Uninstallable app like computrace - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Is it possible to install an app like the one from LoJack called "COMPUTRACE" which cant be uninstalled even after factory reset?
It would be a great idea for anti Theft....
I know that "COMPUTRACE" is installed in "persdata" partition and thats why it cant be deleted.
Is there any way to inject an app like avast anti theft in that partition?
Thank you in advance for any help or guide...

There are a few that survive a reset but non that survive a flash.

zelendel said:
There are a few that survive a reset but non that survive a flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually Computrace by Lojack and Cerbrus can survive even the reflash. the app installs and restores the data itself even after reflashing the new ROM. I have tried Computrace by LoJack. it really does returns. Upon my research, the app and data are stored in PERSDATA Partition which cant be formatted by reflashing new ROM unless we reformat using PIT files and re-partition the device.
I tried to push an app in that partition but didnt worked. The app gets removed from the partition as soon as you exit the folder in any of the root explorers.

Chaitanyapatel8880 said:
Actually Computrace by Lojack and Cerbrus can survive even the reflash. the app installs and restores the data itself even after reflashing the new ROM. I have tried Computrace by LoJack. it really does returns. Upon my research, the app and data are stored in PERSDATA Partition which cant be formatted by reflashing new ROM unless we reformat using PIT files and re-partition the device.
I tried to push an app in that partition but didnt worked. The app gets removed from the partition as soon as you exit the folder in any of the root explorers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends on how you flash the rom. If you format all the partitions before flashing then it doesn't get restored. One of my buddies tried to find something that was fool proof and we found non that would survive a complete reformat of the whole device.

zelendel said:
That depends on how you flash the rom. If you format all the partitions before flashing then it doesn't get restored. One of my buddies tried to find something that was fool proof and we found non that would survive a complete reformat of the whole device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an idea. but I am limited due to my knowledge. May be you can help me.
We know that all of the securities can be disabled by reflashing the new ROM, which can be done by 2 ways,
1. flashing with RECOVERY
2. flashing with software like odin in DOWNLOAD mode
Now,
Galaxy s5 has Philztouch recovery which had recovery password. I have set the recovery password so no one can enter the recovery.
now one can flash new recovery with software like odin in download mode.
Is there any way to restrict access to download mode?
like by disabling USB debugging in developers settings or any thing?
Thank you in advance.

Chaitanyapatel8880 said:
I have an idea. but I am limited due to my knowledge. May be you can help me.
We know that all of the securities can be disabled by reflashing the new ROM, which can be done by 2 ways,
1. flashing with RECOVERY
2. flashing with software like odin in DOWNLOAD mode
Now,
Galaxy s5 has Philztouch recovery which had recovery password. I have set the recovery password so no one can enter the recovery.
now one can flash new recovery with software like odin in download mode.
Is there any way to restrict access to download mode?
like by disabling USB debugging in developers settings or any thing?
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No there isn't. As that is completely closed sourced and changes depending on the device.
Many people have tried over the past few years and it has always failed.
The best advise I can offer is not to lose your device. Which to be honest I am not sure how people lose track of a thousand dollar item but it happens.

zelendel said:
No there isn't. As that is completely closed sourced and changes depending on the device.
Many people have tried over the past few years and it has always failed.
The best advise I can offer is not to lose your device. Which to be honest I am not sure how people lose track of a thousand dollar item but it happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I agree. I dont know how people loose it....
I was just going through news and this came up in my mind and thought lets learn something... precautions are better than cure...
Thanks for the reply and help... Really appreciated.

Related

[Q] Force Close Loop. How can I fix this?

I haven't downloaded anything recently, I literally just picked up my phone after I woke up and I got a message saying "the application tasks provider has stopped working unexpectedly" and it gives me the option to force close. When I close it, a similar message pops up for email, messaging, social hub, tw launcher, facebook and it keeps going on and on without giving me a chance to use the phone. Do you guys know what I can do? I would be extremely grateful if you could help me out.

			
				
Bwahahahaa ;-) Gold.
Yes i've tried that. I've take the battery pack, memory card and sim card out, then replaced them but the loop keeps occuring. It's gotta be more of a software issue and that's why I need your help.
You haven't told us anything whatsoever about your setup/rom/kernel/etc. We're not mind readers
Try a factory reset in the first instance.
If you're running anything other than stock firmware, go back to stock firmware.
i recomendeed to change your rom..
i think that is a crush from your system, mate..
About 4 months ago I had exactly the same problem.
Is there Debugging-Mode enabled in you're phone?
Is you're phone rooted?
Try to take out only the SIM Card and then connect it to you're PC. Then turn the S2 on and try to backup all you're data.
If you're phone is rooted, try to boot up in CWM Recovery Mode and go to "advanced" and then "Fix Permissions". It shuold solve you're problem.
If you're phone isn't rooted, then you have to flash a stock or custom ROM.
MistahBungle said:
You haven't told us anything whatsoever about your setup/rom/kernel/etc. We're not mind readers
Try a factory reset in the first instance.
If you're running anything other than stock firmware, go back to stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that man, but I have no idea what my setup/rom/kernel is, don't even know what most of that means. The thing is I can't even go to the settings on my phone to check because the popups won't allow me to.
okries said:
i recomendeed to change your rom..
i think that is a crush from your system, mate..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am an absolute and toal amateur, any advice at all of how to to that?
Dr.MacHack said:
About 4 months ago I had exactly the same problem.
Is there Debugging-Mode enabled in you're phone?
Is you're phone rooted?
Try to take out only the SIM Card and then connect it to you're PC. Then turn the S2 on and try to backup all you're data.
If you're phone is rooted, try to boot up in CWM Recovery Mode and go to "advanced" and then "Fix Permissions". It shuold solve you're problem.
If you're phone isn't rooted, then you have to flash a stock or custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know about technology but not like this. I have no idea what debugging mode/rooted or cwm recovery is. Any chance of explaining it to me in really, REALLY easy terms?
Sorry about my lack of knowledge guys, but I wholeheartedly appreciate you taking the time out to give me a hand.
1. Try wiping all data (fixed when i had the problem)
1. U need a kernel with CWM recovery (recommend siyah kernel)
2. Install with odin look on these forums for odin dont remember link
3. go to recovery (vol up+home button+power) and wipe data/cache (wipes everything apps, passwords, etc)
4. Try now if works click the thanks button
klawz said:
I know about technology but not like this. I have no idea what debugging mode/rooted or cwm recovery is. Any chance of explaining it to me in really, REALLY easy terms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem man
Okay...when you have root permissions on youre phone you can write in system files and do other administrative work.
You can root youre phone by flashing a rooted kernel. The kernel is something like the heart of youre Android OS. You have to know some facts about youre S2, to root it successfully.
You have to know which Kernel version is installed at the moment. This information you can find in Settings -> About Phone -> Kernel Version (or something like that...my S2 is in German ). But when youre phone is bricked or youre system is damaged, its really hard or impossible to find out the kernel version. I think you won't be able to root it successfully :-(
So the only one possibillity to rescue youre S2 is, to flash a new firmware.

[Q] Rooted I717, constant reboots, no recovery, flashing stock ROM not working

I changed from an iPhone 4 in May to the Samsung Note. On my iPhone I would immediately jailbreak and install MyWi. In my research to do the same on the note I ran across a rooting tutorial for my device and followed the instructions http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-note-att-i717-root-without-increasing-flash-counter-61325/ (I am not positive, but I feel confident this is the one I followed). I installed Superuser and Titanium Backup, did a backup of ATT connection manager, then removed it. Tethering worked like a charm. This has worked and I had no issues until Friday June 14th.
On Friday, everytime I opened an app on my phone I would get a Force Close. I restarted the phone and watched as it repeatedly happened after every cycle. Believing that installing Droid VNC Server was the issue, the last app I had installed, I removed it successfully and included others I didn’t use. Upon reboot, I noticed the notification of App Updates and a missed call. Checked the application list and noticed that all of the apps I had just removed were still there. I have a ton of pics and videos and thought that I should back them up immediately before I deleted them, prepared for the worst. I was able to do that. I deleted them all, nothing in the gallery. When the phone crapped out again and rebooted, all apps and all pictures back.
I formatted the USB Storage, seemed to delete nothing and also showed the same amount of used space as before.
Time for a restore. I know now that the recovery partition is gone and so a Wipe/reset is fruitless. No problem. I know how to flash the rom. I used this method with Odin. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506330
Everything seemed to work successfully, but upon reboot I get the same app updates notification and the same missed call notification. The same frozen state my phone was in when the issue started on Friday. WTH!
I have everything backed up. How do I get back to stock? I could care less about the counter. I just want my phone to be usable again.
ryantaylor16 said:
I changed from an iPhone 4 in May to the Samsung Note. On my iPhone I would immediately jailbreak and install MyWi. In my research to do the same on the note I ran across a rooting tutorial for my device and followed the instructions http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-note-att-i717-root-without-increasing-flash-counter-61325/ (I am not positive, but I feel confident this is the one I followed). I installed Superuser and Titanium Backup, did a backup of ATT connection manager, then removed it. Tethering worked like a charm. This has worked and I had no issues until Friday June 14th.
On Friday, everytime I opened an app on my phone I would get a Force Close. I restarted the phone and watched as it repeatedly happened after every cycle. Believing that installing Droid VNC Server was the issue, the last app I had installed, I removed it successfully and included others I didn’t use. Upon reboot, I noticed the notification of App Updates and a missed call. Checked the application list and noticed that all of the apps I had just removed were still there. I have a ton of pics and videos and thought that I should back them up immediately before I deleted them, prepared for the worst. I was able to do that. I deleted them all, nothing in the gallery. When the phone crapped out again and rebooted, all apps and all pictures back.
I formatted the USB Storage, seemed to delete nothing and also showed the same amount of used space as before.
Time for a restore. I know now that the recovery partition is gone and so a Wipe/reset is fruitless. No problem. I know how to flash the rom. I used this method with Odin. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506330
Everything seemed to work successfully, but upon reboot I get the same app updates notification and the same missed call notification. The same frozen state my phone was in when the issue started on Friday. WTH!
I have everything backed up. How do I get back to stock? I could care less about the counter. I just want my phone to be usable again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try wiping Catche and Dav?
Wipe Catch > Wife Davlik > Fix Permision, then reboot ..
see what happens ..
Not a noob, but here is where i am lost
I booted in to recovery, chose to Wipe/Erase . I see no option to Wipe Davlik except for in SuperUser and there it is a paid option, not sure where to find Fix Permission and then reboot?
I am assuming these are all options for CWM. I attempted to put CWM on an SD card last night and install from ZIP, but Recovery does not seem to see the SD card.
Are these options that are available for CWM, if so I will push through until I get it to work, but I have had no luck to this point.
UltimateEnd said:
did you try wiping Catche and Dav?
Wipe Catch > Wife Davlik > Fix Permision, then reboot ..
see what happens ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ryantaylor16 said:
I booted in to recovery, chose to Wipe/Erase . I see no option to Wipe Davlik except for in SuperUser and there it is a paid option, not sure where to find Fix Permission and then reboot?
I am assuming these are all options for CWM. I attempted to put CWM on an SD card last night and install from ZIP, but Recovery does not seem to see the SD card.
Are these options that are available for CWM, if so I will push through until I get it to work, but I have had no luck to this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no need to go back to stock .
try reflashing whichever ROM you desire...
its always wise to follow every little STEP given by the DEV .
to wipe dav you go to advance and it should be there..
Sorry, still need assist
UltimateEnd said:
no need to go back to stock .
try reflashing whichever ROM you desire...
its always wise to follow every little STEP given by the DEV .
to wipe dav you go to advance and it should be there..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have attempted to Flash ROMs I don't desire just to move forward. They all flash and pass in Odin but on reboot I still have my default screen. Unfortunately, I want to go back to stock. I have done plenty of research and need something more to push on to the next thing. I am looking at phone and there is not an Advanced option in recovery. I have read there are options in CWM but I am looking at what I believe is the stock recovery options.
ryantaylor16 said:
I have attempted to Flash ROMs I don't desire just to move forward. They all flash and pass in Odin but on reboot I still have my default screen. Unfortunately, I want to go back to stock. I have done plenty of research and need something more to push on to the next thing. I am looking at phone and there is not an Advanced option in recovery. I have read there are options in CWM but I am looking at what I believe is the stock recovery options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after you are rooted ,
you should have nothing to do with Odin.
and also, if you were stuck on your phone trying to boot up, chances are you keep downloading a bad ROM..
happen to me before..a ROM that was suposed to be 192MB,
would finish on 158MB
someone else may be able to help you get back to stock ROM..i havent had the chance to ever wanna go back to stock so i wouldnt know for sure.
sorry and good luck .
Still Worried. Still Stuck
ryantaylor16 said:
Time for a restore. I know now that the recovery partition is gone and so a Wipe/reset is fruitless. No problem. I know how to flash the rom. I used this method with Odin to undo root. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506330
Everything seemed to work successfully, but upon reboot I get the same app updates notification and the same missed call notification. The same frozen state my phone was in when the issue started on Friday. WTH!
I have everything backed up. How do I get back to stock? I could care less about the counter. I just want my phone to be usable again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I am still stuck and so I will wait for someone else to reply. Thanks for your help though
ryantaylor16 said:
OK, I am still stuck and so I will wait for someone else to reply. Thanks for your help though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U need to do what he said he is every well known on xda...install cwm to ur internel memory not sd card and ur phone has to see it!
Btw if u want to get back to bare bone stock look for att b4 tar file if u cant find it let me know ill link it
cm9
Use this?
JB calhoun said:
U need to do what he said he is every well known on xda...install cwm to ur internel memory not sd card and ur phone has to see it!
Btw if u want to get back to bare bone stock look for att b4 tar file if u cant find it let me know ill link it
cm9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you say this is a good tutorial to follow?
http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...-on-att-galaxy-note-sgh-i717-belltelusrogers/
So, maybe I am a newb. I have followed the instructions to install CWM on my device and it even says it was successful. I am doing it from ODIN. See the file I downloaded here. Says it was successful but holding the volume up and then power button. NO CWM.
I am truly frustrated but I want my phone back. Can someone link me to the stupid people posts so I can get my phone working again?
bump
CWM Problems
Hi,
Have you looked at these posts? Sounds like you may be using the
wrong key combo to start CWM?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1586223
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1483113
Are you confident that your uSD card hasn't been corrupted?
Peter
ryantaylor16 said:
So, maybe I am a newb. I have followed the instructions to install CWM on my device and it even says it was successful. I am doing it from ODIN. See the file I downloaded here. Says it was successful but holding the volume up and then power button. NO CWM.
I am truly frustrated but I want my phone back. Can someone link me to the stupid people posts so I can get my phone working again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ryantaylor16 said:
bump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You now have a custom recovery(according to Odin). The problem is, you're doing the wrong key combo as stated above. You can also go to the market and grab FJ's power tool. You can boot into recovery directly from the app. Good luck.
Certainly I am not this dumb..... am I
froidroid said:
You now have a custom recovery(according to Odin). The problem is, you're doing the wrong key combo as stated above. You can also go to the market and grab FJ's power tool. You can boot into recovery directly from the app. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still having issues. Here is the deal.
I have the phone in Download mode
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnk6ekjqp9vddev/2012-06-19 19.40.01.jpg
I load the CWM Recovery in the PDA box. Start the flash, get a pass. All looks good to me.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5q4hayf35mm26wr/odin-success.PNG
I immediately attempt to access CWM Recovery by holding the power, vol+ and vol- and still get the default recovery
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d176blydonlvrlu/2012-06-19 20.13.42.jpg
I am so confused as to what I am doing wrong.
Unfortunately those pics aren't loading for me. Try again with the pic of recovery and the file you're flashing. Thanks. If you still have stock recovery then maybe that's what you're flashing in error.
Try volume up + down and power button. When phone vibrates, release power button but keep holding volume buttons until you are in cwm.
I would use Odin to flash cwm touch recovery from pda, then load a rom via cwm. Using that method you don't even need to root because it's all done at bootloader level and root is built in to the custom rom you flash
SGH-i717 mesosphere-remix

[Q] Xoom won't boot after ROM applied...

So, I tried applying this theme to my Wi-Fi only Xoom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1997434
I used Clockworkmod to load the ROM. It installed successfully, but after I enter my encryption password, it never gets past the startup animation. I have tried reinstalling the image over and over again with the same result. I even tried this ROMs to no avail:
http://goo.im/devs/teameos/roms/eos3/nightlies/wingray/
When I try a factory reset from Clockwordmod, nothing happens and now I'm stuck, Any ideas?
mediumgrade said:
So, I tried applying this theme to my Wi-Fi only Xoom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1997434
I used Clockworkmod to load the ROM. It installed successfully, but after I enter my encryption password, it never gets past the startup animation. I have tried reinstalling the image over and over again with the same result. I even tried this ROMs to no avail:
http://goo.im/devs/teameos/roms/eos3/nightlies/wingray/
When I try a factory reset from Clockwordmod, nothing happens and now I'm stuck, Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YOu cant flash things once you encrypt it. You must un encrypt it before you flash. At this point you may have to flash a stock rom at a base level reformatting the whole thing. You will lose everything.
zelendel said:
YOu cant flash things once you encrypt it. You must un encrypt it before you flash. At this point you may have to flash a stock rom at a base level reformatting the whole thing. You will lose everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine by me. I backed up my files. Where do I get a base ROM?
I would look In Your device forum stickies or check the OEM web site.
Wayne Tech Nexus
Plangeun was
zelendel said:
I would look In Your device forum stickies or check the OEM web site.
Wayne Tech Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forum stickes? Sorry, I am new to all this. Would I install it the same way using Clockworkmod?
mediumgrade said:
Forum stickes? Sorry, I am new to all this. Would I install it the same way using Clockworkmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you would need to flash it from the bootloader up. Start looking around these forums. Spend some time reading up on it as this is where you run the risk of fully bricking the device
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=945
zelendel said:
No you would need to flash it from the bootloader up. Start looking around these forums. Spend some time reading up on it as this is where you run the risk of fully bricking the device
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=945
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, what would this procedure be called? Just so I know what to search for.
Thanks again.
mediumgrade said:
So, what would this procedure be called? Just so I know what to search for.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For each device it is different but could look for bootloader.

adb reboot nvflash - anyone tried it?

Curious if anyone has tried this on the Sprint version with/without success (it backs up your EFS to your internal storage). I'd be careful if you want to try it though, my Note is bricked and I don't know if that caused it (it looked like it was successful) or when I was enabling/disabling KNOX notifications for an app I released. Granted, it could have been a coincidence and unrelated to both, but I doubt it.
I was unable to use Odin to restore the phone. I can get into Download mode, but I've tried numerous combination of using Garwynn's .pit file, the official Samsung stock tar, formatting data/cache in stock recovery, and enabling Nand Erase All option in Odin. The phone just comes up and says "Process system is not responding", reboots, and does the same thing over and over. Current binary shows Samsung Official, system status says custom. If anyone has any ideas on that, I'd love to hear it
But I'm really curious if anyone tried adb reboot nvflash this before on the Sprint version.
-viperboy- said:
Curious if anyone has tried this on the Sprint version with/without success (it backs up your EFS to your internal storage). I'd be careful if you want to try it though, my Note is bricked and I don't know if that caused it (it looked like it was successful) or when I was enabling/disabling KNOX notifications for an app I released. Granted, it could have been a coincidence and unrelated to both, but I doubt it.
I was unable to use Odin to restore the phone. I can get into Download mode, but I've tried numerous combination of using Garwynn's .pit file, the official Samsung stock tar, formatting data/cache in stock recovery, and enabling Nand Erase All option in Odin. The phone just comes up and says "Process system is not responding", reboots, and does the same thing over and over. Current binary shows Samsung Official, system status says custom. If anyone has any ideas on that, I'd love to hear it
But I'm really curious if anyone tried adb reboot nvflash this before on the Sprint version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471421
gerald410 said:
Have you tried this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471421
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link, but it didn't work. On the Sprint version, efs is mmcblk0p11 (12 is modem1) but no go. Seems like the issue was directly related to backing up the efs, I guess KNOX thinks that someone might be trying to pull some info from the phone that it wants to keep secure? Very silly that it would let you run that command without any warning. I ran that the other day on a friends GS3 and that's how I found out about it.
-viperboy- said:
Thanks for the link, but it didn't work. On the Sprint version, efs is mmcblk0p11 (12 is modem1) but no go. Seems like the issue was directly related to backing up the efs, I guess KNOX thinks that someone might be trying to pull some info from the phone that it wants to keep secure? Very silly that it would let you run that command without any warning. I ran that the other day on a friends GS3 and that's how I found out about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish you luck Viper!
gerald410 said:
I wish you luck Viper!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, I will go get the phone exchanged at Best Buy tomorrow. I'm home for the weekend and they wouldn't exchange it last night at the store here (used to work there) cause I didn't have the box. Apparently, they need that to get credit for phone returns now or they get hit with the full cost of the phone. I was kinda ticked off about that, but I do still have the box back up at school, so I'll get it replaced tomorrow. The thing that really ticks me off is what if I didn't have the box? You think you can deny a return within 14 days if I don't have the box? I would have fought it at that point, but I figure why cause an issue if I can just handle it tomorrow.
-viperboy- said:
Curious if anyone has tried this on the Sprint version with/without success (it backs up your EFS to your internal storage). I'd be careful if you want to try it though, my Note is bricked and I don't know if that caused it (it looked like it was successful) or when I was enabling/disabling KNOX notifications for an app I released. Granted, it could have been a coincidence and unrelated to both, but I doubt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, to be clear, you suspect issuing that command, caused the problem? If so, there shouldn't be an issue backing up EFS, via other means (like TWRP recovery). Does that sound reasonable, or am I way off?
By the way, thanks for all you do for the community.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
-viperboy- said:
Curious if anyone has tried this on the Sprint version with/without success (it backs up your EFS to your internal storage). I'd be careful if you want to try it though, my Note is bricked and I don't know if that caused it (it looked like it was successful) or when I was enabling/disabling KNOX notifications for an app I released. Granted, it could have been a coincidence and unrelated to both, but I doubt it.
I was unable to use Odin to restore the phone. I can get into Download mode, but I've tried numerous combination of using Garwynn's .pit file, the official Samsung stock tar, formatting data/cache in stock recovery, and enabling Nand Erase All option in Odin. The phone just comes up and says "Process system is not responding", reboots, and does the same thing over and over. Current binary shows Samsung Official, system status says custom. If anyone has any ideas on that, I'd love to hear it
But I'm really curious if anyone tried adb reboot nvflash this before on the Sprint version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EXACT SAME THING happened to me. I was able to return it though bc my buddy works for an official retailer. Im just going to flash ONE custom ROM and deal w it UNTIL the whole SE-Linux issue is figured out. Its sorta my ONE FREE CHANCE I know this offers up absolutely NO help-lol-but indeed-the same exact situation happened to me but ONLY after using a TWRP restore that I had only a few hours before, created as a fail-safe. After that point, I tried every single thing you had mentioned-only 3or4x over! DO NOT RESTORE A NANDROID BACKUP is the prime lesson learned
milton007 said:
EXACT SAME THING happened to me. I was able to return it though bc my buddy works for an official retailer. Im just going to flash ONE custom ROM and deal w it UNTIL the whole SE-Linux issue is figured out. Its sorta my ONE FREE CHANCE I know this offers up absolutely NO help-lol-but indeed-the same exact situation happened to me but ONLY after using a TWRP restore that I had only a few hours before, created as a fail-safe. After that point, I tried every single thing you had mentioned-only 3or4x over! DO NOT RESTORE A NANDROID BACKUP is the prime lesson learned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, really? I've restored nandroids, at least 10 times, in the 4 days I've had the phone. Maybe I'm just lucky. Thanks for the info, though.
Sent from my SM-N900P now Free
LMMT said:
So, to be clear, you suspect issuing that command, caused the problem? If so, there shouldn't be an issue backing up EFS, via other means (like TWRP recovery). Does that sound reasonable, or am I way off?
By the way, thanks for all you do for the community.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I believe that to be the issue. I don't want to test it again though lol I hope to have a solution soon for backing up EFS in a safe way
milton007 said:
EXACT SAME THING happened to me. I was able to return it though bc my buddy works for an official retailer. Im just going to flash ONE custom ROM and deal w it UNTIL the whole SE-Linux issue is figured out. Its sorta my ONE FREE CHANCE I know this offers up absolutely NO help-lol-but indeed-the same exact situation happened to me but ONLY after using a TWRP restore that I had only a few hours before, created as a fail-safe. After that point, I tried every single thing you had mentioned-only 3or4x over! DO NOT RESTORE A NANDROID BACKUP is the prime lesson learned
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Click to collapse
LMMT said:
Wow, really? I've restored nandroids, at least 10 times, in the 4 days I've had the phone. Maybe I'm just lucky. Thanks for the info, though.
Sent from my SM-N900P now Free
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Click to collapse
Restoring won't cause the issue I had, if anything, you'll get FCs and knox warnings that can either be fixed with my TB Restore Fixer app or using a kernel that is SELinux permissive.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Samsung S3 memory full

My work colleague is an idiot - Despite warnings from his S3 that phone memory was low he continued taking videos and pictures and he has no sd card in the phone. Now the phone boots up but the pattern unlock screen is unresponsive. I offered to try to help him as he said "The last 2 years photos of my life are on there" so clearly a factory reset will lose them all so that's not an option.
So I installed Kies, thinking I'll just grab them to my PC for him - but alas no. MTP USB driver installation fails every time and yes I've googled my socks off, tried all the regedit fixes, even tried installing Win 7 32 bit on a spare hard drive.
I've checked that the ribbon connector for the screen is attached, tried linux boot disks that don't see the phone and now I'm all out of ideas. Any help would be vastly appreciated :fingers-crossed:
Hello,
Welcome to XDA.
Most of the time the screen being locked wont let PC interact with the device. There are many different models of S3, give me your model number and I'll guide you to where you can find answers.
You may can flash a custom recovery or a temporary recovery(not sure because I don't know what is available for the model you're working with and what isn't), if you can get one of those recoveries then you may can use the factory reset in recovery(it wont wipe his photos) or adb to get the phone working.
Remember to create an XDA account so you can post and reply in the forums.
Droidriven said:
Hello,
Welcome to XDA.
Most of the time the screen being locked wont let PC interact with the device. There are many different models of S3, give me your model number and I'll guide you to where you can find answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there and many thanks for the welcome. The model number is GT-19300 :fingers-crossed:
Azarameus said:
Hi there and many thanks for the welcome. The model number is GT-19300 :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your issue is unusual because of how it got that way, I'm not certain exactly which subforum or thread you need but I will link you to the GT I9300 Main Forum linked below:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3
You can check through the subforums there for anything you think applies, the Q&A and the 2 development subforums are most likely where you will find help, this thread will be moved to the GT I9300 Q&A forum linked below:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help
If you get replies you can check them and respond there, you might want to find some off topic threads to post in until you have at least 10 posts so that you can post in the development forums there if you need to, there is a 10 post minimum before you can post there. Good luck.
Droidriven said:
Your issue is unusual because of how it got that way, I'm not certain exactly which subforum or thread you need but I will link you to the GT I9300 Main Forum linked below:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3
You can check through the subforums there for anything you think applies, the Q&A and the 2 development subforums are most likely where you will find help, this thread will be moved to the GT I9300 Q&A forum linked below:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help
If you get replies you can check them and respond there, you might want to find some off topic threads to post in until you have at least 10 posts so that you can post in the development forums there if you need to, there is a 10 post minimum before you can post there. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks again. I can get it into Recovery mode but all I've tried so far is clearing the cache, as I don't want to do anything that might lose his pictures.
Azarameus said:
Ok thanks again. I can get it into Recovery mode but all I've tried so far is clearing the cache, as I don't want to do anything that might lose his pictures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is stock recovery then I believe if you can get to download mode then you can flash a custom recovery and flash the superSU zip to root the device then factory reset/wipe data, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cache, this will clear the lockscreen but won't erase his pictures, music, etc., it may let him back into his phone, he will just have to be careful because the device will be rooted and he could make things worse if he doesn't know what he's doing. If that works and he gets back in his phone but isn't comfortable with the risk of having a rooted device without understanding its usage then the device can be un rooted by going into the superSU settings and choosing the unroot and uninstall option. He'd still have custom recovery though. You might even be able to just flash the recovery to do the wipes and not have to root, I'm not sure about that though because I've never used recovery without root so I can't speak from personal experience.
I've never owned the i9300 so I'm not sure if you can do that or not safely from the state you are in so you may want to verify in this forum before you try it, but I don't see an issue with you doing it, its commonly used to root the S3 variants and doesn't wipe any important data or factory reset the device
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
If it is stock recovery then I believe if you can get to download mode then you can flash a custom recovery and flash the superSU zip to root the device then factory reset/wipe data, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cache, this will clear the lockscreen but won't erase his pictures, music, etc., it may let him back into his phone, he will just have to be careful because the device will be rooted and he could make things worse if he doesn't know what he's doing. If that works and he gets back in his phone but isn't comfortable with the risk of having a rooted device without understanding its usage then the device can be un rooted by going into the superSU settings and choosing the unroot and uninstall option. He'd still have custom recovery though. You might even be able to just flash the recovery to do the wipes and not have to root, I'm not sure about that though because I've never used recovery without root so I can't speak from personal experience.
I've never owned the i9300 so I'm not sure if you can do that or not safely from the state you are in so you may want to verify in this forum before you try it, but I don't see an issue with you doing it, its commonly used to root the S3 variants and doesn't wipe any important data or factory reset the device
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whew, most of that went right over my head lol. An idiot's guide please? Bearing in mind that my PC can't currently connect to the phone I'm guessing that I need to put the custom recovery file (where to find one?) on an SD card via a PC card reader and try it from there in download mode? I think he'll be delighted just to get his pictures and videos back even if the phone never works again, so it being rooted won't be an issue.
Azarameus said:
Whew, most of that went right over my head lol. An idiot's guide please? Bearing in mind that my PC can't currently connect to the phone I'm guessing that I need to put the custom recovery file (where to find one?) on an SD card via a PC card reader and try it from there in download mode? I think he'll be delighted just to get his pictures and videos back even if the phone never works again, so it being rooted won't be an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, to get to download mode you need to have the phone off, then press and hold the volume down+home+power button, when you see the caution screen you press up, if you can get to this mode you may can flash a TWRP recovery through Odin from PC to phone.
But first, before we get to Odin, do you or he know what android version he had before this happened, Kit Kat? Lollipop? I need to see if there are locked bootloaders on your device builds and which ones they are and which are safe to flash TWRP, if the i9300 is like some of the other Samsung devices with certain locked bootloaders that can't be unlocked or downgraded then flashing TWRP could and probably would brick the device. I need some info so I can check for you.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
No, to get to download mode you need to have the phone off, then press and hold the volume down+home+power button, when you see the caution screen you press up, if you can get to this mode you may can flash a TWRP recovery through Odin from PC to phone.
But first, before we get to Odin, do you or he know what android version he had before this happened, Kit Kat? Lollipop? I need to see if there are locked bootloaders on your device builds and which ones they are and which are safe to flash TWRP, if the i9300 is like some of the other Samsung devices with certain locked bootloaders that can't be unlocked or downgraded then flashing TWRP could and probably would brick the device. I need some info so I can check for you.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly have no idea which android build it is running on, as I can't get into the settings page or anything else and I very much doubt if my friend knows as he is pretty much clueless on such things, hence the problem. All I know is that its a few years old and when it starts up there is a three.co.uk white screen icon before it gets to the unresponsive lockscreen. I am also almost as clueless with android devices (I'm only a PC guy) - so far my only experience has been to set up kodi with addons for TV viewing which is why I came here to ask you expert guys
Methinks I won't try to get into download mode just yet in case it makes things worse
All your help is much appreciated, thank you!
Azarameus said:
I honestly have no idea which android build it is running on, as I can't get into the settings page or anything else and I very much doubt if my friend knows as he is pretty much clueless on such things, hence the problem. All I know is that its a few years old and when it starts up there is a three.co.uk white screen icon before it gets to the unresponsive lockscreen. I am also almost as clueless with android devices (I'm only a PC guy) - so far my only experience has been to set up kodi with addons for TV viewing which is why I came here to ask you expert guys
Methinks I won't try to get into download mode just yet in case it makes things worse
All your help is much appreciated, thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The device was never updated, it never had stock upgrades? If not then I can narrow down what was on it, when was the device bought?
If you can boot to download mode and if it is recognized in Odin then you've got a chance, at the moment your PC isn't recognizing the phone but if it successfully connects to Odin then you've got a chance, otherwise I'm not sure what success you'll have.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
The device was never updated, it never had stock upgrades? If not then I can narrow down what was on it, when was the device bought?
If you can boot to download mode and if it is recognized in Odin then you've got a chance, at the moment your PC isn't recognizing the phone but if it successfully connects to Odin then you've got a chance, otherwise I'm not sure what success you'll have.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would put a spare miniSD card in, flash TWRP recovery in odin, access the storage from there and copy the files to the SD card. Easy as pie.
The international version of the S3 (GT-i9300) already has an unlocked bootloader. So no problem there.
Important to note is that if the device is not rooted the TWRP recovery won't "stick" when the device is allowed to reboot automatically after the odin flash. So in odin you have to UNTICK(!) the reboot option and after flash reboot directly to recovery via holding Vol UP + Home + Power for about 7 sec.
Droidriven said:
The device was never updated, it never had stock upgrades? If not then I can narrow down what was on it, when was the device bought?
If you can boot to download mode and if it is recognized in Odin then you've got a chance, at the moment your PC isn't recognizing the phone but if it successfully connects to Odin then you've got a chance, otherwise I'm not sure what success you'll have.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I showed him this thread at work earlier and although he growled somewhat at being called an idiot in my OP, he had to agree he was lol. It turns out he bought his partner the same phone around the same time so I checked and it has Automatic upgrades ticked and is on build 4.3 so we can hopefully assume the problematic one is on the same version. When I mentioned the possibility of bricking to him he became unsure as to whether I should proceed with flashing. If he was to send the phone to Samsung themselves would they be able to retrieve his data safely, albeit with some cost and waiting?
Thanks again for your input
Hawaiihemd said:
I would put a spare miniSD card in, flash TWRP recovery in odin, access the storage from there and copy the files to the SD card. Easy as pie.
The international version of the S3 (GT-i9300) already has an unlocked bootloader. So no problem there.
Important to note is that if the device is not rooted the TWRP recovery won't "stick" when the device is allowed to reboot automatically after the odin flash. So in odin you have to UNTICK(!) the reboot option and after flash reboot directly to recovery via holding Vol UP + Home + Power for about 7 sec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds good - all he wants is his files back safely. It certainly isn't rooted. So once that is done and I'm back in recovery mode how do I get out of there, just reboot it from there?
Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated
Azarameus said:
That sounds good - all he wants is his files back safely. It certainly isn't rooted. So once that is done and I'm back in recovery mode how do I get out of there, just reboot it from there?
Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, after you copied the files via the "File Manager" in TWRP you simply choose "reboot system". Rebooting to system will automatically restore the original recovery you are used to. Or you can choose to shutdown in TWRP, remove the SDcard "safely" first and then reboot.
Even more: After you copied all the photos/videos from internal storage (which should be under /storage/sdcard0/DCIM/camera) to SDcard you could simply delete a few of those.
If them taking up too much space is the problem for the lockscreen not working, deleting a few would of course free up some space again, which would then most likely make the lockscreen work again.
But let me make one thing clear: Flashing anything always brings with it the slight(!) possibility something could go wrong, because you are writing to the EMMC of the phone. BUT I can't imagine a samsung staff member doing anything different. He/she would also need to gain access somehow...
After all it's your choice but hundreds of people (including me) have used odin and twrp on different devices for years now without any problem whatsoever. :good:
--- Edit ---
Ah one more thing. I would definitely make a full backup (System/Data, EFS and bootloader) while I'm at it! You just choose "backup" in twrp, then the "MicroSD card" under "storage" and go from there. Pretty self explanatory. Never hurts to have a backup!
Hawaiihemd said:
Yes, after you copied the files via the "File Manager" in TWRP you simply choose "reboot system". Rebooting to system will automatically restore the original recovery you are used to. Or you can choose to shutdown in TWRP, remove the SDcard "safely" first and then reboot.
Even more: After you copied all the photos/videos from internal storage (which should be under /storage/sdcard0/DCIM/camera) to SDcard you could simply delete a few of those.
If them taking up too much space is the problem for the lockscreen not working, deleting a few would of course free up some space again, which would then most likely make the lockscreen work again.
But let me make one thing clear: Flashing anything always brings with it the slight(!) possibility something could go wrong, because you are writing to the EMMC of the phone. BUT I can't imagine a samsung staff member doing anything different. He/she would also need to gain access somehow...
After all it's your choice but hundreds of people (including me) have used odin and twrp on different devices for years now without any problem whatsoever. :good:
--- Edit ---
Ah one more thing. I would definitely make a full backup (System/Data, EFS and bootloader) while I'm at it! You just choose "backup" in twrp, then the "MicroSD card" under "storage" and go from there. Pretty self explanatory. Never hurts to have a backup!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks again. I am going to attempt this tonight, will update on any progress
Azarameus said:
Ok thanks again. I am going to attempt this tonight, will update on any progress
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that worked! My idiot friend is happy now. Thanks a million for the help - you guys ROCK!
Azarameus said:
Well, that worked! My idiot friend is happy now. Thanks a million for the help - you guys ROCK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! And were you able to get the lockscreen working again?
Hawaiihemd said:
Nice! And were you able to get the lockscreen working again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed, all is working now as it should. The village idiot actually danced off to his car when I returned his phone - he has strict orders from me to move all his stuff to the SD card and make regular backups to his PC!
Thanks again - would never have done it without you guys

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