Related
Update: Hallelujah, we have seen the birds!
Just for future reference to those of you who may be stuck in an "APX loop", where NVFlashing and even repartioning do not work for you. I tried many things, and only one thing worked.
Didn't work:
1) NVFlashing to anything
2) Repartioning or wiping
3) Wiping out all storage on the SD card
After doing many, many rinse and repeats on the above, the only thing that did work were these instructions:
imurg said:
Please check this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11306979&postcount=92
Note that he is using the NVFLASH_46 and although is has been deprecated, it works like a charm:
1) NVFlash the g tab_46 (it works with 46 and doesn't with other)
2) Let it finish and boot up
3) Go to storage setting and unmount the sd card.
4) Run a format.
5) Go to security and do Restore to factory settings
6) As part of this it will reboot. When restarts you'll see the birds. Everything is back to normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now, I don't know of too many cases like mine where APX was the only thing that was working and that no amount of CWM or NVFlashing could bring back whatever was wrong with the bootloader, but this method forced a recovery image restore and got me back to the point where I can now power down and reboot. And for that, I thank this fine community!
I think we need a better guide somewhere on... Stages of recovery. If this doesn't work, here's the next deeper level. (Example: Level 1, wipe data/cache and reflash the rom. Level 2: Repartition and fix permissions. Level 3: NVFlash for 1.1 or 1.2 back to stock. Level 4: run the steps I have listed above. Level 5: fixing the bootloader. Level 6: Remove the case cover and short the back.)
Anyways, thanks again guys. Hopefully someone else will search with the same issue I had and get fixed as I have.
try this (not a developer here) when it boots up use your computer to delete all the files on the sd card so it looks blank- not sure if it will fix your issue but if there is a file on there messing your reboot into cwm that should will get rid of it. let me know how it goes. (standard at your own risk disclaimer) i have done this before just to see what would happen and nvflash brought it back up.
Hey, thanks for the reply. The sdcard was already blanked out through my various steps, so that doesn't appear to be the problem. Same things happen.
Now, that's just the app data and such on the sdcard, so I am guessing if I was able to see/delete all the system files instead via USB and delete it that way, I'd see something else.
just to bee clear i would delete everything on there not just the system files- so when you go to the drive from your computer it shows nothing at all.
here are the steps i would take start to finish.
1 nvflash rom
2 connect to computer, mount usb, then highlight and delete all files on gtab.
3 nv flash again (preferably with a stock rom with cmw pre loaded
4 reboot and pray that this fixed it.
OP - What size is the nvflash file you are using? I have run into a similar issue before with the larger nvflash.exe (like 152kb). It should be 140KB.
Just something else to check.
So to clarify, when you nvflash the 3588 stock image, it will automatically reboot at the end of the nvflash_gtablet.bat batch file?
pugsby said:
Hey all. Little frustrated since I've tried most of the tricks and still have a soft-bricked device. Not sure how it happened originally, but one way or another, I have a bad bootloader and no access to CWM.
APX works. I can NVFlash 1.1 or 1.2-based Stock or otherwise roms, and they boot (once, and only once...) . I can get USB mount. I've tried them with and without CWM pre-installed and see no differences.
But as soon as I reboot or power off, it just returns to APX mode. It is only a black screen, however. No birds, no logo, no nothing. The only way to make it boot again is to NVFlash it again.
All the instructions say to enter CWM to re-partition or to wipe data. That's great, but I have no access to CWM. Pressing the buttons during bootup does nothing because the device never makes it that far through bootup. And the format utility doesn't wipe enough data to return this back to a truly blank device, because when I nvflash, my apps still show to be there and I want it back to a blank slate.
I've tried pressing the buttons directly after a NVFlash to enter CWM that way, but it just goes straight into the rom.
Others have suggested popping off the back of the case and grounding out things to reset that way, but I thought that was just if APX didn't work, but APX is the only thing that DOES work, so not sure if it applies. (Let me know if I'm wrong there)
More things to try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the tablet in APX mode and plugged into your computer...
1) Open a command shell
2) Navigate to your nvflash directory
3) type in the following command but DO NOT hit enter
nvflash --bl bootloader.bin --download 6 part6.img --go
4) Hold down the volume UP key on the tablet and press the enter key on your computer.
5) Continue to hold the volume UP key until the tablet starts the nvflash.
6) Release the volume up key and when the nvflash finishes it should boot into CWM
After you repartition, wipe data, clear cache, etc. it might still loop into APX. If it does you'll need to force it to install a new bootloader. I'll dig up a link to the procedure if you need it.
I'm interested to know what the hell you did to get to the apx bootloop in the first place. I've gone through great lengths to try to replicate people's problems. I've even purposely done things out of order, done things wrong, drop the gtab couple times, etc. and I've never run into this problem.
goodintentions said:
I'm interested to know what the hell you did to get to the apx bootloop in the first place. I've gone through great lengths to try to replicate people's problems. I've even purposely done things out of order, done things wrong, drop the gtab couple times, etc. and I've never run into this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've worked on quite a few of these and still can't replicate it on my own either. Most of them had flashed an incompatible version of ClockworkMod (usually with ROM Manager) and a few had tried to move from Cyanogen directly to a 1.2 based ROM. A very small minority of them had issues with their internal flash memory. No one consistent thread that ties them all together that I've found. One interesting point though... In every case it was easy to recreate the problem after the tablet had been "Fixed." All I had to do was nvflash with the same image that was traditionally used for returning the devices to stock (bekit 1105).
K J Rad said:
I've worked on quite a few of these and still can't replicate it on my own either. Most of them had flashed an incompatible version of ClockworkMod (usually with ROM Manager) and a few had tried to move from Cyanogen directly to a 1.2 based ROM. A very small minority of them had issues with their internal flash memory. No one consistent thread that ties them all together that I've found. One interesting point though... In every case it was easy to recreate the problem after the tablet had been "Fixed." All I had to do was nvflash with the same image that was traditionally used for returning the devices to stock (bekit 1105).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'v tried rom manager, wrong cwm version, and wrong bootloader. And I still can't replicate this apx bootloop thing. And I have 2 gtabs to work with. A 3rd one should be coming soon. Weird.
Added by edit.
I'm assuming you're some kind of technician or repairman? If so, then it's good that you're telling me this. I've been considering the possibility that this apx bootloop thing is not really an apx bootloop but rather something the user is doing or a button is stuck or something silly like that. Good to know the problem is real.
Mind telling me how you fix this? Since I can't replicate this, I have no idea how to even begin fixing this.
Acidburn find out a solution for this problem
Please check this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11306979&postcount=92
Note that he is using the NVFLASH_46 and although is has been deprecated, it works like a charm:
1) NVFlash the g tab_46 (it works with 46 and doesn't with other)
2) Let it finish and boot up
3) Go to storage setting and unmount the sd card.
4) Run a format.
5) Go to security and do Restore to factory settings
6) As part of this it will reboot. When restarts you'll see the birds. Everything is back to normal.
Good luck
K J Rad said:
With the tablet in APX mode and plugged into your computer...
1) Open a command shell
2) Navigate to your nvflash directory
3) type in the following command but DO NOT hit enter
nvflash --bl bootloader.bin --download 6 part6.img --go
4) Hold down the volume UP key on the tablet and press the enter key on your computer.
5) Continue to hold the volume UP key until the tablet starts the nvflash.
6) Release the volume up key and when the nvflash finishes it should boot into CWM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This got me into CWM (Yay!). This, however, did not fix the APX looping (boo).
I repartitioned, wiped, nvflashed, wiped, repeat. Even though I have more options now with CWM, the end outcome is still the same that after the initial boot, it won't boot again.
BUT, I did find a working method. See the original post.
goodintentions said:
I'm interested to know what the hell you did to get to the apx bootloop in the first place. I've gone through great lengths to try to replicate people's problems. I've even purposely done things out of order, done things wrong, drop the gtab couple times, etc. and I've never run into this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hoping you'd respond, goodintentions, as I used your NVFlash files and instructions this last time around from your very handy site.
I'm not sure exactly what happened. I do know that Rom manager was involved somehow, trying to use that integration with recovery. (I know, not recommended, but at first it acted like it would work).
Also, I think a 1.2 Rom was mistakenly flashed on top of a 1.1 bootloader somehow.
The details are fuzzy. It's been so many things since then that who knows..
goodintentions said:
I'v tried rom manager, wrong cwm version, and wrong bootloader. And I still can't replicate this apx bootloop thing. And I have 2 gtabs to work with. A 3rd one should be coming soon. Weird.
Added by edit.
I'm assuming you're some kind of technician or repairman? If so, then it's good that you're telling me this. I've been considering the possibility that this apx bootloop thing is not really an apx bootloop but rather something the user is doing or a button is stuck or something silly like that. Good to know the problem is real.
Mind telling me how you fix this? Since I can't replicate this, I have no idea how to even begin fixing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a tech. Been working with/on/in electronics and computers for roughly 35 years. I had a hard time believing the problem was real until I had one in my hands that was doing it. I've tried doing it to my own tablet but a simple nvflash always got me going again.
imurg said:
Please check this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11306979&postcount=92
Note that he is using the NVFLASH_46 and although is has been deprecated, it works like a charm:
1) NVFlash the g tab_46 (it works with 46 and doesn't with other)
2) Let it finish and boot up
3) Go to storage setting and unmount the sd card.
4) Run a format.
5) Go to security and do Restore to factory settings
6) As part of this it will reboot. When restarts you'll see the birds. Everything is back to normal.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is successful in some cases but not all. In some cases the bootloader has to be updated using factory stock recovery. ClockworkMod and nvflash don't update the bootloader (and I suspect some other system related partitions/information) properly. For those cases the fix is a little more complex. This process...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13474033&postcount=114
has worked on all but one of the tablets I've recovered. The odd one out required an extra reboot (though I was doing the steps from memory and on an unfamiliar computer so I could be mistaken). However... as noted above... a subsequent nvflash of even the same image resulted in another APX loop. The end result was I had to craft a custom nvflash for each of those machines to avoid the problem in the future. That may or may not be necessary for all cases but since it's relatively easy I just do it out of habit now.
Keep in mind that serious APX looping issues are very rare in the grand scheme of things. Many times folks get confused and fail to follow directions properly and think they have a bigger problem than they really do. The overwhelming majority of times a simple nvflash and repartitioning will fix these things right up.
Added: BTW, the best way I've found to avoid the APX loop issue entirely... do a data wipe before you flash a new ROM and then again immediately after and before you boot it for the first time. I know... one should be enough... but if you make it a habit to do two... then you'll probably remember to do at least one of them ;-)
Great info. I shall try not to enter another painful APX loop. I was shocked how many things I had to try and places I had to go before I found a working method. I guess I really did a number on this thing somehow. But I'm happy that it's back.
I didn't have to do the more painful one you mentioned, but honestly I was ready to try about anything short of slaying a dragon.
Well, my problems with recoveries are sorta of a jokle by now, but I still feel compeled to share my experiences so maybe anyone can tell me what the hell is happening on my phone....
So as I said some time ago, I experienced problems with the PhilZ recovery, which I solved swapping to CWM version 6.0.3.2. The problem was the infinite bootloop of the Samsung Galaxy GT-I9300 logo, the black screen, which did not allow me to access to the recovery. But inmediatly after flashing to the old CWM the problem was gone away. Also, in a case of a possible kernel panic due to doing some stuff with Xposed modules CWM was the only recovery I could get access into.
Now, the problem is the following. Yesterday I installed the CWM Touch version 6.0.4.7, which I got from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2052091. After installing it everything was normal. However, after one hour or so the phone screen wouldnt turn off when I pressed the Power Button. In fact the Power Menu appeared, but the screen, as I said, dindt get to sleep mode. To top that, after freezing for a second the phone suddenly turned off, and then get to the infamous black screen with the model logo looping and looping.
Fortunately, after pressing Volume Up+Menu+Power I could get to the Recovery, but not after quite some seconds pressing these three buttons. And in some times it would not get me to the recovery, but instead completely rebooting the phone and working again. Just to, in half an hour, freezing and looping again and again and again.
This problem happened to me with virtually every ROM I installed, being Neat ROM, Archi, and even CM11 from Temasek. Nothing would solve that problem. The only remedy I had was a temporary one, which consisted on uninstalling and reinstalling again the kernel (I used boeffla) and the problem would not disappear that way. Also, when wiping data, for some weird reason it gave an error message while wiping the /preload partition, in the Mounts and Storage menu.
Until I got home today, and then flashed through Odin the old CWM Touch version 6.0.3.2, that finally stopped the problems. I tested it by pressing the Power buton again and again and it hadnt redirected me to the black bootloop screen. Seriously, I am wakelocking my phone on an intensive basis and nothing has happened for now, and I think it probably wont happen again. Maybe it takes three seconds, maybe the Power Menu displays again, but no bootloop again.
So I ask to you, what is happening on my phone that it wont run recoveries younger than my old 6.0.3.2
IMPORTANT EDIT: THE PROBLEMS ARE NOT SOLVED YET
Some hours ago, I was chatting using Whatsapp while charging the phone on an USB charger, when it suddenly suffered the black screen bootloop again. This time was unexpected, since I was using the CWM Touch 6.0.3.2, the one supposed to work fine. So for now I feel completely finished. My phone is officialy into a unsolvable problem.
But, thinking about it, there were some things that might help you:
-This time I did not uninstall and reflash the kernel: When I got to the recovery menu, I just selected "reboot", as such, without flashing anything else, and the phone then worked as fine, booting into the ROM bootanimation screen (this time the Neat ROM bootanimation). So basically a manual reboot through Recovery got me out of this. Also, I kept using the phone until now and there werent more problems, at least for now.
-As far as I can recall, these problems started some weeks ago, when I accidentally formated the internal SDcard. I was using PhilZ Touch Recovery and flashing a ROM as usual, when I selected without knowledge the option "Format /data and /data/media (sdcard)" in the Mounts and Storage menu. I did this after doing the usual Full Wipe before flashing an new ROM, and after that I had to turn off the phone in order to insert a ROM in the external SD card to flash it through the recovery to make the phone working again. But when I wanted to get back to the recovery, I couldnt. I had to flash CWM 6.0.3.2 because it was the only recovery that let me access to the recovery menu-the already installed PhilZ wont allow me to access to the recovery menu. So in CWM I got to the External SD card and flashed a Neat ROM, and got the phone working again. And after that I reflashed PhilZ. But since then the phone started to experiment these freezes, reboots and bootloops. One happened to me when in College, and couldnt get out of it because PhilZ wont respond to the Manual Recovery command. I had to wait to get home, to reflash the CWM 6.0.3.2 recovery through Odin because that Recovery was the only responding. And in that moment it did well, and didnt have more reboot problems. Until I flashed 6.0.4.7, which is why I am here.
-Lastly, about the reason I trust in CWM 6.0.3.2: Some time ago, when flashing Blackbox ROM 2.0.2, I downloaded the Gravity Box module from Xposed, and installed it alongside with other modules, which, supposedly, caused a kernel panic problem that sent my phone into the dreaded black bootloop again. I was using PhilZ recovery, and as you may expect now, I couldnt get access to it, so I flashed the CWM 6.0.3.2 recovery, which let me access to a recovery. I too flashed TWRP, but it accessed for one second to the recovery menu, and then faded away, returning to the bootloop logo screen. So basically PhilZ and TWRP failed me during that kernel panic problem, while CWM stood the problem. And thats why I turn to this recovery when everything else fails.
And thats why I am troubled now, because this recovery is showing signs of failure
Try cwm 6.0.4.4 as I've used this for all sorts of Roms and have no problems
andrewwright said:
Try cwm 6.0.4.4 as I've used this for all sorts of Roms and have no problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used 6.0.4.7 and I had the problems previously described....I mean, I used a more updated version than the one you propose. Do you believe its gonna work better?
And thats why I will stick to 6.0.3.2 until someone tells me whats happening. If an updated version of 6.0.4.4 gives me problems...well, go imagine.
I can confirm that 6.0.4.4 works. I Also tested it for nandroid bk up and restore and it works. I have flashed the latest tw 4.3 and the old 4.1.2 and aokp/cm/aosp 4.4.2 and all flashes with no errors. I have 6.0.4.7 but not tested it this is why I said to you to use 6.0.4.4
Only thing I haven't tested is adb.
andrewwright said:
I can confirm that 6.0.4.4 works. I Also tested it for nandroid bk up and restore and it works. I have flashed the latest tw 4.3 and the old 4.1.2 and aokp/cm/aosp 4.4.2 and all flashes with no errors. I have 6.0.4.7 but not tested it this is why I said to you to use 6.0.4.4
Only thing I haven't tested is adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. And where do I get the 6.0.4.4? I dont see it neither in the new CWM thread nor in the old one.
Look down
here. zip so just flash in recovery
andrewwright said:
here. zip so just flash in recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apreciate your help, but now some new problems have emerged, and I need more help, because maybe I might have a corrupted partition or such, who knows.
With this quote, I too try to bump the thread, in order to gain more attention to my new problems
If anyone is interested, please look the OP, as it has been edited to describe the new problems.
Best thing to do now is go bk to stock firmware with Odin and see if any problems persist. Totally stock for a few days.
andrewwright said:
Best thing to do now is go bk to stock firmware with Odin and see if any problems persist. Totally stock for a few days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that in a few weeks, I am a bit busy by now to test anything...
Fortunately, the CWM 6.0.3.2, while not infallible, works better than the other recoveries...today I only had one bootloop problem, solved by simply rebooting from the recovery....I can keep it for one week or two, it doesnt worry me for now.
Also, there is a guide to reflash stock? Sometimes I reflashed stock, but it kept bootlooping on the Samsung animation...probably because I didnt know how to wipe data while reflashing stock. Thats a little problem I have with reflashing stock, any help is appreciated.
Odin wipes the phone while flashing. What rom are you on? Custom
Well, I have to bump this post again because I am having the same problems again.
I am using CWM 6.0.3.2 as my current recovery. Today, I was browsing the Facebook app when I pressed the Power Button. Then, a lag of 2 seconds happened, the Power Menu displayed on screen, and the phone got into the black boot screen again. But this time I could not get to the recovery. Whenever I pressed Volume up+Power+Menu there appeared a black screen featuring the CWM logo and then it returned again to the black boot screen again. So what I did was to remove the battery, then eject the Exterior SD Card (A Lexar, 32 gb) and put again the battery in its place. The phone started all normal again, and when I put again the SD Card it continued to work normally.
So, what do you think its happening? Not even my old recovery, the one which works better for me, is reliable anymore. Could this be a component of my phone failing? Particulary the emmc chip? Or its not a hardware problem? Should I sent the phone to reparation?
How much data do you have on ext sd? Maybe phone is scanning ext sd and if alot of data is there that maybe the cause of the reboots. Try a different sd for a few days or none at all. See if you have the problem.
andrewwright said:
How much data do you have on ext sd? Maybe phone is scanning ext sd and if alot of data is there that maybe the cause of the reboots. Try a different sd for a few days or none at all. See if you have the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have almost 29 gb on the sd, but I had that data since the very first day I bought the card....thats more than one year ago. And I started having the problems since february of this year....
The problem has not reappeared. But what I still have is an insane battery consumption. See, I use apps like Facebook and Twitter, but I too use Greenify to hibernate them. It even drains too much battery by using the web browser. And I repeat, those problems trace back to February...which is the month when I accidentaly formatted the internal SD Card...
One year old + battery using Facebook and twitter and all the rest of them very power hungry apps are no good for battery life. Greenify uses battery, people forget that too. Remove all the apps above and test. Also if anything formatting int SD will speed up the phone not slow it down. It get rid if all the bit left over from ROMs/Recovery's/kernel's. Formatting int sd is good for the phone once in a while. Just remember to back up data first
andrewwright said:
One year old + battery using Facebook and twitter and all the rest of them very power hungry apps are no good for battery life. Greenify uses battery, people forget that too. Remove all the apps above and test. Also if anything formatting int SD will speed up the phone not slow it down. It get rid if all the bit left over from ROMs/Recovery's/kernel's. Formatting int sd is good for the phone once in a while. Just remember to back up data first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Whenever I can, I will try those tips for battery saving.
But what still puzzles me is the "Sudden reboot problem". It vaguely happens, but when it does I am basically screwed, and each time the reboots seems to get worse from recovering....Also, the reboot problems started after formatting the int sd card for first time. And, after that, I remember that, when I wiped data for installing a new ROM, it gave me "(E: unknown volume for path [/sd-ext])" or, something similar. Does this help you for identifying my problem?
OK, now I am royally screwed
I have suffered another sudden bootloop problem, and this time, even by removing the ext SD Card, phone doesnt restarts. Also, I cant access to the Recovery Menu. It does appear for a while and then fades away. But the worst part is that I cannot get into the Download Menu. When I get to the select screen, when I cant choose between Continue and Cancel, the Volume buttons doesnt work. I can not get into Continue button. And then it restarts.
So this time I can not even access to the Download Menu.
I am using the same ROM as before: Neat ROM 6.7 with CWM Touch 6.0.3.2 and Boeffla Kernel
I dont know if I can even send the phone to repair, as seen that I may have the Binary Counter...and I cant even access to Download.
Please, really, help me to get out of this, so I can factory reset this.
Take the battery out then hold buttons for download mode and while holding these buttons put the battery back in and pray mate. Not being able to get into download/recovery mode as you know is really not good. Maybe a jig to force it to download mode.
andrewwright said:
Take the battery out then hold buttons for download mode and while holding these buttons put the battery back in and pray mate. Not being able to get into download/recovery mode as you know is really not good. Maybe a jig to force it to download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that, and I got into the Download Menu. But the menu was frozen as usual. I could not access to the Odin Menu. It didnt matter which option I chosed, since both of them didnt work and the menu would still be frozen, and then restarting the phone a few seconds later. I mean, I got to the screen where you can choose to get to Download Mode or to restart the phone, and it still was a stuck screen, no matter what I chose, the options did not work, and then the phone restarted again.
And I have no jig next to me. So, I am screwed. For real.
Im going to take it to the store where I bought it, which is near where I live...To see if they can do something. Otherwise...I think I will throw away this phone. Its been almost 2 years, and recently it started to fail, probably because of a crappy emmc chip...that store sells the Moto G, which is great, since I dont plan to waste a lot of money on a new phone, watching how this has ended.
And it sucks that I can not recover the data in the Internal SD
Hi, got some difficulty flashing.
Just trying to flash liquid smooth onto my old s3, but having some difficulty.
Previously loaded with a temasek rom and with devil recovery, pretty sure that the partitions had been reformatted to f2fs to boot. Well, I tried to reformat the partitions to ext4, complete wipe, install rom, gapps and then wiped cache and dalvik. Tried many times to boot, got it to load once but resulted in an unresponsive touchscreen (still works in recovery though). I didn't do anything specific to get it to boot this time, it just hung on the Samsung screen for over 10 minutes, saw a liquid smooth writing (which I thought was a boot loop) for about 20 minutes and then the intostart screen but unresponsive. Needless to say something isn't right, and it can't take half an hour just to reboot the phone!
I would go through odin, and start from scratch, but it's no longer my phone and the phone is no longer recognised by my pc (I guess the connector has been damaged, I had to get the volume buttons repaired this morning just to access recovery!). It can charge, just not specified under device manager on the pc... therefore can't seem to use odin at the moment.
Question is does anyone have a solution? Is there a specific recovery (do you have to use TWRP)? or am I doing something wrong? I've loaded lollipop onto my xperia z2, and a friends galaxy s4 but I'm facing issues with the s3... I have no idea why it just won't boot but if anyone could give me a hand it would be greatly appreciated! I've been banging my head against the wall for hours now! The only way I can get the phone to work again is to restore from my backup... something is definitely wrong here but for the life of me I can't figure out what!
Hello,
I am encountering a strange problem with my new Redmi Note 2, purchased from Top One. Whenever it is off and the battery is in, every 30 seconds it will vibrate and momentarily flash the white Mi logo as if it is about to turn on, then it will go back to black, then do this again in ~30sec. I have tried removing the back of the phone to see if it is an issue with the power button but it continues to happen whenever the battery is in. If battery is removed for ten seconds and then put back, the issue stops -- but then as soon as I turn the phone on, and then power off, it starts again. Otherwise the phone seems to run normally.
I flashed it to Miui 7.2.2.0 global stable Rom immediately after receiving it, and the problem has been there from the start. I believe I had noticed it there even before I flashed the new rom but I'm not sure as I hadn't yet interacted with the phone much...
Any suggestions? If you could please give me your instructions as basically as possible, and for Mac, I would appreciate it as I am a newbie. I flashed the rom using my Mac following instructions from the MIUI forms that showed how to do it in terminal after installing "adb/fastboot."
Thanks!
Seems to me that it is going into bootloader mode, instead of powering off completely. I am not sure how this could have started - perhaps a partially failed ROM upgrade at some point. I think you should return it (after restoring the original ROM) because trying to solve the problem might have to involve doing some low-level and extremely risky stuff.
Or for some weird reason the buttons get stuck and restarts to recovery.
When you try to boot into recovery, you get black screen->vibration->MI logo, and if you continue pressing the buttons you repeat the pattern.
Remove the battery cover and check if there's something in the buttons for a start..
Thanks for your responses
DarthJabba9 said:
Seems to me that it is going into bootloader mode, instead of powering off completely. I am not sure how this could have started - perhaps a partially failed ROM upgrade at some point. I think you should return it (after restoring the original ROM) because trying to solve the problem might have to involve doing some low-level and extremely risky stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you give me a sense of what the low-level/risky stuff would be? Is it something I might be able to get done at a phone repair shop in the UK (where Xiaomi of course is not sold)? I ask because I'm required to pay for return shipping to China if I'm going to return device, and god knows how long the whole return process will take -- so if it's not a major hardware issue it might be worth it for me to explore finding a fix.
tonydeli7 said:
Or for some weird reason the buttons get stuck and restarts to recovery.
When you try to boot into recovery, you get black screen->vibration->MI logo, and if you continue pressing the buttons you repeat the pattern.
Remove the battery cover and check if there's something in the buttons for a start..
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I don't see anything unusual in the buttons. As I said, if I remove the battery for ten seconds and then put it back in, I don't get this problem. It's only after doing a successful boot/shutdown (which works normally) that it starts again. So as far as I can tell it doesn't appear to be a mechanical problem.
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for your responses
Could you give me a sense of what the low-level/risky stuff would be? Is it something I might be able to get done at a phone repair shop in the UK (where Xiaomi of course is not sold)? I ask because I'm required to pay for return shipping to China if I'm going to return device, and god knows how long the whole return process will take -- so if it's not a major hardware issue it might be worth it for me to explore finding a fix.
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Click to collapse
The low-level+very risky stuff would involve flashing a full ROM. By "full", I mean inclusive of preloader, uboot/lk, etc. This is what makes it very risky, because if something goes wrong with the preloader/lk flash, the device could be bricked beyond what normal people could recover. An example of a ROM that flashes everything is: http://www.needrom.com/download/miui-7-2-3-0-redmi-note-2/
My current ROM is based on an earlier version of this, and I noted at the time it was released that it installs a preloader - but I am not sure whether I installed it complete with preloader or not (I probably did). From what I can see, nobody's device got bricked by installing this ROM, which is actually excellent (so much so that I inevitably return to it after trying something else). However, it is still risky to upgrade a preloader. I suspect that this may be what you need - but it may not resolve your problem anyway.
PS: beware of more recent Xiaomi ROMs that lock the bootloader. If you tried to do this risky process, you would be best advised to make sure that you are not flashing a ROM that locks the bootloader (i.e., the most recent ROMs coming out from Xiaomi).
DarthJabba9 said:
The low-level+very risky stuff would involve flashing a full ROM. By "full", I mean inclusive of preloader, uboot/lk, etc. This is what makes it very risky, because if something goes wrong with the preloader/lk flash, the device could be bricked beyond what normal people could recover. An example of a ROM that flashes everything is:
My current ROM is based on an earlier version of this, and I noted at the time it was released that it installs a preloader - but I am not sure whether I installed it complete with preloader or not (I probably did). From what I can see, nobody's device got bricked by installing this ROM, which is actually excellent (so much so that I inevitably return to it after trying something else). However, it is still risky to upgrade a preloader. I suspect that this may be what you need - but it may not resolve your problem anyway.
PS: beware of more recent Xiaomi ROMs that lock the bootloader. If you tried to do this risky process, you would be best advised to make sure that you are not flashing a ROM that locks the bootloader (i.e., the most recent ROMs coming out from Xiaomi).
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Thanks for this. Could you point me to how I might be able to install a full official Xiaomi rom? (One that won't lock the boot loader.) My preference would be to get the global stable rom running as normal so that I can have the standard working phone with OTA updates. Or, is it easier to install this rom you've suggested with preloader, and then afterwards I can flash the official rom (assuming this fixes the problem)?
Also, are there any tutorials/clearer instructions for how to do this kind of install? The instructions on the link you've provided don't seem very clear...
Not sure if I'm gonna try this yet but leaning towards it if I feel confident enough I can execute it without screwing anything up...
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for this. Could you point me to how I might be able to install a full official Xiaomi rom? (One that won't lock the boot loader.) My preference would be to get the global stable rom running as normal so that I can have the standard working phone with OTA updates. Or, is it easier to install this rom you've suggested with preloader, and then afterwards I can flash the official rom (assuming this fixes the problem)?
Also, are there any tutorials/clearer instructions for how to do this kind of install? The instructions on the link you've provided don't seem very clear...
Not sure if I'm gonna try this yet but leaning towards it if I feel confident enough I can execute it without screwing anything up...
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I personally wouldn't touch official ROMs with a bargepole. At the very least, xiaomi.eu, or ROMs based on it (like the one linked to). But each to his own. With regard to installation, I don't think you can get more detailed instructions than those given, which I will now try to present in clearer English:
Reboot to Recovery ( TWRP only )
Wipe Dalvik/Art
Wipe cache
Wipe data (note that TWRP allows you to do 2-4 in one go - they are the same as resetting to factory defaults)
Install ROM
Wipe cache and Dalvik/Art again (but do NOT wipe data)
Reboot
Wait for about 20 minutes while it builds Dalvik/Art, and other stuff
Done
Hopefully, this will cure the problem. If so, then you can install whatever ROM you want, following the same process as above. If not, then you still have an excellent ROM anyway.
By the way, doing any of this presupposes that you have already installed TWRP recovery. If not, then that is the first thing to do.
DarthJabba9 said:
I personally wouldn't touch official ROMs with a bargepole. At the very least, xiaomi.eu, or ROMs based on it (like the one linked to). But each to his own. With regard to installation, I don't think you can get more detailed instructions than those given, which I will now try to present in clearer English:
Reboot to Recovery ( TWRP only )
Wipe Dalvik/Art
Wipe cache
Wipe data (note that TWRP allows you to do 2-4 in one go - they are the same as resetting to factory defaults)
Install ROM
Wipe cache and Dalvik/Art again (but do NOT wipe data)
Reboot
Wait for about 20 minutes while it builds Dalvik/Art, and other stuff
Done
Hopefully, this will cure the problem. If so, then you can install whatever ROM you want, following the same process as above. If not, then you still have an excellent ROM anyway.
By the way, doing any of this presupposes that you have already installed TWRP recovery. If not, then that is the first thing to do.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the English translation haha, I'll give this a shot. Just one more question -- when you write "install ROM", I should just treat the ROM the same way that I would any other, by flashing it via fastboot (as I did in OSX terminal) right?
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for the English translation haha, I'll give this a shot. Just one more question -- when you write "install ROM", I should just treat the ROM the same way that I would any other, by flashing it via fastboot (as I did in OSX terminal) right?
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No. Steps 1 to 7 inclusive are done from TWRP Recovery.
DarthJabba9 said:
No. Steps 1 to 7 inclusive are done from TWRP Recovery.
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Well, thanks again for your suggestion, but unfortunately it didn't succeed. I managed to install the custom full ROM you suggested with TWRP, and the problem persists; when the phone is off, I get this strange problem with the Mi logo flashing.
I'm investigating how to make a return, but I thought I would ask: do you have any idea whether this problem will negatively affect the phone in any other way? Because, if I'm unable to make a return, I think it's an issue I can live with (I rarely have my phone switched off anyhow), so long as it won't cause more problems down the line...
Something else I just realised: Apparently the problem doesn't occur when the phone is plugged into the USB (both electrical socket and computer). Starts up again as soon as I remove the plug. Perhaps that provides more context...
littleozzyman said:
Well, thanks again for your suggestion, but unfortunately it didn't succeed. I managed to install the custom full ROM you suggested with TWRP, and the problem persists; when the phone is off, I get this strange problem with the Mi logo flashing.
I'm investigating how to make a return, but I thought I would ask: do you have any idea whether this problem will negatively affect the phone in any other way? Because, if I'm unable to make a return, I think it's an issue I can live with (I rarely have my phone switched off anyhow), so long as it won't cause more problems down the line...
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Click to collapse
Well, I would hazard a guess that this is not a software problem. Clearly, the phone is trying to boot into bootloader mode or into recovery mode when it is meant to be completely switched off. This implies;
a) that there is a possibly a hardware problem somewhere (eg., something short-circuiting somewhere?), or
b) a virus/rootkit trying to dial home?, or
c) some other unknown fault?
None of these options would give me any peace of mind. If the problem is (b) then a good anti-virus or rootkit remover program would solve the problem. Search the PlayStore for those. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it's either (a) or (c) - and that is not good.
DarthJabba9 said:
Well, I would hazard a guess that this is not a software problem. Clearly, the phone is trying to boot into bootloader mode or into recovery mode when it is meant to be completely switched off. This implies;
a) that there is a possibly a hardware problem somewhere (eg., something short-circuiting somewhere?), or
b) a virus/rootkit trying to dial home?, or
c) some other unknown fault?
None of these options would give me any peace of mind. If the problem is (b) then a good anti-virus or rootkit remover program would solve the problem. Search the PlayStore for those. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it's either (a) or (c) - and that is not good.
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Nothing shows up on anti-virus/rootkit. I guess I should really insist on getting a return. Hopefully they will process it without too much fuss/expense. If any other suggestions come to anybody in the meantime, I'd be glad to hear them.
I just noticed as well that someone posted with what seems to be the same issue to mine last year: http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-2/help/phone-rebooting-shutdown-t3232941 , with no resolution. Perhaps this is some kind of occasional manufacturing problem.
littleozzyman said:
Nothing shows up on anti-virus/rootkit. I guess I should really insist on getting a return.
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Absolutely.
HW problem: Power Management IC
I too faced this problem and I suspected Battery to be the culprit . Anyway , i got it checked and repaired at a local (non xiaomi) repair shop that claims it was the issue with PMIC power management IC and that he has replaced the IC .
Now the phone works fine and does not enter into that bootloop even when charger is disconnected and phone is rebooted manually. I hope the problem is resolved .
However , the other issue is still persistent which is : copper colored washed out MI logo constantly appears on the screen and reinstallation of sw did not help either . In india these repairmen usually cant explain the problem area if it is outside of "Try and test" scheme .
I spent 1000INR to get it repaired but I highly doubt that PMIC is replaced. Coz this repair guy did this replacement in just 6 work hours. probability of getting the right part at right time at his disposal is very slim. And I had seen his workstation once, where i di not see any SMT repair station either. Which means that he cannot replace BGA package IC at all. Anyway, I will receive the phone tonight. Lets hope it works fine and the other problem gets rectified by flashing.
Saurabh Srivastava, Noida , India
This may be an issue that was previously resolved but I did not find a mention of it in my searches.
My children (3) all have the dreamtab, which I guess is the 2s. All three have experienced this problem at least once. When first booting after being off, the dreamtab hangs at the Android screen. Over the course of the last year, I've tried charging, wiping the cache partition and eventually just did the factory reset. While this method works, and I can get their device back to them quick, it is a factory reset and they loose all their saved games and completed activities.
Is this a known issue, or just something my kids happen to do? Is there anyway to prevent or correct this issue? Or at least back up their game data?
drirun said:
This may be an issue that was previously resolved but I did not find a mention of it in my searches.
My children (3) all have the dreamtab, which I guess is the 2s. All three have experienced this problem at least once. When first booting after being off, the dreamtab hangs at the Android screen. Over the course of the last year, I've tried charging, wiping the cache partition and eventually just did the factory reset. While this method works, and I can get their device back to them quick, it is a factory reset and they loose all their saved games and completed activities.
Is this a known issue, or just something my kids happen to do? Is there anyway to prevent or correct this issue? Or at least back up their game data?
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The Dreamtabs come in 2 versions. Intel and Nvidia(IN08A and NB08B). The Nvidia Dreamtab does have the issue and it effects many not just you. The standard solution is a factory reset. I believe the issue is the missing fsck binary. If you don't know that is it's a UNIX disk check program. The Dreamtab calls for this at boot time if the file system wasn't shutdown cleanly or if I recall correctly every 20 times a partition is mounted. It checks the filesystem for errors and then continues the boot. When it doesn't find the fsck binary it hangs at that point. At least that is my theory and I provided a flashable zip that installs fsck and I haven't had the problem since. The problem is it can't help once it's happened unless you have previously unlocked the boot loader. If someone has unlocked the boot loader they could or do have TWRP on the device and can load fsck. If they haven't unlocked it then the unlocking the boot loader wipes the device(factory reset) and all personal data is lost. This could of course be done with root access as well but since the tablet doesn't boot it can't help at that point.
Edit: here is the patch and some more discussion http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65713581&postcount=54