[Q] What can actually brick my Charge - Verizon Droid Charge

Does anyone know what will actually brick a Charge. I heard flashing the same radio twice would brick an incredible, or possibly any HTC phones, so I certainly knew to avoid it.
I kind of get the impression that Odin can take care of anything. Although I did read one thread about a perma-brick.
Is there a certain action that people are confident would perma-brick a charge.
Also, Heimdall doesn't seem to work on this thing, I dont know why I still see people in the Charge boards talking about it.

Selecting the Phone option as opposed to the PDA option in ODIN should do the trick..

Danwsim said:
Does anyone know what will actually brick a Charge. I heard flashing the same radio twice would brick an incredible, or possibly any HTC phones, so I certainly knew to avoid it.
I kind of get the impression that Odin can take care of anything. Although I did read one thread about a perma-brick.
Is there a certain action that people are confident would perma-brick a charge.
Also, Heimdall doesn't seem to work on this thing, I dont know why I still see people in the Charge boards talking about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
things I've seen brick samsung phones (former Fascinate and current Charge user here) Using anything other than the PDA and PIT buttons in Odin, flashing corrupt files in Odin, Odin/CWM flashing numerous different roms one after another without wiping data/cache, sometimes going from voodoo to non-voodoo roms and not disabling lagfix can have bad consequences...
other than that tbh I haven't seen much brick a Charge, lots of soft bricks though (had a few myself)

Danwsim said:
Does anyone know what will actually brick a Charge. I heard flashing the same radio twice would brick an incredible, or possibly any HTC phones, so I certainly knew to avoid it.
I kind of get the impression that Odin can take care of anything. Although I did read one thread about a perma-brick.
Is there a certain action that people are confident would perma-brick a charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeaper, the above suggestions would probably do it. I have soft-bricked mine a few times, i.e., boot-loop, seriously looooong lag on start up, etc. nothing major. I pulled the battery, restarted and everything was fine. I am a noob to most rooting seeing as how the only other phone I rooted was my Droid Eris. But I am finding that my Charge is almost bulletproof!!!!!
Rooted Charge
Gummy Charged 1.9.2.3RC
kejar's voodoo lag fix enabled

Flashing firmware from another samsung phone should do the trick.
I've heard that if odin fails while writing the boot img you are permabricked

You aren't bricked until you can't get into download mode.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

Perma-Brick?
The above mentioned items will actually perma-brick a phone, like send back to the company, calling insurance, buying a new phone perma-brick?
I've been reading through the forums and found a number of instances of severely F'ed up devices, but I have not found someone with a Samsung and access to Odin who was unable to get the phone fixed.
The HTC forums have numerous people who seem to brick phones.
I am a former incredible owner. The incredible was nice, but the battery was terrible.

d-loko said:
Selecting the Phone option as opposed to the PDA option in ODIN should do the trick..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard of people that have recovered from that. You just need to reflash the package in the PDA spot and it should fix it. But then again, why tempt fate?
hoppermi said:
Flashing firmware from another samsung phone should do the trick.
I've heard that if odin fails while writing the boot img you are permabricked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if it includes boot.bin and sbl.bin, and even then, you may still be able to recover. Some people recovered their fascinates after flashing full at&t firmware to them, they just had to use the download mode jig to be able to get into download mode to fix the issue.
Really, the only way to perma-brick is to corrupt the flash chip, or flash corrupt boot.bin/sbl.bin files. Anything else you should be able to recover from. Flashing incorrect boot.bin/sbl.bin files may be able to be recovered, but it will be more difficult to do.

Danwsim said:
Does anyone know what will actually brick a Charge. I heard flashing the same radio twice would brick an incredible, or possibly any HTC phones, so I certainly knew to avoid it.
I kind of get the impression that Odin can take care of anything. Although I did read one thread about a perma-brick.
Is there a certain action that people are confident would perma-brick a charge.
Also, Heimdall doesn't seem to work on this thing, I dont know why I still see people in the Charge boards talking about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Pandora radio bricked mine, It was working fine til i used it. I believe it may have been disconnected from the headphone jack while it was playing or something.

Flashing with the battery pulled out is a baaaad idea. It isn't perma-bricked at that point, but it is very close. The only thing that I was able to recover with after lots of attempts was the SamsungPST Flash utility and the Stock EE4 that goes with it AND the .pit file to repartition the device.

Related

[HELP] What do I do now? Captivate dead.

Yessss another dead captivate thread.
I think I'm gonna go die now.
I followed the video guide to install a custom ROM, in the development thread to the letter, and now my phone wont even turn on... (now that im thinking about it, I think I may have left the debugging mode OFF before I went to flash back to stock, maybe thats why?)
I got into download mode, plugged the phone into odin3 JF6 one click, it started and at some point during the process it said "removed" even though I didnt touch anything, and then i got a weird msg saying my device is not recognized, keep in mind the drivers were installed properly, and I had everything double checked before i flashed....
wtf do I do now? Cant boot at all or go back into download mode. this is my third galaxy, got it two days ago ffs.
My only 2 suggestions. Go to the Dev section and in the guides there is a method to make a USB Jig without solder or anything. You're out like $1 if it doesn't work.
Also, what rev is your phone? There's been some threads started saying the newer Rev phones, maybe 1010 and up crap out using normal One-click. Do check your rev level under the battery and do a search of the forums. I know I have seen the threads.
good luck.
1 reboot pc
2 use different usb ports (direct to motherboard)
3 open odin first as administrator
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
bobbylx said:
My only 2 suggestions. Go to the Dev section and in the guides there is a method to make a USB Jig without solder or anything. You're out like $1 if it doesn't work.
Also, what rev is your phone? There's been some threads started saying the newer Rev phones, maybe 1010 and up crap out using normal One-click. Do check your rev level under the battery and do a search of the forums. I know I have seen the threads.
good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if I was looking at the right place, but I think its 10.12. I'll do a search and see what comes up, thanks for your help.
JayPhill89 said:
1 reboot pc
2 use different usb ports (direct to motherboard)
3 open odin first as administrator
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try that, thanks.
Open Odin first then,
1. Remove your battery for 30 seconds, remove external SD card and SIM card
2. Reinsert battery.
3. Hold down both volume buttons and while holding them down plug the phone in.
It should get into download mode then. I bricked my phone and it wouldn't boot up at all and this worked for me.
On a side note, I have not had much luck flashing or doing much of anything on Windows 7 64 bit. I would suggest trying it on an XP machine if you have access to one.
G.Hook said:
Open Odin first then,
1. Remove your battery for 30 seconds, remove external SD card and SIM card
2. Reinsert battery.
3. Hold down both volume buttons and while holding them down plug the phone in.
It should get into download mode then. I bricked my phone and it wouldn't boot up at all and this worked for me.
On a side note, I have not had much luck flashing or doing much of anything on Windows 7 64 bit. I would suggest trying it on an XP machine if you have access to one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried every possible key combination out there and nothing works. I think my best bet is a Jig, unfortunately the source didnt have any transistors in stock so im SOL for now.
Use JIG ... It will be your last help.
Use it as a paper weight.
If you look up samsung captivate jig on ebay you will find some pre built. I bought one not long ago just to have and it works just fine.
I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Sounds like you are a victim of the one size odin fits all debacle. You will indeed need a jig to recover and then you must use odin to flash jh2 or later firmware to your phone. Unfortunately, most guides still direct people to flash jf6 even though your situation comes up on a regular basis.
Check out this link for a jig. And there is a video to show you how to build one. Or mobiletechvideo guy sells them for 17 bucks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=889128&highlight=usb+jig
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
newter55 said:
Sounds like you are a victim of the one size odin fits all debacle. You will indeed need a jig to recover and then you must use odin to flash jh2 or later firmware to your phone. Unfortunately, most guides still direct people to flash jf6 even though your situation comes up on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to me like there's consistent irregularities with the entire process, its not uniform at all, which is very frustrating, every one faces different problems, and the solution is never the same.
Anyways, I went out and bought 3 resistors, turns out they were the wrong ones, I found out the colors werent the same of what I needed, but then that just goes to show you how difficult it is, its partly my fault i got the wrong ones, but someone like me who doesnt know much about hardware hacking, walks into an electronic store, faced with several options, is some times lost.
Oh well, I could've fixed it, had I got the right resistors, but then again, who was going to guarantee I wasn't going to kill it again, for the exact same reason I mentioned in the first post, because I need to consider a few things here, first and foremost, that I have a rogers branded device, and these are the ATT forums.
I called rogers and a replacement has been placed, I should be getting it by friday, or tomorrow if im lucky, with whatever comfort that brings, I still have several concerns, and now that I've basically rendered 3 devices to "almost" none-working condition (this one being an exception because I can "possibly" fix it) I'm not even sure how far I want to go.
rsnt said:
It seems to me like there's consistent irregularities with the entire process, its not uniform at all, which is very frustrating, every one faces different problems, and the solution is never the same.
Anyways, I went out and bought 3 resistors, turns out they were the wrong ones, I found out the colors werent the same of what I needed, but then that just goes to show you how difficult it is, its partly my fault i got the wrong ones, but someone like me who doesnt know much about hardware hacking, walks into an electronic store, faced with several options, is some times lost.
Oh well, I could've fixed it, had I got the right resistors, but then again, who was going to guarantee I wasn't going to kill it again, for the exact same reason I mentioned in the first post, because I need to consider a few things here, first and foremost, that I have a rogers branded device, and these are the ATT forums.
I called rogers and a replacement has been placed, I should be getting it by friday, or tomorrow if im lucky, with whatever comfort that brings, I still have several concerns, and now that I've basically rendered 3 devices to "almost" none-working condition (this one being an exception because I can "possibly" fix it) I'm not even sure how far I want to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My first captivate went fubar within my 30 days and I damaged the nv_data.bin on my second captivate and was stuck with the test IMEI. Samsung fixed my second one for free. Now I'm at the point where I'm totally sure about what precautions I need to take to keep me out of trouble but I'm not sure if I want to risk it again, heh.
The cheap jig does work. It helped me when I accidentally unplugged my phone during an odin flash.
Yes, you make a good point. You will find that most of the guides are written by people like myself who have an early revision or a phone from the initial release. For most of us, from what I've read and experienced, our phones are really hard to brick, ie, button recovery always works, odin one-click works, etc.
I honestly don't know all the differences now between revs. The first hiccup was the phones missing button recovery/download, and now it seems that people are having issues using the Odin One-click that we have been using for months.
I would recommend with your next phone check the rev or manufacture date, then search the forums for people with similar or same revs that have been successful at flashing and find out what they did.
good luck
@bobby
I wasnt trying to diminish the help that the guides provide. The work that went into creating them is certainly appreciated. The problem arises when so many people just tell newcomers to flash with x version of odin without considering the changes that have occured in the newer builds.
Sent from my Liquid Metal using XDA App
newter55 said:
@bobby
I wasnt trying to diminish the help that the guides provide. The work that went into creating them is certainly appreciated. The problem arises when so many people just tell newcomers to flash with x version of odin without considering the changes that have occured in the newer builds.
Sent from my Liquid Metal using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you completely. I tend to take it for granted that button recovery works for me and that good old odin one-click does too. It seems we need to start collecting data and making new guides.
Something like,
If you have rev, 1006, 1007,1008 go here,
If you have rev 1009 to 1012 go here,
etc.
latest update,
Two cables, and six resistors later, my phone won't go into download mode, lol, I'm not even sure I did things right, I'm gonna try stripping the same cable, used in one of those videos on how to make a jig, I still have three extra resistors.
I'm starting to think its because of it being with rogers. im gonna search the forums.
A micro usb breakout board is the simplest method for constructing a jig.
Wow, I guess I'm lucky that the used Captivate I picked up for my gf is an older one at 1007. Root procedure for her went without a hitch.
From stock rom, all set up and in daily use, WITHOUT ROOTING first.
Put clockwork update.zip on her sdcard.
Reboot into recovery.
Reinstall packages twice to get into clockwork recovery.
Wipe data/factory reset.
Flash Cognition.
Profit.
She's been using it this way for two weeks and loves it so much more than stock.
What was so complicated about the procedure you followed? Or was it the same as this but it just didn't work?
rsnt said:
...and now that I've basically rendered 3 devices to "almost" none-working condition (this one being an exception because I can "possibly" fix it) I'm not even sure how far I want to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you may have a good point. Eventually your carrier will stop replacing bricks for you. If you still have the inclination to play with flashing, investing in a jig would definately be a wise investment and if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't flash anything without one. I made a jig for myself before I ever flashed anything but luckily I have never had to use it, probably because I took the time (about a month and a half of trolling around here reading.) to research what all was involved with what I was about to jump into. Just something to consider in case you want to try again. Good luck!

*Help* Upgrade to Gingerbread.

I look at some forums on how to do it and I'm pretty positive I can do it. But what exactly are the risks?
Is there a chance of brick?
Will I lose data?
Is it even a necessary upgrade?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Yes, there is a chance for a brick but that is rather minimal. It's the same risk that you take each time you use ODIN one click to return to stock.
Before you flash be sure to do a backup using TiBu for your apps and I use "export to external SD card" for my contacts.
Necessary upgrade? That is all up to you to decide. I did it because I wanted something new.
McKillroy11 said:
I look at some forums on how to do it and I'm pretty positive I can do it. But what exactly are the risks?
Is there a chance of brick?
Will I lose data?
Is it even a necessary upgrade?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.Of coarse there is a chance of a brick. Anytime you flash your device there is a potential of something going wrong. Doesn't happen that often, but it does happen. Luckily, we have lots of ways of getting out of a jam.
2.You shouldn't lose any data if you back up properly. If you need to use a computer and manually drag your pictures and music or whatever to a safe spot, or like the user above me use TiBu and make a backup of your apps and data and stuff.
3.It is not a necessary upgrade, but it is indeed exactly that.. an "upgrade"
I'm not gonna talk up which gingerbread ROMs I like, but I will say i cannot go back to froyo. The smooth, lag-free experience i have had with gingerbread has been more than pleasant.
But as always read the OP and instructions...and of coarse re-read just to be sure.
Like Nike, just do it.
Coreym said:
1.Of coarse there is a chance of a brick. Anytime you flash your device there is a potential of something going wrong. Doesn't happen that often, but it does happen. Luckily, we have lots of ways of getting out of a jam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Is not true. You DON'T risk bricking EVERYTIME you flash ANYTHING. The only time you risk a brick (and I mean brick as in not a thing coming out of the phone, nothing not one little sign of life at all. Nothing. Anything other than that is NOT a brick) is when you are flashing bootloaders, but if you are not flashing bootloaders, which most of the time you aren't you can not brick the worst that can happen is a situation that is commonly (and stupidly) called a "soft brick" that's just when something is broken and it can't boot all the way to a functioning OS, but again that example isn't a brick at all because it's 99.9% of the time recoverable.
OP you are flashing bootloaders so in this case there is a small risk of a brick. But like was said it's the exact same risk as odin one click.
studacris said:
1. Is not true. You DON'T risk bricking EVERYTIME you flash ANYTHING. The only time you risk a brick (and I mean brick as in not a damn thing coming out of the phone, nothing not one little sign of life at all. Nothing. Anything other than that is NOT a brick) is when you are flashing bootloaders, but if you are not flashing bootloaders, which most of the time you aren't you can not brick the worst that can happen is a situation that is commonly (and stupidly) called a "soft brick" that's just when something is broken and it can't boot all the way to a functioning OS, but again that example isn't a brick at all because it's 99.9% of the time recoverable.
OP you are flashing bootloaders so in this case there is a small risk of a brick. But like was said it's the exact same risk as odin one click.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't mean to be so critical .. I more meant to say what I said in my second sentence about something COULD go wrong but thanks for explaining it better for the OP
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Even if you do brick it's nothing to freak out about. 9 times out of 10 just putting the phone into download mode and using Odin again does the trick. Even if you need to build/buy a jig, the chances that it's so bricked that you'd need to JTAG it or send it in are ridiculously small.
Superalpaca said:
Even if you do brick it's nothing to freak out about. 9 times out of 10 just putting the phone into download mode and using Odin again does the trick. Even if you need to build/buy a jig, the chances that it's so bricked that you'd need to JTAG it or send it in are ridiculously small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See it's this kind of stuff I'm talking about. This loose use of the term brick.
If you can recover it by any means other than jtag it's not a brick. There are no different degrees of bricking, if it's bricked it doesn't do a anything. Not a single solitary bit of computing, it just sits there doing nothing no matter what. Dead. A corpse.
It's either bricked or not. Just because the kernel/rom is broken and it doesn't boot properly does not mean it's bricked at all. If the bootloaders are intact and it tries to boot but fails at the kernel/rom level that is easily fixed. Throwing the term brick around in that situation, even when you add the retarded "soft brick" modifier, will just scare the poop out of a noob who just needs to remain calm and take the proper steps to have a working phone.
studacris said:
See it's this kind of stuff I'm talking about. This loose use of the term brick.
If you can recover it by any means other than jtag it's not a brick. There are no different degrees of bricking, if it's bricked it doesn't do a damn thing. Not a single solitary bit of computing, it just sits there doing nothing no matter what. Dead. A corpse.
It's either bricked or not. Just because the kernel/rom is broken and it doesn't boot properly does not mean it's bricked at all. If the bootloaders are intact and it tries to boot but fails at the kernel/rom level that is easily fixed. Throwing the term brick around in that situation, even when you add the retarded "soft brick" modifier, will just scare the **** out of a noob who just needs to remain calm and take the proper steps to have a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya and totally agree. But you do realize not that long ago, A LOT of people referred to the phone-!-computer screen as being "bricked". We know now that we are pretty far off from having an actual "bricked" phone in a lot of situations. But even the devs used to refer to that as a bricked device. Just gonna take some time for everyone to figure it out.
For me I went on YouTube and found joshs' video on how to flash continuum. It was very helpful and gave me the main idea of how the process is
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Coreym said:
I hear ya and totally agree. But you do realize not that long ago, A LOT of people referred to the phone-!-computer screen as being "bricked". We know now that we are pretty far off from having an actual "bricked" phone in a lot of situations. But even the devs used to refer to that as a bricked device. Just gonna take some time for everyone to figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why I'm trying to nip that in the bud from now on, or actually about a month ago when I coined the phrase, "soft bricked" is now called "clayed" because there is no such thing as a soft brick in the real world or the phone world, if a brick is soft it hasn't been baked yet in the kiln so it's still just clay, but it works in phone terms too if you have a brick you can't mold it or change anything about it, it's a brick. With clay it's still moldable and able to be worked with.
And the phone....!....pc seen just means a flash was incomplete. flashing anything successfully, even a modem, will get rid of that screen.
Granted if the kernel/rom is still incomplete it won't boot completely and be working, it'll just be "clayed" in a bootloop. So a complete odin rom is probably needed to have a working phone, but like I said flashing anything successfully will at least get rid of that screen.
dreezy1209 said:
For me I went on YouTube and found joshs' video on how to flash continuum. It was very helpful and gave me the main idea of how the process is
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got that URL for the YouTube video?
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McKillroy11 said:
You got that URL for the YouTube video?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOyx5JQ_8_I
in the video he uses talon kernel, i wouldnt suggest that because now most roms are not based on jvb which that talon is, so if yoou fallow the steps with that kernel and flash a jvh based rom it will bootloop, i suggest a kernel in this thread:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1042543
if its a jvh rom grab this one:I9000_reoriented_vG.1.2_novoo.tar
studacris said:
Which is why I'm trying to nip that in the bud from now on, or actually about a month ago when I coined the phrase, "soft bricked" is now called "clayed" because there is no such thing as a soft brick in the real world or the phone world, if a brick is soft it hasn't been baked yet in the kiln so it's still just clay, but it works in phone terms too if you have a brick you can't mold it or change anything about it, it's a brick. With clay it's still moldable and able to be worked with.
And the phone....!....pc seen just means a flash was incomplete. flashing anything successfully, even a modem, will get rid of that screen.
Granted if the kernel/rom is still incomplete it won't boot completely and be working, it'll just be "clayed" in a bootloop. So a complete odin rom is probably needed to have a working phone, but like I said flashing anything successfully will at least get rid of that screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"clayed"... I like it.. It makes a lot more sense than "soft-bricked" I myself will start to use that phrase thanks!
studacris said:
See it's this kind of stuff I'm talking about. This loose use of the term brick.
If you can recover it by any means other than jtag it's not a brick. There are no different degrees of bricking, if it's bricked it doesn't do a damn thing. Not a single solitary bit of computing, it just sits there doing nothing no matter what. Dead. A corpse.
It's either bricked or not. Just because the kernel/rom is broken and it doesn't boot properly does not mean it's bricked at all. If the bootloaders are intact and it tries to boot but fails at the kernel/rom level that is easily fixed. Throwing the term brick around in that situation, even when you add the retarded "soft brick" modifier, will just scare the **** out of a noob who just needs to remain calm and take the proper steps to have a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, but it's a term that everybody uses. Sort of like how a ton of metal music is called "hardcore", even when it's not hardcore. Etc. I guess I just assumed that when I gave different conditions for each degree of "brick"(or clay, whatever the terminology), a noob or otherwise inexperienced person could distinguish the difference rather than see "brick" and freak out.
I dunno, I've "bricked" my phone to the point of requiring a jig before, it's super easy and nothing to get freaked out about. If anything, it's a wonderful learning experience, which is something people should be expecting when they do this sort of stuff anyways. It isn't an iPhone.
I watched the video and I don't know how to downgrade to 2.1. Also will I need to re-root my phone after going to gingerbread or the downgrade?
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Superalpaca said:
I agree, but it's a term that everybody uses. Sort of like how a ton of metal music is called "hardcore", even when it's not hardcore. Etc. I guess I just assumed that when I gave different conditions for each degree of "brick"(or clay, whatever the terminology), a noob or otherwise inexperienced person could distinguish the difference rather than see "brick" and freak out.
I dunno, I've "bricked" my phone to the point of requiring a jig before, it's super easy and nothing to get freaked out about. If anything, it's a wonderful learning experience, which is something people should be expecting when they do this sort of stuff anyways. It isn't an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive done it on purpose out of curiosity and wanting to see for myself, like i mentioned earlier the phone...!....pc just means a flash was marked incomplete so a fun learning experience: Flash a kernel with odin and yank the chord halfway through the flash. you might get a screen with a pretty color followed by the phone....!.....pc screen. now flash a modem with odin and let that finish like normal, the phone...!...pc screen will no longer be there, it will still be clayed because the kernel is broken, but it wont have that screen anymore. then flash the kernel like normal and it will be fixed likje nothing ever happened. this has no risk of bricking whatsoever because there are no bootloaders involved in the flash.
ive never had to use the jig i built my button combos have always worked, i still built one cause its super easy and handy to have if i ever need it but i just never have
McKillroy11 said:
I watched the video and I don't know how to downgrade to 2.1. Also will I need to re-root my phone after going to gingerbread or the downgrade?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are flashing a custom rom and not staying on stock gingerbread then it will already be rooted.
to return to stock everything (stock bootloaders also) use odin one click. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989
to return to a stock rom but still retain the gingerbread bootloaders use this package http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995143
both of those methods of returning to stock would be an out of the box unrooted stock rom.
McKillroy11 said:
I watched the video and I don't know how to downgrade to 2.1. Also will I need to re-root my phone after going to gingerbread or the downgrade?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use odin3 oneclick downloader. That will put you back at stock 2.1
Here it is. But if you don't know how to use it. You should really learn it.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SBSMALFJ
here's a vid for Odin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtxnH4lFuk
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studacris said:
Which is why I'm trying to nip that in the bud from now on, or actually about a month ago when I coined the phrase, "soft bricked" is now called "clayed" because there is no such thing as a soft brick in the real world or the phone world
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the term "brick" is thrown around too liberally, but I was under the impression that a "soft brick" was a SOFTware problem, and a "hard brick" was a HARDware problem. I guess I was mistaken, since "hard bricks" can still be the result of software issues. (right?)
Sent from a phone inside a phone inside a KFC inside a McDonald's.
twvance said:
I agree the term "brick" is thrown around too liberally, but I was under the impression that a "soft brick" was a SOFTware problem, and a "hard brick" was a HARDware problem. I guess I was mistaken, since "hard bricks" can still be the result of software issues. (right?)
Sent from a phone inside a phone inside a KFC inside a McDonald's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A hard brick occurs when the bootloaders are written improperly or gingerbread and froyo bootloaders are mixed. Completely software. If the bootloaders can't load the boot sequence you get absolutly nothing from it.
You can still recover from a hard brick with jtag, if it was a hardware problem like severe water damage there is no coming back from that at all. So I guess that's just called a broken phone.

Trying to restore with Odin killed my phone

Actually, not my phone but a friend's. I was trying to restore it to stock with Odin in order to flash Cyanogen, however Odin was being a real PITA. Through numerous attempts, Odin would refuse to finish the restoration process, often hanging at sbl.bin or Setting PIT file. I tried at least ten times to get it to flash correctly. The final time I decided to let it sit overnight and flash, just in case. When I got up this morning though, it was still hung up. I unplugged the phone and pulled the battery like I had done multiple times the night before, so that I coould give it one last try before I went to work. But this time, the phone wouldn't go into download mode. I had been using the USB and 3 button combo method, but nothing this time. The phone shows no signs of life at this point, and I really don't have anything short of a JTAG left to try on it. Now I have to buy my friend a new phone.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of terrible performance from ODIN? And is there anything other than JTAG I can try. If there is someone out there that can fix it with JTAG, I would also pay money for that. I don't have the soldering skills necessary to fix this thing.
They sell the pre made jigs you can buy, just search for it and you will find plenty
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
The battery doesn't charge in download mode, the battery could very well just be dead. Pull the battery, reinsert it and plug in the phone to charge it, if all it does is get really hot and never shows any sign of life that is a brick. Check your PM.
super coffee said:
Through numerous attempts, Odin would refuse to finish the restoration process, often hanging at sbl.bin or Setting PIT file. I tried at least ten times to get it to flash correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't really blame anyone but yourself for that one.. If it hung at sbl.bin and you managed to not brick it, you dodged a bullet.
Anyway, sounds like you dodged several bullets and then the inevitable happened. A jig won't help, and you're correct in your assumption that JTAG is your only way out. Fortunately for you, one of our fellow captivaters is still offering (at least to my knowledge) a free JTAG service. You should contact him to see if he'd be willing to restore your device, his name is connexion2005.
For future reference, don't flash back to stock unless you really need to. And when you do, don't flash an image that includes bootloaders. If you have bootloaders that work (3 button combo enabled on 2.2- bootloaders or 2.3 bootloaders), use a non one-click odin with an image that doesn't include sbl.bin or boot.bin; otherwise you're just taking unnecessary risks.
little8020 said:
They sell the pre made jigs you can buy, just search for it and you will find plenty
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got one off eBay for 10 bucks. Probably the best investment I've made as I have encountered about every brick situation you could imagine.
This may sound stupid, but maybe trying to flash GB bootloaders with ODIN(not one-click) could work? Exhausting all options before sending your phone in or having somebody JTAG would be preferable.
+1...they are well worth the money if you do any ROM flashing!
I have same problems before. 3 button combo method didn't work at all. No JTAG at that time.
When you plug your phone to computer, make sure it still can detect "SAMSUNG Android USB composite Device", but not "Unknown devices".
Even I wasn't on download mode or recovery mode, the odin able detect my phone as COM port then I was using Odin3 v1.8. then I put "galaxys-bootloader-JVB.tar.md5" to bootloader since I already have 2.3.3 rom before.
Another "dad, my friend has this problem" thread!?
For future reference, use Heimdall and read instructions thoroughly and multiple times. I just started using Heimdall when I made my move to flash gingerbread again when the KF1 ROM came out and I love it. Regardless how well a program works though, it's only as good as the person operating it. There are TONS of people here far more educated than me when it comes to flashing anything, but I have never bricked, or soft bricked even (yet) and I flash a decent amount.
If all else fails, I did have good luck with Josh @ mobiletechvideos (haven't posted enough times to be allowed to post the link, but he's on youtube. He's also here as connexion2005) he was able to unbrick my phone for $50. The post office does not seem to like to deliver mail from him to me, but I'm typing this on the phone he unbricked.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Josh @ mobiletechvideos rocks!
He unbricked my Captivate!
There is not a problem with odin! Why do people always say don't use odin because it will brick your phone. You have to use it correctly. Make sure before you even open odin that the computer recognizes your phone and you have all of the correct drivers, etc. installed BEFORE even messing with odin. Also be sure to connect to a usb port that is connected to your hard drive to limit the chance of the computer not recognizing your device.
megatronisabeast said:
Also be sure to connect to a usb port that is connected to your hard drive to limit the chance of the computer not recognizing your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your hard drive has usb ports?
You mean motherboard?
cappysw10 said:
Your hard drive has usb ports?
You mean motherboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the motherboard! Was in the middle of a tech class when I posted that! Guess I can't multi task! Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm here when you need the impossible done to your Captivate...
megatronisabeast said:
There is not a problem with odin! Why do people always say don't use odin because it will brick your phone. You have to use it correctly. Make sure before you even open odin that the computer recognizes your phone and you have all of the correct drivers, etc. installed BEFORE even messing with odin. Also be sure to connect to a usb port that is connected to your hard drive to limit the chance of the computer not recognizing your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had odin fail a few times in a row on me when flashing gb bootloaders for i897. I had odin flashed countless times on multiple devices and computers. I'm pretty sure Odin isn't foolproof. Not everything can be contributed to pebcak, although the vary majority of problems posted on xda are...
kimchi0400 said:
I've had odin fail a few times in a row on me when flashing gb bootloaders for i897. I had odin flashed countless times on multiple devices and computers. I'm pretty sure Odin isn't foolproof. Not everything can be contributed to pebcak, although the vary majority of problems posted on xda are...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everytime odin has 'failed' for me, it's been a user error on my part. you need to follow the steps sequentially otherwise you have a higher probability of failure/brickage.
rmal0 said:
everytime odin has 'failed' for me, it's been a user error on my part. you need to follow the steps sequentially otherwise you have a higher probability of failure/brickage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly think that a lot of information here on XDA is only partial and this will get some into trouble. I know people say "search for it, it's here" and it is but the problem is that 10% of the time the information that someone is looking for is buried in a thread and the other 90% the search results list the same question being asked and answered with "it's here search" or "Did you search??"
There honestly should be posting guidelines, for everyone, I mean people take all the time to write disclaimers why not proper directions? Is there a standard Template? If I'm missing it please feel free to point it out.
For example:
This is a 9000/897/896 based ROM
This ROM needs the following bootloaders: ....
This ROM contains Bootloaders: Yes/No
This ROM will change your product code: Yes/No
This ROM requires a Davlik wipe to work: Yes/No
This Kernel is 9000/897/896 based
blah blah blah.......
If the information is readily and easily available then the amount of "dumb" question should go down dramatically and then there will be a "standard"
But then again it's Android/Linux, being fragmented is half the fun..
</rant>Just needed to vent...

[Q] Did my blunder brick my bloomin' phone?

So I rooted my Samsung Infuse and installed Clockwork recovery using the appropriate method for flashing the - v3 or ve or what it might be called - recovery. So then using Clockwork I backed up my current ROM (Stock). It acted funny later after so I decided to just go back and restore from a previous ROM. It said there were problems mounting a few things. Don't remember what those were. However, here is the real kicker; I may have used update.zip from the previous phone (Which seemed to be a T-Mobile My touch 3G with a 32A something and a 32B something else, similar to the Fender) I had since all I did was switch out the external SD cards since they were both the same size and I had all of my music on the My Touch.
So, if it did flash the Update.zip, is my phone, for the most part, completely bricked? It's symptoms include:
- Static pictures
- Will not boot into recovery
- Will display 'Samsung' but then cuts to static afterwards.
- Shows Battery meter when plugged in and my computer still recognizes and installs the device drivers.
- It will boot into Download mode. Dunno if that actually will help at this point.
If it still turns on you're golden. Just look for the ultimate unbrick thread in the development section and follow the op instructions to go back to stock. The unbrick also is pre rooted and had the right recovery installed, so you're good to flash stuff after
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using XDA Premium App
Cool, so somehow this fixed a phone which had a Fender radio flash. Since that's the case, what should I be worried about in the future that might permanently brick my phone?
Mr.Brosnan said:
Cool, so somehow this fixed a phone which had a Fender radio flash. Since that's the case, what should I be worried about in the future that might permanently brick my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trashing your partitions and bootloaders. Tho I'm not an expert on Samsung devices those seem to be the main causes of true bricks.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt
So if I change the partitions to like an ext3 filesystem is that considered trashing it? Yes, I'm fairly new to this entire in depth Android experience. I only took the Android over the iPhone because I am experienced with Linux and only touched a MAC (Referring to the Apple Operating System and not MAC cosmetics) three times.
Well, now I can't download anything in the market due to an 'Unknown error'. I mean, I can receive emails, I think I can call and text. I just can't use my smart phone to do dumb things now. This is a very disturbing complication and I will set off to find the cure for this ailment by posting here again.
Mr.Brosnan said:
Well, now I can't download anything in the market due to an 'Unknown error'. I mean, I can receive emails, I think I can call and text. I just can't use my smart phone to do dumb things now. This is a very disturbing complication and I will set off to find the cure for this ailment by posting here again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could try a factory reset or
you could just start over
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116251
and or
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1092021
JBO1018 said:
Trashing your partitions and bootloaders. Tho I'm not an expert on Samsung devices those seem to be the main causes of true bricks.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly bootloaders, and ours have enough protection that it's difficult to trash them.
It's next to impossible to hardbrick our phone. Worst case you put it in a state where you need to Odin/Heimdall something to fix it.
Entropy512 said:
Mainly bootloaders, and ours have enough protection that it's difficult to trash them.
It's next to impossible to hardbrick our phone. Worst case you put it in a state where you need to Odin/Heimdall something to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good stuff to know considering my next phone is a toss up at this point between the Prime and Vigor.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

True Brick...QHSUSB_DLOAD

Hey guys...As a few of you know, my phone met its demise last night for (seemingly) no reason. I had recently backed up my ROM through Rom Manager and tried out a few themes from the market.
Anyways, when I plugged my phone into my computer, I see that it tried to install some drivers and then I see "QHSUSB_DLOAD" as my phone.
Ive noticed that all TRULY bricked phones (not just the sensation) all have this "QHSUSB_DLOAD" in common. No one has yet to figure out what this is or how to fix this.
Tmobile chalked it up to hardware failure and has a new (likely refurbished ) on its way.
I think we need to figure out what the heck this is. A few mentioned a connection between Rom Manager, CWM, and QHSUSB_DLOAD. I, for one, will make dang sure that Rom Manager stays off my phone...Any other ideas?
Until this is worked out, its VERY likely that rooting COULD randomly cause the dreaded true brick, QHSUSB_DLOAD style.
Matt
Just swayed my decision on wether to root or not.
So does it turn on? You are a bit unclear about your situation. Does it charge, when you charge it. And does the PC recognize it when you connect it to the PC?
Actually this is well documented. You are in Qualcomm high speed USB download mode. It is typically caused by a problem with your processor and or it's software. Either it is crapping out or more likely something corrupted the software, either by flashing a custom kernel that isn't 100% stable with the hardware (since kernel source for this phone is incomplete this IS possible) or it's just bad luck. Voltage tweaks can have a long term detrimental effect on hardware.
Hey guys, it is dead as a door knob.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1321110
That ought to sum things up...
Im sure its bricked...I just want to look more into this as I have yet to find a single case where this was solved. It just gets pushed aside since no one knows.
Behold_this said:
Actually this is well documented. You are in Qualcomm high speed USB download mode. It is typically caused by a problem with your processor and or it's software. Either it crapped out or more likely you corrupted the software, either by flashing a custom kernel that isn't 100% stable with the hardware since kernel source for this phone is incomplete this IS possible. Voltage tweaks can have a long term detrimental effect on hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using cm7, build 9 and fauxs kernel build 8. I dont do UVing or OVing and have kept the CPU speed to 1.18Ghz.
My computer told me that it failed to install whatever it felt it needed.
So this is known? Am I correct in thinking that this is a 100% brick then, or is there anything, save from tearing it open, that can be done to fix it?
Although I have a new one coming, Id like to get to the bottom of this for everyone else.
Matt
Well, yes...and no. For all intensive purposes it is bricked, however, if it's just software HTC (or anyone with a leaked loader) could recover it easily. If it's hardware then nothing can be done. You can find the Qualcomm drivers online but still need the loader (all I've found are motorola sbf's nothing for HTC). Basically you did the only thing you can at this point, but now you have a little more info on it.
Behold_this said:
Well, yes...and no. For all intensive purposes it is bricked, however, if it's just software HTC (or anyone with a leaked loader) could recover it easily. If it's hardware then nothing can be done. You can find the Qualcomm drivers online but still need the loader (all I've found at motorola sbf's nothing for HTC). Basically you did the only thing you can at this point, but now you have a little more info on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone could get an XDA style Nobel prize for coming out with something that could fix this phone when this happens.
Im guessing that is what a JTAG does? Would be great once warranty time is over!
I am suspicious this could be another build quality issue with HTC...Day one with this phone had the same sort of thing happen, but it eventually booted. Perhaps this was just waiting to happen?
Or, I wonder if it is related to CWM and Rom Manager? This seems to be a RARE occurance considering how many people flash the above mentioned ROM and kernel without this happening. The last thing I did before charging was backing up in Rom Manager.
Jtag is a little extreme as it involves soldering and messing with internal components, plus don't think it's been done on this chip set, but I could be wrong. The ROM is usually less of a concern then custom kernels are. Also ROM manager sucks and many times is very buggy. It is safer to do all those kinds of things through recovery. Uninstall ROM manager and forget it ever existed (just my opinion).
Behold_this said:
Jtag is a little extreme as it involves soldering and messing with internal components, plus don't think it's been done on this chip set, but I could be wrong. The ROM is usually less of a concern then custom kernels are. Also ROM manager sucks and many times is very buggy. It is safer to do all those kinds of things through recovery. Uninstall ROM manager and forget it ever existed (just my opinion).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, how about this...I intend to S-off and reinstall CWM the SECOND I get my new phone. LOL...Should I erase my ROMs+kernels from the SD card and start over from scratch, or can I just boot up again like nothing happened?
I guess its safer to start over, huh?
EDIT: I have been reading over stories involving a hard brick and QHSUSB_DLOAD. It seems it ALL came from SD card partitioning in CWM. I was also in recovery that day restoring my ROM when I accidentally touched the screen and the phone rebooted. (After restoring) I thought it was just rebooting recovery. I wonder if something else happened? The phone booted up fine and worked for some time after. The last thing done was charging the phone via wall charger, seeing it was done, and then unplugging.
Matt
it may not be necessary, but I would. I'd just redownload all the software I plan on loading from the start and give it a clean slate, but that's just me. Also be very careful with resorting apps and data since we really don't know the total cause of your issue. All in all you probably won't have to deal with this again as long as you minimize your risk.
nice. maybe there are aliens inside your phone! Just a thought as it seems everyone seems to just turn around when they see this problem. some of the brave ones got taken by the aliens too for snooping out too much
vitusdoom said:
nice. maybe there are aliens inside your phone! Just a thought as it seems everyone seems to just turn around when they see this problem. some of the brave ones got taken by the aliens too for snooping out too much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im the alien!
Yea, I never saw this happening to me. I read carefully before I do anything and have never tried anything fancy.
Im guessing that QHSUSB_DLOAD lets you know the phone is fully erased and waiting for something to be flashed the elite way? (From the factory via their gadgets). To date, NO ONE has recovered from this.
Man Id love to be the one to recover! I crapped myself when I saw QHSUSB_DLOAD mentioned on my computer. Its the kiss of death.
I also have to wait till next week to get my replacement despite me opting for the fastest most $$$ method of shipping. UPS Express is the fastest and will take till monday (which means tuesday since no one will be around to sign for it).
Ugg..
Matt
Doh! that just sucks Matt. but then again, thats way better than having some hardware issue and being fixed (anything with hardware issue fixed surely ends up going back to the guys that fixed it. they seem to put some time bomb in there so you'll go back crying to fix it again and again. lol) haven't had this issue ever since.(was flashing my phones way back then) maybe im just lucky. hopefully i will not encounter this. (the only thing I bricked was my brand new PSP2002. just bought it from US and im way over in NZ mate - didn't have a option to return it. )
where does this QHSUSB_DLOAD appear? would this come up when you turn the device on? because i've seen some devices that are bricked, they just lit up and goes off and never charges and can't go to bootloader. thinking this is 100% bricked or this QHSUSB thingy is the pure brick?
vitusdoom said:
Doh! that just sucks Matt. but then again, thats way better than having some hardware issue and being fixed (anything with hardware issue fixed surely ends up going back to the guys that fixed it. they seem to put some time bomb in there so you'll go back crying to fix it again and again. lol) haven't had this issue ever since.(was flashing my phones way back then) maybe im just lucky. hopefully i will not encounter this. (the only thing I bricked was my brand new PSP2002. just bought it from US and im way over in NZ mate - didn't have a option to return it. )
where does this QHSUSB_DLOAD appear? would this come up when you turn the device on? because i've seen some devices that are bricked, they just lit up and goes off and never charges and can't go to bootloader. thinking this is 100% bricked or this QHSUSB thingy is the pure brick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The message QHSUSB_DLOAD appears the first time I tried to connect via USB to my computer. It showed up on my computer down where usb notifications occur. After it told me it couldnt install hardware, that was it. No more action from either the phone or the computer. Its like the world just passed right by my poor phone.
Maybe I will get lucky and get a phone free of dust as well! I was waiting on calling in that care package for later...Oh well.
Matt
Oooh nice! so the device really has a black screen and that message appeared on driver installation on you computer.
most of the people in the net just mentions that this driver is missing. If the driver is missing, maybe it did really get corrupted(software because of rom-manager not pointing to this ) but yeah, could also be hardware failure. did it say on your computer that it was installing some drivers for that QHSUSB_DLOAD? and it failed? what about HTC? did you see anything from HTC about this?
vitusdoom said:
The message QHSUSB_DLOAD appears the first time I tried to connect via USB to my computer. It showed up on my computer down where usb notifications occur. After it told me it couldnt install hardware, that was it. No more action from either the phone or the computer. Its like the world just passed right by my poor phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is the EXACT problem im having! on my tmobile SGS2
not sure if this has already been mentioned but what do you guys think of this?
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-jtag-brick-repair/
Hey guys,
I'm in the same situation too.... I've been flashing hundreds of roms and all kind of software on a lot of different android phones...but this is the first time ever I came across something like that where I feel that this is the end of it!!!! I made a mistake...by not paying attention flashing an HD2 rom to my sensation!!! You know some time s**t happens... and here we go...I got a completely dead bricked sensation with nothing i can do, even I've been searching and reading for 2 days with no luck what so ever...so I guess no one is able to find a solution for this issue yet!!!!Which is too bad: confused: .I wish I was able to find some solution to this problem so I can get my phone back to life and help every one else who might end up with this issue. Because I think a lot of people might be in this situation!!!. I tried every thing I can possibly do with m y knowledge and the results was all dead ends. I just hope that this issue will be taken to the next level by some one...like all the other phones that it can be unbricked...so why not the sensation!!!?. Any one can come up with and ideas for this please help us as a community to get pass by this dead end on our Htc sensations.
Guys i have absolutely same problem with my sensation, i believe there must be a way how to bring our phones back to life. Im sure that on my phone its just software problem caused by backing to s-on(got bricked right after adb rebootbootloader). So if some1 find out how to unbrick, PLEASE post it. I dont want to solve it by warrany, because its little far for me :-(

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