and following the instructions here i can't get past the black g1 screen (#8). note i can also get the the rgb screen. thats it, but with so many different posts with similar issues, my brain is pounding. At this point if i can get beack to factory, ill live. what i'll hate is the fact that bricked my phone. i'll most likely get screamed on for not searching, but i think i may be searched out. any help would be appreciated.
thanks.
docfu.
first of all dont freak out lol. Download the dreaming.nbh or w/e file from the rooting instructions and place it at the root of the sdcard. Then get into the rgb screen (Camera + Power) and flash it. That should get you back to factory settings. If not, download the update.zip for w/e region you are in place it on your sd card. Enter recovery (Home + Power) and flash the update.
ok...so i tried the DREAMING file and it kept turning up no image found, alternatively i'm not sure what you mean by w/e region update. i ihavent come across that in my searches.
ok dreaming file did infact work. i feel better knowing that the phone isnt bricked. however after running the update when it prompts for action, i hit the trackball and i'm right back at the rgb screen..AGGGHHHH! sorry. i've been at this since 3pm this afternoon.
Chill. Don't freak. You can't just jump in and do something as soon as your read it. Read the whole thing and if you don't have the patients for this work on that before you work on this. bbreath.
I must say start by saying thanks guys. i stepped back, and actually took my [email protected]@ to bed. Rest does wonders. That said. I've accomplished the factory reset. so i back to a stock g1, and boy does it suck. As stated my phone WAS a dev 1. i've already started the upgrade process, my question at this point is where do you recommend i go from here. back to dev 1 or try one of the other roms. i've already installed the spl, and right now im stuck at the telnetd part of the root process. and this too may have me screaming by the end of the day...
any thoughts would be appreciated.
After the recovery image is installed you need to update the radio if you want to install a cupcake 1.5 ROM. You can get it here, rename 'update.zip', place on the SD card and boot in to recovery and flash. Then flash a ROM of your choice. You should be able to do that on RC 30, but I'm not sure if you need to install a rooted image first, so I'd wait for someone else's input before trying that.
I played it extra safe and used the rc29. as far as i know the proper radio is installed. i'll wait around before i do something stupid. thanks for the input tho. i'm trying to learn everything.
ok...so i went back to the original method for obtaining root. i was so frustrated last nite that i ended up trying to combine 2 slightly diff methods. at this point i call them the telnetd method and root.apk method. correct me if im wrong but niether one mentions the other. so i make it to the bootloader running the root.apk it runs thru the list and the fails at radio_v2. now im on the white screen wuth the skateboarders, the radio #says 1.22.12.29. so i run it again i
now im on the rgb screen at proceeds to attept the update again. this time the dreaimg.nbh fails. i'm not freaking out. im good. because i know im almost there. feedback appreciated. thanks in advance.
y'know i never thought about this..but if i reverted a dev phone to factory settings...did i relock everything? and for the record, i only have a mac. if that matters at all.
Future reference ^-^
In case you encounter this problem in the future, cause it can happen with flashing new roms if you skip a step:
You're only bricked if you are stuck at the G1 boot screen but can't get into recovery or fastboot, adb or anything. In cases where you can still get to other phone options to start over, rest assured your phone does still work, just need to step back and figure it out, which you did in this case with a little help ^-^ First few times doing anything to my phone, I went into panic mode a couple of times thinking I bricked until I read around and found out otherwise.
Just in case you didn't know these things, if you did, well, hope it was a nice read? ^-^
doctorfugazi said:
ok...so i went back to the original method for obtaining root. i was so frustrated last nite that i ended up trying to combine 2 slightly diff methods. at this point i call them the telnetd method and root.apk method. correct me if im wrong but niether one mentions the other. so i make it to the bootloader running the root.apk it runs thru the list and the fails at radio_v2. now im on the white screen wuth the skateboarders, the radio #says 1.22.12.29. so i run it again i
now im on the rgb screen at proceeds to attept the update again. this time the dreaimg.nbh fails. i'm not freaking out. im good. because i know im almost there. feedback appreciated. thanks in advance.
y'know i never thought about this..but if i reverted a dev phone to factory settings...did i relock everything? and for the record, i only have a mac. if that matters at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... if you actually purchased a dev phone it should not be sim locked.
Technically... after the rooting process, we all have dev phones with the exception of the sim lock.
So... what SPL are you using?
What ROM are you trying to install? Some roms you should consider partitioning your sdcard.
What radio do you have?
First thing is first.
Get the 1.4 recovery if you haven't done so already. 1.4 Recovery
Because this allows you to select any .zip file without having to rename it to update.zip. This saves on confusion so you don't try flashing a spl (like danger spl )before a radio (could brick your phone).
Second
You need the 1.5 radio to use cupcake. 2.22.19.26I
Third
Consider an spl. You have 4 choices. HARDSPL (Recommended), Eng SPL (what the dev phone defaults with.. skateboarding androids), the standard spl (nondev) and Danger SPL (risk bricking but worth it because you have more memory for your ROMs and can try HERO builds).
Fouth
Find your rom. NOTE: Read each post carefully! If it says you need a specific spl then get it! Otherwise it won't work. Some require the Danger SPL. If you chose a JF rom then you should be alright and don't even need to partition your card and it will work just like the OTA release. Some (such as Cyanogens 3.9.7) are experiemental and are not recommended for noobs.
Fifth (and probably the most important)
ALWAYS BACKUP WITH NANDROID!!!
In the event that you think that you've bricked your phone. I would say that there is a 90% chance that you didn't. As long as you have a nandroid backup and can get to the bootloader then you still have a phone. Just make sure the fastboot.exe file is in your sytem32 directory of your computer. Open CMD and cd to your fastboot backups saved on your computer. Simply
fastboot flash boot boot.img <enter>,
fastboot flash system system.img <enter>,
fastboot flash userdata data.img <enter>
fastboot reboot <enter>
and you should be back to where you were immediately after the point you backed up. Think of it as a system restore for Windows. It couldn't hurt to have a few backups stored.
If you have any questions or problems include information for us to read in a single post and edit as necessary.
Example:
AT&T
Cyanogen 3.9.7 Rom
Recovery 1.4
HARD SPL
Radio 2.22.19.26l
8GB class 4 sd card (7gb fat32/900mb ext3/100mb swap)
Theme version if any.
That way we know what we are working with.
Happy flashing.
rest assured i was in panic mode yesterday. but honestly the only thing i could really do was just step back for a while, meaning get some rest tackle it with a clean head. its frustrating for sure. this one guy tho who posted in the brick think tank thread...just cuz he couldnt figure things out in an hour he got pissed and started screaming waste of time this that and the other. total BI$CH! I was like whoa. I was at that point too. but Im not tryna be that guy.
Now, if could just figure out if i have to start from scratch, i just might be able to get my phone working again in time fro me to go to work tmrw morning.
So... what SPL are you using?
the hard SPL found here
What ROM are you trying to install?
Well i was trying to follow suggestion on something simple, like one of the early jesusfreke's. if i can step it up sure why not. but i'll pass on the partitioned sdcard setup for now.
actually I'll run with JesusFreke JFv1.51 US CRB43
What radio do you have?
radio number listed in my previous post.
Hey thanks by the way for taking the time out of your day to respond to this. i know u guys get your fair share of spazmiesters, so i appreciate it totally.
after doing research it seems that all the current roms require partitioning. or is that optional just for running apps to sd?
partitioning is optional of apps2sd for preformance. some like myself have three partitions, the third being for a linux swap
Ok ive final decided on the dudes cupcake 101. the ? i have now is do i start from scratch. im kind of in limbo as i'm stuck on the bootloader. if remember correctly i got half way thru the root process and it went down hill from there.
TMobile
RC29 / previously Dev 1
Recovery 1.4
HARD SPL
Radio currently 1.22.12.29 / trying to get to 2.22.19.26l
4gb card
(hope i did that right)
doctorfugazi said:
Ok ive final decided on the dudes cupcake 101. the ? i have now is do i start from scratch. im kind of in limbo as i'm stuck on the bootloader. if remember correctly i got half way thru the root process and it went down hill from there.
TMobile
RC29 / previously Dev 1
Recovery 1.4
HARD SPL
Radio currently 1.22.12.29 / trying to get to 2.22.19.26l
4gb card
(hope i did that right)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay... you have the recommended recovery and spl.
So all you need to do is get your rom and radio and store the zip files to the root of your sdcard. You don't need to rename them.
Just boot in recovery (power+home) and scroll down to:
[Alt+A] apply any zip from sd
And then you should see the zip files.
Upgrade your radio first.
Then your rom.
Another note... make sure you have a data plan once you've installed your rom. Depending on your rom version, you may not be able to sign in without one. If you can't sign in, you can't use your phone which is why most would recommend a custom rom or an adp rom.
Now... if I'm not mistaken... you do NOT have to partition your sdcard to install a rom (unless it's a HERO rom).
You may want to consider doing so however.
The advantages are that you can have virtually unlimited storage for apps and it's much easier to restore them after a wipe because they are still on your sdcard. Some apps will recognize the partitioned sdcard and automatically do all the apps2sd work for you by default. It is also recommended that you use at least a 2gb class4 card at MINIMUM. Any slower then a class 4 may result in system crashes and errors. Any less then a 2gb card is almost not worth all the effort since you'll likely be using at least a quarter of it for the apps2sd. I would suggest buying at least a 8gb class 6 card for less then $50 online. It's both fast and plenty of storage. With apps to sd, if you do need to wipe you still have all of your apps installed. A great advantage of having apps2sd.
Also... try different roms! There are DOZENS out there! Some have the htc music installed, some have myfaves, some have special cameras, etc. Don't be afraid to experiment. As long as you have a backup and can get to the bootloader (skateboarding androids) and a pc, you can't go wrong! If fact... with the 1.4 recovery you can store several different roms on your sdcard, backup your current rom, wipe, flash a new rom to try it, wipe, flash a different rom to try that one, etc. If you decide that you didn't like any of those... just restore back to your previous backup. Simple as that. No pc needed. However having a pc is handy to get logcat information if it's not booting for some reason.
Speaking of roms not booting... while your experimenting with various roms... you MUST have patience. Sometimes (based on my personal experience with about 10+ different roms) they can take up to 15 minutes to boot up. You can literally be staring at the ANDROID or HTC logo this entire time. Unless you are using ddms.bat or adb shell logcat, you will be clueless of whats going on. DO NOT do anything unless you get the infamous "boot loop". This will be obvious. It will stick at the ANDROID or HTC screen for a while and then blink and go back to the logo. If you see it blink and go back to the logo then try pressing power + talk + menu to restart it and then immediately press the home button to bo back to recovery. Wipe... try again. This time it should work. If it doesn't then restore your backup while you research on that partitcular rom. You may have skipped a step or not have the proper requirements (partitioned card, spl, etc).
With all of that said... good luck and you'll be posting help to other users like yourself before you know it.
Hey Doc, if I'm not mistaken (other guys correct me if I'm wrong), if all, and I mean ALL you have is a boot loader (AKA SPL. ie// skating androids or colored bars) you need to reflash dreaimg.nbh to get a system back.
This ALSO flashes your SPL and RADIO back to default so reflash your radio and SPL afterward. (IN THAT ORDER I HOPE)
Binary100100 is a gentleman and a scholar
nicely written response binary.
I can't stress enough how helpful it is to have the sdk working on a computer when flashing new roms. Get ADB working, it'll save you a ton of headaches.
innerspace said:
nicely written response binary.
I can't stress enough how helpful it is to have the sdk working on a computer when flashing new roms. Get ADB working, it'll save you a ton of headaches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I do what I can.

[SOLVED] Help to choose rooting method and backup method

Got my phone (AT&T Captivate, firmware 2.1-update1 version JH7, kernel 2.6.29, build eclair.UCJH7) on december 28 from a AT&T store (it even came with a pic taken december 20 ) and I've already been able to boot into download mode (power off, hold volume keys then plug usb) and into that menu used to install packages (power off, hold volume keys then power on). Guess my hardware and firmware are ok, so I may be able to recover my phone by myself in case things go south.
I've been doing my homework lately (been reading stickys, tutorials and faqs for 10 days) but I'm still confused about some procedures. I'm not going to list everything I've read here, but I would like someone to correct me if I've learnt wrong. I don't really need the easiest methods, I want to understand the options available and to choose the best ones (aka the hardest path).
First of all, it seems I need to root my phone in order to be able to create backups, carrier-unlock it and flash custom roms. But it doesn't make much sense to me, since rooting it seem to be enough to prevent it from receiving FOTA updates - and I want to make the most comprehensive backup possible, in such a way I could restore my phone to 'factory condition' if needed.
Second, I realize there are many ways, programs and guides to root the phone - the most famous ones, One-Click root/unroot and z4root, seem to be listed in the wiki (http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-I897), but there is also CLShortFuse's One-Click Root and Allow Non-Market Apps, which sounds interesting but I don't know if it is undo-able. So there are different ways to root the phone, but there is little to none information on what's the difference between these methods, which is 'better' and what difference does it make if I root it permanently or by some reversible method. Does it affect performance? How each of them work? I have no clue.
The mess gets even greater when it comes to creating backups. People mention different programs to make these backups (clockwork recovery, titanium backup) but I don't understand if they back up different parts of the phone. Some even seem to change the bootloader of the phone - shouldn't it be backed up prior to any modification? Do I flash these backups using Odin? Which programs should I use to have a full backup? Is there anything left I should back up manually?
I'll quit talking for now because I've already written a lot and I still have many questions; if I write all of them at once, no one will ever have the patience to read them.
Erk, a long post deserves a long answer
So first off, il tell you about recovering your phone. Since you just got it, you can go back to the store and play dumb to get a new one in case anything goes wrong. You can also use the 3 button combos to get into download mode and use odins back to stock to get back to your original 2.1 eclair firmware . To do that you would need to get into download mode. Now there are a couple ways to do this, and i can only explain two since ive actually used two. (Well 3 actually, but il get to the third after these 2)
The first method is using the 3 button combo which you should already know. The second method is using adb commands such as (adb shell, adb reboot download, adb reboot recovery, adb devices). The third way is building a jig. Thats basically connecting 301k 1/4 watt worth of resistors together and placing them on pin 4 and 5 on your micro usb slot. You can read more about that on the tutorial on how to build a jig for your phone.
To restore to your factory setting, odin's one click back to stock thing should do the job. It simple installs the stock 2.1 eclair all over again (without the root).
To root your phone, any method from the wiki should work. None of them are really "better" :S, they all do the same job and give you super user permissions. None of them root your permanently since you can always go back to stock using Odin's... It does not really affect performance, not to any extent i have noticed :S, and unfortunately, i dont really know how it works.
As for creating backups, Titanium Backup is the best solution. Whether you have the few extra bucks to spend for the premium one or simply want to use the free one, its one of the best tools out there. I personally use it and its one of the best. It backs up all the data (except for my text messages). It creates a folder on your internal memory which you can just copy to your desktop. When the time comes that you need to restore your backup, just copy the folder back into your internal memory, load up titanium backup. Restore it and voila .
I think ive answered everything, if ive missed anything, let me know
Edit : Forgot to mention this . If your truly interested in customization. Custom roms are the best there is a howto in the themes and apps section on how to install it. It comes pre-rooted (if that is the word to use :S) and theyre much better than the stock firmware. Im currently using serendipity v3.0 (flashed it yesterday)
supaphreek, guess I'll have to thank you twice: once for reading my enormous post, and again for you supacompleteanswer.
I'm being paranoid with recovery because I actually bought the phone in the US then came back to my country (Brazil), so I'm a few thousand miles away from the simple lets-return-this-thing solution.
From everything I've read, I believe the most instructive were the wiki at http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S/SGH-I897 , the FAQ at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858765 , the PDF guide from user nbs11 at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=761819 and the wiki at http://www.capfaq.com/w/FAQ. These contain most of the info a newbie user would ever need and I'd definitely recommend them to any newbie user who happen to be reading this. And for everyone afraid of bricking, it's a tremendous relief to know pretty much any mess you do can be reverted using download mode and Odin, so the first thing to test is if you can get into download mode using one of the ways described by our buddy supaphreek.
On the rooting matter, I found no discussion at all about which is better, so they should be pretty similar (though I have no idea which is the oldest version, I'd assume the recent ones might be a little improved). There is some discussion on what's the better lagfix and many of the cooked ROMs already come with some lagfix installed, but this is another story...
Once I get my phone rooted, it seems to be trivial to carrier-unlock it. There's even an app on android market for this, so I won't even need sideloading. Since all this procedure does is just give me a number, there's hardly any difference among all the unlocking procedures out there.
For the backup, I'll still do it using both titanium and clockwork, as suggested by nbs11 on the pdf I've linked on this post. Better safe than sorry, right?
And yes, I'm truly interested in customization and I'll go deep down that path, I'm just packing up my head with some knowledge to avoid being desperate if things eventually go fubar.
As a last question, is there somewhere I can get 1-click Odin with my exact firmware version? (2.1-update1, I897UCJH7, Kernel 2.6.29 [email protected] #2, build eclair.ucjh7) And how important is it to get the exact same firmware?
As I've done my research, I found 1-click odin with JF6 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989
I've also found the 'standalone' I897UCJH7 on this topic (where this guy even flashed succesfully his phone using old JH2 firmware without problems, so finding the exact firmware version might not be the greatest issue): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36 but this process is a bit more complicated and uses regular Odin and clockwork recovery. Nonetheless, from what I've understood, I can still use any old version of odin to flash JF6 then use my own clockwork backup, right?
Hmm, unfortunately, im not sure if there is a specific Odin for that firmware :S. However what you can do is use one that reverts you to any stock version, and then flash the version you want through clockwork mod
I'll do that. Thanks again!
Also if you one click to stock, you can OTA update to the most recent firnware. I suggest titanium premium if you are going to flash a lot of custom roms, it is a lot faster to restore and also syncs with dropbox
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Be careful trying to flash with odin. Some newer builds get instabrick flashing back to jf6 and must go with jh2 or newer.
So, you may want to invest a few bucks in a jig setup before blindly using odin.
Thanks for the tip, sixstringsg.
Newter55, as my phone is brand new I believe I may have one of these insta-brickable devices. If I happen to try flashing it with a recent rom, does it get recoverably bricked (fixed by flashing an older rom), or I'm left with a $500 paperweight?
You just need to use the correct firmware version of odin if you manage to get in trouble. Many people flash rom over rom, including myself, but it is highly likely that at some point you will need odin if you are flashing roms so it is best to ensure that you have that set up first. Look for the odin thread by c3popl (sp?) in development forum and you should find what you need. Read through that and look for others with your base firmware. Or look through q&a at the "help I bricked" threads . On my phone and posting links is a pita or I would make it easy for you.
If your phone came with JH7, follow this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36
If you use one of the Odin one-clicks and brick your phone, you'll need a USB jig to recover.
You guys are awesome. Thank you newter55 and GGXtreme for this info! I hope I'll never need it, but I'll buy a cable and make a jig.
The news: I've rooted my phone using One Click Root / Unroot by TGA_Gunnman (for the record: it worked with my JH7 Captivate bought in 28 dec). Once I booted windows, installed dotnet framework 4 and the samsung drivers (easy too, but a pita), rooting was easy and failproof. However, someone using linux might find it easier to just download 1-click root, find the root.zip file in there, rename it as update.zip, put the zip in the internal sdcard, boot the phone holding the volume buttons and then 'install packages'. This way there will be no need to fight Wine nor install anything nor look for a windows computer with admin privileges.
Also unlocked my phone using SGS Unlock Tool, available in the Android Market. The unrooted option won't work, but once rooted it worked like a champ. Next step: I'll do the backups, and then... start messing up my new toy!

[Q] Questions from someone on the verge of Flashing (Cognition 3.02)

Hey all,
So I'm am effing fed UP with Samsung. My Captivate is a hardware powerhouse, and with the stock Eclair firmware and all their bloatware, it's laggy, bogged down, and just not the device I wish it was. And with the talks that the Galaxy S phones are virtually unbrickable, I have decided to seriously consider ROOTing my phone and flashing the Cognition 3.02 ROM. I have watched a lot of videos, done my research, but I still have a few lingering questions for those of you out there who have recently flashed this ROM, preferably for those of you that this is the first or near-first ROM you've flashed. I know how the process works, but some specifics are bugging me and holding me back.
Ok, so I've listed some of my major questions below. Feel free to answer some or all of them if you've got the time, or DM me if that's easier. lf I think of any other Qs I have I'll post them in subsequent replies.
1. First and foremost, what process did you use to root and flash cognition on your Captivate? I've been looking at the MobileTechVideos three part tutorial on youtube which most people seem to recommend. Is this what you used? Was it as easy as simply following the instructions word-for-word? Did you run into any problems along the way?
2. I know to use Titanium Backup to backup my apps and stuff, but I've read a lot of places that I should only use it to restore those apps, and not to backup and restore user data like settings and contacts. How did you do it? My major concerns are about my contacts/phone book, which I have synced to my google account, but I also have syncs to my facebook and twitter accounts, and my phonebook is nicely linked and everything across all three. I'm afraid to forfeit this organization, so I just want to know that I'll be able to get everything back the way it was without too much trouble. I know you can export your contacts to your SD cards, and I could presumably import them from their after flashing, but I just want to be clear on how that all works.
3. Do you use your phone as a digital music player? I do, and I use iSyncr to sync it to my iTunes. If you do as well, did flashing screw any of this up? Playlists, etc? Will I need to re-sync or will it all be there once the phone scans my external SD (which wont be wiped since I'll remove it beforehand)?
4. In your first few days of use, what are the biggest improvements you see in the Cognition ROM as far as daily use is concerned over the stock firmware? Any problems you've come across? What's the selling points here, in layman's terms.
5. Do you have any regrets about flashing?
Thanks guys, and any other advice you think would be helpful that wouldn't come under any of the questions would also be GREATLY appreciated.
4. No problems for me. Phone is smoother and faster now.
5. Not at all.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
1. manually rooting is overrated. most, if not all, custom roms automatically root your phone for you, so there really is no need for you to do it yourself. except the first time: root your phone using the one click since it's simple, grab rom manager from the market and use it to download an update.zip containing clockworkmod recovery for the captivate and leave that update.zip on your phone and never change it or delete it. it makes flashing new roms so much easier and there is really no need to ever remove or change it. boot into recovery, reinstall packages twice, install zip from sd card, and pick your rom. also, you will never need to use rom manager again unless you lose that update.zip.
2. I use titanium backup in batch mode (hit the menu softkey and hit batch). click backup all user apps and system data, but uncheck everything that is in red text, therefore backing up only things in green text (useful system settings, contacts, calendar, messages, etc) and white text (user installed apps). then run batch operation. install new rom, use batch to restore all missing apps and system data. to re-backup newer settings, app data, or updated apps, use backup all new apps and newer versions, and then either redo old backups or forced redo of all backups.
3. yes, but I just copy and paste my music files over instead of syncing them. also your internal sd is never wiped unless you use master clear on odin, which I have never done, nor do i ever wish to, because in my opinion there is no reason to. therefore both your playlists and your music would not be wiped whether you put them on the internal or external sd. (unless of course, you decide to use master clear)
4 & 5. I agree with faroid.
Be sure you have the correct odin set up and recognizing your phone on your pc. Eventually you will need to use it for one reason or another. The most common is the odin3 one click jf6 but some newer builds cannot be flashed to firmware older than jh2.
1. To root i use one click root/ unroot vary simple plug in and press root then install clockwork recovery from the market its free with clockwork recovery you can flash your cognition
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
4. The best thing is froyo 2.2 then lagfixes and overclocking
5.no regrets, expect when i bricked my phone but the jig method fixed that
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
yokozuna82 said:
4. The best thing is froyo 2.2 then lagfixes and overclocking
5.no regrets, expect when i bricked my phone but the jig method fixed that
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you use the full MobileTechVideos method when your phone got bricked? Or did you flash without reflashing to stock and wiping everything?
newter55 said:
Be sure you have the correct odin set up and recognizing your phone on your pc. Eventually you will need to use it for one reason or another. The most common is the odin3 one click jf6 but some newer builds cannot be flashed to firmware older than jh2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how do I know which one I should use? Is it based on the ROM I flash, or my hardware (Captivate)?
Which odin stock firmware is based on the build (four digit number under battery such as 1006) and what version your phone came with when new, such as jf6 or jh7.
newter55 said:
Which odin stock firmware is based on the build (four digit number under battery such as 1006) and what version your phone came with when new, such as jf6 or jh7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you by chance know which one I'd need off hand? I'm at work and don't feel like pulling my phone apart, but I can tell you that I bought my Captivate the day it came out, so presumably it came with the oldest firmware the Captivate ever came packaged with.
1. No need to root. That's an extra step you don't need. My method, get the update.zip for clockwork mod, just search the Dev section, no need to even install Rom Manager or anything. Take that update.zip and put it on the root of your internal SDcard (just the normal phone storage, not an external SD. Then using adb or button method reboot into recovery, choose reinstall packages. The phone reboots into stock recovery. Choose reinstall packages again and this time you get Clockwork. Wipe data, install zip from SD, choose zip file, pick Cog, install and done.
2. I use titanium for user apps only, ie, things I got from market. All my contacts are synced with google, so once I add my google info under accounts they are back. Sorry, i don't mess with facebook or twitter so i can't answer that. As far as settings, you just have to manually do that, ie, ringtones, wireless networks, etc.
3. Yes I do. And I also use iSyncr. No problems whatsoever. As long as you don't do a MasterClear. That option under Odin will wipe your internal SDcard also. The Wipe Data under Clockwork recovery just wipes out installed apps and settings but leaves your internal SD intact.
4. Honestly, it's just a much better experience overall. The phone is faster, smoother, and more responsive. Plus DG has taken the liberty of removing all the ATT crap and un-needed apps.
5. Not one.
My only advice would be to "be prepared". My sure you have button recovery available ahead of time. Check your Rev version of phone, ie, the date under the battery. It seems newer Revs require a different version of stock Odin One-click. Some people have had issues running the original One-click. If you have any doubts about your phones ability to go to download mode, in case you need to go back to stock, spend the $1 on building a USB Jig.
You will find that flashing is easy. Recovering from unexpected errors can be easy if you are prepared.
bobbylx said:
1. No need to root. That's an extra step you don't need. My method, get the update.zip for clockwork mod, just search the Dev section, no need to even install Rom Manager or anything. Take that update.zip and put it on the root of your internal SDcard (just the normal phone storage, not an external SD. Then using adb or button method reboot into recovery, choose reinstall packages. The phone reboots into stock recovery. Choose reinstall packages again and this time you get Clockwork. Wipe data, install zip from SD, choose zip file, pick Cog, install and done.
2. I use titanium for user apps only, ie, things I got from market. All my contacts are synced with google, so once I add my google info under accounts they are back. Sorry, i don't mess with facebook or twitter so i can't answer that. As far as settings, you just have to manually do that, ie, ringtones, wireless networks, etc.
3. Yes I do. And I also use iSyncr. No problems whatsoever. As long as you don't do a MasterClear. That option under Odin will wipe your internal SDcard also. The Wipe Data under Clockwork recovery just wipes out installed apps and settings but leaves your internal SD intact.
4. Honestly, it's just a much better experience overall. The phone is faster, smoother, and more responsive. Plus DG has taken the liberty of removing all the ATT crap and un-needed apps.
5. Not one.
My only advice would be to "be prepared". My sure you have button recovery available ahead of time. Check your Rev version of phone, ie, the date under the battery. It seems newer Revs require a different version of stock Odin One-click. Some people have had issues running the original One-click. If you have any doubts about your phones ability to go to download mode, in case you need to go back to stock, spend the $1 on building a USB Jig.
You will find that flashing is easy. Recovering from unexpected errors can be easy if you are prepared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do I not need to be rooted to use Ti-BU? I thought I saw that under the product description in the marketplace.
Also, under #1, when you say "Wipe Data" you are referring to an option in the Clockwork Recovery menu, not an Odin MasterClear, right? Will this wipe my internal SD?
If you got the phone on release you likely have a 1006 build with working 3 button recovery and can safely use the odin3 one click jf6.
Sent from my Liquid Metal using XDA App
TiBu needs root. I rooted using one click, then backed up user apps and data (used built in contact export to save contacts and smsbackup for texts).
Then I just ran the update.zip for CWR and flashed Cog - was my first flash too and pretty painless. TiBu returns your apps as if you never changed them.
Make sure you can access recovery and dl mode though.
GerStud101 said:
So do I not need to be rooted to use Ti-BU? I thought I saw that under the product description in the marketplace.
Also, under #1, when you say "Wipe Data" you are referring to an option in the Clockwork Recovery menu, not an Odin MasterClear, right? Will this wipe my internal SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, forgot you would want to backup before installing a new ROM. Yes, to use Tibu on your current ROM you will need root.
As for wipe data, yes it's a clockwork option. Like I said in #3 wipe data just removes user installed apps, and changes all settings to stock, but all data on your internal store will stay there, pics, music, etc.
Master Clear is the Odin option, which I never use by the way, that will completely delete everything on your internal SD, bye bye music, pics, etc.
This is all EXTREMELY helpful by the way.
Quick question about USB Jigs--is it easy to build one myself or should I splurge on the ~$15 one MobileTechVideos sells? There's seems pretty fancy, and I can't afford to be phoneless as I putz around trying to jimmy myself a jig.
I can't speak from experience but there's a thread here in QA that makes it seem easy. Just get 3 x 100kohm resistors, wire them in series, twist it to look like a horseshoe, there you go. If you have a radioshack or other electronics store near you it's worth a shot. Like I said, I think all 3 resistors cost may $1 total. You can also test it on your phone to make sure. Touch the jig to the 2 leads, if it goes into download mode instantly you did it right. Pull battery and reboot and all is well.
Edit. Jig link,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=889128
bobbylx said:
I can't speak from experience but there's a thread here in QA that makes it seem easy. Just get 3 x 100kohm resistors, wire them in series, twist it to look like a horseshoe, there you go. If you have a radioshack or other electronics store near you it's worth a shot. Like I said, I think all 3 resistors cost may $1 total. You can also test it on your phone to make sure. Touch the jig to the 2 leads, if it goes into download mode instantly you did it right. Pull battery and reboot and all is well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I saw that thread, I'll have to try my hand at it before I do this process. Better safe than sorry. Thanks.
Ok, so, the plan = build working jig and DL proper Odin just in case, one-click root, Ti-BU, move clockwork update.zip and cognition zips to my root folder, reboot in recovery, reinstall packages/flash clockwork, then wipe and flash cognition. This sound correct?
That sounds about right. Really the only thing different i do is on the root of my storage I create folders for ROMs. So I have a Cog folder with the rom in it. Once you have Clockwork installed and you are choosing to flash, it will let you navigate to different folders. That's just my preference because I don't like to have too many individual files on my SD. Minor thing, just thought I would mention it.
bobbylx said:
That sounds about right. Really the only thing different i do is on the root of my storage I create folders for ROMs. So I have a Cog folder with the rom in it. Once you have Clockwork installed and you are choosing to flash, it will let you navigate to different folders. That's just my preference because I don't like to have too many individual files on my SD. Minor thing, just thought I would mention it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, appreciate the advice; I like a little organization in my life as well.
Sounds like you've flashed a few different ROMs. Have you ever bricked your phone to the point where you needed a jig? Or has it always been smooth sailing?
I guess I'm just trying to figure out why one person's phone would brick and anothers wouldnt. It kind of makes me assume that if you brick your phone, you've done something wrong, and if you just do the process right, everything should go smoothly. But maybe that's naive of me.

Unrooting for warranty.

Hi All,
Before I ask my question, I just wanted to clear up that I've searched the forums (both on the s3 i9300 and i9305 sub forums,) and there's so much info that I got a little more confused and lost my confidence, which is why I'm asking here before I start the procedure.
I've just realized that my power button is starting to wear causing a 'bootloop' when I press it 7 times out of 10, and I have the opportunity to get it fixed under warranty.
Now, I've been running custom software since June 2013 and my phone is an Australian Telstra i9305T, and I have made a backup on the ROM pre-rooted when I installed CWM (although I'm not sure that it may work, as the bootloop have corrupted my SD card, there's a few backups that didn't have the same MD5 and can't be run.)
I wanted to make sure that the steps I unroot and reset counter to 0 for warranty would be:
1) Go to CWM
2) Wipe the cache/memory.(factory reset.)
3) Install the rom I backed up in May 2013
4) Triangle Away to set counter to 0.
5) Use the Unified Android tookit's unroot function.
Does that sound right? Or have I missed any steps.
FYI I had the phone inspected at the Samsung Experience store but the lady had threw a tantrum as she noticed I was running custom software, and pretty much refused to talk to me, (she wasn't even a tech, but I guess got upset on tampering principle,) so I want to make sure when it goes back to the techs it's ok to get fixed.
Any help I can get here would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance folks.
grungypoo said:
Hi All,
Before I ask my question, I just wanted to clear up that I've searched the forums (both on the s3 i9300 and i9305 sub forums,) and there's so much info that I got a little more confused and lost my confidence, which is why I'm asking here before I start the procedure.
I've just realized that my power button is starting to wear causing a 'bootloop' when I press it 7 times out of 10, and I have the opportunity to get it fixed under warranty.
Now, I've been running custom software since June 2013 and my phone is an Australian Telstra i9305T, and I have made a backup on the ROM pre-rooted when I installed CWM (although I'm not sure that it may work, as the bootloop have corrupted my SD card, there's a few backups that didn't have the same MD5 and can't be run.)
I wanted to make sure that the steps I unroot and reset counter to 0 for warranty would be:
1) Go to CWM
2) Wipe the cache/memory.(factory reset.)
3) Install the rom I backed up in May 2013
4) Triangle Away to set counter to 0.
5) Use the Unified Android tookit's unroot function.
Does that sound right? Or have I missed any steps.
FYI I had the phone inspected at the Samsung Experience store but the lady had threw a tantrum as she noticed I was running custom software, and pretty much refused to talk to me, (she wasn't even a tech, but I guess got upset on tampering principle,) so I want to make sure when it goes back to the techs it's ok to get fixed.
Any help I can get here would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the steps are quite in good order. you dont have the new bootloader with knox i guess.. cause that would be a problem if the knox counter is triggered you cant set it back to 0, there is still no way found to restore knox counter for devices with new bootloader. everyone who has void knox warranty status can forget about sending device to samsung for repair for any reason!
if you havent flashed recently a new 4.3 firmware from sammobile or samsung-updates.com, you probably have the old bootloader which is good.
if you were not rooted when you made the backup in may 2013, then you will automatically be unrooted when restoring backup otherwise you would need to unroot after the backup restore. the backup will restore it to its state exactly how it was in may 2013. after the restore of backup go in odin downloadmode and check what info does it give in the left upper corner about system and binary status, should be both showing official and for the flash counter use triangle away indeed but keep in mind that it does not always restore to 0, sometimes it restores to 1 and thats no good.
MaHo_66 said:
the steps are quite in good order. you dont have the new bootloader with knox i guess.. cause that would be a problem if the knox counter is triggered you cant set it back to 0, there is still no way found to restore knox counter for devices with new bootloader. everyone who has void knox warranty status can forget about sending device to samsung for repair for any reason!
if you havent flashed recently a new 4.3 firmware from sammobile or samsung-updates.com, you probably have the old bootloader which is good.
if you were not rooted when you made the backup in may 2013, then you will automatically be unrooted when restoring backup otherwise you would need to unroot after the backup restore. the backup will restore it to its state exactly how it was in may 2013. after the restore of backup go in odin downloadmode and check what info does it give in the left upper corner about system and binary status, should be both showing official and for the flash counter use triangle away indeed but keep in mind that it does not always restore to 0, sometimes it restores to 1 and thats no good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. I think I rooted the phone before the knox bootloader came out for my phone, although I can't remember as it was a year ago.
So I guess at this stage the steps I'd take here would be:
1) Triangle away to reset counter to 0
2) Go into CWM clear the memory, and put in the unrooted image.
I've now got another question on the steps:
1) Currently using Triangle away, the counter only stays at 1, and every time I boots it shows the red '!' on the top left corner. That's not knox is it? And if it isn't, when I flash the unrooted image, will it get rid of it?
2) How do to revert to the regular stock recovery, as I've installed CWM. Or will the unrooted image handle that... if I recall the steps to rooting is installing custom recovery (CWM in my case) then taking the image with CWM then rooting then installing custom software.....
Again thanks for you help, I hope you can see where I get confused, I love this forums it's got so much help but sometimes it's hard to work out what to filter to make things go smoother.
grungypoo said:
Yeah.. I think I rooted the phone before the knox bootloader came out for my phone, although I can't remember as it was a year ago.
So I guess at this stage the steps I'd take here would be:
1) Triangle away to reset counter to 0
2) Go into CWM clear the memory, and put in the unrooted image.
I've now got another question on the steps:
1) Currently using Triangle away, the counter only stays at 1, and every time I boots it shows the red '!' on the top left corner. That's not knox is it? And if it isn't, when I flash the unrooted image, will it get rid of it?
2) How do to revert to the regular stock recovery, as I've installed CWM. Or will the unrooted image handle that... if I recall the steps to rooting is installing custom recovery (CWM in my case) then taking the image with CWM then rooting then installing custom software.....
Again thanks for you help, I hope you can see where I get confused, I love this forums it's got so much help but sometimes it's hard to work out what to filter to make things go smoother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. i dont know about the ''red !'' but it seems like you have done something wrong, it shouldnt show something like that..
the backup img might solve it, but dont now for sure
2. to revert back to stock recovery you could do this: flash official firmware with odin OR find a flashable stock recovery .img or .tar md5 file to flash in recovery. easiest way is to flash official firmware, that will restore everything to ''out of the box state'' and for the counter using triangle away (only thing is it restore's it to 1 instead of 0 )
if you ask me how i would make this whole thing ready and steady for sending to samsung, i would do this:
assuming here that i have old bootloader without knox, the steps would be for me in this order:
- put every personal stuff in internal or external sd to my pc temporary
- reset flash counter with triangle away
- go in cwm recovery and wipe everything, i mean really EVERYTHING. after that put phone off and go in downloadmode
- download the official firmware that my phone came with (for me that was android 4.1.2 no KNOX!) when first bought, and flash that with odin. now i have installed official firmware with stock recovery and device status is official and counter reset to 0 or 1
everything restored back to normal except the counter that stays on 1 unfortunately ready to send for repair, but i doubt they will accept it
i do understand your confusion about what to do, as in many threads people telling their own way of handling and taking steps to get things done and that can be very confusing as there are many things one could do. when trying to help people, i always try to provide the most common solutions and most easy one, but no matter how i tell and explain if you are someone who does not know much about android development kind of things, you will have always difficulties. the key for understanding is lots of READING and RESEARCH followed finally by executing what you have learned with proper tools. im just a member for couple of months now but i have followed these forums for many years and im glad i did..
MaHo_66 said:
1. i dont know about the ''red !'' but it seems like you have done something wrong, it shouldnt show something like that..
the backup img might solve it, but dont now for sure
2. to revert back to stock recovery you could do this: flash official firmware with odin OR find a flashable stock recovery .img or .tar md5 file to flash in recovery. easiest way is to flash official firmware, that will restore everything to ''out of the box state'' and for the counter using triangle away (only thing is it restore's it to 1 instead of 0 )
if you ask me how i would make this whole thing ready and steady for sending to samsung, i would do this:
assuming here that i have old bootloader without knox, the steps would be for me in this order:
- put every personal stuff in internal or external sd to my pc temporary
- reset flash counter with triangle away
- go in cwm recovery and wipe everything, i mean really EVERYTHING. after that put phone off and go in downloadmode
- download the official firmware that my phone came with (for me that was android 4.1.2 no KNOX!) when first bought, and flash that with odin. now i have installed official firmware with stock recovery and device status is official and counter reset to 0 or 1
everything restored back to normal except the counter that stays on 1 unfortunately ready to send for repair, but i doubt they will accept it
i do understand your confusion about what to do, as in many threads people telling their own way of handling and taking steps to get things done and that can be very confusing as there are many things one could do. when trying to help people, i always try to provide the most common solutions and most easy one, but no matter how i tell and explain if you are someone who does not know much about android development kind of things, you will have always difficulties. the key for understanding is lots of READING and RESEARCH followed finally by executing what you have learned with proper tools. im just a member for couple of months now but i have followed these forums for many years and im glad i did..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so now what you're telling me, which is contrary to what I've been reading previous to this is that there is no way to get the phone back to stock for warranty repair as they won't accept it due to the counter being at 1.
(Would this be knox?)
Thanks for your answers tho', I really appreciate them usually my posts get ignored, prolly filed under the "another noob" section.
The thing is I'm not that much of a noob, I just have a hard time trying to put all the info together so I can take the most optimal and risk adverse solution. As for reading and research, xda is a great forum but I can keep reading 8 hours a day for 3 months and keep going because as you said everyone has their own way of doing things and explaining things.
Maybe it's not worth for me to send my phone under warranty if they're going to reject it anywaysy... *sigh*
Despite not being able to help a lot, I would just like to chime in that I have the little red exclamation mark aswell, and I have never installed the Oficcial 4.3 with Knox. So at least its not related to that.
I do have a custom Recovery and I am running a Rooted stock image.
The exclamation mark has not caused me any issues though..
found this as well: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/red-line-exclamation-mark-left-wupper-t2011728/page2
timmtn said:
Despite not being able to help a lot, I would just like to chime in that I have the little red exclamation mark aswell, and I have never installed the Oficcial 4.3 with Knox. So at least its not related to that.
I do have a custom Recovery and I am running a Rooted stock image.
The exclamation mark has not caused me any issues though..
found this as well: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/red-line-exclamation-mark-left-wupper-t2011728/page2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it definitely does help, so thanks.
Can I ask if you've sent your phone in for warranty repairs?
I think it has to do with having custom recovery.
grungypoo said:
Well it definitely does help, so thanks.
Can I ask if you've sent your phone in for warranty repairs?
I think it has to do with having custom recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately not (for you, fortunately for me).. My first i9305 actually had a defective power button which died the day after I got it. I had rooted it already, but was able to roll the original image back on the phone before handing it in. The store swapped it right away for a new one though, so it never turned into a repair case.

[Q] Stuck with older custom rom

So, around April-ish last year I rooted my At&t galaxy note 3 and installed safestrap, then alliance rom. I wanted to find a ROM I liked, then just sort of stick with that so I didn't have to monitor development updates about my phone and all that. The only problem with the ROM was that it had a memory leak so bad that I had to reboot about 3 times a day or else the memory would get all used up and the phone would freeze. For some reason, I didn't think it would bother me that much- the phone boots quickly and I was so fed up by then I didn't want to try anything else. I figured that if I ever did want to go back to stock (and I do now), that I had my stock ROM backed up to one of the extra slots that safestrap gives you. Well, I looked- turns out I don't. I checked my external hard drive and found a backup folder with "TWRP" in it, and in it a folder called stock -1970 -04- 02. I placed that folder in the corresponding TWRP folder on my phone's extsdcard, but safestrap doesn't see it in the restore screen. Does it have to be a zip? I totally forgot all this stuff; I haven't messed with my phone in half a year.
If that doesn't work, I'd really be cool with wiping everything and flashing a stock ROM build. I don't know where to find one though, and it should be mentioned that my Alliance ROM build has "MJ5" in it somewhere, if that means anything.
I've rambled a bit, but hopefully someone can point me to my best options.
Thanks!
Use Odin to flash the file with "home" in it from this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2838117
It will load the latest stock firmware. You can re-root with towelroot.com
The "home" file doesn't wipe anything so your apps will be intact. If you want a full wipe and install use the other 4 files in that thread.
Thanks
Worked like a charm, thanks!

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