Stuck in downloadmode, Screen off, tablet won't respond, explanation inside - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So, after flashing the latest firmware from sammobile for the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 with Odin, I am now the not-so-proud owner of a what seems to be unresponsive - working - device.
Let me explain:
I just downloaded the latest firmware from sammobile.
I followed the instructions from sammobile, which basically says normal flash with Odin.
Plugged it in, started Odin, put the file in the right place and started the flash.
Odin does its thing, everything goes well, device is showing me a nice blue dotted bar which is filling up slowly, good.
And then suddenly Odin reports "FAILED" after is was done with /system.
Device has stopped working, blue bar not filling anymore.
I reset Odin with hope to restart the flash, with no result.
The device is not being recognized anymore by USB, and it's now stuck in the "odin mode" screen.
After seeking some advice on IRC I found that the only way to get the power off is to unplug the battery, which is harder that it sounds.
So after a good 30 minutes of carefully prying and making my way around the tablet I managed to get the cover of.
As I'm looking at the naked device and wondering "how the hell do i get this battery out". This is not like a normal phone or laptop or any kind.
I found a couple of little screws, 4 of them, around the battery so I unscrewed these and the battery came 'loose' but was held in place by 2 flat cables which I couldn't remove.
Put them back in, and all of a sudden my tablet's sceen was 'off', but I'm not sure it's really powered off because the powerbutton has no response.
I'm stuck and it the thought of just binning the tablet is frustrating me.
Anybody got any ideas of what this might be and how to fix it?
[edit]
I found out it wasn't powered off, it was just the screen. I could feel the CPU was still emitting heat.
So I unplugged the battery, let it cool down for a couple of minutes, plugged it back in, and now there is nothing.
No screen, no usb recognition, no power.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

You didnt need to take out the battery. Your should have exit download mode by doing power, home, vol down buttons for 30 seconds and it should reboot and you could of tryed again. If that didnt work you could have let it drain. Im not sure about helping with the battery part as i never opened it.

easy fix - check http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50412284&postcount=8
no need for draining the battery. tested and it works. happens once to me, use above method and problem solved.
can use my modded version attached, but, please be aware, it's ONLY FOR RESETTING THE STUCK DOWNLOAD MODE !

DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
You didnt need to take out the battery. Your should have exit download mode by doing power, home, vol down buttons for 30 seconds and it should reboot and you could of tryed again. If that didnt work you could have let it drain. Im not sure about helping with the battery part as i never opened it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that, but didn't work. The tablet was/is unresponsive. Draining wasn't an option, battery was just fully charged.
freaksamael said:
easy fix - check http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50412284&postcount=8
no need for draining the battery. tested and it works. happens once to me, use above method and problem solved.
can use my modded version attached, but, please be aware, it's ONLY FOR RESETTING THE STUCK DOWNLOAD MODE !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this! Am going to try this once my screen works again.
At this point it goes 'on' but the screen doesn't, and there is still no USB recognition so I guess I got a nice expensive paperweight

Related

[Q] help with bricked demo phone

Hey guys im just looking to get pointed in the right direction, i never like asking for handouts but im butfuzzled,
this is what happened, some kid messed up the settings on the phone so i needed to return it to stock. i tried to do a master reset through the settings but it just stayed at the download screen for about 30 min so i decided to hold the power button down and do a hard restart, the phone comes back on and i go through and put the phone back to stock manually, remove all sorts of widgets, bla bla bla.
the phone was good for about a week and half then all of a sudden it just went dead, no lights come on when i charge it, no battery indicator on the screen, its not recognized by usb, it does not charge by usb, it wont go into download mode holding the three buttons down.
things ive done so far, search for about an hour and i still cant figure this out
ive tried doing battery pulls, ive tried downloading kies and odin as well. Ive followed the how to get the phone working with odin but nothing the phone still has a black screen, no lights come on, no nothing.
what is going on with this thing? can someone please help me cause this thing is jacked up and my boss is going to make me pay for it if its broken
Ninosmaxima said:
Hey guys im just looking to get pointed in the right direction, i never like asking for handouts but im butfuzzled,
this is what happened, some kid messed up the settings on the phone so i needed to return it to stock. i tried to do a master reset through the settings but it just stayed at the download screen for about 30 min so i decided to hold the power button down and do a hard restart, the phone comes back on and i go through and put the phone back to stock manually, remove all sorts of widgets, bla bla bla.
the phone was good for about a week and half then all of a sudden it just went dead, no lights come on when i charge it, no battery indicator on the screen, its not recognized by usb, it does not charge by usb, it wont go into download mode holding the three buttons down.
things ive done so far, search for about an hour and i still cant figure this out
ive tried doing battery pulls, ive tried downloading kies and odin as well. Ive followed the how to get the phone working with odin but nothing the phone still has a black screen, no lights come on, no nothing.
what is going on with this thing? can someone please help me cause this thing is jacked up and my boss is going to make me pay for it if its broken
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you are having the same problem I have with my Galaxy S II. Did you or anyone else install any custom roms on the device? If so there are many known issues with this happening and NO solutions as of this far. Try getting a battery that is fully charged and see if the phone will come one with that, if it will then you are not completely stuck but there still is no way to fix it without getting a USB JIG from ebay/amazon etc. to try and get into download mode and restore the stock rom through Odin. hope this helps
Also read this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372823&highlight=USB+-working
Agree with the above post, but the Samsung USB jigs are very inexpensive on eBay, only a few dollars shipped. I have one, and it saved my formerly bricked (no download mode and unresponsive) Galaxy S 4G.

Galxy s2 Vibrating and crashes at loading bar.

So i've looked around and no one that i've seen has the same exact problem as i do. Here's my post in another forums about my problem.
Here's my story about my Galaxy s2 for T-mobile. My phone randomly turned off 2 days and whenever i tried to turn it on, it would restart and basically never get pass the blue loading bar screen. Second, i found out about this boot loop sequence and i was able to do a factory wipe.
After i factory wiped the data etc off the phone, i was able to use it until it ran out of battery, but then after i found out it ran out of battery, it wouldn't let me turn it back on, it wouldn't get pass the loading screen, once again. On the other hand, i am able to go to recovery mode or download mode, but the phone shuts off before i can even try and click on the options i want.
Today, i found out that if i kept pressing power button consecutively on the phone, I'd be able to go to my home screen and basically act as if nothing ever happened, it'd function as a new phone! I then had the nerves of turning off my phone just to make sure it finally works now, but my hopes were crushed and now the pressing the power trick does not even work anymore. It would probably work one out of 10-15 times, and in the end it'd still restart. I am using a gingerbread galaxy s2. My friend tried using the usb jib on my phone, and it worked but whenever he tried to plug in the usb, the phone would just restart. I am extremely frustrated with this, and if you can help, please do so because it's important that i fix this phone. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Hi there, thank you for the welcoming me to the forums. No, my phone is not rooted, it has always been gingerbread etc i never tried rooting because i never knew how:/ I believe this started when i was just browsing around facebook, so i'm not entirely sure what happened... Uhmm i tried going to download mode through the volume keys and power button when it's connected to usb to the i think it's odin3? and it'd be in the download mode but as soon as the computer says it's connected, the phone would just turn off again and bam, it's like nothing ever happened. My phone does charge when it's plugged in, but it doesn't show it's being charged but i remember my battery was dead last night and i charged it till today and now it's got power. ANd no i don't have a warranty:/ i really hope you can help me
Sounds like a faulty power button. Check out Mobiletech video for thier power button repair service.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-t-mobile-power-button-repair/
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Sudden Death Syndrome [Fix?]

Edit: Read second post for possible fix.
"Ugh, look at this idiot/noob posting another SDS thread! SPAMZ! " Now hold on there Mr./Mrs. forum person! Give me a chance, if you will, please! Let's start off with phone specs and all of that jazz.
Phone Specs (hopefully all-inclusive, sorry for unknown info)
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S III SPH-L710
Carrier: Sprint
Mobo: It's 16GB, so probably the one that's known to experience the SDS
ROM: FreeGS3 v3.0.0
Kernel: Ktoonsez (couldn't tell you the version, whatever the ROM came with when selecting "ktoonsezz" as my kernel during installation)
If you need more info, ask for it and I will try to supply it.
The Issue
So, I was sitting here using my phone as a wireless hotspot for my laptop, when I went to check on my phone because a webpage was not loading, when I turned on the screen it showed what I believe was the "critically low battery" pop-up, then the phone turned off in less than a second. First I tried to power the phone on: nothing happened. So, naturally, I grabbed my charger and plugged in my phone. Hopefully others know the screen that pops up when you plug in your GS3 while it is off, that little battery with the spinning circle in it? Well that pops up incredibly briefly, then my screen goes blank and the phone is completely unresponsive. I have tried battery pulls, multiple batteries, getting into download mode, anything and everything (as far as I know).
What to Do?
Do I have the SDS? :crying: Is the only option to take my phone in to a Samsung center and get them to repair it? (I think Samsung is building a GIANT building 5 minutes from my house.) Is there some simple thing I can do I am unaware of?
Thanks in advance //Slit
Miraculous Miracle! (9 steps)
Well I'll be darned (moments after post, of course)! I have a solution that may work for anyone with an identical issue:
1. Let phone sit plugged in to wall for some time (hour or so, 30 minutes is probably fine)
2. Keep phone plugged into wall
3. Have any case you may have and the back removed
4. Pull the battery
5. Have fingers ready on the download mode buttons
6. As soon as the battery is slipped in, press and hold download mode buttons
7. Miracle! (download mode starts)
8. Press down and reboot phone
9. Return to normal, clam, non-panicking state
Is Your Issue Semi-Identical to Mine?
If your phone will show that battery with spinning circle in it or light up the LED very briefly when you plug your phone into the wall, then this fix should work for you if done properly.
Hope this helps someone! //Slit
SlitWeaver said:
Well I'll be darned (moments after post, of course)! I have a solution that may work for anyone with an identical issue:
1. Let phone sit plugged in to wall for some time (hour or so, 30 minutes is probably fine)
2. Keep phone plugged into wall
3. Have any case you may have and the back removed
4. Pull the battery
5. Have fingers ready on the download mode buttons
6. As soon as the battery is slipped in, press and hold download mode buttons
7. Miracle! (download mode starts)
8. Press down and reboot phone
9. Return to normal, clam, non-panicking state
Is Your Issue Semi-Identical to Mine?
If your phone will show that battery with spinning circle in it or light up the LED very briefly when you plug your phone into the wall, then this fix should work for you if done properly.
Hope this helps someone! //Slit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a very similar situation. Was playing around on the phone, and then it just froze, went black and I haven't been able to turn it on since. When plugged in there is no light, unless I don't use a battery then I get a red light for a short while (short while at least on a PC, I haven't tried for an extended period of time when plugged into the wall). PC recognizes it kind of. It recognizes that something is connected, but that is about it. I'm going to give this method a shot, hopefully it works. Just in case though, any other ideas?

[Q] Not quite sudden death - but still a major problem

So I recently installed CM 10.1.2 on my S3, and everything worked perfectly for a few days. Yesterday though, my phone started acting strangely (lag when turning screen off, registering phantom input, etc) and began rebooting every few minutes. At some point, it ran out of battery - and now I can no longer boot past the CM loading wheel screen.
I can't boot to recovery, and I don't think my phone is taking charge (from my computer or a wall outlet), and the farthest I can get is the loading wheel - sometimes it only gets as far as displaying the Samsung logo, or the Galaxy S3 screen with the android dude at the bottom.
I'm still covered under warranty, and would love to take it to the store for a replacement (I've had battery issues prior to this), but the fact that it can get to the CM loading wheel means that they might figure out that I've rooted and whatnot. But I can't get to recovery to flash a stock image, so...what can I do?
vortexface said:
So I recently installed CM 10.1.2 on my S3, and everything worked perfectly for a few days. Yesterday though, my phone started acting strangely (lag when turning screen off, registering phantom input, etc) and began rebooting every few minutes. At some point, it ran out of battery - and now I can no longer boot past the CM loading wheel screen.
I can't boot to recovery, and I don't think my phone is taking charge (from my computer or a wall outlet), and the farthest I can get is the loading wheel - sometimes it only gets as far as displaying the Samsung logo, or the Galaxy S3 screen with the android dude at the bottom.
I'm still covered under warranty, and would love to take it to the store for a replacement (I've had battery issues prior to this), but the fact that it can get to the CM loading wheel means that they might figure out that I've rooted and whatnot. But I can't get to recovery to flash a stock image, so...what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best shot is to either borrow someone's S3 battery or buy a battery pack. Use that to restore your phone back to stock (unroot) and then you can go to the store for replacement.
alltechinside said:
Your best shot is to either borrow someone's S3 battery or buy a battery pack. Use that to restore your phone back to stock (unroot) and then you can go to the store for replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So turns out battery isn't the issue, I used a wall charger to get it to full charge. I can get it to the download mode confirmation screen, and can press volume up to confirm - but my phone reboots soon after that.
Recovery isn't really possible either, I can see the blue text in the upper right but my phone reboots after that as well.
My phone will often show an empty battery icon with a little refresh icon in the middle; does this indicate that it doesn't see the battery as charged (even though it is)?
vortexface said:
So turns out battery isn't the issue, I used a wall charger to get it to full charge. I can get it to the download mode confirmation screen, and can press volume up to confirm - but my phone reboots soon after that.
Recovery isn't really possible either, I can see the blue text in the upper right but my phone reboots after that as well.
My phone will often show an empty battery icon with a little refresh icon in the middle; does this indicate that it doesn't see the battery as charged (even though it is)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone started having the same problem yesterday and I tried my friends battery but it still doesn't work.
mtmodi said:
My phone started having the same problem yesterday and I tried my friends battery but it still doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've been doing some research into the issue...
I've noticed that my phone automatically boots when I put the battery in, and that it'll do a quick vibrate when plugged in to a power source (outlet or computer) but won't turn on.
Apparently the phone isn't supposed to boot automatically when the battery is put in, and this could be the source of the random reboots - I think if I can get the rebooting under control, I'll be able to get into download mode and fix it all. But I'm not sure how to do that. Maybe the power button has gone bad, as it also doesn't usually respond when I try to use it to turn on.
If there is a problem with the power button, does anyone have any ideas on how to fix it?
vortexface said:
Yeah I've been doing some research into the issue...
I've noticed that my phone automatically boots when I put the battery in, and that it'll do a quick vibrate when plugged in to a power source (outlet or computer) but won't turn on.
Apparently the phone isn't supposed to boot automatically when the battery is put in, and this could be the source of the random reboots - I think if I can get the rebooting under control, I'll be able to get into download mode and fix it all. But I'm not sure how to do that. Maybe the power button has gone bad, as it also doesn't usually respond when I try to use it to turn on.
If there is a problem with the power button, does anyone have any ideas on how to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine does the exact same thing where I have to pull the battery and when I put it back in it automatically starts up and when I go to download or recovery it turns off before I can do anything
Sounds like power button issue.
I was having the same issues (random reboots, boot loop, powering on when battery put in, reboots in download mode and recovery)
This is not an easy fix. I ended up pulling the power button out and just setting my screen to time out after 15 seconds. Sucks but it works now.
If I ever need to turn off or hard reboot, I stick a pin in the power button hole and push down on the button.
Really turning me off on purchasing future Samsung phones
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
The power button is a common issue for these phones.

[Q] SM-T700 Froze, Powered off - Soft bricked?

Hey guys,
Appreciate it if you could spare me some advice on how to proceed.
So I was watching a twitch stream and all of the sudden tablet froze, and the audio froze as well causing a large super high pitch noise, I hard-reset the tablet but instead of resetting it just turned off, I started to browse the forums and found that a combination of (POWER + VOL UP & DOWN + HOME) would reset the tablet,now what this did for me is turn the tablet on but it was stuck in SD CARD Mode, back again to the forums, read that letting it discharge fully and then it will be able to be charged and turned on, that worked tablet was back doing some various tasks no video again and then boom freezes again same symptoms except this time I couldn't get it to go to SD CARD Mode its very finicky after trying at various times in the day I finally got it to work, same process except this time as soon as it turned on I went into recovery factory reset it to stock, worked a bit longer this time only installed chrome, and it froze again (don't think it was chrome) , rinse repeat and I flashed the latest firmware with ODIN worked fine, I've gotten to the home screen ran through the "factory new" set up and it turned off of me again.
I plugged it in let it charge, came up with battery icon 5% 10% ect, then I left it for a while, I came back and I cant even get it to show the battery percentage(tap power) let alone turn on.
I'm fairly sure that eventually I can get it turn back on but from there I don't know what to do.
TL;DR - Tablet Froze, Hard Reset, Froze again - Rinse Repeat, ODIN to latest STOCK firmware, tablet worked for 5 min before turning off again (plugged in), present situation
Any ideas as what to be causing the freezing and how I could remedy it?
Also sometimes when it froze it turned itself off without me hard resetting it.
Thanks its been driving me insane,
Please do not hesitate to ask me to clarify or provide more information so I can help you help me.
Maybe youve got the loose battery connector problem?
ashyx said:
Maybe youve got the loose battery connector problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would you suggest I do, submit it to warranty ? Will they disregard the fact that knox has been tripped if its a hardware issue ?
sunb3ar said:
What would you suggest I do, submit it to warranty ? Will they disregard the fact that knox has been tripped if its a hardware issue ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the loose battery connector problem, but the symptoms do not sound the same as mine. I could get mine to boot up, but the screen would flicker and a few white lines would appear before it would reboot itself. I actually started a ticket with Samsung and got the packaging label but, upon further reading, realized that I was pretty much SOL after tripping knox, and didn't want to risk the chance of getting charged for just sending it in. If it is indeed the loose battery connector, you should be able to remove the back cover yourself and fiddle with it. Ultimately, mine needed re-soldering, and I was able to find a local electronic repair shop to do it for me for cheap.
Good luck!
UPDATE: I've managed to get into SDCARD MODE yet again, except discharging seems to get out of it, but once I plug it back in it doesn't come up charging it just black screen, until I hold some buttons and arrive back at sdcard mode. Good times.
Trying various things to get it to boot..
EDIT: Appreciate the insight Squez, I want to exhaust all the other options before opening it myself, if Knox didn't void the warranty to some degree, opening it up should put the final nail in the coffin.
EDIT2: Good news, sort of, tablet isn't dead! after numerous attempts with charge SDCARD mode, discharge, It finally start to charge properly and I managed to get it to boot, worked for a few hours then I left it to charge, and went to sleep, woke up and wont turn on again, but I am in SDCARD Mode again but need wait for it to discharge from presumably 100% ....
[What do you mean Sd card mode? DOWNLOAD mode?
Also no need to let the battery drain.
Just press VOLUME DOWN(not volume up) and POWER together then hold until it restarts.
This is a hard reset and will ALWAYS work unless the device is hard bricked. It is the equivalent of a battery pull.
I continually see here and there incorrect information regarding key combinations, even in so called guides, this forum is even guilty!
Here is what works on the 10.5lte, as far as I'm aware its the same for all versions, indeed pretty much any Samsung device.
HARD RESET:
VOLUME DOWN - POWER.
Hold until the device restarts.
DOWNLOAD MODE:
HOME - VOLUME DOWN - POWER.
Hold until the device boots.
RECOVERY MODE:
HOME - VOLUME UP - POWER.
Hold until the device boots.
ashyx said:
[What do you mean Sd card mode? DOWNLOAD mode?
Also no need to let the battery drain.
Just press VOLUME DOWN(not volume up) and POWER together then hold until it restarts.
This is a hard reset and will ALWAYS work unless the device is hard bricked. It is the equivalent of a battery pull.
I continually see here and there incorrect information regarding key combinations, even in so called guides, this forum is even guilty!
Here is what works on the 10.5lte, as far as I'm aware its the same for all versions, indeed pretty much any Samsung device.
HARD RESET:
VOLUME DOWN - POWER.
Hold until the device restarts.
DOWNLOAD MODE:
HOME - VOLUME DOWN - POWER.
Hold until the device boots.
RECOVERY MODE:
HOME - VOLUME UP - POWER.
Hold until the device boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should of posted a photo earlier but here is one I found on google of same screen: (check attachments)
Except UP KEY and DOWN KEY don't do anything, its just this screen, if you attempt to hard reset ect, it will just reload this screen, hence the discharge, then plug it back in and hope it begins to charge "battery icon appears". I have gotten it to boot like this a few times.
sunb3ar said:
I should of posted a photo earlier but here is one I found on google of same screen: (check attachments)
Except UP KEY and DOWN KEY don't do anything, its just this screen, if you attempt to hard reset ect, it will just reload this screen, hence the discharge, then plug it back in and hope it begins to charge "battery icon appears". I have gotten it to boot like this a few times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wtf
How did you get to that mode? Looks like its trying to flash from the sd card. Ive seen safe mode but not that.
see here: http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/10127092-post62.html
ashyx said:
Wtf
How did you get to that mode? Looks like its trying to flash from the sd card. Ive seen safe mode but not that.
see here: #
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah its strange as.
I'll have a look at that, thanks.
EDIT: It just finished discharging and now I am on the battery screen.. Usually once it charges here I can get it to boot, what I'm curious is what on earth keeps causing it to freeze up, because in download mode and twrp (gone since i flashed stock via odin) it wouldn't freeze at all, only have issues with it once its booted or charging. I installed a logcat earlier hopefully that should shed some light on the situation,
EDIT2: Well another very interesting thing, the official Samsung charger wont charge it, only works if I plug it into pc or use a non-official charger, strange thing is nothing is wrong with the samsung charger or cable since I can charge my phone fully from it. These have to be some of the strangest symptoms.
EDIT3: Only works through USB port on PC for now, non official charger comes with red X on battery once booted. I assume you can work around this once rooted but that's for another time..
EDIT4: Charge through pc to around 2-3%, boot device, plug into official samsung wall charger and it begins to charge properly.
EDIT5: Hooray back to step one, trying get into SDCARD Mode, same thing happened left it overnight and it wont turn on or charge anymore.
ashyx said:
Wtf
How did you get to that mode? Looks like its trying to flash from the sd card. Ive seen safe mode but not that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am pretty sure the HOME - VOLUME DOWN - POWER. puts the 10.5 into the sdcard mode.
my tablet is doing very similar to sunb3ar findings.
have had it come back to me once from sdcardmode.. (let if go flat and starting charging then it would start via normal buttons)
it crashed not long after that. it got stuck in sdcard mode again, but this time none of the drain flat, put on charge has worked.. just blank..
fyi- we try to put it in RECOVERY MODE, but it does not work when in this crashed / sdcard mode state
i even disconnected the battery and then plugged back on charge.. nothing..
today i tested the battery volts, 2.8v , for a 3.8v i thought that was ok. i attached my RC lipo multi charger set to 1amp 3.7volt charge, direct to the - + on the battery- got it up to 3.5v, plugged back in, put the charger on- the sdcard mode (most life it has shown in a week).
still not coming up with 'battery' display to say its 'turn-off and being charged'. just the sdcardmode might disappear and return..
i am currently adding mode charge to battery... will try to HARD RESET next.. since i have not tried that combo yet..
HARD RESET:
VOLUME DOWN - POWER.
Hold until the device restarts.
edit: i took it off 'direct' charge, battery at 3.7volts.. then plugged in normal charger, i got a 'battery symbol' but it had the lightening bolt, not a %.. so i unplugged and reconnected to my direct charge to give the battery more volts. i am surprised that the unit seems to think a battery with 3.8volt as it specs seems to not be like with volts not much lower than 3.8.. could be time for a new battery if we can get this thing to restart

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