How-to: Flash a Rom even with a broken power button (Vid) - MDA II, XDA II, 2060 ROM Development

HI all,
I have made a short how-to video on how to flash one of the many awesome roms (made by our awesome rom-makers) onto a device that doesn't have a power button. I have done it several times and as the question keeps getting raised, I thought I would show some proof.
Some advice before the video.
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGED OR FRIED PDAs
I have done this myself on an I-mate (Himalaya). It took some trial and error but I am now running WM6.1. In my case though, I had to completely remove the power button from the device. The previous owner dropped it on its head, and I got it for free, unfortunately most of the top is missing, including the power button.
SO, on to how I did it. I took a paper clip (metal) and put it about 1cm down, slightly to the right of where the power button used to connect to the motherboard (in line with the text section of the Contact button on the top left of your XDA). Make sure you have turned your XDA/IMATE on before doing this. You'll find that when you find the right area, your device will turn off, or the screen will go dark (like holding the power button for a second or giving it a quick tap) or it will flash on and off.
If you manage to hold it there for the right period of time, while pressing the other bootloader buttons, then you will be able to enter bootloader.
This took me close to an hour to get just right, on both occasions I have done it, but it eventually worked and you eventually get quicker (5 minutes for me now).
My IMATE was useless without me updating the rom, so I had no worry about frying it if I did something wrong, that is why I was OK with playing around with its insides. BEWARE that you MAY DO DAMAGE to the device.
Good luck.
Here is the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWfcpC1VM5g
Cheers! Hope this helps some people out there get the most out of their Himalayas again.
JADEL

Wow!
I have seen the video but somhow I felt that whatever you wanted to show is not getting properly visible. Perhaps the illumination is not that much.
But, I ould very well see the c_shekhar's bootsplash screen. hehe

Thanks for the Video. Worked a treat! Now I can flash my XDA again. Yeah the video was a little dark but I got the jist of it anyway.

Glad it has helped someone other than me. Someone also left a comment on the YouTube page that it worked for them as well, which is also good. Our Himalaya's will live on for many years to come!!!
I agree with my video being too dark (Environmentally friendly fluorescent lights are good for environment, bad for how-to videos). I will try and make a new, lighter video next time C_Shekhar ports a new rom!

Power button
I'm from the philippines. I was able to have my XDAII power button repaired it didn't cost that much. If there are repair shops in your area, maybe you can ask about it.

chinister said:
I'm from the philippines. I was able to have my XDAII power button repaired it didn't cost that much. If there are repair shops in your area, maybe you can ask about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are only two companies in Australia I know of that can officially fix our XDAs. They are bot hin Rockhampton (about 20 hours from where I live in Sydney).
They are both owned by the same company.
As you can imagine, I would predict that the repair cost would be very high, considering they essentially have a monopoly on the situation, and postage costs, insurance etc

I have a qtek 2020 with the key broken (it misses completely) power. can I perform your procedure?
Thanks
Catalogna

Hi there,
It is hard to say for sure. The only way to know for sure is to actually try it. This procedure has worked repeatedly (at least nine times now for me) on my Himalaya, and several other peoples. It really is a last resort though, so you may want to trry everything else you possibly can first.
Cheers.

good good good
I have put the qtek in bootloader and I now have the new rom. Thanks.
I have solo another problem: after few second what I don't use it the display goes to standby and I must press strong to reactivate it. is it a problem software or hardware?

Glad to hear you were able to flash the new rom.
As for the restarting, I have not seen that before under this ROM, and I have used it on several devices and tested it fairly thoroughly. Are you sure nothing is still stuck in the top of your phone where the power button was (IE you didn't leave the metal device in the top?) Perhaps something in there keeps shorting it out?
Maybe it is just on a short timeout. Check under Start>Settings>System>Power>Advanced
See what time the settings are set to under here for "Turn off device if not used for..." both on battery and external power.
Also, then click on the "backlight" button at the bottom, and check those settings.
Under "Backlight" click on "Battery power" and change the settings to what you want, then click on "External Power" and do the same again.
Then just hit the OK button (top right corner) twice, and you should be done.
Hope this helps.

Thanks!
Hi Jadel. I just want to say thanks! Your video help me deal with a broken power button when upgrading rom for the first time. Without your help, I would never feel like having a brand new phone for free

I also found a way to hard reset a phone without camera button (or record).
Just connect mtty via usb into bootloader, type:
password BOOTLOADER
task 28 0 0
and reset your device as normal.
In my try it corrupted my splash screen but anything other is okay

ROMS
Why on the HD2 do they make roms for SPL 1.4 when every FREAKIN PERSON on the PLANET has version 2.08 I have NO IDEA! STUPID!

Flashing rom
hi im from india and im using an imate ultimate 8502 mobile and unfortunately when i was soft resetting ma phone my phone was corrupt and it mholds in the boot screen itself whenever i restart my phone it stays in the blue sreen stating i mate it doesnt moves from it and boot loader cant be opened ive tried both the ways like holding power button & volume - key as well as holding fn and red button and reset key even both doesnt respond ive given my ,mobile to service to all of the servise centers in chennai but none of them cant service it can anyone help me out plzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

THANKS!

Related

HELP PLEASE: XDA I screen not responding to stylus

I bought my XDA I new three days ago, the first day it worked fine, although I didn't use it much (just played around with PocketWord and Solitaire...). The next day the touch screen simply stopped working. I wasn't doing anything unusual. Doesn't matter how lightly or firmly I touch the screen with the stylus, it doesn't respond at all... It has basically made the device useless. Has anyone heard of anything like this, or know of a fix for it?
Thanks very much for your help!
have you try to reset the XDA?
I will reset the XDA see what happen. Softreset first, if it doesn't work, try hard reset( you will loss everything in the memory, so make a backup if you can).
sam
Thanks for your reply, I have tried resetting both soft and hard, neither work. Now I am back to the original 'Tap the screen to setup your PocketPC' message I had when I first used my phone 3 days ago. This screen still isn't responding at all...
Have you fitted a screen protector by any chance,, this can stop the taps working. If not then it looks like a hardware failure as you havent messed with the rom or anything.
try to run a bootloader test and post the result here
Hi can you run a bootloader test see if the hardware is working?
1. hold the power button while softreset the device.
2. click the middle button on the middle button(action button)
3. run a touch test and you will know if your hardware is ok or not.
4. Also can you please do me favor, while you inside the bootloader test screen, can you please also run a Battery test for me. My XDA is currently having a problem.see my post below.
BATTERY TEST
CHARGE STATUS
AC OUT
MAIN VOLTAGE:
0X0257 --> THIS NUMBER IS KEEPS GOING DOWN????
EXT. VOLTAGE:
0X0000 --> i DON'T HAVE A EXTERNAL BATTERY
CHG. vOLTAGE:
0X0000 --> THIS SEEMS NORMAL WHEN THE UNIT IS RUNNING ON BATTERY BUT IF I PLUG IT BACK INTO THE CRADDLE, IT STILL SHOWS 0X0000. VERY STRANGE. AND THE AC OUT WILL CHANGE TO ERROR!!!
CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE TEST RESAULT FROM YOUR XDA. IS THE MAIN VOLTAGE STILL KEEPING GOING DOWN WHILE USING THE BATTERY POWER. AND WHAT'S YOUR READING ON THE CHG.VOLTAGE:
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
SAM
Thanks for the replies everyone, unfortunately I took it back to Optus before I read your post Sam. There was no protector, it must have just been a hardware failure. I ran the touch test a few times, all but once it failed. It was working on and off so I assume theres a loose wire or something similar. It was under warranty still (lucky considering it came off eBay) but does mean it'll be gone for three weeks

O2 XDA II Broken Power Button --> Bootloader Mode

Hi all,
I have an O2 XDA II which was flashed last year to WM2003se.
Now I would like to upgrade it to WM6.1, but I cannot enter bootloader mode (using [Power Button] + [D Pad] + [Soft Reset]) because my power button is broken. This means, I also cannot do a hard reset, unless I remove the battery for a long time.
The phone otherwise is working quite well.
Is there any other way to enter bootloader mode?
Thanks in advance!
First, some advice. Several people have asked this question and it has been responded to in other threads. On forums, ALWAYS try and use the search function before asking. It might save you some time, and it also may give you further ideas or solutions to the problem. Now on to the response I gave someone else last year. Read the whole post.
IT IS POSSIBLE!
BUT DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGED OR FRIED PDAs
I know because I myself have done it on an I-mate (Himalaya). It took some trial and error but I am now running WM6. In my case though, I had to completely remove the power button from the device. The previous owner dropped it on its head, and I got it for free, unfortunately most of the top is missing, including the power button.
SO, on to how I did it. I took a paper clip (metal) and put it about 1cm down, slightly to the right of where the power button used to connect to the motherboard. Make sure you have turned your XDA/IMATE on before doing this. You'll find that when you find the right area, your device will turn off, or the screen will go dark (like holding the power button for a second or giving it a quick tap).
If you manage to hold it there for the right period of time, while pressing the other bootloader buttons, then you will be able to enter bootloader.
This took me close to an hour to get just right, on both occasions I have done it, but it eventually worked.
Note: I have no idea how exactly this worked, but it did. My IMATE was useless without me updating the rom, so I had no worry about frying it if I did something wrong, that is why I was OK with playing around with its insides. BEWARE that you MAY DO DAMAGE to the device.
Good luck.
Hi my power button is broken too.
I'd love to upgrade to WM6 but can't get into bootloader mode...the paper clip approach sounds risky!
Is there an application that can get me to bootloader mode? I've searched but come up with nothing.
Any ideas?
I tried everything before doing the paperclip trick, it was the last straw for me. I did a pretty intensive investigation to other possibilities but couldn't find one.
Maybe you can find something that was a similar shape to your power button? It is a long shot but it may work. If the power button isn;t completely broken off you may still be able to use it.
Thanks Jadel.
Naaa the button has completely come off.. on its side..facing the front of the XDA. Interesting to see that other people have damaged the power button.
I might give it (the paper clip approach) a go and see how it goes.
Thanks,
Taz
tazjamez said:
Thanks Jadel.
Naaa the button has completely come off.. on its side..facing the front of the XDA. Interesting to see that other people have damaged the power button.
I might give it (the paper clip approach) a go and see how it goes.
Thanks,
Taz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same power button problem here... I found this thread and it inspired me to another idea that works very well. I disassembled the unit according to instructions I found here in other threads. I found my button was broken off from the motherboard completely and in addition it was mechanically so damaged that is was unusable for resoldering. I disassembled the (very small) switch under a microscope and it is basically a small round steel disc that works as a spring. It "clicks" when you push the center of the disk. In the center of the switch is a contact point so when the disc is pushed it makes contact and when released it clicks back. (works like the clicking frog we used to play with as a kid). It solders onto the motherboard using 4 solder pads. The two top pads are both connected to the ground plane of the motherboard. The bottom ones are 2 separate contact islands and are not connected to each to each other. (infinite resistance between them). I soldered 3 wires onto the pads, one ground and both lower unknown contact pads. Brouhgt the wires out through the broken button hole in the cover and YES, it works like a charm. If I connect the ground wire to the lower right pad it switches on and off and I can also hard reset the unit. I have not found out what the function is of the other (left lower pad) connected to ground. Maybe it has to do with holding the button longer then a second to switch backlight on and off. In my case I cannot find any functionality. I can now manually short the wires or I can solder a small microswitch to the wires and flash my original QTEK 2020 to WM 6.1. I am going to try that this week end. Anyway no unreliable fumbling with a paper clip.

[Q] Freezing HD2 after lock

I know there are hundreds of threads and articles posted about HD2s freezing with the lock screen but this issue seems different to me. My problem is that whenever I lock the phone the touch screen will freeze entirely. I thought a work around may be to install a different lock screen. After installing that I can get past the lock screen but the touch screen still is not responsive. I have no idea what to do. I already did a hard reset and it still does it. I would like to add that it is completely consistent. It happens every time without fail. In order to even use the phone I have to pull the battery and I get one use out of it before it locks and I have to pull the battery again. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would really appreciate it..
Update: I flashed the original ROM to my phone and the freezing problem still exists.. I have no idea what to do at this point.
Update 2: Narrowed down the problem to being the physical "power/end/lock" button. If I slightly press it but not fully it will go to the honeycomb style menu with all the apps. If I press it fully the screen will go out like normal but then if I restore it, the entire screen is locked up. Nothing will work after that until I pull the battery.
I've directly linked the issue with the power button. I dont know why all of a sudden the power button would have a different function. The work around I found is while the phone is locked and the screen is off I can press the green button to unlock the phone and the touch screen will then function. If I use the power button it will remain frozen. Any ideas what happened?
Hello,
I got some bad news for you, this issue is actually related to the digitizer (hardware) not software. What i would recommend is called HTC for a repair and send it in, it is covered by warranty, hopefully you have warranty.
A lot of people are having this issue, no-one yet has been able to pinpoint the cause, but here is the link a thread with similar problem:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=854165
Luckych
Thanks for the reply. I do not think I have a warranty on this phone considering I bought it privately. Ill talk to Tmo and HTC and see what I can do. Just a theory, I may be wrong. But I live in PA and its been getting below 20 here lately. I noticed today that my work around didnt work when I was outside working on my car. Then I went inside and used a blow dryer to heat up the phone and it started working again. The end button didn't function properly but I could unlock the phone with the green send button. Perhaps the cold weather is shorting out people's digitizers? I don't really know how they work so that's why i said its only a theory. I bought this phone in the spring and didnt have an issue until now when it started getting really cold.

[Q] How to unbrick my tablet

Hey guys I have 1 very big problem and Im pretty sure I tryed everything so far...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1514088 nothing from here is my problem
I listened music watched movies etc(everything normal) and after ~40min in sleep time my tab bricked and now there are 3 nuts + red triangle mark with " ! " in it
I cant even shut it down only restart I tryed manual update with EP201_SDUPDATE
from asus website and it doesnt work also
I didnt unlock my tab or anything its everything normal ICS 4.0...
I didnt use any app killers or something
I have alot of games music movies pictures only thats it
I could have sended it to its warranty service but in my country they will return it to me in 1-2 months so... I wanted to try out every single possibility...
And sorry that I dont post in the topic I mentioned up but I dont have 10 posts yet and It didnt allow me to.
You didn't try anything tricky at all, like rooting or something?
Anyway, 3 things for you to try:
1) Turn your Prime on. Then, stick a paper clip into the little hole just below the micrSD card slot, until you feel a little click ... your Prime may reboot at this point. If so, see what happens.
2) Try a cold boot: Turn off your Prime. Then hold down the Volume Down and Power switch until you get white lettering (words) in the upper left corner of your Prime (this will take while, so keep holding until you see the lettering). After you see the white letter, let go of both buttons and let your Prime cold boot. This may or may not work. If it does, see what happens.
3) I'm not sure if there is a "recovery" system on a stock Prime (mine is not stock any longer, so can't look). You would start just like #2 above (Power off, then Vol. Down/Power button hold) and when you get the white lettering, you would let go of the buttons and click Volume Up (probably -- the white lettering should tell you what to do). If you do have a recovery, you will get some menu options at this point. If one of them is "wipe data/factory reset" or something similar, scroll down to it with Volume Down and hit the Power button to select. Let this option run and see what happens. You will lose all data with this option ... it will be as though you just got your Prime brand new.
If none of these work, you will have to send it in. Honestly, for something like this to happen is so abnormal, that there could be a real issue with your Prime ... I would be tempted to send it in either way.
tryed these too but now I have even 1 more problem thanks to your "1)"
my microsd slot now doesnt work and I dont know how to fix it my minisdcard stucks in there and is hell of a hard to get it out
edit:Im not saying that you are responsible no! Its all my fault If I did anything not correctly
Thanks to you atleast now I know I tryed everything possible
so I will check some known specialists in my town and if they dont know anything too I will send it to the service
and again thanks @tedr108
sticking a paperclip inside hole underneath microsd card has nothing to do with it the memory card getting stuck..lol
Fading_Memory said:
tryed these too but now I have even 1 more problem thanks to your "1)"
my microsd slot now doesnt work and I dont know how to fix it my minisdcard stucks in there and is hell of a hard to get it out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, man, did you put the paperclip in the sdcard slot? There is a tiny little hole near the sdard slot that hard resets the Prime. If you hold your Prime up in front of you, the hole is below the sdcard by about an inch. The end of the paperclip (unfolded) is one of the few things small enough to fit in the hole.
That's the only hole anywhere near the sdcard ... I did not think you could miss it. I do apologize for not being more clear.
If the other things did not work, this hard reset is going to do nothing for you, anyway -- this is not much more than a forced reboot. Time to send your Prime in, I believe. I'm pretty sure that the repair center will find a major problem and replace your Prime anyway.

[Q] HTC Droid DNA Stuck on Black Screen

Hey,
I'm new to these kinds of things like forums and stuff like that, so sorry if I'm not that clear with what I'm saying. If I could also get some criticism on the post itself and how I can improve, it'd be a great help!
I've had this phone since November of 2013 and this is my first time encountering this problem. After getting home from school, I took my phone out of my backpack and tried waking it(simply pressing the power button so I could see the lock screen), then I noticed nothing would happen. I tried again and again then noticed that the 3 "buttons" at the bottom of my phone were lighting up when I unlocked it, and disappear when locking it. Once I unlocked it, I was able to turn the volume higher and lower, listen to music(because I remember what the layout looks like before it had a black screen), and even (somewhat) use apps. Every time I hear my phone ring, it really makes me want to punch it, because I know that the phone itself is working, but just the screen won't turn on. Like even when I registered for xda-developers, my phone rang once I got the e-mail to verify my account.
I looked at a bunch of other threads before creating this one. Some said to hold down Power Button, Volume +, and Volume - for 30-60 seconds. I tried doing this multiple times, each time holding down the buttons a different amount of seconds, and nothing happened. I let the 3 icons at the bottom blink 15 times, wait a few seconds, let it vibrate, then let go. The longer I held the buttons, the more it would vibrate(about one vibrate for every 15 seconds). I hear the sound effects when turning it on and off("Droid" in the robot voice, then followed by some weird robot-sounding noises). Some people just said to let it charge, and I also tried that. Nothing happened, really, it just charged.
I've been thinking of letting the battery die out, but who wouldn't think of that? So I just ditched that idea. Tell me if I should try it, though, please.
My phone's pretty beat up, but nothing to the point where some parts of the screen would stop working, just two pretty big cracks on it. Sorry, I can't post pictures 'cause I'm new > <
If you guys could help me out with this, or just tell me if it doesn't work at all, it'd be a great help.
Thanks,
Joseph
Sounds like the LCD has been broken.
es0tericcha0s said:
Sounds like the LCD has been broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds pretty simple. Would I need to replace it, get a new phone, or fix it myself at home?
ijosepham said:
That sounds pretty simple. Would I need to replace it, get a new phone, or fix it myself at home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would replace the screen. Whether or not you want to do it yourself depends on your confidence, experience, and tools. If you've never torn a phone apart before, then you might want to find a friend who is handy or go to a shop because HTCs, in general, are not the easiest things to start with. And you'll definitely want to buy the already pre-assembled LCD+Digitizer combo as trying to separate the 2 would be more hassle than it is worth.
http://www.repairsuniverse.com/htc-droid-dna-repair-guide.html

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