Develop Bugs

Why can't a bricked phone be revived?

This is a question for those in the know when it comes to programming.Why isn't there a way to revive a bricked phone? Can't there be some method for a host computer to manually write the radio to the device? How does HTC fix a bricked phone for it to be a refurb?
I'm just very curious about this because I see a few people attempt to update the radio only to lose power and brick their EVO. I have no programming experience so don't know what goes on at the internal component level. Thanks in advance for your input.

It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!

That helped me, thanks.

Soylent Grin said:
It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. That is interesting. So how does HTC initially put the bootstrap in and/or how do they handle a bricked phone?

Soylent Grin said:
It goes back to the old bootstrapping problem when computers were being developed. A computer (in this case, your cell phone) is pretty dumb at the hardware level. All it can do is run programs. That's ALL it can do. It can't even load a program, only run them. Thus the problem. It gets solved by injecting a "bootstrap" program at startup (from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps") which is a program that runs and gives access to all the I/O, and the computer can then load more programs.
When you update this bootstrapping program, it gets dicey, because if it isn't written right, or if there's a glitch during the update, this most basic of all functions gets corrupted. If the program that tells the phone how to load programs goes away, all the phone can do is... sit there. Like a brick.
Hope this helped!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks good explanation appreciate that.

rafroehlich2 said:
Thanks for the info. That is interesting. So how does HTC initially put the bootstrap in and/or how do they handle a bricked phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is probably a JTAG interface somewhere in there. In fact,that's how the original hack of the IPhone was done. (Better ways were since found) Most devices have a quasi standard interface for programming the flash and accessing and the hardware for diagnostics. For instance,linksys routers actually have a spot on the board to solder a header and you can make a cable that connects to the parralel port. Do a google search for "Hairy Dairy Maid Debrick" and you will find it. A similar thing is probobally possible with the Evo (Ive even seen them on Hard Drives and CD Rom drives) The problem is,its not entirely standardized,and it might not even be a connector or pads on the board. It might instead be a matter of knowing where you can connect the leads on the board to something that under the right circumstances BECOMES the JTAG connector. (For instance,a pin that controls something else might be a JTAG interface for the first few hundred milliseconds of start-up,or if a certain other pin of the chip is grounded when the power is applied. It might also be completely internal to the chip,and there be NO connectors on the board (it almost CERTAINLY has the capability,they need it during prototyping) and the chips might be programmed BEFORE they are soldered in. It might take replacing the rom chip to get it to go. There are lots of ifs
Chances are though,the factory has a special cable and a special software program that can reprogram the device. To replicate that might be relatively easy or could be next to impossible but requires a certain degree of knowledge about the hardware. What I suspect is,until someone who has the skills to make such a cable bricks their phone,they wont bother figuring out how to debrick one. In fact,when that person bricks their phone,they will probably take it back to sprint and say "I dont know what happens" In fact,even if its stuck looping in an obviously hacked boot loader he for some odd reason cant undo,hes probably going to send it back to sprint. I know someone who did exactly that to their brand new HP laptop. He found that 15kv from the flyback of an old B&W television applied to the memory slots took care of the looping and Best Buy gave him another one. As he put it "I dont know what happened,but it smells bad and wont boot up"

pflatlyne said:
There is probably a JTAG interface somewhere in there. In fact,that's how the original hack of the IPhone was done. (Better ways were since found) Most devices have a quasi standard interface for programming the flash and accessing and the hardware for diagnostics. For instance,linksys routers actually have a spot on the board to solder a header and you can make a cable that connects to the parralel port. Do a google search for "Hairy Dairy Maid Debrick" and you will find it. A similar thing is probobally possible with the Evo (Ive even seen them on Hard Drives and CD Rom drives) The problem is,its not entirely standardized,and it might not even be a connector or pads on the board. It might instead be a matter of knowing where you can connect the leads on the board to something that under the right circumstances BECOMES the JTAG connector. (For instance,a pin that controls something else might be a JTAG interface for the first few hundred milliseconds of start-up,or if a certain other pin of the chip is grounded when the power is applied. It might also be completely internal to the chip,and there be NO connectors on the board (it almost CERTAINLY has the capability,they need it during prototyping) and the chips might be programmed BEFORE they are soldered in. It might take replacing the rom chip to get it to go. There are lots of ifs
Chances are though,the factory has a special cable and a special software program that can reprogram the device. To replicate that might be relatively easy or could be next to impossible but requires a certain degree of knowledge about the hardware. What I suspect is,until someone who has the skills to make such a cable bricks their phone,they wont bother figuring out how to debrick one. In fact,when that person bricks their phone,they will probably take it back to sprint and say "I dont know what happens" In fact,even if its stuck looping in an obviously hacked boot loader he for some odd reason cant undo,hes probably going to send it back to sprint. I know someone who did exactly that to their brand new HP laptop. He found that 15kv from the flyback of an old B&W television applied to the memory slots took care of the looping and Best Buy gave him another one. As he put it "I dont know what happened,but it smells bad and wont boot up"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks for the detailed answer. Too bad this isn't a standardized item. I hope eventually things progress enough where this isn't even a thought. Thanks again for the good response.
Sent from my PC36100

rafroehlich2 said:
Wow. Thanks for the detailed answer. Too bad this isn't a standardized item. I hope eventually things progress enough where this isn't even a thought. Thanks again for the good response.
Sent from my PC36100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea,it would be nice if it were. Its kinda sorta quasi standard,so it HAS been done in some cases where its necessary,but often there are easier ways around it. Personally, I have allways thought that its a pretty stupid thing to make a piece of equipment that can fail due to a bad flash. The people who designed many of the flash memory chips seemed to agree,and they added something called a "boot block" to many,but the way its implemented,when its implemented doesn't fully protect you from a bad flash. Its even worse now that everything is in ball grid array chips soldered down to the board.

Phone life after death. Breaking the Jtag taboo.

I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.

Michael.fri said:
I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st off, it's "taboo" not tabu. Secondly there is already a pretty good amount of threads that have covered this in detail, I'm certain because I have posted in them. Lastly, please SEARCH the existing threads before creating a new one; the answers to all your questions are already there.

1. Thanks, Changed to "Taboo".
2. I searched, I really did. I went all over google with many key words and covered up this forum as well. All I got is some articles about the jtag protocol, which is good for knowledge but too general for the application I need, and some threads in which people writing that their phone is bricked and asks what to do about it. Not a single post is about how to fix that independently, and what does it require. If you could give me link to these threads you say that covers up the subject, I'll delete this thread at once.

Michael.fri said:
1. Thanks, Changed to "Taboo".
2. I searched, I really did. I went all over google with many key words and covered up this forum as well. All I got is some articles about the jtag protocol, which is good for knowledge but too general for the application I need, and some threads in which people writing that their phone is bricked and asks what to do about it. Not a single post is about how to fix that independently, and what does it require. If you could give me link to these threads you say that covers up the subject, I'll delete this thread at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't pay attention to that guy he like to troll every where he goes. Try to google search for mobile tech or Adam Outler, and check if he get the Jtag service for our phone. If I'm not wrong the charge for the Vibrant was $50.00 plus shipping and handling. I hope you can fix your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Do you know what caused the brick?
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Searched, and yet no result. Sending the phone to the U.S is quite risky. I have no idea how they're intended to pack it before sending it back. I would rather doing this in Israel.
I saw on ebay several devices associated with Jtag. the price starts from 10$ for a simple usb dongle, through 30$ devices, which is the price of most of the jtag devices I found, to the 150$ riff box that is associated with phone unbricking.
By what I know Jtag is a simple serial protocol. I just need sort of "bridge" to translate the logic 1's and 0's with the right voltage level and certain clock speed to a usb interface or even RS232. How expensive can that be?
I also contacted several ebay sellers which offer a jtag repair service. they all answered this model is not supported.
I would go to Samsung labs in Israel and see what they can do to get it working.
I just thought to invest 20$, get that sort of device and to get it done by my own.
Another issue is the pinout. The pinoput of the Jtag connection is not shown in any website, so I have no way of knowing how to connect on this specific PCB.
Last thing I need is that new bootloader I can flash, and a software to flash it through. Where can I download it?
About the reason for bricking the phone, I have no Idea. As I said, last time I've installed new rom was more than a week prior to the incident. I've used some overclocking app mostly to underclock my phone, cause it drained the battery like hell before, even while it was running on stock and after changing the rom several times.
I also used some usb otg device which worked normally, but was not plugged to the device even few hours before it was bricked.

Hopefully we can figure out the cause of these permabricks so we can prevent it from happening to more people.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

I gotta say, this is quite alarming. That the phone can just hard brick itself like this spontaneously.
I've had some scary experiences with the phone myself. Like a couple of random reboots that required the long power press for the phone to power back on. At least it always came back on.
I'm also from Israel myself so a similar scenario can bring me to the same situation as you.
Good luck with getting any kind of solution.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

parusia said:
don't pay attention to that guy he like to troll every where he goes. Try to google search for mobile tech or Adam Outler, and check if he get the Jtag service for our phone. If I'm not wrong the charge for the Vibrant was $50.00 plus shipping and handling. I hope you can fix your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Troll for advising to follow the posted rules of membership ? WOW

I just contacted Adam and still no jtag for this device .
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

did you look for a service manual?
- the manual may cover schematics for jtag device.

Been flashing phones since the Razr and never bricked a phone I couldn't repair myself. That is until I tried to flash my GSII back to stock through odin. Sent it to Samsung and they had to replace motherboard. Now I'm a little nervous about using odin.

reocej said:
Been flashing phones since the Razr and never bricked a phone I couldn't repair myself. That is until I tried to flash my GSII back to stock through odin. Sent it to Samsung and they had to replace motherboard. Now I'm a little nervous about using odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend splurging on the $2-3 for a jig, I have had moments where I thought I was SOL & the jig saved my arse.

Michael.fri said:
Last thing I need is that new bootloader I can flash, and a software to flash it through. Where can I download it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you solve your problem?

I was looking at using QPST
QPST is a program often frowned upon here at xda. It is commonly used to flash phones, and has little to do with android coding. The software is made for Qualcomm (or by them) and this device has a chip from them in it. This has tools for building and installing bootloaders and partition tables. Our device after a hard brick (and still serviceable by JTAGing) has a com port open still and if you load the driver in windows you will see a port number as others here on XDA have said. The driver allows ODIN to see the device but not connect. QPST does connect, but I have not attempted to flash anything to it since I have not built any files to load. I'm kind of stuck creating the needed xml that makes the partition table and headers and file that are to be loaded to partitions. This is really a softbrick, in my opion, but nobody has the knowledge for this level of building and coding, with this tool, here at XDA. If somebody does, it may make those selling JTAG services mad, but that would mean we could fix our phones on our own. On my own, I'm a few weeks away from this solution, with some help from people here that know how to write xml for partition tables and can help me locate files for a build, I can generate the files, test them, make a write up and post the solution in just a few days.
By the way, this is a multi-device solution in the long run. We get one fixed and we can start on the others with this same issue, where the only life left in the device is the Qualcomm download mode driver showing in windows device manager.

Michael.fri said:
I had some research yesterday, yet I still can't find a proper answer to most of my questions about the following subject. Hoping some of the experts here can contribute some of their knowledge and hopefully I will edit this thread to a guide, or at least spare others the need for wondering around the web as I did.
Well, Few days ago I turned off my phone, and it wont turn on or response to any physical key combination, usb connection (Except for charging the battery) or even that famous Samsung jig (301KΩ Between pin 4 and 5 on the usb connection). It is not recognizable by any device while connected through usb interface. It is permabricked. The worst thing that can happen to a phone while the hardware is intact.
Although the name indicates otherwise, some things can be done in order to get the device working again.
It is a process in which the phone's main bored is exposed, than a special device (e.g riff box) is connected to certain areas on the pcb that were made that way for the initial configuration of the phone back in the factory. The pinout of the connection varies in each model, but the interface is the same and called "Jtag". Than, that device connects to a pc through usb interface.
So the first step would be to get that device and to connect it to both pc and phone's motherboard through a certain pinout that is mostly hard to get. You'll need a driver for that jtag flashing device and a compiled file which you would like to flash in to your phone. I don't know if that file is specific to each model or to the certain chip the phone is using (Can different models with the same chip be flashed the same way? Reply if you know and I'll edit it here).
By what I know, after flashing that file the phone will be accessible through usb interface for further flashing of the rom.
Alternatively, There are some companies that offer that kind of service. I couldn't find any who work with T989, and prices for that kind of service.
I would like to have as much information as possible and maybe eventually I'll be able to get my phone fixed. In that case I'll add some photos and document the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mobile Tech offers the JTag service. There is even a discount for XDA members. They offer the service for all variants of the S2
Here you go!
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-jtag-brick-repair/

daxxone said:
QPST is a program often frowned upon here at xda. It is commonly used to flash phones, and has little to do with android coding. The software is made for Qualcomm (or by them) and this device has a chip from them in it.*snip* On my own, I'm a few weeks away from this solution, with some help from people here that know how to write xml for partition tables and can help me locate files for a build, I can generate the files, test them, make a write up and post the solution in just a few days..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any word on a fix using QPST?

Request for a certain ROM

Dear developers,
I recently found my old i9000. It had a bad accident some time ago, and its screen is completely busted. There appears to be damage to the motherboard as well, which was why the repair centre considered it a total loss. It still boots, though, and woke me up some time ago with a preset alarm, so I expect the internal damage is actually minimal. I suspect I can still use the the phone for something, maybe a server.
Thus, I would like a ROM that by default has some method of input/output apart from the touch screen (perhaps VNC, and I believe there are settings to allow you to connect the phone to a TV using the sound plug, that + USB mouse would also be cool, or if you can come up with another solution, just as long as it works, it's good). I would also like to be notified of some way to preload wifi settings into the ROM itself (mostly in case an Internetttechnology like VNC is used).
I assume I can use Odin to actually flash the ROM (thus allowing me not to use screen input for this process). It doesn't matter what method is used to circumvent touch screen input/output, as long as it works.
If someone could make such a ROM, I would be very thankful.

this is not the right place to post this.
Also, if it was as easy as your saying, we wouldn't need developers. What you can do is sell it for whatever price it gets and buy a raspberry motherboard. Which is exactly what you're asking for plus an HDMI port.
http://www.alliedelec.com/lp/120626raso/

I had hoped it would be easy for someone who was more familiar with custom ROMs. I have no idea what goes into it.
I do have 2 Pis, BTW, I just like reusing things +my i9000 would be better suited for a purpose I had in mind, due to being flatter and already having wifi. I guess I hoped for too much, then.

Please post this in the general forum not in developers forum
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

[Q] Samsung Captivate Blank Display

Hello,
Captivate Glide i927 replaced cracked screen
I replaced the cracked screen assembly and installed a new ribbon. The lower lights (home, search, back button etc) work and also the keyboard lights. The ATT chime sound works too but the display does not light up when powered on.
Connected the phone after replacing ribbon/ screen to the comp for Kies to back up and it is saying the phone is locked. It is the lock code that you set to keep others from accessing. Since the display does not light, the correct code can not be placed in. Can someone please place a picture of the unlock screen mode here? The display touch pad works so if the position of the numbers can be acquired, this may help me to get the phone files accessed and reset hoping to get the display working.
The phone is not rooted and upgraded to the ICS as of October 2012.
Up $86 for the ribbon and new screen and the repair shops want $100 plus the cost of possible parts needed. Would like to try my best so this route can be avoided.
Cheers,
Robert

By now the phone SIM is locked out. I believe there is a way to reboot the phone through a computer?

mer80cedes said:
By now the phone SIM is locked out. I believe there is a way to reboot the phone through a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way I can think of is rebooting via adb. If you're not rooted (the "reboot" command in shell requires root, i don't know if "adb reboot" wants it), or haven't even turned on USB Debugging at all, then you're doomed.
However, since Odin-ing is not that hard (only requires several key pressing), you could try Odin in a custom recovery (or not, if you already have one), back your system up to external SD in tar or other formats, and then extract the data you want from the backed-up packages (I've done this with tar packages). If you ever need the screenshot of a particular version of recovery, ask again in this thread and I think we'll be more active (and easier) to help.
Sent from Samsung Captivate Glide @ CM10.1.2

AndyYan said:
The only way I can think of is rebooting via adb. If you're not rooted (the "reboot" command in shell requires root, i don't know if "adb reboot" wants it), or haven't even turned on USB Debugging at all, then you're doomed.
However, since Odin-ing is not that hard (only requires several key pressing), you could try Odin in a custom recovery (or not, if you already have one), back your system up to external SD in tar or other formats, and then extract the data you want from the backed-up packages (I've done this with tar packages). If you ever need the screenshot of a particular version of recovery, ask again in this thread and I think we'll be more active (and easier) to help.
Sent from Samsung Captivate Glide @ CM10.1.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you AndYan.
This Captivate has only been upgraded to the Sandwich version. Non-rooted nor modified in any other way. The only reason to remove the files is due to it having solar cell module prototype designs and concepts on it (Reason why it can not be shipped out for professional repairs). Since most of the information was wrote on paper, it's best to just wipe the phone out completely to get it back to working condition for use again.
This is quite interesting learning about programming and such since I have never done this before. Just like building cars, took many many years to do and this programming is just another cool thing to learn about

It takes a special knowledge and experience to understand the programming of Odin and phones which I do not comprehend, I will be destroying the motherboard with a hammer and tossing it out. It is way too much to understand how to set coding and such. Best off investing in another phone and moving on.
The parts that will be saved if anyone can use will be the ribbon strip and also brand new display screen.
Paid $86 for the display and will sell for $75 free shipping with insurance.
Ribbon strip will be $20 free shipping with insurance. If both are wanted $95 free shipping.
Since I do love the Captivate so much another will be purchased.

mer80cedes said:
It takes a special knowledge and experience to understand the programming of Odin and phones which I do not comprehend, I will be destroying the motherboard with a hammer and tossing it out. It is way too much to understand how to set coding and such. Best off investing in another phone and moving on.
The parts that will be saved if anyone can use will be the ribbon strip and also brand new display screen.
Paid $86 for the display and will sell for $75 free shipping with insurance.
Ribbon strip will be $20 free shipping with insurance. If both are wanted $95 free shipping.
Since I do love the Captivate so much another will be purchased.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you smashed your Glide?! God, I just had mine 5 days ago. Anyway, hope my tip still helps when you're in any smaller trouble next time.

AndyYan said:
You mean you smashed your Glide?! God, I just had mine 5 days ago. Anyway, hope my tip still helps when you're in any smaller trouble next time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No way lol! Only the mother board will be smashed to save the data on it from being used again. All of the other parts will be saved since another Captivate will be getting purchased.

mer80cedes said:
No way lol! Only the mother board will be smashed to save the data on it from being used again. All of the other parts will be saved since another Captivate will be getting purchased.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's still sad to see. Why not just solder off the storage chip, somehow destroy it, and find a similar model chip to replace it?
EDIT: I guess the Samsung-proprietary partition table and some data on special partitions like EFS are not reconstructible on a blank new chip. Then you did the easiest choice possible.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM10.2

Is it cool for someone to take a photo of their Captivate i927 when it is at the display for the personal unlock code (PIN). It will make a good reference point enough to possibly use my touch screen to unlock my cell to reboot. Just have to get the location of the numbers and also the OK button.

After many hours research (great learning experience), the phone was done on master reset without needing to see the screen. At least now it can be sent out to get repaired without the personal information being potentially taken by another.
Done

mer80cedes said:
After many hours research (great learning experience), the phone was done on master reset without needing to see the screen. At least now it can be sent out to get repaired without the personal information being potentially taken by another.
Done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woohoo, so no need to smash anything? You did an awesome deed to keep a nice phone alive

[Q] Sudden Death Syndrome on ATT GS3 i747?

The best part about spending 30 minutes typing a post is having your browser crash. Anyway, if you have any further questions because this is going to be a bit brief, let me know.
My background: Fairly well-versed in Android, custom ROMs, flashing, rooting, doing development work on Android, reading directions, decent google-fu and RTFMing. But I really need help on this one. The phone in question is my primary phone, which I actually like to keep as stock because I don't want anything mucking up on it. It's 20 months old (daily usage), running stock 4.1.1, which was rooted about 17 months ago with cf autoroot, which I needed for development purposes. For the past 10 months, I have been using an extended aftermarket battery, because when traveling and thusly using navigation, gtranslate, lots of messaging, and whatnot with a bright screen whilst outdoors, I was tired of having my phone leave me without a communications device at 8pm.
Recent changes to phone: Several weeks ago, before another bout of traveling, I did my usual *#197328640# perso256 disable (one of the reasons that I like keeping my phone at 4.1.1), and voila -- carrier unlock.
What happened: Things were going swimmingly for a few weeks, when one day, I was out and about, typing something into google translate, and the screen just went black. It was early midday, and the phone was at 90% battery (extended battery life ftmfw). Every now and then, when doing serious multitasking (and, mind you, since the early days of owning this phone, as well as through the entire life of my GS1, which still works, by the way), my GS3 would occasionally reboot of its own accord. I thought nothing of this, except it just being a hallmark of samsung phones, and a minor inconvenience, at worst. This time, however, it failed to power back on. I removed the battery, held in power button in an attempt to discharge any residual power, and put the battery back in. Nothing. Panic. No ssung logo, no vibration, no lights, nothing. Just the black screen staring back at me. There was no moisture, and no trauma to the phone... nothing, save for a ridiculous sinking sensation.
Symptoms: Phone completely unresponsive. I tried a charged stock GS3 battery, and the symptoms are the same. If I plug the phone in without a battery, the led lights up red for a time, and that's it. Even though I haven't modded this phone at all, with the exception of the rooting almost 2 years ago, I tried everything I could think of and read online. vol up + power + home. vol down + power + home. Leaving the battery out for a while. So much reading through these forums and some others online. When I plug it in in windows (even though I primarily use linux), I get the QHSUSB_DLOAD problem, so I do not think it is a problem with the power button? Or maybe the power button can be permanently depressed or something that would cause this? Anyway, I've installed QHSUSB_DLOAD windows drivers, but don't want to start flashing things until I know there isn't another longshot option to get this to work. I even loaded up linux and ran pblclear, which allegedly attempts to knock HTC phones out of being stuck in QHSUSB_DLOAD mode. Didn't work, but figured it was worth a shot, and seemed relatively harmless.
Why I don't even know if it's SDS: The reason I'm asking this is because I'm completely at a loss. SDS appears to affect i9000s after 150-200 days, OR when people incorrectly flash a ROM, or something happens during flashing or modification. My phone is an ATT i747 has been fully operative for 600+ days, and I haven't done any flashing, rooting, whathaveyou in nearly two years (and it was just that simple autoroot that I ran once).
What I'm wondering: I really want to get this phone working, because of hundreds of images, notes, data, etc. that I have accrued over the past few years. Most of my videos and larger files were on my sd card, but literally hundreds of memories and works in progress that I would do insane things for were saved to the phone. I'm an idiot for not backing it up, but I wasn't doing anything to the phone, so wasn't expecting such a catastrophe. Will JTAG work? What about a debricking microsd image? Most of the ones I can find are for 4.1.2 or 4.1.3 -- are there any for 4.1.1? I'm nearly certain 4.1.1 is my version, because IICR 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 don't even have the perso256 disable menu, and it's why I had not upgraded to them. It seems like the microsd rewrites would wipe the contents, and then I would have to quickly attempt a recovery on the data? Or have there been any cases with similar failures that are something else dying on the board? To be perfectly honest, if it appears to be an issue with the board, it's not beyond my ability to perform BGA rework and remove the emmc entirely, and transplant it onto a new board, but I would ///really/// like to avoid that.
Thanks for reading... :angel:
Edit:
Additional information: I forgot to mention that I have found pages such as this samsung-galaxy-s3-sgh-i747-i747m-repair-dead-boot-1755452 [I'm afraid you'll have to google it because I can't post links if you want to look TT^TT] which have files that say, for example, "Samsung SGH-I747 Repair Boot Supported" if using JTAG. So, if there aren't suggestions about how I can fix my phone with an sdcard unbrick, or something else, does anyone know whether or not doing a boot repair will unbrick a phone without wiping the ROM itself? Thanks again~~

Top5a said:
The best part about spending 30 minutes typing a post is having your browser crash. Anyway, if you have any further questions because this is going to be a bit brief, let me know.
My background: Fairly well-versed in Android, custom ROMs, flashing, rooting, doing development work on Android, reading directions, decent google-fu and RTFMing. But I really need help on this one. The phone in question is my primary phone, which I actually like to keep as stock because I don't want anything mucking up on it. It's 20 months old (daily usage), running stock 4.1.1, which was rooted about 17 months ago with cf autoroot, which I needed for development purposes. For the past 10 months, I have been using an extended aftermarket battery, because when traveling and thusly using navigation, gtranslate, lots of messaging, and whatnot with a bright screen whilst outdoors, I was tired of having my phone leave me without a communications device at 8pm.
Recent changes to phone: Several weeks ago, before another bout of traveling, I did my usual *#197328640# perso256 disable (one of the reasons that I like keeping my phone at 4.1.1), and voila -- carrier unlock.
What happened: Things were going swimmingly for a few weeks, when one day, I was out and about, typing something into google translate, and the screen just went black. It was early midday, and the phone was at 90% battery (extended battery life ftmfw). Every now and then, when doing serious multitasking (and, mind you, since the early days of owning this phone, as well as through the entire life of my GS1, which still works, by the way), my GS3 would occasionally reboot of its own accord. I thought nothing of this, except it just being a hallmark of samsung phones, and a minor inconvenience, at worst. This time, however, it failed to power back on. I removed the battery, held in power button in an attempt to discharge any residual power, and put the battery back in. Nothing. Panic. No ssung logo, no vibration, no lights, nothing. Just the black screen staring back at me. There was no moisture, and no trauma to the phone... nothing, save for a ridiculous sinking sensation.
Symptoms: Phone completely unresponsive. I tried a charged stock GS3 battery, and the symptoms are the same. If I plug the phone in without a battery, the led lights up red for a time, and that's it. Even though I haven't modded this phone at all, with the exception of the rooting almost 2 years ago, I tried everything I could think of and read online. vol up + power + home. vol down + power + home. Leaving the battery out for a while. So much reading through these forums and some others online. When I plug it in in windows (even though I primarily use linux), I get the QHSUSB_DLOAD problem, so I do not think it is a problem with the power button? Or maybe the power button can be permanently depressed or something that would cause this? Anyway, I've installed QHSUSB_DLOAD windows drivers, but don't want to start flashing things until I know there isn't another longshot option to get this to work. I even loaded up linux and ran pblclear, which allegedly attempts to knock HTC phones out of being stuck in QHSUSB_DLOAD mode. Didn't work, but figured it was worth a shot, and seemed relatively harmless.
Why I don't even know if it's SDS: The reason I'm asking this is because I'm completely at a loss. SDS appears to affect i9000s after 150-200 days, OR when people incorrectly flash a ROM, or something happens during flashing or modification. My phone is an ATT i747 has been fully operative for 600+ days, and I haven't done any flashing, rooting, whathaveyou in nearly two years (and it was just that simple autoroot that I ran once).
What I'm wondering: I really want to get this phone working, because of hundreds of images, notes, data, etc. that I have accrued over the past few years. Most of my videos and larger files were on my sd card, but literally hundreds of memories and works in progress that I would do insane things for were saved to the phone. I'm an idiot for not backing it up, but I wasn't doing anything to the phone, so wasn't expecting such a catastrophe. Will JTAG work? What about a debricking microsd image? Most of the ones I can find are for 4.1.2 or 4.1.3 -- are there any for 4.1.1? I'm nearly certain 4.1.1 is my version, because IICR 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 don't even have the perso256 disable menu, and it's why I had not upgraded to them. It seems like the microsd rewrites would wipe the contents, and then I would have to quickly attempt a recovery on the data? Or have there been any cases with similar failures that are something else dying on the board? To be perfectly honest, if it appears to be an issue with the board, it's not beyond my ability to perform BGA rework and remove the emmc entirely, and transplant it onto a new board, but I would ///really/// like to avoid that.
Thanks for reading... :angel:
Edit:
Additional information: I forgot to mention that I have found pages such as this samsung-galaxy-s3-sgh-i747-i747m-repair-dead-boot-1755452 [I'm afraid you'll have to google it because I can't post links if you want to look TT^TT] which have files that say, for example, "Samsung SGH-I747 Repair Boot Supported" if using JTAG. So, if there aren't suggestions about how I can fix my phone with an sdcard unbrick, or something else, does anyone know whether or not doing a boot repair will unbrick a phone without wiping the ROM itself? Thanks again~~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same thing just happened to my 20 month old att s3.i unlocked the bootloader and flashed a twrp recovery.the phone was on 4.1.1 and rooted.
now just a lifeless phone

thorur said:
same thing just happened to my 20 month old att s3.i unlocked the bootloader and flashed a twrp recovery.the phone was on 4.1.1 and rooted.
now just a lifeless phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it die closely after the unlocking/flashing? Or a long time after? Or was the unlocking/flashing an attempt to save the phone? Ever get it fixed? I'm so anxious!

I never heard of qualcomm chips doing this. There is a app called emmc brickbug check on the market though it won't be of much use to you now.....but it allows you to check the mem. Controller chip and check if its a "sane chip" and allows you to probe the memory for any bad sectors.....its really quite a nice app
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk

crazymonkey05 said:
I never heard of qualcomm chips doing this. There is a app called emmc brickbug check on the market though it won't be of much use to you now.....but it allows you to check the mem. Controller chip and check if its a "sane chip" and allows you to probe the memory for any bad sectors.....its really quite a nice app
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, thanks for the input! Makes me feel a better hopefully the emmc isn't completely fried. I just really want my files, and am continually irritated at myself for having been so stupid to not make backups.. although I have phones from 10+ years ago that have never completely died in such an unexpected manner. It's quite the agonizing wait for a JTAG programmer to come in the mail. If I can manage to get it to boot from SD, which I haven't been able to do so far, do you think it's logical for me to simply reflash the bootloader/CWM, then attempt boot? It shouldn't erase files, right?

You can try a bootloader and recovery flash which might yield results.....and the plus side of that is that it won't wipe the memory unless you format the /data partition or you do a full Odin restore with ROM kernel and everything
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk

crazymonkey05 said:
You can try a bootloader and recovery flash which might yield results.....and the plus side of that is that it won't wipe the memory unless you format the /data partition or you do a full Odin restore with ROM kernel and everything
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also searched everywhere for a debrick image for 4.1.1 AT&T... anyone know where I can get one? All I can find are ones for 4.1.3 =\

EXACT same problem here, let me know if you find anything
(Btw, my phone also had the "power button stuck down" issue, but your phone will vibrate when you put the battery in if this is the issue.)

If I'm not mistaken you will be able to Odin to 4.1.1 while using the 4.3 SD card debrick (again this is just guessing)
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk

I've tried the SD card debricks for 4.3, and still nothing happens. Yea, I also don't get vibrate. As a long shot, I actually installed the qualcomm drivers and ran the qdload.sh script to attempt to send a signal which kicks the phone out of that mode (works on some... I want to say, HTC, phones), but, yea, I think the emmc just failed somehow. I'm hoping that the failure is just in the bootloader segment, and that by jtag reflashing the bootloader area, I should be able to boot. Either that, or even if one of the memory sectors died, hopefully it's not the one with my data partition. I still can't believe this ! Out of all the electronics I've ever used, aside from a hard drive or two, I've never had something like a phone just kick the bucket with no warning. gha !
Also, thanks for all the tips and stuff, guys and gals. Tell me if you figure out anything, and I'll let you know if I get it fixed with jtag.

OK plz let us know how it goes! I don't want to sound rude but your phone would be the only snapdragon I have ever seen fail....and I've been using snapdragons since the s1 on a HTC wildfire s
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk

crazymonkey05 said:
OK plz let us know how it goes! I don't want to sound rude but your phone would be the only snapdragon I have ever seen fail....and I've been using snapdragons since the s1 on a HTC wildfire s
Sent from my ATT Samsung Galaxy SIII using TapaTalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZOMG SO RUDE > haha, j/k ;P Yea, no problem, dude/dudette! I know how it feels reading threads with no followup... I'm actually surprised that people have come out of the proverbial woodwork mentioning having similar problems to me ! It really sucks spending inordinate amounts of time reading threads and not arriving at a definitive conclusion... so, yea, I especially want to let people know if there is a fix, and/or how I did it.
So, with regard to what you said about the snapdragons not failing... yea. This is rekking my mind, tbh, because I've just never had a device insta-fail on me like this (aside from some old computer hard drives that were server backed up, but yea that's essentially par for the course on that medium [yay for S.M.A.R.T.]). Especially a device that I'd only had for less than 2 years, and though my GS3 has heavy usage, I treat it very well (no drops, water, etc.)... so, yea.
Also, a minority of people with whom I have spoken via the æther have also experienced similar emmc failures on i747s, as well ! Which I was not expecting. It's still insane, though, to believe that, out of such a small percentage of phones that could potentially experience SDS, and then which ones actually do experience it... and then to not even have an i9000 and /still/ experience it on an i747... I feel as though I've won the lotto. Except ****ty.
I'm waiting on parts to come in, then surgery will commence.

Did you try going into download mode? If you can so that then the phone is fine. Another thing is try reflashing stock Odin which will erase msgs and stuff but not music or pics unless u tick "repartition".
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

Open serial port...OK
Connecting to the RIFF Box...OK
Firmware Version: 1.37, JTAG Manager Version: 1.56
Selected Resurrector: [Samsung I747 V1.0.5095.46594]
Connecting to the dead body...OK
Detected dead body ID: 0xhexhereisOK[redacted] - CORRECT!
Set I/O Voltage reads as 1.81V, TCK Frequency is 1 MHz
Resurrection sequence started.
Establish communication with the phone...OK
Initializing internal hardware configuration...OK
Uploading resurrector data into memory...OK
Starting communication with resurrector...OK
Detected an Initialized FLASH1 Chip, ID: 0x0015/0x0100 (000000, 0x000400000000 Bytes = 16.00 GB)
Detected an Initialized FLASH2 Chip, ID: 0x0015/0x0100 (000000, 0x000000080000 Bytes = 0.50 MB)
No Resurrection Data is available for the eMMC Chip with Capacity = 16.00GB
WARNING!!! Using Resurrection Data for the eMMC Chip with Capacity = 14,68GB
Flashing the dead body...
ERROR: DCC Loader has reported Error Code = 0x51 (0x000000). Trying to recover...OK
ERROR: DCC Loader has reported Error Code = 0x51 (0x000000). Trying to recover...OK
ERROR: DCC Loader has reported Error Code = 0x51 (0x000000). Trying to recover...OK
ERROR: Stopped due to multiple communication errors. Terminating at 0x0003AB3FBE00
Had to reduce the speed to that 2MHz/1MHz to get communication to work. So, 0x51 is a DCC power failure problem... but it is able to detect the initialized chips. So.. not really sure how to proceed at this point. I haven't checked the signal quality on my NRST line, which apparently can cause problems. Some people have increased the voltage from 1.8 to say 1.9, but doing something like that requires me to actually make my own resurrection file, which I haven't had the time to do yet.
Anyone seen a problem with something like this before?
The 000000 is somewhat unsettling, as the chip is apparently supposed to report some ID#? Although, the failures that I'm getting don't seem to be the typical ones that happen when the emmc becomes completely toasted.
Oh, yea... I can't seem to figure out wth is up with --> WARNING!!! Using Resurrection Data for the eMMC Chip with Capacity = 14,68GB
Like..... ??? I think I'm using the most up to date resurrector?!
EDIT: Dumping out the entire contents of the emmc (haven't had errors so far, but it will take a while at 1 MHz), into a bin file (this avoids the bad sectors in the bootloader).
Does anyone know what to do with the resultant *.bin file? I think that if I got another surrogate GS3, I'd be able to write that onto the phone, essentially cloning my dead phone. I'd like to avoid having to do that, though -- does anyone know how to write one of DCC bin jtag file dumps into a readable file system?