Can't flash FTF on my SGP511 - Xperia Z2 Tablet Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

After trying a few custom ROMS, I decided to revert to full stock. CM12 did mess up with my recovery : it installed Cyanogen Recovery, even if I didn't want to and even if the option to install it was disabled in the dev settings ! Since then, I can't flash another ROM or if I can, it will be buggy for no reason (apps not working, etc.).
So I decided to revert to stock with a proper FTF file using Flashtool in flashmode...however, it won't work !
It won't flash the rom properly : the flash last 3 seconds. It says it went fine but as you can imagine, in 3 seconds, it didn't flash anything really. As a mater of fact, if I'm booting the tablet, I'm still under CM12.
Is there a way to revert to stock in another way ? I tried using Fastboot, after extracting the .ftf file but same issue : it looks like it's flashing but it's way too short to flash the system.
Any idea ?
Screw CM12 anyway, forcing their crappy recovery is a **** move.

Related

[HELP] Attempted installing paranoid, resulted in always booting to CWM instead.

I tried following this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1580070
"INSTRUCTIONS" part:
* RECOVERY: FACTORY RESET IF YOU WERE USING ANOTHER ROM!
* RECOVERY: Install Rom: Download
* RECOVERY: Install Gapps, ALWAYS-EVEN FOR UPDATES: Download (find the latest one that carries the "jb" tag)
* RECOVERY: Wipe Cache Partition
* RECOVERY: Wipe Dalvik Cache
* Reboot and enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did all the above, never forgot any of the 3 wipes/resets that were necessary.
used this rom file:
http://goo.im/devs/paranoidandroid/roms/i9100g
(latest one)
for my Galaxy Samsung S II GT-i9100g.
I had CWM and also had a rooted android 2.3.
first boot it showed me the normal samsung boot screen, for 45 minutes....
so I restarted and the phone gave me the same behaviour..
so I removed the battery to turn off the phone, and attempted to reinstall the whole thing, going through this process again from scratch
not forgetting any of the wipes etc...
now every time I boot it, it leads me to CWM instead of the normal boot screen and the expected paranoid rom eventually...
I followed this path because CM 10 failed me because upgrading from 2.3 to 4.x requires going through something that is called "stock" or as I think it actually is - google's /manufacturer's original firmware/rom production line thingy
and after that it needs me to re-enable root on that stock rom all over again. And only then I may attempt to install CM10...
so I picked paranoid instead, because in it's instructions is showed me no such constraint. heck it can't give me that constraint because there is no "stock" of android 3.x for smartphones
but then this issue happened... so I need your help.
I found similar search results but couldn't figure out their solutions or how whatever triggered that same problem (which isn't mentioned in those threads) is related to what I did to my phone... (so that I will not repeat the same mistake)
your help is much appreciated as I need it so so much!
Huh?
Just flash a stock ROM, get back on your feet and go CM or paranoid.
Sent from the little guy
gastonw said:
Huh?
Just flash a stock ROM, get back on your feet and go CM or paranoid.
Sent from the little guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
by "flash"ing you mean the option "install from a zip file" in CWM in recovery mod?
if I have some rom, the only way for me to install another would always be by going through that middle step of also installing a 'stock' rom as well?
there is no way around it?
installing a 'stock' rom, wouldn't it make me loose my root I have on the phone and force me to root it all over again before I can continue install anything at all?
thats the reason I wanted to try out the paranoid way of doing this instead of the CM10, because I have no interest in rooting my already rooted phone and I hoped that paranoid does not need me to go to stock first....
Couple of things:
Stock: why, when in trouble, we suggest stock?
Stock is the original state of the phone.
Samsung write it for our device to work flawless, so, by flashing stock we can check if our device is fully functional.
Imagine you flash a custom ROM and you lose IMEI, you go "wtf?" right?
In order to check if your EFS folder is f&#cked up, you flash stock and check if your IMEI is still there.
We can always use stock to take a long breath "phew, we're fine" after a f*&k up.
You can flash stock via CWM (zip file), Odin (tar file, md5) and mobile Odin (tar, zip and md5).
CWM: custom recovery, you can get it by flashing a custom kernel or by flashing it via stock Recovery (generally comes with BusyBox and SuperUser app, which gives you Root).
Odin: Just download any version and follow directions.
Mobile Odin: Well, this is a hell of an app, you need Root to run it.
It does all that Odin does, plus it roots your ROM (only stock ROMs) while it's flashing it, all by itself. Costs 5 bucks, but it's damned worthwhile.
Wanna know the best scenario?
You get M.O Pro, you get a nandroid back up online app, you get CWM zip files (sitting on your SD).
With that line up, you can flash whatecer the hell you want and you will ALWAYS have root.
Sent from the little guy
some questions
ONE QUICK IMPORTANT QUESTION BEFORE THE REST:
If I use mobile odin, will I be able to use it to install stock rom and also root it at the same time?
SECOND IMPORTANT QUESTION:
you said I could flash whatever I want and still have root, but my problem was not 'not having root', it was not having the flash process complete successfully... how do I attack that?
THIRD IMPORTANT... info... :
My "BUILD" version is "GINGERBREAD.XXKL5", isn't that a 'stock' one?
If you don't have a lot of time,
then the rest of this post is not as important as the 2 questions above...
gastonw said:
Couple of things:
Stock: why, when in trouble, we suggest stock?
Stock is the original state of the phone.
Samsung write it for our device to work flawless, so, by flashing stock we can check if our device is fully functional.
Imagine you flash a custom ROM and you lose IMEI, you go "wtf?" right?
In order to check if your EFS folder is f&#cked up, you flash stock and check if your IMEI is still there.
We can always use stock to take a long breath "phew, we're fine" after a f*&k up.
You can flash stock via CWM (zip file), Odin (tar file, md5) and mobile Odin (tar, zip and md5).
CWM: custom recovery, you can get it by flashing a custom kernel or by flashing it via stock Recovery (generally comes with BusyBox and SuperUser app, which gives you Root).
Odin: Just download any version and follow directions.
Mobile Odin: Well, this is a hell of an app, you need Root to run it.
It does all that Odin does, plus it roots your ROM (only stock ROMs) while it's flashing it, all by itself. Costs 5 bucks, but it's damned worthwhile.
Wanna know the best scenario?
You get M.O Pro, you get a nandroid back up online app, you get CWM zip files (sitting on your SD).
With that line up, you can flash whatecer the hell you want and you will ALWAYS have root.
Sent from the little guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the saddest part is that I couldn't figure out most of what you just said
what is 'nandroid'? 'flashing'? do you mean like dd in linux? copying to the entire flash storage device?
'IMEI'? huh..? O_O
at the moment I was able to 'get back on my feet', I restored everything back to normal with manual copying of important parts of the CWM corrupted backup from this week, and old stuff for a CWM backup made few months ago.
now that I am at a 'normal' state.. I want to install paranoid or CM10 on my GT-I9100g.
which one of those 2 does not force me going through installing stock?
I have this fear of installing stock that it will take away my root and that I will have to use adb from command line to re-enable root afterwards, which I have bad experience with.
I need to know a few things before I attempt to install stock via CWM,
will installing stock disable my root? will installing stock disable my ability to load recovery boot menu CWM?
is 'root' an attribute or state that belongs to the running rom itself after boot has been completed and to that only?
or does it also belong to the state the device is at while in the recovery boot menu CWM ?
I tried messing around with ADB in the past to see if I could root devices via that way but it wasn't very successful so thats why I'm afraid of having to attempt it again.
bumpitybump
even though a year later, I would still love some replies
resurrecting my motivation to do this once again.
copy paste from my other post;
before flashing, you will need these;
-stock rom (get it from Sammobile, sign in and select your country and phone model)
-blazing kernel for recovery (search in XDA)
-custom rom (CM, PA, Supernexus...your choice)
-backup your data
-GApps (get the latest one)
-you must know what are you doing and dont flame/blame other member if something wrong
how to flash;
-make sure you are on latest stock rom (mine is JellyBean 4.1.2), if not like the OP, flash the latest stock rom using Odin;
*reboot your phone in Download Mode
*open Odin and in PDA option select your stock rom and then Start
*if done it will display Done and disconnect your phone, it will boot up
*if bootloop, reboot into Recovery Mode, and then wipe data and cache, and then reboot normally
-after updating your phone to latest stock rom, copy your custom rom, GApps, and Blazing kernel into external SD card, then reboot into Recovery Mode
-choose "apply update from external storage" and choose Blazing kernel, wait for it to finish update
-reboot normally, and then reboot back to Recovery Mode. this time you will notice that your recovery is different from the previous one
-select install zip > choose from external storage/sdcard 1 > and then choose your custom rom. then wait for it to finish update
-repeat the above step to install GApps, and after that reboot normally
-if bootloop, reboot back to Recovery Mode and then wipe data, cache and dalvik and then reboot
-done, now you are running on custom rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and about the root, i believe that almost all custom rom rooted

Mega...semi-bricked??

So I have a Sprint Galaxy Mega and it seems as though it may be semi-bricked. It will not boot past the GALAXY MEGA logo. It will just continuously power cycle to and from that logo. If I attempt to put it in recovery, it will say "RECOVERY BOOTING" in blue letters as usual, then power cycle right back to the GALAXY MEGA screen. It will boot into Odin mode and accept Odin files, but after attempting do do a typical "stock Odin" scenario, nothing has changed. I looked around for the Pit but cannot seem to find it. Does anyone has a reliable link to the latest Odin stock restore and the PIT file that matches it?
Maybe an error with your system data. So you can't reboot into recovery ? If you can try to wipe data and cache and reboot.
It may be an abnormal re-partition when flashing stock rock, and then I can't help you (have the i9205 international model). Some members of this section have the Sprint version, try to send them a PM if nobody can help you
Nope, no recovery. I was considering flashing a custom recovery to it to see what it does but I don't wanna kill the phone any more than it already is...
Yes I understand. But flashing custom recovery can solve your problem, only if you can boot on it. I think it can't make more damages to your phone, he just always stuck on boot phase like a brick, but if you don't want to try, wait for a developer making you a PIT file. More safe, the Galaxy Mega have a too poor development support for risk anything...
Well I went ahead and flashed TWRP to it. It will boot into TWRP just fine. Tried flashing the stock L900 ROM zip and it still won't boot.
Well I installed a custom ROM, SlimKat, and the phone boots. If I install the stock ROM located in the following link, OP's signature, the phone goes right back to bootlooping. ???
I need either the stock ROM or a ROM with dialer codes because this phone will be flashed to a regional carrier.
what recovry version you use bro. maybe recovery problem. try use your custom rom to flash another recovery from philz. the latest one. some time recovery dont work properly to downgrade from 4.4.2 to stock 4.2.2.
Great, so with Philz Touch Recovery, I never had problems for downgrade and I do this often for testing roms. Now it should not bootloop if you reflash stock.
I am using "CWM-based recovery 6.0.4.7"
I will try Philz recovery
After trying Philz recovery to flash the stock file I found, it once again bootlooped. Is there another stock ROM floating around somewhere or possibly a custom ROM that has dialer codes such as ##3282# enabled?
No idea... But actually the most complete stock based custom rom is MegaFire I think. Flash V5 (not V5x !) it should be enabled.
I don't see what is the problem while flashing stock rom... Oh ! Maybe you haven't enabled USB Debugging, I forgot to do that one time and I had some issues, in case you try to flash a firmware where Knox or others features are on with a modem without these, may cause bootloop. I've searched for 2 days before solve that little problem...
Have you tried another firmware ? If you can flash custom rom, something went wrong before flash... Odin folder is complete ?
Strange...once again a boot loop after flashing the MegaFire ROM
I'm almost certain I need the PIT file. I cannot find it anywhere.
Well I got the phone to boot from that rooted stock ROM FINALLY. I don't remember for sure but I think what I did was first flash TWRP, then flashed boot.img.tar that I found somewhere, it was listed for the Sprint Mega. I then booted into TWRP and flashed the stock rooted ROM(zip) I mentioned before. It now boots perfectly and everything works except one tiny little detail. No WiFi, no cellular signal at all. Baseband version: unknown in About phone.Already tried flashing the Sprint stock modem from the same download link as the ROM and it didn't work.
I'm having the same problem too dude, I
I download n flash all.the firmware I could find online, since I have no idea what the country of origin is. But most of them work, but no WiFi, Bluetoothand the sim card slot don't read
VirtueToVice said:
Well I got the phone to boot from that rooted stock ROM FINALLY. I don't remember for sure but I think what I did was first flash TWRP, then flashed boot.img.tar that I found somewhere, it was listed for the Sprint Mega. I then booted into TWRP and flashed the stock rooted ROM(zip) I mentioned before. It now boots perfectly and everything works except one tiny little detail. No WiFi, no cellular signal at all. Baseband version: unknown in About phone.Already tried flashing the Sprint stock modem from the same download link as the ROM and it didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Trouble installing roms

Ok guys, Heres what I do & what happens,
(model # C6833)
1- root device
2- install new boot kernel (adv-stock-v4) (( Even tried v5))
3- unlock bootlader (only had to do it the first time, bootloader stays unlocked)
4- install cwm/TWiRP
5- get into TWIRP or CWM & wipe as I should
6- install rom. (It wont install)
7- reboot
8- stuck @ sony logo. & then reboots,
9- reinstall stock rom
This happens every time I try to install a rom.
I also get the message before I reboot, no root, would you like cmw/twirp to fix it, I go with yes. & ive tryed no as well. no difference. Still get stuck @ Sony logo & get reboot loop.
Any ideas ?
Im not new at rooting & roming.
Hey, it sounds like you're installing NUT's dual recovery and are trying to flash a CM/AOSP based ROM? I didn't find it possible to flash non-Sony ROMs using that recovery, myself. What you need to do is to first flash the kernel (boot.img) from the ROM you're trying to flash. You can do this using fastboot with the phone set to fastboot mode. The FlashTool program comes with what you need, and there's a guide to using it in the development forum. The kernel contains the recovery (either CWM or TWRP), so after flashing that, you can boot to recovery and install any CM/AOSP ROM you wish.
Triflot said:
Hey, it sounds like you're installing NUT's dual recovery and are trying to flash a CM/AOSP based ROM? I didn't find it possible to flash non-Sony ROMs using that recovery, myself. What you need to do is to first flash the kernel (boot.img) from the ROM you're trying to flash. You can do this using fastboot with the phone set to fastboot mode. The FlashTool program comes with what you need, and there's a guide to using it in the development forum. The kernel contains the recovery (either CWM or TWRP), so after flashing that, you can boot to recovery and install any CM/AOSP ROM you wish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the flashtool thing. ( I'll edit my post ) I did the boot.img & Im trying to use SlimRom. Everything seems to be fine until I try & install the rom. Then it goes to hell.
Btw, Slimrom is compatable.
So what's the actual error message you get upon installing a ROM?
Something like, installation canceled. could not install rom. It goes threw a few steps. gets a few things installed (or so it seems) & then it hangs & I get that message. I thought, at first, it may have been a corrupt download. But after a few times of downloading it. I kinda think its no longer that.
Have you tried another ROM? Someone else is also having boot trouble with Slim in its development thread.
No actually, I have not. I will soon though now. And report back. First I need a stock U.S. rom. Just in case. Cant seem to find one.
Been using a CE (Central Europe) based stock rom.

Bootloader decided to divorce. Could you help me getting it back?

Hello,
I have a huge issue with my Z2. A month ago, I decided to try MIUI, after being bored by CM. And like a complete 'tard, I also downloaded DooMKernel because why not. New rom, new kernel, more ways to tweak my phone ! yay !
But no. I misread DooMLorD post, and didn't saw that it was ONLY for stock roms.
I discovered that after seeing my Z2 stuck in bootloop... wat.
So, I reflashed my previous CM11 rom (original ZIP, not a backup, via CWM). And it worked. But the bootloader decided to magically disappear. wat².
At the time, I didn't bother because I was in a rush (I am really stupid) and because, you know, if it works, don't fix it.
But as I write that lines, my phone won't send or receive messages, and have a HHUUUUUGE battery drain (Google Play Services making CPU run @100% all the time).
So I tried to install TWRP via their app, which is crashing at launch (my ROM is really, really f*cked up).
I don't know what to do.
Flashing a stock rom with Flashtool? Will it hardbrick my device as I unlocked my bootloader?
If needed, I have my TA backup.
If you could help me to get a recovery back, that would be highly appreciable.
Thanks !
if you are on unlocked bootloader, this should do it :
- flash stock ftf using flashtools
- flash @AndroPlus kernel using fastboot
- boot into recovery with vol down or up button (one is twrp other is cwm)
from here you can flash CM back and reboot the rom, once you fully boot go back to CM recovery and restore your backup.
good luck, good thing you have a backup before all the mess happened.
Thanks ! It worked.
I had to flash the kernel before the .ftf because Flashtool was giving me a error message.
But I now have a bootloader !
Many many thanks.

messed up the recovery

It seems a bit trendy to mess with the recovery, resulting in a brick or bootloop.
Just making a new thread cause my case is a bit different.
I was on Existenz 4.7.0 when I decided to flash 5.0.
Wasn't a clean install, resulted in some app fc'ing and restarting, so i went back to trwp and used my backup, keeping in mind to come back and make a clean install when I can take the time it needs.
Made a few backups today and wanted to start the trwp backup when I realised that I wasn't able to enter recovery.
Installed the trwp app, which wasn't able to reflash the recovery.
So I read another posting and I decided to delete the chargemon and rename the chargemon.stock, but that wasn't that smart, I decided later.
So back home I downloaded the dual recovery software from NUT's website to totally reinstall the recovery. After some ADB trouble I managed to get everything running, the batch file installed the recovery, everything looked pretty, at the end of the process the Z2 rebootet and e voila, I'm stuck in bootloop, clueless.
When I power the phone you can feel the first small vibration, then the Sony logo appears, stays, and it reboots.
Reset Button, powering on and holding Volume up isn't doing anything, so is Volume down.
What can I Do?
I know I made a few mistakes, but help is still needed!
Bro, Please read carefully before installing recoveries.
Nut's Recovery is NOT for Marshmallow. and it will cause bootloop and same problem you encounter here.
Only Solution is to flash via flashtool and re-root.(personally i would flash a kitkat .ftf then root it with any of the available methods. you can try kingroot it is the easiest) after that install Nut's recovery and flash your MM rom which will come with its own working recovery.
Oh, ok, so thats the cause. Didn't know that, shame on me.
So Existenz 5 messed up my recovery and maybe the silly try of reflashing killed it totally or just the bootloader.
So I will try to setup a Win7 PC and setup flash tool properly (didn't seem to work on win10)
Thanks for that finger point I the right direction
Flashtool works on windows 10 no problem for me.
Just install the right drivers and install 0.9.18.6 version of flashtool and try different drivers it shall work
Will do, thanks a lot. Seems to me that I had a 4.7 Existenz Rom with bootloader/recovery from MM, which I destroyed.
Is it possible to reflash the old bootloader? Or will flash tool spare my datas on internal SD card?
why to flash a boot loader?? is your device unlocked bootloader??
It's locked.
So it can't be a broken bootloader?
So it's just because the recovery is messed up?
JackDCalloway said:
It's locked.
So it can't be a broken bootloader?
So it's just because the recovery is messed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes bro don't worry.
It seems that you are new to sony or you re coming from samsung or any other device with recovery partition.
By default, Sony doesn't have a recovery partition like in samsung. that is why developers made the recovery a part of the system (your ROM) the chargemon files are the one responsible for the recovery. so when you install a recovery it is like you are installing a system application which can be messed up if it is not compatible with your rom version.
PS:Be carefull never wipe the system partition from recovery and restart your phone before installing a new rom because if you restart without having installed your rom your phone won't have a recovery(part of the rom) neither a system----> Bootloop and need to reflash.
you can unlock your bootloader and make a recovery partition and install aosp roms. but on sony once you unlock your bootloader you will loose a lots of features and camera enhancements. so better keep it Locked and use stock based roms like existenz and MIUI roms which are stock based.
I hope i have been able to clarify all
OK, makes sense.
Seems like I'm still pretty new to Sony. Came from Samsung last December, just got enough knowledge to flash and improvise, quick and dirty.
So if I could get hands on my old chargemon file, (from when I didn't tried to install Existenz 5) I may get the Z2 running again?
Of course a pretty clean install afterwards.
Just asking, cause of backup reasons
Edit: I knew that unlocking the BL has a few disadvantages. I'm happy with Existenz but now I know a few things more, thanks michel090428
it is very difficult now even if you have the chargemon file. i don't know what could be messed up with the system. go for a clean flash it is the most safe way to do it.
Read this guide if you want a help with flashing it is very easy and detailed. and remember it is better to flash kitkat .ftf as it is easily rootable.
http://www.gizmobolt.com/2015/04/09...z3-23-1-a-0-690-ftf-using-flashtool-manually/
Hey folks, I'm back again!
Managed to setup a Win7 PC, installed the correct drivers, setup Flashtool, found correct ftf file and so on.
Problem is that I'm only able to get into fastboot mode with my Z2, for me it seems like Flashtool won't work when the device is only in fastboot mode.
What can I do?
why you can't start your device with flashmode?
You need to shutdown the device then when flashtool ask you to start in flash mode you press volume down(keep pressed then you plug in USB cable and it should start in flash mode directly.
have you tried to follow the guide i posted in the first page? where are you stuck? which step?
michel090428 said:
why you can't start your device with flashmode?
You need to shutdown the device then when flashtool ask you to start in flash mode you press volume down(keep pressed then you plug in USB cable and it should start in flash mode directly.
have you tried to follow the guide i posted in the first page? where are you stuck? which step?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was a bit tricky, did the 'vol down + plug in' thing several times and it worked suddenly, flashtool flashed the ftf. Now it's FCing several tasks while it would do the android setup. Trying to flash a 4.4.2 ROM now, thanks for patience and help, appreciated this!
WIPE DATA
JackDCalloway said:
Was a bit tricky, did the 'vol down + plug in' thing several times and it worked suddenly, flashtool flashed the ftf. Now it's FCing several tasks while it would do the android setup. Trying to flash a 4.4.2 ROM now, thanks for patience and help, appreciated this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You re Welcome Bro,
Concerning the FC You need to check the WIPE DATA option in flashtool i think it will solve the FC's
I'm with 23.1.A.1.28 now and it's fine. Just need to get root, there should be an exploit but it's not working for me, reasons unknown. Going to have a look at it later. Want to flash Existenz, that's the goal.
Bro , Use KINGROOT it is able to root .28 firmware.
there is a thread here for kingroot.

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