Database Info

Samsung Focus Bootloader

So I just tried to flash an Omnia 7 ROM on my already bricked Samsung Focus (I heard some people had got it in a working state by doing that).
Unfortunately, the Flash Tool was unable to write the new OSBL (I'm guessing OS Bootloader) and failed after erasing the original OSBL.
Now the device is probably without a bootloader. Pressing the power button doesn't do anything now. Previously, it used to get me to the Samsung logo at least or I could get into the Format mode, Download mode or Connect to Zune mode. Now it does absolutely nothing. There is no vibration, no single sign of life.
I'm about to through this thing into the trash now but I thought I should at least ask around before I do that.
Is there still any way to force into the Download Mode again even though there is no bootloader on the device?

UzEE said:
So I just tried to flash an Omnia 7 ROM on my already bricked Samsung Focus (I heard some people had got it in a working state by doing that).
Unfortunately, the Flash Tool was unable to write the new OSBL (I'm guessing OS Bootloader) and failed after erasing the original OSBL.
Now the device is probably without a bootloader. Pressing the power button doesn't do anything now. Previously, it used to get me to the Samsung logo at least or I could get into the Format mode, Download mode or Connect to Zune mode. Now it does absolutely nothing. There is no vibration, no single sign of life.
I'm about to through this thing into the trash now but I thought I should at least ask around before I do that.
Is there still any way to force into the Download Mode again even though there is no bootloader on the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you truly get to the point of throwing it away, you might consider posting it for sale or free on this site. I'm sure many people would like to have it as a parts phone.
Just a thought, as I hate to see good hardware being thrown away.

Can you not just send it back and act dumb?

You could probably flash it with JTAG. Would take a good bit of knowledge/work though.

TheDisneyMagic said:
Can you not just send it back and act dumb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That type of bull#hit is why the cell carriers are cracking down on rooting and custom roms. If you take the risk and f your phone up, that's completely wrong to send it in under warranty.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

Lol why would you even try? Similiar doesnt mean identical.
Sure you can try ebay for spares...

Hey, I just broke my screen on my focus and would love to take that phone off your hands.

evolutionqy7 said:
Lol why would you even try? Similiar doesnt mean identical.
Sure you can try ebay for spares...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was already bricked and stuck in an endless boot loop. So I thought about flashing it with an Omnia 7 ROM because the only other option was the Focus demo ROM floating around.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

TheDisneyMagic said:
Can you not just send it back and act dumb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not in the US and it was bought for with full $400 off contract price. So wouldn't get any warranty anyways.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

UzEE said:
It was already bricked and stuck in an endless boot loop. So I thought about flashing it with an Omnia 7 ROM because the only other option was the Focus demo ROM floating around.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to admit, I would have done the same...

UzEE said:
I'm not in the US and it was bought for with full $400 off contract price. So wouldn't get any warranty anyways.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ouch! I guess there's no way to recover that amount of cost, but you might try selling it on eBay and see what you can get. It should be worth AT LEAST $50 to someone. Who knows, I've seen eBay do strange things and maybe you'd get more.
Just be sure to put all this info into the listing. I've found that the more honest I am on eBay, the more money I make, even if I'm telling prospective buyers things they'd rather not hear. If you tell them everything, they will believe you more about the condition, etc. Just a thought...

seeing that the phones are built for about an 8th of the price if not more ($400) bucks is quite a big mark up , Im sure they arent losing any money this way , why not sell the phones for the actual worth , you might fins people are more honest about what they did in the first place , $400 bucks for this phone , another $400 for the ****ty service of the contract and the carrier wont even unlock the phone ,even after you have squarely paid off the contract , **** them , cheat em anyway you can , they are doing it to you!

Vintage144 said:
seeing that the phones are built for about an 8th of the price if not more ($400) bucks is quite a big mark up , Im sure they arent losing any money this way , why not sell the phones for the actual worth , you might fins people are more honest about what they did in the first place , $400 bucks for this phone , another $400 for the ****ty service of the contract and the carrier wont even unlock the phone ,even after you have squarely paid off the contract , **** them , cheat em anyway you can , they are doing it to you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen, and to everyone defending the corporations... please re-evaluate who you are fighting for... because they do not care about you, not one bit.

While it is true that Big Business is in it for the bottom line, (Money), that is also the same reasoning that they would be wanting to make their customers happy. Without happy customers, there would be no-one to make them their bottom line (Money). I'm not all for the big companies, but without them, there would be no Samsung Focus, or Apple iPhone, or HTC HD2, etc... Again, I'm not a huge fan of any of those companies, but I am a HUGE fan of consumer electronics! If they don't profit, I don't get a cool new phone every 18 months.
Just my two cents of playing devil's advocate.

samsung focus network profile and settings
i have a samsung focus it loses network connection after a while and i have to restart the phone. Also when i change the region settings it affects connectivity can anyone help with region settings for the Caribbean also any apn registry edit that can help.

I've got a focus that my computer doesn't recognize so I'm stuck using nodo until a Nokia wp7 Comes out
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

jamreal said:
I've got a focus that my computer doesn't recognize so I'm stuck using nodo until a Nokia wp7 Comes out
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using a different USB port.

sius071 said:
i have a samsung focus it loses network connection after a while and i have to restart the phone. Also when i change the region settings it affects connectivity can anyone help with region settings for the Caribbean also any apn registry edit that can help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm, opposite of this happens to me: whithin the first minute of my phone being on, I have no data connection until that minute is up...
dunno what your phone's problem is, maybe you should bring that up with your carrier

LY-F1 has root

http://www.pandawill.com/lyf1-table...ew-12ghz-cpu-8gb-2160p-hdmi-white-p53785.html
I bought 4 of these Tablets for my kiddoes for Christmas, and i must say these are really good..... the interface is laggy but if you replace the Launcher it helps... i have rooted it with SuperOneClick and it is sticking! now need to put CWM recovery and some custom roms and this thing will rock! i will post the recovery image here in a few..... warning it is in Chinese so good luck because i havnt tried it yet!...
here is the recovery files.. it works because i just tried it...
i offer no tech support and i am not responsible it you brick your Tablet, your wife or girlfriend leaves you or the world ends.... but i will help as much as i can...
http://www.multiupload.com/HX9LST2J7A
Nice!! with the help of messinatyler we can now have ICS before it is released.using the MOMO9 ICS firmware and a work around for the capacitive buttons not working this is really rocking.. since most of the new releases of ICS from China are rooted at the factory just install the super user app from market and all is good.... Much simpler that using any rooting tools....
here is his link to the instructions, Mods if i am in the wrong just tell me and i will remove the link.
http://tabletrepublic.com/forum/cor...ice-cream-sandwich-android-4-0-4-0-a-612.html

im actually looking at buying one of these, how the build quality?

I am really interested in this too, please respond asap

i just got this email from pandawill.
"Hi,Dear friend,
Yes,Our item LY-F1,F4S,F528 will get an android 4.0 version,We have already made trial order for these items.But the mass production will do after Chinese New Year"

it actually is real good... the interface and drawer is laggy but i installed ICS launcher and it is a little faster... games run smooth and netflix runs with no hiccups... as soon as i figure out the bloat that needs removed it should run smoother... it isn't built like the M009S resistive tablets, this feels alot better in the hands.. my kiddoes love it and i am amazed at the performance and feel..
and for 100 bucks i cannot complain one bit... but it took me about a month to get them, i ordered 4 of them...... i do not like the customer service... but oh well...
i hope ICS comes this month, that would be sweet... i will upload the stock firmware and install files translated... not that great on the instructions but i am not going to flash for the hell of it... i will wait for one of the kiddoes to mess it up... hell i even thought of buying 10 of them, rooting and selling them locally for a sweet profit... lol
you think dropbox will be good enough for you guys?

dealextreme.com/p/7-capacitive-android-2-3-tablet-w-camera-wifi-hdmi-tf-cortex-a8-1-5ghz-4gb-111713
is this the same model ?

web_ninja said:
it actually is real good... the interface and drawer is laggy but i installed ICS launcher and it is a little faster... games run smooth and netflix runs with no hiccups... as soon as i figure out the bloat that needs removed it should run smoother... it isn't built like the M009S resistive tablets, this feels alot better in the hands.. my kiddoes love it and i am amazed at the performance and feel..
and for 100 bucks i cannot complain one bit... but it took me about a month to get them, i ordered 4 of them...... i do not like the customer service... but oh well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you describe how laggy the launcher is? Maybe you could screen-record some footage of it? I'd be pretty interested in that. Also, an android device for like 100 bucks sounds like sweet candy to me.
i hope ICS comes this month, that would be sweet... i will upload the stock firmware and install files translated... not that great on the instructions but i am not going to flash for the hell of it... i will wait for one of the kiddoes to mess it up... hell i even thought of buying 10 of them, rooting and selling them locally for a sweet profit... lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it legal to do this kind of stuff? I mean rooting and selling it?
you think dropbox will be good enough for you guys?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure it is!

rooting and selling? ya it is personal property.. not illegal..
dealextreme.com/p/7-capacitive-android-2-3-tablet-w-camera-wifi-hdmi-tf-cortex-a8-1-5ghz-4gb-111713
it looks the same? don't quote me on this....
i will zip up the recovery and image and upload it today... and post a link..

i will zip up the recovery and image and upload it today... and post a link..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You, sir, are a good man.

recovery is up... i suggest you use the usb cord that came with the tablet... i offer no tech support and i am not responsible it you brick your Tablet, your wife or girlfriend leaves you or the world ends.... but i will help as much as i can...

i really want CWM recovery!!! ugg i tried adb to push files and actually got stuck in a boot loop.. or frozen at the android screen....

Lost Root
I tried to run this firmware and the one from the products website and neither one of the firmware loading programs "both are the same" will load the usb drivers in order to link and load the firmware. Also in the instructions it says to press the reset button in the pin hole in the bottom of the tablet to prompt the computer to ask for the usb drivers, which does nothing in my case so I removed the back cover to find a different reset button that works that is directly on the board, but the drivers will not install. Any help would be much appreciated. The reason for wanting to reload the firmware is because I did a factory reset and lost root, so if someone can tell me how to gain root access back and or run the factory firmware I would greatly appreciate it. By the way I had to run this software in compatibility mode for windows 95 for it to run on my XP machine.

i am running it on win 7 64bit... the key and the image have to be in the same directory as the program.. push in reset and then plug in the usb cable (the one shipped with the tablet) then you can remove the reset thing.... then it starts loading the rom.... the usb cable i was using wouldnt work... until i just randomly used the one provided... then everything worked,,, who knows...
and root. i used super oneclick and make sure the screen doesnt go to sleep... or it will hang... that worked for me...

For some reason I can't get the drivers for this tablet on the recovery file to install. Is there any way you can send me the ones that you use? In device manager I have two drivers that need to be updated when I plug my device in. First one is "android" the second one is "VID_1f3a_PID_efe8". Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as I can't run this recovery firmware nor can I use super one click as adb shell does not recognize my device because of not having the correct drivers for it.

ok when i get home i will look for the drivers... i am bound to have them on my windows box....

That would be awesome and much appreciated. I want to get this thing up and running on adb so I can push a custom recovery and maybe even cyanogen mod as well.

where did you get CM? and does it work?
i cant find the drivers? unless it is the HTC sync software that installed the base drivers... that is the only thing i can think of, unless i actually used the drivers that came with it. which can be a distinct possibility....

I found out how to do it from another site that told me how to root it. It still won't connect to the computer like it's suppose, it only shows up as drives and won't pick up in adb shell. I found cm in another forum I was looking at, the only thing that i'm worried about is there is several things not working with this rom, so I think I'll wait till someone gets a clean running version before I run it. Next thing I would like to do is install a custom recovery.

if i knew how to extract and inject parts to the image file i could come up with a custom rom... i will have to study it...

Hi, I have 2 questions about this device I am about to order.
First one is about the battery life. Some sites indicate 3000, 3500 and 4000 mA with 5 hours working time. As I intend to use this tablet on plane I really expect at least 6 hours of video playback. Would you be kind enough to run a test on this point?
The novo7 advanced with a very similar hardware lasts 8 hours.
The second question is about its screen. It is given as an IPS technology which should have nice viewing angles (much better than the TFT). Can you confirm that the screen is really good?
Thank so much for your feedback.

[Q] T-Mobile LG Optimus F3 Forum?

Okay, so I know this phone doesn't exactly win the spec war, but it's awesome and would make a fantastic rooted phone. Unfortunately there isn't a forum here on XDA for the device (either because it's too new or there isn't a demand for it)
Do you guys think a forum will be made for this device? It'd be nice to at least have a place to say what root methods DON'T work (I've tried a few)
Thanks for the help, XDA rules!

I second this. I am planning on buying a new phone and after researching numerous phones out there based on my tastes and constraints, I think this phone works very well (another is Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 2). One flaw that I heard is the amount of storage in this phone is around 4gb. Without a way to put apps on an external SD card (which I believe would require a custom ROM), the storage would probably fill up pretty quickly. So it'll be great if XDA opened a forum for this phone.
As a side note if anyone can point to other devices that fit my needs I would be grateful:
- Less than 4.2" screen (preferably 4").
- Android only
I don't have any financial constraints or any favorite companies.
Thanks!

What root method did you find worked? Did you try framaroot? Also have you found any Roms?
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2

bbradf44 said:
What root method did you find worked? Did you try framaroot? Also have you found any Roms?
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used Motochopper, worked like a charm. make sure you have the LG Optimus f3 drivers on your computer.(found on LG website)

habitforming said:
I used Motochopper, worked like a charm. make sure you have the LG Optimus f3 drivers on your computer.(found on LG website)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ratified. Motochopper worked flawlessly for me as well.

richardpwnsner said:
Ratified. Motochopper worked flawlessly for me as well.[/QUOT
Anyone find a tethering ap that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

wolfu11 said:
richardpwnsner said:
Ratified. Motochopper worked flawlessly for me as well.[/QUOT
Anyone find a tethering ap that works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do tethering apps need to be phone specific? I don't have data, but I'll let you know if I come across one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Bad news
I have created the recovery tree, and have created a recovery.img for this phone. ok now heres the bad news OUR lg optimus f3 has a stock 3.4 kernel with a locked bootloader. Even worse news is that 3.4 "locking" features a sha5 hash system for its image/partitions (recovery, boot, and bootloader). Even worse news there is no known (or atleast what i know or have heard) way to get around this. The phone will be forever locked until lg updates or allows said lock to be removed. I have flashed the recovery and have had no damage to my device but it just sticks at "unsecure recovery" and does a hard reset (factory restore) every time i try to play with it which is a huge flaw if you ask me.
I have hexedited the bootloader and found that there is indeed "juicy" strings within that may tell to a future unlock these strings being
-Device UnLock!, so Boot Success!!
-oem unlock
-ERROR: Could not do normal boot. Reverting to fastboot mode
Also these strings could just be defualt with all lg bootloaders meaning....there is no hope.
My phone is without a soul and I will never be buy lg again.
If anyone is able to get into fastboot
1. PM ME
2. run : fastboot oem unlock
Again root for this phone works great as long as you dont touch recovery, bootloader, or boot partitions

inyourface09 said:
I have created the recovery tree, and have created a recovery.img for this phone. ok now heres the bad news OUR lg optimus f3 has a stock 3.4 kernel with a locked bootloader. Even worse news is that 3.4 "locking" features a sha5 hash system for its image/partitions (recovery, boot, and bootloader). Even worse news there is no known (or atleast what i know or have heard) way to get around this. The phone will be forever locked until lg updates or allows said lock to be removed. I have flashed the recovery and have had no damage to my device but it just sticks at "unsecure recovery" and does a hard reset (factory restore) every time i try to play with it which is a huge flaw if you ask me.
I have hexedited the bootloader and found that there is indeed "juicy" strings within that may tell to a future unlock these strings being
-Device UnLock!, so Boot Success!!
-oem unlock
-ERROR: Could not do normal boot. Reverting to fastboot mode
Also these strings could just be defualt with all lg bootloaders meaning....there is no hope.
My phone is without a soul and I will never be buy lg again.
If anyone is able to get into fastboot
1. PM ME
2. run : fastboot oem unlock
Again root for this phone works great as long as you dont touch recovery, bootloader, or boot partitions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ugh. Thanks for the work. This is bad news indeed. I'll keep poking around and let you know if I find anything.

richardpwnsner said:
Ugh. Thanks for the work. This is bad news indeed. I'll keep poking around and let you know if I find anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, any chance Loki would work? I'd be willing to give it a go if there's a decent chance—still within the 14 day exchange window .

Will motochopper work on any carrier version of this phone? Thanks!

jjfad said:
Will motochopper work on any carrier version of this phone? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen confirmations on three carriers (can't remember which ones off the top of my head, sorry [edit-well, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile come to mind now]), so I'd assume the answer is yes. Regardless, I have yet to see anyone complain about adverse affects, so no reason not to try (though, grain of salt—I'm brand new to android).

For anyone that has this, how are the antennas on this phone?
I just ordered one from tmo and am hoping to get better reception at my house than from my Samsung or HTC.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Steve5400 said:
For anyone that has this, how are the antennas on this phone?
I just ordered one from tmo and am hoping to get better reception at my house than from my Samsung or HTC.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They seem better and with WIFI calling built in the phone hasn't skipped a beat.

Check my way!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2420178&highlight=rooting+lg+optimus+f3
I failed rooting my phone with Windows system, maybe cause I'm not familiar with the process or I was just to lazy, but it does work if you use motochopper. Try looking it up youtube. You could try my method, it should work on Jellybean 4.1.2!

richardpwnsner said:
Out of curiosity, any chance Loki would work? I'd be willing to give it a go if there's a decent chance—still within the 14 day exchange window .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BAHAHA me to man i think im down to 10 days. Im trying to get some attention but i need someone who knows little endian, and their way around bootloaders. Id be willing to donate to someone who can help me out, also to support the other 3 variants (if the aboot differs).
I have a recovery created also and a device tree (needs gpio support for kernel).
And to awnser your question, yes loki will work IF i can get the needed values so that when recovery/boot is read into memory that it overwrites the security check feature in aboot. If the wrong values are give you may end up with a brick (very slim chance)

My return window just closed . If it helps, you can pull the open source from LG's website and merge it with the android source. I also discovered an even easier solution: set up the LG Sync application, and select the "upgrade recovery option". Then, when it begins downloading, remove your phone, set Windows (or your relevant OS) to show hidden files and folders, and go the the Program Data folder. There should be something like "PHONEAX" under the LG Electronics folder that will contain the full stock kdz file when the download is complete.
It's really kind of surprising that there's absolutely no dev love out there for the F3. I suppose it's because the phone is entry level, but it's really not that bad but for the storage. I got it as a gift, so no complaints here—of course, if anyone wants to donate a Note or Galaxy gratis, I suppose I'd be willing to switch .

I had a Galaxy S4 from Verizon. I switched to T-Mobile Because believe it or not the network is stronger where I work. Also, there pricing on plans cannot be beat. But, I digress. The Galaxy S4 being a Verizon device never really functioned the way it was supposed to on T-Mobiles network. It was unlocked however was still useless for 4G LTE and while I could do better than edge in some places, those places were few and far between. I started to assess what it is I actually used my phone for these days. I'm not into modding with custom ROMS and kernels anymore and I'm not much of a multi-tasker either so I decided that I did not need the super power device anymore. The specs on this phone are perfect for what I need my phone to do. Its been a long time since I have gone beyond rooting to remove bloat and tether. I agree that the storage on this sucks. I don't understand why there are any devices anymore that come with less than 32gb internal. storage is the cheapest thing that can be added to a device and its not as though it uses much physical space. other than the storage I will say that I am impressed with the quality of this device and I don't know that I would even put this as low as "entry level device." I would say its more of a mid-grade device. I am also happy with the reception on this device and its nice to have a compact phone again that actually fits comfortably in my hand and on my belt.

yutzyscott said:
I had a Galaxy S4 from Verizon. I switched to T-Mobile Because believe it or not the network is stronger where I work. Also, there pricing on plans cannot be beat. But, I digress. The Galaxy S4 being a Verizon device never really functioned the way it was supposed to on T-Mobiles network. It was unlocked however was still useless for 4G LTE and while I could do better than edge in some places, those places were few and far between. I started to assess what it is I actually used my phone for these days. I'm not into modding with custom ROMS and kernels anymore and I'm not much of a multi-tasker either so I decided that I did not need the super power device anymore. The specs on this phone are perfect for what I need my phone to do. Its been a long time since I have gone beyond rooting to remove bloat and tether. I agree that the storage on this sucks. I don't understand why there are any devices anymore that come with less than 32gb internal. storage is the cheapest thing that can be added to a device and its not as though it uses much physical space. other than the storage I will say that I am impressed with the quality of this device and I don't know that I would even put this as low as "entry level device." I would say its more of a mid-grade device. I am also happy with the reception on this device and its nice to have a compact phone again that actually fits comfortably in my hand and on my belt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No argument here. I like it well enough, but I'm (1) a closet geek; and (2) a heavy multitasker, so given the option I'd prefer something with more screen space (I just graduated from law school, so I do a lot of reading on the go). As a phone, however, you really couldn't ask for more—the size otherwise pretty much perfect, it's relatively snappy with most applications, and once debloated the stock launcher is pretty good.
That being said, the second I see a safe way to deal with the bootloader pop up, I'm diving in, no question .

Decided to share my home screens.
Sent from my LG-P659 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

DO NOT download the 4.4.4 update in the UK

:crying:
Basically the 4.4.4 update hard bricked my phone, won't even boot into bootloader. I made no modifications at all, not even root, only unlocking the bootloader. I was on the phone to motorola for half an hour trying to get a replacement, but they wouldn't hear a word of it because the boot loader is unlocked so apparently it's all my responsibility, not their's at all for pushing a corrupted file...
Basically stick to 4.4.2 as long as you can. If anything, 4.4.4 is a downgrade, at best a side-grade. Much like 4.4.x all together really - really wish i'd stayed on 4.3
So I there anything i can do to unbrick it? I'm buying a new one anyway, but might use the "bricked" one for testing ROMs or something but if I can't get to fastboot there's nothing much I can do.

Moto G will not power up
Plug it into the charger
Hold the VOL DOWN key
While still holding the VOL DOWN key, press and hold the POWER key
Hold both keys down for over 120 seconds. This is more than two minutes and will seem like a long time. You might want to time yourself to make sure you hold it longer than two minutes.
After holding the keys down for more than two minutes, release them.
The Flash Boot screen will display, and the Normal Reboot option will be highlighted
Press the VOL UP key and the device will start a normal reboot.
If you have tried the above and it didn't work, try this:
Plug in the phone for 15 minutes.
Proceed to Step 2 above.
Source: https://forums.motorola.com/posts/3d5eadc25d

Broken_motoG said:
:crying:
Basically the 4.4.4 update hard bricked my phone, won't even boot into bootloader. I made no modifications at all, not even root, only unlocking the bootloader. I was on the phone to motorola for half an hour trying to get a replacement, but they wouldn't hear a word of it because the boot loader is unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the bootloader has mysteriously become unlocked, then clearly you did modify the phone and they are entitled to decline a refund. This is made perfectly clear when the procedure to unlock is executed.

That's why you should be careful of anything you do with the phone once the bootloader is unlocked.

Broken_motoG said:
:crying:
Basically the 4.4.4 update hard bricked my phone, won't even boot into bootloader. I made no modifications at all, not even root, only unlocking the bootloader. I was on the phone to motorola for half an hour trying to get a replacement, but they wouldn't hear a word of it because the boot loader is unlocked so apparently it's all my responsibility, not their's at all for pushing a corrupted file...
Basically stick to 4.4.2 as long as you can. If anything, 4.4.4 is a downgrade, at best a side-grade. Much like 4.4.x all together really - really wish i'd stayed on 4.3
So I there anything i can do to unbrick it? I'm buying a new one anyway, but might use the "bricked" one for testing ROMs or something but if I can't get to fastboot there's nothing much I can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, DO NOT take that from Motorola, because you live in the UK which is in Europe (Thats important) Motorola are legally obliged to help you as unlocking the bootloader/loading custom ROMs on to your device is seen as a legitimate practice and not a voiding act of your statuary warranty.
As long as you don't alter hardware they are NOT entitled to decline a refund/replacement under the circumstances, however they can refer you to the retailer you purchased it from but the rules still stand that they have to help you get a new/refurbished phone or a refund
Use this to prove it to them and make them pay up: http://fsfe.org/freesoftware/legal/flashingdevices.en.html
Hope this could be of assistance to you and I'm sorry if its off-topic but it needs to be made clear to all EU Motorola owners

TechMinerUK said:
Hi, DO NOT take that from Motorola, because you live in the UK which is in Europe (Thats important) Motorola are legally obliged to help you as unlocking the bootloader/loading custom ROMs on to your device is seen as a legitimate practice and not a voiding act of your statuary warranty.
As long as you don't alter hardware they are NOT entitled to decline a refund/replacement under the circumstances, however they can refer you to the retailer you purchased it from but the rules still stand that they have to help you get a new/refurbished phone or a refund
Use this to prove it to them and make them pay up: ht tp:// f sfe.org/f reesoftw are/legal/flash ingdev ices.en.html
Hope this could be of assistance to you and I'm sorry if its off-topic but it needs to be made clear to all EU Motorola owners
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that - didn't realise that law existed, but that will be really helpful :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Broken_motoG said:
Thanks for that - didn't realise that law existed, but that will be really helpful :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
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Click to collapse
No problem, I checked on it before I installed CM on my Moto G last week
Hope I could help and good luck with the phone

Good luck with unbricking your phone, but oh no, I've already downloaded the 4.4.4 update!
Oh wait, my phone works just fine...
And if it immediately bricked your phone, how do you know that "If anything, 4.4.4 is a downgrade, at best a side-grade."?

startersorders said:
Good luck with unbricking your phone, but oh no, I've already downloaded the 4.4.4 update!
Oh wait, my phone works just fine...
And if it immediately bricked your phone, how do you know that "If anything, 4.4.4 is a downgrade, at best a side-grade."?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to get off-topic but if an update bricked your phone its a pretty BIG downgrade as it went from a phone with many uses to a paperweight (allbeit a pretty paper weight) as it has lost functionality and its the softwares fault.
Its personal opinion

OP needs to establish if he has simply not encountered the ''Moto G won't turn on' issue. I included instructions above. It could all be just bad timing.

Broken_motoG said:
:crying:
Basically the 4.4.4 update hard bricked my phone, won't even boot into bootloader. I made no modifications at all, not even root, only unlocking the bootloader. I was on the phone to motorola for half an hour trying to get a replacement, but they wouldn't hear a word of it because the boot loader is unlocked so apparently it's all my responsibility, not their's at all for pushing a corrupted file...
Basically stick to 4.4.2 as long as you can. If anything, 4.4.4 is a downgrade, at best a side-grade. Much like 4.4.x all together really - really wish i'd stayed on 4.3
So I there anything i can do to unbrick it? I'm buying a new one anyway, but might use the "bricked" one for testing ROMs or something but if I can't get to fastboot there's nothing much I can do.
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I don't think this is anything to do with the update. If it was we would have heard about it from more that just you.
After all mine works perfectly fine after the update and I'm UK Tesco.

dethrat said:
I don't think this is anything to do with the update. If it was we would have heard about it from more that just you.
After all mine works perfectly fine after the update and I'm UK Tesco.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here and plenty of subtle improvements (get rid of the Carrier name woo-hoo) and bug fixes in 4.4.4 - (several features of my Automation app - MacroDroid suddenly work when they didn't before), not to mention one or two security patches. Slightly better battery life and noticeably smoother animations are a nice bonus too. New Dialler is a big improvement - the old one was ugly.

neu - smurph said:
Same here and plenty of subtle improvements (get rid of the Carrier name woo-hoo) and bug fixes in 4.4.4 - (several features of my Automation app - MacroDroid suddenly work when they didn't before), not to mention one or two security patches. Slightly better battery life and noticeably smoother animations are a nice bonus too. New Dialler is a big improvement - the old one was ugly.
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Click to collapse
It depends, my friend who has a Moto G update to 4.4.4 lost all functionality of his apps and his clock stopped working. It just depends as his phone wasn't rooted with no bootloader unlock

TechMinerUK said:
I don't want to get off-topic but if an update bricked your phone its a pretty BIG downgrade as it went from a phone with many uses to a paperweight (allbeit a pretty paper weight) as it has lost functionality and its the softwares fault.
Its personal opinion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course a bricked phone is useless, but something obviously went wrong with the OP's phone, and its probably a coincidence that it happened while updating. It's the absurdity of the comments "DO NOT download the 4.4.4 update" and "4.4.4 is a downgrade" that got me to post, because its pretty clear that many people have updated without any issue.
Not besmirching the OP's problem, and like I said, I wish him well in getting his phone working.
Also, depending how old the phone is and where you bought it from, isn't it an option just to return it to the seller for an exchange. Just tell them it stopped working and you want a replacement phone?

What the heck did I just buy ?

Hello folks, I guess I need help with this one :
Not a big Samsung fan but found a good deal on a S7 (craigslist) and got the phone without much homework.
After getting it home, see a few things that I don't like :
back plate says is 'Galaxy S7' and looks legit to me
power up screen also says 'Galaxy S7'
and displays t-mobile logo (supposed to be a tmobile phone)
but settings > about phone >model says 'SM-G920T'
Which turns out is NOT a model for S7 from what I can google.
Also - looks very thin on apps, as in hardly any at all, but has something called 'kingroot' which looks rather strange to me. Samsung including this on their phones ?
So, what the hell is this thing ? Is there a way to tell if it's been played with software or hardware wise ?
Any help from the connoisseurs of all things Samsung Galaxy greatly appreciated. And I know I', in the right forum for that, so thanks in advance.
BTW - not putting a SIM card or connecting this to any private wifi till I have some idea what it is I'm looking at.
Thanks

Sounds like a s6 from the model number, is there a space to put in an sdcard? If not then its an s6.

Yes, there's a tray holding the nano-sim+microSD card. Need to eject with a pin of some sort, in this case was a paperclip.
I know - search results point to S6, but that doesn't look right either.
Why I'm wondering what this thing is
Hope the experts will chime in.

Please post pictures of all sides. Also check image and video resolution and if the camera on the back has working image stabilization (open camera and move device while watching camera, it should stabilize itself)
Sounds like a fake to me

Try putting the phone in Download or Recovery Mode and see what it says.
Vol-Down + Home + Power on for download mode, Vol-up + Home + Power on for recovery.
It's probably a fake phone. Checking what the baseband version is in the Settings menu may help too.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Some more info following your advice (thanks all !!!)
baseband : G930FVPU1APV5
there's no IMEI on the back that I can see/identify
recovery mode stops at a dead android screen saying 'no command' (that stopped my heart too for a sec ) , then the home button goes to recovery menu that says
system recovery <3e>
LMY47I test-keys
and a lot more that mostly does nothing - no ROM anywhere I looked
Apply update from sdcard/cache - no go
reboot to boot loader did not work either, unclear why and no time now to play with this
The good news : it is a working phone, the seller was using it and took out his sim and sd card after using it.
Bad news : still no clue what I got, some kind of frankenphone.
I will try to upload pics - only I don't know how yet
Whatever this is, since can't trust it in current state, what ROM should I put on before trying to do something with it . And if I install another ROM, would this be safe to use - assuming it does what I want it to do ?
Thank you all for the replies, will keep digging and still hope some expert will weigh in.
Your help greatly appreciated.

I'll never understand how can someone buy used thing without your own personal inspection of device from your hands. Sorry but you're dumb for doing this

alm0 said:
LMY47I test-keys
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Click to collapse
The s7 never came with lollipop, sounds like you got one of those s7 clones.
Download https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cpuid.cpu_z&hl=en and post pics of what it says on https://imgur.com/

alm0 said:
Some more info following your advice (thanks all !!!)
baseband : G930FVPU1APV5
there's no IMEI on the back that I can see/identify
recovery mode stops at a dead android screen saying 'no command' (that stopped my heart too for a sec ) , then the home button goes to recovery menu that says
system recovery <3e>
LMY47I test-keys
and a lot more that mostly does nothing - no ROM anywhere I looked
Apply update from sdcard/cache - no go
reboot to boot loader did not work either, unclear why and no time now to play with this
The good news : it is a working phone, the seller was using it and took out his sim and sd card after using it.
Bad news : still no clue what I got, some kind of frankenphone.
I will try to upload pics - only I don't know how yet
Whatever this is, since can't trust it in current state, what ROM should I put on before trying to do something with it . And if I install another ROM, would this be safe to use - assuming it does what I want it to do ?
Thank you all for the replies, will keep digging and still hope some expert will weigh in.
Your help greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry mate but it seems that either the os is custom or the phone is fake

t-shock said:
Sorry mate but it seems that either the os is custom or the phone is fake
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why not both

avatar_ro said:
why not both
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Click to collapse
Probably
If we had pictures, we would be able to recognise the phone better
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
avatar_ro said:
why not both
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably
If we had pictures, we would be able to recognise the phone better

avatar_ro said:
why not both
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so I'm dumb getting a phone I know nothing about from a stranger. Your point is??
So got into bootloader and got jiggy with it and it says it's a 930f.
And assume it will be good enough for what I need.
I'll go full geek on it and find a good rom.
Anything that has the fm radio app?

alm0 said:
Okay, so I'm dumb getting a phone I know nothing about from a stranger. Your point is?��
So got into bootloader and got jiggy with it and it says it's a 930f.
And assume it will be good enough for what I need.
I'll go full geek on it and find a good rom.
Anything that has the fm radio app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey dude, I did not called you dumb but pretty sure what you did was not smart. why don't you send us some pictures of the phone? especially from the sides and back and we can quickly see if it's a ripoff or not.

No, I'm dumb and manly enough to admit it.
Did not do my homework so is my fault and paying for it.
In better news looks like I may have something I can work
with.
As long as I can get a rom I like. What's on it now is definitely debilitated, hardly anything there but don't trust it.
That and don't have a nano sim yet.
Waiting for rom recommendation, preferably with fm radio included.
Thanks again all!

I don't think you understand. Alot of people here believe you have a counterfeit phone. If you do, then you have something that may have 1/4 the screen resolution, 1/4 the power and 1/5 the camera quality of the S7. Get the IMEI (settings > about phone) and check on swappa to confirm if you have a S7. Also, If you have a black image, does the screen off or does it have a slight glow (OLED screen should be off when a black image is on screen). If you do have a counterfeit, no rom on this forum will work with your phone. The other thing to check would be to try to boot to download mode, as only authentic samsungs have it. It's important as most rooting/custom roms involve you first flashing something in download mode via Odin.
Here are instructions for entering download mode:
Switch off your smartphone completely.
Press and hold Volume Down, Home and Power buttons simultaneously.
Release these buttons when the Warning screen pops up.
I also fell for a counterfeit a few months ago. I spent ~$600USD on a white S7 from ebay. Fortunately, Ebay's seller protections were able to allow me to return the phone for a full refund.

"I also fell for a counterfeit a few months ago. I spent ~$600USD on a white S7 from ebay. Fortunately, Ebay's seller protections were able to allow me to return the phone for a full refund. "
I also fell for some fake headphones from eBay. Broke after 4 mos, sent them to Shure for warranty, came back "counterfeit". Found out Paypal has a 180 day refund policy. Notified them and had a full refund from the seller in about 5 min. Just an FYI.

Looks like either:
1. A cheap Chinese clone
2. A rooted Galaxy S6 (which is what the kingroot app is AFAIK).

Get your SN and restore it through Samsung Switch in Windows. This way you will find your phone back to a stock rom and not custom rom.

OK gang, is a clone s7. Big disappointment. But got to pay the price when I'm stupid.
Any one here needs one of these, can cut you a good deal
No clue what to do with it, ideas ?
(please don't say paperweight or doorstop, already thought of those)

alm0 said:
OK gang, is a clone s7. Big disappointment. But got to pay the price when I'm stupid.
Any one here needs one of these, can cut you a good deal
No clue what to do with it, ideas ?
(please don't say paperweight or doorstop, already thought of those)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you show us pics? So we see the fake.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk