I know, many people have problems installing Teamwin on a Samsung device due to the fast switch from shutting down to force recovery mode, but its now my 5th try and since there are some other problems during the process, I decided to ask for help here. The list below are the things I did, if something is missing, do not hesitate to mention it.
There was never a google (or any) account on this phone since reset.
After following the steps of easy-installer, in download mode, I press Volume Down + Bixby + Power and instantly switch from Volume Down to Volume Up when the screen turns black. Android then shows “Installing Update” and then “No command”. After this I get to the stock recovery menu.
I suspect there are some problems with my phone as it installs apps from a network provider in my country and uses a different language when showing “Installing Update” and “No command” although I factory reset the device and set it up as english.
Another thing is that Odin fails to flash TWRP. After a short time it says complete(write) operation failed. I have yet to resolve this issue.
Thank you for not immediately dismissing the post as “unable to press volume up fast enough” and thank you for your help in advance!
Hi @sebi welcome to the /e/ forum and thank you for a nice report!
Difficulties with usb cable can extend though the whole USB chain, usb hubs (avoid) usb secondary ports (that is front port rather than sometimes soldered to motherboard rear port), even the PC itself might contain hardware not recogised for some reason. Did you already find Easy Installer - FAQ.
As you mention a language issue, this makes me think of a Samsung Region Lock. This might show up as Prenormal on your Odin mode screen. It is also described here Know your hardware - Samsung.
The phone is directly plugged into my PC using its Thunderbolt 4 port and a 24-pin USB-C cable. So it should use USB-C 3.1 to communicate with the phone. Windows recognizes the phone and I am able to exchange files. Also Easy Installer is able to get the device info.
Log files: (I replaced the paths with {description_of_path})
After checking the checksums Heimdall fails to detect the device: "{path_to_heimdall}" detect 1>nul ERROR: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device.
The log files have the line: "{path_to_heimdall}" flash --RECOVERY "{path_to_twrp-3.3.1-2-dreamlte.img}" --no-reboot
After this, Heimdall initiates and throws the error Failed to access device. libusb error: -12
The log files end with “waiting for recovery” and then “stage is closing” as I closed the program when I got to the default recovery menu.
The phone does not appear to be in Prenormal state as it is not shown in the Download mode screen:
My next steps will be to see if I can resolve the issue with using Heimdlall. According to this stackexchange post, Heimdall works only with USB 2.0. I tried a new USB-C 2.0 cable and a USB 2.0 cable with USB type-A, both did not resolve the issue.
I also will look into flashing the Stock ROM onto the phone (but first I have to resolve Heimdall/Odin issues)
You have a pre-packed heimdall provided by Easy Installer, libusb has a hard job to keep up with all new hardware – https://github.com/pbatard/libwdi and https://libusb.info/ give some insight. I have updated libusb manually on Debian 11; one might hope that good Windows drivers might facilitate best delivery.
So I grabbed my laptop from 2016 where there should be no internal hub, installed all software: same error:
heimdall detect: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device.
heimdall flash Failed to access device. libusb error: -12
I will now try to fix the libusb issues. Maybe even boot Ubuntu from a flash-drive.
I installed libusb-win32 and libusbkvia Zadig. Rebooted. Tried again. No change in the new log file. I’ll now flash a brand new bootable Ubuntu USB which will take some time, as I have to download at least 13gb of software
A silly question (Samsung S8) have been quite problematic, hence this device lagging in /e/ version, and dropped in LineageOS – do you actually see the device in Download mode at this point?
Ok I managed to get into Teamwin using Ubuntu
But easy-install does not continue after “Do not install” after “Format Data”. The data format log shows Failed to mount /preload (Invalid argument). Also /usr/libexec/gvsf-mtp crashed.
I now need a break and will read the logfile soon.
As I am really inexperienced with Linux/Ubuntu, I really appreciate anyones help
Booting ubuntu (or another debian based distribution of Linux)
from an USB stick is a very good idea, that I should dare to recommend for installing /e/.
Now, as TWRP is already installed, you can jump to step (8) of my guide, the easiest part : install /e/
Maybe the e.foundation could provide bootable linux image instead of the Java-based easy-installer which could overcome such issues. This is probably is more development effort, but would be platform independent. There is a checkra1n jailbreak called bootra1n which worked really well for me a few years ago
