# Flashing LG signed Firmware



## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

*November 21, 2013:*

*LG has broken the ability to download older cab files. You can still grab the current version if you know what you are doing, but it's much easier to just use the LG tool as it was intended. Until someone finds a work around, I'm leaving the new instructions here and the old instructions below as a reference in case you have a copy of the old .cab files.*

*NEW INSTRUCTIONS*

Install the drivers for your Spectrum if you have not already: http://androidfiles.massivefilehost.com/drivers/LG_VZW_United_WHQL_v2.3.1.msi

Grab this and install: http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/client/app/B2CAppSetup.exe

Let it update over the internet when you run it the first time.

Go options -> upgrade recovery

Follow the on screen instructions. Stock roms should have no issues getting the program to auto pull the settings, but if you do, just type in your IMEI. Let it do it's thing and make sure you're not on a USB hub and that you're using a quality USB cable.

When all is said and done, you should be on ICS V8. You may need to factory reset your phone if you run into boot loops after the update.

*OLD INSTRUCTIONS BELOW*

*DO NOT FLASH THIS IF YOU ARE STUCK IN CWM. IF YOU KEEP BOOT LOOPING INTO CWM, THEN FLASH THE BOOT LOOP FIX FOUND HERE. YOU WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE OTHERWISE:*
http://androidforums...g-spectrum.html

I've decided that this should be in it's own thread as it is relevant to most of the work going on right now and should not be buried inside of another thread.

Here is instructions on how to flash a new firmware. I take no responsibility if your mess up your phone in the process. If you do something wrong, you will brick your phone, especially if it's during the final steps as flashing the cab actually *deletes your recovery partition* before flashing the new one.

*Tools needed:*

KP500 (http://androidfiles....ls/LG_Tools.zip) - Personally hosted, so please don't hammer the site

LG Mobile Support Tool from LG site (http://www.lg.com/us...-VS920#software)
Note: (They removed the link to the update tool from the VS920. Here is the direct link if you can't find it buried in their site. http://csmg.lgmobile...B2CAppSetup.exe )

.cab file containing your firmware
3.02 - http://csmgdl.lgmobi...2.P58012.R5.cab (no longer downloadble from site.)
4.04 - http://csmgdl.lgmobi...4.P58012.R5.cab (no longer downloadble from site.)
6.00 - http://csmgdl.lgmobi...0.P58013.R5.cab (no longer downloadble from site.)
7.15 (ICS) - http://csmgdl.lgmobi...5.P58014.R5.cab (no longer downloadble from site.)
8.10(ICS) - http://csmgdl.lgmobi...0.P58017.R5.cab (no longer downloadble from site.)

New 8.10 download link if you really want to go this method.

http://csmgdl.lgmobile.com/dn/downloader.dev?fileKey=FW626386573210987654321/VS920ZV8_10.S8_10.P58017.R5.cab

Unified Verizon Drivers : Either get these from your phone while in charge only mode or from this link which is the same file http://androidfiles....WHQL_v2.3.1.msi

An internet connection on the PC you are working from. The LG tool needs an internet connection while flashing the phone or it will fail. If you have a firewall asking if you want to let the LG Tool talk to the internet, let it.

*Instructions:*

Charge your battery to full, not just 80% or so.

Run the driver package and let it run its course. It will appear as thou nothing is happening for about 30 seconds, then the installer will finish running. Then set phone to Debug mode and make sure all additional drivers install correctly. If you have adb on your PC, you can test your connection buy running ADB shell and seeing if your phone connects correctly

Go into your Windows Device Manager and disable the device under Modems -> LGE AndroidNet for VZW USB Modem

Remove your battery and remove your memory card.

Reboot your phone in "Download Mode" (re-insert your battery and replace the back plate. Hold down vol up + vol down. Plug in usb cable while holding both buttons.)

I highly recommend using the official cable that came with the phone when doing a flash and not being on and USB hubs.

Extract KP500 tool into a directory (i.e. C:\KP500)
Move your .cab file to the same directory

Run your KP500 file as administrator
Choose I "Flash with assistance (file .cab)
Phone Model = VS920
Input the full path to your cab file including .CAB at the end (i.e. C:\KP500\VS920Z3_02.S3_02.P58012.R5.cab)
Input the full file name of your cab (aka version) without the Cab (i.e. VS920Z3_02.S3_02.P58012.R5)

Watch as the LG update tool pops up.

It will most likely tell you that your phone is disconnected. This is normal and to be expected

Click Restart.

It will find your phone and go thru extracting the cab file and then extracting a .bin file.

At this point if you did something wrong with driver setup or not disabling the modem driver, you will get a page error. If you did it right, you will get a percentage indicator that goes past 15%. Every so often a message will go by about "model dll message not found". This is normal.

Wait for your phone to finish flashing and let it reboot on its own. I did not do a factory reset and everything came back as it was, but with a new firmware version. You may wish to do a factory reset just to be safe.

Enjoy the fact that you can now recover your phone if you do something wrong (in most cases)


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Updated with V6 cab file link


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## LillieBennett (May 18, 2012)

Is is possible to use the V6 cab if my original was V4 (VS920ZV4)?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Yes, thou flashing the cab file should be a last resort option. It will however work on what ever you were previously at, be it stock any level or custom rom/kernel.


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## avelis26 (May 12, 2012)

Would anyone know where to get these cab files for a different phone like the vs840?

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 2


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/csmg/b2c/client/auth_model_check2.jsp?esn=IMEI
Where IMEI = your actually IMEI number. As I found out with the LG OE for Virgin Mobil, not all cab files come with the .dll inside them needed to flash using this method.

P.S. , use Firefox to see the info. Internet Explorer hides all the text.


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## PsiReaper (Jul 5, 2012)

I followed the steps that you provided. However, my phone has been on the screen where it's showing a box pointing to the green android. It's been that way for over 20 minutes. Is there anything I need to do? How long does it take to fully flash?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Well, at this point, you are probably out of luck. You most likely flashed while you had a flag on your /misc partition. Were you stuck in CWM and decided to flash the .cab? If so, there is no way out of it unless you can find someone with a custom .tot file that has CWM recovery built into it. That or taking it in to be serviced by LG.


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## PsiReaper (Jul 5, 2012)

I believe that's what happened. I was trying to flash to CM9 and it didn't work. Reading elsewhere, it was suggested that the device should be flashed back to stock. That's when it became "bricked." Where can I get the .tot file that has CWM?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

You're guess is as good as mine at this point. I don't have one and I believe Jcase is the only one with enough knowledge to make a custom one without messing up the whole thing. If you make it wrong, you're stuck with a phone that has nothing on it what so ever, including no ability to boot into download mode. I would contact LG and let them know your phone is stuck at the screen you described and see if they can offer a remedy. Probably will require sending it to a service station to be reflashed for some low $ cost.


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

V7 (ICS) .cab link added.


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

I got the VZW push of ICS overnight last night, and it pissed my phone off... Woke up to CWM-Touch sitting there telling me I needed to do something...anything... I have learned to keep a copy of my most recently applied ROM on the sdcard, so with a few clicks, I was back on B.O. 3.0. But, I was still dealing with the pesky 'software upgrade available' message that turns into an automatic apply machine if you don't catch the warnings in time.

Being unable to find a 'stop the auto-update' post for this most recent push, I decided to bite the bullet and go for the V7 .cab installation. As far as I can tell, it went as advertised, but now I'm sitting here with an LG Spectrum that is stuck on the 4G LTE boot screen. I've tried the .cab installation operation twice, I've counted the number of 'pulses' that I get from the 4G LTE logo/screen before it freezes, and that number is 4, not 3, and 5 is right out...(apologies to Monty Python).

Any ideas what might be going on? How to overcome the current situation? Worst case, I'm thinking that I might need to try the V6 cab?


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Update: I managed to get a factory reset prompt, (not sure how - I was attempting the down-load key stroke combo) and said 'sure, what the heck'...

Phone went through boot up, and now I'm starting the 'Synchronize accounts' screen. So, maybe ICS didn't like something about my existing data?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

If you were on BO, then yes, you would have to wipe /data as it was causing config errors for you. It's the same any time you change from rom to rom. Glad you got it figured out thou.


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Hey Neph,

I've been a fan of yours for a while...thanks for the work you do!!

So here's what's really strange: my wife has the exact same phone, exact same setup...ran the V7 .cab process on her's after all the fussing with mine, and *POOF* instant upgrade. Not a single issue. Everything is working just fine (except the stuff that needs root - which is to be expected.)

In parting, I have two questions for you: Have you heard anything about re-gaining root for the latest ICS release? Do you think I should go ahead and factory-wipe her phone and reapply V7?

Thanks again!!


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

If you were always on stock and never moved off of stock, then there is no reason to factory wipe. As far as root, come see us over at androidforums

http://androidforums.com/spectrum-all-things-root/

We have ICS root and (hopefully to be posted today) a way to unlock the boot loader to allow true customization of your phone again.


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## danblackracing (Dec 5, 2012)

The link for ver 6.00 is broken!


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

LG took the link down. Just flash V4.04 and take the OTA update to V6. I'm still trying to find out the legalities of personally hosting firmware like that as LG likes to be C&D letter happy.


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## sonicmerlin (Dec 23, 2011)

I'm trying to update to ICS. The LG Software Update tool comes up for me with a bunch of question marks all over the window instead of text. Then at 30%, with the last line being "2- Emergency connect success", a popup window with a giant green circle and a question mark inside of it comes up. Only two options are "???" and "??", both of which close the window but do nothing. What am I missing here?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

If you're getting ??? in your installer with a .gif missing message, it means you didn't install the LG update tool properly. Please reinstall it again.

Main post updated with new links to the .cab files. LG moved the files on their server.


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

New 8.08 cab link added.


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## arlissnd (Mar 7, 2013)

Hi. I'm having trouble trying to return my Lg Spectrum to stock. My phone wont boot up and I'm unable to get it into debugging mode. Would that be an issue when trying to do this? It is now saying "updating is not possible any longer due to a fatal error while the LG Mobile Phone Software Update". I guess I screwed up?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

You're doing something wrong if you get a "no longer able to update error". The debugging part is only really needed to test the drivers. You can go into download mode and the software will run, but you may need to play around with the drivers a bit to make sure they all work.


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## arlissnd (Mar 7, 2013)

ok, so I'm not totally screwed yet? I was already making plans to get a backup phone asap.Whew! thanks, I will try it again when I get home. I thought for sure I was gonner. I also saved a copy of the report that the software updater logged before it gave me the bad news.


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## arlissnd (Mar 7, 2013)

OK, much better results this time. I thank you, sir!


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Disclaimer: Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, so if it isn't just yell at me, and I'll move it, delete it, go jump off a bridge or whatever else it takes to fix things up between us. m'kay?!!

So I've been anxiously awaiting the day that I could get a CM build on my LG Spectrum, and saw last night that 10.1 is now available. I spent about 6 hours trying everything under the sun to get it to work, and the very best I can do is get the boot image animation to start spinning around, and then at about 26 seconds, it
reboots, boot animation comes up again, and at about 26 seconds it hangs and the only way out is to pull the battery.

Here's an overview of what I've done to try to get to a working copy of CM 10.1:

- I've used KP500 to reflash to VS920ZV7_15.S7_15.P58014.R5.cab (the latest .cab I've used on my phone, therefore knowing for sure it'll work)
- I've verified I have the latest sdk running and I know everything works (I can adb till my heart's content as long as I'm in the 'stock' configuration resulting from the above step)
- Once the phone is up and running, I used pwnage to restore root and push the cwm-touch recovery
- Install Rom Manager (w/ premium license added)
- download CM Rom from within Rom Manager, (I've also tried pushing the CM builds directly to my sdcard via adb)
- Reboot into recovery (sometimes using the Rom Manager reboot command hangs me at a blank but somewhat lit screen, so now i just adb reboot recovery)
- Wipe/Factory Reset from cwm_t 2 or 3 times in a row (just 'cause i'm paranoid)
- Apply cm-10.1-20130329-NIGHTLY-vs920

Rebooting then results in the condition described above.

I've tried flashing cwm_bootloop and exitrecovery but neither seem to help. So, at this point, I'm guessing its something either in the nightly, or my particular phone is being stubborn.

I'm thinking of reflashing with VS920ZV8_10.S8_10.P58017.R5 and retrying the latest CM10.1 build and if that doesn't work, working back through each nightly (i have the 4 latest ones downloaded).

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions greatly appreciated!

Edit/Update: Just flashed the V8 .cab and my phone gets about 25-30 seconds into the boot (this time the 4G LTE logo) and hangs. So, I'm thinking there is something not right with my phone. Going to try to reflash to V7 now. *sigh*

Edit/Update 2: Same thing happens with V7 now. In frustration, I did the power+vol down, power, power, power to do a factory reset, then it booted. Is it normal that you would have to do a factory reset *after* flashing a .cab?!! Just because I love pain and anguish, I'm pondering trying to flash V8 again and if it hangs, do the factory reset.

Btw, is there any limit to how many times you can flash a phone before it stops working?!


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

The 3-30 nightly is shit. So is the 3-29. 3-27 had some graphics issues that were only fixed by flashing TDM's stand alone kernel. Your best bet really is to grab the M2 experimental release.

http://get.cm/get/jenkins/21642/cm-10.1-20130304-EXPERIMENTAL-vs920-M2.zip


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Also, no, there is not really a limit as to how many times you can flash a phone. There is a theorectical limit on how many times you can write the the nand memory, but all that happens is that your useable size decreases as more sectors die. Also, to reach that limit, you'd need to flash more times that a normal person ever would (think 50 times a day for 2 years).


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Neph said:


> The 3-30 nightly is shit. So is the 3-29. 3-27 had some graphics issues that were only fixed by flashing TDM's stand alone kernel. Your best bet really is to grab the M2 experimental release.
> 
> http://get.cm/get/je...AL-vs920-M2.zip


Thanks for the pointer...I'm downloading it now...

Update: No Joy. Even the experimental hangs. I'm going to try cm-9 and if that doesn't work, then I'll start working through ICS based roms and see if i can find anything that'll work.

Not sure if this question will even make sense, but would it make a difference if the ROM was packaged as a .cab and flashed onto the phone?


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Wouldn't work. You'd brick your phone attempting anything like that as you'd be missing multiple partitions worth of info. Also, and this seems silly, but I'm going to ask. You are deleting all data before attempting to move over to CM? Everything you've said so far seems to point in that direction.


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Neph said:


> Wouldn't work. You'd brick your phone attempting anything like that as you'd be missing multiple partitions worth of info. Also, and this seems silly, but I'm going to ask. You are deleting all data before attempting to move over to CM? Everything you've said so far seems to point in that direction.


Yes, I backed everything up with Titanium backup and Rom Manager and I'm doing multiple data wipes from CWMT including cache and dalvik. I've also thrown an Android factory reset in on the 1st boot under any new ROM just for good measure. All in all, everything JB based so far has failed miserably. I did finally manage to get the Spectrum_OTA_ICS_debloated_v1.1.zip to work, so I'm better off than when I started, but I'm still longing for that CM goodness...

Thanks again for help!!


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## arlissnd (Mar 7, 2013)

I'm having a problem with bootloops, too. I had CM 10.1 for about a month. It was awesome. Then I took out my sd card and put in a different one to download a rom for a different phone. I think the sd card I put in was damaged. Then I put the original card back in and rebooted and it started up, went through the Lg screen, started the CM logo (spinning blue circle), then it stops and reboots. I tried the KP 500 tool on three different laptops and for some reason, no success. I was successful with the tool on my desktop, but I recently switched it to Ubuntu. So now I'm stuck using my old Samsung Fascinate while my awesome Spectrum sits. this sucks


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## KodiiKush (May 22, 2013)

Hopefully this thread is still being watched. I had the same problem as one of the other comments, being that I rooted then deleted google movies, thus bricking to the 'Security Error' page. I get stuck at the same page error "fatal error cannot update" that he got. But unfortunately, playing with the drivers has gotten me nowhere. I'm not a noob by any means, but I still get confused.

Any ideas on how to get this to run correctly?

Also, When it asks for "Version<SW version> <Ex: V10G_04>:" what do I put? I'm using the '08' newest one, but not sure how I should type it out? or do I just hit Enter and leave it blank?

Any help ASAP would be great. I seem to be 95% correct, but this 5% is killing me


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## KodiiKush (May 22, 2013)

Ok, so after reading a few other threads, I realized the problem wasn't the drivers, but in fact the "Version <VS software>" part. I needed to enter the VS920..... from the previous line WITHOUT the .cab at the end. Working as we speak on the first attempt.

Just thought I would share in case anyone else had the same problem.


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Let me know how it goes for you. I still watch this thread and if you run into an issue, I'll try and help out.


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## llawen (Jan 17, 2012)

My son bricked his Spectrum. It is stuck at Secure Booting Error. I have been working on this phone and can't seem to figure it out. I have downloaded and have tried the cab files. But can't get phone to communicate with PC. I have tried all the different drivers. HELP.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

First thing first. When you open the LG Mobile support tool, does it see the phone? Secondly, if it sees the phone, can you use Customer Support -> Recovery Phone option. This will probably be the easiest way for you to get back to stock and on to V8 rather then flashing the .cab via this method. You'll need to do a factory reset afterwards most likely.

If it doesn't see the phone, are you on WIndows 8? If so, that will be your biggest issue. If you're on Windows 7 or lower and can't see the phone, have you double checked that you installed the drivers correctly? http://androidfiles.massivefilehost.com/drivers/LG_VZW_United_WHQL_v2.3.1.msi

Let me know what you find out.


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## llawen (Jan 17, 2012)

Yes on windows 8. No it does not see phone. That's my biggest issue getting PC to see phone.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

I will see if I can find a PC on windows 7 and give it a shot. Thanks. Never thought it could have been windows 8 compatibility issue. I will try it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2


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## llawen (Jan 17, 2012)

To get phone to communicate with PC I did this....open lg updater tool. Then unplug USB cable from phone. Remove battery and leave it out. Hold power and volume down while holding them plug in phone and install battery. This got me to download mode. And from there I was able to communicate with PC. Remember I was stuck at BOOTING ERROR SCREEN. Phone was bricked and this saved it. And did it on windows 8

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

Congrats on getting his phone up and running again. Feel free to let me know if there is anything else I can do to help out.

P.S. Being as you're on Windows 8, if your son tries to unlock his phone again, he'll need to install Koush's Univeral ADB driver. It's the only ADB driver I've found so far that works with Windows 8.


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## littlenanner85 (Jun 21, 2013)

I just tried this. Everything seemed to go okay and the installation said complete. It rebooted, but it will not go past the 4G LTE screen. Any ideas? I will try it again to see if it was just fluke.


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## littlenanner85 (Jun 21, 2013)

I just reran it and it is doing the same thing, any ideas?

Update: Awesome, I just pulled battery and did the volume down and power with a factory reset and boom goes the dynamite, just like NEW!
Thanks


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## John Charlie (Jun 22, 2013)

Do I need to be rooted or have an unlocked bootloader to do this. Sorry for the stupid question, but I'm about to buy a used Spectrum and I know completely nothing about this device. I own a Droid Bionic and only know things about Motorola devices, not LG. When I get this device, I want to do this to make sure the software is legit. Thank you!


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

No, this runs from LG's boot loader and it does not matter what state your phone is in as long as you can enter download mode.


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## John Charlie (Jun 22, 2013)

Every time I turn off the phone, it stays on the "Verizon 4g LTE" splash screen for quite some time (like 10-15 seconds) before turning off... Is this normal? Sorry for dumb question, just got new spectrum.


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## Neph (Feb 4, 2012)

It depends on how much stuff it's cleaning up after. If you have a lot of things running in the backround that it has to clean up, then yes, this is normal. When I was on stock, my shutdown was about 5-8 seconds on the splash screen.


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## mckapet (Oct 26, 2012)

Hi again, It's been a while, and I recently saw that CM 10.1.2 is out for the LG Spectrum. I couldn't help myself...I had to give it a try (I'm the guy who just can't get any copy of CM to run on this particular VZW LG Spectrum). No Joy...*sigh*

Any hints, tips, ideas for getting CM to run on my phone? (And as always, if this should be somewhere else, let me know and I'll move it...I realize it's a tad off the original topic)


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## Homerlanes (Aug 14, 2011)

Can anyone confirm that Neph's update in the OP works for the new zv9? I'm currently on stock w/ root...should I do a zv8 cab flash before taking the new OTA, or can I just do some standard app backups and take the update while still rooted? Thanks in advance for any advice.


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## irving102 (Nov 22, 2013)

Hey guys my spectrum is stuck on a boot loop i didnt have it rooted or anything i just updated it using the lg service tool and now it work turn on and when it does it show the activation screen i choose language and it goes into boot loop again can someone help me?


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