Develop Bugs

[SOLVED!!] Looping Bootloader or startup and unable to charge to reflash

I really don't know what's just happened...I think maybe my TP2 just decided to die on me.
I was using NRGZ Leo ROM from 22nd Feb. All was going well until my battery ran out today. At the time, my daughter was playing a game on it, not from WM, but from the Android port (Haret). While she was playing, I heard the familiar short vibrate of a soft reset. I know my battery was low and I suspect the battery wasn't charging, although it was plugged in (not sure if Android supports charging yet in the later builds)
Anyway, for some reason, it wouldn't go past the vibrate/Touch Pro2 screen. It just kept resetting and looping back. I attempted to do a hardware reset (power button, talk/send, end buttons) but accidently chose the wrong combo (power button, volume down) and entered bootloader. No problem yet, just reset and try again, right? Only I didn't get the chance, as it reset itself and looped through bootloader.
Now I am stuck in this loop. I can't flash from SD as it wont stay on long enough before self-resetting to find the RHODIMG.nbh on the card. I can't connect to my PC as it wont stay in bootloader long enough before self-resetting for my PC to install the "Windows Mobile Device" drivers, and even if it did, when it self-resets, it would disconnect anyway. I can't connect to MTTY for the same reason. I can't connect to ActiveSync or WMDC as I can't boot to WM to get ActiveSync running on the device.
When plugged in to AC power or through USB, it fires itself up automatically and into this loop, and it wont turn off manually, reset or accept any other button combos to enter RUU (from SD method) or to do hard reset. When it is not plugged in to any power source it won't even switch on.
I suspect it is resetting as it is not charging. I'm guessing that when in bootloader, charging is disabled, and I think this because I was originally getting 3 seconds of bootloader, now I am getting around 8 seconds, but it doesn't get any better than that, and I don't know of a rom upgrade method that can be done in 8 seconds! There are a few seconds of charging time before bootloader kicks in and the orange LED goes out and presumably stops charging. Am I right in thinking there is no charging in bootloader and in the Android port (I am using the latest version from 27/2, rhod100).
Basically, to summarise, I am stuck in bootloader-reset-bootloader loop, I cannot connect to pc in any way, flash from SD, Hard Reset, I have very little or no battery and it won't charge because it keeps going into bootloader where there is no charging taking place and it wont turn off to charge that way either.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. I don't hold out much hope though. At the moment, it doesn't seem that I am able to interact with it at all to make it do anything different or to manipulate what it is trying to do. Hopefully someone will see something familiar and maybe have some suggestions.
Oh, and by the way, it's nothing to do with a bad flash. I've been doing this for long enough to know what I'm doing, and I wasn't even doing a rom upgrade at the time. My last rom upgrade was 2 days ago and all went well, and I have been using it without problems since, until now. I haven't flashed my Radio or SPL since HSPL was released, so I know it has nothing to do with that either.
Thanks in advance for anyone who can give any advice at all, or even just take pitty on me! Apologies for all the text. I know it looks boring and may put some people off reading, but I needed to get all the info in.

Are you able to charge when it completely turned off?

can you pull the battery out, put it back in and simply charge for an hour or so to get some juice into the battery?
Then you could maybe reflash it from the bootloader or sd card...

shadixs said:
Are you able to charge when it completely turned off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't get it to turn off, power button has no effect.
clauswl said:
can you pull the battery out, put it back in and simply charge for an hour or so to get some juice into the battery?
Then you could maybe reflash it from the bootloader or sd card...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I take the battery out, obviously, it cuts the power and the looping stops...until I put the battery back in, and it starts itself again. I can't stop the loop and I can't turn the power off or even stop it switching itself on.

matmaneyre said:
I can't get it to turn off, power button has no effect.
If I take the battery out, obviously, it cuts the power and the looping stops...until I put the battery back in, and it starts itself again. I can't stop the loop and I can't turn the power off or even stop it switching itself on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had exactly that problem after a bad romflash. I bought a decktop cradle for the tp 2 that has 2nd. battery charger. Charged the battery and reflash, everything was ok again.
So, juice up the battery and do a hard reset or reflash..
SOMETHING LIKE THIS

I know you prob dont wanna hear it, but id say its a warranty job. Theyll just force flash it anyway so they wont notice the rom you were using.

Cheers guys. I thought it might be the rom. Not sure how though as like I said, my last rom flash was a couple of days ago and it was fine. Guess these things just happen sometimes. I'll try and get the battery charged somehow. Trouble is, I don't know another single person who has a TP2, so it looks like the cradle option I think. It did cross my mind to be honest when I was trying to think of alternative charging methods.
As for the warranty idea, if it can be avoided, I'd rather not take that route if I can help it, but thanks for the suggestion. Lets just say that will remain an option as my last resort if all else fails.
Still open to suggestions if anyone knows of any miracles....any Hogwarts graduates kicking about these forums with a few magic words to spare?

Hey man, I had the same issue when my phone wouldn't for some unknown reason charge.
1) Take our your battery
2) Plug in your DESKTOP CHARGER (not USB from PC!!) to microUSB slot
3) Put your battery back
4) Wait few moments (5 minutes)
5) and you are ready to boot, now you can even charge from USB. No idea why, but looks like booting takes more than 500mA :O
If it wont help, swap those 2 and 3 points

Hey guys! Please give this thread a better title. More related to the problem. Sounds like it could be useful in the future for hopefully very few people.

OK, I will change the thread title. I searched for quite a while but couldn't find any similar cases. But it seems it is more common than I thought since I raised the issue, so a new, more specific title might be more beneficial to other users experiencing similar problems.
For the record, I haven't solved it yet. Waiting on a standalone battery charger I bought from eBay. Didn't really want the cradle. THIS is the one I have bought. I will update on my progress when it arrives.
Thanks for your help to all who have contributed so far.

Hi I have the same problem the phone won't charge or connect via usb I think it is a faulty usb port the phone have & because of that it is causing the phone to go to bootloader.

I've had this happen before, just plug it into the mains charger (wall charger) and let it sit for a while. It will loop a couple times but once there is enough juice in the battery it will be back to normal.
Since you have RHODIMG.nbh on your sd card, maybe taking your sd card out would help it a bit.
There have been other posts with the same issue and plugging it into mains will solve the problem
spark001uk said:
I know you prob dont wanna hear it, but id say its a warranty job. Theyll just force flash it anyway so they wont notice the rom you were using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. just the battery is really low, once charged enough to power device after boot, everything will be back to normal.

fone_fanatic said:
Not true. just the battery is really low, once charged enough to power device after boot, everything will be back to normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like it would make sense. I don't have my wall charger on me now...does the Rhodium not boot up without a battery in it? I thought my old Hermes did, guess I've never tried it with the TP2.

This might sound a little stupid, but I actually know somebody that said it worked for his iPhone (waste of 3-4 mins if not). Plug in the USB charger from PC. Reboot the PC without disconnecting the phone. Wait 3-4 minutes...

Toleraen said:
Seems like it would make sense. I don't have my wall charger on me now...does the Rhodium not boot up without a battery in it? I thought my old Hermes did, guess I've never tried it with the TP2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from what i remember, it won't boot without the battery.

fone_fanatic said:
I've had this happen before, just plug it into the mains charger (wall charger) and let it sit for a while. It will loop a couple times but once there is enough juice in the battery it will be back to normal.
Since you have RHODIMG.nbh on your sd card, maybe taking your sd card out would help it a bit.
There have been other posts with the same issue and plugging it into mains will solve the problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I left it looping for hours....no joy I'm afraid. Just gonna have to wait for this charger to arrive I think
Toleraen said:
Seems like it would make sense. I don't have my wall charger on me now...does the Rhodium not boot up without a battery in it? I thought my old Hermes did, guess I've never tried it with the TP2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fone_fanatic said:
from what i remember, it won't boot without the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely doesn't power up plugged in without a battery. Battery needs to be present. Still waiting on this charger though. I'm hoping it's not one of those where it says the item location is Cardiff (UK) when actually it's in Hong Kong and takes 14 years to arrive

soocerclaude said:
Hi I have the same problem the phone won't charge or connect via usb I think it is a faulty usb port the phone have & because of that it is causing the phone to go to bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't think it's the mini usb port as it charges and tries to connect to pc before bootloader kicks in & it all stops.

Hi I found a way 2 get past the bootloader loop just plug your headphones went in bootloader and restarted the phone but it still won't charge or sync with computer.

soocerclaude said:
Hi I found a way 2 get past the bootloader loop just plug your headphones went in bootloader and restarted the phone but it still won't charge or sync with computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well when I unplug the ac adapter, mine doesn't last on bootloader for more than a couple of seconds before dying. Doesn't even get to the RHODIMG.nbh update screen that way - not enough charge (I'm still hoping). Tried charging overnight while looping but still wouldn't charge enough. The trouble is that obviously the bootloader is killing the battery as it's not charging very much.
Got my charger finally....but they sent the wrong one. Waiting on a response from the seller. The "dock" on the charger wasn't big enough, so while the connectors were in the right place to charge the battery, the battery didn't sit flush, so they wouldn't reach the points on the battery itself. Hope they have a TP2 one & it's not just them thinking it's compatible, as it's the only one on the whole of ebay UK that has them in stock in the UK. Don't want to have to wait up to 2 weeks for one from HK.
I will keep you posted anyway.

Hi I brought mine 2 get fix because my warrenty got void due 2 water damage. I think it is the usb port that is causing this, saw in other forums the same thing. Will get back the phone on monday & I will update u on the situation.

Another Bricked GNex (toro)

Hey all, here's the story of my galaxy nexus woes.
Phone: toro galaxy nexus running Jelly Belly 3.5
Problem: phone won't boot or charge (not even the boot loader, USB or AC)
Story: plugged in my phone before bed as usual. Seemed to be working fine up to this point. I don't remember if I saw the charging symbol or not. Woke up to a dead phone that wouldn't charge or boot.
Solutions tried:
1.) A charger and cable that I know are good - nothing
2.) Brand new charged battery - nothing
3.) Multiple battery pulls, letting it sit on the charger, plugging it in without the battery - nothing
I can't get the phone to make a peep. No vibrations on power hold, no screen flashing or charging symbols, absolutely zero sign of life.
4.) Read online that pushing in the tab on the charging port might help - nothing
5.) Vigorous internet searches - nothing I hadn't already tried
Does anybody have anything that I can try before I just replace with my insurance plan? I'm down for some sketchy stuff.
Thanks

datsho said:
Hey all, here's the story of my galaxy nexus woes.
Phone: toro galaxy nexus running Jelly Belly 3.5
Problem: phone won't boot or charge (not even the boot loader, USB or AC)
Story: plugged in my phone before bed as usual. Seemed to be working fine up to this point. I don't remember if I saw the charging symbol or not. Woke up to a dead phone that wouldn't charge or boot.
Solutions tried:
1.) A charger and cable that I know are good - nothing
2.) Brand new charged battery - nothing
3.) Multiple battery pulls, letting it sit on the charger, plugging it in without the battery - nothing
I can't get the phone to make a peep. No vibrations on power hold, no screen flashing or charging symbols, absolutely zero sign of life.
4.) Read online that pushing in the tab on the charging port might help - nothing
5.) Vigorous internet searches - nothing I hadn't already tried
Does anybody have anything that I can try before I just replace with my insurance plan? I'm down for some sketchy stuff.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the second-last link in the first post of this thread.

efrant said:
Look at the second-last link in the first post of this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I just posted in that thread after bringing my g/f's GNEX back to life

efrant said:
Look at the second-last link in the first post of this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, there is the thread I was out looking for! OP should be good to go!

Unfortunately it didn't work. I guess it goes to insurance unless somebody else has a miracle cure. Thanks anyways!
EDIT: I just can't believe this thing randomly bricked. I thought these phones were near impossible to kill?

[Q] sponteneously bricked EVO-4g

I have a rooted HTC evo 4g. I rooted it about 2 months ago and have had no problems.
I woke up this morning, and it is bricked. I have not recently flashed anything or done anything beyond regular phone use.
i cannot enter download mode, and the "charging" led does not come on.
Any suggestions?

What does your phone do when you press the power button?
Have you removed the battery and inspected for indications of damage such as discoloration or bulges?
Have you tried connecting a different USB cable that is known to be working?
Have you visually inspected the USB connector for loose/damaged conductors?

BobWalker said:
What does your phone do when you press the power button?
Have you removed the battery and inspected for indications of damage such as discoloration or bulges?
Have you tried connecting a different USB cable that is known to be working?
Have you visually inspected the USB connector for loose/damaged conductors?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the power button does nothing.
The usb cable and wall adapter works on my kindle, and i tried an additional one with no results.
The battery appears normal, however my next planned step is to try and get a replacement battery and see if that works.

Try taking battery out and then plug usb cable in only and try to turn on...

angryITman said:
Try taking battery out and then plug usb cable in only and try to turn on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no dice.
also wondering about the cause... 2 potential things:
- I've noticed that the phone gets very hot. 40+ degrees even when not running much. Is this within normal tolerance or could i be looking at heat damage.
- I've been getting the pop-up asking me to do some sort of OTA update. I keep saying no, because i know these ota updates can be incompatible with rooted phones. Could it have pushed through somehow and if it did could it cause the problem i am experiencing?

phone is fixed.
A read on the sprint forum that sometimes holding down the power for an extended time can get the phone to be responsive... had to hold it for like 90 seconds. It then flashed the white evo boot screen and powered back down almost immediately.
After this, however, the orange charging light came on and i was able to get to boot loader. I let the phone charge for a while, then it boot up as normal.
One of the things i noticed is that the battery is practically completely drained... this is odd as it was plugged into the charger when it died. On the same sprint forum, others have speculated that sometimes the battery can drain to the point where it wont accept a charge anymore... so maybe thats the issue.

[Q] Fried battery?

So occasionally if I'm up too late, I don't hear my alarm (on phone). Well, I had noticed recently it got super warm to the touch if I overslept a bit, I think because it just buzzes constantly while plugged into the wall.
Anyway, it won't turn out now without direct power plugged in. Tried reformatting, wiping cache, everything.. I can get it plugged into the pc and booted up but as soon as I try to select media storage, it fails. Won't turn back on now even with it plugged in.
Any suggestions, did my battery just croak?
TYIA.

that's what happens if you charge it overnight

Seraz007 said:
that's what happens if you charge it overnight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For real? Man, I'll be honest.. I had to break my flashing addiction, so I intentionally got an older Nex, so I could root, and leave it the F alone.. Haven't flashed a ROM since I owned it (bought it unlocked like 12 months ago), couldn't even tell you what ROM is/was on it..
Since when is it a bad thing to charge overnight? I adopted that habit when I went android. :/

DNak206 said:
For real? Man, I'll be honest.. I had to break my flashing addiction, so I intentionally got an older Nex, so I could root, and leave it the F alone.. Haven't flashed a ROM since I owned it (bought it unlocked like 12 months ago), couldn't even tell you what ROM is/was on it..
Since when is it a bad thing to charge overnight? I adopted that habit when I went android. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well some phones don't have any problems with ovecharging but its not recommended nevertheless
heard some batteries were F***** up from overchargind

Same exact thing happened to me...thought the phone was fried. I replaced the battery as a last ditch effort and she lit up like a Christmas tree. And as for that last response, I leave mine on the charger all night literally every night without any negative issues. You cannot overcharge the battery on an android phone. They have protective charging circuits, just like laptops.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

misterk267 said:
Same exact thing happened to me...thought the phone was fried. I replaced the battery as a last ditch effort and she lit up like a Christmas tree. And as for that last response, I leave mine on the charger all night literally every night without any negative issues. You cannot overcharge the battery on an android phone. They have protective charging circuits, just like laptops.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm hoping it's only that but wouldn't it fire up with wall charge? It freeze on the Google loading screen.. have a feeling it's cause I wiped it and maybe it didn't finish.
EDIT: Okay, I obviously was a bit messed up earlier.. I factory wiped it, including the OS.. how can I jump an OS onto this thing if it won't boot without charge?

Okay, well the symptoms sound exactly the same as when I fried my battery. At first, mine would only boot with a wall charge, but then it stopped doing even that. The only thing I could get into was the boot loader. I'd try a new battery before worrying too much. In the meantime, however, can you see if the phone is being recognized by a Windows PC, or if you can get the bootloader?If it is bricked, there is a bit of software called OMAPFlash that i used once that can completely reset the phone's programming.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

If you just wiped the OS from recovery you should still be able to boot into fastboot. Are you able to boot into fastboot (power+volume up+volume down)? If so then it is not hard to fix.
If you can't boot into fastboot, try:
1) Without battery, plugged into wall (try a different charger)
2) Without battery, plugged into computer
3) With a different USB cable.
Does it vibrate when turning on? And does it go into fastboot?

My Gnexi said:
If you just wiped the OS from recovery you should still be able to boot into fastboot. Are you able to boot into fastboot (power+volume up+volume down)? If so then it is not hard to fix.
If you can't boot into fastboot, try:
1) Without battery, plugged into wall (try a different charger)
2) Without battery, plugged into computer
3) With a different USB cable.
Does it vibrate when turning on? And does it go into fastboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I plug it in, the initial charging indicator comes up (Battery with lightning bolt), but won't otherwise turn on via holding power.. or get into fastboot at all. If I plug it into my pc, it initially shows the power indicator again but same deal. Interestingly enough tho, my pc makes the sounds it makes when it's syncing or installing usb drivers for something.. except it starts, then stops, then continues.. it's non-stop trying to sync but nothing is happening, it's almost as if it's getting either a partial charge/connection and then it stops. What I thought before was a battery I'm thinking is worse cause I can't get the thing on at all now. :/ Might be time to hit Verizon today..

It was the battery but now I have no OS on the phone.. UGH. I can't get it into storage mode to pull a new ROM over from PC to flash. Anyone know how to force a ROM over via adb?

DNak206 said:
It was the battery but now I have no OS on the phone.. UGH. I can't get it into storage mode to pull a new ROM over from PC to flash. Anyone know how to force a ROM over via adb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boot into a custom recovery, adb will work there.

Faulty Battery Replacement

I have a SGSII E4GT and the battery just stopped charging. I have SlimBean Rom on and i was wondering if they will check any of that kinda of stuff or if they'll give me a new battery. There is no way to access the rom and all you see is the battery charging symbol so the only way anyone could know if i have a rom is if they turn the phone on.

Did you try different USB wires? It could be the port as well.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda premium

You could always buy 2 aftermarket batteries with an external charger for $20... Then you have spare batteries if you ever want/need them.
Then if the USB port is dead you can just flash a stock ROM.

MixedBoy8thStreet said:
I have a SGSII E4GT and the battery just stopped charging. I have SlimBean Rom on and i was wondering if they will check any of that kinda of stuff or if they'll give me a new battery. There is no way to access the rom and all you see is the battery charging symbol so the only way anyone could know if i have a rom is if they turn the phone on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you trying to charge the device? A wall charger or using usb on your pc? Depending on the kernel, usb charging via pc may be disabled by default in favor of some other service. You most likely will not receive a replacement battery unless you buy one yourself, in which case they arent even going to see your phone.

Stryke_the_Orc said:
How are you trying to charge the device? A wall charger or using usb on your pc? Depending on the kernel, usb charging via pc may be disabled by default in favor of some other service. You most likely will not receive a replacement battery unless you buy one yourself, in which case they arent even going to see your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive tried everything; usb, car (which is the only one that gets the phone to the charging animation) and wall. Ive actually managed to turn on the phone in the car and fac. reset it and all it did was make it worse. now when i turn the phone on it goes to the charging animation then flickers, then turns off

MixedBoy8thStreet said:
Ive tried everything; usb, car (which is the only one that gets the phone to the charging animation) and wall. Ive actually managed to turn on the phone in the car and fac. reset it and all it did was make it worse. now when i turn the phone on it goes to the charging animation then flickers, then turns off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having this same problem please let me know what happens.

big_c said:
I'm having this same problem please let me know what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey big_c are you rooted? if so what rom do you have? and just sub to the thread if you wanna stay updated

Nope got the phone from someone I was going to port it to ntelos but Im thinking I might have to get the port fixed first. Did yours have the red light and charging symbol. But not take a charge. And i sub already just thought I'd say that just incase you got it fixed and did post how.

graydiggy said:
Did you try different USB wires? It could be the port as well.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No ive tried everything. Car, computer, wall (3 different ports)

resolved
i took the battery out for 2 days and then used my trust car charger and now its on its way up to 100. currently at 49. ill let you know what happens:laugh: