Database Info

[Q] unfortunately SBF'd to GB..need some clarity on my next steps (moto noob)

So this is for my sister and I don't want to risk bricking her phone, but I'm not sure what my options are at this point. If you can take just a minute to help clarify what I should do at this point.
She was running a miui rom and some how or another got stuck in the loop of stock recovery and the battery with the question mark screen.. So after some research I saw I could boot in bootloader from stock recovery, then SBF and it would be fine.
I saw the warning on the SBF thread about not being able to downgrade if you used SBF to flash a Gingerbread rom, well I read that wrong and thought it meant if youre currently on a GB rom, you couldn't use SBF to downgrade. So i flashed the "4.5.3-109 Blur multilanguage" GB build and it works fine, but now I need to root it to flash a new rom and most require the Nordic (2.2) base and I can't use SBF to downgrade to it now..
Can I use this thread (http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/08/25/well-that-was-fast-one-click-droid-3-root-now-available/) to root GB, then install CWM, flashed a 2.2 rom, then SBF to Nordic?
Or do I need to follow these steps?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14762402&postcount=143
I'm very lost here and a huge Moto noob..any guidance would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks in advance

so...why didnt u post the first time before doing the stupid thing of flashing a full gb sbf ?
defy+ users are reporting that droid easy root works on theyr devices but u cant instal cm7 or miui on a gb base
u need to folow the downgrade tutorial if it works..i didn't tried it just coz i dont want to take any chances
ur solution for the boot loop would have been much simpler, either by wiping the phone in custom recovery
or wiping the phone in moto recovery, then flashing a new froyo sbf (any sbf except china one) and flash latest miui, then restore only data if she had a nandroid backup (i do 1 every week just to be shure)

remuseu said:
so...why didnt u post the first time before doing the stupid thing of flashing a full gb sbf ?
defy+ users are reporting that droid easy root works on theyr devices but u cant instal cm7 or miui on a gb base
u need to folow the downgrade tutorial if it works..i didn't tried it just coz i dont want to take any chances
ur solution for the boot loop would have been much simpler, either by wiping the phone in custom recovery
or wiping the phone in moto recovery, then flashing a new froyo sbf (any sbf except china one) and flash latest miui, then restore only data if she had a nandroid backup (i do 1 every week just to be shure)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point, it doesnt really matter, I made a mistake and this is where I'm at..I'm used to HTC devices and this is totally different.
I wasn't able to get into the custom recovery, I tried 20+ times and could not get into custom recovery, only stock. So i did wipe from there and flashed like the sbf. Like I said, I read the thread wrong, I thought it meant I couldnt sbf to Froyo since I was already on GB.
So should I try the 'easy root', then install CW, flash a froyo rom and then can I use SBF to go to Nordic?
Thanks for the reply..I appreciate any help..

I'm confused in the downgrade instructions where it says to flash the first build..How are you supposed to flash the build if its not rooted yet and its not a sbf file?

i know if you flash full GB sbf (is it full sbf?), then there is no chance for you to downgrade to froyo, you can only stay in GB (and above in the future)

remuseu said:
but u cant instal cm7 or miui on a gb base
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a myth busted I have to say. You can install any AOSP rom from Gingerbread build. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1287704
It depends if whether you want to flash MIUI then you can directly install it onto your GB, but if you want to go back to Froyo there's a really long and tiring process for that. Lemme know what's on your mind and I'll point you to it.
Sent from Android 2.3.7

@civicvx94 shift happens man. Next time you should pay more attention to the warning messages. However you can go back and install Froyo on your sister's Defy, but you cannot do this just by flashing a FULL Froyo SBF. I think this post it's detailed enough and you'll be able to go back to Froyo if you follow those instructions. Then you can try to install 2nd init and put another ROM (like MIUI or CM7) and if you ever encounter any issues and you need to reinstall then you'll have to go again from base 0 (install the "special" eclair, root it, install recovery, install froyo nandroid and then the fixed sbf).

ryan8r said:
That's a myth busted I have to say. You can install any AOSP rom from Gingerbread build. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1287704
It depends if whether you want to flash MIUI then you can directly install it onto your GB, but if you want to go back to Froyo there's a really long and tiring process for that. Lemme know what's on your mind and I'll point you to it.
Sent from Android 2.3.7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i`m sure u didnt tried that with a full gb, but with ms2ginger or MotoGinger
and as u said in ur post cm7 or miui only works untill u reboot the device
so yah, folow nepotu instructions but read the god damned instruction twice and then do something...ffs english is your main language

remuseu said:
i`m sure u didnt tried that with a full gb, but with ms2ginger or MotoGinger
and as u said in ur post cm7 or miui only works untill u reboot the device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to explain the difference!?
And No, it works flawlessly I actually tried to replace the default bootmenu which led to the anomaly. Read the complete thread
before making "presumptions".
Sent from Android 2.3.7

Thanks you guys so much for your help. This is one of the most helpful forums on xda..I have only owned HTC devices, and once you have a custom recovery installed switching between roms is no problem, so yeah I misread and messed up.
@ryan8r - I'm planning on going back to a MIUI or CM7 build, so that thread looks like it could be what I need..
@nepotu - thanks alot for that link, I believe that's the path I'm going to need to go, everything looks pretty straight forward there..
So you're saying that if I ever need to start over (once I have miui installed), instead of just being a sbf a Froyo build, I have to first sbf the special eclair build, root, 2nd init, then nandroid restore to Froyo, then use the fixed sbf to froyo?
Out of curiosity, is it possible to brick a Defy or can you normally sbf and save it? Just wondering in case I run into any issues..
Thanks again for the help

You welcome and yes if you screw up MIUI then you'll have to first flash that special Eclair (which has two partitions with code 5, same as leaked GB) and then follow the remaining steps. You cannot install Froyo via FULL SBF unless you have a special Froyo SBF with those two partitions upgraded to code 5. (Off course you can flash also the leaked GB)
You cannot build SBF files unless you have Moto digital signature. I assume that the special Eclair SBF is sort of zombie SBF, built from two ROMs (some partitions are from the leaked GB and some from Eclair). There is a tool (Moto depaker) that will allow you to "break" the SBF into CG files but you cannot change those partitions as it will change their checksum and therefore their digital signature won't be valid. Moreover you cannot flash a partition (CG) with a lower code than your Defy's partition.

Why don't you first install 2ndinit and try installing MIUI onto your current build. If that don't work you always have the chinese eclair at your disposal. I doubt if the CG partitions will cause problem with any AOSP rom.
Sent from Android 2.3.7

Ok I think I have a lot better idea of whats going on now..
I'm about to start the process now, I think to be safe I think I'll go the longer route, and if I mess something up, then try to install miui on top of the GB build.
I'll report back with success/failure.
Thanks guys. wish me luck..ha

Well I went the longer route and have MIUI successfully installed on it, everything seems to be running great!
Thanks for all the help.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

4.0.4 UNrooted Factory - Trial Errors or Solutions OTA Update Post Here

I have updated my non rooted I9020t from stock 2.3.6 to 4.0.3 using file VQ8PQk_V.zip in android stock recovery. Then tried to apply the update patch for 4.0.4 hR7QFEtn.zip which gave me status error 7. I then tried to re-apply 4.0.3 on top of my already flashed 4.0.3 VQ8PQk_V.zip and also got the same status error 7.
Please post in detail your Phone Type as well as the exact procedures you have tried and what files you have used.
Please keep this post as Non Rooted Phones only.
Let's work together to see if we can get a solution from trial and error

people it's not rocket science !!!
Required :
1.Stock ICS 4.0.3
2.Unlocked bootloader
3.Custom recovery installed (like CWM recovery)
4.The update zip (~18 mb) copied to root of /sd card
Choose install update from zip on sd card
Have fun !!

c0de2 said:
I have updated my non rooted I9020t from stock 2.3.6 to 4.0.3 using file VQ8PQk_V.zip in android stock recovery. Then tried to apply the update patch for 4.0.4 hR7QFEtn.zip which gave me status error 7. I then tried to re-apply 4.0.3 on top of my already flashed 4.0.3 VQ8PQk_V.zip and also got the same status error 7.
Please post in detail your Phone Type as well as the exact procedures you have tried and what files you have used.
Please keep this post as Non Rooted Phones only.
Let's work together to see if we can get a solution from trial and error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see Your point; sitting in the same boat; i9023, SLCD, unrooted; 4.0.3 ->4.0.4, giving me the same error message.. Do NOT want to root/ unlock, etc, want to keep stock; but do hope for a solution -especially as OTA upgrade in Europe can take several weeks..

Please beware if you Unlock your bootloader you invalidate your warrently. I'm assuming thats why c0de2 wanted this post to be kept to unrooted phones.
You could try downloading the complete 4.0.4 firmware rather than the update. Thats what I did with no issues. Unfortunately I don't have a link to hand.

Ur warranty will be fine... all u will have to do is unroot it back to stock.
So open ur world to the "root" world.
U will not regret it
ICS is good, but better when its customized.
Vs Nexus S 4G

Look at your download history please!!!
madgibbon said:
Please beware if you Unlock your bootloader you invalidate your warrently. I'm assuming thats why c0de2 wanted this post to be kept to unrooted phones.
You could try downloading the complete 4.0.4 firmware rather than the update. Thats what I did with no issues. Unfortunately I don't have a link to hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that would be the link we're all waiting for!

madgibbon said:
You could try downloading the complete 4.0.4 factory firmware rather than the update. Thats what I did with no issues. Unfortunately I don't have a link to hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible to load the complete firmware in Android Recovery UNrooted?
Here is the link to the factory firmware 4.0.4 if anyone needs it. This is Factory Complete Images for 4.0.4 not incremental updates.
I have not tried it please be careful not tested by me yet (not sure if it's possible to load it on Factory Android Recovery) paste this url into your browser for factory 4.0.4 code.google.com/android/nexus/images.html

Need some quick help

So it had been quite some time since I tried messing with my tf300 so....
I was on cm-9, when to update to cm-10.1, tried to update twrp then it wouldn't boot to recovery, tried to flash back to stock JB bootloader using "fastboot flash system.blob" gave me a flash error (invalid size) and for some reason fastboot doesnt recognize my device.
So I have no recovery and no rom.
I tried "fastboot boot boot.blob" from cm-9 and cm-10 and it wont boot. just stuck on "waiting for device"
When I type "fastboot devices" it just starts a new command line, no serial number.
I can include any information needed to help my situation, I just need to be told where to look.
To be honest, I couldn't remember what bootloader I was on. It had been a while. Is there a way to tell?

Can't get the tablet to stay off either while I wait for help. Lol
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

Any ideas?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

Now I think my situation might have gotten worse.
I can't get into fastboot now. It just keeps trying to go into recovery mode but there is no recovery so it just continuously reboots.

No one can help?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

Well that sucks...
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

Depends on what you were trying to do, were you trying to update the recovery first and to what version. I believe cm 9 is based on an older build of bootloader. What exactly did you do. From my knowladge as to reading and seeing so many people just flashing before reading the threads you should first update the bootloader then the recovery depending on what recovery version you were trying to update to. From what it sound like you tried to update the recovery before bootloader just not sure what version of recovery but if wrong one and didnt update bootloader sounds like you maybe un recoverably bricked like what everyone else is doing before reading and as of now. Aslo if you have an nvflash backup there may be a fix i'm just not sure how as i never had it but accorging to some it seems that was the only hope for them to get out. Reaad the threads there maybe help on here some where just so many are flashing and bricking before reading people are getting frustrated because theres no help for it.

I know it doesn't help, but since you wanted to know what happened, I can tell you that much. Since you were on CM9, you had to be on the original ICS bootloader. Stock JB can't be fastboot-flashed over ICS because of changes to the partitioning and other low-level stuff, which is why it wouldn't flash and why it subsequently failed to boot.
I'm also just picking up my TF300 for the first time since August. I just recovered from a soft-brick today (my story, which in hindsight was a complete f-up on my part), which was why I hadn't been using it. I ended up fastboot-flashing the newest ICS firmware (I actually tried it back in August, but fastboot wouldn't work; I didn't do anything differently today, but fastboot had been updated recently and magically worked), then performing the NVFlash backups from the sticky thread (this isn't quite where our paths diverged, but it may have been a good idea to do that before you tried upgrading to JB -- not that it helps now, but for future reference).
Like you, I tried fastboot-flashing the stock JB firmware over the ICS firmware and got the same error you got. So, I tried flashing the ICS firmware again, but got the same Invalid Size error. At this point, my tablet wouldn't boot past the splash screen (not the animation with the spinner; the first one with the NVidea logo in the corner), and fastboot wouldn't flash any firmware.
This next part is the part where our stories more-or-less fork.
Faced with another soft brick just hours after fixing one, I fastboot-flashed TWRP instead (made sure to use an ICS version since the JB firmware didn't flash, and the NVFlash bootloader I had was based on the ICS bootloader), which worked, and I booted into recovery. I used TWRP to flash the ICS firmware (I actually had it on my internal SD card in August, but I could have also pushed it with ADB if I didn't already have it), and I got a functioning tablet again.
Next, to upgrade to Jellybean correctly, I booted into Android and used ADB to push the Jellybean firmware to my tablet. I put it on the root of the internal storage, and the tablet saw it and alerted me to the update. Since TWRP had been replaced by the stock recovery when I flashed the ICS firmware, I just let the tablet do its thing with the update, and I ended up with a perfectly-functioning stock Jellybean ROM. I then performed each subsequent update (I never once skipped any update steps) the same way until I was on the newest 4.1.1 firmware (I'm not updating to 4.2.1 until CM10.1 works with it).
I'm not sure how much research you did before you updated your tablet, but I was trolling the TF300 forums for a good 2 or 3 hours before I even tried upgrading, and I still had trouble (I never saw any posts about people trying to fastboot-flash JB over ICS, so I didn't know it wouldn't work until I tried it at least 3 times). From the limited details you provided, it doesn't sound like you did much searching before you started flashing. In the future, it may be a good idea to research a lot more than you think you have to before flashing things on expensive devices.
Also, in the future, when you're asking for help like this, it's best to go overboard on the details - just like a murder investigation, we want to help you figure out what killed your tablet, but we can't do that if you don't tell us about the strange footprints you saw in your neighbor's lawn the night before. Mention every single icon or word that appears on the tablet, every single button-press you've made, every keystroke you've typed, etc., whether it seems important or not. We can't be there with you, so you have to bring your situation to us.
At this point, the only advice I can give is to let the tablet die, charge it again (so the battery's full but the tablet's powered off), and try again when the battery's full. If you can get ADB to work while the tablet is trying to boot recovery, you may be able to flash a new recovery and then try flashing the ICS firmware (flashing the JB firmware might work, but then you can't use NVFlash). That's about the best you can do if you can't get it into fastboot mode (short of RMAing your tablet). If you can get fastboot to work somehow, then you can easily flash a new recovery and follow the steps I took. But if you do get your tablet booting with the ICS firmware, perform the NVFlash backups ASAP before you update to Jellybean.
I hope you can get your tablet to work. I thought mine was a goner until I got lucky with an updated fastboot. Now, I'm ecstatic that it works, and I'm going to be a lot more careful in the future.

Galaxy Ace 2 Normal Guide: Bricked phones, going from JB to GB and so on

I see, that we have nothing normal here, just Q&A with persons, so I decided to do guide if you have soft bricked phone or you want go from JB to GB or other questions.
Question: I somehow bricked my phone
Answer: If you can boot your phone and see bootloop (Samsung and device name), everything is fine. You just need to go to download mode (hold volume down + home button + power about 4-5 seconds), download Odin 3.07 and Russian FirmWare. Flash Russian FirmWare (just CODE_GT-I8160_I8160XXLK6... file) with Odin PDA and your device is alive again.
Question: I have JB, but I want GB back.
Answer: Easy. Download Russian FirmWare, flash with Odin 3.07. Find your wanted GB FirmWare version in SamMobile.com and flash it with Odin 3.07 again. You have GB once again.
Question: I have GB and I want JB. Which version to install?
Answer: It seems ME7 is best version, but you can still try MF1 or any other.
If you have any other questions, please ask and I will help in this thread.

If you want to go from JB back to GB on P version ?

Shadowcareful said:
If you want to go from JB back to GB on P version ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I don't have P version and I can't test and tell that. I have regular I8160.

To put it simply, no matter what happen (I mean bootloop, caused by anything), the only solution is to flash that Russian Firmware and Flash the Firmware of your choice (either GB or JB), right?

Many, many thanks for this. After bircking my Ace 2 and trying all kinds of ways of reflashing the stock ROM this is the only thing that worked. So, you've saved my phone - and me some expense.
Now, however, I have a new issue. The Russian version won't update, so I would like to revert to a UK stock ROM with JB 4.2.2. Given my recent epxerience thohgh, I am wary of trying to flash anything again. Any advice on a "safe" way to do this?

StevePC said:
Many, many thanks for this. After bircking my Ace 2 and trying all kinds of ways of reflashing the stock ROM this is the only thing that worked. So, you've saved my phone - and me some expense.
Now, however, I have a new issue. The Russian version won't update, so I would like to revert to a UK stock ROM with JB 4.2.2. Given my recent epxerience thohgh, I am wary of trying to flash anything again. Any advice on a "safe" way to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we have cm10.1 and so on, but no stock 4.2.2, were you trying this?http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2363309

Typo
Sorry I meant JB 4.1.2 which is the last official version for the Ace 2.

[Q] flashed 4.0.4 stock rom, messed up IMEI

Hello everybody this is my first post on this site but it has be invaluable to me in the past for getting phones up and running.
I have a photon q that received a forced update to JB i rooted the phone put CWM on and flashed a stock 4.0.4 ROM to it (asanti_c-user-4.0.4-7.7.1Q-6_SPR-125_ASA-10-11-release-keys-Sprint-US )
Everything appeared to have worked correctly (IE it boots, i can access the internet/youtube app, receive gmail .etc) however the play store wasn’t working.
Fast forward 2 days of debugging and I realized that somehow my IMEI and MEID are messed up ( 0 and 00000000000000 respectively)
I have been looking at ways to restore the IMEI to the phone (i have to original number as it came on the screen protector when I bought the phone), however I cannot seem to find a method that will work with the photon Q.
Tried the terminal emulator method, After reboot nothing has changed.
Can’t find the /EFS folder (after looking that one up i do not believe it exists on this phone) so the method of manipulating the files within won’t work.
So the meat and potatoes of my question is how do i put my IMEI number back into my phone so I can use it again?
thank you in advance
Arckonicon

Did you try using RSD Lite to flash the phone back to factory?

RSD lite
I Used RSD lite to flash the ROM.
As far as I know that rom is a factory/stock ROM.
If it is not where would I go about finding a factory ROM?

Arckonicon said:
I Used RSD lite to flash the ROM.
As far as I know that rom is a factory/stock ROM.
If it is not where would I go about finding a factory ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, OK I was mistaken about how you flashed the device...
I'm not sure why that would or how it could erase your IMEI, I have used it many times.

That is why I am confused i have done this for other peoples phones prolly 20 or 30 times and I have never had an issue with it.
untill i go to do my own
So i need to figure out a way to put my IMEI back onto the phone. like i said i have the number i just dont know how to get it back into the device... :/

Still unable to find information on how to fix this.
I have however found out that there are three differant versions of the "stock" firmware for the same version and same model.
I am going to attempt to try them all and I will post results here.

FIXED
After looking the problem over i determined that my phone must have shipped with a different firmware than the "stock" one I had flashed. I found 2 other 4.0.4 firmware "stock" ROMS. they are all stock but some of them shipped on different devices. I guess with this phone you have to have the exact same "stock" firmware that came with it.
what I did
found and downloaded the other ROMS (will post the site to get them if I am allowed)
re-flashed the ROMS until one automagicaly had my IMEI number populated (i double checked against the number I had written down from when I got the phone and they are the same so it is not a "fake" IMEI)
I hope others who have this problem will find this helpful.

Arckonicon said:
After looking the problem over i determined that my phone must have shipped with a different firmware than the "stock" one I had flashed. I found 2 other 4.0.4 firmware "stock" ROMS. they are all stock but some of them shipped on different devices. I guess with this phone you have to have the exact same "stock" firmware that came with it.
what I did
found and downloaded the other ROMS (will post the site to get them if I am allowed)
re-flashed the ROMS until one automagicaly had my IMEI number populated (i double checked against the number I had written down from when I got the phone and they are the same so it is not a "fake" IMEI)
I hope others who have this problem will find this helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i mean that erasing imei is impossible on photon...simple question...is your phone switched to gsm mode?

Arckonicon said:
After looking the problem over i determined that my phone must have shipped with a different firmware than the "stock" one I had flashed. I found 2 other 4.0.4 firmware "stock" ROMS. they are all stock but some of them shipped on different devices. I guess with this phone you have to have the exact same "stock" firmware that came with it.
what I did
found and downloaded the other ROMS (will post the site to get them if I am allowed)
re-flashed the ROMS until one automagicaly had my IMEI number populated (i double checked against the number I had written down from when I got the phone and they are the same so it is not a "fake" IMEI)
I hope others who have this problem will find this helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi dude
I faced the same problem
Could you post the site to download roms?
Please help me