Soft brick and no USB connectivity - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I managed to soft brick my wife's Vibrant while trying to put it back to stock ROM: basically I get the "Phone -- Yellow exclmation -- PC". The volume up, down and power combo doesn't work.
In addition, to make things worse, if I plug it into the PC it gets power but the PC doesn't recognize the USB, so I can't use any type of soft unbrick software.
Should I give a try to the USB jig to get into download mode or, do you guys think the USB port is faulty... I know it's kind of hard to know, but I'm primarily curious to see if anyone got in a similar situation with soft brick and no USB connectivity and was able to solve it with the jig...
Thanks!!!!

ZetaTre said:
I managed to soft brick my wife's Vibrant while trying to put it back to stock ROM: basically I get the "Phone -- Yellow exclmation -- PC". The volume up, down and power combo doesn't work.
In addition, to make things worse, if I plug it into the PC it gets power but the PC doesn't recognize the USB, so I can't use any type of soft unbrick software.
Should I give a try to the USB jig to get into download mode or, do you guys think the USB port is faulty... I know it's kind of hard to know, but I'm primarily curious to see if anyone got in a similar situation with soft brick and no USB connectivity and was able to solve it with the jig...
Thanks!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure ajig would help you but its good to have ajig laying around just in case things go bad. The jig will get you into download mode but if your usb cable/usb port is bad then you still can't connect to your pc to use odin. Sounds like you need a new usb cable or you need to clean your usb port. Have you tried cleaning your phones usb port with isopropyl alcohol and a Qtip? We had a member fix his phone this way just yesterday. If that doesn't work and a tmobile usb cable doesn't work then you might have a faulty usb port. Tmobile has a 30 day money back guarantee on the usb cable so try that if you haven't already. If you end up exhausting all options then I recommend www.mobiletechvideos.com to replace your usb port, plenty of folks have had success with them in the past. Just so you know, the only usb cable that works for me is the one from the tmobile store. I'm not sure why but I have three other cables that work fine on my friends vibrant but dont even do anything at all when plugged in to my phone (not even charge). Let us know what ends up being the fix, good luck.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium

I gave it a try and cleaned out the USB port with some electronic contact cleaner, but that didn't help. I've also tried 4 cables and 2 PC with no differences.
I'll try out the JIG and see if that fixes it if not I'll decide what to do:quite frankly I would unbrick it and bring it back to the stock firmware just to turn around and put it on eBay, so I'm not quite sure it's worth the effort... But since I've already ordered the JIG I'll give that one a try...

Good luck. I suggest you mod your phone like mobile tech videos (tried acronyming it to MTV but you know) did to make it unbrickable.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app

ZetaTre said:
I managed to soft brick my wife's Vibrant while trying to put it back to stock ROM: basically I get the "Phone -- Yellow exclmation -- PC". The volume up, down and power combo doesn't work.
In addition, to make things worse, if I plug it into the PC it gets power but the PC doesn't recognize the USB, so I can't use any type of soft unbrick software.
Should I give a try to the USB jig to get into download mode or, do you guys think the USB port is faulty... I know it's kind of hard to know, but I'm primarily curious to see if anyone got in a similar situation with soft brick and no USB connectivity and was able to solve it with the jig...
Thanks!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It gets power.does it means your wife's ph is charging??try charging battery with external charger..and connect to pc...
Sent from my MT11i using xda app-developers app

If you happen to have Amazon Prime, you can get a jig from Amazon in your hands with next day delivery for $8 (3.99 for the jig and 3.99 for the delivery).
Now that said, if you happend to have flashed the GB bootloader at some point, rememer that the download mode is now accessed by the volume up, instead of both up and down. It's definitely worth giving this a try:
- take out the battery
- plug in the usb to the phone and your PC
- hold the power up button and insert the battery. It should go right into download mode

I actually did have a GB room installed... I'll give it a try tonight: thanks for the heads up!!!!

Just noticed that you said you already ordered the jig so NM about the amazon suggestion. I've been in the situation with the exclamation point and thought mine was bricked. I ordered the jig on Amazon and then finally tried what I detailed above and got in download mode. I could not get in DL mode no matter what else I tried, including just powering up with USB attached and volume up held. I had to do it with the battery being inserted with volume up.
Good luck and remember, the jig may work for the phone, but flowers usually work for the wife.

It was indeed the wrong combo to get it into download mode: using the volume up only and it went right in. The USB connectivity is also solved.
After some back and forth I was able to get CM 7.2 loaded and it works perfectly. Now I just need to solve the dreaded GPS issues of this phone: tonight I'll take it apart and see if bending the antenna connector solves it. It is a August 2010 production so it might as well be.
Other than that CM7.2 works pretty damn good. I already have it on my N1 with no issues. The Vibrant is very much snappier now, particularly if you crank it over to 1.3GHz.
Again thanks a lot for all the help!!!!

A friend had the same problem where it wouldn't go into download mode and would just stay at the phone ! computer screen. It would auto turn on when plugged into usb to this screen so that gave me little hope. What I ended up doing was holding all three buttons and when it turned black let go off power but kept volumes held, it would load back to the exclamation screen and I would hold the power button again, it cycled like this 3 or 4 times, but eventually went back to the download mode and I was able to restore with Odin.

Related

[Q] Odin does not recognize my Vibrant

I can not get Odin to recognize my Vibrant. Only time it will find it is if my phone is powered on. I have installed the drivers and have tried multiple ways of getting into download mode to get it to find it. Nothing I have done so far has worked. Anyone got any suggestions?? your help is much appreciated.
DCrozier28 said:
I can not get Odin to recognize my Vibrant. Only time it will find it is if my phone is powered on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone has to be on and in DL mode before Odin will see the phone.
Start odin n place the files with phone off plug into pc wait for battery on screen hold down volume up down and power when screen goes black release power only
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I had serious probs with that too. I could get my phone into download mode but then windoze wouldn't recognize my phone and neither would odin. I tried it on multiple pcs without luck. Then... something great happened. I tried it on another pc with less abused usb ports. In fact my first success was using the adaptor for a cooling platform that plugged into the laptop's usb port and had a female port on the back so you could piggy back devices on one usb port. In any case, all of a sudden I could flash the **** out of my phone. These guys post that odin is picky about it's perfect usb connection and they are right but they don't elaborate just how picky or what to do except practice an exercise in futility pulling and plugging your cable over and over which never worked for me. You need a machine with a very tight usb port or one with an adaptor in it that gives it the right kind of usb "vaginal tightening" to make that perfect usb connection. Remember you are flashing your phone. This is a low level format and flash in essence hence this litttle program demands a tight connection, no hotdog in a tunnel trying to rub the sides. So don't fiddle with your cable like these guys tell you. It NEVER worked for me. find or create a great connection and you should be able to flash the crap out of your phone. Btw, mattering what rom you have installed you may have tweaked how to get into download mode. I guaranteedly got into it by having the usb cable plugged in and holding down the down volume button. with other roms it was both down and up volume or the up only but always with the usb cable plugged into the phone and pc. Good luck.
AC
Thanks!! I figured it out though. I had an issue with the drivers installing and once I got it corrected it I was able to flash 2.2 through Odin. I can't wait to get my phone modded.
Hey guys i had problems with Odin not recognizing my Vibrant, so i tried some stuff out, and heres how i got it to work. I installed the samsungs driver from here Then just hold the up and down just like how you would normally get the DOwnload screen to start.
Good luck!

[Q] Cannot connect via USB

So I dropped my phone in the pool while I was on vacation and i used the old rice trick. Now everything works, except I cannot connect my phone to my computer via USB. (I'm running cyanogenmod 7, btw.) when i plug it in, it starts charging, but the "usb connected" and "usb debug" dialogs in the notifications menu does not appear. When i try to tether via usb, it says "USB not connected" This is beyond me.... hahaha. Any suggestions?
might need to order a new charger port. see if you can get it into downloadmode via the good ol battery out battery in vol up/down inset usb trick. bet it wont go into dl mode
Yeah, i tried. No luck. So where can i order a new charger port? and how do I install it?
my charger port is busted too. but i ordered a new port off ebay for about 5 bucks. closest i found was in hongkong and it took like 3 weeks to get here but its here.
take the phone apart and solder the new port in and you should be good.
For someone who's never soldered something in his life? Well, i should probably learn. I'm not paying $50 bucks to have someone else fix it. You know, I might be able to re solder the current charging port.... worth a shot.
i would just order a new port. if you need to get into download mode in the meantime u can use terminal emulator.
su [enter]
reboot download[enter]
that will throw u into downloadmode
thanks. But what's the point if i can't connect? I'm trying to restore to stock JFD using odin (i want to flash a new rom and i want a clean install)... Is there a way to do that over SSH?
have you tried a diff usb cord? usb port? are you using a laptop or desktop?
if ur on a desktop id suggest trying the usb port in the back of your comp
I'm on a laptop, but i've tried it on a desktop, too. I have two USB cords, the one that shipped with my phone and another, longer one. No luck with either cord....
ok this might be off the wall but try this. slowly put the usb in but not all the way. ive noticed vibrants to think its in usb mode sometimes when slowly inserting the usb into the phone.
its an idea and it may work. hope you have steady hands
No dice. Charging indicator came on halfway through, but nothing else. At least that shows that it's definitely a hardware problem.
take the phone apart and look and see if its physical damage. maybe it can be fixed now and not need another usb port but most likely will need a new one
wish i coulda helped

[Q] Can't get into download mode

So I have been trying to root my phone and have been following the directions posted on the forums here, the problem is, no matter what I try I can't get it to download mode. I've tried volume up + volume down while plugging in USB, tried volume down + power button while plugging in usb, and while not plugging in usb. Nothing gets it into download mode. All the buttons and the phone works completely normally outside of this, and I can get it into 3e recovery mode easily enough. Any help?
Take out the battery from the back to ensure your phone is completely off, then put the battery back in. Now hold down on both the Up and Down Volume buttons and plug the USB coming from your PC into your SGS2. Once you see a warning screen let go of the volume buttons. Hit the Up Volume button to continue into download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1288112
I tried that, and did it again just now with taking the battery out. It doesn't work, after like 5 seconds of having the usb plugged in it just starts charging the phone and brings up the battery filling up graphic...
Never mind, maybe this should have been obvious, but I was trying to do this with a generic microusb cord made by At&t (it was what i had closest at hand) and it wasn't working. I just tried it with the microusb cord that came with my phone (samsung made) and I got into download mode right away...go figure.
Interesting...I wouldn't have thought it mattered. Glad you figured it out.
justlaxin13 said:
Never mind, maybe this should have been obvious, but I was trying to do this with a generic microusb cord made by At&t (it was what i had closest at hand) and it wasn't working. I just tried it with the microusb cord that came with my phone (samsung made) and I got into download mode right away...go figure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think some of the microusb cords AT&T sells are specifically designed for charging-only - they short D+ and D- together to force the phone into AC Charger mode.
Which of course makes them useless for data...
(The stock MicroUSB cord is OK - but additional cords can be charger-only.)

[Q] SGS2 USB not detected (kind of)

ok, so today i decided to help my friend fix her SGS2, since it was suddenly going CRAZY after she switched to her spare battery! she has been using it for only..3-4 months with no problems until today AFAIK. she is a normal user, so no rooting nothing.
phone version 2.3.3, zskg2.
so basically the problems that happened were that:
1.) MTP App thing kept flashing for a while, so i tried to turn it off and reboot. after a few times the MTP thing stopped, but then another happened. after powering off, the phone would still turn back on immediately by itself.
2.) Dock screen (as if the phone was docked) kept appearing for no reason
3.) battery life draining like crazy
so i thought it was just a software problem , i could flash a few roms whatever and it would be ok.
we thoguht maybe it was the spare battery's fault, so i eventually changed back to the original Samsung battery when trying to fix. no luck.
so i plugged the phone into usb on my computer. no response WTF? ticked usb debugging tried just usb media storage mode etc neither computer nor phone did anything when usb attached! BUT, the phone is able to charge from electric wall socket. very strange.
HOWEVER, when i ran ODIN, it actually detected somehow?! So i decided to uninstall and reinstall kies, thinking maybe it would help. i think after reinstalling, i plugged the phone in and it did install drivers, or maybe i was confusing it with some other driver installation.. actually i might be confused since i had my own SGS2 with me as well.
so after googling and searching a bit for things like 'usb problems' etc, i thought maybe her usb port was just dirty. currently dont have access to alcohol to clean it a bit but actually out of maybe 50 times of plugging and unplugging the USB cable i got the phone to have a response twice?
Anyway, I managed to flash CF-root and then flashed Litening ROM on her phone. it still does not do anything when i plug in the USB cable.
any ideas people? phone is just charging from socket now. after flashing litening ROM i still had one instance where it randomly changed to the Dock screen. weird as hell.
Maybe its broke and needs a warranty repair. Do you really think you should have tried flashing, making the warranty void?
On a more helpful note I spent hours trying to make my sgs2 connect to my new laptop. It would charge but not connect.
I got it to work by using a USB port on the other side of the PC. Simple as that. Something to do worth more power on USB port that attaches directly to the motherboard.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
From what I read, it surely looks like there is something wrong with the USB/USB port/USB cable to PC.
I don't know an exact answer to solve your problem, but I can only list possibilities to certain fixes.
- Use a different port on your computer
- Try a different computer
- Change USB to PC cable
- Wipe Dalvik Cache
- Wipe Cache Partition
- Wipe Battery Stats
If that doesn't work, you have to go back to your local provider, assuming either Smartone, 1O1O, 3 or PCCW and hope that they would fix it for you IF you didn't reset your counter back to 0. If you want to bring it back and it is under warranty, get a USB jig off eBay, plug it in to the phone, and the custom counter would reset so you can claim your full warranty. (just hope that your USB slot can even recognize the jig when inserted or you're screwed)
uh oh.. crap. she didn't get the phone through the networks but yeah.. guess I might have to usb jig it etc. thanks for advice guys.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
nicholaschum said:
From what I read, it surely looks like there is something wrong with the USB/USB port/USB cable to PC.
I don't know an exact answer to solve your problem, but I can only list possibilities to certain fixes.
- Use a different port on your computer
- Try a different computer
- Change USB to PC cable
- Wipe Dalvik Cache
- Wipe Cache Partition
- Wipe Battery Stats
If that doesn't work, you have to go back to your local provider, assuming either Smartone, 1O1O, 3 or PCCW and hope that they would fix it for you IF you didn't reset your counter back to 0. If you want to bring it back and it is under warranty, get a USB jig off eBay, plug it in to the phone, and the custom counter would reset so you can claim your full warranty. (just hope that your USB slot can even recognize the jig when inserted or you're screwed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, thanks for the advice about this .
this morning i did manage to get the phone to at least register that it was charging when plugged in to the USB, although it would still not do the USB debug or media storage mode at all. Additionally, the 'dock' screen also appeared several times after unplugging the USB. really strange. also tried using another computer and USB ports as well, didn't make a difference either..
i even tried turning off the phone, taking out battery and cleaning the usb port with rubbing alcohol, and it temporarily solved the self booting problem but it came back again shortly.
would you have any experience with whether the samsung repair centres void warranty or not in HK? i am getting a USB JIG just in case though..
just wondering: would I be able to use qtadb program to access the phones sdcard you think? since odin could detect and flash, but not kies or the normal windows driver stuff.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
sounds to me like the usb cable is not working
or your pc case is not giving enought power to be detected properly, try to plug it directly to the motherboard usb ports
i also believe making the warrnty void was not the smartest choice lol
cheers
flafla said:
just wondering: would I be able to use qtadb program to access the phones sdcard you think? since odin could detect and flash, but not kies or the normal windows driver stuff.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easiest way is to place a Micro SD card into the phone, backup all data from the internal SD card to the Micro SD card. Keep it simple
Titanium Backup is a great app for that since you're rooted.
RorixRebel said:
sounds to me like the usb cable is not working
or your pc case is not giving enought power to be detected properly, try to plug it directly to the motherboard usb ports
i also believe making the warrnty void was not the smartest choice lol
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, thanks for the response! it shouldn't be the case since my own galaxys2 works perfectly fine when I plug it in. ah well I'm getting a USB jig today, it should be ok.. the phone responded to Odin , it's not completely dead#! (I hope)
nicholaschum said:
Easiest way is to place a Micro SD card into the phone, backup all data from the internal SD card to the Micro SD card. Keep it simple
Titanium Backup is a great app for that since you're rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh good idea, didn't think about backing up with a micro sd. thanks# still wondering if qtadb would be able to access the phone though!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
flafla said:
oh good idea, didn't think about backing up with a micro sd. thanks# still wondering if qtadb would be able to access the phone though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can connect QtADB with your phone via Wifi, so if USB does not work, since the USB does not really work.
Yes, QtADB works with External SD support
How to connect QtADB with Phone via Wifi
1) connect Your phone via usb, when it’s connected choose Connection->WiFi from menu and type phones IP and port (to change connection mode You need to connect QtADB with phone because its changing options in phone, not in QtADB. Next time You don’t have to connect usb before connecting via Wifi)
2) install on phone adbWireless and run. Press green button, it will show Your IP and port on phone screen. Type it to the QtADB and press connect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It also breaks down storage info into system partition, data partition, internal and external SD cards etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download QtADB here: http://qtadb.wordpress.com/download/
hi again all, I didn't manage to get qtadb to work .but anyway, my friends phone started going crazy dockscreen mode again and turning on by itself. so i flashed stock rom and kernel back on friends's phone with odin, and then USB jig worked perfectly fine! thanks for responses and help guys!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

plzzz dont let it be a brick!!!

So i found a usb cable at work so i decided to take it home and use it. When I plugged my tablet in, it seemed a bit loose so I decided not to use it. But when I plugged my original charger, it wouldnt charge....that was 2 days ago and still no charge.
Im pretty sure its bricked because it doesnt turn on, doesnt show its charging...nothing. I guess i just want someone else to tell me that its done for and time throw it away or maybe have someone more knowledgeable repair it..
.
i3am5not8real13 said:
So i found a usb cable at work so i decided to take it home and use it. When I plugged my tablet in, it seemed a bit loose so I decided not to use it. But when I plugged my original charger, it wouldnt charge....that was 2 days ago and still no charge.
Im pretty sure its bricked because it doesnt turn on, doesnt show its charging...nothing. I guess i just want someone else to tell me that its done for and time throw it away or maybe have someone more knowledgeable repair it..
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what makes you think it's a brick? Is it just a dead battery? Did it boot before? Have you opened it to check the battery connection?
I replaced the USB daughterboard on mine. Like $10 and 15 minutes. Couple screws and ribbon cables
madbat99 said:
So what makes you think it's a brick? Is it just a dead battery? Did it boot before? Have you opened it to check the battery connection?
I replaced the USB daughterboard on mine. Like $10 and 15 minutes. Couple screws and ribbon cables
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didn't think it was that easy...ill work on that and keep u posted
i3am5not8real13 said:
didn't think it was that easy...ill work on that and keep u posted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry took so long had to go away for a bit...installed new daughterboard and still nothimg, ill check the connections again
i3am5not8real13 said:
didn't think it was that easy...ill work on that and keep u posted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the white light at the bottom flash when you try to power it on while it charges?
try this:
Plug your N9 into a good 2.4amp output USB brick
hold down the power button
If the led doesn't flash 3 times annoyingly then you are out of luck. I don't know how to fix it. I have a broken N9 and a good one and the broken one has a dead mother board and sounds the same, but I DOUBT a loose USB cord destroyed your tab.
Galaxyninja66 said:
Does the white light at the bottom flash when you try to power it on while it charges?
try this:
Plug your N9 into a good 2.4amp output USB brick
hold down the power button
If the led doesn't flash 3 times annoyingly then you are out of luck. I don't know how to fix it. I have a broken N9 and a good one and the broken one has a dead mother board and sounds the same, but I DOUBT a loose USB cord destroyed your tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine died too, but the led does flash 3 times. Is that a good sign? My USB port began failing and it was getting harder to charge. I left it plugged in over the weekend (forgot about it) and on Monday.... Nothing. But it does flash the led 3 times when I plug it in, sometimes. I probably need to replace the USB board again. Leaving a USB otg stick plugged into it for movie viewing in the truck is what keeps damaging my USB ports.
Update: I finally got it to charge and boot. Just had to hold the cord just right, and plug it into an outlet I have converted to USB next to my couch. New USB daughterboard ordered and on the way.
Try putting it in APX mode and charging it. Plug it into a computer and hold power, vol+, and vol- until the tablet is detected. Leave it overnight, then hold the same button combo for 15 seconds.

Categories

Resources