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[Q] Last hope: Desire S stuck in bootloader S-on

Hello,
My Desire S froze when updating Skype 2 weeks ago.
Removed battery. Phone stuck on HTC logo.
Went to bootloader for hard reset. When hard rest chosen phone freezes.
Went to recovery, phone starts recovery. Black screen, green icon. Then goes dark. Starts to vibrate 6-7 times. Then remains off. Battery out, battery in. Back to HTC logo again.
Laptop recognized phone when plugged in with fastboot mode. Under device manager (win 7) "HTC phone".
I bought the phone in Thailand, but am now in Philippines where there is no HTC repair center.
I managed to find RUU_Saga_HTC_Thailand_1.35.1113.2_Radio_20.28d.30.0805U_3805.04.02.01_M_release_183327_signed
Which matches my phone. However when trying to install the rom, the above app freezes on "restarting bootloader". I've left it there for over an hour.
I've tried ADB, but it's not picking up the phone.
I'm guessing either of the above can't load, as the phone is S-on.
But I cannot go S-off as I can't get the phone to boot, or any of the above software to find the phone. Again, windows is picking up that there's a HTC phone plugged in.
I've tried everything I know, and am at my wits end into thinking the phone is finished.
Can anyone help with something I may have overlooked, or have a suggestion to bring this back to life?
Thanks

It's most probably a hardware problem. There's a high chance that your phone's emmc chip is fried when u remove the battery. it's common in htc due to the phone design. My phone encountered same thing 2 weeks ago. sent for repair and they change the mainboard. I was lucky they ignored that my phone was S-on(warranty voided)

I was thinking hardware last week after everything was failing. But as it was still booting to fastloader, and being picked up via usb was holding out hope it might just be the s-on preventing me from putting on a new rom. And not a mainboard gone.
Flying back to Thailand for the warranty would cost the same as buying a new phone ...
If taking a battery out when a phone is frozen fries a mainboard on HTC ... I doubt I will buy one again.
Looking at Galaxy 2. But also having doubts due to wifi reports and overheating screen. Can't afford another dud smartphone.
If anyone's got anything else to get this thing up to see if the mainboard is indeed dead, or it's something else, do make a suggestion please!

I have same problem like this before and it's really pain in the a#$. Also, there is one HTC service center here in the Philippines, check it out on HTC site.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

Thanks MarlX
Yes, I've been in touch with HTC repair center in Manila via phone and email. I've been waiting for reply for over one week now!
I'm not in Manila, which would mean using fedex to send it up to them. Then bank transfer to pay for repair and shipping back.
If it is the Motherboard that's gone, all the above will probably cost more than a new phone
But I won't know until HTC Manila actually bother to reply!?!

so what was the Problem is it becoz of Skype?

no,this problem happens if you pull the battery out when installing apps
the emmc chip is probably dead,if so you need to send it for warranty or replace the emmc chip yourself

Well unfortunately, when updating the skype app, the phone froze. As in no buttons working, phone getting hot etc.
What else is there to do but take the battery out?
Either way, to have a "premium" phone like the HTC Desire S, burn out a chip, or indeed have a popular app causing it to brick etc is simply not good enough.
More over the support center refusing to reply back.
It simply means they've lost another customer.
The phone, when working, was wonderful. Looking at the Galaxy S 2 today, by all accounts a "better" phone, and it was sad. As, for me, the HTC Desire S was much more preferable.
Except of course for it's 6 week lifespan ... bad customer care etc

Just to bad that you did not bought it here. My phone died two months ago (used it only for a month), sent it to the store and they've sent it to service center (in Manila). Had to wait for a month for them to fix it. Motherboard issues I think. Good thing I still have warranty.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

DDesires said:
Well unfortunately, when updating the skype app, the phone froze. As in no buttons working, phone getting hot etc.
What else is there to do but take the battery out?
Either way, to have a "premium" phone like the HTC Desire S, burn out a chip, or indeed have a popular app causing it to brick etc is simply not good enough.
More over the support center refusing to reply back.
It simply means they've lost another customer.
The phone, when working, was wonderful. Looking at the Galaxy S 2 today, by all accounts a "better" phone, and it was sad. As, for me, the HTC Desire S was much more preferable.
Except of course for it's 6 week lifespan ... bad customer care etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah,this is really bad
but mine has been working for 3months without any problem,& the customer support here is good
if you dont mind voiding the warranty you can buy a eMMC & replace it yourself
if you do so you wont get this problem again
refer this thread for more info

There is software "hard" reset option. Instead of pulling the battery out, press all hardware buttons together (vol up, vol down, power button) and phone will reboot. I said this many times before in many topics: never pull out your battery when the phone is on. I learned it the hard way.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

kartkk said:
if you dont mind voiding the warranty you can buy a eMMC & replace it yourself
if you do so you wont get this problem again
refer this thread for more info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks kartkk. I wouldn't know where to begin with the physical replacement of the eMMC chip. Not even sure I can buy one around here.
I might call HTC Thailand and ask if I can send it to them via DHL or the like.

Numline1 said:
There is software "hard" reset option. Instead of pulling the battery out, press all hardware buttons together (vol up, vol down, power button) and phone will reboot. I said this many times before in many topics: never pull out your battery when the phone is on. I learned it the hard way.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe you should ask HTC to write that in big red writing on the back of their batteries as they start to reach burn your finger stage when the phone freezes.
Or maybe copy Nokia's hardware which is near on indestructible.
Quite simply, I am not a phone tech person. I'm a simple end user.
I've not had a problem taking a battery out of other phones.
Again, if taking a battery out of a phone kills it when it freezes, then quite simply the phone is not good enough. Or, if it is likely to. Then, again, in big writing for simple folk like me, big red writing on the battery saying
"don't take this out, even if it starts to feel like it's going to melt"

BTW if anyone can point me to a step-by-step on how to determine if the eMMC chip is fried or not, I would appreciate it.
I read the above link. But don't know how to get to that stage!

Apologies I see he was connecting via adb-shell. I've tried connecting via adb and it's not seeing the phone....
Which I think is half the problem.

DDesires said:
maybe you should ask HTC to write that in big red writing on the back of their batteries as they start to reach burn your finger stage when the phone freezes.
Or maybe copy Nokia's hardware which is near on indestructible.
Quite simply, I am not a phone tech person. I'm a simple end user.
I've not had a problem taking a battery out of other phones.
Again, if taking a battery out of a phone kills it when it freezes, then quite simply the phone is not good enough. Or, if it is likely to. Then, again, in big writing for simple folk like me, big red writing on the battery saying
"don't take this out, even if it starts to feel like it's going to melt"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try searching on ebay for sandisk mmc (or any other brand just dont get the same one used on the DS)
its always dangerous to pull the power from any device which works like a pc even in a pc pulling the power out while the device is on can harm the hardware &/or software i know many people who damaged their pc from pulling the plug while its on

Best to my knowledge it was an emmc chip that was recommended to be replaced. Not an MMC.
While removing "power" abruptly from any electronic device is not recommend, one is sometimes left with no choice. Complete device freeze, no buttons working etc.
There is also a destine difference between a PC and a mobile phone. Though, it must be said from my point of view: today's Android phones, are very reminiscent of old windows 95/98 OS's in terms of stability and hardware issues.

[Q] HTC Desire S Charging Problem

Hi All XDA Members I have a problem with my new phone (HTC Desire S) and was wondering if anyone could help me with what might be causing a certain charging problem, soo the problem...
The phone seems to think its being charged sometimes even when disconnected and is failing to charge the phones batteries through the standard wall charger or USB connection, therefore I am having to charge the batteries via taking the battery out of the phone and charging it in a separate dock I have purchased.
Sometimes as well after charging the batteries in the dock then placing them into the phone and turning it on the phones LED orange indicator glows and still thinks its being charged even when it has had a battery unpresent in it for several hours?
Does anyone have any possible outcomes to what this may be because of? Any help would be much appreciated?
The phone is running MIUI Android custom ROM with s-off.
Thanks,
Daniel
NOTE: I know I said "my new phone" but it is second hand and I purchased it with this problem hoping to come up with a fix.

have you tried other roms and experienced the same problem? or have u only ever had miui on it?

Hi, cheers for the quick response, and no I have tried multiple roms so far and all same problem.
Could it be anything to do with me getting cheap replaceable batteries for the phone as they are also not at the standard 1400mah but at 1450mah or should this not make a difference?
Cheers

Lowery91 said:
Hi, cheers for the quick response, and no I have tried multiple roms so far and all same problem.
Could it be anything to do with me getting cheap replaceable batteries for the phone as they are also not at the standard 1400mah but at 1450mah or should this not make a difference?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this could certainly be the issue! so your saying it doesn't have a original htc battery? if i was you, the 1st thing id do is try a genuine 1. try to borrow 1 if u can from a friend or drop into a phone shop and ask. If it doesnt solve the issue atleast u havn't blown 30 quid on an original battery

you should try a genuine battery for sure! also their capacity is 1450mAh not 1400
check amazon uk

mixalakis32 said:
you should try a genuine battery for sure! also their capacity is 1450mAh not 1400
check amazon uk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just discovered guys that the batteries are actually 1500mah? Is this the problem and is their anyway to configure the phone to run with these batteries properly?
I am beginning to think whether it could be because of previous water damage if it has suffered from it before, but I would not know or be able to find out myself if it has been water damaged.
I was also thinking it could be this as maybe a possible short it happening on the main board and is causing the phone to think its constantly charging? Maybe?
Cheers Guys!

Can anyone help pleaseee!!

Lowery91 said:
Can anyone help pleaseee!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes you say that the battery is 1500 ? It's 1450.
HTC's own website says
Code:
[B]Power & Battery[/B]
Battery type:Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity:1450 mAh

Hey guys (apologies I see this is a month old)
The issue Lowery91 has seems to be exactly the same as I had with my desire s. I'm breaking my heart trying to find out what's going on.
I have one of the original batteries that came with the desire S. The phone has these issues without being rooted (which I intend to do to see if I can amend it).
However for me it first started acting strange when I plugged it into a car charger.
Again sorry for rehashing this post but if anyone could shed some light on this I'd really appreciate it.

KAFel01 said:
Hey guys (apologies I see this is a month old)
The issue Lowery91 has seems to be exactly the same as I had with my desire s. I'm breaking my heart trying to find out what's going on.
I have one of the original batteries that came with the desire S. The phone has these issues without being rooted (which I intend to do to see if I can amend it).
However for me it first started acting strange when I plugged it into a car charger.
Again sorry for rehashing this post but if anyone could shed some light on this I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd suggest that you contact HTC support and get them to send you a replacement battery, explaining that yours is faulty, don't send your existing one back.
Swyped from my Desire S using XDA Premium

i think it is not a battery problem, i have two htc desire S and one today had the same problem, i tried to change batteries but when i put battery from other desire S i had the same problem, booth batteries working perfectly on second phone.
So i think it is phone problem. Something like voltage loss or etc. Because i thinkphone gets not enouth power to charge battery. But this is only my opinion.

Champ HitPlay
Lowery91 said:
Hi All XDA Members I have a problem with my new phone (HTC Desire S) and was wondering if anyone could help me with what might be causing a certain charging problem, soo the problem...
The phone seems to think its being charged sometimes even when disconnected and is failing to charge the phones batteries through the standard wall charger or USB connection, therefore I am having to charge the batteries via taking the battery out of the phone and charging it in a separate dock I have purchased.
Sometimes as well after charging the batteries in the dock then placing them into the phone and turning it on the phones LED orange indicator glows and still thinks its being charged even when it has had a battery unpresent in it for several hours?
Does anyone have any possible outcomes to what this may be because of? Any help would be much appreciated?
The phone is running MIUI Android custom ROM with s-off.
Thanks,
Daniel
NOTE: I know I said "my new phone" but it is second hand and I purchased it with this problem hoping to come up with a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this: It was a small pin inside that had come out. It connects the USB to the motherboard and is visible just below the battery. I fixed it in 10 mins with a bit of R&D. Now that you know, it will take you less than 10 seconds.

Having opened up the phone quite a few times now, hopefully i can give a couple of pointers towards this...
There is a small connector with flex cable that connects the USB port to the main board of the phone. To get to this easily, remove the batter, SIM and memory card. Also remove the 4 torx screws at the bottom of the phone and gently slide out the plastic clip that holds the battery in place. You will see this connector at the right side of the phone if its facing down. Just push it up with a small screwdriver and push it in on the connector again. Reassemble.
Hopefully this is the cause of the problem in the first case! Please do this with care..
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for bricked phones/broken usb ports, etc. Please do this systematically and all should be fine.

[Q] Dead!

got my HTC Sensation back from HTC yesterday
they replaced the main board.
all seemed well, today when I took it off the charger it does not seem to have charged the phone
it then very quickly died as the battery went
now it won't even flash the orange light
completely dead
have ordered a genuine battery
failing that its back to HTC
any ideas ?
totally stock phone, genuine battery and charger and cable

Do not use a HTC battery. They have their issues.
Buy a Anker battery. You can find these on ebay at fairly decent prices.

Got an anker too, same result, still kaput.

cirian75 said:
Got an anker too, same result, still kaput.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the pins that connect to the battery and make sure they are not bent any.

pins are A'ok
tried a 2nd genuine battery that was 60% out of the pack.
phone fired up, put it on charge, 1h 30m was down to 48%
so it claims to be charging, but is not
anyhoo, its back with UPS on its way back HTC for the second time.

Come tomorrow HTC has had it a week, strange
1st time they had it just a day before they sent it back with a new mainboard.

HTC tracking say repair complete
should be on the UPS wagon tonight and here tomorrow.

back in repair
must have failed QC inspection

Now marked as shipped
should be here tomorrow.

Got phone back
Not fixed
marked as no fault found
they must have only plugged it in to see if it said charging and the orange light came on
plainly did not check to see if the percentage increased
back to HTC a 3rd time

cirian75 said:
Got phone back
Not fixed
marked as no fault found
they must have only plugged it in to see if it said charging and the orange light came on
plainly did not check to see if the percentage increased
back to HTC a 3rd time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried a different charger/cable?

Have tried all the below
and home and at work.
x2 HTC chargers and cables
x1 Samsung Galaxy S charger
x2 HTC batterys
x1 Anker battery.

Wow 3 times! I really hope they fix the issue correctly this time! They say three times is a charm, hopefully it will be repaired correctly!
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

Tried a HBoot mode charge, no dice

HTC tracking saying repair complete
bets on it not being ?

Hope its sorted this time
sadly the repair proccess can be a bit hit and miss for charging issues and normaly there is no 24 hours soak time to check, all down to keeping the costs low :crying:
I used to work for Virgin on the mobile tech side and the repair centre could be great or rubish they use UTL in the Midlands somewhere. The most common issue was sending the phone back incomplete (not counting when it was sent in requesting the wrong repair of course)

well if its still knackered Im going to demand to talk to a super and get a new sensation or better.

OK
HTC tracking is now showing as
REQUEST INITIATED
Service Type:Repair
Requested:07/06/2012
Status:Awaiting Device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as if they are still waiting for it to arrive
They've had it near a week as was claiming repaired earlier in today.

I have just received my phone back from HTC today and I had the same issue's with the repair tracker, after staying on "awaiting device" for about a week it just changed suddenly to "repair complete", the next day it went back to "awaiting device" then it went to "in repair" before they finally shipped it back, took my phone about 2 weeks intotal. The whole thing was confusing and not really informative but they fixed my phone so I can't really complain.
Hope you get you phone back soon and fully repaired!
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using Tapatalk 2

I have my sensation back
it now charges :victory:
we all know what happened here
mobo went faulty
1st Replaced by techie failed who failed reconnect a small ribbon cable
So it refuses to charge due to small ribbon cable not being connected
2nd Techie choose to believe what the phone said it was charging, rather than just wait 10 minutes to see if it did.
3rd a letter was enclosed telling them the fault exactly, hey presto its fixed

[Q] Strange power problem

My HTC Sensation seems to have a very strange power problem and I am hoping someone can help. Around four months ago my phone started switching itself off when I went to do something, it could be read a text, make a call or maybe send a text. What I noticed is when I turned the phone back on the battery level would jump down, it could “lose” 20-60% of its battery life.
If I then put it on charge it would never return to 100% unless I restarted it, it was almost as if the phone didn’t recognise the % of battery it had “lost”. This could happen many times a day and once it switched itself off around 15-20 times as I tried to make a phone call when hiking in the mountains.
The only time it keeps working is if it is connected to a power source. Also when it does switch off I notice it becomes quite hot at the bottom of the screen.
I swapped batteries with my girlfriend who has the Sensation XE and with her battery my phone worked fine but with my battery her touchscreen wasn’t as responsive as normal which was very strange.
I was running the HTC stock firmware but I moved to CyanogenMod to play with it and see if it was a software issue but the problem continues with CyanogenMod.
I spoke to HTC but they said I was out with my 12 month accessory warranty so I’d have to buy a new battery. The problem kept happening and it drove me round the bend for a while until I just decided I’d buy an Anker battery. I’ve had it for almost two months and all was going well until yesterday when my phone turned itself off as I tried to send a text.
Since then it must have turned itself off around 6 times either trying to make a call, read a text or send one.
Does anyone have any ideas? I thought it was just a dud battery at first but now with the exact same thing happening to the second one I wonder if it’s something else.
Thanks

try to put a piece of paper or something to fit where the battery connects with the device
maybe loses somehow the connection
best wishes

Hi Lsmith,
This issue seems to happen on many Sensation devices... but there is hope!
Sometimes it's due to a custom Rom or due to a let's say "faulty" connection between battery and the connectors of your device.
- I would first suggest to charge your phone up to 100% (if possible). After that, perform a reset (make a backup) and look how your device behaves.
- If you still detect the same behavior follow this thread ->
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1531232 (check out the last picture). This is the so called paper trick...
For me it's enough placing a folded paper on the battery itself, covering part of the sim card. Just try out what suits you best.
Cheers
tneS morf ym noitasenS gnisu klatapaT

Thanks guys, I'll take a look at that thread.

(Question) HTC One A9 Screen won't turn on

I have a HTC One A9 at home, which is a decent phone. Bought it from the UK and it served me well. After using it, I upgraded to a HTC U11 Life, but still kept the A9. After taking it out of my drawer, the phone was still working and was in mint condition, except the battery could only hold charge for 3-4 MINUTES. I looked at a few tutorials online, ordered a new battery and disassembled the phone, nothing was physically damaged in the phone, and I didn't damage anything while opening it. I went ahead and changed the battery and tried to boot, but it wouldnt work.. The charging light turns orange, but the screen shows no life. Before this, the screen was workign perfectly fine. The phone also wont vibrate if I try to power it on. I changed the battery back to the weak one, sealed it up and left it to charge. The charging light turns orange, then turns green after a while, but wont boot and the screen shows no life. I managed to return the new battery, but the phone isn't working anymore. Nothing appears to be damaged physically, and I took great care opening it, I even bought some tools and had a heatgun lying around.
If anyone can guess what the issue is (motherboard, screen, some wack htc feature) then id appreciate it. I wont be fixing it if it needs a new screen or board, as thats too costly. If its a software issue or something, then please help me out with this. For now, my best bet is to sell it for parts and make hope to make 10-15 bucks off of a phone which otherwise wouldve sold for 45-50 usd (in my region)