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[Q] I accidentally everything (TWRP)

Basically I was using TWRP to wipe my TF700T and I wiped the OS. Luckily I made a recovery on my SD, but the problem is that I can't get it to boot back into TWRP in order to run it. All the Power + Volume Down does is just cause the device to rumble. Powering on the device just lets it sit in the bootscreen. If I can get into the bootloader I can basically fix the machine. Problem I have remaining is that I can't seem to get into the bootloader.
The device calls itself APX when plugged into my computer now, if that means anything. I'm gonna try to drain the battery by leaving it on over night without the flash card. Maybe that'll do something.
Any suggestions on how to unbrick this thing? Or did I just succeed in turning a very expensive tablet into a very expensive paperweight?

JunoZXV said:
Basically I was using TWRP to wipe my TF700T and I wiped the OS. Luckily I made a recovery on my SD, but the problem is that I can't get it to boot back into TWRP in order to run it. All the Power + Volume Down does is just cause the device to rumble. Powering on the device just lets it sit in the bootscreen. If I can get into the bootloader I can basically fix the machine. Problem I have remaining is that I can't seem to get into the bootloader.
The device calls itself APX when plugged into my computer now, if that means anything. I'm gonna try to drain the battery by leaving it on over night without the flash card. Maybe that'll do something.
Any suggestions on how to unbrick this thing? Or did I just succeed in turning a very expensive tablet into a very expensive paperweight?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im having exactly the same problem, did you find a solution to this?

So far no results yet. I tried hitting the reset button on the side but all that did was lead me back to the boot screen. I read something about undoing the the hard boot using a series of override programs. But the problem is the documentation is so cluttered that I can't fathom the instructions (I'll try it again just in case.)

Bump update: So I called Asus and it turns out it's gonna cost 288$ to get the thing fixed by them. So I'm not doing that. I'm looking into other ways of recovery. I've got other multiple options I'm exploring at the moment. Like looking for a recycling program or a way to use the technology in a new way.

UPDATE X2
So I talked to a friend and the very fact that it sits at APX was a tipoff. Basically it means the recovery is shot but the Bootloader is OK. Meaning that the device isn't as bricked as I thought. What needs to be done is to download the android ADT bundle (google it) and from there get into the platform tools under command prompt, type "adb" then "adb devices" and finally "adb reboot recovery"
if it works the recovery should reflash and then using the backup restore the OS.
Granted I'm having trouble getting my comptuer to say "APX has been connected" due to a faulty data cable but I should be home free after this

JunoZXV said:
UPDATE X2
So I talked to a friend and the very fact that it sits at APX was a tipoff. Basically it means the recovery is shot but the Bootloader is OK. Meaning that the device isn't as bricked as I thought. What needs to be done is to download the android ADT bundle (google it) and from there get into the platform tools under command prompt, type "adb" then "adb devices" and finally "adb reboot recovery"
if it works the recovery should reflash and then using the backup restore the OS.
Granted I'm having trouble getting my comptuer to say "APX has been connected" due to a faulty data cable but I should be home free after this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately if you can only get to APX mode and you don't have nvflash specific blobs for your device you are hard bricked...

Luckily I make a recovery file in my SD card wayy back when I did my first Cromi mod. It should still work if the forced recovery restores TWRP. Otherwise, yes, I might be hard bricked.
My friend, however, thinks there might be another way to force a OS past this block though. I'll have to see how this plays out.

JunoZXV said:
Luckily I make a recovery file in my SD card wayy back when I did my first Cromi mod. It should still work if the forced recovery restores TWRP. Otherwise, yes, I might be hard bricked.
My friend, however, thinks there might be another way to force a OS past this block though. I'll have to see how this plays out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry it really doesn't look good, Maybe i can corrected but the device will fallback to APX mode if the bootloader is corrupted, without a bootloader you cant install/fix a recovery and without NvFlash blobs you cant fix the bootloader. Your two options are buy a new motherboard and replace it yourself or send it in for repair with Asus

JunoZXV said:
Luckily I make a recovery file in my SD card wayy back when I did my first Cromi mod. It should still work if the forced recovery restores TWRP. Otherwise, yes, I might be hard bricked.
My friend, however, thinks there might be another way to force a OS past this block though. I'll have to see how this plays out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As JTR says I'm pretty sure you can't fix this without replacing the hardware now. I don't think your friend really understands what APX mode is. YOu can't access the bootloader nor recovery. Without NVflash backup blobs you can't recover anything, there is no way to get your TWRP backups back on to the device and even if you could you have no working bootloader......

Cannot load Android System. Your data may be corrupt.

Backstory: I upgraded to android 10 a few weeks ago, aside from a few user apps breaking, there weren't any system issues. Recently, I received another update (seems like a patch ?) to android 10 and updated as well. I'm not sure if this recent update actually completed.
Last night, it seems like my phone went into a boot loop while I was sleeping. When I woke up the phone was hot, and each boot was so short that there was no opportunity to go into recovery mode. I pretty much had no choice other than to let the battery drain.
So I walked away and came back a while later to a peculiar recovery screen that said "Cannot load Android system. Your data may be corrupt. If you continue to get this message, you may need to perform a factory data reset and erase all user data stored on this device."
There's only 2 options: "Try again" and "Factory data reset". `adb devices` from the PC is unable to detect my pixel 3 here. "Try again" simply attempts to boot, and I just return to this same screen again (at least it doesn't loop now). I'm reluctant to factory reset as I want to at least have the chance to back up some data.
I am able to enter fastboot from this screen using Power + Volume Down. `fastboot devices` from the PC is able to detect the phone. However, because the bootloader is locked (haven't unlocked the bl since i started using nexus/pixel phones), I don't know if there's much i can do here.
My question is, is there anything that I can try at this point to boot into android 10, recover some data, then do a factory reset ?

From fastboot, what happens if you try entering recovery? If you can get into recovery, you could sideload the OTA. https://developers.google.com/android/ota

sliding_billy said:
From fastboot, what happens if you try entering recovery? If you can get into recovery, you could sideload the OTA. https://developers.google.com/android/ota
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the "normal" recovery mode. There was the message "Cannot load android system. Your data may be corrupt." Other only options are:
- "Try again" , basically a reboot, which eventually brings me back to this screen
- "Factory Data Reset"
adb is unable to detect the phone in this mode, so I am unable to sideload an OTA.

superc0w said:
It's not the "normal" recovery mode. There was the message "Cannot load android system. Your data may be corrupt." Other only options are:
- "Try again" , basically a reboot, which eventually brings me back to this screen
- "Factory Data Reset"
adb is unable to detect the phone in this mode, so I am unable to sideload an OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not knowing what is available with the BL locked... Is the new rescue mode option one of the power up/down choices from your BL/Fastboot screen? That rescue mode is supposed to allow ADB command to work. If not, you are going to have to do a factory reset and if that doesn't help contact Google and RMA. Ability to get out of bricks is the biggest reason to unlock your BL (if you purchased a Google unlockable BL phone) unless you purchased a Verizon phone and can't. In that case, back to the last comment about factory reset/RMA.

superc0w said:
It's not the "normal" recovery mode. There was the message "Cannot load android system. Your data may be corrupt." Other only options are:
- "Try again" , basically a reboot, which eventually brings me back to this screen
- "Factory Data Reset"
adb is unable to detect the phone in this mode, so I am unable to sideload an OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had this happen and I had to do a factory reset prior to unlocking bootloader ,which as was mentioned above is way easier to fix because you can reflash factory image without wiping all data

same thing happened to me; the previous comments gave me the outline of what was needed, so thank you. now for the op:
1. on the screen that offers try again or factory erase, choose "try again"
2. IMMEDIATELY press and hold volume down
3. when you reach the bootloader screen, you may release volume down
4. this is the standard bootloader screen for pixel 3. you should be able to cycle options do so to select 'recovery" (or whatever it says. I'm not going to reboot my phone to see exactly what it says, but I'm sure you get the idea)

Hi, I have encountered device corrupt error on my pixel 4Xl few days back, after reaching out to google support and waiting for 4hrs I haven't received any resolution. In few instances device worked normally for few hours but kept on switching off. I did factory reset once as suggested but currently issue is still persistent. I am out of warranty by few months so I cannot send it google support. Please help me in fixing this issue.

Prudhvi89 said:
Hi, I have encountered device corrupt error on my pixel 4Xl few days back, after reaching out to google support and waiting for 4hrs I haven't received any resolution. In few instances device worked normally for few hours but kept on switching off. I did factory reset once as suggested but currently issue is still persistent. I am out of warranty by few months so I cannot send it google support. Please help me in fixing this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like this problem. https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...xxxx_sn-xxxxxxxx.4205331/page-7#post-85981389

Prudhvi89 said:
Hi, I have encountered device corrupt error on my pixel 4Xl few days back, after reaching out to google support and waiting for 4hrs I haven't received any resolution. In few instances device worked normally for few hours but kept on switching off. I did factory reset once as suggested but currently issue is still persistent. I am out of warranty by few months so I cannot send it google support. Please help me in fixing this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So we know you get the corrupt message, support isn't helping, that in a few instances it worked normally for short periods, a factory reset didn't help, and yer out of warranty.
But can u get to fastboot? Is OEM unlocking on? Can u turn oem unlocking on in one of the "few instances", if it's not on?
If u can do the above, i'd follow googles instructions to unlock the bootloader and use the flash-all script and flash the latest firmware.

AsItLies said:
So we know you get the corrupt message, support isn't helping, that in a few instances it worked normally for short periods, a factory reset didn't help, and yer out of warranty.
But can u get to fastboot? Is OEM unlocking on? Can u turn oem unlocking on in one of the "few instances", if it's not on?
If u can do the above, i'd follow googles instructions to unlock the bootloader and use the flash-all script and flash the latest firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for responding back. Yes OEM is enabled on my device. I did reach out to google forums as well for support, they redirected to XDA for support with respect to flashing device.
PS: I am not at all a tech person and have very limited understanding in this area, I am just trying to save my phone.

Prudhvi89 said:
Hi, thanks for responding back. Yes OEM is enabled on my device. I did reach out to google forums as well for support, they redirected to XDA for support with respect to flashing device.
PS: I am not at all a tech person and have very limited understanding in this area, I am just trying to save my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so then first follow this link and choose which version of android you'd like to flash to your 4xl (probably the latest one).
On that site click 'link' next to the chosen version and it will download the firmware zip file (this is the latest generic version: SP1A.211105.002, Nov 2021 --- if you have verizon or other choose the latest for that carrier).
Then you'll need to follow the directions near the top of that page that starts with the following:
Flashing instructions​The factory image downloaded from this page includes a script that flashes the device, typically named flash-all.sh (On Windows systems, use flash-all.bat instead).
etc etc etc.
If you have trouble, post back here and people will try to assist you.
cheers

AsItLies said:
so then first follow this link and choose which version of android you'd like to flash to your 4xl (probably the latest one).
On that site click 'link' next to the chosen version and it will download the firmware zip file (this is the latest generic version: SP1A.211105.002, Nov 2021 --- if you have verizon or other choose the latest for that carrier).
Then you'll need to follow the directions near the top of that page that starts with the following:
Flashing instructions​The factory image downloaded from this page includes a script that flashes the device, typically named flash-all.sh (On Windows systems, use flash-all.bat instead).
etc etc etc.
If you have trouble, post back here and people will try to assist you.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for quick response. I am getting below error, not sure how to correct it.

Prudhvi89 said:
Hi, thanks for quick response. I am getting below error, not sure how to correct it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're getting an error indicating you're trying to do something but it can't do it because the boot loader is locked. Obvious.
but here's what's not obvious; what are u trying to do? and why are u trying to do it?
from the looks of the output, yer trying to switch slots? why? there's nothing in those instructions I referenced above that tells u to switch slots? All yer gonna do is first unlock the bootloader and then use the flash all script.
maybe yer reading the wrong directions? Look again what I posted, find those exact words in the directions, do what's under that heading, not any other heading.

Currently I am not able to switch on my phone !!!

AsItLies said:
So you're getting an error indicating you're trying to do something but it can't do it because the boot loader is locked. Obvious.
but here's what's not obvious; what are u trying to do? and why are u trying to do it?
from the looks of the output, yer trying to switch slots? why? there's nothing in those instructions I referenced above that tells u to switch slots? All yer gonna do is first unlock the bootloader and then use the flash all script.
maybe yer reading the wrong directions? Look again what I posted, find those exact words in the directions, do what's under that heading, not any other heading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently I am not able to switch on the device !!

Prudhvi89 said:
Currently I am not able to switch on the device !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds ominous. You may now be afflicted with the pixel 'stuck in edl mode' problem, which unfortunately there's no solution for.
Try this; plug the device to pc using usb cable, then look in device manager, if you see the device connected with QUSB_BULK_CID (etc), that means it's in EDL mode.
if that's the case, follow this thread to learn more about that, but unfortunately there is no fix, as yet. And I've read just yesterday google is replacing devices with this issue for some.
Just an fyi, if your device is in this state, it's not anything you did, it's the fault of the device. Some believe it to be hardware failure, which seems the most plausible explanation.

AsItLies said:
That sounds ominous. You may now be afflicted with the pixel 'stuck in edl mode' problem, which unfortunately there's no solution for.
Try this; plug the device to pc using usb cable, then look in device manager, if you see the device connected with QUSB_BULK_CID (etc), that means it's in EDL mode.
if that's the case, follow this thread to learn more about that, but unfortunately there is no fix, as yet. And I've read just yesterday google is replacing devices with this issue for some.
Just an fyi, if your device is in this state, it's not anything you did, it's the fault of the device. Some believe it to be hardware failure, which seems the most plausible explanation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok got it !! Thanks for your prompt response & support.

The "Cannot load Android system, Your data may be corrupt" error is known as Rescue Party. Fortunately, fixing it should be relatively simple.
Try dirty flashing the factory image. Do not attempt to flash a patched boot image; leave everything stock.
If that fails, select "Factory data reset". It will wipe your phone, but it should reboot into Android system.
That bootloader message "Your device is corrupt. It can't be trusted" means that the signed key for Verified Boot somehow got screwed up. In this case, I would also recommend reflashing the factory image.
In both cases, the easiest option is to use the Android Flash Tool. It's like a GUI for flashing the factory image.

Google update bricked phone

Afternoon all.
This morning I had one of the usual messages on my pixel 2 about having to restart the phone to install the update. I did so but now I can't boot the phone. I'm in the bootloader, with the following options and consequences
start > causes phone to restart instantly
restart bootloader > restart instantly
download mode > restart instantly with "ERROR: Operation Denied"
recovery mode> restart instantly with "ERROR: LoadImageAndAuth Failed: Device Error"
Barcode > works
power off > works
I've not tinckered with the phone in any way and have only installed official updates when prompted. I'm trying to get up to date with everything again, and have downloaded adb. "adb devices" doesn't show anything, however "fastboot devices" will display my device. I've tried the unlock "fastboot flashing unlock" command but get "FAILED (remote: 'Flashing Unlock is not allowed')"
Is my phone bricked? It's a few weeks out of warranty.... any help is greatly appreciated.

Hello mate, deffo not a good look with a locked bootloader. Just wondering, as you said it boots to recovery does it throw you to bootloader screen with the yellow warning at the bottom or the proper recovery screen? If you get the proper recovery screen have you tried the press power/vol up button together combo to get to the full recovery menu?

junglism93 said:
Hello mate, deffo not a good look with a locked bootloader. Just wondering, as you said it boots to recovery does it throw you to bootloader screen with the yellow warning at the bottom or the proper recovery screen? If you get the proper recovery screen have you tried the press power/vol up button together combo to get to the full recovery menu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Nope I can only get to the screen with the little android robot on his back... and the options stated above
Like I said my computer can see it using the fastboot command, but not adb.

thermomonkey said:
Thanks for the reply. Nope I can only get to the screen with the little android robot on his back... and the options stated above
Like I said my computer can see it using the fastboot command, but not adb.[/QUOTE
Fair enough, as recovery was working I thought you may be able to use the button combo to get to the full recovery and try an ota.img via sideload but as you say ADB is dead thats probably not gonna work anyway (forgot it's ADB sideload, been a while since I've used it)
Anyway, I'd be inclined to try my luck with the warranty if you ain't already as it's a only a few weeks out of date, always worth a call and chance your arm with them just in case.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

junglism93 said:
thermomonkey said:
Thanks for the reply. Nope I can only get to the screen with the little android robot on his back... and the options stated above
Like I said my computer can see it using the fastboot command, but not adb.[/QUOTE
Fair enough, as recovery was working I thought you may be able to use the button combo to get to the full recovery and try an ota.img via sideload but as you say ADB is dead thats probably not gonna work anyway (forgot it's ADB sideload, been a while since I've used it)
Anyway, I'd be inclined to try my luck with the warranty if you ain't already as it's a only a few weeks out of date, always worth a call and chance your arm with them just in case.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'll re-attack. They were sure it was a hardware issue and wanted to charge me to repair it. I'm quite sure it's their update that's done it though!
I can't believe they've designed the phone this way though? It doesn't seem very well thought out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thermomonkey said:
junglism93 said:
Yeah I'll re-attack. They were sure it was a hardware issue and wanted to charge me to repair it. I'm quite sure it's their update that's done it though!
I can't believe they've designed the phone this way though? It doesn't seem very well thought out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make you right, don't see how it can be a hardware issue tbh. In case it's of any bearing I remember reading something online about someone having this happen, luckily they were unlocked and flashing a fresh bootloader image to both slots cleared the error and got them back in the game. Might be worth searching that error message online, might give you some ammo so to speak.
Edit: found the article here
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/forum/AAAAb4-OgUsHtb-5BNtncg?hl=sl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

junglism93 said:
thermomonkey said:
Make you right, don't see how it can be a hardware issue tbh. In case it's of any bearing I remember reading something online about someone having this happen, luckily they were unlocked and flashing a fresh bootloader image to both slots cleared the error and got them back in the game. Might be worth searching that error message online, might give you some ammo so to speak.
Edit: found the article here
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/forum/AAAAb4-OgUsHtb-5BNtncg?hl=sl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. Has this happened to anyone else before? i.e. just restarting when told to by the normal google updates and the phone is suddenly bricked?? Seems silly and it's totally put me off buying another pixel device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

If you search loadimageandauth error in XDA search you'll find a few threads on it, was just doing that myself. Seems to point at a bootloader issue from what I've skimmed over so far which would tie in with that link I posted.
I'm not put off the pixels by these things, in the grand scale of things it's a very low average of devices it happens on so I guess you've just been unlucky. This is my 2nd pixel device ( had the pixel prior to this pixel 2) and most likely won't be my last pixel device.
Good luck with having another crack at the warranty

OP 8 IN2017 (T-Mobile) / Hard Brick / Help with MSM or QFIL

Hey guys,
Recently after a software update my OP 8 started to crash and after that it would restart itself up. One day it just decided not to do it again, power button did nothing and it just wouldn't boot at all. I thought that the phone was dead, but after a couple of weeks I decided to connect the phone to my computer and after a "low battery warning" it boot up. When booting up, after a while it did the same thing as before, it crashed and decided to restart itself up. I did a factory reset and the same thing happened when I got to the android set up screen.
The same day, I decided that I needed to change the ROM since there could be a problem with it. While trying to unlock the bootloader I realized that I need a code from T Mobile (which I'm solicited and still waiting on), I decided to turn the phone off (so that it didn't restart or crashed) and wait for the code to get to me.
The next day, I tried to boot up the phone and it didn't. When connected to my pc i saw that it was recognized as a QCBulk (something like that), I learned about Qualcomm EDL, downloaded drivers and the phone is kinda talking to my pc. Now, I have used MSM tool to install new firmware but after installing the phone doesn't boot back up but stays on the same EDL mode.
So I need some advice,
1. I thought of waiting on the battery to run out and maybe the phone would get out of EDL mode that way.
2. Keep trying to flash different OOS roms via MSM tool and hope that the phone boots back up afterwards.
3. Using QFIL (one of Qualcomm tools) install need firmware. Problem is, I need a .efl or .mbn file which should be included in the firmware but can't find anywhere.
Please help me guys,
I just bought the phone and I miss it
THANKS!

I would think MSM tool is your only hope. Are you using the MSM tool for the tmobile version?

Did you fix your problem yet? @Gipsydanger120

I can give you the .efl firehose for the device if you want it, but it's almost useless cuz you can only use it with partition manager thats all.

L0ND0NB0Y said:
I can give you the .efl firehose for the device if you want it, but it's almost useless cuz you can only use it with partition manager thats all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would appreciate if you could give me the .efl file. I can use QFIL to flash it. Maybe that works cause I haven't been able to make it work, I'm still in EDL mode

Gipsydanger120 said:
I would appreciate if you could give me the .efl file. I can use QFIL to flash it. Maybe that works cause I haven't been able to make it work, I'm still in EDL mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright I'll give it to you as soon as I get home

There you go @Gipsydanger120 !

Report back how it goes @Gipsydanger120

L0ND0NB0Y said:
Report back how it goes @Gipsydanger120
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much, I'll let you know if it works

trinidude4 said:
I would think MSM tool is your only hope. Are you using the MSM tool for the tmobile version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm but it's no help. After installing, the phone disconnects and then goes back into EDL mode. I can tell since my pc makes a noise every time something connects/disconnects. I thought auto-reboot in MSM would help, but it doesn't.

L0ND0NB0Y said:
Report back how it goes @Gipsydanger120
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tried to use QFIL with the efl file along side the "firmware" that i downloaded from OnePlus site, but it looks like I need some other type of file. I was following a tutorial and they mentioned that the firmware usually came with this efl file and maybe an XML file too.
So my conclusion is that I need other type of files too be able to use QFIL.
Any advice? Or am I missing something?

Gipsydanger120 said:
Yes, I'm but it's no help. After installing, the phone disconnects and then goes back into EDL mode. I can tell since my pc makes a noise every time something connects/disconnects. I thought auto-reboot in MSM would help, but it doesn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know you could force restart the phone out of EDL mode by disconnecting USB holding all buttons at once for about 10 or 12 secs the phone should boot, but if there is a problem with a partition the phone will reboot once again to EDL. If it does reboot to EDL again, your last option would be a SMT download which will 100% make it boot but you will lose your IMEI and widevine certificates. It's a problem to solve another problem.

Gipsydanger120 said:
So I tried to use QFIL with the efl file along side the "firmware" that i downloaded from OnePlus site, but it looks like I need some other type of file. I was following a tutorial and they mentioned that the firmware usually came with this efl file and maybe an XML file too.
So my conclusion is that I need other type of files too be able to use QFIL.
Any advice? Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was referring above to "it's almost useless", you won't be able to flash it with qfil unless you have the rawprogram.xml and patch.xml for EACH LUN, so that's 5 pairs of xml files.

L0ND0NB0Y said:
You know you could force restart the phone out of EDL mode by disconnecting USB holding all buttons at once for about 10 or 12 secs the phone should boot, but if there is a problem with a partition the phone will reboot once again to EDL. If it does reboot to EDL again, your last option would be a SMT download which will 100% make it boot but you will lose your IMEI and widevine certificates. It's a problem to solve another problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried to get it out of EDL but i can't. Any key combination doesn't work, that's the main problem.
What's wrong about losing my IMEI? I can probably live without widevine certificates, but what about IMEI?

L0ND0NB0Y said:
That's what I was referring above to "it's almost useless", you won't be able to flash it with qfil unless you have the rawprogram.xml and patch.xml for EACH LUN, so that's 5 pairs of xml files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And after you create the xmls and arrange them in folders with firmware files you are going to realize that QFIL can't flash the files for some reason and all your work have gone.

L0ND0NB0Y said:
That's what I was referring above to "it's almost useless", you won't be able to flash it with qfil unless you have the rawprogram.xml and patch.xml for EACH LUN, so that's 5 pairs of xml files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dang, and do you have any idea where can I get all that? It really sucks that I can't find anything for this phone.

Gipsydanger120 said:
I've tried to get it out of EDL but i can't. Any key combination doesn't work, that's the main problem.
What's wrong about losing my IMEI? I can probably live without widevine certificates, but what about IMEI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No signal, no data!!!
and most important you will lose the ability of flashing the unlock_token cuz it's gonna say "Verify failed" obviously because of the null imei.

Gipsydanger120 said:
Dang, and do you have any idea where can I get all that? It really sucks that I can't find anything for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I spent nights creating them I have them but QFIL won't flash our phones idk maybe because of secure boot.

L0ND0NB0Y said:
No signal, no data!!!
and most important you will lose the ability of flashing the unlock_token cuz it's gonna say "Verify failed" obviously because of the null imei.
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Hmm is it possible to get another IMEI? What if I already have the unlock_token? I'm guessing it won't even work since it doesn't have the IMEI anymore

L0ND0NB0Y said:
Dude, I spent nights creating them I have them but QFIL won't flash our phones idk maybe because of secure boot.
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Man that sucks! I don't even know how my phone got so messed up in the first place.

Hard bricked my phone, unresponsive

I’ve been asked to restore data and repair bootlooping A51. I’ve tried basic steps and resorted to updating firmware with odin. Recovery mode failed and I couldn’t enter it or fastboot. I’ve used home_csc to hopefully keep user data. Odin shows it passed, left my phone for 10 mins but it still was stuck. Maybe I’ve given it too little time to setup the new firmware.
Anyways now it’s unresponsive, nothing shows up anymore, no button combination works, nothing detected by my PC. Tried disconnecting the battery.
Everything was stock, pretty sure I’ve used the correct system version.
What can I do at this point?

piotrekkrzewi said:
I’ve been asked to restore data and repair bootlooping A51. I’ve tried basic steps and resorted to updating firmware with odin. Recovery mode failed and I couldn’t enter it or fastboot. I’ve used home_csc to hopefully keep user data. Odin shows it passed, left my phone for 10 mins but it still was stuck. Maybe I’ve given it too little time to setup the new firmware.
Anyways now it’s unresponsive, nothing shows up anymore, no button combination works, nothing detected by my PC. Tried disconnecting the battery.
Everything was stock, pretty sure I’ve used the correct system version.
What can I do at this point?
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Have it repaired. It sounds like something got corrupted and the bootloader won't start. The only way to fix this is with a board level flash, and Samsung/Qualcomm do not make the tools or the files available to do this. Most repair centers don't even have the ability to do this; they'll just replace the mainboard and program it with the original IMEI. Of course, this means that all user data will be lost.

V0latyle said:
Have it repaired. It sounds like something got corrupted and the bootloader won't start. The only way to fix this is with a board level flash, and Samsung/Qualcomm do not make the tools or the files available to do this. Most repair centers don't even have the ability to do this; they'll just replace the mainboard and program it with the original IMEI. Of course, this means that all user data will be lost.
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Does it make a difference that after a while the phone responded and I can access download mode? I’m trying third firmware from a different source and still using home_csc to hopefully save the damn data.
Is there anything else I could try at this point? Still no access to recovery though.

What I am going to try now is to get twrp on the device and get the data off the phone this way. I don’t know if I can since I didn’t enable OEM Unlocking or whatever it’s called in the settings. Hoping for some tips, thanks!

piotrekkrzewi said:
Does it make a difference that after a while the phone responded and I can access download mode? I’m trying third firmware from a different source and still using home_csc to hopefully save the damn data.
Is there anything else I could try at this point? Still no access to recovery though.
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If you're able to get into download mode, reflash the OEM firmware. You can try using HOME_CSC. Data wipe might be necessary if it bootloops.
piotrekkrzewi said:
What I am going to try now is to get twrp on the device and get the data off the phone this way. I don’t know if I can since I didn’t enable OEM Unlocking or whatever it’s called in the settings. Hoping for some tips, thanks!
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If you didn't unlock the bootloader, this won't do you any good.
Are you seeing any error message on the download mode screen?
I forget if the A51 is a Mediatek device

Right now the device is dead again. I will be leaving it to charge and I hope it comes back alive, like it did before.
I’ve had bootloader errors on the download mode screen when I tried to install the firmware. At this point I am lost in what happened when, but I believe I got the bootloader errors when I tried to install the same firmware I’ve tried prior, so that doesn’t make sense.
I think the battery might be the problem here. It would turn off randomly before it bootlooped and it doesn’t hold charge now. The battery might’ve failed when an update was installing, but that’s just my detective work.
I will be replying with further tests when it turns on.

So, there is some weird behavior. After the phone charges for a few hours it tries to boot. If I hard reset it twice it dies. I need to hard reset it after it comes back and immadietly hold vol buttons to get it into download mode.
I can now experiment more. The original firmware version the phone came to me with is unable to install. Probably because I’ve already installed a newer version of android and it doesn’t allow me to go back. I’ve tried installing a newer bootloader and leave AP, CSC, CP. It fails harder, but I’m still able to try new firmware.
What do I try now? Data recovery is expensive, I’d love to try some stuff, but I don’t have enough time to do proper research and conduct experiments unfortunately.

Sounds like hardware problem if you can control temperature very precisely, you can try to remelt the solder if you know the temperature from the Service Manual. If not - leave to specialized service center who does this kind of thing all the time (ask them if they do).
In terms of flashing, to boot, maybe try Samsung Switch as it should be designed to preserve data however I am not vouching for it.
With Odin just skip the USERDATA and PIT
Doublecheck the exact model SM-Axxx ? Firmware files should be different per exact model.
Share pictures when you hit a problem.