LG G2 (VS980) can't update/flash - General Questions and Answers

Hi all. I have been trying to update my VS980 to Lollipop for a week now; I've tried absolutely everything I can think of / find in the forums, and nothing works.
The basic problem is this: I have a rooted (via Stump Root) Verizon G2 running stock 4.4.2. I wanted to upgrade it to Lollipop, so I unrooted with SuperSU and tried to OTA update it, but somehow it still knows it was once rooted, so the OTA fails. I have tried MANY things to fix/work around this, but here are the highlights:
Hard reset. The hard reset procedure completed ok, but when I try to then install the OTA update, it fails with "Err: 1117008." Settings -> About Phone still shows "Status: Rooted," even though I don't actually have root control anymore.
Use LG FLash Tool to flash back to factory stock: VS980011A_01.tot. Tried two different computers, using both Vista and Windows 10. Failed because the proper LGE Mobile USB Serial Port driver was never found/installed by Windows (despite it clearly working in the video).
Copied a text file called RCT_security containing "forel.lee" onto the SD card, b/c somehow that's supposed to reset the status to "unrooted." It didn't.
Re-rooted with Stump Root, manually installed TWRP to try to flash a ROM that way. Phone is now rooted again, but attempts to boot into recovery result in "secure boot error," and no TWRP.
Installed Quick Boot to boot directly into recovery. Fails with same "secure boot error."
Installed FreeGee and TWRP Manager, b/c now I'm just grasping at straws. FreeGee hangs on a black screen and does nothing. TWRP Manager tells me that TWRP is already installed; haven't tried using it to flash a new ROM from here, b/c that feels brickish.
Use AutoRec to fix the "secure boot error." Fails b/c running AutoRec results in it hanging at "checking for loki....installing," When I backed out after many minutes, I got an error that said "Tried to install Loki Tool, no luck."
I am out of ideas. I am pulling my hair out. The phone is working fine, except that it's stuck on 4.4.2. When I started, all I wanted was a working version of Lollipop, even if it was stock/unrooted. At this point, I'm so mad at Verizon/LG/Android for making this process so painful that I really just want to flash the latest CyanogenMod just for spite. But really -- I'll take anything.
Help?

jackpurrton said:
Hi all. I have been trying to update my VS980 to Lollipop for a week now; I've tried absolutely everything I can think of / find in the forums, and nothing works.
The basic problem is this: I have a rooted (via Stump Root) Verizon G2 running stock 4.4.2. I wanted to upgrade it to Lollipop, so I unrooted with SuperSU and tried to OTA update it, but somehow it still knows it was once rooted, so the OTA fails. I have tried MANY things to fix/work around this, but here are the highlights:
Hard reset. The hard reset procedure completed ok, but when I try to then install the OTA update, it fails with "Err: 1117008." Settings -> About Phone still shows "Status: Rooted," even though I don't actually have root control anymore.
Use LG FLash Tool to flash back to factory stock: VS980011A_01.tot. Tried two different computers, using both Vista and Windows 10. Failed because the proper LGE Mobile USB Serial Port driver was never found/installed by Windows (despite it clearly working in the video).
Copied a text file called RCT_security containing "forel.lee" onto the SD card, b/c somehow that's supposed to reset the status to "unrooted." It didn't.
Re-rooted with Stump Root, manually installed TWRP to try to flash a ROM that way. Phone is now rooted again, but attempts to boot into recovery result in "secure boot error," and no TWRP.
Installed Quick Boot to boot directly into recovery. Fails with same "secure boot error."
Installed FreeGee and TWRP Manager, b/c now I'm just grasping at straws. FreeGee hangs on a black screen and does nothing. TWRP Manager tells me that TWRP is already installed; haven't tried using it to flash a new ROM from here, b/c that feels brickish.
Use AutoRec to fix the "secure boot error." Fails b/c running AutoRec results in it hanging at "checking for loki....installing," When I backed out after many minutes, I got an error that said "Tried to install Loki Tool, no luck."
I am out of ideas. I am pulling my hair out. The phone is working fine, except that it's stuck on 4.4.2. When I started, all I wanted was a working version of Lollipop, even if it was stock/unrooted. At this point, I'm so mad at Verizon/LG/Android for making this process so painful that I really just want to flash the latest CyanogenMod just for spite. But really -- I'll take anything.
Help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VICTORY IS MINE. Here's what I did:
I decided to focus on the LG Flash Tool as my best potential for a successful outcome, and I further decided to focus on the LG drivers, which didn't seem be installing properly. So:
Nuked my computer and installed a fresh version of Windows 10, to ensure no errant drivers were present.
Installed LG United drivers from the top of this page: [link deleted b/c xda won't let me post it] (LG VZW_United_WHQL_v2.16.1.exe)
Connected the phone in Media Sync mode and waited while Windows installed some more drivers.
Connected the phone in Internet Connection -> Ethernet mode and waited while Windows installed yet more Drivers. (I think this may be the step I missed in all previous attempts; once this was done, the correct LG driver appeared in Device Manager.)
Installed LG Flash Tool 2014 (download link in the description of the below video).
Followed the instructions in this video: [link deleted b/c xda won't let me post it] ...
... to install VS98027A_05.kdz, which I found somewhere, but now can't remember where. But it's around.
Once all those elements were in place, it worked perfectly. Got a completely stock phone, just like the day I bought it. Immediately installed 3 software updates and am now on Lollipop.
I'm still not sure which parts of this puzzle mattered and which didn't, but I *think* the key was installing those specific drivers (and not the many other versions of the same that I came across while researching), and THEN connecting the phone in MTP mode (ethernet) -- because that's when I finally had the correct drivers appear in Device Manager. Once I got there, the LG Flash Tool worked the first time.
Right. I hope this helps someone. I lost two weeks of my life to this (and a perfectly good CentOS box).
Last thing: download mode for me doesn't work quite the way anyone describes it. I have to turn it off, hold the UP volume button, plug it in, then let go of the UP button briefly and then hold it down AGAIN. No one mentions that last part.

Related

Q: Galaxy Note 2 Superborked

Where to start...
First, as a disclaimer, I may use language or terms that sound noobish. I have rooted and run custom ROMs on several devices in the past, however generally when I get a ROM I like I stick with it, so I'm not constantly tinkering. I've done my best to search and find solutions so please go easy on me.
17 days ago I was running stock 4.3 on my SGNII when the battery died. Upon charging I found I was stuck in bootloop and had a bad /efs mount. I searched and searched and spent around 15 hours trying this and that but to no avail. I finally threw my hands in the air and got ahold of Josh at mobiletechvideos and he was able to fix the efs mount issue. However, he left me in factory mode which required me to root to get out of, and once I did this I was unable to activate data on my carrier (Ting). I was so happy to have my phone "back" though that I used it like this for 4 or 5 days. I could get on wifi and I could call and send text messages. I had been off the grid so this felt like something I'd fix fully later.
Well I kept reading and found "fix" after "fix", flashed this and that and still no dice. FINALLY, last night, I found this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086769 which helped immensely. I was able to get TWRP flashed by unchecking the "auto-reboot" option in Odin and pulling the battery after the update took, and via TWRP I was able to install the ROM. I booted up, the device activated, I was running 4.1.2, I made and received some calls, the birds were chirping, the air was sweet...
I had struggled for so long and I had finally achieved success! Then, for seemingly no reason at all, I accepted an OTA update which bricked my Note2. Devastation.
The current state of things...
* Cannot get past the initial "Samsung Galaxy Note 2" screen
* Cannot boot into recovery
* I CAN get into dl mode,
* but, I CANNOT successfully flash anything. TWRP will flash like it took, but upon reboot I'm not able to boot into it. I'm also able to flash a ROM but it fails when it gets to sbin, and upon rebooting I'm greeted by the screen "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
When I try to use Kies it doesn't find the device. I've installed all of the most recent drivers and I'm running Kies as administrator. I select Tools > Emergency Firmware Recovery, THEN connect my device as instructed.
I'm at the apex of frustration. I beg thee to help!!

[Completed] XPERIA Z2 Tablet Unrooted Itself?

Hi all,
I have a Verizon Xperia Z2 tablet (SGP561) that had been a Verizon store demo (fully functional). I rooted it with KingRoot to get all the Verizon crap off (I only use it as WiFi anyway), upgraded it to stock Android 5.1.1, used Super-Sume to get rid of KingRoot and set it up with my apps. I used this guide to make sure it went according to plan: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xp...z2-tablet-models-regions-5-t3415832?nocache=1
Everything was fine until I put an SD card in and installed Apps2SD. I don't know if either of those are the cause or that's just a coincidence.
Since then, the farthest I can get is the Verizon boot screen. I can get to TWRP, but my backup does not appear there. Factory Wipe does not have any effect. It can read the SD card.
When I tried to use FlashTool to get the FTF I put on there back, the log spat out an error message that USB debugging might not be switched on (it was) and then gave me the message "Upgrading, do not disconnect device from PC. SOftware Status: Modified". It then reboots and goes to the Verizon boot screen, where it stays forever.
So, to my questions:
Can someone point me to where I could find a suitable stock ROM to try?
It was suggested to me that I "adb a logcat while the phone is bootlooping". I'm afraid that one is over my head, so could anyone tell me how?
(I should add that when I run ADB in TWRP, it fails. It says "Updating partition details...done. Full SELinux support is present, Running boot script... Finished running boot script. MTP Enabled. Starting ADB sideload feature..." THen, after about 5 minutes it tells me it failed.)
Thanks!
Resolved
In case anyone else encounters a similar problem, creating a new FTF and reflashing worked for me (I had tried it before and it had not worked, but third time's a charm, I suppose). I used the instructions here: http://www.xperiablog.net/2015/03/1...peria-lollipop-using-xperifirm-and-flashtool/
I no longer have root, but I am on 5.1.1 and will see where I can go from here.

Possibly bricked galaxy tab A? flickering screen, won't flash anything

Hi all! I have been trying to fix this tablet for weeks. It's an SM-T580 Galaxy Tab A 10.1 tablet. It's actually my girlfriend's tablet and she tried to root it first and she royally screwed it up and I am having a lot of trouble cleaning it up.
So, when I got to it, she already had it stuck on the downloader mode and if you tried to boot it, it went to the blue screen that says "An error has occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency recovery function in the smart switch PC software."
So here is everything I did as well as I can remember it:
1. Tried every version of smart switch and KIES software. It does not recognize it ever.
2. Tried to flash custom recovery, but FRP lock is still enabled. She must not have correctly changed the settings in the tablet before beginning the root.
3. Tried to flash stock firmware, but it says it needs to be repartitioned. I downloaded what I thought was the pit file, and repartitioned the chip, but it still won't successfully boot. I tried several different cables and ports.
4. Tried to flash probably 10 different firmwares to see if anything would stick. Used several different versions of Odin all the way from 1.3 up to 13.5. Nothing will successfully boot.
5. Found stock recovery (I believe) and got stock recovery on there but when i get to recovery it says it can't mount anything. It gets a huge list of errors like "can't mount E..." I am able to ADB sideload, but so far nothing I try to sideload works because it says it has the wrong footer and the wrong signature.
Am I boned? She left it plugged in for like a week at least, so my assumption is the emmc chip burned out. Any and all help massively appreciated!

Help with flashing stock ROM on Nokia 3.1 (Mediatek MT6750)

I got my Nokia 3.1 in a bit of a weird situation trying to flash the stock ROM. I feel like it's a lost cause, but since I can still boot in recovery mode, there may still be a solution, I will explain in case someone can help.
It started when I tried to update from Android 8.0 to 10.0 (none of the previous OTA updates had worked and would always reboot in Oreo 8.0). This time, it didn't work and got the phone stuck in a boot loop.
The phone is still under warranty, but because I bought it overseas and there's no Nokia care centre here is New Zealand, I had no option but trying to repair it myself.
A wipe/factory reset didn't help, but after changing the active slot from B to A (using fastboot), it booted again in Oreo 8.0. Only problem is that I could no longer start a fresh Oreo 8.0 install without updating first and since all updates failed, I was stuck.
I suspect slot B is damaged or corrupt, hence the impossibility to update. To check it, I switched back the active slot to B after a factory reset, and that was not a great idea, the phone wouldn't even boot and looked hard-bricked.
But I still managed to use SP tool to download firmware, so I did that with the original Nokia 3.1 stock ROM (ES2).
However, I could not flash all files, I'm not too sure why.
I had the error message:
ERROR: STATUS_SEC_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER
Verified boot is enabled
Please download signed image (sutinfo-verified.img) or disable verified boot
I didn't know how to do either of these, so I skipped the three problematic files: sutinfo.img, systeminfo_a.img, and cda_a.img (not sure what they do?).
It worked and un-bricked the phone, but it now boots to recovery mode only. What puzzles me is that I also no longer have access to fastboot, even when I reboot to bootloader (as if it skipped bootloader and went straight to recovery). I suspect it is because it still boots on slot B but I don't know how I can check that or change it back to slot A without fastboot access.
I tried using adb: adb shell getprop ro.boot_suffix but although it can see the device, it failed because it says device is unauthorized. I've tried all the fixes for this I found, to no avail.
So that's where I am, able to boot to recovery (but with adb unauthorized), able to flash firmware (except those files that must be signed), and unable to access fastboot.
I'm giving up hope that it's repairable, but I'd love to at least understand what happened, if someone has any idea...
Sorry for the long story...

Hoping someone can help rescue my phone.( Moto G5)

Hi everyone last night i decided to root my ohone. I have had it for a while but for some reason hadn't got round to doing it.
I followed all the instructions firstly unlocking bootloader, TWRP then installing no verity and magisk etc and every looked to be good phone starts up with the the your device has been unlocked message and something about bad id key but then would start like normal and set about installing all my apps etc again for the phone to be back to how it was just rooted.
However tonight i restarted my phone and when it's went to start up it throws me into the fast loader screen wtih your device didnt stat up successfully use the software repair assistant on computer to repair your device.
I had only been installing my usual apps/ new luancher etc... however the only thing i think that could have caused an issue was i checked for an android version update and it found i already had the most up to date one so nothing was downloaded but possibly just checking has caused an issue ?
Any help with this would be appreciated.
I can still boot into team win recovery mode but was hoping as i've now installed everything a new... i could resolve this without another fresh install if possible ?
Thanks
fendertele said:
Hi everyone last night i decided to root my ohone. I have had it for a while but for some reason hadn't got round to doing it.
I followed all the instructions firstly unlocking bootloader, TWRP then installing no verity and magisk etc and every looked to be good phone starts up with the the your device has been unlocked message and something about bad id key but then would start like normal and set about installing all my apps etc again for the phone to be back to how it was just rooted.
However tonight i restarted my phone and when it's went to start up it throws me into the fast loader screen wtih your device didnt stat up successfully use the software repair assistant on computer to repair your device.
I had only been installing my usual apps/ new luancher etc... however the only thing i think that could have caused an issue was i checked for an android version update and it found i already had the most up to date one so nothing was downloaded but possibly just checking has caused an issue ?
Any help with this would be appreciated.
I can still boot into team win recovery mode but was hoping as i've now installed everything a new... i could resolve this without another fresh install if possible ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try reflashing the boot.img
What does getvar all say?
Code:
fastboot getvar all

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