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I was able to flash from the "phone ! pc" screen (kinda) May be useful for bricks?

I was able to flash from the "phone ! pc" screen (kinda) May be useful for bricks?
If this post proves to be useful and would serve better in another section then please move it.
Yesterday (June.09.2011) I got a refurb replacement for my Captivate, it was actually a new phone though and as far as I can read it's an 1105 build.
It came with Froyo 2.2 and no software updates from AT$T were available when I checked from the phone.
GPS didn't seem to do so well according to My Tracks recording a 22 mile motorcycle trip home.
I was going to try Cognition (Froyo based)
I was able to use the buttons on the phone to get into recovery 3e but it checks for signatures and I couldn't figure out how to root the phone and replace recovery.
I would have used one click root from my pc but I didn't have the proper windows drivers (net framework?)
I decided to flash Odin one click to stock (Eclair 2.1)
I also have the Odin stock 2.1 with 3 button fix that I had used on my other refurb captivate successfully.
This is where things went bad for me.
I used the 3 button fix version of Odin (I don't know if my result would have been different if I had used One click Odin instead and I'd like to know for later)
After the flash the phone would only boot to the phone ! pc screen no matter how many different button, battery, power button, usb cable, jig combinations I tried (Yes I have a jig)
Anyways, I had Odin one click (not the three button fix version) open and even though I only ever saw the ! screen on the phone I noticed that Odin was showing the device connecting and disconnecting when I pulled the usb cable.
What the hell, I thought I was bricked anyways so I hit Start. The phone showed a progress bar that mirrored what Odin was showing me, right below the ! icons on the phone.
After that I was able to use the jig to enter download mode, I tried both Odin (stock 2.1) versions I had and they ran the flash but the phone boot looped when I tried to start it up.
I then tried the method to update the bootloaders and move onto Gingerbread and I was successful, Running Serendipity VII now (Thanks MikeyMike01, ChanceM)
It was a nerve racking experience and I'm nervous if I decide to try to go back to Froyo again.
Maybe this info isn't new, maybe it's helpful. I may summarize later.
Any thoughts or tips to get back to Froyo if I want to later?

not weird at all.
here's what happened:the phone...!...pc screen just signifies that a flash was incomplete, the first flash with the 3 button fixed failed before it ever loaded any firmware, therefor the image for when download mode is initiated was missing, all that is is a .png. since it was missing the incomplete flash screen was the only thing there for it to call upon when DL mode was started.
odin one click bootlooped you cause it just does that to new phones...to get back to stock bootloaders use odin one click then use this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995143... or just use that and go back to stock eclair with the GB bootloaders. DO NOT FLASH THE 3 BUTTON FIX PACKAGE WITH GB BOOTLOADERS THAT WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE.

Thanks for the explanation!

studacris said:
not weird at all.
here's what happened:the phone...!...pc screen just signifies that a flash was incomplete, the first flash with the 3 button fixed failed before it ever loaded any firmware, therefor the image for when download mode is initiated was missing, all that is is a .png. since it was missing the incomplete flash screen was the only thing there for it to call upon when DL mode was started.
odin one click bootlooped you cause it just does that to new phones...to get back to stock bootloaders use odin one click then use this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995143...or just use that and go back to stock eclair with the GB bootloaders. DO NOT FLASH THE 3 BUTTON FIX PACKAGE WITH GB BOOTLOADERS THAT WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a reason they don't just include the intended PBL with that SBL for the 3 button fix? it would solve all the problems... I'll go figure this one out.

AdamOutler said:
Is there a reason they don't just include the intended PBL with that SBL for the 3 button fix? it would solve all the problems... I'll go figure this one out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they dont have the PBL file. all they have had is the SBL

A similar thing happened to me on my replacement. It came with stock 2.2 and when I tried to use Odin one click it failed. I pulled the plug and after that nothing was getting me into download mode. No button combinations or jig worked. When I was trying more combinations I had left odin open and realized it was showing as connected even though I was only getting the phone ! pc screen. So just like you I figured what the hell and went for it. 2 minutes later I was at stock 2.1.

nybmx said:
A similar thing happened to me on my replacement. It came with stock 2.2 and when I tried to use Odin one click it failed. I pulled the plug and after that nothing was getting me into download mode. No button combinations or jig worked. When I was trying more combinations I had left odin open and realized it was showing as connected even though I was only getting the phone ! pc screen. So just like you I figured what the hell and went for it. 2 minutes later I was at stock 2.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What build number on yours?
I'm still having problems, post to follow...

I just tried to go back to Froyo from Gingerbread.
I followed the instructions linked to in this thread (thanks) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995143...
The following 4 flashes just left me in a boot loop but I was able to use my jig to get into d/l mode each time.
I did get a random Odin 3 v1.3 from the net that had GT-P1000 instead of i897 or i9000 on it's title when run. I don't think it was the issue though since OneClickDownloader also failed the same way for me.
Odin 3 v1.3 JF6 Secure
Odin 3 v1.0 OneClickDownloader
Odin 3 v1.3 JF6 Secure
Odin 3 v1.7 JF6 Secure (This Odin came with the Gingerbread installation package I got from Cezar/icezar1 (I think)
Now I am running a fever and I'm generally slow but I think I'm following your suggestions.
edit; I wrote 1.2, I meant 1.3

Pirateghost said:
they dont have the PBL file. all they have had is the SBL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
God damnit.... NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER flash a PBL without a matching SBL.... This is the cause of bricking for 90% of captivates.

AdamOutler said:
God damnit.... NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER flash a PBL without a matching SBL.... This is the cause of bricking for 90% of captivates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep. but the sbl was all that was needed when that package was created months and months ago. we didnt have any need to worry about pbls at that time...then 2.3 came along

DG said somewhere that Gingerbread (2.3) bootloaders are backward compatible with Froyo (2.2) ROMs.
Apparently this is not true with CM7 ROM (I dunno)
Can I keep my Gingerbread bootloaders and safely flash a Froyo ROM such as Cognition? (will it work?)

daveyian said:
DG said somewhere that Gingerbread (2.3) bootloaders are backward compatible with Froyo (2.2) ROMs.
Apparently this is not true with CM7 ROM (I dunno)
Can I keep my Gingerbread bootloaders and safely flash a Froyo ROM such as Cognition? (will it work?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I know 4.5 and above for cognition doesn't have boatloaders in it. You might want to unzip roms and check for bootloaders just to be safe.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

daveyian said:
DG said somewhere that Gingerbread (2.3) bootloaders are backward compatible with Froyo (2.2) ROMs.
Apparently this is not true with CM7 ROM (I dunno)
Can I keep my Gingerbread bootloaders and safely flash a Froyo ROM such as Cognition? (will it work?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will work. I am running firefly 3.0 at the moment, on GB bootloaders. I have not tried cyanogen yet. I'm sure eventually all the little bugs will get worked out of gingerbread, and I'll be back on it.

wow i posted about this MONTHS ago....
heres the link.....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=988927&highlight=flash+from+soft+brick

I got that phone ! pc last night while trying to odin back to 2.1 from stock. Odin didnt make any progress for 10 mins and I removed battery. Thought I was screwed. Removed the usb and pulled the bat. Opened odin and plugged it back in and the same screen came right up. Just held down the volume keys and power button till the screen flashed once and noticed odin recognized the com port. Then tried odin again and it worked fine... even displayed the little blue progress bar on that screen lol.

daveyian said:
What build number on yours?
I'm still having problems, post to follow...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A refurb 1008

true story!
happened to me 2!

stock to send in infuse under warranty ?

so what is the best way to make the phone look completely stock to send it in under warranty ?
use gtg unbrick then update through uckh1 ota?
also heard that att can see if youve flashed roms because of how many times download mode is accessed
any news or ideas about that?

Use gtg ultimate fix to get to stock.
Format internal SD card.
Format external SD card, if supplied.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

The_Zodiac said:
so what is the best way to make the phone look completely stock to send it in under warranty ?
use gtg unbrick then update through uckh1 ota?
also heard that att can see if youve flashed roms because of how many times download mode is accessed
any news or ideas about that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no the bootloaders have a counter but it seems to only be sensitive to the kernel being flashed to one built from sources (maybe it is detecting that it is a rogers kernel, maybe it is detecting something else). it will see the rom as samsung official even if it is modded and wont count it. this is only if you updated to the gb bootloader or maybe the kh1 bootloader and the counter doesnt start till after the bootloader is flashed.
the best way to check if this is a problem for you is to flash to samsung official firmware and enter download mode passing the screen that warns you about 3rd party firmware and see if there is a custom firmware count at the top left of the screen. if it says 0 you are good to go. again it doesn't count flashes, only flashes of non att infuse firmware/kernels and i dont know if it only counts download mode flashes or if it can detect cwm flashes as they go.

[Q] OTA Update Posted Today (Possibly 2.3.6?) - What are your experiences?

I see that AT&T has an update for us skyrocket owners. I'm suspecting that this is 2.3.6 - the update posted last year that was then subsequently pulled. I'm very curious to see what is different.
Has anyone already downloaded and installed the updated?
What version is it?
Can it be rooted?
I'm still stock (2.3.5) rooted, waiting for NexusMOD 3.0 (I can't believe I've been on stock although rooted for almost two weeks after moving to the skyrocket). Stock as actually been working surprisingly well until I went to tether from my A500 .​

I attempted to do the update (while rooted) and it is now frozen on a white screen with blue text "Software Update". I can't even get it to boot into recovery mode.
Not sure if updating while being rooted is a no-no (OK'd the update on accident) but my experience so far has not been a good one.

mrl3086 said:
I attempted to do the update (while rooted) and it is now frozen on a white screen with blue text "Software Update". I can't even get it to boot into recovery mode.
Not sure if updating while being rooted is a no-no (OK'd the update on accident) but my experience so far has not been a good one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to get into download mode so that you can flash back to 2.3.5 Stock?

No update for me...
Not feeling the love, AT&T. When I check, you tell me there are no updates available. I am stock and just the way you want me to be. How come you are holding back?

karlgo said:
Are you able to get into download mode so that you can flash back to 2.3.5 Stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Someone said something about being able to get it back to normal with CWM, but I don't think I have that. See here. I'm not the only one having this issue. It's a thread I started this morning on this issue. Hopefully someone who knows what they're doing can help.
Edit: Thought download mode = recovery mode? Whatever is supposed to happen when I hold volume up + down + power does not.

Mine updated fine, i have not tried to root it yet. I had to flash the stock recovery back for the update to install
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Just posted in the thread in the general section: I had to odin back to 2.3.5 un rooted, did the ota successfully, then rooted using cwm and superuser.zip method. Everything was a go.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Does anyone know of a flashable zip for the 2.3.6 ucla3 update yet?

bo0omer said:
Does anyone know of a flashable zip for the 2.3.6 ucla3 update yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have posted this 3 TIMES in 3 DIFFERENT threads! STOP!

mrl3086 said:
Edit: Thought download mode = recovery mode? Whatever is supposed to happen when I hold volume up + down + power does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try getting into download mode (yes not recovery) and using ODIN to reflash stock. Download mode will be your key.
Try following the steps here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342348

karlgo said:
I would try getting into download mode (yes not recovery) and using ODIN to reflash stock. Download mode will be your key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't get it into download mode until I plugged it into my computer, and then I flashed back to stock w/ODIN and now it's working fine, just like you said. Well, it doesn't think there's a SIM card in there but that's a problem for a less tired me tomorrow.
Thank you!

My flash counter appears to stay at zero

I have flashed and reflashed roms probably over 15 times since i got my phone. I have read that booting in download mode, you can see a small white number that says your flash count. When I go there I see no number anywhere at all. It says my binary is official and system status as modified. I have downloaded triangle away and when I go into that app, it also says my flash counter is 0 and my binary is official. I have the samsung custom unlock picture boot screen. Is this normal or should I have a flash count? If its normal what triggers the flash count? Also just to make sure, if I ever need my phone to be totally stock and remove the boot unlock screen and modified status I just have to follow the guide to return to stock which involves download mode and a windows pc, right? ( Cant remember the name of the windows app you use for that)

sfetaz said:
I have flashed and reflashed roms probably over 15 times since i got my phone. I have read that booting in download mode, you can see a small white number that says your flash count. When I go there I see no number anywhere at all. It says my binary is official and system status as modified. I have downloaded triangle away and when I go into that app, it also says my flash counter is 0 and my binary is official. I have the samsung custom unlock picture boot screen. Is this normal or should I have a flash count? If its normal what triggers the flash count? Also just to make sure, if I ever need my phone to be totally stock and remove the boot unlock screen and modified status I just have to follow the guide to return to stock which involves download mode and a windows pc, right? ( Cant remember the name of the windows app you use for that)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the only way the flash counter is tripped if you flash custom software in odin.

Ok thanks for the info. Is there any reason for a non developer to flash custom software in Odin, like some kind of non stock release or tool?

sfetaz said:
Ok thanks for the info. Is there any reason for a non developer to flash custom software in Odin, like some kind of non stock release or tool?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We cant until the booloader is unlocked.

I don't know but I really don't mind if my flash counter gets to be 10000. Isn't this just for Samsung to gage how much development is being done? Why else would they care if we flash ROMs?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

They also probably use it to see if people have tried to hide rooting the phone if you send it in.
Sent from my SCH-I535

(Help please) Verizon warning triangle after trying to update to 4.3 from 4.1.2

I'm in need of some serious help here guys. Tonight I tried to update my rooted s3 on 4.1.2 to the new update 4.3. I accepted the download and after the download I installed it. My phone booted into the yellow Verizon triangle telling me it noticed I have unauthorized programs on my phone not authorized by Verizon and to turn the phone off and take it into Verizon. I tried to boot into clockwork recovery and it would not let me and booted back to the yellow Verizon triangle.
I have no idea what to do, did I permanently brick my phone or can I get back to 4.1.2 some how? I would greatly appreciate any information pointing in the direction to fix this.

I managed to recover my phone! I pulled the battery and sim card prior to signing up on xda because I read someone having the same issue on a note 2. Once the battery and sim is removed let it set for a half hour then place the sim and battery back into the phone. Once they were back in the phone press the power button ,it should boot right up as it normally would. I'm not saying there isn't more than one way of fixing this issue but this method worked for me and I thought I would share for those who might experience this yellow triangle notification as well. On a side note it did not successfully updated my phone but returned me back to 4.1.2

You need to be 100% stock to take an OTA (unrooted, stock recovery). The easiest way to get to that state is to ODIN a stock factory image. This will delete your internal storage.
Was your bootloader unlocked prior to trying to update to 4.3? I'm assuming so if you were running CWM recovery.

I actually had the same problem and am trying to fix right now. I tried running rootkeeper before the update, but that obviously didn't work. Anyone know where I can get the 4.1.2 image to flash? Also, do i need to do that "Triangle Away"? My custom binary dL says "Yes (4 counts)."

irl5fan said:
I actually had the same problem and am trying to fix right now. I tried running rootkeeper before the update, but that obviously didn't work. Anyone know where I can get the 4.1.2 image to flash? Also, do i need to do that "Triangle Away"? My custom binary dL says "Yes (4 counts)."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Triangle Away is free for XDA members. Must be stock rooted to work. Won't work on every rom. May have to odin stock, root run Triangle and then Odin Stock again. Remove tar from MF1 zip to Odin. Once on 4.3 there is no return and no unlock. Can run Saferoot to root. Do not try to unlock or flash custom recovery or device will brick.
Triangle Away- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22462960&postcount=1
MF1- http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23134718111254196

BattsNotIncld said:
You need to be 100% stock to take an OTA (unrooted, stock recovery).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure about that? Seems quite a few people were on 4.1.2 stock + rooted, took the update, and went to 4.3 fine, but lost root.
Quite a few in the main 4.3 thread.

BattsNotIncld said:
You need to be 100% stock to take an OTA (unrooted, stock recovery). The easiest way to get to that state is to ODIN a stock factory image. This will delete your internal storage.
Was your bootloader unlocked prior to trying to update to 4.3? I'm assuming so if you were running CWM recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes my bootloader is unlocked. I think I'm going to postpone the 4.3 update until I hear better reviews. I have seen posts on here where people are having issues after taking the update. I simply did not know what was going on if I had hard bricked my device or not, luckily I did not and was able to get back to 4.1.2

Rsc25 said:
Yes my bootloader is unlocked. I think I'm going to postpone the 4.3 update until I hear better reviews. I have seen posts on here where people are having issues after taking the update. I simply did not know what was going on if I had hard bricked my device or not, luckily I did not and was able to get back to 4.1.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my wifes Via the OTA and she has had 0 issues. I think most of the issues people are having after the OTA are self inflicted.

stock image
BattsNotIncld said:
You need to be 100% stock to take an OTA (unrooted, stock recovery). The easiest way to get to that state is to ODIN a stock factory image. This will delete your internal storage.
Was your bootloader unlocked prior to trying to update to 4.3? I'm assuming so if you were running CWM recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just wonderingim trying to get a stock vrbm1 tar but every link I try is down I did have it on a usb but lost it, originally from dark menace if you know of another source would be great ive downloaded a few but md5 doesn't match