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[GUIDE][10/5/10]Comprehensive Guide to Rooting, Flashing, and Android Basics!

1.0 – WELCOME AND DISCLAIMER
So, it seems like a lot of people are having problems with their new Samsung Epic 4G. I thought I'd take a minute and throw together a little comprehensive guide on, well, everything. I'll be updating this periodically, so be sure to check it out.
I'll also be working on formatting it to improve readability... I'm not so good with this markup language that forums make you use, so bear with me. If I can figure out some basic tricks, we'll be in business.
And, just so you know, this is just a guide. As long as you follow it and do research, everything should go fine. That being said, I am not responsible for what happens to your phone. This is all elective and I am not forcing you to do any of this. You brick your phone, you own up to it. I'm only trying make it as easy as possible for your to avoid that.
2.0 – GETTING STARTED
New to Android? Need to root? Just got your phone? Not totally clear on everything? Start here. Even if you have experience with Android, had your Epic since day one, or whatever, you'll still want to check this section out.
2.1 – TERMINOLOGY
First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the terminology. This is vital to understanding what you are doing, so I'll outline as many as I can.
Brick – Not a term that should be thrown around as much as it is. If you have a bricked device, it is worthless. Like, completely. It is literally as useful as a brick. You CANNOT fix a brick. Everything else is just just breakage.
Root – a)This term comes from Linux/UNIX. To obtain root access means that you have elevated privileges. Look at this like administrator rights in Windows. It's what allows you to run custom software and access administrator setting in Android.
b)The uppermost folder. Such as “/”, “C:\” , et cetera.
Rooting – Gaining elevated root admin access.
Kernel – A kernel is the base of an operating system. For Android, it's where all the drivers and system information resides. A custom kernel can contain undervolting instructions, overclocking instructions, and many other battery-saving, power-giving, phone-enhancing features. There are several options, so make sure you do your research and choose the kernel that offers what you are looking for.
Shell – The shell is the part that you see. It's the interface that interacts and allows you to interact with the kernel.
ROM – A ROM is the combination of a kernel and a shell. Think of this like an operating system.
Dev – Dev is short for developer. These are the people who spend their days and nights writing code and bug testing to bring you the ROMs you love. These guys are the reason you're here, so show your appreciation!
Chef – Chefs and devs are essentially the same thing.
Recovery – A system that allows basic phone function. You can flash from this, clear data, and do very basic debugging. As long as you can boot to this, your phone is NOT bricked.
Flashing – The act of installing a ROM or fix to your phone through recovery.
Wiping – The act of performing a factory reset or cache clear from recovery. Your settings are gone, your apps are gone, your phone is as it was when you you got (to an extent). Formats /system/. This is not reversible.
CPU – Central Processing Unit. The brain of the phone. All data travels through this at some point.
Overclocking – Pushing your CPU to its limits. The CPU has a stock clock speed (1GHz for the Epic), and overclocking is pushing it past that.
Undervolting – Making the phone use less power. This saves battery.
AOSP – Android Open Source Project. Frequently referred to as “Vanilla”. The actual people who make Android. Go here for more information.
Theme – A cosmetic change to the user interface.
One-Click – A script or program that does everything for you.
Busybox – A collection of scripts that allow deeper editing of the system while it is running.
Remount – An easy method of mounting /system/ for writing.
Stock – Samsung-released, no editing, as-is stuff. Basically, how the phone came.
OTA – Over the air. Updates that automatically come to your phone, through your service.
adb – “Android Debug Bridge” A debug program for accessing your phone.
deODEX – Combining the ODEX file and the APK files for all the items in the /system/ folder. Allows for easier theming and customizing.
FC/Force Close – When a program or app crashes.
2.2 – WHY SHOULD I ROOT MY PHONE?
Rooting offers several great things including, but certainly not limited to, access to hidden features, total customization, better battery life, and overclocking. It gives you control over the device that you paid money for in the first place. The devs here are great at finding features that the manufacturers left out or disabled and making them work.
It also is a great hobby. Even if you aren't a developer yourself, flashing ROMs and trying out new features can be a lot of fun and definitely kill boredom. And who knows? Maybe you'll end up learning something and start coding yourself.
2.3 – ROOTING
Great! Now you know some words! So, what next? Well, we need to achieve root access on your phone. There are a few ways to accomplish this on the Epic. Please note that the one-click methods are hit and miss and are affected by several factors, including computer speed, cable, USB ports, and, for all intents and purposes, random chance. I HIGHLY recommend you open the .bat files and run every command in adb manually. I'll update this guide, eventually, with how to do this.
If you're running Windows, you're going to need the drivers for this phone. Install them BEFORE connecting your phone to your computer. You can get them here:
32-bit: Click here
64-bit: Click here
You'll also need to put your phone into debug mode. After you turn this on, you can just leave it on. To do this, go to settings, and then to applications, then to development, and then tick the “USB debugging” check box.
I also recommend using a cable other than Samsung's cable that came with the phone. Really, that cable is hardly good for anything more than charging. It's low quality and has caused a lot of users more than a headache. If you are unable to get another cable for whatever reason, run each command individually from adb. Check the section about adb and the Android SDK later in the guide for more information on how to do that.
2.3.1 – The Jokeyrim temporary root with noobnl's one-click script method – DO FIRST
Let it be known that I don't recommend relying on this method. It's janky and can cause problems once you get deeper into Android modification. Use it to get your remount scripts and then quickly do the kernel mods in the steps in 2.3.2.
Go here and download the .zip file. Extract the .zip contents to your desktop. Open the folder, run “run.bat” and let it go.
NOTE: This is just root, this is temporary, and this DOES NOT give you access to a recovery. All this will allow you to do is run applications that require root or busybox and adds the remount script.
2.3.2 – The rooted kernel and recovery method method – DO SECOND
I do recommend that you use this method. This gives you true, permanent root.
There are a couple of ways to do this. I actually suggest you follow both guides, too. This will help prevent you ever getting to Samsung's stock recovery, which is worthless for your purpose.
The first is noobnl's recovery method, and definitely the one you should do first. You can find it here. Download the .zip file and extract its contents to your desktop. There is an issue with this .bat file, so you're going to have to do some extra steps. With adb (go to the section about the Android SDK and adb further in the guide if you do not know what this is) and type:
Code:
adb shell
su
remount rw
exit
exit
(the two 'exits' is not a typo)
After running those commands, open your extracted folder and run the run.bat file. Should be smooth sailing.
The second is koush's method. koush's thread is here, but I that's a complicated method. After you do noobnl's method above, go to this thread and download the .zip from that. Put that .zip on the root of your SD card. Boot into the Clockwork recovery by turning the phone off, holding down the camera button, the volume down button, and pressing the power button until the phone turns on. Once in there, do this:
1. BACK UP YOUR PHONE. I cannot emphasize this enough. Backups are sooo important in your Android modding quest. Backup and do it often. (Backup and restore → Backup).
2. Go to “Flash zip from SD card”
3. Choose zip from sd card
4. Select the zip we put there earlier
5. Click “Yes”
6. Let it do its thing
Once you've done this, you need to boot into the phone, go to the market, and download “ROM Manager”. From that, click “Flash recovery” (the top option) and select the Epic. This will take a minute. From this point on, you can use ROM Manager to boot into the Clockwork Recovery.
2.3 – FLASHING ROMS/KERNELS/FIXES
This is the fun stuff. This is why you're here. Now that you have root and a recovery, we can get some work done. First, you have to select a ROM that you want. Always pick a ROM that is designed for the Epic. ROMs designed from other phones can and will brick your phone!
You can find ROMs for the Epic in the Epic 4G Android Development section of XDA. Do some research to each ROM to make sure it's what you want. If you want a kernel, make sure your ROM supports other kernels and that the kernel supports your ROM.
Once you've picked your ROM, put it on the root of your sd card and then boot into Clockwork Recovery using your method of choice, then:
1. BACKUP. I seriously cannot stress this enough.
2. Wipe everything. Factory reset and clear cache.
3. Go to “Flash zip from SD card”
4. Choose zip
5. Choose “Yes”
6. Let it run
7. -OPTIONAL- To ensure it worked, repeat steps 2-6. This is just to make sure everything worked. Problems with this can be intermittent and this helps to avoid them.
8. Reboot.
3.0 – ERRORS
Stuff goes wrong. You have to understand, EVERYTHING in this is experimental. The devs here do not have access to EVERYTHING that is required to make these phones work and have to guess at some things and, basically, just do their best (And their best is pretty damn good!).
Basically, just be sure you have backups that you can restore from, and this will all be fine.
3.1 – BLACK SCREEN
Oh no! I flashed ROM X and now my phone won't boot and I hate everything!!!
Worry not! As long as you can boot in to recovery, you have nothing to fear. Just restore the backup that I told you to make and you're back in business. Easy fix.
3.2 – CONSTANT FORCE CLOSES
You boot up your phone and are immediately greeted with force closes. Chances are that you didn't wipe OR that the ROM you're using isn't ready for show time. Again, just restore your backup from Clockwork.
3.2 – CAN'T GET TO RECOVERY, CAN GET TO DOWNLOAD MODE
Well, looks like you'll be returning your phone to stock using Odin. Read later on in the guide how to use Odin in the section about Odin.
3.4 – PHONE WON'T TURN ON AT ALL
Welcome to bricksville, population you. Sorry, but you're phone is a $500 paperweight... Probably shouldn't have flashed that GSM ROM, huh? Not even Odin can save you at this point...
4.0 – THE ANDROID SDK AND ADB
The Android SDK (Standard Developer Kit) is a tool freely available to everyone. You can find it here and it is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
4.1 – INSTALLING THE SDK
So, the first step is going to be how to install the SDK on your system. I have experience with Linux and Windows, so that's what I have for now. If someone with a Mac can help write the set up instructions for that, I'd be very appreciative.
4.1.1 – Windows
First, download android-sdk_r07-windows.zip from here to your Desktop. Once it has downloaded, double-click the file and extract it to the root of your C:\ drive (this is optional, but it will make things a lot easier in the future). Rename the extracted folder “android-sdk-windows” to just “android” to make your life easier.
Open the new folder, then run the SDK Manager. If you run into an error about Java, go to java.com and get the latest version of the Java JRE (pretty much just click whatever the biggest “download” button is that you first see).
Once you have the SDK open, it will ask you to install packages. Just tick the “Accept All” radio button on the bottom right and press install. Depending on your internet connection, this can take a long time. Just be patient. Once they are all installed, you're good to go.
How you use adb is simple. Open a command prompt (press the Windows key + r and type “cmd” in the box that shows up, or go to Start → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt) and type in “cd C:\android\tools\” and type your commands (list of common commands at the end of this section.
-OPTIONAL- This step is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. Now that we have the SDK set up, we're going to adb to the Windows paths so that you can use adb from anywhere you can open a command prompt.
First, click the start menu and then right-click “My Computer” (Just “Computer” in Vista and 7. You'll also need to click the “Advanced System Setting” on the left side of the window that appears.). Click “Properties” and the Properties window appears. Now, click on the “Advanced” tab and the the “Environment Variables” button. A new window appears with two scrollable boxes. In the lower box, scroll until you find a “path” option and select it. Click “Edit” underneath the box. Move your cursor to the very end (Press END on your keyboard, just to be safe) and type “;C:\android\tools\”” (That leading semi-colon is important and may already be there. Check to be sure).
And you're done! Open a command prompt and type “adb devices” and see what comes up. If a list of devices (phones; will be empty if your phone isn't connected in debug mode) comes up, you've succeeded! Congrats.
4.1.2 – Linux
I use Ubuntu personally, but most of this information should be universal. If anyone running anything else sees anything missing or wrong with other distributions, let me know and I'll update or fix it.
First, you need to acquire the SDK. The file is android-sdk_r07-linux_x86.tgz from this site. Once downloaded, extract the contained folder to your home folder (/home/*USERNAME*, using your username) and rename the folder “android' for later ease of use.
Use terminal and cd to the android folder your created. Use the command “tools/android update sdk” to make the SDK updater come up. Just tick “Accept all” in the bottom right and then click install. This can take a while depending on your internet connection.
Once you have all of the files installed, you're ready to use adb. Using terminal, navigate to /home/user/android/tools and type (For Ubuntu):
Code:
sudo chmod 777 adb
This will allow the adb file to be read as an executable. Note that this only has to be done once. Then, use this code:
Code:
sudo ./adb start-server
(replace 'sudo' for 'su' for distros other than Ubuntu)
This is necessary every time you use adb (in Ubuntu, at least). You only have to do it once per session, but if the adb process is ever killed during your session, you must do it again. I've just gotten into the habit of doing it every time I log into my computer. You could also create a boot script that does this for you... which I've been meaning to get around to. After you have the process running, you won't have to use su/sudo or ./ to use adb.
Note that one-click scripts written for Windows will have to be opened and run manually. There are scripts for Linux floating around, but I can't seem to find the thread.
-OPTIONAL- This isn't a needed step, but you'll probably want to do it. Here we're going to add adb to the paths folder so that after you have started the process as an administrator, you can run it from any folder.
Open terminal and use these commands:
Code:
echo $PATH (should return the directories associated with $PATH)
export PATH=$PATH:/home/user/android/tools (replace with path to your tools directory, you may need to add 'sudo' or 'su' to the beginning of this cmd)
echo $PATH (you should now see your tools directory added to the end of the $PATH variable)
Once done, you're set. Once you have the process started, you can run adb commands from any terminal window.
4.1.3 – Mac OS
-I don't own a Mac, never have, and I have zero experience with Mac and Android... If someone else can help with this section, I'd appreciate it -
4.2 ADB COMMANDS
This isn't a complete list, but it should be enough to get you by for your purpose.
adb shell – opens a terminal on your phone. Terminal is like the command prompt of Linux.
adb push – pushes a file to the phone. The syntax is ”abd push *file location on your PC* *Location you want it on your phone*”
adb pull – pulls a file from your phone. The syntax is “adb pull *file location on the phone* *location to be placed on your PC*
adb shell rm – deletes a file from your phone. The syntax is “adb shell rm *location and name of the file to be deleted*. NOTE: adb shell rm -r is a recursive deletion and can cause damage to your ROM and phone. Make sure you know what you are doing if told to do an rm -r.
adb devices – lists all connected Android phones.​
5.0 - ODIN
(I don't have a ton of experience with Odin, so if someone can refine this section, let me know and I'll update it)
Odin is a tool that was created for previous Samsung phones. It is a powerful tool and very useful for saving your phone from many malfunctions. As long as you can boot your phone into download mode (Hold down the “1” key on the slide-out keyboard while powering the phone on) you can almost always save your phone.
That said, Odin is also fairly experimental in its implementation on the Epic. There have been several reports of failed flashes and intermittent errors. This guide will hopefully help prevent that from happening.
5.1 – SETTING IT UP
If you haven't already, you need to get the drivers for the phone. Install them BEFORE Odin and before connecting your phone to your computer. You can get them here:
32-bit: Click here
64-bit: Click here
After that, you're going to need to get Odin. You can find that, as well as a basic guide and the stock files from noobnl, here (External link to SDX). Odin is the .rar file from the first link fo the post.
5.2 - USING ODIN
After you have it downloaded, extract the files somewhere (I recommend a folder on your desktop). From the extracted files, double-click “Odin3_v1.0.exe” and the Odin window opens. Have it completely ready to go before connecting your phone. Put all your files in the spots they belong (refer to the post where you got the Odin files for instructions on that... it seems to vary a lot depending on the purpose). Make sure that no other check boxes are ticked besides “Debug En.” and “Auto-reboot”. All the others can have very negative effects.
Before connecting your phone, put it into download mode by holding down the “1” key on your slide-out keyboard while powering the phone up. Once it is in download mode, connect the phone. The first box in Odin should come up as something akin to “COM4”. If it doesn't say exactly that, don't worry. Make sure all your files are placed correctly, and then click “Start”. It should take up to a few minutes, so be patient. Cutting this process off early can have negative effects. When it is finished, the phone should reboot.
6.0 – CLOSURE
I hope this guide helped you. If you have any questions, you can contact me, but I can't guarantee I can help you. Most devs are willing to help, too, so you can shoot them a PM and they'll try to get back to you.
Good luck and happy flashing!!

[Update Log]
*10-5-2010 - Added sections for Odin and adb/Android SDK. Updated sections, fixed typos and mistakes, reorganized a little. Fixed links.

None of those links are working for me. I get sent to a page with a message saying "Sorry, we can't find "xn--http-fb7a". We suggest that you check the spelling of the web address or search above."

Thanks a bunch, this was a very useful tutorial on the basics and for me helped out greatly with understanding where and what you need to do to be getting the best out of these awsome phones!
blasted across the interwebs by the Epic 4g!

Lonewuhf said:
None of those links are working for me. I get sent to a page with a message saying "Sorry, we can't find "xn--http-fb7a". We suggest that you check the spelling qof the web address or search above."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. I just went through and checked them all and everything is working on my end. All the URLs are correct. Maybe try clearing your browser cache?

DevinXtreme said:
Weird. I just went through and checked them all and everything is working on my end. All the URLs are correct. Maybe try clearing your browser cache?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/

dwyw42 said:
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is so weird... It's showing up like that for me now, too. I've checked the source, and it stills is showing the right links in my post.... It's something on XDA's end right now... I'll look into getting it to work a little later.

Good work! This should be a sticky!
Sent from my Epic 4G

dwyw42 said:
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah same here, i just cleared everything before "forum" from address bar and page loaded.

You might wanna ad that you need done battery life when flashing a kernal. If your phone dies during the flash your phone will be a useless brick.
You might also wanna adds the odin steps for flashing back to stock
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

mysteryemotionz said:
You might wanna ad that you need done battery life when flashing a kernal. If your phone dies during the flash your phone will be a useless brick.
You might also wanna adds the odin steps for flashing back to stock
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless whatever you're flashing messes with the recovery partition, an incomplete flash shouldn't cause a brick. As long as you can boot to recovery or download mode, you can save your phone.
And I'm working on an Odin section for my next update to this. A lot of things will be added next time I update the main post.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

i've got the first part of your guide done by completing noobnl's method but i cant get koush's method down. you say to hold down the volume, camera, and power buttons to boot into clockwork recovery, but it seems like it goes into the stock samsung recovery? how do i get the clockwork recovery?

The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.

dsummey30 said:
The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388
for the proper thread

^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

bitbang3r said:
^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with me. I selected "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" and after a number of tries it was successful. Yet when I boot with the 3 buttons it still goes into the stock recovery.

you might wanna add how to set adb

Spunkzz said:
i've got the first part of your guide done by completing noobnl's method but i cant get koush's method down. you say to hold down the volume, camera, and power buttons to boot into clockwork recovery, but it seems like it goes into the stock samsung recovery? how do i get the clockwork recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bitbang3r said:
^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vanquish46 said:
Same with me. I selected "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" and after a number of tries it was successful. Yet when I boot with the 3 buttons it still goes into the stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I know the issue here. It's that /system/ isn't being mounted as rw. Run the jokeyrim root method and then go into adb and type this:
Code:
adb shell
su
remount rw
exit
exit
If you don't know how to use adb, just wait until a little later tomorrow. I've got a whole section about it to add to the guide, but I don't have it completed yet (did some work on my laptop in the middle of writing it, forgot to reconnect my WLAN card and was baffled for most of the day...)
dsummey30 said:
The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that. Should be fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out
mysteryemotionz said:
you might wanna add how to set adb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All in the works I expect to have the guide updated early tomorrow, if not tonight.

Updated the guide with a lot of new info. Two new sections for adb/the SDK and Odin as well as a general update to the whole thing. Some of the sections changed (HARD and EASY mode are now both required, unfortunately...) and some things got a little moved around.
Also, all of the links should now work correctly. Something about the way XDA was handling quotations... So I just stripped them all from the forum code stuff...
If anyone has any experience with Mac, I could use your help for the adb/SDK section, and I could also use some help from someone more experience with Odin for that part.
Thanks, guys! I really hope this guide helps some people.

not to be a pain Devin but the two links for noobnl's programs goes to the same page for the easy and hard method don't know if that's right or not but wanted to point it out to you.
Thanks again for the great guide.
David

[Q] help with IDeaUSA 7" tablet

Hi, everyone
I hope that I am in the right part for posting? I am new to this android thing.
I am trying to find a how to root idea usa 7" tablet from fry's for $77.00. Their is a lot of rooting programs but I have not been able to find anything on this model.
Also what would be a good rom to flash it with? I tried finding out if uberoid and cyanogenmod would work but I could not find any info on this model.
Not to sure what model I have that I would be able to flashing this rom with, either uberoid or CM7? Help
Model: MID, sv7206 v1.4, kernel 2.6.35.7-infotm
processor armv6 rev5,
hardware imapx200,
android 2.3.3,
brand infotmic,
display gri40,
release codename REL
bootloader unknown
I don't know if this is the right model IDea USA IUMID-0071 because the spec's are off. Http ://ideausa.us/produects.html but similar. I am looking for rom that is more update/modern. any potters?
Does anyone have the original rom for this or know how to make a backup this rom?
Well I am thinking that is might be this model but not to sure wm8650,SV7206 v1.4 or IDea USA IUMID-0071.
It's not flytouch
The screen is very slow on this model. Unless you use a pen then is works better.
Also hoping to be able to flash this to ics 4
Thanks

I just bought one, too. What a pos? it works but the screen is almost unusable, lots of mis-fires.
I did figure-out the real OEM web-page,
http://www.sinovideo.com.cn/Products/indexshow.asp?lang=EN&SortID=61&ID=85
This correctly identifies the installed 2.3 OS and reveals that it's some kind of 1 GHz processor. The real performance problem, however, is the 256 MB of memory, ouch!
I have not had any luck finding any updated ROMs. Actually, I suspect the installed ROM is tweaked to work around the defective screen (I think it's configured to ignore any 'touch' lasting less than 0.5 second?) so I'm not going to change it.
---------- Post added at 08:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 AM ----------
FYI - I found another site that has lots of discussion about the "M7206" tablet
http://www.techknow.t0xic.nl/forum/index.php?board=51.0

Here's some more info. (Yes, I have continued to investigate even though I bad-mouthed it )
- This tablet is also sold as the "infotmic m7206"
- the screen works MUCH better if you use a stylus
Currently, my tablet seems to be getting about 24 hr standby battery-life, and the battery-usage report says "Cell standby" is using 75%, even though there's no cell radio? Some of the discussion on the techknow forum seems to be about this same issue but all the solutions seem to involve rolling your own ROM, which I'm not prepared to do. For now I just plan on leaving the tablet plugged-in overnight.

Rooting Idea USA Tablet
Oh my, what a mess...
This post is in regards to the Idea USA Tablet (Unable to Root)
My specs:
- Idea USA Tablet (Made in China)
- Model Number: MID (Unknown)
- Android Version: 2.3
- Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7
- Build Number: MID-userdebug 2.3 GRH55 (ENG)
Issues:
Whelp, I have tried the basics and I can't get this thing to root for anything. I was able to get it to hook into the PC through USB. There are 2 usb slots on the side of the tablet. I believe one is for HOST and the other usb is for OTG (Charging). Once I figured out the host port, then I had to download the drivers for this poorly made tablet...But, what drivers? You go to the Idea US website and you get no helpful information. So, there are no drivers made specifically for this $100 dollar generic tablet from FRY's. Ok... No big deal... So, I download the default "Android USB Drivers".
Peachy, it worked! Now, I can transfer files back and forth between the card(s). Wonderful, first step down, next step was to root. So, I read up on how to root with Super One Click.
Ok, so now, I set the tablet to "USB Storage" and "Host"...Then I download and run Super One Click.
Ok, I run the "Super One Click v.2.3.3"; by clicking the root button and then all I get is a frozen screen that reads:
Code:
Killing ADB Server.... Kill Server 0.11s
Starting ADB Server.... StartServer 4.09s * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037* *daemon started successfully*
And then it just freezes the program. So, now I'm completely stuck. I mean I learned a great deal, that I can hook up a keyboard, mouse, etc to this thing, but, obviously Super One Click was not designed for these generic tablets. I have read other articles which have suggested that the .inf driver for the default "Android USB Drivers" needs to be edited for your specific tablet model and you must enter the specific CODE# for it to recognize for rooting with Super One Click... But, god forbid, I haven't found any useful information on where that might be. Also, someone suggested to install the Android SDK and edit those files along with the .inf files to make this work. But, that didn't work either. I did everything right. I turned off USB debugging and then I would wait for super one click to come up with waiting for device...but that never happened. I even tried it with USB debugging on... still nothing.
Has anyone created a generic batch program to root these types of devices? What am I doing wrong here?

Rooting Idea USA Tablet
Well, this took me all night to read and learn about how to root this basic tablet from Fry's.
First off, I tried many different things and it just didn't work. Using super one click is definitely out of the question for this particular tablet.
I read all night and thankfully found the forum article on how to solve this issue on xdadevelopers own forum.
As per quoted quotes below:
.....You can use gingerbreak to root this. Run it once and let it reboot, then use supermanager free from market to rename the su symlink from /bin/ to "old" or something, and reboot again.
You should now have root ........ It might take a couple of trys but it works.
You need to download supermanager from the market. Enable root in supermanager settings and click yes when superuser pops up.
Then use the file explorer within supermanager to navigate to the /bin/ directory and you will find a sysmlink called su
You need to rename this su symlink to old - completely take out the name su.
Just to be safe run gingerbreak again and then you can install busybox from market.
pablo11
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much Pablo11. The idea is to download the APK for GingerBreak from online onto your IDEA USA tablet directly. The trick here is that the brand name is IDEA "USA", but the real workings behind the "MID" is "ViMicro". You will notice that displayed as you turn on your tablet. So, in order to find real information about your MID device, you have to search articles for vimicro.
Once you run gingerbreak, your tablet will go completely nuts. Nothing will run right. Things will break and it will be a complete mess. It will however, install superuser apk. However, it will not work. You can download the Root Checker from the market and you will notice it is NOT rooted. So...thanks to pablo11, you will want to download supermanager from the google play market. Install it.
Next go into the supermanager settings and click on ROOT. Make sure root is enabled and checked marked in the settings. When you enable root in the settings, it will prompt you with "allow root?" Click on Yes. This will give you the access you need.
But, your not done, once again as per Pablo11, go to the super managers file manager section. Get to the root directory by clicking up, and then find the folder "bin". Look for the file "SU" and rename this to "old".
Now, you will be able install busybox and any thing else thats root.
By the way, restart your tablet again, and I "personally" recommend that you go into your settings> Privacy> Check mark both (Backup my data and Automatic Restore) and then click on Factory data reset. Start the tablet from like it was brand new. Don't worry it will keep the root that you did intact. You will just have to re-register the tablet with your existing gmail that you originally used with that tablet.
Lastly, use the root checker from the market and you will see that it is successfully rooted.
Okay... Now, my next step. To crack open this tablet and put in a bigger SD Card as the 2G SDCARD is way too small, especially if you want to use new roms and install a linux operating system onto it....

[Completed] [SOLVED] Turn on USB debugging with black screen

Hi Everyone,
I'm using a Samsung GT-N7105. It has 16GB of internal memory. It has no external SD card.
A few days ago my phone's screen went black. Everything else works fine, including touch, just that the screen is always completely black.
I took it to a repair centre. After the repair centre ran some tests, (they kept my phone for 2 days,) they confirmed it was the LCD screen problem (i.e. a hardware issue). Since that LCD screen is expensive to repair, I chose not to repair it.
So now I want to install Android Screencast on my phone. I connect my phone to my desktop, and to my surprise I discover that USB debugging isn't enabled anymore!
So I call the repair centre and ask them what software changes they made to my phone. Their response is:
1) The partition table has definitely NOT been altered.
2) "Your Android version has not been upgraded."
3) "We used a special software to format your phone." They declined to tell me what software they used, and they don't seem to know which partitions have been "formatted"! But they did say that "format" was not the same as "factory reset".
(Btw the people at the repair centre are non-native English speakers, whereas my first language is English, so it was hard to ask about technical details.)
Therefore my best guess about the software state of my phone is:
1) It's running stock Android 4.1.2, which it's been running since the first day I bought it
2) The bootloader should have no KNOX nonsense
3) Recovery should be stock recovery
4) A few partitions have been "formatted" to unknown states
5) There are no longer any pattern, PIN, or password locks on my phone. If my phone is on and it's been sitting idle, I just have to tap the home button, then swipe the screen, and it unlocks.
I can reconstruct the partition table of my internal memory if you guys need it. I did an entire dump of mmcblk0 about two months ago.
(Btw the size of that dump of mmcblk0 is 15,758,000,128 bytes, which is significantly less than 16GB, even if you count by 1000s instead of 1024s. Unimportant side question, but does anyone know why?)
**************
My main question is: How do I enable USB debugging ON ANDROID with the black screen restriction?
I've searched the forums, and in thread 2395047 (can't post links yet) the recommendation is to flash CWM recovery to get adb access. But keep in mind that my ultimate goal is to be able to install Android Screencast on my phone, so that I can regain full phone functionality (with the help of an attached computer screen). I don't quite see how adb access via CWM recovery can help me to achieve this goal.
Also, I've never actually used CWM recovery before and don't know how it works. One of my concerns is: Once I have flashed CWM recovery, and after I boot into recovery, do I immediately get adb access just by hooking up to USB cable to the desktop? Or do I first have to select some setting, which would be tough to do with a black screen?
Thanks in advance for all your help!
Ernest
(Note to mods: I accidentally posted this question earlier to xda assist when I wasn't logged in. You can delete the earlier duplicate.)

Hello,
I've been dealing with android for a while and have been a member of XDA for a while. In my time here I've searched for a solution to this issue many times all over the web and XDA but never came up with anything useful.
Of the possible solutions I've found, the most likely possibility is to use an OTG cable and mouse to interface your device but this requires you to see the screen which is not an option for you. adb in this situation is only useful if you want to retrieve data from your device. I do remember finding something on the web that could potentially help you turn on USB debugging but I'm having trouble finding it now. I'll keep looking but can't promise anything. In the meantime, try posting your question in the forum linked below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-2/help
If that doesn't help you find answers then try posting your question in the forum linked below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help
I hope this helps, good luck.

Hi Droidriven!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my question.
Guess what, with the help of workdowg, I managed to work out a solution! My saving grace is that I'm running Android 4.1.2 and not one of the newer versions. My understanding is that if I was running one of the newer versions of Android, then I wouldn't even be able to get adb access via CWM recovery, because of the extra security measures. (Although I might be wrong about this point; I am still noob.)
I solved my problem in the following way:
1) Flash CWM recovery via ODIN Download mode
2) Boot into recovery, connect phone to desktop computer, open a command line terminal
3) Type "adb shell" to get a root shell in CWM recovery
4) In that root shell, type all the commands in the last code box at the end of the following post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63829295&postcount=27
(Much thanks to workdowg for this step)
5) Type "exit 0" to exit the shell in CWM recovery, then type "adb reboot"
6) Wait for my phone to reboot to Android
7) Type "adb devices", and now I see that I have adb connection to Android
After this, I was also able to successfully run Android Screencast with my phone. I can see my screen again!
So now, everyone please help me think of some useful search tags for this post / thread.

ErnestChia said:
Hi Droidriven!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my question.
Guess what, with the help of workdowg, I managed to work out a solution! My saving grace is that I'm running Android 4.1.2 and not one of the newer versions. My understanding is that if I was running one of the newer versions of Android, then I wouldn't even be able to get adb access via CWM recovery, because of the extra security measures. (Although I might be wrong about this point; I am still noob.)
I solved my problem in the following way:
1) Flash CWM recovery via ODIN Download mode
2) Boot into recovery, connect phone to desktop computer, open a command line terminal
3) Type "adb shell" to get a root shell in CWM recovery
4) In that root shell, type all the commands in the last code box at the end of the following post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63829295&postcount=27
(Much thanks to workdowg for this step)
5) Type "exit 0" to exit the shell in CWM recovery, then type "adb reboot"
6) Wait for my phone to reboot to Android
7) Type "adb devices", and now I see that I have adb connection to Android
After this, I was also able to successfully run Android Screencast with my phone. I can see my screen again!
So now, everyone please help me think of some useful search tags for this post / thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll have to remember that, I wasn't aware of the difference in 4.1.2, I've not had to deal with 4.1.2, that's good to know.
Glad you got it going, now see if you can find one of your devices on eBay that is no longer working in one or another but still has a good digitizer and glass, you may find one cheap, then you can use the digitizer+glass from the used one to fix the one you are using.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
Glad you got it going, now see if you can find one of your devices on eBay that is no longer working in one or another but still has a good digitizer and glass, you may find one cheap, then you can use the digitizer+glass from the used one to fix the one you are using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good idea, which I didn't even consider. (Maybe because I've never meddled with hardware before.)
Thanks!

Possible root method?

I just came across this possible root method while searching for one on the Fire 8. It's dated for April 4 so it's recent. Though it's for 5.3.2.1, if it does work, maybe can be modified for 5.3.3.0?
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-root-Kindle-Fire-HD-8-6th-Gen-2016
I'm on my tablet so can't copy and paste the steps. If someone else could?

DragonFire1024 said:
I just came across this possible root method while searching for one on the Fire 8. It's dated for April 4 so it's recent. Though it's for 5.3.2.1, if it does work, maybe can be modified for 5.3.3.0?
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-root-Kindle-Fire-HD-8-6th-Gen-2016
I'm on my tablet so can't copy and paste the steps. If someone else could?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How interesting. I wonder if it will work on the earlier firmware versions too like 5.3.1.0 and 5.3.1.1. That way, don't have to mess with Kingoroot and anything that was put in there that will help the Chinese cyber-attack capability..lol. I'm on 5.1.1, but I'm too lazy to wipe it and try it..maybe later. Unless someone else wants to give it a go?
As far as I know, no root exists for 5.3.3.0. Alexa is a whore.

smokejumper76 said:
How interesting. I wonder if it will work on the earlier firmware versions too like 5.3.1.0 and 5.3.1.1. That way, don't have to mess with Kingoroot and anything that was put in there that will help the Chinese cyber-attack capability..lol. I'm on 5.1.1, but I'm too lazy to wipe it and try it..maybe later. Unless someone else wants to give it a go?
As far as I know, no root exists for 5.3.3.0. Alexa is a whore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may give it a go. I don't stand to lose anything really. I'm working on a project at the moment regarding Wireless Display (Miracast) though and I don't want to lose any of that so I have to make a back up. No root is supposed to exist for 5.3.2.1 either

DragonFire1024 said:
I may give it a go. I don't stand to lose anything really. I'm working on a project at the moment regarding Wireless Display (Miracast) though and I don't want to lose any of that so I have to make a back up. No root is supposed to exist for 5.3.2.1 either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note there have been reports 5.3.3.0 can be rolled back to 5.3.2.1 on the 5th gen Fire. Not sure if this also applies to 6th gen HD 8. Typically a failed/invalid rollback results in a non-recoverable brick; not something to mess around with lightly.
---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------
DragonFire1024 said:
I just came across this possible root method while searching for one on the Fire 8. It's dated for April 4 so it's recent. Though it's for 5.3.2.1, if it does work, maybe can be modified for 5.3.3.0?
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-root-Kindle-Fire-HD-8-6th-Gen-2016
I'm on my tablet so can't copy and paste the steps. If someone else could?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get your hopes up. This is a generic tool that lacks favorable references (recent or otherwise) in trusted Android communities. Good luck.

Davey126 said:
Note there have been reports 5.3.3.0 can be rolled back to 5.3.2.1 on the 5th gen Fire. Not sure if this also applies to 6th gen HD 8. Typically a failed/invalid rollback results in a non-recoverable brick; not something to mess around with lightly.
---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------
Don't get your hopes up. This is a generic tool that lacks favorable references (recent or otherwise) in trusted Android communities. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't give up hope. I'm pretty convinced we'll eventually get root or the bootloader's unlocked. Something tells me Amazon's stock wasn't soaring because of these things or for that matter their so called FireOS. It's only a matter of time.
Just an observation when bricking my XT907 a few days ago (being flashed as we speak...drum roll) I noticed more than one recovery mode. Two for sure, maybe three. There is the generic black screen and white font...you can choose reboot, recovery, wipe partition and fastboot or what not. Well there's also an Android 'Droid Master Reset.' Would that reset to factory or to stock prior to Motorola customization? I've always done it through the first screen. I'm just wondering in case there might be something to exploit in those options. Does a real total Master Reset exist at all for these tablets? Prior to FireOS?

DragonFire1024 said:
I won't give up hope. I'm pretty convinced we'll eventually get root or the bootloader's unlocked. Something tells me Amazon's stock wasn't soaring because of these things or for that matter their so called FireOS. It's only a matter of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much has happened over the past 12-15 months to bolster Android security some of which undoubtedly has made it to FireOS. Past techniques used to secure root will be far less effective moving forward.
DragonFire1024 said:
Just an observation when bricking my XT907 a few days ago (being flashed as we speak...drum roll) I noticed more than one recovery mode. Two for sure, maybe three. There is the generic black screen and white font...you can choose reboot, recovery, wipe partition and fastboot or what not. Well there's also an Android 'Droid Master Reset.' Would that reset to factory or to stock prior to Motorola customization? I've always done it through the first screen. I'm just wondering in case there might be something to exploit in those options. Does a real total Master Reset exist at all for these tablets? Prior to FireOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never heard of or seen a low level "Master Reset" function in an Amazon device (dating back to 2nd gen Fire HD) or any Android device for that matter.

DragonFire1024 said:
I may give it a go. I don't stand to lose anything really. I'm working on a project at the moment regarding Wireless Display (Miracast) though and I don't want to lose any of that so I have to make a back up. No root is supposed to exist for 5.3.2.1 either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wishing for your success! Really hoping to have new root for this. :fingers-crossed:

Where is the download for this? When I do a search for "SuperOneClick" I get a tool for Gingerbread or older.

ShapeShifter499 said:
Where is the download for this? When I do a search for "SuperOneClick" I get a tool for Gingerbread or older.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's their site http://www.superoneclickdownload.com/
I've seen the method before in other forums ranging from a few months to a few years. I don't recall which ones or if they worked.
If anyone does try, I recommend following the steps here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244303/how_to_root_your_kindle_fire.html At least the source is a little bit more 'legit' for lack of better terms.

Is it available for all firmwares??
I've been waiting on 5.3.2.1 for a root strategy on Kingroot and Kingoroot, but after about one year, They can't root my device.
And what is the advantage of using this method? Is it better than Kingroot?

Someone tried this method? It works? Thanks in advance for your responses.

behrad said:
Is it available for all firmwares??
I've been waiting on 5.3.2.1 for a root strategy on Kingroot and Kingoroot, but after about one year, They can't root my device.
And what is the advantage of using this method? Is it better than Kingroot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't work for me but I may not have done it right.

The Steps Are As Follows:
"
Step 1: Turn on your Kindle Fire and tap the top bar, near the battery and Wi-Fi icons; press More... from the drop-down menu, then Device, and tap Allow Installation of Applications to On.
Step 2: Download the Android SDK from the Android Developer site. Get the version with an installer app (installer_r15-windows.exe).
Step 3: Download the Java Development Kit (version 7, at the time of this writing). Make sure to download the appropriate version of the Java Development Kit for your PC--I'm on a 32-bit Windows 7 PC, so I downloaded the Windows x86 version.
Step 4: Install the Java Development Kit. Make sure you do this before you install the Android SDK. All you need to do is to open the installer file you downloaded (mine was called jdk-7u1-windows-i586.exe) and click through the installer wizard.
Step 5: Install the Android SDK. Simply open installer_r15-windows.exe and follow the instructions. Once the Android SDK is finished installing, the SDK Manager app will automatically open with a list of software packages you can download. Go ahead and install all the prechecked packages, but make sure that the Google USB Driver package (listed under Extras) is checked. You'll need this file to let your PC communicate with the Kindle Fire. Wait for SDK Manager to download install and all the packages, and don't panic if it asks you for permission to kill a server or process. Just click OK until it's all done with the install process.
Step 6: Now that you have the SDK installed, you'll have to make two quick modifications to it before you can root the Kindle Fire. First, open up your User Account folder in Windows (C:\Users\(Your Account Name), find the new ".android" directory, and find a file called adb_usb.ini. Open it up in Notepad, add a new line at the bottom of the document, and type 0x1949. Make sure that string is on its own line in the document, save it, and close it. Next, go to wherever you installed the Android SDK itself (probably C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk), and navigate to the \extra\google\usb_driver\ directory. Find the file called android_winusb.inf and open it in Notepad. There, you'll want to take the following lines and paste them immediately underneath the [Google.NTx86] and [GoogleNTamd64] headings in the document:
;Kindle Fire
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_1949&PID_0006
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_1949&PID_0006&MI_01
Save the file and exit Notepad. If Notepad doesn't let you overwrite android_winusb.inf when you're saving it, save the edited version to your desktop, and then drag the edited version over to the usb_driver directory to replace the old version with your edited version. Windows may ask you for Administrator permission to replace android_winusb.inf--don't worry, it's fine.
Step 7: Plug your Kindle into your PC. You'll need a micro-USB cable to do this, which the Fire doesn't ship with, so you'll have to buy that cable if you don't already have one that you use with your phone or camera. Windows will probably automatically attempt to install a driver for it, fail, and then mount it as a normal storage device. That's fine, though we may have to change something there later.
Step 8: Now that your PC and Kindle are connected, we're going to open up the Android SDK to make sure it recognizes the Kindle. Open up Command Prompt in Windows (Start Menu, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt) and navigate to wherever you installed the Android SDK.
Don't remember your DOS commands? That's okay--just open up the Command Prompt and type cd followed by the file path to the platform-tools directory (for example: cd C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\). Once you're there, type adb kill-server, press Enter, type adb devices, and then press Enter again. You should see the Command Prompt return with "List of devices attached" and a string of numbers followed by "device"--that means the Android SDK recognizes the Kindle is attached, and you're ready to proceed to the next step.
However, if you don't have any devices listed, it probably means that Windows isn't using your Android SDK USB driver to communicate with your Kindle Fire. Go to Control Panel in Windows, open Device Manager, and scroll down the list of devices until you find your Kindle listed. Right-click the listing and select Update, then click Browse my computer for driver software, Browse, and navigate to the directory that holds the file you edited earlier called android_winusb.inf--probably C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver. Click Next; Windows should now switch over to the Android SDK USB driver for your Kindle. Go back to the Command Prompt; type adb kill-server, press Enter, then type adb devices, and press Enter again. You should see something show up under the list of attached devices.
Step 9: Now you're ready to root your Kindle. All you have to do is download SuperOneClick (and Microsoft's NET 2.0 Framework, if you don't already have it installed), install both apps, open up SuperOneClick, and click Root.
Let SuperOneClick do its thing--the entire process takes a few minutes--and when it's done, go back to the Command Prompt, type adb kill-server, and press Enter. Then, just to be sure, click on the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media icon in the Windows Notification Area (usually a picture of a plug with a green checkmark on it), eject the Kindle, and unplug it. Congratulations--you have root access!
" - Qoura, Anya General
---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------
DragonFire1024 said:
Just an observation when bricking my XT907 a few days ago (being flashed as we speak...drum roll) I noticed more than one recovery mode. Two for sure, maybe three. There is the generic black screen and white font...you can choose reboot, recovery, wipe partition and fastboot or what not. Well there's also an Android 'Droid Master Reset.' Would that reset to factory or to stock prior to Motorola customization? I've always done it through the first screen. I'm just wondering in case there might be something to exploit in those options. Does a real total Master Reset exist at all for these tablets? Prior to FireOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you mean to find a way to factory reset the kindle to before it had fire OS, when it still had an unmodified android os(or whatever they came with first)?
If so, that sounds like a possible exploit, though I think Amazon has probably made sure that it was impossible without a brick.

So this giant post is simply and advert for SuperOneClick which is an old rooting method that hasn't worked for years.

Davey126 said:
So this giant post is simply and advert for SuperOneClick which is an old rooting method that hasn't worked for years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention a lot of links I found in the near past, redirect to Kingroot who I suspect either bought OneClick or put them out of business.

How do I fix "Pixel is Starting" message that's stuck on screen?

Posted this on Google Pixel forum earlier but haven't had much action there, perhaps it's a better question for this community as would like to figure things out sooner than later as I'm currently without a phone.
Hope all reading are healthy and safe...
Pixel 3 on verizon still on Pie (9) with PQ3A.190801.002 build, which I believe is from August 2019. Have not modified phone at all.
One morning the other day turned phone on and stuck with a "Pixel is starting" message. I can access settings and receive calls, when connected to BT in car can make calls too. Cannot receive messages though receive "You have new messages" notifications, got an alert about a VM that I was able to access.
I realize I can likely do a Factory Reset to fix THOUGH I do not want to go down that path without giving it a go trying to at the very least pull some data off the phone (texts, photos, videos). Yes, everything *should* be backed up...
I tried connecting to computer to see if could recognize as drive and transfer files onto computer (Pixel and MTP USB drivers would not install- tried on two laptops running Win7). I know I should probably be updating to Android 10 and am fine doing so, but would like to recover files first.
I mention some potential solutions below I found by some fellow XDA members when searched this topic before posting and am curious if there is anything I should attempt to do before/instead of possibly going with one of the 2 below.
Thanks SO much in advance,
Matt
Possible easier solution:
From _Ra1n_ on xda forums
"I couldn't fix the "Pixel is starting..." issue. Factory Flashing (after removing -w) QQ1A.191205.008 resulted resulted in being stuck at the "G" screen. I flashed the QQ1A.200105.002 factory image (again with -w removed) and was left in the same "Pixel is starting..." state.
Here is where things get interesting:
Over adb I launched the Settings app:
Code:
adb shell am start -a android.settings.SETTINGS
Next, I went into "Security," which prompted for my PIN, and then removed the screen lock. After doing this, I was able to get into /sdcard in the ADB shell, something that was not possible before.
Back in the settings app, I enabled USB File Transfer and copied all my files & photos off. I was also able to launch apps from within the apps list in Settings. This let me export settings/data from other apps that allowed it.
So it seems that entering your PIN in the Settings app also unlocks the phone!
Possible more complicated solution:
From sic0048 on XDA forums
"Is you bootloader unlocked? If so, you can flash the factory image and remove the "-w" command as suggested above, but if your bootloader is not unlocked this will not be an option. If you are on a locked bootloader, you can sideload an OTA image (which really is a full factory image). This will not wipe your phone or do a factory reset. It will however replace your OS with a clean version. Hopefully that fixes the issue. If not, then you will have to do a factory reset in order to "clean out" the problem."

Can you get into Settings? If so, you should be in pretty good shape. It seems like in the "Pixel is starting..." state, USB File Transfer (ie: MTP mode) only works AFTER the phone is unlocked (fingerprint or PIN). The problem is since the lock screen doesn't load, you can't actually unlock. You have to remove your PIN and/or fingerprint (I set "screen lock" to "None") and USB File Transfer should then work.
You should also be able to launch apps from the app list in Settings.
Link to my thread for reference (just in case someone arrives here from a search): https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3-xl/help/stuck-pixel-starting-boot-t4038847

Yes, I can get into settings and just disabled the lock screen. I don't notice any difference but if you are saying that's what it takes to enable MTP then great. Seems like for MTP to even work requires some futzing in Windows, a known MTP issue I guess? I will have to play around on how to enable MTP and then hopefully device manager will recognize on computer now that lock screen disabled. When connecting to computer I'm alternating between use USB for file transfer both with and withOUT USB debugging on, even using USB for charging only, each time it tries to install drivers for Pixel 3, MTP, occasionally ADB. It's never installed Pixel 3, ADB installed once and MTP actually installed once (after disabling lockscreen) but asked for a restart and then didn't install the next time...
As far as launching apps from the settings, I *can* get into the app list but Android 9 does not give an option to open them (unless I need to do something else that's not currently set-up). I know you said this:
"There should be a "Open" shortcut just below the app icon to the left of "Uninstall" (or "Disable" if it is a built-in app)." But I don't see one. If I can get into my backup app, I can hopefully back up my latest SMS which I'm not sure would be possible by just copying things onto computer, such as photos/videos.
Once I get MTP enabled, should I just be able to access my files by opening my phone as a device or will I need to get into ADB to access?
Thank you for your continued help
Matt
_Ra1n_ said:
Can you get into Settings? If so, you should be in pretty good shape. It seems like in the "Pixel is starting..." state, USB File Transfer (ie: MTP mode) only works AFTER the phone is unlocked (fingerprint or PIN). The problem is since the lock screen doesn't load, you can't actually unlock. You have to remove your PIN and/or fingerprint (I set "screen lock" to "None") and USB File Transfer should then work.
You should also be able to launch apps from the app list in Settings.
Link to my thread for reference (just in case someone arrives here from a search): https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3-xl/help/stuck-pixel-starting-boot-t4038847
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Matt Spo said:
Seems like for MTP to even work requires some futzing in Windows, a known MTP issue I guess?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, it should "just work." I'm not sure why you're having issues. Did USB File Transfer work before you ran into this problem?
Matt Spo said:
As far as launching apps from the settings, I *can* get into the app list but Android 9 does not give an option to open them (unless I need to do something else that's not currently set-up).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I forgot Android 9 didn't have this! If you're familiar with ADB, you can launch apps by activity. You may be able to launch the Pixel Launcher with: "adb shell am start com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/.NexusLauncherActivity"
Matt Spo said:
Once I get MTP enabled, should I just be able to access my files by opening my phone as a device or will I need to get into ADB to access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With USB File Transfer enabled you should be able to just access it like you normally would with it plugged into a computer. I was able to, at least.
Matt Spo said:
Thank you for your continued help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course!

_Ra1n_ said:
Honestly, it should "just work." I'm not sure why you're having issues. Did USB File Transfer work before you ran into this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never attempted USB file transfer before now!
_Ra1n_ said:
Ah, I forgot Android 9 didn't have this! If you're familiar with ADB, you can launch apps by activity. You may be able to launch the Pixel Launcher with: "adb shell am start com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/.NexusLauncherActivity"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good, essentially launching the Pixel Launcher will allow me to see all of my apps on the device and open whatever necessary?
_Ra1n_ said:
With USB File Transfer enabled you should be able to just access it like you normally would with it plugged into a computer. I was able to, at least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds great, just need to get USB File Transfer working on computer (trying on 3 diff ones).
_Ra1n_ said:
Of course!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Sorry I'm likely not replying to this in sequence. That adb shell Pixel Launcher did not work, gave a type 3 error, does not exist.
MTP is not installing allowing me to access the phone as a device. Perhaps that's because I'm stuck with "Pixel is Starting" on my screen? I can launch ADB though, just trying to figure out to command to launch Google Photos so I can perform cloud backup from there onto my account. Also, would like to perform backup of SMS/MMS. The app I use "SMS Backup & Restore" gave me a shell command to try to launch a backup but did not work. I'm also trying a program called "backuptrans" which I was able to install on phone via ADB but am still trying to figure out a command that will launch the app so I can possibly use for backup of sms/mms/photos.
I am without root if that matters for anything. I have not given up hope of saving these photos/videos, sms/mms but it's getting frustrating trying various commands each night in ADB to launch apps to no avail.
Thanks,
Matt
_Ra1n_ said:
Honestly, it should "just work." I'm not sure why you're having issues. Did USB File Transfer work before you ran into this problem?
Ah, I forgot Android 9 didn't have this! If you're familiar with ADB, you can launch apps by activity. You may be able to launch the Pixel Launcher with: "adb shell am start com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher/.NexusLauncherActivity"
With USB File Transfer enabled you should be able to just access it like you normally would with it plugged into a computer. I was able to, at least.
Of course!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Matt Spo said:
Never attempted USB file transfer before now!
Sounds good, essentially launching the Pixel Launcher will allow me to see all of my apps on the device and open whatever necessary?
Sounds great, just need to get USB File Transfer working on computer (trying on 3 diff ones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Let's take a few steps back. Does the following adb command list the contents of your internal storage?
Code:
adb shell ls /sdard
If so, everything is certainly still there. You can lookup how to use the "adb pull" command to pull files/folders manually. If not, please post any errors that are returned.
The following command should copy the DCIM folder from internal storage onto your computer (where the camera app stores pictures & videos):
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM
That will copy the DCIM folder into the directory your currently in. You mentioned you were using Windows 7, the command prompt (C:\some\path>) indicates your current directory.
The following commands should open Google Photos and SMS Backup & Restore, respectively:
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.google.android.apps.photos/.home.HomeActivity
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore/.activities.IntroActivity

Thanks for your continued help, posted responses below. Also, after a lot of searching someone recommended the app "Backuptrans Data Sync," which apparently can backup all I'm looking to (SMS/MMS/Photos/Videos) and I have since installed the .apk to my phone (provided by developer) via ADB and am trying to figure out the exact ADB command to trigger that to open on my phone so I can attempt a connection to their software on PC via WiFi since I cannot get USB working. Supposed it's activity name is "com.backuptrans.datasync.DataSync"
_Ra1n_ said:
Let's take a few steps back. Does the following adb command list the contents of your internal storage?
Code:
adb shell ls /sdard
That gives me error message "closed"
If so, everything is certainly still there. You can lookup how to use the "adb pull" command to pull files/folders manually. If not, please post any errors that are returned.
The following command should copy the DCIM folder from internal storage onto your computer (where the camera app stores pictures & videos):
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM
That will copy the DCIM folder into the directory your currently in. You mentioned you were using Windows 7, the command prompt (C:\some\path>) indicates your current directory.
The following commands should open Google Photos and SMS Backup & Restore, respectively:
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.google.android.apps.photos/.home.HomeActivity
Gives type 3 error, activity class does not exist
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore/.activities.IntroActivity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gives type 3 error, activity class does not exist

Matt Spo said:
Thanks for your continued help, posted responses below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course! I just wish we were making progress!
The "error: closed" message suggests you may not be using an up-to-date version of the Android Platform Tools (https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools). Does the following command produce the same error?:
Code:
adb shell ls /storage
Are you absolutely sure you removed your PIN/passcode and disabled the lock screen? If you go into Settings > Storage, does the phone display the usage breakdown between (images & video, music & audio, ect) as you'd expect it?
The following ADB command will list every "package" currently on the phone:
Code:
adb shell pm list packages
Without getting into too much detail, every app resides in it's own "package." Locate the package for the app you want to launch and attempt to launch the app with the following command:
Code:
adb shell monkey -p app.package.name -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
Replacing app.package.name with the package you want to launch. For example, the following command should launch Google Photos:
Code:
adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.apps.photos -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

_Ra1n_ said:
Let's take a few steps back. Does the following adb command list the contents of your internal storage?
Code:
adb shell ls /sdard
If so, everything is certainly still there. You can lookup how to use the "adb pull" command to pull files/folders manually. If not, please post any errors that are returned.
The following command should copy the DCIM folder from internal storage onto your computer (where the camera app stores pictures & videos):
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM
That will copy the DCIM folder into the directory your currently in. You mentioned you were using Windows 7, the command prompt (C:\some\path>) indicates your current directory.
The following commands should open Google Photos and SMS Backup & Restore, respectively:
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.google.android.apps.photos/.home.HomeActivity
Code:
adb shell am start -n com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore/.activities.IntroActivity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_Ra1n_ said:
Of course! I just wish we were making progress!
The "error: closed" message suggests you may not be using an up-to-date version of the Android Platform Tools (https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools). Does the following command produce the same error?:
Code:
adb shell ls /storage
I believe I am using the most current version of Android Platform Tools as I just downloaded it within the last week. As far as the command above receiving same "closed" error, no, I get "emulated self"
Are you absolutely sure you removed your PIN/passcode and disabled the lock screen? If you go into Settings > Storage, does the phone display the usage breakdown between (images & video, music & audio, ect) as you'd expect it?
Definitely disabled the lock-screen and fingerprint. Yes, going into Settings>Storage displays the usage breakdown as I would expect it. Fwiw- in "Security & Location" phone is encrypted.
The following ADB command will list every "package" currently on the phone:
Code:
adb shell pm list packages
Without getting into too much detail, every app resides in it's own "package." Locate the package for the app you want to launch and attempt to launch the app with the following command:
Code:
adb shell monkey -p app.package.name -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
Replacing app.package.name with the package you want to launch. For example, the following command should launch Google Photos:
Code:
adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.apps.photos -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that command does display every package name. Trying to launch Google Photos via monkey command above led to "No Activities Found to Run, Monkey Aborted." Same message when trying to launch SMS Backup & Restore.
I don't believe I previously mentioned it, but device is NOT rooted. Imagine you probably figured that, lol.

Matt Spo said:
I believe I am using the most current version of Android Platform Tools as I just downloaded it within the last week. As far as the command above receiving same "closed" error, no, I get "emulated self"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume the following command returns the same "closed" error as before, then?:
Code:
adb shell ls /storage/emulated
Matt Spo said:
Definitely disabled the lock-screen and fingerprint. Yes, going into Settings>Storage displays the usage breakdown as I would expect it. Fwiw- in "Security & Location" phone is encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is expected. All modern phones are encrypted whether or not a PIN is set. The PIN, fingerprint, ect. simply protects the key. This enables the user to set a PIN quickly and allows the PIN to be changed without re-encrypting everything with a new key.
Matt Spo said:
I don't believe I previously mentioned it, but device is NOT rooted. Imagine you probably figured that, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory, that shouldn't matter. Nothing we've tried so far requires root and I recovered without root when this occurred on my phone.
Clearly your phone is reacting differently than mine did when I ran into this. Other than the Pixel 3 / Pixel 3 XL difference, the only other thing I can think of is that I was on Android 10 not Android 9. Without digging through the source code, Android 10 likely handles the device encryption differently.
Unfortunately I'm not really sure what else to suggest. You may have success updating to Android 10. I doubt it fixes the "Pixel is starting" issue though it may unlock the phone and let you pull data off. I would recommend doing this by sideloading a recent OTA instead of doing a System Update on the phone. If you'd like guidance with this, let me know. Google's page containing all of the OTA images & instructions for sideloading them is: https://developers.google.com/android/ota

_Ra1n_ said:
I assume the following command returns the same "closed" error as before, then?:
Code:
adb shell ls /storage/emulated
"Permission denied" is the error I get when I try that command. Does knowing that change anything regarding your thoughts on the matter?
This is expected. All modern phones are encrypted whether or not a PIN is set. The PIN, fingerprint, ect. simply protects the key. This enables the user to set a PIN quickly and allows the PIN to be changed without re-encrypting everything with a new key.
In theory, that shouldn't matter. Nothing we've tried so far requires root and I recovered without root when this occurred on my phone.
Clearly your phone is reacting differently than mine did when I ran into this. Other than the Pixel 3 / Pixel 3 XL difference, the only other thing I can think of is that I was on Android 10 not Android 9. Without digging through the source code, Android 10 likely handles the device encryption differently.
Unfortunately I'm not really sure what else to suggest. You may have success updating to Android 10. I doubt it fixes the "Pixel is starting" issue though it may unlock the phone and let you pull data off. I would recommend doing this by sideloading a recent OTA instead of doing a System Update on the phone. If you'd like guidance with this, let me know. Google's page containing all of the OTA images & instructions for sideloading them is: https://developers.google.com/android/ota
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that link and for all of your efforts thus far. I messaged google tech support with the issue, I guess before I go the sideloading route to install Android 10, which may or may not help me, I'll see what they say. But I will certainly reach out, privately(?) if I need further assistance.

Matt Spo said:
Thank you for that link and for all of your efforts thus far. I messaged google tech support with the issue, I guess before I go the sideloading route to install Android 10, which may or may not help me, I'll see what they say. But I will certainly reach out, privately(?) if I need further assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, wait until you hear back from Google and see what (if anything) they have to say first.
One random thought I had regarding updating to Android 10: Note that on the Verizon model, since the bootloader is locked, you cannot downgrade (as far as I'm aware, hopefully someone can correct me if I'm wrong). I would first try sideloading QQ1A.200105.002 since that is the version I had success recovering my data on.

_Ra1n_ said:
Yeah, wait until you hear back from Google and see what (if anything) they have to say first.
One random thought I had regarding updating to Android 10: Note that on the Verizon model, since the bootloader is locked, you cannot downgrade (as far as I'm aware, hopefully someone can correct me if I'm wrong). I would first try sideloading QQ1A.200105.002 since that is the version I had success recovering my data on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for delay, been trying some things in the interim, unfortunately none of which have helped. I have now updated my Computer OS from Win7 to Win10 which helps get drivers recognized, both MTP and ADB (MTP was not working with Win7). Everything seems to be "running" properly. Upon doing some research, it seems like MTP connection for transfer has been disabled, possibly with my latest software update, which I believe is November 2019 (Android Pie). I could not find anyone mentioning that MTP/USB transfer has been RE-enabled with Android 10.
Could that be a reason I am getting the messages I am getting for ADB commands or is that a separate entity, unaffected by MTP mode being disabled by Google? It seems to me, that possibly my best/only option at this point, in order to (hopefully) recover SMS/MMS as well as photos/videos is to sideload updated software? If MTP still not enabled in the sideloaded update you mention, thereby having same results with ADB commands, perhaps I could at least have the option like you initially mentioned of opening the apps via settings, something which is not an option with Pie?
As always, thanks for your continued help. Btw, Google Tech support had no information to help my situation!

Matt Spo said:
I have now updated my Computer OS from Win7 to Win10 which helps get drivers recognized, both MTP and ADB (MTP was not working with Win7). Everything seems to be "running" properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory that should make a difference. MTP has been a standard for quite some time. Not sure what is (or was) causing your driver issues (if any). Out of curiosity, do you have another computer (or a friend/family member's computer) you can try plugging the phone into?
Matt Spo said:
Upon doing some research, it seems like MTP connection for transfer has been disabled, possibly with my latest software update, which I believe is November 2019 (Android Pie). I could not find anyone mentioning that MTP/USB transfer has been RE-enabled with Android 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, I hand't heard of this. In developer options, what happens when you set "Default USB configuration" to "File Transfer" and then plug the phone in?
Matt Spo said:
Could that be a reason I am getting the messages I am getting for ADB commands or is that a separate entity, unaffected by MTP mode being disabled by Google? It seems to me, that possibly my best/only option at this point, in order to (hopefully) recover SMS/MMS as well as photos/videos is to sideload updated software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I'm starting to think that your issue is either A) different than mine in some way or B) The "Pixel is starting..." bug acts differently on Android 9 and Android 10. What we've learned from ADB is that your phone isn't mounting the internal storage. It is possible that Android 10 mounts (and/or unlocks) the Internal storage earlier in the boot process than Android 9. This may be why I was able to access the data from the "Pixel is starting..." screen but you can not.
Unless you can find someone more knowledgeable that has something better to try, I would update to QQ1A.200105.002 (the Feb 2020 update) since that is where I had luck. Since your device has a locked bootloader, you will not be able to revert back to Android 9 (if that matters at this point). Let me know if you need help with this.
Matt Spo said:
If MTP still not enabled in the sideloaded update you mention, thereby having same results with ADB commands, perhaps I could at least have the option like you initially mentioned of opening the apps via settings, something which is not an option with Pie?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point, I'd say anything is possible.

_Ra1n_ said:
In theory that should make a difference. MTP has been a standard for quite some time. Not sure what is (or was) causing your driver issues (if any). Out of curiosity, do you have another computer (or a friend/family member's computer) you can try plugging the phone into?
It seems like drivers are working, at least according to device manager. I have tried 3 diff windows 10 computers, all with USB-C->USB-A connections. I might try to find someone with a USB-C port so I can go USB-C->USB-C but given the state of the world right now, tough to go to someone's house or have them let me borrow a computer to test.
Interesting, I hand't heard of this. In developer options, what happens when you set "Default USB configuration" to "File Transfer" and then plug the phone in?
Tried that, nothing happened!
Honestly, I'm starting to think that your issue is either A) different than mine in some way or B) The "Pixel is starting..." bug acts differently on Android 9 and Android 10. What we've learned from ADB is that your phone isn't mounting the internal storage. It is possible that Android 10 mounts (and/or unlocks) the Internal storage earlier in the boot process than Android 9. This may be why I was able to access the data from the "Pixel is starting..." screen but you can not.
I was able to pull up directory of what apps were installed on the phone via ADB, is that different? When you say "access the data" do you mean open the individual apps from the settings menu? If so, you previously mentioned that that might be a new Android 10 option?
Unless you can find someone more knowledgeable that has something better to try, I would update to QQ1A.200105.002 (the Feb 2020 update) since that is where I had luck. Since your device has a locked bootloader, you will not be able to revert back to Android 9 (if that matters at this point). Let me know if you need help with this.
If I were to update to that update you mentioned (the following link lists what you mentioned- 105.002 as the January update, with 205.002 being February update), is it just following the steps here? https://developers.google.com/android/ota OR here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz6x7k-VkpUJMlZ1aEliVnhMOHM/view Do I have to sideload each OTA image in sequence from what I'm currently on until I get to the one you mentioned? Thought I saw mention of that somewhere.
At this point, I'd say anything is possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before going with the sideloaded OTA updates, I found the following sites which had a bunch of tips for people who have had recent trouble getting various Pixel phones to mount as drives on CPU, I am going to play around with these tips first, perhaps it's glitchy software update(s)? https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/8621523?hl=en&msgid=16913445 AND https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/58mp7o/pixel_xl_wont_connect_to_windows_10_pc/

Matt Spo said:
I was able to pull up directory of what apps were installed on the phone via ADB, is that different? When you say "access the data" do you mean open the individual apps from the settings menu? If so, you previously mentioned that that might be a new Android 10 option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Even without a security PIN set, the "internal storage" (where app data is stored, where your photos are stored, ect) is still encrypted. Really your PIN only encrypts the key to unlock the internal storage. This is why you can set a PIN after you've used the phone and have a lot of data stored on it without waiting for the data to be encrypted (and change/remove your PIN without waiting for the data to be decrypted/re-encrypted). When a PIN is not set, the phone (should) automatically unlock the storage with the stored key. (I'm over-simplifying a little bit, of course)
My comment about Android 9/10 differences was a (somewhat educated) guess that Android 10 "unlocks" the "always-encrypted" internal storage at a different time than Android 9. If this "unlock" occurs earlier, the internal storage may be accessible once on the "Pixel is starting..." screen. Unfortunately we're fighting with a bug/glitch; none of this is an exact science.
Matt Spo said:
If I were to update to that update you mentioned (the following link lists what you mentioned- 105.002 as the January update, with 205.002 being February update), is it just following the steps here? ... Do I have to sideload each OTA image in sequence from what I'm currently on until I get to the one you mentioned? Thought I saw mention of that somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, follow the steps on Google's OTA page. No, you do not need to flash the OTAs in sequence. The OTAs available on that page are "Full" OTAs; you can jump straight to any Full OTA as long as it is more recent that the version you're currently on.
Matt Spo said:
Before going with the sideloaded OTA updates, I found the following sites which had a bunch of tips for people who have had recent trouble getting various Pixel phones to mount as drives on CPU, I am going to play around with these tips first, perhaps it's glitchy software update(s)?/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the issue was only an MTP issue, you'd still be able to access the data through ADB, something that it doesn't seem like we've been able to accomplish. Since you've tried multiple computers, I don't think this is related.

_Ra1n_ said:
Yes. Even without a security PIN set, the "internal storage" (where app data is stored, where your photos are stored, ect) is still encrypted. Really your PIN only encrypts the key to unlock the internal storage. This is why you can set a PIN after you've used the phone and have a lot of data stored on it without waiting for the data to be encrypted (and change/remove your PIN without waiting for the data to be decrypted/re-encrypted). When a PIN is not set, the phone (should) automatically unlock the storage with the stored key. (I'm over-simplifying a little bit, of course)
My comment about Android 9/10 differences was a (somewhat educated) guess that Android 10 "unlocks" the "always-encrypted" internal storage at a different time than Android 9. If this "unlock" occurs earlier, the internal storage may be accessible once on the "Pixel is starting..." screen. Unfortunately we're fighting with a bug/glitch; none of this is an exact science.
Yes, follow the steps on Google's OTA page. No, you do not need to flash the OTAs in sequence. The OTAs available on that page are "Full" OTAs; you can jump straight to any Full OTA as long as it is more recent that the version you're currently on.
If the issue was only an MTP issue, you'd still be able to access the data through ADB, something that it doesn't seem like we've been able to accomplish. Since you've tried multiple computers, I don't think this is related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reached back out to Google Tech. Support since realizing my issue seems to stem from the phone NOT being able to be controlled through connected device (computer) but not being allowed to do so, only allowing connection via "this device." They recommended updating software to most recent version of Android 10, which hopefully fixes that connection problem. I guess my decision is either upgrading to the software version you were on, was it - 105.002 (January) or 205.002 (February)? I saw a discrepancy in previous post between software version # and Month. Perhaps that will allow me to do what I need to do, if not I upgrade to the latest version. If I go straight to the latest version, there's no turning back to trying your software, since bootloader locked. Would you recommend starting with your software update and then potentially moving on to most recent if that doesn't work?
Thank you again for all of your help thus far, seems like this could be the home stretch, exhausted all possible scenarios. If upgrading software doesn't work, seems like I am SoL in hopes of backing up.
Matt

Matt Spo said:
I reached back out to Google Tech. Support since realizing my issue seems to stem from the phone NOT being able to be controlled through connected device (computer) but not being allowed to do so, only allowing connection via "this device." They recommended updating software to most recent version of Android 10, which hopefully fixes that connection problem. I guess my decision is either upgrading to the software version you were on, was it - 105.002 (January) or 205.002 (February)? I saw a discrepancy in previous post between software version # and Month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct; I mistyped that a few posts back. The version I had success recovering on was "QQ1A.200105.002" specifically.
Matt Spo said:
Perhaps that will allow me to do what I need to do, if not I upgrade to the latest version. If I go straight to the latest version, there's no turning back to trying your software, since bootloader locked. Would you recommend starting with your software update and then potentially moving on to most recent if that doesn't work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, if you sideload the most recent update you will not be able to sideload an older update with a locked bootloader. My gut instinct would be to update to the version I had success with because we know it worked at least once. Obviously I can't guarantee it will work for you, but I'm really hoping it does. If it doesn't help, updating to the latest version would be the next step.
Matt Spo said:
Thank you again for all of your help thus far, seems like this could be the home stretch, exhausted all possible scenarios. If upgrading software doesn't work, seems like I am SoL in hopes of backing up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course! I'm still hopeful this will work out!
Random aside: @Ditamae ran into the exact same issue as me and seems to have had similar success with recovering data. He responded to my original post about this issue: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=82567069&postcount=5. He indicated he was on the January 2020 update as well.