So there I was, trying to reset a few phones so I can return them back to the reseller. Only after I rooted them and started loading software did I realize they did NOT support 4G LTE. DEAL BREAKER!!! After unrooting and setting the binary counter back to zero (which I can now do in my sleep, or lack of sleep), no matter what I did or what instructions I followed the phones still came up as Custom.
Quite by accident I discovered a way that worked 100% on all the remaining phones I needed to reset.
While flashing a known good ROM (which, by the way, finding a known good ROM is harder than you would think for a total NOOB), Odin froze up and stopped! HORROR! Not to worry since I have recovered from a soft brick way too many times in the last two weeks. All other soft bricks were due to incompatible ROMS, not an interruption in the flashing process.
Turns out Odin freezing and stopping the rom flash reset something in the phone. I rebooted everything, did a reflash with the exact same ROM, factory/cache reset and now my phone shows "Official".
Yes it is nerve racking to pull the cable half way through the flashing process. Before you flame me remember that initially Odin stopped in the middle. I did not decide to bail half way through. I was forced into it. Any idiot knows you might brick your phone pulling the cable half way through the process.
I can now get OTA updates.
Just thought I would share rather than make my first post a question.
Related
ANY HELP WILL DO.
I work for T-Mobile and have plent of time to learn how to do things the right way. I became familiar with ADB, Flashing roms with CWM, and bricks and freezes do not scare me.
One day i was reverting to stock. Oden completed with a bright green pass! My phone rebooted, finalized the recovery, rebooted again, the screen went place and never came back on. I attempted to hold the power, change the battery-NOTHING-The phone remains powerless never to reboot again. I had not not done anything crazy before-JUST TESTING OUT ROMS. I currently have a working vibrant that i flash and recover everyday. I now purposly do not disable lagfixes and try random combintions of kernals and roms. Although i have had some crazy outcomes, nothing like that has happened again.
Does any one know for SURE what this means or does any one have any direction on how i can remedy a vibrant that no longer turns on or shows any signs of life. IF SO, AND YOU CAN BE RESPONSABLE FOR THE FIX, YOU MAY HAVE IT AT AN -UN-GODLY-CHEAP PRICE
I've got a very definite hard brick situation going on. A few weeks ago I was using my phone, browsing Tapatalk and downloading something with the Dropbox app, and the phone went completely unresponsive (screen on but frozen, no response to any touches), came back after a few seconds, then froze completely. I powered off and tried to reboot, it hung on the boot animation. Not a bootloop, just hanging there. I powered off again and booted into CWM and tried to restore from my backup. It threw a couple errors which unfortunately I don't remember much about, and honestly, I can't remember now if they came up before or after I started the restore. It started restoring, but got hung up restoring system. After waiting what seemed like forever but was probably more like 10 minutes I very hesitantly powered off and went back into recovery, this time attempting to reflash the rom I was using. More or less the same thing, it started but just hung up during the install. I powered off again, intending to put my phone into download mode and try to flash something via Odin, but the poor guy had had enough and wouldn't even power back on. I left it charging overnight, but it never came back on and I've since bought a new phone. However, if it seems to anyone that it would be worthwhile to try a jig or jtag service, I wouldn't mind keeping this phone as a spare. Truth is, I actually miss it.
I was running WanamLite 12.5, which is XWLPX, 4.0.4, with SpeedMod K3-32. I had tried out a couple of what were then pretty much new JB leaks just before the bricking, I know I tried out Omega and Disaster, but I only kept them on for a few hours each time. All of the kernels I've used since 4.0.4 have been considered "safe".
Anyway, again, based on what I've described does anyone think there's a chance of unbricking my phone without replacing the motherboard?
shockwaverider said:
I've got a very definite hard brick situation going on....
Anyway, again, based on what I've described does anyone think there's a chance of unbricking my phone without replacing the motherboard?
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Firstly, there is no such thing as a "hard brick" for same reason there is no such thing as a "soft brick". There is just "bricked" and no in between, your device is either bricked or it isnt.
What n00bs call "soft bricked" is just when they cant figure out how to get system to boot. Your device is bricked when it wont power on or if it powers on you cant use download/recovery to flash working rom/kernel.
In your case it sounds like you have had a hardware failure and thus will need to get the part fixed/replaced or maybe whole board. To answer your question though, yes you should first try a USB jig to see if you can get device to wake up in download mode and then try again to flash kernel ready for restoring backup or flashing new rom. If this fails then you will need to get it fixed.
TheATHEiST said:
Firstly, there is no such thing as a "hard brick" for same reason there is no such thing as a "soft brick". There is just "bricked" and no in between, your device is either bricked or it isnt.
What n00bs call "soft bricked" is just when they cant figure out how to get system to boot. Your device is bricked when it wont power on or if it powers on you cant use download/recovery to flash working rom/kernel.
In your case it sounds like you have had a hardware failure and thus will need to get the part fixed/replaced or maybe whole board. To answer your question though, yes you should first try a USB jig to see if you can get device to wake up in download mode and then try again to flash kernel ready for restoring backup or flashing new rom. If this fails then you will need to get it fixed.
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yada yada yada I've heard some developers use "unbrick". Go tell 'em there's no such a thing.
And stop worrying about semantics.
Thanks for the replies. I understand that a so-called "soft brick" isn't really a brick per se, but when even articles in the XDA portal throw around the terms "soft" and "hard" bricks, I would say that the genie is out of the bottle and these terms have, for better or worse, entered the common parlance. I do, however, appreciate the input and quite possibly this is simply a hardware issue, although I will, when time allows, try to wake the phone up with a jig.
gastonw said:
yada yada yada I've heard some developers use "unbrick". Go tell 'em there's no such a thing.
And stop worrying about semantics.
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BS!
If thats the case link me one single post where any respected dev refers to a system boot issue as a "soft brick".
The only conceivable time they would refer to that is simply to try and help a n00b and it was quicker to refer to it in that way then to explain things.
You can only "unbrick" if your device is "bricked" and having a rom or kernel issue resulting in a system not booting is not "bricked", Its as simple as that.
Hello XDA! This is kind of long winded, but I'm at the end of my tether with this and all I want is a functioning GS2 back in my hands!
I have an international GS2 that i've owned since they appeared in the UK. I rooted it after a month of running stock and then started flashing ROMs pretty soon after that. I have flashed many many ROMs, all with success and no issue whatsoever.
However....
I now have a GS2 that boots into recovery, boots into download and will boot into a ROM. Once booted into a ROM, it will freeze, either instantly or after a period of minutes. The screen becomes non-responsive yet the ROM seems to function, calls come in and continue and it still connects to a PC to browse storage etc.
I've wiped and flashed a multiple of ROMs - CM, RR, PA, multiple official stocks. Followed all the install instructions as per usual. Never took any shortcuts or whatever.
Inbetween all this the power button stopped working. Took this to my local store, they showed me the water damage, they replaced the button and that was rectified, working again.
So....basically no ROM would work properly at all. I assumed that this was a soft brick of some sort and gave up hope of getting this fixed myself. Took it back to the phone shop, explained the issue and he said it should be repairable, good chance it was just a software issue and that if worst came to the worst it would go on the JTAG and be flashed back to stock and I would lose everything but have a working phone.
Obviously the phone was picked up today and it's still the same. Boot into stock ROM and pretty much freezes instantly.
The phone shop dude said he tried a new screen to see if that was issue, it wasn't. They tested all the connections on the board and there where no shorts apparently. They had it on the JTAG multiple times, that didn't fix it.....
Doe's anyone have any idea what could be the cause. Do I just let it RIP or is there a chance someone out there can fix this.....
Thanks in advance and sorry for the rambling post. I thought I better lay out all that's happened with the phone and the work that has been carried out on it.
G
Did they check the battery?
I assume they did.
Nuke scripts can clean all previous ROMs leftovers and format system will get your device all cleaned up.
If those 2 don't work, hardware it is, swap shops and see.
Sent from the little guy
Could be a GPU issue. If it is then you will need a mobo replacement or replace GPU if possible.
Alternatively you should do a complete clean install or rom which means make sure all the old files and partitions are cleaned before installing a rom. First simply try using a rom/kernel cleaning script and the flash custom or stock rom. Another way would be to format internal and external sd cards via CWM and then flash rom.
If you still have issues after doing above then you have a hardware issue and will need new mobo.
Hey guys
1) Restarted my phone today using CM10.1 from a very recent nightly (within the past week).
2) On restart, phone froze and got kernel panic.
3) Restarted into CWM and tried to do a restore to an earlier backup I had made.
4) Half-way through the restore, I got ANOTHER kernel panic (never had that before)...
5) Only things I could do with the phone after that was enter download mode...nothing else...couldn't enter recovery mode anymore.
6) Went into download mode and flashed this CWM-Recovery (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693) and followed the instructions to the letter.
7) Odin 3.07 hung on NAND Write Start
8) Tried using Odin 1.3, and it seemed to flash correctly. It says completed no errors.
Phone will now not even start and is completely unresponsive...pressing any combination of buttons will not start the phone, and the phone is not recognized in Odin anymore...did I just hard brick it? Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Elliott
Service centre. Although if you can have someone who does JTAG's have a look at it to determine whether it can be JTAG'd without you giving them any money up front (I.E you only pay them if it can be JTAG'd), try that first.
Thanks that's what I thought.
Also, try a jig if you can get one. In all likelihood won't work, but stranger things have happened & you have nothing to lose.
Yeah thanks that's what I plan on doing. Any idea what I did wrong, though? I don't want it to happen again if I get it working with a jig.
Impossible to say. Not sure why you flashed that nondescript kernel/recovery in that situation tho given it probably wouldn't have worked even if the flash had been successful (You would probably have ended up with bootloop given recovery was obviously 'broken'). I would have flashed stock with Odin (And that's certainly what I tell people in your situation on here to do because it normally works).
But flashing recovery rather than a stock rom probably didn't break your phone, put it that way, so you didn't do anything 'wrong' per se. Just remember if you get into a similar situation again, go back to stock via Odin & start again (re-root your phone/restore a backup, flash your custom rom/kernel again, etc).
If the jig works (and don't get your hopes up or anything, we're talking a 1 in 10,000 chance, and that's probably being generous), flash stock with Odin (you wont have much choice).
Well...brought it to a JTAG specialist today and he couldn't fix it either...says it's very rare and he's had 5 out of 80 S2's like this happen without being able to fix them...
Bummer. Motherboard replacement in that case. If the phone's under warranty, take it to a service centre & say as little as possible. You might blag it for a warranty fix. No warranty ? You can still have a new motherboard put in by a service centre (more expensive option usually), or you can source a 2nd hand MB from a 'donor' phone (one with a broken screen that's otherwise OK, etc) & either swap it in yourself or pay a local mobile repair shop to do it (usually cheaper option).
@ OP By following what you flashed I noticed the date, we're talking about a 2 years old thread, a lot have changed since.
Not sure that was what bricked your device but I get that panic mode.
The other thing that it comes to mind is nand corruption, which has been quite common these days with people running custom.
I'm with bungle there, the best recovery package is going back to stock and start fresh.
I, on the other hand, wouldn't accept the situation you are on, I would spend a whole week trying to get that phone to boot again, whether a second opinion on a jtag, a new jig, another battery or any other thread on here at xda.
If the device gets hot near the rear camera and it won't even charge nor get warm around that area dismiss what I just said and proceed with the mobo replacement bungle suggested.
And of course, if you did something else to your device and didn't share it please, come clean so others don't freak out by reading this.
Sent from...this is not even my S2
Hey
Nothing else was done to the device...just what I stated exactly.
I caved today and bought a BNIB S3 because I couldn't go without a phone anymore...
Thanks for the help, guys
Elliott
Alright, so I did a bit of a stupid thing and I acknowledge it. Anyway, here's my steps for what I did:
1). KingRooted the phone, SuperSUme'd to remove KingRoot's stuff
2). Flashed a deodexed ROM through FlashFire for OF1 using a how to list to upgrade and keep root(This is where I think I went wrong, I should have stuck with OC1 to begin with but I was curious ), the flash was successful
3). Because one of my apps(Greenify) requires the Xposed framework for many of the useful settings, I tried flashing a version of the framework designed for non-MDK bootloaders(Arter97's unofficial TouchWiz) through FlashFire, since it seems to be the only way to flash custom stuff on 5.0+ stuff at the moment
4). After this(Just like when I tried Arter's framework with regular OC1), my phone's Google apps started their mass crashing and force closing, which I tried to combat with factory resets but no dice
Unlike before, however, something along the line in my steps disabled the ability to go to stock recovery mode(I think it was KingRoot itself but it might have been the deodexed ROM) and after a bit I couldn't factory reset. Before, I was able to simply Odin flash the stock OC1 ROM. Now, however, Odin won't work either to restore the firmware. I always get the "fail" messages(This I'm not sure why, though it happens with both OC1 and OF1 ROMs so I don't think it's a matter of downgrading). This leaves me with very few options to recover from, especially because I've even tried Verizon's repair program(Stops at 83% and disconnects) and Kies' emergency recovery(Phone isn't recognized and upon manual recovery the result is the same).
The biggest thing that grinds my gears is that my phone isn't even bricked...technically. It started, it went to the Setup Wizard, but then the Setup Wizard crashed once the Gmail portion of the setup was supposed to start in an infinite loop....a "setup loop" rather than a boot loop. I have been working for hours to try and find a solution but so far nothing is working. My phone only starts to the "Software update failed, please use the Verizon Repair etc." message now but no program can recognize it.
Is this a form of hard-bricking? Just not having any method of recovery work even if it turns on? I will admit I'm not the most advanced user but I've been flashing ROMs and custom stuff(Using guides and the like, I'm not fluent enough to go freestyle) for years through a couple of different phones so I'm not a completely new user either. This is the most FUBAR'd I've gotten a phone so far though and I honestly can't afford a new one...that's why I'm going through all the paces I possibly can. Is there any possible way to salvage this? I've been wanting to go to the LG G3 anyway(Despite the G4 being out, the G3's cheaper and still miles better than any Samsung phone, my old one got stolen) but right now it's just not possible. Any suggestions?
Edit: After switching USB ports(Mine are notoriously bad for connections being gained and lost, my memory is bad but I can't see why I didn't think this was the issue), the Verizon repair method has made the phone able to start up. Everything seems to be in order now, more or less. I will say the custom Samsung screen(The unlocked one) came up which makes me think I still have the deodexed ROM installed. If so, then cool beans.