Note 10+ stuck at watchdog reset - Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ Questions & Answers

Hi all. I am baffled as to what happened to my phone. It has no mods and is running stock android 11. It was absolutely fine, not having any issues at all, and I realized I hadn't rebooted it in a few weeks. So, I did a plain old restart.
And it died.
It won't do anything no matter how long I hold the power button down. The battery is fully charged.
Tried to get to the recovery screen by holding down volume up and power, which did nothing. Then I tried vol down and power and got a screen I've not seen before: SS RDX Watchdog Reset.
And here I am stuck. I plugged in a usb cable to my laptop and now there's a device connected on my laptop called msm_upload which I can only see from the windows Bluetooth and other devices panel.
I have no idea what to do from here and I'm desperate.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

did you see this
https://www.reddit.com/r/galaxynote10/comments/k6c4l5

raul6 said:
did you see this
https://www.reddit.com/r/galaxynote10/comments/k6c4l5
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Click to collapse
Yes I saw that. If you read the thread, the solution was to "play around with the buttons and it will eventually work." LOL.

mellie815 said:
Yes I saw that. If you read the thread, the solution was to "play around with the buttons and it will eventually work." LOL.
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Click to collapse
yes. i thought if it is software issue than it might be timing issues with pressing correct keys combo. possibly wishful thinking. i assume you've seen one other thread on xda with similar issue with no direct resolution. Still try smart switch

raul6 said:
yes. i thought if it is software issue than it might be timing issues with pressing correct keys combo. possibly wishful thinking. i assume you've seen one other thread on xda with similar issue with no direct resolution. Still try smart switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never used smart switch before. If my pc doesn't see the phone, how would that work? My phone doesn't show up in my laptop except as a Bluetooth device called msm_upload that I can't figure out how to interact with? I guess I'll need to install smart switch on the laptop and hopefully it will see the device?

mellie815 said:
I've never used smart switch before. If my pc doesn't see the phone, how would that work? My phone doesn't show up in my laptop except as a Bluetooth device called msm_upload that I can't figure out how to interact with? I guess I'll need to install smart switch on the laptop and hopefully it will see the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true and who knows it might work. essentially trying anything to see if it will somehow make a difference. fingers crossed

Watchdog
Very strange.
Sort of sounds like it's bricked.
Play with new firmware/software, win new prizes. I could go on...
You need to navigate to the boot menu somehow. Keep playing with the buttons; sequence and ***timing*** is everything.
If you can drain the battery until it auto shutdown that might get it... much latter.
Disconnect the battery and force a hard reboot.
Otherwise it's repair shop time.

blackhawk said:
Watchdog
Very strange.
Sort of sounds like it's bricked.
Play with new firmware/software, win new prizes. I could go on...
You need to navigate to the boot menu somehow. Keep playing with the buttons; sequence and ***timing*** is everything.
If you can drain the battery until it auto shutdown that might get it... much latter.
Disconnect the battery and force a hard reboot.
Otherwise it's repair shop time.
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Click to collapse
I went to a repair shop out of desperation. Had to drive over an hour to get to it as I live in the country, and he basically said it's dead. The fun part is, I called my warranty co and of course, they aren't honoring the warranty because "they don't insure phones that cost over $999" which mine did when I got it. But of course, there was nothing that said they didn't cover my phone, which is why I bought their lease/warranty plan.
So, basically, I have a brick that I owe $591 on yet, and they couldn't care less. At this point, I am willing to try anything at all because I have no other options. I already filed a BBB report against them after spending over an hour on the phone with them to no avail.
Any ideas at all would be very helpful at this point.

Also, I CAN still get to that SS RDX Watchdog Reset screen and it will scan an SD card (because I tried it). The problem is, I cannot for my life find a stock Note 10+ ROM anywhere that I can actually download. Wondering if I should just try to throw a custom ROM on it instead? It's obviously not going anywhere otherwise.

mellie815 said:
Also, I CAN still get to that SS RDX Watchdog Reset screen and it will scan an SD card (because I tried it). The problem is, I cannot for my life find a stock Note 10+ ROM anywhere that I can actually download. Wondering if I should just try to throw a custom ROM on it instead? It's obviously not going anywhere otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a stock rom for it, obviously.
If you can degrade to 10, do so.
The boot loader version will dictate if you can or can't.
I'm not experienced enough to advise you on this but that's what might be needed.
Again play with the button sequence/timing and try to get into the boot menu.
Just a slight difference in timing or the wrong sequence and it won't go to the boot menu.
It's not likely but possible the buttons were remapped.
Try taking out the Sim and SD card.
My guess is you can get it to go to the boot menu but until today I never heard of this happening.
A apk timed out because of not rebooting for so long? Don't do that again... at least reboot every couple days.
Malware is another possibility.
Last resort talk/send to Samsung.
Play with it... Androids wuv attention.

I'm having a RIDICULOUS time trying to find a clean copy of stock ROM for my Note. Every single one I've found either ends in a dead link or I download it and it ends up being corrupt. This is no small feat as I live in the middle of nowhere and the only ISP is Hughesnet, which is neither fast, nor unlimited. It literally took me 4 hours to download a 5gb alleged stock ROM only to have it be corrupt.
Isn't there anywhere to get a clean copy of stock??? I see a lot of mods here in XDA, but as far as regular stock SM-N975UI, either I'm totally missing something or there isn't one here.
Can someone please help me find one that is clean? SamMobile's download is limited to 15kbps for non paying members and their copy has been downloading literally since yesterday and is only at 900mb. Living in the country has its perks, but high speed internet isn't one of them. Nothing worse than checking on a download that was running all night to see it say it still has 2 days to go.

mellie815 said:
I'm having a RIDICULOUS time trying to find a clean copy of stock ROM for my Note. Every single one I've found either ends in a dead link or I download it and it ends up being corrupt. This is no small feat as I live in the middle of nowhere and the only ISP is Hughesnet, which is neither fast, nor unlimited. It literally took me 4 hours to download a 5gb alleged stock ROM only to have it be corrupt.
Isn't there anywhere to get a clean copy of stock??? I see a lot of mods here in XDA, but as far as regular stock SM-N975UI, either I'm totally missing something or there isn't one here.
Can someone please help me find one that is clean? SamMobile's download is limited to 15kbps for non paying members and their copy has been downloading literally since yesterday and is only at 900mb. Living in the country has its perks, but high speed internet isn't one of them. Nothing worse than checking on a download that was running all night to see it say it still has 2 days to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need a much faster connection; that slow, that much data, the download has a great chance of being corrupted.
Maybe have a 3rd party download it and send it to you by mail etc. Samsung could... if you could harang them into doing so.

blackhawk said:
You'll need a much faster connection; that slow, that much data, the download has a great chance of being corrupted.
Maybe have a 3rd party download it and send it to you by mail etc. Samsung could... if you could harang them into doing so.
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Click to collapse
According to the authorized service center I visited yesterday, they don't even have access from Samsung. They are directed to send the phone directly to Samsung, which just floors me. I asked the tech if he could at least flash stock and see if we could get it to load, since I definitely can get to the SD card from Watchdog and it will read it. His reply was nope. I called 2 other repair shops since I was in the city already and got the same story.
Back in the day, rooting Android 4 was easier than this! Do you know of any reputable sites for stock roms? SamMobile is definitely out. And many I've gone to will list my stock, but when you follow the links, the file is no longer available. This feels like a bad X files episode at this point. LOL.

mellie815 said:
According to the authorized service center I visited yesterday, they don't even have access from Samsung. They are directed to send the phone directly to Samsung, which just floors me. I asked the tech if he could at least flash stock and see if we could get it to load, since I definitely can get to the SD card from Watchdog and it will read it. His reply was nope. I called 2 other repair shops since I was in the city already and got the same story.
Back in the day, rooting Android 4 was easier than this! Do you know of any reputable sites for stock roms? SamMobile is definitely out. And many I've gone to will list my stock, but when you follow the links, the file is no longer available. This feels like a bad X files episode at this point. LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talk, write to Samsung and lean on them.
You'll probably end up sending it in. Take detailed pictures of the phone before boxing it and as boxing it. Double box it and pack/seal it well. Insure the package!
Fight with Samsung if they try to charge you more than $50. Expect trouble... Samsung's tech support is one of the worst on this planet.

Finding stock ROM should not be that difficult, by browsing through the forum, Guides, News & Discussions:
Links to US-firmwares: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/n975u-and-n975u1-firmware-links-here.3957648/
Following thread describes how to download FW using Frija and flashing using Odin: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-25-feb-21-galaxy-note10-sm-n975f-ds.3957812/

There's a YouTube video...,
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DQe94cBd_fSc&ved=2ahU
He shows you how to fix it. Has FB page "How to Solution"
Check it out

mellie815 said:
According to the authorized service center I visited yesterday, they don't even have access from Samsung. They are directed to send the phone directly to Samsung, which just floors me. I asked the tech if he could at least flash stock and see if we could get it to load, since I definitely can get to the SD card from Watchdog and it will read it. His reply was nope. I called 2 other repair shops since I was in the city already and got the same story.
Back in the day, rooting Android 4 was easier than this! Do you know of any reputable sites for stock roms? SamMobile is definitely out. And many I've gone to will list my stock, but when you follow the links, the file is no longer available. This feels like a bad X files episode at this point. LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever get this fixed?

I have similar problem. N975u1 stuck in SS Rdx unknown mode. No way to gt to recovery or bootloader

mellie815 said:
I went to a repair shop out of desperation. Had to drive over an hour to get to it as I live in the country, and he basically said it's dead. The fun part is, I called my warranty co and of course, they aren't honoring the warranty because "they don't insure phones that cost over $999" which mine did when I got it. But of course, there was nothing that said they didn't cover my phone, which is why I bought their lease/warranty plan.
So, basically, I have a brick that I owe $591 on yet, and they couldn't care less. At this point, I am willing to try anything at all because I have no other options. I already filed a BBB report against them after spending over an hour on the phone with them to no avail.
Any ideas at all would be very helpful at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
File a complaint with your state attorney general's office.
Against the warranty company and especially the carrier.
Lean on the carrier, verbal breach of contract because the warranty company refused to repair it.
I'd stiff the carrier out of principle. It's likely they wouldn't bother to take it to small claims court.
Before you do that though lean on them like a cheap suit, call, call, call. Talk to their retainment group. Don't give them a moments peace. One time I called Verizon close to 30 times in a week before they finally issues a full credit over a Direct TV breach of contract. If I was you I be seeing red...

Related

Wrong Rom: A Cautionary Tale

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

[Q] Is my Galaxy S3 i747 seriously hard bricked?

(NOTE THAT I AM ONLY EXPLAINING IN *DETAIL SO THAT SOMEONE MAY BE ABLE TO CORRECTLY ANALYZE THE PROBLEM)
Okay, so I got my new AT&T Samsung Galaxy S III less than a month ago.
My friend helped me in the past few days to root and install cyanogenmod 10. Everything was still fine, until I did something in some kind of pixel density changing app. When rebooting, it only showed the Samsung and Samsung Galaxy S III screens when booting up, but went no further. I wiped everything and restored the last backup I made (advanced restore). Everything ran fine again, with all the original factory stuff. I decided to try and see if I could reinstall cm10 (wiped everything, installed zip, rebooted), and it was successful. Then I decided I wanted to wipe that and try out Energy HD 2.0. Once trying to install the zip, it returned an error message and aborted. I then decided to scrap that idea and just go back to the original factory rom and everything. So I once again wiped and restored my last backup. Upon hitting Reboot, it just went black and didn't turn on again. Now I am completely unable to turn it on, charge it, go into cwm recovery, or download mode. Plugging into the computer just pops a driver install message for QHSUSB_LOAD. Never has anything, even the LED, so much as blinked.
Can somebody please help me? I just would like to know if there is a way to get it working. I'd be very grateful, thanks!
*detail, meaning just what I was doing, as I do not remember exact error codes and such.
Try reflashing. What stock image are you using?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
kinghorsey said:
Try reflashing. What stock image are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it even possible to re-flash a recovery image (from Odin3) when the device cannot enter download mode?
I think it may have been CWM Recovery v5.0.4.2 or something that I originally installed/flashed (can't check right now though, because I was kicked off my computer). Then it had upgraded to v6.something later on my phone.
((Sent from my stupid old iPhone 3Gs))
Look into jtag service
sent from outside ur window
twanskys204 said:
Look into jtag service
sent from outside ur window
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, okay. I just don't want to spend $60 at this very moment.
Sent from omygoshwhatthehellareyoudoingoutthere
stupid iPhone
Ascyndaeon said:
Haha, okay. I just don't want to spend $60 at this very moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I would say your bootloader is messed up and the only way to breath life back into your phone is jtag repairs. I had a problem identicle to yours and I searched the net for a week solid trying to figure out how to fix it without having to fork over the money.. but alas had to send it. Luckily the guy who provides the repairs is amazing at what he does. Phone will be back in your hands within a few days if you're from the states.
fallenkirmit said:
Yeah I would say your bootloader is messed up and the only way to breath life back into your phone is jtag repairs. I had a problem identicle to yours and I searched the net for a week solid trying to figure out how to fix it without having to fork over the money.. but alas had to send it. Luckily the guy who provides the repairs is amazing at what he does. Phone will be back in your hands within a few days if you're from the states.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, okay. I wonder then why only JTAG Repairs knows how to fix this stuff, and the information isn't widely available.
And so if I do send it to jtag, then I guess I'll be getting it back within a few days, 'cause I live in the US.
Thanks for your input.
Ascyndaeon said:
Hmm, okay. I wonder then why only JTAG Repairs knows how to fix this stuff, and the information isn't widely available.
And so if I do send it to jtag, then I guess I'll be getting it back within a few days, 'cause I live in the US.
Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there is a way for you to do the jtag repairs yourself... but i wouldn't touch the process with a 10 foot pole lol... I would rather let a pro do things like that... just youtube jtag repair and take a look at some of the process.... way beyond my comprehension atleast..
fallenkirmit said:
Well there is a way for you to do the jtag repairs yourself... but i wouldn't touch the process with a 10 foot pole lol... I would rather let a pro do things like that... just youtube jtag repair and take a look at some of the process.... way beyond my comprehension atleast..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I suppose you're right. Not to mention expensive. That equipment probably costs more than having them fix it. Though it would probably be worth it of you bricked it on a regular basis.

Potential Brick, Unsure How To Proceed

Hello all.
I am an HTC guy through and through and have never owned a Samsung device. I'm familiar with HTC's S-OFF/HBOOT/bootloader stuff, but I'm not really all that clear on how it works for Samsung devices. I promise I've tried to do some reading before hand before coming to you, including looking at other threads, but they don't seem to be the issue I'm having.
I'm trying to help a friend out who has an AT&T GS3 that I unlocked for him and put an AOSP ROM on it a few months ago (don't worry, I made damn sure it was the AT&T version and no other carrier/international ROM).
He came to me today telling me that his phone suddenly turned off, and was not turning on again. I figure it's probably just a corrupted partition, something that I could fix with a reflash or something like that.
However, when I look at it, it seems to be something potentially worse. The phone did nothing with the battery in, so I took it out and put it back in. The phone very briefly vibrates, the Samsung logo shows for about 1.5 - 2 seconds at most, and then the screen goes dark.
When I try to enter Download Mode, I'm able to get to the custom software "warning" page, where I press Volume Up, and it shows me Download Mode and "Waiting" (as I expect it to) but then the screen just goes black again after about a second or two.
It's roughly the same with Recovery Mode, I can catch a glimpse of what looks like CWM (but I'm not entirely sure) and then the screen goes black.
If I choose to forgo the battery altogether, and I plug it in straight to the wall, the red LED on the top right lights up for again maybe 3 - 4 seconds at most, the light goes away, and the phone briefly vibrates, shows me the Samsung logo, and then goes dark.
I'm confused. I don't know if it's a brick, but then again, to me as an HTC user, "brick" means Qualcomm USB Download mode. I've also read about this infamous Samsung Sudden Death Syndrome that struck some of the 16 GB models that Samsung sold (and yes, you guessed it, this is the white 16GB model).
I don't really know what other troubleshooting options there are (but as I said before, I'm an HTC guy). If any of you have any sort of advice I would love to hear it.
Thank you for your time.
I've seen several users on here in the last few months with this issue. I worked with one of them for awhile trying to get it straightened out but couldn't resolve the problem. Some of that was due to the nature of the problem and some was probably due to the fact I didn't have the phone in my hands to help the new user better. I believe the user was able to get an exchange at an at&t service center. Sorry I can't offer more assistance. Keep us posted if you get a fix.
xBeerdroiDx said:
I've seen several users on here in the last few months with this issue. I worked with one of them for awhile trying to get it straightened out but couldn't resolve the problem. Some of that was due to the nature of the problem and some was probably due to the fact I didn't have the phone in my hands to help the new user better. I believe the user was able to get an exchange at an at&t service center. Sorry I can't offer more assistance. Keep us posted if you get a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate you trying. I know it's such an odd issue that it's really hard to diagnose. I thought perhaps it might have to do with the battery somehow being "bad", but then the problem would be gone when I go AC only.
He's not against the idea of going to AT&T, but I feel bad; I convinced him to unlock and let me flash a new ROM so I feel that I should at least put in a good effort to make sure there's nothing more I can do.
Yeah, the biggest problem is that once you get into recovery or download mode, the device reboots/loops. This eliminates the possibility of any kind of flashing or wiping.
You might have a bad motherboard. If I was you I'd take it to att for a replacement. BTW if he doesn't have insurance for the phone they do have open enrollment , I'd wait a day or two after enrolling to submit a claim.
Wish you the best.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
LiquidSolstice said:
I appreciate you trying. I know it's such an odd issue that it's really hard to diagnose. I thought perhaps it might have to do with the battery somehow being "bad", but then the problem would be gone when I go AC only.
He's not against the idea of going to AT&T, but I feel bad; I convinced him to unlock and let me flash a new ROM so I feel that I should at least put in a good effort to make sure there's nothing more I can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a realllly long shot but he could contact mobile tech videos and tell them his issue and see if a jtag repair would help. If it's hardware of course he is out of luck but it's worth a shot and a lot cheaper.

Severe brightness issue (screen largely unusable)

Hi all, I have a problem with my stock T-Mobile US S9. A few months ago this weird thing happened where if I turned on my screen immediately after it turned itself off, only the top few lines would be visible. The whole screen would take input, but you could only see a little below the status bar, maybe. If I waited a bit and then turned the screen on, it would work normally, with the whole screen visible and looking fine.
It's gotten progressively worse to the point where this happens most of the time I turn the screen on. However, I've found two workarounds:
1) My Always On Display is set to turn on when I tap the phone. If I do that, the AOD works as normal, and if I then turn on the phone screen the phone screen works fine. This only works when Always on display is set to turn on on tap. It does not work if AOD is set to always be on.
2) If, when my screen is glitching out I hold the screen up to a reeaally bright light (like inches from a lightbulb), the rest of the screen turns on. It's weirdly green tinted and kind of stuttery.
Turning off automatic brightness does not fix this issue. If tried booting in safe mode and even factory resetting the phone. Issue still persists, including on screens like when the phone enters recovery mode.
The fact that I can get the screen working normally using workaround #1 makes me think this is a software issue, but the fact that it happens on the recovery screen makes me think it's pretty low-level. Any ideas? Anyone else had a similar issue?
I gave Samsung tech support a call and the level 1 tech I spoke with seemed to think that it was a software issue and that I should bring it in to be looked at by a technician. I'm in Maine at the moment and there's no Samsung or UBreakIFix stores within two hours, so she suggested taking it to Best Buy to look at. Not amazingly helpful or surprising.
If it's a software issue though... I mean this is my fourth Android phone and I've rooted and flashed ROMs on all the previous phones anyway. I don't want to lose Samsung Pay, so I'd rather not unlock the bootloader, but is there a way to flash the stock operating system or something? The exact model number is SM-G960U
It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
*make sure all system apks are running on factory load and have not been updated after the reload.
Updates, destroyers of worlds...
blackhawk said:
It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.
jptiger said:
If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.
blackhawk said:
If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.
jptiger said:
That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In that case you have nothing to lose by reflashing it. Hopefully that gets it.
Otherwise it be hardware... probably a good chance this actually the cause.
The good news is the 9's are available for a couple hundred in good condition if need be.
I was considering getting the 9 as a second phone (have the 10+) as the 10+'s haven't come down much in price.
Samsung current lineup sucks.
Huh. Well, before reflashing, I tried something I found other people suggesting for a related problem: https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5...t-bars-black-screen-issue/td-p/1745470/page/7
It's an app called OLED Saver. It's not perfect, the screen still has an odd green tint to it unless I use one of the tricks I was describing above. But I no longer have the issue where most of the screen isn't visible.
I might try reflashing anyway, will post results if I do.
Yeah, no joy. Reflashed by downloading the latest firmware using Frija for SM-G960U with TMB as the CSC, and flashed using Odin v3.13.3. If anything the problem is slightly worse now, but OLED Saver still mostly seems to fix it. I guess it's just a hardware issue with a weird software workaround...
Same type of brightness problem here as you describe, on my new S9 (G960U) - - Model starqltesq - CSS XAA
The product is under guarantee, but as it is imported from Hongkong to France, I don't have accesss to the Samsung local representatives and have probably to send it back to Hongkong ...
I will keep you updated if I learn something about the problem and the solution ....
Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.
Bhonka said:
Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable animations instead. It wastes resources. Personally I like seeing a fast, snappy OS do it's thing with no middle man needed. Lol, you end up waiting for the animations rather than the OS.
I've heard of people flashing custom roms and that resolved the issue permenetly, but can't find anyone willing to give some real feedback. I posted a topic asking this question, but haven't gotten any replies..
Not very helpful, but a work around could be to use Screen Filter
I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.
Eve&Me said:
I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?
Some people noticed that problem after upgrade Android 9 to 10.
At this moment we have some facts:
1) OLED saver temporary solves problem
2) disconnect NFC module solves problem, some people on xda and on the yt confirm that
3) heating back cover using heat gun can help - I Discovered that some weeks ago
Interesting comment from the yt:
Sour Words
Sorry to say this, but green screen issue is a hardware fault not something an update can fix. One of the updates from Samsung is causing the CPU to over heat and in return permanently damaging the oled screen. Not only that but also compromising the battery as well. The only fix is the replacement of both the oled screen and battery. This repair is entirely the fault of Samsung due to a faulty update that over works the CPU capacity. Therefore my advice is for you to return your device back to Samsung and lodge an assessment request. They charge a small fee for the assessment, but the entire repair should be compensated by Samsung. Be firm and keep the pressure via emailing them to insist on Samsung covering the repair costs. My Note 9 is almost 3 years old when green screen issue happened. They fixed the entire thing free of charge. But I kept firm and didn't let them bully me into charging me for the repairs, which was their fault in the first place. I must admit, my phone despite its age, is in perfect condition. Not a scratch on it. Which I know contributed winning my argument for the repairs. So if you have psychical damage, I doubt you will have a chance. Good luck to all who will give this successful method a go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mreminemfan4ewver said:
Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When we disassembly NFC Module, the phone will give LOW TEMPERATURE warning. And make us cant charge the phone

Question *Urgent Help* Bricked Pixel 6 Pro

I'm kinda screwed here and I really really need some help.
So I basically rooted my Pixel 6 Pro just out of boredom and wanted to tweak some stuff with the rooted version. In the end, I decided that it wasn't worth rooting as most things i can do i could already do on stock like customization and other things. Anyway long story short I've tried to Use the google flash recovery tool I wasn't looking where i was clicking and ended up flashing 12 by accident It *Was on 13 at the time* had it got near to the end but it kept booting me to this one section called "fastbootd" I hit factory reset and from there it done the reset and now the phone no longer starts or doesn't even displays the charging percentage.
I've plugged it into a computer nothing pops up no noise from my computer to say it has connected.
I've also tried to use power + down for 30 seconds - didn't do nothing.
Has anyone got out of this issue? Is this a Hard Brick?
I've plugged it into a charger and will see what happens tomorrow. I genuinely think its the battery has fully drained.
Cause I've ran out of ideas to try things and I need your expertise on this guys.
Your help will really be appreciated.
Tombo12 said:
I'm kinda screwed here and I really really need some help.
So I basically rooted my Pixel 6 Pro just out of boredom and wanted to tweak some stuff with the rooted version. In the end, I decided that it wasn't worth rooting as most things i can do i could already do on stock like customization and other things. Anyway long story short I've tried to Use the google flash recovery tool I wasn't looking where i was clicking and ended up flashing 12 by accident It *Was on 13 at the time* had it got near to the end but it kept booting me to this one section called "fastbootd" I hit factory reset and from there it done the reset and now the phone no longer starts or doesn't even displays the charging percentage.
I've plugged it into a computer nothing pops up no noise from my computer to say it has connected.
I've also tried to use power + down for 30 seconds - didn't do nothing.
Has anyone got out of this issue? Is this a Hard Brick?
I've plugged it into a charger and will see what happens tomorrow. I genuinely think its the battery has fully drained.
Cause I've ran out of ideas to try things and I need your expertise on this guys.
Your help will really be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you didn't flash, at the minimum , the A13 bootloader to both slots or sideload the OTA after updating to A13 before doing this? If not, sounds like your device may have reverted to the A12 slot and ended up a brick due to the new ARB/eFuse shenanigans. The symptoms you describe are what happens when this occurs.
Luckily, it sounds like Google has been good at replacing devices that have encountered this so I would RMA it.
Lughnasadh said:
I assume you didn't flash, at the minimum , the A13 bootloader to both slots or sideload the OTA after updating to A13 before doing this? If not, sounds like your device may have reverted to the A12 slot and ended up a brick due to the new ARB/eFuse shenanigans. The symptoms you describe are what happens when this occurs.
Luckily, it sounds like Google has been good at replacing devices that have encountered this so I would RMA it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh I'm from the UK. I only got the phone just a month ago too and now this has happened. I checked on the their Uk site i can take it to a local mobile carrier and they've stated that they will do the repair next day. I might just do that tomorrow if not then I'll speak to Google.
Tombo12 said:
Ahhh I'm from the UK. I only got the phone just a month ago too and now this has happened. I checked on the their Uk site i can take it to a local mobile carrier and they've stated that they will do the repair next day. I might just do that tomorrow if not then I'll speak to Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck! Let us know how things go.
roirraW edor ehT said:
Good luck! Let us know how things go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some News for everyone!
So I spoke to Google and they was fine about it phone not working went through some troubleshooting tricks neither of the options worked. The rep on the phone gave me two options Send it into Google for a repair and they'll send me over a replacement 6 Pro whilst its being worked on. If they can't fix it they'll let me keep the phone but if all is well with the phone then I'll need to return it back otherwise I'll get charged for it.
The second option is sending it in for a repair at a local authorized repair center. Luckily there is one 10-15 minutes away from me but the annoying thing is all bookings are available during my working hours but the place has 5* reviews and can get the phone repaired within the same day.
So I might just go for my second option tbh seems alot more convenient and less hassle of having to send a phone away to Google and wait 10 days for a repair which can be done within a day by a repair center that is less than 10 mins away from me and has all parts available to hand out.
Btw the repair center near me is called Ismash. There's one nearby me in London.
Awesome news! There are at least a handful of other users who have reported getting bricked since Android 13 came out August 15th, and I believe all of them reported good news from Google for repairs, but I don't have any idea if any of them were in the UK, so glad it's going to work out there too.
Tombo12 said:
Some News for everyone!
So I spoke to Google and they was fine about it phone not working went through some troubleshooting tricks neither of the options worked. The rep on the phone gave me two options Send it into Google for a repair and they'll send me over a replacement 6 Pro whilst its being worked on. If they can't fix it they'll let me keep the phone but if all is well with the phone then I'll need to return it back otherwise I'll get charged for it.
The second option is sending it in for a repair at a local authorized repair center. Luckily there is one 10-15 minutes away from me but the annoying thing is all bookings are available during my working hours but the place has 5* reviews and can get the phone repaired within the same day.
So I might just go for my second option tbh seems alot more convenient and less hassle of having to send a phone away to Google and wait 10 days for a repair which can be done within a day by a repair center that is less than 10 mins away from me and has all parts available to hand out.
Btw the repair center near me is called Ismash. There's one nearby me in London.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great to hear! If you end up taking it to the repair shop, please let us know what repairs they did (I'm guessing replacing the motherboard) and what they said was wrong with it (e.g. If it was an eFuse problem). Thanks and good luck!
Lughnasadh said:
Great to hear! If you end up taking it to the repair shop, please let us know what repairs they did (I'm guessing replacing the motherboard) and what they said was wrong with it (e.g. If it was an eFuse problem). Thanks and good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am also very curious if it actually needs a motherplace replacement or simply a reflash using a JTAG (or similar specialized tool) to get it out of the bricked state.
Tombo12 said:
I'm kinda screwed here and I really really need some help.
So I basically rooted my Pixel 6 Pro just out of boredom and wanted to tweak some stuff with the rooted version. In the end, I decided that it wasn't worth rooting as most things i can do i could already do on stock like customization and other things. Anyway long story short I've tried to Use the google flash recovery tool I wasn't looking where i was clicking and ended up flashing 12 by accident It *Was on 13 at the time* had it got near to the end but it kept booting me to this one section called "fastbootd" I hit factory reset and from there it done the reset and now the phone no longer starts or doesn't even displays the charging percentage.
I've plugged it into a computer nothing pops up no noise from my computer to say it has connected.
I've also tried to use power + down for 30 seconds - didn't do nothing.
Has anyone got out of this issue? Is this a Hard Brick?
I've plugged it into a charger and will see what happens tomorrow. I genuinely think its the battery has fully drained.
Cause I've ran out of ideas to try things and I need your expertise on this guys.
Your help will really be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 6 pro did this last weekend, when I was rooted I decided to flash a file to change the font and I missed the part it would work on 13 as long I deleted a certain file for the lock screen, it boot looped a few times, apparently it tried to load from slot B where android 12 was still flashed, and it hard bricked, no button combo would work, completely bricked, it was fully charged when this happen, so I RMA`d with google and my old device is suppsoed to be delivered to Texas today, then hopefully tomorrow my if I`m lucky that my replacement gets shipped.
2015Ducatimulti said:
My 6 pro did this last weekend, when I was rooted I decided to flash a file to change the font and I missed the part it would work on 13 as long I deleted a certain file for the lock screen, it boot looped a few times, apparently it tried to load from slot B where android 12 was still flashed, and it hard bricked, no button combo would work, completely bricked, it was fully charged when this happen, so I RMA`d with google and my old device is suppsoed to be delivered to Texas today, then hopefully tomorrow my if I`m lucky that my replacement gets shipped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. If you try again to be on the safe side, download this app and install font manager
GitHub - Fox2Code/FoxMagiskModuleManager: A module manager for Magisk because the official app dropped support for it
A module manager for Magisk because the official app dropped support for it - GitHub - Fox2Code/FoxMagiskModuleManager: A module manager for Magisk because the official app dropped support for it
github.com
Just use termux and type
Code:
su -c manage_fonts
Tbh I'm not 100% it works on A13, but I tried it on the a13 beta and it worked.
verszipo said:
i am also very curious if it actually needs a motherplace replacement or simply a reflash using a JTAG (or similar specialized tool) to get it out of the bricked state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can almost 100% guarantee that they fix it through the USB port. When its going into the bricked mode, it is no doubt going into a special recovery mode that isn't documented publicly.
96carboard said:
I can almost 100% guarantee that they fix it through the USB port. When its going into the bricked mode, it is no doubt going into a special recovery mode that isn't documented publicly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bro any idea how to alive again with usb port even hard brick and show only usb serial port
Any update? I have the same issue, anti-rollback has caused my phone to become soft bricked and experiences WebView crashes, along with other problems.
Lughnasadh said:
I assume you didn't flash, at the minimum , the A13 bootloader to both slots or sideload the OTA after updating to A13 before doing this? If not, sounds like your device may have reverted to the A12 slot and ended up a brick due to the new ARB/eFuse shenanigans. The symptoms you describe are what happens when this occurs.
Luckily, it sounds like Google has been good at replacing devices that have encountered this so I would RMA it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does RMA stand for??
liammmmnnnn said:
What does RMA stand for??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return Merchandise Authorization.
Tombo12 said:
I'm kinda screwed here and I really really need some help.
So I basically rooted my Pixel 6 Pro just out of boredom and wanted to tweak some stuff with the rooted version. In the end, I decided that it wasn't worth rooting as most things i can do i could already do on stock like customization and other things. Anyway long story short I've tried to Use the google flash recovery tool I wasn't looking where i was clicking and ended up flashing 12 by accident It *Was on 13 at the time* had it got near to the end but it kept booting me to this one section called "fastbootd" I hit factory reset and from there it done the reset and now the phone no longer starts or doesn't even displays the charging percentage.
I've plugged it into a computer nothing pops up no noise from my computer to say it has connected.
I've also tried to use power + down for 30 seconds - didn't do nothing.
Has anyone got out of this issue? Is this a Hard Brick?
I've plugged it into a charger and will see what happens tomorrow. I genuinely think its the battery has fully drained.
Cause I've ran out of ideas to try things and I need your expertise on this guys.
Your help will really be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I bricked my device, I had to hold power + down or up, I don't remember, for like two minutes straight while it was connected to my pc, try

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