Develop Bugs

May have bricked my GS3

I initially flashed the CM10 JB stable ROM successfully. The only problem I had was that I was unable to transfer files via USB to my computer, so I tried using the toolkit to flash the stock rom, but when it was flashing I got an error message that my phone disconnected.
When I turn my phone on I can only get into download mode. If i just press the power button, I receive a black screen.
I have tried using this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771687 to flash the stock ROM using ODIN but the phone freezes at the Samsung logo screen after the T-Mobile "4G Android" screen.
Any help is truly appreciated

islam.osman said:
I initially flashed the CM10 JB stable ROM successfully. The only problem I had was that I was unable to transfer files via USB to my computer, so I tried using the toolkit to flash the stock rom, but when it was flashing I got an error message that my phone disconnected.
When I turn my phone on I can only get into download mode. If i just press the power button, I receive a black screen.
I have tried using this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771687 to flash the stock ROM using ODIN but the phone freezes at the Samsung logo screen after the T-Mobile "4G Android" screen.
Any help is truly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you get into recovery mode? if you can, try installing a rom from an external micro sd card (that you know previously worked)

islam.osman said:
I have tried using this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771687 to flash the stock ROM using ODIN but the phone freezes at the Samsung logo screen after the T-Mobile "4G Android" screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you got this far, then you need to do a factory reset.

idlejoe said:
can you get into recovery mode? if you can, try installing a rom from an external micro sd card (that you know previously worked)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not get into recovery mode. I can only get into Download mode for some reason.

Aerowinder said:
If you got this far, then you need to do a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would I be able to do a factory reset only using Download Mode?

islam.osman said:
How would I be able to do a factory reset only using Download Mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you cant. You need to boot into recovery. Trust me you can get in it, might take a few tries. Try to boot into recovery without the usb cable plugged in.With the phone completely off, and unplugged do the vol-up, home +power combo til it flashes that first screen, it can be a ***** but youll get in

Try turning the device off, remove the battery and leave it there for 60 secs. Make sure the phone is unplug from computer and the hit vol up, home, power until the phone vibrate then release. This should get the phone into the stock recovery.

billard412 said:
you cant. You need to boot into recovery. Trust me you can get in it, might take a few tries. Try to boot into recovery without the usb cable plugged in.With the phone completely off, and unplugged do the vol-up, home +power combo til it flashes that first screen, it can be a ***** but youll get in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do not think I will be able to get in. I have tried it so many times and even previously could only get into CWM recovery through the app on my phone to boot into recovery. I could never actually get in holding the vol-up+home+power.
Is it possible to flash CWM recovery through ODIN and download mode?
I'm not sure why this stock rom is freezing after I flash it through odin.

islam.osman said:
I really do not think I will be able to get in. I have tried it so many times and even previously could only get into CWM recovery through the app on my phone to boot into recovery. I could never actually get in holding the vol-up+home+power.
Is it possible to flash CWM recovery through ODIN and download mode?
I'm not sure why this stock rom is freezing after I flash it through odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pick ur poison--
cwm original--- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/tal5szplmicwfw5/cwm-norm.tar?dl=1
cwm touch--- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/td6q227c2iur53m/cwm-touch.tar?dl=1
twrp--- https://dl.dropbox.com/s/gegn4jfuc74sq1d/TWRP (3).tar?dl=1
i would suggest trying a different cable and if ur gonna use odin again, wipe everything (especially /system!) in recovery before booting into download mode for the odin flash. would also reccomend tryin the legit stock rom in odin (unrooted) if its still freezing on you.

Flash with Odin again, then after it is successfully completed power down phone you have to hold vol up home and power until you see some blue text appear in the top left corner then factory reset from recovery
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Yea getting into recovery is tricky if you don't hold the buttons long enough (let go too soon). These guys really gave you great advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999

If you couldn't get into CWM recovery before you screwed the rom then you just aren't doing it right.with phone off, hold up and home, then hold powered button for like 3 sec then let go of only power... but i think you are right the download mode skips the Samsung logo.the recovery puts up Samsung logo before booting recovery. Why can't you Odin a recovery partition ?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

chrisram88 said:
Yea getting into recovery is tricky if you don't hold the buttons long enough (let go too soon). These guys really gave you great advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That they have, I took the battery out and let it sit for a little and tried it to get into recovery and it worked! I'm was able to boot up regularly after and I truly thank you all for the help because I was having a heart attack.

[Q] CWM Recovery Install Attempt - Can't boot into recovery (stock or CWM)

I have attempted to install CWM Recovery on the Samsung i747 (Bell Mobility). At first, I flashed the Recovery using Odin and could only access the stock recovery. I soon found out after searching the forums that the phone writes over the recovery on next boot with the stock recovery.
I then read that I should turn off auto-reboot in Odin and after installing the recovery, pull the battery and reboot directly into recovery. Upon doing this (holding volume up, home and power), I get a quick flash of the Samsung boot screen with the blue text at the top and then a blank screen for a few seconds, the phone vibrates and reboots normally. It seems like the recovery is corrupted and no matter how many times I re-flash the recovery in Odin, I can't boot into it.
Download mode works normally and the phone boots normally. I need to be able to fix the recovery, even if that means recovering the stock recovery.
Does anyone have any idea how I could do this?
Thanks!

Are y ou rooted?
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
Follow the proper directions for adb push of clockwork. Two methods easy as it gets. No need for odin past acquiring root.

Yes, rooted.
I am rooted now, yes.
liltitiz said:
Are y ou rooted?
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

aoverment said:
I have attempted to install CWM Recovery on the Samsung i747 (Bell Mobility). At first, I flashed the Recovery using Odin and could only access the stock recovery. I soon found out after searching the forums that the phone writes over the recovery on next boot with the stock recovery.
I then read that I should turn off auto-reboot in Odin and after installing the recovery, pull the battery and reboot directly into recovery. Upon doing this (holding volume up, home and power), I get a quick flash of the Samsung boot screen with the blue text at the top and then a blank screen for a few seconds, the phone vibrates and reboots normally. It seems like the recovery is corrupted and no matter how many times I re-flash the recovery in Odin, I can't boot into it.
Download mode works normally and the phone boots normally. I need to be able to fix the recovery, even if that means recovering the stock recovery.
Does anyone have any idea how I could do this?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As soon as you see that Samsung logo with the blue at the top, let go of the power button but continue to hold the volume up plus the home button until it reaches the recovery screen. If u don't let off of the power button at that point it will boot normally.

Bricked? or Soft Brick...

Hi guys,
Was trying to install a ROM last night in CWM Recovery, then I was having some difficulty, after each ROM swipe I was doing the Factory Wipe/Dalvik Cache Wipe/Cache Wipe.
Anyways, I ended up having to try and flash the pre-rooted Stock ROM, I used Odin 3.07 to flash it and in Odin it appeared to work fine, the phone was rebooting and Odin was in "Pass" mode, but the phone never gets beyond the Samsung boot screen.
I then tried to see if I could flash CWM Recovery in Odin and try and get into Recovery mode, it flashed fine in Odin and the device rebooted but still stuck in Samsung boot screen.... but I cannot get into Recovery mode manually, I even tried getting in via the Q3 Toolbox kit, and it says it cannot locate the device :/
So today, last desperate option, I tried flashing the un-rooted stock image for my carrier (Rogers), it seemed to work fine in Odin but it STILL just will not boot back up, still stuck in the Samsung boot screen.
Is this what a brick is? Beyond continually trying to re-flash the stock carrier MD5 via Odin, what can I do? Oddly enough the phone does recognize in the Q3 Toolbox for the Root options, just not for the Reboot into Recovery option. Is there something I can try in the Q3 Toolbox?
/Scared / really concerned
Please help, any help is appreciated.
Once again, I CANNOT get into CWM Recovery.

Sianspheric said:
Hi guys,
Was trying to install a ROM last night in CWM Recovery, then I was having some difficulty, after each ROM swipe I was doing the Factory Wipe/Dalvik Cache Wipe/Cache Wipe.
Anyways, I ended up having to try and flash the pre-rooted Stock ROM, I used Odin 3.07 to flash it and in Odin it appeared to work fine, the phone was rebooting and Odin was in "Pass" mode, but the phone never gets beyond the Samsung boot screen.
I then tried to see if I could flash CWM Recovery in Odin and try and get into Recovery mode, it flashed fine in Odin and the device rebooted but still stuck in Samsung boot screen.... but I cannot get into Recovery mode manually, I even tried getting in via the Q3 Toolbox kit, and it says it cannot locate the device :/
So today, last desperate option, I tried flashing the un-rooted stock image for my carrier (Rogers), it seemed to work fine in Odin but it STILL just will not boot back up, still stuck in the Samsung boot screen.
Is this what a brick is? Beyond continually trying to re-flash the stock carrier MD5 via Odin, what can I do? Oddly enough the phone does recognize in the Q3 Toolbox for the Root options, just not for the Reboot into Recovery option. Is there something I can try in the Q3 Toolbox?
/Scared / really concerned
Please help, any help is appreciated.
Once again, I CANNOT get into CWM Recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're soft bricked, don't panic just yet. A hard brick is when the device is completely unresponsive. So far this sounds fixable.
To get into recovery, are you holding down the volume up + home key for long enough after the Samsung logo appears?
I'd try that again, but if not: Try to Odin CWM again but uncheck "Auto-Reboot" in Odin. After it's done flashing, pull the battery out, put it back in, and use the key combos to get into recovery. Hopefully you have a nandroid backup saved or another rom saved on your sd that you can restore at this point. (Please note that using this method may increase your flash counter, but that can easily be fixed with Triangle Away).
Hope this helps.

If its just hanging at the samsung logo..pull the battery, put it back in, boot into stock recovery ( vol up+home+power) wipe data/factory reset then reboot.
After that just download one f the one click rooted stock rogers roms. Odin it, Then use the S3 toolkit to flash a recovery only.
Should be goo to go from there

I am flashing the pre-rooted stock ROM's via Odin again, and then will try and flash CMW Recovery again but without the Auto-Reboot selected.
I was pretty certain I was holding the keys long enough previously to try and get back into Recovery but it never would actually go into CWM Recovery.
Will let you guys know how it goes, thanks for replying.

skrambled said:
You're soft bricked, don't panic just yet. A hard brick is when the device is completely unresponsive. So far this sounds fixable.
To get into recovery, are you holding down the volume up + home key for long enough after the Samsung logo appears?
I'd try that again, but if not: Try to Odin CWM again but uncheck "Auto-Reboot" in Odin. After it's done flashing, pull the battery out, put it back in, and use the key combos to get into recovery. Hopefully you have a nandroid backup saved or another rom saved on your sd that you can restore at this point. (Please note that using this method may increase your flash counter, but that can easily be fixed with Triangle Away).
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried this.
Flashed the pre-rooted stock ROM, it went to Pass in in Odin, device never booted past the boot screen. Pulled out battery, re-inserted and then flashed CWM Recovery in Odin with Auto-Reboot turned off, that went fine to Pass, pulled battery and did the key combo to enter Recovery. I got the "Booting Recovery" in top left corner in blue for a second, held onto the key combo and nothing, just went back into the same Samsung boot screen and it's stuck there.

Sianspheric said:
Just tried this.
Flashed the pre-rooted stock ROM, it went to Pass in in Odin, device never booted past the boot screen. Pulled out battery, re-inserted and then flashed CWM Recovery in Odin with Auto-Reboot turned off, that went fine to Pass, pulled battery and did the key combo to enter Recovery. I got the "Booting Recovery" in top left corner in blue for a second, held onto the key combo and nothing, just went back into the same Samsung boot screen and it's stuck there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmm...one more thing to try. Re-download the stock firmware image in the unlikely event that you got a bad/corrupted download (also may want to try the version that doesn't have root injected). Then try again.
I'd say to try a different USB port on your pc, but since Odin is saying Pass that doesn't seem likely. Worth a shot though if the above fails (and also worth trying to Odin from a different computer).
Hang in there, you aren't hard-bricked yet! :fingers-crossed:

It has to rebuild cache everytime you flash, if you are clearing things correctly. This can take up to 10 minutes. Also, when the first samsung logo appears take finger off power button and hold the home and appropriate volume button.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

The Q3 Toolbox kit saved me.
I couldn't flash into Recovery (not CWM Recovery, stock Recovery) no matter how long I held the key combo
But I eventually managed to get into Stock Recovery using the Q3 Toolbox.
Thanks for the advice people.
Holy shiiit that was nerve wracking for a while.

AOKP to STOCK BIG PROBLEMS

i need some help here guys. i was running AOKP for the longest time and loving it. then today i tried to update to the latest version. i downloaded the rom and went to flash the .zip in CWM. i've done this dozens of times. this time things were completely different. i kept getting FCs over and over. so i booted into recovery again to reflash. for whatever reason, it seemed like my file system was corrupted. folders i had never seen were all over the place. it was a big mess. i decided to flash back to stock. i booted into DL mode and did this with odin successfully. then upon reboot, the phone was stuck at the Samsung logo. looking into this i saw that i needed to boot into recovery, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, and wipe dalvik cache. i tried doing this but no matter what, my phone will not boot into recovery. i have even used odin to flash CF-SGS3-CWM-v5.5-v1.0.tar. when i press volume up+home+power i get the first samsung logo with the tiny blue text up at the top saying "recovery booting" but then nothing happens and the phone just goes to a normal boot attempt, which stalls at the samsung logo. please help guys. just for a quick overview. was on [ROM] AOKP(Jellybean 4.2.1 )Task & Ktoonsez (12/23) (AT&T/Rogers), potential file system corruption during a routine upgrade, flashed back to stock with odin (meaning i can still boot into DL mode), but CANNOT boot into RECOVERY mode. i'm freaking out

jamesquags said:
i need some help here guys. i was running AOKP for the longest time and loving it. then today i tried to update to the latest version. i downloaded the rom and went to flash the .zip in CWM. i've done this dozens of times. this time things were completely different. i kept getting FCs over and over. so i booted into recovery again to reflash. for whatever reason, it seemed like my file system was corrupted. folders i had never seen were all over the place. it was a big mess.
i decided to flash back to stock. i booted into DL mode and did this with odin successfully. then upon reboot, the phone was stuck at the Samsung logo. looking into this i saw that i needed to boot into recovery, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, and wipe dalvik cache. i tried doing this but no matter what, my phone will not boot into recovery.
i have even used odin to flash CF-SGS3-CWM-v5.5-v1.0.tar. when i press volume up+home+power i get the first samsung logo with the tiny blue text up at the top saying "recovery booting" but then nothing happens and the phone just goes to a normal boot attempt, which stalls at the samsung logo. please help guys.
just for a quick overview. was on [ROM] AOKP(Jellybean 4.2.1 )Task & Ktoonsez (12/23) (AT&T/Rogers), potential file system corruption during a routine upgrade, flashed back to stock with odin (meaning i can still boot into DL mode), but CANNOT boot into RECOVERY mode. i'm freaking out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, good job on searching before posting! :good:
Second, if you want help, try using capital letters at the start of a sentence and using paragraphs. It makes it sooo much easier to read that way.
Third, just keep trying. But from what you're saying about a file-system issue, that could be bad? It's not familiar to me anyways. Hope it didn't damage the internal SD.
If nothing else works, then try the USB-JIG to access Recovery mode. They're like $5 on eBay.
Okay, try these things.
1) Odin a non-rooted, stock ROM that comes with a 3E recovery and try to access that recovery.
If that doesn't work, move onto this step:
2) Odin a different recovery. I attached one to this post. Just unzip it and then odin it. :CWM-Recovery-LTE-SGS3-v5.tar:
Try to get recovery again after a battery pull.

If that doesn't do it, then try this next:
1) Odin a rooted ROM onto the phone.
2) Download the attached "openrecovery-twrp-2.3.1.0-d2att" and unzip it.
3) Download this ADB & Fastboot tool and extract it to your C:/ drive with subfolders using this path: "C:/Android/platform-tools/".
Here is the file to download:
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=9390135922294523275
4) Rename the openrecovery-twrp-2.3.1.0-d2att to "recovery" and place it into the Platform-tools folder.
5) Open the JPEG and follow the EXACT same commands in the pic. This will install TWRP recovery for you.
Then try once again to get into recovery.
If it still doesn't work, then buy a USB Jig.

REPLY
Thanks so much for the advice.
Regarding the TWRP installation, is the phone connected to the computer in DL mode for this?
I am currently downloading a rooted stock ROM. This might help shed light on what is going on here.... I unzipped the .tar you attached to your first post and stuck it in the PDA slot with the phone connected and in DL mode. ODIN did nothing and the returned a FAIL message saying that it "Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port". Hmmmm. Anyways I am going to try to install the TWRP recovery. If not I will buy the USB jig. Thanks again for you help. -jim

jamesquags said:
"Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you installed the phone drivers? They're linked from the Odin thread.

smelenchuk said:
Have you installed the phone drivers? They're linked from the Odin thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i have installed the drivers. I have flashed multiple .tar files today.

jamesquags said:
Thanks so much for the advice.
Regarding the TWRP installation, is the phone connected to the computer in DL mode for this?
I am currently downloading a rooted stock ROM. This might help shed light on what is going on here.... I unzipped the .tar you attached to your first post and stuck it in the PDA slot with the phone connected and in DL mode. ODIN did nothing and the returned a FAIL message saying that it "Failed to Open Serial [COM] Port". Hmmmm. Anyways I am going to try to install the TWRP recovery. If not I will buy the USB jig. Thanks again for you help. -jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TWRP doesn't use Odin. You have to use ADB/FastBoot like I show in the picture attached with it.
I have yet to find an Odin flashable TWRP.

CZ Eddie said:
The TWRP doesn't use Odin. You have to use ADB/FastBoot like I show in the picture attached with it.
I have yet to find an Odin flashable TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After flashing the ROOTED STOCK ROM, I tried about 7 times to boot into recovery. It finally did!!! I then was able to do a wipe data and cache and I'm all set.
Thanks so much for helping me out. -jim

To get into recovery hold the power+volume up+ home key when you see the blue text at the top of the screen let go if the power button but still press the home + volume up
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

jerrycoffman45 said:
To get into recovery hold the power+volume up+ home key when you see the blue text at the top of the screen let go of the power button but still press the home + volume up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you continue to hold the home + volume up? I release all three as soon as I see the blue text and it goes into Recovery just fine for me.

CZ Eddie said:
Why do you continue to hold the home + volume up? I release all three as soon as I see the blue text and it goes into Recovery just fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know i have always done it that way well learned something new just tried it your way thanks

[Q] Fixboot.tar Install/backscreen on reboot

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-I747 (AT&T) that I updated OTA to 4.1.1 a while back. I just decided to root the phone using Odin3 V3.04 and clockworkmod.tar. I tried using clockworkmod at first but couldn't get the phone to go into CWM recovery mode. It just went into stock recovery instead. Reading further, I was told that I need to flash fixboot.tar first, then clockworkmod.tar, then flash CWM_SuperUser_3.0.7.zip file in recovery mode. When I used odin to flash fixboot.tar and rebooted, it boots the Galaxy S3 logo, at&t chime, then goes black with Amber light. It will not boot fully. I then used Odin to flash clockworkmod.tar, rebooted and it also went to blackscreen.I was then able to go into recovery mode and flash the Superuser zip file and reboot but I'm still getting the black screen. What did the fixboot.tar file do to my phone?? Can I reverse this without flashing a whole new rom? I have search the forum for severalhours now with no luck. Any help would be great.

where did you get your initial information and tar? as well as the fixboot info and tar?
check out this rooting thread here on xda. the purpose is to flash cwm recovery onto your device. you then boot into the custom recovery you just installed and root from there. instructions are on the thread.
recovery mode is: vol up + home + power. release just the power button when your device vibrates

xBeerdroiDx said:
where did you get your initial information and tar? as well as the fixboot info and tar?
check out this rooting thread here on xda. the purpose is to flash cwm recovery onto your device. you then boot into the custom recovery you just installed and root from there. instructions are on the thread.
recovery mode is: vol up + home + power. release just the power button when your device vibrates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from this link - http://rootgalaxys3iii.com/root-at-t-galaxy-s3/
I am aware of the process you mentioned, but it would not work. It just kept going into standard recovery mode instead of custom recovery so I could never root from there. Thats when I came across this link and thought I needed to flash fixboot.tar first as it states. It did work! I was able to flash clockworkmod.tar and then root the phone, but what good does that do now that my phone is hosed at the blackscreen...There were two sites that said to use this fixboot method. I should have known better...
I just read your thred. Looks like my problem was letting the phone reboot. Is there any way to reverse the fixboot.tar I used? Maybe there is a 4.1.1 boot.tar that can put things back as they were?

via the link i provided, in odin, were you unticking the "auto reboot" box?
i've used that thread method on several S3's with no problems. if you were getting a PASS message then it actually worked.
can you get into recovery now? if so, wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. reboot.

xBeerdroiDx said:
via the link i provided, in odin, were you unticking the "auto reboot" box?
i've used that thread method on several S3's with no problems. if you were getting a PASS message then it actually worked.
can you get into recovery now? if so, wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used that method from another site and I was getting a pass. It looks like my issue was letting it reboot. When it didn't go into CWM recovery,I used the fixboot.tar and thats when my phone would not boot past the boot screen. I still have some unsaved material and don't want to wipe the phone. I can get into CWM recovery now. Will doing a data/factory reset wipe everything? If so, is that my only option at this point? I don't want to go to factory and lose everything unless I have to.

OpusxXx said:
I used that method from another site and I was getting a pass. It looks like my issue was letting it reboot. When it didn't go into CWM recovery,I used the fixboot.tar and thats when my phone would not boot past the boot screen. I still have some unsaved material and don't want to wipe the phone. I can get into CWM recovery now. Will doing a data/factory reset wipe everything? If so, is that my only option at this point? I don't want to go to factory and lose everything unless I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, since I got no response, I did what you said and deleted everything. I still have the same problem. Phone boots to Samsung logo, does jingle and geos to blackscreen with blue light.
Back to my original question. I used the fixboot.tar and it jacked my phone where it only boots to blackscreen with blue light. Is there a fix for this???