Hey XDA!
I somehow soft-bricked my Galaxy S3 by restoring a backup. Since the vol+ button is broken (I have taken off the back plastic panel of the phone, so I can trigger the vol+ by inserting a pin to where the button should press the connector thingy, but it's not a constant input) I cannot access recovery, however I can get into download mode. I have tried flashing several stock ROMs via Odin, but the phone just bootloops on the Samsung logo.
I have also tried googleing "how to unbrick galaxy s3", but they either didn't work, or the files didn't exist anymore.
Any of you have any idea on how I could get this phone back to life?
Thanks in advance
Make sure the firmware matches the device. Flash the firmware twice with a factory reset in-between.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
Make sure the firmware matches the device. Flash the firmware twice with a factory reset in-between.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I could.
The .tar files I have downloaded are specifically for the GT-I9300, unfortunately I cannot wipe all data with Odin (and I still can't access recovery)
Check the sticker in the battery compartment. It may hold some useful information.
Flashing random firmware is a bad idea. You need to find out something about it, like where it originated or what carrier it was on. Then obtain the firmware, then flash it twice back to back. The first flash only reflashes system/data/cache. The rest are done on the second flash.
If you flash a firmware for eg t-mobile and the phone is locked to eg O2 then it won't boot. You get the bootloop. It'll boot "if" you get the right firmware for it.
I think contacting YOUR carrier could help too as they have access to information that you can't see. There is a possibility that they might know where it's imei originally came from.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
Check the sticker in the battery compartment. It may hold some useful information.
Flashing random firmware is a bad idea. You need to find out something about it, like where it originated or what carrier it was on. Then obtain the firmware, then flash it twice back to back. The first flash only reflashes system/data/cache. The rest are done on the second flash.
If you flash a firmware for eg t-mobile and the phone is locked to eg O2 then it won't boot. You get the bootloop. It'll boot "if" you get the right firmware for it.
I think contacting YOUR carrier could help too as they have access to information that you can't see. There is a possibility that they might know where it's imei originally came from.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried flashing the same .tar a few times in a row, got them from this site, and I have clicked on the right one according to my carrier (Telekom HU), but the firmware didn't match the description on the website, so I suppose it'd take way too long to guess and try all the firmwares.
I have taken the phone to a local repair shop, they are going to fix the volume buttons, so hopefully I'll be able to boot into recovery when it gets done.
Thanks for your help though!
"if the device still works at all". There is a strong chance that it is bricked from flashing the wrong firmware. The phone store will tell you when you pick it up as they must test their work.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
"if the device still works at all". There is a strong chance that it is bricked from flashing the wrong firmware. The phone store will tell you when you pick it up as they must test their work.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean, they can always just tell/show me that they are able to boot into recovery/download mode without any problems, and just end the conversation there.
I asked them if they could unbrick the device, and/or fix the button, they straight ignored my request for unbricking, and told me that they can replace the buttons.
The cost of the time to repair the device isn't worth the value of the device. That's why they ignored the unbrick request. You'll be paying more than the device is worth.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
The cost of the time to repair the device isn't worth the value of the device. That's why they ignored the unbrick request. You'll be paying more than the device is worth.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was my device, I probably wouldn't have taken it to get it repaired, but since it belongs to a friend of mine, who can't afford a new phone right now, he wanted to get it repaired.
It's gonna cost 10k HUF, a second hand S3 is about 25-35k, so yeah, it's way too expensive, but doesn't cover the price of the whole phone itself.
That sucks. I hate the fact that in some countries poverty is so prevailant that they can't even afford a basic amenity or an "essential piece of basic technology for the 21st century". I find it appaling and credits to you for looking after someone in need!. People have been sainted for less.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
That sucks. I hate the fact that in some countries poverty is so prevailant that they can't even afford a basic amenity or an "essential piece of basic technology for the 21st century". I find it appaling and credits to you for looking after someone in need!. People have been sainted for less.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah well, the replacement part is going to be like half of what's connected to the mobo (all side buttons, camera panel, etc), which I probably got scammed with, cuz after looking into it, I found a replacement part just for the volume buttons. It's too late to change my mind, since the repair shop have already ordered the parts.
Appreciate your help, have a nice one!
Are you sure?. Here in the UK you can still cancel regardless, even if the parts have been fitted. They just have to undo the work and charge the time it took to do so. No other charges may apply. If we find the same deal elsewhere for a cheaper price they must match that price or better it. It could be worth checking if your country offers similar consumer protection.
Anyway, hopefully the button is the only thing wrong with it and you sort it out with ease.. Fingers crossed!.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
Are you sure?. Here in the UK you can still cancel regardless, even if the parts have been fitted. They just have to undo the work and charge the time it took to do so. No other charges may apply. If we find the same deal elsewhere for a cheaper price they must match that price or better it. It could be worth checking if your country offers similar consumer protection.
Anyway, hopefully the button is the only thing wrong with it and you sort it out with ease.. Fingers crossed!.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, knowing my country, if I told them I found a better deal, they would probably screw the device up more
It's not that big of a deal, the replacement part with only the volume buttons seemed way too cheap to work (imo), although I got really surprised when they told me how much it's going to cost. Oh well.
I'm hoping that it's going to work after the repair, I flashed two different ROMs thru Odin, and they had their own pre-boot logo (eg. Telekom), they all just bootlooped, and since download mode is working, I'm positive I'll be able to get into recovery.
I'm quite confident that it's a case of finding the correct firmware and is why it's necessary to figure out where the phone came from. Do you want to risk flashing a btu firmware?. Btu is essentially the unlocked debranded i9300 international. I'm not 100% sure which countries had access to the btu version. For definite it was available in the EU but if you are outside that continent you'd have to research. I can give you a gdrive link to get it, saves using those links that take forever to download.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
I'm quite confident that it's a case of finding the correct firmware and is why it's necessary to figure out where the phone came from. Do you want to risk flashing a btu firmware?. Btu is essentially the unlocked debranded i9300 international. I'm not 100% sure which countries had access to the btu version. For definite it was available in the EU but if you are outside that continent you'd have to research. I can give you a gdrive link to get it, saves using those links that take forever to download.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 100% sure that the device was purchased in a Telekom store in Hungary, but flashing the firmware according to that didn't work either.
Also, when I first modded this device (the vol+ button wasn't working at that time either), I made a mistake and wiped the internal storage without having an OS installed, so I flashed some random Spanish ROM via Odin, and it worked.
TL;DR: Had official CM 4.4.4 running on the phone, classmate asked me to upgrade it, so I made a backup, flashed 7.x.x RR, but the contacts were gone, so I tried to restore the backup of the 4.4.4 CM, and I got stuck at the pre-boot logo, where it says 'Galaxy S3 GT-i9300'
It would be nice if you could link me to that firmware, even though I don't have the device on me, anything could happen
Lada333 said:
Hey XDA!
I somehow soft-bricked my Galaxy S3 by restoring a backup. Since the vol+ button is broken (I have taken off the back plastic panel of the phone, so I can trigger the vol+ by inserting a pin to where the button should press the connector thingy, but it's not a constant input) I cannot access recovery, however I can get into download mode. I have tried flashing several stock ROMs via Odin, but the phone just bootloops on the Samsung logo.
I have also tried googleing "how to unbrick galaxy s3", but they either didn't work, or the files didn't exist anymore.
Any of you have any idea on how I could get this phone back to life?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloap after flashing stock rom is common, the fix is to boot into stock recovery and perform a factory reset then reboot, i noticed that your volume up isn't working so you can't boot into recovery, but i can't advice anything but fixing it, moving around the main issue might bring more and worse issues.
Regards Migo
Lada333 said:
I'm 100% sure that the device was purchased in a Telekom store in Hungary, but flashing the firmware according to that didn't work either.
Also, when I first modded this device (the vol+ button wasn't working at that time either), I made a mistake and wiped the internal storage without having an OS installed, so I flashed some random Spanish ROM via Odin, and it worked.
TL;DR: Had official CM 4.4.4 running on the phone, classmate asked me to upgrade it, so I made a backup, flashed 7.x.x RR, but the contacts were gone, so I tried to restore the backup of the 4.4.4 CM, and I got stuck at the pre-boot logo, where it says 'Galaxy S3 GT-i9300'
It would be nice if you could link me to that firmware, even though I don't have the device on me, anything could happen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh right gotcha!. I think I know what could have happened. When you upgraded to either 4.4.4 OR (and most likely) 7, did you have to install another bootloader to the device?. If so, there's ya problem!.
Failing that it's going to be a compatibility issue of the 2 OS's. This is why devs stress that you must flash back to stock when changing firmware or roms as there can be remnants of the old OS that will cause problems. All roms and firmwares etc are 'compared to stock' so in some instances they need remnants of the stock firmware to be there..
What worries me though is that having to flash a Spanish firmware to it to get it working. Was it originally Spanish moved to Hungary or has it been worked on before.. The plot thickens..
Anyway, here's that link for the btu firmware https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4vTiHTBB629OVlvY0pkcXN4ak0/view?usp=drivesdk
As I said, you may get very unexpected results flashing that if your phone is carrier locked or if the phone has ever been unlocked by "galaxsim unlocker". If it's unlocked by carrier or nvdata then this is basically samsungs own, carrier debloated, stock firmware for the I9300 international. Do not attempt to flash this to a 9305 as you will "doorstop" the device.
Beamed in by telepathy.
MigoMujahid said:
Bootloap after flashing stock rom is common, the fix is to boot into stock recovery and perform a factory reset then reboot, i noticed that your volume up isn't working so you can't boot into recovery, but i can't advice anything but fixing it, moving around the main issue might bring more and worse issues.
Regards Migo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that was my plan, but since I wasn't able to hold a constant vol+ input, I wasn't able to get into recovery, and I couldn't find any way to wipe the internal storage, or boot into recovery thru Odin (I also tried to get to the recovery via adb, but it wasn't enabled, so that didn't work either).
shivadow said:
Ahh right gotcha!. I think I know what could have happened. When you upgraded to either 4.4.4 OR (and most likely) 7, did you have to install another bootloader to the device?. If so, there's ya problem!.
Failing that it's going to be a compatibility issue of the 2 OS's. This is why devs stress that you must flash back to stock when changing firmware or roms as there can be remnants of the old OS that will cause problems. All roms and firmwares etc are 'compared to stock' so in some instances they need remnants of the stock firmware to be there..
What worries me though is that having to flash a Spanish firmware to it to get it working. Was it originally Spanish moved to Hungary or has it been worked on before.. The plot thickens..
Anyway, here's that link for the btu firmware https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4vTiHTBB629OVlvY0pkcXN4ak0/view?usp=drivesdk
As I said, you may get very unexpected results flashing that if your phone is carrier locked or if the phone has ever been unlocked by "galaxsim unlocker". If it's unlocked by carrier or nvdata then this is basically samsungs own, carrier debloated, stock firmware for the I9300 international. Do not attempt to flash this to a 9305 as you will "doorstop" the device.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember reading about flashing a different bootloader, nor actually doing so. What I did was as simple as copying over the RR and GApps zips, wiping all the necessary partitions, and flashing.
Having a Spanish ROM flashed was completely random back then, I went to some random site (can't remember its name anymore) where I could get .tar files, and downloaded the first one, which turned out to be Spanish. All I needed it for was to be able to boot, download Flashify from Play Store, and boot into recovery from there.
The phone was most definitely purchased in Hungary, first hand at a Telekom (perhaps Telenor, but then it would've had to be carrier unlocked, since my friend was using a Telekom SIM in it).
I'll save the btu firmware for last, as long as I can get into recovery, I suppose I won't be needing it. I guess it is carrier locked, but galaxsim unlocker has never been used on it.
Alright so, I just went to pick up the device, flashed TWRP, wiped everything, and installed RR successfully, thanks for all your help @shivadow, appreciate it!
Related
I got my S2 only a few days ago from Vodafone UK and quickly flashed to the latest Checkrom to get rid of the stock bloatware. After suffering severe battery drain to do with wifi i have flashed back to the stock carrier firmware (BUKJ3).
I did this first by using CWM to clear davlik cache and a full wipe and then after enabling USB debugging mode i rebooted into downloaded mode. Upon entering download mode the phone began to make an audible clicking noise which i dont remember it ever doing when i first rooted the phone.
I went ahead and flash the firmware and all seems well but i wanted to see if the clicking noise might indicate a fault with the phone?
One other thing, if i wanted to return the phone back to Vodafone would i need to reset the binary counter thingy even though i'm back on stock firmware? The yellow triangle never bothered me so i never removed it or reset the count after installing Checkrom.
Thanks
[Edit] I've just loaded Kies and it says 'your device does not support software updating via kies'. This is somewhat concerning since i thought i had returned my phone out-of-the-box stock by flashing this firmware -> GT-I9100_VOD_I9100BUKJ3_I9100VODKI2_I9100BUKI1.tar.md5. When i very first got the phone Kies would state that its up to date. After runing *#1234# my settings are PDA: I9100BUKJ3 , PHONE: I9100BUKI1 and CSC: I9100VODKI2.
Re: the clicking thing, no idea. Haven't encountered/heard of that before.
Re: resetting the counter. Put it this way, if you don't, and you return the phone for warranty service you're pretty much paying for the repair out of your own pocket.
I.E the counter is proof you've been messing with the phone, which voids the warranty. What firmware you've currently got on the phone is irrelevant.
Might want to invest a few dollars in a jig just in case you do decide to send it in for a warranty repair.
Goooober said:
I got my S2 only a few days ago from Vodafone UK and quickly flashed to the latest Checkrom to get rid of the stock bloatware. After suffering severe battery drain to do with wifi i have flashed back to the stock carrier firmware (BUKJ3).
I did this first by using CWM to clear davlik cache and a full wipe and then after enabling USB debugging mode i rebooted into downloaded mode. Upon entering download mode the phone began to make an audible clicking noise which i dont remember it ever doing when i first rooted the phone.
I went ahead and flash the firmware and all seems well but i wanted to see if the clicking noise might indicate a fault with the phone?
One other thing, if i wanted to return the phone back to Vodafone would i need to reset the binary counter thingy even though i'm back on stock firmware? The yellow triangle never bothered me so i never removed it or reset the count after installing Checkrom.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
Re: the clicking thing, no idea. Haven't encountered/heard of that before.
Re: resetting the counter. Put it this way, if you don't, and you return the phone for warranty service you're pretty much paying for the repair out of your own pocket.
I.E the counter is proof you've been messing with the phone, which voids the warranty. What firmware you've currently got on the phone is irrelevant.
Might want to invest a few dollars in a jig just in case you do decide to send it in for a warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i do have a Jig on the way. I've just encountered another problem as well. My internet speeds over wifi are appalling after flashing back to the stock firmware. 2200kbps down and 355kbps. The phone out of the box and on checkrom both performed as normal (about 10x what it is now). This stock vodafone firmware i downloaded here is clearly not what i had out-of the-box.
In that case, you might want to find out what firmware you had on the phone initially & flash that. As I'm not in the UK, I wouldn't have the foggiest.
At the end of the day, if you're returning it for a warranty repair, I wouldn't be surprised if they reflash whatever stock firmware they're currently using as part of the repair process (I've read many accounts of this happening).
Obviously once you start messing around with the phone, you potentially open a whole can (or many cans) of worms so far as how the phone performs goes. You could easily have just rooted the phone in the first instance to remove the bloatware, flashing a custom rom was not necessary in order to achieve this.
Goooober said:
Yeah i do have a Jig on the way. I've just encountered another problem as well. My internet speeds over wifi are appalling after flashing back to the stock firmware. 2200kbps down and 355kbps. The phone out of the box and on checkrom both performed as normal (about 10x what it is now). This stock vodafone firmware i downloaded here is clearly not what i had out-of the-box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
In that case, you might want to find out what firmware you had on the phone initially & flash that. As I'm not in the UK, I wouldn't have the foggiest.
At the end of the day, if you're returning it for a warranty repair, I wouldn't be surprised if they reflash whatever stock firmware they're currently using as part of the repair process (I've read many accounts of this happening).
Obviously once you start messing around with the phone, you potentially open a whole can (or many cans) of worms so far as how the phone performs goes. You could easily have just rooted the phone in the first instance to remove the bloatware, flashing a custom rom was not necessary in order to achieve this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought i had flash whatever firmware was on it originally. I downloaded the BUKJ3 UK Vodafone carrier firmware from the stock rom thread since my phone came with BUKJ3. The wifi performance is shocking tho.
Hey guys need some help. I've gone through as much of the forums as possible and still trying to resolve this without having to send it away.
My brother's SGS II has the following symptoms:
-turns on and stays at the SGS II GT-i9100 screen (will not change)
-phone can enter download and recovery modes
-when phone is plugged in to charge the battery symbol will not show that it's charging then continue to the SGS II GT-i9100 screen...then back to the battery icon (and loop)
-attempts to reflash anything will either be successful or fail in ODIN but still results in the 1st issue above.
What should I try next?
Hi,
your searching skills are enormous
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1108499
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1457458
..
wow they are sticked
*edit*
fullwipe - flash via CWM Recovery, thats what i would try
greetz
Are you using pit file when you flash with odin ? could be partition problem so using pit would fix that
Please don't tell people to flash pit files unless you know for absolute certain their problem (which at this stage is vague/undiagnosed; I.E we don't know what the problem is exactly) will be fixed by flashing a pit.
(You should know) flashing a pit can permanently bork a phone if that isn't what's wrong with the phone :-|
Thanks for the sarcasm my friend but when I say i've gone through most of the forum as possible I meant I've tried both those fixes to no avail...thanks anyway though :good:
leechseed said:
Hi,
your searching skills are enormous
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1108499
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1457458
..
wow they are sticked
*edit*
fullwipe - flash via CWM Recovery, thats what i would try
greetz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah right now I haven't gone any pit routes yet. I've gone through both boot/bricked guides and right now it's a wash...hell i'm getting a loop between the battery screen and GT-i9100 screen now.
MistahBungle said:
Please don't tell people to flash pit files unless you know for absolute certain their problem (which at this stage is vague/undiagnosed; I.E we don't know what the problem is exactly) will be fixed by flashing a pit.
(You should know) flashing a pit can permanently bork a phone if that isn't what's wrong with the phone :-|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. What we really need to know is exactly what's been done to the phone. Every little detail (important). From before it started acting up till now. Time to interrogate your brother & find out exactly what he's been doing with/to the phone.
The more info we get the better the chance you don't have to blindly flash that recovery package in the 2nd thread Leechseed linked to with the pit file & hope it works without knowing exactly what/why is wrong with the phone.
He was doing an upgrade to the Omega rom I believe (sorry I'm a galaxy 1 guy so I'm not familiar with the s2 roms). It was flashed succesfully but once it rebooted that was all she wrote...phone just sat there at the GT-i9100 screen.
So at this point we've tried the ICS recovery, the ginerbread recovery and the i9100M recovery (that's the version he has). All the 1 file tars will run through successfully but the ones with the multiple files (phone, csc, pda) will hang up in odin on the DATAFS:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm235/sirknattar/Untitled.jpg
MistahBungle said:
OK. What we really need to know is exactly what's been done to the phone. Every little detail (important). From before it started acting up till now. Time to interrogate your brother & find out exactly what he's been doing with/to the phone.
The more info we get the better the chance you don't have to blindly flash that recovery package in the 2nd thread Leechseed linked to with the pit file & hope it works without knowing exactly what/why is wrong with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's some details missing somewhere. It just doesn't make sense for a phone to do that upgrading a rom under normal circumstances. So you have two choices essentially given you've already tried the obvious. You could send it in for warranty service, hope they don't care it's been messed with & repair it. Tho there's obviously a better than even chance you will end up paying for it (not unreasonably).
Or I guess you could flash whatever recovery package from that thread with the PIT file & hope that fixes whatever is wrong with it. Obviously if it doesn't that makes it certain you're either sending it to Samsung/an authorised repairer (quite possibly for repair at your expense, unless they don't notice/care), or to a 3rd party repairer (again at your expense; might be cheaper than Samsung if they decide to charge you for the repair).
Given the info you've provided, there's absolutely no clues whatsoever as to what caused it to happen. Unless someone else reads the thread & has other ideas. Might want to hold off on the PIT for a while & see if someone else does have other ideas given that's pretty much a final step.
Doing the .pit and re-partition as we speak and hangs up on the exact spot...DATAFS (data.img). *sigh*
I'm going to try the bootloader option next. I know my bro says he's done it already but I want to be sure. Thanks for your help man.
MistahBungle said:
There's some details missing somewhere. It just doesn't make sense for a phone to do that upgrading a rom under normal circumstances. So you have two choices essentially given you've already tried the obvious. You could send it in for warranty service, hope they don't care it's been messed with & repair it. Tho there's obviously a better than even chance you will end up paying for it (not unreasonably).
Or I guess you could flash whatever recovery package from that thread with the PIT file & hope that fixes whatever is wrong with it. Obviously if it doesn't that makes it certain you're either sending it to Samsung/an authorised repairer (quite possibly for repair at your expense, unless they don't notice/care), or to a 3rd party repairer (again at your expense; might be cheaper than Samsung if they decide to charge you for the repair).
Given the info you've provided, there's absolutely no clues whatsoever as to what caused it to happen. Unless someone else reads the thread & has other ideas. Might want to hold off on the PIT for a while & see if someone else does have other ideas given that's pretty much a final step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here's another note...when flashing bootloader it comes up into the recovery screen and says "E: failed to mount /data (unknown error: 0)
trying a format data/system
MistahBungle said:
There's some details missing somewhere. It just doesn't make sense for a phone to do that upgrading a rom under normal circumstances. So you have two choices essentially given you've already tried the obvious. You could send it in for warranty service, hope they don't care it's been messed with & repair it. Tho there's obviously a better than even chance you will end up paying for it (not unreasonably).
Or I guess you could flash whatever recovery package from that thread with the PIT file & hope that fixes whatever is wrong with it. Obviously if it doesn't that makes it certain you're either sending it to Samsung/an authorised repairer (quite possibly for repair at your expense, unless they don't notice/care), or to a 3rd party repairer (again at your expense; might be cheaper than Samsung if they decide to charge you for the repair).
Given the info you've provided, there's absolutely no clues whatsoever as to what caused it to happen. Unless someone else reads the thread & has other ideas. Might want to hold off on the PIT for a while & see if someone else does have other ideas given that's pretty much a final step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
Please don't tell people to flash pit files unless you know for absolute certain their problem (which at this stage is vague/undiagnosed; I.E we don't know what the problem is exactly) will be fixed by flashing a pit.
(You should know) flashing a pit can permanently bork a phone if that isn't what's wrong with the phone :-|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems I must have been lucky over the last 24 months having flashed 100's of times with Odin and pit file on SGS 1, 2 and 3 and not bricked 1 yet in fact I've never known anyone brick an SGS flashing a rom with pit other phones maybe but not SGS's
yeah i'm comfortable with flashing pit files due to my weekly rom addiciton from my SGS/cappy hahaha
Anyway I may be experiencing that corrupt SD card issue i've been reading about...not sure.
sminky01 said:
Seems I must have been lucky over the last 24 months having flashed 100's of times with Odin and pit file on SGS 1, 2 and 3 and not bricked 1 yet in fact I've never known anyone brick an SGS flashing a rom with pit other phones maybe but not SGS's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why dont you just try to flash a Stock Rom??
I would try that first - wipe - flash Stock (via CWM)
I always used the ONE file package of Roms and never had any probs..
Why on earth are you re partitioning with Odin? You know Odin isn't build for the S II, and the re-partitioning it does is for the Nexus or something. IE using Odin to re partition an S II royally ****s it. Flashing a PIT might work but why don't you just start at a logical place, before going out and doing a full manual JTAG on your phone with a pair of pliers, some masking tape and a bunsen burner, why don't you do the obvious. Which is update your Odin, uninstall Kies and reinstall it for the Samsung drivers, check the USB etc. something is clearly going wrong during the flash process despite it being "successful". Failing that, take it back to the shop, if your phone isn't a £500 paper weight by the time you read this, just apply for a new one. Make sure you erase any evidence of you messing around with it and return it.
sirknattar said:
He was doing an upgrade to the Omega rom I believe (sorry I'm a galaxy 1 guy so I'm not familiar with the s2 roms). It was flashed succesfully but once it rebooted that was all she wrote...phone just sat there at the GT-i9100 screen.
So at this point we've tried the ICS recovery, the ginerbread recovery and the i9100M recovery (that's the version he has). All the 1 file tars will run through successfully but the ones with the multiple files (phone, csc, pda) will hang up in odin on the DATAFS:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm235/sirknattar/Untitled.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem might be the Omega rom ??? is it compatible with I9100M series or just the I9100 the M could be the clue to the flash failing same as when Samsung released the I9100G and people who flashed that got screwed up with the incorrect bootloaders since the hardware is different in the I9100 and I9100G same problem might exist with I9100M
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions. I've got a vague idea of the problem now and it's being sent back to Samsung for warranty (after I clear it with the JIG).
try to do the following.
1-flash any gingerbread CF kernel via odin
2-boot into recovery mode
3- wipe everything under mounts and storage including system partition
4-reboot into download mode
5-try to flash the CM9 Resurrection Edition
hope this helps mate. mine just emmc bricked on me, with the crappy LQ5 samsung firmware and had to RMA the bastard.
check ur pm mate
Hey I recently rooted my Samsung Galaxy S II I9100, at first everything was fine, but i had some trouble installing apps so i used es file manager to install them, it began to work for some apps. anyway, this morning I woke and turned it on and it didn't get past the bootscreen(i left it for about 45 minutes on one occasion, and I tried rebooting many times.
The first thing i did after attempting to boot my device was to flash the kernel again via odin, this did not work(tried twice).
so i did a lot of research over the past 10 hours into my problem and have tried many different things; installing a stock rom, removing battery, pretty much anything on the forums that people said have worked. nothing.
I can get into recovery mode and download mode.
I don't care about my data on my phone, it has already been wiped.
It's still covered by warranty so i can wipe the flash count(?) and send it in for warranty IF I HAVE TO. preferably not however.
although i highly doubt it, I may have been using the wrong rom, and I may have forgotten to reset my phone before one of the re-flash's
So if you havn't figured out my question by now, how do i return my phone to working condition?
Don't get mad at me for making a thread that has probably been made a hundred times, none of the solutions in the other threads fixed my problems, and I was browsing not only xda but other forums for hours, I found that reason enough to post a new thread. Apologies if this is in the wrong section, I am new here, and never found it necessary to create an account until now, when I couldn't find a solution.
Help is appreciated, this problem is really rustling my Jimmies on Christmas day.
because this is such a problem, I will REWARD anyone who presents a working solution that does not involve sending it off for warranty or buying a jig. Sorry if i missed out some information, please request for missing info in a response.
1.forget about warranty and jig....that has nothing to do with your current situation.
2.post the details about your phone and what firmware your on and what crap you were flashing.
Maybe a simple reset/wipe in stock recovery is needed.
.
theunderling said:
1.forget about warranty and jig....that has nothing to do with your current situation.
2.post the details about your phone and what firmware your on and what crap you were flashing.
Maybe a simple reset/wipe in stock recovery is needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
originally i was on ics 4.0.3, and i used this tutorial galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-root/how-to-root-galaxy-s2-i9100-icsandroid-4-0/ (can't post url link because im a new user) and this kernel by the file name "CF-Root-SGS2_XX_XEO_LPQ-v5.3-CWM5.tar". I then searched for stock roms for it and got "CF-Root-SGS2_XX_OXA_KP8-v5.2-CWM5.tar" and "CF-Root-SGS2_XX_XEO_LPQ-PROPER-v5.4-CWM5.tar"
If you want a stock rom go to Sammobile,join(so you can download).....then input smartphone>android>your phone model>your country/carrier.
Choose whatever 4.0.3 it recommends after you input the above and hit send.
Then flash that with Odin and see what happens.
Then report back here.
I am from Australia and when I searched for roms for the I9100, no Australian roms showed :s
would one from another country work, or would that be locked or...?
Theres 3 listed for starters for the plain gt-i9100.....is that your exact model....or is it p/g/m etc.
This is why I asked for your model.
gt-i9100 is my model that's all it said in my phone information in the settings (before it stuffed up), manual, on start up and in download mode.
sorry, I'm not excellent with my technical android terminology.
false alarm, it just didn't load properly before, I will start a the download (will take like 15 minutes) and report back when i flash it. gt-i9100 is definitely my model.
You just input which one of these 3 applies,hit send,then download.
Then flash it (the extracted file)in download mode with Odin.
so i put the extracted file in the 'PDA' field, put it into download mode, plug it in and start the process?
Yep.
It failed the first 2 tries, I think I have a bad usb cord, but worked the third, might of been what stuffed it up in the first place maybe (?), thank you so much for your help man
Good.Wait til boxing day til you flash siyah-s2.v.4.1.5 kernel for root.......lol.
hehe... yeah... I'm not going to try root again... lol
syntaxibles said:
It failed the first 2 tries, I think I have a bad usb cord, but worked the third, might of been what stuffed it up in the first place maybe (?), thank you so much for your help man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Going back to your first post,maybe you could make a donation to one of the developers on this site of your choosing.
sounds good, which developer in particular would be a good choice?
I quite like Doomlord,but its up to you
And just post back on this thread if you need help rooting etc.
Not my first time to root and install a custom rom on other phone, but this phone isn't treating me well.
So I followed the root guides to root the phone.
Downloaded an insecure kernel for i9100. Although, oddly enough, I bought this phone 2nd hand, and when I went to the "about" part for the kernel look up before tried to root it, the kernel info just contained ICS3.?? (forgot) and the date. There was no four or five letter kernel code like I've been seeing. But according to cnet (one of many rooting tutorials), the kernel version doesn't matter as you can change the kernel anytime, or after rooting in this case.
So I installed Kies to get the Samsung drivers installed. Done.
Restarted phone to download mode (volume down, home, power)
Started Odin 3 v1.83
Phone was recognized. Click the 2 boxes (Auto reboot and F. Rest Time).
Clicked PDA, loaded up an insecure kernel.
Status went through OK, ended up with "Pass!"
Phone automatically restarted.
Now the problem. It restarts, shows the Samsung Galaxy S2 logo with the big triangle underneath it, and thats it. Never leaves this screen. I thought maybe it's a kernel problem, so I tried several different insecure kernels, all with no change. I have no idea how to find what kernel was the original one that came with this phone. Would using Odin with the original secure kernel (or even insecure) solve this problem? Otherwise, what else can I do? My note 2 was stolen so I bought this s2 second hand until I can scrape up enough money for a note 2 again, but the damn thing won't even boot up now. :crying:
How can I get this working again, even to have it stock again I'd be fine (though obviously putting on a custom room with root would be best).
Well you dont seem to mention what you have tried after flashing your kernel?
Have you tried going into download or recovery mode, do they work? If so simply flash another kernel or rom.
Also, I my be wrong but there isnt a China i9100 afaik so you may have flashed incorrect kernel so system isnt booting.
Remove battery and tell/show us what label says.
TheATHEiST said:
Well you dont seem to mention what you have tried after flashing your kernel?
Have you tried going into download or recovery mode, do they work? If so simply flash another kernel or rom.
Also, I my be wrong but there isnt a China i9100 afaik so you may have flashed incorrect kernel so system isnt booting.
Remove battery and tell/show us what label says.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There wasn't much to try, at least as far as my noob self knows about. I tried flashing 6 other kernels I found, merely taking guesses at which might possibly be the Chinese s2 one, I remember from flashing other phones that i had to look for Z or D in the kernel ID. But all of them just led to the same problem of not booting past the logo screen.
Besides just trying to start it up as normal (which doesn't work) and starting it up in download (by holding down vol+home+power), what others ways can I start it up? I don't know how to boot into recovery, and I didn't know I can flash a rom without first rooting it, which I haven't done yet because it's still stuck in start-up.
Searching enough xda threads and just googling seems show a pretty large consensus supporting the existance of a China i9100, plus I see them everywhere (as well as s3, s4, and notes), so I'm 99% sure they are an official and semi-large market for them here (after iPhones unfortunately). But even still, that doesn't help me locate the original kernel.
Under the battery, is says this:
Samsung WCDMA
Model #: GT-I9100
CMIIT ID: 2011CP2751
Do these help? So is any of the steps I did wrong, or can you otherwise point me in the right direction? Appreciate the help.
Don't post your IMEI (or your SN for that matter).
MistahBungle said:
Don't post your IMEI (or your SN for that matter).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip MistahBungle. Edited out.
Hate to say it, but found more help on youtube... Found a guide that walked me through replacing all the files (not just kernel) in Odin that got it back up and running. I'll follow the xda guides again and hopefully it'll work this time... Thanks anyways...
Hi,
I got my hands on an i9300 that the previous owner had broken while trying to do a sim unlock.
I've tried flashing various ROMs and recoveries using Odin (1.85 and 3.07), and also from within the recovery.
I'm not able to determine if the EFS partition is completely intact, but I believe it is.
So far I have tried flashing the rescue firmware (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30087735&postcount=6), various stock firmwares, resurrection remix, android revolution hd, and a few others.
I have philz recovery installed at the moment, and have tried the latest CWM as well.
I've even tried using kies to do an emergency recovery, but this also failed.
No matter what I do, I'm unable to make the phone boot up.
I do have adb access to it.. Anyone got any suggestions for what else I can try?
In odin mode it *does* display the model number, so from this I believe that it is safe to say that the emmc is still ok.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Cheers!
Try the latest threepart stock firmware for the region (CSC) the phone originally comes from and flash firmware including PIT file (re-partition is ticked then). This solved my booting problems in such cases.
Edit: maybe also the bootloader is f***ed, does it start up to the Samsung logo or nothing at all?
If nothing at all it might be the bootloader, in this case there is SD-Bootloader-repair-files floating through the net, allowing you to repair bootloader just from your external SDcard - i9300 only.
Benko111 said:
Try the latest threepart stock firmware for the region (CSC) the phone originally comes from and flash firmware including PIT file (re-partition is ticked then). This solved my booting problems in such cases.
Edit: maybe also the bootloader is f***ed, does it start up to the Samsung logo or nothing at all?
If nothing at all it might be the bootloader, in this case there is SD-Bootloader-repair-files floating through the net, allowing you to repair bootloader just from your external SDcard - i9300 only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll see about getting the latest 3 part stock, though that seems fairly similar to the rescue firmware I linked to - it includes a pit file.
Shall give it another go though
I do get the samsung logo/text, as from a standard boot, and then it launches straight into recovery.
Cheers,
EqUaTe
EqUaTe said:
I'll see about getting the latest 3 part stock, though that seems fairly similar to the rescue firmware I linked to - it includes a pit file.
Shall give it another go though
I do get the samsung logo/text, as from a standard boot, and then it launches straight into recovery.
Cheers,
EqUaTe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so bootloader is fine. This seems to be strange, how can you have ADB access if you can't boot up thus USB debugging's not enabled?
I had a similar disaster lately with Note 3, a real pain in the a** updating to KK. Also the 'firmware encountered blabla...' message, I got this fxed by flashing latest CWM right after the stock firmware flash, then it would finally boot.
Your case is different though since you even do get into recovery. Deep down I'm positive you just need to find the correct PIT resp. 3-part stock ROM.
Benko111 said:
Ok, so bootloader is fine. This seems to be strange, how can you have ADB access if you can't boot up thus USB debugging's not enabled?
I had a similar disaster lately with Note 3, a real pain in the a** updating to KK. Also the 'firmware encountered blabla...' message, I got this fxed by flashing latest CWM right after the stock firmware flash, then it would finally boot.
Your case is different though since you even do get into recovery. Deep down I'm positive you just need to find the correct PIT resp. 3-part stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
philz recovery has adb support built in, that's how I've accessed it. I believe CWM used to, but it doesn't seem to anymore.
Do you know which firmwares are likely to have the PIT file separately? I've got one downloading at the moment, but no guarantee it'll have the various files individually. Most of the ones I've come across are AIO files.
EqUaTe said:
philz recovery has adb support built in, that's how I've accessed it. I believe CWM used to, but it doesn't seem to anymore.
Do you know which firmwares are likely to have the PIT file separately? I've got one downloading at the moment, but no guarantee it'll have the various files individually. Most of the ones I've come across are AIO files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, never used philz 'cause I always loved TWRP, this could be a reason though
Well, they are hard to find indeed. On a quick random search I found this JB ROM:
http://uploaded.net/file/p8e4pasy
Though I must say I always had best results when repairing persistent devices with older firmwares, so I got used to finding the exact
version installed when factory delivered, when issues are fixed updating is no problem.
Have set that file downloading, and have also grabbed TWRP.
Will give it a shot when I get home from work tonight. Cheers for your help so far Sometimes it helps just to have another set of eyes on these things!
Balls.. That link is a passworded zip. Don't suppose you came across the password for it?
EqUaTe said:
Balls.. That link is a passworded zip. Don't suppose you came across the password for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, found the password.. Extracting a bunch of zips atm, fingers crossed one will help!
Benko111 said:
Alright, never used philz 'cause I always loved TWRP, this could be a reason though
Well, they are hard to find indeed. On a quick random search I found this JB ROM:
http://uploaded.net/file/p8e4pasy
Though I must say I always had best results when repairing persistent devices with older firmwares, so I got used to finding the exact
version installed when factory delivered, when issues are fixed updating is no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, I've now flashed that 3-part ROM, sadly with no joy - it does the same.
It has made me go back and look at your earlier comments, and made me wonder if the logo we each refer to is the same one, so I'm attaching an image..
I have attached the *.PIT file I used to restore my phone. It is for the 16GB i9300. Remember in ODIN to include the ROM in the /PDA section, and the *.pit file in the section where it asks for it. Have the following boxes checked:
Re-Partition
Auto-Reboot
F. Reset Time.
Phone Bootloader Update
Flash the ROM, and let ODIN do it's thing. DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR DEVICE UNTIL IT IS DONE!! Doing this will completely wipe the phone, and return it to a factory state.
EqUaTe said:
So, I've now flashed that 3-part ROM, sadly with no joy - it does the same.
It has made me go back and look at your earlier comments, and made me wonder if the logo we each refer to is the same one, so I'm attaching an image..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is indeed what I meant. If it was the bootloader it most likely wouldn't do a thing anymore.
But k-semler above this post is absolutely right, I forgot to pay attention to what model size you've got?
Of course PIT is different for 16 or 32GB model.
Just in any case, I attached two PIT from my collection, DBT region for 32GB model, you've got a 16GB one above (use his firmware with that), flash the size according to your model and try once again. Eventually it should work.
If your phone was branded originally, find the original branded firmware and try as well.
That's all I can think of right now.
Benko111 said:
It is indeed what I meant. If it was the bootloader it most likely wouldn't do a thing anymore.
But k-semler above this post is absolutely right, I forgot to pay attention to what model size you've got?
Of course PIT is different for 16 or 32GB model.
Just in any case, I attached two PIT from my collection, DBT region for 32GB model, you've got a 16GB one above (use his firmware with that), flash the size according to your model and try once again. Eventually it should work.
If your phone was branded originally, find the original branded firmware and try as well.
That's all I can think of right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the 16gig model, will have another go this evening
k-semler said:
I have attached the *.PIT file I used to restore my phone. It is for the 16GB i9300. Remember in ODIN to include the ROM in the /PDA section, and the *.pit file in the section where it asks for it. Have the following boxes checked:
Re-Partition
Auto-Reboot
F. Reset Time.
Phone Bootloader Update
Flash the ROM, and let ODIN do it's thing. DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR DEVICE UNTIL IT IS DONE!! Doing this will completely wipe the phone, and return it to a factory state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, which version of Odin did you use when you fixed yours?
Interestingly, while I've had it available before, the bootloader update tickbox isn't available on 3.07/3.09 at the moment, stays grayed out..
Going to give 1.85 a whirl
So flashing with 1.85 has resulted in the same thing.. Wondering if it may actually be a 32gb one.. I don't think it is, but at this point I have no idea.. Are there any identifiers that distinguish it on the unit itself? FCC ID, SSN, etc.
Fairly sure it's not a 32gb as it hangs flashing if I use that pit.. Trying another flash at the moment.
So no joy with this so far.. Getting a bit annoying really, tried quite a few combinations now..
Fairly certain at this point it's a 16GB model, using the 16GB PIT I can flash other ROMs, but no joy on actual resurrection of the device.
Odin logs seem fine, with and without a bootloader update.. After the ROM flash, sometimes I get the Android with the spinning polygon for a while with a new progress bar, followed by a further reboot, and then the sick android (little red triangle coming out his chest).
All stock roms have the following text at the bottom (though the actual position varies from rom to rom as some of them have recoveries at much higher res than others):
# MANUAL MODE #
-- Appling Multi-CSC...
Applied the CSC-code : VOD
Successfully applied multi-CSC.
And yes, the typo is on the screen.. Appling.. Really?
Anyway, don't know if that is normal (while I've used other s3's, I can't remember what they showed with stock recovery as I rooted them pretty early on, and never really touched them again).
I can say I'm glad I still had the jig from my s2, as it makes getting into download mode much easier
I've tried several odin versions, different USB ports, different cables.
I can go through and provide details of the various ROMs I have downloaded, the majority of which are stock at the moment, and am happy to grab others if people think they may work..
Cheers,
EqUaTe
That's not nice, still busy with it... I must say, when I read the bit you wrote
After the ROM flash, sometimes I get the Android with the spinning polygon for a while with a new progress bar, followed by a further reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought yay, that sounds promising. That is exactly what happens after a successful stock flash. Also
# MANUAL MODE #
-- Appling Multi-CSC...
Applied the CSC-code : VOD
Successfully applied multi-CSC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is absolutely normal (incl. the spelling). The question is why does it not boot into system then? After a (what I consider) successful flash and then in stock recovery, have you tried a factory reset/wipe cache? Please try this urgently.
In my optinion you can stick to Odin 3.09, I could never confirm the reports of different versions working with certain devices, at least not with the new ones. Re-partition is forced and mostly greyed out when a PIT file is flahed with the ROM. Without PIT it should be not greyed out.
Benko111 said:
That's not nice, still busy with it... I must say, when I read the bit you wrote
I thought yay, that sounds promising. That is exactly what happens after a successful stock flash. Also
is absolutely normal (incl. the spelling). The question is why does it not boot into system then? After a (what I consider) successful flash and then in stock recovery, have you tried a factory reset/wipe cache? Please try this urgently.
In my optinion you can stick to Odin 3.09, I could never confirm the reports of different versions working with certain devices, at least not with the new ones. Re-partition is forced and mostly greyed out when a PIT file is flahed with the ROM. Without PIT it should be not greyed out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured the spelling was normal, just a little disappointing Also thought it was normal that this appeared, but wasn't sure. Makes sense though.
I have tried a factory reset after pretty much every flash attempt, but will give it another go. Getting to the point where i'm tempted to try and do the sd card recovery, just to see if there is something fundamentally broken at that level.
I'm also downloading the latest ROM for the carrier (Vodafone UK) to see if flashing that here makes any difference..
Well, factory reset and wipe cache don't help. Other ROM won't be donwloaded for a bit, so will have to try it after work. grr.