How to produce a temporarily defect S III I9300? - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Sorry for a very strange problem.... My wife still uses her old S III (I9300), although it is so outdated and partly broken. Some time ago we flashed CM 12, so that some apps who need a more up-to-date android can be used. But the phone is too slow, there is a crack in the display and sometimes it starts to reboot without any reason. There is not enough memory to install additional apps and without LTE it is no fun.
=> I want to buy a new smartphone for her, but she doesn't want to. She wants to save money and use it, until it is not usable any more.
Of course I could give it a good strike with a hammer or give it a treatment in the microwave oven, but I would prefer only a temporary lack of functions, so that perhaps later I can use it as backup phone for the kids. Therefore I am looking for some trick, app or system setting to SIMULATE, that the phone is broken. When she is happy with her new phone, I intend to "repair" it "by chance"....
Any ideas? How can I simulate, that the phone is broken? Thanks!

You need to hardbrick it.I dont know how to but you can Google it.

ArdaCsknn said:
You need to hardbrick it.I dont know how to but you can Google it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! I googled, but i think i want to SOFTbrick it, not to hardbrick it. As I wrote above, I want to "revive" it after some time....

I think the simplest way may be to take the phone, create a backup of all data, put the phone into download mode, start flashing a stock ROM, remove the USB cable when it starts to flash the final file, and reboot the phone. Hopefully, the phone will display the "firmware upgrade encountered an error" message which can be resolved by re-flashing the stock ROM with Odin.
Based on my experience with flashing a stock ROM over a stock ROM, this procedure always leaves the data and apps intact.

cm_new said:
Thanks for the reply! I googled, but i think i want to SOFTbrick it, not to hardbrick it. As I wrote above, I want to "revive" it after some time....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah,sorry I read it but while replying I forgot somehow.Yeah, then you need to soft brick it .It can be achieved by deleting some system files.So phone can got into bootloop.If your wife doesnt now how to get in to recovery then you should be ok.

Stock rooted phone needed for this, activate factory app. It will give a black window with device information over everything onscreen. Disable factory app to remove it later on.
By flashing the stock firmware in an attempt to make it all better gives the perfect opportunity to pretend the process buggered it.

Put some clear tape on the battery contacts ?

Related

[Q] Flashing custom FW, returns to stock.

Hey all, before I say my problem, firstly I have no idea if this is the right section in the forums so apologies in advance, secondly, I have held out for 3 days trying to work out various issues before I posted. I probably did just miss one thing or misread another but no matter how much I look, no idea what as new to this. Thanks in advance for your help.
Basically, wanted to flash some custom firmware to my phone, I have been having many issues with backing up on Kies, seems to be something related to my USB's and my computer, it keeps failing during the backing up of programs. I ended up giving up on this, made a titanium pro back up of System files and of programs, also made a Nandroid backup, both on my internal phone memory I believe. Have root access, installed busy box and such, backed up some other stuff using EFS Pro, now I am completely confused, I have followed a few guides dotted around the internet, tried to install some custom firmware, it was Carbon Rom 4.2 I believe. I went into the CMW menu, wiped data/factory reset, wiped partition cache, and wiped dalvik cache, installed the rom from my internal phone memory, as it would not find it on the memory card when I tried, and now after two attempts of it seemingly doing it, on rebooting the phone, I go back to the Samsung firmware.
I have tried to read up as much as I can but obviously I am missing something here and no amount of guides or google searches have hinted at my problem, could anyone help? I know people asking constantly for information on how to put on custom firmware will be irritating, but I have genuinely taken this as far as I can alone Cheers
Now after formating something under mount/system, my phone is stuck on the logo screen, reinstalling the ROM does not work either, no idea what to do now
reflash rom, wipe data and voila.
Hey, thanks for the reply. By reflash rom, which way do you mean, am pretty confused still. The rom I download basically bricked my phone, I don't know why, I think to recover it I use ODIN and get my stock software, so is that what you mean? Or can I somehow use my Nandroid back up..?
deancolt45 said:
Hey, thanks for the reply. By reflash rom, which way do you mean, am pretty confused still. The rom I download basically bricked my phone, I don't know why, I think to recover it I use ODIN and get my stock software, so is that what you mean? Or can I somehow use my Nandroid back up..?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a Nandroid restore that or flash your original firmware via Odin .
Never restore system files after a firmware change with TB .
jje
Ok here is the situation now, I have made things 100 times worse, I possibly should not of been doing it this late... I followed guides exactly though and there is definitely something not working right with this phone, I just don't know what, all I know is its very temperamental with connecting to computers and will fail doing the custom firmware flashes half the time, no matter what I use, even using the stock ROM i got from samimobile has caused many problems. It might be me, I don't know, but in my frustration followed some advice on a forum and I think I formatted the mount/system. SO obviously I lost both my back up's. My fault and can live with that, phone was bricked and had to do that to get past it I think..
But now no matter what kernel I use and have tried quite a few including my original one, I am unable to connect to my home wifi. It definitely is not the wifi, it worked just fine before I flashed the phone and has been working with it for 4 months, now whenever I set up the phone its constantly stuck in this obtaining network ip infinite loop. No fixes I have used have helped at all so far Sorry to keep asking stuff, I am just literally at the end of my tether, was up until 7am messing with it to no avail.
Just to reiterate a point, the reason I wanted custom firmware was because the phone was crashing randomly and just dying on me and also the speaker had lost like 90% of the volume when I wanted to play music, also it would not connect to my computer with ease, now obviously before I did anything it had issues. So that is why I feel something might be wrong, not saying I did not break anything myself, just the process of flashing the firmware has been pretty straight forward once I did it a couple of times, it has just been failing and bricking every other time, so I am not sure what the problem actually is, did I miss a step, did I mess it up? If not what has. Please helps guys. Regards.
I formatted the mount/system. SO obviously I lost both my back up's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
formatting system wouldn't touch your backups
deancolt45 said:
Just to reiterate a point, the reason I wanted custom firmware was because the phone was crashing randomly and just dying on me and also the speaker had lost like 90% of the volume when I wanted to play music, also it would not connect to my computer with ease, now obviously before I did anything it had issues. So that is why I feel something might be wrong, not saying I did not break anything myself, just the process of flashing the firmware has been pretty straight forward once I did it a couple of times, it has just been failing and bricking every other time, so I am not sure what the problem actually is, did I miss a step, did I mess it up? If not what has. Please helps guys. Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usual reply if you did not know what and why and had never bothered to read the faqs and guides before flashing .Then its nearly always user error .
Best take it to a service centre and pay for a repair .
jje
edinghn are
Close thread please
Found out something really handy
Hi guys,
TheGS3 has 1 huge trick when u got stuck in firmware, CSC, etc.
Especially when u used some super usefull toolkit (like me)
I used the Galaxy S3 Toolkit, option4 (ALL in ONE) just push enter 2 times
1 to start and the last one to exit...
Got all the issues i read on hundreds of pages searching for the solution.
Accidentialy i found this morning (its 4:45am right now and busy with it since 15:00)
Start Kies, connect GS3 with USB kabel and when it says not connected take out USB
Dont plug in USB for a while...
In KIES go to Tools and irmware upgrade.. Remember, DONT plug in USB
It will ask u for your model nr which is printed on sticker in baterycover
Confirm and it will ask u S / N' which is printed on same sticker
It will start downloading firmware and u will be guided through update progress
Good Luck to y'all.. Time to go to bed.......

[Q] Repair shop killed my phone ?

Hello,
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2.
After reading this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2382579 I decided to root my phone.
So I went ahead and started with this step http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118693 because I was unsure if I had a kernel with the MMC-SUPERBRICK-BUG.
After I flashed CWM-SuperSU-v0.97.zip using Odin version 1.85 and after the phone rebooted it was stuck at the "triangle screen" for a few seconds then the display went black and I couldn't do anything further.
Up to this point the phone was still accessible in download mode (volume up, power and center button). I believe this is called "download mode". Sorry but I am a complete noob with rooting phones, etc...
So I panicked and took the phone to a repair shop (big mistake). The guy ran it in download mode then tried to flash something onto the phone (I think he used all 4 fields: Bootloader, PDA, Phone and CSC.
Then, in the middle of the operation, Odin froze when writing "setting up connection". Then the phone died ! pressing the 3 famous buttons does nothing and the phone just stays dead.
I had to leave the phone there as the guy said they will try to bypass stuff and try to connect to the CPU directly (sorry again if this sounds noobish). I did update my modem firmware and my computer BIOS in the past... but I guess this one was more complicated.
At the shop, they asked me to check again in 3 days. I am lost here. I don't know what to do anymore.
Is the phone hard bricked ? Should they bear all expenses for what they did ? I would bring back my phone and try something like this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1878255 or even a stock flash but I am afraid I cannot do that as the phone isn't even powering up anymore after they tried to repair it at the shop.
Any advice is appreciated.
Nope. You borked it. You tried to flash custom firmware to the phone & obviously failed spectacularly at it. Instead of trying to flash it yourself via download mode (which you could easily have done unless the NAND was borked), you paid them to do it. Sometimes flashes go bad. Sounds like that's what happened in this case.
Reading between the lines they sound like they're going to try & JTAG it (or have someone else do it). And if that fails I presume they'll change motherboards. You could always get the phone back & take it to someone who does JTAGs if that shop doesn't themselves.
MistahBungle said:
Nope. You borked it. You tried to flash custom firmware to the phone & obviously failed spectacularly at it. Instead of trying to flash it yourself via download mode (which you could easily have done unless the NAND was borked), you paid them to do it. Sometimes flashes go bad. Sounds like that's what happened in this case.
Reading between the lines they sound like they're going to try & JTAG it (or have someone else do it). And if that fails I presume they'll change motherboards. You could always get the phone back & take it to someone who does JTAGs if that shop doesn't themselves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know I failed at it
Or maybe the shop technician is the one who broke it. At least when I had the phone with me I was still able to boot in Odin mode.
Do you think I could have recovered my phone if I had kept it with me and it was booting in download mode ?
I feel so pissed that I took it to that shop. I just wish I hadn't panicked and I had tried, instead, to fix it at home by asking for more help.
Anyway I still haven't paid them anything so far.
We agreed that they will pay for the motherboard because I brought in a working phone (that would power up at least). The owner of the shop was nice enough to agree that he would only charge me fees for installing new software on the phone (even if they have to change the motherboard) because he knows the phone was booting in Odin mode when I came in to the shop and his technician flashed the wrong firmware.
I also wrote down the board serial number so I can be sure they changed it (if they say they did that). So you are telling me the phone can still be fixed ? What does JTAG mean ?
Even if it is fixed I think I will be too scared to try and root it again. Unless I can understand in advance, step by step, what I need to do and what file version(s) I need to use.
Ok, I got my phone today in good working condition.
According to the shop, they had to replace an IC (I don't know what damaged the IC, I am assuming this happened when they tried to electrically jolt the phone) then JTAG it to get it to work again. They charged me a small fee (and they did end up bearing more than 50% of the expenses) because I brought in a phone that was booting in download mode and they take responsibility for what happened after that (flashing wrong files which caused the phone to completely stop booting).
Anyway, long story short, this was my first attempt to root a mobile phone and I learned my lesson.
I am running the following:
Model Number: GT-I9100
Android Version: 4.0.3 (which I will need to upgrade to 4.1.2 of course)
Baseband Version: I9100XXLPW
I know you will say read the sticky posts or the guides but the truth is, that's exactly what I did (you can see the links to the guide I tried to follow in my original post) and I still ended up failing at rooting/installing cyanogen on my phone right after installing Clockwork Mod.
The truth is I am scared to try again and mess up the phone. So this time I would rather be safe than sorry.
What can I do, this time, to safely root it and install a mod like Cyanogen.
Detailed steps are appreciated:
- Do I need to upgrade to 4.1.2 before rooting as 4.0.3 might have the superbrick bug ?
- How to backup the phone.
- Odin version to use, ClockWork Mod version to use, Cyanogen version to use
- How to connect the phone, how to reboot in download mode and all the necessary actions to avoid bricking my phone.
No spoon feeding aloud on XDA.better to read and learn how to do this and that but before you flash anything after learning how to do that learn how to fix it if it doesn't work. :thumbup:
andrewwright said:
No spoon feeding aloud on XDA.better to read and learn how to do this and that but before you flash anything after learning how to do that learn how to fix it if it doesn't work. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough, I figured I'd get that reply from someone and it's normal to be honest.
I decided not to try anything on my phone before I re-read the guides and be sure I know what I am doing.
I will also keep the phone running on stock firmware (after upgrading to JB 4.1.2) to check the battery consumption behavior which, I hope, will be fine since someone tampered with my phone's electronic components at the shop.

[PLEASE HELP] T-Mobile Galaxy S5 Random Reboots, Freezes and Force Closes.

Hello, This is my first Post on XDA so please help me to familiarize myself with rules and procedures and I apologize if I break any in any way.
Okay, So My phone (SM-G900T) is about 5 months old. I bought it in August, Without insurance (Terrible Idea), and now it is having problems. In the amount of time I've had it, I rooted it in mid to late September and used only an app called Xmod for a game. I then started using greenify, solid explorer and eventually used Xposed installer to try a few Xposed modules. Specifically I used, the YouTube adaway, Rich Pandora notification and that's about it. I also later installed Samsung Tools to backup my IMEI and important partitions.
A few days ago my phone randomly rebooted in the middle of a YouTube video so I let it reboot, but it rebooted again, and again, and again. I pulled the battery and turned it back on but the same problem persisted. I couldn't do anything to fix it so I just decided to factory reset the device through the stock recovery. Also, I did not install any custom roms or anything either. The factory reset did nothing. Now when I was in setup, everything force closed, froze and rebooted, repeatedly. So I found the original firmware that my phone came with and flashed it to my phone through Odin because I literally had no hope of what to do anymore. The problem lessened so I didn't install all my apps and overload the device as it would reboot when the RAM would get pretty full or too many things were running simultaneously in the background or foreground. The problem got a little worse so I factory reset one more time and it lessened again but now it came back and factory Resetting isn't lessening the problem. Now it just force closes a bunch of stuff and freezes and reboots into a bootloop midway through initial setup. I am desperate at this point right now and I need help from you guys. I don't have warranty because I rooted and I made the Extremely stupid decision of not getting insurance. So please can anyone help me out? I will be eternally grateful if you can help me turn this $609 brick into a phone again.
I will try to check this thread daily, but I go to school and I may not respond immediately, so please understand.
ahmed12534 said:
Hello, This is my first Post on XDA so please help me to familiarize myself with rules and procedures and I apologize if I break any in any way.
Okay, So My phone (SM-G900T) is about 5 months old. I bought it in August, Without insurance (Terrible Idea), and now it is having problems. In the amount of time I've had it, I rooted it in mid to late September and used only an app called Xmod for a game. I then started using greenify, solid explorer and eventually used Xposed installer to try a few Xposed modules. Specifically I used, the YouTube adaway, Rich Pandora notification and that's about it. I also later installed Samsung Tools to backup my IMEI and important partitions.
A few days ago my phone randomly rebooted in the middle of a YouTube video so I let it reboot, but it rebooted again, and again, and again. I pulled the battery and turned it back on but the same problem persisted. I couldn't do anything to fix it so I just decided to factory reset the device through the stock recovery. Also, I did not install any custom roms or anything either. The factory reset did nothing. Now when I was in setup, everything force closed, froze and rebooted, repeatedly. So I found the original firmware that my phone came with and flashed it to my phone through Odin because I literally had no hope of what to do anymore. The problem lessened so I didn't install all my apps and overload the device as it would reboot when the RAM would get pretty full or too many things were running simultaneously in the background or foreground. The problem got a little worse so I factory reset one more time and it lessened again but now it came back and factory Resetting isn't lessening the problem. Now it just force closes a bunch of stuff and freezes and reboots into a bootloop midway through initial setup. I am desperate at this point right now and I need help from you guys. I don't have warranty because I rooted and I made the Extremely stupid decision of not getting insurance. So please can anyone help me out? I will be eternally grateful if you can help me turn this $609 brick into a phone again.
I will try to check this thread daily, but I go to school and I may not respond immediately, so please understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have SD card installed? If you do try taking it out and leave out or replace with another SdCard. Then flash the original stock firmware as you said you did before through (odin!) Then if that dont work try kias3 and use the emergency firmware recovery tool. Before you do any of this make sure you factory reset through stock recovery if possible.
Sent from my SM-G900T?
---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 PM ----------
Have you tried this tool? I had the same issue with my phone and reinstalled firmware and stock recovery through this tool and it stopped. If none of these tips work id say your phone may be borked or have faulty hardware. Take a look here as welll. Hope you can get your phone back to normal. I can understand what you're going through, like i said i had same issue with mine and mine has seems to be fine as of now. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2721146 . GOOD LUCK
Sent from my SM-G900T ?
beachbum40 said:
Do you have SD card installed? If you do try taking it out and leave out or replace with another SdCard. Then flash the original stock firmware as you said you did before through (odin!) Then if that dont work try kias3 and use the emergency firmware recovery tool. Before you do any of this make sure you factory reset through stock recovery if possible.
Sent from my SM-G900T?
---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 PM ----------
Have you tried this tool? I had the same issue with my phone and reinstalled firmware and stock recovery through this tool and it stopped. If none of these tips work id say your phone may be borked or have faulty hardware. Take a look here as welll. Hope you can get your phone back to normal. I can understand what you're going through, like i said i had same issue with mine and mine has seems to be fine as of now. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2721146 . GOOD LUCK
Sent from my SM-G900T ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so I'm resetting it back to stock firmware through Odin as we speak. And yes, I had an SD card and have already taken it out and left it out and reset but still the problem has persisted, I will definitely try the solution you just mentioned, here I go. And thank you for replying...
Edit:
Hold on, which do you want me to try first? kias3(can you please link it if possible) with emergency firmware recovery tool? OR the Unified Android Toolkit?
Also... I don't exactly know how to use the toolkit, can you verify the steps to take to use the toolkit properly if I should use this solution? I'm sorry but I'm not very advanced at Android development, just intermediately experienced I suppose...
ahmed12534 said:
Okay, so I'm resetting it back to stock firmware through Odin as we speak. And yes, I had an SD card and have already taken it out and left it out and reset but still the problem has persisted, I will definitely try the solution you just mentioned, here I go. And thank you for replying...
Edit:
Hold on, which do you want me to try first? kias3(can you please link it if possible) with emergency firmware recovery tool? OR the Unified Android Toolkit?
Also... I don't exactly know how to use the toolkit, can you verify the steps to take to use the toolkit properly if I should use this solution? I'm sorry but I'm not very advanced at Android development, just intermediately experienced I suppose...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try kies first that dont work try toolkit. Just Google how to use the toolkit it's pretty self explanatory but I don't think you'll need to use the tool kit anyways. http://www.sammobile.com/kies/
HOW TO USE RECOVERY TOOL IN KIES
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261153&page=4
beachbum40 said:
Try kies first that dont work try toolkit. Just Google how to use the toolkit it's pretty self explanatory but I don't think you'll need to use the tool kit anyways. http://www.sammobile.com/kies/
HOW TO USE RECOVERY TOOL IN KIES
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261153&page=4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay, I tried resetting it using Kies3 but the device was not recognized so I had to find a different way because the guide on how to use Kies advised using Odin if Kies didn't recognize your phone. I don't have a code either, So I tried reflashing the stock firmware through Odin and it started up, froze and went into what I presume to be a bootloop as it is stuck on the T-Mobile splash screen with the notification light pulsing continuously. Did I also mention where my phone says Knox warranty void 0x1 there is another statement that says "Counter: 4" or something like that, while I am in download mode, does this have any significance? but yeah, other that Kies and Odin, I'm not sure if the android toolkit will help, because it's basically doing that same thing as I am with Odin, just more automated... Or am I wrong?
but as far as I know, that toolkit is literally the last option I have left, I guess I'll be trying that out tomorrow, with option 10 I believe where it says "10. Download, Extract + Flash Stock Firmware via Odin" but I'm not sure what ADB mode means... I can't really boot up the device so I don't know if that applies
Also, on a side note, how much do you think this will cost if I were to send the phone to Samsung and pay for repairs out of pocket, and do you think they could even repair it at all?
You know what... Do you think if I somehow installed CM12 on the device that the problem would fix itself? Because to me it seems like it's the Samsung software itself that is causing all this trouble along with a few Google apps. Now how would I root it and flash CM12 if it won't boot up fully...
Not sure if this would brick my phone either, let me know if it would if I tried to root through Odin and try to install CM12 through CWM recovery or something
Just throwing ideas, hoping this thread doesn't die before my problem is solved
Also, does geeksquad repair Samsung phones one time for a low fee if you've voided warranty?? If so then this could possibly be my final solution.
Also Never EVER buying a Samsung device again, they just aren't what they used to be back in the day, the other OEMs have caught up and left Samsung and their revenue in the dust...
ahmed12534 said:
Also Never EVER buying a Samsung device again, they just aren't what they used to be back in the day, the other OEMs have caught up and left Samsung and their revenue in the dust...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree with this completely. Very few other handsets can hold a candle to the S5 or the Note 4. I don't know of anybody that has the problems you are describing with their phones without a hardware issue of some type or bad app. The Samsung software runs perfectly on millions of devices without the issues you're having. Therefore it's probably a bad app you've gotten a hold of, or you have a bad phone. CM12 will only introduce more issues and probably won't solve anything.
A stripped down custom rom might be a good bet because you can then start adding your apps back to find out where the issue is, or if it still has the same issues then it almost guarantees that there is some kind of a hardware issue.

Phone keeps vibrating/showing Mi Logo when "off"

Hello,
I am encountering a strange problem with my new Redmi Note 2, purchased from Top One. Whenever it is off and the battery is in, every 30 seconds it will vibrate and momentarily flash the white Mi logo as if it is about to turn on, then it will go back to black, then do this again in ~30sec. I have tried removing the back of the phone to see if it is an issue with the power button but it continues to happen whenever the battery is in. If battery is removed for ten seconds and then put back, the issue stops -- but then as soon as I turn the phone on, and then power off, it starts again. Otherwise the phone seems to run normally.
I flashed it to Miui 7.2.2.0 global stable Rom immediately after receiving it, and the problem has been there from the start. I believe I had noticed it there even before I flashed the new rom but I'm not sure as I hadn't yet interacted with the phone much...
Any suggestions? If you could please give me your instructions as basically as possible, and for Mac, I would appreciate it as I am a newbie. I flashed the rom using my Mac following instructions from the MIUI forms that showed how to do it in terminal after installing "adb/fastboot."
Thanks!
Seems to me that it is going into bootloader mode, instead of powering off completely. I am not sure how this could have started - perhaps a partially failed ROM upgrade at some point. I think you should return it (after restoring the original ROM) because trying to solve the problem might have to involve doing some low-level and extremely risky stuff.
Or for some weird reason the buttons get stuck and restarts to recovery.
When you try to boot into recovery, you get black screen->vibration->MI logo, and if you continue pressing the buttons you repeat the pattern.
Remove the battery cover and check if there's something in the buttons for a start..
Thanks for your responses
DarthJabba9 said:
Seems to me that it is going into bootloader mode, instead of powering off completely. I am not sure how this could have started - perhaps a partially failed ROM upgrade at some point. I think you should return it (after restoring the original ROM) because trying to solve the problem might have to involve doing some low-level and extremely risky stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you give me a sense of what the low-level/risky stuff would be? Is it something I might be able to get done at a phone repair shop in the UK (where Xiaomi of course is not sold)? I ask because I'm required to pay for return shipping to China if I'm going to return device, and god knows how long the whole return process will take -- so if it's not a major hardware issue it might be worth it for me to explore finding a fix.
tonydeli7 said:
Or for some weird reason the buttons get stuck and restarts to recovery.
When you try to boot into recovery, you get black screen->vibration->MI logo, and if you continue pressing the buttons you repeat the pattern.
Remove the battery cover and check if there's something in the buttons for a start..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see anything unusual in the buttons. As I said, if I remove the battery for ten seconds and then put it back in, I don't get this problem. It's only after doing a successful boot/shutdown (which works normally) that it starts again. So as far as I can tell it doesn't appear to be a mechanical problem.
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for your responses
Could you give me a sense of what the low-level/risky stuff would be? Is it something I might be able to get done at a phone repair shop in the UK (where Xiaomi of course is not sold)? I ask because I'm required to pay for return shipping to China if I'm going to return device, and god knows how long the whole return process will take -- so if it's not a major hardware issue it might be worth it for me to explore finding a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The low-level+very risky stuff would involve flashing a full ROM. By "full", I mean inclusive of preloader, uboot/lk, etc. This is what makes it very risky, because if something goes wrong with the preloader/lk flash, the device could be bricked beyond what normal people could recover. An example of a ROM that flashes everything is: http://www.needrom.com/download/miui-7-2-3-0-redmi-note-2/
My current ROM is based on an earlier version of this, and I noted at the time it was released that it installs a preloader - but I am not sure whether I installed it complete with preloader or not (I probably did). From what I can see, nobody's device got bricked by installing this ROM, which is actually excellent (so much so that I inevitably return to it after trying something else). However, it is still risky to upgrade a preloader. I suspect that this may be what you need - but it may not resolve your problem anyway.
PS: beware of more recent Xiaomi ROMs that lock the bootloader. If you tried to do this risky process, you would be best advised to make sure that you are not flashing a ROM that locks the bootloader (i.e., the most recent ROMs coming out from Xiaomi).
DarthJabba9 said:
The low-level+very risky stuff would involve flashing a full ROM. By "full", I mean inclusive of preloader, uboot/lk, etc. This is what makes it very risky, because if something goes wrong with the preloader/lk flash, the device could be bricked beyond what normal people could recover. An example of a ROM that flashes everything is:
My current ROM is based on an earlier version of this, and I noted at the time it was released that it installs a preloader - but I am not sure whether I installed it complete with preloader or not (I probably did). From what I can see, nobody's device got bricked by installing this ROM, which is actually excellent (so much so that I inevitably return to it after trying something else). However, it is still risky to upgrade a preloader. I suspect that this may be what you need - but it may not resolve your problem anyway.
PS: beware of more recent Xiaomi ROMs that lock the bootloader. If you tried to do this risky process, you would be best advised to make sure that you are not flashing a ROM that locks the bootloader (i.e., the most recent ROMs coming out from Xiaomi).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. Could you point me to how I might be able to install a full official Xiaomi rom? (One that won't lock the boot loader.) My preference would be to get the global stable rom running as normal so that I can have the standard working phone with OTA updates. Or, is it easier to install this rom you've suggested with preloader, and then afterwards I can flash the official rom (assuming this fixes the problem)?
Also, are there any tutorials/clearer instructions for how to do this kind of install? The instructions on the link you've provided don't seem very clear...
Not sure if I'm gonna try this yet but leaning towards it if I feel confident enough I can execute it without screwing anything up...
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for this. Could you point me to how I might be able to install a full official Xiaomi rom? (One that won't lock the boot loader.) My preference would be to get the global stable rom running as normal so that I can have the standard working phone with OTA updates. Or, is it easier to install this rom you've suggested with preloader, and then afterwards I can flash the official rom (assuming this fixes the problem)?
Also, are there any tutorials/clearer instructions for how to do this kind of install? The instructions on the link you've provided don't seem very clear...
Not sure if I'm gonna try this yet but leaning towards it if I feel confident enough I can execute it without screwing anything up...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally wouldn't touch official ROMs with a bargepole. At the very least, xiaomi.eu, or ROMs based on it (like the one linked to). But each to his own. With regard to installation, I don't think you can get more detailed instructions than those given, which I will now try to present in clearer English:
Reboot to Recovery ( TWRP only )
Wipe Dalvik/Art
Wipe cache
Wipe data (note that TWRP allows you to do 2-4 in one go - they are the same as resetting to factory defaults)
Install ROM
Wipe cache and Dalvik/Art again (but do NOT wipe data)
Reboot
Wait for about 20 minutes while it builds Dalvik/Art, and other stuff
Done
Hopefully, this will cure the problem. If so, then you can install whatever ROM you want, following the same process as above. If not, then you still have an excellent ROM anyway.
By the way, doing any of this presupposes that you have already installed TWRP recovery. If not, then that is the first thing to do.
DarthJabba9 said:
I personally wouldn't touch official ROMs with a bargepole. At the very least, xiaomi.eu, or ROMs based on it (like the one linked to). But each to his own. With regard to installation, I don't think you can get more detailed instructions than those given, which I will now try to present in clearer English:
Reboot to Recovery ( TWRP only )
Wipe Dalvik/Art
Wipe cache
Wipe data (note that TWRP allows you to do 2-4 in one go - they are the same as resetting to factory defaults)
Install ROM
Wipe cache and Dalvik/Art again (but do NOT wipe data)
Reboot
Wait for about 20 minutes while it builds Dalvik/Art, and other stuff
Done
Hopefully, this will cure the problem. If so, then you can install whatever ROM you want, following the same process as above. If not, then you still have an excellent ROM anyway.
By the way, doing any of this presupposes that you have already installed TWRP recovery. If not, then that is the first thing to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the English translation haha, I'll give this a shot. Just one more question -- when you write "install ROM", I should just treat the ROM the same way that I would any other, by flashing it via fastboot (as I did in OSX terminal) right?
littleozzyman said:
Thanks for the English translation haha, I'll give this a shot. Just one more question -- when you write "install ROM", I should just treat the ROM the same way that I would any other, by flashing it via fastboot (as I did in OSX terminal) right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Steps 1 to 7 inclusive are done from TWRP Recovery.
DarthJabba9 said:
No. Steps 1 to 7 inclusive are done from TWRP Recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, thanks again for your suggestion, but unfortunately it didn't succeed. I managed to install the custom full ROM you suggested with TWRP, and the problem persists; when the phone is off, I get this strange problem with the Mi logo flashing.
I'm investigating how to make a return, but I thought I would ask: do you have any idea whether this problem will negatively affect the phone in any other way? Because, if I'm unable to make a return, I think it's an issue I can live with (I rarely have my phone switched off anyhow), so long as it won't cause more problems down the line...
Something else I just realised: Apparently the problem doesn't occur when the phone is plugged into the USB (both electrical socket and computer). Starts up again as soon as I remove the plug. Perhaps that provides more context...
littleozzyman said:
Well, thanks again for your suggestion, but unfortunately it didn't succeed. I managed to install the custom full ROM you suggested with TWRP, and the problem persists; when the phone is off, I get this strange problem with the Mi logo flashing.
I'm investigating how to make a return, but I thought I would ask: do you have any idea whether this problem will negatively affect the phone in any other way? Because, if I'm unable to make a return, I think it's an issue I can live with (I rarely have my phone switched off anyhow), so long as it won't cause more problems down the line...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I would hazard a guess that this is not a software problem. Clearly, the phone is trying to boot into bootloader mode or into recovery mode when it is meant to be completely switched off. This implies;
a) that there is a possibly a hardware problem somewhere (eg., something short-circuiting somewhere?), or
b) a virus/rootkit trying to dial home?, or
c) some other unknown fault?
None of these options would give me any peace of mind. If the problem is (b) then a good anti-virus or rootkit remover program would solve the problem. Search the PlayStore for those. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it's either (a) or (c) - and that is not good.
DarthJabba9 said:
Well, I would hazard a guess that this is not a software problem. Clearly, the phone is trying to boot into bootloader mode or into recovery mode when it is meant to be completely switched off. This implies;
a) that there is a possibly a hardware problem somewhere (eg., something short-circuiting somewhere?), or
b) a virus/rootkit trying to dial home?, or
c) some other unknown fault?
None of these options would give me any peace of mind. If the problem is (b) then a good anti-virus or rootkit remover program would solve the problem. Search the PlayStore for those. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it's either (a) or (c) - and that is not good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing shows up on anti-virus/rootkit. I guess I should really insist on getting a return. Hopefully they will process it without too much fuss/expense. If any other suggestions come to anybody in the meantime, I'd be glad to hear them.
I just noticed as well that someone posted with what seems to be the same issue to mine last year: http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-2/help/phone-rebooting-shutdown-t3232941 , with no resolution. Perhaps this is some kind of occasional manufacturing problem.
littleozzyman said:
Nothing shows up on anti-virus/rootkit. I guess I should really insist on getting a return.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely.
HW problem: Power Management IC
I too faced this problem and I suspected Battery to be the culprit . Anyway , i got it checked and repaired at a local (non xiaomi) repair shop that claims it was the issue with PMIC power management IC and that he has replaced the IC .
Now the phone works fine and does not enter into that bootloop even when charger is disconnected and phone is rebooted manually. I hope the problem is resolved .
However , the other issue is still persistent which is : copper colored washed out MI logo constantly appears on the screen and reinstallation of sw did not help either . In india these repairmen usually cant explain the problem area if it is outside of "Try and test" scheme .
I spent 1000INR to get it repaired but I highly doubt that PMIC is replaced. Coz this repair guy did this replacement in just 6 work hours. probability of getting the right part at right time at his disposal is very slim. And I had seen his workstation once, where i di not see any SMT repair station either. Which means that he cannot replace BGA package IC at all. Anyway, I will receive the phone tonight. Lets hope it works fine and the other problem gets rectified by flashing.
Saurabh Srivastava, Noida , India

Haaaalp! Another victim of the OTA update screwing my phone after debloat...possible to recover some files via recovery or download mode?

Hello all...hoping to get some assistance with this thing. Long story short, debloated it due to horrid battery life and high heat. Everything was great until about a week ago when my settings app go renamed somehow. Tried fixing it but couldn't find the com.android.settings file with the correct signature for my phone (AT&T, US Model, unlocked, not rooted).
It's been working fine except no settings...so I backed up the usual stuff and had plans to do a factory reset this weekend. A few hours ago I picked it up and it went all wonky on me. Upon boot, it comes up to the lock screen and then the screen just starts turning on/off. I'm unable to bring up the passcode screen...but, am able to bring up the power menu by holding the power button. But, can't power down or get into safe mode that way. After about 5 seconds of doing this, it reboots. Rinse and repeat. Safe mode via buttons starts, but, does the same thing.
I am able to get into both recovery mode and download mode though. I can view logs/etc.
Normally, I'd just ***** and moan, then do the factory reset, However, I made one huge oversight when I backed up my data earlier this week and forgot to backup my notes. There's about a dozen of them, pages and pages long with all the medical details regarding my sons illness that I've been tracking for years. It's a nightmare dealing with different Dr's all the time so I've logged it all on the phone. Unfortunately, the best app I've found for it doesn't do cloud storage and keeps them saved as local txt files on the device.
Is there any hope I can somehow pull the files using recovery/download mode or utilize the logs to determine the errors and fix it enough to be able to get them? I'm fairly tech savvy and have ADB installed. I'm super ADD though and my head is just spinning trying to sort through all the possible posts regarding trying to do this...many being for older phones.
Absolute worst case, is there a legitimate service that would be able to do it?
Any help recovering my son's medical notes would be really really appreciated.
RiBBiTeDD said:
Hello all...hoping to get some assistance with this thing. Long story short, debloated it due to horrid battery life and high heat. Everything was great until about a week ago when my settings app go renamed somehow. Tried fixing it but couldn't find the com.android.settings file with the correct signature for my phone (AT&T, US Model, unlocked, not rooted).
It's been working fine except no settings...so I backed up the usual stuff and had plans to do a factory reset this weekend. A few hours ago I picked it up and it went all wonky on me. Upon boot, it comes up to the lock screen and then the screen just starts turning on/off. I'm unable to bring up the passcode screen...but, am able to bring up the power menu by holding the power button. But, can't power down or get into safe mode that way. After about 5 seconds of doing this, it reboots. Rinse and repeat. Safe mode via buttons starts, but, does the same thing.
I am able to get into both recovery mode and download mode though. I can view logs/etc.
Normally, I'd just ***** and moan, then do the factory reset, However, I made one huge oversight when I backed up my data earlier this week and forgot to backup my notes. There's about a dozen of them, pages and pages long with all the medical details regarding my sons illness that I've been tracking for years. It's a nightmare dealing with different Dr's all the time so I've logged it all on the phone. Unfortunately, the best app I've found for it doesn't do cloud storage and keeps them saved as local txt files on the device.
Is there any hope I can somehow pull the files using recovery/download mode or utilize the logs to determine the errors and fix it enough to be able to get them? I'm fairly tech savvy and have ADB installed. I'm super ADD though and my head is just spinning trying to sort through all the possible posts regarding trying to do this...many being for older phones.
Absolute worst case, is there a legitimate service that would be able to do it?
Any help recovering my son's medical notes would be really really appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, i'm so sorry to hear that :/
Sience you have access to recovery, did you try to wipe only cache partition and hit repair apps(also in recovery)?
I'm also using debloated device and i dont have any problems with it
nocio said:
Man, i'm so sorry to hear that :/
Sience you have access to recovery, did you try to wipe only cache partition and hit repair apps(also in recovery)?
I'm also using debloated device and i dont have any problems with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...that's the first thing I tried after safe mode failed. :\
There's quite a few folks reporting similar issues since the last OTA update a couple weeks ago.
Usually I delay until I get a chance to restore then allow it...this one didn't even give me a chance. I was using my phone when it popped up. No option to remind me later. When I tried to exit it counted down from 10, rebooted and installed.
RiBBiTeDD said:
Yeah...that's the first thing I tried after safe mode failed. :\
There's quite a few folks reporting similar issues since the last OTA update a couple weeks ago.
Usually I delay until I get a chance to restore then allow it...this one didn't even give me a chance. I was using my phone when it popped up. No option to remind me later. When I tried to exit it counted down from 10, rebooted and installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one idea, it may seem unusual but it may work.
Try to remove sim card and than boot device
nocio said:
I have one idea, it may seem unusual but it may work.
Try to remove sim card and than boot device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the idea. But, yeah, tried that to already...cleared cache and repaired apps afterwards too. Tried it with cable, tried a 2.0 cable too.
No dice.
The app repair works just fine and then it does the same thing when lock screen tries to appear.
RiBBiTeDD said:
Thanks for the idea. But, yeah, tried that to already...cleared cache and repaired apps afterwards too. Tried it with cable, tried a 2.0 cable too.
No dice.
The app repair works just fine and then it does the same thing when lock screen tries to appear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing that came to my mind is to download latest firmware for your device than flash it via odin
EDIT: but be carefull with that. Odin have box to untick factory reset but i didnt do that a loooooooooong time so i dont know if something is changed
nocio said:
Only thing that came to my mind is to download latest firmware for your device than flash it via odin
EDIT: but be carefull with that. Odin have box to untick factory reset but i didnt do that a loooooooooong time so i dont know if something is changed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I figured that'd be my last shot at it... I've read the horror stories of tripping Knox even with factory firmware.
Was just really hoping there was some way to yank the stuff using recovery or download modes.
RiBBiTeDD said:
Yeah, I figured that'd be my last shot at it... I've read the horror stories of tripping Knox even with factory firmware.
Was just really hoping there was some way to yank the stuff using recovery or download modes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that you can't trip Knox only when you flash official firmware over unlocked bootloader and custom ROM, but I'm not so sure.
Last time I did that is when I had Samsung Galaxy S2 and flashing official firmware over official firmware and that didn't trip the Knox counter
Does flashing genuine firmware trip knox?
Hi It's been a while since I bothered flashing firmware so I am not upto date with how things work now. My questions are I am currently on 02s version of firmware and would like to go samsungs version so I can take part in things like the one...
forum.xda-developers.com
Here you can see that flashing official firmware over official firmware(i'm guessing that you are not rooted) won't trip knox counter
nocio said:
Does flashing genuine firmware trip knox?
Hi It's been a while since I bothered flashing firmware so I am not upto date with how things work now. My questions are I am currently on 02s version of firmware and would like to go samsungs version so I can take part in things like the one...
forum.xda-developers.com
Here you can see that flashing official firmware over official firmware(i'm guessing that you are not rooted) won't trip knox counter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thank you!
I was able to get the files...for others in the same boat, here's a link to what worked for me:
Help finding correct firmware and installing for AT&T SM-G991U.
Hello all...I'm a fellow victim of the OTA updates screwing us debloaters currently stuck in a boot-loop. I'm trying to recover my the past several years text notes containing all the medical details for my son's illness. Details on that can be...
forum.xda-developers.com

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