Database Users

[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.

how not to update a rom

i was updating my vibrant phone in kies and i thought the file was still being downloaded when i received a call.
i took the call and got off as soon as possible.
when the installation finished it started to reboot but never made it and i have not been able to get any kind of start-up screen at all.
i am totally bricked.
before the update i was able to get into download mode but no more.
no two button or three button combos work.
i am leaving the battery out all night and will try again tomorrow but i am not hopeful.
moral of the story is take out the damn sim card when updating so as not to screw up the download.
sigh.
anyone have any ideas what to do with the boat anchor besides trying to talk t-mobile into taking it back.

Same thing happened to me a while back.
the only way of resurrecting your phone if its COMPLETELY bricked is to use a JIG box... Google it... Otherwise its basically paperweight and if you have insurance call it in lost or stolen.

You corrupted the bootloader.

all the jig boxes say they get the phone into download mode.
however one of the ebay vendors says:
If your phone screen is always black, turn it on and if it stays completely black, then sorry, but NO USB jig will help you.
so i don't understand how the jig will help me since i cannot get any response from the phone at all.
how is the jig wired.
do you know.
thanks.
irv

You should have put it into airplane mode :/.

buru898 said:
You should have put it into airplane mode :/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should have not used that POS called Kies

He shouldn't have answered the phone.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

You can try the jig it may work for you connextion2005 sells for 8 bucks. You can try to push the bootloader through adb, don;t know you exact situation. If those don't work then you could return it and clam under warranty that the it got jacked up when updating on Kies, and get a new phone. (refurbished one probably)
Good luck

This happened to me a while ago and i could not get into recovery or download mode at all. I did the search on the forums, and there was a way to get it back into download mode. Just search it and it might work for you. i'm sorry i don't remember the method itself but good luck.
EDIT: this is not it, but try the "no-boot method"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848737&highlight=download+mode
irv6744 said:
i was updating my vibrant phone in kies and i thought the file was still being downloaded when i received a call.
i took the call and got off as soon as possible.
when the installation finished it started to reboot but never made it and i have not been able to get any kind of start-up screen at all.
i am totally bricked.
before the update i was able to get into download mode but no more.
no two button or three button combos work.
i am leaving the battery out all night and will try again tomorrow but i am not hopeful.
moral of the story is take out the damn sim card when updating so as not to screw up the download.
sigh.
anyone have any ideas what to do with the boat anchor besides trying to talk t-mobile into taking it back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

jamesd86 said:
should have not used that POS called Kies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never used kies just like I never used activesync .

the no boot method didn't work for me.
i will probably try the jig method one of these days but i don't have much hope for that either.
airplane mode is a good idea when updating..
should be mentioned more often.
what do people use instead of kies for updating and backups.
thanks

i made my own jig with a 301k resistor and a usb connector and there was no joy.
i think i am dead in the water.
i am thinking of getting a phone with a broken screen and swapping out the screens.
is that a tough job?

Atrix bricked

Searched the whole forum but couldn't find a solution. It was bricked after gingerbreak method of rooting and suddenly restarted itself. Now, all i can see is just the red dual core motorola bootlogo. It doesn't pass that screen either it doesn't restart itself. Stuck on the bootlogo till the battery is depleted.
It can't enter RSD nor Fastboot mode so can't be detected by the pc. This is the atrix of my friend, i have mine working normally, so no battery problem here.
Any suggestions and ideas are very welcome.
Thanks.

Pull the battery for restart & see if you can enter RSD mode immediately upon turning it back on???
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

Google your local Motorola service center and tell them you downloaded an app and then that happened.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Tried both, no solution.
Motorola Turkey office just recommends to contact the moto office where the phone was originally purchased and that is motorola usa.

Semseddin said:
Tried both, no solution.
Motorola Turkey office just recommends to contact the moto office where the phone was originally purchased and that is motorola usa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds terrible... brick before bootloader finishes? Holding volume-down or up gives nothing? It is very unlikely that Gingerbreak could do anything like this. Unless your friend flashed a rogue bootloader, baseband, or bad .sbf, I think maybe you have a hardware problem.. sucks they will not do the return-ship to USA for you. Maybe ask Crnkoj about this, he has asked Moto re: some exchanges from EU.. (not sure if they were more helpful tho)
As always, I would 'watch' (linux command) 'lsusb' (another linux command) to see if the device ever appears when plugged in, if there is a chance you could still sbf flash it.. but I am doubtful.

You know that i can try anything to debrick this broken beast. Wide open to try anything. I am not fond of linux but the lsusb command, how do i do that ?
And yes, it's very strange but gingerbreak method bricked this phone. Didn't brick mine or others tho. It was never used and working great before the rooting process. Not sure what my friend did but in the end, phone is brick. He didn't apply baseband or other flashes,too.

Hi,
You said you depleted the battery, that would be one reason the phone isn't detected by a pc. Have you tried charging the battery? You could probably do a battery swap and charge his in your phone.
If that doesn't fix it then you can always do up a factory cable and run the phone off your pc. It's just a male to male with regular usb on one end and micro B on the other, hack the micro end to tie pin 4 to vcc. If you didn't get what I just said, don't try it.
Get into rsd mode by holding down the volume up button when you turn it on. Reflash using a sbf. There is nothing gingerbreak is doing to brick your phone.
Cheers!

I will try that and inform the result, thanks.

NFHimself said:
Hi,
You said you depleted the battery, that would be one reason the phone isn't detected by a pc. Have you tried charging the battery? You could probably do a battery swap and charge his in your phone.
If that doesn't fix it then you can always do up a factory cable and run the phone off your pc. It's just a male to male with regular usb on one end and micro B on the other, hack the micro end to tie pin 4 to vcc. If you didn't get what I just said, don't try it.
Get into rsd mode by holding down the volume up button when you turn it on. Reflash using a sbf. There is nothing gingerbreak is doing to brick your phone.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you put some shematics or picture ? I tried to power the phone from the - + battery contacts and micro usb, it insists to stay forever on bootlogo.
This is very sad since it nearly costed about 900 $ !

Semseddin said:
Could you put some shematics or picture ? I tried to power the phone from the - + battery contacts and micro usb, it insists to stay forever on bootlogo.
This is very sad since it nearly costed about 900 $ !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1077414&highlight=factory+cable
Bypassing the battery is just so you can use rsdlite to flash a firmware without the battery being an issue.
Cheers!

I am not to knowledgable in this are (great way to start a post huh) but I recall someone before having a similar problem and was not able to have it detected by the pc but was able to get linux to see the phone?
Have you tested this? Might give you the access you need to reflash your phone
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

I've sent the phone to motorola office in Turkey, i hope they can fix it, otherwise it will visit USA again.

[Q] HELP! Note 4 unable to boot up

Hi guys!
So while using my phone halfway, it suddenly powered off and died. At first I thought it was something small and tried to power it on again, but unfortunately it seems to be a much bigger problem. I am unable to do anything with the phone at all. It's become a literal brick.
I have not done any rooting nor have I dropped the phone into the water. I dropped my phone a couple of times, but it was with a proper phone cover.
When I tried to charge my phone, the charging light did not come on. I have tried the battery in an external charging kit and it works fine, therefore I do not believe that it is a battery problem.
The lucky thing is that my phone is still under warranty. However, I was told that the SOP for servicing the phone is to remove all personal data during the recovery process.
Unfortunately, I didn't back up the files in my phone because I didn't see any signs that the phone was gonna die on me, so I was wondering if there was any other way to save my data.
I read online that it may be worth trying to use a USB jig to try to force the phone into download mode. Is this possible? Does anyone know where I may be able to purchase one?
Unfortunately, I do not know which specific model my carrier sells, but it's a Qualcomm 2.7 KHz 4G+ note 4. Can't remember the exact firmware it was running on, but it should be the latest stock firmware.
Would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Is there anyone here who has any advice for me?

royaloyalz said:
Is there anyone here who has any advice for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jig is basically a 300K ohm resistor across pins 4 and 5, so searching for brand names/judging by marketing descriptions won't help. It can only fix soft bricks for you, specifically it lets you enter download mode where you can use odin to flash stuff you want. It wont help you in any other way.
Now that we are clear, the cheapest ones I could find are these:
http://www.amazon.com/SainSonic-Dongle-Samsung-Captivate-Vibrant/dp/B0053H73JQ
http://www.amazon.com/Download-adapter-Samsung-Galaxy-Unbrick/dp/B008THL0V4
Buy whichever you like
And if its a hard brick, off to the service center you go!
PS: i have no idea about any way to backup from download mode, maybe someone else can help you on that part.
If you are able to dirty flash a rom and get it booting then you can backup all you want. Hope that works for you.

Thanks for the advice!
Unfortunately because I wasn't able to power up the device I had to send it into the service center. They replaced the motherboard and the charging point for me and I got back my phone 4 hours later.
Lesson learnt, always backup your data every day.

Dead i9505

Guys, Need your help. You are my last hope !
Just bought an i9505 to a guy, via internet... I know it's risky... The guy was saying the phone got stuck after he had a power cut (his PC shut down) during a Kies update., but that the phone was able to go to download mode.
So I thought it would be easy to flash.
The bad surprise was when I received the phone : nothing happens, no sign of life. No sign when pluging the charger, no sign when trying to boot whatever mode I select, no vibration, no sound, no nothing... I even tried a Jig USB dongle that I had purchased a few years ago for my i9000 : nothing.
I contacted the seller who pretends I broke it as he checked again the download mode before sending me the phone.
I tend to believe he is saying the truth as he could simply have not responded.
Is there any experiment I should do ? I read that getting the battery off and pressing Power for 30 sec might help... Did not work either...
Any other ideas ???
Thanks
Edit: oops sorry, this thread should have been created in the "Q&A, Help and Troubleshooting" section... Moderator... could you please move it there ? Sorry...

aymelis said:
Guys, Need your help. You are my last hope !
Just bought an i9505 to a guy, via internet... I know it's risky... The guy was saying the phone got stuck after he had a power cut (his PC shut down) during a Kies update., but that the phone was able to go to download mode.
So I thought it would be easy to flash.
The bad surprise was when I received the phone : nothing happens, no sign of life. No sign when pluging the charger, no sign when trying to boot whatever mode I select, no vibration, no sound, no nothing... I even tried a Jig USB dongle that I had purchased a few years ago for my i9000 : nothing.
I contacted the seller who pretends I broke it as he checked again the download mode before sending me the phone.
I tend to believe he is saying the truth as he could simply have not responded.
Is there any experiment I should do ? I read that getting the battery off and pressing Power for 30 sec might help... Did not work either...
Any other ideas ???
Thanks
Edit: oops sorry, this thread should have been created in the "Q&A, Help and Troubleshooting" section... Moderator... could you please move it there ? Sorry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plug it in to the wall charger for a while and see if any thing happens, I've had a battery dead flat before and it took a couple of minutes before it started charging.

ph0n3n3rd said:
Plug it in to the wall charger for a while and see if any thing happens, I've had a battery dead flat before and it took a couple of minutes before it started charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ph0n3n3rd. Trying right now, but not real hope as I have another S4 with a fully charged battery which I already tried with no success.
I also have tried charging the original battery for hours today both from my laptop and from and external battery (branded Anker) which usually charges even faster than the wall charger...
Also one of the first things I tried when I received the phone without being able to boot it was to try the other way : the new phone's battery in the old S4. And it booted. The new phone's battery was about 40%...

aymelis said:
Thanks ph0n3n3rd. Trying right now, but not real hope as I have another S4 with a fully charged battery which I already tried with no success.
I also have tried charging the original battery for hours today both from my laptop and from and external battery (branded Anker) which usually charges even faster than the wall charger...
Also one of the first things I tried when I received the phone without being able to boot it was to try the other way : the new phone's battery in the old S4. And it booted. The new phone's battery was about 40%...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Just a thought . Then I think you have been conned with a dead phone.

ph0n3n3rd said:
Ok. Just a thought . Then I think you have been conned with a dead phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep... I read a RIFF box could help... Do you know what it is ?
BTW, the wall charger did not help (i got it plugged for about 10 minutes).

type in google some like "repair boot i9505 via sd card"

If the pc can recognize the phone then this might be useful.

GDReaper said:
If the pc can recognize the phone then this might be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi GDReaper, thanks for the link. I had actually seen it yesterday. I have installed (this was not easy as I was getting an error when try to install the .inf files) the QHUSB drivers... in the hope that this would help the PC not only recognize, but detect (!) the phone. Indeed the phone is not even detected by windows : no sound, no "drivver installation message", nothing that I can see in the Device Manager. And the phone too does not show any sign of connection to the PC...
THe guy who sold me this phone keeps telling me he could go to download mode just before sending it to me. He is even getting pissed off and pretends i'm a liar...

aymelis said:
Hi GDReaper, thanks for the link. I had actually seen it yesterday. I have installed (this was not easy as I was getting an error when try to install the .inf files) the QHUSB drivers... in the hope that this would help the PC not only recognize, but detect (!) the phone. Indeed the phone is not even detected by windows : no sound, no "drivver installation message", nothing that I can see in the Device Manager. And the phone too does not show any sign of connection to the PC...
THe guy who sold me this phone keeps telling me he could go to download mode just before sending it to me. He is even getting pissed off and pretends i'm a liar...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless it somehow got damaged during transport, then he is the one who is most probably lying.
You will have to take it in for service if you can't get a refund. I doubt it can be fixed without any specialized equipment.

bes1de said:
type in google some like "repair boot i9505 via sd card"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi bes1de, thanks. I can only find this one : http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f777/hot-hot-easy-repair-boot-samsung-s4-i9500-via-sd-card-1693343/ for now but this is for i9500.
BTW... I realize the phone does not seem to be an i9505 but an i9515 ! I got confused because of this : View attachment 3654348
As you can see, the sticker shows i9515 but the "housing" is i9505...
The SIM card reader also shows i9505 : View attachment 3654337
And... the charge flex cable shows i9500 (yet another S4 model !) : View attachment 3654338
Do you think Samsung uses parts from different phones like that ? Or that the seller kind of rebuilt a "phone" from various parts found here and there ?
I'd like to be able to test the parts of this dead phone to see if I can sell it as parts.
I was thinking to tear down my own personal S4 (i9505 perfectly working) and use its motherboard to test the dead phone's screen.
I read that the LCD is different...
Do you think I might break my i9505 motherboard trying to connect it to the i9515 display ?...
Edit: OK I did it ! Installed my personal S4 motherboard into the dead one in order to check the display, the buttons (incl. touch ones) and the USB/charge port : all is fine. The PC detects ad recognizes it, so the USB connector and its flex cable are fine.
I could now swap the cameras, the proximity sensor, the SIM and SDcard readers and see if they are OK...
Edit 2: Loud speaker works fine too.
Thanks and regards !

GDReaper said:
Unless it somehow got damaged during transport, then he is the one who is most probably lying.
You will have to take it in for service if you can't get a refund. I doubt it can be fixed without any specialized equipment.
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Yep, I fear you are right... thanks
Edit: Anyone used the SBoot clip here ?
As far as I understand it only works with Exynos phones, so not for my i9515. Any information about that ?
Thanks