[Q] Horray! I bricked my epic... - Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Ok, so like...two days ago, I followed qbkings video on how to root & clockworkmod an epic with EI22, well it worked. I got recovery working A ok and played around with some roms and stuff. They all worked for the most part, but after rebooting my phone, the SAMSUNG loading screen wouldnt fade away, realizing it had been soft bricked. I tried recoveries but they didnt work. tried tutorial after tutorial after tutoria, but no luck. When trying the Odin unroot method It'd always be stuck on like a factory. file, and keep getting the phone - ! - computer error afterwards. Ive tried looking around the forums and such, but no go. I really need help with this.

You didn't look to hard. There have been 5 threads like this in the last 2 weeks. Go to the stickies, top of development and follow post 1 of How to restore a semi-bricked Epic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Uh yeah, that was one of the first posts I tried. Never worked for me. Followed exactly step by step and repeated the process five times, but ive been constantly getting stuck on factoryfs.rfs

oh ****, now it wont even turn on. tried charger usb, nothing! no indicator or anything. damn. am I screwed?

I think you were better off leaving your phone alone. If following instructions is difficult, than that should have been your first clue. Id post a link to help you, but you have already read and tried it, and even that didn't work........time for you to buy an iphone I guess.
Sent from cyandroid

Try pulling the battery and sd card, let sit for an hour with usb unplugged, then connect to usb cable with odin running and try to boot into download mode.
If it goes, pop the battery in and load up ei22 or another odinable tar along with the recovery in qbkings videos. Make sure only reboot is checked in odin.
If not, go back and try every step in the sticky. I doubt that you have a problem that has not been experienced already.
Sent by my CleanGB Epic using XDA App

So you tried buying and using a better cable? And tried with both the battery and sd card out using only the computer as a power source like the thread in Development said to do?

b16flybye said:
I think you were better off leaving your phone alone. If following instructions is difficult, than that should have been your first clue. Id post a link to help you, but you have already read and tried it, and even that didn't work........time for you to buy an iphone I guess.
Sent from cyandroid
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That's a bit flamish.

shane6374 said:
That's a bit flamish.
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Click to collapse
Sometimes the truth hurts.
I tend to agree with that sentiment, nothing against you OP, but there are some that gravitate to technology and feel at home, and then there are some that gravitate and lack the necessary skills for something like this.
This is a very straight-forward task, especially with all of qbking's hard work in making those very easy to follow videos, and other's time typing out tutorials, so I really fail to see how most have so much trouble making it work. Maybe they belong in the latter analysis.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

azyouthinkeyeiz said:
Sometimes the truth hurts.
I tend to agree with that sentiment, nothing against you OP, but there are some that gravitate to technology and feel at home, and then there are some that gravitate and lack the necessary skills for something like this.
This is a very straight-forward task, especially with all of qbking's hard work in making those very easy to follow videos, and other's time typing out tutorials, so I really fail to see how most have so much trouble making it work. Maybe they belong in the latter analysis.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
We all started somewhere on this, and I bet most people didn't have success right away. I know I didn't on either platform I've worked on. I'm just sick of the n00b flaming around here. These people might be the ones who's roms or kernels you running in a year. Just show some respect.
Sent from shane6374's Epic via Tapatalk

Youll have to find one of them jigs to get you back into download mode I assume usually time heals all mistakes though if your inpatient id look up how to make an odin(download) reset jig ( I think its called that). I think there a thread about that lying around here somewhere...
Sent from my OG Epic

Yeah, not trying to knock on you too hard, but qbkings videos should be all you need for successfully rooting and flashing. He works hard on them and is very clear with instructions.
Sent from cyandroid

Yup, Ive tried different cables,ports, no battery, battery but got nothing. I thoroughly read through the entire post and tried what was suggested and got nothing. Phone wont turn on or do anything. I'm thinking that i'm screwed. I have been thinking about getting a replacement epic for a while, cause some time ago I actually accidentally dropped it from my desk and this happened to it http://imgur.com/ZBlNn still worked fine, so I didn't really bother thinking about replacing it, but now I'm guessing that I have to. If I do end up requesting for a replacement, any tips/fore warnings about what I should say when I talk to the guys over at sprint before i end up mumbling like an idiot.

Yup, Ive tried different cables,ports, no battery, battery but got nothing. I thoroughly read through the entire post and tried what was suggested and got nothing. Phone wont turn on or do anything. I'm thinking that i'm screwed. I have been thinking about getting a replacement epic for a while, cause some time ago I actually accidentally dropped it from my desk and this happened to it http://imgur.com/ZBlNn still worked fine, so I didn't really bother thinking about replacing it, but now I'm guessing that I have to. If I do end up requesting for a replacement, any tips/fore warnings about what I should say when I talk to the guys over at sprint before i end up mumbling like an idiot.

With the soft brick you might have been able to save it. It happened to my brothers phone and what I did to fix it was wipe everything, factory reset
Then flash stock rom. Wipe everything again
Then flash stock kernel
Wipe everything again
Then it was perfect.
If you had already been flashing roms.and such then your problem wasn't following directions.
You just might have flashed a rom without a supported kernal. Causing bootloop
As far as where you are now.. maybe tell then you dropped it and it never turned back on?
I don't think they can ever find out you rooted it if it never turns on again lol
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Jbluna said:
Yup, Ive tried different cables,ports, no battery, battery but got nothing. I thoroughly read through the entire post and tried what was suggested and got nothing. Phone wont turn on or do anything. I'm thinking that i'm screwed. I have been thinking about getting a replacement epic for a while, cause some time ago I actually accidentally dropped it from my desk and this happened to it http://imgur.com/ZBlNn still worked fine, so I didn't really bother thinking about replacing it, but now I'm guessing that I have to. If I do end up requesting for a replacement, any tips/fore warnings about what I should say when I talk to the guys over at sprint before i end up mumbling like an idiot.
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Click to collapse
Don't use the broken screen as the reason or they will charge you around $100. Just try and make sure you get across the point that its the faulty phone (even if it isn't) and make sure you have an accurate believable story on how it got bricked. If you mention anything about messing with root or anything similar they won't replace it.

True. But on another note you can't say much. Only other thing I can think of is saying maybe you tried updating the device and it died
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Seriously you ignored the odin mode jig? it jumps you back into download mode and you should be able to odin back to eco5........ Ill find a how to for ya.
Its all over a simple google search and you can find a usb jig for about 8 bucks.
Sent from my OG Epic

I just unbricked my wife's EPIC with this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1052813
thanks dyehya for the howto tutorial!

Jus tell them you took it off charge this morning and it wouldn't come on.
Did you try the mythological magic button? The pin hole behind the cover next to the camera lens?

Related

[Q] brick'd or not brick'd

my phone was on aokp and fine but i decided i just wanted to go back to the blazer i had
i boot into recovery and im in my cwm recovery (not rogue)
but when i go to wipe/factor reset the screen flashes its stock recover with the little green android in the background and freezes there
i think WTF? no biggie i pop out battery just boot into recovery again and start over
nope doesnt work im stuck on samsung galaxy s screen with yellow triangle
finally get home to comp and go into odin mode try to flash stock ek02 and that doesnt work just gets me stuck at data
so i try it without data and that works but now it just bootloops
so now i dont know if im brick'd or just in some boot loop
any help would be great!!!
hope everything i typed makes sense if not ill clarify
dont know what to tell ya man....im in a hole right now and i see no light either...
i was on codename and the phone was fine for a whole day and a half. i uncderclocked it to 800mhz and undervolted 100mv and the phone ran beautiful for a day and a half. then all of a sudden like two hours ago it froze. went in to a bootloop. trying to figure this out right now...odin wont recognize my phone at alllllll
damn man that is certainly worse than my situation not
seems like ics isnt as stable as we hope haha, but man idk why my phone get stuck when flashing the data.img in odin it never gets past this... im thinking its bricked which really sucks but just gotta roll with the punches... if anyone can help please do ill be up a little while longer
Yeah its bricked.
ross4747 said:
damn man that is certainly worse than my situation not
seems like ics isnt as stable as we hope haha, but man idk why my phone get stuck when flashing the data.img in odin it never gets past this... im thinking its bricked which really sucks but just gotta roll with the punches... if anyone can help please do ill be up a little while longer
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Click to collapse
ICS isn't unstable you just messed up basically. This is why you should read the brick threads and warnings first about flashing between ICS. And gingerbread. Your phone sounds like it's bricked. Sorry dude.
As for the guy with the boot loop. You're probably not bricked you just need to try and get into download mode and odin a stock rooted rom. How long did you pull the battery for?
Under volting can cause boot loops but your issue could be a combination. I would post in the brick thread. Someone experienced with that problem can help you.
I recommend pulling the battery and waiting an hour or so then redo it.
Good luck!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
LordJummy said:
ICS isn't unstable you just messed up basically. This is why you should read the brick threads and warnings first about flashing between ICS. And gingerbread. Your phone sounds like it's bricked. Sorry dude.
As for the guy with the boot loop. You're probably not bricked you just need to try and get into download mode and odin a stock rooted rom. How long did you pull the battery for?
Under volting can cause boot loops but your issue could be a combination. I would post in the brick thread. Someone experienced with that problem can help you.
I recommend pulling the battery and waiting an hour or so then redo it.
Good luck!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
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Click to collapse
ya i tried man...but odin doesnt recognize my phone... im thinking its the LG usb cable i have. i read somewhere that the pins inside the acttual cable arent the same as the E4GTs cable. so tomorrow im gonna get my stock cable.
Carbajal3009 said:
ya i tried man...but odin doesnt recognize my phone... im thinking its the LG usb cable i have. i read somewhere that the pins inside the acttual cable arent the same as the E4GTs cable. so tomorrow im gonna get my stock cable.
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Click to collapse
That's possible if its some proprietary cable. These phones use a standard mini USB to USB so any standard generic cable should work. I use a really thick and durable Logitech cable that came with a mouse, or sometimes a generic super long one I have that's like 10 feet
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
Ok u guys to to read the OP again for what your flashing you cannot flash any ROM from ICS right now it has a high risk of brick if your going to flash an ICS ROM the best bet is from a cwm based kernal like EL26 not Rogue and you shud be back on GB so use one of SFhub packages it takes an extra 10 minutes tops
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
MJHawaii said:
Ok u guys to to read the OP again for what your flashing you cannot flash any ROM from ICS right now it has a high risk of brick if your going to flash an ICS ROM the best bet is from a cwm based kernal like EL26 not Rogue
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
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Click to collapse
Wow. Now you're spreading more misinformation. You certainly can flash roms from ICS recovery its just not 100% safe in all versions and flavors.
Its generally user error that's causing the bricks. The OP will usually claim he did everything perfect but 99% of the time it comes out sooner or later they did something wrong out of haste or neglect.
You're not necessarily helping though with your false info. No offense intended I just don't want you further confusing some poor noob who takes your word...
And just to further clarify: yes odin'ing stock EL26 is safer than flashing from ICS based CWM.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
Carbajal3009 said:
dont know what to tell ya man....im in a hole right now and i see no light either...
i was on codename and the phone was fine for a whole day and a half. i uncderclocked it to 800mhz and undervolted 100mv and the phone ran beautiful for a day and a half. then all of a sudden like two hours ago it froze. went in to a bootloop. trying to figure this out right now...odin wont recognize my phone at alllllll
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get back into DL mode and flash back to stock and invest in a usb download jig its 5$ and comes in handy in soft brick and bootloop situations
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
MJHawaii said:
Get back into DL mode and flash back to stock and invest in a usb download jig its 5$ and comes in handy in soft brick and bootloop situations
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently you're not reading the entire thread lol. Scroll up man.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
LordJummy said:
Wow. Now you're spreading more misinformation. You certainly can flash roms from ICS recovery its just not 100% safe in all versions and flavors.
Its generally user error that's causing the bricks. The OP will usually claim he did everything perfect but 99% of the time it comes out sooner or later they did something wrong out of haste or neglect.
You're not necessarily helping though with your false info. No offense intended I just don't want you further confusing some poor noob who takes your word...
And just to further clarify: yes odin'ing stock EL26 is safer than flashing from ICS based CWM.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i said you cannot flash anything from ICS without running a risk of bricking your phone its a known issue
Goodnight jummy:what:
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
MJHawaii said:
as i said you cannot flash anything from ICS without running a risk of bricking your phone its a known issue
Goodnight jummy:what:
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. You just flat out said you can't flash from ICS CWM. I was clarifying that is not true. Don't take it personally.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
OP: Phone is bricked, need to take to Sprint for replacement. More on your problem here:
Stuck at Data.img
And to see what the general advice is on avoiding this:
How Not To Brick Your E4GT
@Carbajal, yes it's your LG cable. I have same problem with same cable (from Optimus S). Sammy cable will fix it if you still have it. I forget the specific reason why but in layman's terms it was explained to me that the Sammy cable may have a longer pin which triggers the recognition. If you search the Q&A forum you should be able to find the thread.
MJHawaii said:
Get back into DL mode and flash back to stock and invest in a usb download jig its 5$ and comes in handy in soft brick and bootloop situations
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i cant get the odin program to see my phone!! i can get into DL mode but am not able to flash anything through it...why?? i tried two different computers and three different cables but no go
Carbajal3009 said:
i cant get the odin program to see my phone!! i can get into DL mode but am not able to flash anything through it...why?? i tried two different computers and three different cables but no go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you didn't clarify it before, did you try the Sammy cable provided with the phone? If that isn't doing it you may want to check Device Manager (assuming Win PC) and make sure nothing is disabled or not working properly. I mention this as it happened to me once when I tried to reassign the COM ports to use CDMA Workshop.
garwynn said:
@Carbajal, yes it's your LG cable. I have same problem with same cable (from Optimus S). Sammy cable will fix it if you still have it. I forget the specific reason why but in layman's terms it was explained to me that the Sammy cable may have a longer pin which triggers the recognition. If you search the Q&A forum you should be able to find the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Word!
It freaked me out when I first tested this phone months ago since I came from Optimus S also. Didn't want to unpack all the accessories so just used the cable that came with the LG Optimus S, would charge, but no data. Thought the USB port on the E4GT was busted. Then tried 2 more LG Optimus S cables with the same result. Was about to return the phone when on a whim unpacked the flimsy looking Samsung cable and voila, it worked.
That flimsy looking Samsung cable has gotten me through over 300 flashes now w/o ever having a cable related problem.
garwynn said:
OP: Phone is bricked, need to take to Sprint for replacement. More on your problem here:
Stuck at Data.img
And to see what the general advice is on avoiding this:
How Not To Brick Your E4GT
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Click to collapse
ross, this is your problem. i'm in the same boat. in that thread, someone was able to repartition the /data partition to his sdcard and it worked (albeit at the cost of sdcard space). worth a shot, but keep up with that thread as it's pretty active.
Thanks guys who inputed about that LG cable. I took me a while to find my original sammy cable!! but my phone workds again and im soooooo happy. Thanks a bunch.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
garwynn said:
OP: Phone is bricked, need to take to Sprint for replacement. More on your problem here:
Stuck at Data.img
And to see what the general advice is on avoiding this:
How Not To Brick Your E4GT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this sunday morning, trying out AOKP. Read that there was a possibility for corruption, did it anyway. after deciding it was too buggy for my liking as a daily driver, i attempted to go back. Tried my USB Jig with no luck.
Took it into Sprint on Monday, an hour later the tech tells me its toast. (Tell me something I don't know). I tried so hard to weasel out a new White model.
I've got a refurb'd black model and i'm suspecting there's a few issues with it. Its completely stock, no root. I've had to reboot four times today already from not turning on or coming out of sleep. Then every so often the phone will not stop vibrating during a haptic feedback response. I've turned haptic and vibrate off, but it still locks up on occasion. Funny but weird as hell. Probably gonna take it in later this week and try my luck again at getting a new model.

Soft Bricked E4GT (still hope!)

Hey guys, I want to quickly thank all of you who come by and read this and offer me any help, I GREATLY appreciate it!
So my story quickly in a nutshell, I was on Caulkins ics rom, I wanted to flash the new alpha build for CM9, didn't flash back to GB first, tried flashing using clockwork on the ics Caulkins rom, it froze, and now it won't boot up. What happens when I turn it on it;
1. Samsung Galaxy S II - logo appears,
2. ... that is all. It resets every 15-20 seconds or so.
I cannot get into recovery mode using vol up+power button, however I can get into odin mode with vol dwn+power (which I was told because of this there is hope). However! I have tried both the one touch odin 181 EL29 restore/root, and it get's 98% done everytime, but gets stuck when it says writing the "data.img" and it never progresses further from there. I have tried this numerous times with different cables, different usb ports and different computers.
Now when I try the other odin 185 version, I have attached all the appropriate tar files and md5 files in the pda, phone and csc slots, and have tried MANY different files for those and watched several videos from QBKING77 and others dealing with how to restore using odin, but everytime I have flashed with this version of odin, everything works fine and my phone resets and all... but once again... never gets the past the Samsung Galaxy S II logo, and it keeps resetting every like 15-20 seconds.
Does anyone know what I can do? Or is there no hope and should I make a claim with my insurance? I haven't tried a jig yet, but idk if that would really help me out in this case,
any and all thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated,
again, thank you for your time
If nobody else has a better idea for you, this is the site I keep available for if I slip up for some reason.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-epic-4g-touch-jtag-brick-repair/
Good luck.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Not to be a ****, but you realize there are at least a dozen threads about this exact issue right? I know we all make mistakes but you really, really need to read before you flash, and read before you post..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525495
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1591199
Those were just on the first page of general. Of course this also comes up dozens of times in every ROM thread. Learn to read people, this is embarrassing. We all felt bad a week into ICS but now there is so much evidence that it's just embarrassing.
If you had taken the time to do a Google search rather than post you would know your phone is hard bricked and cannot be fixed. You can either file a claim with asurion for a hundred bucks if you have insurance (which is the right thing to do) or you can lie and go to Sprint and hope they swap it for you in store. But since that is at best questionable and at worst fraud, you should pay the moron tax and file a claim. Even doing that is ridiculous since you are affecting all of us every time you file a claim that was preventable. Every root related claim is one tiny step closer to the end of claims for root related issues.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...cO2twf8hfSHCA&ved=0CCcQrQIwAA&biw=320&bih=533
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
@abhaxus- there is no need to be so rude. You can point someone in the right direction without sounding so harsh.
VDub2174 said:
@abhaxus- there is no need to be so rude. You can point someone in the right direction without sounding so harsh.
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Click to collapse
Actually I dont think he was harsh he was right on point... He notated links that can be used for reference and yes he is 100% correct. There are numerous links and new threads popping up every day about the same exact issue. Within mostly all ICS threads it shows how to flash different roms... He also started his post as not to be a ****...
Ok people seriously we got to do better when dealing with these ICS roms since we can all start a new post to get the community to help us but we can not read posts where the community has given great advice to be safe.
2OP sorry about what happen to you but most get stuck with the blue light of death. It seems like yours may be trying too boot up. Try sfhubs odin packages and see what happens. Hopefully you can get into download mode. Sorry bout what has already been said but what you did has been posted a million times as something not too do... Please try and be more careful in the future so this stuff wont happen to you again...
Good Luck
If it is getting stuck on data.img, you are screwed. The EMMC memory was corrupted by the ICS-based kernel and custom recovery. By the time ODIN gets to it, it is too late, nothing will write to your /data partition because the EMMC memory is damaged. ODIN, Mobile ODIN, CWM, JTAG will all fail.
Your option is basically to return your phone for replacement, either from Sprint or Samsung.
Thanks guys for all the input, and I know, I didn't wanna waste more space and time starting a new thread and all, but I did search, and did a lot. But everything I found was with people posting that they were still able to get into recovery, but I am not able to. I will check out the links given above, thanks for the help folks

New To Android, but bricked my phone?

Well i think it is. I rooted my phone last night and installed the beats drivers from the Play Store. Shortly, it froze and went straight to the Samsung logo. I can still go into both recovery and download mode, but what do I do after that? I've heard about Odin....but how do i exactly put the custom roms into my phone, and which ones? And if any one can point me to a guide or tutorial, ill be extremely relieved. I'm new to the website as well as android, so if anyone could please help me out, thanks
When you rooted did you NANDROID backup ? If not go into recovery and clear cache and then go into advanced and wipe delvik cache. reboot
If that fails go back into recovery and do a factory reset and you should be ok.
touchdownadrian said:
Well i think it is. I rooted my phone last night and installed the beats drivers from the Play Store. Shortly, it froze and went straight to the Samsung logo. I can still go into both recovery and download mode, but what do I do after that? I've heard about Odin....but how do i exactly put the custom roms into my phone, and which ones? And if any one can point me to a guide or tutorial, ill be extremely relieved. I'm new to the website as well as android, so if anyone could please help me out, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1727401
This is why noobs shouldn't be rooting, hell I'm on my 4th android phone and I'm still holding off on rooting it. And I was constantly popping new ROMS on my Vibrant, never bricked any phone
z0phi3l said:
This is why noobs shouldn't be rooting, hell I'm on my 4th android phone and I'm still holding off on rooting it. And I was constantly popping new ROMS on my Vibrant, never bricked any phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree as long as you are willing to learn from the mistake all is good. I had a Samsung Exhibit II and deleted touch wiz launched (I was using go launcher) later I would do a factory reset and well... learned that system files do not get restored when you do a factory reset...oops
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
I agree, we all were NOOBS at some point. That's the one thing I love about XDA is that with patience and the help of the users any noob can learn how to mod their devices. One piece of advice that I can offer is before you do any type of modding is READ and keep on READING. I have bricked the first device I ever rooted because I did not READ the forums as they are meant to be read.
z0phi3l said:
This is why noobs shouldn't be rooting, hell I'm on my 4th android phone and I'm still holding off on rooting it. And I was constantly popping new ROMS on my Vibrant, never bricked any phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, not cool dude..remember that WE were all NOOBS at some point in time, therefore we should support and help one another. As for what to do next, follow "Saldebot's" instructions and you should be fine. Sounds like it's only a soft brick. Just keep reading and learning as much as you can bud.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Thanks guys, it worked. And my bad for not reading alot, im kinda new to this lol
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
not fair
z0phi3l said:
This is why noobs shouldn't be rooting, hell I'm on my 4th android phone and I'm still holding off on rooting it. And I was constantly popping new ROMS on my Vibrant, never bricked any phone
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Click to collapse
Dude the vibrant is bullet proof . Now HTC that's a mother.
:silly:
touchdownadrian said:
Thanks guys, it worked. And my bad for not reading alot, im kinda new to this lol
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the noobs who shouldn't be rooting... It's the lazy and careless who should stick to stock. If you are careful and diligent, rooting and all the good stuff that comes with it is easy and rewarding.
TheSeanTeam said:
It's not the noobs who shouldn't be rooting... It's the lazy and careless who should stick to stock. If you are careful and diligent, rooting and all the good stuff that comes with it is easy and rewarding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I whole-heartily agree, I was a freshman noob August 1st this year, by August 4th I was flashing like a pro. Left and right, ROMs, Kernels, Modifying system files, you name it. I wanted to streamline my phone and future proof it somewhat by overclocking. I spent 3 days researching and educating myself, finding the best ROMs, weighing pros and cons, and when it came time to flash, I was on my PC all day making sure whatever I did wouldn't brick me. I carefully analyzed and learned about virtually all methods of flashing by watching tons of videos and reading a bunch of tutorials by several sources. I MD5 checksum'd every zip to be flashed on my phone using an app (to ensure download and transfer was successful). I must have verified that the files I was preparing to flash were indeed for my device make and model about a dozen times before ever touching a button. When I went to flash over my first custom Kernel (even though I had already flashed 2 custom ROMs shortly before that), on that last button my hands were literally shaking, I could not afford a second Galaxy S III. Everything went beautifully, all of my careful planning and hours of invested research payed off. I had done everything right and was rewarded with better battery life (about +50% on heavy load and +500% on idle) and performance (+25%).
My girlfriend also has a Galaxy s3 and she wanted the same performance I was getting. I flashed the exact same software to her device I had to mine, no changes.
Total time invested in flash on my device: 36 hours, at least
Total time invested in flash on her device: 1 hour... if that
The bottom line is yes, if you're not willing to put forth the effort and educate yourself first, you probably shouldn't be doing this. There are guides and tutorials out there for noobs and I would recommend you go there first until you know your way around your device. That way at least you have a little experience on your belt before you start doing anything too advanced (I did this when I was rooting my device for the first time).
As a side note, I know there are a lot of people out there worried about doing anything that could potentially brick their device. That is always a real possibility, I'm not going to lie to you, it happens more often than you think. However in just about every case of bricking you'll ever hear about, it's usually someone flashing something they're not suppose to, like a ROM designed for a different make and model of device, or something experimental that wasn't ready yet. Do all your homework (from multiple corroborating sources) before you undergo a flash and as long as you do everything "by the book" (so to speak) and don't rush through things by being lazy, you should be fine. Some even flash nightlies (yeah they're called that for a reason, updated versions of the ROM they currently have) EVERY NIGHT!!! In the end when you have an android device, you have an open source platform at your fingertips and you should take advantage of that, it would be a waste not to. If not, your next device might as well be an iPhone. They're great for noobs and as long as you're ok drinking whatever punch Apple gives you, they're pretty much impossible to brick since you can't do a whole lot with them. Apple will be happy to take your money and stiff you with closed source for it.
lordazoroth said:
I whole-heartily agree, I was a freshman noob August 1st this year, by August 4th I was flashing like a pro. Left and right, ROMs, Kernels, Modifying system files, you name it. I wanted to streamline my phone and future proof it somewhat by overclocking. I spent 3 days researching and educating myself, finding the best ROMs, weighing pros and cons, and when it came time to flash, I was on my PC all day making sure whatever I did wouldn't brick me. I carefully analyzed and learned about virtually all methods of flashing by watching tons of videos and reading a bunch of tutorials by several sources. I MD5 checksum'd every zip to be flashed on my phone using an app (to ensure download and transfer was successful). I must have verified that the files I was preparing to flash were indeed for my device make and model about a dozen times before ever touching a button. When I went to flash over my first custom Kernel (even though I had already flashed 2 custom ROMs shortly before that), on that last button my hands were literally shaking, I could not afford a second Galaxy S III. Everything went beautifully, all of my careful planning and hours of invested research payed off. I had done everything right and was rewarded with better battery life (about +50% on heavy load and +500% on idle) and performance (+25%).
My girlfriend also has a Galaxy s3 and she wanted the same performance I was getting. I flashed the exact same software to her device I had to mine, no changes.
Total time invested in flash on my device: 36 hours, at least
Total time invested in flash on her device: 1 hour... if that
The bottom line is yes, if you're not willing to put forth the effort and educate yourself first, you probably shouldn't be doing this. There are guides and tutorials out there for noobs and I would recommend you go there first until you know your way around your device. That way at least you have a little experience on your belt before you start doing anything too advanced (I did this when I was rooting my device for the first time).
As a side note, I know there are a lot of people out there worried about doing anything that could potentially brick their device. That is always a real possibility, I'm not going to lie to you, it happens more often than you think. However in just about every case of bricking you'll ever hear about, it's usually someone flashing something they're not suppose to, like a ROM designed for a different make and model of device, or something experimental that wasn't ready yet. Do all your homework (from multiple corroborating sources) before you undergo a flash and as long as you do everything "by the book" (so to speak) and don't rush through things by being lazy, you should be fine. Some even flash nightlies (yeah they're called that for a reason, updated versions of the ROM they currently have) EVERY NIGHT!!! In the end when you have an android device, you have an open source platform at your fingertips and you should take advantage of that, it would be a waste not to. If not, your next device might as well be an iPhone. They're great for noobs and as long as you're ok drinking whatever punch Apple gives you, they're pretty much impossible to brick since you can't do a whole lot with them. Apple will be happy to take your money and stiff you with closed source for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. It took me months of researching on my vibrant before flashing my first rom (bionix 1.6 by teamwhiskey). As I progressed, I did brick left and right but I always managed to bring it back to life with my prior knowledge. Now I'm eagerly waiting for my computer to be done downloading the root files and get started.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Cr vibe said:
Dude the vibrant is bullet proof . Now HTC that's a mother.
:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Omg I LOVED THE VIBRANT! Restoring it from a brick was a piece of cake
Sent from my SGH-T999
Cr vibe said:
Dude the vibrant is bullet proof . Now HTC that's a mother.
:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+++++++1 on that.... DAMN talk about headaches....
dmarco said:
Yea, not cool dude..remember that WE were all NOOBS at some point in time, therefore we should support and help one another. As for what to do next, follow "Saldebot's" instructions and you should be fine. Sounds like it's only a soft brick. Just keep reading and learning as much as you can bud.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good::good:
Yeah one of the only other IMPORTANT thinks i could add would be always do a factory reset before flashing roms.. some people like to flash "dirty" i wouldnt recommend it cause you will ALWAYS have issues maybe not in a hour but guaranteed you will... but knowledge is power dude.. i two read for about 36 hours before rooting my phone.. i rooted my wifes phone days after a rooted mine back in the day it only took like 15 mins.. another thing let phone sit 10 mins before ya play with it... gotta let the cache settle... the ten min wait is well worth it.. ive been doing it that way since the vibrant bro.. happy flashing and welcome..
I read constantly things change hourly like when that new leaked kernels came out for sgs2 and the emmc was trashed never to come back from a brick again. To anyone that cares if you love your phone read more than just the root and flash stuff learn what makes your phone tick from the factory hardware software and added crap from your carrier it all play's a part in the end result. Its as easy as you make it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Nabeel10 said:
Omg I LOVED THE VIBRANT! Restoring it from a brick was a piece of cake
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive passed down two vibrants (both rooted) to my sons so they can learn to flash roms and everything else that comes from the joys of root.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Android Newb needing advice or help

Hi. I'm new here and first, want to say hello. I've been on iPhones for many years. Finally got bored and crossed over to the "Dark Side" lol.
Second....I need help!!! lol or just some good old advice. I've searched and searched but can't really find a definitive answer. Too much conflicting info out there. One thing I did learn is that this forum is thee best so here I am!
I successfully rooted my i747 Galaxy S3 (Rogers). The trouble arose when I tried to install a Custom ROM. I kept getting errors, and after a bunch of research, I read that I should update my CWM. I did and that's when the trouble started. It went into a loop. It would just stay on a black screen. I can't get into Recovery mode or anything else for that matter. It will not power up in any way. It will now show the charging indicator light when it's charging. It's as dead as my ex-wife in the sack . Obviously I've bricked it. I've learned that a jtag repair would fix it....and have since been told by an android buddy that it won't. Any advice or info would be appreciated!
The phone was on 4.1.1 and it's the Rogers i747 model (same as AT&T)
P.S, Rooting on a Mac sucks! I'm thankful that I had a PC at home too! Not that turned out too good
Update...as per Tech Support at Rogers, I removed the battery and plugged it in. The red indicator light came on. But it does not stay on and it goes out shortly after, battery in or not. Thought one more piece of info may help someone figuring this out.
Charge it as much as you can, search for the return to stock thread on here (make sure you get the one for your carrier), do that and if it isn't working after that, then you'll probably have to get it replaced.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Monkeymannnn said:
Charge it as much as you can, search for the return to stock thread on here (make sure you get the one for your carrier), do that and if it isn't working after that, then you'll probably have to get it replaced.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the reply but I can't connect to the phone at all. Couldn't return it to stock even if I wanted to.
mrkay said:
I appreciate the reply but I can't connect to the phone at all. Couldn't return it to stock even if I wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it's charged, are you able to get in download mode? If so, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Odin can bring you back up.
If your pc doesn't recognize it, reboot it (pc). Try a different cable/usb port. Reinstalling the drivers is an option too.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
BWolf56 said:
Once it's charged, are you able to get in download mode? If so, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Odin can bring you back up.
If your pc doesn't recognize it, reboot it (pc). Try a different cable/usb port. Reinstalling the drivers is an option too.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't charge at all. Left it overnight and nada. I'll try again, but highly unlikely that it will. I also tried different ports as well as different computers to connect to. My only concern is that I take it back and Samsung discovers that it's been messed with. Oh well, it's only money
mrkay said:
It won't charge at all. Left it overnight and nada. I'll try again, but highly unlikely that it will. I also tried different ports as well as different computers to connect to. My only concern is that I take it back and Samsung discovers that it's been messed with. Oh well, it's only money
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could say that you tried to update with kies and that's what you got.. Works like a charm usually
In my stupidity I've hard bricked not one but TWO AT&T GS3's same thing black screened and nothing else. I doubt very seriously you'll get it to charge. Here's the good news I'm assuming it's still under warranty and if it is when you take it to the warranty store at AT&T they will try two batteries to see if it boots and when it doesn't you'll get a new phone. You don't have to tell them nothing. As far as you know you shut it down to charge when you went to bed and it wouldn't boot in the morning.
Worked for me needless to say I'm WAAAAAY more carefull and spend a lot of time here reading and double and triple checking everything!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
S3freak said:
In my stupidity I've hard bricked not one but TWO AT&T GS3's same thing black screened and nothing else. I doubt very seriously you'll get it to charge. Here's the good news I'm assuming it's still under warranty and if it is when you take it to the warranty store at AT&T they will try two batteries to see if it boots and when it doesn't you'll get a new phone. You don't have to tell them nothing. As far as you know you shut it down to charge when you went to bed and it wouldn't boot in the morning.
Worked for me needless to say I'm WAAAAAY more carefull and spend a lot of time here reading and double and triple checking everything!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to make you sound stupid, there are no such things as stupid questions here at least I've learned that while enjoy my stay here at xda, but did you accidentally flash an international ROM? This sounds like a case of it.
The first phone I hard bricked I'm sure that's what I did. It became a beautiful paper weight. Not sure what happened the second time I had got off work late and instead of going to bed I was tinkering with my phone. I don't really know what happened. Careless and not reading, not making sure of what I was doing. I learned the hard way and I spend a lot more time studying and staying with the AT&T forums for my phone.
I have to admit I've really had fun here learning.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

[Q][HELP]S3 Hard Bricked after Flashing Illusions

I FIXED IT
Here's the Link to my Guide.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2369125
Okay, So here's what I did.
I flashed the latest Illusions ROM for my S3 and the Slim AIO 7 for 4.2.2 (since Illusions is based out of SLIM, AOKP, PA, CM, ETC). Then TWRP 2.6.0.0 said that SuperSu wasn't installed (what the heck?!?!?) and it prompted me to install su so I was like "What the heck, why not" so I swiped for yes. Then the screen went black for a good 20 minutes. I got worried, did a battery pull and tried to but straight to recovery... no bueno. Same for booting to dl mode. I plugged my phone in to my computer without the battery and the red LED comes on for 10 seconds and then it dies. It prompted windows to install the QHUSB_DL driver and it failed. WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!?
Is there anything I can do to unbrick it?
Do I have to JTAG/JIG or what? If so, can anyone direct me to it? (Last resort)
I'm on the MD4 bootloader and modem.
I really need to get this phone fixed before I go to basic on the 23rd of July.
Other info: Yes, I already went to the local Sprint store (not to get a replacement. That would be irresponsible of me considering my S3 is built by me from the MoBo on up) to get help on flashing it back to stock.
Jtag is the only way and you need to send it to someone who does that.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
deBricker said:
Okay, So here's what I did.
I flashed the latest Illusions ROM for my S3 and the Slim AIO 7 for 4.2.2 (since Illusions is based out of SLIM, AOKP, PA, CM, ETC). Then TWRP 2.6.0.0 said that SuperSu wasn't installed (what the heck?!?!?) and it prompted me to install su so I was like "What the heck, why not" so I swiped for yes. Then the screen went black for a good 20 minutes. I got worried, did a battery pull and tried to but straight to recovery... no bueno. Same for booting to dl mode. I plugged my phone in to my computer without the battery and the red LED comes on for 10 seconds and then it dies. It prompted windows to install the QHUSB_DL driver and it failed. WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!?
Is there anything I can do to unbrick it?
Do I have to JTAG/JIG or what? If so, can anyone direct me to it? (Last resort)
I'm on the MD4 bootloader and modem.
I really need to get this phone fixed before I go to basic on the 23rd of July.
Other info: Yes, I already went to the local Sprint store (not to get a replacement. That would be irresponsible of me considering my S3 is built by me from the MoBo on up) to get help on flashing it back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it that post I linked to in my thread didnt work then?
And FYI
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-jtag-brick-repair/
What was the name of the file for Illusion ROM?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Notorious said:
What was the name of the file for Illusion ROM?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FML, I made a noob mistake. Flashed a i9300 Illusion Rom. But I got it from the link on the page. It's Illusion i9300 4.2.2 07132013
billard412 said:
I take it that post I linked to in my thread didnt work then?
And FYI
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-jtag-brick-repair/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Looks like I'm going back to my ogEvo. Won't be able to use that service until after the Navy is done with me. FML. I still can't believe I made a noob mistake. -_____- I have never bricked a phone and this is ironic because i usually de-brick phones... not brick 'em.
Have you looked at this thread
[HOW TO] Unbrick your Sprint phone from flashing an International gsm boot imag
jdelano said:
Have you looked at this thread
[HOW TO] Unbrick your Sprint phone from flashing an International gsm boot imag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I JUST FIXED IT! LOL. I'm in the middle of Barnes and noble and I just fixed it. I'll put down directions for a HOW TO for my method, but it involves having Linux.
HARD BRICK FIX W/O THE JTAG!
and I'll have to give credit. I finally figured out how to dd that file that was posted by (I don't have his username atm) but yeah! I got it to work. His method needs a little more instruction.
Just booted to DL mode
Yeah, if I may, please don't make a guide thread for that. It will only encourage people to flash international roms.
Sent from my S3 on Sense 5 (you jelly?)
glad to hear you got it working.
CNexus said:
Yeah, if I may, please don't make a guide thread for that. It will only encourage people to flash international roms.
Sent from my S3 on Sense 5 (you jelly?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, well, some people would like the convenience of not having to send their phone off and spending 60 dollars to get it fixed. And there are many ways to hard brick an S3 and I think that this would be a convenient way of fixing their phone.
Mine was a legit mistake. I'm a veteran flasher of ROMs and everyone does slip up.
deBricker said:
Yes, well, some people would like the convenience of not having to send their phone off and spending 60 dollars to get it fixed. And there are many ways to hard brick an S3 and I think that this would be a convenient way of fixing their phone.
Mine was a legit mistake. I'm a veteran flasher of ROMs and everyone does slip up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you do something like that, you should own up to it and pay the $60 bucks to get it fixed. International roms don't magically wind up on your flashing queue in recovery.
I obviously can't stop you from posting anything, but just keep that in mind.
Good day.
CNexus said:
Well if you do something like that, you should own up to it and pay the $60 bucks to get it fixed. International roms don't magically wind up on your flashing queue in recovery.
I obviously can't stop you from posting anything, but just keep that in mind.
Good day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, well. I can't exactly do that since I'm in the Navy and I'm going to be gone for the next two months. I prefer to find a method BEFORE paying the 60 dollars to unbrick. Dude, this to help everyone. YES I MADE A MISTAKE. We all do. I understand its frustrating. Even I get frustrated. But why should I pay 60 dollars to have someone else fix my phone when I can fix it myself? I'm not a noob at flashing.
deBricker said:
Yes, well. I can't exactly do that since I'm in the Navy and I'm going to be gone for the next two months. I prefer to find a method BEFORE paying the 60 dollars to unbrick. Dude, this to help everyone. YES I MADE A MISTAKE. We all do. I understand its frustrating. Even I get frustrated. But why should I pay 60 dollars to have someone else fix my phone when I can fix it myself? I'm not a noob at flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a fine line we walk... We here at XDA want to be helpful to "noobs," but we also want to express the importance of reading and critical thinking before acting.
This argument came up a month or two ago. There's an easy way to make the ROMs check the phone model prior to flashing. This would be a great way to prevent hard-bricks, as the installation will abort on the wrong device. The issue that arises is two-fold:
1) There are many Devs and not all will implement this device check.
2) People will start getting lazy with their flashing, as it seems "idiot proof."
We are actually seeing this with the newest CM10.1 releases. Despite it being clearly spelled out in installation threads (if they read the last 3-4 pages of the thread), a lot of people are trying to flash them without updating their bootloader. They then get the infamous system 7 error. I was answering threads one after the next with people asking the exact same question about the system 7 error. A simple 5-minute perusal of the forums (or even just the CM thread) would've yielded the results, but people don't want to put in the "hard work."
In the case of hard-bricks and your guide, I don't fully agree with CNexus (it happens from time-to-time, but he's a quality guy and dev). If it works a good percentage of the time, I think it's a valuable tool that can help a lot of people. That being said, one of the "good" things about a hard-brick is that people generally learn their lesson after one. I've seen people here on XDA that hard-bricked their device (due to carelessness), had to get it JTAG-ed, then came back to become advocates for reading the posts/directions thoroughly. It's amazing how $60 and losing your phone for a week will make people a lot more sober about flashing a Rom.
I don't doubt for a minute that having an "easy" fix for hard-bricks will reduce the impact of this lesson.
That being said, I also believe that having this guide is a good thing. My recommendation would be to rewrite the beginning of the guide to include a strong disclaimer about the dangers of flashing a Rom not meant for your device. I understand that you're trying to take the approach of "hey, we are all noobs at times, it's not that big of a deal," but I think it'll reinforce the lazy mentality of a good number of flashers.
Just my two cents. I'm glad you were able to fix your phone and to find a way to boot into download mode from the SD card so you can rewrite the bootloader partition from Odin.

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