How to fix Sahara fail error in QFIL



Qualcomm Flash Image Loader (QFIL) is a free tool for flashing Qualcomm-based Android devices. QFIL-flashable firmware come in either Flat or Meta build and require the device in Emergency Download Mode (EDL) / Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 for flashing.

What’s the difference between Flat build and Meta build?

The difference is in the content of the firmware and folder structure. Flat build contains patch.xml in the same folder with other files while Meta build contains contents.xml in the root of the folder.

For those who are new to using this tool for flashing, here’s a crash course

We also have a course on Qualcomm Software Repairs so check it out at https://www.hovatek.com/training

Sahara Fail error in QFIL

With QFIL, one error you’ll eventually encounter is the Download Fail:Sahara Fail: QSaharaServer Fail: Process fail error .

There are a number of reasons you might get this error so lets dive into them plus their fixes.

Causes of QFIL Sahara fail and solutions

  1. Incompatible firmware: If you’re trying to flash a wrong firmware or variant of your device then you could run into this error
  2. Using an old QFIL version: You might run into this error when using an old version of QFIL relative to your device. Head over to our QFIL collection to download the latest version.
  3. Using QFIL standalone: There are two formats of QFIL; one which is co-installed with QPST and QFIL standalone . If you’re encountering Sahara fail while using the standalone then install the latest version of QPST and use the QFIL that comes with it.
  4. Incompatible programmer file: You’ll usually find multiple programmer files (with firehose in the name) in your firmware. If you do then consider trying the others in the firmware. If not, try a different factory firmware.
  5. Space in file path: Check the file path to your firmware and ensure there’s no space in any of the directory names e.g have C:\Users\Hovatek\Desktop\Hovatek_files\QFIL_Qualcomm instead of C:\Users\Hovatek\Desktop\Hovatek files\QFIL Qualcomm
  6. Entering EDL too early: Entering and leaving the device in EDL for too long before flash could cause a Sahara error due to timeout. Putting the device into EDL mode should be the last thing you do just before clicking Download (which initiates flashing).

Do you know any other fixes for Sahara Fail error in QFIL or these have worked just fine for you?



10 thoughts on “How to fix Sahara fail error in QFIL”

  1. why QFIL from QPST 2.7.496 works fine on native Windows10, but I get shara error runnin Windows10 over VirtualBox?

  2. I’ve tried various firmware. Still getting this message, may I know what-else can I do? Looking forward to your constructive advice. Thank you.

    Download Fail:System.Exception: Unable to download Flash Programmer using Sahara Protocol

    at QC.QMSLPhone.Phone.QPHONEMS_SaharaArmPrgDownload(String sFileName)

    at QC.SwDownloadDLL.SwDownload.QPHONEMSSaharaDownloadArmPrg(UInt64& version, String armPrgPath)

  3. Thank you for the tips! My problem was related to #6: Entering EDL too early. When I disconnected the phone and reconnected it only at the end of the process, I got no error and everything went fine!

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