Hello everyone,
first-timer, so I hope I won't screw up!
My Samsung Galaxy SII I9100 is broken. And I don't just mean the screen (which is what I found threads on aplenty on here), I mean really broken.
It won't turn on at all. No Recovery/Download-mode, either. The only reaction it shows at all is when I plug it into a computer via USB, the area around the camera starts heating up slightly. That's it.
The last thing I did with it was visiting facebook when my phone froze up, I turned it off and it didn't start back again. It might have been exposed to a certain high temperature from the sun when I had it in my pocket but it's unlikely it reached any temperature above 40°C/104°F.
I was running the latest Cyanogen Mod 9 for SGSII.
Anyway, this thread is less about trying to find a fix for my phone (though if you can help me with that –*cool) but instead I'd like to know if there's a way to recover the data on my phone. That includes photos and music, possibly contacts, messages and Whatsapp-content.
If there is any way to do that, no matter what, I'd like to hear about it. I'm thinking about sending it in to get it repaired but before I do, I'd like to hear about my other options.
Thank you very much in advance.
Almost zero chance. The fix is replacing the motherboard, which has the internal storage on it. A company that specialises in recovery of data from dead HDD's might (but it's a very remote chance, and expect it to be very expensive if it is possible) be able to help, but you really don't have any options (shoulda/coulda/woulda backed it up).
MistahBungle said:
Almost zero chance. The fix is replacing the motherboard, which has the internal storage on it. A company that specialises in recovery of data from dead HDD's might (but it's a very remote chance) be able to help, but you really don't have any options (shoulda/coulda/woulda backed it up).
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Figured as much... I guess I'll cross my fingers when I send the little bastard in for repair/data-recovery.
I did a back-up on a whim some months ago so at least some stuff is saved but I got some new data on it since then, so that would have been nice.
Anyway, thank you very much. I just ordered a USB-jig as a last resort but I'm not having high hopes.
Related
My GSII is totally broken. It can't even connect to the boot cable.
Anyways
I only need a way to reach the internal memory becausei got some VERY IMPORTANT info and pictures that I need to extract.
HOW CAN I DO IT?
can I extract the hardware?
Wow
Really wow
No one even bothers to give me a answer.
I've had 2 questions and I never got an answer for any of them. What a support. What a support.
omid_freesky said:
My GSII is totally broken. It can't even connect to the boot cable.
Anyways
I only need a way to reach the internal memory becausei got some VERY IMPORTANT info and pictures that I need to extract.
HOW CAN I DO IT?
can I extract the hardware?
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Click to collapse
omid_freesky said:
Wow
Really wow
No one even bothers to give me a answer.
I've had 2 questions and I never got an answer for any of them. What a support. What a support.
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Click to collapse
First off,understand the fact that you aren't the center of the universe,nor everyone's attention.Help will come eventually.Be patient next time.It can even take days for a proper answer to come.
So,to extract the internal memory is easy.You just have to disassemble the phone and find the "NAND" labeled chip(or so I think,but you'll probably be able to find it).Problem is that,normally,it'll be glued to the mainboard.If you remove it,you destroy any chance of recovering the whole phone.Bigger problem is that,even if you extract it ok,you don't have any equipment that will be able to read it.It's not an SD card that you stick in a reader and do your thing.
So,your best bet is to send the phone for repair and explicitly state that you want your files intact.Ask them to not repair it if they can't preserve your files.
That's all the help I can give you.I hope someone can help more.
Even though you were a bit rough but it's MUCH better than ignoring
I know I'm not Thee priority, but I just had a trip to Turkey and have ALL my pictures in my GS2. I'm nervous and you can see why.
As you can see I live in Iraq and obviously there is no proper service around here and I'm the biggest hope I got.
Either I wait until I go for another trip and take the phone with me to fix it there or to bother you guys here, and I'm sorry for that
omid_freesky said:
Even though you were a bit rough but it's MUCH better than ignoring
I know I'm not Thee priority, but I just had a trip to Turkey and have ALL my pictures in my GS2. I'm nervous and you can see why.
As you can see I live in Iraq and obviously there is no proper service around here and I'm the biggest hope I got.
Either I wait until I go for another trip and take the phone with me to fix it there or to bother you guys here, and I'm sorry for that
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You just need to be patient man.Sorry if I offended you,it wasn't my intention.What I told you applies to everyone around here,not to you explicitly.
Anyway,your best bet is indeed to keep the phone safe until you can get proper service.
But in case someone can offer you better help,could you tell us what exactly happened to the phone?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
I had CriskeloRom 32 on my phone and nothing was wrong. I was checking websites while thephone was plugged in to a charger. Suddenly my phone died, the screen went black and didn't turn on. I tried to but it in recovery & downloading mode but it never did. Went to a repairing store they used the boot cable but it didn't even get connected.
The best guess is some hardware thing is broken inside.
My bad luck is I had the 16GB external memory filled with HD videos and I was using the internal memory for the camera. The best moments of my life in antalya/ Turkey with my wife and daughter is saved in this memory.
I was waiting for Galaxy Nexus (I actually ordered one) but after this I'm really afraid of internal memory only phones.
Now I use Galaxy Note
omid_freesky said:
I had CriskeloRom 32 on my phone and nothing was wrong. I was checking websites while thephone was plugged in to a charger. Suddenly my phone died, the screen went black and didn't turn on. I tried to but it in recovery & downloading mode but it never did. Went to a repairing store they used the boot cable but it didn't even get connected.
The best guess is some hardware thing is broken inside.
My bad luck is I had the 16GB external memory filled with HD videos and I was using the internal memory for the camera. The best moments of my life in antalya/ Turkey with my wife and daughter is saved in this memory.
I was waiting for Galaxy Nexus (I actually ordered one) but after this I'm really afraid of internal memory only phones.
Now I use Galaxy Note
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Well,I keep my important files in the external SD,so I avoid possible problems.
Sounds like something got fried inside your phone.Damn thing goes really hot when charging sometimes.And Iraq's hot climate must have finished it off.
So,I'd wait for someone more experienced than me to say something on the topic.I think that what I said still applies though.Samsung service maybe is your only hope...
I've tried to search for this, but nothing has come up, so grateful if you don't flame me.
I've dropped my Galaxy SII down the loo. I know. I'm an idiot. But an honest one. It did the whole flashy screen thing before I could rip the battery out, so I think it is well and truly dead. A night in a hot room in a rice bath didn't fix it, and I doubt the day in the airing cupboard in the rice bath will do either. I am insured, so that's fine.
Problem is, I want to be able to extract the data from it that was on there. Any thoughts as to how I can do that? It really doesn't turn on at all, not even to get into a boot loop.
Thanks.
I doubt you'll be able to extract the data without being able to access the internal storage. And if the phone doesn't turn on, you'd need 'specialist' tools to do that I.E the kind Samsung/repairers use to fix borked phones. Even they may not be able to recover the data.
MistahBungle said:
And if the phone doesn't turn on, you'd need 'specialist' tools to do that I.E the kind Samsung/repairers use to fix borked phones.
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Any idea where I might be able to get that done? I work in London Bridge, and live in Alton, Hampshire. Or how I might be able to find someone who does that sort of thing?
Or, better still, is there a programme that I can use to do it? Some of the stuff in the phone is quite 'personal', and I doubt my wife would be chuffed if anyone else were to have access to that. Thanks.
Andy
unless you can boot into recovery you cant get the data out
because you cant read the data from the chip without booting
There's no way you're going to be able to do it yourself. Start contacting mobile phone repairers, you'll might even find places who do data extraction on PC's drives who can do it. Yellow Pages/Google/etc. But definitely no chance of you doing it unfortunately as BlueFa1con said.
Re: the stuff that's 'personal, if it's that personal, I'd recommend you destroy the phone.
Bobzilla2 said:
Any idea where I might be able to get that done? I work in London Bridge, and live in Alton, Hampshire. Or how I might be able to find someone who does that sort of thing?
Or, better still, is there a programme that I can use to do it? Some of the stuff in the phone is quite 'personal', and I doubt my wife would be chuffed if anyone else were to have access to that. Thanks.
Andy
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Just got a quote of £60 to get the data off. No way is it worth that much.
Think it may have unbricked itself. It turns on now, the touchscreen is a bit flaky - it is a bit slow to recognise touch, but I reackon it will go into data mode so I can get what I need before it goes for repair (if needed).
Hello every-xdadeveloper-one~ here i would like to ask questions about my S2 GT-i9100g
My phone is dead. No download mode, recovery mode, usb connection, odin recognition, kies detection, charging, turning on, nada. Meaning in whatever it is, it is not responding to anything.
I would like to ask some professional help here in xda; what has happened to my phone? Is it the emmc? power supply failure? or anything related to it? i really need to know any related things that i'll be dealing with before going to the last step, service repair. it is working fine, i have rooted, unrooted, cyanogenmod and stock, cwm and stock, but none of this has given any problems until one day when it is charging, it suddenly turned off forever.
Please tell me any related things of what has happened.
note: i used a few PIT files when flashing before this, and i'm not sure which is which for the mobo. and few months back before the s2 is totally dead, it keeps on turning off by itself even when full battery, but still workable.
Probably the EMMC, but without having the phone in front of us with the tools to diagnose it, nobody here can tell you this for certain. Fix will be motherboard replacement (assuming you intend to keep this phone & not get a new one).
Take it to a Samsung service centre (more expensive option), or source a 2nd hand motherboard online & either swap the boards yourself, or pay a local mobile repair shop to do it (cheaper option).
Well i just bought a phone from amazon and got it monday it had half battery when i got it so i put it on the charger A hour later it was dead so dead that it wont even charge i tryed diffeent plugs different chargers still nothing what could it be ???
^^^
What model; I.E sticker on the phone chassis under the battery, what does it say ?
I guess it is :crying: Heard there is a workaround that maybe the balls beneath the emmc is like problematic? Maybe i need to reheat it a few seconds and cool it instantly to MAYBE get it able to turn back on? Changing a new board is not an option as important work flowcharts are in the internal storage. I guess service repair of the emmc is needed. Hmmm.
Is it possible that wrong PIT files be the culprit that made all this?
You won't be recovering any data regardless of how you proceed.
You can't 'repair' the EMMC, and it's not feasible to just replace the EMMC (and even if it was, your stuff is on there which means you lose it anyway), replacement of the board is how you proceed. Even if it was possible to replace just the EMMC, you'd probably end up paying 3-4 times the cost of having the entire board replaced due to the cost of labour (swapping a board takes 10 minutes).
If a PIT was the problem, the problem would have occurred immediately after the PIT flash I.E you would have flashed the PIT, and the phone wouldn't have booted immediately after. It's a simple case of component failure, which happens with all electronics all the time. I'm always surprised by how people on here seem to find this incredible. Stuff breaks, simple really.
The only possible very rough chance you have of recovering any data is a company who specialises in recovery of data from dead HDD's, they may be able to help, though very unlikely. If they are able to help, expect this to be very expensive. I have not seen a single post from anyone who has contacted one of these companies & been able to recover data from a phone in this state in the over 2 yrs I've been here.
Thank you for the info. Now i guess the only choice to do, is to repair(replace the mobo), or go buy a brand new s2(or higher models). I will check if there is any way to retrieve the data inside, and i dont mind the cost. :good:
Aight so I have this Samsung Galaxy J7 Max that I've been trying to unlock for more than 2 years now. I of course, don't want to lose the super important data it holds. It got locked out randomly and hasn't been able to take up the pattern I had put on it till date. I'm absolutely sure no one changed its lock screen pattern and its the phone that is unable to recognize the exact same password it had before this happening. I got hold of it today and yet again, started looking for solutions on YouTube and the internet itself. After all of my research, one thing is clear. There is only one way that the pattern lock can be removed in such a condition; by deleting this system folder called gesture.key that lies within the phone itself. I am by no means a nerdy software dev or something but I do have very little knowledge about these workarounds. I used an ADB via a cmd terminal to contact my phone. But it turns out that due to my usb debugging setting not being turned on in my phone, the adb didn't have the required authorization to make any changes to the target. I then got my phone into stock recovery mode and chose the Install through ADB option there. Now when I input the command adb devices, the prompt showed me my device ID, but instead of the "unauthorized" indicator beside it, it now had the indicator "sideload". I had no idea of what had to be done when such happens, so I tried the adb shell > cd data/system > su > rm *.key [taken from an XDA forums thread] commands again. But right on the second step it displayed error this time. I have tried using a key eraser via sd card too, but it just doesn't happen, the sd card folder in the stock mode does not display the contents of the folder.
Now the phone isn't being an obstacle in my life right now, but I really hope there's a way to fix it. Early help would be appreciated. Thank You.
If the data is super important why isn't it redundantly backed up?
Having a set lock screen and storing data on the OS is a sure fire way to lose data, eventually.
Maybe you'll get lucky... is that drive encrypted?
If not it may still be corrupted and unusable.
Don't put yourself in this position again... been there, done that
@blackhawk As I said, this was an absolutely random incident, had never even thought this could've been the case someday. Its not like the phone crashed and then this happened, I turned off my phone's display and the next time I woke it up, the pattern wasn't working anymore. Furthermore, the timed attempts that happen after 5 incorrect tries wasn't existing anymore. Now it could be that someone did get the timed attempts wrong as well [it isn't my own phone]. But I really don't see any other reason to that occurrence.
About the backups, I mean cmon, I was 15 back then, a medico student even more so. I never got my hands around backing up anything. But yes, have been backing up every single bit of data within these two years.
The storage drive shouldn't be encrypted. It was a regular phone bought online that had pdfs, images, recordings and videos stored. The google account was not that of the owner either! It was my uncle's account that was being used ever since he bought it. And since there was never a problem having used his account for quite a while, we never cared to change it to a new google account. Now my uncle's google account itself handles another device, his own phone, exact same model, Galaxy J7 Max. I have tried using his account at the Google Find My Device app to locate and unlock the phone that way [I hope you know it has the three options Ring, Secure and Erase Data]. But it happens so that the Secure phone with password option only for devices that have been lost and don't have a security lock already setup, which wasn't, unfortunately, my case. So that option was greyed out.
For the data corruption, you might be correct. But that phone still does receive SMS texts, calls, whatsapp texts and other notifications. They just don't show up on the lock screen anymore. I honestly had the "Screw the data, I'll erase it anyway" thought yesterday, but during my latest tries, I found the XDA forums website to be quite helpful. Had not it been the damn USB debugging, the solution I approached from this forum would've got the job done in a couple minutes. Again, if the data might've gone corrupted, I will erase the data [I mean I would have to]. But this little glimmer of hope that I experienced yesterday is what is preventing me from doing that. I really hope there is a fix to my situation.
@Chinmay47
a phone can get booted into these modes
Normal ( AKA Android OS )
Recovery
Fastboot
Sideload
EDL
Sideload mode is used to flash OTAs and/or ROMs.
Recovery mode allows you to perform some ADB actions as e.g. pull userdata, but this reqires ADB ( read: USB debug ) got enabled.
So my guess is you can't recover phone's userdata at your own, this would have to be done by an external service who can pull out phone's internal SD-card and has the forensic tools to read it.
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
Chinmay47 said:
@jwoegerbauer Surprisingly the idea of taking the phone to a forensic service struck me yesternight too. As you mentioned, since I can't recover the phone's data myself, all tips and tweaks on the web should now be struck off of my list of solutions. I'll leave the data to some forensic services then. Let's hope the recovery is worth the hassle. The thread is still open to more suggestions though. Thanks for the replies everyone. Really appreciate it!
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It not a card they can pull. More than likely it's on a BGA chipset, the hardest kind there is to work with.
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
If they can access the data on the mobo, not so bad. Otherwise not so good.
Let us know how this plays out for you.
Here's one I found showing you this complex procedure: https://flashfixers.com/recover-data-dead-phone-chip-off-data-recovery/
They may be able to help you, but I have no personal knowledge of this company.
blackhawk said:
If they can't access the data on/with the mobo they will have to unsolder the chipset without damaging it then put it into a test jig or another mobo (after pulling that mobo's matching chipset).
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Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
Chinmay47 said:
Actually thought of this idea right after a couple days from the beginning of the problem. Yes its gonna take loads of precision and patience but it does sound doable. Maybe that's what is gonna be the last option for the forensic service too in case, god forbid, they aren't able to do it the "simple" way. Can't say yet, but I'm gonna keep this thread updated with all the developments that take place.
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If they need to remove the chipset the chances of failure increase. Flash memory retension is generally good for 10+ years but it may be damaged in the removal process if so, snake eyes.
Get price quotes up front for the whole process.
Once they got the phone, they got you by the balls. Not saying they aren't trustworthy but feel them out. If it's a couple hundred and you get the data back, you did good.
No idea of the cost though, my guess is $400-1000+ especially if they need to pull the chipset.
That's high risk even if they do it by the book.
If their policy is no data, no charge... expect higher rates to cover their loses.
@blackhawk All of that sounds kinda terrifying if you ask me. Well I mean, there is always a first option that can be tried without any mentions of pull-aparts. Yet I will surely judge the person well before I hand my device in his hands. I would try my level best to not take it to the critical stage, but if it needs be and there is a really high chance of losing my data, I can factory reset my data at home by myself too can't I? Future shall tell I suppose.
If you factory reset it all data will be lost.
It will not be recoverable!
If you want the data you will need to use a service like I showed you. They will need physical access to the phone to recovery the data.
The phone may be scrape afterwards
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
Chinmay47 said:
@blackhawk Sure does look like it would be! But paying to get your phone reset for you is way to harsher than doing it yourself. It is only in case the data is nearly impossible to recover that I'll reset the phone myself.
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Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
blackhawk said:
Reset? Most likely destroyed.
Do you really want the data?
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I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
Chinmay47 said:
I actually do though. But well, if it ain't coming back then why wish for it. Yeah the data was really important.
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Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
blackhawk said:
Call them up and see what they say.
Since it's not physically damaged they may be able to access it none invasively.
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Click to collapse
I'll do that and report back ASAP. Thanks for the help sire!
Hi there,
I suspect this question is probably answered here somewhere, but let's see how we go.
My phone recently stopped charging, so eventually ran down to zero battery before I had a chance to think sensibly about things.
I took it to a repair shop, which replaced the charging port but this made no difference and they said that they suspect a motherboard issue and that I should get a new phone omegle xender .
Unfortunately some of my contacts were saved to my phone only and not backed up anywhere. (as well as plenty of app data, but I can handle that).
Is there a way to recover these contacts? I tried to see if my computer would recognise it as an external USB if I plugged it in, but it didn't seem to.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received!
Also, if you happen to know of a repair shop in the South London area which may be able to help, please do say!
Thanks
a1quino said:
not backed up anywhere
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Ouch!
As for the contacts, possibly you have copies with your google account (or nextcloud) or even on the sim card?
PS: Not meaning to add insult to injury but a recommendation would be backups in the future (and testing them).