Stock fp3(+) (factory reset) boot loop (workarounds in first post)

I can confirm what @fcpprs writes: Deinstalling Google Play Services ends with a failure message “Deinstallation failed”. And then the phone reboots again… Any fixes for that?

Factory reset is just not an option for me.

I am having the same situation. I hope there is a solution for this.

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The Google Play services is essential and if the new update isn’t available then it has to be downgraded, not uninstalled. Hence the adb procedure

However it is the Google Play Store that updates the G Play Services, as well as OTA updates, so you can disable or uninstall the G Play Store

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Hi @anon9989719 - so far I had Google Play Store deactivated. Still could not deinstall Google Play Services.

Now I uninstalled Google Play Store with the result that Google Play Services does not open/ load any more in the time window before reboot… Just black screen. Seem to be caught in a vicious circle…

Google play services either requires the new update, or being replaced via adb, not uninstalling.

You can uninstall Google Play Store where the updates for the Google Play services are updated.

If you don’t use the Google Play Store then it may well as be uninstalled.

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@fcpprs @BGR @ajg As spotted by @Kommissarmartin here, this happens when an app which uses the Play Services (such as Find My Device) is enabled as a Device admin.

To fix this, go to Settings > Security > Device admin apps and disable the services there. After you deinstall the Google Play Services updates, you can go back and enable the Device admin apps again.

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Hi all. I had the same issue with my FP4 and finally did the factory reset (two times actually, as I did restore my Google Backup with all the apps).
The app I identified as the problem was smart launcher (an alternative launcher),
Since I reverted back to the original launcher, everything works fine.

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Hi, thanks for the advice. Nevertheless although I manage to reach Settings > Security > Device admin apps and disable the location device app, phone still restarts and then the app is again enabled.
Any thoughts or suggestions on this?
Thanks in advance

Are you having this issue with a fp4?

I guess thats a different root cause maybe causing the same bootloop issue, however the one and only report so far…

A post was merged into an existing topic: :de: Fairphone 3 startet immer wieder neu und sagt, dass Android nicht gestartet werden kann

yes, it is a fp4 where I had the problem.

No, I think you can’t. As @Kommissarmartin already wrote: Switching this setting off doesn’t seem to be saved. When I suffered the problem, I had a fairly long 20 seconds window until reboot (plenty of time). But even if you reach this device admin setting (or the general “find my device” setting - there is another one but it behaves the same), upon switching it off, it just spins busy waiting (greyed appearance on switched off position, like “not yet done”) for another ten seconds until the phone reboots. To me, it makes the appearance it cannot switch off because it waits for Play services to start :chicken: :egg: , while Play services starting triggers reboot :melting_face:.

So, I conclude if you suffer an error message on Googe Play services update uninstallation or deactivation, e.g. because you are using the “Find my device” functionality, you can only resort to the ADB procedure or factory reset (or the yet somehwat nebuluous “just do nothing for hours and it fixes itself” fix?). Deactivating “Find my device” does not work if you are already having the reboot issue.

Thanks so much for this thread! I’m glad to find it after 5 days of stress of not having the time nor the energy to look for a solution and having to use with my old and very slow fairphone 2.
It was a pleasure after a week of vacation to come to work at 10:30 instead of 7:30 forcing my colleague of the night to stay until the arrival of my next colleague later. :sweat_smile: I will learn to be more secure next time.

I uninstalled the Google services updates. Then, noticing that it worked, I installed the latest version of Google services from this morning, 22.44.17.
For now, ≈1h, everything works fine. At least if it happens again, I’ll know how to fix it.

Nightly updates though … can’t say I’m a fan.

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(Well, faster ones, that is. If you enter the settings via the quick settings drawer (-> swipe down on then locked screen and touch the small gear icon), you can trigger the unlock screen by touching the settings button. This way, the very first thing you see after unlock will not be the launcher but already the settings screen. Some people need those precious seconds.)

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This is indeed my problem. I am a very basic user and I am not sure I can go through the ADB procedure that seems quite complex. But I don’t want to do the factory reset and lose all my data. Not sure of how to proceed

thanks Pilo for your engagement.

The first two commands work, but the 3rd (adb install…) produces a failure:

Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_VERIFICATION_FAILURE]

(I tried different versions from the source you mentioned, and also one of those amoun mentioned in uptotown.com, the result is always the same)

the version command you listed below shows this:
versionName=22.44.15 (150400-487360192)
versionName=22.02.21 (150408-428111784)

The phone is still in the rebooting loop. The uninstall button in the settings failed also.

Do you have any other ideas?

I’ve uploaded two screenshots showing what you and @yvmuell (elsewhere) have recommended (had to re-activate swipe screen lock first, it’s a community phone for testing etc.)

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If like me, you don’t have time to uninstall the updates before your phone goes back into factory reset mode, the following solution worked for me:

adb shell am start -a android.settings.APPLICATION_DETAILS_SETTINGS package:com.google.android.gms

This command directly opens the settings screen of the Google play services. That gives you time to click on the three dots and uninstall the updates.

Hope that helps

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finally after hours of tries and failures I managed to solve the restart loop / uninstall problem:

adb shell am force-stop com.google.android.gms
adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gms
adb shell pm disable-user com.google.android.gms
adb shell pm uninstall-system-updates com.google.android.gms

many thanks especially to Pilo and all others who brought good ideas into the solution

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