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Weird problem. Cannot factory Reset. Phone keeps restoring previously installed apps.

Hi There,
I have been having the Samsung Galaxy Sl for 2 months now and the software kept crashing. I went to privacy and opted for a factory reset. Funny thing is no matter how many times I do a factory reset the phone restarts, and installs all the apps which i personally installed again. This is not a google recovery problem where all data is backed up in google. But the apps just magically reappear even after formatting the internal sd in recovery mode and reflashing it to the latest firmware. I am at a loss. I got a shock that even after reflashing my firmware to the latest 2.3.4 JKPJ5 it still reinstalls apps such as AVG, the BBC News, Cool reader.. And even my old wallpaper again.
Steps I have taken:
1) Formatted internal sd
2) Used recovery mode and wiped partition and cleared cache
3) Did factory reset and even installed a new firmware.
I have done everything. Pls help. My home button is also not working and the all the corrupted data from my old installation also comes back
Even when I restart my phone, any new apps i install vanish and are again replaced by the old apps.

Kishel Raj said:
Hi There,
I have been having the Samsung Galaxy Sl for 2 months now and the software kept crashing. I went to privacy and opted for a factory reset. Funny thing is no matter how many times I do a factory reset the phone restarts, and installs all the apps which i personally installed again. This is not a google recovery problem where all data is backed up in google. But the apps just magically reappear even after formatting the internal sd in recovery mode and reflashing it to the latest firmware. I am at a loss. I got a shock that even after reflashing my firmware to the latest 2.3.4 JKPJ5 it still reinstalls apps such as AVG, the BBC News, Cool reader.. And even my old wallpaper again.
Steps I have taken:
1) Formatted internal sd
2) Used recovery mode and wiped partition and cleared cache
3) Did factory reset and even installed a new firmware.
I have done everything. Pls help. My home button is also not working and the all the corrupted data from my old installation also comes back
Even when I restart my phone, any new apps i install vanish and are again replaced by the old apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try factory resetting with the code? That should help you! And please post this in the Q&A section henceforth!

Sorry. Moving to Q&A
Thread Moved to Q&A

pls try this *2627*3855#
warning it will erase all user data.. ^^
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda premium

Thanks.
Funny thing is i tried the reset codes. And only some work. I tried the reset code *2627*3855# . But I get an error saying its a connection probelm or invalid MMI code.
Sorry bangalorerohan. But I am not getting any replies in the Q&A section. I will just continue here for now..

Tell me the method you used to flash the new FW! I will tell you your error!

The probelm began before I even considered flashing my firmware. The sd card will be unexpectedly removed causing forced closes. Did a factory reset using the privacy menu quite a number of times for a few weeks. It helped for a while but the problem will always reocurred though. Then suddenly, factory resets stopped working alltogether. The phone will delete new apps i install every time i reinstall them and reinstall apps which i uninstall every time i restart the phone.
I thought flashing the firmware will fix the problem. But even after flashing the old apps and settings keep coming back.
Here are the steps I used to flash.
1) Removed sim card and micro sd card.
2) Restarted phone in download mode.
3) Run odin and plugged phone in Usb port
4) Checked Repartition, Auto Reboot, and Reset Time boxes.
5) Downloaded pit files.
6) Waited for it to pass
7) Pressed reset
8) Took phone out from usb port, took out battery and turned on download mode.
9) Flashed PDA, PHONE, AND CSC files. By ticking Auto reboot and reset time checkboxes.
10)Clicked Start
11) Waited for pass and started again.
I even tried using the recovery mode to wipe everything but still had the same problem. Apps and settings still keep reocurring from the corrupted android 2.2
I have done everything and am hoping for a solution for this frustrating problem. THinking of reflashing to android 2.2 and sending my phone to samsung for warranty.

Kishel Raj said:
The probelm began before I even considered flashing my firmware. The sd card will be unexpectedly removed causing forced closes. Did a factory reset using the privacy menu quite a number of times for a few weeks. It helped for a while but the problem will always reocurred though. Then suddenly, factory resets stopped working alltogether. The phone will delete new apps i install every time i reinstall them and reinstall apps which i uninstall every time i restart the phone.
I thought flashing the firmware will fix the problem. But even after flashing the old apps and settings keep coming back.
Here are the steps I used to flash.
1) Removed sim card and micro sd card.
2) Restarted phone in download mode.
3) Run odin and plugged phone in Usb port
4) Checked Repartition, Auto Reboot, and Reset Time boxes.
5) Downloaded pit files.
6) Waited for it to pass
7) Pressed reset
8) Took phone out from usb port, took out battery and turned on download mode.
9) Flashed PDA, PHONE, AND CSC files. By ticking Auto reboot and reset time checkboxes.
10)Clicked Start
11) Waited for pass and started again.
I even tried using the recovery mode to wipe everything but still had the same problem. Apps and settings still keep reocurring from the corrupted android 2.2
I have done everything and am hoping for a solution for this frustrating problem. THinking of reflashing to android 2.2 and sending my phone to samsung for warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have done everything correctly. Maybe it's a hardware problem because your sd card keeps unmounting. Have you dropped it? They best way is to send it to service center for repair.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

reflashing back to froyo
Hey guys thanks for your help. but the problem seems to be related to the hardware. I am reflashing my phone back to froyo and sending it to get the warranty. But after reflashing there seems to be another problem. I cant receive calls anymore. But i can make calls..
I need to know if samsung can find out if I have reflashed my phone because I am afraid that my warranty will be void. Is there anyone with experiece regarding samsung warranty?

Kishel Raj said:
Hey guys thanks for your help. but the problem seems to be related to the hardware. I am reflashing my phone back to froyo and sending it to get the warranty. But after reflashing there seems to be another problem. I cant receive calls anymore. But i can make calls..
I need to know if samsung can find out if I have reflashed my phone because I am afraid that my warranty will be void. Is there anyone with experiece regarding samsung warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
play dumb, dont mention you flashed, tell them you tried to update with kies and since then the FW is acting up, you can't make calls anymore etc

Interestingly... i have exactly the same problem. I have had this problem for abt 4 months now and i have tried everything (except sending it back to the repair centre). I don't think its a hardware problem but more of a bad flash somewhere in between.
i have been searching the net for ages for a solution... have yet to find any.

Hi all:
I've got the same problem!!
Has any one a solution? I'm crazy with this.

Why do i keep posting on threads that have already been resolved!!

BassBlaster said:
Why do i keep posting on threads that have already been resolved!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what's been resolved?

TWRP Bootloop (SM-J327P)

I've been stressed out lately about trying to root my Samsung Galaxy J3 Emerge.
I got TWRP 3.1.0-0 and went on install but the supersu 2.82 zip file wasn't showing so I tried to fix it.
First I tried Format Data and that didn't work, then I tried Changing File System for System, Data, and Cache one by one and that seemed to have worked. The supersu file showed and I installed it.
Then I Rebooted System and it said,"No OS Installed! Are you sure you wish to reboot?" and this has happened to me before so I figured it would reboot back into TWRP and I would have to boot to download mode, and install the firmware through Odin, but that didn't happen, what happened instead was when I Rebooted System, on the top right it said,"kernal is not seandroid enforcing, set warrenty bit:kernal" and would keep bootlooping, I went back into TWRP by taking the battery out and putting it back in then holding power, home, and volume up and I was back in TWRP.
The thing is it would keep doing this and I'm kinda stuck right now tbh. I already tried Formatting Data, Flashing a ROM, and installing the SM-J327P Firmware, but nothing worked. I'm guessing the only way to fix this is by changing back to my original File Systems and then installing the Firmware through Odin, but I'm stupid and don't remember the original File Systems. So if any of you could tell me the default File System for System, Data, and Cache or another way to fix this that would be great. Thanks

I'm still stuck in this situation...
Any help plz?

IYaWonaRoo said:
I've been stressed out lately about trying to root my Samsung Galaxy J3 Emerge.
I got TWRP 3.1.0-0 and went on install but the supersu 2.82 zip file wasn't showing so I tried to fix it.
First I tried Format Data and that didn't work, then I tried Changing File System for System, Data, and Cache one by one and that seemed to have worked. The supersu file showed and I installed it.
Then I Rebooted System and it said,"No OS Installed! Are you sure you wish to reboot?" and this has happened to me before so I figured it would reboot back into TWRP and I would have to boot to download mode, and install the firmware through Odin, but that didn't happen, what happened instead was when I Rebooted System, on the top right it said,"kernal is not seandroid enforcing, set warrenty bit:kernal" and would keep bootlooping, I went back into TWRP by taking the battery out and putting it back in then holding power, home, and volume up and I was back in TWRP.
The thing is it would keep doing this and I'm kinda stuck right now tbh. I already tried Formatting Data, Flashing a ROM, and installing the SM-J327P Firmware, but nothing worked. I'm guessing the only way to fix this is by changing back to my original File Systems and then installing the Firmware through Odin, but I'm stupid and don't remember the original File Systems. So if any of you could tell me the default File System for System, Data, and Cache or another way to fix this that would be great. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to use the getprop command to get your software number. Then you have to restore that EXACT software. You might have probably updated unknowingly, and the bootloader updated too. So restoring to an older firmware might bootloop. It was a huge pain in the butt to get mines working after this issue but I got it right after a few tries. I flashed the custom J327p rom they made for it, factory reset and just waited until it booted. Was a long time but after trying every restore and refreshing, I got it working. There's the newest firmware out (idk the name since I just have the metro version of this phone now) but only that one will get the phone running. If you ever do get it running, root with magisk as this phone is VERY sensitive to SU and won't work half the time

savagevegeta said:
You have to use the getprop command to get your software number. Then you have to restore that EXACT software. You might have probably updated unknowingly, and the bootloader updated too. So restoring to an older firmware might bootloop. It was a huge pain in the butt to get mines working after this issue but I got it right after a few tries. I flashed the custom J327p rom they made for it, factory reset and just waited until it booted. Was a long time but after trying every restore and refreshing, I got it working. There's the newest firmware out (idk the name since I just have the metro version of this phone now) but only that one will get the phone running. If you ever do get it running, root with magisk as this phone is VERY sensitive to SU and won't work half the time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply but I have tried restoring with a firmware with my exact software number, model, version, changelist, build date, country/carrier(sprint), and security patch level and I did a format data, yet It didn't work... As far as I know, the bootloop was not caused by the firmware, it was caused by me manually changing the Partitions' File Systems, however I do not remember the original File Systems for the partitions. In case this madders, the way I changed it was by pressing "Wipe" in TWRP, then "Advanced Wipe", then selecting "System", then "Repair or Change File System", then "Change File System", and choosing a random button. I also selected "Data" and "Cache" but I did it individually, one at a time.

IYaWonaRoo said:
Thanks for the reply but I have tried restoring with a firmware with my exact software number, model, version, changelist, build date, country/carrier(sprint), and security patch level and I did a format data, yet It didn't work... As far as I know, the bootloop was not caused by the firmware, it was caused by me manually changing the Partitions' File Systems, however I do not remember the original File Systems for the partitions. In case this madders, the way I changed it was by pressing "Wipe" in TWRP, then "Advanced Wipe", then selecting "System", then "Repair or Change File System", then "Change File System", and choosing a random button. I also selected "Data" and "Cache" but I did it individually, one at a time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a tough one. I've never touched those options in TWRP. Have you used Odin to completely wipe the phone from everything including TWRP and flashing stock?

savagevegeta said:
That's a tough one. I've never touched those options in TWRP. Have you used Odin to completely wipe the phone from everything including TWRP and flashing stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have a brother that has the EXACT same phone as me so I tried installing TWRP on his phone and checking the original File Systems, however TWRP doesn't install on his phone for some reason. I enabled developer options, USB debugging, OEM, and installed the drivers and when I install TWRP recovery on his phone through odin it says it was successful but for some reason when I boot into the bootloader it's the regular one that comes with the phone and not TWRP. I'm guessing this is because he has low storage (95% used up). But he doesn't cooperate with me and says he doesn't want the TWRP on his phone because virus blah blah idk (and I don't know how to remove it without factory reset, which he doesn't want to do even though he can backup his stuff) also doesn't want to delete or free up storage from his phone. So I'm going to try wiping my phone through odin i guess...

IYaWonaRoo said:
I do have a brother that has the EXACT same phone as me so I tried installing TWRP on his phone and checking the original File Systems, however TWRP doesn't install on his phone for some reason. I enabled developer options, USB debugging, OEM, and installed the drivers and when I install TWRP recovery on his phone through odin it says it was successful but for some reason when I boot into the bootloader it's the regular one that comes with the phone and not TWRP. I'm guessing this is because he has low storage (95% used up). But he doesn't cooperate with me and says he doesn't want the TWRP on his phone because virus blah blah idk (and I don't know how to remove it without factory reset, which he doesn't want to do even though he can backup his stuff) also doesn't want to delete or free up storage from his phone. So I'm going to try wiping my phone through odin i guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Storage space has nothing to do with flashing recoveries because they have their own partition. I suggest you flash the same TWRP you used on his phone, then as soon as it finishes flashing, boot into recovery IMMEDIATELY by pressing volume up, power, and home. do NOT let the device boot. If you screw up and it gets to the Samsung animation, flash again and try again. This is because some of the latest Android devices tend to restore recovery upon boot for some reason. Through my experience, anyways. Try this and let me know your results.

savagevegeta said:
Storage space has nothing to do with flashing recoveries because they have their own partition. I suggest you flash the same TWRP you used on his phone, then as soon as it finishes flashing, boot into recovery IMMEDIATELY by pressing volume up, power, and home. do NOT let the device boot. If you screw up and it gets to the Samsung animation, flash again and try again. This is because some of the latest Android devices tend to restore recovery upon boot for some reason. Through my experience, anyways. Try this and let me know your results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. It worked and my phone is back, the problem is now my brothers phone keeps popping up a message on his home screen saying, "Unfortunately, TouchWiz home has stopped.", and "Unfortunately, Google Services Framework has stopped", and other messages over and over and he can't do anything after installing TWRP. I've tried rebooting, and force stopping and clearing cache of Google Services and TouchWiz but nothing worked

IYaWonaRoo said:
Ok. It worked and my phone is back, the problem is now my brothers phone keeps popping up a message on his home screen saying, "Unfortunately, TouchWiz home has stopped.", and "Unfortunately, Google Services Framework has stopped", and other messages over and over and he can't do anything after installing TWRP. I've tried rebooting, and force stopping and clearing cache of Google Services and TouchWiz but nothing worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to factory reset. I don't know how you're gonna do it but that's the only way to get out of it otherwise you might have been doing something else other than installing TWRP and broke something. I suggest you restore to stock and try again. If you didn't make a back up, you might be bricked unless you flash the stock firmware with a computer

savagevegeta said:
You have to factory reset. I don't know how you're gonna do it but that's the only way to get out of it otherwise you might have been doing something else other than installing TWRP and broke something. I suggest you restore to stock and try again. If you didn't make a back up, you might be bricked unless you flash the stock firmware with a computer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your help! My phone is back and luckily my brother had a backup so we fixed his phone and I rooted with Magisk which apparently I needed a micro SD card because my internal storage showed as 0mb and tried everything to fix it ,which is why I was in this mess in the first place, then I finally decided to buy an SD card and it worked!

IYaWonaRoo said:
Thank you so much for your help! My phone is back and luckily my brother had a backup so we fixed his phone and I rooted with Magisk which apparently I needed a micro SD card because my internal storage showed as 0mb and tried everything to fix it ,which is why I was in this mess in the first place, then I finally decided to buy an SD card and it worked!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The steps to fix storage 0mb are clearly posted in the TWRP thread.

ashyx said:
The steps to fix storage 0mb are clearly posted in the TWRP thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried manually mounting, format data, wiping system, cache, and data one by one, changing the File Systems one by one, and alot more. NOTHING WORKED. However every youtube video that I have seen about rooting my exact phone with twrp, all had and used micro SD cards! I tried avoiding buying one but every time I try to fix it any other way it ends up either not doing anything or screwing up my device. Once savagevegeta helped me out of the mess I caused by trying to fix the 0mb I decided screw it, no other method worked so might as well try buying a SD card, and guess what happened, IT WORKED! And I realized why every single guide and yt video used micro SD cards for my model.

IYaWonaRoo said:
I have tried manually mounting, format data, wiping system, cache, and data one by one, changing the File Systems one by one, and alot more. NOTHING WORKED. However every youtube video that I have seen about rooting my exact phone with twrp, all had and used micro SD cards! I tried avoiding buying one but every time I try to fix it any other way it ends up either not doing anything or screwing up my device. Once savagevegeta helped me out of the mess I caused by trying to fix the 0mb I decided screw it, no other method worked so might as well try buying a SD card, and guess what happened, IT WORKED! And I realized why every single guide and yt video used micro SD cards for my model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guarantee you're doing it incorrectly. See my TWRP thread for correct instructions to mount data.

ashyx said:
I guarantee you're doing it incorrectly. See my TWRP thread for correct instructions to mount data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I probably was doing it wrong lol. But its fixed now so dont worry

IYaWonaRoo said:
I probably was doing it wrong lol. But its fixed now so dont worry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your data partition will still be unmountable and remain 0mb, which means you are unable to make a backup.
However if you're happy with it in that state...

Re: bootloop
have you tried grabbing the no verity/encrypt form the rooting forum, this solves seandroid problem

Galaxy S7 G930U Unlocked stuck in boot loop - already flashed successfully but no fix

I'm really hoping you guys can help me out here. This is an S7 I bought from a Best Buy when I visited the US in 2017, and I got the Unlocked version so I would be able to use it back in my home country. Unfortunately, this is the second time I've had trouble with it in a span of 4 months and the first time it was a hardware problem and ended up quite expensive to get fixed.
Today I was using my phone normally when I decided to use the Google instant translation to translate something on my computer screen. That caused my phone to freeze, restart, and then tell me I was using an unauthorized flash and it was going to be locked, or something like that. Even after restarting a few more times, the phone would never get past that screen. I proceeded to factory reset/cache reset and from then on the phone just got stuck in a boot loop.
I learned that the fix would be to flash the phone. After a lot of work I found the G930UUESACSI1-20190930144640 firmware (the XAA version, for Unlocked) and successfully used Odin 3.13 at the Download Mode screen to flash my phone. It then restarted, went back to the blue screen, started installing some updates, when it was 100% it restarted again. Unfortunately, the loop remained. Galaxy S7 logo first, then the Samsung logo, then it just repeats.
I have also tried turning the phone off with the Recovery screen shut down option (since I can't seem to be able to turn it off with the power button right now), wait a few minutes, then turn it back on. Nothing changed.
Please, does anyone have any insight into this? What else could I possibly try, or what could I be doing wrong? I really don't want to send it to repair yet again in such a short time.
Many thanks in advance.

gabeblack said:
I'm really hoping you guys can help me out here. This is an S7 I bought from a Best Buy when I visited the US in 2017, and I got the Unlocked version so I would be able to use it back in my home country. Unfortunately, this is the second time I've had trouble with it in a span of 4 months and the first time it was a hardware problem and ended up quite expensive to get fixed.
Today I was using my phone normally when I decided to use the Google instant translation to translate something on my computer screen. That caused my phone to freeze, restart, and then tell me I was using an unauthorized flash and it was going to be locked, or something like that. Even after restarting a few more times, the phone would never get past that screen. I proceeded to factory reset/cache reset and from then on the phone just got stuck in a boot loop.
I learned that the fix would be to flash the phone. After a lot of work I found the G930UUESACSI1-20190930144640 firmware (the XAA version, for Unlocked) and successfully used Odin 3.13 at the Download Mode screen to flash my phone. It then restarted, went back to the blue screen, started installing some updates, when it was 100% it restarted again. Unfortunately, the loop remained. Galaxy S7 logo first, then the Samsung logo, then it just repeats.
I have also tried turning the phone off with the Recovery screen shut down option (since I can't seem to be able to turn it off with the power button right now), wait a few minutes, then turn it back on. Nothing changed.
Please, does anyone have any insight into this? What else could I possibly try, or what could I be doing wrong? I really don't want to send it to repair yet again in such a short time.
Many thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to clear the cache after flashing to get out of the boot loop.
Use the download key combo to restart. As soon as the screen goes black move to Volume up+home+power.
In the recovery menu choose clear/ Wipe cache, then choose reboot.

I apologize for not updating this thread before when it was still recent. The fact is that I didn't manage to fix my phone; clearing the cache after flashing did nothing to stop the loop.
I ended up taking the phone to the people who have fixed it in the past and after more than one month, they gave up. So I got my phone back and I want to try to give it another go before I just sell it for parts.
Unfortunately, my phone has come back even worse. Now it has no Recovery Menu to speak of, at least none that I can access; after a few seconds of the blue text on the top saying that it's entering recovery mode, it then proceeds to a blue screen saying: "Security Error: This phone has been flashed with unauthorized software and is locked.". I can still access Download Mode.
I have attempted flashing a few firmwares that I believe should have worked with my SM-G930U. Odin listed the attempts as "pass" and, after restarting and going back to the Download screen, it says the binary is Official. However, after trying to restart the phone normally, it starts displaying the blue screen again, and then, after going to Download mode, the binary is reverted to "Custom".
I believe right now the order of the day is to get the recovery menu to work again so I can do all the cache cleaning that seems to be required after flashing firmware. Any ideas at all on how I should proceed? Is there something specific I should download to fix the recovery menu?

How many files are you flashing in Odin, is it just 1 file in the AP slot, or 4 files: AP, BL, etc.? Also, is your phone rooted?

Drunkpilot said:
How many files are you flashing in Odin, is it just 1 file in the AP slot, or 4 files: AP, BL, etc.? Also, is your phone rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never rooted, was using the phone legit before it froze and entered boot loop. I flashed all 4 files, multiple times.
Someone tried fixing my phone a few days after I replied to this thread and some progress seems to have been made, but now the phone cannot get past a black screen with a "SBL Error! rdx_init!" in red text, and "upload mode" in yellow text. Still cannot access Recovery Mode, but Download Mode still works.
I did a little Googling on rdx_init errors and it seems I need a firmware dump from another G930U or something like that...any ideas on how I can proceed?

Flash it with Eng Boot in all slots using patched Odin. Reboot to recovery and wipe it. Reboot system. Then root it with advanced adb root. Links for all of this are here in xda. Enjoy

STA1NL3SS said:
Flash it with Eng Boot in all slots using patched Odin. Reboot to recovery and wipe it. Reboot system. Then root it with advanced adb root. Links for all of this are here in xda. Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I'm not an expert at this by any means, I'm not sure what files to get. So far I've found and downloaded the following:
S7_Oreo_Nougat_Adb_Advanced_Root_V10
S7_Oreo_Nougat_Adb_Advanced_Root_V12
S7_Oreo_Su_Binary_Only_ADB_Root
But I had no luck flashing any of these cause my binary is 10. Is there any more help you can provide me? I really don't know how to proceed

gabeblack said:
Sorry, I'm not an expert at this by any means, I'm not sure what files to get. So far I've found and downloaded the following:
S7_Oreo_Nougat_Adb_Advanced_Root_V10
S7_Oreo_Nougat_Adb_Advanced_Root_V12
S7_Oreo_Su_Binary_Only_ADB_Root
But I had no luck flashing any of these cause my binary is 10. Is there any more help you can provide me? I really don't know how to proceed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I had one in my phone, but I don't. If you look at the thread where you downloaded the Root_V12, you will see it. It's near the end of the thread somewhere.

S7 G930FD TWRP Bootloop - please help

Objective: I am hoping to be able to boot my existing system to recover data such as SMS, call logs, app data, and so on - obviously it was inadvisable to start messing around without backing up my data, particular with my amateurish capabilities. But that's the situation I am in. For some reason I thought that just replacing the Recovery was not going to risk my data. Its been over 5 years since the days when I would regularly flash my new phones with cyanogenmod, and my abilities were very basic even then.
Context: G930FD with stock rom, baseband ETC? - apparently for Dubai, which does not allow VoLTE or WiFi calling, which is what I was trying to fix when I got myself into this.
the Events:
- I enabled ADB and used Heimdall on Windows 7 to flash twrp-3.3.1-0-herolte.img
- initial attempts failed to complete download. I booted back into the system and applied OEM Unlock. Flashed successfully.
- chose the 'allow modification' option or whatever it says, not the Read-only option
- I did NOT check at that point to see if the system would reboot properly. I instead right away made a full back-up to my external SD.
That's all I did. After the back-up was complete I rebooted, and arrived at "SAMSUNG Galaxy S7" endless boot loop.
best guess: this is related to samsung encryption? TWRP file manager says that DATA is 0MB.
Again, I am desperately hoping that someone can help me recover my existing system. The threads I found on this subject all lead to wiping the phone and flashing a new rom.
thanks.

digging in deepr
I went ahead and rooted by loading SuperSU otg through TWRP.
Now I get passed the first splash screen that was previously boot looping (Galaxy S7, powered by Android), and I get to the 2nd splash screen (glowing SAMSUNG logo). It does not boot loop, just glows in and out endlessly and never loads.
Is that progress? Or maybe its worse.

t.krug said:
I went ahead and rooted by loading SuperSU otg through TWRP.
Now I get passed the first splash screen that was previously boot looping (Galaxy S7, powered by Android), and I get to the 2nd splash screen (glowing SAMSUNG logo). It does not boot loop, just glows in and out endlessly and never loads.
Is that progress? Or maybe its worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reflash TWRP with Odin, boot TWRP, wipe cache, reboot.

Thanks.
I think greenman at sammobile had the answer --> NEW: S7 5 file firmware options (this forum wont let me post a link).
But I botched the execution and the CSC file overwrote my data. Crushing blow. I would say lesson learned, except that I already knew better and risked my data anyway. Sad.
I have a backup I made at the first launch of TWRP - but I assume its worthless since TWRP was not reading the encryption. Its only 3.7GB.
Side note - I did achieve the original goal of replacing the Emirati rom with one that activates WiFi calling and VoLTE.

Has this issue been solved?

I never recovered my data if that's what you mean. Did you look up greenman at sammobile? It sounds like someone followed his directions and was able to flash just the system files without overwriting their data. I think you had to modify the csc_home file. It was a bit beyond my skill level.

Oh, I was just wondering if your phone was still bricked. I didn't read your last message properly before replying lol. My bad.
I'm not personally having issues with a device, I was just curious if I could help at all.

Phone still in a boot loop after Odin shows pass

Hey everyone my A22 has been in a boot loop for a few days now today I used Odin and downloaded firmware from samfw checked the model number + csc etc then ran download mode and started Odin it took a few minutes then my phone rebooted and Odin showed a green box saying pass and log said successfull so thought it was done then sadly it’s still in a boot loop the issue is I want to keep my data so I’m trying to avoid factory reset and have seen people be successful with Odin for similar thing so don’t want to give up just yet but there is not much hope anymore so just reaching out as a last resort
Note : whenever my phone did boot up the odd time I would enter my pin then android starting would load but it would never load up I would get a pop up saying “ serious software issue detected “ with 2 options either not now or check for update both options do not give me any luck and just boot loop after 30 seconds it’s rare to get this as most reboots it just bootloops

ThePhoneGuyy1 said:
Hey everyone my A22 has been in a boot loop for a few days now today I used Odin and downloaded firmware from samfw checked the model number + csc etc then ran download mode and started Odin it took a few minutes then my phone rebooted and Odin showed a green box saying pass and log said successfull so thought it was done then sadly it’s still in a boot loop the issue is I want to keep my data so I’m trying to avoid factory reset and have seen people be successful with Odin for similar thing so don’t want to give up just yet but there is not much hope anymore so just reaching out as a last resort
Note : whenever my phone did boot up the odd time I would enter my pin then android starting would load but it would never load up I would get a pop up saying “ serious software issue detected “ with 2 options either not now or check for update both options do not give me any luck and just boot loop after 30 seconds it’s rare to get this as most reboots it just bootloops
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Click to collapse
Try booting into stock recovery and wipe the cache partition but do not factory reset then try rebooting into system.
If this doesn't work then you'll probably have to factory reset whether you want to or not, your original bootlooping issue could have been because your internal storage is too full. Android requires a minimum amount of free space in order to boot, if storage is full, it can't boot.

Droidriven said:
Try booting into stock recovery and wipe the cache partition but do not factory reset then try rebooting into system.
If this doesn't work then you'll probably have to factory reset whether you want to or not, your original bootlooping issue could have been because your internal storage is too full. Android requires a minimum amount of free space in order to boot, if storage is full, it can't boot.
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Click to collapse
Hey thanks for the reply this seems the most reasonable option as I got a different recovery menu with the option to wipe app data so by sounds of it this is my best option to try and if no luck then I guess there’s nothing else just a shame because some apps I need the data but end of the day it’s a lesson learned to take storage and back ups a lot more serious next time