Database Users

[Q] Real simple. Cash offer to walk me through it by phone or email.

Offer:
I've got a $30.00 PayPal for someone with decent rep here to walk me through the update.
History: This is a new virgin phone, exchanged today. (Sun) The OTA killed my previous phone and I was unable, for whatever reason, to restore nandroid, backup, nada. Until this morning, that was the best phone I've ever had because of this forum and esp the Tips & Tricks thread.
It had: Root, Rom Manager, Titanium Backup, Ryan's OCLF, Autostarts, and MOBILE AP wireless tethering app. (This one is a must for me.)
What I want:
I want the JI6 update installed and the above programs re-installed per the Tips thread... In whatever order you think is best. We verify these things work and I send money immediately. My word is good. (I can re-install my 40 odd apps afterward on my own time.
Background:
I have followed the Tips thread instructions for ODIN. (Open ODIN, press vol up & dn, plug in wire, see COM msg in box, (debug on) mount phone, Pit>...512, PDA>...JI6, START. ..... Nothing! 2 seconds later the message box says something like {All threads complete. 0 succeeded, 0 failed>}
Bottom line:
I've read posts for hours but since I don't really know what I'm doing well, I am also unable to sift through all the advice figuring out which poster's setup is like mine. At this point, I just want it done right.
I will edit this post when it's done. Thanks for reading.
Respond: [email protected]

I'm in the same boat, as far as trying to use Odin. Broken phone, nothing working for me.
So, you took your phone to the store, told them you applied the update and now you're stuck on the vibrant screen, and they just gave you a new one right then and there?

you can drop me a pm and i can try and get you through it. Wont take your money though. Make sure you have odin 1.3 downloaded and the odin flash file for JI6 downloaded. If you can get adb working you get bonus points.
Are you hardware locked? if so you need to download the patch for it also found on here. If not should be easy to get ya up and running with the above mentioned things in place.
If I went to fast or confused you just say so in the pm and we can go as slow or as fast as you need.

adm1jtg said:
you can drop me a pm and i can try and get you through it. Wont take your money though. Make sure you have odin 1.3 downloaded and the odin flash file for JI6 downloaded. If you can get adb working you get bonus points.
Are you hardware locked? if so you need to download the patch for it also found on here. If not should be easy to get ya up and running with the above mentioned things in place.
If I went to fast or confused you just say so in the pm and we can go as slow or as fast as you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is alot of us who had bricked our own phones who can help you on this issue i helped someone just the other day unbrick his phone
pm either of us we dont mind helping

hellcatrydr said:
Offer:
I've got a $30.00 PayPal for someone with decent rep here to walk me through the update.
History: This is a new virgin phone, exchanged today. (Sun) The OTA killed my previous phone and I was unable, for whatever reason, to restore nandroid, backup, nada. Until this morning, that was the best phone I've ever had because of this forum and esp the Tips & Tricks thread.
It had: Root, Rom Manager, Titanium Backup, Ryan's OCLF, Autostarts, and MOBILE AP wireless tethering app. (This one is a must for me.)
What I want:
I want the JI6 update installed and the above programs re-installed per the Tips thread... In whatever order you think is best. We verify these things work and I send money immediately. My word is good. (I can re-install my 40 odd apps afterward on my own time.
Background:
I have followed the Tips thread instructions for ODIN. (Open ODIN, press vol up & dn, plug in wire, see COM msg in box, (debug on) mount phone, Pit>...512, PDA>...JI6, START. ..... Nothing! 2 seconds later the message box says something like {All threads complete. 0 succeeded, 0 failed>}
Bottom line:
I've read posts for hours but since I don't really know what I'm doing well, I am also unable to sift through all the advice figuring out which poster's setup is like mine. At this point, I just want it done right.
I will edit this post when it's done. Thanks for reading.
Respond: [email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im pretty sure i know what u are doing wrong man. pm me and i can help u out if u havent already

I gave up on unbricking.
No Trunk, It was more of an escalation from a gentle request (at which point they told me "2 weeks & we'll mail it to ya' ".) through several layers of increasing... uhhh... 'amplitude', ("Okay, We'll do priority mail; 3 or 4 days.") culminating in chaining the duct taped Tmo rep's feet to the back of my hog for a quick ride up the street. ("I think we have one in the back, let me check...")
Cyber, your posted phone 'resume' sig is the scariest thing I've ever seen. (Except for my ex.) Does that thing have photon torpedoes too? Krap!
Okay, just kidding 'bout all that. Thank you guys for responding. Will send PMs tomorrow. (1 more brick & I'm gonna need mortar...) About 3-4 pm pacific time. Again, thanks.
I had root but no roms, no adb, no hardware unlock. I'm not a sophisticated power user. I loved it the way it was, except for the GPS/compass thing. It was fast (with the lagfix) and tethered wirelessly & easy w/ the Mobile AP, & I had some control over the running programs.

phone power off. (remove battery if you think it will help)
ok had my phone brick today took about an hour of googling, reading, downloading etc to get it to work again
Load odin
plug phone into USB (power off mind you) press and hold both volume keys at once, plug into PC, this "should boot you into download mode ( android guy with shovel screens says DOWNLOADING! once it loads into download mode you should see some Com info at the top left of odin, thats your cue to load the PDA and PIt file. check PDA box press start, and wait, installation should take about 5 mins

I was in motion with ODIN finally, when I accidentally pulled the USB cord out of my laptop. Now, all I get when trying to get in download mode is a graphic of a phone, a yellow triangle with exclamation mark, and a computer.
Holy crap this is a learning experience. Anyone know what do do?

adm1jtg said:
... Are you hardware locked? if so you need to download the patch for it also found on here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a patch to correct the hardware lock? Please provide a link.
Thanks
Edit Just found the link, hxxp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=802763 (replace the xx's with tt), and can't wait to fix my phone.

trunkstar1 said:
I was in motion with ODIN finally, when I accidentally pulled the USB cord out of my laptop. Now, all I get when trying to get in download mode is a graphic of a phone, a yellow triangle with exclamation mark, and a computer.
Holy crap this is a learning experience. Anyone know what do do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok here is your next step by step. First take a deep breath you CAN definitely recover this....
you need to hold down the up/down volume and the power button. The yellow triangle image will go dark and come back. You need to wait till after it goes dark twice then when the image shows up for the third time release the volume side. wait about 5 seconds and release the power. Should jump you back into download so make sure your odin is up and ready

adm1jtg said:
Ok here is your next step by step. First take a deep breath you CAN definitely recover this....
you need to hold down the up/down volume and the power button. The yellow triangle image will go dark and come back. You need to wait till after it goes dark twice then when the image shows up for the third time release the volume side. wait about 5 seconds and release the power. Should jump you back into download so make sure your odin is up and ready
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. Thank you so much. What a debacle. I'm stock again. Or at least, it looks like stock again. Now, to get the OTA update and hopefully this time it won't break my phone. I have no idea why it broke the last time I tried it.
My phone was so personalized before, I feel lost, like this is someone else's phone.

Stupid question... Why not just odin the official JI6 file that's posted and be done with it. Even better forget the JI6 and look at one of the awesome roms by eugene or bionix as they both use JI6 as their base?

Dude....where in OC are ya ?
I'm in Seal Beach,if you don't get it fixed before your stated 4pm pst time...gimme a holler and I'll even bring my laptop and cable.
Save the 30$, but you're buying the beers

adm1jtg said:
Stupid question... Why not just odin the official JI6 file that's posted and be done with it. Even better forget the JI6 and look at one of the awesome roms by eugene or bionix as they both use JI6 as their base?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if that was for me or not, but I don't even know what JI6 is... flashing stock was the first time I ever Odin'd anything before.

I don't have much of a rep here, but here's how I did things. I installed OCLF from the market, and rooted (and only rooted). Then I installed ROM manager and did a nandroid (and I did one after each change I made to my phone as well). Then I updated to JI6 through odin. After that, I gave myself MobileAP. Then (because I was hardware locked), I used odin to fix that. As far as I know, you can install everything else you got from the market from there (all root apps not already installed included). I can't really tell you how that lag fix from OCLF works with JI6, as I never actually used that part of the app (I only used it to root).
As a side note, you may get an error with odin if you aren't in download mode (but you may still get a com message). For a sure fire way to get into download mode, open odin, and then plug in your phone (completely booted). Use the adb command "adb reboot download" and you'll be in download mode and ready to use odin. Also, if you mess up, as long as you can get into download mode, you can use odin to flash back to how your phone originally shipped.

Update
Hey guys,
I HAVE JI6!!!
I'm the OP & I just logged on to send the PMs to be rescued. I saw the mini-kies method of installing JI6, tried it, and it worked. I'm re-rooted, oclf'ed, clockworked, & have re-installed many apps.
The MOBILE AP seems to be my last major hurdle. I forgot how I did it last time but it worked great! Now the instructions I think are different??? I don't remember any "flashing" with CW though. I've never flashed anything. I've read every post HERE but I'm gunshy now. Is there a "for dummies" way to do this?
Also, I have lost my Haptic feedback. It seems to be set correctly, but it's just not there. Even when I adjust the intensity up to full, nada. It may have happened after the OCLF install, or playing with Swype, not 100% sure. It definatelt was working an hour ago... Any ideas on this? Thanks.
Thanks for the "PM me" responses. You guys are slowly curing my ignorance. (very slowly...)

Member character...
Yep. The Brickmaster is back. After a 3 day long recovery process from a new phone, I had somehow done it again...
This is to say thanks to the multiple members who offered personal help but in particular, to the one who gave it. After a PM, this man called me back and for 2 straight hours on a Friday night, with no request for, or guarantee of payment, patiently led me through the technicalities of an Odin recovery. Somehow, he fixed my phone. And I got a little more education.
During the course of this call, it turned out he is an Iraq war veteran with a new baby who is re-enlisting in the military to serve his country even more! Thank you so much for your help, and my gratitude for your service to our country.
.................................................................................................
As for me, being a natural born electronics genius is rough. Last night I elevated the art of brickification to a new high. (2 clicks gentlemen. Beat that!!!) The poison pill was OCLF, then Voodoo, BTW.
Oh yeah, PS... If anyone needs their phone converted into a shiny black paperweight, get in touch. I'm among the best out there.

[Q] how brickable is the tab really?

Hi everyone!
I'm wondering, how risky it is to flash new firmware to the tab? Is it really brickable, I mean, is it possible to really really brick the tab to a point where it's not possible to fix it? I'm asking partly because I'm a rookie, but mostly because it seems that everyone who manages to brick their tab around here, is somehow able to restore it. Or am I mistaken?
Where I live, the tab has a starting price of $1100. And thats gotta be one of the most expensive bricks in xda history. And if I brick mine, I know I won't be able to resist buying a new one, which adds ut to a $2200 pricetag and a very VERY angry gf..
thanks btw to all of you who make this place what it is

As risky as any other device. Simple. The risk doesnt just lay on the devices shoulders, its the user and the rom maker.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Okay, I'm so confused with the brick-terminology being used here. In all posts regardig new firmware to the tab you'll see at least to guys saying that they bricked their tab. Only to say that they fixed it/unbricked it moments later.
I thought that if you bricked your device, whatever device it is, then it's dead, period. No more usefull than a brick like the ones you'll find in a brick wall, just a hell of a lot more expensive. Heck, the word "unbrick" shouldn't even exist by this definition.
So, let me rephrase:
If I brick my tab, can't I just unbrick it? And if not, why? Is it even possible for the tab to be totally and permanently bricked forever? Is the tab in any way safer to fool around with than other devices? Do we know anyone who have bricked their tab permanently? Should I be afraid of fooling around with my tabs firmware for real?

I think it's just a question of perception on the part of the person who "bricked" their device (the "brickie"? ). If you flash and find that you have what appears to be a dead device then you may well come on here and say "I've bricked my device!". You may then find that it's not bricked at all as there is a way (previously unknown to yourself) to recover. I remember in the old days on here people would pick up "bricked" phones on ebay etc, knowing that quite often they could recover them. It probably still happens...
But devices certainly can get permanently bricked too as you know. Personally, I would only flash if I had confidence in myself that it would work, having read up on the procedure and seen enough working examples. Others may just dive in and see what happens . Only you can decide if it's worth the risk or not, but these days I think it's quite rare to permanently brick a device if you fully understand the procedures and the risks. A stable recovery ROM makes a big difference. Not sure if the SGT has that yet.

paulshields said:
A stable recovery ROM makes a big difference. Not sure if the SGT has that yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's in the works, just not quite there yet.
As Paul said, there's always going to be a risk it COULD happen. But following documentation and fully understanding the task at hand before diving in helps to limit the risks to a minimum.

Thanks to all of you for enlightening me

When I was flashing the different files to get calling on my ATT Tab I managed to flash the wrong file and get the device not to boot up but there was still the "download mode" to go into and I was then able to flash the correct file. I find it is very rare to actually "brick" a device requiring the device to be replaced or cracked open & reprogrammed manually. Most of the time now when a device is described as a brick it just won't boot the OS like it is normally supposed to.

paulshields said:
I think it's just a question of perception on the part of the person who "bricked" their device (the "brickie"? ). If you flash and find that you have what appears to be a dead device then you may well come on here and say "I've bricked my device!". You may then find that it's not bricked at all as there is a way (previously unknown to yourself) to recover. I remember in the old days on here people would pick up "bricked" phones on ebay etc, knowing that quite often they could recover them. It probably still happens...
But devices certainly can get permanently bricked too as you know. Personally, I would only flash if I had confidence in myself that it would work, having read up on the procedure and seen enough working examples. Others may just dive in and see what happens . Only you can decide if it's worth the risk or not, but these days I think it's quite rare to permanently brick a device if you fully understand the procedures and the risks. A stable recovery ROM makes a big difference. Not sure if the SGT has that yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol @ "brickie" - I guess you have to be British to get that one?
As for "bricking" , quite right, the device isn't "bricked" if it can be fixed by the user.
People have gotten sloppy with the term, but really it means that you could build a house with it if it were fat enough, but it's no more useful than an expensive paperweight.
The worst you can do without bricking is boot-loop/no-boot which can usually be fixed. The point is, if the device shows any signs of life whatsoever, it's usually fixable.

I thought I bricked my tab, I got the infamous "phone-!-pc" screen
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:Samsung_Galaxy_S_Black_Screen_of_Death.jpg
I thought I was screwed. However, I still had it connected via USB and Odin still running and I saw that the com port popped up. I though, hmmmm
clicky and bam, its flashing.
Got it back.
This was after a stupid botched flash attempt on my part.
So, I think you REALLY gotta mess it up to be proper "bricked"

I did a lots of tries and I thing that is not that easy to brick, but I can give a suggestion: Backup the EFS folder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I deleted by mistake with root explorer the nv_data and relatives backups, and I had a corrupted IMEI that is not a brick but I think is one of the bad things (and hard to recover if not impossible if you don't have a backup) because if the carriers ban double IMEI the phone (tab) will not work + is not legal
Forgot to say: seems that some SGS firmware upgrades corrupted the IMEI too, I didn't see something flashing the TAB, but restoring the EFS folder will fix (almost always) the problems

I have not tried to brick my GT, but the JM6 gave me a scare... I have been flashing it for a while now.
The one thing you have to give up for now is SWYPE. I se you have a norwegian flag... And norwegian is not included in any flash I have found. So if you ever decide to try flashing. Say goodbye to SWYPE in norwegian for now...

Yeah, the loss of the Norwegian keyboard is the only thing stopping me from flashing jm6. Lucky for me, I'm very patient.
Sent from my HeTC Desire using XDA App

Apparently, you can brick it. I succeeded !
I flashed with Odin and a custom made PDA package including boot.bin but no repartition.
Odin flashed without problems but the Tab did not reboot and simply 'died'.
Black screen all the time, no recovery/download mode, not seen by the PC, does not charge on ac/dc (neither the charger or the PDA ever gets hot, no sound on connection, ...).
I'm letting the battery discharge completely (but how long can that take when it's not using any energy...) to test again tomorrow but I will probably RMA it on monday.

One thing that concerns me is not being able to remove the battery to force the phone to shut down completely.
As an example when I originally 'bricked' my SGS using Kies, no matter how many times I powered the phone it simply refused to go into Recovery or Download mode. All it would do was show me the two icons on screen.
The only way I managed to totally shut the phone down was by removing the battery and wait 30 seconds before returning. Only then would the SGS allow me to access the 3-Button Recovery/Download Mode.
So..... has anyone come across a situation where you needed to remove the battery and if so how did you manage to recover?

Beards said:
One thing that concerns me is not being able to remove the battery to force the phone to shut down completely.
As an example when I originally 'bricked' my SGS using Kies, no matter how many times I powered the phone it simply refused to go into Recovery or Download mode. All it would do was show me the two icons on screen.
The only way I managed to totally shut the phone down was by removing the battery and wait 30 seconds before returning. Only then would the SGS allow me to access the 3-Button Recovery/Download Mode.
So..... has anyone come across a situation where you needed to remove the battery and if so how did you manage to recover?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The worst I have done is get the device in the "Phone---!----PC" mode where you can't enter "Download Mode". It seems that simply flashing a new PIT file and then forcing it off, it will then enter download mode again.

alias_neo said:
The worst I have done is get the device in the "Phone---!----PC" mode where you can't enter "Download Mode". It seems that simply flashing a new PIT file and then forcing it off, it will then enter download mode again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little un-nerving isn't it... I have deep thoughts of not being able to get the Tab to drop out of memory by not being able to remove the battery and flush.

Beards said:
One thing that concerns me is not being able to remove the battery to force the phone to shut down completely.
As an example when I originally 'bricked' my SGS using Kies, no matter how many times I powered the phone it simply refused to go into Recovery or Download mode. All it would do was show me the two icons on screen.
The only way I managed to totally shut the phone down was by removing the battery and wait 30 seconds before returning. Only then would the SGS allow me to access the 3-Button Recovery/Download Mode.
So..... has anyone come across a situation where you needed to remove the battery and if so how did you manage to recover?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that when you leave/turn "USB Debugging" on in Applications -> Development, it is fairly save. As long as you are near a computer with adb installed and you have your usb cable within reach, you can reboot the device into recovery with adb reboot recovery or just reboot with adb reboot.
Another way is of course to let the battery run out of power, charge it and reboot.

appelflap said:
I think that when you leave/turn "USB Debugging" on in Applications -> Development, it is fairly save. As long as you are near a computer with adb installed and you have your usb cable within reach, you can reboot the device into recovery with adb reboot recovery or just reboot with adb reboot.
Another way is of course to let the battery run out of power, charge it and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that the Tab will accept an "adb reboot" in it's unresponsive black screen state or some other? I'v not yet come across a state where just holding power didn't turn it off.

appelflap said:
I think that when you leave/turn "USB Debugging" on in Applications -> Development, it is fairly save. As long as you are near a computer with adb installed and you have your usb cable within reach, you can reboot the device into recovery with adb reboot recovery or just reboot with adb reboot.
Another way is of course to let the battery run out of power, charge it and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running down the battery is an option... but it would take an age seeing as you're not doing anything with the phone except looking at two icons on a black screen.
alias_neo said:
Are you saying that the Tab will accept an "adb reboot" in it's unresponsive black screen state or some other? I'v not yet come across a state where just holding power didn't turn it off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That thought passed me by as well.

alias_neo said:
Are you saying that the Tab will accept an "adb reboot" in it's unresponsive black screen state or some other? I'v not yet come across a state where just holding power didn't turn it off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did . I was fooling around with the button definitions of the tab, I lost all my buttons so to speak (also the powerbutton) and couldn't get into the system. A simple adb reboot got me out of there without any problem.
Yes, I believe adb can connect with the Tab in very unresponsive states and still issue commands. I've seen it also with my old galaxy S. A bad flash and a blank screen still gave me access to the system shell with adb.
My lesson learned is: alway have "USB Debugging" turned on.

Vibrant USB Connection Issue

Hello XDA Community!
I made a post about this issue before, but have more details so hopefully someone can help me figure out this issue.
My phone even when unplugged from my PC continuously says USB Connected/ USB Debugging in the notification menu.
Also, when I try and reboot the phone, instead of booting even to the Vibrant logo screen, the loading circle continuously blinks on and off, without actually booting.
As I type this, I am not holding down the power button, and the loading circle is blinking on and off by itself....
I used to be able to turn the phone on into recovery mode in the past, but now when I try to reboot into recovery I get a big yellow picture that says "Downloading"
The only way the phone will turn on is if it is plugged in.
I am fairly certain that this reboot issue and the USB issue are correlated in some way.
Did anyone else have this issue with their phones? And if so, how did you solve it?

Another thing I have just discovered...
When the phone is on and idle, the USB Connection notification will constantly blink on and off, which is why I think the phone would do the same when trying to power on!
Is this a hardware issue or a software issue?
I have not flashed anything in a very long time before this issue started happening so I believe a restore is unnecessary .
Someone please help me! This is very annoying, not only do I have NO notification bar because of the constant USB Connection notification turning on and off, I cannot turn on my phone at all unless it is plugged in!
ACK!

Take it back
I carry the insurance, so personally if this was happening to me I would not even mess with it. It sounds like you have a genuine problem with the phone and it needs to be replaced.
If it is possible to do try a nandroid backup of your phone to make getting back to where you are on your new device easier. Then take your phone back to stock with the recovery image here -->
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734475 (Thank you justanothercrowd)
One you have a stock device see if you are still having the issue. If you are take it back as defective. Even if you don't have the insurance, that sounds like a factory defect and should be covered by the factory warranty. The insurance just makes the process easier and makes sure they just give you a swap out at the store rather than having to wait for repairs. It also covers things the warranty does not, such as screen breakage - which is the specific reason I carry the insurance.

Ah crap wish I had insurance.... Do I have to do that whole odin procedure or is there a one click un root procedure as well?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Nevermind i just read through that link you posted. So when i go to a t mobile store do i have to unroot or can i just hide my root applications until i get a new phone?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I actually have not had reason to go back to stock, or even use odin yet at this point. My only roms were .zip files that I flashed via clockwork recovery.
I would say that your best best it to just follow the instructions on justanothercrowd's thread very carefully and deliberately. You are already having issues with reboots and your USB port, so this is not the time to deviate into experiments.
So to cut you off and just answer you next three questions:
Q) Can I just . . .
A) No! Just follow the directions exactly.
Q) But can I . . .
A) No! Just follow the directions exactly.
Q) Do I have to . . .
A) Hey look, Just follow the damn directions exactly!
Sorry, I can't help much beyond that. You chose to modify your phone and risk that you would not have issues, just like the rest of us here. In your case you did have issues. Now you have to get it back to stock so they don't have any reason to claim you caused this or that your warranty is void. I hope all goes well and it works out for you. Let as know and keep us posted. Good luck.

Lo N Slo said:
Nevermind i just read through that link you posted. So when i go to a t mobile store do i have to unroot or can i just hide my root applications until i get a new phone?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We must have been typing at the same time LOL.
There is a thread on unrooting, and basically it is just deleting a few things. After doing this you should not have any non-stock applications on the phone and there would be no reason to think it was rooted unless they went digging on the file system. Personally, I would delete those telltale files just in case, it looks a little suspicious to bring in a phone that looks like it has not been used since you bought it, but they have no proof you did anything and you can claim that you first did a factory reset to see if it would fix the problem.

Just want to keep this thread going, as I am having the exact same issue as the OP as of today. It happened out of the blue, and I haven't flashed anything new to my phone since JI6 was released, other than that, it's just a stock, rooted phone.
Hoping someone has an idea, but I will likely get it replaced under warranty, since the GPS has never worked either.

damnit damnit damnit I really wish I had warranty.
Random question about clockword mod recoveries.
If I were to do a backup right now, and save that file to my computer, could I restore that file later on a different phone after I root my replacement?
I don't have that many mods flashed, and I know all of the apps can be synced, but still it would be sooo convenient .

I believe that is how it works, so yes. It should be no different then when you clone a hard drive to put the image on multiple computers for easy distribution.
It is (just like the cloning metaphor) hardware specific. Just like I could not purchase a upgrade computer and expect a cloned image to work, don't expect to create a Vibrant backup and restore it on a Captivate.
That said, you should be able to restore your backup to new (identical) hardware.
By the way, what is the warranty on these? I thought it was a year for defects. I didn't think the Vibrant had been around long enough yet for anyone to be off warranty.

it should be a year, but there was also the option for a purchased warranty. I did not purchase a warranty, so I should be good on just my manufacturer's defect warranty

Being discussed here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=817643

Stuck in bootloader --> Volume down is broken/stuck

Edit: Im stuck in bootloader with the only option to press power on is fastboot. and from there i cannot select any options because the navigation is broken. Im looking to restore it to factory so i can take it to the sprint store to have replaced. Please help me! Most likely an autorun from fastboot or a computer pushed through usb command promt that i can take over the phone. PLease HELP!

Have you tried the ruu? Its an executive file that you run from your computer and it restores your phone to stock. I've never had to run it so I cant tell you the exact details of how it works, but that could do the trick. I think there is a way also via using fastboot commands, but someone more intelligent then I will have to provide you with links. Also have you tried putting unrevoked forever s-on on your sd card and naming it PC36100.img then butting into hboot and letting it scan for that? Once it finds it, it should flash it on its own, then once youve done that, you can pull your sdcard again, delete that PC36100.img and put the PC36100.img that returns you to stock on your sdcard then boot into hboot again. It should find that image then flash you back to stock.

Ill try that. My down button is definatly either stuck, disconnected or something. When i press the up button and power it will Vibrate 5 times.
Ok i got the zip to load but my down and up buttons do nothing. is there a way i can have recovery auto run? or edit the hboot so that it automatically runs the recover.img?
Update: It's stuck in bootloader i guess... I restart and the volume down is stuck im pretty sure so it always goes to that. I have it hooked up to my computer, can i push commands through usb to it in bootloader menu...
Fastboot
...
....
Sim-lock
etc.
my only working option is to click power and have the fastboot initiate and then give me an option [1] ........ that i am unable to highlight or get to because of the stuck down button.

y0ungcitty said:
Ill try that. My down button is definatly either stuck, disconnected or something. When i press the up button and power it will Vibrate 5 times.
Ok i got the zip to load but my down and up buttons do nothing. is there a way i can have recovery auto run? or edit the hboot so that it automatically runs the recover.img?
Update: It's stuck in bootloader i guess... I restart and the volume down is stuck im pretty sure so it always goes to that. I have it hooked up to my computer, can i push commands through usb to it in bootloader menu...
Fastboot
...
....
Sim-lock
etc.
my only working option is to click power and have the fastboot initiate and then give me an option [1] ........ that i am unable to highlight or get to because of the stuck down button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all you need is fastboot mode, from there you can run the RUU

xHausx said:
all you need is fastboot mode, from there you can run the RUU
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What driver do i need for the device?
For some reason its not showing up as ready to do it.

The htc sync drivers
y0ungcitty said:
What driver do i need for the device?
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Click to collapse
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Both my volume keys are broken so I took my evo apart and used a thin metal to push the spring that controls the keys and load up a nandroid. Hope this helps.

alexisprz said:
Both my volume keys are broken so I took my evo apart and used a thin metal to push the spring that controls the keys and load up a nandroid. Hope this helps.
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Load up nandroid?? im so out of the whole evo scene. can i have a link or procedure.... sorry for being a big noob.

If I can remember, running the stock ruu exe will do everything for you without any need for you to do anything with the phone to help it. Just make sure you have the htc sync program installed. Next make sure the phone is on and running (not in hboot or recovery). Plug the phone into the computer with the data cable. Make sure it's only in charge mode. Run the ruu exe. Be patient because it might take some time to start up. Make sure you have nothing running in the background on the pc. No antivirus or anything and I do mean anything. Don't touch or move the phone or cable while the ruu is running or you might risk bricking the phone if the connection between the phone and pc is interrupted. Don't let the computer go to sleep or standby. Make sure your phone's battery has a full charge. The ruu will make the phone reboot into upload mode. Then it will upload all the stuff the phone needs to be put back to factory. It might reboot the phone a few times. This is normal. You don't have to worry about the broken volume buttons interfering with ruu.
Lastly, make sure you remove your sd card before you get to the store to let the tech check it out. Don't offer any additional information. Just tell them the volume buttons stopped working and you did a full factory reset before you got there.
After running the ruu, don't sign into google account so your personal information won't be on the phone and none of the programs you bought will show up in the market. You should have a backup old phone with you so you or they can activate it for you in case they want to keep or swap it out. If they give you a refurb, power it up and test it at the counter to your satisfaction BEFORE you leave the counter and store. I noticed something wrong with the refurb they gave me and I'm glad I didn't walk away. The tech fixed the problem with the refurb (uneven backlighting on the screen). I was able to use my old screen with the refurb's guts and my screen didn't have any flaws in it.
You do what you want but this is my suggestion based on my experience with exchanging a defective phone. I have full insurance and or tep so it was a hassle free experience.

herbthehammer said:
If I can remember, running the stock ruu exe will do everything for you without any need for you to do anything with the phone to help it. Just make sure you have the htc sync program installed. Next make sure the phone is on and running (not in hboot or recovery). Plug the phone into the computer with the data cable. Make sure it's only in charge mode. Run the ruu exe. Be patient because it might take some time to start up. Make sure you have nothing running in the background on the pc. No antivirus or anything and I do mean anything. Don't touch or move the phone or cable while the ruu is running or you might risk bricking the phone if the connection between the phone and pc is interrupted. Don't let the computer go to sleep or standby. Make sure your phone's battery has a full charge. The ruu will make the phone reboot into upload mode. Then it will upload all the stuff the phone needs to be put back to factory. It might reboot the phone a few times. This is normal. You don't have to worry about the broken volume buttons interfering with ruu.
Lastly, make sure you remove your sd card before you get to the store to let the tech check it out. Don't offer any additional information. Just tell them the volume buttons stopped working and you did a full factory reset before you got there.
After running the ruu, don't sign into google account so your personal information won't be on the phone and none of the programs you bought will show up in the market. You should have a backup old phone with you so you or they can activate it for you in case they want to keep or swap it out. If they give you a refurb, power it up and test it at the counter to your satisfaction BEFORE you leave the counter and store. I noticed something wrong with the refurb they gave me and I'm glad I didn't walk away. The tech fixed the problem with the refurb (uneven backlighting on the screen). I was able to use my old screen with the refurb's guts and my screen didn't have any flaws in it.
You do what you want but this is my suggestion based on my experience with exchanging a defective phone. I have full insurance and or tep so it was a hassle free experience.
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I already have a pre activated but i cannot get the phone to start without going into the Power+Down Menu... Can i run RUU from that? im not able to get it running on Android

I don't know. Something worse could happen but there's also a chance it might work. I am guessing ruu would tell it to reboot into upload mode. If the phone couldn't get into that mode the ruu might stop. This is just speculation. If you knew that the tech wouldn't bust you for having root, then I'd say to just take it in. It's a big risk in my opinion.
I don't know if there is a img file to fastboot flash a stock recovery. I don't know if that would help. Need to figure out a way to get the s-on and push stock back into it, or at the very least get s-on in hboot.
I'm thinking that because if the button is broke, and you can't get the phone past the hboot screen, then maybe the tech might not want to waste anymore time on it and just order a replacement. The hboot screen would be the only thing he could get into. I don't know but I think it could be helpful, maybe, if adb or something else could push an original rom into it at the screen it's stuck in. I think if you tried, if it wasn't working, the phone and adb wouldn't be communicating like normal and adb would not continue. I am guessing pushing a stock recovery wouldn't turn s-on. It would be great if it did.
I would say that talking with one of the devs that has got their hands dirty in hboot and fastboot, might give better advice. Perhaps they know of a way to force things into the phone that the general public wouldn't normally need to know or do. I am no expert. I suggest talking to people that developed in those areas. Didn't toast work with that?
I don't know what else to suggest. I'm running out of ideas.

I just had another idea. What if you could get a pc36img.zip, or whatever it's called, into root of the card and the phone will want to flash it. Only snag I can think of is I think hboot will ask if you want to flash or update or whatever it's called. That might be the down button. Maybe someone could run with that idea?
I would say read the rooting articles and see if you can adapt what they are saying to push stock everything back in instead of trying to root.
Even if you can't get the updated rom to install, if it can be pushed into the phone and the phone is made to boot like normal, the phone "should" try to apply it if anyone can get it to boot normally. I'm thinking that's another way to cover your ass.
If all else fails, then I would suggest to say a little prayer before going to the store and hope for a tech that isn't going to be a **** about it. Don't get an attitude towards the employees because that could make things much more difficult for you. A seasoned dev or a tech might be the only people that could help. Going into the irc channel for the evo and hanging around in there might get you hooked up with someone that could help more than the people that hang in the forums. I don't see serious devs hanging around the forum and bullshitting with the people there. Go where they might be, in irc. Be cool with them, don't be aggressive or flaky. If you are nice/cool with them, they might take the time away from what they are working on to help you.

herbthehammer said:
I just had another idea. What if you could get a pc36img.zip, or whatever it's called, into root of the card and the phone will want to flash it. Only snag I can think of is I think hboot will ask if you want to flash or update or whatever it's called. That might be the down button. Maybe someone could run with that idea?
I would say read the rooting articles and see if you can adapt what they are saying to push stock everything back in instead of trying to root.
Even if you can't get the updated rom to install, if it can be pushed into the phone and the phone is made to boot like normal, the phone "should" try to apply it if anyone can get it to boot normally. I'm thinking that's another way to cover your ass.
If all else fails, then I would suggest to say a little prayer before going to the store and hope for a tech that isn't going to be a **** about it. Don't get an attitude towards the employees because that could make things much more difficult for you. A seasoned dev or a tech might be the only people that could help. Going into the irc channel for the evo and hanging around in there might get you hooked up with someone that could help more than the people that hang in the forums. I don't see serious devs hanging around the forum and bullshitting with the people there. Go where they might be, in irc. Be cool with them, don't be aggressive or flaky. If you are nice/cool with them, they might take the time away from what they are working on to help you.
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thanks! were can i go to find this irc? ive gotten a recovery image on the evo's root micro sd in a pc3600 or w.e zip and gotten it to ask me if id like to run it but it wont go any further than that because i cant chose the option. I have a bit of nail glue and im thinking about trying to glue a hair pin to the down button and giving it a pull while i try and run or maybe i can break the button and say oh well... and then from there do it. I dont have any hex or w.e screw driver that are small enough to open the case and do the option described in page one of this forum. Thank you everyone for the help! and keep the ideas coming. I refuse to let this turn out bad, worst comes to worst ill replicate water damage or something and fry the damn thing. then bring it in as a brick.

Any guru's have a quick idea because i want to do this swap.. im so sick of the palm pre. Its like a baby compared to android.

The irc info should be on one of the stickies at the top of the forum. Shouldn't it say something like join us at #evo or something like that.
This is where you can be opening a can of worms, so you've been warned. You can go to sears I think and the tool section and I think they might sell those wierd screwdrivers. I found one that worked for my macbook's harddrive brackets. It's long, has a black handle and generally different colored caps on top of the handle. I kinda doubt radio shack would have it but you could try. Oh, and get a guitar pick to use a the tool to separate the two halves of the phone. I wouldn't use anything else or it might f up the plastic and be obvious you was inside. Maybe look for an evo teardown video somewhere to show you what to expect. Don't force anything!

herbthehammer said:
The irc info should be on one of the stickies at the top of the forum. Shouldn't it say something like join us at #evo or something like that.
This is where you can be opening a can of worms, so you've been warned. You can go to sears I think and the tool section and I think they might sell those wierd screwdrivers. I found one that worked for my macbook's harddrive brackets. It's long, has a black handle and generally different colored caps on top of the handle. I kinda doubt radio shack would have it but you could try. Oh, and get a guitar pick to use a the tool to separate the two halves of the phone. I wouldn't use anything else or it might f up the plastic and be obvious you was inside. Maybe look for an evo teardown video somewhere to show you what to expect. Don't force anything!
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Click to collapse
Thanks I baught a T5 screw driver that will be here the 10th or the 11th and im excited to crack it open haha. Ill let you know the updates of what happens and how the sprint reps react. To w.e damage i decide to throw at it

y0ungcitty said:
Thanks I baught a T5 screw driver that will be here the 10th or the 11th and im excited to crack it open haha. Ill let you know the updates of what happens and how the sprint reps react. To w.e damage i decide to throw at it
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Came in. and i opened the phone up jiggled the down button got it unstuck and then I was able to re-flash a custom rom so im just going to use this phone untilll it really ****s the bed again.

Hard bricked and possible hardware issue. I need advice please.

I recently received a used epic 4g when a friend replaced his phone, all was good but then yesterday the phone froze. I took the battery out and powered it back on it then took a long time to boot (2 minutes+) and once it finally did boot it was unusable and very unresponsive. I looked online and got into restore mode and then encountered a problem, my buttons at the bottom don't work therefore I could not hit the home button to select an option.
So I then used Odin to restore it (Used stock stuff). After I restored it it was working fine again. Then today i dropped it 2 feet off my bed and it went back to booting slow and then being unresponsive once booted. I then tried to restore it with Odin again but I made a mistake and didn't put the PDA file in and now my phone seems to be hard bricked (noob move I know).
I am considering sending it in for JTAG but I have some questions. Do you guys think the SLOW booting and unresponsive once booted issues were hardware issues? Will it just do that again eventually after I pay for it to be JTAG fixed? Also do you think they would be able to fix the buttons at the bottom? I would appreciate any advice.
Also please don't kick me when I am down, I know not double checking my Odin stuff was a dumb move, that's not what this thread is about.

So to just be sure, you can't power it on at all? The slow booting seems like a ROM problem. If you can get into Download mode you can fix it. If not, then you are definitely bricked and need to take it in.
If you could though, just reodin the proper files WITHOUT rushing.
I've dropped my phone everyday (I've even found out gorilla glass is ass since it cracked) but its always booted unless I did some dumb **** to it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

A_Flying_Fox said:
So to just be sure, you can't power it on at all? The slow booting seems like a ROM problem. If you can get into Download mode you can fix it. If not, then you are definitely bricked and need to take it in.
If you could though, just reodin the proper files WITHOUT rushing.
I've dropped my phone everyday (I've even found out gorilla glass is ass since it cracked) but its always booted unless I did some dumb **** to it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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Thanks for the reply
Correct I can't get it to power on at all. A second opinion on whether or not there was a hardware issue would nice, it just seems odd to me that the exact same thing would happen again a day later. When I bricked it I accidentally only used a pit file. When I did it right the first time I followed a guide and had a pit file and a PDA file, I assume one of those is(or includes) the ROM but I don't really know a lot about this stuff. I am considering just selling this one on ebay as-is if you guys think its a hardware issue and getting a new phone but if not I'll send it to be fixed.

JoeCow said:
Thanks for the reply
Correct I can't get it to power on at all. A second opinion on whether or not there was a hardware issue would nice, it just seems odd to me that the exact same thing would happen again a day later. When I bricked it I only had a pit file. When I did it right the first time I followed a guide and had a pit file and a PDA file, I assume one of those is(or includes) the ROM but I don't really know a lot about this stuff. I am considering just selling this one on ebay as-is if you guys think its a hardware issue and getting a new phone but if not I'll send it to be fixed.
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try removing the battery. then try to get into download mode with it plugged into the computer only no battery also remove sd card.

tazfanatic said:
try removing the battery. then try to get into download mode with it plugged into the computer only no battery also remove sd card.
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Thanks!! that did it. I had actually already tried that but tried it again when you suggested it I couldn't get it initially but kept trying and eventually tried unplugging it and plugging it back in while holding one and power the whole time and that got it. So was the slow boot thing happening twice just unlucky or is there something else I need to root or whatever?

JoeCow said:
Thanks!! that did it. I had actually already tried that but tried it again when you suggested it I couldn't get it initially but kept trying and eventually tried unplugging it and plugging it back in while holding one and power the whole time and that got it. So was the slow boot thing happening twice just unlucky or is there something else I need to root or whatever?
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My guess is the slow booting was data corruption. A clean install should fix that. After Odining in the stock EL30 run it like that for a few days to see how it is working before looking into rooting it and a custom ROM.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

kennyglass123 said:
My guess is the slow booting was data corruption. A clean install should fix that. After Odining in the stock EL30 run it like that for a few days to see how it is working before looking into rooting it and a custom ROM.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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what kenny said

Thanks guys, saved me $50s should i have sent it in. I appreciate it. I watched a few of the videos on rooting it and I saw the recovery program used to root things lets you use the camera button as apposed to the home button for selecting things. Think I should switch to that since my bottom buttons are broken? It looked like I probably wouldn't be able to navigate back in menus after selecting something but that would be better then not being able to select anything.

JoeCow said:
Thanks guys, saved me $50s should i have sent it in. I appreciate it. I watched a few of the videos on rooting it and I saw the recovery program used to root things lets you use the camera button as apposed to the home button for selecting things. Think I should switch to that since my bottom buttons are broken? It looked like I probably wouldn't be able to navigate back in menus after selecting something but that would be better then not being able to select anything.
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Click to collapse
If they are still broken after a fresh Odin then yes the newer CWM will work fine for you. There are widgets somewhere (don't remember) to add those buttions to your screen once you get it working right.

If the buttons really are toasted there are two fairly good onscreen button apps available. One is called Zmooth and the other is called Button Savior.