So I dropped my viewsonic gtab on the floor accidentally and I when I picked it back up and tried to power on the device (since it was on before i dropped it) it would refuse to power back on. When I connect the charger the charging light does come on and another interesting thing when I connect the USB cable from my computer to the tablet windows 7 recognizes the device in device manager as "APX" with an exclamation mark.
My question is if I NVflash it will it work again (maybe this is the perfect opportunity to flash zyhongs honeycomb rom) .
UPDATE: I would like to add when i hold down volume down(-) and power button I dont see the screen flicker or anything is the screen damaged?(there are no cracks on screen) its funny b/c windows does see the device and the device plugin noise "occurs"
Thanks!
Good Luck and let us know what happens. I would guess that if the LCD is turning on it should work; otherwise a hardware problem.
I dropped mine too and it would not boot. It was late night so didn't do anything, the next day I noticed that the headphone jack was messed up. It still had the headphones plugged in and must have taken the full impact. I pulled the headphones out and then it booted ok but the sound was not working. 2 days later sound came back but the headphone jack is totally busted.
Will open it up next weekend and see if I can fix anything.
dropped gtab wont boot (APX mode)
Yea Ill post the results here Ill nvflash it later tonight most likely tomorrow morning. I think it looks fixable APX mode requires device to turn on. No crack seen, and if charge light comes on I think its a soft brick so I will reflash with custom recovery (CWM) and a custom rom (honeycomb rom for gtab) but if you find something let me know and also how to open the back cover of a gtab lol!
thanks
gtablet in apx mode installed drivers bat file issue
So I got the driver installed windows recognizes my tablet thanks to the recovery drivers i have every file in one folder the only problem that remains is when i run the bat file a error happens in which it says nvflash is not recognized I attached a screen-shot below
(UPDATE) new message after moving stock rom tapntap1.2 files in same folder
Ok so I decided to move all files into one folder including the image files ( of tapntapv1.2) which is what i should have done now when I run the bat file the result is a little better but its still producing errors I have a screenshot of the incident below :
Please Help
Thanks
new message when running "bat" file
Ok so after rerunning the bat file and rearranging files in NVFLASH folder i get this new message:
screenshot below:
techlawsam said:
Ok so after rerunning the bat file and rearranging files in NVFLASH folder i get this new message:
screenshot below:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can not open the screnshot. Not sure what you are combining & rearranging. I recommend starting over by redownloading NVFlash (1.2 stock rom) w/cwm presinstalled from here. http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/nvflash.htm . It extracts all in one directory...no rearranging required.
Al
dropped tablet, screen wont turn on (APX mode)
Oh sorry the most recent post i made with the screenshot was the only screenshot in the post what i meant by rearranging file were the img files and all the files for NVFLASH and NVFLASH_gtablet folders respectively. Ill try the website you gave me hopefully my screen isnt cracked ...
flashing tablet with NVflash produces same error
ok after using the website you gave me I still get the same error as I had before where it has an error copying over the image and bootloader
I have attached the screenshot
techlawsam said:
ok after using the website you gave me I still get the same error as I had before where it has an error copying over the image and bootloader
I have attached the screenshot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appears NVflash is having a problems writing the BCT parition. BCT is very important. We'll look at some options, but first, lets digress for a minute. Still no video on the tab? Check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1202111 and report back if it helps you get video back.
dropped gtab , screen doesnt come on and is in APX mode
aabbondanza said:
Appears NVflash is having a problems writing the BCT parition. BCT is very important. We'll look at some options, but first, lets digress for a minute. Still no video on the tab? Check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1202111 and report back if it helps you get video back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill most likely open it tommorow and will check it out thanks
Dropped Gtab , screen wont turn on, device in APX mode
So I have decided not open up my gtab for many reasons including the fact that I am not experienced enough and when I put everything back together and the device still doesn't work it wont be in condition to be returned or anything
Is there still another way software wise (i.e ADB , nvflash) does anyone know why screen wont turn on my device does turn on and APX mode is enabled?
techlawsam said:
So I have decided not open up my gtab for many reasons including the fact that I am not experienced enough and when I put everything back together and the device still doesn't work it wont be in condition to be returned or anything
Is there still another way software wise (i.e ADB , nvflash) does anyone know why screen wont turn on my device does turn on and APX mode is enabled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than likely your screen going out is related to one of 2 things. Either when you dropped it, the video cable came loose inside & just needs reseated or the drop damaged something on a chip level which would not be fixable by anything software.
honestly, opening your tablet up is not as hard as it seems. Just like people were saying before take 4 screws out and use a credit card to pop the case apart (there are 3 clips per side). I have opened my tablet many times during the installation of the internal gps module and it is really not too hard. I can say that the first time you open it, it is harder to get the clips to pop with a credit card. Just keep trying you will get it.
sorry i didnt post for a while school started up and also the fact i didnt want to put the effort things are winding down and Im thinking to do this for these two days. I think the hardest part for me is on how to remove those four rubber "Shoes" without ripping them in half really...and what type of screwdriver is needed to open the case up?
Thanks again
Alright i finally did my own reading removed the rubber pads and i removed the screws still haven't popped the case but i figured it will be super easy with a credit card. I am wondering the video cable is the cable to the right of the photo with the different color wires correct? So I should just unplug and plug it back in?
viewsonic gtab cover off
Screen Conenctor(s)
techlawsam said:
Alright i finally did my own reading removed the rubber pads and i removed the screws still haven't popped the case but i figured it will be super easy with a credit card. I am wondering the video cable is the cable to the right of the photo with the different color wires correct? So I should just unplug and plug it back in?
viewsonic gtab cover off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 connectors. One connects to the motherboard & the other connect to the screen. It could be either that needs reseatd. See the attached pdf.
View attachment 766810
Dang more surgery and opening :/ now I gotta be careful. What tool opens those screws(golden) at the outer perimeter of the board? I dont think a phillips or flathead would do the job maybe a "L-key" ?
All phillips in the photo
techlawsam said:
Dang more surgery and opening :/ now I gotta be careful. What tool opens those screws(golden) at the outer perimeter of the board? I dont think a phillips or flathead would do the job maybe a "L-key" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless they've changed something, all the ones in the photo are philips. Take a photo of what you see & attach it to a post
opened the case up and reseated coupler
ok opened it up, i found the coupler with the multicolored wires loose so i just pushed it out with a flat head gently and then pushed it back in the other coupler closest to it with the silver sheilding did not look like it moved and looked tight and secure i did not touch. I put the cover back on screws, pads pushed the power button(battery seems to die very quickly for some reason as well so connecting charger) and the device is still not turning on should I maybe push the reset button on the board?
Related
I bought the phone thinking i could fix it... i have tried all the suggestions on resolving white screen... i have attempted to load Schap's cooked rom 4.22 and not luck... the phone powers on, syncs up i can access the files thru windows explorer... it charges... but still just shows the white screen...
Now after multiple attempts at loading the rom, i was able to get the today screen up once, but then it went away...
I have the phone, battery, charger, usb cable and software cd....
Since i can access the files thru explorer... is there anything i can do that way to see if i can get this phone working? maybe some files i can delete or replace...
I have tried the hard reset and soft resets adn nothing helps..
when i try to load the TNT rom when it gets to the part that its going to begin loading, it kills the activesync and then complains that its not connected or has been disconnected...
Anything else i can try?
Read this page, maybe you'll find the necessary help.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Unbrick
cubangt said:
I bought the phone thinking i could fix it... i have tried all the suggestions on resolving white screen... i have attempted to load Schap's cooked rom 4.22 and not luck... the phone powers on, syncs up i can access the files thru windows explorer... it charges... but still just shows the white screen...
Now after multiple attempts at loading the rom, i was able to get the today screen up once, but then it went away...
I have the phone, battery, charger, usb cable and software cd....
Since i can access the files thru explorer... is there anything i can do that way to see if i can get this phone working? maybe some files i can delete or replace...
I have tried the hard reset and soft resets adn nothing helps..
when i try to load the TNT rom when it gets to the part that its going to begin loading, it kills the activesync and then complains that its not connected or has been disconnected...
Anything else i can try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two things to try if you've not...
1) Open it up (it's quite rugged!) and check the screen connector is plugged in OK. A lot of white screens are simply loose cables apparently. There is a thread discussing this here. Also Mikechannon is your hardware guru and his website has some excellent information about disassembly/reassembly that should help you out.
2) Try using the application "mymobiler" (freeware) - which allows you to see your hermes screen on your desktop PC when connected over activesync. I've put a mirror of the setup file here until 23/01 as the www.mtux.com site was timing out occasionally while I was looking this up for you (might be my end tho!)
Finally - I don't recommend attempting to flash any more ROMs until the screen issue is updated as you can't see whats going on and there is a risk you could end up with a weirdo hybrid-type brick
Good luck - Hope you get it working and if all else fails (I know you don't want to hear this) but I'm sure some of us here would be interested in slipping you a few quid for spares if the worst came to the worst...
I had almost given up on the phone once i was offered money for it.. i originally took it apart and only checked the connections on the main motherboard.. and that didnt work.. after reading the HTC tech manual and noticing that the LCD also had a cable that connected to a slot and not physically part of the screen i decided to open the LCD casing also.. and sure enough it was the LCD screen cable.. unless you really paid attention you would have never notice.. but i could see a slight angle on the cable connection, it was barely lose on one corner.. i re-seated the connection closed it up and less than 5 minutes the phone was working...
THANK YOU!!!!
I was able to fix a phone i bought for $75 and loaded TNT rom on it lastnight.. and have been customizing it the rest of the night and today...
Funny part is the guy who sold it to me, said it only need to have the ROM reloaded on it..
THANKS again for the suggestions and links... i have saved and booked marked everything..
I guess i spoke to soon... after posting that i was on my way with a nicely used $75 phone. The screen started to fade white....
Using My Mobiler i can see my desktop of the phone.. i can access and do everything... but the screen is white.. and it still functions as far as touch screen, so if guess at where things are i can tap on them and the phone reacts...
So now im back to square 1 with the phone, but atleast this time i know that it is functional software wise just cant see anything..
I opened it up 2 times since it went out and re-verified all connections.. everything has been reseated.. still no improvement.. if im lucky, it will come up to display but once i start tapping around on the screen it will slowly fade out to white...
I have noticed that alot of people have mentioned that after getting the white screen they load another rom on the phone and works for a while then starts to act up again.. can someone tell me how they are loading a rom on a phone with a white screen?
I mean i know the phone works besides the display since i have My Mobiler i can see and do anything i want on the phone.. but thats only good with a active connection thru activesync...
I dont want to try and reload a rom on the phone and mess it up more than it already is..
The screen will display for a few seconds sometimes.. and then fade out to white..
Alright, so I very stupidly got curious and took apart my x10.
After putting it back together (very carefully and precisely) when I turned the phone on the screen lights up in the background but briefly displays colored scan lines in random directions for about a second. I've taken it apart and put it back together multiple times to assure I've attached all the cables and wires.
The thing is that the phone works since my computer recognizes it (i can hear the USB charge sound), and I managed to maneuver my way into the notification area and enable USB Connect and was able to view the SD card contents on my computer.
What could possibly be wrong? I didn't damage anything while taking it apart since I was very careful, but the screen just doesn't display anything. I'm very confused.
It would be nice to be able to fix this with some opinions instead of bringing it in and paying $100 to fix it or sending it in and having to wait 2 months.
Thanks in advanced.
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=668132
Maybe you can get some help here! Good luck!
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
Thanks for the link, I've posted in that thread also.
I'd still like to get some opinions in here tho.
The other day, I went to turn on my Prime and the screen didn't come one, so I thought the battery was dead. But even after charging it overnight, the screen still didn't come on, so I took a closer look and figured out that the tablet is powered on, but the screen is entirely black.
I know it's on because it makes the tone when you plug in or remove the power cable, and when I connected it via USB to my Win7 machine, it immediately installed the drivers and correctly identified it as a Transformer Prime.
So basically I have a running tablet with a black screen; no boot animations or text, just nothing. I would assume it's a hardware problem rather than software, unless anyone out there has a better idea.
I bought it used on Ebay, so I know I'm probably SOL in regard to warranty, but will Asus fix it for a fee? Or is there a market for mostly-bricked tablets out there?
Thanks
Hmmmm...motherboard could have died. I'd at least check with Asus, but barring that id open it first to make sure the LCD ribbon inside never came off.
As a final option you could let someone with a busted LCD but working prime try it out.
Have a look at the post by youngnex in the RMA Question thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33281353
I'd say send it in and see what they say. But then I'm biased as I bought mine on eBay too and want to know! Lol
Seriously, though, for $20 I'd send it in to see.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
Cool, thanks for the info. A loose cable would explain it, but I'm not too keen on opening it up. I'll look around for instructions on how to do it, but if it seems over my head I guess I'll try to send it back and see how it goes.
Kennedy808 said:
Cool, thanks for the info. A loose cable would explain it, but I'm not too keen on opening it up. I'll look around for instructions on how to do it, but if it seems over my head I guess I'll try to send it back and see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might want to start here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1479664
Have you actually tried to reboot it by holding down the power button for 10s? My i9000 sometimes does this and a reboot always fixes it.
So, the screen doesn't light up at all? Not even any edge lighting?
In that situation, I'd be connecting it via HDMI cable to an external HDMI screen. You'll need to get a micro-HDMI adapter in order to do this. You can get them from monoprice.com pretty cheap ($2ish).
Opening your prime isn't hugely difficult. There's videos on the internet on how to do it. The real key to opening it is that there are locks that hold the screen down that you need to slide open -- they're under the rubber stoppers that cover the docking station holes.
Now, changing the LCD is a HUGE, difficult pain.
Yes, I've tried to reboot it with a long power hold. I get the quick vibrate after about 10 seconds, but nothing at all on the screen.
It does sound like it might be just the LCD ribbon, so maybe I'll try to open it up this weekend.
For the sake of future Googlers, I wanted to post an update saying that I went ahead and opened it using the instructions linked in the post above, and was able to re-seat one of the ribbon cables, and everything works fine now. Thanks to everyone for the help.
All,
Been lurking for quite some time - I've used the info via search to install 2 different ROMS (VeganTab 7.1 and SmootherBean 4.1.2) over the course of the last year or so. I decided Friday night I'd give another one a try...and that's when things went south.
I'm well versed technically, and have no issue using or understanding nvflash, APX mode, etc. So, my first two forays into getting the G-tablet setup went real well. I enjoyed the process and the results were great.
So anyway, I am about to start the process for the third ROM, giving Harmony JellyBean a shot.
Upon shutdown of my tablet from SmootherBean, things got funky. I *may* have left the USB cord in the tablet and my computer, as I was backing up a few files before starting. But, I think I pulled it out. I don't recall, because I didn't think I was going to have an issue at that stage.
Basically, the tablet went dark and then it appeared to refuse to power up. I decided, since I hadn't started loading anything, or attempting to nvflash anything, that it was removed from my upgrade process - this happened before cracking into a new ROM in any way, aside from backing up data.
So, I ended up opening up the gtablet and followed the instructions I found searching to pull the battery cord and reset it. After I did this, it booted up - but not normally. It booted to the SmootherBean lock screen, but had no touch screen.
So then I made what was probably a large mistake. I figured since these things are hard to brick, I'd go ahead flash it with the Team DRH 350mb version via nvflash and then just install Harmony Bean. My gTablet hasn't booted properly since.
Currently all I get on boot is the 3 birds, and then a few seconds later, there appears to be about a 5-6 pixel "band" that turns black on the bottom. Otherwise the image doesn't change. Trying recovery mode boot is the same - it states it's booting to the recovery kernel, but then the black band appears on the bottom and it goes no where. I've let it sit minutes, even over an hour....no go.
So, I've spent time this weekend off and on, searching these forums for any tips I can find. I've tried the bekit full stock flashes, the format jobs, opening the tablet and pulling the battery, shorting the contacts, some of the CWM based nvflash files, just doing the recovery image, etc.
The last one I tried seemed like it was the "be all" for this type of situation: Restoring the G-Tablet from a failed recovery found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1167944
So I staged everything and began, and same deal, as soon as I get to any steps where it should boot, it refuses to. It just shows that darn black band of pixels below the 3 birds image after a few seconds.
I get the feeling it's got a message behind there, I just don't know what it is.
So - basically I've been unable to get this going. Is there anything else I can try? I've tried the TeamDRH ICS and JellyBean nvflashes, the bekit stock, 3028 w/ cwm, 5504 w/ cwm, (both 1.2 branch), etc.
Here's a few things I'm probably doing wrong, or did wrong during this ordeal:
1.) Possibly left the usb cord in when shutting down the tablet running SmootherBean. Is that a problem if so?
2.) When opening the gtablet, I did, sad to say as this is embarrassing, damaged the ribbon cable going to the camera. About two of the copper leads in the cable are damaged. I removed the camera as a result, but put it back in to see if that would change things. I did this damage on the initial opening of it, and it did boot (albeit w/ no touchscreen) afterwards. I don't see how the camera attacheds to the touchpanel so I don't see them as related.
2a.) Could the device be looking for the camera on initial boot and fail with it missing or broken?
2b.) Did I mention that was an embarrassing goof? Heh... I've done plenty of board work and small soldering, opened most of my electronic devices, modded many, so embarassed I damaged that cable...
3.) I can't recall if my tablet was a 1.1 or 1.2 branch device. I've tried both though...all things I nvflash have he same symptoms upon bootup.
So....what do you all think? Could this simply be a hardware issue? Am I doing something way wrong? Any tips beyond search?
I've searched and searched for hours, and read tons of posts and tried many things - the only thing I couldn't find was any reference to a damaged camera and/or this black band of pixels that appears seconds after booting up.
I think those birds are laughing at me.
Thx in advance, this place is a great resource for info!!
First: I would check all the cables. Other people have opened their tablets up and dislodged the cables to the touchscreen, the HW buttons and the LCD display. It's caused problems before.
Second: If you've checked that all the cables are correctly and securely connected, then use nvflash with bekit's image files and go back to a 1.1 bootloader. Then, run the command in this post with the modified image in the attachment and post pics or the kernel messages that show up on the screen. This should let us determine if it's a HW problem or something else.
Did you use an anti-static wrist strap before you opened the tablet up?
rajeevvp said:
First: I would check all the cables. Other people have opened their tablets up and dislodged the cables to the touchscreen, the HW buttons and the LCD display. It's caused problems before.
Second: If you've checked that all the cables are correctly and securely connected, then use nvflash with bekit's image files and go back to a 1.1 bootloader. Then, run the command in this post with the modified image in the attachment and post pics or the kernel messages that show up on the screen. This should let us determine if it's a HW problem or something else.
Did you use an anti-static wrist strap before you opened the tablet up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! The image with kernal messages is sweet - it worked great.
I followed the entire thread from the post you made (here) and my gtablet stops at the same spot the poster had in there.
I took it apart again before checkign this thread and couldn't see any visible damage. But, I will take look at the board/connectors for the soft buttons. That sounds like it is my problem.
Thx!
Breadfan209 said:
I followed the entire thread from the post you made (here) and my gtablet stops at the same spot the poster had in there.
I took it apart again before checkign this thread and couldn't see any visible damage. But, I will take look at the board/connectors for the soft buttons. That sounds like it is my problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reboot the tablet a few times and see if it stops at the same place. Note that even if it always stops by failing to initialize the soft button controller, that might not be the only problem. Remember that we're only seeing last few lines. Also keep in mind that problems with the main SoC chip itself could appear as problems with the soft-button controller or the connections to it.
Still, I'm intrigued at the fact that 2 different tablets are stopping at the same place.
I have the same problem on my Z-pad.How can I do?
Did you hard brick your Verizon Note 2? Flashed the wrong boot loader, now you're bootlooping and ODIN can't save you??
We all know a ton of users who have had this happen to them, I read it all the time. After stumbling upon another post I figured I had a chance. The instructions are clear but I want to build upon them with my own experience.
So first off many, many thanks to KOBOL for posting his guide which is buried below a ton of other posts in this General Section. I wouldn’t have a working phone without his work!
A bit of background info: I flashed a T-Mobile Note 2, 4.3 ODIN Image for My Verizon Note 2 because I wasn't paying attention... All I saw: "4.3 stock/rooted/deodex with 4.1.2 bootloader" (which I have) and "no wifi fix needed & stock kernel running smooth" (I have wifi fix & custom kernel, both which cause constant reboots) SO... I flashed it and boot-looped. "Good job, dumb dumb" I thought to myself as I gazed upon my hard bricked phone. No ODIN restore could get me out of this one, and I tried for 2 hours...
Then I found Kobol's post on unbricking your phone. I read the instructions, I was very confused at first as to how I was going to get this accomplished, so I am writing up this re-tutorial with new instructions. Make sure you have precision screwdrivers, flat and philips head.
Continue to Post #2 to Unbrick your i605!!
Instructions for Unbricking Hard-bricked i605
1a) DOWNLOAD THIS - It contains an IMG file you'll need to restore your 4.1.2 Bootloader, also contains 2 pictures of the resistor you'll need to short. More on that later.
1b) The above download is all you need if you're on 4.1.2.If you're on the newer 4.3 MJ9 Bootloader, download this too and use that IMG instead. the 4.1.2 download is necessary because of the pictures. Not 56k friendly. I will edit when KOBOL reviews this and allows me re-upload his pictures as a separate download.
2) Download and install win32diskimager. it'll write those image files to the micro SD card properly. DO NOT JUST DRAG AND DROP THE IMG... YOU MUST WRITE IT WITH AN IMAGING PROGRAM
3) Write the downloaded IMG file to the Micro SD using win32diskimager. Select the source and destination, that's it super easy. Make sure Micro SD is at least 2GB. I used a 32GB it was the only one I had and it worked fine, no need for exactly 2GB micro SD.
4) Open phone, no need to completely dismantle to the screen.... many good videos can be found on youtube. Take out every screw you can see and remove the rear outer plastic casing.
5) Once the board is exposed, remove the black screw that holds the speaker assembly to the phone. Remove and place speaker aside.
6) Remove 2nd screw on the right side along the skinny motherboard strip. Remove all wifi connectors/lcd connectors/camera connectors, etc. The motherboard can now be removed completely.
7) Gently remove the speaker/power button, the power button has a mild adhesive to hold it to the phone, as does the headphone speaker. Peel them off and out of the phone.
8) remove the charging port board from the phone housing, that too has adhesive, peel up carefully and place aside. You'll need this outside and plugged into the board eventually as well.
On to Post #3.
9) TRICKY PARTS... I flipped the board over to expose the resistor KOBOL shows us to short. ** Picture is in the 1st download for 4.1.2 Bootloader ** I then plugged in the phone's LCD cable (the cable that comes out on the top right when viewed from behind; above where the volume rocker is) The motherboard should be flipped over exposing the resistor, the LCD cable is barely long enough to let the phone housing lie flat beside it, which you don't want. You'll want to prop the sceen vertical so you can see it when you do the next few steps. I used an external drive butted against the front of the screen that had rubber feet so it wouldn't slide and scotch tape.
10) Re-attach the power button/headphone speaker to the motherboard. Also plug in your prepared SD card.
11) Place the battery next to the battery terminals, swing the power button over on top of the battery. With one hand, you should be able to hold the motherboard from sliding while your holding both the battery to the terminals, and the power button to the battery. I did this with my left thumb to hold the motherboard from sliding, my left middle finger holding the battery against the contacts of the motherboard, and my left index finger to push the power button which is on top of the battery.
12) place your smallest precision screwdriver on the resister KOBOL shows you in the picture. Using a screwdriver with the other hand sure beats having to a) solder, good luck! KOBOL is a solder pro and I don't have any soldering irons with tips THAT small, and b) beats using a paper clip or something silly. The screwdriver shorts the resistor with minimal effort. Make sure you apply MILD pressure to the screwdriver to ensure your touching both sides of the resistor's contacts. My screwdriver was exactly the width of the resistor, don't be using grandpa's 1' long screwdriver on that motherboard.
13) READY?!?! OK!! with the resister shorted by the screwdriver in 1 hand, the battery held in place and the power button ready to be pressed in the other... start counting to 5 as soon as you feel the click of that tiny little button. Hold the power button; if you let go, you might slip and now the battery won't be supplying power to the phone, aka this operation will fail.
** Make sure you know how to count to 6 properly, none of this '123456' super-speed counting like we did playing hide and seek growing up. Listen to the tick of a clock if you can or start a timer somewhere. **
14) After counting to 5, remove the screwdriver, I'd suggest keeping the power button held, the phone won't turn off (just like booting the phone for real; holding it after the phone turns on, the phone still turns on right?) And it prevents the battery from disconnecting.
15) If you're lucky, you'll see some text on your screen saying SD something something in red and saying it wrote the file. I was way too excited that this worked and I forgot what it said to be honest. Pretty much it'll be the 1st thing your phone displays that isn't a boot-looping logo!
16) Go ahead and relax. Let the battery disconnect from the board. You can go ahead and semi-reassemble you're phone to test. I placed the board back in the phone housing, plugged in power button/headphone speaker, speaker phone/charing port & circuit, camera, etc... plugged in all wires/connectors, and make sure to put those 2 black screws back in before placing housing back on... (1 for speakerphone/charging port, one for the board)
Post #4
17) Power up your phone and you should be greeted with the "Verizon has detected..." blah blah unauthorized software. AWESOME AND CONGRATS! Pull the battery and boot to Download/ODIN mode.
** NOTE ** I have NO IDEA if you can downgrade during this process, no one in KOBOL's thread had yet to confirm as of this writing. Flash whatever you're coming from, you went this far to Un-brick your phone, why do it again? If you went to 4.3, deal with it and restore 4.3 Coming from 4.1.2? restore 4.1.2 then! Besides SafeStrapping is coming soon
18) Restore your phone with a working ODIN image, whether it be a stock keis image, your favorite ODIN image (root66 ODIN is great) etc. etc.
19) After the ODIN restore is complete, you may boot loop but this is normal, you need a factory reset. Pull battery, boot recovery, do a factory reset. You'll be OK now!
20) BASK IN THE GLORY OF YOUR RESTORED VERIZON GALAXY NOTE 2!
I'm sorry I don't have any of my own pictures, it was nerve-racking enough just to get through this and have enough hands to do it. Waking up my girlfriend so I can ask her "hold the battery just like this..." at 2 AM would have been a bad idea..
MANY, MANY, MAAAANY thanks to KOBOL for engineering this very clever recovery process... I would be out a phone right now or shopping online for JTAG devices. All the while be at work with no phone tomorrow and the next day while I wait for a replacement phone to arrive. To think I have insurance and most likely would have been fine to get a replacement (sent rooted & unlocked phones back several times no issues) I did this all so I wouldn't be without my phone for 36 hours!!
May this guide be helpful to even ONE PERSON... please give thanks, and more importantly, message KOBOL and ask him how to send a donation, I will be doing so myself!
Best of luck to all. :good:
Excellent DIY post! Thank you for sharing your experience and methods!
In your final comments are you mentioning this will also allow you to downgrade for those who did the 4.3 OTA update?
If someone would help me put setup my micro sd for the flash i would try a downgrade. I dont have a micro sd to sd adapter for my laptop.......
I tried this for a bout a 2 hours. I got a white screen a few times. Weird thing is I couldn't get it to boot and when I finally did I was able to boot into Odin mode only
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app
Were you attempting to downgrade? Once you got into ODIN, could you actually download ROMS?
iooooooc said:
Were you attempting to downgrade? Once you got into ODIN, could you actually download ROMS?
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Yea I was attempting to downgrade. I noticed the resistor was broken so now I need to fix the resistor and try this again
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app
bigshotrob22 said:
Yea I was attempting to downgrade. I noticed the resistor was broken so now I need to fix the resistor and try this again
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app
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Can't wait...took my phone apart last week and had the same reaction you did in KOBOL's original thread (this crap is WAY to small)...I am looking forward to see if this downgrade is possible. I will keep you posted if I get around to trying this method before you get the chance to fix that resistor...
iooooooc said:
Can't wait...took my phone apart last week and had the same reaction you did in KOBOL's original thread (this crap is WAY to small)...I am looking forward to see if this downgrade is possible. I will keep you posted if I get around to trying this method before you get the chance to fix that resistor...
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Sounds good. I got a message to appear on the screen but right after the screen went crazy and that's when I noticed the resistor was broken.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app
bigshotrob22 said:
Sounds good. I got a message to appear on the screen but right after the screen went crazy and that's when I noticed the resistor was broken.
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Aww shucks, yea that puppy is really tiny so best of luck. When it's time to remove it you can nuke it real quick with a soldering iron and pull it off with tweezers. Pre-tin the new resistor and then blast it onto the board. that'll be pretty tricky.
FYI to those who continue onwards to fix their phones... do not short it while giving it power for more than 5 seconds. KOBOL mentioned that in his original post and I headed to it, it appears that resistor can be damaged so be careful. I guess after several hours of attempts it gave out. Best of luck, bigshotrob22.
OffTheChainz said:
Excellent DIY post! Thank you for sharing your experience and methods!
In your final comments are you mentioning this will also allow you to downgrade for those who did the 4.3 OTA update?
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Thank you! I didn't mean to insinuate that a 4.3 downgrade could be possible with this method, more like I was mentioning people were contemplating doing it. If I was on the 4.3 bootloader I'd have tried it, I think this is more of a backdoor homebrew j-tag to restore. I'm interested to see if it can be done too!
Any tips on shorting this? I'm going to test this for a downgrade this weekend.
Sent from my RM-915_nam_usa_228 using Tapatalk
roflcoptersoisoi said:
Any tips on shorting this? I'm going to test this for a downgrade this weekend.
Sent from my RM-915_nam_usa_228 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
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I plan on using a pair of fine tip tweezers...
Be careful!
roflcoptersoisoi said:
Any tips on shorting this? I'm going to test this for a downgrade this weekend.
Click to expand...
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iooooooc said:
I plan on using a pair of fine tip tweezers...
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I had used a very small precision screwdriver, like one you would get in an eye glass kit. It worked just fine for me. You don't need to grab the sides of the resistor, there is enough metal on top of it to short it with a screwdriver. Just be careful, everyone.
I don't know how you'd get a new resistor on the board, that is a bit beyond my technical abilities. Maybe with a magnifying glass, a needle-tipped soldering iron and a very steady hand??
I have successfully unbricked two Sch-I605 by writing image to sd card . One I used a usb jig for 5 seconds the other by using three buttons to get in download mode I did not have to short resistor and those two were bricked.after screen said sdcard is loaded to emmc I pulled battery then reflashed with odin. One was on 4.3 the other was 4.12. Thanks to all involved for making this possible. I now have two working notes with unlocked bootloaders.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
How did a jig work... doesn't USB jigs put you in download mode...
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
Same issue, different solutions? Unlocked 4.3??
jkiwitt said:
I have successfully unbricked two Sch-I605 by writing image to sd card . One I used a usb jig for 5 seconds the other by using three buttons to get in download mode I did not have to short resistor and those two were bricked.after screen said sdcard is loaded to emmc I pulled battery then reflashed with odin. One was on 4.3 the other was 4.12. Thanks to all involved for making this possible. I now have two working notes with unlocked bootloaders.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
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Please explain the conditions the phones were in a bit more, I'm curious as to how you did it without the resistor trick. I was able to boot my phone to download mode but I couldn't flash it with ODIN for PC because it would write fail. Perhaps I could have re-flashed the phone by using the SD only, no resistor shorting necessary?
I think the resistor shorting is for people who are truly F'ed and have no Download mode, booting etc. I would love to get more clarification on this. I'll append my original post/guide and leave out the entire disassembling process and just have the users use the SD image KOBOL provided.
There's a few scenarios I can imagine:
1) Bricked like I was, flashed right phone, but wrong carrier firmware. Download mode only, can't write anything to NAND, boot-looped constantly - SD Card re-image Only?
2) Bricked with NO use-able interface. Download mode is toast, no life from phone whatsoever. (Perhaps flashed not only wrong carrier bootloader like I did, maybe user flashed completely different phone firmware?!) - Resistor trick??
3) Bricked via flashing correct firmware that is somehow corrupted. ODIN froze mid-flash, cable unplugged accidentally, etc. - SD Card re-image Only?
I would like to verify the repairable condition of any bricked state so I can at least know exactly what to do to fix it. The opening line of my OP is "flashed wrong firmware now you're bootlooping?" but there are so many ways to make this happen that require different solutions.
Let me know about those 2 phones when you can, thanks. and WAIT A SEC... I just noticed your statement, "I now have two working notes with unlocked bootloaders." So did you unlock 4.3 with this method?!
Did my research, looks like a jig forces download mode yes? so I see 3 things happening...
1) you CAN access Download Mode manually with 3-button power up. No ODIN flashing can save you but the SD Card trick works. I did the resistor method anyways because I didn't try it with SD-Only. This is still a soft brick I guess, if it can be fixed via SD and not a teardown. Worked for me because I had correct phone, but improper carrier firmware so Download Mode still worked??
2) you CAN'T get to Download Mode so you use a jig which forces Download Mode. I'm assuming if Download Mode can't even be accessed pre-jig or pre-resistor attempt... how is the firmware capable of being re-written from SD?
3) you CAN'T access Download Mode and you don't have a jig, so you use the resistor technique. It sort of does what the jig does only forces it at the board level and requires a teardown.
Next time I F-up my phone, I'll try and restore it via SD-Only. Otherwise, we might be able to skip this resistor-technique and use a jig instead. More info on USB Jigs here
jkiwitt said:
I have successfully unbricked two Sch-I605 by writing image to sd card . One I used a usb jig for 5 seconds the other by using three buttons to get in download mode I did not have to short resistor and those two were bricked.after screen said sdcard is loaded to emmc I pulled battery then reflashed with odin. One was on 4.3 the other was 4.12. Thanks to all involved for making this possible. I now have two working notes with unlocked bootloaders.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Could you please clarify? I just attempted the three button method and was able to access download mode, but nothing will write from my SD card. Is there another step I need to do to get the .img to write once I am in download mode? I am attempting to downgrade from 4.3 to 4.1.2