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[Q] Hard Bricked? Sidekick 4g

Soo I have a big problem,
My sidekick 4g suddenly shut off and directly went into Download Bootloader. It would only stay in that window for about 3 seconds then restart. So I tried doing Odin but it would never stay in download mode long enough. After a while, the phone stopped turning on and now it does not even charge. I believe I have hard bricked the phone. When I leave it on the charger. I see no indication that it is charging but the battery gets warm. Is there any hope for me to fix this phone?
Please let me know ASAP. Thanks!

helodavelo said:
Soo I have a big problem,
My sidekick 4g suddenly shut off and directly went into Download Bootloader. It would only stay in that window for about 3 seconds then restart. So I tried doing Odin but it would never stay in download mode long enough. After a while, the phone stopped turning on and now it does not even charge. I believe I have hard bricked the phone. When I leave it on the charger. I see no indication that it is charging but the battery gets warm. Is there any hope for me to fix this phone?
Please let me know ASAP. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the device even show up as a USB vendor/product id? See that with `lsusb` on Linux or the Device Manager on Windows.
It might be worth trying ayoteddy's FOOL PROOF WAY TO GET INTO DOWNLOAD MODE here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1186954
Perhaps if you trigger the phone to enter download mode that way, it won't just continually reboot...
Beyond that, I think you'll be looking at hardware-level fixes. If the phone isn't literally fried, it can almost certainly be repaired with JTAG. But that would involve a JTAG interface which I am guessing you don't already have.
You might be able to find someone who will JTAG for you for free, or for a fee. A local phone repair shop might have this capability.
If you're damn good with a soldering iron, or have a friend who is, there's also AdamOutler's "UnbrickableMod":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1347984
That mod is not for the feint of heart, you need to take the phone almost entirely apart and do soldering work within the area of a grain of rice... but it is possible.
But all the options assume that the only problem with the device is a bad flash -- damaged boot loader, bad kernel/recovery, etc. The way you describe your phone's demise, a hardware failure certainly seems like a possibility.
Good luck, I hope your device is not dead.
FWIW, SK4G goes for ~$100-200 on eBay these days depending on condition. Locally you could probably find lower prices.

Wow thanks for all the info but i tried ayoteddy. Since the phone doesnt even power on , i cant do what teddy says. And no, after a few failed odins, the comp doesn't even see the phone. But that's also because the phone doesn't turn on. I even put a charged bat. Still no go

helodavelo said:
Wow thanks for all the info but i tried ayoteddy. Since the phone doesnt even power on , i cant do what teddy says. And no, after a few failed odins, the comp doesn't even see the phone. But that's also because the phone doesn't turn on. I even put a charged bat. Still no go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really sounds like a hardware failure.
If you are committed to trying everything to rescue your particular device, you could double down and try a new battery. You risk wasting whatever money you spend on it, of course.
If I recall correctly, the SK4G can't operate properly without some battery current, even when plugged into USB. And the other symptoms seem to leave the door open on battery problems -- sudden power down, brief signs of life which eventually cease, hot battery. The sudden failure of a lithium battery would hardly be unusual.

I have seen an issue very similar to this before. It turned out to be a loose connection inside the phone. Might want to disassemble and reassemble carefully to ensure that the connections are secure. Youtube has dis-assembly videos to guide you. You don't have to completely disassemble the phone, just til you reach the main board and secure the connections to it. If you don't feel like you can hand the task of dis-assembly you could always search for a local phone repair business, or even computer repair shop (they often do some phone repairs). Hope this helps

Hey there, I am trying to fix a SK4G with the exact same problems... download mode will show up, but then the screen will go blank again. I'm gonna look into what blk2dr suggested... did you ever fix yours, OP?

root? so Warranty it, not saying its the most "ethical way"
out of curiosity what was the last, well as samsung would put it, hac...ERRRR unsupported warranty voiding modification known to us as upgrade/flash eg. via cwm odin rom app add on modem kernel etc. that was done to the ol SK? or is it just straight up faulty craftsmanship from samsung...nooooo on a SK4g??? is that possible? lol moving a rom around from folder to root of sd once (zip prev passed md5 check) my 2nd or was it 3rd t839 had a lil hiccup that i didnt realize at the time made my custom Roms zip like 47kb smaller then it previously was and should of been, when flashing is 2nd nature and ur just moving it within the same sd card its already checked out on the md5 sum and ur dealing with a 200+/-mb file, whos gonna notice that minor change? to make a really long story just kinda long, into voodoo cwm flash, let it marinate... phone ran great for 4 days, then i decided i was going to clear cache davlik fix permish and reboot...yea went into cwm wiped wiped and half way thru fix permish phone crashed rebooted back into recov, when i tried to reboot sys it had your same exact issue. DL mode for just a second...then all black yet slightly backlit screen. could never get it to stay long enuff to odin back to stock, fullproof DL mode was a no go and of course the battery died, wouldnt recharge. i played dumb went to tmo store dude tesed phone with new batt my batt in other sk etc etc...anyways he charged my battery up enuff it flared back into dl mode for a few sec...my fix? hours and days headin into weeks of jackin with this thing i went with my cure all root REUPwarranty fix...flash a bad freakin bootloader thru odin and kill it once ad for all, DL mode only needs to be on about 4 sec, not long enough to go back to stock rom but long enuff to kill that B. prefered bootloader is i9000 haha works like a champ everytime to every rooted phone that had issues i needed a warranty exchange on(only been 4) seeing how i get a new phone every 3months on avg and always pay full price the ratio is tiny. yeah i know the trickle down effect raising costs from manufacture in long run yadayada. all is true, but i figure ive been kicked in the groin so many times by samsung,lg,moto,htc etc they can eat 1 every now and then. as a tmo employee in 07/08 i paid 500 upfront for the mda that got back ordered for 6 months had 2 bad dead spots in the touch screen within a month and screen went completely white in 3mnths. some employee/warranty fine print screwed me out of a new phone. and dont even get me started on the sidekick. 399 bucks for a phone that basically got abandoned 3 months later cuz it was junk compared to what it should be and breaks in high quanities. theyll still tax u 20 bucks and make u keep ur old battery and cover charger etc so im not losin any sleep, for real kill it for good, run it to the store get ur new err rebuilt refurb SK4g in 2 days then save up for a t989 s2 dl gmote/spashtop and poweramp on ur SK4g and let her roll as a wireless keyboard/mousepad for ur pc and let the voodoo and Pamp rock as a killer mp3 player. thats all the T-urd-839 is really good for anyways, oh yea and a mediocre bt controller for playin games on my S2's lol do the warranty, its samsung/TMOs fault for lettin this junk product get released, abandoning it and overcharging so many of us. Just do it, do it lol

pull battery, connect usb, hold power, volume up, volume down, camera, and tackpad and insert battery. It should FORCE the phone into download mode.
try it lol~

Dropped my phone, won't boot?

Been a watcher on the forums for awhile, now I actually had to sign up and get some help, LOL.
Anyway, dropped my s2 skyrocket, noticed that it kept trying to reboot every now and then when I used it the same day. The next day, I plugged it in in the evening, and shut off, rebooted, but the screen would go black and the phone would vibrate with 2 seconds in between vibrations. It gets to the "Samsung" word, then the screen goes black in the style of an old tube TV (with the thin white line at the end). Then the vibrations start. So far a useless phone. Took it apart and checked connections carefully (I'm used to working with processor boards quite a bit).
What do you guys suggest? Damaged memory? Should I attempt to reflash? Stuck power button (seemed ok, though)? Bad screen?

Well, probably some kind of physical damage, but hard to say. Anyway, you posted in the forum for SGH-I777 but you have the SGH-I727, so I would suggest that you look in the correct forum.

creepyncrawly said:
Well, probably some kind of physical damage, but hard to say. Anyway, you posted in the forum for SGH-I777 but you have the SGH-I727, so I would suggest that you look in the correct forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, thanks for the heads up. Yeah I just figured out that the i727 isn't in "Top Devices" or "Legacy," so you have to go to all forums. Ugg. Already moved. Thanks to whoever notified mod.
Anyway, yeah, any help would be AWESOME. What physical damage would prevent booting past the "Samsung" screen and default to a black screen that intermittently vibrates?

I'll be honest, if ur asking that question probably something u don't have the current skill set to fix. Try to Odin back stock, but if it started post-drop you may be SOL and in need of a new phone.

Got it into download mode after multiple failed attempts. Each time I would get it into download mode, the screen would shut off after about 5 seconds of being on. I tried several combinations of plugging it in first, then installing the battery, or holding down the button while I plugged it in with no battery, etc. I had just given up after getting it into download mode briefly for the 20th time, when I gave it one more go while rocking the on and off button. Technically that is recovery mode, but I let off right before plugging the phone in and it hit download mode and stuck.
So what I am thinking is the power button got jammed internally. I have heard of it happening on other forums. Even though it looks good and clicks upon external examination, the pressure circuit on the inside might be in contact. Anyway, just one theory.
For future though, I did discover that you don't HAVE to have the USB unplugged prior to getting into download mode. On the contrary, a power source must be present in order to register that the keys are pressed PRIOR to initiating USB input. Thus, you can actually remove the battery, plug in the USB (power source), then hold the volume keys while replacing the battery. Goes into download mode that way, too.
Will keep you guys updated. Might need a bit more help if the phone starts acting up again.
At this point, if the Download mode still holds ok, should I consider CyanogenMod, or is it easier to get back a good ROM from stock?

icenight:
Thanks for the reply. I don't understand much about smart phones or how they work, but trust me when I say I have had AMPLE experience with electronics, circuit boards, hardware, etc., particularly in the computer/laptop world. I code quite a bit of websites, and understand almost all things networking and OS. Just never really got into it with the phones.
Getting super excited to see the sheer amount of modding you can do though. Would love to break into a hardware modding world if it ever comes available. That's where it's at with electronics for me.

Well glad u got it sorted, lucky guy you are lol.
As for boards and the like, if it didn't work I would've suggested replacing the motherboard and/or power daughter board. But for a skyrocket may not be worth the money.
Since you're a hardware guy, maybe mess around with the phone and JTAG? Finding a way to unbrick without it would be very helpful

Since the problems started after a physical damage (fall) , I wonder how would Odin or wipe and flash might work !
Definitely a hardware damage...

Yeah, it kinda puzzled me, too. I believe the power button might have been internally stuck, but that's just one idea. Could have been a loose connection, too.
Can you lose some solid state memory with firmware on it, but the SS memory still be OK to right another copy on?

More than likely it was your power button
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Nexus 5 Screen will not light up

Hey guys I've had my N5 for almost a year now but it seems to have gone kaput on me recently...
On Monday I was on a skype call, (just audio) when my phone suddenly restarted, I didn't pay much mind to it as that happened before and it would usually just cut back on, but this time, it restarted, and restarted and just didn't stop. That lead me to think its the power button being stuck so i checked it out and made sure its not being depressed and well yeah it wasn't. And soon after that the phones screen was sometimes on during the reboots and sometimes off. I knew it was rebooting because the N5 vibrates a bit when Google pops up on the loading screen in a certain way, but yeah now the screen doesn't light up at all, there's still vibrations and sounds like when I call or when I say Okay Google a few times, the LED will even light up during a call. I know the phone is "on and working" in the background but the screen doesn't light up and as such I can't touch it, any ideas and or advice friends?

bump de bump?

Possibly your backlight burnt out? Water damage?

if you are running cyanogenmod, you could be experiencing sod "sleep of death". thats when you know the phone is on and working, but the screen doesnt turn on. ive been reading lots of complaints about cm and the sod.

TheROMGuy said:
Possibly your backlight burnt out? Water damage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As the phone kept rebooting it went from seeing everything, to seeing nothing but the back light to dark, so maybe? It was just by me on my desk too so I was doubtful about the water damage but I put it in the sealed rice bag for about 24 hours just in case but still no luck.

I actually am running cyanogenmod and whenever I do have a problem I always feel that its related to CM as the phone doesn't have any physical damage...maybe I should look into that, any other ideas friends?
P.S I am using the ElementalX Kernel and UNFORTUNATELY I turned on the FAST CHARGE USB option and that makes the phone play funny with the computer, if you guys have any advice as to how I could turn off that option please do let me know

http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...l-06-03-14-one-click-factory-restore-t2513937
I used this tool to try and remove anything that could be bothering my phone, software wise, and I'm not sure if it wiped away Kernels and Roms but thought you guys should know, my computer now recognizes the phone and I can see folders and such, which are now empty.

dynamo147 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...l-06-03-14-one-click-factory-restore-t2513937
I used this tool to try and remove anything that could be bothering my phone, software wise, and I'm not sure if it wiped away Kernels and Roms but thought you guys should know, my computer now recognizes the phone and I can see folders and such, which are now empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all it does is completely wipe your phone and install an older android version. flashing the factory img will do the same, except youll get the newest android version. don't use these tools, doing things the right way will be more beneficial to you. anyways, since cm is having issues, try a different rom, or just go stock.

simms22 said:
all it does is completely wipe your phone and install an older android version. flashing the factory img will do the same, except youll get the newest android version. don't use these tools, doing things the right way will be more beneficial to you. anyways, since cm is having issues, try a different rom, or just go stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats my problem though my screen is still untouchable or see able and it makes it hard to flash stuff since I can't properly use TWRP, and having the fast charge hack on my computer doesnt really sense im in USB Debug but I guesssss its off now though, but still no screen loving

dynamo147 said:
Thats my problem though my screen is still untouchable or see able and it makes it hard to flash stuff since I can't properly use TWRP, and having the fast charge hack on my computer doesnt really sense im in USB Debug but I guesssss its off now though, but still no screen loving
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if still no screen, its probably physically damaged(hit or factory damage). is an exchange possible?

simms22 said:
if still no screen, its probably physically damaged(hit or factory damage). is an exchange possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i got mine through the Play Store and I did think about an RMA, I know there was that free screen replacement thing going on but the customer rep sounded like he had no idea what I was talking about. and I'm thinking its a flex cable issue as my phone hasn't incurred any damage from drops or bumps or anything since i make it a point to be stationary while using phone, but....where the sim card tray is, that "bridge" or thin piece on the bottom side toward the phone has split as a result of my bad sim card ejecting, but that was when i first obtained the phone, also there is another split, inside the phone there is a canopy above the charging port that is split but i still know that occurred long before this, and its not even an electrical piece along with the sim card bridge thing.
BUTTT yeah im afraid if I RMA they will use that as an excuse to charge me $400, even though I know it's not playing any sort of factor in my screen acting up....Is there a policy on that?

dynamo147 said:
Well i got mine through the Play Store and I did think about an RMA, I know there was that free screen replacement thing going on but the customer rep sounded like he had no idea what I was talking about. and I'm thinking its a flex cable issue as my phone hasn't incurred any damage from drops or bumps or anything since i make it a point to be stationary while using phone, but....where the sim card tray is, that "bridge" or thin piece on the bottom side toward the phone has split as a result of my bad sim card ejecting, but that was when i first obtained the phone, also there is another split, inside the phone there is a canopy above the charging port that is split but i still know that occurred long before this, and its not even an electrical piece along with the sim card bridge thing.
BUTTT yeah im afraid if I RMA they will use that as an excuse to charge me $400, even though I know it's not playing any sort of factor in my screen acting up....Is there a policy on that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive rma'ed before, google is really good about it. i sent my nexus 7 back with a custom recovery, rom, kernel.. and the thing going on with google and exchanging the n5 once without question, isnt about the screen, its for anything.

simms22 said:
ive rma'ed before, google is really good about it. i sent my nexus 7 back with a custom recovery, rom, kernel.. and the thing going on with google and exchanging the n5 once without question, isnt about the screen, its for anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose I might as well shoot for it? Is there a way to decline paying for the device if they decide that I should pay?

dynamo147 said:
I suppose I might as well shoot for it? Is there a way to decline paying for the device if they decide that I should pay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
send back the rma? honestly, i dont know. i dont know anyone thats ever had to pay. unless its obvious that you did something, youll be fine.

So when you hold down the power button and the vol - for about 15 seconds the bootloader screen doesn't show up? If so, yeah try to RMA.

I will chat it up with one of the customer service peeps and see what they think then, and maybe even hopefully one will know about the replace anything deal

anactoraaron said:
So when you hold down the power button and the vol - for about 15 seconds the bootloader screen doesn't show up? If so, yeah try to RMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and yup Ik its in bootloader mode though because the computer beeps and tries installing drivers and what not and also because it does that single vibrate, but yeah the screen is still dark so I can't see my selections, I believe I can still actually make a selection though, just unable to see them

dynamo147 said:
and yup Ik its in bootloader mode though because the computer beeps and tries installing drivers and what not and also because it does that single vibrate, but yeah the screen is still dark so I can't see my selections, I believe I can still actually make a selection though, just unable to see them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check to make sure you have the newest drivers (there's a sticky in the general section with all the useful info). If you bought it from the play store see if you can get an RMA - Google seems to have a good rep with this. It wouldn't hurt to flash a factory image to erase everything either before sending it off (privacy and whatnot). If you have the newest TWRP (2.8.0.1) if you boot into recovery and you should be able to access the internal storage without having to select anything (in case there's anything there not backed up). Boot to recovery is volume down twice and power I think.

anactoraaron said:
Check to make sure you have the newest drivers (there's a sticky in the general section with all the useful info). If you bought it from the play store see if you can get an RMA - Google seems to have a good rep with this. It wouldn't hurt to flash a factory image to erase everything either before sending it off (privacy and whatnot). If you have the newest TWRP (2.8.0.1) if you boot into recovery and you should be able to access the internal storage without having to select anything (in case there's anything there not backed up). Boot to recovery is volume down twice and power I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well now that I used that tool I'm not sure if my recovery is still TWRP or if it's stock, it flashed a stock factory image I'm told, but that doesn't remove the Kernel and Recovery too does it? I wanna get it as stock as possible before I sent it out. At this point I believe it has a factory image but I can't say for sure about anything else

dynamo147 said:
Well now that I used that tool I'm not sure if my recovery is still TWRP or if it's stock, it flashed a stock factory image I'm told, but that doesn't remove the Kernel and Recovery too does it? I wanna get it as stock as possible before I sent it out. At this point I believe it has a factory image but I can't say for sure about anything else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2513701.

Nexus 5 boot loop

Hi,
My nexus 5 constantly reboots at the google logo. I think it is a power button problem.
I bought my nexus 5 from the google play store but I do not live in the US, so RMAing it would be difficult.
So is there any way I can fix it? I tried tapping on the power button on the mother board but it didn't help.
Thanks!

liamkosh said:
Hi,
My nexus 5 constantly reboots at the google logo. I think it is a power button problem.
I bought my nexus 5 from the google play store but I do not live in the US, so RMAing it would be difficult.
So is there any way I can fix it? I tried tapping on the power button on the mother board but it didn't help.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think your phone is soft-bricked... Try to boot into custom recovery, factory reset, and reflash a custom rom.
Sent from my Hammerhead running Android L !

AndreIrawan97 said:
I think your phone is soft-bricked... Try to boot into custom recovery, factory reset, and reflash a custom rom.
Sent from my Hammerhead running Android L !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue but I cannot get into recovery or anything else. There is not enough time before the phone reboots again. I have read of people having success but it seems rather rare. The strange thing is that I can press or tap (with luck) on the back of the phone, near the power button, and the phone will turn on. I am sure this is a hardware issue but I got mine from T-Mobile and my bootloader is unlocked and on Android 5.0. The bad thing is that I am now able to JUMP! and was looking at the Nexus 6... oh the humanity!
On an side note: When pressing on the back of the phone (see above) repeatedly I was able to get the phone to fully boot but once I quit it rebooted again. I have not been able to repeat this as of yet. I am leaving it on the charger and hoping that it will somehow right itself like other have reported... that is unless anyone has any suggestions.

rantrav said:
I have the same issue but I cannot get into recovery or anything else. There is not enough time before the phone reboots again. I have read of people having success but it seems rather rare. The strange thing is that I can press or tap (with luck) on the back of the phone, near the power button, and the phone will turn on. I am sure this is a hardware issue but I got mine from T-Mobile and my bootloader is unlocked and on Android 5.0. The bad thing is that I am now able to JUMP! and was looking at the Nexus 6... oh the humanity!
On an side note: When pressing on the back of the phone (see above) repeatedly I was able to get the phone to fully boot but once I quit it rebooted again. I have not been able to repeat this as of yet. I am leaving it on the charger and hoping that it will somehow right itself like other have reported... that is unless anyone has any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds like a "stuck" power button

simms22 said:
sounds like a "stuck" power button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I took the phone apart and messed with the components but nothing has changed. When I was able to get the phone to book all the way up "Power off" appeared as if I were pressing the button. I am not sure how to fix this.... I am sure that T-Mobile will not cover the warranty since it is unlocked.

rantrav said:
I agree. I took the phone apart and messed with the components but nothing has changed. When I was able to get the phone to book all the way up "Power off" appeared as if I were pressing the button. I am not sure how to fix this.... I am sure that T-Mobile will not cover the warranty since it is unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it should be a relatively inexpensive fix at any local repair shop. or you can try repairing it yourself, can probably find a youtube vid about it.

simms22 said:
it should be a relatively inexpensive fix at any local repair shop. or you can try repairing it yourself, can probably find a youtube vid about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not found a video, yet. I tore it down as far as I could but I will keep searching. I am 99% sure that it is hardware related but I don't think that T-Mobile will swap it out or let me use my JUMP! because of the unlocked bootloader. I knew I should have relocked it when I put 5.0 on it!!!!

rantrav said:
I have not found a video, yet. I tore it down as far as I could but I will keep searching. I am 99% sure that it is hardware related but I don't think that T-Mobile will swap it out or let me use my JUMP! because of the unlocked bootloader. I knew I should have relocked it when I put 5.0 on it!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you still can, its very simple. in fastboot.. fastboot oem lock. or if you have root, the boot unlocker for nexus devices app. you can lock or unlock the bootloader with the app, if you have root. personally, i dont think they would even know about the bootloader being unlock.

simms22 said:
you still can, its very simple. in fastboot.. fastboot oem lock. or if you have root, the boot unlocker for nexus devices app. you can lock or unlock the bootloader with the app, if you have root. personally, i dont think they would even know about the bootloader being unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue is that the phone reboots about every 2 seconds making it impossible to make a connection through ADB, recovery, or anything else. I did, however, find a solution/idea on a post by "nadrojcote":
"For the last week or so my power button/lock button has been intermittent, sometimes having to hit it 5 times or so to get the screen to unlock. Yesterday it all of a sudden stopped working and I couldn't unlock.
I am making this post to share my fix I found for the problem. Seeing how my phone is not under warranty because I have already replaced the screen, I took to tearing it apart and seeing what's going on. Hoping I could order a new power button, unfortunately the button is soldered onto the main board. Upon taking it apart I realized I had put a little shim in between the power button and the plastic button in the housing as a "rattle fix". This is what I am thinking caused the problem, this caused me to be putting too much pressure on the power button and caused it to over time break apart the back of the actual buttons metal housing on the main board. I removed the shim and it still did not work. I was going to take the main board and heat it at a low heat in the oven in hopes to reseat solder points, but before I did that I tried using a fine pair of needle nose pliers to crimp the back housing of the button back together. Luckily this worked. Unfortunately I do not have pictures, but if someone else has the same issue you should be able to see what I'm referring to by comparing the power button to the volume buttons on the mainboard, there is a metal housing around the actual button that is soldered to the main board, it has a slit down the back side of it that allows it to spread apart. The volume keys should be tight.
THE PROBLEM: Power/Lock button stops working
THE CAUSE(assumed): Nexus 5 power/lock button rattle fix
THE FIX: Using needle nose pliers to crimp the metal backing of the power button housing good and tight.
I hope this helps others out in the future as I'm sure I wont be the only one with this problem."
Now, I did not have a loose power button and so did not mod it. I did however take the phone apart and pull the board out. On the back of the board, opposite of the power switch, if an aluminum(?) case which can be removed. Under this there is another aluminum housing with a circle in the middle of it. The circle was somewhat bent touching the board parts below so I carefully bent the circle up. Next I gave the power switch a few "gentle" taps and pressed the casing around the switch to hopefully make it tighter as was recommended by "nadrojcote."
As you can tell from my word use, I am no where near an expert on anything electric BUT my phone is now working. I have not put it back together yet but I am in the process of restoring it to factory and locking the bootloader in case I need to send it in. I have sent some major prayers to God today! (If you do not believe in God you don't have to say anything negative about my post... just carry on)

This happens to me always to restart device
There is a solution to this?
What this fire button solution problem?
Who tried to replace power-on button to know is% 200 percent of the problem?

Wipe Cache / Data without recovery possibly in odin? Or maybe adb?

Hello everyone, I've enjoyed my sgs3 for several years now a few months after its release. It's been through hell and back but has worked never skipping a beat until about a week ago.
The screen suddenly became non-responsive. I'm thinking the digitizer is probably bad or something. Someone recommended restoring the factory rom via odin as a last resort. Although I doubt this will work, because not only was I unable to unlock the phone in the rom, I also was unable to unlock twrp. This leads me to believe digitizer issues. Now I could buy the digitizer with a screen for about 65 dollars or just buy a used sgs3 for a few more bucks from swappa. The problem is I don't have those few bucks to spend. Hell I'm on selectel's cheapest non-data plan for goodness sake.
I have successfully put MB1 back on the phone via odin. However this replaces the stock recovery, and I am unable to wipe data in the stock recovery because you must use the power button to select the options. I ripped that out over a year ago when it was causing me problems with random rebooting. I did all I could to keep the power button going using several methods, which worked for a while but eventually I pulled the damn thing out. I realize I could take apart the phone solder two wires to the board and use that for a makeshift switch but I don't want to go through that in all honesty.
What do you experts here think? Is it now junk ready to be sold for scrap or given away, or does anyone know of a way to wipe data so I can at least get it to boot and maybe just maybe salvage this thing? I just bought a nice new hybrid case about 2 days before this occurred for about 4 bucks because my case was falling apart..
I'd like to be able to wipe data/cache from odin, or somehow use adb from the odin screen. Stock recovery isn't an option and I can't for the life of me get TWRP or CWM touch to flash. I don't know why but it fails every time. I've read and read until I'm blue in the face, and there's a sticky here in this section about using the sdcard to unbrick phones, but my pc doesn't have a card reader so that's a no go too.
Thanks in advance

griz.droidx said:
Hello everyone, I've enjoyed my sgs3 for several years now a few months after its release. It's been through hell and back but has worked never skipping a beat until about a week ago.
The screen suddenly became non-responsive. I'm thinking the digitizer is probably bad or something. Someone recommended restoring the factory rom via odin as a last resort. Although I doubt this will work, because not only was I unable to unlock the phone in the rom, I also was unable to unlock twrp. This leads me to believe digitizer issues. Now I could buy the digitizer with a screen for about 65 dollars or just buy a used sgs3 for a few more bucks from swappa. The problem is I don't have those few bucks to spend. Hell I'm on selectel's cheapest non-data plan for goodness sake.
I have successfully put MB1 back on the phone via odin. However this replaces the stock recovery, and I am unable to wipe data in the stock recovery because you must use the power button to select the options. I ripped that out over a year ago when it was causing me problems with random rebooting. I did all I could to keep the power button going using several methods, which worked for a while but eventually I pulled the damn thing out. I realize I could take apart the phone solder two wires to the board and use that for a makeshift switch but I don't want to go through that in all honesty.
What do you experts here think? Is it now junk ready to be sold for scrap or given away, or does anyone know of a way to wipe data so I can at least get it to boot and maybe just maybe salvage this thing? I just bought a nice new hybrid case about 2 days before this occurred for about 4 bucks because my case was falling apart..
I'd like to be able to wipe data/cache from odin, or somehow use adb from the odin screen. Stock recovery isn't an option and I can't for the life of me get TWRP or CWM touch to flash. I don't know why but it fails every time. I've read and read until I'm blue in the face, and there's a sticky here in this section about using the sdcard to unbrick phones, but my pc doesn't have a card reader so that's a no go too.
Thanks in advance
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Hmm, not sure, can you get the phone to boot? You have touch access still?
You could simply reroot the thing without touching the phone at all, then use Odin to flash twrp to your phone once it's rooted. Before you can use adb you have to activate debugging, which is impossible without being able to use the touch screen.
There is no adb command for what you're asking for. However, it's possible through fastboot. But I don't think we ever got fastboot to work for the S3. It's a specific bootloader menu similar to download mode.
If you cant do it in an easy way, I'd suggest getting another phone.

Thanks, yeah, I'm not going to repair it when I can buy one for 69-70 or get a better one for a little more. I'm not crazy about some of the newer devices being locked down so hard or not having removable batteries or sd card slots. I know they exist. Guess I'll have to do some homework if it comes to that. The touch access is the issue along with not having the power button, and no it won't boot. It goes past two boot images, static images, then loops during the boot ani. I've let it sit for about 10 minutes. This should be plenty of time.
Thanks for the reply

griz.droidx said:
Thanks, yeah, I'm not going to repair it when I can buy one for 69-70 or get a better one for a little more. I'm not crazy about some of the newer devices being locked down so hard or not having removable batteries or sd card slots. I know they exist. Guess I'll have to do some homework if it comes to that. The touch access is the issue along with not having the power button, and no it won't boot. It goes past two boot images, static images, then loops during the boot ani. I've let it sit for about 10 minutes. This should be plenty of time.
Thanks for the reply
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Click to collapse
sounds like you're doing everything you can.
As a last ditch effort to give your phone a bit of life, you could just load the newest version. Sure it'll lock your phone and you won't be able to unlock it anymore, but if you load all the latest software it'll be completely stock. I'm sure it'll boot up then, then you can see exactly what you have to work with.

Thanks for the reply again, I think I'm going to stick with MB1 for now. I don't want to lock it up at the moment. Although I doubt the experience could be that much different, better in some ways and worse in others by doing that, I prefer freedom if I can keep it. ha ha. Master Cylinder has mentioned a few more things to try and should they work, I'll post the results here.
I did use a paper clip to activate a data cache wipe in stock recovery since I don't have a power button. This was the first time I needed the button in over a year, I was going to solder two pieces of wire to use as a power button but my soldering iron is shot.
thanks again