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Root Soft brick after installing TWRP (Verizon)

mhrf90

mhrf90

Well-Known Member
OK so I installed TWRP through the Playstore app in the wrong partition. Soft brick/No OS. I was now stuck at bootloader. I have managed to get TWRP working (2.7.1) I tried two other versions which were not loading (2.8.7 and 2.7.0) I suppose due to my hboot being old. Now I'm in TWRP but it tells me it can't mount internal storage. What do I do? I can't mount nor wipe anything other than cache and SD card.

EDIT
Out of desperation decided to try every single TWRP version. 2.8.1 is the most recent version that runs and it fixed the internal storage issue. I tried flashing CM13 but it says it needs HBOOT 3.18 or 3.19 while I'm running 3.16. Now I need to find how to update HBOOT. Things are looking great!
 
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A firmware update is where an Hboot updates would be included as part of the package. Two ways you can achieve this. Either return to stock and wait for and accept OTA updates. Or gain s-off and flash a firmware update specifically for the Verizon version or indeed the hboot by itself.

I don't know much about Verizon devices as I'm in UK, but since you have a custom recovery installled you have unlocked the bootloader and afaik on Verizon that needs Sunshine, which will also have gained you s-off.

If that's the case, then I would look to xda to download a firmware update with latest hboot.

Also, I'd advocate installing TWRP via a computer/laptop using fastboot (there's a mini SDK package on here somewhere if you don't have it) over the TWRP Manager app.
 
Thanks saltire. I got it to work. Installed CM12 but I was having problems with data and texts; they randomly stopped working once or twice a day and wouldn't come back to life unless I rebooted. The status bar still showed LTE working but it wasn't and for some reason calls worked but texts didn't. I am 100% sure I had the right APN setting so I went ahead and decided to flash T-Mobile radio (it's am unlocked gsm phone I'm using on MetroPCS, which uses T-Mobile's antennas) I learned from my mistakes and made a backup this time. Glad I did for I messed up and I got a "no simcard detected, emergency calls only" message and the phone would constantly reboot.

I have tried flashing my backup through adb and fastboot, but both tell me I don't have permission to do so. The T-Mobile radio I flashed was a flashable zip to be used in TWRP. The backup I have is an IMG file. I guess my question is, how do I turn my backup into a flashable zip for TWRP?

I don't understand how I can have no permission to flash the radio through adb of fastboot. I have the mini SDK you speak off, my M8's bootloader and SIM are unlocked, S-OFF, rooted, SuperCID... What am I missing here??
 
Ok, when you refer to the backup you took what is this a backup of, and how did you do it? The img file you mention isn't a nandroid backup suing TWRP recovery that's for sure. TWRP will only backup certain partitions anyway - boot, system, data, cache. It can't touch any of the firmware.

Radio image is firmware, so you can't flash this through recovery or adb. You need to enter the oem rebootRUU mode - this thread is a good guide

http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/vomerguides-m8-bootldr-unlock-s-off-t2800727

You can skip down to Section 3 on firmware upgrades.

I would grab one of the latest firmware zips from this thread

http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/development/progress-fuu-m8-t2813792

And flash it following the instructions in Vomer's guide.

But please do double check your phone model first before flashing any of the firmware. Just making sure as you have Verizon in the thread title, but then mention you have a gsm phone on Metro/TMob. The phone variants - Verizon and Sprint(?) - have different hardware to the gsm models and they have separate sub-forums on xda. You really don't want to flash incorrect firmware.

If you are sure that a Metro phone uses TMob firmware then sneakyghost's thread has lastest TMob firmware to download. As I say I'm in UK so would like one of the US folks to chime in here to confirm.

Do check the md5 checksum for the download before flashing.

Any more questions ask before flashing as well (much easier to help if you still have a working phone!).
 
To clarify, there's no MetroPCS version of the M8. My wife wanted an M8 and I got an unlocked Verizon M8 GSM. It's a Verizon phone, but it works under any GSM carrier. If you're wondering why on earth I didn't just get a T-Mobile M8, its because I got a real good deal on this one and my research suggested I wouldn't have any issues.

Anyway, I got the T-Mobile flashable zip off this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2736921

I also followed the directions there to create a back up of the stock radio in adb. I tried flashing the backup the way that's shown there. If you check, not only do they give you a flashable zip, but also the option to download the IMG file itself and instructions of how to flash it through adb.

So this is how it went down: I downloaded the T-Mobile radio, flashed it in TWRP since it was simpler, it flashed successfully but didn't work for my phone. I mean, in hindsight, of course it didn't. I flashed T-Mobile firmware in a Verizon phone... I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to return to stock radio firmware so I gave it a try. Before this I had spent countless hours attempting to solve the loss of data and SMS issue, I did this thinking "won't hurt to try"

Anyhow, I deduced that my backup IMG could be flashed just as the IMG they provide in that thread. I followed the instructions and that failed. Then I found a guide on flashing radios that stated the IMG can indeed be flashed through fastboot. However, it won't let me. I do believe it is possible since both adb and fastboot try to flash it, but fail due to lack of permission.

After this clarification, should I still follow your last advice, or can you think of something else? Do you happen to know how to turn my backup radio firmware into a flashable zip as the ones provided in that thread?

Thanks for your help.

EDIT
I forgot to mention. Last morning, before any of this happened, the phone's data connection stopped working all together. LTE icon replaced by an exclamation mark. Which didn't make any sense at all since the APN were properly set up. That's what convinced me to try flashing the t-mobile radio firmware
 
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Do you think simply replacing the radio.img inside the flashable zip will do?
EDIT
It did! that was such a simple solution. Who woudl've thought? lol
EDIT 2
I also fixed the connectivity issues I was originally having. For whatever reason, MetroPCS phones work under the APN fast.t-mobile.com but unlocked phones running under MetroPCS must actually use fast.metropcs.com. I tried changing my LG Leon LTE (MetroPCS) to fast.metropcs.com and data connectivity was lost. Odd how that works.
 
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Hmm interesting, I didn't think it was possible but maybe radio firmware is slightly different. For me I'd still go via the specific fastboot oem rebootRUU method, if only to take a safer route than via adb or recovery.

You can take the backup radio img you have and drop it into the flashable zip that worked for you using a Win PC and 7zip program. If you open the zip file in 7zip - don't extract anything, navigate within the zip file to where the radio.img file is, you should then be able to replace this with your backed up img by drag and drop from Explorer into the zip, and then close (and save) the zip. You'll have to rename the img to radio.img or whatever it's called in the zip file first.

If it was me I would still go for a full firmware package update though. Although you'll need to be a bit careful about which carrier zip you choose. Having said that if the phone is gsm then with s-off you can flash any firmware you like - but with no protection if it's not correct for the hardware.

Any of the gsm variants in sneakyghost's thread should therefore be ok to flash, and there is a Marshmallow update for TMob in there. I would however try and get a zip for your existing firmware first so you can revert back if need be.

To check if you do a fastboot getvar all from cmd prompt - the Version Main entry should be what your current firmware version is.
 
Thanks for helping with the flashable zip saltire that worked.

OK. I'm now where I originally was. Got data to work again but it will stop working after a little while (but status bar will show it is working) and I have to turn on and off airplane mode to get data back. This is so annoying!! It seems to only happen during periods of inactivity. I've watched movies on Netflix without a problem. It also fails when I'm hotspotting, it will take longer for it to happen though! I can hotspot for hours before data is lost. Ideas? I've searched for this up and down and the one possible solution I found, which was to modify a value in build.prop, did not work for me. I think I'll call it a day and keep researching it tomorrow, enough troubleshooting for a day :mad:
 
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No probs - you spotted the zip trick anyway. Yep, right thing calling it a day and coming fresh to it later.
 
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