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[Q] Bricked my Nexus S, help :(

OK so I followed a youtube video tutorial on rooting,and I think it's the boot.img that messed everything up. It would boot up before but it was stuck on the Google screen, the OS didn't load. So I found a GRH78 or something Nandroid backup and ran that, but the capacative buttons don't work, the screen isn't calibrated correctly and the phone radio isn't correct either. Then I remembered my Nexus S was the newer GT-I9023 GRI54 and I need a GRI54 NANDROID stock backup (which I can't seem to find!)
Guys, what do you suggest I do at this point? I can't revert to stock (I've been trying)
I just got this Nexus S and have been spending hours trying to restore firmwares, finding it online, but now I know I need the GRI54 Android 2.3.3 backup, and if anyone has that I'd be super happy
I really need help

you most likely need the 9023 method of rooting
see the stickied guides

I fixed it. I downloaded a GT-I9023 GRI45 firmware file off of somewhere here (<3 xda forums) it wasn't a nandroid backup, but I used the clockworkmod to install it and surprisingly, it booted up again. (of course, I had the crappy 2.1 installed before so maybe this acted as an 'update' and fixed all the problems, but anyways it works smooth now as it did before )
I knew I could figure it out.

Not to be an ass, but I think there's a lot of difference between bricking a phone and being unable to boot. You've never bricked your phone, since you could still switch ROMs by using the Recovery.
This is a misleading title. Bricking is when you just can't enter not even the bootloader/Recovery.

you are 100% right
unfortunately many people keep getting those 2 terms confused, and use it inappropriately
every body needs to chip in and help newbies learn the correct terminology.
thank you
boolean22 said:
Not to be an ass, but I think there's a lot of difference between bricking a phone and being unable to boot. You've never bricked your phone, since you could still switch ROMs by using the Recovery.
This is a misleading title. Bricking is when you just can't enter not even the bootloader/Recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Looks like I've managed to act and look like a fool...
I tried to root my Nexus S with Superboot, unaware that it was version-specific (I should have known that ). To make a long story short, I tried to root my phone with Superboot which is written for android 2.3.3, while I'm running 2.3.4.
The phone can get to fastboot/recovery, but won't boot. I googled to find how revert to a stock 2.3.3 or 2.3.4, but somehow did not find what I was looking for.
Phone was vanilla, I hadn't installed anything specific on it besides twitter, FB, etc.
From a powered-off phone, how would I manage to revert to a clean phone ?
Thanks for your help, people.
-- Jeff
<EDIT:
All the solutions I've seen required CWM or similar, and a rooted phone. Since my problems started because I wanted to root my NS, I figured that I was out of luck for a while, and a non-working phone was out of question.
I went at my retailer and managed to get a new phone free of charge I *****-footed around the fact I was installing an unsupported (by the carrier) update/app, the clerk wasn't very familiar with the NS so it went well with them and they gave me a new phone
/EDIT>

Im Confused! Verizon GS3 rooted but not "completely"?

Hey fellas, I got my Verizon GS3 last Thursday knowing that it had a locked bootloader but was hoping someone would figure out how to get root. Now I see that it has been rooted but is it "completely" rooted? What I mean is, can I overclock it, flash kernals, custom roms, wifi tether? Does it have the same capabilities of all three of the other US carriers' GS3s? Is Cyanogenmod developing CM9 for it yet? I was reading somewhere that you can root it just like any other version but it's just a bigger pain in the ass. I just want to make sure that my Verizon GS3 can be completely rooted so I can do everything I did with my old Droid. Should I just take it back and go with the Sprint version of the GS3? Im sorry if some of these are "noob" questions but I just want to figure out what I should do. Any help would be much appreciated!

Rooting and the other things you spoke of are not the same thing.
Rooting = The ability to write to the system partition, while booted into android. This allows you to delete system files (such as bloatware).
Locked Boot Loader = You will not be able to flash custom files (unsigned) to the phone from Odin. This means no clockwork recovery, roms, kernels ect....
There are ways around some of the locked boot loader stuff on some phones (ex. droid 2 got a special recovery through months of dev work. This did not cicrumvent the locked boot loader, but allowed away around it). This type of recovery (2nd init) is not avalible for Samsung phones.
If you want roms and all access, I would go with the dev unit samsung is selling for verizon. However, there still may not be much for the VZW gs3 because they wont sell tons of the dev units at $600 a pop.

The Verizon S3 already has root, roms and kernels up and working and some really good devs trying to crack it. I have a VG3 and it was rooted in less than a day and I'm having no issues. It's a great phone but the locked bootloader may cause issue in the future.
If I knew that samsung was going to release a dev version I may not have pre-ordered my S3 but I"m still happy with my purchase so far. What I find amusing is the price stated on the dev phone right now is cheaper than buying the phone outright from big V right now. We will see what the price really is when the phone is made available.

Farabomb said:
The Verizon S3 already has root, roms and kernels up and working and some really good devs trying to crack it. I have a VG3 and it was rooted in less than a day and I'm having no issues. It's a great phone but the locked bootloader may cause issue in the future.
If I knew that samsung was going to release a dev version I may not have pre-ordered my S3 but I"m still happy with my purchase so far. What I find amusing is the price stated on the dev phone right now is cheaper than buying the phone outright from big V right now. We will see what the price really is when the phone is made available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this post!

locked bootloader means no custom roms or kernels.

chakra said:
locked bootloader means no custom roms or kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true.
Touchwiz based custom roms are entirely possible and it has already been shown custom kernels work using kexec. Yeah it's not as good as an unlocked bootloader but we have our work arounds until these crazy smart devs figure out how to bypass the locked bootloader.
Sent from my SGS3

tanman21 said:
Rooting and the other things you spoke of are not the same thing.
Rooting = The ability to write to the system partition, while booted into android. This allows you to delete system files (such as bloatware).
Locked Boot Loader = You will not be able to flash custom files (unsigned) to the phone from Odin. This means no clockwork recovery, roms, kernels ect....
There are ways around some of the locked boot loader stuff on some phones (ex. droid 2 got a special recovery through months of dev work. This did not cicrumvent the locked boot loader, but allowed away around it). This type of recovery (2nd init) is not avalible for Samsung phones.
If you want roms and all access, I would go with the dev unit samsung is selling for verizon. However, there still may not be much for the VZW gs3 because they wont sell tons of the dev units at $600 a pop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply man! The dev phone just may be an option but I really don't feel like forking over $600 when I can go to Sprint on a cheaper plan and have an unlocked bootloader....either way, I have 10 more days to return my phone and cancel my contract if I need to. And btw, I sent a long email to Verizon asking them if they will ever unlock the bootloader ( I read an article saying they may, then today read a article saying they wont. We'll see.) I also said that I may just cancel my contract and go to Sprint and ask them how they can "help" relieve this situation that alot of people are facing. I'll report back and let everyone know what their response is.

Topdroid01 said:
Hey fellas, I got my Verizon GS3 last Thursday knowing that it had a locked bootloader but was hoping someone would figure out how to get root. Now I see that it has been rooted but is it "completely" rooted? What I mean is, can I overclock it, flash kernals, custom roms, wifi tether? Does it have the same capabilities of all three of the other US carriers' GS3s? Is Cyanogenmod developing CM9 for it yet? I was reading somewhere that you can root it just like any other version but it's just a bigger pain in the ass. I just want to make sure that my Verizon GS3 can be completely rooted so I can do everything I did with my old Droid. Should I just take it back and go with the Sprint version of the GS3? Im sorry if some of these are "noob" questions but I just want to figure out what I should do. Any help would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's some erroneous replies so far, hopefully this will clear it up for you. Root or superuser, is a linux term, which basically provides you with admin rights. With root alone you can run WiFi tether, rename system apps, etc. Root is easily attainable on the Verizon S3, see the dev section for guides.
The S3 recovery partition is NOT signed. This allows us to install custom recoveries (i.e. ClockworkMod, TWRP, etc.) This is very different from say, a Moto phone that had to use bootstrap methods. The S3 can have a fully functioning recovery that will allow you to do backups, flash ROMs and Kernels, etc. Again, very easy to do, see dev section for guides (it's grouped with root).
What's currently being worked on is the "locked" bootloader. Basically we can write whatever we want to the various partitions, however, there is a security check being done that prevents altering various areas, like the boot.img. Right now there is a workaround where custom Kernels are flashed via the recovery partition (see recovery/kexec threads for more info).
There is no official CM9 or CM10 builds yet, but they are being worked on and there are bootable versions of both. Right now the RIL is the bigger issue as it's preventing data but that has nothing to do with the bootloader. The RIL is being worked on, no ETA.
tl;dr - The bootloader is still "locked" but there are already various workaround methods in place to allow for the flashing of custom recoveries, ROMs, Kernels, etc. Reading the guides in the dev section would be a great place to start understanding what's going on better.

s197 said:
There's some erroneous replies so far, hopefully this will clear it up for you. Root or superuser, is a linux term, which basically provides you with admin rights. With root alone you can run WiFi tether, rename system apps, etc. Root is easily attainable on the Verizon S3, see the dev section for guides.
The S3 recovery partition is NOT signed. This allows us to install custom recoveries (i.e. ClockworkMod, TWRP, etc.) This is very different from say, a Moto phone that had to use bootstrap methods. The S3 can have a fully functioning recovery that will allow you to do backups, flash ROMs and Kernels, etc. Again, very easy to do, see dev section for guides (it's grouped with root).
What's currently being worked on is the "locked" bootloader. Basically we can write whatever we want to the various partitions, however, there is a security check being done that prevents altering various areas, like the boot.img. Right now there is a workaround where custom Kernels are flashed via the recovery partition (see recovery/kexec threads for more info).
There is no official CM9 or CM10 builds yet, but they are being worked on and there are bootable versions of both. Right now the RIL is the bigger issue as it's preventing data but that has nothing to do with the bootloader. The RIL is being worked on, no ETA.
tl;dr - The bootloader is still "locked" but there are already various workaround methods in place to allow for the flashing of custom recoveries, ROMs, Kernels, etc. Reading the guides in the dev section would be a great place to start understanding what's going on better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This explains things alot better for me Thank you!!!. Im coming from a OG Droid that I rooted as soon as I got it so its been a while since I've been on the scene. I've kept up with the OG Droid Development for quite some time (which is basically nonexistent) so Im somewhat familiar with rooting and such just not familiar with this lock bootloader and such on my S3. Anyways, I still may just go to Sprint but havent made my mind up yet. And THANKS again for the very knowledgeable answer!

Verizon Galaxy S3 4.4.2 Rooted Custom Recovery Question

Looked through google, looked through threads, can find nothing whatsoever to help.
Have Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III Unlocked running Straight Talk VIA sim card. Everything works.. as a regular old phone with root. (rooted with Kingoroot - basically I googled "root galaxy s3" and followed those steps.. that much works fine, though it is not to be confused with the chinese king root. I tried the trick of swapping out king root for SU and, well.. yeah didnt work.)
Problem is I'm running 4.4.2 (the dreaded locked bootloader) and everything I try when it comes to installing custom recovery either doesn't work, bootloops the phone, or hard bricks it. v_v
so as someone who backs up their backups, (thank you OCD fairy), running around with a phone I can't backup puts me on edge, to say the least.
tried safestrap (says not secured. still says not secured after install. does nothing.)
tried various CWM and TWRP via apk installs (whatever that app is you install then tell it to install cwm) ..wouldn't install
Odin, depending on which version I install (e\ not which version of odin, which version of custom recovery), either gives me errors or hardbricks my device.
SO.. I'm looking for someone who has a Verizon Galaxy S III and who has a custom recovery on it to tell me how the devil they managed that one.
Cheers all!!

Drach0n said:
Looked through google, looked through threads, can find nothing whatsoever to help.
Have Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III Unlocked running Straight Talk VIA sim card. Everything works.. as a regular old phone with root. (rooted with Kingoroot - basically I googled "root galaxy s3" and followed those steps.. that much works fine, though it is not to be confused with the chinese king root. I tried the trick of swapping out king root for SU and, well.. yeah didnt work.)
Problem is I'm running 4.4.2 (the dreaded locked bootloader) and everything I try when it comes to installing custom recovery either doesn't work, bootloops the phone, or hard bricks it. v_v
so as someone who backs up their backups, (thank you OCD fairy), running around with a phone I can't backup puts me on edge, to say the least.
tried safestrap (says not secured. still says not secured after install. does nothing.)
tried various CWM and TWRP via apk installs (whatever that app is you install then tell it to install cwm) ..wouldn't install
Odin, depending on which version I install (e\ not which version of odin, which version of custom recovery), either gives me errors or hardbricks my device.
SO.. I'm looking for someone who has a Verizon Galaxy S III and who has a custom recovery on it to tell me how the devil they managed that one.
Cheers all!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A custom recovery can only be flashed on an unlocked bootloader. Trying to flash a custom recovery on a locked bootloader will result in a brick. The only available recovery on it is safestrap
Sent from my Nexus 5

ShapesBlue said:
A custom recovery can only be flashed on an unlocked bootloader. Trying to flash a custom recovery on a locked bootloader will result in a brick. The only available recovery on it is safestrap
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..I gathered that. I was basing my attempts off the threads I found where the OP "forgot" to mention which android OS he was using on his (or her) galaxy s3 and then omigawd installed custom recovery on it. Where nobody has yet been able to unlock the 4.3 and 4.4.2 bootloader for the galaxy s3 as yet (to my knowledge; if I'm wrong please correct me) this leaves me with safestrap, the custom recovery that doesn't touch the bootloader during install. I know this as well. Perhaps I should have clarified this, but I thought it was obvious to the folks at xda. *shrugs*
And the part where I said safestrap isn't working for one reason or another is where I was hoping to attract someone who knew how to help instead of someone who only knows how to make generic statements (+1) [e\ ftr, attempting to flash non-safestrap recoveries resulted in an error 4 times out of 5, not a brick.]
that said, I will ask again, if someone has 4.4.2 on their s3 as well as custom recovery, please come post here.
sadly, inb4 more +1ers

When you ask a question that's been asked and answered dozens of times before, you're going to get the same "generic statement" in response, because it's the right answer to your question. Your bootloader can't be unlocked, and therefore you can't install a custom recovery on your phone.

Jacquestrapp said:
When you ask a question that's been asked and answered dozens of times before, you're going to get the same "generic statement" in response, because it's the right answer to your question. Your bootloader can't be unlocked, and therefore you can't install a custom recovery on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*sigh* another illiterate. Try reading before posting yeah? I *know* my bootloader cant be unlocked, and I know that a custom recovery /can/ be installed, or are you saying safestrap doesn't exist? look I'm asking for help here not drivel.
..rerolling..

Q: What did you have for breakfast today?
A1: last week, I had breakfast in Deleware!
A2: Last night's dinner was good!
...
xda: the community where post count means more than relevant answers.
*sigh*
looks like I'm going to have to figure out safestrap on my own. whether there is another method for installation besides via apk, why it failed to install, whether safestrap is the only custom recovery that works by not touching the bootloader, why it hardbricked my phone.. etc
guess I'll post the answers somewhere intelligent like Android Authority.
have fun with your +1s
now go die in a fire. cheers

Drach0n said:
Q: What did you have for breakfast today?
A1: last week, I had breakfast in Deleware!
A2: Last night's dinner was good!
...
xda: the community where post count means more than relevant answers.
*sigh*
looks like I'm going to have to figure out safestrap on my own. whether there is another method for installation besides via apk, why it failed to install, whether safestrap is the only custom recovery that works by not touching the bootloader, why it hardbricked my phone.. etc
guess I'll post the answers somewhere intelligent like Android Authority.
have fun with your +1s
now go die in a fire. cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I answered your question. It's hard to talk about safestrap other than what I've learned about it. The other member was right, it gets tiring answering the same questions all the time and once in awhile people don't appreciate the answers they are given.
There are threads for safestrap as well as most of the options here on xda. And feel free to go to another forum, your posting questions in a dying forum for the VZW S3. There's not many people who are really that interested in the locked down version anymore. It's very sporadic as far as people and questions go. But to be rude about it just isn't needed.
It's not about post count at xda it's about helping the community. I've been around here long enough to know this. And if you feel someone isn't helpful there's something called a PM instead of calling them out here on the forums. I grow tired of people not being appreciative of anything when someone takes the time to do there best to explain something to someone else
Sent from my Nexus 5

running 4.4.2
PM sent. I might be able to help with that.

What is the latest Root Method for SM-P900 us version?

Looking through many post, all of them seem rather old, Im finally ready to root my tablet, Im tired of all of the lag I get and it seems as Samsung has let the 12.2 pro die.
Im running 5.02
Build: LRX22G.P900UEU1COL1
Kernel: 3.4.39-5574008
Knox: 2.3
I found this post by dwl99 http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-pro-12/general/success-rooting-sm-p900-knox-0x0-t3377416
It seem only one person has tried it
Thanks for any input you may have

I'm not sure if you found your answer, but if you're willing to trip KNOX, I was able to root my p900 US version on 5.0.2 by using the method in the post found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-pro-12/general/guide-install-official-lollipop-p900-t3154362

Thanks
I will check it out, I dont care about Knox at this point since Samsung has let this tablet die

Hitch_Itch said:
Thanks
I will check it out, I dont care about Knox at this point since Samsung has let this tablet die
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. My faith in Samsung hardware is hit or miss, but my faith in them having too many models for them to keep up with is starting to wane.
Anyways, I had no problem getting TWRP on it, and flashing SU. Just follow the post and if it doesn't show up on your computer, try other USB ports. For some reason these samsungs are picky. I had to try three USB ports to get it to register in Odin. After that it was no problem. I verified it with JRummy's tool, and have run other root apps, and it took just fine.
I wasn't able to get xposed working, but that might be an issue with the stock ROM. No big deal though. Backups, moving apps to SD, and such, are all capable with root and TWRP, though it would have been more tidy to have the SD card as an extension of the on-board, I can live without it.
If you need my stock ROM build info it's P900UEU1COI1_P900XAR1COI1 (cellular south). There are two US ones I see available for 5.0.2, and have no idea what the difference is, but that one works fine for me. So if you have to Odin first, or after, that one seemed to go well for my US P900. Use that info at your discretion, because I can't see your current build info.

Thanks for the info
The tablet seem very laggy when on the net lately, Im tired of it
My Build: LRX22G.P900UEU1COL1

Hitch_Itch said:
Thanks for the info
The tablet seem very laggy when on the net lately, Im tired of it
My Build: LRX22G.P900UEU1COL1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same build here.
Follow the directions carefully (you likely don't need to do the first area as you're already up to date), and you should be all set. Just remember to backup everything important first. Since you already have your info/apps in place, and aren't changing ROMS's, there isn't much to it. Don't forget to do a backup using TWRP after you have everything up and running. You'll want to download busybox from the app store, after you're rooted.
Careful if you decide to go with a custom ROM after. I didn't have much luck with cyanogen mod 13, because it knocked out a lot of my Spen needs, and there are a fair number of reports of random reboots on the one I tried. Hopefully that will change and I can update to 6.0.1 when/if it does.
For you, there shouldn't be a need to wipe data or factory reset, but if the lag continues you may want to wipe your cache's once you have your nandroid backup.
PM me if you run into any issues, or better yet, with any questions you're unsure about, before an issue happens

Will Do Blade, :good:
Thanks

build
Hello. I can't find the files for my build number. Can i use this one instead? ( Yes , I am noob.)
Build no: LRX22G.P900XXU0BPE1

SM-G310R5=SM-G310HN=Galaxy Ace3?

I'm new to phones
I got a greatcall jitterbug3 that is an overlaid bloated mess but otherwise a cool little phone. Its drawback is that Samsung and greatcall must have made some kind of deal and only put JellyBean in it.
From what I can figure out the SM-G310HN is the international version of the same phone: it runs kitkat.
I have emailed Samsung and GreatCall and basically they don't give a hoot.
I just got this phone new last Oct.
I would like to put a custom rom in it but I can't unlock the bootloader I've tried a bunch of command line but the best I've gotten is "unauthorized"
So
What if I got the stock rom (I did) for the 310hn which is kitkat
Can I flash a stock rom using odin without the bootloader being unlocked?
I know I might brick it I'm asking if this is a possibility before doing something stupid.
What I'd really like would be to go with custom but that seems impossible.
This is so much more difficult than working on windows where I could always wipe the disk and start over, LOL
I've been puttering with this for two months and thankfully it still works and I do believe I was able to capture a nandroid backup when I had it provisionally unlocked with ez-unlock and rooted with online nandroid. At least the nandroid included files that looked good and a boot img.
I might have found something:
http://vsphone.info/index.php?phone1=7468&phone2=6042
The hn is gsm and the r5 is cdma, I wonder if that would nix the changeover
Sorry for the long winded post.
Hey Thanks,
Dave