Database Info

For everyone who Bricked their phone - Help prevent the others

Hey guys, if you've read around this forum, you must be familiar with the infamous bricked eMMC problems. I am 99.9% sure that the bricked eMMC chip is a problem only in devices with a chip that was faulty in the first place. This means that you can brick your eMMC, ONLY IF YOURS IS ALREADY FAULTY. I need to confirm that, through this thread.
When the phone first came out, there were MANY threads on the hardware faults like "Battery cover not fitting" and "Misaligned screen", like this - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053241
The eMMC was an issue that could't be identified easily, so it wasn't reported. Now, many people are having this issue and we need to find a pattern. I think that all the guys who bricked their phone would be living in the same country or at least the same continent so, this is a probably local issue.
Also, i'm sure they had one of the other issues i mentioned above. I've not seen anyone in India or Asia with any such issues, so i think we need to find out why europe is having problems.
Please post if you have bricked your phone. Also, tell us your country, and if you had any other issues.
EDIT: Please also post your eMMC Chip name. find out by running this in terminal or ADB
cat /sys/devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/name

i have never had this problem myself
but have recently seen quite a few people with this problem on the forum
i have a doubt,is it possible that these faulty devices are fake?has anyone with a dead emmc chip verified their imei number?
i have recently read on many sites that manufacturers dont reveal the full device as fake ones that look alike are made in a matter of days & introduced in the market along with the originals
the problem occurs only if you pull the battery , so if your device hangs press vol up+vol down+ power button this should shutdown your device & prevent this problem
according to this thread only SAMSUNG104 emmc chip have this problem
i also have this emmc but dont have this issue

I'm from germany, my DS was bought in middle/end of July:
I have the SEM04G chip and no problem with "Battery cover not fitting" and "Misaligned screen".
But here in german boards are many people with the bad chip and bricked eMMC.

My chip is M4G2DE.......

I'm from Spain, and bricked my DS by the battery issue.
Learned about resetting with three buttons when it was too late.
Now my terminal is on repairing, but I think warranty won't be applied and I'll have to pay for fixing it (s-off'ed and rooted).

arrobador said:
I'm from Spain, and bricked my DS by the battery issue.
Learned about resetting with three buttons when it was too late.
Now my terminal is on repairing, but I think warranty won't be applied and I'll have to pay for fixing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please post your eMMC Chip name. find out by running this in terminal or ADB
cat /sys/devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/name

shrome99 said:
My chip is M4G2DE.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it marked KLM4G2DEJE A001?
if so then this is the same one that i have & is the one described in this thread

shrome99 said:
Please post your eMMC Chip name. find out by running this in terminal or ADB
cat /sys/devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/name
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry,but I don't have it, it's on the repairing center in Madrid.

no problem, post when you get it back.
@kartkk how do i check if it's marked KLM4G2DEJE A001? I'm pretty sure it's the same, as both are indian models.........

some time back i used this thread & looked under
Code:
cat /sys/devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/name
using es explorer & mine was M4G2DE,so we have the same (sorry about that i forgot this name ,just checked it again now)
at that time i didnt check all the things he said i only checked the name as i didnt understand what half the post meant back then
then DS user opumps in this post opened his device to replace his broken emmc & posted what was physically written on the device
opumps said:
the eMMC-chip(marked as SAMSUNG104, KLM4G2DEJE A001, FDAE15PC)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

My chip is M4G2DE. And i have a little bit Misaligned screen.I am from Germany.
But i have no issues with the chip, no freeze or other things.
I have read that we should not pull the battery out, and restart with hardware buttons wen it would freeze, before i buy my DS.
Flashs,Wipes,Ruu installs all fine her all the time....

i have pulled out my battery once ,and i will never do that again.
fortunately no problems!

Could the difference in chip quality be attributed to the date of manufacture? I remember the nokia 5800, the first release was very stable and users encounter few problems, then came the subsequent releases which was sold at a cheaper price. Though cheaper, users encountered various problems like battery drain and sim numbers not showing on messages. I believe this is the case for the desire s.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

M4G2DE here. O2 UK Desire S.

Hey, a word of advice - I've pulled my battery various times(never gonna do it again though). The problem arises when you pull the battery, and instantly insert it back. If you REALLY DESPERATELY need to pull the battery, make sure that there's a 10-20 second gap between pulling and reinserting. Also, pull battery out completely. Don't let it stay in the cover.

Desire S Bricked from Battery issue.
Location Taiwan
Can't tell you chip number because already sent back to factory.
Thanks for creating this post.

monkey21stc said:
Could the difference in chip quality be attributed to the date of manufacture? I remember the nokia 5800, the first release was very stable and users encounter few problems, then came the subsequent releases which was sold at a cheaper price. Though cheaper, users encountered various problems like battery drain and sim numbers not showing on messages. I believe this is the case for the desire s.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that could be the case here because most of the forum members who got the device early, just after the device was released have no problems with the device
back when i used to have nokia phones there were many duplicates which look exactly the same & perform quite well(not as good as the original though) were quite common maybe that is the case here also??

I can't check my previous chip, since I have my mb replaced, but it was bought in uk and it was original, htc confirmed it and repaired it.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

shrome99 said:
My chip is M4G2DE.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same chip, not had issue myself, thanks for creating this thread was getting slightly concerned with the number of times that I've read of this problem
Swyped from HTC Desire S using XDA Premium

shrome99 said:
My chip is M4G2DE.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is also M4G2DE too. Bought from the Philippines last May 30 from official/authenticated HTC Store in Manila.
Haven't experienced any freeze out though. No problem with misalignment or anything. Just the annoying and infamous Wi-Fi Death Grip.
on HBOOT, mine says:
Mar 10 2011, 14:58:38

qhusb_dload brick after bad vold.fstab edit

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post - just wanted to share my unpleasant experience.
I've bricked my phone in a peculiar way - it appears to be a hard brick, non-responsive to any buttons. Plugging in to the computer gets me the dreaded qhusb_dload QPST download mode. Not a good sign.
It wasn't due to faulty ROM flashing, either. I made a bad edit to /system/etc/vold.fstab fiddling with the way the internal and external SD cards get mounted - mmc1 instead of mmc2. After one reboot, I had some sd card corrupted errors. Proceeding to format the card may have been my fatal error. By the second reboot, I was bricked. D'oh. I imagine I had accidentally mounted a partition of the internal emmc that is critical to normal operations, then tried to wipe it.
From what I've read, a USB jig won't do much good, but it's worth a try.
Anyone messing around with their /system folder, be warned.

That's sux, but on a good note, $50 and a little waiting will get your phone back, or you could just warranty that sucker ;-) give more refurb units to some other xda members lol

I sense another refurb sale on ATT.com. Sorry to hear about that, sounds bad. No guts no glory right?

I purchased this as a refurb, too. The cycle continues...
Not sure how the whole exchange process will work in this case. I mean, I can exchange for a different phone, or a new Skyrocket and pay the difference, but I really had my heart set on a cheapo skyrocket. Perhaps if I take this up with Samsung instead?

Ur 90 warranty is over already? That sux then. I personally would pay $50 and get it de-bricked, its the cheapest/best option.

I didn't expect much in the way of warranties because I purchased this refurbished. With Samsung customer service I didn't have much luck. However, I just got off the phone with AT&T, and they're overnighting me a replacement, which is cool. They have a 30 day policy on any web store items, so I'm covered. Anyways, lesson learned

check this thread, please: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1522351

RussianBear said:
check this thread, please: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1522351
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you in thw process of bringing that to the skyrocket?

silver03wrx said:
Are you in thw process of bringing that to the skyrocket?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we need all the help we can get. just a bunch of curious noobs, ya know
the main discovery we did with sensation was to make the emmc visible to any pc it's connected to, then overwriting whatever was messed up (like the hboot) with a stock version of that file.
in theory, you should be able to do this to any phone running on a qualcomm chipset once it's in the qhsusb_dload mode. still lots to test, but anyone is welcome to participate, of course!

Do you have a skyrocket that your testing on?
Obviously you know its much different then hboot
On htc.

silver03wrx said:
Do you have a skyrocket that your testing on?
Obviously you know its much different then hboot
On htc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, just sensation. they both run on a qualcomm chipset though, so i'm just speculating here.
the bricks we're "saving" right now are for people that executed s-on without fully reading the instruction, thereby leaving them in qhsusb_dload mode. your cases might be specific to a different area, but the principal is still the same:
find what is messed up and replace it with the correct file via open emmc

Big progress made for APQ8060 and MSM86xx processors. Sensation hard brick solution coming very soon and SkyRocket/T-Mobile Galaxy S II solutions already solved...

What's this I smell? Possible de-brick
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727

I also experience this problem on my xperia L
I messed up with vold.fstab and now my phone can't enter flashmode or it doesn't turn on also

amnher said:
I also experience this problem on my xperia L
I messed up with vold.fstab and now my phone can't enter flashmode or it doesn't turn on also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the same problem xperia miro
any updates ?

Nexus 5 flash memory corrupted / can't flash stock / can't unlock

Greetings!
As the topic says, I have a Nexus, which is kinda bricked (soft or hard, don't know). The current situation is that it boots up -> Google logo -> Nexus logo -> "Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped..." followed by dozen other process kills. After pressing 'ok' for about twenty times, I get to see the welcome screen, which you get after factory reset. I'm also able to skip through almost all the set ups (while pressing 'ok' at the force closures), but usually I can't get past the last phase, which is 'finish' or something. When I press the button, it says the same thing with the process has stopped and reverts to the previous phase or sometimes reboots itself. However, during my repairing process, I've managed few times to get past the initial setup an into the android settings via notification bar. No idea when this happens, seems quite random. It also reboots randomly, followed by few more reboots with "android is upgrading" message. Randomness is a key word here.
So, how this happend? To be honest, don't really know. I got this from a friend, who said it just shut down in the middle of Clash Of Clans, possibly due to low battery. I have no idea what's been done to the phone after that apart from my desperate repairing experiments.
I've searched all over the internet and the most reasonable answer I found, was "flash stock image", which I tried and it gives some kind of 'flash write error'. Also, the bootloader is locked. I know how to unlock it, but for some reason it re-locks after reboot. I've tried all sorts of toolkits and also the command line "fastboot oem unlock", but no cigar. I get the unlocking screen and I'm able to unlock, but after I boot, the bootloader says "locked" again. Also, everytime I boot up, I get the welcome screen with the process stopped windows even if I somehow manage to surf through the initial setup.
I also tried to flash without unlocking and flash without rebooting after unlock command, but the phone gives a 'flash write' error. Needless to say, I've also tried factory resetting and clearing cache from recovery, but it doesn't seem to help anything. Cache wipe also gives an error saying "can't open /cache/recovery/last-log (+ /last_install) (read-only file-system). Don't know if this is due the locked bootloader?
Is there a way to flash Nexus 5 in a download mode? I managed to get into one by accident, but didn't really find any help from google... I'm more used to my Samsung Galaxy S3, which has download mode to help unbrick bad flashes etc. Nexus-LG is apparently a bit different.
I'm wondering, if it's possible that the flash memory is broken? Apparently it's somehow corrupted atleast, but is there any way to force flash or do something to clean up the whole thing without unlocking or can I unlock it some other way? I've already used all my knowledge and imagination over this thing, but can't seem to make any progress. Please ask me, if there's something I forgot to mention in my post. It's a shame there's no external-sd slot in this, 'cause I'm quite sure the phone should be totally working otherwise.
Thanks for your interest and answers in advance!
PS. Feel free to give me any sorts of experimental tricks; I've spent 0 euros on this thing, and I'm willing to try anything... it can't really get "more not working" :laugh:

Most likely your emmc is borked and you won't be able to recover it. But you might try following this thread from someone else who had the same problem http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=54333060
Edit, pay attention to bitdomo's suggestions
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

If you want to enter download mode then check the my singature about LG flashtool, but don't give hopes.
I have no idea what causing these kind of errors.
I think it is not a bad sector error because the whole emmc affected with all the partitions. Partitions become non-writeable or completly messed up and cannot be formated or fixed because the emmc cannot be written.
It is not like the permanent or temporary write protect flag sets to 1 from 0 in the CSD register.
Could it be a bug in the emmc firmware or some other componets faulty which are connected to the emmc?
I also tried to find the connection points, which are exposed on the motherboard, to the emmc with the help of the service manuals. I have found everything except the grounds, Vss and VssQ. Here are the connection points I found.
Some documents:
Serivce manuals
data sheet of the emmc
something about how the emmc work: here, here and here
I dont have any messauring tool to find out more about this problem.

Thank you both!
I tried the LG FlashTool method, but as you expected, it didn't work. It gave an error saying 'user data erase failed', which I think finally means that nobody and no-thing is able to write stuff to that chip. I figure my only option to get this device working is to get a 'new' motherboard somewhere. I suppose it's not possible to change the flash memory chip itself? Do you guys have any experiences on motherboard changes? Is there something I should know before? The phone itself looks pretty easy to open, compared to other devices I've disassembled so technically I should be okay, unless there's some compatibility issues around. My device is not the north-american model, but can I use north-american motherboard as a spare part? Isn't all the information basically stored in the mobo? I think I could get a glass cracked phone from ebay, but it would be nice to be able to use it here in Finland...
And thank you again, it's always good to hear my phone has gone fubar from someone else than myself

McKis said:
Thank you both!
I tried the LG FlashTool method, but as you expected, it didn't work. It gave an error saying 'user data erase failed', which I think finally means that nobody and no-thing is able to write stuff to that chip. I figure my only option to get this device working is to get a 'new' motherboard somewhere. I suppose it's not possible to change the flash memory chip itself? Do you guys have any experiences on motherboard changes? Is there something I should know before? The phone itself looks pretty easy to open, compared to other devices I've disassembled so technically I should be okay, unless there's some compatibility issues around. My device is not the north-american model, but can I use north-american motherboard as a spare part? Isn't all the information basically stored in the mobo? I think I could get a glass cracked phone from ebay, but it would be nice to be able to use it here in Finland...
And thank you again, it's always good to hear my phone has gone fubar from someone else than myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to use LTE in finland then get D821 motherboard.
By the way why cant you or your friend claim the phone warranty?

bitdomo said:
If you want to use LTE in finland then get D821 motherboard.
By the way why cant you or your friend claim the phone warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, now that you mentioned it... I assumed the warranty was already void, since it's only one year (bought from Asia), but it seems the Nexus 5 was launched less than a year ago. To be honest, I didn't even think about the warranty since he gave the phone directly (?) to me. I should probably ask him...
I assume the LTE restrictions are based on hardware of the chip and can't be dealt with software patching?
Anyways, thanks for your help, you've been really kind!

McKis said:
Hmm, now that you mentioned it... I assumed the warranty was already void, since it's only one year (bought from Asia), but it seems the Nexus 5 was launched less than a year ago. To be honest, I didn't even think about the warranty since he gave the phone directly (?) to me. I should probably ask him...
I assume the LTE restrictions are based on hardware of the chip and can't be dealt with software patching?
Anyways, thanks for your help, you've been really kind!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the differance with the LTE bands is hardware thing. If the phone you have is the international nexus 5 aka D821 then you can ask for LG in finland about the cost of the repair. It will be hard to find D821 motherboard or nexus 5 with broken screen on ebay, but there are many D820s.
I want ask one thing. Can you reboot to bootloader and check the variant line? For me it says "hammerhead D821(H) 16GB"
What is the letter you see between the ( )?

bitdomo said:
Yes, the differance with the LTE bands is hardware thing. If the phone you have is the international nexus 5 aka D821 then you can ask for LG in finland about the cost of the repair. It will be hard to find D821 motherboard or nexus 5 with broken screen on ebay, but there are many D820s.
I want ask one thing. Can you reboot to bootloader and check the variant line? For me it says "hammerhead D821(H) 16GB"
What is the letter you see between the ( )?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 'hammerhead D821(E) 16GB'. Yeah, it seems a lot of Nexuses sold are in fact the north american version (surprisingly). Well, maybe I'll check the warranty/repairing status first. Although, I don't mind not using LTE, since I've never trusted any mobile networks at all so it doesn't matter to me if I only have 3G speeds :silly:

McKis said:
I have 'hammerhead D821(E) 16GB'. Yeah, it seems a lot of Nexuses sold are in fact the north american version (surprisingly). Well, maybe I'll check the warranty/repairing status first. Although, I don't mind not using LTE, since I've never trusted any mobile networks at all so it doesn't matter to me if I only have 3G speeds :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your response. The (E) and (H) letters means the brand of the memory. E for Elpida and H for Hynx. Nexus 5s with Elpida ram are rare just like nexus 5s with faulty emmc. The memory, cpu and gpu are put together to one chip, the MSM8974 chip. This chip controls everything on the phone including the emmc.
I should make a survey about the emmc faulty devices to gain more infos before making theories.

bitdomo said:
Thank you for your response. The (E) and (H) letters means the brand of the memory. E for Elpida and H for Hynx. Nexus 5s with Elpida ram are rare just like nexus 5s with faulty emmc. The memory, cpu and gpu are put together to one chip, the MSM8974 chip. This chip controls everything on the phone including the emmc.
I should make a survey about the emmc faulty devices to gain more infos before making theories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering what that letter meant lol.

bitdomo said:
Thank you for your response. The (E) and (H) letters means the brand of the memory. E for Elpida and H for Hynx. Nexus 5s with Elpida ram are rare just like nexus 5s with faulty emmc. The memory, cpu and gpu are put together to one chip, the MSM8974 chip. This chip controls everything on the phone including the emmc.
I should make a survey about the emmc faulty devices to gain more infos before making theories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for necroing this post but it serve to anyone with my question that google nexus 5 elpida emmc.
Will elpida emmc fail and hynix is a lot better? Cause im having a n5 with 32g (e) and a 16g n5 (h)
Im using hynix one cause i reflash everytime and i dont want a bricked n5, is there anyway to know if my elpida n5 will brick or somewhat?
Tha kz!
Sent from my FX82-ms using Tapatalk

transplant / restore TA partition from the other phone

I am new to dealing with DRM keys and Sony's TA partition and I ask for a little understanding with my dumb questions.
I bought a white Z3 Dual (D6633) for my wife and immediately unlocked bootloader and rooted the phone. She is super happy with it since speed of the phone and camera quality is a big upgrade from HTC Sensations we both own and used until now.
Reading all this stuff about camera issues after unlocking bootloader + other things that stop working makes me really concerned that I have inadvertently and significantly crippled her phone... On the other hand having a root is absolutely critical for me and so far all phones in our household ended up with custom ROM eventually since manufacturers don't support phones with the new software forewer.
To be honest, I think I've missed saving TA partition option completely while following root guide at http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3/development/root-stock-kernel-twrp-v01-test-28-09-t2889794 and I've began to wonder if it would be possible to transplant DRM keys from other Z3 with locked bootloader? I am assuming that each phone has an unique set of keys but if I were to move them from one device to a second identical one and therefore there would be no two phones using same keys, would it work or are they locked to the specific IMEI? Although Z3 Dual has 2 IMEIs and only one was asked for while unlocking bootloader.
What I plan to do is to get a second Z3 Dual for myself now but with copper finish and transplant ALL software to my wife's phone. I am quite sure that she will be fine with stock ROM forever but I tend to mess with hardware I own a lot and reflash ROMs very often and I am willing to give up a little bit for these reasons, although while learning how much one needs to give up with Sony, essentially significantly crippling the phone in the process I begin to question if I should give Sony any more of my money...
I am really hoping that some developer will be able to create a ROM restoring most of those lost features in the process.

czguy said:
I am new to dealing with DRM keys and Sony's TA partition and I ask for a little understanding with my dumb questions.
I bought a white Z3 Dual (D6633) for my wife and immediately unlocked bootloader and rooted the phone. She is super happy with it since speed of the phone and camera quality is a big upgrade from HTC Sensations we both own and used until now.
Reading all this stuff about camera issues after unlocking bootloader + other things that stop working makes me really concerned that I have inadvertently and significantly crippled her phone... On the other hand having a root is absolutely critical for me and so far all phones in our household ended up with custom ROM eventually since manufacturers don't support phones with the new software forewer.
To be honest, I think I've missed saving TA partition option completely while following root guide at http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3/development/root-stock-kernel-twrp-v01-test-28-09-t2889794 and I've began to wonder if it would be possible to transplant DRM keys from other Z3 with locked bootloader? I am assuming that each phone has an unique set of keys but if I were to move them from one device to a second identical one and therefore there would be no two phones using same keys, would it work or are they locked to the specific IMEI? Although Z3 Dual has 2 IMEIs and only one was asked for while unlocking bootloader.
What I plan to do is to get a second Z3 Dual for myself now but with copper finish and transplant ALL software to my wife's phone. I am quite sure that she will be fine with stock ROM forever but I tend to mess with hardware I own a lot and reflash ROMs very often and I am willing to give up a little bit for these reasons, although while learning how much one needs to give up with Sony, essentially significantly crippling the phone in the process I begin to question if I should give Sony any more of my money...
I am really hoping that some developer will be able to create a ROM restoring most of those lost features in the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have read enough, you will know that taking other's TA to restore will result a HARD BRICK of your wife's phone.
Anyhow, I am also interested to know if there's another way out to restore those lost functions. Do update if you found any alternative method

The best thing you can do now is to give her your Z3 and take hers instead. She might not be happy when she finds out you accidentally crippled her phone.

There is no way, and there will not be way to restore DRM keys which you didn't backup.
Even if you send it to Sony.
We had fight with this since xperia arc (me personal) and without hope.
Just give up, change your new phone with her and learn something from this.
Wait couple of months for proper root.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Free mobile app

I may give up on Sony
Well, it seems that there is nothing I can do now. As I've mentioned I've never dealt with DRM (I get clean content only - years of ripping CDs/DVDs, etc.) and that's one of the reasons I would never buy Apple products for example.
I don't think my wife will ever realize that she is missing anything because I gave her modified phone already, therefor she has no way to compare and as I've mentioned she is super happy with it as it is.
As far I am concerned, I think I will have to seriously reconsider buying another Sony product ever again. I could not care less about DRM and no access to Sony store, however, inadvertently crippling unrelated functionality by unlocking the phone so I can truly own hardware I've paid for is not acceptable.
As it has been said, it is a lesson for me. It's really disappointing because I have believed that I have finally found a truly flagship product with dual SIM functionality...

Well, I can only point out that Sony do tell you this
http://developer.sonymobile.com/unlockbootloader/unlock-yourboot-loader/
I get that from a first hit of a google search on "Sony unlock bootloader"
I understand your frustration, but I have been with Sony for years and I was aware of this potential problem. If I ever change OEMs I will ensure I treat myself as a noob again and do all the legwork and research I should do before diving in.
I know this does not help you, but I am just trying to get across that the information is out there.

If she doesn't know then what's the issue? Crippling means that the user is hampered by a loss. Her phone isn't crippled by any stretch of the imagination. Now if she tries to use miracast and it doesn't work, then you can say it was crippled, but if she never uses the feature then she's no worse off.
As far as restoring the TA partition, that's null and double null. The keys are encrypted using the hardware of the phone (likely the IMEI) so other signed items will not work. Your best bet is Android L. A completely rewritten Camera stack will be introduced where devs have complete control over the camera's hardware. So some enterprising dev might be able to write a camera app that exceeds the stock camera anyways. As far as anything else, that can be added via opensource alternatives that work fine.
You should be able to return it to the store and swap it for another.

czguy said:
Well, it seems that there is nothing I can do now. As I've mentioned I've never dealt with DRM (I get clean content only - years of ripping CDs/DVDs, etc.) and that's one of the reasons I would never buy Apple products for example.
I don't think my wife will ever realize that she is missing anything because I gave her modified phone already, therefor she has no way to compare and as I've mentioned she is super happy with it as it is.
As far I am concerned, I think I will have to seriously reconsider buying another Sony product ever again. I could not care less about DRM and no access to Sony store, however, inadvertently crippling unrelated functionality by unlocking the phone so I can truly own hardware I've paid for is not acceptable.
As it has been said, it is a lesson for me. It's really disappointing because I have believed that I have finally found a truly flagship product with dual SIM functionality...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not a personal attack but I'm getting a little bit fed up with reading all these posts about how it's Sony's fault that people f****d up. They clearly advise against unlocking and state that features will be lost. Ok they don't list exactly which but you accepted the risk when choosing to unlock.
I have had a Z3 since release day and I haven't unlocked the bootloader because I read up on it and found that the loss of DRM keys breaks too many things. I had no more information available than you so don't blame Sony for your lack of caution.
I always used Nexus devices before so, like you, I normally unlock and root straight away BUT I exercise due diligence when I get a new device and look into any potential problems first.
This is not Sony's fault, it is yours. Chalk it up to experience.
While we're on that subject, you really ought to give your phone (assuming it's still locked) to your wife. Leaving her a device you have degraded on the basis that she probably won't realise is pretty lousy thing to do.

Thank you guys for your responses. I must admit that I have neglected in-depth research about this issue beforehand. I never cared about loosing access to a specific OEM store and giving up guaranty. After years of unlocking phones and messing with custom ROMs I became overconfident and did not consider degrading so much functionality while keeping stock ROM... Obviously putting a custom ROM on it would be an entirely different story.
I guess this thread may serve as cautionary tale for others
In any case, coming from HTC phones where ROM cookers managed to shoehorn Bravia engine and also some Sony audio enhancements in to it, I really have a high hopes that some custom ROM will restore most of the features...

3Shirts said:
While we're on that subject, you really ought to give your phone (assuming it's still locked) to your wife. Leaving her a device you have degraded on the basis that she probably won't realise is pretty lousy thing to do.
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This is a bit personal, however, it really depends how you look at it and I don't feel that it was a lousy thing to do. Her having zero technical inclination or understanding and using phone mainly to chat and post some pictures on Facebook, I don't think there was any great harm done. Besides, while wasting too much time with Facebook she has many other exceptional qualities
I am the person who deals with anything electronics related in our home and by messing with phones we own I have managed to extend their functionality far beyond OEMs contribution. And as I have mentioned before, I do hope to continue to do so when Sony stops releasing a new software for this particular model.
This is a definitely a good lesson for me, it was a rush job, I've got her this phone for her birthday and it was delivered the same day I gave it to her. I needed to to obtain the root ASAP as she uses the specific software that does not work without root access.

Yeah, that bit was personal, lol!
I just meant that if you still have a locked one, it would be the chivalrous thing to do to give her that and root it with later when an exploit is found that doesn't kill the low light camera performance. If she's happy though, no harm down I suppose.

3Shirts said:
Yeah, that bit was personal, lol!
I just meant that if you still have a locked one, it would be the chivalrous thing to do to give her that and root it with later when an exploit is found that doesn't kill the low light camera performance. If she's happy though, no harm down I suppose.
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I am currently really reconsidering if I should go with Sony for my personal phone as well. I am still a big HTC believer (not a fan anymore, they sucked for a few years) and I may stick with HTC Sensation for a little bit longer. By flashing a custom ROM on it, it does everything I need it to do and easily compares with features to todays phones while being 3-4 years old model (antique).
There is a bit more being affected by unlocking bootloader than just low light performance.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/loss-drm-keys-t2890936
It's more than I would expect: Bravia Engine (X-Reality, Super Vivid), S-Force Front Surround...
What attracted me to Sony was definitely dual SIM capability (there are practically no other phones with this feature that would work with North American frequencies), waterproofing and having quite impressive guts. HTC has some catching up to do still.

Well, there is still hope. On the Z1 focus on the camera was lost when unlocking the boot on 4.2 with no way to get it back if you had not backed up the TA.
However, once 4.3 came along that fixed the issue for people unlocking and for those who had previously unlocked and lost the ability for the camera to focus.
So, in a future update Sony may fix this issue, or they may not. But hope is not lost

gregbradley said:
Well, there is still hope. On the Z1 focus on the camera was lost when unlocking the boot on 4.2 with no way to get it back if you had not backed up the TA.
However, once 4.3 came along that fixed the issue for people unlocking and for those who had previously unlocked and lost the ability for the camera to focus.
So, in a future update Sony may fix this issue, or they may not. But hope is not lost
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That was an actual bug though, so they fixed it. This is due to loss of DRM keys so is by design. They might do something but it's unlikely, the DRM keys are there to protect their algorithms

3Shirts said:
That was an actual bug though, so they fixed it. This is due to loss of DRM keys so is by design. They might do something but it's unlikely, the DRM keys are there to protect their algorithms
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Click to collapse
Still weird if you ask me, one reason I am in trouble is because I have never experienced and never expected reduced functionality with other OEMs.
If you unlock HTC you loose hardly anything except guaranty...

Question Fingerprint Scanner gone

Out of the blue yesterday my fingerprint scanner just stopped working. I dint pay much attention to it because i was busy and thought it was a dirty sensor. But today after cleaning it it's still not working. It seems the entire setting is missing, I can't find the fingerprint manager in Settings -> Security!
What gives!? I think this the last Sony smartphone for me. Too many silly issues .
Anyone had this issue with a 5III? and has a fix? I saw in the xperia 1 forums some ppl had the issue but no definite fix, neither rebooting nor reflashing the OS has worked.

Yeap. If you read my recently opened thread I got exactly the same problem. I sent the phone for service and not only have they created new problems (disabling updates somehow) but the fingerprint sensor failed again within a day!
Sony did almost two weeks to react to my new complaints and even though I was trying to convince them to just give me a new device and get done with it they tell me to send it again for service. A month is past overall.
P.S. I bet it is some cabling issue because I also reflashed the software when the problem appeared using the Xperia companion and no luck. Sony service changed the chipset and the button (but I assume not the cable?) And as I said it failed again. And after I got the phone back updates don't work and Xperia companion does not work. Don't they even test it??? Saying that I am pissed is an understatement.

Ahh seeing your post here, it seems more of hardware issue than software. Checking in with Sony (if it's still under Warranty) should be the best bet for both. Please do try to share your experience here on how the whole process goes. Understandable it's a pain at the moment.

Unfortunately no warranty. Got an unlocked device on amazon as its not available in my country.