Database Info

[DEV & CWM Recovery for Pantech Crossover]

Forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong section. Forgive me if I'm not allowed to post here yet. Just forgive me in general. I don't want to be banned or anything like that. I'm Extremely interested in android development.
I made a working port of ClockworkMod Recovery v5.0.2.8 for the Pantech Crossover. I wanted to do this before I started tinkering around with porting cm7.2. So that I would have a way to backup, restore, and flash new roms, etc... Or else when I make a noob mistake like yesterday and have a non booting phone resulting in having to flash my old boot.img with fastboot...anyways..
DANGER: DRAGONS AHEAD
FLASH AT YOUR OWN RISK
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
The method I used to flash the recovery was:
1)adb push recovery.img /sdcard/recovery.img
2)flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img
3)repeat step 2 (for some reason it gave me a read error out of memory the first time)
Here's the link to the custom recovery:
http :// dl. dropbox .com /u/20070520/ recovery.img
I know I'm not supposed to post links yet. Remove spaces
I just hope that there are others with the Pantech Crossover that are interested in this and the possible future development of custom roms.
Also if anyone knows if there is a good way to get ahold of koush let me know, so I can give him what he needs to hopefully add this to Rom Manager. I couldn't message him on github because he doesn't have an email set up with it

And while I'm at it. Here's the method for rooting your crossover. I'm not going to provide the files since they can easily be found with a google search.
1: Find a copy of gingerbreak.apk and copy it to your sd card
2: Enable usb debugging and allow installation of non market apps
3: Install gingerbreak
4: Root device with Gingerbreak
5: You can uninstall Gingerbreak when its completed.
Sent from my rooted PantechP8000 using XDA

Thanks so much for this! I have a friend with a crossover and is always looking for my help with making it work better. I realize this is a newer thread, I was wondering how things were coming along with CM? Anything I can do to help perhaps?

crap i need a rom to fix my crossover the buttons are no longer mapped after a hard reset. please help.

Slow
Well, it's been slow goings so far. I downloaded the open source files for the p8000 and it looks like they just built the original rom from a generic build. I've been trying to get a more customized build setup but I need to do some more reading so far. One of the problems is that instead of an akmd(2) binary for orientation and compass it uses three separate modules. Plus the hci_attach is a bit different as well and so is the bluetooth. So that significantly hampers the ease of even a basic port.
As far as the gentleman with the question about a rom to fix your device. The best I can do right now is to upload a clockwork mod backup after I do a factory reset. I don't get much time to work on this between my wife and daughter.
Also, do you have adb access to your device? Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to adb push the correct keymapping files back to your phone.
You say a hard reset messed up your mappings? What problems were you experiencing prior to the reset?

Crossover
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that there are people watching your thread. I am very interested in this as my parents have Crossovers and have recently rooted and unlocked them (well, I did) and set them up to work on Net10.
The only issue I've noted is that there are some failures, like the Market refusing to install apps no matter what is done. I'm going to install your ClockworkMod in hopes that later it might be useful.
I realize there isn't a large development scene for the P8k yet, and maybe there won't be but it's always a great hope that those with the capabilities might take pity. I was almost thinking that it might be my foray into actually looking deeper at the code than the small bit I've done.
Kind Regards,
Kaylus

Yup
kaylus said:
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that there are people watching your thread. I am very interested in this as my parents have Crossovers and have recently rooted and unlocked them (well, I did) and set them up to work on Net10.
The only issue I've noted is that there are some failures, like the Market refusing to install apps no matter what is done. I'm going to install your ClockworkMod in hopes that later it might be useful.
I realize there isn't a large development scene for the P8k yet, and maybe there won't be but it's always a great hope that those with the capabilities might take pity. I was almost thinking that it might be my foray into actually looking deeper at the code than the small bit I've done.
Kind Regards,
Kaylus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any problems with the market refusing to install apps but I do sometimes run across the no connection error with the market when on wifi. Although I did notice this before I rooted my crossover. Sometimes disabling and re-enabling the wifi helps. I really do think it is a bug somewhere in the original rom.
As far as the custom recovery image. Everything seems to be working pretty good. I use it mainly for restoring previous backups. I would say I've restored my backup at least a dozen times. Occasionally it states there was an error restoring .android secure but I have yet to track that down. I need to double check the recovery.fstab to make sure I have everything set right for the mount points.

stevotdo said:
I haven't had any problems with the market refusing to install apps but I do sometimes run across the no connection error with the market when on wifi. Although I did notice this before I rooted my crossover. Sometimes disabling and re-enabling the wifi helps. I really do think it is a bug somewhere in the original rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually completely stuck at this point. I'm rooted, unlocked, different carrier, APN set correctly. I can access data and voice -- but it just hangs at "Downloading..." on the market. If I factory reset it works initially but after reboot it fails. I'm not quite sure why this occurs and if it is just this phone or a side-effect of using it on a different carrier.
Strangely Wi-fi doesn't resolve it.
As far as the custom recovery image. Everything seems to be working pretty good. I use it mainly for restoring previous backups. I would say I've restored my backup at least a dozen times. Occasionally it states there was an error restoring .android secure but I have yet to track that down. I need to double check the recovery.fstab to make sure I have everything set right for the mount points.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give your recovery a run and let you know, if you manage CM7 let me know I know it's a big undertaking. Thanks for the response.

Market Error
As far as the Android Market hanging. I see a few references to it being cause by the .android_secure folder becoming corrupted on the sd card.
One temporary fix suggest moving all the installed apk's back to the phone memory and deleting the .android_secure folder. Then rebooting and moving those apps back to the sd card.
That seems like some wasted time if it doesn't happen to work. I would just turn the phone off, remove the sdcard, and restart (granted any apps that were moved to the sdcard wont work until it is reinserted.) Then I would try to download and install an app. If that works then shutdown, insert sd, and reboot.
I'm really curious if the problems with .android_secure that you and i are having aren't just more bugs in the original rom.

Just as a poster above me said, I am watching this thread and really appreciate everything you are doing. Thanks again.

Well I appreciate the support. I just hope to be able to offer a rom sometime soon. Unfortunately I won't have anymore free time till Tuesday
crimson12 said:
Just as a poster above me said, I am watching this thread and really appreciate everything you are doing. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Not an issue, life first, then android development.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Pantech Crossover Update
Ahhhhh check out the pantech support page for the crossover. They finally have the Gingerbread update.
http:// pantechusa. com/xupgrade/ remove spaces.
Which is great because I soft bricked my phone (don't ask) and this was going to be the only way to fix it.

stevotdo said:
Ahhhhh check out the pantech support page for the crossover. They finally have the Gingerbread update.
http:// pantechusa. com/xupgrade/ remove spaces.
Which is great because I soft bricked my phone (don't ask) and this was going to be the only way to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh hell yes finally. Thanks for the notice!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Mildly related, but have you figured out how to root the gingerbread ROM? I've tried ginger break to no avail.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

anyone have a stock image of the 2.2 for android my phone came preupgraded to 2.3.6 and i would like to have it rooted over being on gingerbread since a root method hasnt been found yet for the new firmware

Bricked?
I tried to use the pantech provided gingerbread update this morning. It got about an eighth of the way through and failed. It instructed me to reboot while holding volume up and home and power. That put it in software updating mode. I tried the upgrade 3 more times, it failed at the same point each time. Now my phone is stuck in S/W Updating mode and I can't seem to get it out. I've tried pressing volume up and down for 10 seconds, and pressing volume down and home while powering on, nothing seems to make a difference. Any thoughts about how to at least get me back to froyo?

formattdd said:
I tried to use the pantech provided gingerbread update this morning. It got about an eighth of the way through and failed. It instructed me to reboot while holding volume up and home and power. That put it in software updating mode. I tried the upgrade 3 more times, it failed at the same point each time. Now my phone is stuck in S/W Updating mode and I can't seem to get it out. I've tried pressing volume up and down for 10 seconds, and pressing volume down and home while powering on, nothing seems to make a difference. Any thoughts about how to at least get me back to froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind, bad usb cable.

formattdd said:
Nevermind, bad usb cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it working!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Yeah now I'm having the same regrets as above. No root.
Sent from my PantechP8000 using XDA

[Q] stable ICS and help un F-ing my phone please

ok, here goes. i saw a video on youtube
(i'm a new member, so i'm replacing this link. the video is "Root & Install Ice Cream Sandwich On The Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant No Computer Needed" by eddie1west)
it seemed so easy, right? i'm looking for the most stable Tmobile Vibrant ICS. Before i do that, now i have to un-junk my phone. i tried to follow that guy's instructions to put the new OS on my vibrant, but i messed something up along the way. Then i realized when he shows his phone's files, they have a different name and/or version than the links he provides. that may have had something to do with it, but it could also be that he started from stock in january, and i started from gingerbread in july....
well i put some update.zip file in the root (but was never shown when or if it needs removed), then finally got the phone rooted (but when i held all 3 buttons i never got the BLUE menu like he did. mine was RED until i applied his update.zip and then it was only GREEN until i rebooted. it always starts at RED), then installed his gingerbread over mine, then tried to load his link to ICSv13 (even though the one he used was v10), but all i got was a never ending boot. i thought maybe i needed to start from where he did, so i watched his other video (LINK REPLACED: "How To Go Back To Stock Eclair On Your Samsung Galaxy S With Odin 1.3" by eddie1west) and tried to start all over (but his download links didn't work and i had to find all the files singly). So, using odin v1.85 (but he used v1.3), i only ended up getting froyo (not eclair) and NO google apps icon....! Sigh
then it seemed like every link i clicked to try to fix my issues just brought me to this website. so i'm thinking you all must know your shhhhhhhtuff! i've read through so many forum pages like the "enable a lagfix"/"disable a lagfix" pages, the "flash with 2 files"/"flash with 3 and check a box" pages, sometimes Odin has PDA as the second button and sometimes it's third, some that say to flash without that update.zip file (so delete, flash, then put it there? then leave it?). and to top it all off, most answers take me to an older page (and program or file versions have changed or have updates since then....all newer stuff still compatible with each other?) AND a lot of the links i've clicked on are broken and i have to hope the file i find is the same as the instruction writer intended. (i guess if a file size was indicated, i could compare them kb for kb...)
about an hour ago, i was going to reflash some OS that kind of worked, then try to disable those 2 voodoo commands some page said to enable, then take the update.zip out, then try everything all over again when i got the message "CONVERT PARTITION, SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE, CONVERT PARTITION, SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE"!
THEN i thought.....HANG ON! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A P3N1S DOESN'T MEAN THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST STOPPING AND ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS!!!! LOL!
So I stopped messing with the phone. From where i am right now, how do i get to a stable version of ICS? Will someone please give me a step-by-step list on what to do now? And can the list include file links that aren't broken (or a single zip file with everything in it would be like hitting the lottery!) and things i can look for to know i'm on the right track at the 1/3 mark and 2/3 mark possibly?
and could i please get a little forgiveness for being so long-winded when i get frustrated? and a tissue? and something to hit? (well..while i'm begging...can i get a large stuffed-crust meat-lover's and some diet dew too?) i may have found the reason that so many people use drugs! lol!
FYI, i'm on T-mobile using a T959V
FOLLOW UP-----
I moved this question here because I was just informed that the Vibrant is NOT the name of the Galaxy S 4G!

So what ur saying is the update.zip works on the t959v? And gives you root......I had a good feeling it would.
But anyhow you should go to the dev tab here in this forum and dl gremlin remover (one click)! and use that to get u back to stock.
We do not have a stable ics.
We are just now getting cm9 ics but you've got to understand its not perfect yet.....stick with gb for awhile and learn how this phone functions.
And don't worry...like the vibrant .....this phone is in my findings.....unbrickable

MightySoul97 said:
FYI, i'm on T-mobile using a T959V
FOLLOW UP-----
I moved this question here because I was just informed that the Vibrant is NOT the name of the Galaxy S 4G!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is quite correct. They are different animals. If the gremlin remover doesn't help or get you where you need to go, I'd suggest using The T959V Heimdall One-Click Collection. Following the instructions there will get you back to a booting, stock Gingerbread ROM. From there you can go find ROM/ROMS of your liking (we have great developers) and give it/them a go.
Let us know if you need help.

well i meant the MOST stable Android 4 (aka cm9? ice cream)... or, for that matter, Android 3 (aka cm8? french silk pie? twinkie? zinger? lol! yum.....) would work too...
ok, i'll go find that program this afternoon/evening and fix the phone. (i just have to remember not to get that prog wet or feed it after midnight....)
now that i feel like an accidental guinea pig because i found you an answer you didn't know, then do you want me to test the compatibility of anything else out on it before i fix it? post your working links and i'll report back.
also, thanks for the gremlin help.

@stephen_w
is there an Odin one-click zip dealy thingy (and yes, that IS the technical term )

Lol I'm good I use to have the vibrant and just had a feeling this phone could have been rooted without hooking up to a comp.

Gremlin remover is an an Odin one click in itself.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500427

MightySoul97 said:
well i meant the MOST stable Android 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aokp and Cm9 are pretty stable just a couple bugs but not a big deal haven't tried miui v4 out yet. Good luck lol
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA

So how did it go?
I'm running cm9 btw....its very stable been running it now for 2days now and they got ringer working so really the only bug is front camera and I don't use it so for me I'm good

[Q] HELP - Just can't get into Recovery!

Hi everybody,
after endless nights and days of experimenting and crying I ask for your help.
My Aim: rooting my HTC One S C2.
So here is my story:
In my first attempt I unlocked my bootloader and tried to put a Custom Recovery on my phone. It failed. I got always stuck at the HTC screen with the red writing underneath the logo ("This build is for ...").
I then found out that I need the superboot.bat to root my phone.
So I proceeded to re-lock my phone and put a RUU on it to get back to the original Recovery.
All went well, so I unlocked my phone again via htcdev.com.
After that I tried to run the superboot.bat but again I am stuck at the HTC screen with the red writing!
I know that this screen should only appear for a few seconds and the phone should go into recovery but I am always stuck endless in this screen. To get out of it I have to soft reset my phone.
So I am not able to root it.
In a video I saw that on other phones the HTC screen with red writing has some kind of a "loading bar" on the upper right which appears after trying to access the recovery.
Well this bar doesn't even appear on my phone
Please help me I really don't know what to do further

same issue here, so subscribing to thread!

If you can get to download mode try to flash stock firmware with Odin. Search for a guide on youtube.
--------------------------------------------
Sent from my GT-S5830 running ImaGinary ICS.
Thank if it helped.It's there for a reason

Ähm isn't Odin for Samsung devices?
This is about HTC... Or does it work for both?

i recommend reading through this guide to rooting the one s. i've rooted quite a few phones using this method and it has worked flawlessly every time
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1583427

@HidaKureku - thats where i've got stuck; end of part two.
the recovery image seems to flash fine (both of them), and i've done the CWM recovery multiple times (some sites sugest that it works on the second attempt).
try to boot to recovery, and as per the OP it just sits there saying that it's for "This build is for HTC use only..." or whatever it says. no further. I've left it for 10mins in this state have have to power it off.
i have found that when i boot back to the UK retail ROM, it comes up with an error and wants to send it to HTC (i haven't yet been able to grab the error though).
has anyone sucessfully flashed recovery with the hboot 9.02.0001 image? i've seen a post on modaco with a user having the same problems as in this thread....

are you sure you're model has the S4 processor? if not, try this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785777&highlight=twrp

looks like i'm on the s3 version! twrp2 doesn't work either - same issue. (using openrecovery-twrp-2.2.2.0-ville.img)
seems the UK is one of these 'select' countries.
anyway - even an S3 compatible recovery isnt working....
I hope in not threadjacking here. @OP - if im intruding let me know and i'll create my own thread

No you are not intruding as I have exactley the same problem as you!
I'm glad that I'm not the only one I started to think I'm doing something completely wrong.
It's like the stock recovery is damaged even with the RUU version.
I just cannot get past this screen with the red warning!
My HTC One S is kind of new (about 3 weeks old). Maybe something changed with new models?

good news; i'm recovery-ed
you need 'openrecovery-twrp-2.2.2.1-villec2.img'.
It was 'tricky' to find, as the 'villec2' image doesnt appear to have any public links. As per the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785777, Get 'goomanager', allow it to find and download recovery image, however, it wont sucessfully apply with goomanager (you dont have root yet).
It will download this recovery image to to /mnt/sdcard/goomanager/ (you can change/confirm it in goomanager menu options)
mount storage & copy this to your computer. Use fastboot to flash as per the unlock/recovery/root guide.
i dont mind hosting the file, but the above should be the quickest way

Yes!!!
That's it!!
Thank you so much
You made my day
Thread can be marked as solved!

now that you know you have the s3 processor be careful which roms you flash, make sure they are compatible with your version. the rom i'm running (check my signature for the link) is supposed to be compatible with both. but just read carefully and flash responsibly

HidaKureku said:
now that you know you have the s3 processor be careful which roms you flash, make sure they are compatible with your version. the rom i'm running (check my signature for the link) is supposed to be compatible with both. but just read carefully and flash responsibly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up, although that JB ROM in your sig says S4 in the title (thats about as far as i got )
@Schlengge - glad your sorted too i didnt even realise i was on s3 untill tonight; i thought all UK HOS's were s4's - seems not.

yeah XD i went back and looked at it and realized i got it confused with one rom i saw that was supposedly compatible with both processors (which struck me as odd) but there are a few roms out there for the s3, sadly not as many as for the s4, but you should be able to find one you're happy with. best of luck

veehexx said:
good news; i'm recovery-ed
you need 'openrecovery-twrp-2.2.2.1-villec2.img'.
It was 'tricky' to find, as the 'villec2' image doesnt appear to have any public links. As per the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785777, Get 'goomanager', allow it to find and download recovery image, however, it wont sucessfully apply with goomanager (you dont have root yet).
It will download this recovery image to to /mnt/sdcard/goomanager/ (you can change/confirm it in goomanager menu options)
mount storage & copy this to your computer. Use fastboot to flash as per the unlock/recovery/root guide.
i dont mind hosting the file, but the above should be the quickest way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, thanks for that advice. It is kinda confusing to find a recovery for c2 version of the ONE S, cause any other recovery will not work with it. The twrp-team should definatly add the link to that on their website.

[Official Firmware] T311 (works for ODIN recovery brick fix)

Hey all,
I had an adventure today. I soft bricked my tablet phone (SM-T311 unlocked). On a later post I will give instructions on how I successfully rooted this device and installed ROMs, but here I will tell you what I did wrong and how to fix it.
First some background. After installing 2 ROMs and downloading a bunch of apps for rooted phones I felt pretty confident in myself. I figured I'd try one more ROM to see if it might have better phone functionality. I read through the instructions on the developer's page and proceeded. I usually go very slow and proceed one step at a time, but this time I quickly read through the 5-6 steps and thought, ok, I got this. Well, I got one of the steps reversed and soft bricked my phone. What a pain!! I ended up missing work to get my phone fixed. After researching and trying different stuff, I found what worked. Here's what I did to unbrick my soft-bricked tablet.
Unfortunately I cannot post attachments yet, but when I can I will attached the tar.md5 stock firmware file for anyone who needs it. If you have an emergency you can send me a message with you E-mail, or post it below, and I'll send it to you.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1 - Download ODIN (I used version 3.07)
2 - Download original firmware from sammobile dot com / firmware (I do not mind E-mailing it to anyone who needs this until I can get it posted)
a. Sign up for a free account
b. On firmware page, scroll down midway and search for T311 (you can find just about any Samsung firmware here)
c. My tablet is unlocked and not tied to a carrier so I chose "unknown" source
d. It will take an hour to download because it's a "free" account. Make sure your phone is charging in the meantime. When finished downloaded proceed.
3 - Get your phone into download mode (hold down Power+Down+Home).
4 - Plug your phone into your computer
5 - Run Odin as administrator, make sure "auto reboot" and "reset time" boxes are checked, will say "Added!" in Message box when it reads your phone. NOTE - if it is not reading your phone you need to install Samsung drivers, you can find them on XDA or Samsung website. I assume you are, however, able to connect to your computer if you got as far as bricking your tablet.
6 - Put the downloaded file into the Odin folder (though I really don't think it matters where you put it, but that's what everyone says to do)
7 - Push PDA button and attached tar.md5 firmware file
8 - Push run and let it go its course (appx 20 minutes)
Your phone will restart and work like new.
UPDATE//
..removed my ROM observations, was confusing to some...More importantly:
If you do a fresh install with firmware and a PIT file to complete a nand erase and then your phone gets stuck on the Samsung logo after it reboots, please re-root and then install CWM 6.0.4.5. I cleared caches on CWM and rebooted. Then my phone worked new.
My lessons learned after all this... I'm just sticking to a simple root for access to my favorite apps, and not doing anything else beyond that.
For anyone who messed your T311 up and need to restore it to new, hopefully this helped!!

Wrong forum... This one is for thr 7" one, not the 8" version...
Sent from my XT1052 using XDA Free mobile app

Is this bricked

I seem to be in and endless loop of hope and despair with my Samsung Galaxy S7 - can anyone shed any light on this?
Long story short, I was on Android 8 and wanted to roll back to 7 (using a ROM I took from Sammobile) because I needed a previous configuration of Google Play Music for my Smart Watch to work. I used Odin to flash the phone and it declared the procedure as FAILED. Now I can't seem to even flash it back to version 8. It is just stuck on the below three screens, no matter what I do.
At this point I would happily just upgrade it to whatever firmware will work and not have a £500 brick on my hands!
Please note the images are at h t t p s ibb.co slash the below (sorry this forum doesn't allow me to post them as links!)
JcwK0vK
55F2cSf
B3Js056
Thanks
Charlie

phikal2013 said:
I seem to be in and endless loop of hope and despair with my Samsung Galaxy S7 - can anyone shed any light on this?
Long story short, I was on Android 8 and wanted to roll back to 7 (using a ROM I took from Sammobile) because I needed a previous configuration of Google Play Music for my Smart Watch to work. I used Odin to flash the phone and it declared the procedure as FAILED. Now I can't seem to even flash it back to version 8. It is just stuck on the below three screens, no matter what I do.
At this point I would happily just upgrade it to whatever firmware will work and not have a £500 brick on my hands!
Please note the images are at h t t p s ibb.co slash the below (sorry this forum doesn't allow me to post them as links!)
JcwK0vK
55F2cSf
B3Js056
Thanks
Charlie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK i've seen them, don't panic.
What region / country are you
What network are you on?
p.s. YOU CANNOT DOWN GRADE OFFICIAL FIRMWARE

I'm with O2 in the UK.
I'd be happy just to get anything installed on it at this point. At least then it's useable.
Whenever I try a new flash (even with Oreo obtained from Sammobile) it just gets nowhere. The COM shows connected (I have the USB drivers installed and have ditched Kies) and I browse to the extracted AP file then click start it either goes away indefinitely not showing failed or success or (with another AP file e.g. for older firmware) it just says Failed.
Thanks very much.

phikal2013 said:
I'm with O2 in the UK.
I'd be happy just to get anything installed on it at this point. At least then it's useable.
Whenever I try a new flash (even with Oreo obtained from Sammobile) it just gets nowhere. The COM shows connected (I have the USB drivers installed and have ditched Kies) and I browse to the extracted AP file then click start it either goes away indefinitely not showing failed or success or (with another AP file e.g. for older firmware) it just says Failed.
Thanks very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok you have to down load the firmware that was on the device from O2, so download O2 Oreo from sammobile or the unbranded BTU firmware and flash with Odin. This should give you access to the device but the google account needs to be bypassed and then wiped by following this method https://www.progeeksblog.com/frp-bypass-apk/

Ok I'll give that a go. Wow pretty detailed guide there. I've not heard of the frp bypass requirement. Another thing to get my head around. Why can't phones just be like PC's. Image them, clone and be done!
Thanks again will let you know how I get on.

Restoring to the BTU firmware posted here forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/how-to/galaxy-s7-flat-oreo-firmware-download-t3785309 worked! In my case I didn't even need to run the frp-bypass-apk. Turns out that my phone was restored to exactly as it was before I attempted to downgrade so I even have my data back.
Thanks so much for helping me out!

Brilliant. Now to save yourself a world of pain in future turn on OEM unlocking in development options.

Just a couple more questions if you don't mind?
1) What is OEM unlocking
2) Do you know of any way to "roll-back" my version of Google Play Music? I am currently running version 8.14.7427-1H and would love to return to an earlier one since it handles the Android Wear playlist differently.
Thanks!!

phikal2013 said:
Just a couple more questions if you don't mind?
1) What is OEM unlocking
2) Do you know of any way to "roll-back" my version of Google Play Music? I am currently running version 8.14.7427-1H and would love to return to an earlier one since it handles the Android Wear playlist differently.
Thanks!!
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Well there's some settings on the phone itself which, when you mess up trying to flash etc makes life a whole lot easier to bring your phone back to life. A good explanation of OEM is here https://www.quora.com/Whats-an-OEM-unlock-in-Android
With regards to rolling back Play music yes you can almost always roll back an updated app either by uninstalling the update via settings>apps or finding an earlier version of the .apk file online by simply searching for it in google.
When downloading .apk files, to be able to install you have to enable "install from unknown sources" settings>security>unknown sources.
Hope this helps

Brilliant. Thanks I will give that a go.