Is it safe to perform a WIPE CACHE PARTITION on an UNLOCKED HTC One M7?

A

AC Question

Any advice/suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

My problem ultimately stems from the fact that my keyboard has somehow been disabled by some errant app, most likely Google's Tap-to-Talk function, about a week ago now. Literally out of nowhere. I disabled the general Google App the very day the tap-to-talk function started overriding the HTC Sense keyboard everywhere, and then noticed that neither the keyboard nor the tap-to-talk function were working. I just thought that I could simply restart my phone and any glitch would be removed and my keyboard would return to its normal functioning. I was completely wrong; I haven't been able to use my phone ever since, simply because the keyboard does not come up as usual for me to enter my password, so that ever since I've been completely locked out. As far as I know, I don't think that there's any way of overriding the password entry function so that I could simply get into my phone to try to fix the problem that way--but if there is any way, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Anyway, I have already chatted with a tech from Google Play, and when I saw that nothing worked out down that avenue, I talked with two different HTC support techs. I explained my problem to the last one and said that I would like to perform a Wipe Cache Partition, but as soon as she found out that my phone is Unlocked with S-ON, she said that there's a 50/50 chance my phone could become bricked from performing the cache wipe. She did say that it's all relative to the case, and for some, everything works out fine, while for others, not so much, so she went ahead and created a ticket for me to speak later with the higher-level HTC Developer techs. I have also already visited an actual tech place only to discover that the 2 guys working there primarily specialize in hardware and are unwilling to try any software-related fixes, because of liability issues and probably also because they just haven't got a clue.

My primary concern is losing all the data stored on my phone, because it is still in working order, and so I feel like I have much more of a chance of somehow retrieving it NOW than if I were to proceed with the cache wipe, have it brick on me, and then be forced to figure something out with a completely broken phone.

So the main question is whether it really is that risky for me to perform a wipe cache partition, because after researching it all over the Internet, I came to the conclusion that it is a safe procedure that should not damage any personal files or information. Now I have found out that is not the case for unlocked phones, which all those tutorial articles fail to mention.

Please, if anyone knows, PLEASE tell me if it would be safe for me to perform this cache wipe on my unlocked phone. But also, if you just have ANY relevant advice to share on this general matter, please let me know.

I have already perused a pretty large quantity of sources all over the net and am growing increasingly worried at the lack of options to get my phone back into working order for me to actually be able to use it again. I decided to turn to this site's forum as a kind of near-last resort, because I am growing pretty panicked and desperate.
 

Miserable_Lunatic

New member
Sep 16, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
I'd accidentally booted my phone into safe mode once after holding the volume down button for too long, but that literally didn't seem to change anything.

What "other" would I use to connect a USB keyboard? And any specific kind of keyboard, or just any old keyboard could work?...
 

Miserable_Lunatic

New member
Sep 16, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
Actually, the worker at the first tech place I went to hooked up a random keyboard to my phone, and of course it didn't work, but he said that there weren't any drivers installed on my phone for it to have registered in any way.

But what you are suggesting is something different?
 

Miserable_Lunatic

New member
Sep 16, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
Huh. I will look into that! Not sure just how foolproof that method really is, though, but it sounds like an option.

Well, the repair tech might have had the right idea, I suppose, but I'm not sure if he actually used an OTG cable. Or could my phone just not be compatible?...I'm just really hoping some nearby computer repair shops might have the necessary parts for this to work...
 
Last edited:

Miserable_Lunatic

New member
Sep 16, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
Is there any specific way to tell that it is compatible, or are the majority of HTC phones compatible by default?
I really do hope so, though; I've already ordered the most highly-ranked OTG cable from Amazon, and I'll be attempting to connect it to a keyboard as soon as it gets here. Are there any particular keyboards you'd suggest, or just any plain keyboard should do?