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How To Unbrick Nexus S? Need Urgent Help.

Dear Geeks,
I need your urgent help/advice. i'm three weeks far to my wedding and have a lot of troubles to handle, of course i need this phone.
let me describe the matter i have.
My nexus s is not booting, not starting, nothing.
what i did?
Last night, power button stopped working. I have experienced this 4-5 months ago. I don't know why, the problem has been solved by itself after few days later. i did nothing at those days. the power button came back. (as to my opinion, this is happening due to software problem) Anyway, i have used the market and installed ''fix power button'' application to use volume buttons for opening the screen.
I slept and when i woke up, i saw that phone needs to be charged but i waited. there was %11 something. i tried to handle the power button, pressed many times on it, thought that it may come back again same as 4-5 months ago it happened.
I removed battery and replaced again. i tried this many times. removed, replaced, used the usb cable via AC charger and phone started but there was no result. power button still was not working.
i thought that if the battery runs out, and then, when i charge the phone, maybe this matter may be solved. (ok this was stupid idea)
phone started to charge. when i plug the usb cable, phone was booting and displaying the google and animation and later it was ok to use.
meanwhile i keep on removing battery and replacing battery while the usb cable connected. but when phone starts to boot, i removed battery and replaced again. phone was ok, it was booting. few times it was booting.
but baaaam.
it is now not starting not booting, nothing.
now, when i replace the battery, phone is getting hot, especially sim-card area. i m removing the battery and connecting the usb. same again phone is getting hot, same sim-card area again.
i have waited enough not to connect the battery or usb charging cable. but no result.
what can i do now? what are your opinions?
my opinions/guess:
-i am using 3500 mah lithium polymere battery. maybe the battery died. i m using that battery more than 1 year, around 15 months. i dont turn off wi-fi so i m charging phone everyday.
- phone crashed during booting. and now the phone is totally brick.(i dont wanna believe this, this phone can be usable, believe me i feel it i think whatever happens, this phone can be usable via software installing or rooting... of course if you dont throw it towards a wall etc.)
by the way, my phone was not rooted. no time to root these days. and of course the phone was not starting.
what is your idea? what happened phone? what should i do?
if you reply, i will be appreciated.
A big advice for people reading this, dont remove the battery when your phone is booting.

I hope someone has a solution, since I have the same probelm...
I searched everything and tried every tool in this forum, but no success...

use search button, there is tens of similar threads...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1524858&highlight=power+button

same thing has happened to me since updating from JB. Just past one year warranty too lol!

greg2826 said:
use search button, there is tens of similar threads...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1524858&highlight=power+button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it was power button failure issue but now, i believe it is not.
But thanks i will try it.

captainirmak said:
Actually, it was power button failure issue but now, i believe it is not.
But thanks i will try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is ur theory then?
u might find something here as well http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1504501&highlight=power+button+conspiracy

greg2826 said:
use search button, there is tens of similar threads...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1524858&highlight=power+button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, unfortunately those solutions not working on my device.
when i connect charger and i replace the battery, within seconds phone boots itself without power button. it should be this way. removing and replacing the battery helped me to start to boot.
i sense this case a bit different from that solutions.
i need to try with a different battery. my wife has nexus s also. she is very lucky she has no problems i have experienced so far. i will try with her battery.
i think there is a matter with mainboard.
by the way i forgot to say that i dropped my phone last evening. just after then phone was acting that i'm pressing long onto power button. and power button finally stopped working when i remove the battery.
i think this is happened because of dropping the phone from my belly high.
but the last thing i have done which removing the battery while the phone is booting, i wish, i should not have done. i could use it without the power button.

captainirmak said:
dude, unfortunately those solutions not working on my device.
when i connect charger and i replace the battery, within seconds phone boots itself without power button. it should be this way. removing and replacing the battery helped me to start to boot.
i sense this case a bit different from that solutions.
i need to try with a different battery. my wife has nexus s also. she is very lucky she has no problems i have experienced so far. i will try with her battery.
i think there is a matter with mainboard.
by the way i forgot to say that i dropped my phone last evening. just after then phone was acting that i'm pressing long onto power button. and power button finally stopped working when i remove the battery.
i think this is happened because of dropping the phone from my belly high.
but the last thing i have done which removing the battery while the phone is booting, i wish, i should not have done. i could use it without the power button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have not rooted your device, you should have you warranty, right? Take the phone back to the carrier, and tell them about your problem. o.o Sorry, I'm of no help, but you're in a horrible situation. Wanted to at least give a little help.

Same exact problem here.
2nd of August - mom's phone turned of and just would not boot or prompt at all. The modem heats up when power is turned on or connected.
Tried
The unbrickable methods (but the computer would not detect the device in any form)
A JTAG - I was able to write the recovery and bootloader - assembled the phone and it just won't boot or prompt
Need to try
Another battery to see if it solves the issue.
Removing the xOM5 resistor and converting to a development S5PC110

Tried another battery - no luck
Did the resistor removal and converted to a dev board - Unbrickable now detects the board!
trying to get the device into fastboot - will update
ru1dev said:
Same exact problem here.
2nd of August - mom's phone turned of and just would not boot or prompt at all. The modem heats up when power is turned on or connected.
Tried
The unbrickable methods (but the computer would not detect the device in any form)
A JTAG - I was able to write the recovery and bootloader - assembled the phone and it just won't boot or prompt
Need to try
Another battery to see if it solves the issue.
Removing the xOM5 resistor and converting to a development S5PC110
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I had the same problem few months ago. Power button had died. While I was able to boot with remove battery and connect to charger option and I was rooted. But after a week I decided to take the phone to Samsung service center to get the power button replaced. My phone did not have warranty. Samsung took few hours to get the power button replaced and it costed me about $7. I think that's the easiest method. They did not have a stock of I9020 power button, so they fixed a I9023 power button.

Any update? I'm curious to see if you get it working. Had the same happen to my NS a few days ago and would like to see if I can get it going again so I can give it to my stepson.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I've given nexus s to samsung service. Actually, power button may be handled by replacing with new one, but with no hope, it will not come back when i read messages about mainboard failure. I will update news whenever it's possible.
we'll see.
I would like to hope it is kind of software matter.
Pls god give my nexus s back, i got extended 3500mah battery.
grrr....

anshumandash said:
I had the same problem few months ago. Power button had died. While I was able to boot with remove battery and connect to charger option and I was rooted. But after a week I decided to take the phone to Samsung service center to get the power button replaced. My phone did not have warranty. Samsung took few hours to get the power button replaced and it costed me about $7. I think that's the easiest method. They did not have a stock of I9020 power button, so they fixed a I9023 power button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with the hardware mod - instead of selecting Nexus S -> I tied the Galaxy S in unbrickable - first time I've seen the screen alive! - puts the phone into download mode and I can disconnect from the usb and it stays in download mode! .. when i tried to flash odin I get a "There is no PIT partition" error -> this ofcourse is with re-partition and bootloader update UNCHECKED
When I tried Heimdall it wouldnt let me flash without a pit file. So trying Heimdall 1.1.1 - I get Failed to Access device Error: -3
Any chance some one with an i9020T can do me a huge favor? Use Heimdall 1.3.2 - download your PIT file and upload it here?
reaching for string ends out here :/

@ru1dev
i`m in the exact situation right now...
did you solved your problem?

jokkergsm said:
@ru1dev
i`m in the exact situation right now...
did you solved your problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The power button had to be replaced. I shorted the connection when ever I had to press the power button during the boot sequence. That's how I fixed mine.

Infuse Veterans come in here, Charge Loop [VIDEO]

Phone was working good, i flashed a new rom, and everything went down hill. I odin'd back to gingerbread, and i was still get the never ending charge loop. I was able to get into download mode after 45 minutes of button pressing, i still had the same problem. Well i then decided it could be a hardware issue. I searched around on XDA, and i already seen the bootloop thread. I decided to desolder the power button, as the symptoms my phone was having were 90% similar. It was a no, i even soldered the button off. Well, i decided to order a new power button on ebay, i have to wait three days from now to install the new button, but as of now.......... could it be something else?

just same problem as you bro, it is a hardware issue as in the power button is stuck to "1"..
you really need to replace it, i just got my phone fixed from that..

lkirra said:
just same problem as you bro, it is a hardware issue as in the power button is stuck to "1"..
you really need to replace it, i just got my phone fixed from that..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get your phone fixed at? What was done? was the power button replaced?
thanks for your input

[Q] Phone won't boot into recovery or otherwise

Hi there,
Sorry but I think I finally found the right forum for this and I wanted to take one more stab before kissing this phone goodbye.
I have a Rogers Galaxy SGH-i727R. About three weeks ago, the phone started re-starting on it's own. I though maybe it was a sticky power key and had that replaced. The problem persisted. I then noticed that it was primarily upon receiving text messages that the phone would reboot. So it seemed it was a software issue. I am running the stable build of CM9.
Yesterday the phone rebooted and never got off the angry alien screen. I pulled the battery, charged it etc and still could not get it to fully boot up. I left it for over an hour. I finally decided to call it quits and re-flash the phone. Problem is, it will not boot into recovery at all. When I hold down Vol + - and Power, it jsut goes into a loop of vibrating every three seconds until I let go and then it tries a normal boot again. Once, I briefly got a screen saying I was trying to install custom software and to press volume up to do so, but before I could hit volume up, the phone cycled off.
I should also mention that the four buttons on the bottom of the screen do not work. I accidentally sliced the wires on the side of the phone when opening it up. I use a software button saver widget to access their functions. I wonder if that issue is related....
Thanks for any advice. I would like to get into recovery so I can load a new ROM or a stock ROM.

If you haven't ventured there yet in this forum I'd recommend Vincom's roundup on just about everything http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1652398. I don't know if it will help much in your situation but it's worth a look. Also, you may want to research usb jigs, not sure if they will work with our devices though ... research is the key word.

tonyrage.stc said:
Hi there,
Sorry but I think I finally found the right forum for this and I wanted to take one more stab before kissing this phone goodbye.
I have a Rogers Galaxy SGH-i727R. About three weeks ago, the phone started re-starting on it's own. I though maybe it was a sticky power key and had that replaced. The problem persisted. I then noticed that it was primarily upon receiving text messages that the phone would reboot. So it seemed it was a software issue. I am running the stable build of CM9.
Yesterday the phone rebooted and never got off the angry alien screen. I pulled the battery, charged it etc and still could not get it to fully boot up. I left it for over an hour. I finally decided to call it quits and re-flash the phone. Problem is, it will not boot into recovery at all. When I hold down Vol + - and Power, it jsut goes into a loop of vibrating every three seconds until I let go and then it tries a normal boot again. Once, I briefly got a screen saying I was trying to install custom software and to press volume up to do so, but before I could hit volume up, the phone cycled off.
I should also mention that the four buttons on the bottom of the screen do not work. I accidentally sliced the wires on the side of the phone when opening it up. I use a software button saver widget to access their functions. I wonder if that issue is related....
Thanks for any advice. I would like to get into recovery so I can load a new ROM or a stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I can tell you is that your problem sounds exactly like a stuck power button. I know you replaced it but all the symptoms you point out suggest stuck power button. Maybe try cleaning it again?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

rushi.1986 said:
All I can tell you is that your problem sounds exactly like a stuck power button. I know you replaced it but all the symptoms you point out suggest stuck power button. Maybe try cleaning it again?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes but i wouldn't rule out
I should also mention that the four buttons on the bottom of the screen do not work. I accidentally sliced the wires on the side of the phone when opening it up. I use a software button saver widget to access their functions. I wonder if that issue is related....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

rushi.1986 said:
All I can tell you is that your problem sounds exactly like a stuck power button. I know you replaced it but all the symptoms you point out suggest stuck power button. Maybe try cleaning it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if it were a stuck power button it would not stay on the loading screen indefinitely, no? If I hold down the power button while booting, it will turn the phone off.

Hold vol +- and pwr until it vibrates let go of pwr continue to hold vol +-. You were letting go of all of them at once going by your described method.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

mtdew said:
Hold vol +- and pwr until it vibrates let go of pwr continue to hold vol +-. You were letting go of all of them at once going by your described method.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****. I am a total moron. The phone still reboots after receiving a text but I was able to boot into recovery. Thanks.

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.

Nexus 5 reboots itself to google logo

Hey, I really hope someone can help me with my phone. A few weeks ago my phone got stuck and shut by itself and since then it has been working alternately until the beginning of this week when it wouldn't turn on. What happens is that the device gets stuck (freezes for 1-2 seconds and then reboots itself) and when it tries to boot back it hangs on the google logo or get stuck on the boot animation. If I wait some time (10-20 minutes) the phone will boot and work untill it gets stuck again and refuse to turn on and so forth. I flashed the system image and also did a factory reset. Thats why I think it's probably a hardware problem.
Did anyone come across this or know how to fix this?
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help!

Possible power button issue?

audit13 said:
Possible power button issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply,
It's very unlikely because of the way it freeze, the way it wouldn't turn on, I also took it apart and saw no reason to belive the power button was faulty (feels quite clickable).

Even if the button is clickable does not mean it is not a power button issue. If you have a multimeter, you could check it.
Could also be a battery issue?
The bootloader remains unlocked after rebooting into fastboot? Tried various stock Roms? Flashed userdata.img file when flashing a stock rom?

audit13 said:
Even if the button is clickable does not mean it is not a power button issue. If you have a multimeter, you could check it.
Could also be a battery issue?
The bootloader remains unlocked after rebooting into fastboot? Tried various stock Roms? Flashed userdata.img file when flashing a stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery is quite new, I actually replaced it myself, but even connecting back the old one didn't show any change so no signs of life there. I'm not sure how can I check the button, isn't it plastic? And yeah I flashed the images as they appear in google site.

You can use a multimeter to test the contact points. The power button works by momentarily complete the circuit or creating a temporary short. There should be three solder points near the power button.
It reboots on kk too?

audit13 said:
You can use a multimeter to test the contact points. The power button works by momentarily complete the circuit or creating a temporary short. There should be three solder points near the power button.
It reboots on kk too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try to test the multimeter and report back. I flashed kitkat and it rebooted as well. Thanks for the help!

It's very likely the power button issue. My Nexus 5 was exactly like this (Boot into Google logo/bootloader repeatedly ). I replaced the power button on the motherboard and it works perfectly fine now.