[Q] ''Problem updating firmware'' - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

I'm trying to help a friend fix his S3 - model sgh-i747m - and have run into much bigger problems. Here's how it started.
He came to me with his S3 and showed me that it won't successfully complete its bootup. It passes all the logos, even the sound/animated Samsung splash screen. And then it stops there, hangs indefinitely. The LED still pulsates between dark and light blue.
I did some research about the problem and found that this should have easily been fixed by reapplying a stock rom. I should mention that the phone's built in recovery methods did not succeed, I tried those first. So I downloaded Odin3_v3.07_SGSIII as well as two versions of the stock rom for his Telus device; 4.1.2 and 4.3. I had read that you must flash the 4.1.2 before trying to flash the 4.3, so to play it safe (my friend doesn't know what version it was) I started with the 4.1.2.
I have used odin before. with my brand new Galaxy Note 3 in fact, and it worked amazingly fine. This time it wasn't working so well though. I started by making sure the drivers were installed. I booted the S3 into download mode, and connected it with the original USB cable, to a motherboard USB port on the back of my computer. All this time Odin was running and waiting, and everything was going as planned. Put the rom in the PDA loading area, and clicked start. Then things went fine, until it failed to 'write', whatever that meant. The progress bar on Odin and the device was stuck at half now. I let it sit for a while and observed no change. I idly clicked on the odin window and got the sad Windows fade-to-white effect, it had froze. Nothing I could do to unfreeze it, I let windows collect its crash data and relaunched Odin. I reconnected the phone but this time, almost instantly, the 'failed firmware' message popped up.
Did a little more googling at that point and found that it still should be able to proceed normally. So I tried again, with the same process. Booted into download mode, with Odin reset and running, with the PDA file ready to start loading.. But this time, Odin stops at "Initializing" and won't go any further.
Back to google some more. I tried various tricks some people suggested, like leaving the battery out, or putting the battery back in when Odin sees the device, and reinstalling the USB drivers, rebooting the PC, trying every different port I have.. And every single time it just gets stuck at "Initializing"
At this point I'm at a loss. My friend was already ready to write the phone off, but everything I've read tells me its still recoverable. Its not a hard brick, its only soft-bricked from what I can tell. I can still go into Download mode. Just something is being stubborn or difficult now.
So after about 4 straight hours of trying to figure it out on my own, searching the forums here there and everywhere, I decided to give in and ask for help. I hope you guys can lead me in the right direction and get this thing back up and running. I'm open to any helpful tips, suggestions, links or downloads, tools, whatever it takes to make it work again.

Since you could not load a stock 4.1.2 image using desktop Odin, sounds like the phone has been updated to 4.3 ROM with a stock 4.3 bootloader; therefore, you cannot flash any stock ROM via desktop Odin that tries to downgrade the bootloader.
Try this: download and install a pre-rooted Telus 4.3 image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426 via desktop Odin. Do not check auto reboot. Once you see the word reset in the window, pull the battery, go into stock recovery, wipe/factory reset, and boot the phone.
Good luck.

audit13 said:
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, luck seems to be against me this time. I tried what you said, then Odin spits out a missing PIT error. I found the PIT file for this device, and tried following the steps documented for applying it. And then it spits out a Complete(Write) fail at me. I decided to try this all from a different computer in my house. So I got everything all set up, went to boot the phone into download mode... and now it won't even do that. I thought maybe the battery was too low, but when I plug it in without the battery, just a red LED shows up. Can't do anything with it now.
So at this point, do I just give up? Seems the only possibility now would be a JTAG service.

steven_archer said:
Well, luck seems to be against me this time. I tried what you said, then Odin spits out a missing PIT error. I found the PIT file for this device, and tried following the steps documented for applying it. And then it spits out a Complete(Write) fail at me. I decided to try this all from a different computer in my house. So I got everything all set up, went to boot the phone into download mode... and now it won't even do that. I thought maybe the battery was too low, but when I plug it in without the battery, just a red LED shows up. Can't do anything with it now.
So at this point, do I just give up? Seems the only possibility now would be a JTAG service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the battery has been depleted. Leave it on a charger for a while and try again.

steven_archer said:
Well, luck seems to be against me this time. I tried what you said, then Odin spits out a missing PIT error. I found the PIT file for this device, and tried following the steps documented for applying it. And then it spits out a Complete(Write) fail at me. I decided to try this all from a different computer in my house. So I got everything all set up, went to boot the phone into download mode... and now it won't even do that. I thought maybe the battery was too low, but when I plug it in without the battery, just a red LED shows up. Can't do anything with it now.
So at this point, do I just give up? Seems the only possibility now would be a JTAG service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to give it a bit to charge but it sounds like you have a hard brick now... You might be able to use a debrick SD card.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:46 PM ----------
Try this If you did or think you had 4.3 bootloaders http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2549068
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------
If you can get into download mode again you should visit www.sammobile.com (you need a username to download firmware from that site but they are a trusted source.) because you have an I747M you can probably find an appropriate Odin flash able stock tar just make sure it is for the correct carrier phone version.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Related

[Q] SGS2 Odin Question

During an attempt to flash a rom using odin to my rooted sgs2, odin crashed and closed before it was finished. I tried restarting odin, wouldnt see phone.
Removed battery from phone, reconnected to odin and tried using the one click odin to reflash back to stock. Also tried using odin with other roms to flash back.
Heres my problem.
When i power on the phone, it says the Galazy S2 i9100 for a few seconds, then just turns off.
I can open odin, or odin one click, plug in phone, shows me yellow w/com and added. I click start, it gets to Setupconnection and then just sits there.
I have tried
- Different roms and both one click and normal odin.
- Different usb cables
- Different usb ports
- Multiple computers
Is there any way to get past this? God i hope someone can either point me somewhere or help me out.
Reinstall Samsung Kies to your laptop or pc so the proper drivers are re-installed. Once complete with that install, plug your phone into the pc and put the phone into USB mode, hopefully the pc will recognize your phone and install the NEW DEVICE drivers after a few moments. Depending on your pc, sometimes it takes many seconds for your pc to recognize and bring up the drop down menu for the newly recognized drive. BE PATIENT. If the pc does recognize your phone, start Odin again. If Odin also see's your phone, which it now should, you should see a COM:# connection in the ID:COM box of Odin. Doesn't matter what COM # is, as long as something is there. You can now use Odin because it see's your phone. Once you start Odin flashing, make sure not to disconnect anything until you see the upper left GREEN PASS box in Odin. Once its GREEN with PASS in that box, you're finished. You can d/c your phone from the pc and the phone is probably rebooting anyway.
OFC, if your phone will not stay power'd up, all of the above is for nought. Wish I could be more helpful.
Keep in mind that I do not intend to insult intelligence but everyone has limits in experience and I always try to explain in the simplest way I can. No disrespect intended.
Good Luck!
R
Thanks for the reply,
How am i supposed to put the phone in usb mode when i cant boot it?
That does create a problem, I would do some research on a USB Jig for your phone. Search at eBay for: Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch USB Jig
I'm not sure if this will help a phone that will not power up but it does have its uses for Root'd phone especially using Odin to flash and to remover that nasty YELLOW Triangle that comes from ROOT ROMS that are unsign'd.
Wish I could help you further.
R
Scribes said:
Thanks for the reply,
How am i supposed to put the phone in usb mode when i cant boot it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to put in download mode if not try a jig ... If that fails it's sprint or jtag
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
It does power on, basically shows the sgs boot logo (black backgroud w/ white text) then goes dark, but its actually still on cause it gets hot.
I can get it into download mode and i can get it into the android recovery.
Theres gotta be a way to recover with an update.zip from the android recovery via the sd card........
There you go, you have two of us saying about the same thing. Just make sure you get the correct JIG if you go that route. It's like $2.00 and arrives from China in like 2 weeks.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...e+for+Samsung+Galaxy+S2/i9100/i9000/T959/i897
---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 AM ----------
humm, an idling phone shouldn't get hot. That tells me you've got something going on. I think you just progress'd passed my pay grade my friend.
Heres another thing, as i mentioned in my first post.
The boot logo says i-9100....
and this is a sprint phone, isnt it a d710?
So im gussing in my late night haze i screwed myself by loading an i9100 rom/bootloader/whatever the hell that is.
Samsung calls it: I9100
Sprint calls it: SPH710
We call it: Epic 4G Touch
I see, so thats not the problem?
Im just gonna keep posting here while i mess with this incase i trigger someones mind for a fix.
(picture was here apparently i cannot post an external link yet. Was just a picture of device manager and odin sitting at SetupConnection)
The only way to get odin to see my phone, is if i open odin, put phone in download mode, plug phone in, then uninstall the com port via device manager, reinstall it. When i rescan for hardware changes, odin goes yellow as seen in the picture, i click start, then it sits at SetupConnection all day, so im guessing its losing the connection after it finds it.
My only solution here is via usb card i think, but i cant find a signed package. Cant someone just pull theirs from a stock phone? Why wouldnt that work?
Well, if you can get Odin to work, unroot to full stock with this:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ISD9AOP0
Right, getting odin to work is the real problem though i think.
Stuck at SetupConnection forever
This is super frustrating... going without a phone is impossible, work emails, texts, calls, ahhhh
..and there is no way to completely reload the entire phone using an update.zip off the sd card, one that is signed?
I know i used to do that on my droid, and all though i know this is a totally different game, i still have android recovery, one would think it would be possible if the package was signed. unsigned ones just fail, but at least i can attempt to run them from there.
If someone can find a way to do that, and it works for my phone, i will paypal $50
Let me see what I can find for ya....
I have searched two different Forums for a flashable unroot to stock with NO luck. Everything I found requires Odin. Sorry Buddy.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the i-9100 a whole different phone??? Looking at the specs and release date I would believe so. Sounds like he did an ics update for a phone that wasn't the Sph-d710 or something..
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-3621.php
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
not sure, all I know it by is: SPH 710
~ via My Epic 4G Touch & XDA'a app ~
Have you tried just flashing a kernel only in Odin
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
You tried flashing ICS on your phone, didn't you? B/C I'm pretty sure that's why you are seeing I9100 while booting up. If that is the case, do a search here as there are multiple people who have done this, and none of them have been able to fix it.
Sorry, your only solution is exchange at Sprint if you can, or JTAG.
help
beezar said:
You tried flashing ICS on your phone, didn't you? B/C I'm pretty sure that's why you are seeing I9100 while booting up. If that is the case, do a search here as there are multiple people who have done this, and none of them have been able to fix it.
Sorry, your only solution is exchange at Sprint if you can, or JTAG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does not mean he flashed ICS when you odin a kernel that is not signed ie with CWM you will get yellow triangle and it will say i9100 too ..... so does not mean he flashed ics ... if odin sees the phone on a com port he probably didnt .... try flashing a working kernel from our phone
I did attempt to flash ICS. I could find where i got it, but it was supposedly for the Epic 4G touch, aka sprint sgs2 variant.
I am a network and systems admin, i should have known better. I jumped the gun and got ahead of myself. I have rooted and put roms on the og droid, and the droid x, samsung is a different beast all together.
However, i went in to sprint the day after i did this, they looked at it, no insurance, no replacement warranty, they didnt ask me anything, and THEY determined it was a factory defect , they had me sign a sheet that said "After researching found phone to be a factory defect and the solution from SPRINT is to replace the phone. $37.41, and 22 hours later i had a brand new SGS2 in my hand.
They hadnt sent my phone in yet. I honestly am not sure if they are going to be able to tell if i did anything to it or not, i may have just hosed the bootloader enough that odin wont connect, so they probably will have to use something like jtag in house to reflash it, or replace the chip or whatever they do. Even so, if they do see that i was messing with it, and say it voided my warranty, i have a signed receipt showing my payment and agreeing to pay for the replacement at $37.41, and that THEY determined the flaw. My brother in law is a lawyer, so i asked him, because i was curious if they would look at my phone at the service center or hub or whatever, and determine it was my fault. He assured me they could try, but it would all fall back to the employee who had me sign the agreement, so even if they dont like what i did, they are beyond doing anything about it.
I doubt they will even notice it, im sure they will try to boot it, then just flash it or however they do it.
Either way, im not worried anymore.
So...someone wanna point my idiot ass to an actual good rom, with a good method, that works for my phone? lol. I cant stand touchwiz, huge icons and cant replace them ....wtf is that all about.

[Q] Samsung Note 2 N7100 Odin failed to update...Phone logo hang..!!!

Hey Please help ,
I have a Samsung galaxy Note 2 n7100
There is problem logo hang on startup.!
Like this problem i took from customer.
Customer says when he downloading application from Playstore
Then suddenly phone get off.
After that when he switch on Phone just logo hang on startup!!
After i try it update via Odin.
When i make update its says fail.
& Odin say There is no pit partition.
I try 4rth file all r Same massage.
Br
SHAMIM
Try removing battery wait few seconds. Try process again.
riz157 said:
Try removing battery wait few seconds. Try process again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today full day i try it many way but Nothing Happaned.!!
Well this so called customer of yours didn't install an app(I think)he would have bricked it by rooting it (if he hasn't followed which cf to flash).. well this might help you say while flashing via odin 1st its says fail then 2nd attempt it says no pit... I had this similar issue on the s3 turned out it was a bad download try downloading the file again and make sure your downloading a file with n7100 not n700 (I bet you know this just a lil heads up) hope this works for you.. if all else fails... Samsung customer is the only way
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
---------- Post added at 01:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 AM ----------
Or better yet search for an xda user named Dr.ketan he's the best doc in note series... he might help you bring your device back too the way it was if he helps donate the lad he deserves it.. he's the only doc I know who doesn't charge a dime
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
eyan2011 said:
Well this so called customer of yours didn't install an app(I think)he would have bricked it by rooting it (if he hasn't followed which cf to flash).. well this might help you say while flashing via odin 1st its says fail then 2nd attempt it says no pit... I had this similar issue on the s3 turned out it was a bad download try downloading the file again and make sure your downloading a file with n7100 not n700 (I bet you know this just a lil heads up) hope this works for you.. if all else fails... Samsung customer is the only way
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so someone put in phone bad firmware!
But now what can i do?
I try still 4 firmware & different provider
Europian,uae,Usa firmware also try or try different version of odin.Same it appear "There is no pit partition".
I try put in the phone cwm6-recovery-note2.tar.md5
It also not written by odin.!
At this moment Phone Condition Logo hang on startup.
No Recovery mode.
But Download mode ok.
Please help me urjent.
Wait a second aren't you suppose to put the file in pda.. the md5 goes in pda rite not in phone.. and usa firmware wont work be careful different hardware you'll brick it for life ... well the phone hasn't been launched their yet so no worries.. please confirm the name of the tar or md5 you downloaded
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:20 AM ----------
Omg im so sorry im working and texting you at the same time.. I just glanced at your text... dude search for an xda user named dr ketan he'll help you getting the pit file... its required too boot up your device
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
How i confirm about TAR file?
You have to know?
dr.ketan still not responding by me.
last 2 days me & my phone still hanging on the my chember.
Please anyone help me about PIT file for N7100/
I think it can be help me.!!!
eyan2011 said:
Well this so called customer of yours didn't install an app(I think)he would have bricked it by rooting it (if he hasn't followed which cf to flash).. well this might help you say while flashing via odin 1st its says fail then 2nd attempt it says no pit... I had this similar issue on the s3 turned out it was a bad download try downloading the file again and make sure your downloading a file with n7100 not n700 (I bet you know this just a lil heads up) hope this works for you.. if all else fails... Samsung customer is the only way
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
---------- Post added at 01:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 AM ----------
Or better yet search for an xda user named Dr.ketan he's the best doc in note series... he might help you bring your device back too the way it was if he helps donate the lad he deserves it.. he's the only doc I know who doesn't charge a dime
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
facebook.com said:
Today full day i try it many way but Nothing Happaned.!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the customer is telling the truth. same thing happened to me. i've had 3 galaxy phones, & this is the first time it happened. i downloaded an app from Playstore. used it for a couple of hours. then exit the program. then after a few hours while playing a different game, my screen went black (which at first I though was due to low battery) then it turned on but only until the NoteII logo. Tried to charge my phone but the battery icon only had this white circle at the center, there wasn't a green bar that's supposed to be showing up when you're charging. I couldn't access the recovery mode. i could access the download mode though. I tried to install CMW & stock rom, but both failed. Odin said my phone has got no PIT file.... please help!
BTW. Let me just tell you more about the apps involved. I downloaded Zynga Poker from Playstore at around 1PM. Played it until maybe around 3PM. Exit the program though it's still sending me annoying notifications. Then at around 9PM, I played RuneMasterPuzzle, which I've been playing since I've got my phone. Actually I've had that in my S2 before & never had a problem. So I'm blaming Zynga Poker.
I really, really need your help. Please...
TIA
facebook.com said:
Hey Please help ,
I have a Samsung galaxy Note 2 n7100
There is problem logo hang on startup.!
Like this problem i took from customer.
Customer says when he downloading application from Playstore
Then suddenly phone get off.
After that when he switch on Phone just logo hang on startup!!
After i try it update via Odin.
When i make update its says fail.
& Odin say There is no pit partition.
I try 4rth file all r Same massage.
Br
SHAMIM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem.
I tried many solutions like, flashing its ROM, fix partition, followed Dr. Ketan's advices. Still no good. I can access Odin Mode but I can't access my recovery.
Here's my situation:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35133784#post35133784
What the hell. So I'm not the only one with this problem. Same goes for me. I checked mails on my note 2 when it suddenly went black and rebooted. Then it was stuck at the first bootscreen. I can also go into Download mode but not into recovery. I tried flashing Stock Roms, Rescue Rom, Custom Roms, Root and CWM but nothing ever changed the situation.....perhaps this is a bigger problem?!
This is my Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040464
Isn't there anybody able to help us?!
Try to closely read this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1923956.
Then try to use Note 2 Toolkit.
Does it work?
Among other features, this one (as stated on their thread):
Flash Stock Boot Image back to your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem with toolkit is that i does not see my phone. I can only get to download mode. Nothing else. Can't boot it up and when i try to use the toolkit it says that USB debugging needs to be enabled... well seems like that isnt the case, did not need it before so i think it's disabled :/
What did you do to the phone exactly?
Did you ever root it? Which root method did you use? From where did you follow instructions to do so?
Did you ever flash some firmware? Which one? What's the full name of the file you flashed?
EDIT: Please, these questions are mandatory to understand the issue.
Alright so it happened on sunday, my phone was complete Stock and i never installed root or custom rom before on this device. I was checking my mails when the phone suddenly rebooted. When it was up again i suddenly got the S-Voice instructions which i had to click through. After that the phone rebooted again. When i had to enter the PIN i just touched the screen for a second and the screen went black again. Now it rebooted to bootscreen and got stuck there. After that i tried anything to get it back to life. I am not able to enter recovery, only download mode.
In the meatime i flashed anything that looked promising. For example the newest Stock rom for my Note 2, CWM+ Root, Stock Recovery+ Root, Rescue Rom with PIT-File (got it here in the Forum for getting bricked phones back to live, it has all the files - phone, csc, modem, PIT and bootloader), Recovery Fix..... i tried anything but it still gets stuck at bootscreen and i was never able to get to recovery......
When i check in download mode my Counter is now at 10 and Current Binary and System Binary is Custom. Even when i flashed Stock Rom, System binary never changed back to Official. it's always custom....... Odin flashing is always succesful even tried it on different PCs....yet still getting stuck at bootscreen......
Dunno if there's even a way to get it back to live
Edit: I flashed my old Galaxy S up and down without problems and even when it was softbricked it was no problem for me to get it back to live. This time i just don't see any possible solution -.-
limital said:
Problem with toolkit is that i does not see my phone. I can only get to download mode. Nothing else. Can't boot it up and when i try to use the toolkit it says that USB debugging needs to be enabled... well seems like that isnt the case, did not need it before so i think it's disabled :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did this also. When I plug the USB Cable, PC will beep (detected by PC, meaning driver is working) But in Toolkit's Interface, Phone's serial number is not showing. What I can do in Toolkit is to Launch Odin, well, Odin can detect the phone. BUT after flashing. It will reboot to the first boot screen.
Is this a sort of a SOFT BRICK?
Is it already a hardware problem? like fried chip or something?
I'm already running out of options here. :crying:
Well at the moment i haven't found anyone who is able to help us and i tried many different things to get it working again. Without success....
Perhaps somewhere here on xda we will find a savior but at the moment i don't see any hope for our devices but to send them to samsung :/
After reading some threads and searching for the cause of the problem, well, that thing, i must say that "Reboot of Death" LOL! happened under normal use, stock, unrooted Note2s.
Some threads with the same problem.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1927150&page=2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2040464
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2034323
I tried these stuff (didn't work for me):
Note 2 Toolkit
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1923956
Dr. Ketan's Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1930418
[FIX] Broken cache partition / recovery ( Mobile ODIN, Triangle Away )
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1932327
I guess I need to read more and research more.
If you know where we can find the fix for this kindly help us.
Thanks!
Tried the same things you did and a bit more for example:
- Rescue Firmware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32273406#post32273406
- CWM+Root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1901196
- TWRP
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1938733
Nothing changed. No recovery after flashing any of these only download modus. Still stuck at bootscreen
Tried some other Stock firmwares but i'm still stuck at bootscreen :/
Same thing happened with me aswell. I went again to download mode and flashed CWM first. After flashing CWM i wiped dalvik, cache partition & then data reset. Ofcourse i lost my apps but i had phone & sms backup with me.
Later i flashed a new firmware thru pc odin & everything was fine. The phone started perfectly. Give a try. Hope it works for u aswell.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

...

I was on the FK23 rom for a while, and everything was working perfectly. However, last night, I ran a white noise machine app from my phone while it was on the charger all night.
When I went to unlock the phone this morning, it wouldn't unlock, so I pulled the battery, and it started to bootloop. It would do the Galaxy SII screen, then the Sprint bootup, then it would play the Sprint boot down animation. Over and over.
So I tried flashing FL16 with ODIN, and when I do that, it gets stuck on hidden.img and doesn't do anything. Then I tried flashing EL29 with ODIN, and it gets stuck on recovery.bin and doesn't do anything. I have used multiple PCs and multiple cables. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?! I just want my phone to work T_T
anchor_th said:
I was on the FK23 rom for a while, and everything was working perfectly. However, last night, I ran a white noise machine app from my phone while it was on the charger all night.
When I went to unlock the phone this morning, it wouldn't unlock, so I pulled the battery, and it started to bootloop. It would do the Galaxy SII screen, then the Sprint bootup, then it would play the Sprint boot down animation. Over and over.
So I tried flashing FL16 with ODIN, and when I do that, it gets stuck on hidden.img and doesn't do anything. Then I tried flashing EL29 with ODIN, and it gets stuck on recovery.bin and doesn't do anything. I have used multiple PCs and multiple cables. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?! I just want my phone to work T_T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do a factory restore and wipe then odin one click stock EL29 and start from scratch.
I can't do a factory restore. When I hold Vol up + power, it says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again"
:edited: Didn't see your response to graydiggy
Redownload a complete one click, verify md5 and try putting the phone in download mode and attempting again. It's possible that your download was bad.
so is there nothing I can do?
By technicality, that is not a brick. You should be able to flash from that message. That was the case with the Samsung Captivate.
I downloaded EL29 and verified it again. It is doing the same thing. stuck on recovery.bin
I also tried flashing from that message just now. Same thing. ODIN gets stuck on recovery.bin
thanks for the help but I think it's ****ed. something might have messed up in the filesystem and that's why ODIN gets stuck maybe.
anchor_th said:
I downloaded EL29 and verified it again. It is doing the same thing. stuck on recovery.bin
I also tried flashing from that message just now. Same thing. ODIN gets stuck on recovery.bin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I found a solution by sfhub that worked for someone from a while ago. Try using pc odin to flash each piece seperately. Modem, kernel, then rom..
Here's my ref:
See post #9 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1492771
I'll see if this works. Hopefully it does, I'm ready to toss the thing out of a window, haha
edit: noob question, how do I flash the .md5 files? I downloaded odin multi downloader but the phone doesn't show up in it.
edit 2: okay nevermind I figured it out, it seems to be flashing
edit 3: so modem flashed just fine and the phone rebooted but when I try kernel it loads the green bar all the way on odin then it freezes...
edit 4: so I think my phone's flash memory might be screwed somehow. I've been reading other threads and someone had a similar problem as me and couldn't fix it.
anchor_th said:
I'll see if this works. Hopefully it does, I'm ready to toss the thing out of a window, haha
edit: noob question, how do I flash the .md5 files? I downloaded odin multi downloader but the phone doesn't show up in it.
edit 2: okay nevermind I figured it out, it seems to be flashing
edit 3: so modem flashed just fine and the phone rebooted but when I try kernel it loads the green bar all the way on odin then it freezes...
edit 4: so I think my phone's flash memory might be screwed somehow. I've been reading other threads and someone had a similar problem as me and couldn't fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you flashed all three pieces before trying to let the phone boot completely? Once you flash the first piece and it restarts, Just hold power+vol down and get back into download. Do that until you have all three segments flashed. Then try letting it boot.
I flashed the modem, it worked, then I rebooted back into download. Then I tried flashing kernel and the bar on ODIN filled up but then it froze and did nothing. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and it still did nothing. so I tried skipping that and flashing the rom and the bar on ODIN moved barely then froze. Like I said, I think my phone's flash memory got messed up somehow. :\
anchor_th said:
I flashed the modem, it worked, then I rebooted back into download. Then I tried flashing kernel and the bar on ODIN filled up but then it froze and did nothing. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and it still did nothing. so I tried skipping that and flashing the rom and the bar on ODIN moved barely then froze. Like I said, I think my phone's flash memory got messed up somehow. :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then there may be one more thread that might help if that's the case.
Kernel is only the zimage file. Hang on, let me find it.
:edit: Maybe this will help you. If not, maybe graydiggy or someone else has some ideas.
With this, you'll have to see if you can't flash a custom recovery. From the sound of it, it may not be helpful at all.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1865102
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
Yeah, I don't think there's a way to do that since I can't access ADB...
anchor_th said:
Yeah, I don't think there's a way to do that since I can't access ADB...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-epic-4g-touch-jtag-brick-repair/
I'll try that as a last resort. I'm going to a Sprint store tomorrow and I'll see what they tell me. I just might use all this as an excuse to finally get a Note II.
anchor_th said:
I'll try that as a last resort. I'm going to a Sprint store tomorrow and I'll see what they tell me. I just might use all this as an excuse to finally get a Note II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will probably know you borked it by trying to flash. If they can get to a recovery to see if you have flashed anything, you are screwed.
Do you by chance have a USB Download Mode JIG?
No, I don't. My download count in download mode is at 1, too.... so they probably won't fix it... but I might get lucky. Who knows.
edit: the messed up thing is I don't really know what messed it up. it worked fine for about a month on FK23, then boom, this morning it won't unlock and bootloops when I pull battery. before I tried flashing it, it wouldn't even go into recovery. when I held vol up + power, it just went to the Samsung screen and rebooted over and over
anchor_th said:
No, I don't. My download count in download mode is at 1, too.... so they probably won't fix it... but I might get lucky. Who knows.
edit: the messed up thing is I don't really know what messed it up. it worked fine for about a month on FK23, then boom, this morning it won't unlock and bootloops when I pull battery. before I tried flashing it, it wouldn't even go into recovery. when I held vol up + power, it just went to the Samsung screen and rebooted over and over
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a theory... Give it a couple hours of plug in time without turning it on or trying to flash. Just give it like 3 hours and see if you can flash from there. You may have a battery that is low and it could be resulting in your problem of not being able to flash.
the battery was also on the charger all night... but I'll plug it in. is it charging even though it is on the connect to kies screen?
anchor_th said:
the battery was also on the charger all night... but I'll plug it in. is it charging even though it is on the connect to kies screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just keep it completely powered off and use the normal wall charger.

[Q] S3 soft bricked, won't flash, cant boot into recovery, can't flash. Any help?

(T999, 4.1.2 Stock, 2 Binary counts now)
I've searched around and haven't had much luck with some help with my problem. Maybe someone would be nice enough to guide me to the right place?
Basically I had a root gone bad, and I get the:
"Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies and try again."
Honestly I have not tried the kies route yet, had a bad experience in the past.
I either can't get the button timing right, or it just will Not allow me to boot into recovery mode.
I can get into download mode without Any trouble.
I've referred to this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1949687
Got the stock rom, but wont flash; keeps getting errors. I assumed I would just need that MD5. Would I need another file since I'm trying to hard reset and flash?
I would have given the "Galaxy S3 Toolkit" a try, but it won't eve get past the debugging part, and I can't change that at this time.
I would greatly appreciate all help.
Are you using Odin to flash the firmware? Does it recognize that the device is connected?
What is the output in Odin when it fails?
To boot recovery turn device off.
Hold home, volume up and power.
When you see blue text flash at top of screen, release power only. Continue holding HOME and volume up in till you see recovery start.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk
DocHoliday77 said:
Are you using Odin to flash the firmware? Does it recognize that the device is connected?
What is the output in Odin when it fails?
To boot recovery turn device off.
Hold home, volume up and power.
When you see blue text flash at top of screen, release power only. Continue holding HOME and volume up in till you see recovery start.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your quick reply.
Yes, I am using Odin. And it does recognize it.
Odin does this:
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> T999UVDMD5_T999TMBDMD5_T999UVDMD5_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I closed it off and reopened it, now it gives me neither a pass or fail, but prior to trying to flash I would constantly say fail.
I havent seen any other color but red at the top on my screen, and that says "ODIN MODE" along with the error as stated in my first post when I try to get into recovery.
I've actually held the 3 buttons for up to 40 sec to no avail. The blue words never showed up. It would pop up with the "ODIN MODE" and the error, then the screen would go back to black and would never give any other indications until I let go of the power. Even then it went back to the error.
Maybe jtag can help or bad usb port.
tomy1986.nt said:
Maybe jtag can help or bad usb port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jag may have done the job...
But nah, all of my USBs are in good shape. It was strictly phone trouble..
I went ahead and tried out samsung kies. To my surprise, It allowed me to fix it up. It did a major hard reset and reloaded the current rom.
Lost everything, but no longer bricked.
the usb jig
AjieGFX said:
jag may have done the job...
But nah, all of my USBs are in good shape. It was strictly phone trouble..
I went ahead and tried out samsung kies. To my surprise, It allowed me to fix it up. It did a major hard reset and reloaded the current rom.
Lost everything, but no longer bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont bother replacing the usb port i have the same exact problem cant get the pc to recongnize my phone ... replaced the usb port and yes i have the right drivers installed..
AjieGFX said:
jag may have done the job...
But nah, all of my USBs are in good shape. It was strictly phone trouble..
I went ahead and tried out samsung kies. To my surprise, It allowed me to fix it up. It did a major hard reset and reloaded the current rom.
Lost everything, but no longer bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My kies do not recognise my phone as connected. How can I use Kies to unbrick my phone? I have the same problem!
r.ioannen said:
My kies do not recognise my phone as connected. How can I use Kies to unbrick my phone? I have the same problem!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your phone soft bricked or hard bricked? does it get power?
mine was soft bricked; i could still power it on, i just was Very limited on what I could do.
Is your kies updated?
Resolved
AjieGFX said:
Is your phone soft bricked or hard bricked? does it get power?
mine was soft bricked; i could still power it on, i just was Very limited on what I could do.
Is your kies updated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First I thought it is soft bricked but reading on forums about the same symptoms I understood that the motherboard is finished so I need to change it.
I have tried many attempts with flashing with Odin but nothing. It enters download mode but not recovery.
Odin sees my phone but not kies. I do not think is an update problem.
But I bricked my phone with my wife's laptop and I have tried to restore it back on my own PC. Nothing worked but I read on forums that maybe the PC have a problem reading the phone through the USB port.
I thought is not my case as Odin recognized my phone BUT trying to flash again with Odin from my wife's laptop BINGO! It flashed it on the first attempt and boot normally in to my kit.kat Resurrection Remix Rom!
AjieGFX said:
(T999, 4.1.2 Stock, 2 Binary counts now)
I've searched around and haven't had much luck with some help with my problem. Maybe someone would be nice enough to guide me to the right place?
Basically I had a root gone bad, and I get the:
"Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies and try again."
Honestly I have not tried the kies route yet, had a bad experience in the past.
I either can't get the button timing right, or it just will Not allow me to boot into recovery mode.
I can get into download mode without Any trouble.
I've referred to this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1949687
Got the stock rom, but wont flash; keeps getting errors. I assumed I would just need that MD5. Would I need another file since I'm trying to hard reset and flash?
I would have given the "Galaxy S3 Toolkit" a try, but it won't eve get past the debugging part, and I can't change that at this time.
I would greatly appreciate all help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happen to me as well. All you need to do in flash a custom recovery through Odin, in download mode, like TWRP or clocksWord mod. Once thats done install any rom you want through the recovery, put the rom you want in an external storage like a sd card.
hi did you solve this problem?
DocHoliday77 said:
Are you using Odin to flash the firmware? Does it recognize that the device is connected?
What is the output in Odin when it fails?
To boot recovery turn device off.
Hold home, volume up and power.
When you see blue text flash at top of screen, release power only. Continue holding HOME and volume up in till you see recovery start.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! I wasn't able to get into recovery mode and I started to lose hope, but by following your instructions I managed to get it into recovery. :')
Boot loop on Samsung screen, doesnt load recovery but loads to Download mode atleast
AjieGFX said:
Thanks for your quick reply.
Yes, I am using Odin. And it does recognize it.
Odin does this:
Since I closed it off and reopened it, now it gives me neither a pass or fail, but prior to trying to flash I would constantly say fail.
I havent seen any other color but red at the top on my screen, and that says "ODIN MODE" along with the error as stated in my first post when I try to get into recovery.
I've actually held the 3 buttons for up to 40 sec to no avail. The blue words never showed up. It would pop up with the "ODIN MODE" and the error, then the screen would go back to black and would never give any other indications until I let go of the power. Even then it went back to the error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a very similar problem. I would truly appreciate some guidance here!
Some details of the mobile versions since these differ from the OP.
I use a Samsung GT i9300 International Version, rooted and had flashed Nameless Rom based on Android 5.0.
Flashed TWRP or Philz Touchwiz CWM recovery (I dont really remember now)
The phone worked fine until recently when the battery started behaving bad!
(Small story short : On a vacation, my 1.8 Amp charger broke, and my phone crashed saying "Do a factory reset since the encryption during a restart failed". Forcefully, had to factory reset and my battery has been draining like mad ever since) When on wifi, the rate of draining was faster than the rate of charge on a 1A charger)
I was previously on a Slimkat Rom then.
I decided to flash Nameless Rom to see if the behavior changed.
The Rom was smooth but the charging issue persisted. I decided to buy a 2.1 A charger but one fine morning after an overnight charge, the phone didn't boot up. I assumed that the charge wasn't enough and I let it charge a bit longer. After several attempts, it booted up all of a sudden.
I believe this was a significant warning/indication of something possibly wrong with the ROM but I didnt bother to change it just yet.
Then came the surprise a couple of mornings later. The phone went into a boot loop displaying the WHITE Samsung logo with GT-I9300.
Tried booting into recovery, but it just doesnt load into recovery with Volume Up combination.
However, download mode comes up with Volume Down combination. So I was happy in a way that it wasnt hard bricked just yet!
Read somewhere asking me to flash recovery alone from which i could wipe cache and dalvik and try rebooting - So I downloaded TWRP latest version and flashed, but Odin failed to flash - Got a FAIL message and similar to quoted post after failed attempts.
Tried flashing Philz CWM, but failed again. Also tried flashing the Stock recovery too, but it just didnt pass!
Doesnt flash the recovery in whatever way I tried.
Now, I did read that flashing the stock firmware of GT - I9300 Intl version is the option I have left (approx 900 MB).
Will this flash the stock rom and reset the root?
Is there something that I have missed out on? Or I need to try something else before I try flashing stock firmware?
I need some pointers now guys, help me out!
AjieGFX said:
Thanks for your quick reply.
Yes, I am using Odin. And it does recognize it.
Odin does this:
Since I closed it off and reopened it, now it gives me neither a pass or fail, but prior to trying to flash I would constantly say fail.
I havent seen any other color but red at the top on my screen, and that says "ODIN MODE" along with the error as stated in my first post when I try to get into recovery.
I've actually held the 3 buttons for up to 40 sec to no avail. The blue words never showed up. It would pop up with the "ODIN MODE" and the error, then the screen would go back to black and would never give any other indications until I let go of the power. Even then it went back to the error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eeep i missed something

Cannot install ROM by any means

Was running latest renegade rom and SkyHigh kernel. I woke up sunday morning after my phone having been on the charger, and it only showed 14% charge and powered off. Not needing my phone right away, I had assumed maybe the charger wasn't making the best connection and replugged and let it charge fully. Later, when it was fully charged, I took it off the charger and powered it up to an endless bootloop. Smart Switch and Kies says my device isn't supported.
I have tried reflashing in TWRP to no avail. I tried to ODIN a stock rom to the same results. It gets so far into the restore/install and the phone just reboots to recovery. It seems to me I have a partition gone bad maybe?? I have no idea what else to try here. Please help!!
sparytrainor said:
Was running latest renegade rom and SkyHigh kernel. I woke up sunday morning after my phone having been on the charger, and it only showed 14% charge and powered off. Not needing my phone right away, I had assumed maybe the charger wasn't making the best connection and replugged and let it charge fully. Later, when it was fully charged, I took it off the charger and powered it up to an endless bootloop. Smart Switch and Kies says my device isn't supported.
I have tried reflashing in TWRP to no avail. I tried to ODIN a stock rom to the same results. It gets so far into the restore/install and the phone just reboots to recovery. It seems to me I have a partition gone bad maybe?? I have no idea what else to try here. Please help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check IMEI/MEID in Download Mode, it gives you the option there to see serial/imei/meid, if its all 0's, likely your EFS was damaged or deleted and i would say this is likely the cause of the bootlooping. Had this happen to my personal device, Sprint some how fixed it, but flashing stock firmware via odin etc, didnt fix it for me. Good luck!
I don't see any options in download mode. Just says downloading..
U need to flash a stock kernal using odin then flash stock firmware with odin again ... It will 100% work hit thanks it helps
Sent from my LG-H815 using XDA-Developers mobile app
jinderation said:
U need to flash a stock kernal using odin then flash stock firmware with odin again ... It will 100% work hit thanks it helps
Sent from my LG-H815 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wouldn'y by chance have a link handy would you?? I can't find just the kernel anywhere on here or google.. lol.. or ANYONE for that matter???
sparytrainor said:
You wouldn'y by chance have a link handy would you?? I can't find just the kernel anywhere on here or google.. lol.. or ANYONE for that matter???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a bad partition, flashing the PIT file would mark bad blocks in the bootloader. So it won't try to write to them. All links are in the General section in a nice very organized thread.
elesbb said:
If you have a bad partition, flashing the PIT file would mark bad blocks in the bootloader. So it won't try to write to them. All links are in the General section in a nice very organized thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've tried flashing the pit a little while ago and it does the same thing.. Odin shows successful, but when it installs on the device, it only gets so far, then says deleting (or erasing) and reboots.. I believe Anderd hit the nail on the head, as download mode shows zeros in for imei.. guess I'll be making a call tomorrow and playing around with CDMA workshop.. Not sure what else to do since it's a boost phone and you can't even get a simple card at a boost shop.. Don't really want to send it in..
sparytrainor said:
Yeah, I've tried flashing the pit a little while ago and it does the same thing.. Odin shows successful, but when it installs on the device, it only gets so far, then says deleting (or erasing) and reboots.. I believe Anderd hit the nail on the head, as download mode shows zeros in for imei.. guess I'll be making a call tomorrow and playing around with CDMA workshop.. Not sure what else to do since it's a boost phone and you can't even get a simple card at a boost shop.. Don't really want to send it in..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like a hardware fault then. If it can't flash the PIT file, which doesn't even flash anything, just re-arranges blocks, then there's something hardware related. Especially if you get 0 for IMEI. That's usually a tell tale sign of time for a new device. Lol. They aren't too expensive anymore on Swappa.com. Got mine from there.
You can try flashing this kernel first via odin then flash stock rom
copy paste this in web address
http://wikisend.com/download/257572/SM-G920P--kernel--[17-05-16].zip
---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 AM ----------
if this still doesnt work u can downgrade to 5.11 but flash the stock kernel first via odin
click n download
http://wikisend.com/download/497232/UniKernel_v8-0001-BOH1-920P-091215.tar
and then downgrade firmware, download from below
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347838030
if still stuck in boot loop let the phone drain to 0% in odin mode it would be turned off plug in charger charge it 10% without turning on the device and after the charge 10% reached turn on ur phone let the bootloader load i really dont think u should have any issue now...

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