An error has occurred while updating the device software” screen on SM-N950U1

[Tworays]

I downloaded the STOCK_N950USQS3BRA8_ODIN_Files and followed the instructions to flash my SM-N9550U1 phone. The operation started fine, the green progress bar in Odin moved about two third of the progress bar and the white progress bar moved more than half way across the phone screen and then the flashing operation failed.
I tried to recover it with Smart Switch but no luck. There is no Initialization tab in the latest version of Smart Switch, I used the older version which has the initialization tab but I got the error that my device does not support initialization and that I should contact their service center. When I try to re-flash or reset the phone, it defaults to the screen that says An error has occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency recovery function in the Smart Switch PC software. Can you please help me to reset or re-flash my phone?

 

[svim]

The Note 8 being such a recent model should still have some kind of warranty coverage. If yours is already requiring the ROM to be re-flashed, have you contacted the carrier or retailer you bought if from?

 

[Tworays]

Well I haven't done so yet, just wanted to know if there is a solution for this kind of of problem in this forum.
Thank you for your kind advice.

 

[lunatic59]

The solutions here would be to try Odin or Smart Switch. Since you've tried those already, there's not much else we can do.

 

[marctronixx]

The phone is under a warranty. You. May have bricked your device beyond the means readily available to the conventional public. It may be in the best interest of your time to reach out to Samsung directly.

 

[The_Chief]

Is your phone a carrier-branded Note8? I posted about this issue on February 2nd in another thread. Essentially, the January 2018 security patch replaced the bootloader with one that will brick the device if the user attempts to flash any unofficial firmware:

https://wccftech.com/latest-samsung-galaxy-s8-s8-note8-bootloader-prevents-flashing-new-firmware/

 

[Tworays]

The phone is an unlocked phone, N950U1 XAA.
Anyway a big thank you to all of you for responding.

Here is more explanation about the problem:
The problem I am facing is this: the phone cannot go off, it’s stuck at the “An error has occurred while updating the device software.) screen. When I press the key combination to enter download mode, I can get to the warning screen where I am prompted to press Volume Up key to continue to download mode, or press Volume Down key to cancel (restart). And whatever key I press, the phone will come back to the same screen which says “An error has occurred while updating the device software.” The phone is now stucked at this screen and it cannot turn off.

In short, the phone cannot enter download mode, and when I press the key combination to enter recovery mode, nothing happens.

When I had this kind of problem with my previous Samsung phones I just removed the battery and made sure that it is completely discharged before turning it on again. That trick always works with removable battery phones.

What I need a help for now is how to solve this kind of problem with non-removable battery phones. Can someone please help?

It’s easy for me to pay a quick visit to Samsung for a solution, but I want to be completely sure that this kind of problem cannot be solved without bringing it to Samsung.

 

[The_Chief]

Based on what you're describing and what I posted, the two sound a lot alike. There are really two possibilities that I can think of:

(a) The downloaded firmware was corrupt. Did you verify the MD5 checksum before flashing it? All you can really do is download a known good version, verify the MD5 and try flashing it again.
(b) Exactly what my article states: the bootloader killed the phone to prevent the flashing of unsigned firmware. That's a call to Samsung, and good luck because flashing unsigned firmware voids the warranty in most cases.

 

[marctronixx]

It’s easy for me to pay a quick visit to Samsung for a solution

If your device is important to you then time is critical. Since its easy , why not take the best way?

Seems you are fishing for some other unofficial means of recovering your device, and this forum is not going to help with that type of info.

Your best recourse at this juncture is to get samsung involved.

 

[Tworays]

Based on what you're describing and what I posted, the two sound a lot alike. There are really two possibilities that I can think of:

(a) The downloaded firmware was corrupt. Did you verify the MD5 checksum before flashing it? All you can really do is download a known good version, verify the MD5 and try flashing it again.
(b) Exactly what my article states: the bootloader killed the phone to prevent the flashing of unsigned firmware. That's a call to Samsung, and good luck because flashing unsigned firmware voids the warranty in most cases.

OK thank you for letting me gain from your wisdom. Since there no way for me to go back to Download mode, I will pay a visit to Samsung.

If your device is important to you then time is critical. Since its easy , why not take the best way?

Seems you are fishing for some other unofficial means of recovering your device, and this forum is not going to help with that type of info.

Your best recourse at this juncture is to get samsung involved.

OK, will do so. Thank you for your kind advice.

 

[The_Chief]

I'm understandably curious as to whether or not Samsung has agreed to help you and reflash the firm for you...

 

[Tworays]

I'm understandably curious as to whether or not Samsung has agreed to help you and reflash the firm for you...

Thank you for your genuine kindness, and I am pleased to let you know that I was able to solve the problem without paying a visit to Samsung. What I did was to hold down the Volume-Up+Bixby+Power keys together and plugged the phone in to a USB2 port, the phone started but freezed on the Samsung Galaxy Note8 boot-up screen. From there, I pressed the key combination to enter the Download mode and I was able to enter the download mode and re-flash the phone but not full flash. Now that the phone was working, I tried to give it a full flash but again, it failed the same way it had failed before. This time I was able to realize that the failures were caused by the USB port, it had the problem of briefly disconnecting and reconnecting the phone. Having the same problem for the second time and not being near to a machine with USB2 port, I connected the phone with the An Error Has Occurred While… screen to the Odin properly configured for full flashing with stock ROM. I was surprised to see the Com port properly registered in Odin and the Added notification. I clicked the Start and the flashing process started and completed successfully. And my Galaxy Note 8 is up and running fully refreshed. Thank you all for your encouragement.

 

[The_Chief]

AWESOME NEWS!

 

[Saul Gonzalez]

Thank you for your genuine kindness, and I am pleased to let you know that I was able to solve the problem without paying a visit to Samsung. What I did was to hold down the Volume-Up+Bixby+Power keys together and plugged the phone in to a USB2 port, the phone started but freezed on the Samsung Galaxy Note8 boot-up screen. From there, I pressed the key combination to enter the Download mode and I was able to enter the download mode and re-flash the phone but not full flash. Now that the phone was working, I tried to give it a full flash but again, it failed the same way it had failed before. This time I was able to realize that the failures were caused by the USB port, it had the problem of briefly disconnecting and reconnecting the phone. Having the same problem for the second time and not being near to a machine with USB2 port, I connected the phone with the An Error Has Occurred While… screen to the Odin properly configured for full flashing with stock ROM. I was surprised to see the Com port properly registered in Odin and the Added notification. I clicked the Start and the flashing process started and completed successfully. And my Galaxy Note 8 is up and running fully refreshed. Thank you all for your encouragement.

Hi

I have your exact same problem on my Galaxy S8, I was trying to flash it using a USA XAA Firmware to get rid of all T-Mobile stuff but now Im stuck on the blue screen "An error has ocurred" and I don't have any acess to recovery or download mode.
I just download T-Mobile stock firmware from Updato and I tried to flash it using Odin v3.13, as you said Odin detects it but as soon as it starts it just failed.
The parts I just don't undertand from your solution is the one regarding USB2 port, you waited until your phone just run out of battery ?
I''ll really appreciate any tip to solve my problem

Thank you in advance

 

[Manutrueno]

March 4, 2019 having the exact same problem with a Stock Rom from Sammobile, mine is galaxy note 8, ATT one. any update?