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Root WORKING soft brick fix for ZTE Force!

I was going through some real hell with mine too. What happened was that I received and ota while running Droidsmith , and like the knoob I am I installed it. I wasn't worried because I had backups and different zips saved. I should have run from the update, run far far away, because when I installed it erased the OS. I tried to restore from a back up and it just rebooted to recovery. Same with reflash in zips, Sideload, and anything else I tried. I finally took to some advice on another thread about reflashing the recovery. I was nervous because recovery was all I had at this point, but I did it anyway and it worked. Reflashed CWM and then iI could restore from backups and install zips and everything. I should mention about SuperR s zips... The deodexed debloated gave me some troubles but I'm not sure if it was user error or not. He also links to a nearly stock rom on the same page that has definitely saved my as before. http://androidforums.com/force-4g-lte-all-things-root/839159-rom-force-stock-b13-deodexed-unmodified.html but I'm back up and running, I hope this helps you somehow

Edit: I just saw your question about the roms. This is a spare device for me so I don't use service one it so I can't say about how they work in the service area. I can tell you that although the sawbones modded rom is "working" it is still full of bugs that are over my head to fix, but if you want jb that's the only place to get it, because I don't think shinru's rom boots at all from what I read. I also haven't tried the WIP Cm10 that's on the board so that's about all I can say....
 
ZTE Force said:
Hello ... is there anybody out there...
Here's what's happening out there folks...
got fastboot running in CMD teminal (since ADB won't recognize device anymore)

fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot erase boot
fastboot flash boot boot.img

sending 'boot' (16384kb)
ok writing 'boot'
FAILED (remote: size too large)

Now What's up with that?
Click to expand...

The reason why this fails is because you are trying to use the first JB ROM put out which has incorrect boot image size.
It should be about 5mb, not 16mb.

If you want to try JB then use the boot image from the ROM I posted in that thread,
or better off using DSF or a stock ROM to get the boot image bc the 3.4 kernel from JB is not yet working (bc we don't have a full JB ROM dump yet) and JB is not fully working with the 3.0.8 kernel.

Good luck, and cheers
-SB
 
If you read through the JB thread you will see that neither Shinru's nandroid nor the first two ROMs put out will boot, so far just the one I made with 3.0.8 kernel is working.

We really need to try and get Sprint to release the ROM (which does have all the boost stuff built in btw) or we need someone with hands on the device to give a more complete dump.

Cheers,
-SB
 
Well I restored my rooted CWM v6.0.3.0 boost ICS .... works great and so i await with baited breath for any stable JB release you come up with now

oh and I noticed there is a CWM.img with meta-inf <dir> for v6.0.3.5 ... should i bother updating... and how easy is it?

What I want to do now is at least ##3282# my username to change it from boost to my new sprintmvno one ...:confused:but everytime I edit that field it reverts back somehow.... grrr! could you point me in the right direction.. it's not as simple as my other phones were
 
ZTE Force said:
Well I restored my rooted CWM v6.0.3.0 boost ICS .... works great and so i await with baited breath for any stable JB release you come up with now

oh and I noticed there is a CWM.img with meta-inf <dir> for v6.0.3.5 ... should i bother updating... and how easy is it?

What I want to do now is at least ##3282# my username to change it from boost to my new sprintmvno one ...:confused:but everytime I edit that field it reverts back somehow.... grrr! could you point me in the right direction.. it's not as simple as my other phones were
Click to expand...

I dunno about the changing your username thing, I think that will normally change when you update your profile and should come from the service provider. Possibly you can edit an NV value?

I am using the cwm 6.0.4.4 from the forum here and it works great. supposed to have fixed some issues with previous versions. I'm not sure it matters that much. That version is not touch based like the 6.0.3.0, which I had been using until recently.

Cheers,
-SB
 
updated profile OTA ..... fixed it THANKS SB! Cool Beans!

Doing a trial run with the DroidSmith V 0.7 Beta...so far , so good : )
Until that combines with the Shinru / sawbones ROM ... ICS it is, sigh
 
sawbones999 said:
If you read through the JB thread you will see that neither Shinru's nandroid nor the first two ROMs put out will boot, so far just the one I made with 3.0.8 kernel is working.

We really need to try and get Sprint to release the ROM (which does have all the boost stuff built in btw) or we need someone with hands on the device to give a more complete dump.

Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...

So I hate to ask a (maybe) obvious question, but how do we get ahold of sprint? From what I have read they seem unlikely to just give out the source anyway but is customer service the ones to contact? Some other place in sprint organization? I mean if it is just a matter of volume of emails I will add my weight but something tells me there is more to it.
 
knoober said:
So I hate to ask a (maybe) obvious question, but how do we get ahold of sprint? From what I have read they seem unlikely to just give out the source anyway but is customer service the ones to contact? Some other place in sprint organization? I mean if it is just a matter of volume of emails I will add my weight but something tells me there is more to it.
Click to expand...

We need an inside man. Tech support should have access to the ROM.

Phone support is setup in such a way that you cannot reach tech support unless you are a current user. I wonder about dealer support phone numbers and emails to support to try and build up sympathy for our cause.

Boost dealer phone technical support used to be wide open. I have yet to try the Sprint store support numbers.

Cheers,
-SB
 
ZTE Force said:
I finally took the SD out of the phone and put the backup onto it manually.


Just zipping the folders in windows does not work with CWM update/flash so i tried swapping the boot.img file into the new ROM from my working ROM and then I get an MD5 ckecksum error. Tried everywhich way... the biggest issue with the Shinru unmodified raw update is it bootloops but that is exactly what my goal is what I wish I could flash that one over more simply. Sawbones looks like modified the heck out of it... Did you ever get his last one running stably for yourself?

Your ROM from superR... is that 4.0 or 4.1?

I can probably debloat myself, and don't care one way or the other about deodex ... just want to repair data and go JB!:smokingsomb:

My phone is from boost though I'd rather flash to Sprint now. Primarily the data networks are coded in the firmware differently... but anyway. Are most the ROMs from shinru & SuperR , Sawbones, et.al. mostly all Boost firmware?
Click to expand...

I just saw this last paragraph. The JB stock ROM that Sprint put out includes all the boost config files and the ability to activate boost using profile update.

I think boost just never released it bc they don't want to support this phone anymore.
Cheers,
-SB
 
sawbones999 said:
We need an inside man. Tech support should have access to the ROM.

Phone support is setup in such a way that you cannot reach tech support unless you are a current user. I wonder about dealer support phone numbers and emails to support to try and build up sympathy for our cause.

Boost dealer phone technical support used to be wide open. I have yet to try the Sprint store support numbers.

Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...

But even if you could reach tech support, wouldn't they make you send in the device to be fixed rather than five out the rom? Also has anyone tried saying that they bought their device from sprint, then discontinued service and need help? Or wouldn't that work either? Otherwise I'll think on it maybe I'll come up with something.
 
knoober said:
But even if you could reach tech support, wouldn't they make you send in the device to be fixed rather than five out the rom? Also has anyone tried saying that they bought their device from sprint, then discontinued service and need help? Or wouldn't that work either? Otherwise I'll think on it maybe I'll come up with something.
Click to expand...

This won't work, I tried it. Once you give them your esn and or imei they can tell right away it's a boost phone and will transfer you to boost tech support.

That's why I'm thinking about an email to a general address like support@Sprint.com or some such.

Cheers,
-SB
 
sawbones999 said:
This won't work, I tried it. Once you give them your esn and or imei they can tell right away it's a boost phone and will transfer you to boost tech support.

That's why I'm thinking about an email to a general address like support@Sprint.com or some such.

Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...

I've seen some of the emails back from ZTE so I know how they try to get around doing it, but doesn't the open source licence require them to do so? I mean they can make changes to keep you using their service and towers but they can't hoard the code right? I'm just trying to figure out what hasn't worked already so I can eliminate options
 
sawbones999 said:
I just saw this last paragraph. The JB stock ROM that Sprint put out includes all the boost config files and the ability to activate boost using profile update.

I think boost just never released it bc they don't want to support this phone anymore.
Cheers,
-SB
Click to expand...
I'm running jimsmith beta 0.7 now all good so far except
1) ##MSL# won't get me in anymore to my mdn/min, etc ..that's the big thing and on a minor note
2) the settings.more.4Gsettings still lists my network provider as "boost Mobile" maybe its no big deal but I haven't been a boost customer since the end of 2013. but probably all the mvno's use the same?
3)the sprint update :party:~30mb keeps poppin up, I haven't killed per the DSF thread - could that be JBStock? people say it a baaad thing to do.... I did dL a SDcard update from ZTE & that was ~300 mb not 30 but never installed that either...
 
I've heard of an app called FOTAkill that is supposed to be alright for that purpose, although I'venever used it. I am thinking about picking it up though. Also iI think DSF ought to do pretty alright for you, I'm certainly happy with it. The only reason I didn't suggest it outright was because you sounded like you wanted stock or jb, and DSF is really neither.. But it is awesome huh.
 
Fotakill works great with DSF, and is included in the DSF derived ROM I started.

I'm still planning to finish that, but between work and projects here at home I don't have time.

I suspect that once I get the Sprint galaxy s4 for my birthday from my mom (here I come freedompop) and this phone becomes a spare it will be much easier to finish bc I won't have to keep switching from my backup daily usage ROM to the DSF mod I'm making, and then back to my daily driver when not doing dev.

Cheers,
-SB
 
knoober said:
I was going through some real hell with mine too. What happened was that I received and ota while running Droidsmith , and like the knoob I am I installed it. I wasn't worried because I had backups and different zips saved. I should have run from the update, run far far away, because when I installed it erased the OS. I tried to restore from a back up and it just rebooted to recovery. Same with reflash in zips, Sideload, and anything else I tried. I finally took to some advice on another thread about reflashing the recovery. I was nervous because recovery was all I had at this point, but I did it anyway and it worked. Reflashed CWM and then iI could restore from backups and install zips and everything. I should mention about SuperR s zips... The deodexed debloated gave me some troubles but I'm not sure if it was user error or not. He also links to a nearly stock rom on the same page that has definitely saved my as before. http://androidforums.com/force-4g-l...-rom-force-stock-b13-deodexed-unmodified.html but I'm back up and running, I hope this helps you somehow

Edit: I just saw your question about the roms. This is a spare device for me so I don't use service one it so I can't say about how they work in the service area. I can tell you that although the sawbones modded rom is "working" it is still full of bugs that are over my head to fix, but if you want jb that's the only place to get it, because I don't think shinru's rom boots at all from what I read. I also haven't tried the WIP Cm10 that's on the board so that's about all I can say....
Click to expand...
What recovery did you reflash could you give me a step by step the same exact thing happened to me the same way I am still stuck in the custom recovery I have CWM.
 
MANLEY7878 said:
What recovery did you reflash could you give me a step by step the same exact thing happened to me the same way I am still stuck in the custom recovery I have CWM.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. ... its been a while so I will try to give a step by step as best I can. I am fairly sure I used the unmodified version of the zip found in the link above (the third one).

http://androidforums.com/threads/i-have-always-wondered.958375/#post-7114642

^this thread contains a post by El Presidente that give a lnk to the mini-sdk. The mini sdk has fastboot and adb so that you can talk to ou device with a PC but not have to download the entire SDK (software development kit) and be encombered with all kinds of stuff that you may not need.

Edit: I wasnt real confident that I had remebered everything correctly so I grabbed up this generic intruction manual for sideload http://www.droidviews.com/sideload-roms-mods-using-adb-sideload/ When I read through it quickly I saw that I had forgotten some of the most important parts so read carefully. If you have any more questions bring them back to the forums here and I will do my best to answer better

So take the zip from SuperR in the first link and set it inside the directory that contains adb. After that you will have to boot to CWM recovery and navigate to the sideload (Im doing this from memory so Im being as detailed as I can, sorry if Im fubbing some of the details). After you choose "sideload" you will enter a prompt that will guid you through the rest of the process. Choose the zip you placed in the adb directory and follow the instructions. If all goes well you should have a working rom after that.

Please remember that these are general instructions that will help you sideload a zip. Im not terribly sure what your exact problem is but I will take a look at any other posts you have to see if I can help.... but... generally most folks around here are more well versed than I am, and anyone with a Mod label is usually willing to help :) If you arent getting any love by starting a new thread give one of them a shout in private message

Edit: I wasnt real confident that I ahd given you good instructions on sideload so I grabbed up this quick manual: http://www.droidviews.com/sideload-roms-mods-using-adb-sideload/
This will probably be a greater help to you than my poorly remebered instructions, but if you have any more questions feel free to post back and I will do my best to give a hand :)
 
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Thank you i appreciate you so much!!! I i have tried side loading, flashing zips it all brings me back to the custom recovery. I did the same thing as you i flashed droidsmith rom a "enhancement" update came i accepted why i do not know and now thats why i am stuck in custom recovery side loading and flashing hasn't helped. You know exactly which rom you used to get it back up and going did you flash a zip or side load?
 
Have you tried restoring from a nandroid ? Its one more thing to try

Please do forgive my poor memory, but Ive gone through atleast 3 different phones since this one (but I keep this one as a spare and it still runs) but I believe I did the full factory reset/cache wipe (data dalvik and cache) and then had to reflash the recovery.

What carrier are you on? https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23329332407583505 from this thread http://androidforums.com/threads/i-...sprint-rom-for-the-zte-force-4g.866711/page-2 is most likely the one I used, but I am not sure after so long. I do know that when I checked my backup files that the re-pack version is the one I have in there. You will definately want to make sure that you have the right CWM for your carrier version though.

If you are on the same carrier all you *should* have to do *if* you problem is the same as mine was is : reflash your recovery partition with https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23329332407583505 My theory is that the uppdate created some sort of corruption in the recovery partition -- which will be fixed by reflashing the partition

Hope this helps :)
 
knoober said:
Have you tried restoring from a nandroid ? Its one more thing to try

Please do forgive my poor memory, but Ive gone through atleast 3 different phones since this one (but I keep this one as a spare and it still runs) but I believe I did the full factory reset/cache wipe (data dalvik and cache) and then had to reflash the recovery.

What carrier are you on? https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23329332407583505 from this thread http://androidforums.com/threads/i-...sprint-rom-for-the-zte-force-4g.866711/page-2 is most likely the one I used, but I am not sure after so long. I do know that when I checked my backup files that the re-pack version is the one I have in there. You will definately want to make sure that you have the right CWM for your carrier version though.

If you are on the same carrier all you *should* have to do *if* you problem is the same as mine was is : reflash your recovery partition with https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23329332407583505 My theory is that the uppdate created some sort of corruption in the recovery partition -- which will be fixed by reflashing the partition

Hope this helps :)
Click to expand...
Thank you so much!!!!!!! it worked I highly appreciate you. You took time out of your day to help me.
 
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