[Q] Galaxy GIO (S5660) bricked, I am unsure. - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello everyone,
Firstly, I did not find a board dedicated to the S5660. So I posted it here.
Today, I tried to backup my current installation of Android to my SD. I used
a guide on androidpolice(dot)com, while searching for "complete android backup" in Google.
My phone had to be rooted, which it was, so I went on to download and install Clockworkmod's ROM Manager. I opened it up, fixed the permissions and made a backup. Before I could make one, I had to pick a phone model. However, these were all very strange types or brands I never even heard of.
I randomly picked one, and my phone NOT being listed should have served as a warning but alas, and the app started backing up. After it was done, it all seemed normal so I pressed "home" to go back to my main screen and pressed the "lock/power" button so my screen would turn off. I put the phone in my pocket.
Exactly 2 minutes later, I pull out my phone and I notice the screen is black, I push the lock/power button: nothing happens. I hold the lock/power button in the expectation that the phone will boot up since it might have been shut down accidentally. Nothing happens.
I remove battery, re-insert battery. I repeat this over a dozen or so times to no avail. I try the download or safe boot key-combinations (volume down + home + power) and nothing helps.
It's as if either all the keys are broken, something went seriously wrong in the interior hardware or hopefully, (the most simple possibility) my battery gave the ghost.
I went to the shop where I bought the Galaxy Gio and told them about the issues I had, they said they were going to send it to a Samsung Service Center for repairs. After I went home and had browsed the Internet for some possible solutions, I returned to the shop to try out several of the tricks that were listed (inserting battery on the exact same time when you press the buttons), nothing worked.
Does this smell to bricking or just a dead battery?

Before any conclusions are made (it sounds like its bricked though)...dead battery?... Did you try charging it?

Theonew said:
Before any conclusions are made (it sounds like its bricked though)...dead battery?... Did you try charging it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happened while I was at school, I immediately went to the shop and the guy helping me said he had plugged it in for a short while. I guess I believe him since I did not see it but he said the phone did nothing.
But how come a software malfunction can mess up the physical buttons like the power/volume or lock buttons?

Darmvlinder said:
But how come a software malfunction can mess up the physical buttons like the power/volume or lock buttons?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the software of a device is corrupted, then the hardware won't work properly (if at all). Example: you flash a rom for a device with one button and your device has five, then of course the software wouldn't recognize the other buttons (this is just an example of the hardware part cause if you actually did that, your device wouldn't even start). Also, you said that you just randomly chose one made for another device, for future reference: NEVER flash a kernel, rom, etc. not made for your device or atleast not stated to work on your device.

Theonew said:
If the software of a device is corrupted, then the hardware won't work properly (if at all). Example: you flash a rom for a device with one button and your device has five, then of course the software wouldn't recognize the other buttons (this is just an example of the hardware part cause if you actually did that, your device wouldn't even start). Also, you said that you just randomly chose one made for another device, for future reference: NEVER flash a kernel, rom, etc. not made for your device or atleast not stated to work on your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I figured this when I tried to do the actual backup but it seems I was too stupid to stop the entire process.
I have already given it to the store as they will send the phone to a Samsung Service Center. Do you know how the processes of repairing for such phones work?
Also, if the phone is a total brick, it cannot be recovered whatsoever?

Darmvlinder said:
Yes, I figured this when I tried to do the actual backup but it seems I was too stupid to stop the entire process.
I have already given it to the store as they will send the phone to a Samsung Service Center. Do you know how the processes of repairing for such phones work?
Also, if the phone is a total brick, it cannot be recovered whatsoever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best thing to do is hope they can't repair it . If they happen to get it to work and find out you rooted it, they will just return it to you the way it is now. I hope you didn't tell the guy how this happened...
P.S. - No, I don't know the process they use to recover something like this. I'm no expert in recovering hard bricks (know a few stuff, but not in this case).

Theonew said:
The best thing to do is hope they can't repair it . If they happen to get it to work and find out you rooted it, they will just return it to you the way it is now. I hope you didn't tell the guy how this happened...
P.S. - No, I don't know the process they use to recover something like this. I'm no expert in recovering hard bricks (know a few stuff, but not in this case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guy asked me whether I had ever let the phone come into contact with water or fluids or if I ever let it fall down to the floor, neither of which have happened in the past. I also told him an update through Kies went awry and caused the system to be unstable till the crash of today.
The dude seemed pretty confident in that the warranty would cover. I don't know. I feel like a giant moron, to be honest.

Darmvlinder said:
The guy asked me whether I had ever let the phone come into contact with water or fluids or if I ever let it fall down to the floor, neither of which have happened in the past. I also told him an update through Kies went awry and caused the system to be unstable till the crash of today.
The dude seemed pretty confident in that the warranty would cover. I don't know. I feel like a giant moron, to be honest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another future reference (although you dodged the bullet here): never tell your manufacturer (or whoever is supposed to look after the warranty of your device,etc.) that you rooted (or even tried to root) your device. Well, you just have to hope for the best now .

Theonew said:
Another future reference (although you dodged the bullet here): never tell your manufacturer (or whoever is supposed to look after the warranty of your device,etc.) that you rooted (or even tried to root) your device. Well, you just have to hope for the best now .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just sat through a Live Chat session with Samsung. Even though Google does not oppose rooting, Samsung effectively makes a deal out of it. I told him the same story, that an update through Kies made several things pop up on my phone which I did not understand etc. etc.
I am hoping for the best. But I am befriended with someone working in the store that sold the phone to me. He said most techs won't bother with low-budget smartphones (as in trying to grab you by the balls) and will much rather flash the phone with Samsung stock ROM.

Related

[Q] Is my Vibrant dead?

So I plugged my Vibrant into Odin to revert to stock. Apparently everything went wrong, and now my phone is stuck at the Phone---!---computer screen. It seems that my phone won't respond to hardware methods of entering download mode, so am I screwed?
Keep reading on here. This has happened to many people. Keep trying things and hopefully you will get it.
1. Remove SD and SIM card
2. Remove battery
3. plugged the phone into USB (connected to PC)
4. held down vol-up and vol-down
5. popped the battery back in while holding vol buttons
I've tried that, and many other methods, multiple times already. It seems that none of the volume/power methods do anything for my phone. I'm certain that if hardware-locks do exist for certain vibrants, mine just so happens to be one of them (Date on box is August 13). I just want to know if anyone with a similarly dated phone has ever been able to access download mode without adb.
If anyone knows of more methods, please post them. If all else fails, I'll go complain in my local T-Mobile store that my phone died. I have no idea if that'll get me anywhere, but it's worth a shot.
Does anyone who has had a problem similar to mine know of any fix? By that I mean, has someone who has had a presumably hardware-locked phone ever been able to boot it into download mode without adb? I'd really like to know if I can salvage this thing, or if I have to try my luck with T-Mobile.
Try holding volume down and holding power button and plug in USB while this is happening.
Sadly, I've tried that method as well, thank you though for responding. I will continue trying since it seems not to be a 100% thing for some people. Anyway, for the Volume keys + Power method, can anyone provide a more precise time of releasing power than "When it goes black". I'm hoping my inability to enter download mode is human-error, so I'd like as much input on this as possible. Thanks in advance.
Generic112 said:
Sadly, I've tried that method as well, thank you though for responding. I will continue trying since it seems not to be a 100% thing for some people. Anyway, for the Volume keys + Power method, can anyone provide a more precise time of releasing power than "When it goes black". I'm hoping my inability to enter download mode is human-error, so I'd like as much input on this as possible. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you see the " !---> (pc)" symbol, plug your USB in. Hold down volume +, volume -, and power. As soon as the screen turns black release the power button only. Continue holding Vol + and Vol -. You'll enter Download mode.
I've tried that multiple times, but I will continue to try it. It seems as though my phone won't register that buttons are being pressed. All that happens is the phone reboots to the Phone--!--Computer screen every time the power is held and released (As it should). No combination of buttons seems to have any affect on this. Oh well, I'll continue trying and hopefully someone will post a working method.
I have the same problem and the hardware button method isn't working and I am stuck at the Phone ! Computer screen, and I read around the forums and they say that some Vibrant's have the hardware method locked, so you can't boot into Download mode from using the buttons. Since adb cannot find the phone when its stuck at this screen it seems we are both screwed. I have found no other solution other than returning it Tmo, not sure if they will exchange since it might be a violation of warranty.
I'm just going to play dumb when I go to T-Mobile. I'll say it just booted into that screen, and I can't get out of it. The hardware lock appears to be a defect, since it's not present on most Vibrants, so that should be able to warrant the replacement phone. I've been with T-Mobile awhile, and they're usually pretty good with replacements. Besides, the phone would be easily fixed if it wasn't broken in the first place.
But before I go to T-Mobile, I'm going to try and talk to Customer Service. If it's a common problem, then I'm sure it can be covered under warranty (Even though MOST ways of getting it require voiding warranty). Again, on the basis that this wouldn't be a big deal if my phone worked like a normal Vibrant. Besides, I'm sure T-Mobile can flash it without requiring the hardware method, so even if they only charge me some sort of service fee, I won't really mind.
As final moral reassurance for myself, I only tried to flash it because apps started FC on me and the phone constantly acted weird. The only thing I've done is root it, so it's not like I really set it up to fail.
Let me know how it goes with Customer Service. I would to get this problem resolved as well with the least amount of trouble. I don't want to have a brick and have to pay like $500 for a new phone. And I think the hardware buttons thing might actually be a defect. I tried doing the hardware buttons thing to get to recovery mode once before and it worked. I did this to install an update.zip to root the phone. It only worked that one time and now the buttons don't boot into recovery mode or download mode. It if works once then not again, there has to be something wrong.
I'll be trying them tomorrow (It's 10PM where I am). If all goes well, I'll try and contact you. I'm pretty sure I'll be safe so long as I don't mention rooting it. The firmware flash they'll have to do should help me on that front, so unless they catch on, I should be safe. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be good news, otherwise expect some post from me on Monday or Tuesday, depending on whether I have the time to deal with them or not.
Hey Generic112, I got with T-Mobile customer service. I told them about the screen I was seeing but did not mention rooting or attempting to flash the phone. They said they will replace my phone by shipping me a new Vibrant, but I have to return the one I have. I am not sure if they will do a check to verify if the Vibrant was rooted or not after they receive it, but I will have my new Vibrant before they receive the one I have. I won't know what will happen for awhile because its going to take a week for the new phone to arrive and when it does then I will be returning the one with the phone ! computer problem, unless someone thinks it is a better idea to tell them what happened and have them repair it?
I am also struck with the same problem
Hi,
I am also struck with the same problem. Please let me know if you guys got any method to resolve the problem or T-Mobile was able to help.
the3dman said:
Keep reading on here. This has happened to many people. Keep trying things and hopefully you will get it.
1. Remove SD and SIM card
2. Remove battery
3. plugged the phone into USB (connected to PC)
4. held down vol-up and vol-down
5. popped the battery back in while holding vol buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method actually worked for me. I was beginning to think I'd have to build the USB jig, but tried this as a last ditch. Thanks!
The above method has worked for me numerous times with the same problem, my old bricked one, and my new one. Try holding down power button as well once or twice, never know. You have to keep the volume buttons pressed the whole time for it to work.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
ViralCipher said:
Hey Generic112, I got with T-Mobile customer service. I told them about the screen I was seeing but did not mention rooting or attempting to flash the phone. They said they will replace my phone by shipping me a new Vibrant, but I have to return the one I have. I am not sure if they will do a check to verify if the Vibrant was rooted or not after they receive it, but I will have my new Vibrant before they receive the one I have. I won't know what will happen for awhile because its going to take a week for the new phone to arrive and when it does then I will be returning the one with the phone ! computer problem, unless someone thinks it is a better idea to tell them what happened and have them repair it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In some cases that I've read they say, TMo charged them 600$ for the Replacement after finding out that it was bricked due to hacking. Before replacing try to get it repaired by them.
I would also like people whose phones were replaced to confirm what I've said above.
ech419 said:
In some cases that I've read they say, TMo charged them 600$ for the Replacement after finding out that it was bricked due to hacking. Before replacing try to get it repaired by them.
I would also like people whose phones were replaced to confirm what I've said above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He should be able to get the phone woking again, what happened is not a big deal. If he sends it in the way it's sitting right now, t'Mo's techs won't have a problem getting it working again. (IMO) Especially if they find out the phone's rooted, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets charged.
I bricked my phone so bad, it was beyond recovery. I erased the bootloader, therefore it was completelly dead. No life. I got a replacement under warranty for free, never got charged for it.
My advice would be to try and get to work again before sending it in.

[Q] Hard bricked?

Hi,
I read and followed lots of excellent threads on here and successfully rooted my S2. I then flashed it with the Revolution ROM which worked fine, later tried the VK + Siyah which also ran fine.
Today I decided to try WajkIUI but after flashing and rebooting, the phone reset, the button lights came on and then it hung. Now I can't get a thing out of it, no booting, no recovery mode and no sign of it in ODIN.
It sounds completely hard-bricked but I don't really understand how it can be.
Any ideas?
Have tried soft and hard resetting but nothing.
Cheers
Without recovery mode your last best (remote) chance before you send it to Samsung would be a jig.
That's what I was thinking but why would it hard brick if the flash had worked?
And if I send if back to Samsung the warranty will be void anyway won't it?
Unfortunately that one's like asking how long a piece of string is (in other words, who knows ?). If it's a case of the NAND being stuffed as a result of the flash, a JTAG repair may fix it, but you won't know that until/unless you send it to a JTAG repairer.
It may be a hardware issue, cpu might have carked it or something.
Yeah, you've pretty much voided the warranty by putting non-stock firmware on it, but at the end of the day if Samsung can't tell it's been messed with you might get away with a warranty repair/replacement.
You'll only know that if you send it in to them to be looked at. So I guess you've got two choices to consider (not including the remote chance of the jig getting you into download mode).
I guess you could try another battery. Always the possibility it might have died.
Crap. Well, I'll give a jig a go and if that doesn't work then send it back and see what happens.
@ op
did you tried the key press combination to get into download mode? the things you have done has a very less possibility of hard brick.
That's what I thought, but no combination seems to work.
Was the battery full when you flashed?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Think it was about 96%.
You never know, it might just be a completely knackered battery. If you're planning on getting it fixed come what may, spending 20 bucks or whatever they cost in your country on another battery won't be the waste of money you might initially think.
If it doesn't fix this problem, at least you'll have a 2nd battery when you do get it fixed. I know I've found having a 2nd battery a godsend since I got mine a month ago, has come in really handy on trips where I've been away for more than a day and has meant I haven't had to worry bout bringing a charger along.
Could a battery just die like that? Seems a bit of coincidence.
Dunno. Anything's possible I guess. Yeah you're right, that would be coincidence. Given what you were doing when it died, I'm betting the NAND is shot & it will need to be JTAG'd either by Samsung or someone else.
mraquinn said:
Could a battery just die like that? Seems a bit of coincidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which sucks. That said, according to a site in the UK it costs about £8 plus postage. Have ordered a USB jig just in case, and for £3 it's worth a go.
The really annoying thing is whether to root again if/when I do get it sorted. Am also checking with my network, see if they'll have a go under warranty and I'll forget to mention I was rooting it.
MistahBungle said:
Dunno. Anything's possible I guess. Yeah you're right, that would be coincidence. Given what you were doing when it died, I'm betting the NAND is shot & it will need to be JTAG'd either by Samsung or someone else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On that note....if I wanted to upgrade to ICS, how would that be done without rooting - ie. would the counter look the same? (Long shot)
Yeah if you're going to get it fixed, chances are you'll end up flashing/rooting it again, so the jig will come in handy.
I guess that's something you'll need to decide when you get it back/get a new one. What happened to you isn't the norm tho. The large majority of flashes go smoothly for most people. But the reality is, every time you do it, you do run that small risk of it barfing for any number of a gazillion reasons (which are normally impossible to discover once it's happened). That's the risk people like us who frequent sites like this take.
Yeah if they/Samsung can't tell what happened to it, you'll possibly get away with it. And the fact you rooted it isn't information you have to volunteer to them by any means As to exactly what you should tell them, that's up to you.
Edit to add - Let us know how you get on once you have it sorted. Always useful to have people's experiences on here to give other people it happens to some kind of idea of how it might go down.
mraquinn said:
Which sucks. That said, according to a site in the UK it costs about £8 plus postage. Have ordered a USB jig just in case, and for £3 it's worth a go.
The really annoying thing is whether to root again if/when I do get it sorted. Am also checking with my network, see if they'll have a go under warranty and I'll forget to mention I was rooting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, according to the boffins online I have to go into a store to see if they can repair it. Hopefully they won't be able to check whether it's been rooted or not instore. In fact, if they can't power it on, I don't see how they could.
Random technical question: how can a software/firmware fault stop the hardware from even starting?
My only reference is building a PC - even if you knacker the BIOS and the harddrive, it will still power on so you can access them to put them right.
mraquinn said:
Random technical question: how can a software/firmware fault stop the hardware from even starting?
My only reference is building a PC - even if you knacker the BIOS and the harddrive, it will still power on so you can access them to put them right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firmware includes the boot sequence and recovery sequence on Android .
power goes to boot on file in effect
Or key combination goes to load recovery or download .
jje
Is that a bit of a flaw, for circumstances just like this?
And, does this mean that the USB jig has no chance of working - or is that the exact reason it might work?
JJEgan said:
Firmware includes the boot sequence and recovery sequence on Android .
power goes to boot on file in effect
Or key combination goes to load recovery or download .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i thing jig can solve the problem

[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.

[q]hard-brick from entering download-mode

hello all, i just bought a new i9300, already downloaded a bunch of roms, but didn't even had the chance to install any of them.
first of all i want to say this is my third i9300 i done things with(installed recovery kernels and others), also had 2 i9100 and lots of other android phones, so i'm much familiar with ROMs, Kernels, CWM and TWRP, etc.. and also reads carefully every time i do something new (while this one was already done by me to friends devices)
this time something really really strange happened and my new device is now completely dead
i came home, turned it on, everything fine.
installed new drivers, run toolkit v.7, recognized and everything is ok
after all the steps it was in download mode, but Odin didn't show anything.
tried another PC, restarting the device, nothing. odin won't recognize it.
then i tried entering download mode with the key combination, Home button + Power Button + Volume Down.
entered download mode just fine, but still, no odin.
i tried 3 times, first with the cable disconnected, second with the cable connected, and third with the cable disconnected.
on third time something just so weird happen, it entered a different stage, something i don't know, and didn't find anything about it while googling.
all i remember is 4 rows written in red and green
when i turned off the device, it refuse to wake. nothing. no download mode no recovery no indicator for battery charging. just plain nothing
reminding you this is brand new device which was never even massed with odin. just some stage i never seen in my life.
can someone tell what was that stage i was on? why it massed my device in an instant? how in the world i managed to enter a boot-stage i can't find any information about
also to state, the i read about the sdcard mode (need the device opened and to short something) and it's defiantly not this stage.
hope someone can help
thank you very much
return for warranty claim if it has never been messed with is the sensible thing to do
slaphead20 said:
return for warranty claim if it has never been messed with is the sensible thing to do
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thanks for replay, but the thing is i bought this device from regular shop not samsung distributor in my country
so i don't know if i can even call them
and the shop i bought from don't want any part with it (saying its my fault)
Looks like SDS
The vendor is responsible for warranty repairs not Samsung .
Samsung offer the user an extra limited warranty .
jje
Give it for warranty saying that the phone hanged up then died and you can't even turn it on. Not a word about download mode or anything, act like you know nothing about flashing
As much as i want, the seller refused to take it
so im in bad shape, new device just going to trash
I hope someone can provide information for how a button combination can destroy my device completly.
now im afraid to buy a new one
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
What country are you in?
You could take it to Samsung service centre if you have one nearby.
Noambugo11 said:
As much as i want, the seller refused to take it
so im in bad shape, new device just going to trash
I hope someone can provide information for how a button combination can destroy my device completly.
now im afraid to buy a new one
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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This is one of the risks we all run when we mod our devices. just going into download mode should not have done this to your device. Look in your device manager and see if it is even being seen by the pc. Could be the SDS that alot of people have seen
zelendel said:
This is one of the risks we all run when we mod our devices. just going into download mode should not have done this to your device. Look in your device manager and see if it is even being seen by the pc. Could be the SDS that alot of people have seen
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Hey, if it was the SDS, then i would been triggered anyway from anywhere,
this situation is far more complex, as i said, by the same button combination it entered a different boot stage and not the normal download mode (nor recovery mod), iv'e been searching the hole web just to find a clew to what the hell is this stage, and why it massed my device so badly.
i'm from israel, and i don't think we have samsung service center, just a representer or something.
if i can i will defently send it to samsung all over the world, i just need a phone number or something to contact with them,
do any think samsung will take this device? if so where can i contact them?
Noambugo11 said:
Hey, if it was the SDS, then i would been triggered anyway from anywhere,
this situation is far more complex, as i said, by the same button combination it entered a different boot stage and not the normal download mode (nor recovery mod), iv'e been searching the hole web just to find a clew to what the hell is this stage, and why it massed my device so badly.
i'm from israel, and i don't think we have samsung service center, just a representer or something.
if i can i will defently send it so samsung all over the world, i just need a phone number or something to contact with them,
do any think samsung will take this device? if so where can i contact them?
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Click to collapse
This reminds me of a case we saw just the other day here in the threads. The DL screen was not the normal download screen and it turned out to be a clone device. Think this may have been the case?
zelendel said:
This reminds me of a case we saw just the other day here in the threads. The DL screen was not the normal download screen and it turned out to be a clone device. Think this may have been the case?
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Click to collapse
thanks a lot for your kind answers, when you say clone device you mean not a real i9300? cause if so them i 100% sure it's a real one and not a fake.
i was able to enter download mode while in the toolkit (enebling USB debugging first), but odin didn't show the device at all, then i tried the button combination; Power button + Home Button + Vol Down.
first it entered fine, still odn didn't catch it, second time also into the right download mode
third time, different stage, 3 rows written in red 1 row in green (much like sd-mode, but i'm quite sure it wasn't it, and even if is, how the world i managed to enter it by button combination only?)
i can't remember what was written, i think the word emmc been there, but can't be sure
this thing drive me crazy, i've done it 3 times with other i9300, i did it for i9100, i did 3 galaxy ace, also i9000, did some htc phone,replace many screen for phones and massed with this kinda of stuff a lot, in the PC world, iphones, everything. i can't consider myself noob or even close to it, i never rush into things before reading carefully.
and the matter that no-one know even what i'm talking about making me really think i wan't really responsible for it, but got a bad luck with a faulty device or something. and now i'm stuck with it cause nothing is connected between me and samsung (unless someone here some kind of idea)
Noambugo11 said:
thanks a lot for your kind answers, when you say clone device you mean not a real i9300? cause if so them i 100% sure it's a real one and not a fake.
i was able to enter download mode while in the toolkit (enebling USB debugging first), but odin didn't show the device at all, then i tried the button combination; Power button + Home Button + Vol Down.
first it entered fine, still odn didn't catch it, second time also into the right download mode
third time, different stage, 3 rows written in red 1 row in green (much like sd-mode, but i'm quite sure it wasn't it, and even if is, how the world i managed to enter it by button combination only?)
i can't remember what was written, i think the word emmc been there, but can't be sure
this thing drive me crazy, i've done it 3 times with other i9300, i did it for i9100, i did 3 galaxy ace, also i9000, did some htc phone,replace many screen for phones and massed with this kinda of stuff a lot, in the PC world, iphones, everything. i can't consider myself noob or even close to it, i never rush into things before reading carefully.
and the matter that no-one know even what i'm talking about making me really think i wan't really responsible for it, but got a bad luck with a faulty device or something. and now i'm stuck with it cause nothing is connected between me and samsung (unless someone here some kind of idea)
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Click to collapse
I have never seen this screen myself. The fact that you were able to get it to the screen the first few times is really odd. Sounds like one of the partitions got fried. I would send it back to samsung. This may end up costing you to have it repaired as well as shipping to the closest repair center, Here is the site that may help
http://www.samsung.com/il/#latest-home

I cant re-boot into recovery after changing motherboard and then an update.

Hello all,
My first post here and I cant really think of a better place where I might get help beyond the endless trawling through the internets. I have already done. My hair is going even more grey!
I have a problem that I just cant work out.. I have already spent far too many hours trying to find ways to fix. So its best I ask here and maybe someone will know how to fix it.
I have a Note 2. Owned it since new and its been fantastic, does everything I need out of a phone and I want to keep it working. I have no interest in buying a new phone ( nor that I can afford it! )
About 6 weeks ago it died after I had let the battery run flat over night. It just would not turn on. I tried all the internet fixes and nothing worked. Sudden death syndrome I think its called. Fairly common with these I have learned.
I bought a new motherboard from China on Aliexpress. Good feedback from seller. $35. It arrived two weeks ago. I swapped the motherboards and the new one worked. I had to change the phone over to English and re-load my favourite apps, exciting.. just like getting a new phone again
It worked well enough and I was happy. I noted that in the about section, plus in the apps draw, SUPERSU. I looked this up and figured that maybe the main chip had been rooted. Possibly that the motherboard was atually a fixed secondhand one, possibly they use another chipset that needs rooting to work? I don't know but it worked so I left it.
One thing that did annoy me was that when I connected my phone via USB to the laptop (a Samsung) the photo thumbnails would not show up like they used to. I looked this up and it was common. I suggested fix was to look for phone updates on Kies.
Then about 4 days ago I decided to install Samsung Kies onto my computer and update the phone. It said there were updates to install and I clicked go.
I went through the process and it all looked good until when the update process said it had finished. Then the phone just started to flash the Samsung symbol on and off, spaced every two seconds. Bugger!
So I tried a recovery mode on kies, that did not work. I tried booting into recovery (all three keys, volume up) and it does nothing at all. Samsung just keeps flashing on and off. I have tried everything!
However- it will boot into download mode so I have tried reloading the correct Samsung firmware back on with Odin three, several times! Everytime when it re-boots it just flashes. Cant get into recovery.
This is now where I am at. I want to know how to get into recovery via my PC. Maybe through some program. But I don't know how. I'll happily load on a new ROM but not sure which and most seem to need me to be able to change some settings within the phone first...which I cant obviously do. I have looked into Omegadroid and Lineage which both appeal. But there seems to be no way I can load them on from where I am at with this phone.
I am hoping that there some sort of program I can use to 'hard re-set' or wipe the phone completely start again?
Any help and suggestions very welcome. I am not at all adept at programming so keep it all in laymans terms (I have already learned so much in the last few days that my brain might well explode!)
Thank you in advance,
Alex
yoeddynz said:
I bought a new motherboard from China on Aliexpress. Good feedback from seller. $35. It arrived two weeks ago. I swapped the motherboards and the new one worked. I had to change the phone over to English and re-load my favourite apps, exciting.. just like getting a new phone again
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Click to collapse
Hi Alex, Welcome to XDA-Developers!
It sounds like your Note needs a full wipe indeed. But first, I wouldn't have used AliExpress if I were you! These Chinese shops cannot be trusted when it comes to spare parts.
It worked well enough and I was happy. I noted that in the about section, plus in the apps draw, SUPERSU. I looked this up and figured that maybe the main chip had been rooted. Possibly that the motherboard was atually a fixed secondhand one, possibly they use another chipset that needs rooting to work? I don't know but it worked so I left it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very possible that the mother was a second hand one. So, so it might have been rooted by the last owner.
However- it will boot into download mode so I have tried reloading the correct Samsung firmware back on with Odin three, several times! Everytime when it re-boots it just flashes. Cant get into recovery.
I am hoping that there some sort of program I can use to 'hard re-set' or wipe the phone completely start again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, this is what Odin software really does. If it fails, I'm afraid you'll have to take it to a repair shop again. Or maybe you can try another firmware. If you can remember the build number that was in "About" section before you flash it with Odin, then we could figure out what you were using in the first place. Perhaps by installing the firmware of that build number, you'll get it to boot.
And oh! The correct recovery mode combination is "HOME + Volume Up + Power Button". You mentioned "All three buttons + Volume Up" (4 buttons ?!), I assume then that you meant "HOME + Volume Down + Power + Volume UP"
Hey thanks for the reply- sorry for the late reply back..
When I plugged it into Kies I had no intention to do anything other than a usual Samsung update so I didnt look up the build number or any other info beforehand.
Well..that is one leasson learned!
Yeah- it was a typo when I said what keys I pressed. In order to try and get into the recovery mode I did indeed press 'home, power and volume up'. But nothing ever happens... the Samsung symbol just keeps on flashing away...mocking me
Is there any other program out there that I could try? I downloaded a program called Z3X Samsung tool. Used for flashing I believe? It installed fine but when activated, with the phone connected in download mode all I got was a prompt saying 'Cant find chip'
yoeddynz said:
Hey thanks for the reply- sorry for the late reply back..
When I plugged it into Kies I had no intention to do anything other than a usual Samsung update so I didnt look up the build number or any other info beforehand.
Well..that is one leasson learned!
Yeah- it was a typo when I said what keys I pressed. In order to try and get into the recovery mode I did indeed press 'home, power and volume up'. But nothing ever happens... the Samsung symbol just keeps on flashing away...mocking me
Is there any other program out there that I could try? I downloaded a program called Z3X Samsung tool. Used for flashing I believe? It installed fine but when activated, with the phone connected in download mode all I got was a prompt saying 'Cant find chip'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I don't think there is any other tool you can use besides ODIN. The Z3X Software appears to require a flashing hardware (the box). In order to be able to flash your device using this tool, you'll need that box first. So, your best shot right now is to take the phone to a repair center. They often have device flashing hardwares (like the Z3X box) which provide convenient results but ultimately costs few bucks (compared to ODIN which is free if it works for you).
One last explanation to what your device is experiencing is that the motherboard is somewhat not working again. I really don't like this one either, but you can't ignore it. If you had bought it from a local shop or repair center, perhaps they could have assisted you in the current situation or maybe they could have even replaced it with another one.
I hope you'll find a way to revive your Note 2. There isn't much I can suggest anymore right now, as I have moved away from Samsung since 2014 (I owned the Note 2 aswell! Great device at that time).
Nonta72 said:
I hope you'll find a way to revive your Note 2. There isn't much I can suggest anymore right now, as I have moved away from Samsung since 2014 (I owned the Note 2 aswell! Great device at that time).
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Click to collapse
Yeah thanks. I'll try the repair centre in the city next time I visit the big smoke. The phone certainly worked well for me but if its indeed dead, again, all is not lost because things have moved on and its bloody amazing what phones one can get now for half what I paid when I bought the Note 2.
If I get it fixed I'll certainly post up a reply with details just to help add to the info on this thread that might help other Note 2/Samsung owners in a similar way.
yoeddynz said:
Yeah thanks. I'll try the repair centre in the city next time I visit the big smoke. The phone certainly worked well for me but if its indeed dead, again, all is not lost because things have moved on and its bloody amazing what phones one can get now for half what I paid when I bought the Note 2.
If I get it fixed I'll certainly post up a reply with details just to help add to the info on this thread that might help other Note 2/Samsung owners in a similar way.
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Click to collapse
Exactly!
That's the whole spirit of XDA.
Thank you for understanding and good luck. :fingers-crossed:
Ok people of XDA. Here's and update. So I had no luck getting my Note 2 working again. I then bought a brand new Note 4 to see me through and that turned out to be a load of grief too....(Note 4 not liking the Marshmallow update and constantly freezing or rebooting, often every few minutes) oh my. When will the hurting stop?.... but that's another story kids
Anyway- while the Note 4 was out of action I decided I'd better sort the Note 2 out. I ordered another mother board from Aliexpress but before ordering I went through the available board listings, sent the same question off to each seller asking about any potential issues similar to what I have experienced with my current board and waited for replies. The seller that answered with the best reply that gave me some confidence got the sale. Another $35 NZD and this time it actually arrived after about 8 days from ordering.
I fitted the new board and as soon as the phone turned on, changed the language to English and promptly turned auto updates off- just in case.
Its been running perfectly ever since with no problems at all. After the fiasco I have now been having with my Note 4 (which has now been replaced thank fark) using the old Note 2 feels somewhat like jumping from a modern car with all the bells and whistles but too much to go wrong, into a nice old classic that is simplicity itself.
So now I'm off to look for answers on why the hell my Note 4 constantly wants me to download another update just after I have installed the last one.............
Alex

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