[Q] Type password to decrypt storage

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techmatlock

Senior Member
Apr 6, 2012
469
105
I rarely use my Nexus 7, but today decided to update it to 4.2.2. I flashed everything from android sdk: bootloader, clockworkmod recovery, franco kernel, system, and userdata. Then I sideloaded the SuperSU zip to root the tablet before my first boot up. Now when it boots up, it asks me to type my password to decrypt the storage. I never set a password on the tablet and the other people that used the tablet in my home as far as I know, did not encrypt the storage. Now, I even wiped/factory reset the device from clockworkmod as well as reflashing system and userdata. Why is this occurring?
 

mihahn

Senior Member
May 26, 2012
3,257
2,215
Boot your device in the bootloader (fastboot) and type
Code:
fastboot format userdata

Or if this won't work you could format every partition and after formatting it you flash the images again ;)

Sent from my Nexus 7 running Android 4.2.2
 

Xavion2004

Member
Jul 13, 2010
14
0
I woke up with the same problem. Tried to boot into recovery and got the "No Command" message. I ended up having to call Google Customer Care and they are sending me a new tablet for free. I just have to send the defective device back to them within days. May be helpful if you bought you device from the Google Play Store.
 
Last edited:

Abhitha

Member
Sep 23, 2012
21
9
30
Toronto
Hi guys,
I woke up to the same thing too, but I'm afraid to call customer service because my tablet is unlocked..(but it's running stock android and this issue just showed up the day after I updated it to 4.2.2...
P.S: I bought it from the Play Store as well.
Thanks!
 

techmatlock

Senior Member
Apr 6, 2012
469
105
Boot your device in the bootloader (fastboot) and type
Code:
fastboot format userdata

Or if this won't work you could format every partition and after formatting it you flash the images again ;)

Sent from my Nexus 7 running Android 4.2.2

I tried that before and it didn't work. Thanks.

I woke up with the same problem. Tried to boot into recovery and got the "No Command" message. I ended up having to call Google Customer Care and they are sending me a new tablet for free. I just have to send the defective device back to them within days. May be helpful if you bought you device from the Google Play Store.

I called up Nexus Support and they had setup for me to send it back to them; however, I fixed it after I got off the phone with them. Very strange bug; If I flash clockworkmod recovery, the tablet will boot into the type password to decrypt storage. The factory data reset on clockworkmod recovery doesn't fix it either. If I flash back to the stock recovery and factory data reset, the tablet works fine. I probably don't even need to factory data reset - it's stock recovery that fixes this. I didn't have the "No Command" message though which the Nexus Support guy thought I would have. So I guess I don't have to send my tablet back after all :(. I wanted to because it's an 8gb and I probably would of got upgraded to a 16gb since the 8gb model is no longer manufactured, haha.

Hi guys,
I woke up to the same thing too, but I'm afraid to call customer service because my tablet is unlocked..(but it's running stock android and this issue just showed up the day after I updated it to 4.2.2...
P.S: I bought it from the Play Store as well.
Thanks!

Download android sdk on your pc, go to platform-tools, open command prompt, boot tablet into the bootloader, type 'fastboot oem lock' to lock the tablet again.
 
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Abhitha

Member
Sep 23, 2012
21
9
30
Toronto
Download android sdk on your pc, go to platform-tools, open command prompt, boot tablet into the bootloader, type 'fastboot oem lock' to lock the tablet again.

Thanks. I will try this when I get home today and post back after a call to customer support :good:
 
Last edited:

Abhitha

Member
Sep 23, 2012
21
9
30
Toronto
Download android sdk on your pc, go to platform-tools, open command prompt, boot tablet into the bootloader, type 'fastboot oem lock' to lock the tablet again.

Hm I tried locking the tablet as per your instructions, and it succeeded (at least according to the command prompt), however the unlocked symbol is still there. I called support and they told me they can't RMA is till I relock it... :mad:

EDIT:
I followed instructions at another post on XDA to flash back the stock 4.2.2 rom as well as perform another oem lock, however the unlocked symbol is still there on the Google splash screen, not to mention the encryption message is still there.
 

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cmstlist

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2010
3,348
522
Toronto
Google Pixel 4a
I just wanted to point out: in my experience, you can't sideload anything before first boot after reflashing userdata.img or doing a wipe from fastboot, because it doesn't initialize the data partition until you take it through a boot cycle into the ROM. This may be the cause of the erroneous encryption message in custom recovery.

If you boot the tablet, and then after boot and proper shutdown go into custom recovery, do you still get the same message?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 

jmusso

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2010
82
0
Was there ever a resolution for this issue? I ran into the same thing today - I turned on my n7 after months of no use, and it asked for a decryption password which I never set.
 

bftb0

Senior Member
Feb 5, 2010
2,594
1,041
Was there ever a resolution for this issue? I ran into the same thing today - I turned on my n7 after months of no use, and it asked for a decryption password which I never set.

Resolution, I don't know. I do have a a few more tidbits of information, though.

I could reproduce the "enter password" symptom by doing a "fastboot erase userdata" followed by a boot of the custom recovery. That is, by not having any filesystem at all, I could produce the symptom with TWRP - even though I have never encrypted the /data partition. So, at least certain versions (2.4.1.0?) of that custom recovery seems to regard a mount failure to mean that "your data paritition is encrypted" - that certainly is a "red herring".

iirc, there is supposed to be a "crypto footer" in the last 16k bytes of the partition which lives outside of the end of the ext4 filesystem. I suppose that if you knew the exact size of your data partition, you could write zeros (dd if=/dev/zero ...) using the custom recovery to the last 16k of that partition and see if that clears anything up. Search the (above) link near the places where it mentions the "crypto footer". If that last 16k were all zeros, I would think that would cause "vold" to realize that there is no valid keys, etc in there. (But that's a little bit of a guess).

None of it explains why a device can sit on a shelf for months and suddenly start behaving differently on it's next boot, though. That smells a lot like bit rot or hardware failure in the eMMC flash memory.

But if the alternative is to throw the tablet out, it can't hurt to do a factory reset (stock devices) or a "fastboot erase userdata ; fastboot format userdata" (unlocked device). Both of those will nuke all data (including what's on the psuedo-SD card).

Anyhow, there's two ideas.

good luck
 

jmusso

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2010
82
0
Resolution, I don't know. I do have a a few more tidbits of information, though.

I could reproduce the "enter password" symptom by doing a "fastboot erase userdata" followed by a boot of the custom recovery. That is, by not having any filesystem at all, I could produce the symptom with TWRP - even though I have never encrypted the /data partition. So, at least certain versions (2.4.1.0?) of that custom recovery seems to regard a mount failure to mean that "your data paritition is encrypted" - that certainly is a "red herring".

iirc, there is supposed to be a "crypto footer" in the last 16k bytes of the partition which lives outside of the end of the ext4 filesystem. I suppose that if you knew the exact size of your data partition, you could write zeros (dd if=/dev/zero ...) using the custom recovery to the last 16k of that partition and see if that clears anything up. Search the (above) link near the places where it mentions the "crypto footer". If that last 16k were all zeros, I would think that would cause "vold" to realize that there is no valid keys, etc in there. (But that's a little bit of a guess).

None of it explains why a device can sit on a shelf for months and suddenly start behaving differently on it's next boot, though. That smells a lot like bit rot or hardware failure in the eMMC flash memory.

But if the alternative is to throw the tablet out, it can't hurt to do a factory reset (stock devices) or a "fastboot erase userdata ; fastboot format userdata" (unlocked device). Both of those will nuke all data (including what's on the psuedo-SD card).

Anyhow, there's two ideas.

good luck

I'm just responding to say this fix worked for me. I only did a "fastboot erase userdata" from the adb terminal in Windows, however. Thanks for the help, and good luck to anyone else running into this problem.
 

amalthomas994

Member
Mar 24, 2014
23
0
Nexus 5, Flash write failure

Hey guys,
I am getting flash write errors whenever i try to fastboot stock images..
Nothing seems to be working.
I am able to temporarily boot into Philz recovery using the Nexus Rootkit and get adb functionality also.
But the phone doesn't boot into anything and i am forced to use TWRP recovery. Any other recovery doesn't work other than booting temporarily.
TWRP is also asking for a password i didnt set.
PLEASEEEE HELPPPP SOMEONEEE
 

cmstlist

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2010
3,348
522
Toronto
Google Pixel 4a
Either your device is permanently bricked, or you have driver problems on the computer running fastboot. Try a different computer, different USB cable, etc.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 

stevae

Senior Member
Apr 29, 2013
937
384
here there and everywhere
i have done factory restore; data format full system, advanced wipes and reloads forever, but at the end of the day, that damn decrypt message is still there. at this point, i don't care about data. i just want the phone back up and running. i don't care which rom, even factory. i am on a htc evo 4g lte, with hboot 2.10.0000. and i have tried several recoveries.
 

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    Boot your device in the bootloader (fastboot) and type
    Code:
    fastboot format userdata

    Or if this won't work you could format every partition and after formatting it you flash the images again ;)

    Sent from my Nexus 7 running Android 4.2.2

    I tried that before and it didn't work. Thanks.

    I woke up with the same problem. Tried to boot into recovery and got the "No Command" message. I ended up having to call Google Customer Care and they are sending me a new tablet for free. I just have to send the defective device back to them within days. May be helpful if you bought you device from the Google Play Store.

    I called up Nexus Support and they had setup for me to send it back to them; however, I fixed it after I got off the phone with them. Very strange bug; If I flash clockworkmod recovery, the tablet will boot into the type password to decrypt storage. The factory data reset on clockworkmod recovery doesn't fix it either. If I flash back to the stock recovery and factory data reset, the tablet works fine. I probably don't even need to factory data reset - it's stock recovery that fixes this. I didn't have the "No Command" message though which the Nexus Support guy thought I would have. So I guess I don't have to send my tablet back after all :(. I wanted to because it's an 8gb and I probably would of got upgraded to a 16gb since the 8gb model is no longer manufactured, haha.

    Hi guys,
    I woke up to the same thing too, but I'm afraid to call customer service because my tablet is unlocked..(but it's running stock android and this issue just showed up the day after I updated it to 4.2.2...
    P.S: I bought it from the Play Store as well.
    Thanks!

    Download android sdk on your pc, go to platform-tools, open command prompt, boot tablet into the bootloader, type 'fastboot oem lock' to lock the tablet again.