[Q] The truth about being rooted and taking phone back to sprint for replacement. - Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II

I know the general consensus is that sprint wont help with bricks or replace a phone due to rooting/Modding issues... but are there any sprint employees on here who know of a loophole? I've heard some say that it is still covered in warranty. Any insight from those who have had experiences with this?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

mrush said:
I know the general consensus is that sprint wont help with bricks or replace a phone due to rooting/Modding issues... but are there any sprint employees on here who know of a loophole? I've heard some say that it is still covered in warranty. Any insight from those who have had experiences with this?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...

I have had great experience with Sprint Tech's some of which are very familiar with rooting and the XDA forum. So did you brick your phone? Maybe it can be saved. I soft bricked mine but was able to boot into recovery and flash a stock unrooted rom and was able to re-root.
Sent from the best phone on the planet, Apple take Note............

Next1776 said:
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^this
corporate policy states rooted phones are covered.
keep in mind this may not be the case at third party retailers and that any store manager can use their discretion to protect the company.....I.e. repeated hard bricks etc
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

Next1776 said:
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't work too well if you only have one repair center for miles.
I usually just bring it back to them stock as that's all my repair center knows how to do anyways.
Sent from a little old Note 2

digiblur said:
Doesn't work too well if you only have one repair center for miles.
I usually just bring it back to them stock as that's all my repair center knows how to do anyways.
Sent from a little old Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.

ProCision said:
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The insurance is very helpful, I've done this on multiple occasions. I just dont like to deal with them giving me a hard time
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Nowadays when you deal with a broken phone you can just go online to Asurion cause they are the Insurance provider and they will ship you a refurbished phone and when you receive it you call them on the phone switch your IED # (or what ever it's called for Sprint since we dont have removable SIM cards) and then drop your busted one in the return shipping envelope and by then its done and you have your phone and it will just be shipped back to them to be disassembled. Then they will just try and salvage any parts they can for another refurbished device for another customer.

If its bricked ( as in won't boot up or similar) most techs won't know why, or how it got that way, so they should swap it out without a problem. Stock phones get bricked too. Recovering a bricked device can be time consuming and most likely a service center will not want, or have the knowledge, to take the time to save a device instead of exchanging it.
Running over or physically breaking your device and then doing an insurance claim through Sprints insurance provider (Asurion) is kind a silly thing to do (unless physical damage makes it necessary ) because you will be paying a deductible. A bricked non physically damaged unit can be swapped out at no charge if you have the Service and Repair coverage or TEP coverage.
JMHO...

Next1776 said:
If its bricked ( as in won't boot up or similar) most techs won't know why, or how it got that way, so they should swap it out without a problem. Stock phones get bricked too. Recovering a bricked device can be time consuming and most likely a service center will not want, or have the knowledge, to take the time to save a device instead of exchanging it.
Running over or physically breaking your device and then doing an insurance claim through Sprints insurance provider (Asurion) is kind a silly thing to do (unless physical damage makes it necessary ) because you will be paying a deductible. A bricked non physically damaged unit can be swapped out at no charge if you have the Service and Repair coverage or TEP coverage.
JMHO...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't recommending physically breaking it either. I was just saying that if you aren't a good talker and are afraid of facing someone and don't want to do a face to face then go through asurion. I wouldn't have a problem doing so, 85% of people who work in customer service either don't have the know how or the balls to tell someone they are wrong. You would be amazed what you can get from people with confidence.

Tw1sted247 said:
I wasn't recommending physically breaking it either. I was just saying that if you aren't a good talker and are afraid of facing someone and don't want to do a face to face then go through asurion. I wouldn't have a problem doing so, 85% of people who work in customer service either don't have the know how or the balls to tell someone they are wrong. You would be amazed what you can get from people with confidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the problem I have with this is that physical damage claims through assurion require a deductable now. a hefty one on this phone.
when in doubt back up and unroot. it takes all of 5 minutes to do.
but as for the question at hand...they are supposed to be covered.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

When I go into sprint I just simply unroot.. I did that with my epic 4G touch when I took it in.. Im trying to think how did the Rep even get my phone lol.. I just went in to get a note 2..But rooting came up and She was going on and on with how they don't cover rooted phones.. I was laughing inside due to the phone she was holding has been rooted so many times and it would be no way to tell
-TeaM VeNuM Like A Boss
-Galaxy Note II Edition

Direct from sprints Methods and Procedures
If the jailbreaking and modification are so extensive that the device cannot be used or triaged by the normal processes, then the device must be flagged as Red (Not Repairable) and are therefore not eligible for exchange.
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Click to collapse
Basically meaning that if you come in with a totally bricked non bootable device and the boot loader shows device as modified we aren't allowed to do anything.
If the device works and is just having issues they are supposed to flash the stock software back to the phone as a resolution before doing an exchange.

Darkendvoid88 said:
Direct from sprints Methods and Procedures
Basically meaning that if you come in with a totally bricked non bootable device and the boot loader shows device as modified we aren't allowed to do anything.
If the device works and is just having issues they are supposed to flash the stock software back to the phone as a resolution before doing an exchange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting. I dont recall seeing that part previously.
of course though if a device doesn't boot...there really is no way to tell if it was rooted
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

00mred00 said:
interesting. I dont recall seeing that part previously.
of course though if a device doesn't boot...there really is no way to tell if it was rooted
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe maybe not...it seems we may have spyware on our vanillaish devices...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2015149
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

00mred00 said:
the problem I have with this is that physical damage claims through assurion require a deductable now. a hefty one on this phone.
when in doubt back up and unroot. it takes all of 5 minutes to do.
but as for the question at hand...they are supposed to be covered.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just asking did you even read THE VERY FIRST sentence of the post you quoted? I stated that I was NOT recommending to physically break it. Then you proceed to quote the post and say the problem you have with the stated method is physical damage claims have a deductible... ?

I've taken obviously rooted phones for repair and never had any issues. Matter of fact on a couple of occasions I was asked for help with rooting.
Sent from my NOTEworthy smartphone

Sprint will not provide support for phones that are rooted or running 3rd party software (roms). That is to say that if you are having issues with data, apps or such and running a rooted rom you will be required to return the phone to stock before any is performed. They Justdon't havethe resources to support every software variety out there. That's not to say that mechanical failure is no longer covered. I do still recommend returning a phone to stock before bringing it into a repair center regardless of the issue. If this seems like too much trouble then perhaps rooting and customizing is not for you.
iPhones are a whole different animal however and any jail broken iPhone is no longer covered and employees have been instructed to flag the device. This is due to Apple.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

ProCision said:
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best who? Never... Oh wait. That's the store, the mobile dept specifically, that I have vowed to never spend another dime in. Treated like trash twice... Not again.
Sent from a little old Note 2

Tw1sted247 said:
Just asking did you even read THE VERY FIRST sentence of the post you quoted? I stated that I was NOT recommending to physically break it. Then you proceed to quote the post and say the problem you have with the stated method is physical damage claims have a deductible... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you made reference to a broken screen and to asurion ...deductible applies
all I am saying
schale01....the information you are posting is incorrect in regards to corporate repair stores. the policy was chamged last year to cover rooted phones
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

Related

Black Tie and Rooting

Does anyone know if Best Buy cares if you're rooted and such? The people at their store were all on XDA and such, but I never bothered to check when my phone was fixed. A friend of mine has said they don't give a damn.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I'm sure its like everyone else. It will void your warranty but how would they know
Sent From My Evo Killer!!
They don't really care but they now have Rapid Exchange so your phone is sent somewhere else and youj get a new phone in a day or two. So whether or not the place it is sent to will have issues is anybody's guess.
Do you BONSAI?
I had a shattered digitizer. They replaced it and did a factory reset to make sure it was fine. I wonder if it world have even mattered if I was rooted.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
The Root said:
I had a shattered digitizer. They replaced it and did a factory reset to make sure it was fine. I wonder if it world have even mattered if I was rooted.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset doesn't remove the custom ROM, just data and apps. Better to be safe and Odin to stock than having an issue later. The replacement will come before they see it though.
Do you BONSAI?
A friend with geek squad feels that unless you're trying hardware mods, they probably wouldn't care. Case specific excluded, which is par for course.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Was talking to a sprint rep, and they told me that while rooting may void the waranty, insurance isn't affected by what you do t it, as long as you don't touch the hardware. I would think that best buy would be the same, but not sure.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
Can't wait for my computer to arrive.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I know my phone does not have anything to do with this section (thunderbolt) but I had just turned my phone in for repair rooted. after talking with the best buy rep, he claimed that the repair center will flash the unit to a fresh start supposedly with software that customers have never seen. he was rooted as well and i asked him if they did it through bootloader or recovery or whatever else but he stated that they have a program that flashes the unit with the display of the unit being in a "black screen" state, one of which I've never heard of through flashing/rooting various android devices.
I've also asked him about returns that have come back not repaired due to root and was assured that the black tie protection is a service repair and not an insurance repair and that's why they do not replace lost or stolen phones. in the likely event that my phone gets "junked" due to them being unable to repair the phone, they will credit me $750.00 to purchase the new phone. I did not get the rapid exchange because my phone is too new and they do not have refurbished units to send me, so they will repair my actual phone.
In hopes... I hope my phone gets junked and that I get a brand new phone. anything that gets replaced by this service is not new unless they credit you the money and you buy it brand new from the store.
I just turned the phone in yesterday but if you get curious as to what the outcome is, i may have an answer in a few days or a few weeks, depending on they claim my phone to be. i say this because I'm not usually on a epic 4g forum but found this when i was going to post about black tie and thought it may be helpful as i can never find a direct answer to black tie on anything except for the horror stories.
They are supposed to give you a brand new Epic, not a refurb.
Do you BONSAI?

[Q] Returning htc evo to sprint help

Ok so im having the loose usb port problem with my phone and im going to be sending it in for warranty exchange. One thing is i rooted my phone and the S-off shows up if you look. Also i never installed custom roms or anything so it looks like a normal evo if you flip through the menus and stuff. Superuser is also gone and no root apps or anything is on the phone just that it shows s-off if you look. So will sprint look for the s-off when i ship it back to them a charge me or anything?? im also running the OTA 2.3.3
htc-evo-4g said:
Ok so im having the loose usb port problem with my phone and im going to be sending it in for warranty exchange. One thing is i rooted my phone and the S-off shows up if you look. Also i never installed custom roms or anything so it looks like a normal evo if you flip through the menus and stuff. Superuser is also gone and no root apps or anything is on the phone just that it shows s-off if you look. So will sprint look for the s-off when i ship it back to them a charge me or anything?? im also running the OTA 2.3.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Different stores have different standards for root. My store here in knoxville told me, of course after I've unrooted sadly enough, that they do not check for s on. They only look to see if you have a custom Rom. And especially if it is a hardware, the rep told me they don't normally care either way. If it is software related, they will not work on a device running a custom Rom.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
ok well im actually sending it to sprint so do you think they will look when they receive it?
htc-evo-4g said:
ok well im actually sending it to sprint so do you think they will look when they receive it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious as to why you are sending it? Going to the store is easier. And also, if they don't fix rooted devices, all they can do is tell you no and send you away.
But personally I don't think they will check. Especially because your issue seems to be a major hardware issue.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
well ill trying going there again but when i was there they treated me like i was stupid and must have taken my truck and ran my phone over millions of times just to break the small internal usb port! like really?? when i go what should i say? the first time i went i said my usb port is broken and they told be i abuse the phone as i expressed and there repair tech had left already.
htc-evo-4g said:
well ill trying going there again but when i was there they treated me like i was stupid and must have taken my truck and ran my phone over millions of times just to break the small internal usb port! like really?? when i go what should i say? the first time i went i said my usb port is broken and they told be i abuse the phone as i expressed and there repair tech had left already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have had bad experiences at Sprint stores. They all seem to treat you like you're dumb, but soemtimes you get lucky and get to speak with a nice respectful rep.
Here is what I would say/do.
First, do you have insurance? That is very important.
If you do, try this. But proceed with caution.
Take your micro usb cord and really jam up your slot. Like, really bend the attachment piece out of place.
Go in and tell the rep that your device does not charge properly and really needs repair or replaced. Ask nicely. I'm sure those peeps deal with jerks all day long. Prolly why they dish back out to some of us nice folks.
Show the repair tech the damage.
If you have insurance they will be more than happy to help you.
If you don't have insurance please please please do not take this route!!!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
nope dont have insurance and the phone is only 7 months old and im having this problem and dont want to have to shell out mounds of cash to fix a pretty much brand new phone. wont sprint acknowledge this is a problem and replace it regardless?
htc-evo-4g said:
nope dont have insurance and the phone is only 7 months old and im having this problem and dont want to have to shell out mounds of cash to fix a pretty much brand new phone. wont sprint acknowledge this is a problem and replace it regardless?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh.......
Here is the deal. I've asked several different sprint reps about this over the phone as well as in the store.
Once you purhase your Evo, sprint gives you a 30 day warranty. Within 30 days, you are eligible to return phone, trade phones, or replace phone with a brand new one if there are manufacture defects.
After 30 days, your Sprint purchase warranty ends. But HTC also has a warranty. It is a one year limited warranty. It is mainly for defects and other various issues. Basically, you send your phone ($6 shipping handling) to HTC and they diagnose it. If it is manufacture defect, they either repair or send you a refurbished device without charge. If they decide it is user error or you damaged phone, they call or email you to inform you that you have two options. A. pay full price for repair and shipping back home. B. Pay 35$ fee to get phone back unrepaired.
The deal is this. Sprint offers you the service and guarantees you service and only the service. Your device was not made by sprint but by HTC, and being so, issues must be dealt with through HTC...unless you purchase insurance.
This is my advice to you. Call sprint. Ask them about insurance. It is $7 a month. Ask them how soon it takes affect after you purchase it. Usually is immediate. Then, in the next week or so, go to sprint store. Now you have insurance and they will deal with you and repair your phone right there and then. And if you want, later after your device is fixed, you cancel insurance.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
ok ill go with the insurance way. they wont suspect fraud or anything thats the only reason i didnt want to do the insurance method
Whatever you decide to do, good luck to you!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

[Q] Quick Question about Rooted Phone at Sprint

I'm 100% positive I just bricked my phone. I was not thinking last night and pulled the battery while flashing a radio update. I know that I've got a literal brick on my hands but I had a couple quick questions:
Can Sprint tell that my phone is rooted at all if I take the SD card out when I bring it in?
Is there are actual solution to this problem that involves NOT taking my phone to Sprint?
I'm prepared for ****ty answers, but I've got high hopes that I'll just eat the insurance cost and get a new one.
thistimearound said:
I'm 100% positive I just bricked my phone. I was not thinking last night and pulled the battery while flashing a radio update. I know that I've got a literal brick on my hands but I had a couple quick questions:
Can Sprint tell that my phone is rooted at all if I take the SD card out when I bring it in?
Is there are actual solution to this problem that involves NOT taking my phone to Sprint?
I'm prepared for ****ty answers, but I've got high hopes that I'll just eat the insurance cost and get a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are quite a few threads about brick restores...might want to look them up...but if you can get to recovery most problems will be solved. I would confirm brick before panic...I mean it will all good intentions.
thistimearound said:
I'm 100% positive I just bricked my phone. I was not thinking last night and pulled the battery while flashing a radio update. I know that I've got a literal brick on my hands but I had a couple quick questions:
Can Sprint tell that my phone is rooted at all if I take the SD card out when I bring it in?
Is there are actual solution to this problem that involves NOT taking my phone to Sprint?
I'm prepared for ****ty answers, but I've got high hopes that I'll just eat the insurance cost and get a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did something like that to my captivate on at&t and all I did was take it in and told them that when I woke up there was a black screen and I couldn't do anything, and I just acted really stupid and told them that I had no idea what happened to it. Play real stupid and it might work or idk, see they can jtag that device
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium
I appreciate it. As for the brick restore methods, unless there's one for a "completely dead, USB doesn't recognize it, and LED doesn't turn on" brick, then I'm just wasting time. I looked at most of them, and they all require the phone to actually do something... which mine will not.
Damn, sorry to hear that. Yeah if its not doing ANYTHING I would just bring it in an claim insurance on it, tell them you have no clue what happened, just woke up and it was like that (like someone else said to do). Good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
It could be if your lucky you might have just fried your battery somehow maybe and I mean MAYBE you still get lucky and that's all it is assuming you haven't tried switching batteries yet lol if that's not it, sorry for your bad luck. I'm pullin for ya man
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
I wouldn't worry about it. If the phone won't turn on and you take it in & just play dumb, they'll give you a replacement. You won't have to pay the deductible. You lost whatever data you didn't have backed up, but other than that you don't have much to worry about.
There's no coming back from pulling the battery during a radio update, and I doubt Sprint will make it difficult for you. If they do happen to tell you that you have to pay the deductible, argue against it or take it to a different store. Most likely they'll just file a claim and get you a new (or refurbished) phone within a day or two.
Good luck!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I went to my Sprint store the other day. They said they don't care if it's rooted or not. Just bring it in and they will look at it. They said usually they can fix most problems.
Just to update you folks that may have also been interested:
I went in and played stupid. I also pulled my SD Card so they couldn't use that against me. This was the dumbest thing I've ever done to brick my phone, but it looks like all is well. As of today they said they've already ordered me a free replacement due in on Monday. Apparently it won't even cost $100 due to having TEP. I'm not sure that I believe that, but that's what the guy said on the phone. If anyone is interested I can update this once I know more.
Sprint openly supports rooting.. Idk if anyone else knows that.. After the new policy kicked in, they might as well just say that seeing as how the TCs are required to work on rooted devices. If they can't fix them, its a DHRP. that's the word on the street anyway
Sent from my nocturnally stocked EVO using xda premium
That's good to know. I took my phone in 2 or 3 weeks after the Gingerbread update and all the tech did was ask if it was rooted. Someone looked at it the day before and and I had just unrooted it about an hour before that. Someone else was telling the tech to look for the s-on/s-off. I really don't think the tech cared. Glad they might have changed.
Yet my friend Rachel, who is a tech at the local store confirms yet again that they are NOT authorized to work on Rooted phones......
HipKat said:
Yet my friend Rachel, who is a tech at the local store confirms yet again that they are NOT authorized to work on Rooted phones......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's funny seeing as how I am a TC for a corp. Store in Texas. Hmm... Seems like we're getting two different stories from the same company... Our superiors within our region have confirmed what I have said verbatim. We are required to work on them if they are rooted. If we can not fix the device we must replace it.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
Best bet is to fully unroot just to be on the safe side. Then whether or not techs are authorized to work on the phone is moot.
Confirmed by three stores in Connecticut, 2 corp stores, 1 authorized reseller/repair store.. That they do not support rooted phones.. Had to unroot to get my replacement phone when the USB started only partial charging and was clearly a hardware defect and had nothing to do with software.. They opened it confirmed so physical damage after I brought it back unrooted.
Didn't mean to abandon this post guys. I just simply forgot about it. Sprint replaced my phone free of charge since I truly did fry it. They couldn't recover anything and I didn't leave the SD card in for them to check.
Best bet: unroot if it works at all or brick the **** out of it. Also note I had TEP. So, that's important. All in all I think Sprint is still a bit douche on the root business, but they handled this situation relatively easy and painless.

[Q] How do I short circuit my E4GT? (serious)

Long story short, I flashed a boatloader for the european version of the phone and my phone is bricked.
I want to know how to short circuit my phone without making it look intentional. I am not insured but I do have warrenty, if I short circuit the phone, will they be able to fix it in the sprint store? I am really hoping they don't. I just want a new phone. I was told that I was have to pay a $35 fee to get the phone fixed, what do you guys think? BEst way to short circuit this phone? (Not with water please)
UPDATE:
So my cuz and I went to the sprint store and his friend saw the phone and the first thing he asked if it was rooted, I said yeah. He couldn't fix it, but said he will take care of it when exchanging it and since I didn't have insurance, I had to pay the $35 warranty exchange. Furthermore, I added the insurance with the exhange, I am picking up the exchanged phone tomorrow because it had to be ordered.
Thanks a lot guys for the help.
This is why im glad i have insurance if i brick it its at the bottom of a lake. What warranty. As he said even download mode warns you of the possible warranty voiding. Least expensive option now is probably repair.
Besides the things I'd like to say about this situation, I'll say something else. It won't go into download mode? You could try getting a USB jig and see if that will force it into download mode. I'm holding back the temptation to say something really smartass. This was a very expensive lesson, huh? Sending it in to unbrick it, if all else fails, is your last resort. With a $500 phone, you can't afford NOT to get insurance for it?! Even if you had insurance, you wouldn't get a brand new phone.
I'm not trying to be a ****, so don't take it that way.
im referring to the 1 year warrenty that comes with the phone, it protections against defections in the phone. If I short circuit it, it will be defected... no more useless comments please, don't remind me of what I already know; I know that I should have gotten the insurance, enough said about that.
Would really appreciate it if someone could actually answer my question
newalker, would sprint be able to tell that the phone is rooted if i shorted out to the point that it wont turn on? was thinking about using a 9 volt battery to do so.
sabatheman said:
im referring to the 1 year warrenty that comes with the phone, it protections against defections in the phone. If I short circuit it, it will be defected... no more useless comments please, don't remind me of what I already know; I know that I should have gotten the insurance, enough said about that.
Would really appreciate it if someone could actually answer my question
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Click to collapse
If you fry the usb port theyll blame it on you using an aftermarket charger since your stock one is fine. You probably wont be lucky enough to even keep them from checking the rom status. You have a phone capable of being repaired by samsung soon you may have nothing.
The warranty covering defects was voided by a custom rom. The reason they wont honor it after rooting or custom rom is things such as overclocking. Many things can be done via software that would normally be replaced as defective.
If you cant make it so they never find out then all warrantys are null and void period. Truth and fact.
how do I get this 35 dollar exchange done sir? How can I get the 35 dollar exchange w/o them finding out I rooted the phone? :/ been such a stressful week, been bricked for a week. What's the BEST thing I can do right now in my situation?>
sabatheman said:
how do I get this 35 dollar exchange done sir? How can I get the 35 dollar exchange w/o them finding out I rooted the phone? :/ been such a stressful week, been bricked for a week. What's the BEST thing I can do right now in my situation?>
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Click to collapse
If you haven't read these two threads, I'd suggest doing so. Neither thread has lead to a solution yet (other than getting the phone replaced).
help - I did something bad
I screwed up / Installing ICS for international SGS2
Good luck...
I will leave this here as well. This is the SGS2 i9100 USB driver. It is a rar file. You will need to extract it and install. See if Odin will recognize the phone after installing. Please report back....
http://db.tt/g8hP2llV
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
#1 --- Avoid Flashing Cooked ROMS on your phone...live with stock!!! I do and havn't had any problems at all..
Seems like there are more people complaining about all theses cooked ROMS and how they either work perfectly...or suck some way or another or have tons of glichs.
#2 --- Always, and I mean Always get $8 insurance on a Smartphone, in the long run this will save your ass...big time...
#3 --- People look at the 2 year contact price of the phone...not the really price of the phone (which is $549 I believe) and thats what gets them in trouble...ahhh my phones only $200 or less, I dont need insurance...yet if you break your phone you have a POS brick weight...that will now cost you over $500 to replace...or you could pay $8 a month and if something goes wrong, The Sprint Repair Center will fix it free...or replace it with a refurb unit....Even if you make a claim due to water damage or something, its still cheaper than the $500+ dollars you will have to fork out...
JohnCorleone said:
I will leave this here as well. This is the SGS2 i9100 USB driver. It is a rar file. You will need to extract it and install. See if Odin will recognize the phone after installing. Please report back....
http://db.tt/g8hP2llV
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Your one smart guy John. You have helped me a several times with some responses to my questions and I really appreciate it. If your idea works you’ll make a quite a few people happy on here. Seen a handful of these issues with people flashing the Int versions. If this doesn’t work I would use the 9V battery idea and run it across the board.
sabatheman said:
If I short circuit it, it will be defected...
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edit,... not worth the time
This is why you READ, and READ some more!!!
I dare you to bring it to my store. Nothing gets passed a well trained tech. Your best bet is to go to an advanced exchange only store, the reps are not trained like the techs. Pay the 35 and call it a day. As for the microwave comment, solder points get a white residue on them after being microwaved, to a trained tech it looks like corrosion.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Sorry, not to be n [email protected]@hole here, because what happened to you really sucks, but if you screwed up your phone by doing something dangerous without doing proper research (ie: try to flash something designed for the European Galaxy S2 onto an Epic touch), why should Sprint eat the cost and give you a replacement phone? I mean you are basically asking for a way to cheat Sprint.
Something to consider. I really do feel for you and hope somehow someone comes up with a fix.
the best easy to do what ur asking and not get caught would be to take a fully charged 18v battery from a drill, 2 wires either stripped on both end or to make it easier put alligator crimps.on each end and hook the battery to the terminals on back of phone where battery usually touches and then hit the power button on your phone. it will leave no trace and even if it does get powered up its well enough outside the read parameters to where nobody can catch it. ive seen this done already to atleast 7 or 8 phones. have fun
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Pay to get it jtaged i don't know how many people have done this we are not illiterate? On topic leave it a a hit place my fiance forgot her phone in the car when it was hot really hot and it messed up.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
So sprint covers rooted phones but doesn't cover physically damaged phones......try telling the truth and not being an idiot and listening to almost anyone else here. 9v battery? Really?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
TheShackSpecialist said:
9v battery? Really?
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wrong radio shack, 18 volt
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Aren't you able to add insurance on your phone at any time??
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Yes you can but it would look suspicious if the phone needed work shortly after the insurance kicked in.

Wrong Rom: A Cautionary Tale

I'd like to share with you all my tale of rom flashing gone horribly wrong. It's really only important for 2 pieces of misinformation that I've seen kicking around the forums. First, the story.
I had already rooted my Telus Galaxy S3 (SGH-i747M), but was still running stock. I started looking around for compatible roms running JB, but didn't have much luck (finding ones that support the Canadian version is not easy). At the same time, I had to update and reset my old Galaxy S2 for a relative who was taking it off my hands. I found a JB rom that was available for both the S2 and S3, from the same dev. I decided to try both out, downloaded them and copied the respective files to the S2 and S3, but quickly realized that the S3 version didn't support my Canadian phone. No problem, I'll leave the S3 as rooted stock.
I proceeded to flash and install the rom on my S2. Everything seemed to be going fine until the first reboot after flashing. The phone appeared to be completely dead. I tried putting the phone into download mode but it was completely dead and would not even show signs that it was plugged into a power outlet. Then, horror. Both my S2 and S3 are in Otterbox Commuter cases. They look very similar. At 1 in the morning in a dimly lit room, they look identical.
Yes. Like an idiot, I had installed the incompatible S3 rom to my Canadian S3. I had, in fact, hard bricked my phone. I set aside my grief for 10 minutes and got the S2 done, as that was the original goal of this adventure. That worked fine. Of course.
For the next several hours and most of the following day, I searched and searched. I ended up on the posts talking about QHSUSB_DLOAD and how I'd screwed myself. No hope. Only option is either JTAG service or, and this brings me to misinformation #1, sending it back to Samsung. Why send a rooted and screwed phone back to Samsung? Well, the argument was that in all likeliness they wouldn't be able to tell and would probably just get it up and running anyway, perhaps with some nominal fee. Also, and here comes misinformation #2, there was a good chance that they would have to fix the problem in order to verify it.
Thankfully, in my only intelligent move in the last year, I had opted to choose the extra device protection offered by my carrier. Which meant, if it wasn't covered under warranty, I could get a brand new phone at a significantly reduced rate. But it did mean I had to send it in to Samsung first. And so, I walked into a carrier store and simply stated that it wouldn't power up. I neglected to mention the whole "I'm an idiot and accidentally installed an incompatible rom at 1AM". At the end of the day, they don't care anyway.
So I waited for almost 3 weeks before getting an update from my carrier. Samsung had looked at it and had a quote. I called the store to find out the cost. The phone needs a new mainboard. $350+ (I remember it being more than $350 but less than $400). Ah, no thank you. I politely declined and contacted the company providing the device protection. No problem, phone would be in my hands in 2-3 business days. I just need to send the damaged phone back when I get it from Samsung.
When the phone did get back from Samsung (within 24 hours, I might add), it came with a note to the carrier indicating that the phone had been rooted. The store manager actually made a good point too. If they were able to get it up and running to figure out it was rooted, why did it need a new mainboard? In all likeliness, they just wanted to teach me a $350+ lesson in voiding the warranty. So, what did I learn from this experience?
1) If you are rooting multiple phones, don't leave them all laying around in identical cases in a dimly lit room at 1AM.
2) Don't root phones in a dimly lit room at 1AM.
3) If you royally mess up your bootloader and it won't boot up, Samsung can still boot up that phone.
4) If that same phone is rooted, Samsung can not only tell, but ensure that the phone remains in it's screwed state for return.
5) They might just try and teach you a $350+ lesson; my guess is this ultimately depends on who looks at it (just like walking into an Apple store and walking out with a replacement, prior to Applecare+).
If anyone is curious why I didn't JTAG service the phone, it's simply because I can't afford to wait that long without a phone and the cost difference between JTAG and my device protection plan is not significant.
I think the are full of it.. I bet they did not even boot it up.
It would be possible for them to boot into download mode using a JTAG device, flash a working bootloader and at the very least load up a recovery environment terminal to check for root access. This is assuming of course they couldn't do this directly from their JTAG skipping having to fix the bootloader. Even so whats to stop them flashing a non working bootloader back to the device after they found what they are looking for. Not only would this not take very long, for the chance at turning 350 bucks work of profit vs a warranty fix im sure the techs are required to do this. This of course doesn't justify the obvious fact that a replacement motherboard is completely ridiculous. I'm of the opinion that it isn't right to cheat the manufacturers by getting warranty replacements on user created errors, however if they are attempting to gouge the end user instead of just charge them to fix the problem then i say all's fair. Lets face it, its not as if they don't take these warranty devices, especially the hard bricked ones, and simply fix the software, repackage and sell them again.
Exactly. I sent it in and fully expected some kind of charge, like labor, to get it working again. But not almost $400.
Yea, that is pretty lame. Its no different than a damaged led lens, which they charge the full LED assembly price of $175 instead of just fixing the problem. I just did this today on my phone for $20 and an hour or so of my time.
Wow that sucks. At least your other phone still works.
sent from my rooted galaxy 3.6
Noob question:
Did you use Triangle Away? If they can just boot up the device and find if you have root access, is the point of Triangle Away just aesthetics?
I think that is more or less an easy give away the uneducated rep at the sales counter can look for.
i must confess i've rooted my phone dozens of times, and i can say that over 80% of those were in the dark after midnight.
Yeah, me too. It only takes one mistake though ...
yes rooting is such another .apk on the phone and certainly does not void the hardware warranty... Obviouisly they should charge you for software issues which you did.. did you get the phone back and have someone else jtag and fix it?
No. I have to send it back in to the company I have device protection through. But I have a new S3 already. JTAG would probably work, but it would take too long and isn't much cheaper than getting the new one.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
And yeah your full of it lmao. I had a galaxy s3 that just stopped working after being left in charger a night. Took it.to a rsi (Samsung official customer service and service center here in dallas Texas) and they said the motherboard was ruined. And it was stock non rooted. And it was covered under warranty and they had to create a new imei for the phone. So $350? Yeah right
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Sorry, I'm full of it? Your phone is non rooted, so your point is completely moot. Your phone legitimately died. Mine was screwed because of my own fault of flashing the wrong rom. There was and is nothing wrong with the motherboard on this phone. They were just trying to teach me a $350 lesson in rooting/voiding my warranty. But thanks for your insightful comment.
JTAG
bionemesis said:
Sorry, I'm full of it? Your phone is non rooted, so your point is completely moot. Your phone legitimately died. Mine was screwed because of my own fault of flashing the wrong rom. There was and is nothing wrong with the motherboard on this phone. They were just trying to teach me a $350 lesson in rooting/voiding my warranty. But thanks for your insightful comment.
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Click to collapse
happened to be last night,only option was to JTAG it so sent it to MTV Mobile Tech Videos,sucks ass....will se how long i am in Texas and sent it to Bryan Texas.Hopefully Get it back albeit in one piece by Wednesday Meanwhile i have no Phone.
This is not to offend anyone or cause a flamme war.
But I don't think people should be lying to Samsung or any carrier, that 1. Your phone isn't bricked/rooted and 2. That you have no idea of what's going on and it just wouldn't turn on.
You as a user should hold all responsibility for a bricked device. Should they charge you 400$? Damn right they should.
That's one of the many reasons why Samsung and many other carriers either ship their devices with locked bootloaders or don't release source code. And don't say the whole "I played 500$ for my phone I get to do what I want," yeah you're completely right. But let's say you're changing your cars oil and the person being the n00b that they are decides to mix synthetic oil and convention oil in the engine. Oh no you're screwed. You dont take your car to the dealership saying "I don't know what happened the engine just won't turn on," THEYRE GOING TO KNOW lol, and expect to get a free car or not get charged for your miss hap. C'mon. If you screw up at least be responsible to pay some kind of fee to get it fixed. I despise folks who "try to play the system" because of them phones will be locked down in the near future. Now its illegal to carrier unlock your device unless its paid for because of folks like that. I understand the OPs mistake. Yeah I've done it. But I paid to fix my mistake. Be responsible people. We're grown ups here. Same with flashing stuff. Do a little reading before you start a thread on how you "bricked your phone" but its really stuck in a boot loop.
Just my 2¢
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
I couldn't read all of that I must have a terrible attention span these days.
But I did read that you were with telus, not at&t; but of course its morally wrong to lie to at&t but the way I see it is I pay them $2000+ over the course of my contract for this phone and if I want to take advantage of their warranty system to save $300-400 (a small fraction of what they're making off of 1 customer) and try my best to get a free replacement you can bet your ass I will.
Heisenberg420 said:
I couldn't read all of that I must have a terrible attention span these days.
But I did read that you were with telus, not at&t; but of course its morally wrong to lie to at&t but the way I see it is I pay them $2000+ over the course of my contract for this phone and if I want to take advantage of their warranty system to save $300-400 (a small fraction of what they're making off of 1 customer) and try my best to get a free replacement you can bet your ass I will.
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Click to collapse
I see were you're getting at but you pay ATT for a service, not a phone. Those 300-400$ are for Samsung, which is different. They're kind of giving you a discount. Phone cost 700$ but they'll kindly replace it for 300$ they're being lenient about it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
bionemesis said:
If anyone is curious why I didn't JTAG service the phone, it's simply because I can't afford to wait that long without a phone and the cost difference between JTAG and my device protection plan is not significant.
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Click to collapse
JTAG costs $50 and has a two day return.
Did you try a jig to force the phone into download mode.?

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