[Q] GT-I9300 (semi)Bricked? - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello All!
My first post here, even though I have long been a lurker. I hope I'm posting in the right place. If not, apologies, and Mods - please redirect me, and I shall re-post in the correct place.
Phone: SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 GT-I9300 International version
Last known installed/running OS: Official SAMSUNG JB ROM (Unsure WHICH version) after having run on CM 4.4 for a couple of weeks.
PROBLEM:
a few months after going back to stock, Phone suddenly developed issues of random reboots. These would happen at any point in time, with no predictability whatsoever. One fine day, it rebooted, and wouldn't get past the Samsung splash screen. Pulling the battery and trying to restart phone resulted in the same stuck at Samsung logo issue.
Left the phone alone for a couple of months after this as I had a spare, but finally decided to try and revive the S3.
Phone does not charge when connected to charger. At least, it shows no visible signs of it. It DOES, however, try booting itself when plugged in, but gets stuck on the first screen of ODIN Download mode, instead of the Samsung logo splash screen as it used to earlier. Also note that this screen it gets stuck on is a pixellated screen, not the clear normally seen screen when entering ODIN mode.
The Vol UP, Home and power button combo brings me to this very same screen, there is no recovery menu to be seen, as would be normally. The Vol DOWN, Home and power button combo brings me to the regular clear ODIN mode as usual.
The headings at this screen read:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GT-I9300
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: No
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
I have read through most posts regarding similar issues on XDA as well as other forums, and tried flashing stock firmwares (single AND multiple part ones) through ODIN, with no success. The error i always get is as in the attached screen captures.
I've tried ALL versions of ODIN, and many PIT files. All were failures.
So, is this a dead for all purposes phone, or do I still have hope since ODIN mode is still available?
I don't think USB debugging was checked before bricking, because ADB toolkits just keep waiting for phone to be detected.
All drivers are up to date and installed correctly. Kies is not installed.
Any help is welcome.

@Mohanms04: if you flash a 3part-PIT, what result views ODIN after finishing?

I have a Device here which seems to have the same or at least a similar problem, however, i got it for free from someone else to experiment with, so there is no urgent need to repeir it.
I tried flashing a pit and erasing nand, but when i start to do it, odin just gets stuck at "erasing", if i try to flash a full firmware it just hangs at "getting pit for mapping" so i assume the nand is gone for good... however, i have one more dead s3 arround that seems to have a burned cpu, probably i manage to solder over the nand or the cpu

rp158 said:
@Mohanms04: if you flash a 3part-PIT, what result views ODIN after finishing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN stays at "Setup Connection" without any progress. I've left it overnight a few times, just to ensure I was giving it enough time.
When the cable is pulled, it reads "there is no pit partition"

@Mohanms04: I suppose, it's hardbricked

rp158 said:
@Mohanms04: I suppose, it's hardbricked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aargh.. was afraid of that. Well, guess its JTAG to try next, and then paperweight if that dont fix it.
Thanks anyways!!

Mohanms04 said:
Aargh.. was afraid of that. Well, guess its JTAG to try next, and then paperweight if that dont fix it.
Thanks anyways!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this recovery firmware, if not the jtag is required.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30087735

Related

[Q] trying to revert exhibit II to stock

hello xda. been browsing for a couple weeks, but finally registered today.
I have run into a problem I would like to try and solve without having to go through my insurance or carrier. my phone bricked itself after only 16 days, with 0 modifications on it. it was factory stock still. let me describe what happened, and what I did:
1st problem: I was using my online banking app (reputable bank), when the app minimized to the main screen; however, nothing OS related loaded. the phone just froze. only the wallpaper was visible. I tried powering it down, but it wasn't responding, so I pulled the battery, and put it back in. I powered on the phone, it loaded the SAMSUNG screen, then went to the Exhibit II 4G page, but then it stopped. it failed to load past the Exhibit II splash screen. no matter what I did, it stayed there. I googled for hours, trying various things, until I finally found this site with a stock rom setup.
2nd problem: I followed jocala's guide for flashing it, using Odin 4.43, and after it finished flashing, I got a "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in kies & try again." so now I have been googling this issue, and I cannot seem to find anything on how to fix it. I don't understand how my phone can just brick itself while using a banking app that i'd been using since I got the phone.
any help would be appreciated
also, if this isn't the forum for it, feel free to move it. this just looked the most appropriate seeing as there wasn't a board for the phone specifically.
deathbenotproud said:
hello xda. been browsing for a couple weeks, but finally registered today.
I have run into a problem I would like to try and solve without having to go through my insurance or carrier. my phone bricked itself after only 16 days, with 0 modifications on it. it was factory stock still. let me describe what happened, and what I did:
1st problem: I was using my online banking app (reputable bank), when the app minimized to the main screen; however, nothing OS related loaded. the phone just froze. only the wallpaper was visible. I tried powering it down, but it wasn't responding, so I pulled the battery, and put it back in. I powered on the phone, it loaded the SAMSUNG screen, then went to the Exhibit II 4G page, but then it stopped. it failed to load past the Exhibit II splash screen. no matter what I did, it stayed there. I googled for hours, trying various things, until I finally found this site with a stock rom setup.
2nd problem: I followed jocala's guide for flashing it, using Odin 4.43, and after it finished flashing, I got a "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in kies & try again." so now I have been googling this issue, and I cannot seem to find anything on how to fix it. I don't understand how my phone can just brick itself while using a banking app that i'd been using since I got the phone.
any help would be appreciated
also, if this isn't the forum for it, feel free to move it. this just looked the most appropriate seeing as there wasn't a board for the phone specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Howdy, DBNP,
The Exhibit II is pretty much unbrickable...you won't need to resort to esoterica like jtag
The guide in the Exhibit II Wiki usually works out well. I'd try booting into stock recovery, doing a data wipe, then install stock with Odin. The Wiki has the links to the files you need. BTW, I didn't write the Odin portion @ the wiki; I just hosted required files when the links went stale.
Easy way to start recovery
* Pull the battery from your phone.
* Connect phone to your pc via usb.
* Press & hold Volume-up
* Insert battery
Once you're back up and running first thing you should do is install Clockworkmod. HTH, & good luck.
I cannot get my phone to get into recovery mode, though. if I press volume+up, the phone simply displays the firmware error message. thus, I cannot do a data wipe.
deathbenotproud said:
I cannot get my phone to get into recovery mode, though. if I press volume+up, the phone simply displays the firmware error message. thus, I cannot do a data wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if this is redundant, but this was with:
Easy way to start recovery
* Pull the battery from your phone.
* Connect phone to your pc via usb.
* Press & hold Volume-up
* Insert battery
This has never failed for me. IDK, Perhaps your earlier Odin try wiped the recover partition. Can you get into Download mode? (hold Power-on Vol-Down)
I can enter download mode, but I cannot enter recovery mode. volume down gets me into download, while up gets me the error message. I cannot get to that menu anymore.
deathbenotproud said:
I can enter download mode, but I cannot enter recovery mode. volume down gets me into download, while up gets me the error message. I cannot get to that menu anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that you get an error when you press Vol-Up at the initial "Warning!" "A custom OS can cause..." screen, the initial download mode screen?
when I press and hold the vol-up sequence, it takes me to the initial error of "firmware upgrade has encountered an issue..."
when I press and hold the vol-up sequence, it takes me to the menu where it says custom OS etc., press up to continue, down to cancel (restart phone).
deathbenotproud said:
when I press and hold the vol-up sequence, it takes me to the menu where it says custom OS etc., press up to continue, down to cancel (restart phone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And when you press Vol-Up at this screen what happens?
it takes me to odin mode/download mode.
deathbenotproud said:
it takes me to odin mode/download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, that's good. That tells us that your exhibit2's /dev/block/mmcblk0p5 partition is undamaged. AFAIK Odin when properly used, can flash a new rom to your phone. Please try again, following the instructions in the wiki, reading carefully, downloading any files that you need, if you don't have them. Please walk through the wiki procedure to reflash stock from Odin, this procedure has worked for many,many people. Keep careful notes, you may be an edge case for some reason.
I'm posting links to this thread in the discussion threads that we use, since we're not allowed a forum. These threads get the most attention.
Exhibit II 4g discussion HERE
Exhibit II 4g dev thread HERE
yeah, I have tried doing that myself, as well as my friend who is rather skilled with android devices. he tried that all himself today, as well as attempting add. nothing worked.
deathbenotproud said:
yeah, I have tried doing that myself, as well as my friend who is rather skilled with android devices. he tried that all himself today, as well as attempting add. nothing worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you and your friend did it wrong. You should try again, following the wiki carefully.
we re-did it this morning step-by-step with no new results. we tried three times.
odin does its thing successfully, then when it goes to reboot, instead of going into recovery mod, it just goes to the firmware upgrade issue message.
deathbenotproud said:
we re-did it this morning step-by-step with no new results. we tried three times.
odin does its thing successfully, then when it goes to reboot, instead of going into recovery mod, it just goes to the firmware upgrade issue message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear it. If Odin won't fix your phone and you've only had it a few weeks, I'd return it. I've linked your thread to our discussion threads, perhaps someone else has an idea.
that's the issue. because I have tried to flash it via odin, they're saying they won't take it because of the firmware upgrade error that keeps coming up. :/
because they won't take it, and the normal flashing to stock method isn't working, what do you think I should do next?
deathbenotproud said:
because they won't take it, and the normal flashing to stock method isn't working, what do you think I should do next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know who "they" are, but the chances of anyone at a T-Mob store or a Walmart knowing you touched your phone with Odin or even what Odin is are practically nil. "It's three weeks old, I turned it on and it doesn't work. Gimmie my replacement."
Or seek out a repair service to reflash your phone.
all right, i'll take it back and get a different rep. thanks for your help, though
deathbenotproud said:
all right, i'll take it back and get a different rep. thanks for your help, though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry we didn't resolve the problem. Better luck next time!
deathbenotproud said:
hello xda. been browsing for a couple weeks, but finally registered today.
I have run into a problem I would like to try and solve without having to go through my insurance or carrier. my phone bricked itself after only 16 days, with 0 modifications on it. it was factory stock still. let me describe what happened, and what I did:
1st problem: I was using my online banking app (reputable bank), when the app minimized to the main screen; however, nothing OS related loaded. the phone just froze. only the wallpaper was visible. I tried powering it down, but it wasn't responding, so I pulled the battery, and put it back in. I powered on the phone, it loaded the SAMSUNG screen, then went to the Exhibit II 4G page, but then it stopped. it failed to load past the Exhibit II splash screen. no matter what I did, it stayed there. I googled for hours, trying various things, until I finally found this site with a stock rom setup.
2nd problem: I followed jocala's guide for flashing it, using Odin 4.43, and after it finished flashing, I got a "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in kies & try again." so now I have been googling this issue, and I cannot seem to find anything on how to fix it. I don't understand how my phone can just brick itself while using a banking app that i'd been using since I got the phone.
any help would be appreciated
also, if this isn't the forum for it, feel free to move it. this just looked the most appropriate seeing as there wasn't a board for the phone specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go into recovery and do a factory reset then reboot from recovery.

Samsung ACE S5830i stuck at boot

Hello
i'm in the situation that i have read several times in the forum, but unlike those cases,
i dont get to fix the point.
I got a Samsung Ace S5830i. No root, no custom rom/fw, all original.
The phone has been used for 2 years and recently it was often disconnected from the mobile network. Until some days ago, i was not able to restart it.
When i try to switch on, it was stuck on Samsung logo screen.
After that, i have tried to start it in Recovery Mode (Vol - Home and Power on keys).
I have tried all options in that mode, but i never understood ih those actions were completed successfully. Anyway, any choice fixed my problem.
So i try to play with Kies, Odin and stock firmware from Sammobile.com.
Odin recognized the phone in download mode, but i did not get to flash.
Sometines Odin message was Failed, sometimes it was stuck at "setup configuration" message.
I have changed PC, USB port, different Odin version, different FW, but every time the same results.
Im now thinking that the Flash EEPROm is damaged. Is there any way to check its integrity?
Please help me, because i would avoid to change the phone.
Thank you very much
allora
same problem
allora80 said:
Hello
i'm in the situation that i have read several times in the forum, but unlike those cases,
i dont get to fix the point.
I got a Samsung Ace S5830i. No root, no custom rom/fw, all original.
The phone has been used for 2 years and recently it was often disconnected from the mobile network. Until some days ago, i was not able to restart it.
When i try to switch on, it was stuck on Samsung logo screen.
After that, i have tried to start it in Recovery Mode (Vol - Home and Power on keys).
I have tried all options in that mode, but i never understood ih those actions were completed successfully. Anyway, any choice fixed my problem.
So i try to play with Kies, Odin and stock firmware from Sammobile.com.
Odin recognized the phone in download mode, but i did not get to flash.
Sometines Odin message was Failed, sometimes it was stuck at "setup configuration" message.
I have changed PC, USB port, different Odin version, different FW, but every time the same results.
Im now thinking that the Flash EEPROm is damaged. Is there any way to check its integrity?
Please help me, because i would avoid to change the phone.
Thank you very much
allora
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, same happened to my wife's phone. With exactly same symptoms. I tried all you have described with no luck.
If you find some solution, let me know, I will do the same
Jerryzak73
jerryzak73 said:
Hello, same happened to my wife's phone. With exactly same symptoms. I tried all you have described with no luck.
If you find some solution, let me know, I will do the same
Jerryzak73
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jerryzak73,
bad news.
Yesterday i have got to flash the original firmware with Odin 3.07.
I was very happy to see the completion of the flashing process (100%, successfull), but ...
when the phone restarted, it was again stuck at boot with message:
-- Appling Muti-CSC --
i dont't what this message means and ask to the forum board some help,
to definetely assert that my phone is broken hardware and i have to trash it!
:crying:
fixed
Allora,
I gave up on trying to fix it myself and gave it to a mobile shop. they reinstalled the phone to factory settings for 10EUR, so far so good.
BR, jerryzak73

[Q] Galaxy S3 i9300 stuck at odin mode, not going to recovery mode either

Hey, so I was trying to flash my friend's s3, and apparently, I did something wrong which got me stuck up at odin mode.
Initially, I could hold the vol up + home + power button to go to recovery, but now, even that won't work as it would just show me
Samsung's logo and a red exclamation mark on top left corner.
I've downloaded the firmware stock and tried to flash it using odin however it just won't work.
It says "NAND Write Start!!!" and it just stops there (stuck forever). It should (as I know it) show a progress bar on my android and
on it's interface to tell how much it has been done, but as soon as I start, the progress bar instantly fills up (on my android, the blue line)
and its just stuck there.
I've tried to take out the battery, clear cache/reset factory, take out sd and sim. But it simply won't work.
It's just stuck on "Downloading....do not turn of target!!!"
I cannot even get the flash counter to reset (I don't know how, since I can only open up odin mode)
counter: 4
binary: yes
Currently, I don't even know if it's suppose to be charging or the battery is just draining out.
Region for this phone is Turkey.
Yes I've also unrooted the phone using KingoRoot (previously, when it could go into recovery) but no luck.
Note: I have searched other threads on this forum but I cannot get anywhere around even close to fix my device.
It's soft-bricked (I assume, of course it is).
Any idea how to fix this?
Odin Screenshot (since it's my first post, it won't allow me to post outside links, sigh,):
http: // i.imgur .com/eBVZ3NN . png
^^ Just been stuck there....
Meanwhile on my android, it just shows a full-blue progress bar. And that downloading do not turn of target.
UPDATE:
THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED. I DOWNLOADED A CUSTOM FIRMWARE, (LUCKILY, CLOCKWORK MOD WORKED, JUST HAD TO WAIT AFTER GOING TO RECOVER)
FLASHED IT THROUGH THERE, WAITED FOR IT TO INSTALL, RESTART. BAM.
Did the 'something wrong' include flashing a firmware for another model?
What does the model number in download mode read?
You can try the rescue firmware, search general forum,.
Yeah, wrong firmware I suppose
boomboomer said:
Did the 'something wrong' include flashing a firmware for another model?
What does the model number in download mode read?
You can try the rescue firmware, search general forum,.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was seeing this tutorial on how to install KitKat (4.4.4) on Galaxy S3. I must've made a mistake while trying to do so.
In other words, yes, flashing a firmware for another model.
You have a hard brick, sorry.
Yeah, no.
boomboomer said:
You have a hard brick, sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I don't lol. The problem has been solved anyway.
Im' glad to see you didn't give up on this, and came back to let us know what was wrong
I know this could be seen as off-topic, but the reality of devices becoming bricked isn't really possible luckily, it just takes longer to get around sometimes. If the item is worth fixing, then I always say keep at it, because I've never had an android device stay stuck so far. The only thing that really went nuts and refused to work, were 2 of the Iconia A500 tablets that lost access to their memory - but this is a common hardware fault as the RAM chips break away and need reflowing before you can even format the internal memory (it cant even see the SD cards either because the RAM comes and goes - same idea as plugging/unplugging a USB drive in Windows/Linux - it just doesn't know what to believe lol).
Great forum by the way, there's so much great information on here I get lost reading

[Q] S3 I9300(International) got soft-brick...Need HELP _/|\_

My GT-I9300 international galaxy S3 gone brick itself, all of a sudden its stuck at the boot screen (white samsung ... text). I was using Cyanogen Rom 12 Unofficial Lollipop 5.1 for around 3 weeks (Everything Works Fine with few Lags and Reboots rarely in a day). I used various method's from noob to expert solution but didn't find success
Tried to reboot into recovery but no go, when i hold the buttons it just continues to reboot and reboot, only showing the white text.
Tried to reboot into download mode and that worked, i though fhew, i got a breath and not all is lost(Phone itself).
In Download mode,
It says : Product name = (Blank)
Custom Binary Download = No
Current binary = Samsung Official
System Status = Custom​
Tried to recover with kies, but it complains that it cannot install new firmware (after i downloaded the firmware, extraction, and all instruction followed).
Tried with odin (several original roms with my region and the one from kies) but with no luck, odin complains "There is no PIT partition.".
Tried to repartition with GT-I9300_mx_20120329.pit but then it does SET pit and hangs on "Get PIT for Mapping".
Tried One Click Method but failure is what resulted.
Didn't Tried JIG Method (will buy if nothing works).
Is there any chance to save my phone ? I'm getting really desperate here.
:fingers-crossed:A Beer is sure to one that gets my problem solved :good:
---Waiting for Good---​
So you just rebooted without changing ANYTHING before and then the device was stuck like you explained?
Have nearly the same problem.
Was using the original Samsung firmware. One day I want to power it on and I had the loop. It stucks on the white Samsung texts.
I cannot go in recovery mode, but I can go into Download mode. But whatever I try, there is no chance to flash an image with or without any pit-file. Always "There is NO Pit--Partition."
And: In my download mode, the product name is there. "GI-9300", no blank in my case.
Is there any chance to save our phones? :\
Thanks!
Did u try installing only a cm kernel through odin
This should bring you recovery
Bad news, blank PRODUCT NAME in download mode implies either broken motherboard, or at least broken eMMC, to the point that bootloader can't read board name.
Hard brick, don't waste your time, unless you want to replace eMMC or motherboard, which is currently not worth the money.
where to get PIT?
prabhu1980 said:
Did u try installing only a cm kernel through odin
This should bring you recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is a cm kernel and where do i get it?
//edit: Cyanogenmod Kernel? I tried to patch "Kernel_Odin_I9300XXEMG5.tar.md5" with Odin, but it's still the same error. "There is no Pit-Partition".
JustArchi said:
Bad news, blank PRODUCT NAME in download mode implies either broken motherboard, or at least broken eMMC, to the point that bootloader can't read board name.
Hard brick, don't waste your time, unless you want to replace eMMC or motherboard, which is currently not worth the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case, it's not blank. It shows: PRODUCT NAME: GT-I9300
So I think, there is still a chance, right?
Nobody got an idea?
EDIT: Nevermind.

[HELP] Recover hardbricked Galaxy S2

I was using @Lysergic Acid cm-13.0-20161114. I picked my S2 to check the hour and the screen didn't turn on so naturally I held the power button to restart it. The phone didn't boot past the "Galaxy S2 etc." screen. I tried to open TWRP and the splash screen appeared but it didn't get past that, no TWRP menu. I tried to flash stock ROM with Odin, it failed. The same happened trying to flash modified kernels with custom recoveries. So now I'm stuck with a message that says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
I've had to recover my phone many times in the past but TWRP always worked, this time it didn't.
Is there any way to solve this? I have important information inside the phone. Would a USB JIG be of any help?
Simeonico said:
I was using @Lysergic Acid cm-13.0-20161114. I picked my S2 to check the hour and the screen didn't turn on so naturally I held the power button to restart it. The phone didn't boot past the "Galaxy S2 etc." screen. I tried to open TWRP and the splash screen appeared but it didn't get past that, no TWRP menu. I tried to flash stock ROM with Odin, it failed. The same happened trying to flash modified kernels with custom recoveries. So now I'm stuck with a message that says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
I've had to recover my phone many times in the past but TWRP always worked, this time it didn't.
Is there any way to solve this? I have important information inside the phone. Would a USB JIG be of any help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin should be able to flash the stock firmware while on the screen that says "upgrade encountered an issue" as long as you had USB debugging enabled.
You can also try booting a debrick.img from ext sdcard if you can find the debrick.img specific for your device.
I DO NOT GIVE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Droidriven said:
Odin should be able to flash the stock firmware while on the screen that says "upgrade encountered an issue" as long as you had USB debugging enabled.
You can also try booting a debrick.img from ext sdcard if you can find the debrick.img specific for your device.
I DO NOT GIVE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind, I tried flashing a 3 part stock JB rom that worked for some people. It didn't work for me and now the phone doesn't even turn on. RIP
Now I have a white S2 (Galaxy S2 forever lol) that a friend gave me until I buy a phone next year with the Snapdragon 660, or if I get a job (I'm a student), an even better phone with the Snapdragon 835.
Simeonico said:
Nevermind, I tried flashing a 3 part stock JB rom that worked for some people. It didn't work for me and now the phone doesn't even turn on. RIP
Now I have a white S2 (Galaxy S2 forever lol) that a friend gave me until I buy a phone next year with the Snapdragon 660, or if I get a job (I'm a student), an even better phone with the Snapdragon 835.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the device vibrates when you hold power but doesn't boot then the debrick.img may still work, just in case you're curious enough to attempt fixing it for learning purposes.
I DO NOT GIVE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Droidriven said:
If the device vibrates when you hold power but doesn't boot then the debrick.img may still work, just in case you're curious enough to attempt fixing it for learning purposes.
I DO NOT GIVE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S2 doesn't vibrate when you turn it on (at least the i9100 model), but don't worry it's completely dead. No boot, no recovery, no download mode, no nothing. If I'm bored enough I might buy a new motherboard from AliExpress in the future cause they're really cheap.

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