[Q] Flashing Capacitive Lights on Dell Streak - Streak 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

[Q] Flashing Capacitive Lights on Dell Streak - Streak 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I am using 8105 - Android 2.1
I recently rooted my phone and it went fine (well, it was rooted).
But every 1 or 2 minutes, the capacitive buttons flash 6 or 7 times and then hide for another 2 minutes....I have had an individual who claims there are threads on XDA, but I have yet to find them on how to fix this. Any help pointing me to the right area would be greatly appreciative!

Did u by any chance use the super boot method to root?

unfortunately, i cant help but im just curious, why was it necessary to post the same thing twice?

Same issue here
I have rooted with superboot and am running 2.2 - my initial image failed so I applied an image from the recovery toolkit and brought it back to life.
There seems to be some pattern to the light sequence - perhaps an awesome detector?
I'm still not sure whether it bothers me or not.

i actually ran into a similar situation with my friends streak but it didnt seem to mess anything up. i did end up looking into it and i think i found on google that it either means a bad recovery img or a bad baseband flash i think

Related

Flashing Home and Menu Lights

Hello Everyone,
Earlier I tried rooting my phone with a file I downloaded that was named r2-4399-6601-streak-superboot.zip. Basically, it worked, however I'm having the problem where the Menu and Home buttons alternate flashing very fast. Also, my menu sometimes stays lit up while the other two are dark.
Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem? As far as I know I am still running the stock rom with the stock baseband. If it helps, I am at build number 6601, my baseband version is GAUSB1A111231-US. My OEM version matches my Baseband, except for the -US on the end. My kernel version is 2.6.29-perf and my firmware version is 1.6
Factory restore did nothing for me, that was the first thing I tried.
If anyone can help me get rid of this annoyance that would be great. I'm trying not to update my phone to O2's 2.1 rom as I am looking forward to the 2.2 update from Dell. I'll gladly unroot my phone if needed, if someone can tell me how...

hey, there is a known problem with flashing for anyone that has upgraded to dj_steves v1.2.0 & above espcially when using rebelsim as the baseband is not compatible yet. Other than that... your description sounds just like an app i got from the market called "streakLED" which flashes all different patterns on the buttons when you receive an sms text? My home button also stays lit when i have a message.
Not sure if this helps at all but i thought i would suggest it just incase
Sent from my Dell Streak

http://www.streaksmart.com/2010/08/superboot-root-method-works-with-att-dell-streak-build-6601.html

I've been to that link... But the only fix the guy had was to install 2.1. I don't feel like going through the trouble of doing that. especially since the 2.2 update is coming soon. I feel like it might just cause trouble for me.

What suxs is that at leats urs turns on a the way my just got stuck on the Dell logo an never finishes powering on an I get the flashing buttons as well..

check the stickies thread and factory reset ur phone then use "UNIVERSAL ANDROOT" you wont get the flashing lights if you root with that app.
oh and it usually takes two or sometimes three tries to acquire root

I had this problem also. It is caused by upgrading to a new ROM which is meant for a certain baseband (00 for unlocked Streaks, 21 for UK (I believe) Streaks and 31 for US Streaks) without actually upgrading the baseband as well. For me, it has been a mystery to figure out what the sequence is to get from one baseband to another and one ROM to another. I had this problem flashing lights problem with one Streak when I tried the flash it from one ROM/baseband to another in order to get 2.2 flashed properly (You can't go from AT&T 1.6 directly to DJ Steves 1.5.1). The only thing that fixed it for me was using the QDL Tool. It took my dead Streak with flashing light with God-only-knows what baseband and ROM sequence I had tried to a fully functioning, unlocked Streak with AT&T official 2.2. From there, it was an incredibly simple flash to DJ Steve's 1.5.1 using fastboot. Then I was done. Give the QDL Tool a try if you want 2.2 and it very well might take your phone from dead and worthless to something worth carrying around in your pocket.

yeah the qdl tool is by far the most simple way to get 2.2 on you streak, which you can root without any worries. i dont think theres actually a reason to still be on 1.6.

[Q] How did I hard brick my prime?

Hi all,
I understand there are certain things that can be done that are guaranteed to brick a prime, namely flashing a stock Asus rom over CWM, but I now have a hard bricked prime, and I can't see why it happened to the extent that I am wondering whether this was going to happen anyway regardless of the unlocked bootloader. Anyone that can shed some light would be greatly appreciated. Here is the sequence of events:
Months ago - device rooted to make use of apps such as touchscreen tune
2 weeks ago - bootloader unlocked using official Asus tool
2 weeks ago - CWM Touch pushed to device using ADB
2 weeks ago - WSG rom flashed in CWM
Device running fine
1 week ago - Severe wifi issues (slow speeds, disconnects etc.) reboots don't solve
1 week ago - Reflash WSG rom (with full wipe) - wifi issues persist
1 week ago - Flash AOKP (with full wipe) - device only boots into CWM
1 week ago - Found ADB commands to resolve CWM booting issue, device boots up successfully, wifi issues persist
1 week ago - Flash virtous prime (with full wipe), device boots up successfully, wifi working
Few days ago - Device crashes and reboots into recovery, with sequence of E:\ error messages
Few days ago - Nothing flashable in recovery, no boot possible
Few days ago - On next boot, "Unrecoverable bootloader error"
Device powers down, will not power on since, although charge light illuminates orange when plugged in.
What happened here? I'm not a developer by any means, but I don't believe I did anything "wrong" to warrant a hard brick, and the error occurred after a crash during use, not during a flash.
The tablet is back with Asus now, and I am crossing my fingers for a free fix, but I will likely want to unlock again when I get it back, but want to understand where I went wrong if indeed I did.
Thanks for taking the time to read.

I'm not expert either but I think your problems started when you flashed aokp with cwm touch, that's a big no. Also based on what I've read, you likely have to pay ~ 50$ just to get your prime back from RMA. Also obviesly you won't get it repaired for free because you used the unlock tool so asus knows that your prime's unlocked as they have your serial number.
Sent from my sgs2 running cm9

Makrilli said:
I'm not expert either but I think your problems started when you flashed aokp with cwm touch, that's a big no. Also based on what I've read, you likely have to pay ~ 50$ just to get your prime back from RMA. Also obviesly you won't get it repaired for free because you used the unlock tool so asus knows that your prime's unlocked as they have your serial number.
Sent from my sgs2 running cm9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How should AOKP be flashed? As I understand, all the custom ROMs are zips flashable in CWM? Or is the fact that I was using the touch version?
Thanks for the reply.

If you hold down the volume down button and power button at the same time during boot up, can you get into fastboot mode?

hairdewx said:
If you hold down the volume down button and power button at the same time during boot up, can you get into fastboot mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's already gone back to Asus anyway, but no combination of power and volume buttons would get any life out the prime so I'm fairly confident it was hard bricked and unrecoverable, just trying to work out what I did wrong, if anything.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

I have the same result from a slightly different situation. After flashing AlmostStock_9.4.2.21 successfully, I noticed after a few days that the icons on my home screen would not re-generate after swiping back and forth across the screens so decided to flash AlmostStock_9.4.2.21 again. Apparently in my haste I grabbed an ASUS 9.4.2.21 zip that I had previously downloaded and now nada. Nothing appears on the screen. By nada I mean I hold down the power button and after a few seconds I get the “vibrate” and nothing – no screen – nothing. Tried the same with the volume – button held as the results are the same; nothing on the screen. Also tried the above for 30-40 seconds thinking I wasn’t holding it long enough but still dead.
I have searched and read (I think) every post focusing on a bricked TF201 and this thread appears to be the closest to what I am experiencing. So with much humility, I continue. I am a noob – let’s make that clear. I followed instructions to get unlocked and rooted(success), to get CWM up and running (success) and also followed the instructions to load Titanium Backup (also a success). I simply screwed up (thinking I had already flashed AlmostStock_9.4.2.21 with success so to do it again would be safe) and selected a zip that I should not have.
I have (had) the latest CWM, also installed Titanium Backup which before the “brick” was working and backing up just fine.
I have watched the videos (that I immediately related) where noobs screw up and expect those with experience to drop everything and cater to their needs and if you read this that way then I sincerely apologize – I don’t want to come across that way. I simply need help (short of packing up my TF201 and shipping it back to ASUS and paying whatever they demand) and though I would try here.

I think the fundamental difference here is that you inadvertently did the thing that's guaranteed to brick a prime being that you flashed a stock Asus rom on a custom recovery. I still don't know what caused my hard brick. That said I have just received my fixed prime back from Asus at no charge, and you may be similarly lucky, but unfortunately as I understand it back to Asus is your only option.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Makrilli said:
I'm not expert either but I think your problems started when you flashed aokp with cwm touch, that's a big no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
akalias1981 said:
How should AOKP be flashed? As I understand, all the custom ROMs are zips flashable in CWM? Or is the fact that I was using the touch version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone have any links to these CWM flashing problems?
What is so wrong with flashing AOKP with CWM?
I noticed some stuff on this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1547665 but nothing conclusive.

[Q] Unlocked Atrix 4g soft keys won't work + Motorola Boot logo gone

Hey all, this is my first post on this forum. I registered just to let my voice be heard.
Let me just say that I have done extensive research into these problems but I don't want to brick my phone so I want to know the direct steps for me.
OK my problems are:
Upon turning on the phone the original Motorola logo is gone and is instead replaced by:
"Unlocked. PwrReason: PWR_KEY_PRESS. OS will boot in 5 seconds. Press a key to stop countdown. Avaliable Modes are: " and lists 14 different modes I can choose
This happened after I accidentally deleted my pds folder or something of the sort. I must've partitioned something accidentally and as a result my phone did not boot the next time around. It booted after I did a battery pull but gave me the next problem.
Upon booting into CM10.1 I noticed that the soft keys would not work. The entire screen was recognized as one big touch surface.
I deduced that some file was deleted which makes the screen recognize the soft keys, so I proceeded to do some research into it. The methods I saw to do were doing some sort of pdsfix which is not recommended unless necessary, which in my case is very necessary. I can boot into Romracer's recovery (5.0.2.7 I believe it is) as well as my OS. Everything is working except for those problems I listed. I am not sure if my phone can boot into fastboot but I can try. Please post your answers because I really need to get my phone working perfectly again. At this point, it is only useful for texting and a little music (and settings). I can't go into much else without restarting the phone each time (you must know why).
EDIT 15/04/13
-----------------------------------------------------------
I just flashed pdsfix(gingerbread).zip and I am now able to use my phone at normal speeds and even overclock if necessary. I was running epinter's CM10.1 Rom

Fixed half the problem!
Okay so after many hours of trying, I managed to install the drivers for fastboot on my computer and did the fix for the pds file.
First I downloaded moto-fastboot.zip and extracted to my C:/ drive.
Then I tested if my device was recognized. It didn't recognize it at all, so I went into device manager.
In device manager there was my problem. I saw fastboot with a yellow exclamation sign. I right-clicked it and directed it to where I had previously downloaded fastboot drivers. (Found them here: FASTBOOT DRIVERS
It installed nicely and when I tried the commands listed in Method 2 on this page PDS Partition Fix it worked perfectly!
So I proceeded to restart the phone, no issues. But the Motorola logo at the very beginning is still not there. It says unlocked at the top left and displays the same options as before. The phone is still fully functional without it, but I want to get it back. I will be doing more to fix this though.
But the best part is that, my soft-keys are working perfectly! :laugh: I do notice a little lag in the system but that will be fixed soon. Hope this helped anyone who didn't know what to do.
P.S. If you find a way to restore the Motorola logo on boot, please tell me!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423763
Logo and animation

Mojar7070 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423763
Logo and animation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect! Thanks much for finding that for me. I now have the problems fixed except that my cpu won't clock above 608 mhz even when I put the min clock slider higher than that value.
I suspect that perhaps I flashed the froyo pdsfix instead of gingerbread. Maybe that is causing the problem. I'll try and post my results soon.

My Atrix 4g is fixed!!
Wow I can't believe I finally fixed it! It was as I suspected. After downloading the pdsfix(gingerbread).zip I rebooted my phone into fastboot and proceeded to flash the zip. And who would've guessed it? I am now able to clock at usual speeds including the 1000MHz of old ^_^. I am sooo glad I found this forum. If anyone had similar problems you can try the steps I did.
P.S. For the record I was running epinter's CM10.1 Rom for the Atrix 4g. I may go to Neutrino's in the near future, but I am just glad to have my phone back in working order :laugh::laugh:

Status 0 in cmw

When I tried to flash cyan fox in cmw it gave me a status 0 error can anyone fix?

We need more info like what did it specifically say. Be as specific as possible
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

RedJack117 said:
When I tried to flash cyan fox in cmw it gave me a status 0 error can anyone fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's "usually" an error you get when the zip is corrupted.
but occasionally you'll get it if your running an i9000 roms (I've had it interchangeably with status 7 before)
I would try re-downloading and flashing the zip again.
if that doesn't work try downloading and flashing fluid kernel
then go to "advanced" and select "reboot recovery".
then try flashing the rom again.

Status 0 error on anything I try to flash using CWM
My friend gave me the Vibrant last year after getting a new phone. He gave it to me so that I could try mess around with it and try to fix it. The back and home buttons were not working. All 4 buttons light up, but only the Menu and Search responds. Phone was on stock ROM (JFD) and was not rooted - it even had the external SD that came with it. I immediately thought that re-flashing it would be a quick fix. Formatted everything and used Odin to put it back on. But, to my surprise, both buttons still did not work. It would sometimes work when I tried them on key test in CWM. Anyway, I thought that maybe a different or better ROM might do the trick. I wanted it to be more of a gaming console so I tried to put CyanAOSP on it. Got a lot of errors, but eventually, I managed to put it on. The buttons still doesn't work but at least I could navigate better using the on-screen shortcuts.
After about a month, it started to freeze and crash a lot so I decided to re-flash it again. This time, got no errors but another problem arose - it became tethered. The device always think that the USB is connected (it's always up on the notification bar) to the point that I can't even turn it back on without really attaching it to one. It was a spare phone which I use more for gaming so I was able to live with it.
A month ago, it began to freeze and crash a lot again so I thought of trying a different ROM. To my surprise, anything I try to flash using CWM gives me an error - packages would seem to load for about a quarter of the way then gives me the 'status 0' error. I get this even when I tried the ones that worked before.
I have several update.zips (1 is only 632KB while the rest are 1.7MB) and at least 2 copies of the ROMS (CyanAOSP, L-Droid and Ressurection) KERNELS (fluid, mackay, and neat), GAPPS, and MODEMS which I try to flash. I've re-visited all of the rooting threads again to cover my bases. I'm waiting for woody to respond so that I could try the files that he has because I've pretty much tried everything that I could get my hands on. (some files were pretty promising, but DL links were already down)
Regarding the update.zips that I have, I noticed that only the 632KB would root it and the others would only give me CWM 2.5.1.2 on JFD. The only way I could upgrade is by using mini kies and none of the update.zips work once I'm on KB5. (root removed and can't put it back on)

jvrey5 said:
My friend gave me the Vibrant last year after getting a new phone. He gave it to me so that I could try mess around with it and try to fix it. The back and home buttons were not working. All 4 buttons light up, but only the Menu and Search responds. Phone was on stock ROM (JFD) and was not rooted - it even had the external SD that came with it. I immediately thought that re-flashing it would be a quick fix. Formatted everything and used Odin to put it back on. But, to my surprise, both buttons still did not work. It would sometimes work when I tried them on key test in CWM. Anyway, I thought that maybe a different or better ROM might do the trick. I wanted it to be more of a gaming console so I tried to put CyanAOSP on it. Got a lot of errors, but eventually, I managed to put it on. The buttons still doesn't work but at least I could navigate better using the on-screen shortcuts.
After about a month, it started to freeze and crash a lot so I decided to re-flash it again. This time, got no errors but another problem arose - it became tethered. The device always think that the USB is connected (it's always up on the notification bar) to the point that I can't even turn it back on without really attaching it to one. It was a spare phone which I use more for gaming so I was able to live with it.
I would make sure that you realize that this phone is older and may not be up to the challenge of some of the newer games out there. Based on your PM to me, I understand that this is a secondary phone for you, so if you wanted to play some of the more graphic intensive games, I would do it on your DD.
A month ago, it began to freeze and crash a lot again so I thought of trying a different ROM. To my surprise, anything I try to flash using CWM gives me an error - packages would seem to load for about a quarter of the way then gives me the 'status 0' error. I get this even when I tried the ones that worked before.
After you PM'd me, I started looking around about the Status 0 error being thrown. All signs point to the Updater Script that in the ROMs that you are flashing. My hunch is that once you flashed the CyanAOSP, that changed your build.prop from T959 to i9000 and that is why you are getting the error. I'm pretty sure there is a way to fix it (see below)
I have several update.zips (1 is only 632KB while the rest are 1.7MB) and at least 2 copies of the ROMS (CyanAOSP, L-Droid and Ressurection) KERNELS (fluid, mackay, and neat), GAPPS, and MODEMS which I try to flash. I've re-visited all of the rooting threads again to cover my bases. I'm waiting for woody to respond so that I could try the files that he has because I've pretty much tried everything that I could get my hands on. (some files were pretty promising, but DL links were already down)
Regarding the update.zips that I have, I noticed that only the 632KB would root it and the others would only give me CWM 2.5.1.2 on JFD. The only way I could upgrade is by using mini kies and none of the update.zips work once I'm on KB5. (root removed and can't put it back on)
You should stay as far away from Kies as possible with this specific phone. It had a tendenacy to brick the Vibrants. It worked on my wife's SGS2 back when, but even then I was hesitant to use Kies on it and grinding my teath the whole time.
The zips that you mentioned are probably the standard Root.zip and the CWM zip from s15274n's thread stickied at the top of the Q&A section. Keep those handy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some answers in-line above.
**********************************
Let's get a few things straight before we start. I am still looking for the Heimdall JFD package, but I think that I know where it is. Pretty sure I put it on one of the external HDDs that I have. I'll try to upload it tonight or tomorrow night, as I am away all weekend with the family. I really don't think that you'll need it, but best to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Theoretically, once you Odin'd back to JFD, I would think that it would've reset your device ID back to T959, but I guess that it didn't. This is what I would do. Odin to stock JFD and then boot it up and let it settle. Root it using the Root.zip that you have already used before. At some point you'll need to pick a ROM to settle on, even if only to get past this hump. (I use Sada's CM11 for my sons' Vibrants. Not that there is anything wrong with any of the others, but I just basically set it and forget it for my boys. I think though that he may have stopped development for it though, so I guess I'll be looking through the dev section myself here in the near future.) Take a look at this thread starting with my post #3 and the response from @nirogu325. I am thinking that if you do the same as he instructed, you will boot past the Status 0 error (since everything that I have seen in searches leads me to believe it is an Updater Script issue). My issue was a Status 7 because of the device ID being changed and the Recovery/Kernel combo weren't letting me flash. I basically opened up the ROM.zip and deleted those line and re-zipped it up and then flashed it (did it all on the phone and no PC, but I'm crazy like that).
Let's let a few of the current device Devs weigh in and see what they think. Already mentioned nirogu325 above, but let's try @epicboy and @dzee206 and @sada23. If they are inclined to come and help, it would be much appreciated.

The phone only had one major issue before I started messing with it - back & home buttons not working. I honestly can't remember how and what I did to put CyanAOSP on it but I ended up with 2 issues after putting it on. Only the Menu button works (eventhough all 4 lights up) and the USB seems to be grounded. I managed to work with it the past year up until I Odin-ed it back to JFD. When the phone is off and battery still has charge, the loading button would come up followed by the empty batt image at the background. This will loop until the batt dies. The only way to turn it on is by connecting the USB to a power source. Accessing download is easier because all I needed to do is remove batt then press and hold the vol up & down before putting the batt back in. Getting into recovery is a bit trickier. You'll need to wait until you actually see the phone charging before doing the 3-button combo.
Last Saturday, my daughter had a school event and I brought this along because it took better pictures than my S3 knock-off. During the parade, after shooting a video, it would automatically take me to the preview. Since, both back and home buttons were not working, I was stuck. Only option was to reboot it. What makes it interesting is that there is no reboot option on the JFD. It was a good thing that I had my power bank with me. I really did not want to constantly reboot it so I thought of installing one of those virtual button apps. I managed to install ToucherPRO before their presentation which made it much easier. To my surprise, it somehow revived the back button on the device itself - I noticed it when I got home that night to transfer the photos and vids.
I mentioned this so that you guys will have an idea on what I need to go through to get it fixed - somewhat, at least to a more tolerable state. (you won't believe it but the tips of my fingers hurt due to the number of times I have to go into recovery or download)
@Woody
Woody said:
I would make sure that you realize that this phone is older and may not be up to the challenge of some of the newer games out there. Based on your PM to me, I understand that this is a secondary phone for you, so if you wanted to play some of the more graphic intensive games, I would do it on your DD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. I actually find it both weird and interesting - which games work and how they work.
Woody said:
You should stay as far away from Kies as possible with this specific phone. It had a tendenacy to brick the Vibrants. It worked on my wife's SGS2 back when, but even then I was hesitant to use Kies on it and grinding my teath the whole time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember I mentioned my hesitation using Heimdall and Bay_wolf's AIO toolkit regarding hijacking drivers and stuff, Kies on this PC is now useless. It won't even recognize the phone after I tried the toolkit - which is good, I guess.
Woody said:
... Take a look at this thread starting with my post #3 and the response from @nirogu325. I am thinking that if you do the same as he instructed, you will boot past the Status 0 error (since everything that I have seen in searches leads me to believe it is an Updater Script issue). ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read about this when I started going back through the threads. As you mentioned, this is an old phone. Old phone = old threads. What I do is I read everything on page 1 then skip over to the last page, going back. Seems to be more effective specially for DL links.
I was actually reserving this one as part of my 'last option' fix. From experience, editing scripts is far more dangerous than flashing a 'working' one. I managed to root my other DD this way, but went downhill from there - ended up bricking it 3 times.
Anyway, I think I got it - or at least, the correct way of doing it. It took me 3 days....
After day 1, I ended up with 8 update.zips (7 CWM and one ROOT) and at least 2 copies of ROMS, GAPPS, MODEMS, and KERNELS on my SD card - only the update.zips worked, the rest either gave me status 0 or leave me with the 'Vibrant Samsung' bootloop. I had some progress on DAY 2. I read something like what epicboy said:
epicboy said:
As Woody already said, you should odin back to stock 2.1. From there root and go to Jellybean and then KitKat. I'd recommend you stay away from ports that are old and haven't been updated for a while. Not trying to say that the rom I built is the best or anything but so far I haven't ran into any issues and neither has anyone that's used SpiritRom. I say try Spirit Rom 1.5 combined with iyahman's semaphore kernel that was built using linaro 4.9 as it's been stable. If you still run into these issues again I think it may be some software that you use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried several JB ROMS listed on the Bible but, the problem was, I can't get into recovery - it was all 'blurry'. When I tried a different JB ROM, it also worked but was still 'blurry' during start up and on recovery. That's when I remembered Woody's post regarding rainbows and bootloaders.
DAY 3: For some reason, everything was flawless. I was able to install JB then KK. EFFORTLESSLY, if I may add.
@epicboy
I'm planning to spend a couple of days more on this Vibrant before I mess with my other phone - a knock-off SGS3. I was drawn to L-Droid because the screenshots and contents of page 1 of their thread was specifically for the T959 and not the I9000. I know it's not really a big deal because the ROM will work and changing the build.prop for 'cosmetic purposes is easy. What really concerns me is the camera. Sadly, the T959 only has only one camera and if the camera app that you're using (stock or otherwise) has a feature to switch from back-to-front and you accidentally press that, it messes it up to the point that you can't use it anymore. I have downloaded the ROM and will try it out in a couple of days. Will send you a PM or reply on the thread regarding my feedback. I've flashed it several times but really haven't been able to do it flawlessly like in DAY 3 - which I find really weird.
Tnx peeps!

[Q] rooted ME7 stuck at verizon boot screen, what next?

So I've seen this question covered a few times but not sure if my situation is the same as the ones that have been answered prior.
I have a 1-1/2 year old S4 that I rooted when I received it, using whatever flavor of the day rooting method was out there. I have never used any kind of custom firmware with this device, just rooted and disabled some of the built in features like jedi hand wave mode, follow my eyes, etc. (yeah I know those aren't the real names)
Over the past few days I've been noticing apps not being able to open, the screen would go black for a second like the app was launching and then it would return to the home screen. Also a few times the notification bar would flicker while trying to open an app. So I decided to reboot today and now it is stuck at the verizon boot screen.
I've tried all of these options:
Pull battery for 30 sec, remove and replace sim card, replace battery boot.
go into recovery mode and wipe cache
go into recovery and do factory reset
Of course none of these options worked, which is why this thread exists.
now the next option I'm seeing when I'm looking for an answer is either
replace/update the firmware
return to verizon
I guess I'm wondering if the first option is even available to me since I never flashed anything custom before? If it is, I'm sure there's a wonderful thread here that would walk me through the process, if anyone would be so kind as to point me there. I'm just a little confused over what's available in my particular flavor of firmware.
Or, is there a verizon flavor that I could update to and be able to root as well? I remember when I originally rooted it was suggested to keep the older version so you wouldn't get locked in to not being able to do any custom stuff, but not sure if that's been overcome since. I don't need anything fancy, just a rooted phone works for me.
If updating is not an available option for me, is a verizon return my next step? And if so, can/should I remove signs of rooting before sending it in?

Better Mobile App

welcome