[Q] Stock Nexus 4 - Committed Suicide (Stuck On Bootloader Screen)

Search This thread

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
Hey guys, long timer lurker but finally got an account today! But I'm afraid I don't come bearing good news :(
Little backstory: I had bought my sexy Nexy within the first 30 sec. that online orders were opened in the U.S. (and I managed to snag this puppy during class just in time). Suffice to say, I love my phone. Never rooted it, never blinged it out, as stock as they come.
Unfortunately, last night my phone was sitting on my desk and I noticed it had restarted by itself. Come to find out that it won't get past the bootloader screen (where the 4 google circles dance around, sorta like drunk hippies dancing in a field. Best analogy I could think of :D ). I've been searching online, and I've been finding a lot of mixed solutions to fix this issue. And even most of those applied only to rooted phones, or to people who bricked theirs while rooting.

I had backed my phone's data about a month ago, but my last month's worth of photos (mom & pops' 25th anniversary, mom's b-day, a bunch of awesome events with my friends, parties, etc) never got a chance to be backed up. Since I know how awesome the N4 forum is on here, I wanted help from you guys in regards to what I can do in order to backup/recover my data (or at least, the photos). I don't want to do a factory reset because I fear it would just wipe all data, and of course connecting it to my computer while it's stuck inevitably on the bootloader screen doesn't do anything.

Some important things to note/which might help:
I got the 4.4.3 update a few days ago, not sure if that did anything.
App sideloading is enabled on my phone (however, I'm not sure if I ever enabled the developed mode on my phone).

What options do I have in regards to recovering my pics/data from my poor Nexy?
I'm sorta willing to try anything at this point, because from what I've read, an eventual factory reset is inevitable.
Thanks for your help! :highfive:
 

Sgace

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2011
799
251
Hi there,

Dont factory reset just yet. Are u able to go to recovery? If so, try just wiping cache and dalvik cache then reboot system.
Dont think your bricked.


Good luck and cheers.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
 

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
Hi there,

Dont factory reset just yet. Are u able to go to recovery? If so, try just wiping cache and dalvik cache then reboot system.
Dont think your bricked.


Good luck and cheers.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Hi! Would you mind walking me step-by-step through how I can go into recovery mode and wipe the cache/dalvik cache and then reboot? I don't want to mess up any steps and make my situation worse lol. What will the recovery-mode screen look like, and what options should I stay away from?
Thanks for your help! :laugh:
 

uchihakurtz

Senior Member
Jan 5, 2013
755
221
Depok
Samsung Galaxy S21
Hi! Would you mind walking me step-by-step through how I can go into recovery mode and wipe the cache/dalvik cache and then reboot? I don't want to mess up any steps and make my situation worse lol. What will the recovery-mode screen look like, and what options should I stay away from?
Thanks for your help! :laugh:

Turn off your phone. When it's off, power it on by pressing the power button and volume up button. It should bring you into recovery mode. Navigate using the volume buttons and select options using the power button.

If there's an option to "Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache", choose that and you won't lose anything, first boot will take a while.

If there isn't any Wipe Cache option, there should be a "Wipe Data" option, this will reset the phone but things in the SD Card SHOULD NOT be erased (at least in custom recovery).

Can't provide screenshot cuz you can't do that on recovery mode and I've never use stock recovery.

Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
  • Like
Reactions: SidCurry

Sgace

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2011
799
251
Turn off your phone. When it's off, power it on by pressing the power button and volume up button. It should bring you into recovery mode. Navigate using the volume buttons and select options using the power button.

If there's an option to "Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache", choose that and you won't lose anything, first boot will take a while.

If there isn't any Wipe Cache option, there should be a "Wipe Data" option, this will reset the phone but things in the SD Card SHOULD NOT be erased (at least in custom recovery).

Can't provide screenshot cuz you can't do that on recovery mode and I've never use stock recovery.

Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
@ uchihakurtz beat me to it:thumbup:

Well explaned, except for one thing:

Once u pushed power + volume up u will end up in bootloader mode. From here navigate with volume key to recoverymode and press powerbutton. Now u will end up booting to recoverymode. In here u can choose "wipe cache" and "wipe dalvikcache".


Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
 
  • Like
Reactions: SidCurry

uchihakurtz

Senior Member
Jan 5, 2013
755
221
Depok
Samsung Galaxy S21
@ uchihakurtz beat me to it:thumbup:

Well explaned, except for one thing:

Once u pushed power + volume up u will end up in bootloader mode. From here navigate with volume key to recoverymode and press powerbutton. Now u will end up booting to recoverymode. In here u can choose "wipe cache" and "wipe dalvikcache".


Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

LOL, I never remembered whether it's up or down since there's always an advanced reboot option (for me), thanks for clearing it up dude ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sgace

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
@ uchihakurtz beat me to it:thumbup:

Well explaned, except for one thing:

Once u pushed power + volume up u will end up in bootloader mode. From here navigate with volume key to recoverymode and press powerbutton. Now u will end up booting to recoverymode. In here u can choose "wipe cache" and "wipe dalvikcache".


Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

So, if I have this correct, once the phone's off:
1) Press POWER and VOLUME + button at the same time to enter bootloader mode
2) Using VOLUME +/- key to navigate to RECOVERY MODE option
3) Press POWER button to select RECOVERY MODE option
4) Inside RECOVERY MODE, navigate to WIPE CACHE and WIPE DALVIK CACHE using VOLUME +/- button

Is that correct? And in step 1, is it POWER and VOLUME + or POWER and VOLUME - to go into bootloader mode? I keep seeing Power & Volume - in several threads when it comes to booting into recovery mode.
And secondly, should my phone be connected to my laptop during this entire process? Or just have the phone solo and foreveralone :crying: by itself?
Finally, once I complete Step 4, will me phone restart automatically or will I have to power it down + power it back up again?
Thanks!
 

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
DO NOT wipe data in the stock recovery. It will wipe everything

This is tedious but will backup your device http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=20868527

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Will this work even though my phone's stuck in the bootloader loop? From the gist of it, that post makes it seems as if your phone needs to be able to actually work in order to unlock the stock bootloader using that method along with Android SDK + Android SDK Platform tools.
Thanks again for the help! :cowboy:
 

jd1639

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
16,833
5,404
Minnesota
Will this work even though my phone's stuck in the bootloader loop? From the gist of it, that post makes it seems as if your phone needs to be able to actually work in order to unlock the stock bootloader using that method along with Android SDK + Android SDK Platform tools.
Thanks again for the help! :cowboy:

If your bootloader is locked you're going to have a problem. With it locked there's no way you're going to be able to recover your files. Adb will work if you can boot into recovery

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
 

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
If your bootloader is locked you're going to have a problem. With it locked there's no way you're going to be able to recover your files. Adb will work if you can boot into recovery

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks for your help, I'm not extremely familiar with rooting/using ADB, etc so I'm having a huge panic attack.
What would you recommend is the best course of action? If I choose to pursue using ADB to backup my phone's data, would you please mind pointing me to the noob-friendly threads (or even help me yourself by holding my hand along the process :( ) for:
1) Step-by-step of how to properly install Android SDK and 1.a) How to enable ADB functionality?
2) How to correctly enter Recovery mode on my N4 (button combos) and whether I should attempt to wipe cache/Dalvik?
3) How to use Android SDK/ADB to backup my data from my nexus 4?

Again, I really appreciate your help. As you can imagine, I'm really worried about losing photos of some huge moments in my life and I'm slightly overwhelmed at the different methods people seem to be using (and trying to figure out whether those apply to me). Thanks.
 

jd1639

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
16,833
5,404
Minnesota
Thanks for your help, I'm not extremely familiar with rooting/using ADB, etc so I'm having a huge panic attack.
What would you recommend is the best course of action? If I choose to pursue using ADB to backup my phone's data, would you please mind pointing me to the noob-friendly threads (or even help me yourself by holding my hand along the process :( ) for:
1) Step-by-step of how to properly install Android SDK and 1.a) How to enable ADB functionality?
2) How to correctly enter Recovery mode on my N4 (button combos) and whether I should attempt to wipe cache/Dalvik?
3) How to use Android SDK/ADB to backup my data from my nexus 4?

Again, I really appreciate your help. As you can imagine, I'm really worried about losing photos of some huge moments in my life and I'm slightly overwhelmed at the different methods people seem to be using (and trying to figure out whether those apply to me). Thanks.

To setup adb. Google 15 second adb drivers xda. That'll give you everything you need.

To boot into recovery you need to boot into the bootloader. Vol down plus power button. Then use the vol keys to navigate to recovery

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
 
  • Like
Reactions: SidCurry

SidCurry

Member
Jun 10, 2014
8
0
To setup adb. Google 15 second adb drivers xda. That'll give you everything you need.

To boot into recovery you need to boot into the bootloader. Vol down plus power button. Then use the vol keys to navigate to recovery

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Great, I'll give that a try and let you know how it goes.
I had a general question: When I boot into recovery, how do I find out if I have USB debugging enabled? Is there some way for me to find out if I did indeed enable it a while ago (I can't quite remember)?
And if I enter Recovery mode, is there a way for me to exit this mode and turn my phone off/restart it (or do I HAVE to select one of the options?) I want to go in and see if I have USB debugging enabled first, and then turn my phone off without wiping any caches, etc, and then download + setup ADB.
Thanks!
 

Sgace

Senior Member
Jul 9, 2011
799
251
Great, I'll give that a try and let you know how it goes.
I had a general question: When I boot into recovery, how do I find out if I have USB debugging enabled? Is there some way for me to find out if I did indeed enable it a while ago (I can't quite remember)?
And if I enter Recovery mode, is there a way for me to exit this mode and turn my phone off/restart it (or do I HAVE to select one of the options?) I want to go in and see if I have USB debugging enabled first, and then turn my phone off without wiping any caches, etc, and then download + setup ADB.
Thanks!

After entering recovery and wiping both caches there is an option to reboot system. U can use this to boot your phone back up again.

(Sorry, it indeed is vol down + power button to enter bootloader menu) my bad:eek:

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
 

Top Liked Posts

  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 1
    Hi! Would you mind walking me step-by-step through how I can go into recovery mode and wipe the cache/dalvik cache and then reboot? I don't want to mess up any steps and make my situation worse lol. What will the recovery-mode screen look like, and what options should I stay away from?
    Thanks for your help! :laugh:

    Turn off your phone. When it's off, power it on by pressing the power button and volume up button. It should bring you into recovery mode. Navigate using the volume buttons and select options using the power button.

    If there's an option to "Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache", choose that and you won't lose anything, first boot will take a while.

    If there isn't any Wipe Cache option, there should be a "Wipe Data" option, this will reset the phone but things in the SD Card SHOULD NOT be erased (at least in custom recovery).

    Can't provide screenshot cuz you can't do that on recovery mode and I've never use stock recovery.

    Good luck.

    Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
    1
    Turn off your phone. When it's off, power it on by pressing the power button and volume up button. It should bring you into recovery mode. Navigate using the volume buttons and select options using the power button.

    If there's an option to "Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache", choose that and you won't lose anything, first boot will take a while.

    If there isn't any Wipe Cache option, there should be a "Wipe Data" option, this will reset the phone but things in the SD Card SHOULD NOT be erased (at least in custom recovery).

    Can't provide screenshot cuz you can't do that on recovery mode and I've never use stock recovery.

    Good luck.

    Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
    @ uchihakurtz beat me to it:thumbup:

    Well explaned, except for one thing:

    Once u pushed power + volume up u will end up in bootloader mode. From here navigate with volume key to recoverymode and press powerbutton. Now u will end up booting to recoverymode. In here u can choose "wipe cache" and "wipe dalvikcache".


    Good luck.

    Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
    1
    @ uchihakurtz beat me to it:thumbup:

    Well explaned, except for one thing:

    Once u pushed power + volume up u will end up in bootloader mode. From here navigate with volume key to recoverymode and press powerbutton. Now u will end up booting to recoverymode. In here u can choose "wipe cache" and "wipe dalvikcache".


    Good luck.

    Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

    LOL, I never remembered whether it's up or down since there's always an advanced reboot option (for me), thanks for clearing it up dude ;)
    1
    Thanks for your help, I'm not extremely familiar with rooting/using ADB, etc so I'm having a huge panic attack.
    What would you recommend is the best course of action? If I choose to pursue using ADB to backup my phone's data, would you please mind pointing me to the noob-friendly threads (or even help me yourself by holding my hand along the process :( ) for:
    1) Step-by-step of how to properly install Android SDK and 1.a) How to enable ADB functionality?
    2) How to correctly enter Recovery mode on my N4 (button combos) and whether I should attempt to wipe cache/Dalvik?
    3) How to use Android SDK/ADB to backup my data from my nexus 4?

    Again, I really appreciate your help. As you can imagine, I'm really worried about losing photos of some huge moments in my life and I'm slightly overwhelmed at the different methods people seem to be using (and trying to figure out whether those apply to me). Thanks.

    To setup adb. Google 15 second adb drivers xda. That'll give you everything you need.

    To boot into recovery you need to boot into the bootloader. Vol down plus power button. Then use the vol keys to navigate to recovery

    Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app