An idiot messed up my phone! Please help!

[davis1231]

So I decided to root my phone, thinking it was a great idea and having no forethought for the repercussions if it went wrong. I have an AT&T Galaxy S4, model i337. It was on version 4.4.4, and I managed to root it using this method.

So everything went fine with the root (no custom recovery). I got superuser to work, and I backed up my phone through Kies. I wanted to install a custom recovery to flash ROMs, so I used this.

Big mistake.

After I ran the program to install TWRP, my phone shut down. When I turned it back on, it booted into download mode immediately and displayed in the top-left under ODIN MODE: Failed to boot. Unfortunately, I had no access to the recovery menu. In addition, I could not turn off the phone short of taking out the battery, as it would repeatedly boot.

I decided to look up ways to fix it on my own, some of which involved re-partitioning it and flashing stock. However, any attempt I make through Odin fails. Furthermore, Kies does not recognize my phone, and trying to fix it through a firmware update just gives an error message near the end.

Somehow, I managed to make it boot to an error screen:
Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again.

To my frustration, however, Kies still fails to recognize my phone.

So, in conclusion, I seem to have screwed up my phone. I can still get into download mode, but anything I run through Odin just gives me the FAIL message. What should I do?

 

[cr6]

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear about your device. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with this particular method but hang in there and hopefully one of our members can give you a hand.
Have you tried emailing the developer yet? In the app details, it mentions that if you experience any problems after downloading to please email them and they'll be happy to assist you. Might be worth a try while waiting for someone to give you a hand here. Good luck!

S5 tap'n

 

[Sealy64]

Kies is a turd. Always has been.

I have not used TWRP Manager app, but I have used TWRP recovery many times. I don't think I'm allowed to post a link, but if you google 'TWRP i337' you should find a link to the version of TWRP recovery for your phone. Download the latest version (probably 2.8.4) of the TWRP image file.

You said everything you did with Odin fails, but you did not say what kinds of things you tried with Odin. If you have not repartitioned, etc, you should be able to use Odin to install the TWRP recovery image. Put the phone in Download mode, connect Odin, and flash the TWRP recovery by using the AP button in Odin. Even if Kies will not recognize your phone, Odin may recognize the phone and let you install the TWRP recovery.

If you can get TWRP recovery installed, and if you have not repartitioned or something similar, I would think you would be able to use TWRP to install a ROM, either custom or perhaps stock.

The problem you may run into is that the Samsung PC drivers can be flaky. (I have S2 and S3 and regularly have trouble communicating with them from my Win8 PC. Based on advice on these boards, I have gotten brand new Samsung OEM cables, but communications remain flaky. PC-to-phone communication works near flawlessly when in Odin mode, but often not well at all when phone is running or when in TWRP recovery mode.) If you can get the ROM copied onto the phone, TWRP should let you install it fine, but the trick can be getting it onto the phone, if the PC-to-phone communications does not work well.

Make sure you use ROMs explicitly for your exact model of phone. Also make sure you use the TWRP recovery explicitly for your exact model of phone. Otherwise you will have problems and possibly a brick.

Disclaimer: I have a Samsung AT&T Skyrocket (i727) and a Samsung AT&T S3 (i737) but not your model. My only experience is with my two phones. I have flashed several ROMs on each.

 

[davis1231]

Unfortunately, I did try to repartition, but when I did, Odin gave me the "FAIL" message. After some research, it seems that the recovery I tried to flash was actually for the version i9505. I will admit that I should have researched more, but now I am unsure how to proceed.

 

[Sealy64]

If the repartition actually happened, I do not know how to help you. If you did not actually repartition, or do anything else via Odin, then you should be okay to proceed as I described previously: boot into download mode, use Odin to install the TWRP Recovery image 2.8.4, and then boot into recovery mode to use TWRP to install a new ROM. The trick may be getting the new ROM moved onto your phone's SD card, given that the Samsung drivers are flaky when in regular running mode and maybe even in TWRP Recovery mode. Note that, when using Odin to install TWRP Recovery for the first time, you may need to untick Odin's reboot box and pull the battery to reboot, because otherwise the normal boot cycle may replace the stock recovery as part of the shutdown/reboot process.

If you have an external SD card, you may be able to get a new ROM on it by putting it in your PC. If you install a non-stock ROM, be sure to include gapps so that you have Play Store and all the other google apps that you normally would expect to have.

 

[KaosMaster]

I can assist you!! Please message me on hangouts or on here! It will take about 1 hour to fix your device! I have everything you need already and have fixed this device before!

 

[Sealy64]

I can assist you!! Please message me on hangouts or on here! It will take about 1 hour to fix your device! I have everything you need already and have fixed this device before!

If you do this outside this forum, please come back and post process and results here. I am interested in how this would be done.

 

[KaosMaster]

If you do this outside this forum, please come back and post process and results here. I am interested in how this would be done.

He attempted to use kies to repair his device, unfortunately, at&t pulled the version of his software off of kies. The fix was to get the right Odin and image file! It was attempting to downgrade and that is not allowed. He is now repaired and running normally so far