Database Users

[GUIDE] Flashing with Heimdall

Heimdall is an alternative, cross-platform tool to flash firmwares for the Galaxy S series of devices, including the Tab.
Heimdall
Some of you might not have heard but a brilliant guy one day woke up and thought 'damn it Odin' and started working on Heimdall. The guy reverse-engineered the protocol to flash our Galaxy's and turned up a piece of software called Heimdall that can do exactly the same as Odin.
This tool is open-source and runs on Qt for its GUI and libusb to communicate over USB making this tool completely cross-platform. This basically means flashing your Galaxy is not just limited to Windows anymore.
This guide will walk you through the steps to work with Heimdall. I'm a Mac user so the screenshots you'll see will be Mac-y. However, since the app and GUI are cross-platform the same apply for both Windows and Linux.
Disclaimer:
Flashing your device through anything but Kies can be a dangerous business and can brick your Galaxy S.
That said, Samsung seems to have engineered the Galaxy S series in a way that makes it relatively difficult to brick even if you **** up.
Proceed with caution and at your own discretion, both the developers of Heimdall and I can not be held accountable for the possible damage you do to your device by following this guide or using Heimdall.
Flashing with Heimdal
Flashing with Heimdall is a little bit different than with Odin. With Odin you usually select a PIT, if necessary, add the PDA.tar.md5, Modem.tar.md5 and CSC.tar.md5 to the locations, put the phone in download mode and hit go.
Heimdall takes a different approach. In the Heimdall GUI you need to select all components you want to flash. This means extracting the TAR-archives and pointing Heimdall to their respective files. This allow relative fine-grained control over what you flash and doesn't depend on files being named correctly.
In order to install Heimdall head over to the guy's website and download and install Heimdall.
Do yourself a favor, even if you're on Linux or Mac, just reboot after the install. On OS X the installation includes a kernel extension and though this can usually be reloaded by logging out and back in again the reboot is safer and can't hurt.
Mac OS X specific
For Mac OS X the 1.1.0 version of Heimdall includes some nuked Qt binaries which means the GUI won't start. This can be fixed by afterwards installing Qt from here.
The above should not apply to the latest Heimdall release anymore according to the release notes. If however you still get errors about Heimdall failed to start, just install the Qt binaries linked above anyway, should take care of the error.
There is a second problem unfortunately on OS X. Due to a bug in older versions of the bootloader the device doesn't register correctly in download mode. If you then try to flash without having fixed the bootloader you'll nuke the Galaxy S and end up at a "black screen of death". Trust me, I tried, it broke and it scared the crap out of me.
Don't worry, this isn't the dreadful black screen of death meaning your device is busted, it just means your firmware is. You can just put it into download mode again and flash another firmware over it with Odin (Windows)
In order to avoid this we need to fix the bootloader first. Everyone who has installed the official Froyo update through Kies will already have a fixed bootloader and so you can ignore the next bit. If however you hocus-pocused around with Kies / Odin to flash Froyo like I did you probably don't have the updated bootloader.
Unfortunately we're going to need Windows for this and Kies so either get a VM ready, bootcamp into Windows or find a friend who'll lend you his pc for an hour.
See the second post, "Fixing the bootloader" for instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linux specific
As far as I'm aware there are no Linux specific problems, not even the bootloader issue mentioned above for OS X. However, it might be wise to follow the instructions anyway since an updated bootloader can't hurt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows specific
As far as I'm aware there are no Windows specific problems, not even the bootloader issue mentioned above for OS X. However, it might be wise to follow the instructions anyway since an updated bootloader can't hurt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now, time to get busy.
I'm going to assume that you have downloaded a firmware, for example from samfirmware, and have extracted the .RAR and the .TAR inside and now have a folder with at least the following:
factoryfs.rfs (PDA > FactoryFS)
param.lfs (PDA > Param.lfs)
zImage (PDA > Kernel (zImage))
Additionally you might have:
cache.rfs (CSC > Cache)
modem.bin (Other > Modem)
Be aware, there are other configurations possible. For example, when you're rooting by flashing a rooted kernel there will probably only be a zImage.
Start Heimdall or Heimdall-frontend, you should get a screen similar to this:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Now, unless explicitly stated that you need a .PIT to flash this firmware you can leave this field blank. If you load a PIT, be sure to see if you need to repartition. The general rule is that you won't, unless you flashed with a firmware that had a different PIT than what samfirmware is indicating you need.
After that, start hitting the browse button for the components you want to flash with Heimdall and add them. Your screen will probably look something like this:
Now, it's time to put your phone in download mode. Power off the phone and wait for it to completely have shut down and unplug it from USB / charger. Hold down the Home and Volume Down buttons and then press Power. Keep holding those three buttons until you get into download mode (you'll know when you see it).
If you can't get into download mode / nothing seems to happen, you probably have a Galaxy with the broken 3-button combo problem, see here for a fix:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=785201
Now, connect the phone over USB with your computer. If you're on on Mac and Linux you can proceed immediately. If you're on Windows you'll probably need to wait for Windows to install a driver or two.
Now hit the Start button and watch it go!
If all goes well you'll see the progress bar on both Heimdall and in your phone filling up (might take a while for one to appear on the Galaxy S). Once it's done it'll probably say everything went OK and the Galaxy will reboot into recovery. Let it do it's thing, it will reboot again and begin booting the new firmware.
After having installed a new firmware the first boot might take a while. You'll just seem to be stuck at the glowing S, just let it run it will boot eventually.
If however Heimdall says "Failed" your phone will (probably) reboot or when you try to reboot you'll get stuck at the "black screen of death":
This isn't a "my device is bricked" screen, just that you ****ed up the firmware. Just follow the instructions again, put it in download mode and try again.
If, after having seen the above screen, you can't get your phone into download mode, then you're toast.

Fixing the bootloader
Fixing the bootloader
In order to fix the bootloader we need to flash some firmware. There's always the risk of data loss so make a backup first!
First we need Kies available on Windows, so grab it and install it. See the XDA wiki about this.
Once Kies is done installing don't launch Kies or exit it first, then connect your Galaxy S. Let Windows purr for a while as it gets busy installing your device drivers. Once it says it's done, you can start Kies.
Now, it's time to get the Kies registry patcher. We'll use this tool to fool Kies into thinking an older version is running on the Galaxy S so that it presents us with the option to grab the Froyo update.
Once you've started Kies and Kies has recognised your phone, start the Kies registry patcher. Set the Fake mode to True and select your product code. As I'm Dutch, I selected XEN from the dropdown. There is a list on the XDA wiki to tell you which product code is suited for your country, I suggest you use that one.
Now hit the "Write registry" button and then inside Kies, select the update firmware button in the bottom right corner (the phone with the arrow). Kies will now probably tell you it has an update for your phone which should be in the JP* series or GJK3, meaning it is the Froyo update.
Tell Kies to update your phone. Kies will get busy downloading the firmware and flashing it. Your phone will reboot into download mode, once that done you'll see recovery mode and then it will start booting.
Now that you have installed the official Samsung Froyo Galaxy S update you'll have the fixed bootloader you need in order to be able to use Heimdall on OS X.

crystal clear and helpful. thank you.

Many THANKs for this Guide!! Great work

great guide !
... added to the wiki

AllGamer said:
... added to the wiki
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Figured it might help some people .

No Windows
The reason why I'm using Heimdall is because I'm on a mac and don't have access to a Windows pc. The whole bootloader step kind of makes it impossible for me to use Heimdall. Is there a workaround?
Ps. When I say I don't have access to a windows pc, I mean it. I'm approx. 10 hours north of any major city, in the wilderness.

If you had working 3-BR prior to flashing & getting the phone computer icon with a ! in the triangle, I think there is hope.
If you really blotched your flashing, & get that semi-bricked icon when you try to into download mode, Heat the phone a bit & press Vol down + Menu + Power button for a very long time. This has happened to me thrice on my SGS with working 3-BR, & the longest it took me to go into download mode was something like over 30 seconds.
Hope this helps.

My Heimdall doesn't let me flash if I select a PIT file... And already tried with 3 diferent PIT files. Do you know why?

i followed the guide, but heimdall says "Failed to start Heidall"
i've a mac intel 10.6

hi
what does the following error mean?
Failed to access device. Error: -12

Failed to access device is quite literally what it means, failed to access device.
This usually means something is wrong in download mode or the USB kext is acting up. A reboot should solve it, put your phone back into download mode and you should be good to go.

baul87 said:
i followed the guide, but heimdall says "Failed to start Heidall"
i've a mac intel 10.6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only got that error with the problematic QT binaries. Did you install the "normal" QT binaries after installing Heimdall? (See the Mac OS X Specific part of the opening post).

I'm on a Samsung Fascinate is it completely necessary to update to the Samsung Froyo Bootloader for this to work? The Fascinate doesn't even have Froyo yet. Thanks in advance.

daenney said:
If, after having seen the above screen, you can't get your phone into download mode, then you're toast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I got that screen message and can no longer go into download mode. Not sure what happened, but I apparently did something wrong.
QUESTION: if I take this into a Verizon store, will they be able to tell that I had rooted the device? I'd like to take it in under warranty.

Get yourself a USB JIG (see toopic about unbrick JIG), when you plug that into your phone (when its offline) it will go into download mode no metter you did had BSOD or not (I have it all the time with odin, I'm starting to think my device is ****ed up though )

I receive "Failed to detect compatible device" I have Heimdall running. The only way I can get into the Download screen is to take my battery out completely and plug into USB while holding Vol Down and power.I put the correct Modem.bin file in the correct place and hit start but I keep getting an error.
Im on a rooted Fascinate coming from a Stock DL09. I installed a Rom and Kernel w/ Rom manager.But I had issues w/ SMS learned it was because of the Radio/Modem

I keep getting failed to access device error 12. I'm not sure why. I've restarted the SW and get same response. Odin detects the device as well as my OS. Is this not compatible with the Sprint Galaxy tab or do i need specific drivers?

Bxsteez said:
I keep getting failed to access device error 12. I'm not sure why. I've restarted the SW and get same response. Odin detects the device as well as my OS. Is this not compatible with the Sprint Galaxy tab or do i need specific drivers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the readme in the heimdall directory. For the windows version you must install the drivers attached.

kunjar said:
Check the readme in the heimdall directory. For the windows version you must install the drivers attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. I did that but it appears i installed the wrong driver. I tried to delete the driver but that didn't work. I had to switch to another computer and it worked perfectly.

Get nodo update right now :)

Go to my blogsite at http://dawnrazrblade.blogspot.com/2011/03/samsung-omnia-7-nodo-update.html
follow all the steps and you will have NODO Update!
PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS MY IDEA!!! AND IT WORKS, OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ADDED TO IT
BUT MY STEPS WORKED 100% FOR ME.
ENJOY
please donate if you think I helped you
THANX

nice idea,
but the zune software erorrs, can't check for update (no internet... )

It does not work!

but it worked for me? and I tried everything are you sure you did it right?
just make sure yr not connected to any proxy

OMG guys! It worked but a little bit different
I folowed the instructions on the blog but:
-I shut down zune
-Turned off the phone and connected it (while off) to the pc
-phone starts on itself
-then I went to settings and turned the flight mode ON
As soon as I did it Zune started searching for updates and found NODO... so I didnt even have to fiddle with the proxy stuff...
I dont know what happened but maybe it has something to do with the mobile network? Try to turn the flight mode on...
ps: phone is unbranded (nov rom) omnia from tmobile with prenodo.

No go on Orange for me using your IP tunneller it cant connect to update server, as soon as I turn it off tells me I have 7008 and no updates. So Zune for me cannot connect via the USAIP probably a port block issue.
Lordao
P.S if I turn flight mode off it connects but no update, if i turn flight mode on again i get the cant connect error. So it is SIM based, gonna try it without a SIM in.
P.P.S No SIM and Flight Mode connects but no Update, for sure a SIM issue. Going to try a T-Mobile SIM i have lying around.
P.P.P.S Tried Voda, T-Mobile and O2 sim nada, no updates and cant connect on flight mode.

BIG-Stan said:
OMG guys! It worked but a little bit different
I folowed the instructions on the blog but:
-I shut down zune
-Turned off the phone and connected it (while off) to the pc
-phone starts on itself
-then I went to settings and turned the flight mode ON
As soon as I did it Zune started searching for updates and found NODO... so I didnt even have to fiddle with the proxy stuff...
I dont know what happened but maybe it has something to do with the mobile network? Try to turn the flight mode on...
ps: phone is unbranded (nov rom) omnia from tmobile with prenodo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well glad I helped someone!

dawnrazr said:
Well glad I helped someone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was just coincidence, you just happen to get lucky and get the update at the same time you tried this work around, it was just your time..
Lordao

Well sure, it could be a coincidence
But I tried to update the normal way a sec. before doing the method on the blog and it didnt work...
So it might be that MS pushed the update to my phone about 2 minutes later or it might have something to do with the flight mode...

Did not work for me either...

it gives me a "cannot connect to update server error"

Work work work
So guys I did telephone H3G branded; unbrandized with rom I8700DBTJK1 ... SIM H3G Italy received pre-node update here ... I tell you how I did it
-PPTP-connected to EUROIP Hungary
-Telephone access and no-off "as the guide
-Zune-opened and updated
-Located in the menu updates zune phone
-Connect your phone starts searching for the update after about 4 seconds off the data network
I advise not to go into airplane mode to disable the data network but ... if you turn off the data network before trying the update will appear error zune
in this way, I called the update was released in March of this update when you are upgrading your phone just updated post a screenshot
Sorry for my English I hope it was clear

xsiriusx said:
So guys I did telefonto H3G branded; unbrandized with rom I8700DBTJK1 ... SIM H3G Italy received pre-node update here ... I tell you how I did it
-PPTP-connected to EUROIP Hungary
-Telephone access and no-off "as the guide
-Zune-opened and updated
-Located in the menu updates zune phone
-Connect your phone starts searching for the update after about 4 seconds off the data network
I advise not to go into airplane mode to disable the data network but ... if you turn off the data network before trying the update will appear error zune
in this way, I called the update was released in March of this update when you are upgrading your phone just updated post a screenshot
Sorry for my English I hope it was clear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
update finish
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Spero possa essere di aiuto

xsiriusx said:
So guys I did telefonto H3G branded; unbrandized with rom I8700DBTJK1 ... SIM H3G Italy received pre-node update here ... I tell you how I did it
-PPTP-connected to EUROIP Hungary
-Telephone access and no-off "as the guide
-Zune-opened and updated
-Located in the menu updates zune phone
-Connect your phone starts searching for the update after about 4 seconds off the data network
I advise not to go into airplane mode to disable the data network but ... if you turn off the data network before trying the update will appear error zune
in this way, I called the update was released in March of this update when you are upgrading your phone just updated post a screenshot
Sorry for my English I hope it was clear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried all day! This worked!!!!! Reproducable steps to come!!

To streamline the discussion I have moved the NoDo Update Guide to the device-independent thread:
"Force NoDo" (March 2011) WP7 Update Guide
Please further discuss all there as it is bigger and already a sticky!
Best Regards,
Bonebreaker (aka ulub81)

Less surprisingly none of the methods described are working for me :/

lapingultah said:
Less surprisingly none of the methods described are working for me :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try try again

Bonebreaker said:
Here now the steps that worked for me (I'm from Germany so I hope you all understand ;-)):
1. Download usaip.eu/en/USAIP.pbk open it and connect to EUROIP PPTP Hungary
with
USERNAME: demo
PASSWORD: demo
and connect your phone to the PC
2. Disable WLAN in your phone but be shure to have FLIGHT MODE off
3. Start Zune and keep it running all the time
4. Switch to your carrier settings on the phone
5. Manually search for an update within Zune
Important step 6.:
After a few seconds (about 10-15 seconds for me) disable data transfer on the already opened settings tab on your phone
--> The update shows up!
If it doesn't work (cognizable by the fact that you get a time out error) retry steps 5 and 6 vary the time until you manually disable data transfer! (step 6)
Hope that helps!
Best Regards!
ulub81
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually post is a bit like my proposal ... I guess you just disable the precise point where the network data!

Bonebreaker said:
Here now the steps that worked for me (I'm from Germany so I hope you all understand ;-)):
1. Download usaip.eu/en/USAIP.pbk open it and connect to EUROIP PPTP Hungary
with
USERNAME: demo
PASSWORD: demo
and connect your phone to the PC
2. Disable WLAN in your phone but be shure to have FLIGHT MODE off
3. Start Zune and keep it running all the time
4. Switch to your carrier settings on the phone
5. Manually search for an update within Zune
Important step 6.:
After a few seconds (about 10-15 seconds for me) disable data transfer on the already opened settings tab on your phone
--> The update shows up!
If it doesn't work (cognizable by the fact that you get a time out error) retry steps 5 and 6 and vary the time until you manually disable data transfer! (step 6)
Hope that helps!
Best Regards!
ulub81
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well whadya know I did this and sure enough up popped the March 2011 update!
I counted to 15 and (wearing headphones at the time) heard interference - I switched off my data connection & am updating my XENJK1-flashed Omnia as I type...
I have to apologise to OP for doubting
edit: Also, when my Zune said "Step 2 of 10: Downloading Update..." it got stuck at 0%. I disconnected the PPTP VPN and it finished off OK.

No matter how few or many seconds I wait, as soon as I turn the data transfer off, I get the server error in Zune.

Do not update 3.2 via Kies, still have problem

what the hell is Samsung doing? I did not update last time with broken firmware and I tried this time with kies.
Now the problem came again.. It only appears Downloading... Do not turn off target and in Kies , it says fail to convert into safe mode...
Now Tablet stayed at the screen with "Downloading ... Do not turn off target!!!" No any response!
-------------------------------------
BTW, I never rooted.
Update. Thank you for everyone in this post for response.
After google from internet, I found a solution.
1) first, after you had "Downloading ... Do not turn off target!!!" screen, Please do not panic ( I did when it happened and really said f*^@ word to Samsung..forgive me...).
2) Press power button + volume down, and hold until it turns off.
3) say "god bless me" or "Mom, please save me." and press whatever combination of buttons you can.
4) It suddenly reboot after that and please use OTA to update. not kies.
5) as far as I can tell, works fine now. However, connect to Kies with wifi does not work.

Were you on a custom rom prior or rooted? If so, did you reset your tab to factory before doing the OTA?
Get back in recovery and flash your back up. If it fails you will have to ODIN your rom in

No problems here using kies, I was only rooted though and I still have root

Do I have to be connected to a PC to get this update? Isn't wifi enough?

You can use wi-fi for OTA update. OP's issue is that even though the tablet went into Download mode, Kies still didn't think it is in download mode. The firmware update hasn't even started to push down to tablet yet.

Based on the earlier problems, you're better off using Kies. If it fails, like it did for OP, it's smart enough to know that and when you disconnect and reconnect the Tab it should automatically go in to emergency recovery mode. What happened to OP happens occasionally with Kies updates. A lot has to do with the PC it's running on and what else is running on that PC. Kies is far from perfect and I'm guessing OP's issue isn't with the new ROM it's with Kies.

I didn't get the update OTA, but just updated with Kies. Had to re-flash CWM and root, but everything works just fine.

Changing to another USB port solved the problem for me. The drivers for the download stage to the tablet could not been loaded for the port I was connected first.
BR
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

flyingstore said:
what the hell is Samsung doing? I did not update last time with broken firmware and I tried this time with kies.
Now the problem came again.. It only appears Downloading... Do not turn off target and in Kies , it says fail to convert into same mode...
Now Tablet stayed at the screen with "Downloading ... Do not turn off target!!!" No any response!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly the same problem. no solution for me yet...

I repeat this: if you think Samsung's firmware and firmware updates are buggy, Kies is even worse.

foxbat121 said:
I repeat this: if you think Samsung's firmware and firmware updates are buggy, Kies is even worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite true. Kies is terrible. My Galaxy 10.1 wifi won't connect to it at all -- it just sits there attempting to connect. No indication of what's wrong, no log files, nothing. I wasted over an hour last night trying to figure out what was wrong -- removed all "ghost" USB devices, installed Intel INF driver updates, de-installed all active USB hubs & devices, etc.
I even updated Kies to 2.1 ... nothing. Very frustrating.

still no luck with upgrading with kies. it connects to tab, downloads the update to the pc,
the tab goes into download mode in order to install the update, and then connection between kies and tab is lost....
i have the latest kies, i have the drivers, i tried another usb port, i have done a factory reset, but still nothing.

Lg g3 auto-rec "hard brick" fix

Hello everyone, first let me give major props to my man @bender_007 for creating the amazing LG G Series Autorec Apps which make installing TWRP on LG G Devices a simple process and for also helping me and others who ignorantly misused his app, thanks B!
Anyway recently I bought a LG G3 on Verizon that was on 35b 5.1.1 Lollipop and I rooted. Boy was I eager to get some TWRP poppin on this beast, however flashing TWRP thru Flashify and TWRP Manager left me unsuccessful giving me Secure Booting Error. So desperate I seen Autorec on the Play Store, installed immediately. From there I went through the app's proccesses and from there attempted to boot into recovery hoping for some success.... I did not realize this was went for 24b 5.0.1 until it was late, I mean hey he says it in the description. The phone was dead it wouldn't show anything on the display when I held the power button and it only vibrated, I was f***ed.... At least that is what I thought. I used the method below that me and @bender_007 were collaborating upon as he tried to help me. So please give him credit. I cannot guarantee this will work for you but it worked for me and you don't have to worry about opening up your phone and shorting pins, that nonsense if this works for you.
MATERIALS
A FUNCTIONAL COMPUTER (PREFERABLY WINDOWS, I USED WINDOWS 7)
LG FLASH TOOL 2014: http://www.mediafire.com/?fwrcd3pdj0svjtb
LG DRIVERS-
UNIVERSAL: http://tool.xcdn.gdms.lge.com/dn/downloader.dev?fileKey=UW00120120425
VERIZON:
http://tool.xcdn.gdms.lge.com/dn/downloader.dev?fileKey=UW00520120427
THE LATEST KDZ FOR YOUR PHONE MODEL (GOOGLE IT)
Your Dead but Still Amazing LG G3 and a USB Cable
Note: IF DONE PROPERLY YOU WILL STILL HAVE ALL YOUR EXSISTING DATA PRE-BRICK
PROCEDURE
1. Gather all materials, and know the locations of all your downloaded files.
2. Install the drivers for your phone.
3. Unzip LGFlashTool_2014.zip
4. Move the .KDZ you should've downloaded to the LGFLASHTOOL_2014 folder.
5. Open Device Manager (press start, type in Device Manager into search bar, hit enter)
6. Click View, "Show Hidden Devices"
7. PLUG in USB CABLE TO COMPUTER ONLY!
8. THIS STEP IS VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT! TAKE THE BATTERY OUT OF YOUR LG G3. PUT IT BACK IN. CLOSE THE BACK. HOLD VOLUME UP ONLY, WHILE HOLDING POWER UP DO NOT LET GO PLUG IN OTHER HALF OF USB CABLE INTO PHONE. KEEP HOLDING VOLUME UP FOR 20 SECONDS. YOURE PHONES SCREEN WILL STILL BE BLACK AND IT SHOULDVE VIBRATED ABOUT 2 SECONDS AFTER YOU PLUGGED IN WIRE (You'll know when you do it right when COMPUTER says installing drivers in bottom right corner.)
9. In Device Manager under Modems there should be something like LGandroidNET I DONT REMEMBER EXACTLY THIS IS ALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. Anyway, if it says that then you are good, believe it or not your in download mode. (IF YOU DO NOT SEE THIS REPEAT STEP 8)
10. Go to LGFlashTool_2014 folder and run the LGFlashTool2014.exe application.
11. Change PhoneMode to Emergency
12. For "SELECT KDZ FILE" open the folder of the the FlashTool, it should be on it by default and pick the KDZ file.
13. Click "Normal Flash"
14. On the next SCREEN click "START" at the bottom
15. Now there should be a pop-up that says "Select Country & Language" Do not mess with this, just click "OK"
16. There should be a SCREEN now that has a % or whatever... From HERE TO THE END OF IT DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR PHONE!!!
17. When you hit like 85% your phone will boot up do not UNPLUG still and once it hits 100% your done! Safe to UNPLUG and YOU FIXED YOUR PHONE!!!!!!
If you have any questions please ask I have pure empathy for anyone who goes through this hell.

The first time I attempted to connect the phone I successfully had the phone under the modem tab. After being unable to find a .KDZ file (after a minute of searching) I stupidly tried another approach. Now after that not cooperating, I came back to attempt this again after finding a .KDZ file and am unable to set up the device properly to show under the modem tab. I'm following your instructions exactly and gave no luck. Any idea why this would be happening?

wombatthing said:
The first time I attempted to connect the phone I successfully had the phone under the modem tab. After being unable to find a .KDZ file (after a minute of searching) I stupidly tried another approach. Now after that not cooperating, I came back to attempt this again after finding a .KDZ file and am unable to set up the device properly to show under the modem tab. I'm following your instructions exactly and gave no luck. Any idea why this would be happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I'm here to provide my best assistance and for that you'll have to answer a few questions?
1. What is your device model? ex. VS985 Verizon
2. What KDZ did you attempt to flash? ex. VS98547a_01.kdz
Looking forward to your reply.
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

@wombatthing I would go to device manager go to view "Show Hidden devices" then disconnect your phone take out battery put it back in close back then hold volume up for 20 SECONDS while doing that connect to computer. It probably won't say installing drivers because you said it worked the First time, from there see if it's under Modems. Good luck my friend in here for any questions
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Will this method keep all my files that were stored in the internal memory? I'm not worried about the device, i just want my files! Camera pictures etc.
Edit. I tried it but in DIAG mode because i'm afraid emergency can delete my files? I can see the "LGandroidNET " but no vibration and seems like the driivers never install properly. My phone is completely dead.
@bender_007 @OneShotGoGetter
Thanks

Ray1000 said:
Will this method keep all my files that were stored in the internal memory? I'm not worried about the device, i just want my files! Camera pictures etc.
Edit. I tried it but in DIAG mode because i'm afraid emergency can delete my files? I can see the "LGandroidNET " but no vibration and seems like the driivers never install properly. My phone is completely dead.
@bender_007 @OneShotGoGetter
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My friend all is good. First of all as long as it says LGandroidnet you are good you should be in download mode, in lg flash took for mode click emergency and not diag then click normal flash THIS WILL KEEP YOURE DATA IF YOU SEE CRS FLASH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT THEN ITLL RESET YOURE PHONE just do Emergency and Normal Flash and it should work. Hope I help if you have questions please ask.

@Ray1000 "Emergency" Mode is just Download Mode flashing. Diag is not that's why you were unsuccessful.

Thanks for this! I'm getting stuck at the end (step 16) when the flash tool says:
"Problem with communication between cell phone and PC.
Please disconnect the cable from your cell phone in order and remove and connect the battery. Power on your cell phone and press the Restart button to resume update. If LG Support Tool is stopped abnormally, try with [Options]-[Upgrade Recovery] in tool menu."
I've tried just clicking the retry button, and also unplugging the phone and putting it in recovery mode again before clicking retry. Neither has worked so far. Any thoughts?
Phone is D855, kdz version is D855V20b_00

For all people with Windows 10 an problems with drivers (device is detected by Windows but app is not connecting). Decompress de correct cab for your Windows version, and update the driver "Qualcomm HS-USB QDloader 9008" with the path you used to extract. Now this driver isn't advertising that isn't signed anymore, and all apps will connect with your LG G3
Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 2.1.0.5 x86
Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 2.1.0.5 x64

mackleroar said:
Thanks for this! I'm getting stuck at the end (step 16) when the flash tool says:
"Problem with communication between cell phone and PC.
Please disconnect the cable from your cell phone in order and remove and connect the battery. Power on your cell phone and press the Restart button to resume update. If LG Support Tool is stopped abnormally, try with [Options]-[Upgrade Recovery] in tool menu."
I've tried just clicking the retry button, and also unplugging the phone and putting it in recovery mode again before clicking retry. Neither has worked so far. Any thoughts?
Phone is D855, kdz version is D855V20b_00
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late response. First of all you are welcome. I don't know if you fixed the problem yet but I'll help anyway. First remove youre battery for at least 10 seconds then put battery in, hold up and connect charger for 20 seconds. Of you are unsuccessful try reinstalling drivers. Best of luck my friend.
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Hi, I have tried your method but get stuck on "Problem with communication..." Is this a problem specific to windows 10?
I have attempted to update the Qualcomm HS-USB QDloader 9008 but cannot see it in device manager.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Perezvon said:
Hi, I have tried your method but get stuck on "Problem with communication..." Is this a problem specific to windows 10?
I have attempted to update the Qualcomm HS-USB QDloader 9008 but cannot see it in device manager.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im having the same problem!!!!!! I've tried everything. I will let you know if I fix it and please let me know if you get your's running?

Does anyone know if this method will work for the Sprint LS990 variant? I too had my phone broke by autorec and I lost download bit have access to TWRP and can flash roms but can't do a factory reset with the LG Flash Tool.
Sent from my LG-ls990 using Tapatalk

Failed to flash
Hi,
Thank you for this post. But unfortunately I can not get back my device. What happened was I bricked my phone while flashing TWRP. It's a G3 D855 and does not power on at all. Screen is blank, no LED or vibrate. I tried volume up/down combinations with power button but nothing happens. However when I connect it to PC, device manager shows it under Modem and COM ports.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I tried to flash a stock ROM using your method. But I got following error during process.
The only problem was phone did not vibrate when I connect it as you mentioned.
Do you think my phone is gone forever? Is there any other way? Appreciate a reply.
Thanks!

i also cannot find the Qualcomm's driver on windows 10 & phone looses communication with flash tool..

vajee555 said:
Hi,
Thank you for this post. But unfortunately I can not get back my device. What happened was I bricked my phone while flashing TWRP. It's a G3 D855 and does not power on at all. Screen is blank, no LED or vibrate. I tried volume up/down combinations with power button but nothing happens. However when I connect it to PC, device manager shows it under Modem and COM ports.
I tried to flash a stock ROM using your method. But I got following error during process.
The only problem was phone did not vibrate when I connect it as you mentioned.
Do you think my phone is gone forever? Is there any other way? Appreciate a reply.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the same thing happened to me, just dont close the error notification and move it to the side, so you can see the cellphone is upgrading, dont close the error message until your cellphone boots, this worked for me

ayarihime said:
the same thing happened to me, just dont close the error notification and move it to the side, so you can see the cellphone is upgrading, dont close the error message until your cellphone boots, this worked for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello. I managed to get my device to work. Flashed a stock MM rom and now stucked with damn Mcfee kill switch. Can not go to download mode either . Any idea how to fix this? Thanks!

Hi how did you manage to fix it @vagee555? I am receiving the same error message: Problem with communication between cell phone and PC

mjmaxint said:
Hi how did you manage to fix it @vagee555? I am receiving the same error message: Problem with communication between cell phone and PC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I had to short some other two pins to get it identified by my PC. The pins mentioned it this post did not work for me. Follow the link given below and it will work for you. Thank me later.
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f494/how-hard-unbricked-lg-g3-all-variants-fix-qhsusb-bulk-_-qualcomm-9008-a-2029025/

He guys thank you very much. My LG3 was already down for months after many failed attempts and I was about to bin it. Decided to give it one last try, found your instructions and it works, I now have Marshmallow!! (However I downloaded the KDZ file from "downloadmirror.de" and I am not sure if that was a good idea.

LG G2 D802 No Root BootLoop Issue

Hi,
I had my LG G2 for a couple of years now, but I have always kept it with the original Android that it came with. This means that I have not installed a recovery or rooted the device.
But today, while browsing my phone (in Chrome more exactly) the phone froze and rebooted. Since then it never made it past the logo. Cheking on the internet I found that I have a bootloop, but all the guides and posts involve peoples with Recovery and Root, which isn't the case for me.
Because I have important personal data on the phone, I decided to try and find a way to backup the data before attempting either to install the stock rom or a hard reset. I have started and installed the following software:
1) LGMobileDriver_WHQL_Ver_4.2.0 -> downloaded from LG site
2) LGMobileSupportTool -> downloaded from LG site
3) LGPCSuite_Setup -> downloaded from LG site
4) LGBridge_Setup -> downloaded from LG site
5) UniversalAdbDriverSetup -> KOUSH ADB driver
When entering the device in "Download" mode connected to my pc, Windows attempts to install the following drivers:
1. USB Composite
2. LGE Andoid USB Serial Port
2. CDC Serial / LGE AndroidNet USB Modem
But even with all the above software installed, my Windows 7 x64 can't successfully install all the drivers when attempting to recognize the device.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
As a concequnce of this, none of LG software recognizes the phone. I was really confident in LGBridge since I saw that it had a "Backup Device" option.
Is there a way to back up the device (in full if needed)? I don't remember if I have ever connected the device to my pc and enabled USB Debugging in it, but most probably I didn't - but none the less I would try anything in order to recover my data.
I really appreaciate any help.
[Update]
I have tried installing any ADB driver possible (from Intel, Google, universal, quick one - adb-setup-1.4.3) but neither ADB nor fastboot recognizes the device when it is in Update mode, Hard reset mode, or just powering the device.
Since this didn't worked and had a ton of different drivers, I have unistalled all and every LG application, and in order to follow this guide https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2432476 I have installed only LG-Mobile-Driver_v3.14.1 and connected my phone in Update mode. I have received the same message from above about Windows install drivers but in device manager I don't have anything with an exclamation mark:
Now I want to follow the above guide and use the normal flash option in order to keep all my data. But here I have encountered another issue: i am not sure which version my phone had. Is there an option to get this information in Download mode? For this I have tryied connecting with ADB, but as already mentioned this didn't work at all. Using my information from the LG G2 box I have 6RO and according to this the version should be D80230D_00 (I haven't found one for my country - Romania - but I guess any should do, right?). But the complicated part is that according to LG Mobile Support Tool that seems to recognize somewhat the device (I am not so sure about this one) the version is different: D80210E.
I want to mention that I had the stock firmware the phone came with and purchase it in Romania (on the box it says: "This equipment may be operated in all European countries") and never did any update (OTA or otherwise) and kept like it came. I am also certain that the android version was KitKat (4.4 – 4.4.4 but not sure which one exactly) because I wasn't able to install applications that requried Lollipop (5.0 – 5.1.1)
Do you have any recommendations about which one I should use?
I want to thank you in advance for all the help.
[Update2]
After reading some more forum posts it looks like my phone was rooted because in download mode there is ROOTED written in RED in the bottom. But I have never rooted the phone. Maybe this might help me in some way.

UsManyDead said:
Hi,
I had my LG G2 for a couple of years now, but I have always kept it with the original Android that it came with. This means that I have not installed a recovery or rooted the device.
But today, while browsing my phone (in Chrome more exactly) the phone froze and rebooted. Since then it never made it past the logo. Cheking on the internet I found that I have a bootloop, but all the guides and posts involve peoples with Recovery and Root, which isn't the case for me.
Because I have important personal data on the phone, I decided to try and find a way to backup the data before attempting either to install the stock rom or a hard reset. I have started and installed the following software:
1) LGMobileDriver_WHQL_Ver_4.2.0 -> downloaded from LG site
2) LGMobileSupportTool -> downloaded from LG site
3) LGPCSuite_Setup -> downloaded from LG site
4) LGBridge_Setup -> downloaded from LG site
5) UniversalAdbDriverSetup -> KOUSH ADB driver
When entering the device in "Download" mode connected to my pc, Windows attempts to install the following drivers:
1. USB Composite
2. LGE Andoid USB Serial Port
2. CDC Serial / LGE AndroidNet USB Modem
But even with all the above software installed, my Windows 7 x64 can't successfully install all the drivers when attempting to recognize the device.
As a concequnce of this, none of LG software recognizes the phone. I was really confident in LGBridge since I saw that it had a "Backup Device" option.
Is there a way to back up the device (in full if needed)? I don't remember if I have ever connected the device to my pc and enabled USB Debugging in it, but most probably I didn't - but none the less I would try anything in order to recover my data.
I really appreaciate any help.
[Update]
I have tried installing any ADB driver possible (from Intel, Google, universal, quick one - adb-setup-1.4.3) but neither ADB nor fastboot recognizes the device when it is in Update mode, Hard reset mode, or just powering the device.
Since this didn't worked and had a ton of different drivers, I have unistalled all and every LG application, and in order to follow this guide https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2432476 I have installed only LG-Mobile-Driver_v3.14.1 and connected my phone in Update mode. I have received the same message from above about Windows install drivers but in device manager I don't have anything with an exclamation mark:
Now I want to follow the above guide and use the normal flash option in order to keep all my data. But here I have encountered another issue: i am not sure which version my phone had. Is there an option to get this information in Download mode? For this I have tryied connecting with ADB, but as already mentioned this didn't work at all. Using my information from the LG G2 box I have 6RO and according to this the version should be D80230D_00 (I haven't found one for my country - Romania - but I guess any should do, right?). But the complicated part is that according to LG Mobile Support Tool that seems to recognize somewhat the device (I am not so sure about this one) the version is different: D80210E.
I want to mention that I had the stock firmware the phone came with and purchase it in Romania (on the box it says: "This equipment may be operated in all European countries") and never did any update (OTA or otherwise) and kept like it came. I am also certain that the android version was KitKat (4.4 – 4.4.4 but not sure which one exactly) because I wasn't able to install applications that requried Lollipop (5.0 – 5.1.1)
Do you have any recommendations about which one I should use?
I want to thank you in advance for all the help.
[Update2]
After reading some more forum posts it looks like my phone was rooted because in download mode there is ROOTED written in RED in the bottom. But I have never rooted the phone. Maybe this might help me in some way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[Update3]
I have found the tool LGUP and according to this one the version is as well D80210E because it recognizes the device in Download Mode and on COM4.
Now I am not sure if I should use this tool to flash the same version [D80210E] or use the LG Flash Tool with normal flash option in order to keep all the data.
If someone has any ideas, please let me know.
I appreciate any help.

Short update: I have sent the device to a local service center, but after almost 2 weeks they said me that they are unable to fix the phone without erasing the data and they can't recover the data from the phone. So I have declined that offer being prepared to test everything I found on the net.
Back home, I tested the most non-intrusive method: the freezer. First time I have left the phone in the freezer for 30 minutes and voila the phone booted up in Android. Unfortunately it hold only for 15 minutes and then it restarted itself again. Then I left it in rice for about 30 minutes and then put in the freezer again for 30 minutes, and this time the phone remained on for 2h and was able to back-up everything (even copying all folders from internal storage).
Since the phone is still on even now, I am a little baffled. What I have noticed different from the first time is that the first time I have activated Wifi in order to sync with Google. The second time the WiFi wouldn't even activate, disregarding how many time I would attempt to enable it. It finally connected by itself after ~1h. I am not sure what exactly is the issue and I am looking for a new phone.
What I can say for other people having the same issue is to first try the freezer quick fix. And don't forget the rice, since there will be some sweat on the phone after pulling it out from the freezer.