Bootloop caused by Hardware? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello!
Bought a 9100 ( Ihave also a 9100, just for reserve) on bay for 45€,with a little broken frontglass, it is possible to go into download mode also recovery, I have also flashed with all possible rom ( 3 part + repart with pit) all the possible stuff......
RESULT NOTHING!
It does not accept the power button in recovery mode, and it restarts whole the time, as would the power button be non stop on...
PLEASE HELP!

Bin job unless you want to replace the motherboard.
Edit - Or...Perhaps replace home/power buttons first. There might well be a lot more things wrong with it hardware-wise than would appear to be the case.

MistahBungle said:
Bin job unless you want to replace the motherboard.
Edit - Or...Perhaps replace home/power buttons first. There might well be a lot more things wrong with it hardware-wise than would appear to be the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Bin job unless you want to replace the motherboard."
What do you mean with this? Bin job = Trash? :cyclops:
Flashing with odin and all the other stuff worked, but it tries to go in the os and break it up....

That's it. You seemed to get a successful Odin flash, yet it's still bootlooping. Which could mean any one (or maybe even a combination) of:-
1) NAND corruption (which would mean a motherboard replacement)
2) If you're lucky, replacing the power & home buttons might enable you to do a factory reset in recovery
3) I've had another thought in the 25 minutes since my last post - perhaps try to do a factory reset through ADB ? This may/may not be possible. How ? Lots of tutorials on here/Google search on how to use ADB. You're facing a lot of reading/research if you want to try this.
Or, it could be other stuff wrong hardware-wise which you don't know about at this point causing the problems, and none of the above may be possible. You're only going to if you try them. So....In order of cost to you, try 3 first, then 2, then you can decide whether 1 is going to be worth it. It might cost you what you paid for the phone again to source a 2nd hand motherboard (or more), plus labour if you're not confident enough to swap the board out yourself & have to pay someone to do it.

MistahBungle said:
That's it. You seemed to get a successful Odin flash, yet it's still bootlooping. Which could mean any one (or maybe even a combination) of:-
1) NAND corruption (which would mean a motherboard replacement)
2) If you're lucky, replacing the power & home buttons might enable you to do a factory reset in recovery
3) I've had another thought in the 25 minutes since my last post - perhaps try to do a factory reset through ADB ? This may/may not be possible. How ? Lots of tutorials on here/Google search on how to use ADB. You're facing a lot of reading/research if you want to try this.
Or, it could be other stuff wrong hardware-wise which you don't know about at this point causing the problems, and none of the above may be possible. You're only going to if you try them. So....In order of cost to you, try 3 first, then 2, then you can decide whether 1 is going to be worth it. It might cost you what you paid for the phone again to source a 2nd hand motherboard (or more), plus labour if you're not confident enough to swap the board out yourself & have to pay someone to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well factory reset is not the problem, when im in the cwm recovery ( I flashed dorimanx 9.43 where a touch is in) i resetted all.
Reset, flash 3 part , not working, flashed 10 different rom with odin and directly in cwm.
I know I bought a *hit, I was blended of the screen logo, I thought it just stuck while the guy have done something wrong...

In that case you're stuck with 2, then 1.

MistahBungle said:
In that case you're stuck with 2, then 1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i love to play with stuff that I bought wrong.... lets see..
cheers

Keep us informed how you go in this thread

Just sell the phone on immediately.Maybe some mug will think(like you did) it works/can be resurrected.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
Just sell the phone on immediately.Maybe some mug will think(like you did) it works/can be resurrected.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nah thats not so fine, when I know there is a hardware problem, it will bring bad karma , well display is ok, so what I have seen may has the powerbutton a shorty, so we will see.
I dont think NAND, because formating and wiping and flashing in CWM worked, good. hey there is battery reserve too
BTW: iphone expert, Ive got a dead iphone 4 ( not mine) crawling around, searching a lot for a logicboard for this inhumane part

sh0ne said:
well i love to play with stuff that I bought wrong.... lets see..
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know what 3 part firmware Mistahbungle meant(maybe from Phistachio),but I read a thread yesterday from king_below_the_lord.Maybe try that as youve nothing to lose.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35719424
As for selling the phone,all you say is "doesnt boot properly".Then let someone think they can fix it.You are doing nothing wrong,as the phone doesnt boot properly.
I could buy phones every day of the week,but I dont because of ones like yours,and I suspect loads of them have water damage.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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sh0ne said:
Hello!
Bought a 9100 ( Ihave also a 9100, just for reserve) on bay for 45€,with a little broken frontglass, it is possible to go into download mode also recovery, I have also flashed with all possible rom ( 3 part + repart with pit) all the possible stuff......
RESULT NOTHING!
It does not accept the power button in recovery mode, and it restarts whole the time, as would the power button be non stop on...
PLEASE HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really looks like i say this to everyone, but before replacing your hardware and looking at "extreme caution" posts, have you tried nuking your phone? Search hawkerpaul s nuke and try it.
Edit: Just saw that you cannot press power button on recovery. Well then, try everything you can but i think your best bet would be selling it again, if you even buy buttons you will be losing more money, maybe you can open it and try repairing the button or find a workaround like pressing it manually tho.

well bought a s2 for 20€ with a defect screen ( good mainborad , FULL of data like pics.... ) resambeld all, not so dificult, sove samsung for that, and it works like a charm, and my wife (hardcore whatsapp & viber user) is happy too , installed infecteds cm 10.1 v2 , yesterday I saw it brings with my old 2000mAh Battery ( samsung original) 4h! of display! amazing!
Thanks for all guys!

Related

[Q] Galaxy GIO (S5660) bricked, I am unsure.

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.

[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] S2 with broken/not working screen - how to tell if the rest still works?

Hi
I recently bought a broken Galaxy S2 with a non-working display/screen off a swiss auction portal (smiliar to eBay) for very little money.
The seller stated that the display broke after he dropped it, the rest of the phone should be fine. Effectively, only the LCD is broken, the glass is intact, but the screen doesn't show anything when I try to turn on the phone.
The first few times I tried to turn on the phone, nothing happened, no boot sound or touch buttons glowing. After trying several combinations of pressing buttons (hard reset, soft reset, download mode, recovery etc.) I heard the boot sound and saw the buttons glowing, but only once and I dont know how I exactly managed it to start. But, nevertheless, I can't really see what the phone is doing, if it is booting, if its in download mode, etc.
Does anyone have an idea, what I can/should do to make sure, the phone itself is working and its only the display which is broken? I just don't want to spend over $100 for a new display, if im not sure if the rest works...any suggestions?
Thanks very much for your help guys!
Greetings from Switzerland!
nkb88
How can anyone answer if the phone is going to be worth the cost of a new screen.It could be water damaged or blacklisted,or faulty.
Did you not foresee these things.What did you expect to happen.You must have trusted the seller,but all of a sudden you have doubts.Why didnt the seller replace the screen.
You probably think youve scored,when in fact it could work out more expensive than buying a working phone.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
How can anyone answer if the phone is going to be worth the cost of a new screen.It could be water damaged or blacklisted,or faulty.
Did you not foresee these things.What did you expect to happen.You must have trusted the seller,but all of a sudden you have doubts.Why didnt the seller replace the screen.
You probably think youve scored,when in fact it could work out more expensive than buying a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, the mentioned auction platform is very small and not quite comparable to eBay, maybe it was my fault to make the comparison to eBay. Its much smaller, only people from Switzerland and people much trustworthier than on eBay. I talked to the seller even before I commited my bid on the phone, and he told me he already bought another one and the place, where he first wanted to repair it, told him, it would be more than $200, which wasnt an option for him...
The phone was very cheap, only about $25 - due to the fact that the sellar put it in a wrong category (mobile accessoires but not mobile devices itself) so almost nobody beside me bidded for the auction. There are several other Galaxy S2s with broken displays for sale, which sell at least for $50-70, rather between $100-150.
So to put it straight: I just bid for the phone because its cheap and, if the display is replaced and the phone is fully working again, the potential selling price is much higher than what I payed for the phone and the display together.
Now, I was just wondering, if there is a possibility to tell, if the phone boots normally and to be sure that the display is the only faulty part...
If you know what network it's on, and you can find a way to get it switched on, you can put a compatible sim card into it and call it....if the phone rings (provided the volume is set right) you can assume it's good.........
That is.....assuming there's charge in the battery.......
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
Ok I see now.
All you need to do then is to relist the phone on that auction site you said....in the proper area/listing....and you could make a profit without risk.
You could put it in dl mode and see if it is ready to take a flash.Or see if someone could hook up a screen to test,or see if you can borrow one/get sale or return.
And people on here help with tech problems,not get rich quick schemes......LOL
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
Ok I see now.
All you need to do then is to relist the phone on that auction site you said....in the proper area/listing....and you could make a profit without risk.
You could put it in dl mode and see if it is ready to take a flash.Or see if someone could hook up a screen to test,or see if you can borrow one/get sale or return.
And people on here help with tech problems,not get rich quick schemes......LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I could have bought the phone and relisted it in the proper category, you are right on that BUT I acually don't have any interest in making money with this phone, if it is fully working again, I probably will give it to my GF cause her crappy iFone will probalby be moving to the bin soon... You really probably missunderstood me in this case...
But thanks for you help! I'll see this evening if I can put it in download mode...
keithross39 said:
If you know what network it's on, and you can find a way to get it switched on, you can put a compatible sim card into it and call it....if the phone rings (provided the volume is set right) you can assume it's good.........
That is.....assuming there's charge in the battery.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats also a good idea BUT afaik you need to enter a PIN code before the phone actually connects to the carrier/provider, isn't that correct?
Not necessarily......unless the phone has been set up that way post purchase.....as I said, you need to know what carrier the phone was with before, and simply go and get a sim card (pay as you go) for that carrier and put it in the phone....job done.
It's not necessary to enter a pin code here in the UK.....I don't know how the mobile operators operare with respect to that in Switzerland though......
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
How about if you cant "borrow' a screen,just buy one off eBay from a seller that takes it back with a small restocking fee.
Then hook it up(without fixing it permanently) and see if any problems me/keith mentioned.
Look near the end of this video in this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25438587
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maybe your an iphone expert
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Okay, i managed to connect the phone to my computer and it shows up in KIES! *yay*
Unfortunately, KIES shows: "The connected device is locked..."
But, as far as this looks like, the phone is working! Am I right on this?
I dont know much about kies as I dont use it.Maybe its not an unbranded phone and youve put in a different sim its not used to.
Unless someone has a better idea,I think buying the screen under the conditions I said earlier is the way to go.It may only lose you £15 at the worst.
Check the online imei checket first though to see if it throws amything up.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
I dont know much about kies as I dont use it.Maybe its not an unbranded phone and youve put in a different sim its not used to.
Unless someone has a better idea,I think buying the screen under the conditions I said earlier is the way to go.It may only lose you £15 at the worst.
Check the online imei checket first though to see if it throws amything up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't put in a SIM at all, as it is not neccesary to be able to use the phone.
I will buy a screen anyway, if I can't use it myself, I will give it to a frend who has also got a smashed S2.
Another question: Is it possible to hard reset the phone, without a working screen? Afaik you have to boot into recovery and select the reset from a menu, which is not really possible without having a working display... Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Someone has just posted this utility.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43448133
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
Someone has just posted this utility.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43448133
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but with the phone being locked, i cannot do anything, also not install any apps...
How can I reset the phone without the screen? Or can someone tell me which buttons to press in recovery menu to do a wipe/reset?
Thanks!
That in itself could cause you issues. You have to get the number of and order of presses exactly right otherwise you could end up formatting the system partition (os)
Aaaaand.....you don't know whether you're running 4.0.4 in which case, doing a wipe *may* permanently kill your phone (search emmc brickbug for the why/how)......
Realistically the only option is to obtain a screen......have you thought of taking the phone to an unofficial repairer, explaining the situation and asking for the temporary instore use of a screen? (You could even offer to pay a small fee.....just as a sweetener)
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
nkb88 said:
Thanks, but with the phone being locked, i cannot do anything, also not install any apps...
How can I reset the phone without the screen? Or can someone tell me which buttons to press in recovery menu to do a wipe/reset?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That mymobiler didnt look like an app to me.The other thing that was mentioned was an app that needed root.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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keithross39 said:
That in itself could cause you issues. You have to get the number of and order of presses exactly right otherwise you could end up formatting the system partition (os)
Aaaaand.....you don't know whether you're running 4.0.4 in which case, doing a wipe *may* permanently kill your phone (search emmc brickbug for the why/how)......
Realistically the only option is to obtain a screen......have you thought of taking the phone to an unofficial repairer, explaining the situation and asking for the temporary instore use of a screen? (You could even offer to pay a small fee.....just as a sweetener)
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right - thats really too risky. As I said, i'm going to order a screen now and we'll see how things work out! Thanks for your help! I'll keep this thread updated with my progess.
Cheers! :good:
nkb88 said:
You are right - thats really too risky. As I said, i'm going to order a screen now and we'll see how things work out! Thanks for your help! I'll keep this thread updated with my progess.
Cheers! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a new screen and everything is working smoothly!
Thanks for your support! :good:
PS: Any recommendable, FAST rom without too much bloatware?
Cheerio!
Lol....not gonna recommend a specific ROM as that's against XDAs rules......but if you want the stability of stock without the bloat, try one of the hybrid ROMs. Look for "samsung based" in the ROM sticky thread.....or do what I've done. ....stay with your stock firmware, but root it and debloat it.......
My Wife says I'm a phone geek.....
I'd have to agree.....

My S2 does not Boot at all may be HARDBRICKED :'(

Okay... initially i was on Custom Rom Jellybam based on Jellybean 4.2.1 with Siyah Kernel V5 sync.
I want to upgrade to Kitkat 4.4
so i downloaded all the required files , made nandroid backup , reboot the phone and started transferring all ROM files into internal SD card Sdcard0
I am doing all this is Linux Mint..
It started transferring and got stuck 33.2%
so i removed the cable and try it again and this time again it stucked again
and my phone reboots automatically ..
Samsung logo main screen shows and loading starts but after completing loading bar .. it Freezes there and i cannot boot into recovery either..
SO on searching on goggle for solutions .. it states that i have to flash kernel again through ODIN again in order to access recovery to do Factory Reset..
SO i did the same flashed siyah kernel v4.1.5
it shows its successfully flashed BUT on reboot it shows Yellow triangle and freezes there and i still cannot access recovery and it also freezes on battery charge animation
So i again try to flash using ODIN this time again with siyah kernel 6.b5
and still same problem ,, so pull out battery and leave for 5 minutes and again boot phone in download mode and flash again using odin siyah kernel 6.0b5 and upon Reboot PHONE does not Boot.. I was literally Shocked and i try to pull out battery .. put back in and Try to charge but it shows no animation nor it is going in download mode.
Please HELP ..
Suggest me some ways because 1 year before I've replaced the motherboard due to same problem caused by factory reset in stock ICS rom when There was Hard Brick problem in Stock ICS roms..but it was in warranty so there was no problem but this time its out of warranty..
I didn't do anything wrong and still it got HARD BRICKED and still not have a clue what went wrong ??
No booting at all = nothing anyone here can do = replace motherboard or get a new phone (JTAG also very unlikely to work).
MistahBungle said:
No booting at all = nothing anyone here can do = replace motherboard or get a new phone (JTAG also very unlikely to work).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know. this.. its TOO scary to hear this thing..
If anything is possible ?? Anything ??
i will give every info you needed..
And what exactly do you expect people here to suggest ? If the phone won't boot you can:-
*Try a jig (0.0000000001% chance of working, but try it if you like torturing yourself with false hope)
*Try a JTAG if the person who tries is prepared to do it on the basis of 'you only pay them if the JTAG is successful' (also 0.0000000001% chance of working, try this if you like torturing yourself with false hope even more)
*Replace the motherboard; 99.99% chance of successfully fixing the phone provided there's nothing else wrong hardware-wise
MistahBungle said:
And what exactly do you expect people here to suggest ? If the phone won't boot you can:-
*Try a jig (0.0000000001% chance of working, but try it if you like torturing yourself with false hope)
*Try a JTAG if the person who tries is prepared to do it on the basis of 'you only pay them if the JTAG is successful' (also 0.0000000001% chance of working, try this if you like torturing yourself with false hope even more)
*Replace the motherboard; 99.99% chance of successfully fixing the phone provided there's nothing else wrong hardware-wise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'll go to samsung care tomorrow but i am still wondering what happened wrong as i did nothing wrong at all then still how it hardbricked ??
... probably you only need to flash a correct running ROM. Did you try to flash an original Samsung firmware? Did you wipe data before starting the new ROM? Otherwise there is a big chance for a bootloop.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
AndDiSa said:
... probably you only need to flash a correct running ROM. Did you try to flash an original Samsung firmware? Did you wipe data before starting the new ROM? Otherwise there is a big chance for a bootloop.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the guide suggest to flash kernel so that i can wipe/data factory reset .. i tried that with odin but phone does not boot and freezes at Samsung logo when loading bar finishes... so i thought to flash stock ics rom but before doing that after flashing kernel again it reboot and hard bricked... and does not boot after all even in download mode..
So this happens after i flashed kernel 3rd time and i still have no clue why did it happened..
and customer care asks it would costs at least Rs.8,000 or $133 to replace a Motherboard.. which is too costly...
can anyone suggest me any other things.. ay alternatives ??
There are no other alternatives. Just because you refuse to accept reality doesn't make it anything less than reality.
And isn't it wonderful to see people still not reading threads & suggesting stuff that's impossible: 'probably you only need to flash a correct running ROM'. I mean, seriously ? The OP has already stated on multiple occasions that the phone will not boot. At all. How do you propose he flash 'a correct running rom' exactly ?
MistahBungle said:
There are no other alternatives. Just because you refuse to accept reality doesn't make it anything less than reality.
And isn't it wonderful to see people still not reading threads & suggesting stuff that's impossible: 'probably you only need to flash a correct running ROM'. I mean, seriously ? The OP has already stated on multiple occasions that the phone will not boot. At all. How do you propose he flash 'a correct running rom' exactly ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahah... i know .. people are sometimes too lazy to read ..
I just need to know.. what's wrong happened so that it will not happen next time..
Honestly ? That's almost impossible to say. Best guesses based on what you've told us are you simply got a bad flash, which is a small possibility (maybe 1 in 10,000) with any given flash. Or, I've had a theory based on instances like this I've seen on here over the past two yrs which involves the connection between phone & PC being broken for a split second during the flash (possibly caused by less than reliable USB ports on the PC or something else intermittent on the PC side), but not long enough for the disconnection to 'register' on the PC-side like it normally does when an external device is disconnected (you get that exclamation sound & a notification that the device has been disconnected in your taskbar).
It doesn't sound like you did anything 'wrong', put it that way. So I'm not sure there's a whole lot you can do to avoid it in future. Unfortunately, that's the risk all of us take whenever we flash stuff to our phones; every single flash (even CWM ones) involves that small risk (due to the nature of the NAND; having a write abruptly interrupted partway through can 'scramble' it) and the only way you can mitigate that 100% is to not flash anything at all.
Well .. I've already seen several people claiming a 'hardbrick' while the phone was only stuck in a boot loop. Especially while flashing only boot.img / system.img (which the OP claimed) it's normally really hard to create a hardbrick. That was the reason to suggest to try to flash an original firmware.If instead the bootloader is messed up, there is not much to do ...
AndDiSa said:
Well .. I've already seen several people claiming a 'hardbrick' while the phone was only stuck in a boot loop. Especially while flashing only boot.img / system.img (which the OP claimed) it's normally really hard to create a hardbrick. That was the reason to suggest to try to flash an original firmware.If instead the bootloader is messed up, there is not much to do ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well I've got my s2 since past 1.7 years and nothing wrong has happened till date as I've flashed plenty of ROMS earlier.. its nothing new to me.. i am well known to these things..
i have exams from 1 month and s2 was creating problems such as freezes while scrolling in any application and automatic reboot from many time
i have no time to solve this during exams..
so i tried to solve this issue yesterday by upgrading to new ROM.. downloaded ROM files .. and ready to transfer to internal sd where copying stuck at 33% 2 times and at 2nd time from where main problem starts.. of freezing at bootscreen and then i trty to solve by flahsing new kernel thriugh ODIN where Hardbrick was TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.. as I've done this earlier time too but nothing happened wrong that time... i was literally surprised that it does not boot at all even i didn't done any mistakes at all & followed procedure.. even ODIN every time shows "Flash Successful"
i've attached screenshot of ODIN flashing.. so you can check for yourself..
May be there is a possibility of battery dying and phone cannot charge the battery ??
i've no spare battery to check .. so will go soon to care to check if its battery problem or not..
MistahBungle said:
Honestly ? That's almost impossible to say. Best guesses based on what you've told us are you simply got a bad flash, which is a small possibility (maybe 1 in 10,000) with any given flash. Or, I've had a theory based on instances like this I've seen on here over the past two yrs which involves the connection between phone & PC being broken for a split second during the flash (possibly caused by less than reliable USB ports on the PC or something else intermittent on the PC side), but not long enough for the disconnection to 'register' on the PC-side like it normally does when an external device is disconnected (you get that exclamation sound & a notification that the device has been disconnected in your taskbar).
It doesn't sound like you did anything 'wrong', put it that way. So I'm not sure there's a whole lot you can do to avoid it in future. Unfortunately, that's the risk all of us take whenever we flash stuff to our phones; every single flash (even CWM ones) involves that small risk (due to the nature of the NAND; having a write abruptly interrupted partway through can 'scramble' it) and the only way you can mitigate that 100% is to not flash anything at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i totally understand what you wanted to say..
i now how to do these things.. i know the risks...
still don't know what happened wrong..
hey guys.. i just went to samsung care and they told me that PCB need to be replaced and it ill costs me INR 8,000 or $133.33 which is too expensive and i told them if any other thing can be done .. i see some videos in youtube stating DEAD or HARDBRCIKED S2 can be fixed by changing its POWER IC...
so i told them that thing then they told me that OFFICIALY only Motherbaord could be replaced however I can ask local reapir shops in my city whether they can replace POWER IC or any other such thing which will be cheap..
So i went to one of the Repair shop (MAIN one in my CITY) & i ask them .. after checking he said.. I'll check IF Repalcing POWER IC will solve the problem or not... otherwise Motherboard need to be replaced..
the cost of POWER IC replacement is INR 800 or $13.33
otherwsie
he'll replace the motherboard for INR 3000 or $ 30..
so i deposoited my Phone to him and will go again in 2 hours.. to check if POWER IC replacement will fix the problem or not..
I am wondering if it will be safe to do this from unofficial reapir centre whether he will not take orignal parts of my phone internals ? however every people go to his shop.... Motherboard repalcing by him costs only INR 3000 ($50) while officialy its INR 8000($133)..
why is there so much price difference..??
IF POWER IC replacement is good idea ??
i just don't want to be in another problem...
Probably a 2nd hand board. If it were me, I'd be replacing the whole board. I wouldn't want someone fartarsing around replacing individual components on a board that size no matter how competent they claim to be. But that's up to you/how much money you're prepared to spend.
As to whether what he's going to do (replacing an individual component) will definitely fix it, how do you expect us to possibly know that ? You're the one who's met the person who's going to fix your phone/we have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of this person/their competencies. I know one thing though, in Australia, nobody who repairs Samsung phones for a living (I.E a commercial operation/business) would replace an individual component like that. Only 'spare timers' would do that.
MistahBungle said:
Probably a 2nd hand board. If it were me, I'd be replacing the whole board. I wouldn't want someone fartarsing around replacing individual components on a board that size no matter how competent they claim to be. But that's up to you/how much money you're prepared to spend.
As to whether what he's going to do (replacing an individual component) will definitely fix it, how do you expect us to possibly know that ? You're the one who's met the person who's going to fix your phone/we have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of this person/their competencies. I know one thing though, in Australia, nobody who repairs Samsung phones for a living (I.E a commercial operation/business) would replace an individual component like that. Only 'spare timers' would do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i ask a local official samsung mobile shop onwer whom we knows from years ... he said.. he is the main person in our city and everyone goes to him for repair... and he thinks he won't do such as thing..
SO i gave my phone to him..
and about power IC replacment there are some videos on youtube i checked before asking for POWER IC replacement....
so thought may be it'll work.. :/
hope for the best..
anyways thanks..
MistahBungle said:
And what exactly do you expect people here to suggest ? If the phone won't boot you can:-
*Try a jig (0.0000000001% chance of working, but try it if you like torturing yourself with false hope)
*Try a JTAG if the person who tries is prepared to do it on the basis of 'you only pay them if the JTAG is successful' (also 0.0000000001% chance of working, try this if you like torturing yourself with false hope even more)
*Replace the motherboard; 99.99% chance of successfully fixing the phone provided there's nothing else wrong hardware-wise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's up with the sarcasm? Pretty sure that's not what this forum is about.
Sent from my SCH-R950 using xda app-developers app
^^^^
Unless you're one of the 'slow kids up the back', you'll know there is absolutely nothing anyone on a phone forum can do for a person like the OP who has a phone in that state. How do I know this ? Experience. I have seen thousands of examples on here exactly like this in 2 & a bit years. They all turn out the same whether you tell people straight up, or whether you stuff them around for two weeks trying stuff that has no chance of working.
And as it's turned out, I was absolutely correct in my initial post. I'm not a believer in having people try a bunch of stuff that has no chance whatsoever of working which builds up their hopes, only to have them end up disappointed when the 'stuff that had no chance of working in the first place' doesn't work (funnily enough ).
I'd much rather be honest with people from the outset, so they can either have their phone repaired & working again (or buy a new phone if people decide that's a better option) sooner rather than later, because I know what it's like to be without a (decent) phone for week/however long.
But you're not capable of comprehending this, are you ? You'd rather make your 2nd post on here a 'gob off' re: something you know absolutely nothing about.
So . the thing is IF POWER IC replacemet will fix the phone or not...i've done some googling and found that the POWER IC replacemet works for users..
If anyone here in this forum has tried this and successfuly saved his phone instead of replacing whole Motherboard.. ??
MistahBungle said:
^^^^
Unless you're one of the 'slow kids up the back', you'll know there is absolutely nothing anyone on a phone forum can do for a person like the OP who has a phone in that state. How do I know this ? Experience. I have seen thousands of examples on here exactly like this in 2 & a bit years. They all turn out the same whether you tell people straight up, or whether you stuff them around for two weeks trying stuff that has no chance of working.
And as it's turned out, I was absolutely correct in my initial post. I'm not a believer in having people try a bunch of stuff that has no chance whatsoever of working which builds up their hopes, only to have them end up disappointed when the 'stuff that had no chance of working in the first place' doesn't work (funnily enough ).
I'd much rather be honest with people from the outset, so they can either have their phone repaired & working again (or buy a new phone if people decide that's a better option) sooner rather than later, because I know what it's like to be without a (decent) phone for week/however long.
But you're not capable of comprehending this, are you ? You'd rather make your 2nd post on here a 'gob off' re: something you know absolutely nothing about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude please if anything irritates you .. then i'm sorry..
i ts just its first time happened with me...s i am worried about my phone..
that's all :/

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
Click to expand...
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).
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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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