Database Users

[HOWTO] reset custom binary counter in download mode

Managed to find the solution to this today, all by accident.
Using the magical USB jig used on the sgs to put it into download mode.
Video below shows it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poH6TMbuj3E
It resets the counter and says that the binary is default, but it is still the custom kernel.
It also removes the warning symbol at the bottom of the screen on each boot.
How did i find it?
Well, you know the download mode jig you can make to put the sgs into download mode. I make them and sell them on ebay to make a few quid. (not too great, too many others doing it)
I thought "it worked on my sgs, will it work on this?"
powered off the sgs II plugged the jig in and encountered a sceen saying "erasing download information succeeded" and now it says I have no custom binaries and my current binary is "samsung official", when its chainfires.
It also removes the triangle warning on first boot because it thinks its genuine. But I still have my root privelages.
I call this a warranty solution. All thanks to a resistor and u micro usb plug.
Where Can I Get One?
Guide to make the jig
MOD EDIT: No selling

Great find
Have 22 on my counter ...

DocRambone said:
Great find
Have 22 on my counter ...
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Click to collapse
Hmm.... U might need one if that breaks

good, great discovery

Sweet. nice find.

I wonder... this resistor value trick came from the samsung anywhere box, which is used for field repairs of phones.
This is the procedure for a SGS1 that lights up but won't boot or go to download.
So tbh it makes sense that this would force it to download, as the box remains the same for a while.
Also this suggests UART loading of a bootloader might be possible, given what is going on in i9000 section in trying to get unbrick working via the usb connector.
That mode looks to be entered with a different resistor value. Perhaps there are other interesting modes we can get to?

Actually on the subject of that, if you run "adb reboot download" you get into download mode without the info at the top, so in theory this phone has 3 download modes.

dh2311 said:
Actually on the subject of that, if you run "adb reboot download" you get into download mode without the info at the top, so in theory this phone has 3 download modes.
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An install from there still adds to your download count though

I think there is one download mode, but two ways to enter it, plus jig forcing boot into it with a reset...

Rawat said:
An install from there still adds to your download count though
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yeh, tested that before

Earlier today, i rebooted the phone and almost dropped it. In the process of catching it, i pressed/held and unknown button in, and when the phone started up, it was showing 'safe mode' in the bottom left corner of the screen. When i opened the app drawer, there were no third party apps showing, only the apps that came as standard. Sadly i forgot to take a screen capture due to being in a panic and rebooting the phone once more, whilst lay gently on the couch.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

stoney73 said:
Earlier today, i rebooted the phone and almost dropped it. In the process of catching it, i pressed/held and unknown button in, and when the phone started up, it was showing 'safe mode' in the bottom left corner of the screen. When i opened the app drawer, there were no third party apps showing, only the apps that came as standard. Sadly i forgot to take a screen capture due to being in a panic and rebooting the phone once more, whilst lay gently on the couch.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
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That is a standard feature on some phones. The tmob pulse had it iirc too.
So... what buttons does the sgs2 have? I presume you mean physical ones. I am sure we can figure it out.
The mode is handy if something like set cpu freezes your phone, as you can boot it whilst ignoring the trash you can installed.

great works really

pulser_g2 said:
That is a standard feature on some phones. The tmob pulse had it iirc too.
So... what buttons does the sgs2 have? I presume you mean physical ones. I am sure we can figure it out.
The mode is handy if something like set cpu freezes your phone, as you can boot it whilst ignoring the trash you can installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's boot+menu+home on SGS. Or Boot+Menu.

Thanks a lot
I solved a very very big problem on my sgs2.
I'll try SGS2 in Korea(SHW-M250S).

dont wana sound to dumb but your saying this will rmeove that triangle symbol and reset the counter and show its samsung?
where are they on ebay? item number? also do they come with instructions?

vimto25 said:
dont wana sound to dumb but your saying this will rmeove that triangle symbol and reset the counter and show its samsung?
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Yes, I dont know why but it does!

Just incase we have to claim warranty for any reason, samsung should not find any software tamper from us
Triangle can be removed as of now, Counter fix will be there.. soon (I hope)
vimto25 said:
dont wana sound to dumb but your saying this will rmeove that triangle symbol and reset the counter and show its samsung?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

dh2311 said:
Yes, I dont know why but it does!
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Click to collapse
I sat and pondered this today. I now have a hypothesis.
The Samsung Anyway field test rig is what repair people, and samsung, use to repair phones. You get bad flashes even on official updates, or something just dies.
This device goes into the USB port, and supplies the device power, then lets the technician fix the phone.
One of the things they may need to do would be refurb a phone. That would require resetting such "flags" as these, if there was something wrong. So it would make sense that their test jig would reset this counter.
Since the test kit doesn't change often AFAIK, it would use a standard method of doing the reset, given the jig will be the same as used on other devices. Hence the good old 301k
I'd be willing to bet if you look at the "fun with resistors" thread over in i9000, you will get most of them working too, albeit with perhaps different things. As such I don't recommend messing about unless you know what each does...
Just my hypothesis as to why this happens.

Where on ebay can i get 1 as i carnt
find any :-(
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

[Q] acer iconia a500

hi im new to android but my problem is that when i boot it it just stays on acer screen iv tried resstin but nothin happens acer surport wont help im pullin my hair out its been like this for 2 days now and nothin at all any 1 help thanks

So what did you try to do to it?

i tryed ressetin it with the reset button but nothin happens i read on here something about put usb keyboard on and press home done that it just says e:/dev/block/mmcblk1 does not exist e:failed to mount /mnt/sdcard (no such file or directory)e:cant /mnt sdcard/update.zip installation aborted

No, I mean what did you do to break it? Or was it like that when you bought it? If so, far easier to take it back.

it was like that when i bought it

Then it's probably far easier to take it back, as we can't tell what's actually wrong with it.

nick45 said:
it was like that when i bought it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just return it to your seller and ask for replacement...

Boot takes quite while. How long did you wait before giving up? Also does it have a full battery charge? You might try booting it up while it is plugged in and charging.

left it on for an hour just wont boot up my daughter bought it of ebay with that fault on it thinkin i would be able to fix it but i no nothing about these things

nick45 said:
left it on for an hour just wont boot up my daughter bought it of ebay with that fault on it thinkin i would be able to fix it but i no nothing about these things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably why it was on ebay

nick45 said:
left it on for an hour just wont boot up my daughter bought it of ebay with that fault on it thinkin i would be able to fix it but i no nothing about these things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, well in that case, I suggest you search the board for the Chinese update.zip fix and instructions, then look in the full package and update thread. Read EVERYTHING about them, then try the steps described to fix the device.
You could also try grabbing the new 3.1 official (leaked) update, copy it to an external SD card, and boot in to recovery (Power + -Vol button (the left side of the volume rocker).

Alright...which one of you early A500 hackers sold this guy's daughter your bricked A500?

thanks to all managed to sort it out

Well? Do tell!

stuck at asus spinning circle

Stock tablet, no root or super kernel etc..
Last update done. still the RR on effects, excepts, now it wont start again.
I'm stuck at the spinning circle.
How can i fix that ?
Or i'm seriously thinking of throwing that &*@# back to asus.
Anyone on the same boat ?

So when you power it off and power it on again, it freezes sometime during the ASUS boot animation every time?

ssl123 said:
So when you power it off and power it on again, it freezes sometime during the ASUS boot animation every time?
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Yes, always the spinning circle, not freezed, always spinn,nothing more.. until battery die i suppose.

What are the first few characters of your serial number, because you're probably going to have to NVFlash that, if your device will allow it.

ssl123 said:
What are the first few characters of your serial number, because you're probably going to have to NVFlash that, if your device will allow it.
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Click to collapse
It is one of the first, i don't have it right now, i'll have to look at the box, cause the sticker is not there anymore.
If i have to do something out of the usual, i'll just send it back to asus.. this is a non working unit that need to be repair, or replaced, or they can put it where i think.

karlr30 said:
It is one of the first, i don't have it right now, i'll have to look at the box, cause the sticker is not there anymore.
If i have to do something out of the usual, i'll just send it back to asus.. this is a non working unit that need to be repair, or replaced, or they can put it where i think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Vol down plus power button
Wait till you see the options of cold boot linux or wipe data,
try wiping data to see if it help

baseballfanz said:
Try Vol down plus power button
Wait till you see the options of cold boot linux or wipe data,
try wiping data to see if it help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok i'll try this at home, i'll plug it before to be sure.
and i'll came back to you.

If you have one of the early units, it should definitely be NVFlashable. The symptoms sound like a system file or system files have been corrupted. NVFlashing the unit with a "known good" image should correct that. Unless there are hardware problems as well, I would not send it in for warranty repair, because there is always a chance that it comes back with more hardware problems than it currently has, whether due to bad technical work or due to transit. With an NVFlash-capable device, almost all software problems can be resolved on our own.
---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 PM ----------
Yes, try baseballfanz suggestion first. It's worth a shot, and it's easy. With any luck, that'll be all that's needed.

karlr30 said:
ok i'll try this at home, i'll plug it before to be sure.
and i'll came back to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried the wipe data, and it is working now.
All apps are being re-instaled right now.
Thanks a lot.
As for my satisfaction of the asus tablet, it is getting worse, let's just say if they don't fixe the RR and vpn soon.. well, you know, when the time will come to buy another one, the choice will be made easier by elimination.
I was this close, to either throw it back at them, or just crush it with a hammer... i don't care for the cost, we have to pay for our error. Mine might just have been to pick up that tablet from asus.
Future will tell us.

Have you tried holding down the power button for at least 10 seconds? Sounds like one of the reported problems lots of people are having.
Edit - ignore me, I didn't read your posts properly :-(
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

simonr43 said:
Have you tried holding down the power button for at least 10 seconds? Sounds like one of the reported problems lots of people are having.
Edit - ignore me, I didn't read your posts properly :-(
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Yes i did that too.
I had to do that several time before.
The wipe data did work this time,lets hope it stay that way.

Bricked? What can i else do?

Hi, i tried too install Android 4.0.4 on HTC H2 After many failes(Android stucked at GoGoGo) I have done next task29+radio, then on 96% it stucked vibrated few times and error occured. Now when i'm trying to turn on phone it keeps vibrating, and display nothing, cant get to bootloader either. Anything else i can do about that?
EDIT: ALSO when connecting phone to PC its system "sees" yet it keeping disconnecting and connectiong every 5-10 sec.
EDIT2: Is there an option, to buy some screen broken HD2 and just change motherboard?

can you see 4 colors with vol down + power??? (HSPL)

a2852 said:
cant get to bootloader either.
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No, i can't.

Try using ebay there are many many htc hd2s with touch broken
P.S. Here are some links from ebay
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=htc+hd2+broken&_frs=1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-HD2-Tac...?pt=FR_Téléphones_mobiles&hash=item1e8fc43b41
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-HD-2-T-...1255190083?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1e8f6b4243

So the only choice is to replace "insides", thanks for help. I'll use my country's auction site a lot cheaper

a2852 said:
So the only choice is to replace "insides", thanks for help. I'll use my country's auction site a lot cheaper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i think the problem is the flash (ROM) chip. It is on motherboard so yes you must replace "insides". And i am sorry for your phone.:crying:

Have you tried to uninstall the drivers for the phone? And if your computer is Asus, do you have an app called Asus usb charger or something like that?
I had a problem with an Iphone which was not recognized by Itunes. And the device manager was going crazy, bcs the computer kept switching off the connection with the phone. It turned out there was an Asus app, called Asus usb charger or something like that, which was causing the problem.
So, check everything on your PC and find out why the connection keep getting switched off, format your memory card with SD formatter and after that try to flash it with Windows 6.5.
Best of luck!

bojan.sof said:
Yes i think the problem is the flash (ROM) chip. It is on motherboard so yes you must replace "insides". And i am sorry for your phone.:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the exact same problem, put the main board in the oven at 210c for 10 mins, not only is it fixed, it works better than before

Bricked/randomly shuts off

Hello everyone! So my problem aroused a few days ago when I noticed my phone would randomly reboot and get stuck on the boot screen. I would have to mess around and finally only to get a few minutes of usage. I had King Rom installed which I believe was the issue. Fortunately, while trying to use Odin to recovery to stock, it shuts off in the middle of recovery mode. Now I am getting the screen that says: an error has occurred while updating the device software. please use the emergency recovery function in the smart switch pc software. I have been up all night trying to fix this with no results. I am so upset because I rely on my phone for my job as I am a delivery driver. I can't afford a new phone right now and I don't know what to do. It seems like I am pretty much SOL. I am hoping someone will be able to help me! Thanks so much

Somehow I was actually able to restore it to stock successfully in Odin. But before it will finish the initiation process it reboots over and over and the issue persists. Could there be another factor as to why this has happened?

slimspittle said:
Somehow I was actually able to restore it to stock successfully in Odin. But before it will finish the initiation process it reboots over and over and the issue persists. Could there be another factor as to why this has happened?
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Click to collapse
Well, if you're unlucky it might as well be a hardware related failure.
If you look through XDA, there are more and more people having the boot loop problem right now (me included).
Especially after the latest December FW update.
I would try to do a emergency restore through SmartSwitch, then factory reset.
That's the last thing I tried, although it didn't help me in the end and now my mobile is back at Samsung for repair.
If it still bootloops after these steps I think you're out of luck and have to contact a Samsung repair center.

slimspittle said:
aroused
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Arose is the word i think you were looking for!!

MisterKanister said:
Well, if you're unlucky it might as well be a hardware related failure.
If you look through XDA, there are more and more people having the boot loop problem right now (me included).
Especially after the latest December FW update.
I would try to do a emergency restore through SmartSwitch, then factory reset.
That's the last thing I tried, although it didn't help me in the end and now my mobile is back at Samsung for repair.
If it still bootloops after these steps I think you're out of luck and have to contact a Samsung repair center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well my phone is the International from Kenya and I'm not sure if Samsung will honor the warranty. I am able to get to the point where you add your Google account. From that point, it gets stuck at ''just a sec''. From that point, it starts to freeze. I guess somehow the phone is still messed up. Think I should try flashing it again?

Do you have TWRP or any custom recovery, does it freeze when your in that menu? Do you have an external SD inside?

dude9946 said:
Do you have TWRP or any custom recovery, does it freeze when your in that menu? Do you have an external SD inside?
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Click to collapse
No I do not anymore and it freezes when the firmware has loaded and it says optimizing apps. And yes I do have a an SD Card

Long shot... have you tired booting up the phone without the card in? It's really sounding like a hardware problem, maybe GPU if it gets triggered reliably...

dude9946 said:
Long shot... have you tired booting up the phone without the card in? It's really sounding like a hardware problem, maybe GPU if it gets triggered reliably...
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So this time I actually retried Odin with stock restored from a different website. Then bypassed adding a google account. From that point, I no longer got to the ''just a sec'' screen. I was actually able to fully set up the device. I am assuming it will still have issues occasionally. We will see though. I am very lucky because I go to work in a few hours and would miss out on so much tips! Thanks everyone for your support! If the phone still has problems after a restore how do you get a hold of Samsung if its an International phone. Do you have to send it back to the country of origin?

Samsung may decide that you need to contact the country of origin, I know for example Sony stopped supporting international phones in their repair centers last year... While you have the phone up and running try to get some diagnostic info on why its happening.

dude9946 said:
Samsung may decide that you need to contact the country of origin, I know for example Sony stopped supporting international phones in their repair centers last year... While you have the phone up and running try to get some diagnostic info on why its happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would I go about doing that?

slimspittle said:
How would I go about doing that?
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Click to collapse
you could get CPU-Z from the app store and take screenshots.
Although i dont thing that would help, just call the samsung support line and select to go to phones and explain whats happening. you wont have to send the phone back to the country of origin.

Cyber5hark said:
you could get CPU-Z from the app store and take screenshots.
Although i dont thing that would help, just call the samsung support line and select to go to phones and explain whats happening. you wont have to send the phone back to the country of origin.
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Click to collapse
I agree you should call Samsung, However you might* still need to send it back to its Origin... It's totally up to Samsung's current policy on supporting international phones. Due to cost, a lot of repair centers really only keep parts/new phones for the ones locally available. However, It's also possible that they are able to contact their international warehouse for parts... So who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Keep us updated though, other users in your situation would love to know what happens!

dude9946 said:
I agree you should call Samsung, However you might* still need to send it back to its Origin... It's totally up to Samsung's current policy on supporting international phones. Due to cost, a lot of repair centers really only keep parts/new phones for the ones locally available. However, It's also possible that they are able to contact their international warehouse for parts... So who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Keep us updated though, other users in your situation would love to know what happens!
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Click to collapse
Okay so now it is stuck in a bootloop even after restoring to Odin again. I will try to get a hold of Samsung to see what they say. If not, I paid for my phone with my Wells Fargo Credit card and they have insurance. May get a replacement through them if Samsung won't help

So I just called them and they said to go into my local Samsung store within Best Buy to have them reflash the firmware lol. Going to take it their now to see what happens. Wish me luck

slimspittle said:
So I just called them and they said to go into my local Samsung store within Best Buy to have them reflash the firmware lol. Going to take it their now to see what happens. Wish me luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha! did you tell them you already tried... good luck, keep us updated!

@slimspittle dont let us down, we need an update!

Okay so to send it in to Samsung(No charge for software issue as they said) they want a receipt with the IMEI on it. I bought the phone from Amazon and their is no IMEI on the receipt.