[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] skullzarmy:
EDIT: Adding what I did to solve this at the bottom.

Hey everyone. Thanks for your time. I'm new to this forum and in a bit of a panic as this is the first time my phone's been so far gone I couldn't find an easy guide to fixing it. I'm not exactly clueless but I'd say I know enough to get myself in trouble, and this time not enough to get myself out. I'll give you the rundown.

Phone:

SCH-I545

Verizon Galaxy S4

Last stable version of Android was 4.4.2

I wish I had the build numbers or anything but since I was using official tools I didn't take any backup steps

Computer:

Macbook Pro Late 2013

OSX Yosemite 10.10.3

(I also have access to a Windows 7/LinuxMint dual boot machine if needed)

Using OEM USB cable connected directly into the USB on the motherboard.

Until yesterday my S4 was happily running 4.4.2, when I received a notification of a new update. I ran both Verizon updates that came through. The first one finished fine, the second one (the actual Lolipop update) kept failing in the bootloader type screen (Odin mode?). It would look like an android on his back with 'Error!' written out then restart to 4.4.2.

I did a bit of reading and found out that if your phone was rooted and unrooted, it may not take the OTA update. I recalled that I used a one-click style, app-based root a while back, and quickly reverted it because I didn't end up needing root anyway. (I think the logo for the rooter apk was a Greek letter but that's all I remember. It's on my SD card still. If it would be useful I can figure out a way to read the SD card through another phone or adapter or something and figure out the name. I think it was Towelroot but not positive)

So as I researched how to do the update, I read a post that said the Verizon Software Upgrade Assistant would do the job just fine. I figured, since it's a Verizon branded application, I couldn't go wrong. Well, that's where the trouble started.

Everything looked to be going according to plan. The Verizon assistant downloaded the Lollipop update and then began to install it. It booted the phone into what I think is Odin mode and said "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!"

Somewhere in the first third (going by the progress bar) a message popped up on my Mac saying that the phone was unplugged (it wasn't). My phone now displayed a message stating "Software update failed. Your device didn't update successfully. Use the Verizon Software Repair Assistant on a computer to repair your device and complete the update."

Naturally, I attempted to use the Verizon Software Repair Assistant (seems to be part of the same application as the updater) and to my horror found that every time I plug in my phone, the Verizon app crashes immediately! No matter what I do; plug in the phone then open the app, open the app then plug in the phone, app in update mode, app in repair mode, etc., I cannot get the application to keep running when the phone is attached to my Mac. This might be where I did the most damage to myself... In my attempts to clear the crash issue and get the Verizon app working, I clicked something to the effect of "Forget this device" in the Verizon app and all info about my phone was gone. I'm now thinking that included my chance of repairing the broken update, and Kies needs some code to repair from and I think I lost that with the clear

I have not tried the Verizon application on Windows because I can't find it to download it (the phone itself installs the application when you plug it in, but my phone is fried and can't help me right now.) Luckily my wife also has an S4 so when she get's home, I'll be able to try the Verizon application for Windows and see if that can repair.

What I have tried:

Installing Kies on both Mac and Windows and connecting the phone in both "Software Update Failed" mode by simply powering the device on, and in "Downloading..." mode by holding Vol Dwn while powering the device, then saying yes to the confirmation.

I also tried Odin on Windows following this guide – http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2301259 and I received a missing PIT error.

I found a PIT file and tried it, with the supplied file from the guide, in Odin, but that ends up disconnecting the phone after a second then ending with an error and reconnecting the phone. It wasn't a very descriptive error but I can get more specifics if needed.

Took it to a Verizon store, wasted thirty minutes of my life, left with the same problem and more anger.

At this point I don't want to do more damage so I would really appreciate some advice on how to approach fixing this.

I'd be happy to take any advice and give any further info. Hopefully one of you guys can help me here.

Thanks again for your time and thanks for anyone that might help!!

–––

RESOLUTION

So I was able to get my phone restored and updated to Lollipop, and thanks to my cloud backups I didn't lose my data!

I think my problem was something with my Mac and Phone not getting along together. I'm not sure if it was the Mac version of the Verizon app or some other factor, what I do know is I'm REALLY lucky I have a Windows machine AND my wife has the same phone.

I needed the Verizon app to repair my phone, but I needed the Verizon app on my PC because the Mac version kept crashing when I'd connect my phone. The only source for the Verizon application is to plug the phone into your computer and install it from the phone, which obviously wasn't an option in this case! Luckily I could use my wife's identical S4 to install the utility onto my PC.

Once I was able to do that, I opened the application on my PC, went into Repair Mode by navigating to the Repair tab on the left then selecting Enter Repair Mode or whatever. Then I connected my phone with a clean boot (no special button presses). It was just displaying the error message which instructed me to use the Verizon Repair utility.

After a few seconds the computer recognized the device and it appeared in the list on the repair utility.

I selected the device in the list (it was the only item in the list) then pressed the 'REPAIR DEVICE' button on the right.

It displayed a warning that 'due to the condition of the device' I would lose all of my personal data and settings. I agreed.

The utility then downloaded the latest firmware (the Lollipop update) and proceeded to install it to my device.

After about 15 minutes I had a factory fresh install of Lollipop ready to go!

BONUS, in the initial setup it remembered my settings and automatically offered to restore from a cloud backup. No data loss!!