[Q] need help dead phone - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Doesn't power on at all, tried 3 botten /w battery in and out tried two w/battery in and out. and made a jig doesn't work. help I had this happen before and someone help me.
was running a custom 2.2 and the phone keeped rebooting so i loaded Samsung kies and it said everything was great. then morning

I think we need a sticky around here that says "Don't use Mini Kies, It might brick your phone!"

so is there hope? or
do i send off my phone to one off those repair shops
and is there a cheep one someone knows of, It been a great month quit job to move to AZ and then found out at 32 I have spine cancer so dont have much money

call tmobile and tell them that you were upgrading your phone using kies and it won't turn back on, should be covered under warranty

Yep has happened to others and T-Mobile has to cover it because its the "official" way to upgrade our phones.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I did the hardware GPS fix so don't think it will be covered (be able to send it in)

You could run your phone over with your car, our leave it In a can and report it to insurance.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

davidtanis said:
I did the hardware GPS fix so don't think it will be covered (be able to send it in)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pm this guy, he can JTAG it but not sure of cost

bfranklin1986 said:
call tmobile and tell them that you were upgrading your phone using kies and it won't turn back on, should be covered under warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WRONG!!! WRONG!!! Suggestion, I repeat do not tell them you were using KIES, unless you want to be without your phone for 3 plus weeks!!
They will immediately tell you, that is a Samsung problem, and you'll have to ship it to Plano, TX where they will take their sweet time in JTAGing it!!
Also unless you had extended warranty coverage/insurance, any physical damage or water damage etc they WILL NOT COVER IT, I know this for a FACT!!
They will only cover the replacement, if it hasn't been modded by SW or HW modding and it has no physical damage other than normal wear and tear. PERIOD!!
Also did you just bend the tabs a bit to improve signal reception for the GPS contact fix or did you build up solder on it??
Cause if you just bent it a little, your in the clear pal!! Unless you never got a chance to restore it back to JFD stock Froyo before you hosed it with Kies!!
I myself used solder, and had to use solder wick to remove it all so it looked OEM, and they never balked at it, = NO CHARGEBACK TO ME!!!
Instead tell them, you were using the phone to talk with your main Skeeezzer or whatever, and it just died= Period! TELL them no more than that, and they wont even question you, when you receive your new phone, you'll have to send the old one out in it, Once they receive it, they'll do a power up test, and that'll be it end of story. At that point, they will do a charge back to Samsung!! BUT NOT to you!!!
BTW KIES is notorious for corrupting the BL.bin and the SBL.bin files, You are truly hard bricked my friend!! BTW BL is Boot loader and SBL is 2ndary bootloader They were hosed by KIES, and once they are corrupted, its Either JTAG it or replacement
You do have 2 other options if you already ****ed up with TMO
1st suggestion, Pay $40 AND SEND IT TO TECH MOBILE, AND JOSH WILL RESURRECT IT FOR YOU WITH QUICK TURN TIMES!
lINK: http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-vibrant-jtag-brick-repair/
OR TRY THIS : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1220181
BTW Good luck, and wish you the best with your fight on the spine cancer!! That is truly a kick in the nut sack!! :[

When you plug the phone in to either a PC or charger does the phone get any life at all? As in do you see the "spindles" or battery charging icon?
If the phone is getting no life at all. Unfortunately a JTAG would seem to be the only fix for you.
Good luck!

Related

[REQ] Help to recover my partially bricked Fuze

The problem: I flashed a radio to my device that is (obviously) incompatible with my device (if you really want the details, its embarassing, but I'll post if necessary). My phone freezes on bootup, and never initializes the Radio/ROM (and for good reason).
This is what happens now: If my phone is off, I can turn it on, but I only get the first boot up screen, and the red numbers in the bottom right-hand corner never appear. At that point, I cannot turn off my phone without taking out the battery. If I take out the battery and put it back in, and attach the phone to a charger (or USB cable), the light on the phone will "breathe", as if its charging. However, if I then disconnect the phone, the light will CONTINUE breathing.
I also cannot turn on the phone while its connected to either the charger or USB cable.
My phone is Hard-SPL'ed and Security Unlocked. But the real issue I'm having is that I can't get into Bootloader to flash something else. Apparently, I've corrupted the Bootloader. When I turn the phone on, and press the reset button while holding Vol-down, the phone just goes black.
I might be okay getting a warranty exchange if not for this: I can still hard reset my phone. It doesn't make any sense to me, but when I turn it on, I can do the soft-reset-button, Vol-down, Action button combo, and my phone flashes through Bootloader to give the the hard reset menu. It flashes that screen just long enough to see that my phone has 1.90Olinex as the SPL. So, I think I may be screwed, unless someone here can help.
My wife is very . . . upset . . . about this, and is worried that we'll have to spend money because of my continuous "tinkering" with my phone.
Any help anyone can offer is greatly appreciated.
I know this is my own stupid fault, and I should've known better, but it would be nice to get confirmation from the experts here that I'm just going to have to chalk one up in the "L" column at this point.
Q
Have you tried to flash from the SD card?
Hi Captain_Throwback,
Try copying Raph Radio 1.11.25.01 to the root of a FAT32 SD Card ... you'll need to rename the .NBH to RAPHIMG.NBH.
Pull the SIM out of the phone and power it back on as per usual; I've noticed that the phone "blacks out" for a bit but then switches to flash mode.
Good luck.
PS: suggest getting the large carry-on with the wheels for the guilt trip - heaven knows it's come in handy for me
That's a bummer, man. You gotta at least 'fess up part of the story to prevent someone else from falling into the same trap (however unlikely that may be). And maybe, just maybe, it will help someone else figure out how to fix your problem.
What radio did you try and flash.
Hopefully it wasn't the new Rhodium radio? Or a Rose radio?
I have done this a few times on my tilt, all I did was put it into the boot loader, it worked from hard reset screen as well, and flashed the rom via activesync. I am assuming that you are not able to get a sync, or have you tried yet? I know my fize will also sync [to flash] from bootloadr.
Captain_Throwback said:
The problem: I flashed a radio to my device that is (obviously) incompatible with my device (if you really want the details, its embarassing, but I'll post if necessary). My phone freezes on bootup, and never initializes the Radio/ROM (and for good reason).
This is what happens now: If my phone is off, I can turn it on, but I only get the first boot up screen, and the red numbers in the bottom right-hand corner never appear. At that point, I cannot turn off my phone without taking out the battery. If I take out the battery and put it back in, and attach the phone to a charger (or USB cable), the light on the phone will "breathe", as if its charging. However, if I then disconnect the phone, the light will CONTINUE breathing.
I also cannot turn on the phone while its connected to either the charger or USB cable.
My phone is Hard-SPL'ed and Security Unlocked. But the real issue I'm having is that I can't get into Bootloader to flash something else. Apparently, I've corrupted the Bootloader. When I turn the phone on, and press the reset button while holding Vol-down, the phone just goes black.
I might be okay getting a warranty exchange if not for this: I can still hard reset my phone. It doesn't make any sense to me, but when I turn it on, I can do the soft-reset-button, Vol-down, Action button combo, and my phone flashes through Bootloader to give the the hard reset menu. It flashes that screen just long enough to see that my phone has 1.90Olinex as the SPL. So, I think I may be screwed, unless someone here can help.
My wife is very . . . upset . . . about this, and is worried that we'll have to spend money because of my continuous "tinkering" with my phone.
Any help anyone can offer is greatly appreciated.
I know this is my own stupid fault, and I should've known better, but it would be nice to get confirmation from the experts here that I'm just going to have to chalk one up in the "L" column at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn I'm sorry to hear about your issue and i feel for ya because I did some stupid **** myself a lil' while back if you remember. Your advice to reflash the oem rom worked for me 100%. Have you tried hard resetting and then trying to get into bootloader mode?
AllTheWay said:
What radio did you try and flash.
Hopefully it wasn't the new Rhodium radio? Or a Rose radio?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I'll tell you . . . it wasn't a Rose radio (I know P1Tater bricked his phone that way) . . . but I figured, the Rhodium, its got the same hardware, right? I mean, T-Mobile is a GSM carrier . . . If I patch it for Raph, it may work . . . even though the radio number is so much different . . . I should still be able to get into Bootloader if it doesn't work, because I'm HardSPL'ed . . .
But no. I can't get into Bootloader. Believe me, I've tried. Every time I try, the phone just goes black. And I have a nice stock AT&T ROM on my Storage Card ready to flash, if only I could get it onto the phone.
I tried plugging into the computer, but it won't recognize the phone at all.
I wish it was REALLY bricked, but the fact that I can still hard reset it is very disappointing.
Captain_Throwback said:
Ok, I'll tell you . . . it wasn't a Rose radio (I know P1Tater bricked his phone that way) . . . but I figured, the Rhodium, its got the same hardware, right? I mean, T-Mobile is a GSM carrier . . . If I patch it for Raph, it may work . . . even though the radio number is so much different . . . I should still be able to get into Bootloader if it doesn't work, because I'm HardSPL'ed . . .
But no. I can't get into Bootloader. Believe me, I've tried. Every time I try, the phone just goes black. And I have a nice stock AT&T ROM on my Storage Card ready to flash, if only I could get it onto the phone.
I tried plugging into the computer, but it won't recognize the phone at all.
I wish it was REALLY bricked, but the fact that I can still hard reset it is very disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happened to me (sort of.) I flashed a diamond radio to my fuze... without security unlocking it first. Symptom wise, Exact same thing happened. I was able to (after days of tinkering) get it into bootloader from the hard reset screen. I just kept pressing the Hard rest sequence over and over while connected to USB. I noticed, one time, I got the USB at the bottom. Don't know how, don't know why, it just happened, I was then able to flash the Stock Cing ROM. Wierd stuff, But lucky. Hope you get it back on board. Is it insured? Because it would really suck if someone stole your bricked fuze.
Intertrochanterica said:
This happened to me (sort of.) I flashed a diamond radio to my fuze... without security unlocking it first. Symptom wise, Exact same thing happened. I was able to (after days of tinkering) get it into bootloader from the hard reset screen. I just kept pressing the Hard rest sequence over and over while connected to USB. I noticed, one time, I got the USB at the bottom. Don't know how, don't know why, it just happened, I was then able to flash the Stock Cing ROM. Wierd stuff, But lucky. Hope you get it back on board. Is it insured? Because it would really suck if someone stole your bricked fuze.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is insured, and paying $125 is better than having to buy a brand new phone, but if I can avoid spending money, my wife would be much happier .
I can hard reset just fine . . . if only the phone would stay on the bootloader screen when doing that . . . but it doesn't. I assume the bootloader has been corrupted, which is why the phone blacks out when trying to enter bootloader mode. I'll keep trying, I guess. I can't make it any worse. Actually, if I could, I'd be better off, so that way they can't find out my phone is Hard-SPL'ed.
Captain_Throwback said:
I can hard reset just fine . . . if only the phone would stay on the bootloader screen when doing that . . . but it doesn't. I assume the bootloader has been corrupted, which is why the phone blacks out when trying to enter bootloader mode. I'll keep trying, I guess. I can't make it any worse. Actually, if I could, I'd be better off, so that way they can't find out my phone is Hard-SPL'ed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try plugging it into a car battery, or something like that, and fry the sucker. That's my only piece of advice.
Captain_Throwback said:
I can't make it any worse. Actually, if I could, I'd be better off, so that way they can't find out my phone is Hard-SPL'ed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could make it worse if you get the white sticker wet and make it turn pink, but that would be very bad for you.
You are at the point to where you cant move beyond your current predicament in wither way. Im afraid I see no other alternative than to pay the $125.
Maybe you could sell your Fuze on Ebay for 125 to cover your insurance cost and you could make a notation on the Ebay site saying something like 'PARTIALLY USED FUZE' like that Carfax commercial does.
update
My phone is still bricked, but I'm taking it to a repair shop after work, where I'll find out whether I'll be getting a free warranty replacement, or paying $125 for an insurance replacement. At least I've been able to successfully determine that a Rhodium radio cannot be flashed to a Raphael. So no one else has to try it .
Keep us updated dude. Also, if you slip the guy $50 he may do the free warranty replacement for you... it might save you $75 and you wont have to use up one of your insurance claims.
Captain_Throwback said:
My phone is still bricked, but I'm taking it to a repair shop after work, where I'll find out whether I'll be getting a free warranty replacement, or paying $125 for an insurance replacement. At least I've been able to successfully determine that a Rhodium radio cannot be flashed to a Raphael. So no one else has to try it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crap, sorry to hear that. HAAH, just walk into the ATT store and say," I tried turning the phone on and this is what happened." And that you have never heard of XDA forums, roms, and though a radio was only for people in trucks or that wear camo.
iceman4357 said:
Crap, sorry to hear that. HAAH, just walk into the ATT store and say," I tried turning the phone on and this is what happened." And that you have never heard of XDA forums, roms, and though a radio was only for people in trucks or that wear camo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might work, if I hadn't bought the phone from my best friend, who just happens to manage an AT&T store. He actually knows that I had a custom ROM on my phone, and called ahead to the repair shop to let them know I was coming, and he said hopefully they won't notice the SPL in my bootloader if they try and hard reset it. So it is possible they'll just give the phone a cursory look to make sure its really not working, and then go ahead with a warranty replacement. I'll be sure to let everyone know what happens. In the meantime, the word of the day is "dumbass", LOL.
Farmer Ted said:
Try plugging it into a car battery, or something like that, and fry the sucker. That's my only piece of advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I would do.
Captain_Throwback said:
My phone is still bricked, but I'm taking it to a repair shop after work, where I'll find out whether I'll be getting a free warranty replacement, or paying $125 for an insurance replacement. At least I've been able to successfully determine that a Rhodium radio cannot be flashed to a Raphael. So no one else has to try it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I would not take it to the repair shop.
Here is what I would do. Call the warranty replacement department at AT&T. 1-800-801-1101. Tell them that you woke up and now your phone won't turn on. Once you go through all the steps they have to do to fix it, then they will ship you a replacement Fuze right away. The refurbished Fuze will have everything except for a battery and a back cover. Typically when I did this I received a new one the next day that I called.
Now take your battery out of your phone and your SIM card and microSD card. Put your phone in the microwave for 2 seconds. Walla. Now it's bricked and AT&T will have no way to tell if you have HardSPL or a cooked ROM on your phone. Trust me. It will work.
When you get your new phone just send the phone back in packing material that they provide to you and you won't have to spend any money to get a new phone or spend money to fix a phone.
Just do what I told you about. I promise it will work. Just trust me. I've done it before and it worked like a charm. No worries. Trust me, I'm not trying to lead you down the wrong path. I'm trying to get you a replacement just like I got when I bricked my last fuze trying out different radios. And use the phone number that AllTheWay posted just above me once you do what I told you.
P1Tater said:
Just do what I told you about. I promise it will work. Just trust me. I've done it before and it worked like a charm. No worries. Trust me, I'm not trying to lead you down the wrong path. I'm trying to get you a replacement just like I got when I bricked my last fuze trying out different radios. And use the phone number that AllTheWay posted just above me once you do what I told you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious what it is you told him, in case i'm in a similar position at any point !!
Lemme kno please here or PM is cool!
Thx
JFlitt
AllTheWay said:
That's what I would do.
Honestly I would not take it to the repair shop.
Here is what I would do. Call the warranty replacement department at AT&T. 1-800-801-1101. Tell them that you woke up and now your phone won't turn on. Once you go through all the steps they have to do to fix it, then they will ship you a replacement Fuze right away. The refurbished Fuze will have everything except for a battery and a back cover. Typically when I did this I received a new one the next day that I called.
Now take your battery out of your phone and your SIM card and microSD card. Put your phone in the microwave for 2 seconds. Walla. Now it's bricked and AT&T will have no way to tell if you have HardSPL or a cooked ROM on your phone. Trust me. It will work.
When you get your new phone just send the phone back in packing material that they provide to you and you won't have to spend any money to get a new phone or spend money to fix a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with this. If your friend works at the store and knows what you have done, I wouldnt go there. Call the number, fry the damn phone and get a new one. We need you back on your feet to help solve ROM issues my friend.

Full Brick / Odin crashed / Jig shows NO effect

Maybe i´ll be the first one who admits. But i successfully managed to fully brick my sgs2 (shame on me).
Calling my self stupid after that. Yes i do.
I missed to check wether there where processes vom kiez running as i started to flash with odin (3 parts).
At some point during the PIT section odin had a freeze and was gone. I waited for hours with no positive result.
Usb jib showed to reaction.
The result is, the phone is pretty much dead. No reaction on usb connectino. wether usb or ac.
Pulling the battery and all kind of hints did not work....
Anyone else faced similar problems?
I just send the phone to the repaircenter of my mobile provider.
Hopefully the flash is damaged that badly that they wont find a thing
The first thing to prevent bricking your device is NEVER FLASH .PIT FILE NOR TICK REPARTITION ON ODIN, NEVER!!! Now that it's done, the only thing that can help you is a JTAG box. The guys on the repair centre will have this and hopefully will be able to unbrick your device. Good luck, and then when you get it back and alive, do not mess with the .PIT again
angelomaldito said:
The first thing to prevent bricking your device is NEVER FLASH .PIT FILE, NEVER!!! Now that it's done, the only thing that can help you is a JTAG box. The guys on the repair centre will have this and hopefully will be able to unbrick your device. Good luck, and then when you get it back and alive, do not mess with the .PIT again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The worse part is, i basicly was aware of that.....
I doubt that some "common support guys" will have a jtag box and will solder the contact to the circuit board.
Im aware of the fact that this would be the only way to get hands on the badly damaged flash
biba.butzemann said:
The worse part is, i basicly was aware of that.....
I doubt that some "common support guys" will have a jtag box and will solder the contact to the circuit board.
Im aware of the fact that this would be the only way to get hands on the badly damaged flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure they will have the equipment. This is the basic tool for their work. If they don't, take a look here:
http://www.jtagbox.com/riff-jtag-bo...s-unbrick-bricked-phone-riff-box-owners-list/
Some of those businesses are located in Germany. You can use the Deutsche Post it they are not near you.
(I did the same thing . Tried to flash with ODin but crashed and phone didnt respond to anything (only get warmed when i was charging it).
Send it to Samsung Service Center, told it happend throught Kiez (ye Kiez is such a unstable application and they know it ) they told me they change the motherboard of phone (but i think they just Jtag it). Of course warranty was used since i never rooted it and used official samsung firmware
@immunity : lucky enough i doubt that some common support guys can operate with a jtag. Dont you think they have to solder the contacts to the circuit board?
They told me they couldn't fix it and they had to send it to the central samsung service company (in Athens) so they might Jtag there, well both ways(Jtag or replacement) they had to remove the circuit board off the phone.
thats why i think, that my chances to get away with a blue eye are pretty good.
even though its 100% my own stupidity or fault. however you like to call it ;-)
Also Biba that hard brick = totally eraise of the data in ur circuit phone. so they find an empty storage memory. Althought as I told I have never rooted my phone , but even if you have rooted yours they cant find it.
Its like PC i believe repartition = format and install new firmware. and for Jtag as i saw from Youtubevideo. they cant see what it's inside (if partly of flashed firmware was saved on ur phone). Say " KIEZ DID IT ! :O "
I dont think there is a way to proof it was your fault xD
So the phone that ic completly bricked can be fixed with JTAG and my IMAI can not be put back to the phone that is working? Hmmm maybe i should brick it?
current status
i just talked to the repair guys. it seems that they repaired the phone, updated (completly new flash) the phone and exchanged some power circuit parts.
got word, that im going to get it back tomorrow or latest at monday.
damn i am a lucky son of a gun
Hey, I've got the same problem. I will try it out too... Please god, let "KIEZ DID IT! :O" work... This device is my life!
Thanks guys. Will keep you posted!
i'll keep my fingers crossed for you buddy.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Think my S3 is hard bricked, what do?

Hi guys, my phone is flashed so I guess that will make this whole process painful...
But here is the story, I have omega version 12.1 I think (maybe 11 or 13) it has been on my phone for 1 + months now, so I am fairly certain it isn't anything to do with firmware. Phone wont turn on, wont go into download mode or anything. I have tried taking the battery out and leaving it out for 5 minutes, still nothing.
It was working fine before I went to bed, had 10 percent battery and was just on home screen when I put it on charge, not in app or anything. Then seems to be hard bricked after waking up, so happened sometime overnight.
I am not with a carrier, brought it locally outright at my local consumers electronics store (JB-HI-FI)
Since it is hard bricked to the point it wont turn on in download mode does that mean there is no way for them to know it is flashed unless they fix it (in which all is ok)?
Never done a warranty return, do I just take it into store and they send it off? How long will this take?
On top of all this I cut my old sim doown using a cutting template, and it appeared to slide in fine, but after trying to remove it today the push eject isn't working, and tips to get this out, doesn't appear to be enough room to grip it with tweesers.
Thanks.
So as we keep on saying in all posts, the next step u have to make is try with an usb jig.
U know what is that?
xopito_cc said:
So as we keep on saying in all posts, the next step u have to make is try with an usb jig.
U know what is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, have never heard of one. Just talked to samsung live chat and they said to have a proper diagnostic to take it down to a service centre, would anyone recommend this, or try this jig thing first?
Nicholas68 said:
No, have never heard of one. Just talked to samsung live chat and they said to have a proper diagnostic to take it down to a service centre, would anyone recommend this, or try this jig thing first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since it's already harbricked, i'd say just turn it in and let Samsung fix it for you. It is under warranty, and last time i brought in my i9000 that I bricked, they just replaced the phone. the jig is ok only if you already know where to get one or how to make one, but if you have to go out of your way for it, just use the warranty.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
JiroPrinz8 said:
Since it's already harbricked, i'd say just turn it in and let Samsung fix it for you. It is under warranty, and last time i brought in my i9000 that I bricked, they just replaced the phone. the jig is ok only if you already know where to get one or how to make one, but if you have to go out of your way for it, just use the warranty.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, Think that is best, can't really go without phone for 2-3 weeks while waiting for a JIG to arrive.
Just a few questions about the service centre, do you think they will ask me if I have flashed the phone? Cause I'm afraid they will think the brick was caused by that (could be) but probably unlikely since it died during the night a month after its latest flash.
If they do get it working will they go in and check the flash counter? Then what happens?
And lastly, if they ask me if I have flashed it should I lie and say no?
Thanks for the help.
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
priyana said:
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope brisbane here, thanks for the offer though. What would the chances be of a JIG fixing it though, cause I have a feeling the mainboard has died. Kinda wish I didn't turn off the red LED charging light, apparently some others who's phones hardbricked the light still turned on showing some sign of life.
Any suggestions on sorting out the micro sim card issue now, assume I have to get it our before taking it to service centre, or just leave it in for them to fix?
priyana said:
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the jig work on s3? I have an old one from s2 and if I'm not wrong is not working on s3...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
ceo.mtcl said:
Does the jig work on s3? I have an old one from s2 and if I'm not wrong is not working on s3...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-it will force the S3 in download mode
BUT
-it will not reset the flash counter like with S2
Got a little bit of good news, this might help other people out with jammed sim cards, NO damage and worked like a treat.
In the top of the sim card holder down the bottom left there is a little circle around one mill wide, got a sharp thumbtack and pushed it gentelly into the sim card, the just applied a little pressure and the sim card started to slide up, was very easy, had a great grip on the sim cad and no damage done trying to grab it with needle nose pliers like I read elsewhere, now to get the phone replaced or unbricked.
Thinking about it more I think it is a hardware fault, cause I had flashed the correct version of omega for international S3, I havn't had any wrong signs like freezing or crashing, been working flawlessly for over a month, then out of the blue completely dead. So I think I will just go into the service centre and tell them I suspect the motherboard has died, or the charger port (didn't charge over night), dont have a spare battery to test with though).
http://lifehacker.com/5940308/save-a-bricked-phone-using-paper-clips-and-pencil-graphite
Just a post tyat i found today..not sure if it ll work or not.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
That video is pretty cool, don't have an old connector to try it, but seeing as my phone didn't hard brick from a flash going wrong while flashing or wrong firmware or anything I have a feeling a JIG or similar wont work. Would try it if I had the connector though.
How often do batterys and charger ports fail, cause that could be another reason I guess.
Nicholas68 said:
Ok, Think that is best, can't really go without phone for 2-3 weeks while waiting for a JIG to arrive.
Just a few questions about the service centre, do you think they will ask me if I have flashed the phone? Cause I'm afraid they will think the brick was caused by that (could be) but probably unlikely since it died during the night a month after its latest flash.
If they do get it working will they go in and check the flash counter? Then what happens?
And lastly, if they ask me if I have flashed it should I lie and say no?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. There were no problems with the flashing part, i think ypu have a hardware issue.
They didn't ask me anything really, just asked what happened prior to the phone dying.
But i was ready to lie my ass off.. lol!
Dont say anything about flashing. They wont even bother trying to flash the phone if they dont get it into download mode.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
JiroPrinz8 said:
Exactly. There were no problems with the flashing part, i think ypu have a hardware issue.
They didn't ask me anything really, just asked what happened prior to the phone dying.
But i was ready to lie my ass off.. lol!
Dont say anything about flashing. They wont even bother trying to flash the phone if they dont get it into download mode.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks for the info, I've tried everything besides a JIG to try get it into a download mode, so I doubt they will get it into download mode, Ive seen a couple of other cases where the S3 has had a mainboard issue, only other thing is in the last week I have been using the wall charger where as I normally use the computer and usb, so not sure if this could link to it though, might have got a power surge, but had no storms in months so unlikely and the fuse box is modern with pretty good protection. Ill just go in and tell them it was working one night, and dead when I woke up the next morning, which is the truth. And if they ask if its flashed, ill miss understand them and say, not the screen wasn't flashing/flickering when it died, I was asleep
Reality is though if they get the phone to a restored point to where they can see the flash counter, then I no longer need their help to fix it.
One more question. At the service centres do they try fix it while I'm there, or do they tell s to come back in a few hours, or do they ring a few days later. And if they can't get it in download mode do they normally give you a replacement there? Or do they ship it off to get parts replaced and then ship it back taking weeks/months?
Thanks
I'd give the jig a chance. Just imho.
Btw it is very likely that the jig would arrive in, like, 24-48 hours if you choose the right seller, while other users already told you it's probably gonna take more then a few days (probably from 2 weeks to a month) for samsung to "close the ticket". In my experience only with apple you'd be up and running in less then a week.
Nicholas68 said:
One more question. At the service centres do they try fix it while I'm there, or do they tell s to come back in a few hours, or do they ring a few days later. And if they can't get it in download mode do they normally give you a replacement there? Or do they ship it off to get parts replaced and then ship it back taking weeks/months?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure they will ask you to come back in a few days or even weeks. Don't think they will replace new unit for you. They will just replace the faulty part.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I have the same issue so thought i would post here rather than starting a new thread.
Here's the story for mine. Working fine on current rom for about a month no issues at all. Today battery got to about 9% then switched off and i haven't been able to get it to turn on again, no download mode,no recovery, no charging led nothing at all.
I had to change my screen a couple of days ago, has been working fine with the broken screen for months, have i now voided my warranty?
A lot of faulty s3 i think... My s3 suddenly died last night. Battery is around 90+. Check the phone and it's not responding. Power button doesn't work. Doesn't even go to download mode or recovery mode. I'm running on stock ICS with root only. Sad part is I don't have any access for a jig right now. So can't test it. Bought this phone in SG and I'm in the Philippines right now. Warranty is good for SG only. Dec would be my next trip back to SG. By then no S3 as of now. For a phone I'm getting depressed LOL!
over the air jellybean brick my phone unrooted unflashed phone
BEWARE EVERYONE!! when updating to jellybean some do go very wrong! not all! but some do!! and it will brick your phone!! i updated over the air.. and for a few days. my phone kept on freezing! and locking up! one night i went to bed woke up and the phone was stuck on the boot screen! i thought thats weird took battery out, put back in, as ya do.. nothing took sim out and back in nothing... so only option was to reapair it through kies. put serial in and model number in it found the sortware. i downloaded it. told me to put phone in recovery mode.. so i did,kies said it was gonna install it to my phone.. but everytime it tryed to install it kept on saying it couldnt find my phone.. i tryed this all day long used different usb ports. different computers. to know avail, so my only option was to take it in for repair.. so i took it back to phones 4 u! they sent it away, i waited over 2 weeks! which was undiscrible it was like i lost my right arm with no phone! as you can imagine.. than the repair center turned round and said that the phone has been rooted! which it hadnt!! and they said this in order to brake the terms and conditions of my warentee so phones 4 u can get out of giving me a new handset. so they all save money!! i wouldnt do that to a 500 pound phone!! the phone does everything you could want from a phone! im launching a full investigation into this matter.. and have writen a formall complaint to phones 4 u headoffice, and will be contacting trading standards, ofcom, watchdog, and the ombudsman, and plaster it on all the forums ,social networking sights i can think of, to give them as much bad press as possible!! untill my problem is resolved and i will restore there name and clear it once they have done the right thing by me
I am afraid I can also report a bricked S3 here.
Rooted two weeks ago, but did not yet install a rom. Didn't Triangleaway yet aswell.
Same problem as described, I was browsing the net, and suddenly, screen went black (off). Could not get it powered on anymore. (nor in download/recovery mode)
So i brought it to the local telecom service center of my office, they could tell me the battery was fine and the buttons were working but they never saw one in this state.
So they are sending it to a samsung repair company.
This was two days ago, heard nothing yet, but I am very curious if I will get repaired or if I need to pay because of the rooting.
Will post the result if I know more.
Does anyone know if this problem also happens to people who did not root?

Bricked. Cannot unbrick. Im going to cry.

I just bought this thing today.
Get home and install CWM and Root.
Try to install LiquidSmooth.
Now it won't turn on. I plug in to my PC while it's "off" and i hear windows "connected" sound then the "disconnected" sound and repeated "you need to format D: " every 5 seconds.
Tried booting in to recovery and ODIN mode and nothings working.
I seriously was so ****ing excited to get this and now I have a ****ing 5" paperweight.
What the ****.
Brand new phones need to be on the charger for several hours on the first charge. Perhaps you flashed when the battery was too low. Just plug into wall outlet using the factory charger for several hours.
Well I bought it used but it was working when I bought it. It was on stock and I decided it needed jellybean... Now its problems all the way.
I mounts and repeatedly asks to be formatted so my fingers are crossed that its fixable.
I am a long time Note user and I have flashed 20+ times. Recently I flashed LiquidSmooth and it hard bricked my phone too. Exactly the same issues you describe. I had it insured so I took it to Geeksquad(bestbuy) for repair. They simply replaced it.
Looking here today it seems like I could have bought an adapter to get into download mode.
Part 5: De-brick
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1586223
Sounds like you may have flashed a version of the rom that was for a different phone. If that is the case and it is showing no signs of life you will most likely need JTAG. mobiletchvideos has a service its about 60 bucks and he has a good reputation.
So apparantly it is easy to make your own jig using simply a microusb connector and 3x100ohm or 1x300ohm resistor. Can get a 5pack of 100ohmers for $1 at radioshack and will find a microusb connector i can solder up and hope for the best.
which liquid smooth rom did u use for the n7000 or i717
imranh101 said:
So apparantly it is easy to make your own jig using simply a microusb connector and 3x100ohm or 1x300ohm resistor. Can get a 5pack of 100ohmers for $1 at radioshack and will find a microusb connector i can solder up and hope for the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100Kohms not 100.
that is a total 300,000 ohms compared to your 300
Quite the difference
Also the tolerance on certain samsung devices vary so you may need a 1kohm in there as well , i have a captivate I built the jig for that jig also works on my note. Bit on my brother in law's sgs2 (which a jig is supposed to reset the flash counter as well as force dl mode) it does nothing.
But given the symptoms it sounds like you flashed a rom for the international note... I which case a jig will do nothing And bobby's(RQuiett) answer is the only course of action.
Any idea on what AT&T would do if I went to a local store and told them "I bought it off a friend and was using it and there was an OTA update and it just stopped working!"?
Don't do that. You messed up. Take your lump and pay the price for your mistake.
What you are proposing is fraud. Plain and simple.
This is a result of something YOU did, not a flaw or defect in the manufacturing of the hardware nor a result of an official software update, Which aren't even done OTA anyway you have to use kies.
That is what makes carriers and manufacturers want to lock down devices, do you want at&t to go the way of Verizon and force locked bootloaders on every device?
Not to mention... If you "bought it from a friend" they would care less about your problem.
imranh101 said:
Any idea on what AT&T would do if I went to a local store and told them "I bought it off a friend and was using it and there was an OTA update and it just stopped working!"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just based on the" bought it from a friend" phrase, they'd say "sorry.... you wanna buy a new one?" lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Welp... Mobiletechvideos repair is ordered... Will be shipping it out tomorrow... if I ship it out at like 10-11AM tomorrow morning what time do yall think I might get it back? I'm guessing next Monday?
I'm putting money on 4:17 pm Tuesday.
TUESDAY? How damn long does it take for them to open the package plug in a jtag and click a button? Shipping isn't that slow!
imranh101 said:
TUESDAY? How damn long does it take for them to open the package plug in a jtag and click a button? Shipping isn't that slow!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Patience. You are purchasing a service from someone who has other orders to fill. Plus no one knows anything about when mobiltechvideos will do the work other than mobiletechvideos.
Obviously a lot longer than it takes to load a rom on a card and brick it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
I read where Samsung is going to start doing something to start making their phones harder to brick and more user friendly for us. They need to do like computer motherboard makers and add a 2nd bios or the likes. People like us do like to play with our phones. So, yes I will be happily making a warranty claim and waiting for my repaired or replaced phone.
I wish mobile motherboards to become like computer boards.
Never go for htc...crap hardware
Sorry. Patience is a bit thin when I've just bought a phone for 250 Then had to pay another 50 and wait a week to use it.
sholsten said:
I read where Samsung is going to start doing something to start making their phones harder to brick and more user friendly for us. They need to do like computer motherboard makers and add a 2nd bios or the likes. People like us do like to play with our phones. So, yes I will be happily making a warranty claim and waiting for my repaired or replaced phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me dude?
"it's their fault I'm stupid and can't read I have no problems committing fraud and having it fixed on their dime"
They are already pretty hard to brick ff just follow instructions and only flash things built for this device... When trying to make something idiot proof you'll always Just find a bigger idiot.

[Q] Sudden death!!

Something very strange, I checked the time on the phone while I was seating on my car, then I came home, and when I sat on my desk the phone was completely off. At first I though it might be an empty battery, so I plugged on the wall charger, but NOTHING happened. I tried the charger on another phone and worked, so the problem was the phone.
Took out the battery, put it back again and tried to enter recovery or download mode, none of them worked. (Even the 4 touch keys don´t light up, exactly like when you try to turn it on without a battery).
I left it charging all the night, and in the next morning, it was all the same.
About the phone
Because of the forum, its obvious that is a sgh-i777 AT&T SGSII. I changed many times of ROM, but I was running a custom one called "Alliance", wich is Touchwiz based and so stable, that I decided to keep it (flashed it maybe 3 months ago).
Regarding the installed apps, I had "RAM Manager", on the "more multitasking" preset, also had "STweaks" on the default profile, a task killer called "Speed Booster", "Next Launcher" and a bunch of games.
About the battery
I went to a store and asked to try a new one, but It didn't worked at all. The guy at the store told me that maybe it was a "Motherboard" (or something like that) issue, so I left the phone there to see if the can fix it, but they didn't have any luck. (I have to admit that it wasn't an official Samsung service center, but a friend's shop, so its probable that they dont know much about this kind of stuff). Besides, if you look closely at the phone, you cant see that the screws were untouched, so it seems that they didnt even try to repair it.
Another important thing is the battery "lifestyle" that I always used with the phone: Usage, from normal to exhaustive during the day and let it charging all night, everyday. I notice some alarming overheating when playin hard games (so hot that I quit playing and put the phone on the floor to make it cooler), this maybe has fried something inside.
I insist in the fact that I dont think that the battery is the problem because It didn't worked with a new one.
Well, the last "strage" thing that may have something to do, is that I plugged the USB cable to a "broken" car charger, causing the car fuse to burn, but I dont know if that could affect the phone somehow. (Notice that this episode ocurred 1 week earlier than the sudden death, so I dont think is a problem...)
So, this is it. Hope you can help me, because I miss my phone quite much (1 week no use...) and I would really love to have it back.
Kind regards,
Francis
P.S.: I took a lot of time writting this, try to be polite and helpful with the answers.
How are you trying to get into download mode?
Sent from my GS4 running CM11 Kandy Kane
In the moment I've tried, I did Vol Down + Power Button
Adb portable in my signature can help reboot you to download mode.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
In fact, it didnt worked, because the phone does not react when plugged, so it is not detected by the pc nor ADb. Nice try anyways
If your phone does not respond to battery, computer, or wall charger then it is what is known as a hard brick.
Your device may have been damaged by the car charger as well.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
@FranAmestoy,
If you are getting absolutely no response from the phone, and nothing you can do has any effect, then try one last thing (if you haven't already). Pull the battery and leave it out. While holding down both volume buttons, plug in the usb cable. The computer will supply the power. This will put a phone into download mode, but if there is no response to this, then at least you know for sure it is not a battery problem.
There is a difference between "hardware failure" and "hard bricked".
Technically speaking, hard bricked means a firmware problem, usually with the primitive bootloader or the primary bootloader. Such a problem can be fixed using equipment and a technique called jtag, by which the damaged bootloaders are reinstalled. This supposes that the hardware is still functioning correctly.
On the other hand, if the phone has damage to the eMMC memory, or some other hardware failure, then the only remedy is to troubleshoot and repair the hardware. This is perhaps what the technician was suggesting when he said it could be a mother board problem.
Judging from your description of the occurence, it doesn't sound like you did anything that would result in a hard brick. But then I don't know if you actually mentioned everything relevant. In order to find out, you would need to get the phone to a competent technician. The guy who owns Mobile Tech videos is highly respected here. If you wish to pursue getting it repaired, I would suggest that you call him and go over the problem with him, find out his prices, see if he thinks it is worth it, etc.
I have used MTV before and I can say their service was wonderful.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Now this is what I call "help"
I have to say many thanks to creepyncrawly and Red_81 for giving me the kind of answer that I was looking for.
In a few minutes I will try that USB power method, and see what I get.
Regarding your suggestion, I do very appreciatte your kindness and recomendation of where to take the phone to, but my problem is that I bought the phone in the USA, and I live in Argentina, so its way out of my reach to get what you recommend. Anyway, a few minutes from home there is an official Samsung store, that apparently, offers technical assistance, so I will try luck by going there.
For now, I still say you many thanks and I will keep you informed about what I get.
Kind regards,
Francis
Red_81 said:
If your phone does not respond to battery, computer, or wall charger then it is what is known as a hard brick.
Your device may have been damaged by the car charger as well.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the car charger burned down the phone, how can be possible that it continued working during a week before the dropout? I am not saying that's not the problem, but I dont know if there are any relations with so much time in between...
FranAmestoy said:
In the moment I've tried, I did Vol Down + Power Button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, USB + both volume keys
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Donwload also didnt work...
As the title reads, I still dont have any luck.
Guess the final call will be to take it to the technical service T_T
Are those things "fixable"? Will be impossible to get a new phone if I cant sell this...
(Now Im missing it a lot...)
FranAmestoy said:
If the car charger burned down the phone, how can be possible that it continued working during a week before the dropout? I am not saying that's not the problem, but I dont know if there are any relations with so much time in between...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I think it unlikely, but it is possible.
FranAmestoy said:
Are those things "fixable"? Will be impossible to get a new phone if I cant sell this... (Now Im missing it a lot...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hard brick repair with jtag would be around US$50.00 plus shipping. Hardware repair would be at least that much in the US unless you can do it yourself. It may be more economical to replace the phone.
When you go to the Samsung store, ask them if it is still under warranty. The phone can be sent to Samsung for repair if they can not do it at the store. I have no idea what that would cost if it is not under warranty. Here in the US we would ship it off to a Samsung repair shop somewhere after talking to them over the phone. But I've never had to do that so I have no idea.
creepyncrawly said:
Agreed. I think it unlikely, but it is possible.
Hard brick repair with jtag would be around US$50.00 plus shipping. Hardware repair would be at least that much in the US unless you can do it yourself. It may be more economical to replace the phone.
When you go to the Samsung store, ask them if it is still under warranty. The phone can be sent to Samsung for repair if they can not do it at the store. I have no idea what that would cost if it is not under warranty. Here in the US we would ship it off to a Samsung repair shop somewhere after talking to them over the phone. But I've never had to do that so I have no idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the ideas, but will be impossible, because I bought the phone through eBay and I dont have the invoice, also the phone is rooted and with a custom ROM (triangle alert appears), so the warranty is "super-voided", no chances at all to get it back to stock (remember he's dead...)
I will cross my fingers to see if the can tell me if the can fix it, and how much would it cost.
My major concern is that the failure became impossible to fix. In that case, what will I do? I just can't offer a dead phone on internet for $2... Obviously I need to make some money from him in order to get a new one... However I still have some faith in the official store
You would likely get more than a few dollars selling it on ebay for parts. The digitizer and other parts are definitely worth something. But of course it's not going to be $200.00. Anyway, good luck. I hope you find it is fixable.

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