How to Get Rid of OTA Forced Reboots on Rooted Phone

Thanks to Sele for writing this up:

[RS Guide] How to Get Rid of OTA Forced Reboots on Rooted Phone

Ok, so you have rooted your phone, and decided you would install the latest OTA update from Verizon. Now the update fails to install and your phone constantly reboots. Here is how you fix the problem.

Thanks for all the RS Members and Forum Members that have helped discover these solutions. We are not responsible for any damage done to your device by using these methods. They should be harmless, but you will possibly loose your data in the process.

There are 4 different solutions outlined here. Starting with the least damaging to your data. Please try them in order until you get your phone back working. Most people will be able to recover using the first method. But the other methods are included in case the first one doesn't work for you.

First of all when the OTA fails you should be left in ClockworkMod Recovery. You will know that is where you are based on the following menu that should be shown on your screen.

ClockworkMod Recovery v3.0.2.5 (ok if your version doesn't match)

Use vol keys to highlight and home to select.

- reboot system now
- apply sdcard:update.zip
- wipe data/factory reset
- wipe cache partition
- install zip from sdcard
- backup and restore
- mounts and storage
- advanced
- +++++Go Back+++++


Method 1: (thanks to sonicbuffalo for posting this method)

1) Once you are in ClockWorkMod Recovery, scroll down to "Wipe cache partition".

2) Select "Wipe cache partition" using the home key or power button.

3) Now, scroll down to "Yes - wipe cache".

4) Press the home key or power button to perform the wipe.

5) When done, restart your phone.

6) Your ThunderBolt will boot into the Android operating system and will say that the UPDATE FAILED.

7) Choose Cancel to stop the update.

8) Restart your phone one last time and you'll see that the "Powering Off" loop is gone.


Method 2: This will delete your data

1) Once you are in ClockworkMod Recovery, select "wipe data/factory reset" using volume keys.

2) Press home key or power button to select.

3) Answer Yes, by scrolling with vol keys and home or power key to select.

4) When phone reboots, the powering off loop should be gone.

Method 3: This only works if you have a Nandroid Backup from prior to accepting the update.

1) Once in clockwork select "backup and restore" using vol keys.

2) Select using the home key or power button

3) From next menu select "restore"

4) Choose your backup from list and select.

5) Answer yes to restore backup

6) When phone reboots the "powering off" loop is gone.

Method 4: This is a last ditch effort if all other methods fail.

1) Download the Leaked Rooted Update from HERE.

2) Following instructions in THIS post load the rooted leak.

3) When your phone reboots, the powering off loop should be gone and you should be running the latest software and still rooted. ​

 

You have no idea how much you saved me on this one.

Method 1 worked great except after booting up my phone would shutoff and immediately start the update. In Hboot i could only load the update and had no other options.

So i pulled the battery and turned it back on. Before the auto shutdown to load the OTA update i opened clockwork recovery and booted in recovery. after that i just wiped cache. rebooted and hit cancel when the failed message came up.

thx again!!!

 

:welcome: to droid forums! Glad you got it fixed.

 

If you continue to get prompted for the latest OTA, then you can install the OTA for rooted users, this will get you completely up to date and you won't be prompted any longer because you will be on the latest version. You can find info on the latest OTA for Rooted users here.

I'm glad the above instructions worked for ya, but I don't know how long that will hold because they were originally designed to be used for the first OTA that came out.

 

my phone was rooted and I kept rejecting the update. Finally they forced the update and it failed. They keep trying to update the phone and it keeps failing. I tried doing method 2, set my phone back up fresh, and the update still failed. They keep prompting me and I keep rejecting or they force install it and I get the android exclamation screen. I just tried method 1 and am hoping that Verizon will quit forcing this update. I would like to see the update and its changes but I feel that having rooted it, I am now out of luck. Been fighting with it trying to get it back to the stock ROM but keep getting a signature verification failure, even when I toggle the signature option in clockwork mod.

 

unresolved issue

I have now tried method 1 and method 2 but Verizon keeps forcing the update. When it happens and I reboot into clockwork mod I wipe the cache, reboot and move along. I wish I didn't have to keep dealing with this forced update since my phone won't update anymore. I don't have the Nandroid backup. Does anybody have a solution for me?

 

verizon just force installed this on me today. thanks for the help!

 

Used method 4. Easiest fix for this. Thanks for the instructions.

 

Yes!!!

Method 1 worked for me. Man that was stressful. Time to get rid of that stock ROM.

 

Any way to keep the stock rooted ROM without having these updates forced on the phone

Thanks for the fixes above. Now the obvious question to which I can't seem to find the answer. Isn't there some way to avoid the push in the first place. I have not found a custom ROM that suits my needs yet, though I have tried a few. I keep reverting back to the original. Now that these OTA updates keep getting forced it has become a real pain. The wipe cache / reboot method works for me, but this process can take upwords of 10 minutes by the time you realize the phone is boot looping. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

Seems to be no way to avoid the push. This is something that they deem necessary so they want everyone to have it.

 

THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK YOU thank you thank you.

I joined these forums just to thank you for method one.

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! you saved my phone!!!! I used option 1 and it worked like a charm. I didn't even know that my phone was trying to update because it wasn't telling me anything. I got the "cancel update" message after I wiped the cache and rebooted. Weird! Only problem now is that my phone is stuck on 1X, gonna install a new ROM and see what happens. Thanks again!

 

Looks like someone else just got the OTA as well. I found my way back to this thread this morning because I'd forgotten the trick.