Samsung G-390F no download-mode no developer options MDM-mode - trying to flash

[bondgamer]

Hello,

I have got an Samsung X Cover 4 (G390F) that I am trying to flash with the original ROM, because it has Android Oreo installed but with a branding of a medical company that has a lot of restrictions in it.

Unfortunately these restrictions dont allow me to flash the device as far as I am concerned - hopefully you have any better ideas to solve this.

I have tried doing a factory reset, but that wont work because of "MDM does not allow factoryReset Rebooting...":


Trying the download mode: the key combination home key + volume down + power button does not work - it will just start the OS
- When trying to force download mode with ADB: not working because of said restrictions mentioned above, as I can not go into developer options on the phone because of a security policy.
- Same goes for the OEM Unlock, that wont work because of the lock of the developer options on the phone.
- Trying recovery mode and selecting "reboot to bootloader": nothing happens other then that the phone starts normal into the OS
- In the Odin tool I cant do very much, as I have no access to the download mode.

The "usual options" are not working as well:
There is a google account set up that seems to belong to said company and therefor I dont have access to it. I cant add another google account - it wont show up on the phone, even though it showed "success".
Adding a Samsung account doesnt work at all. It just tells me that is not possible because of a security policy.
So I cant use the "reset to factory settings/erase all data" that way.

Using the method of setting a device pin and then resetting it by trying too many (15) wrong combinations of it on the startup does not work aswell, because there is no "erase at too many tries" option on the device.

If you need further information or if I posted in the wrong category, please let me know (it seems there is a category for the xcover2 series but not for the xcover4 series, therefor posting in general questions).
Other posts only seem to have one of the above problems but not all at once.

Thanks in advance

 

[Austinredstoner]

Hello,

I have got an Samsung X Cover 4 (G390F) that I am trying to flash with the original ROM, because it has Android Oreo installed but with a branding of a medical company that has a lot of restrictions in it.

Unfortunately these restrictions dont allow me to flash the device as far as I am concerned - hopefully you have any better ideas to solve this.

I have tried doing a factory reset, but that wont work because of "MDM does not allow factoryReset Rebooting...":
View attachment 5277501

Trying the download mode: the key combination home key + volume down + power button does not work - it will just start the OS
- When trying to force download mode with ADB: not working because of said restrictions mentioned above, as I can not go into developer options on the phone because of a security policy.
- Same goes for the OEM Unlock, that wont work because of the lock of the developer options on the phone.
- Trying recovery mode and selecting "reboot to bootloader": nothing happens other then that the phone starts normal into the OS
- In the Odin tool I cant do very much, as I have no access to the download mode.

The "usual options" are not working as well:
There is a google account set up that seems to belong to said company and therefor I dont have access to it. I cant add another google account - it wont show up on the phone, even though it showed "success".
Adding a Samsung account doesnt work at all. It just tells me that is not possible because of a security policy.
So I cant use the "reset to factory settings/erase all data" that way.

Using the method of setting a device pin and then resetting it by trying too many (15) wrong combinations of it on the startup does not work aswell, because there is no "erase at too many tries" option on the device.

If you need further information or if I posted in the wrong category, please let me know (it seems there is a category for the xcover2 series but not for the xcover4 series, therefor posting in general questions).
Other posts only seem to have one of the above problems but not all at once.

Thanks in advance

Is the bootloader unlocked

 

[bondgamer]

As far as I know, its not unlocked.

For testing I have bought an usb jig, as last alternative, because I really am out of ideas. It should arrive in the next few days.

 

[Deleted member 1890170]

You simply run Fastboot commands

fastboot devices
fastboot getvar all

what shows you all what you need to know.

 

[bondgamer]

I already tried that to be honest, but wasnt that sure how to do it.
If i run these commands the device list returns empty.
I wasnt too sure when to perform these commands: in a special menu, when the phone is "just turned on" and in the OS or when in recovery mode. Second and last options brought back said result of an empty device list.

Edit:
I did some research on fastboot: as already mentioned: the key combination for the download mode doesnt work (as well with both volume buttons pressed). When I use the command you wrote I get back nothing.

Using the adb command "adb reboot-bootloader" that should put the device in the needed mode wont work either.

 

[Deleted member 1890170]

@bondgamer

since you are not able using the phone in ADB mode or Fastboot mode it looks like you don't have installed the suitable "Android USB driver" provided by OEM or these modes are not supported - denied by default.

 

[bondgamer]

I wouldnt say denied per default, as I saw other useres issues with this exact model and they were able to resolve it fine, just not that many restrictions at once. ADB and fastboot worked there too.
It seems that it is another part of the restrictions, sadly.

As for the USB driver: I downloaded and installed it correctly as far as I can tell. I will try to reinstall it anyway.

Thanks for your help! Got any other tips or leads for me maybe?

 

[bondgamer]

The installed driver is Samsung USB Driver v.1.5.63.0 and the installed minimal ADB and fastboot tool is v1.4.3

 

[bondgamer]

It seems though that the installed samsung driver isnt really recognized, as it shows that the opimal driver is already selected (an option I cant override on my OS at my PC) and said selected driver is on from Microsoft from 2006. Any ideas wich alternative drivers I could try, or any other methods?
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 1890170]

Look inside here:

Samsung USB Drivers for Windows (Latest: v1.7.59)

Download latest Samsung Android USB Drivers for Galaxy mobile phones/tablets to transfer files and flash firmware using Odin. Compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and XP computers.

www.thecustomdroid.com

 

[bondgamer]

I will look into it, thanks.
I was about to try the whole thing on a linux os pc otherwise.

 

[bondgamer]

I have now installed v1.7.43 of the USB device driver. Even after a reboot of my PC, the phone is recognized but the driver shown in the device manager on windows 10 still is a Microsoft one. When trying to select the Samsung driver manual, I am getting the pop-up that the best driver is already installed.

I will try it next with a linux box.

Any suggestions are welcome, thanks!

 

[bondgamer]

I have no luck so far, even with ADB and fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04LTS. I guess the fault for that is simply the fact that the usb debugging option is not enabled because I can not enable Developer-options as mentioned above.

Any ideas how to couteract this all? Still out of ideas here

 

[bondgamer]

I have tried the usb jig now, that did not change anything. However on linux I somehow got ADB working now.
The device only allows the "sideload" command though.
And even trying to flash the stock image, I get a verification error:
Now send the package you want to apply to the device using "adb sideload"... E: unkown volume for path (/vendor) E: unkown volume for path (/oem) E: vendor or oem partition won't be used Finding update package... Opening update package... Verifiying update package... E: footer is wrong Update package verification took 0.1s (result 1) E: Signature verification failed E: error 21 Installation aborted Stopping ADB...

Fastboot still doesnt work because I can not start the device in fastboot-mode or download-mode, therefor "fastboot devices" returns nothing.

 

[3MrBojangles3]

Fastboot is not supported on Samsung phones. You have to use Odin or Heimdall. It's a different process

 

[denva]

I have tried the usb jig now, that did not change anything. However on linux I somehow got ADB working now.
The device only allows the "sideload" command though.
And even trying to flash the stock image, I get a verification error:
Now send the package you want to apply to the device using "adb sideload"... E: unkown volume for path (/vendor) E: unkown volume for path (/oem) E: vendor or oem partition won't be used Finding update package... Opening update package... Verifiying update package... E: footer is wrong Update package verification took 0.1s (result 1) E: Signature verification failed E: error 21 Installation aborted Stopping ADB...

Fastboot still doesnt work because I can not start the device in fastboot-mode or download-mode, therefor "fastboot devices" returns nothing.

Did you get it done ? or you gave up i have the same phone with the same issue

 

[bondgamer]

Did you get it done ? or you gave up i have the same phone with the same issue

No sadly not. After 4 weeks of trying everything I could think of, I gave up.
I no longer have that device, but for my minds sake, please let me know if you figure something out ^^