Pixel 2 XL stuck at boot screen

[quietlybrilliant]

The only thought I have is that you have made certain it is fully charged?

Yes. But the guy at the UbreakIFix (Google's recommended service center) says they would want to rule out power and corrosion issues by trying to replace the battery and looking for water damage (and repairing it if they find it). There were signs of water damage a week before the phone went into the boot loop (or rather "stuck boot screen"), after it got a little water on it: it would shut down or reboot whenever I plugged in a USB cord. This went away a few days before the problem above happened, but there could still be a relation.

 

[TraderGary]

Why not try letting it sit for a day on the supplied Google charger?

 

[Rukbat]

Assuming the worst, download the current version of taimen here. (That's the factory version of the firmware on the phone - straight from Google's site.) Modify the file flash-all.sh to eliminate the -w (it's only in one place - it should still be the last line). Then just run the file (you might have to give it execute permissions - it's been a long time since I ran a Mac) and it will reinstall Android without wiping your data (the -w - which you deleted - means "wipe").

If that doesn't get the phone working, there's a hardware problem (and unfortunately, there's no way to recover your files if there is). It's why I take "water resistant" with more than just a few grains of salt. If I have the phone when it starts raining I have a few seconds to get it under cover, but I still treat it as if it were rated IP00. (The last waterproof phone was a Nextel - and as far as I'm concerned, until they come up with that kind of construction [and the battery was removable too], none of my phones gets wet if I can help it - not even steam from the shower.)

 

[quietlybrilliant]

A person on reddit suggests this. Do you think it could work?

"Try this.

Turn the phone off

Make sure you have fastboot working on your computer

Press the power button on the phone and then hold down the volume down button until you see fastboot, then hit the volume up button.

Open a terminal window, and type the following

sudo su fastboot erase cache"

 

[Lilybell2]

As your phone is a Pixel 2 XL it should still be under warranty. However, if the problem stems from water damage/corrosion, that would not be covered by warranty, and this seems far more likely to be the source of your problem rather than the phone running out of space.

However, recovery is worth a try. If the hardware isn't too corroded, perhaps that might enable you to buy enough time to at least get your photos off your phone. I can't see that you have anything to lose by giving it a shot.

I recommend that you use Techno Bill's guide for applying a Rescue OTA to a Pixel, which does not wipe out your phone's data.

 

[Stephen Hwang]

As your phone is a Pixel 2 XL it should still be under warranty. However, if the problem stems from water damage/corrosion, that would not be covered by warranty, and this seems far more likely to be the source of your problem rather than the phone running out of space.

However, recovery is worth a try. If the hardware isn't too corroded, perhaps that might enable you to buy enough time to at least get your photos off your phone. I can't see that you have anything to lose by giving it a shot.

I recommend that you use Techno Bill's guide for applying a Rescue OTA to a Pixel, which does not wipe out your phone's data.

Hi Lilybell2,

Thanks for the link. I am having similar issues as OP, and I followed Techno Bill's guide using the OTA from the build number I had on my phone (.019). However, I still have the same issues (stuck in startup at Google 'G' logo). Should I try an older build number or should I be concerned of a hardware issue?

edit: I tried to install .016 but the process aborted due to it being an older version. I'm completely lost on what the next step is.

 

[Lilybell2]

Hi Lilybell2,

Thanks for the link. I am having similar issues as OP, and I followed Techno Bill's guide using the OTA from the build number I had on my phone (.019). However, I still have the same issues (stuck in startup at Google 'G' logo). Should I try an older build number or should I be concerned of a hardware issue?

edit: I tried to install .016 but the process aborted due to it being an older version. I'm completely lost on what the next step is.

You should use the latest available update for your model phone. If you have the Pixel 2, then yes that would be the February update - OPM1.171019.019 (The March update is expected to be released very soon!)

You cannot install an earlier update via an OTA, you would have to flash a factory image, which wipes everything off the phone. (You can tweak the command to avoid a wipe, but without knowing what's going on with your phone, I'm not sure that would even be helpful.)

As you have a Pixel 2, your phone should be under warranty. If so, I would suggest you contact Google Support directly: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/contact/community#

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Hi Lilybell2,

Thanks for the link. I am having similar issues as OP, and I followed Techno Bill's guide using the OTA from the build number I had on my phone (.019). However, I still have the same issues (stuck in startup at Google 'G' logo). Should I try an older build number or should I be concerned of a hardware issue?

edit: I tried to install .016 but the process aborted due to it being an older version. I'm completely lost on what the next step is.

I'm asking some folks at Google for help. Pretty optimistic that there is a way to get our data back, now that I've had some conversations with them. Will keep you posted. Also feel free to reach out via PM.

 

[Iceman422]

My Pixel 2 XL filled up with photos and videos while I was traveling and roaming (I didn’t realize that I had to specifically enable back up while roaming, in addition to backup over data) and when it was too full, all apps started crashing and when I restarted it because it became unresponsive it got stuck on the boot screen. I tried waiting over night, etc.

My suspicion is that this problem is because there is not enough space to write and copy certain files required during boot. This suspicion was corroborated by a technician by a service Google support recommended to me. But that technician did not know what to do and it appears he has to do the same research I have to do.

I asked the question on Google support forum and the only answer was that there may be a way to avoid factory reset by “side loading an OTA update”. Can someone tell me more about this option and how to do it and how safe it is (in terms of not erasing my data)?

Alternatively, are there any other things I could try?

THIS EXACT THING HAPPENED TO ME!! I was recording basketball fora few hours and it said storage full and all of the apps crashed so i restarted it and its stuck on a white screen with the google logo on it. HELP!

 

[GSDer]

I was recording basketball for a few hours and it said storage full

At that point you were hosed. It's unfortunate that the OS doesn't prevent you from getting to this point (an oversight on their part) but as with the OP, if you can't get past the boot phase there's really nothing you can do except perform a Factory Reset from Recovery. That should at least give you back your device but your data is toast.
There was one post earlier that mentioned something about trying to clear the cache from Recovery (using some terminal commands) - I haven't tried it but it might free up enough space to allow the device to boot.

 

[Lilybell2]

Pixel phones do not have a cache partition.

 

[drumjay88]

Does anyone have any updates on this thread that can help me fix the same problem? I have half a year's worth of photos and videos that are not backed up, and not willing to wipe them out because there are lots of precious memories that I will never get back. I have been phoneless for 2 weeks trying to solve this problem. Google support only tells me to wipe it out, hopefully someone can respond here or pm me!

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Does anyone have any updates on this thread that can help me fix the same problem? I have half a year's worth of photos and videos that are not backed up, and not willing to wipe them out because there are lots of precious memories that I will never get back. I have been phoneless for 2 weeks trying to solve this problem. Google support only tells me to wipe it out, hopefully someone can respond here or pm me!

Why didn't you back them up to google photos? The storage is free and you wouldn't lose them?

I cannot understand why anyone who wants to preserve their photos would refuse to back them up.

You may have to cut those losses.

 

[Mike Dee]

Does anyone have any updates on this thread that can help me fix the same problem? I have half a year's worth of photos and videos that are not backed up, and not willing to wipe them out because there are lots of precious memories that I will never get back. I have been phoneless for 2 weeks trying to solve this problem. Google support only tells me to wipe it out, hopefully someone can respond here or pm me!

I don't think you have any options

 

[drumjay88]

Were they able to help you? Keep up posted please

 

[drumjay88]

I'm asking some folks at Google for help. Pretty optimistic that there is a way to get our data back, now that I've had some conversations with them. Will keep you posted. Also feel free to reach out via PM.

Were they able to help you? Please keep us updated!

 

[TraderGary]

When you get a Pixel 2 XL and log in to your Google account, your photos are automatically backed up to the Google cloud as you take them.

I can do this on my Windows 10 PC...
I use the Google Chrome browser and I'm already logged in to Google.
In my browser I type "Google.com".
In the upper right corner is an icon with a 9x9 square of small squares.
I click on that Icon.
I get a dialog box of Icons to choose from.
I Choose "Photos"
There are all the photos I've ever taken with my Google phones.

Does that solve your problem?

 

[MyTH 2]

My Pixel 2 XL filled up with photos and videos while I was traveling and roaming (I didn’t realize that I had to specifically enable back up while roaming, in addition to backup over data) and when it was too full, all apps started crashing and when I restarted it because it became unresponsive it got stuck on the boot screen. I tried waiting over night, etc.

My suspicion is that this problem is because there is not enough space to write and copy certain files required during boot. This suspicion was corroborated by a technician by a service Google support recommended to me. But that technician did not know what to do and it appears he has to do the same research I have to do.

I asked the question on Google support forum and the only answer was that there may be a way to avoid factory reset by “side loading an OTA update”. Can someone tell me more about this option and how to do it and how safe it is (in terms of not erasing my data)?

Alternatively, are there any other things I could try?

I found this thread because the SAME EXACT THING just happened to me. Word for word. Vacation, photos, videos, phone got full, apps started crashing, and now I am in startup screen hell.

I'll just get this out of the way
Q: What didn't you back your stuff up blah?
A: Because I didn't have cell service or wifi for the week I was taking the photos/videos.

 

[TraderGary]

I found this thread because the SAME EXACT THING just happened to me. Word for word. Vacation, photos, videos, phone got full, apps started crashing, and now I am in startup screen hell.

I'll just get this out of the way
Q: What didn't you back your stuff up blah?
A: Because I didn't have cell service or wifi for the week I was taking the photos/videos.

You don't need cell service or WiFi to copy your pictures/videos to your computer, all you need is a USB cable.

 

[MyTH 2]

You don't need cell service or WiFi to copy your pictures/videos to your computer, all you need is a USB cable.

Good thing you're not a product designer.

When I go on solo trips for days into the National Forests with one backpack, I can't bring a second computer with me. The computer I chose to bring was the Pixel because of it's size, functionality, exceptional photo quality (i could also leave my Canon behind thanks to Pixel) and supposed reliability. I never even wanted to transfer my photos to another computer in the first place/. I just want take them and share or back them up, safely. Something I can't do with all of my Google 2FA codes on my phone, along with MANY other things. It's not about photos....Imagine if every 6 months you had to wipe and lose all the data on your desktop or laptop. Ive been using computers for 20 years and still have hard drives from 20 years ago that work. The cloud backup is a brand new thing. It is BACKUP, a second copy, and data has been stored for decades without it. Google is falling behind the times.