Database Info

Hmm. Major Issue Need expert help!

Hi all. I have years of rooting under my belt but this is the first Samsung phone i've owned and I've got quite an issue. I was playing a game and the phone just shut off on me. I went to restart it and nothing. Did a battery pull, i felt it vibrate like it was trying to turn on and still nothing. So I tried to boot into cwm using volume up/down and power and the Samsung splash screen flashes for a split second and then shuts off and the phone just vibrates like it's going to turn on but won't do it.
So I tried battery pulls, holding power down, and now when I plug it into the computer it vibrates every two seconds but won't turn on. What's the deal this seems like a major hardware malfunction and Odin/CWM none of that stuff is usable because it just won't boot into anything.
So last resort do you guys have any suggestions i'm all ears :-(

I've had this a few times before... I forget which one exactly but either vol up + power button...or vol down + power button gets you to download mode and then you can flash the softbrick fix.
or if you do manage to get to CWM, you'll need some quick fingers to get to the "install zip" option before it reboots. once in there you're good to flash your ROM.
or, get a USB jig to get to download mode and flash soft brick fix.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

NO dload mode either? if not make sure you have charged battery and than try to get into dload mode.
2leaponover1 said:
Hi all. I have years of rooting under my belt but this is the first Samsung phone i've owned and I've got quite an issue. I was playing a game and the phone just shut off on me. I went to restart it and nothing. Did a battery pull, i felt it vibrate like it was trying to turn on and still nothing. So I tried to boot into cwm using volume up/down and power and the Samsung splash screen flashes for a split second and then shuts off and the phone just vibrates like it's going to turn on but won't do it.
So I tried battery pulls, holding power down, and now when I plug it into the computer it vibrates every two seconds but won't turn on. What's the deal this seems like a major hardware malfunction and Odin/CWM none of that stuff is usable because it just won't boot into anything.
So last resort do you guys have any suggestions i'm all ears :-(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

False alarm, apparently there is a battery bug reported on other forums. My phone had read 100% for quite awhile and I was digging the battery life but apparently i was over zealous. The meter was reading 100% but the battery was draining and the phone died. It wouldn't fire up until i left it on the charger for awhile. Very odd, guess I will delete this post and research this battery issue... unless someone else knows more about it

I have the same battery issue, but only when I use my car charger. When I take it off the car charger, it will read 100% till I reboot. Only after reboot will it start reading the battery state correctly. I DO NOT have this issue with the house charger...... Strange.

you guys after charging for 100% go to cwm and format battery status this will probably resolve ur issue.

Phone wont power on

I've had this phone for about 5 days now. When I got it the power button was pretty tough to push and it was hard to power on and power off the phone. Today I rooted and unlocked the bootloader. Phone rebooted fine. I powered it down to get into hboot and cannot get the phone to respond now. Will not power up, no charging light when I plug it in, nothing. Does anyone have any idea what is going on here?

fadetoblack2104 said:
I've had this phone for about 5 days now. When I got it the power button was pretty tough to push and it was hard to power on and power off the phone. Today I rooted and unlocked the bootloader. Phone rebooted fine. I powered it down to get into hboot and cannot get the phone to respond now. Will not power up, no charging light when I plug it in, nothing. Does anyone have any idea what is going on here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same thing happen to me after flashing a S=off partition to my phone... Have you tried holding down the volume down buttom and power button to hard reset it? hold it up to 20 seconds. If you get no response and when you plug it into your comp and it tells you its installing some weird file then you are HARD BRICKED like i was, only thing i know of you can do at the moment is return it... they cant acces it so just tell them you went to bed after putting it on the charger and when you woke up it was completely dead, it wont respond to anything... worked for me, hope the best for ya...

rpomponio said:
I had the same thing happen to me after flashing a S=off partition to my phone... Have you tried holding down the volume down buttom and power button to hard reset it? hold it up to 20 seconds. If you get no response and when you plug it into your comp and it tells you its installing some weird file then you are HARD BRICKED like i was, only thing i know of you can do at the moment is return it... they cant acces it so just tell them you went to bed after putting it on the charger and when you woke up it was completely dead, it wont respond to anything... worked for me, hope the best for ya...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I got it to power on now after leaving the phone sit for a while. The power button is still a pain in the butt to use though.
I was getting no response and my computer was telling me it was installing some weird file. But now it seems to be working like it should. Other than the bad power button.

In the Captivate forums (where I've been the past two years) I've seen people talk about the power button becoming more or less responsive with different ROMs. It seems impossible to me that this could be real, but enough experienced people talked about it that I wonder if there may be some explanation, like the power button isn't just an on/off device but maybe registers distance and/or pressure.
Or maybe everyone who talked about it was imagining it.

[Q] (SOLVED) Bricked/Bootloop weird

Hey guys,
I got an infuse from a friend. When she gave it to me it was all stock and functional minus the fact that it would bootloop. When you would turn it on it would show samsung, turn off, samsung, turn off... About 3 seconds per on time. It would do this whenever it had the battery in or was plugged in. At first I was able to get it into download and then flash stock OEM. This fixed the problem, then I got into recovery and flashed a custom rom. All of this worked fine. Here's the problem
I tried restoring to the stock that I got the phone to before the custom rom was installed. This took 25 seconds and I knew something must have been wrong but I rebooted anyway. When rebooting I was faced with my original issues up above. Unfortunately its rebooting too quickly to put it into download mod. By the time I press the volume buttons and insert the usb it already boots and then starts over. If I do it quickly enough it goes to charge and bootloops to charge. The problem is that the phone bootloops whenever the battery is in. I don't have to press power for it to start.
Pretty frustrated and really would like some help. Thanks
EDIT: I ****ING FIXED IT!!! I swear this isn't a joke... I was reading a forum that had this problem and they all were saying they got angry and threw it/hit their phone and it booted up. Sitting there I eventually started entertaining the idea. I did a quick survey of the library I am in and... smacked it on my fist. THEN THE ****ING THING BOOTED UP!! What the hell!! SO excited. If it happens again, most efficient way is to drop the device on the top off the phone on a carpeted floor from about 2 feet

Faulty power button. Do a search.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

Los maizak
psal217050 said:
Faulty power button. Do a search.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I looking for a replacement or what? Thanks for the speedy reply

psal may be on to something however it sounds like you are not trying download mode correctly - if you had the battery pulled and the usb disconnected it could not be rebooting.
Edit: If the power button is sticking, most likely no need to replace- here is a video of how to replace the screen, not what you are doing but the point is it shows how to take the phone apart so that you can clean the power button. Hope this helps : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WS5I0SpL6c

Pony Express said:
psal may be on to something however it sounds like you are not trying download mode correctly - if you had the battery pulled and the usb disconnected it could no t be rebooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It reboots only when I put the battery in. So the moment I put the battery in to try and get it into recovery it starts booting immediately. It doesn't give me enough time to actually press volume up and down and then insert usb. If i do it fast enough it just boots to charging mode and boot loops to that instead of the samsung splash
Edit: I have already taken apart the phone. Not really sure what I should clean. It looks completely fine and acts similarly to the volume buttons. How would you recommend I clean it?

Pony Express said:
psal may be on to something however it sounds like you are not trying download mode correctly - if you had the battery pulled and the usb disconnected it could not be rebooting.
Edit: If the power button is sticking, most likely no need to replace- here is a video of how to replace the screen, not what you are doing but the point is it shows how to take the phone apart so that you can clean the power button. Hope this helps : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WS5I0SpL6c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not so sure that this is a hardware issue. Why would the problem disappear when I flash the OEM but then return everytime I restore to the faulty stock. I already took apart and the power button seems pristine.

With this extra info, it is pointing more toward a sticking power button with a hardware issue still something to consider... have you tried pulling battery, install usb, hold both volume buttons (no power button) and while continuing to hold vol buttons insert the battery ?
Edit: If the issue is indeed in the faulty rom, delete it and use something different.

Pony Express said:
With this extra info, it is pointing more toward a sticking power button with a hardware issue still something to consider... have you tried pulling battery, install usb, hold both volume buttons (no power button) and while continuing to hold vol buttons insert the battery ?
Edit: If the issue is indeed in the faulty rom, delete it and use something different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how I would delete the rom because I cannot boot the phone, boot to recovery, or boot to download. I did try having the usb in, holding volume and then putting in battery. It didn't work. Do you think a jig would work? Thanks

Yes, I think for such a small price it is worth a shot- best of luck !!
It would also be worth mentioning to be certain you have a good usb cable as well as a good usb port on the puter.

aeppacher said:
Hey guys,
I got an infuse from a friend. When she gave it to me it was all stock and functional minus the fact that it would bootloop. When you would turn it on it would show samsung, turn off, samsung, turn off... About 3 seconds per on time. It would do this whenever it had the battery in or was plugged in. At first I was able to get it into download and then flash stock OEM. This fixed the problem, then I got into recovery and flashed a custom rom. All of this worked fine. Here's the problem
I tried restoring to the stock that I got the phone to before the custom rom was installed. This took 25 seconds and I knew something must have been wrong but I rebooted anyway. When rebooting I was faced with my original issues up above. Unfortunately its rebooting too quickly to put it into download mod. By the time I press the volume buttons and insert the usb it already boots and then starts over. If I do it quickly enough it goes to charge and bootloops to charge. The problem is that the phone bootloops whenever the battery is in. I don't have to press power for it to start.
Pretty frustrated and really would like some help. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use this to go to stock old version:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116251
Then open kies mini connect your phone on kies update and upgrade to the newest GB version.
At this point u are on a stock if u want root try this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1613523
Option C is the better

daemonlmrj said:
Use this to go to stock old version:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116251
Then open kies mini connect your phone on kies update and upgrade to the newest GB version.
At this point u are on a stock if u want root try this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1613523
Option C is the better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't do this because in order to go to download mode the phone needs to be off. The moment I insert the battery it automatically starts bootlooping

Pony and psal are prolly right. Try fixing your power button.

[Q] NEED HELP! Screwed up ODIN root procedure, and GS3 is lifeless

Just got the Verizon GS3 from my employer; and, decided to root it.
It received the JB 4.1.1. OTA yesterday, after being activated; and, I tried to use the XDA posted procedure for rooting that new build:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2046439
Did all the prep, got ODIN and VRALEC bootchain loading, until ODIN showed green.
While waiting for the GS3 to reboot, I knocked the USB cable out of my laptop.
Couldn't get ODIN to continue, and the GS3 won't boot at all...100% black screen.
The only kind of response I get is when I connect the GS3 to the USB cable, and hold down the power button. After about 20 seconds, the computer will make soft pinging noises.
I've rooted a lot of Android phones. Had lots of problems, but never actually bricked one...especially one belonging to the company.
Have a completely bricked this poor phone; or does someone have a plan to offer?
THANKS, IN ADVANCE!
PJ Arts

Have you pulled battery let it sit for a little then put the battery in and tried getting back into Odin mode? Of course without the usb connected
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

kintwofan said:
Have you pulled battery let it sit for a little then put the battery in and tried getting back into Odin mode? Of course without the usb connected
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate the suggestion, Kintwofan.
Unfortunately, I had already tried that...took the battery out; and, let the phone sit for 10 minutes.
There is absolutely nothing when I hold down the Power button...no sound, no lights, no haptic buzz.
The only time it gives any sign of life is if I plug in the USB cable, while the battery is out. Then the upper-left LED glows red...even when I put the battery back in. However, after about 1 minute, the light goes out, and the GS3 will give out three short 'chirps'
Any other thoughts? Have I killed it?
PJA

Madmanmoose said:
Appreciate the suggestion, Kintwofan.
Unfortunately, I had already tried that...took the battery out; and, let the phone sit for 10 minutes.
There is absolutely nothing when I hold down the Power button...no sound, no lights, no haptic buzz.
The only time it gives any sign of life is if I plug in the USB cable, while the battery is out. Then the upper-left LED glows red...even when I put the battery back in. However, after about 1 minute, the light goes out, and the GS3 will give out three short 'chirps'
Any other thoughts? Have I killed it?
PJA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking so, that's the same symptoms as when people flash international versions of a ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Had this before it's a soft brick,I think. you need to get into Odin mode and flash bootloader again, there's a thread in dev section with the files and the procedure
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

Madmanmoose said:
Appreciate the suggestion, Kintwofan.
Unfortunately, I had already tried that...took the battery out; and, let the phone sit for 10 minutes.
There is absolutely nothing when I hold down the Power button...no sound, no lights, no haptic buzz.
The only time it gives any sign of life is if I plug in the USB cable, while the battery is out. Then the upper-left LED glows red...even when I put the battery back in. However, after about 1 minute, the light goes out, and the GS3 will give out three short 'chirps'
Any other thoughts? Have I killed it?
PJA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know a USB jig may actually be helpful in your situation. I think they're like 10 in eBay
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I've knocked my chord out from flashing so many times on the fascinate. Good lord. Plus it would even turn it blue mid way and get all messed up.
I simply put it back in download mode and flashed away. OP has not specified trying to get into download mode. Try that.....

tonu42 said:
I've knocked my chord out from flashing so many times on the fascinate. Good lord. Plus it would even turn it blue mid way and get all messed up.
I simply put it back in download mode and flashed away. OP has not specified trying to get into download mode. Try that.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be right, I told him to a while ago, but re reading his response it sounds like he just tried to power it back on.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Same for the droid x. Just put it back in bootloader mode and start the sbf over. The only real problem was if your battery was too low and your would have to find an external charger. That sucked and people would freak out.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

If you are able to get in to download mode consider installing the pre rooted K3 found here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1984436
I have 4 phones, I used OTA Rootkeeper on one, used the method above on two and the fourth is still on ICS, until this weekend.
I hope all works out well for you.

Unplug the usb from the phone. Hold Home+ Vol Down+ Power at same time, When it boots, then Vol. Up.
This is called Download mode. It WILL go into download mode if it shows a battery icon when plugged in.,
Then, open odin, plug the usb into the phone & continue on.
Just trying to power on from a soft brick will do nothing. It sounds like that is what you are doing.

Appreciate all the feedback.
I charged the battery in an external charger; and, tried to get back into ODIN mode.
I held the lower volume and home buttons down, then held the power button.
Nothing happened at all.
If I did it wrong, please explain how I should do it.
As always, thanks in advance!
PJ Arts

Did the phone even vibrate? Instead of holding them down at the same time, do it in a sequence. Volume down, home button, power button. Hold each one down while you hold the next button down.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Madmanmoose said:
Appreciate all the feedback.
I charged the battery in an external charger; and, tried to get back into ODIN mode.
I held the lower volume and home buttons down, then held the power button.
Nothing happened at all.
If I did it wrong, please explain how I should do it.
As always, thanks in advance!
PJ Arts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this:
Make sure battery is charged. Hold down: volume down, home, and power buttons. THEN insert battery.

buhohitr said:
Try this:
Make sure battery is charged. Hold down: volume down, home, and power buttons. THEN insert battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
,
Battery fully charged, and did the exact sequences described in the two most recent posts. Nothing at all... no vibrations, no lights, no sounds.

Chocu1a said:
Unplug the usb from the phone. Hold Home+ Vol Down+ Power at same time, When it boots, then Vol. Up.
This is called Download mode. It WILL go into download mode if it shows a battery icon when plugged in.,
Then, open odin, plug the usb into the phone & continue on.
Just trying to power on from a soft brick will do nothing. It sounds like that is what you are doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I didn't make it clearer. There was NOTHING on the screen at all.
What happened was if I plugged in the USB while the battery was out, a red LED came on (top left of the front of the device).
Whether I put the battery back in, or not, the red LED would turn off after about 30 seconds; and, the phone would give 3 soft 'chirps'.
The red LED doesn't go on, if the battery is in; and, there has been no other light, and there has been absolutely nothing on the screen.
Thanks!
PJA

Madmanmoose said:
Sorry I didn't make it clearer. There was NOTHING on the screen at all.
What happened was if I plugged in the USB while the battery was out, a red LED came on (top left of the front of the device).
Whether I put the battery back in, or not, the red LED would turn off after about 30 seconds; and, the phone would give 3 soft 'chirps'.
The red LED doesn't go on, if the battery is in; and, there has been no other light, and there has been absolutely nothing on the screen.
Thanks!
PJA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This exact same thing happened to me when flashing (except I didn't knock the cord out). I tried all of the solutions found on these forms, and I even ordered a USB jig and nothing would work. I had the same thing happen with the red light coming on, wouldn't power on, tried the battery, holding the button combinations, etc.-still a no go. I finally gave up and had to ask for a replacement device unfortunately. I have an unopened USB jig from MobileTechVideos (I had ordered one from them and one from eBay) if you'd like to give it a shot with your device anyway.

just saw this on phandroid
http://phandroid.com/2012/12/21/samsung-galaxy-s3-mainboard-failure/
maybe you can say that you think you have had a bad mother board samsung is replacing them with new devices it worth a shot...it not honest but if you want a new device it worth a shot...:fingers-crossed:

ct_tec313 said:
just saw this on phandroid
http://phandroid.com/2012/12/21/samsung-galaxy-s3-mainboard-failure/
maybe you can say that you think you have had a bad mother board samsung is replacing them with new devices it worth a shot...it not honest but if you want a new device it worth a shot...:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the suggestion. However, it was company property; and, I made the choice to screw around with it. As such, it is my responsibility; and, I won't scam Verizon or my employers to do some undeserved CYA.
MindArchr...thanks for the offer. Its very decent of you to do so; but, I have already arranged to make restitution for the device that I bricked; and, my company has ordered me another one.
The very best of luck and a very Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that stuff to all of you!
PJA

Phone won't boot

Hey guys,
My phone shut off unexpectedly today and now won't turn back on. When I try to power it on I see the Google logo for a couple seconds and then it'll just shut off again. I tried holding the volume up/down buttons to access the bootloader, but right after I get to the screen it just restarts itself again.
Connecting to power (AC or USB) causes it to constantly reboot over and over, it just shows the Google logo for a couple seconds and then restarts again.
Any ideas on what I can do?

rosscarrothers said:
Hey guys,
My phone shut off unexpectedly today and now won't turn back on. When I try to power it on I see the Google logo for a couple seconds and then it'll just shut off again. I tried holding the volume up/down buttons to access the bootloader, but right after I get to the screen it just restarts itself again.
Connecting to power (AC or USB) causes it to constantly reboot over and over, it just shows the Google logo for a couple seconds and then restarts again.
Any ideas on what I can do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Provide more information for a starter - stock? unlocked bootloader? rooted? third party recovery? rom and if yes which?
If it's stock I'd RMA it.
If not what did you do immediately before the problem started?
try holding the power button for > 2 seconds which should turn it off completely, leave it on a wall charger for at least a couple of hours then turn it back on - I doubt it'll fix the problem but it's a simple thing to try...

Clancy_s said:
Provide more information for a starter - stock? unlocked bootloader? rooted? third party recovery? rom and if yes which?
If it's stock I'd RMA it.
If not what did you do immediately before the problem started?
try holding the power button for > 2 seconds which should turn it off completely, leave it on a wall charger for at least a couple of hours then turn it back on - I doubt it'll fix the problem but it's a simple thing to try...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything on it is stock, no ROM, not rooted. I had just taken it out of my pocket to check the time, put it back in my pocket and then felt it vibrate, took it back out to see it at the Google logo and haven't been able to get it started since. There was one or two times when it got past the Google logo and started to show the start up animation (the four colours bouncing around or whatever it is) but then it shut off again.
I tried holding the power button to completely turn it off, but plugging it into the wall charger just causes it to repeatedly attempt to boot like I mentioned earlier. I'll leave it for a while and hope for the best

Sounds like the mobo is bad. Most likely will have to rma it.

rosscarrothers said:
Hey guys,
My phone shut off unexpectedly today and now won't turn back on. When I try to power it on I see the Google logo for a couple seconds and then it'll just shut off again. I tried holding the volume up/down buttons to access the bootloader, but right after I get to the screen it just restarts itself again.
Connecting to power (AC or USB) causes it to constantly reboot over and over, it just shows the Google logo for a couple seconds and then restarts again.
Any ideas on what I can do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a case on? The case could be faulty.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

jd1639 said:
Sounds like the mobo is bad. Most likely will have to rma it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe not. Sounds like a stuck power button to me.
OP does the phone just endlessly repeat this cycle? If so it's rebooting itself do to a stuck power button. One other users already reported similar issues and his power button was indeed stuck. Mash the power button hard for a minute to see if you can unstick it.

theesotericone said:
Maybe not. Sounds like a stuck power button to me.
OP does the phone just endlessly repeat this cycle? If so it's rebooting itself do to a stuck power button. One other users already reported similar issues and his power button was indeed stuck. Mash the power button hard for a minute to see if you can unstick it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got it!
Thanks so much, really wasn't looking forward to waiting for weeks while the RMA went through. The button didn't appear to be stuck - it was still clicky - but after mashing it for a minute it started up normally and appears to be fine now.

Did you flash any ROMs or anything previously?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

scottdouglasdick said:
Did you flash any ROMs or anything previously?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
brother the issue is gone, as mentioned "sticky power button" was causing it. read the thread before posting. btw thanks for effort anyway... haha
:laugh::silly:

Hi all. Sorry to reopen an old thread (but xda suggested I check here before making my own thread).
I think we have the exact same problem with a Nexus 5. Unfortunately, bashing the power button doesn't seem to be helping (and makes me feel slightly silly .
Anyone know how much effort it would be to take it apart to get to the part that's stuck? Any good instructions?
Thanks.

Weird, I have the same issue starting a few hours ago. I updated to the Oct 17 beta of Cataclysm then a hour later it happened. But was told it sounds like the power button issue.
Took it apart, tried to fix it. If plugged in I can get into the bootloader, but then it reboots again. I've tried tapping it on a hard surface, and it gets seems like it almost fixes it because it'll connect to my laptop but then reboots again.
Could it be the battery? It was fully charged but then died as I was deleting hundreds of photo's in Dropbox to move photo's over from my phone because it was full.

I too am running into this same issue. My screen cracked so I replaced the digitizer with some success. In the process I damaged the battery and needed to replace it. When I got the new battery and replaced it my phone is now unusable.
When unplugged: I turn on the phone and it's running the ANDROID animation then turns off.
When plugged in: I turn on the phone, the ANDROID animation runs then the phone restarts and continues the process over and over again.
I then flashed the phone with Marshmallow and the same thing happens. Except now that I flashed it I get the Android icon with the spinning gear. So; I flashed it back to 5.1.1, but the same result.
Could I have physically damaged something inside or is it a battery issue? Thanks for any insight.