My completely stock Pixel started bootlooping this afternoon (I still think its a hardware problem, but I'm not sure) and I already tried factory resetting and sideloading a rescue OTA through the stock recovery (which didn't fix it), but I am unable to flash a fresh factory image because I never thought to enable the OEM Unlock toggle when it was working properly (because naive me decided to use the complete stock experience on this phone).
The phone will normally crash/restart at the Google wordmark or logo, but sometimes it will make it all the way to the initial set up before restarting again. I was wondering if there was any way to manually erase/format the other partitions without totally bricking my device, or am I pretty my SOL because I never toggled the "OEM Unlock"?
Thanks.
Edit: Just checked and Slot A on my bootloader is "unbootable", but I'm not entirely sure what that means.
You can still run stock but with unlocked bootloader. It's simply gives far more options when things go wrong.
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Had just flashed the latest CM9 nightly (clean install, fresh wipe) yesterday and everything was running fine.
This morning, woke up, my phone was turned off. When powering it on it hung on the google screen. Fastboot still working, booted into recovery only to find that I would get error messages when trying to load my backs "E:unable to mount /sdcard". Apparently it also couldn't mount /data. So I was unable to flash any images or restore or boot up.
Seeing that fastboot was still working I assume I'm not bricked yet. I tried flashing a new boot and cwm recovery via fastboot - no dice. Same errors.
I don't have a recent backup of anything in sdcard, but at this point I'm willing to sacrifice it.
Found this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1078213
and I'm trying to follow the steps to flash back to stock GB. using the GRJ22 images
It flashed the boot and recovery without issue but seems to hang while flashing the system.img. I know it's a big file, but it was up to ~2hrs with it still transferring. I pulled the plug on it and tried again, lost patience after an hour.
Now I had the idea of maybe locking and unlocking the boot loader would help things.....not sure why I thought this. Anyway, now it seems to hang on the unlock bootloader screen.
So my question now - am I screwed?
- anything else to try?
- is it really "hanging" or do I need to give it more time?
- have I screwed myself even more by now locking my bootloader and flashing the stock recovery?
Any help would be very much appreciated....
Some new additions and new insights from the reddit android community:
- this probably has nothing to do with CM9. My phone has been wonky for about two weeks - random reboots, sometimes rebooting into recovery. That's why I thought I'd throw on the latest nightly and do a fresh wipe yesterday.
- There's definitely something up with /data. Anytime I tried wiping all/factory reset in cwm recovery I got errors about not being able to mount /data or being able to find files in /data
- basically anything I do involving /data partition causes the phone to lock-up -- flashing the boot.img and recovery img worked, but not system. Also, I think the reason I can't re-unlock the bootloader is because during the unlock process it tries to do a factory reset/data wipe
Basically I think there are two things I need to know if I can do - 1) unlock the bootloader again, via some way that won't try to reset the /data partition and thus won't freeze the phone. 2) try repartitioning /data
I really hope I didn't screw myself by locking the bootloader. I'd actually feel a lot better if it was something in my phone that just failed hardware-wise rather than something I could've fixed if I wasn't too quick to try poorly thought out ideas.....
Any help at all would be appreciated!
Possibly (and likely) a corrupted nand flash. Fairly common problem sadly. I'd say it's a good thing your bootloaders locked, no dramas sending it back to samsung. It might've been possible to reset the partitions and flash fastboot images but i don't think i've seen anyone who has done this to sort any similar problem. Hopefully your phones still under warranty
Well thank God that it turns out that I'm still on warranty.....sending the phone back to Samsung tomorrow.
Like you said, it's actually a good thing the bootloader is now locked and the stock boot img and recovery img are now back on! Hopefully this makes it more likely that they weren't turn away my phone.
I've yet to hear someone not getting work done under warranty because of an unlocked boot loader but it's always good to have it as stock as can be. Hope they don't take too long with your phone.
Harbb said:
I've yet to hear someone not getting work done under warranty because of an unlocked boot loader but it's always good to have it as stock as can be. Hope they don't take too long with your phone.
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I bricked my nexus s 4 days before Christmas last year... and i was using a custom rom obviously with an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery image, and i handed it to vodafone, and guess what? they repaired without asking any questions, and the day before Christmas! sooo happy maybe because i was thirteen then, they didn't suspect a thing
Ok so admittedly I made a noob mistake and inadvertently unchecked OEM unlock and rebooted. So I'm stuck on FRP lock. From what I see, my only option is to flash the original firmware on the phone.
My question is simple: I don't have TWRP and can't do a NAND backup. Will my internal SD card get wiped as well? If so, is there ANY way I can back it up before hand??
Thanks...
Ok so I managed to save my arse after all, but I figured I would leave a reply here for archival purposes.
I used Odin to flash the stock Bootloader and PDA. Not only it didn't touch my SD, but it really didn't wipe anything and I only lost my root.
Two things happened I didn't see documented anywhere I looked: I got a weird crash on boot update and ended up in Stock recovery after auto reboot and got a slew of error messages, but a simple phone reboot worked.
Then I was asked for a password to restart, which turned out to be "default_password"...
Hope this will help someone down the road!
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Cleaned & wiped all stuff, flashed stock 6.0.1 with Odin AP,BL,CP,CSC and same FRP google login shows up. Mind sharing those two files?
For sure, I just used the latest firmware on Sammobile: this is the generic one for Canada, but I'm on Rogers so I used this one.
I only used the BL and PDA, but I also made sure I wasn't locked out on my Samsung Account. FRP can be because of the custom binaries, but it can also be a system lock out and I've read that in some cases it's because the phone has soft locked itself out. Not sure how accurate that is, but wouldn't hurt to check I guess...
now all ok or still facing same?
One of my slots/partitions does not work anymore. Both should have the same OOS with blue_spark kernel and his TWRP mod - but slot A doesn't boot (stuck on the "bootloader unlocked" warning screen, doesn't reboot as far as I can tell) and when I have it active, the recovery doesn't prompt me for my PIN - and all user data is still encrypted. Slot B works flawless though.
(It's been like that for a few months already, I just forgot about it since I haven't rebooted my phone in a while.)
What course of action should I take?
I've looked before and found this thread - https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/help/bootloop-one-partitions-t3809859
But honestly, I'm not sure if it's the same issue. I can't tell if it's bootlooping and I assume it isn't, since it's stuck on the warning.
Not very sure how I managed to do this exactly but I think it's because I forgot to remove my fingerprint lock etc. before flashing a new custom rom (or because I removed it directly after and switched partitions unintentionally? I have no clue anymore)
I've back most of my important data up, so I'd be open to basically reset everything, if that's the only way.
Would the appropriate way about this be to just go into recovery and tell it to wipe everything?
Use the MSM tool to flash a fresh image onto your phone. Then, once you're booted, flash an ota image (this will be flashed onto the other slot) via the oneplus local system update option.
This should work as I have faced your issue a couple of times while changing roms.
Personally I would just start fresh and use the MSM tool. Read a post somewhere on Reddit yesterday when I was in the same boat and some guy said you could clone slot A with B and vice versa using TWRP or some Motorola based tool, but seeing as it would have been quicker and cleaner to just do it the MSM route, I went for that.
It sounds like a security patch incompatibility. I don't think there's any way to fix it besides reformatting that slot. You will of course lose all your data.
I downloaded a Magisk module to test out that purported to bypass DRM of netflix, Amazon, and a couple others and it put my phone into a boot loop. I installed a recovery magisk module zip for recovery that allowed me to disable the module from TWRP but it didn't matter because it just stopped the module and didn't replace the changed DRM file. After that I just gave up and fully formatted my phone with the All in One tool using "Decrypt phone / erase all data" and then installed a fresh stock ROM image via fastboot. The problem is, even after doing all of this, the DRM file that this module changed is still changed and I can't use streaming services and my phone is incredibly unstable. When I open Netflix for instance, it says I need an update and when I go to the play store it tells me "Netflix is not compatible with your device". Also, even after a full wipe, Nova launcher is still installed, and it's not supposed to be, I have no clue how these files are persisting through a full wipe. I've been tinkering with my phone for over a year now and this is the first problem I've found that not even fastboot can seem to fix. I'm on Tmobile and originally was able to unlock my bootloader by flashing Android 10 Developer preview 3, which they accidentally allowed you to unlock the bootloader with. I did that to unlock my bootloader then rooted and I've been using international ROM's ever since. I'm worried if I have to go back to Stock tmobile ROM I won't be able to get my bootloader locked again, and I still have no clue if this will even fix the issue. Does anyone have any clue how to fix this? If you search "drm" on magisk modules you'll find two things, one that removes all drm, and one from 2019 that attempts to bypass it. (I figured I'd test this out to see if I could watch Netflix in 1440p with my bootloader unlocked and didn't expect it to work, just didn't expect it to find a way to soft brick my phone) I'm using the 2019 one. Is it possible if I re-root my phone to somehow aquire the original DRM files this thing changed and replace them? Are these not included as part of a stock ROM? I don't understand how I can't fix this. My last plan is to reinstall TWRP and wipe literally every option on there then flash a ROM via fastboot, but I doubt it's going to work if formatting the entire phone doesn't work
Edit: Installed TWRP, wiped literally every option so I didn't even have an OS anymore, used fastboot to decrypt / erase all data then when installing stock ROM I chose again to wipe all data. If nova launcher and the changed DRM persists through this I'm going to be completely stumped. The only thing I can conclude is that somehow my phone is not actually fully wiping itself even though I'm using 3 different methods to do it
Edit 2: This still didn't work. I think I'm gonna have to use the MSM tool and go back to tmobile stock. If I flash far back enough I should in theory still be able to flash Android 10 DP3 and unlock my bootloader again, it's just gonna be an unexpected pain in the ass task to deal with today
Edit 3: Thank god for modified msm tool, I didn't know they were able to modify it to convert your tmobile phone to international and unlock the bootloader. This is going to be much easier than anticipated as long as doing this actually fixes my drm files and really wipes everything
Edit 4: Even using MSM tool to install a factory international ROM fixed the Netflix issue but somehow Nova Launcher is persisting through every single kind of wipe I've done lol. Despite the bootloader being locked (wasn't supposed to be) after this update, Netflix still wouldn't play in HD which is kind of odd. I'm now going through the process of installing Android 10 DP3 and unlocking my bootloader then downgrading back to pie to root and install TWRP again. I'm just going to have to accept that Nova Launcher is a part of my phone now lol
Maybe I'm wrong but didnt op7 pro have an irreversible e-fuse that once triggered with root it wiped out the ability to see HD forever ? Something to do with downgrading widevine drm levels if I remember correctly... The nova thingy I cant explain but hey it could be worse you could be stuck with Microsoft's launcher [emoji1787]
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---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------
Just a thought that crossed my mind, could it be that Nova is surviving as a system app in A or B slot? Are you sure you are wiping system in both slots?
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I just got a 6a. I have an older Pixel 3A XL that I am trying to trade in. The phone was rooted (but I just uninstalled Magisk) and I never took most updates so the phone is still on Android 10. I am wondering which stock firmware I should download to get this back to factory settings so I can lock the boot loader?
Do I need to download the newest Android 12 OTA update and then flash a stock rom or should I just download an Android 10 stock from and flash that?
Android 10 has less "surprises" in it... scoped storage will be fully enforced in 12.
dr0832 said:
I just got a 6a. I have an older Pixel 3A XL that I am trying to trade in. The phone was rooted (but I just uninstalled Magisk) and I never took most updates so the phone is still on Android 10. I am wondering which stock firmware I should download to get this back to factory settings so I can lock the boot loader?
Do I need to download the newest Android 12 OTA update and then flash a stock rom or should I just download an Android 10 stock from and flash that?
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Click to collapse
If you are trading it in, just back up anything you want from it, factory reset it and flash a factory image to it. Then run the OEM bootloader lock command. You can also go into Developer Options and turn off bootloader unlock and reset it again. Doesn't matter which factory image because you are not keeping the phone or selling it. When they get the phone, they will likely reflash the latest factory image to it anyway.
To reiterate, flash the factory image, not the OTA image. Factory images contain everything, including the modem/bootloader/etc. That way everything is likely to work together properly. Mismatched firmware/modem/bootloader from flashing an OTA can be a bad day.
So if I had my 4a rooted a couple years ago, but went back to stock, I should be able to just factory reset, right? No flashing needed? Does it matter if you send it back with bootloader unlocked?
tcat007 said:
So if I had my 4a rooted a couple years ago, but went back to stock, I should be able to just factory reset, right? No flashing needed? Does it matter if you send it back with bootloader unlocked?
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I think you should re-lock the bootloader, just to be on the safe side; it's an easy thing to do. I had to do a warranty replacement for my Pixel 4 XL a few years ago and the google technician told me to relock the bootloader when returning the 'defective' device.
Google is not going to deny your trade in due to being rooted. This is not a warranty replacement! The only requirements are that the screen turns on and is not cracked.
Just go into settings and do a "factory reset" and turn the phone in. Doing anything more is simply a waste of time.
sic0048 said:
Google is not going to deny your trade in due to being rooted. This is not a warranty replacement! The only requirements are that the screen turns on and is not cracked.
Just go into settings and do a "factory reset" and turn the phone in. Doing anything more is simply a waste of time.
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Yep, Im sure all our old devices are just promptly going in the trash or possibly to a donation project so theyre not going to care.
The best way to return your device to bone stock is with the Android Flash Tool. Ensure you check the "Force flash all partitions" and "Wipe device" boxes, as well as "Lock bootloader' if desired.