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[Q] My phone keeps forgetting my pattern

I bought my first Android about 2 months ago (Samsung Captivate) and I've been mostly happy with it.
The phone had about a week of use and was just like new, but I believe the seller had flashed it and maybe that has something to do with my issue, but I'm not sure.
The thing is that my phone will eventually "forget" my unlock pattern. That is, it will tell me I've input the wrong pattern, even though it's correct, and locking me out until I login to my Google account.
I've tried changing the code, resetting the locking options and choosing pattern lock again, but to no avail.. it would still lock me out. I wasn't able to discover anything that would trigger the error, seems to be random. After a few weeks, I started using the password lock, but the same happened, only this time I can't use my google account to unlock it (the "forgot password?" button doesn't show up), so I'm locked out of my phone.
The captivate also seemed to forget some other settings (like icons, dock configuration, some minor stuff), but nothing really, really annoying.
I don't know any way to solve this other than performing a hard reset, but I wanna be sure that's the only option I have before doing it. There's a few files - specially from the voice recorder - that I would like not to lose, so if there's a way to backup the files before resetting, I ask for help on how to do it.
As I said, I believe the phone was already flashed when I bought it (phone info is at the bottom), and maybe the ROM is buggy. I looked here in the forums and I think my ROM is discontinued, and since I'm pretty sure I'll end up re-flashing it, if anyone can point to a "spiritual successor" to my ROM, if there's any, I'd really appreciate it.
Hope anyone can help me out... now for phone info:
Firmware version 2.2
Kernel version 2.6.32.9 CogKernel4_by_Designgears #767
Build number Perception Build 9
(The phone is unlocked, if that's any help)
Thanks!

You shouldn't* have to do a hard reset that would make you lose any of your personal files just files stored in apps and depending on the build of your phone which is under the battery you could use Odin 1 click to take it back to stock and yes the previous owner had flashed a Custom Rom and left it on there

Ok, I hard resetted the phone... I'll use it for a bit to see if the problem happens again. But I'm not hopeful

I suggest just flashing a new ROM. Before that though, I suggest going to stock first, then doing a 'Master Clear' to make sure everything is nice, clean, and as "fresh" as new.

Yeah, I was reading some installation instructions (that if I may say, really need a go-to beginner's guide) and pretty much all of them recommend going to stock.
Can Odin run on linux (Ubuntu)?

Nexus 6 (rooted, stock rom) won't turn on anymore. Please help

Hello everyone,
I'm experiencing a pretty tough issue mith my beloved (and, so far, flawless) Nexus 6. It had root and a stock rom on it, 6.0.1 (MMB29V). I had unlocked the bootloader and rooted the phone right after buying it more than a year ago and I've been flashing new factory images a couple times (specifically when 6.0.0 and 6.0.1 were released). I usually do everything via Wugfresh's NRT, not because I can't use adb and fastboot, just because it works fine and I'm lazy.
Yesterday, while I was working, I used "Tiny Scanner Pro" to scan a document (legit copy bought on the store, as any other premium app in my phone) and it got stuck for a while, then a popup about Google Play Services came up. I dismissed it and another appeared, and it kept going like that. I was at a client's and I was in a hurry, so I took the pic with my tablet and forced the phone off. Later I turned it on, it seemed to boot regularly, but when the SIM unlock screen appeared and I entered the (right!) PIN, it said that no SIM was found, then the home screen appeared but after a while the screen went black and it started rebooting. Recovery (TWRP) and fastboot were working, so I decided to take it home and re-flash the stock rom: it had been a while since the last time anyway, a new version was out and the OTA update notification was getting annoying. I connected to my PC in recovery mode and transfered my pics and data via adb while I downloaded the latest stock rom (6.0.1 MOB30D). Then I user NRT to flash it (selecting "Soft-bricked/Bootloop" as current status). It appeared to work fine as it went through the usual copying and unpacking. Then, when the phone was supposed to reboot, it just blacked out. I waited a long time, in fact I went out and came back a few hours later, and it was still that way. Now it doesn't power up, no matter how long or hard I press any combination of the three buttons, adb and fastboot do not detect it in any way, of course, and it doesn't seem to charge either (i.e. I left it plugged to its original charger overnight and it still feels dead cold). By the way, the phone warranty shouldn't have expired, but I'm afraid it wouldn't cover this since it should still have the custom recovery and unlocked bootloader in its comatose body.
I've taken a look at similar threads but none of them describes the very same situation. Is there something, anything I can try to do before giving up? I hope somebody can help me. I thank you all very much in advance.
lupus

lupusyon said:
.... I'm afraid it wouldn't cover this since it should still have the custom recovery and unlocked bootloader in its comatose body.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bricked!. When the phone is still under warranty send it for repair. Do not use arguments.
Just: phone will not switch on and does not charge.

Because this is a Nexus device, the custom recovery shouldn't affect your warranty. It is however, a moot point. The device is totally dead, and a call to Motorola is in order.

lupusyon, I had a discussion with Google about an 18-month-old Nexus 5 on which the radio had died - the "no SIM found" error that seems very popular. They asked me what I'd done to try to fix it. I told them that I'd tried several different radios, half a dozen different ROMs (not just Google stock), in short I'd messed around with it over a long period (it had been rooted with custom recovery pretty much since I bought it).
Response? No quibbles. "Here's a refurbished N5. Just send the broken one back in the enclosed pre-addressed pre-paid bag."
Go for it...

dahawthorne said:
lupusyon, I had a discussion with Google about an 18-month-old Nexus 5 on which the radio had died - the "no SIM found" error that seems very popular. They asked me what I'd done to try to fix it. I told them that I'd tried several different radios, half a dozen different ROMs (not just Google stock), in short I'd messed around with it over a long period (it had been rooted with custom recovery pretty much since I bought it).
Response? No quibbles. "Here's a refurbished N5. Just send the broken one back in the enclosed pre-addressed pre-paid bag."
Go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it on Amazon Italy Marketplace, I'm not sure if they're supposed to handle the thing or if I should contact Motorola. I'll just check with them first. Thank you everybody for the kind advice, I'll let you know how this turns out. :good:

I confirm what dahawthorne wrote above: it took them about a month but Motorola repaired my Nexus under warranty, no questions asked. It seems they replaced the Mainboard PCB.
Thanks everybody!

Help rooting/enabling adb on bootloader & google locked Marshmallow

I bought a Moto X (2014) with a broken/damaged screen for super cheap. When I bought it, it vibrated and made sounds so I knew it was functional. The next day, the alarm woke me up so I turned it off. The day after it happened again, so I just let it ring under a pillow until the phone died. Yesterday, the screen replacement finally arrived and I performed the switch myself.
When I tested the screen before closing it back up, the phone wouldn't boot, but the screen itself appeared to be functional so I closed it back up. The infamous green light issue was occurring, no doubt due to the fact that I let the battery drain completely then left it in a drawer for about a month, in addition to God knows what the previous owner had done to it.
After several hours of hooking it up to various chargers and cables and computers and performing a seemingly infinite number and duration of button combinations, it finally booted up, and started to charge normally.
Only then I realized it was still protected by the pattern code from the previous owner. Due to fear of FRP, I kept trying to crack the pattern code to no avail. Eventually I said frick it and went into bootloader mode to try and unlock the bootloader, but it turns out that adb is not enabled, and neither is the "allow bootloader unlock". So I said frick it and hit factory to reset the phone, but the phone simply rebooted. Odd. Alright, so I hooked it up to a computer in bootloader mode and performed fastboot erase userdata. Upon reboot, FRP had kicked in.
Hours of searching yielded various methods of bypassing this, none of which worked. However due to the blessing/curse (more on that later) that it's on Marshmallow, I was able to use a Google Assistant loophole to access pretty much the entire device (minus Google apps, including the play store). This included the settings app. To my dismay, I'm unable to activate dev options and the reset button is greyed out, no doubt due to a group policy preventing these functions until the owner's Google account is entered.
I came across a method that showed a lot of promise. Through the use of an app called Quick Shortcut Manager, it allows you to log into any Google account and once you reboot afterwards, FRP is no longer an issue. However in my case, since I seem to be exceptionally lucky, during the sign in process, the phone reboots unexpectedly. How very odd. Retried several times under various conditions, including Force Stopping all Google apps (which returns the navbar buttons, without function, and also the notification tray but not quick settings).
Alright. I installed Telegram via apk and logged in. As soon as I logged in, the phone reboots unexpectedly again, which leads me to believe that this random reboot occurs whenever ANY account is added to the device (because Telegram accounts are saved under Settings > Accounts).
Knowing I'm stuck with a locked bootloader and no way of unlocking it without accessing dev options which I'm unable to do, I decided to try flashing an earlier build. I downloaded 4.4.4 and 5.0.1 factory images and proceeded to try flashing 4.4.4, to no avail, since apparently downgrading is also impossible with a locked bootloader. Most commands returned a "remote failure" response. I continued anyway and upon reboot I discover that nothing has changed. I've tried this with both system images.
I tried RSD Lite as well but it won't even detect the phone in fastboot/bootloader mode (on Windows 10 Insider Preview). Tried with admin privileges. The "fastboot flash" option in the Config menu was greyed out for some reason.
I've hit a roadblock. I'm so ready to just toss this phone out the window but I decided to come here and ask for help first. Please, XDA. Do not fail me.
P.S. I've lost contact with the owner because I bought the phone on a local equivalent of Craigslist so neither the ad nor my communication with him still exists. And even if by some miracle I managed to find one, it would do me no favors if he would remove the account via Google Device Manager because I've already reset it. The only thing he can do for me is log into the phone using his email and password and then reset it, which would require going somewhere with WiFi that is also public all the while making sure he doesn't try to steal the phone back now that it's fixed.
Edit 2: Ever since I added the Telegram account, the phone is no longer usable, since it reboots unexpectedly as soon as it connects to WiFi and discovers that an account has been added to the device. I'm going to reset it again so I can continue using it with these limitations.

I remember once on a Samsung device I found a pre-rooted IMAGE file and flashed it via fastboot and that fixed everything. I can't seem to find anything of the sort for this phone though.
I've found instructions on how to convert a ZIP ROM into a system image, but those instructions are only for Linux.

Flash carrier ROM without deleting everything?

Proud owner of two unlocked Note 9's since black friday! After getting them I flashed to Verizon stock firmware to get access to WiFi calling but have since moved over to Google Fi.
Every time I flash a new ROM in odin (using home CSC) the device starts up just fine but when I try to unlock the phone with the code or fingerprint, the screen turns black for a few seconds then goes back to the home screen. The only remedy was a hard reset losing all my data (which I can get most back with my backup). I am ok with that, but my wife won't let me touch hers because it deletes all the passwords and samsung pay cards even with the backup. I have even tried clearing the cache and it still won't go past the lock screen. I think the Verizon ROM is blocking some radios so I need to flash back to unlocked.
Has anyone seen this error and have any idea how to prevent it?

ajonesaz said:
Proud owner of two unlocked Note 9's since black friday! After getting them I flashed to Verizon stock firmware to get access to WiFi calling but have since moved over to Google Fi.
Every time I flash a new ROM in odin (using home CSC) the device starts up just fine but when I try to unlock the phone with the code or fingerprint, the screen turns black for a few seconds then goes back to the home screen. The only remedy was a hard reset losing all my data (which I can get most back with my backup). I am ok with that, but my wife won't let me touch hers because it deletes all the passwords and samsung pay cards even with the backup. I have even tried clearing the cache and it still won't go past the lock screen. I think the Verizon ROM is blocking some radios so I need to flash back to unlocked.
Has anyone seen this error and have any idea how to prevent it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove all fingerprints, PINs, passwords etc before flashing. You can set them back up after installing the new firmware.

Factory reset has not restored Auto-Rotate, Active Edge, and the "ear sensor" when making calls

Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Before restarting, I'm confident the "ear sensor" that turns the screen off when I'm on a call as functioning. I'm also confident the auto-rotate functionality of the phone was working perfectly.
After I tried to factory reset the phone from the power-volume reset options, I actually ran into a TON of trouble trying to get the phone to properly reset. It tooks me countless tries to eventually get the phone to start after resetting it over and over again. I was stuck trying to get the phone to actually move through the setup steps. SUPER frustrating. I actually went to sleep while the phone was somewhere in the middle of setting up and when I woke up the phone somehow eventually made it through some setup steps.
I'm now using the phone as I normally would, but it's very odd. The phone is a LOT more unstable. At least 3 of the sensors I had working have just completely stopped working.
The phone is in otherwise perfect condition. I'm genuinely confused about how I should go about trying to resetting this thing to a pure stock configuration and slowly installing apps again to make the experience what I'd want.
And no, I'm not a super power user. I am a strong engineer happy to do crazy things like flashing bootloaders and whatnot, but I'm honestly confused about where to start. I understand other versions of this device may have had corrupted persist partitions during updates -- those problems seem like my problems -- but I don't know how I should go about simply flashing my phone at the lowest level into something stock that I can try to build back from.
And obviously when talking to google support their suggsetion is that I mail them the device and wait 10 days without a phone. I'm confused about how that could EVER be a reasonable way to get a phone repaired, sigh -- phones are not toys, they're pretty critical to the day-to-day work of so many people including myself. I'm pretty disappointing with that approach from Google and I had always considered them much better than that before this experience.
Anyway, I'm really lost and I'd love to understand how to repair the software on my phone.
(You all kick ass!)

aliljet said:
Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Before restarting, I'm confident the "ear sensor" that turns the screen off when I'm on a call as functioning. I'm also confident the auto-rotate functionality of the phone was working perfectly.
After I tried to factory reset the phone from the power-volume reset options, I actually ran into a TON of trouble trying to get the phone to properly reset. It tooks me countless tries to eventually get the phone to start after resetting it over and over again. I was stuck trying to get the phone to actually move through the setup steps. SUPER frustrating. I actually went to sleep while the phone was somewhere in the middle of setting up and when I woke up the phone somehow eventually made it through some setup steps.
I'm now using the phone as I normally would, but it's very odd. The phone is a LOT more unstable. At least 3 of the sensors I had working have just completely stopped working.
The phone is in otherwise perfect condition. I'm genuinely confused about how I should go about trying to resetting this thing to a pure stock configuration and slowly installing apps again to make the experience what I'd want.
And no, I'm not a super power user. I am a strong engineer happy to do crazy things like flashing bootloaders and whatnot, but I'm honestly confused about where to start. I understand other versions of this device may have had corrupted persist partitions during updates -- those problems seem like my problems -- but I don't know how I should go about simply flashing my phone at the lowest level into something stock that I can try to build back from.
And obviously when talking to google support their suggsetion is that I mail them the device and wait 10 days without a phone. I'm confused about how that could EVER be a reasonable way to get a phone repaired, sigh -- phones are not toys, they're pretty critical to the day-to-day work of so many people including myself. I'm pretty disappointing with that approach from Google and I had always considered them much better than that before this experience.
Anyway, I'm really lost and I'd love to understand how to repair the software on my phone.
(You all kick ass!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try flashing the latest factory image via fastboot.
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https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-unlock-flash-root-for-the-pixel-2-xl-taimen.3702418/ (This is for a Pixel 2 XL but the process is the same. It's basically a condensed version of the one above.)

aliljet said:
Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did not provide the most important information we need- whether your phone is bootloader unlocked. Probably not, otherwise you would have already flashed it with a full Google image, which returns the phone to "out of the box" condition. You need to determine whether you can unlock your bootloader. If you cannot unlock (allow oem unlock is off and or greyed out in Dev options) then you will not be able to fastboot flash ANYTHING. If that is your case, the next best thing is flashing a full OTA image (sometimes called a rescue OTA) from recovery mode using the OTA via ADB option. This means you need fastboot/adb installed and working on your PC. Instructions on how are on the same Google dev page for OTA's.

So, my phone's bootloader is not unlocked. But I have an update for the crowd that may one day find this. I know your frustration and I can report that my phone is once again fixed.
A day (or two) after I sent this, a set of updates came down to my phone. And WebView was updated. That restored all of my sensors and also restored most of my crashing applications. It was an incredibly odd experience.
My phone once again functions. And the nightmare of owning a Google phone and talking to Google support has ended.