• Samsung Galaxy A54 stuck on "Downloading" error page which says "ODIN M

    From Dudley Brooks@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 13 20:05:14 2023
    Last Sunday (today is Wednesday), apparently while putting my phone in
    my jacket pocket without turning it off, I seem to have accidentally hit
    a "System Update" request. A couple of hours later when I took it out,
    it had a light blue-green error screen, with the message described in
    the Subject line above, plus some numerical information.

    (I couldn't see "ODIN", only "IN", because the first part was offscreen.
    But I found out about ODIN online.)

    I have been unable to get rid of this screen for three days.

    I called Samsung tech support, and they looked up various info ... and
    tried a few things ... and then didn't know what to do (!!!) They gave
    me the names of three local stores which are authorized Samsung repair locations ... and which didn't return my phone messages (!!!)

    I found this online:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic5k2yD-8_k

    (I did *not* download Dr.Fone, because I don't trust third-party apps, especially ones which get bad reviews! Among other things, it destroys
    all your data -- Factory Reset, I guess -- which I definitely don't want.)

    None of the keystrokes mentioned in this video worked. The one which
    came closest to working, which the error screen also said to use, was VolumeDown+Power. That was supposed to reset the phone and then
    continue the download.

    It *started* to work -- the screen went black and the Samsung name came
    up. But then it immediately went back to the blue-green error screen.

    And while I definitely want to get out of this screen, I'm not sure I
    want to continue the download. I don't know what the System Update was
    that I accidentally hit - legitimate or malware? This morning, just for
    moment, a completely different screen spontaneously appeared. It said

    "<name-I-didn't-get> UI"

    plus an apparently legitimate Samsung error message about non-standard
    (or whatever term the message used) UI's being undesirable.

    And then it went back to the blue-green "Downloading" screen ... which
    it's still stuck on.

    I've been leaving it unplugged in hopes of draining the battery and
    turning it off that way. But I guess it draws very little power,
    because it still hasn't gone dead.

    --
    Dudley Brooks, Artistic Director
    Run For Your Life! ... it's a dance company!
    San Francisco

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  • From Wally J@21:1/5 to Dudley Brooks on Wed Sep 13 23:43:39 2023
    Dudley Brooks <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote

    I have been unable to get rid of this screen for three days.

    I have a thread on a similar topic for another Samsung of mine.

    How to un-freeze an unresponsive Samsung Galaxy A32 5G with reboot, reset, factory reset, odin mode, download mode, android recovery mode & debug mode

    https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-to-un-freeze-an-unresponsive-samsung-galaxy-a32-5g-with-reboot-reset-factory-reset-odin-mode-download-mode-android-recovery-mode-debug-mode.4526629/

    Hope it helps. Let us know what you find out as we all learn from each
    other and we all help each other - so that we can do anything we need to.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to Dudley Brooks on Thu Sep 14 10:34:47 2023
    Dudley Brooks wrote:

    Last Sunday (today is Wednesday), apparently while putting my phone in
    my jacket pocket without turning it off, I seem to have accidentally hit
    a "System Update" request.

    I no longer have a Samsung phone available, but this page

    <https://www.thecustomdroid.com/samsung-galaxy-download-odin-mode-guide>

    says it's easy to leave Download mode (aka Odin mode)
    "hold the Volume Down and Power/Side key for 7-10 seconds"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dudley Brooks@21:1/5 to Andy Burns on Sat Sep 16 03:31:46 2023
    On 9/14/23 2:34 AM, Andy Burns wrote:

    Dudley Brooks wrote:

    Last Sunday (today is Wednesday), apparently while putting my phone in
    my jacket pocket without turning it off, I seem to have accidentally
    hit a "System Update" request.

    I no longer have a Samsung phone available, but this page

    <https://www.thecustomdroid.com/samsung-galaxy-download-odin-mode-guide>

    says it's easy to leave Download mode (aka Odin mode)
    "hold the Volume Down and Power/Side key for 7-10 seconds"

    Hi. The actual error page also recommended that ... as did many
    different Samsung Tech Support people on several different days.

    It never worked.

    Please see my response to Wally J, above, for more details (plus more suggestions he provides a link to -- including some which the link says
    to try if the above does not work), to continue this thread.

    Thanks.

    --
    Dudley Brooks, Artistic Director
    Run For Your Life! ... it's a dance company!
    San Francisco

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dudley Brooks@21:1/5 to Wally J on Sat Sep 16 03:25:25 2023
    On 9/13/23 8:43 PM, Wally J wrote:

    Dudley Brooks <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote

    I have been unable to get rid of this screen for three days.

    I have a thread on a similar topic for another Samsung of mine.

    How to un-freeze an unresponsive Samsung Galaxy A32 5G with reboot, reset, factory reset, odin mode, download mode, android recovery mode & debug mode

    https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-to-un-freeze-an-unresponsive-samsung-galaxy-a32-5g-with-reboot-reset-factory-reset-odin-mode-download-mode-android-recovery-mode-debug-mode.4526629/

    Hope it helps. Let us know what you find out as we all learn from each
    other and we all help each other - so that we can do anything we need to.

    Thanks. Some of this looks familiar for the A54 5G as well.

    VolumeDown+Power was supposed to work ... and does not.

    The above, immediately followed by still holding Power down and pressing PowerUp *does* work.

    The problem is that the "Reset" option means "Factory Reset" (according
    to Samsung Tech Support).

    I'm not willing to do that until I check that the Automatic Backup to my
    online Samsung account has actually been working, and see how much got
    backed up before the problem happened.

    I won't bother you with the details of why trying to access the account
    has not worked. To summarize, it started with Two-Factor Authentication texting a 6-digit code to the cellphone ... which, of course, I can't
    access.

    Then followed an hour or more of Samsung Tech Support trying all kinds
    of things, none of which worked.

    It ended with "I have sent a request to <whatever department> to cancel Two-Factor Authentication. They will notify you about it in 48 business hours."

    I forgot to ask how many business hours in a business day. I assumed
    that "48 business hours" meant "two business days". But perhaps there
    are only 8 business hours in a business day, in which case we're talking
    *six* business days! >:^(

    I will call tomorrow (now today) to find out.

    (The only upside of this is that I have been on the phone (landline) to
    Tech Support for several hours a day, every day this week! At least I
    will now have "48 business hours" during which I will *not* have to talk
    to Samsung Tech Support ... which, btw, I am starting to have a very low opinion of, since I'm having the usual experience of different (and conflicting) information from different personnel.

    The other problem is that I don't have access to a Windows computer,
    only my Macbook Pro. I know that I was not able to get the Macbook to
    connect to the phone with the standard software (can't remember the
    name, late at night), which Samsung had me download for another problem
    last month (!)

    But the link you provided shows a lot of options, so I will try to check
    them out. Thanks for that link!

    --
    Dudley Brooks, Artistic Director
    Run For Your Life! ... it's a dance company!
    San Francisco

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dudley Brooks@21:1/5 to Dudley Brooks on Sat Dec 2 19:54:49 2023
    This is old now, but I thought I should report what the fix turned out
    to be -- regrettably, the ONLY fix that worked:

    I first took it to one of Samsung's authorized repair stores (Best Buy
    in Colma, California) who told me that, despite what Samsung claimed,
    they were NOT authorized to work on the Galaxy A54, but they strongly
    suspected it was a hardware issue. They recommended taking it to
    another authorized Samsung repair store, Samsung Experience in Palo
    Alto, California.

    Samsung Experience first tried all the prescribed methods listed below.
    Those methods didn't work for them, any more than they had for me.

    So, unfortunately, the ONLY solution was the "solution of last resort" -
    a complete factory reset. BUMMER!

    (Since then I have had another issue with the same phone and, again,
    Samsung phone support was no help whatsoever but, again, Samsung
    Experience is fixing it. If you live anywhere near Palo Alto,
    California [I'm an hour away] I highly recommend them.

    I don't think I'll start a thread about that problem, since it's being
    fixed, so I don't need any advice. But I am tempted to start a thread
    merely to say how disgusted I am with Samsung phone support's inability
    to solve problems, when Samsung Experience fixed them so easily.)

    On 9/16/23 3:25 AM, Dudley Brooks wrote:

    On 9/13/23 8:43 PM, Wally J wrote:

    Dudley Brooks <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote

    I have been unable to get rid of this screen for three days.

    I have a thread on a similar topic for another Samsung of mine.

    How to un-freeze an unresponsive Samsung Galaxy A32 5G with reboot,
    reset,
    factory reset, odin mode, download mode, android recovery mode & debug
    mode

    https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-to-un-freeze-an-unresponsive-samsung-galaxy-a32-5g-with-reboot-reset-factory-reset-odin-mode-download-mode-android-recovery-mode-debug-mode.4526629/


    Hope it helps. Let us know what you find out as we all learn from each
    other and we all help each other - so that we can do anything we need to.

    Thanks.  Some of this looks familiar for the A54 5G as well.

    VolumeDown+Power was supposed to work ... and does not.

    The above, immediately followed by still holding Power down and pressing PowerUp *does* work.

    The problem is that the "Reset" option means "Factory Reset" (according
    to Samsung Tech Support).

    I'm not willing to do that until I check that the Automatic Backup to my online Samsung account has actually been working, and see how much got
    backed up before the problem happened.

    I won't bother you with the details of why trying to access the account
    has not worked.  To summarize, it started with Two-Factor Authentication texting a 6-digit code to the cellphone ... which, of course, I can't
    access.

    Then followed an hour or more of Samsung Tech Support trying all kinds
    of things, none of which worked.

    It ended with "I have sent a request to <whatever department> to cancel Two-Factor Authentication.  They will notify you about it in 48 business hours."

    I forgot to ask how many business hours in a business day.  I assumed
    that "48 business hours" meant "two business days".  But perhaps there
    are only 8 business hours in a business day, in which case we're talking *six* business days!  >:^(

    I will call tomorrow (now today) to find out.

    (The only upside of this is that I have been on the phone (landline) to
    Tech Support for several hours a day, every day this week!  At least I
    will now have "48 business hours" during which I will *not* have to talk
    to Samsung Tech Support ... which, btw, I am starting to have a very low opinion of, since I'm having the usual experience of different (and conflicting) information from different personnel.

    The other problem is that I don't have access to a Windows computer,
    only my Macbook Pro.  I know that I was not able to get the Macbook to connect to the phone with the standard software (can't remember the
    name, late at night), which Samsung had me download for another problem
    last month (!)

    But the link you provided shows a lot of options, so I will try to check
    them out.  Thanks for that link!



    --
    Dudley Brooks, Artistic Director
    Run For Your Life! ... it's a dance company!
    San Francisco

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)