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system update problem

ryder2012

Lurker
Jul 7, 2021
3
2
hey guys and girls

so i have here a galaxy s7 (not edge) and it shut down the other day and since then its been in a reboot loop only while on charge, i get the galaxy s7 logo then a starting system update screen, this is only on screen for a second or two before it reboots.

i can boot into the menu by holding down volume down, home and power but not power up home and power.

it will not boot into the phone at all.

cannot power on at all while off charge or boot to any menu while not on charge

i tried reinstalling the firmware, got to the odin menu, ran odin on pc, loaded all the relevant files, but the phone turns off the second i click start and odin just sits there on the pc.
i really need some help with this as at a total loss
 
Last edited:
When your phone gets stuck in a boot loop that's often an indicator the installed Android operating system is corrupted in some way to the point where it won't load up into memory anymore. For a Galaxy S7, it will usually be able to boot up into its Recovery mode (simultaneously holding down the Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons) or its Download mode (simultaneously holding down the Volume Down, Home, and Power buttons) but since your phone apparently isn't able to even boot up into Recovery, that isn't a good sign. It's very unlikely the internal storage chip has failed (that's where everything -- operating system, software, files, etc. -- gets written onto) but possible. Hopefully this is just a software matter, some one-off glitch the screwed up the Android OS.
-- The first thing to try is use Samsung's Smart Switch utility:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/app/smart-switch
https://www.blogtechtips.com/2017/06/24/easily-restore-samsung-device-firmware-with-smart-switch/
This 'might' fix your problem but don't be surprised if it doesn't. Smart Switch is handy as backup/restore utility, fixing serious OS issues not as much. But in any case when you install Smart Switch, it will install the latest Samsung driver on a Windows PC for you.

-- If using Smart Switch does work out well for you, ignore all of the following. In order to reinstall the operating system, you need to go through a process commonly referred to as 'flashing the ROM'. The flashing is the process you perform, the ROM is the software you transfer onto your phone (also referred to as 'firmware'). Go here, select and down the appropriate ROM that matches your S7 model:
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/search/galaxy s7/
It's important to pay special attention to downloading the ROM that exactly matches your model of S7. There are several variations (SM-G970T, SM-G970V, etc.) so pick the appropriate ROM. Do not substitute for one that's close or similar, ROMs are not interchangeable. So pick the one that matches the model I.D., country, and carrier of your phone. When you get to the actual download page, there are instructions on how to do the flashing process. Note you'll need to use the Odin utility, a Windows application, and there's a download link in the instructions. Or go here:
https://technastic.com/odin-download-samsung-latest-all-versions/
If you don't have access to a Windows PC, try using the Heimdall utility instead:
https://glassechidna.com.au/heimdall/
It's an Open Source equivalent to Odin and available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Just note it has the same functionality as the Odin utility but it is not an exact duplicate as far as the user interface so you just need to be a little more flexible (i.e. some menus and options have altered naming and/or arranged differently.)
If you have issues using the Odin utility, be sure to go into the Windows Task Manager and kill the Smart Switch process if it's running in the background. Both Smart Switch and Odin are trying to do the same task (remotely access your S7), so they're both using the same system resources of your PC. And be sure to follow the directions using Odin very closely, double-check the option to Re-partition is NOT checked. Flashing a stock ROM onto a S7 'should' leave the user data partition (where all your data is stored) as is. The flashing process only transfers data into the system partitions. If you delete your phone's partition table (either intentionally or inadvertently) that requires your also find and include an appropriate PIT file, and wipes your data.
Flashing a stock ROM is something of a daunting project the first few times you do it, so don't be surprised when things just don't appear to work out initially. Just be patient and follow the written directions (this is now a very well documented occurrence).
 
Upvote 0
hi thanks for reply, i dont have the smartswitch installed.

when using odin i load up all the relevant files, click start and the phone (in odin mode) immediately turns off again and odin doesnt realise its happened.

it has been running for over an hour an nothing has changed.

<ID:0/009> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> BL_G930FXXU8EUE1_CL21826506_QB40473022_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> CP_G930FXXU8EUE1_CP19155174_CL21826506_QB40473022_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> CSC_OXA_G930FOXA8EUE1_CL21826506_QB40473022_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> AP_G930FXXU8EUE1_CL21826506_QB40473022_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/009> Odin v.3 engine (ID:9)..
<ID:0/009> File analysis..
<ID:0/009> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/009> Initialzation..
<ID:0/009> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/009> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/009> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/009> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/009> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/009> sboot.bin.lz4
<ID:0/009> NAND Write Start!!

thats the odin messages so far, so it is recognising the phone, its got all the files loaded in without problems, the phone is in "odin mode" but as soon as i click start the phone turns off and that is all that is reported.
 
Upvote 0
That Odin log isn't a good sign. The files check out properly and all but the write process appears to problematic. That might indicate the NAND chip is the problem. If that is actually the problem, that's a very substantial hardware issue. Replacing just the internal storage chip on the logic board isn't common practice, most service shops will just replace the entire logic board.
S7mobo.jpg
Pic taken from ifixit's site (step 11), with the NAND chip highlighted in orange:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S7+Teardown/56686
Of course that might not be the problem but when you cannot write data onto the storage media chip that's often an indicator the chip itself is the source issue. If it was a software issue, the Odin utility would indicate something amiss in the log output.
Since a S7 is now pretty dated, I don't know how money you want to put into saving it. The swappa.com site has some S7 phones for sale, some under $50:
https://swappa.com/search?q=galaxy+s7
 
Upvote 0

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