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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.
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Hi. I have a Samsung Galaxy 5s SM-900S. I discovered after buying it that it is a clone. Oh well!
I rooted it using Root Genius (Chinese) from Shuame download.
It was working great. Then I deleted some bloatware apps, and disabled others.
After that, all hell broke loose. I was stuck in a flash screen boot loop.
A techie friend put the phone in download mode, and it was able to open up, but no home page.
Then he downloaded Nova launcher, and I got my home page back.
But it was a slightly different home page.
The phone originally said 900T (under- about device), but I know it is G900S (from 3 apps that display the phone specs).
Now it says G900.
The problems now are:
1. my phone dialer disappeared. I downloaded another, but it wont ring when a call comes in
2. Every few minutes when doing anything, I get a message- Unfortunately, the process android process.acore has stopped.
I then must press the ok button to continue.
Can anyone help me? Do I need to flash a new ROM?
I don't wantto reset to factory settings if I can avoid it.
I am a newbie. But I learn fast.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Arnele
arnele said:
Hi. I have a Samsung Galaxy 5s SM-900S. I discovered after buying it that it is a clone. Oh well!
I rooted it using Root Genius (Chinese) from Shuame download.
It was working great. Then I deleted some bloatware apps, and disabled others.
After that, all hell broke loose. I was stuck in a flash screen boot loop.
A techie friend put the phone in download mode, and it was able to open up, but no home page.
Then he downloaded Nova launcher, and I got my home page back.
But it was a slightly different home page.
The phone originally said 900T (under- about device), but I know it is G900S (from 3 apps that display the phone specs).
Now it says G900.
The problems now are:
1. my phone dialer disappeared. I downloaded another, but it wont ring when a call comes in
2. Every few minutes when doing anything, I get a message- Unfortunately, the process android process.acore has stopped.
I then must press the ok button to continue.
Can anyone help me? Do I need to flash a new ROM?
I don't wantto reset to factory settings if I can avoid it.
I am a newbie. But I learn fast.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Arnele
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just going to let you know right now... You're not going to get support in an official device thread for a clone.
I`m sorry you got scammed mate, try to get your money back or file a police report for fraude if the device was advertised as a genuine Galaxy S5.
There is no support for this (also not by the manufacturer) device and even finding a working rom wil be very difficult.
Good luck and hope you learn from this, if it sounds to be too good to be true, it usualy is
Sad to say, but he's pretty much out of luck. Scammers know they're selling a phone that's not genuine, so chances of getting money back are slim to none. Police also don't care. If you bought it with cash just take this as a life lesson, because there's pretty much nothing else you can do.
Hi looking for some help please, after a small root snafu I have had to (I think) reinstall Lollipop, earlier today my phone went flat and after plugging it in to charge and turning it on it got stuck on the flashy samsung splash screen, after some googlefu I figured bootloop so I held down the power button until the first Samsung Galaxy S4 screen popped up then I released it and pressed the down volume key and the "Don't install custom OS" screen popped up so I pressed the up volume key and the downloading screen popped up.
Anyway that was about an hour ago so I'm thinking it's poked but I don't want to permabrick my phone by interrupting the installation so I need some advice on what I do now, anything constructive would be massively appreciated, cheers
It's not downloading anything. If you want to install something, you have to do it yourself. These smartphones are not that smart to unbrick themselves
GDReaper said:
It's not downloading anything. If you want to install something, you have to do it yourself. These smartphones are not that smart to unbrick themselves
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Ye I'm an egg, I realize now after a bit more google-fu that I was in the wrong place for some reason I thought it was actually downloading the OS hahaha.
Anyway now I'm here and after actually doing some research rather than just kingo-root I have decided on an action plan. However if I may be so bold, to a noob this site is quite daunting so if someone could point me to a good place to checkout some forum favorite "building block" rom's, thinks like bloat removers, alarm clocks that run off system volume not media volume (grrrrr!) things of that nature it would really help a fella out.
So again any help would be massively appreciated as I am a raging noob and this is my first ever proper name brand phone and from what I have read roming is the best way to get the most out of it. Cheers
I bought this 6t refurbished and I suspect is a t-mobile converted to global. I've tried resetting the phone and deleting all kinds of apps cache/data to no avail. in addition I tried to get the
Google Services Framework Android ID but my phone is not rooted. i would like to keep the phone as stock as possible.
chrisrf said:
I bought this 6t refurbished and I suspect is a t-mobile converted to global. I've tried resetting the phone and deleting all kinds of apps cache/data to no avail. in addition I tried to get the
Google Services Framework Android ID but my phone is not rooted. i would like to keep the phone as stock as possible.
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Did you convert your tmobile to international ? I guess you did. So either root it and install magisk or livr without Google pay.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
chrisrf said:
I bought this 6t refurbished and I suspect is a t-mobile converted to global. I've tried resetting the phone and deleting all kinds of apps cache/data to no avail. in addition I tried to get the
Google Services Framework Android ID but my phone is not rooted. i would like to keep the phone as stock as possible.
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When you go to About phone the build number will tell you if it is T-Mobile converted phone. If the build number starts with ONEPLUS A6013_34_ then it is converted, if it starts with ONEPLUS A6013_41_ or ONEPLUS A6010_41_ then it is a global version.
Krzysiek_CK said:
When you go to About phone the build number will tell you if it is T-Mobile converted phone. If the build number starts with ONEPLUS A6013_34_ then it is converted, if it starts with ONEPLUS A6013_41_ or ONEPLUS A6010_41_ then it is a global version.
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yes the build number is ONEPLUS A6013_34_2000222 what should I do ?
chrisrf said:
yes the build number is ONEPLUS A6013_34_2000222 what should I do ?
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Well you can't do really anything but if you have not had it too long you could return it.
chrisrf said:
yes the build number is ONEPLUS A6013_34_2000222 what should I do ?
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You have 3 options:
1. DO nothing and hope OnePlus will fix it down the road. I actually lost hope with this one.
2. Load T-Mobile version, and loose dual sim capability. Google Play will pass certification and Google Pay will work.
3. Use Magisk, at your own risk, to trick SafetyNet check.
I have one of those scammy "no warranty" T-mo -> Intl. OnePlus 6T and, with enough work, it is possible to convert to the most recent Intl. android 10, and get root and Google pay working. I don't think at this time it's possible to watch Netflix in HD while having your cake and eating it too, sadly. The A/B situation on this phone is painfully confusing and leads to brick after brick as you learn the ropes of this phone. Not sure that's TMo's fault. Thankfully the bricks are fixable. You need the modded flasher for 9.0.11. From usb serial mode, the flasher gives some gibberish "Sahara" error. There is whole infuriating thread consisting of nothing but post after post of newbs being shamed for asking how to fix this problem (because it's already been asked a million times) but no clear concise solution ever provided (just a bunch of conflicting half-answers i.e., "I finally figured it out after mashing buttons for a long time..." -- What worked for me was holding down all the physical buttons, vol+, vol- and power, with the red "Saharah, please fix..." (something like that) red error message blinking away at me on the computer screen, and the phone plugged in to computer USB, the whole time. Only when its air composition sampling system detects your fingers bleeding profusely, will it kick in and fix your bricked device
So that gets you to an equivalent to a locked Global 9.0.11 rom with no OTA updates. From there you can do developer mode -> unlock bootloader instantly from fastboot -> (loose all your data) -> TWRP; now the a/b stuff gets really confusing AF but if you do TWRP from fastboot->flash 10.3.2 -> TWRP from fastboot again (it's like ms windows!) -> flash TWRP .zip installer -> TWRP from fastboot yet again -> Magisk, you can finally boot system.
To pass CTS profile you'll need to use the command-line signature changer Magisk module and Magisk Hide. Once the play store says it's "Certified" (certifiable more like...) and Magisk is giving you two green checkboxes, you are ready for more suffering. Now you need to freeze the Google Pay/Play apps and Google Play services and blow away all their data. At least that's what I did. Then make sure Magisk hide has all the Google play/GMS/AR/pay stuff hidden in Magisk, one more reboot for good measure, and you're off to the races. This gets Google Pay working and even lets you watch DRM at Widevine L3 level... it's still not all your cake and all your eating I suppose... hopefully you're not a big Netflix guy. Otherwise you kinda bought the wrong phone.
GL! Oh btw I have not found any way to restore an encrypted TWRP backup on this device. Starting to suspect it's literally impossible at this time -- but, if I'm honest, probably I just haven't gone through enough suffering, yet, to figure it out.
anonywimp said:
There is whole infuriating thread consisting of nothing but post after post of newbs being shamed for asking how to fix this problem (because it's already been asked a million times) but no clear concise solution ever provided (just a bunch of conflicting half-answers i.e., "I finally figured it out after mashing buttons for a long time..." -- What worked for me was holding down all the physical buttons, vol+, vol- and power, with the red "Saharah, please fix..." (something like that) red error message blinking away at me on the computer screen, and the phone plugged in to computer USB, the whole time. Only when its air composition sampling system detects your fingers bleeding profusely, will it kick in and fix your bricked device
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Nope. Just completely dis-confirmed the above recipe. I am clearly still well in the cargo-cult phase of my OP qdl client tools education
All I can say for sure is randomly frobbing with the buttons and the phone-side usb-c cable for long periods of time will usually eventually start the process. And one sure-that-I'm-not-sure---but-still-fairly-confident correction: It probably helps to /un-/plug the phone from the PC, once it starts giving the meaningless red "Sahara quintessence frobnitz poop" error message (or whatever equally meaningful thing it actually says). If you find yourself in TWRP, you can use the "Reboot edl" button. Likewise, I believe the stock recovery has an interface to jump to qdl mode... could be making that up though Anyhow I think from there you want to turn the phone entirely off, which I believe can only at this point be achieved through continuous, uninterrupted mashing of the power button. So just after your get the error and disconnect, is your opportunity to impress the phone by bleeding all over it.
anonywimp said:
You need the modded flasher for 9.0.11. From usb serial mode, the flasher gives some gibberish "Sahara" error. There is whole infuriating thread consisting of nothing but post after post of newbs being shamed for asking how to fix this problem (because it's already been asked a million times) but no clear concise solution ever provided (just a bunch of conflicting half-answers i.e., "I finally figured it out after mashing buttons for a long time..."
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OK, I think I figured out an actual recipe now, or the beginnings of one. It is still a bit fuzzy in places. It goes like this:
If you're not in qdl mode, or you are there but it won't talk to the proprietary flasher software, get the phone completely turned off. Often this is the hardest part. I have sometimes managed to brick my phone where it will Boot and insta-freeze at the infuriating-yellow-triangle screen¹. Then it will just sit there, indefinitely, and never bring up any sort of USB or wifi connectivity (nor does it show any sign of boot-looping, judging by dmesg output on my computer. It's just cold, and dead. Probably a bootloader bug/secure boot fail). In every semi-brick-like circumstance like this, I've found the following enables me to get the phone to turn itself off reasonably quickly, in fact, in just a couple of seconds, usually: unplug any USB-C cable (so I'm running on batteries), hold down all the buttons* until fingers bleeding or something happens -- if nothing happens, release all the buttons briefly and try again; once off, release all the buttons immediately.
Now get the phone back on, and in qdl mode. Somehow. Usually, if the phone is unplugged and off, I can get it there by holding all the buttons and plugging it into usb. If I'm soft-bricked, I'm already there, so nothing to do. From TWRP I can easily "reboot edl" to get there. Maybe there's ways to do it from fastboot, stock recovery, and system as well, via adb/fastboot commands.... My preferred way is holding "all the buttons" for about 1 second, and plugging in the usb cable, which will cause it to enter qdl mode "just one time" without actually bricking anything.
Now, finally, we run the proprietary flasher tool. Press start and it will go until it gets to the "sahara bingo yip-a-dee-ha" error (or whatever it really says... definitely not exactly what I wrote ).
Now turn the phone off again. Same recipe, but this time it seems to almost-always suffice to keep the phone connected to USB, while holding all-the-buttons. If that isn't working, then I go ahead and unplug, power cycle, and get into qdl mode like above. During this, the computer software is maybe completely disconnected from your phone, *****ing and moaning the whole time about Sahara or whatever. Ignore that, it's fine.
If the phone was fully powered off (rather than power-cycled in place), be sure to next release all the buttons, so that the phone has no usb or button-press input of any kind for at least a fraction of a second. Then press "all the buttons" again (nb: I suspect just vol+ and vol- suffice here, and the power button is superfluous? Maybe even detrimental depending on ordering? If I screw this up (sometimes it winds up booting into recovery or bootloader), then I find a way to ask it to reboot from there into qdl mode, if I can, or else power off from there and try again to use the three buttons.
pro tip said:
It is possible to hold all the buttons for too long. In which case, you may find yourself booting system. From there you may need to start this guide over from the beginning, sorry. The correct period of time to hold all the buttons down is about a second. Two seconds is probably too long.
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Using your fourth hand, Plug in a USB-C cable, what leads from your computer, to the phone, while continuing to hold down all the buttons with your other three hands (or, if you entered qdl via software, just plug it in, now).
That's it, done. Kick back and enjoy as the tool's progress bars go wild and unbrick your phone tut suite. The qdl process should be able to go all the way to the end where it says "100%" (although when you close the program it will still treat this like you are interrupting it in the middle; I think that's because it does multiple phones at once, and you only ever fed it the one phone, so it is alerting you that, hey, phone #2 never got processed).
I am doing the above in a non-FOSS emulator under desktop linux, using the patched client referenced from xda threads.
I imagine qemu would work, as well. Obviously native Windows is going to be your best bet. I def. wouldn't trust Oracle (VirtualBox) USB emulation with my qdl flashing needs, if I were me -- which I am. Phones tend to look like huge USB hubs, full of an ever-changing kaleidoscope of peripherals. Which I don't think the VirtualBox USB stack is really ready to cope with right now. (Not even with the proprietary USB add-on pack or whatever that is -- I simply don't trust Oracle not to hard-brick my phone; VirtualBox has seemingly perma-bricked one device for me, already. That was some time ago but I'm not going to feed it any more devices and I doubt the USB was fixed in vbox. It think it's paravirtualized, or something, so as to be super-fast, but unreliable when the bus topology changes in meatspace.
-- rants / footnotes ---
¹ You know, that warning screen for "security." Which, currently, happens to be punishing me for trying to put the newest stock security updates onto my phone that I just purchased a month ago¹*².
* Not an "All the things" meme -- by "all the buttons" I literally mean all the hardware buttons: [vol+], [vol-], and [power].
¹*² I imagine the person who made the decision to require this in Android would explain it something like this:
straw man said:
(California accent) "Um, like, why? Are you a criminal or something? You know, you could just buy a new phone for like $899 US. Oh, you're, like, poor, or something? Well, OK, I guess there's no way for us to stop you from doing that. But we, like, won't be able to support you in any way. Also, sorry, but we're just going to need to put a brief warning screen on your phone, as a safety measure? No, it's not really a warning for you. More, like, in case other people might be around you for some reason? It just says, 'Hey, no judgement, but it seems like maybe a poor person owns this phone? And they're definitely doing some really weird stuff with it. So just be careful. Like maybe tell a friend where you're going, if you're going to spend time with them.' What? No, I'm sorry, there's no way to remove it. We paid millions to have it fused into the microchips or something? If you could just remove the warning, that would defeat the purpose. So, I'm sure you'd want the people around you to be safe, right? And, like, so do we! So we, like, locked that down pretty tight, yehh-...!'
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