[Completed] Soft Brick Note 4 Unidentified Model - XDA Assist

I have a T-Mobile US Note 4 phone. I wanted to start over nice & clean so I did an advanced wipe & wound up with 'No OS'. Should have wiped the internal only I guess. I seriously screwed up. I have tried reinstalling the OEM firmware using Odin with downloads posted on this site. https://forum.xda-developers.com/no...mware-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2902574 There are four versions. I downloaded them all & I unzipped them all. I tried each one & they each have the same error shortly after running FAIL! (Auth). I don't even know which model I specifically have, because I wiped every trace of it away! But if it can only be one of these four.... IDK I'm not script literate. I love my phone. I have no cash flow. PLEEEASE help me. It's 4:11 AM. I have stuff to do tomorrow. I want my phone back. Life is hard. I know it was stupid. Bleh (also hungry, must sleep, god speed Ironman)

Hi
It's very important to find out exactly the model number you have, blindly flashing may cause total damage so, either check on its box or inside of the phone, somewhere on the charging port the model number should be written
A small hint of fixing it here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/help/help-unable-to-odin-flash-succeeded-t3521232
https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/help/qa-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2957980

I'm having a hard time finding the model number. I bought it used so there's no box. Behind the battery there's supposed to be a label. It's been removed. I can still see the adhesive residue where it once was. This is all that's left & when I search for it I come up with nothing. Where the label was ripped of there's a 10 digit number to the right of a copper circle: N4B07KHa1A
Underneath where the battery fits, the last bit of the phone between the corner where the stylus goes & the right bottom corner, there's a small number pressed into the plastic TR - N4 #7-1, except N4 is printed on top while the other's are molded in. The inside of the case has a QR code & printed above it it reads: N910T with a (W) underneath it. The QR code brings up: GH98-35102A. The bottom of the case there's a stamp: S4B20V59H1. OMG There's more of those little molded no.'s. They are innocuous. They mean nothing. I don't know what to do. You're saying downloading & flashing these will destroy my phone?
sammobile.com/firmwares/search/n910t
There are so many to pick from!
What about restoring from SD? Can that harm my phone? Is there by chance data encoded into pics, or anything that are on my SD card that reveal the model number of the phone they are taken with?

CephEsaul said:
I'm having a hard time finding the model number. I bought it used so there's no box. Behind the battery there's supposed to be a label. It's been removed. I can still see the adhesive residue where it once was. This is all that's left & when I search for it I come up with nothing. Where the label was ripped of there's a 10 digit number to the right of a copper circle: N4B07KHa1A
Underneath where the battery fits, the last bit of the phone between the corner where the stylus goes & the right bottom corner, there's a small number pressed into the plastic TR - N4 #7-1, except N4 is printed on top while the other's are molded in. The inside of the case has a QR code & printed above it it reads: N910T with a (W) underneath it. The QR code brings up: GH98-35102A. The bottom of the case there's a stamp: S4B20V59H1. OMG There's more of those little molded no.'s. They are innocuous. They mean nothing. I don't know what to do. You're saying downloading & flashing these will destroy my phone?
sammobile.com/firmwares/search/n910t
There are so many to pick from!
What about restoring from SD? Can that harm my phone? Is there by chance data encoded into pics, or anything that are on my SD card that reveal the model number of the phone they are taken with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you put your phone in download mode and use kies/smartswitch emergency firmware recovery it will return your phone to factory stock and it will also tell you your exact model number

Okay! That is gold. So let me get your opinion on this... Dude I bought it from fixed it, said I owe him, & that he won't do it again, but check this out. He also informed me this phone is especially touchy, because it was blacklisted & he had to forge the IMEI & make a custom binary for it. It was indeed the original SM-N910T. Now for whatever reason it won't boot into recovery & when I try, rather as is, or installing root, it just get's stuck in 'booting in recovery' /Android logo. To make it worse when l remove the battery & reboot my touch screen calibration is off by a lot. I have to update the firmware with *#2663#. Given all this, do you concur it would be unwise to try your program? Or are you of the mind it's more fail proof?

Related

[Q] Touchscreen oddly failing

I have an atrix 2 and its touchscreen is failing in just one small part of it.. when I try to write in portrait mode and I touch the letter "P" it usually marks the letter "O" instead same goes with the letter "Ñ" and "L".. looks like that small part of the screen is failing. When I put the phone in landscape mode it gets real dificult to slide down the top menu (the one that says 4g, battery and signal level, the time and where notifications from other apps appear).
I've read that it may be a damaged digitalizer but I would like to run out of options before trying to to buy a new one because I dont live in the US and it would be way too expensive to get a new one and ship it to my country.. (I'm from Venezuela and shipping from other countries is really expensive, not to mention you can only spend 400$ a year which I've already spent)
I'm running supercharged V7 which I decided to install a couple days ago because of the problem I just mentioned.
I was running the 2nd ics leak before that and I had no problems for about 2months... Everything was good but one day this error showed up.
I don't want to take my phone to those guys who repair phones because I know they don't know anything about this phone which is very rare in my country.
Any help or advice regarding my problem will be greatly appreciated
had the exact same problem and got it fixed, along with another guy.
ill paste the message i sent him :
Yes i bought the touch+bezel set. Was a 10 minute operation no glue needed, i would advise against going with other (digitizer only) methods, a re-glue is never as good as the factory glue.
you will need one like this

[Q] Selling my VZW SG3 ideas for listing?

I have an SG3 that is stock, rooted running 4.3 that I am going to sell on ebay. I am open to ideas on how to list it to attract the most buyers. Here are the details:
A. Works...
B. ...Most of the time--I replaced it today because I think there is something wrong with the power button. It was doing strange unlock stuff like waking up and going to sleep on its own, powering on by itself, and the power off menu kept popping up.
C. It has a small crack on the lower right front. Usually a case covers it and you don't really see it.
D. I just installed Xposed on it.
E. Will include wall adapter, two cases, the original box, and the flip cover back door.
F. Pebble Blue 16 GB
Can you think of other things I should include in the listing? I've never sold anything on Swappa, so I don't know how it works. I try to avoid CL.
Thanks in advance.

How to fix Galaxy S4 "Sim card removed" error

I'm sure plenty of you have had the dreaded "Sim card removed" error (as shown in the attached image) on your S4. I started getting this message mere months after purchasing my secondhand AT&T S4 (no warranty). But fear not, with about 20 minutes of your time and less than a dollar worth of parts, you can fix it!
(1st attached pic)
Why Does This Happen?
This error is usually due to a faulty connection between the motherboard and the SIM / MicroSD card tray. Likely it is due to a bad solder job on that connector.
Does a new SIM Tray fix it?
Extremely unlikely. Purchasing a new SIM tray will likely be wasted money. (EDIT: A new motherboard may fix the issue, and several people have had success with a new SIM tray)
How do I fix it already??
This is what you'll need:
Your S4
A micro Philips-head screwdriver
Scissors
A foam earplug (or something of similar texture)
Step 1: Disassemble your phone. Pull off the back cover, remove the battery and cards, then unscrew all 9 of the micro Philips screws. Then, take your fingernail and pry off the bezel from the rest of the phone, and slowly work your nail around the bezel until it pops off. (Don't force it!)
(Attached images 2, 3, and 4)
Step 2: Use your scissors or a razor blade to cut a section off of the foam earplug which is about the width of two dimes. I also cut a 1/4 segment out of mine so you don't see it sticking out when you put the bezel back together, but you don't absolutely need to do that.
(Attached images 5 & 6)
Step 3: Press down on the connector for the SIM / SD Card Tray until it "clicks" into place. (It may not click if it is still somewhat in place) This is the connector which has a bad connection.
(Attached image 7)
Step 4: Place your piece of foam on top of the connector in a way that it is right beside but not overlapping the camera (as pictured)
(Attached image 8)
Step 5: Replace your back cover, making sure not to move the foam you just installed, press down on it in multiple locations until it pops back together all around, and screw it back down. Note: if the bezel appears to be bulging out, your foam is too thick! This won't cause any problems, but it will be a noticeable bulge on your phone.
(Attached images 9 & 10)
Step 6: Replace your back cover and enjoy! Note that if you continue to receive the error, you may need either a thicker piece of foam, or you may need to reposition the foam, or even just press down on the connector a bit more before installing the foam.
Thanks to the folks over at Android Central in the thread entitled: Galaxy S4: Major problem - SIM card not detected for info on how to fix!
After applying this fix (took me three times to get it right) I have not seen the SIM card removed error in almost two months!
Post your success stories!
EDIT: A year after I posted this, and people are still using this thread to iron out their issues. I'm glad I could start up a conversation about this problem, with many good suggestions as to possible fixes. I don't use my S4 anymore, but it makes for a great backup phone!
Anyway, I just wanted to let anybody who is looking for the answer to this problem know that my fix may or may not work for you. It worked in my case, but several commenters have noted that the problem has remained in their situation. I would like to point out a few helpful comments and possible fixes right here so you guys don't have to go searching through pages of comments to find different solutions.
Best solution by far is by @Gonemad to re-flow the solder to that connector and to the NFC chip using a heat gun. See post #98 on page 10 and Post 114 on page 12, with a guide on post 122, page 13.
A replacement motherboard may fix the issue as well, but that's assuming you're getting a new one and not a used one. With used, the replacement board may do the same thing!
many of us have shimmed the connector 1000 different ways and still get the error. oddly enough, for me the only thing that has reduced errors was removing my sd card.
iateshaggy said:
many of us have shimmed the connector 1000 different ways and still get the error. oddly enough, for me the only thing that has reduced errors was removing my sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting, and a shame. There's not enough room on my phone for all my stuff, I need that extra 32gb!
"Does a new SIM Tray fix it?
Extremely unlikely. Purchasing a new SIM tray or even a new motherboard will be wasted money."
It did in my case. I got a sim/sd card tray from a Verizon S4, put it in my AT&T S4 and it worked great!
This problem is extremely annoying. Purchased a new tray too, and for a couple of days thought the problem is fixed. Nope. 5 days later same stupid message. I had already tried putting more support on the connector which did not fix the problem. They could at least make a cancel button on it instead of just "reboot". Will try without sd card. Apparently this happens on ALL high-end samsung phones. I am adding crapsung to the "never again" list (in addition to LG now).
If removing sd card doesn't fix it then it will either be new mainboard (they go for around $100 CAD shipped) or a new phone if I have the money. Nexus 6 looks good now. Don't buy crappy Korean brands. Even Chinese brands seem more reliable.
Question: Since you say that you've already replaced the sd/sim tray and the problem returned, did you try putting another sim card in there to make sure that it's not the sim card that's the issue?
Yes, new sim did not solve it. Now i am actually trying earplug thing. So far so good (2 days), but as with any other method the message is expected to pop up again. I am thinking i did try to add support before, but only for the connector part. Earplug will press on all the components around the connector and the connector itself. Will see. I did cut out a thicker piece than in the OP, and made a cut on the camera side instead of oppoate (like in OP).
Buyimg new mainboard seems like a waste of money now too. Since so many devices have this problem chances are another mainboard will be the same.
Edit: with or without sd card - same thing.
It's known that the IMEI numbers with the last 6 digits in this range: 000000 - 560000 have been known to have this issue. Mine was in that range and had the issue. I think the mainboards outside this range are fine.
Mine is not in that range.
Thanks a lot
It took me quite a few tries with the earplug foam to get it right. Finding the correct thickness and shape was the biggest thing. Eventually I got it right and I haven't had the issue return even once since. I'm glad some of you were able to get your phones to work by just swapping the SIM tray, that's pretty easy to do. I don't think I would even consider swapping the motherboard on a 2 year old phone, might as well just get a new phone at that point.
Sean89us said:
It took me quite a few tries with the earplug foam to get it right. Finding the correct thickness and shape was the biggest thing. Eventually I got it right and I haven't had the issue return even once since. I'm glad some of you were able to get your phones to work by just swapping the SIM tray, that's pretty easy to do. I don't think I would even consider swapping the motherboard on a 2 year old phone, might as well just get a new phone at that point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear that this is working for some users. I just went with the M9 about a week ago and am going to give my mother my S4. She wouldn't have any idea how to handle any sim errors so when I get some time, I'll be buying an earplug or two.
It has been 9 days and the error hasn't returned. Today i put in a thiner peice to get rid of the bulge on the back. Will see how that holds up, but so far so good. Thanks to the O.P.
As for the mainboard - I never loxk myself into a contract with a discounted phone, not that Wind Mobile Canada has an option for it. So i paid almost 600 CAD for this puppy and expected it to last. For me $100 is not bad for a fix compared to at least $600 for a new phone. Only if it was for sure, but is seems like a gamble to buy a new board. BTW my phone was locked to rogers so I had to unlock it and enable AWS band.
I would get(have tried other phones) but for all its bad the S4 is hands down the most durable and usable phone I have ever owned. I like my nexus 5, but it is a very fragile unit, and on its second screen replacement due to minor drops that the S4 takes with aplomb. I like the phone so much I have bought a used one off ebay just in case this one ever fails. MHO
fargonaz said:
I would get(have tried other phones) but for all its bad the S4 is hands down the most durable and usable phone I have ever owned. I like my nexus 5, but it is a very fragile unit, and on its second screen replacement due to minor drops that the S4 takes with aplomb. I like the phone so much I have bought a used one off ebay just in case this one ever fails. MHO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm right there with you. I still love my S4, despite the SIM error and somewhat slow updates from Samsung / ATT. It's getting older but my phone is still very fast, has a beautiful 1080P AMOLED screen, takes awesome pictures, and now it's even running Lollipop! The only thing that might convince me to switch phones anytime soon is if the 2015 Nexus 5 refresh has a 5" - 5.2" screen (5.5"+ is just too big!), USB Type-C and the specs blow me away. Since that probably won't happen, it looks like I'll be using my S4 for a few more years.
I don't have these earplugs foams at home.. Which other material can I use for that?
I can't say anything else will be the same material. Just buy earplugs at a dollar store or something. They are cheap.
Mine had gotten really bad, to where it was giving the "sim error" message a good six or eight times a day. Did the earplug thing...didn`t fix squat. I took a narrow strip of a business card and "shimmed" the sim card in it`s slot (like many others have), but I made my shim extra long and folded it over a few times on top of the sim card receptacle as well. Been two days and so far so good. We`ll see how it holds up.
I had actually contacted Samsung about the problem and they claimed they had no knowledge of it`s occurrence. I emailed back and they said "we really have no idea what`s causing it. Sorry." I would call it a design flaw as every single person I know personally with an S4 has the problem, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of tales on the ol` internet about it, and even Samsung can`t fix it.
I've used this solution after my s4 gave the "sim card removed" error 5 times this morning. I used a piece of power sponge i.s.o. an earplug. Since then no error. If error occurs i'll respond again.
Thanx Sean.
I was having this problem. I did this fix but just used some folded up plastic wrap. Hasn't happened again yet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Free mobile app

Display replacement and troubles

First, sorry my english. If anything is incomprehensible, ask me.
Not long ago I dropped the device and fell to a gravel, not defended by the ?Gorilla Glass. It became a spider web. Essentially, the device was working, sensing the touch, and the display was relatively intact in just one spot a little pressed. I ordered a replacement part from here, because the glass also fell and because it couldn't stay. I chose express delivery, stuff arrived within 1 week. I have made it difficult to disassemble the device because the back is glued together. It didn't want to come down, I tried all kinds of plastic tools they had given and what they were, but the glue was so strong that they all broke (I'll be curious to know how to put them together). I had to use a paper cutter, because it is sharp and goes into the gap. Unfortunately, the breakdown at the corner is slightly visible, but it must be as much trouble. Luckily the adhesive came out of the battery. (I will also have to order it from somewhere for rebuilding ). The main panel also came out of the house nicely. If we are already here, I removed the unwanted heat conductor paste and replaced it with quality Grizzly.
The display did not want to come out, it glued to the frame so strongly that it was impossible to remove it. I managed to do it in pieces, and I licked the remainder for half an hour. Worse, there is something new, no matter. Then I realized that the new one had no glue, and that the old one could not be removed because it was not an adhesive, but something like a very thin siloplast. I have injection needles and black silo, so I can make up. No loudspeaker lattice was added. I hope I can take the old one somehow to stay together. And here comes the black soup:
I plugged in the cable and turned the phone on (not screwed up with just a few screws to hold it). I have a picture, I started to calm down. Need to unlock it, but don't works, it don't feel my finger. Nowhere. If I remove the factory foil, either. I looked at the stuff in more detail. The photo already shows that something is wrong in the lower right corner of the display. The original has a large square-shaped Synaptics S3330 chip, the touch panel controller (like Mi 5). However, this is missing from the replacement device, with a much smaller IC of "S20A X705E24". I have no idea what it is, but it is also suspicious that a ribbon cable goes below the original and there is nothing there. But on the site of the seller there is also the ribbon cable in the pictures and it is highlighted as "Multi fingers touch chip". This may be some great big scam. However, if it have a Touch controller IC and something that is supposed to work in principle, then the Synaptics driver (kernel module) is loaded on Android. I suspect that then this IC should get the kernel module somewhere and should be loaded to work with a rooted device. But I also thought that I would try some other rom (AOSP, LineageOS) and see if it would go with it, but chances are that Recovery would not work with a USB mouse + keyboard. Maybe there are different hardware versions of Chinese and global versions? Because it is possible that Chinese (or eu) would work.
I wrote to the seller that the stuff wasn't working, he said I would remove the connectors with an alcoholic cloth (of course he didn't help). Until then, the time was up to 15 days, so I can't start a dispute. He asked me how he could help, I wrote to him that I didn't know but I needed another display in this device. I wrote to him that he might be able to return my money or send another display. He said that if I stood at 75% of the cost then he would send a new one. At first I would have gone into it, but now that I've examined this and it turned out, I wrote it and sent the picture as well. I don't expect anything good.
I found another seller that is already fitted with the frame (minimal more expensive), maybe there shouldn't be any fun with gluing, I could do better if this is not solved this way.
What do you think about this whole thing?
That gold one is dor mix 2,and that black one is for mi mix 2s, right?

How to tell is the phone new or refurbished? + G025J owners wanted!

I've bought a new Pixel 4a "G025J" model from an online store that looked reputable but I believe I've got a refurbished phone instead of a brand new.
I have an old Pixel 4a but a different model - "G025N", it came in a box without the plastic wrap, and it had the security seals made of paper. The "new" G025J came wrapped in a plastic, with a transparent scotch tape as a security seals.
Check attachments - on top is my old G025N, you could see the small remains of a paper security seals, and on the bottom is the new G025J with large transparent plastic seals.
I believe that G025J is refurbished because if you google something like "pixel 4a new box" you will find photos of the boxes that have no plastic wrap and that have the paper security seals, not a transparent tape (see "pixel.jpg" attached). As well as Ebay listings such as these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185538184711 / https://www.ebay.com/itm/225086639391 - the boxes have no plastic wrap and have the paper security seals.
However these are listings of G025N model, not G025J. The customer support of the said online store claims that it is not a refurbished product and that the G025J model come like that from the factory - with transparent tape seals instead of a paper seals, and box wrapped in plastic.
So if there are owners of that particular model - G025J - please tell if your phone came like this, or it had a paper seals and no plastic wrap around same as G025N?
Also I will be grateful for any instructions on how to check programmatically if the phone was refurbished or not.
I've googled a bit and found *#*#4636#*#* and *#*#786#*#* but neither of those showed any reliable information on my old Pixel.
Well, yes, it is a refurb.
I've looked at the received box more closely and found a dirt under the scotch tape, which is simply impossible if the phone was packed at the original factory, not some Chinese basement.
Also I've found a square mark left from some sticker under the plastic wrap, so the wrap was added after the sticker was removed.
I won't open the box as I'm sending it back for a refund/replacement, but still would like to know how to check for a refurb programmatically. If anyone knows - please share.
vrobo said:
still would like to know how to check for a refurb programmatically. If anyone knows - please share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found out that it is possible to estimate if a phone is new or a refurb by reading its MMC storage state, however it requires a root access and `debugfs` turned on.
1) ~$ su
2) ~# cat /sys/kernel/debug/mmc0/mmc0:0001/ext_csd
3) copy the output and parse it with this script: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/...a35b0d239dbc04f3b6995504b058/parse-ext-csd.py
the "LIFE_TIME_EST" values are in tens of percents, so 0x02 would mean the flash wearout is 20%
I do not know what other variables mean but at least LIFE_TIME_EST must be zeros on a new flash.
vrobo said:
I've found out that it is possible to estimate if a phone is new or a refurb by reading its MMC storage state, however it requires a root access and `debugfs` turned on.
1) ~$ su
2) ~# cat /sys/kernel/debug/mmc0/mmc0:0001/ext_csd
3) copy the output and parse it with this script: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/...a35b0d239dbc04f3b6995504b058/parse-ext-csd.py
the "LIFE_TIME_EST" values are in tens of percents, so 0x02 would mean the flash wearout is 20%
I do not know what other variables mean but at least LIFE_TIME_EST must be zeros on a new flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesen't seem to work on the 4a, as it doesen't use eMMC storage but UFS instead.

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