Pixel 8 Pro stuck in boot loop

mra

Hi all,

I've had my Pixel 8 Pro running GrapheneOS since I got it around a year and a half ago. Overall, it's been a pretty good experience, and while my device has been subject to the usual drops, bumps, and scratches, it's in pretty good physical shape.

Yesterday, I was using my phone to play an audiobook via Audiobookshelf's native app, which I do daily and have been for months. After ₃₀ minutes of this, the media player widget started to be unresponsive to me pressing pause. Playback began to lag, so I decided to reboot and see if the problem persisted. After a slower than usual reboot, I was presented with my lock screen, but there was an unusual white power overlay with green-blue text (looked like it might have been the AOSP power OSD, not sure) over my screen. I tried both the shut down and reboot options, and neither one did anything, so I force shut off my phone by pressing and holding the power button. I have not been able to get past the pulsing GrapheneOS logo boot animation since then.

Things I've tried:

Force reboot, try again (countless times)
Leaving it alone overnight and trying again
Loading an OTA update from the recovery screen (tried latest, then beta. Before doing this, it was stuck at the GOS loading screen indefinitely, after, it reboots itself after ₂₀ seconds on that screen. Same with beta)
Plugging it in

Things I have not been able to do:

Get a log/crash report
Boot into safe mode (I know the key combo but can't seem to make it work)

Things that work:

Fastboot
Recovery
Sideloading updates

Device info:

Pixel 8 Pro, 256GB
Purchased new from Google in March '24
Currently running Beta GOS release, although that was only tried as a troubleshooting step
Lawnchair launcher
Shelter with a work profile for all apps relying in Google Play Services
Developer mode on, no other significant settings changes iirc

I really, really want to avoid a factory reset, if at all possible. I have been less than perfect with my backup strategy and would lose a ton of important data if I had to do that. I know, I know, 3-2-1 backup rule, my fault for not backing up... I just want my data back. I'm really at a loss.

Thanks in advance for your input and advice.

Fay_Wilmont

I would really love to know if a factory reset would solve your problem. Here's a similar case, where even a factory reset didn't help: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/24674-infinite-boot-loop-after-battery-drain/26

I'm getting worried about the safety of running GrapheneOS on my Pixel 8 now... don't want it bricked!

de0u

Fay_Wilmont Though it's hard to diagnose a device remotely, sometimes hardware failures do happen, sometimes out of the blue. The only defense against a sudden hardware failure is some sort of backup strategy.

With a "fleet" of over 100,000 users, on any given day the flash storage on one user's device might fail. And the 99,999 other users without a hardware failure don't post about that.

Fay_Wilmont

de0u Thanks, I'm new to running custom firmware with a locked bootloader, leaving you without options when a bootloop can't be fixed by a factory reset and/or sideloading an update, so it worries me a bit. Wouldn't want to lose an expensive device this way. Do you have any idea how Google handles these cases?

I'm not worried about my data, I mirror it daily to the computer of some people in another country whom I don't know at all, so I'll always have a backup if things go tits up!

Edit: if it's hardware failure, an unlocked bootloader wouldn't help either of course, but how does Google handle a locked down GrapheneOS device when they have to determine if it's hardware failure or not?

de0u

Fay_Wilmont I have a vague sense that Google repair facilities have a way to zap a device's storage from orbit. Maybe somebody actually knows.

mra

Hey all, thanks for the input. I gave up and wiped it. It seems to be working fine now