(Hard/Soft/What?)Bricked my old Galaxy S4 - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So this is an old problem, and I'm kind've just hoping someone knows what's wrong with the phone even though it doesn't really matter anymore, because I'm genuinely curious. So a few years ago, I was running an unofficial CM12 build on my Sprint Galaxy S4, and I'd been using the ROM for about two months, give or take a few weeks. One day I just took a picture, and it turned off. But I couldn't turn it back on. And I still can't.
I've tried charging it, it's charged but it wont boot the main ROM, it wont recovery, it wont boot download mode/bootloader, it wont boot into safe mode. My laptop doesnt register it when i connect it through USB either (of course) so can't do anything with the laptop. It just shows "Samsung, galaxy S4" and just turns back off. If I want to make another attempt at powering it on in any way, I have to take out the battery and try again.
If anyone has any idea how to fix it, or AT LEAST what's wrong with it (again, I have a fully functional Note 5, I don't NEED the S4 to work) I would really appreciate the help. Thanks in advance.

Related

[Q] Vibrant doesn't turn on ?

Hi, I jus finally upgraded my Samsung Vibrant's firmware using Samsung Kies! Yeah, the only thing it successfully did was brick my phone. It completely killed it and it doesn't even turn on anymore. No boot- no Vibrant screen- not even charge logo when plugged in...
After Kies said "Successfully updated" the phone shut off and it didnt turn back on... What can I do? What are my options? Will Samsung fix it? Will they ship me a new one? (for free?)
Can I do anything on my own that can fix it?
Do you know of anyone who has fixed it?
No DL mode, I cannot get the phone to turn on what-so ever and the battery is fully charged. I also replaced the battery and nothing.
Please guys, I really screwed up and I need help now.
Call Samsung. You can get a new phone.
Kies is the devil
Will they replace it for free?
I called Samsung, looks like they will replace it for free. But I would love if there was a way to get it up and running without them right now (I'll have to wait a few weeks) anyone got anything?
Nope, what you have is now know as a "brick"
same EXACT problem!!!
I finally got my vibrant up and running again after a attempting to install a custom rom. This isn't the the first time but I was able to flash my phone back to its original state, in fact this isn't the first second or third time I updated using Kies Mini. What I did notice however is that Kies itself updated once I connected to my PC, it did what it had to as usual, said it was complete, my phone turned off and never turned back on!!!
Someone tell Samsung to check their Kies mini update cause now I'm without my android, and phones here in the Bahamas ARE NOT CHEAP!!
Kies breaks 10x more phones than rooting does...
when you get your new phone, trust the guys here and root your phone, get a great 2.2 ROM..
teamwhiskey.com etc..

HELP! Samsung galaxy s2 sgh-t989 stuck in the ultimate boot loop.

Ok, so heres the deal. The s2 is my sisters phone, and she comes home and told me the phone wont turn on, that its stuck on the boot screen and it just keeps turning off and doing it again. So I started looking into it (Im an iPhone user, so I'm not too familiar with android devices. BUT I do know a bit about computers, cell phones and just technology in general). I ended up finding out that its stuck in a soft brick. So I started youtubing how to fix it. Found a great method using Odin3 and Samsung Kies. AND IT WORKED. I turned the phone back on, got past the lock screen and everything was all good.
After about 30 seconds, THE PHONE BRICKED AGAIN:crying:. And it went right back into the boot loop, I cant get it into download mode because it just keeps restarting after a couple of seconds. With that happening, I cant get the computer to recognize it so I can do a recovery fix with Samsung Kies. I legit cannot find any solution to it.
The thing that baffles me and is causing me a huge headache is the fact that THE PHONE IS NOT ROOTED. nothing has been done to it, its completely stock. So if there is no solution to it, can somebody at least tell me what might have been able to cause this?
Thanks to all,
Dariel
Well, you're in the wrong forum for the SGH-T989. That's probably your issue.

Stock Verizon GS4 randomly shutting off and bootlooping

Hello everyone,
I have a stock Verizon Galaxy S4 that is having some issues and wont stay on and sometimes gets caught in a bootloop. I have been able to get into recovery and wipe cache / do a factory reset, but the phone keeps doing the same thing; reboot, sometimes start but then reboots again. I have had it for almost 2 years and thought it was the battery, so I bought another one and the phone still does the same thing. If I boot into safe mode, it lasts a little longer that way, but will eventually turn off and get caught into the bootloop again.
Any ideas on what the cause is and possibly how to fix it? The is completely stock and has never been rooted, unlocked, or anything like that. I looked in the forums, but it looks like they all have to do with flashed roms and non-stock options, which is why I am posting a new thread.
All help is appreciated. Thank you.
It sounds like your power button may be on its way out. I had the same issue with my phone. Couldn't get it to boot past the splash screen. If your is intermittent it may or may not be this issue. However if the problem gets worse, its more then likely the cause. After a lot of use the insulation inside the power button can wear away causing a short. If you google it there are several articles describing symptoms to help figure out if that is indeed the problem. If you run in to a boot loop, pull the battery and reinsert it. If the phone powers on without pressing the power button, that is your problem.
Sent from a Shaftamle Galaxy S4
"Thanks Button" is always appreciated!
149ThemedGoogleKeyboards!!!!!!
Eclipse ROM fatness!
MyColorScreen
I know it has been a few weeks but I wanted to provide an update. I have a friend who runs a cell phone repair shop. I took it to him and they did all sorts of tests and such, so we replaced the power button. After replacing the button, the phone still did the same thing.
I would pull the battery, but the phone would not turn on by itself. I would power on the phone like normal and would make it to the splash screen in which the phone would then power off. At that point, it would not try to restart, but rather would act like it was on and the phone / battery would get really hot. I would pull the battery and start again, with the same result.
Any other ideas? My friend, the co-owner of the business, and myself are all out of ideas.
Thanks!
Edit: Also I called Verizon and Samsung to see if I could work out a warranty through either of them. Since the phone is almost 2 years old, we all know the answer to that. Sammy wanted $70 just to look at it, let alone additional charges to fix it if the problem wasnt what they thought it was.
poda13 said:
I know it has been a few weeks but I wanted to provide an update. I have a friend who runs a cell phone repair shop. I took it to him and they did all sorts of tests and such, so we replaced the power button. After replacing the button, the phone still did the same thing.
I would pull the battery, but the phone would not turn on by itself. I would power on the phone like normal and would make it to the splash screen in which the phone would then power off. At that point, it would not try to restart, but rather would act like it was on and the phone / battery would get really hot. I would pull the battery and start again, with the same result.
Any other ideas? My friend, the co-owner of the business, and myself are all out of ideas.
Thanks!
Edit: Also I called Verizon and Samsung to see if I could work out a warranty through either of them. Since the phone is almost 2 years old, we all know the answer to that. Sammy wanted $70 just to look at it, let alone additional charges to fix it if the problem wasnt what they thought it was.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to say I'm shocked its not the power button. My only other suggestion would be to flash the stock firmware to the device using Odin. It could be a software problem. Your guess is as good as mine. However flashing the stock image is definitely cheaper then hassling with Sammy or big red. Not that voiding your warranty would matter at this point but make sure you flash whatever firmware your on right now. If you go backwards you may run into a problem since your phone has the Knox boot loader. Check out the i545 android development section here at XDA for tutorials on how to do so. There are a few of them out there. I'm not completely familiar with that process since I'm still on MDK firmware. But there are plenty of knowledgeable guys that can help you on those threads if need be. Good luck!
Sent from a Shaftamle Galaxy S4
"Thanks Button" is always appreciated!
149ThemedGoogleKeyboards!!!!!!
Eclipse ROM fatness!
MyColorScreen
Well, I ended up selling it for $130 to some one for parts. I made full disclosure of what the phone was doing and even showed the buyer exactly what it was.
My father had an older Droid X2 that we are using for the time being. Our contract ends in less than 30 days in which we will be moving to T-mobile anyways. I get literally zero signal where I work and my wife gets very limited service where she works. However, the T-mobile service is excellent in both our respective buildings and in the Phoenix metro area where we live.
I appreciate your thoughts on trying to resolve this. One of the many reasons why I love XDA and the community.

[Q] possible brick?

Hey guys and gals, I think my note 2 is bricked. I am on stock rom, dont know specific builds, probably whatever is the latest update. I was using the phone friday afternoon and all of a sudden it just shut off. I tried to get it to turn back on, but it would only go to the Samsung galaxy note 2 bootup screen, then do the sounds to boot up. Then it would reboot. I did a battery pull, and it will not even make the sounds now (still get the bootup logo) then shuts off. I have searched some on the forums and I can get it into download mode and i can get to the screen where i can reboot/factory reset/ update (i have the red triangle w/ black exclamation mark). I have to hold the buttons down first and then install the battery to do either though. I have played with roms some when i had a galaxy nexus, but am a little rusty on it. I have not tried to install any roms on this phone though. Anyone know what might have went wrong/what i need to do to fix? I did a factory reset to no avail. Also, like i said, i have done some flashing if thats what i have to do, but really good directions would be great. Thanks.

Weird situation, phone mysteriously not starting, any insights?

Hi there! Long time reader, first time poster (TL;DR below...but it should be a quick read anyways )
So I've been using this S2 of mine for almost 4 years now, haven't had any trouble (other than a couple of battery swaps). For the past 6 months or so I've been using CM 12.1 nightlies without issue.
The events:
- The other day, my phone froze (I wasn't using it when it froze, it was when I went to use it that I noticed...it was on the wifi selection screen if it matters), so I held the power button to shut it down, and when I powered it back up, it just froze at the Samsung boot screen (with the usual yellow triangle).
- At this point, I was able to reboot into download mode at will, but any attempt to boot to recovery just led to the freeze at the Samsung boot screen. Also, the phone would automatically reboot itself at this point any time I inserted the battery (I was of course putting the battery in and out trying everything I could).
- I would have reflashed from Odin at this point, but since I was away for a few days I just kept trying to reboot into recovery, to no avail. On one of these attempts (power+vol up+ home) it showed the Samsung boot screen, and then immediately shut down and I haven't been able to get anything onto the screen since
I'm now home, and I can't seem to fix it. If I plug the phone into a charger, the top half or so of the phone gets warm, and it also seems to get warm if it isn't plugged in and I try to power it up. I was thinking maybe the phone was maybe doing the same thing as before and just not showing anything on screen, but I blindly do the steps to get it into download mode, and Odin doesn't recognize anything (drivers are definitely installed). I have also tried other batteries, no luck.
Any ideas of what I might try? I'm willing to do anything. For the record nothing happened to the phone at all when this all happened (no dropping or water damage or anything, just my attempts at booting into recovery). Maybe I should try a jig? I'm also open to opening the phone if there's something I can do, though I don't have experience with this.
Thanks so much for any suggestions!
TL;DR: phone froze (running CM 12.1 nightly), held power to shut it down, and then consistently froze at the boot screen on any attempts to power it on. After a few attempts at booting into recovery (the phone would only freeze or enter download mode) the screen suddenly shut off and I haven't seen anything on it since no matter what I try. I can't think of anything that happened to the phone I'm open to any and all suggestions! Thanks
One sentence amongst your description stands out like a 'sore thumb'.....
That the device heats up towards the top when you attempt to charge it.......
Until you try a jig I can't be certain, but that heating coupled with a dead/unresponsive screen along with a lack of recovery and/or download modes (download mode is 'hardwired' into the device, and NOTHING should be able to corrupt it) are the primary symptoms of a failed motherboard.......
That is my opinion based on my experience in these forums and personal experience with a (now dead) S2 (one of two that I own).........
Get the jig just to be sure, but I'd be surprised if it had any effect.....sorry to be typing something you don't want to read, but you said it yourself, the device is 4 years old....it's been in service roughly twice as long as most smartphones, and they don't last forever....
http://i.imgur.com/rVnFwJM.jpg
Thanks dude! It's nice to have some idea of what happened. I am indeed very happy my phone has lasted me this long, and my friend is gonna give me an extra S2 she has anyways it seems so it's all good!
I'll try the jig and update here with the result (I ordered one online...will arrive in January sometime)...just in case anyone is curious.
smacsmac said:
Thanks dude! It's nice to have some idea of what happened. I am indeed very happy my phone has lasted me this long, and my friend is gonna give me an extra S2 she has anyways it seems so it's all good!
I'll try the jig and update here with the result (I ordered one online...will arrive in January sometime)...just in case anyone is curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah....be good to know the results.....If only to confirm or refute what I've suggested.....
http://i.imgur.com/rVnFwJM.jpg
keithross39 said:
Yeah....be good to know the results.....If only to confirm or refute what I've suggested.....
http://i.imgur.com/rVnFwJM.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry it took me a while...the jig was in the post haha. It didn't do anything at all (no response when I plugged it in) so I think it's safe to say you were bang-on and the motherboard failed! Happily using a new S2 (with CM13.0 now ) on behalf of my friend though.
Thanks again.
Sounds familiar. Happened to me also due to failed cyanogenmod update (CM13). Only thing that works is download mode, so i'm not given up hope yet.
I can't post a link but google ''Apply Update Failure samsung galaxy s II'' there's a thread about this on the cyanogenmod forum.
Elaias said:
Sounds familiar. Happened to me also due to failed cyanogenmod update (CM13). Only thing that works is download mode, so i'm not given up hope yet.
I can't post a link but google ''Apply Update Failure samsung galaxy s II'' there's a thread about this on the cyanogenmod forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh mine was just straight up dead...no download mode or anything visible on the screen (and nothing to do with CM13 either)
hope you get yours sorted out! have you tried reflashing anything via Odin while in download mode?
Its hard to tell you and hard to accept. You can almost give up the hope, your NAND Chip is just what we call " wear-out ". In the most cases no write is possible anymore, the funny part is -> sometimes read is still fine. If that is the case: The system is booting and working, but saving just nothing. The NAND is frozen to its state before it broke.
At our local store, customers come to us with issues like " Factory Reset impossible ", "Can't delete my Files" "Can't create files". All these Devices have inaccessible NAND's and inaccessible Recovery. Only Bootloader is working, but as the NAND is broken, flashing doesn't change anything.
smacsmac said:
oh mine was just straight up dead...no download mode or anything visible on the screen (and nothing to do with CM13 either)
hope you get yours sorted out! have you tried reflashing anything via Odin while in download mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, flashing with odin did the trick. now running cm13 and everything works fine. sorry to hear that your phone turned to brick.

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