I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.
Michael.fri said:
I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st off, it's "taboo" not tabu. Secondly there is already a pretty good amount of threads that have covered this in detail, I'm certain because I have posted in them. Lastly, please SEARCH the existing threads before creating a new one; the answers to all your questions are already there.
1. Thanks, Changed to "Taboo".
2. I searched, I really did. I went all over google with many key words and covered up this forum as well. All I got is some articles about the jtag protocol, which is good for knowledge but too general for the application I need, and some threads in which people writing that their phone is bricked and asks what to do about it. Not a single post is about how to fix that independently, and what does it require. If you could give me link to these threads you say that covers up the subject, I'll delete this thread at once.
Michael.fri said:
1. Thanks, Changed to "Taboo".
2. I searched, I really did. I went all over google with many key words and covered up this forum as well. All I got is some articles about the jtag protocol, which is good for knowledge but too general for the application I need, and some threads in which people writing that their phone is bricked and asks what to do about it. Not a single post is about how to fix that independently, and what does it require. If you could give me link to these threads you say that covers up the subject, I'll delete this thread at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't pay attention to that guy he like to troll every where he goes. Try to google search for mobile tech or Adam Outler, and check if he get the Jtag service for our phone. If I'm not wrong the charge for the Vibrant was $50.00 plus shipping and handling. I hope you can fix your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Do you know what caused the brick?
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Searched, and yet no result. Sending the phone to the U.S is quite risky. I have no idea how they're intended to pack it before sending it back. I would rather doing this in Israel.
I saw on ebay several devices associated with Jtag. the price starts from 10$ for a simple usb dongle, through 30$ devices, which is the price of most of the jtag devices I found, to the 150$ riff box that is associated with phone unbricking.
By what I know Jtag is a simple serial protocol. I just need sort of "bridge" to translate the logic 1's and 0's with the right voltage level and certain clock speed to a usb interface or even RS232. How expensive can that be?
I also contacted several ebay sellers which offer a jtag repair service. they all answered this model is not supported.
I would go to Samsung labs in Israel and see what they can do to get it working.
I just thought to invest 20$, get that sort of device and to get it done by my own.
Another issue is the pinout. The pinoput of the Jtag connection is not shown in any website, so I have no way of knowing how to connect on this specific PCB.
Last thing I need is that new bootloader I can flash, and a software to flash it through. Where can I download it?
About the reason for bricking the phone, I have no Idea. As I said, last time I've installed new rom was more than a week prior to the incident. I've used some overclocking app mostly to underclock my phone, cause it drained the battery like hell before, even while it was running on stock and after changing the rom several times.
I also used some usb otg device which worked normally, but was not plugged to the device even few hours before it was bricked.
Hopefully we can figure out the cause of these permabricks so we can prevent it from happening to more people.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
I gotta say, this is quite alarming. That the phone can just hard brick itself like this spontaneously.
I've had some scary experiences with the phone myself. Like a couple of random reboots that required the long power press for the phone to power back on. At least it always came back on.
I'm also from Israel myself so a similar scenario can bring me to the same situation as you.
Good luck with getting any kind of solution.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
parusia said:
don't pay attention to that guy he like to troll every where he goes. Try to google search for mobile tech or Adam Outler, and check if he get the Jtag service for our phone. If I'm not wrong the charge for the Vibrant was $50.00 plus shipping and handling. I hope you can fix your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Troll for advising to follow the posted rules of membership ? WOW
I just contacted Adam and still no jtag for this device .
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
did you look for a service manual?
- the manual may cover schematics for jtag device.
Been flashing phones since the Razr and never bricked a phone I couldn't repair myself. That is until I tried to flash my GSII back to stock through odin. Sent it to Samsung and they had to replace motherboard. Now I'm a little nervous about using odin.
reocej said:
Been flashing phones since the Razr and never bricked a phone I couldn't repair myself. That is until I tried to flash my GSII back to stock through odin. Sent it to Samsung and they had to replace motherboard. Now I'm a little nervous about using odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend splurging on the $2-3 for a jig, I have had moments where I thought I was SOL & the jig saved my arse.
Michael.fri said:
Last thing I need is that new bootloader I can flash, and a software to flash it through. Where can I download it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you solve your problem?
I was looking at using QPST
QPST is a program often frowned upon here at xda. It is commonly used to flash phones, and has little to do with android coding. The software is made for Qualcomm (or by them) and this device has a chip from them in it. This has tools for building and installing bootloaders and partition tables. Our device after a hard brick (and still serviceable by JTAGing) has a com port open still and if you load the driver in windows you will see a port number as others here on XDA have said. The driver allows ODIN to see the device but not connect. QPST does connect, but I have not attempted to flash anything to it since I have not built any files to load. I'm kind of stuck creating the needed xml that makes the partition table and headers and file that are to be loaded to partitions. This is really a softbrick, in my opion, but nobody has the knowledge for this level of building and coding, with this tool, here at XDA. If somebody does, it may make those selling JTAG services mad, but that would mean we could fix our phones on our own. On my own, I'm a few weeks away from this solution, with some help from people here that know how to write xml for partition tables and can help me locate files for a build, I can generate the files, test them, make a write up and post the solution in just a few days.
By the way, this is a multi-device solution in the long run. We get one fixed and we can start on the others with this same issue, where the only life left in the device is the Qualcomm download mode driver showing in windows device manager.
Michael.fri said:
I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mobile Tech offers the JTag service. There is even a discount for XDA members. They offer the service for all variants of the S2
Here you go!
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-jtag-brick-repair/
daxxone said:
QPST is a program often frowned upon here at xda. It is commonly used to flash phones, and has little to do with android coding. The software is made for Qualcomm (or by them) and this device has a chip from them in it.*snip* On my own, I'm a few weeks away from this solution, with some help from people here that know how to write xml for partition tables and can help me locate files for a build, I can generate the files, test them, make a write up and post the solution in just a few days..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any word on a fix using QPST?
Related
This is a question for those in the know when it comes to programming.Why isn't there a way to revive a bricked phone? Can't there be some method for a host computer to manually write the radio to the device? How does HTC fix a bricked phone for it to be a refurb?
I'm just very curious about this because I see a few people attempt to update the radio only to lose power and brick their EVO. I have no programming experience so don't know what goes on at the internal component level. Thanks in advance for your input.
It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!
That helped me, thanks.
Soylent Grin said:
It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. That is interesting. So how does HTC initially put the bootstrap in and/or how do they handle a bricked phone?
Soylent Grin said:
It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks good explanation appreciate that.
rafroehlich2 said:
Thanks for the info. That is interesting. So how does HTC initially put the bootstrap in and/or how do they handle a bricked phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is probably a JTAG interface somewhere in there. In fact,that's how the original hack of the IPhone was done. (Better ways were since found) Most devices have a quasi standard interface for programming the flash and accessing and the hardware for diagnostics. For instance,linksys routers actually have a spot on the board to solder a header and you can make a cable that connects to the parralel port. Do a google search for "Hairy Dairy Maid Debrick" and you will find it. A similar thing is probobally possible with the Evo (Ive even seen them on Hard Drives and CD Rom drives) The problem is,its not entirely standardized,and it might not even be a connector or pads on the board. It might instead be a matter of knowing where you can connect the leads on the board to something that under the right circumstances BECOMES the JTAG connector. (For instance,a pin that controls something else might be a JTAG interface for the first few hundred milliseconds of start-up,or if a certain other pin of the chip is grounded when the power is applied. It might also be completely internal to the chip,and there be NO connectors on the board (it almost CERTAINLY has the capability,they need it during prototyping) and the chips might be programmed BEFORE they are soldered in. It might take replacing the rom chip to get it to go. There are lots of ifs
Chances are though,the factory has a special cable and a special software program that can reprogram the device. To replicate that might be relatively easy or could be next to impossible but requires a certain degree of knowledge about the hardware. What I suspect is,until someone who has the skills to make such a cable bricks their phone,they wont bother figuring out how to debrick one. In fact,when that person bricks their phone,they will probably take it back to sprint and say "I dont know what happens" In fact,even if its stuck looping in an obviously hacked boot loader he for some odd reason cant undo,hes probably going to send it back to sprint. I know someone who did exactly that to their brand new HP laptop. He found that 15kv from the flyback of an old B&W television applied to the memory slots took care of the looping and Best Buy gave him another one. As he put it "I dont know what happened,but it smells bad and wont boot up"
pflatlyne said:
There is probably a JTAG interface somewhere in there. In fact,that's how the original hack of the IPhone was done. (Better ways were since found) Most devices have a quasi standard interface for programming the flash and accessing and the hardware for diagnostics. For instance,linksys routers actually have a spot on the board to solder a header and you can make a cable that connects to the parralel port. Do a google search for "Hairy Dairy Maid Debrick" and you will find it. A similar thing is probobally possible with the Evo (Ive even seen them on Hard Drives and CD Rom drives) The problem is,its not entirely standardized,and it might not even be a connector or pads on the board. It might instead be a matter of knowing where you can connect the leads on the board to something that under the right circumstances BECOMES the JTAG connector. (For instance,a pin that controls something else might be a JTAG interface for the first few hundred milliseconds of start-up,or if a certain other pin of the chip is grounded when the power is applied. It might also be completely internal to the chip,and there be NO connectors on the board (it almost CERTAINLY has the capability,they need it during prototyping) and the chips might be programmed BEFORE they are soldered in. It might take replacing the rom chip to get it to go. There are lots of ifs
Chances are though,the factory has a special cable and a special software program that can reprogram the device. To replicate that might be relatively easy or could be next to impossible but requires a certain degree of knowledge about the hardware. What I suspect is,until someone who has the skills to make such a cable bricks their phone,they wont bother figuring out how to debrick one. In fact,when that person bricks their phone,they will probably take it back to sprint and say "I dont know what happens" In fact,even if its stuck looping in an obviously hacked boot loader he for some odd reason cant undo,hes probably going to send it back to sprint. I know someone who did exactly that to their brand new HP laptop. He found that 15kv from the flyback of an old B&W television applied to the memory slots took care of the looping and Best Buy gave him another one. As he put it "I dont know what happened,but it smells bad and wont boot up"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks for the detailed answer. Too bad this isn't a standardized item. I hope eventually things progress enough where this isn't even a thought. Thanks again for the good response.
Sent from my PC36100
rafroehlich2 said:
Wow. Thanks for the detailed answer. Too bad this isn't a standardized item. I hope eventually things progress enough where this isn't even a thought. Thanks again for the good response.
Sent from my PC36100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea,it would be nice if it were. Its kinda sorta quasi standard,so it HAS been done in some cases where its necessary,but often there are easier ways around it. Personally, I have allways thought that its a pretty stupid thing to make a piece of equipment that can fail due to a bad flash. The people who designed many of the flash memory chips seemed to agree,and they added something called a "boot block" to many,but the way its implemented,when its implemented doesn't fully protect you from a bad flash. Its even worse now that everything is in ball grid array chips soldered down to the board.
Dear developers,
I recently found my old i9000. It had a bad accident some time ago, and its screen is completely busted. There appears to be damage to the motherboard as well, which was why the repair centre considered it a total loss. It still boots, though, and woke me up some time ago with a preset alarm, so I expect the internal damage is actually minimal. I suspect I can still use the the phone for something, maybe a server.
Thus, I would like a ROM that by default has some method of input/output apart from the touch screen (perhaps VNC, and I believe there are settings to allow you to connect the phone to a TV using the sound plug, that + USB mouse would also be cool, or if you can come up with another solution, just as long as it works, it's good). I would also like to be notified of some way to preload wifi settings into the ROM itself (mostly in case an Internetttechnology like VNC is used).
I assume I can use Odin to actually flash the ROM (thus allowing me not to use screen input for this process). It doesn't matter what method is used to circumvent touch screen input/output, as long as it works.
If someone could make such a ROM, I would be very thankful.
this is not the right place to post this.
Also, if it was as easy as your saying, we wouldn't need developers. What you can do is sell it for whatever price it gets and buy a raspberry motherboard. Which is exactly what you're asking for plus an HDMI port.
http://www.alliedelec.com/lp/120626raso/
I had hoped it would be easy for someone who was more familiar with custom ROMs. I have no idea what goes into it.
I do have 2 Pis, BTW, I just like reusing things +my i9000 would be better suited for a purpose I had in mind, due to being flatter and already having wifi. I guess I hoped for too much, then.
Please post this in the general forum not in developers forum
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
First, before anyone says this is sds/brickbug, it seems to be different. My phone keeps turning off between 2 and 10 seconds after turning on in any mode, normal boot, recovery, or download mode. My first thought was a stuck power button like my friend's S2 had (I fixed his) but after taking it apart and testing the internal switch with a multimeter, the switch doesn't seem to be stuck in the closed position as I see a changing resistance value when the button is pressed. It's also not the battery as I have used external chargers and a battery from a friend's phone. Same issue. I looked into the SDS thread and those all seem to be the phone won't boot at all or can make it into download mode but can't flash, but not constant rebooting like this. I've completely taken the phone apart (up to removing the mainboard) several times and can find nothing wrong with it. I'm inclined to think some sort of hardware issue but haven't found an answer for what. What seems the most telling is that, when it reboots during the boot animation (at a different spot each time) it hangs for a second before turning off, making me think it's some sort of serious hang. I also wonder if it could be the power regulation chip.
Bottom line, I've done some serious research but haven't found anything. I'd be willing to send it to a repair shop like the commonly listed mobiletechvideos.com but I'm not sure a Jtag would fix it if it really is a hardware problem. Any ideas or experience with the issue?
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
Ah, thanks. I tend to think of the Q&A, HELP AND TROUBLESHOOTING (emphasis added) forum as just the Q&A and forget the last part.
This model has never had an isdue with Sudden Death. I think that's the international models only. If that's what you have, you may want to post this in that forum as they may hsve seen this before.
If I had to guess though, I'd say its more likely a hardware problem. If it were software it would probably hang at the same place every time.
I could be wrong though...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Ah, no, it's a T-mobile. I did notice that sds was in the international forum and was going to check if it applies to the US but forgot. Yeah, I'm leaning towards hardware too. It'd be nice if I could find someone else who has had the same problem and has a diagnosis. The device is out of warranty (It somehow shows water damage though it's never been submerged. Dumb Florida weather...) so I want to evaluate other repair options before considering Samsung. I buy my phones second hand so spending more than $100 fixing it quickly becomes debatably useful. If it's hardware, obviously a JTAG won't fix it. I don't have anything super important on there but do have some game progress I haven't backed up since I started so I'd like to avoid a wipe, which is probably a pipe dream at this point.
Yeah, you could try a factory reset, if you can get into recovery long enough. If it comes to it though you could always sell it for parts. Or buy an s3 with a broken screen and swap parts.
Unless you hear from someone else though, I'm afraid your only way of knowing is to attempt a jtag repair. If it doesn't work, its probably hardware.
Good luck however it goes!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Yeah, recovery usually doesn't even show and only occasionally just gets to the TWRP splash screen so I can't do anything there. Just checked Ebay and was shocked how cheap broken screen S3's are. I have hope! If I just need the mainboard, does the carrier matter? I know roms are interchangeable but I'm not sure where the antennas are tuned for Tmobile's AWS. I imagine it's in the Qualcomm Radio on the mainboard which would require a Tmobile device. Any idea?
JesusFreak316 said:
Yeah, recovery usually doesn't even show and only occasionally just gets to the TWRP splash screen so I can't do anything there. Just checked Ebay and was shocked how cheap broken screen S3's are. I have hope! If I just need the mainboard, does the carrier matter? I know roms are interchangeable but I'm not sure where the antennas are tuned for Tmobile's AWS. I imagine it's in the Qualcomm Radio on the mainboard which would require a Tmobile device. Any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say positively, but I'm pretty sure that's correct. AT&Ts I747 will work on T-Mobile networks, but you will never get the performance from it that you would with a T999. If you could find a T999L that would be even better still!
I know the cell radio is built into the SoC (wifi and BT are on a broadcom chip), so the more I think about it the more positive I am that you'd need to try to stick with the T-Mobile device.
Sprint and Verizon devices won't work though, just so you know. Those are CDMA. Yours will need to be GSM. An easy clue to this is if it has a sim card. I'm telling you this becsuse there are still other models out there, and some may or may not work. Just in case you can't find a T999 or T999L.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
The definition of "Hard Brick" is a phone that cannot be booted into any mode (including download, recovery). Worse case is a phone that does not respond to the buttons at all (power, menu, home, back, and volume). I have searched through all XDA forums and keyworded the net for hours, convinced that there had to be a free or cheep way to unbrick my hard bricked I747. I found leaked instructions that outlined how to bridge a specific (very small) transistor (named R313) inside the phone in order to trigger "SD Card Mode." The SD card was prepared to reinstall boot img and stalk ROM prior to triggering SD Card Mode. However, after opening my phone I found that the phone used to illustrate and show where the R313 transistor was located was designed totally different than my model. There was no way to know where the R313 was. Evidently, the S3 design can differ depending on carrier or maybe time purchased.
So, if it is unlikely for most of us that we will be able to find and bridge the R313 transistor, then there are only two other solutions that I was able to find. TJig, which is about $60, or send phone to Samsung for warranty service (if still under warranty). My phone is still under warranty and I just sent my phone in to Samsung. The question remains, "will Samsung be able to see if a hard bricked phone is customized or has a flash count?" or do they even look. If phone hard bricked, one can boot the phone into download mode with the right equipment. Download mode reveals the flash count. If Samsung checks flash count, then I assume TJig may be my only option. Or maybe Samsung will offer to unbrick my "out of warranty" phone for less than the price of a TJig. Hard to say. I will post my results when I get them.
If you are out of warranty, you may try calling around to service providers. The S3 is still the most popular phone on the planet; there is a good chance that a serve provider somewhere has a TJig and would charge you $20 or so to fix your phone with it.
Please add to this post if you can contribute. Especially if you have gone the warranty route and can report what happened.
I hard bricked my S3 by flashing LK3 bootloader, and I sent my phone to following ebay JTAG service, he is really helpful.
http://www.ebay.com/usr/patrickwalls
If anyone there hard bricked his phone like me and do not feel comfortable with SD card method, I would recommend him.
floykoe said:
The definition of "Hard Brick" is a phone that cannot be booted into any mode (including download, recovery). Worse case is a phone that does not respond to the buttons at all (power, menu, home, back, and volume). I have searched through all XDA forums and keyworded the net for hours, convinced that there had to be a free or cheep way to unbrick my hard bricked I747. I found leaked instructions that outlined how to bridge a specific (very small) transistor (named R313) inside the phone in order to trigger "SD Card Mode." The SD card was prepared to reinstall boot img and stalk ROM prior to triggering SD Card Mode. However, after opening my phone I found that the phone used to illustrate and show where the R313 transistor was located was designed totally different than my model. There was no way to know where the R313 was. Evidently, the S3 design can differ depending on carrier or maybe time purchased.
So, if it is unlikely for most of us that we will be able to find and bridge the R313 transistor, then there are only two other solutions that I was able to find. TJig, which is about $60, or send phone to Samsung for warranty service (if still under warranty). My phone is still under warranty and I just sent my phone in to Samsung. The question remains, "will Samsung be able to see if a hard bricked phone is customized or has a flash count?" or do they even look. If phone hard bricked, one can boot the phone into download mode with the right equipment. Download mode reveals the flash count. If Samsung checks flash count, then I assume TJig may be my only option. Or maybe Samsung will offer to unbrick my "out of warranty" phone for less than the price of a TJig. Hard to say. I will post my results when I get them.
If you are out of warranty, you may try calling around to service providers. The S3 is still the most popular phone on the planet; there is a good chance that a serve provider somewhere has a TJig and would charge you $20 or so to fix your phone with it.
Please add to this post if you can contribute. Especially if you have gone the warranty route and can report what happened.
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OK, so I sent in my bricked S3 (out of warrantee due to multiple flashes) to Samsung's Warrantee Service Department in Texas. They replaced something and sent it to QC, who put there stamp of approval on it and sent it to shipping. It is now on it's way back to me via 2 day air UPS. So I guess know one noticed the flash count or modified status. It is being sent back to me a warrantee S3.
I can't wait to brake the warrantee again
Results may very, but if your phone is with-in the warrantee window it can't hirt to try warrantee repair. You may know that you broke the warrantee, but they might be to busy to notice. They do pay for shipping both ways. Service is fast. All I had to pay for was the packaging materials.
The EBAY service mentioned above also looks lioke a good deal, for those of you with no warrantee. Check it out.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda app-developers app
Uhhh......how many flashes before it's bricked? Just wondering, I've been getting carried away latley. Thanks
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
simpson173 said:
Uhhh......how many flashes before it's bricked? Just wondering, I've been getting carried away latley. Thanks
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
LOL, I am up over 200 flashes on my note II, but my daughter's S3 bricked when Iflashed an international kernal to an AT&T specific ROM. I guess that is a no no. There are certain things that will brick your phone; as long as you don't do those things, you can flash 5 times a day if you want. The important thing is to read all threads and ask questions before you flash. However, even the experienced and careful flashercan make a mistake. It is important to know what to do if this happens to you.
Lately my HTC One shut off while typing on it and it was dead.
Holding power for 10 seconds (and any of the combination with the volume buttons) did not help.
And when you connect it to the power does not even had the red led indicating that is charging.
If you connect it to a PC you get prompted to install the QHSUSB_DLOAD drivers.
So the phone is dead but not really completely dead.
Clearly that QHSUSB_DLOAD is a Qualcom hook that could be use to debug and probably re-flash the phone. The question is what is this tool and how do you use it?
I think there is some sort of standard way to recover across phone (maybe not all with a Qualcomm but I am sure that the protocol is the same among a few processors).
There are a few examples out there:
[UNBRICK] HTC Unbricking Project - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1627886
DLOADTool - https://github.com/posixninja/DLOADTool
http://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/ultimate-cure-to-the-qhsusb_dload-of-mi2-s.20567/
And a lot of info about HTC internal here: http://tjworld.net/wiki/Android/HTC/Vision
So I wonder if anybody here has some idea about the tools and how to use to resurrect HTC phones and in particular the HTC One (M7).
I think the same thing happened to my phone. Died at a random time, wouldn't start up or respond to anything. Verizon sent me a new phone and even took the phone back no questions asked. Mine was S-OFF and everything. (though I never mentioned that)
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
1) This is the wrong forum. This belongs in the question and answers forum. 2) Your problem is prevalent on google. 3) Your phone is bricked beyond repair, hope for a warranty replacement. We have no way to interface with the device at that stage AFAIK, no tools exist for it.
123421342 said:
1) This is the wrong forum. This belongs in the question and answers forum. 2) Your problem is prevalent on google. 3) Your phone is bricked beyond repair, hope for a warranty replacement. We have no way to interface with the device at that stage AFAIK, no tools exist for it.
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Click to collapse
A tool must exist. It is just not publicly available. That is how HTC fixes the phones. And, as I said, there are tools distributed on these forums for other phones that are able to operate in QHSUSB_DLOAD mode.
From what I can tell is that driver will only work for the MI2 and MI2s. It is utterly useless for the one. If you're willing to spend some cash you could get a USB otg and a Java card. It is the only way I have heard of being able to write to the device outside of android in the way you are wanting.
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
disconnecktie said:
From what I can tell is that driver will only work for the MI2 and MI2s. It is utterly useless for the one. If you're willing to spend some cash you could get a USB otg and a Java card. It is the only way I have heard of being able to write to the device outside of android in the way you are wanting.
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
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USB otg and a Java card ? How are you supposed to use it on a bricked phone?
Thread closed as duplicate/triplicate/quadruplicate of QHSUSB_DLOAD - What is the protocol?. Please continue the discussion there.