[Q] Repair charges from Samsung for Bricked Phones ? - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey Guys,
I recently Bricked my Unlocked Samsung Vibrant phone while uploading a Custom ROM. The phone is now such that it wouldn't show anything on the screen.
The recovery mode was not available but the Download mode sure was. But to flash a Stock ROM through Odin it should go into the Download mode at least, but that ain't happening at all, because there is nothing showing up on the screen and neither is the keypad lighting up.
I have tried numerous methods of booting up but none of them work as Nothing Shows up on the screen. Also when I insert the battery inside the Phone Heats Up (Not the Battery) like it would while one was using it.
I figured out, from the forum, that the problem must be of a corrupted bootloader and that the USB will not detect anything as it has no support from the bootloader.
I stay in India and my phone is past the 30 Day Replacement phase. I gave this phone to the Samsung Service Centre in my country and they said that, No Support is available for Vibrant here and the only way to make this phone work is to install a new Galaxy S I9000 Motherboard instead of Vibrant's one for around 300$.
I can send my phone to the US, but the question I want to ask is,
1) Since my phone is Rooted and I tried to Flash a Custom ROM onto it, it is well out of the Warranty. Will Samsung Notice this and charge me out of the Warranty for repairing ?
2) What is the Charges that I will incur from Samsung for Unbricking my Rooted Phone and what will there procedure involve ?
3) A guy in my town has a Riff Box JTag and he says that he might be able to boot my phone for a mere 20$. I will be voiding my Warranty if I hand over the Phone to him. What are the skill levels required for Booting through Jtag apart from the very skill of Precise Soldering ? Should I hand over my phone to him for a cheaper alternative for Unbricking than sending it over to US getting charged by Samsung and paying for the phone to be shipped back ?
Thank You for any Help and Hope you provide.

Any Help is appreciated guys.

ech419 said:
Any Help is appreciated guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has a live tech support chat
you can ask your question directly http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SGH-T959ZKATMB?
On the other hand, you can score a second hand Vibrant for less than $300 here in the States, I am not sure about market in India.

they wont charge anything.
I've hard bricked my phone to where nothing would turn on. sent it in, and got a replacement (with the new GPS antenna LOL) and only had to pay for the expedited shipping.

krylon360 said:
they wont charge anything.
I've hard bricked my phone to where nothing would turn on. sent it in, and got a replacement (with the new GPS antenna LOL) and only had to pay for the expedited shipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I am have rooted my phone and flashed a Custom ROM and had a bad bootloader which Bricked my Vibrant, will they notice the root ? If Yes, then what will they charge me out of the warranty for booting my Vibrant ?

krylon360 said:
they wont charge anything.
I've hard bricked my phone to where nothing would turn on. sent it in, and got a replacement (with the new GPS antenna LOL) and only had to pay for the expedited shipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a replacement sitting here in the box, but I got my other Vibrant working...I wonder how to tell if the new one is a fixed version??

jmcghee1973 said:
I have a replacement sitting here in the box, but I got my other Vibrant working...I wonder how to tell if the new one is a fixed version??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure since it comes in a replacement box. I only knew because it locked right on.
ech419 said:
Since I am have rooted my phone and flashed a Custom ROM and had a bad bootloader which Bricked my Vibrant, will they notice the root ? If Yes, then what will they charge me out of the warranty for booting my Vibrant ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you were to see the contents I had on my internal SD, yeah....I'd be in debt. LOL.
custom kernels built by me, kangklick, JAC, Eugene
Roms built by TW, and Eugene, CM6 built by me...
They will most likely see that it wont turn on with a new battery, check the water damage sticker, and then take out the good parts, reuse, and dis-guard the rest.

Did you really tried getting into Download mode right?
take battery off, press vol + And - at the same time (do not touch power)
insert the battery.
if it does not come up, let the volume keys go and do it again.......

10$ shipping in 7 days 30$ for 2 days

Hi guys, I bricked my phone...phone does not enter the download mode or th recovery. The phone will enter the batt screen (the one that comes on when you charge your phone when it is off) and turn off (looping). I had totally modded it and am getting my replacement. When I send in my phone:
1) will they figure out I rooted?
2) Charge me for the replacement that they sent in?
Thanks in advance...

droilfade said:
Hi guys, I bricked my phone...phone does not enter the download mode or th recovery. The phone will enter the batt screen (the one that comes on when you charge your phone when it is off) and turn off (looping). I had totally modded it and am getting my replacement. When I send in my phone:
1) will they figure out I rooted?
2) Charge me for the replacement that they sent in?
Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Btw..Forgot to mention....I'm on I9000m BELL Canada. And Bell is sending me the replacement not Samsung....

droilfade said:
Btw..Forgot to mention....I'm on I9000m BELL Canada. And Bell is sending me the replacement not Samsung....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I have read over the forums, if they send you a replacement and if they come to learn after that you have fiddled with the software, they charge you for the replacement too, i.e., the whole 600$ even when you have given them your old phone. So you just have to thank your stars, if they don't.
I would suggest you inquire in advance everything about the replacement procedure from Bell.

ech419 said:
From what I have read over the forums, if they send you a replacement and if they come to learn after that you have fiddled with the software, they charge you for the replacement too, i.e., the whole 600$ even when you have given them your old phone. So you just have to thank your stars, if they don't.
I would suggest you inquire in advance everything about the replacement procedure from Bell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I flash to an eclair (I told them it got screwed while updating to 2.2) through ODIN. will they know I rooted?? I ask this coz I heard if you flash with ODIN it supercedes everything (even the root and superuser).

Related

Phone bricked. Won't turn on, won't charge, nothing. No signs of life...

Hi!
While installing the revolt rom, downloaded here from the xda, the screen suddenly went black and the phone died. I have tried everything. I can't get to download mod or recovery mode. There's any sign from it... I read somewhere that a jig can help out! What do you think?
Thanks in advance!
[EDIT] The phone is a Samsung Galaxy S2!
Cheers!!
Did your phone shut off during the install?
Phone model? When exactly did it shut off?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Based on what you've said, I'm afraid your phone is hard bricked. I say this because the same thing occured to me, only I knowingly pulled the USB out whilst it was flashing a pit file. You mentioned your battery died, maybe leaving it plugged in to charge for over an hour or so might revive it, does the phone become slightly (if not) warm near the camera? If it does, you then atleast know the phone isn't completely dead (from fixing, that is).
I ordered a jig and that didn't work, luckily, my carrier provided a repair service guarantee in which they repaired the phone in a couple of weeks, I just played dumb over the phone prior to sending it off.
Good luck and keep us posted.
fagundes666 said:
Hi!
While installing the revolt rom, downloaded here from the xda, the screen suddenly went black and the phone died. I have tried everything. I can't get to download mod or recovery mode. There's any sign from it... I read somewhere that a jig can help out! What do you think?
Thanks in advance!
Cheers!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please provide your ROM kernel details before you attempted to flash revolt ROM.
Swyped from my Samsung Galaxy SII
jthatch12 said:
Did your phone shut off during the install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
I forgot to mention...My phone is a Samsung Galaxy SII!
Like jthatch12 said, the phone just shut off during the install process.
I've already instaled a lot of roms downloaded here from xda and never got this kind of trouble! I read somewhere that a jig would take to download mode... Hope so!
Thank you all!
Cheers!
BlurrOVO said:
Based on what you've said, I'm afraid your phone is hard bricked. I say this because the same thing occured to me, only I knowingly pulled the USB out whilst it was flashing a pit file. You mentioned your battery died, maybe leaving it plugged in to charge for over an hour or so might revive it, does the phone become slightly (if not) warm near the camera? If it does, you then atleast know the phone isn't completely dead (from fixing, that is).
I ordered a jig and that didn't work, luckily, my carrier provided a repair service guarantee in which they repaired the phone in a couple of weeks, I just played dumb over the phone prior to sending it off.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You pulled the usb cable out, while flashing a pit file?!
Why? Pit files are extremly dangerous.
I almost flashed a SGS1 pit file once..
Have you tried to remove the battery and leave for a few mins.
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda app-developers app
s.d.oconnor said:
Have you tried to remove the battery and leave for a few mins.
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try that too... Several times! There's no sign of life...
fagundes666 said:
Try that too... Several times! There's no sign of life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you connect to your computer via USB are you getting any responce from your computer or phone at all. Also do you know anyone that has a galaxy s2, so you can see if it's the battery that has gone.
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda app-developers app
S II? Ok.
I9100/G/M/P/T? Your previous ROM? What are you did, more details. more.
If it doesn't go into Download Mode with a jig, then it looks like a full hard-brick.
Do you know why it shut off? Did you fully charge the phone before flashing the ROM? Did you compare the MD5 sums to check that the ROM wasn't corrupt?
I bricked my phone last year. I got Odin FAIL (corrupt ROM) and I pulled the battery. That was it - it was bricked. No download mode - nothing. I sent it off to Three and played dumb. Two weeks later, my phone was fixed.
If the jig doesn't work, your options are JTAG or service center.
epic118 said:
If it doesn't go into Download Mode with a jig, then it looks like a full hard-brick.
Do you know why it shut off? Did you fully charge the phone before flashing the ROM? Did you compare the MD5 sums to check that the ROM wasn't corrupt?
I bricked my phone last year. I got Odin FAIL (corrupt ROM) and I pulled the battery. That was it - it was bricked. No download mode - nothing. I sent it off to Three and played dumb. Two weeks later, my phone was fixed.
If the jig doesn't work, your options are JTAG or service center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't test any of those. The battery was ok.
I also did what s.d.oconnor said, I plug it into the computor but got no response.
The only response I got from the phone, is the warm up near the camera when I plugged it into charge for over an hour.
@bkjugg my previous rom was Wanan lite.
Thank you all.
Cheers!
I feel your pain!.. I just bricked my SGS2 yesterday. Knowing fully how I did it, but just had a brain-f*ck at the time..
I searched everywhere high and low on how to unbrick a hard brick. Already had a jig which didn't work.. tried every type of combo.. It's now going to get dropped into my local samsung repairer tomorrow to get looked at under warranty (as they can not tell how you hard brick it because they is no way of retrieving that information).
Jtag is for US customers, an I am not waiting 5 weeks for my phone.
Although until tomorrow, I am still going to look for a method to wake it up possibly..
I just took it as a known risk of flashing 100's of roms and kernels to my beloved phone..
markymark0055 said:
I feel your pain!.. I just bricked my SGS2 yesterday. Knowing fully how I did it, but just had a brain-f*ck at the time..
I searched everywhere high and low on how to unbrick a hard brick. Already had a jig which didn't work.. tried every type of combo.. It's now going to get dropped into my local samsung repairer tomorrow to get looked at under warranty (as they can not tell how you hard brick it because they is no way of retrieving that information).
Jtag is for US customers, an I am not waiting 5 weeks for my phone.
Although until tomorrow, I am still going to look for a method to wake it up possibly..
I just took it as a known risk of flashing 100's of roms and kernels to my beloved phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
I didn't try a jig because I don't have one. I've ordered one on ebay and I have to wait a few days now and see if it works. If not, I'll send the phone to samsung and try to get it repaired under warranty. If they say that it isn't covered by warranty, I'll try a guy on ebay uk. Just search for jtag s2.
Cheers!!
markymark0055 said:
I feel your pain!.. I just bricked my SGS2 yesterday. Knowing fully how I did it, but just had a brain-f*ck at the time..
I searched everywhere high and low on how to unbrick a hard brick. Already had a jig which didn't work.. tried every type of combo.. It's now going to get dropped into my local samsung repairer tomorrow to get looked at under warranty (as they can not tell how you hard brick it because they is no way of retrieving that information).
Jtag is for US customers, an I am not waiting 5 weeks for my phone.
Although until tomorrow, I am still going to look for a method to wake it up possibly..
I just took it as a known risk of flashing 100's of roms and kernels to my beloved phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, same shiat. I can enter in download but can't in recovery + can't charge my phone ( has flashed 100500 ROMs, kernels, and all is ok, but not checked md5 - full wipe - bye bye until I return home. I hope I'll recover my phone.
Good luck OP.
I'm in the club for a brick SGS II, no smiles here too....
ChardC said:
I'm in the club for a brick SGS II, no smiles here too....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the jig didn't work, I sent my phone to samsung, under warranty! Now I just have to wait for better news...
my phone seems to have been bricked as well
Phone was about 80% power and plugged into the wall, all of a sudden, screen goes blank
- was browsing twitter at the time
cannot
- enter download mode
- enter recovery mode
- power on
- charge
tried
- usb jib (i have tried before while my phone actually worked and it didnt work then either)
- taking out battery, sim , microsd for 24 hours and trying to boot again
- swapped batteries with friends working i9100 , he boots up, i still dont
running
- CM9 cm-9-20120916-NIGHTLY-galaxys2.zip
- Siyah kernel SiyahKernel S2-v4.1.5
- GAPPS 20120429
- LPX modem
any ideas ?
Timstah said:
my phone seems to have been bricked as well
Phone was about 80% power and plugged into the wall, all of a sudden, screen goes blank
- was browsing twitter at the time
cannot
- enter download mode
- enter recovery mode
- power on
- charge
tried
- usb jib (i have tried before while my phone actually worked and it didnt work then either)
- taking out battery, sim , microsd for 24 hours and trying to boot again
- swapped batteries with friends working i9100 , he boots up, i still dont
running
- CM9 cm-9-20120916-NIGHTLY-galaxys2.zip
- Siyah kernel SiyahKernel S2-v4.1.5
- GAPPS 20120429
- LPX modem
any ideas ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it get hot if you plug it in the charger?
i bricked my SII last month trying to format internal sd in ext3, dont know what really happened, i rebooted and it just died, same symptoms as your phone.
i took it to a repair center under warranty and they replaced the motherboard for free.

Think my S3 is hard bricked, what do?

Hi guys, my phone is flashed so I guess that will make this whole process painful...
But here is the story, I have omega version 12.1 I think (maybe 11 or 13) it has been on my phone for 1 + months now, so I am fairly certain it isn't anything to do with firmware. Phone wont turn on, wont go into download mode or anything. I have tried taking the battery out and leaving it out for 5 minutes, still nothing.
It was working fine before I went to bed, had 10 percent battery and was just on home screen when I put it on charge, not in app or anything. Then seems to be hard bricked after waking up, so happened sometime overnight.
I am not with a carrier, brought it locally outright at my local consumers electronics store (JB-HI-FI)
Since it is hard bricked to the point it wont turn on in download mode does that mean there is no way for them to know it is flashed unless they fix it (in which all is ok)?
Never done a warranty return, do I just take it into store and they send it off? How long will this take?
On top of all this I cut my old sim doown using a cutting template, and it appeared to slide in fine, but after trying to remove it today the push eject isn't working, and tips to get this out, doesn't appear to be enough room to grip it with tweesers.
Thanks.
So as we keep on saying in all posts, the next step u have to make is try with an usb jig.
U know what is that?
xopito_cc said:
So as we keep on saying in all posts, the next step u have to make is try with an usb jig.
U know what is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, have never heard of one. Just talked to samsung live chat and they said to have a proper diagnostic to take it down to a service centre, would anyone recommend this, or try this jig thing first?
Nicholas68 said:
No, have never heard of one. Just talked to samsung live chat and they said to have a proper diagnostic to take it down to a service centre, would anyone recommend this, or try this jig thing first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since it's already harbricked, i'd say just turn it in and let Samsung fix it for you. It is under warranty, and last time i brought in my i9000 that I bricked, they just replaced the phone. the jig is ok only if you already know where to get one or how to make one, but if you have to go out of your way for it, just use the warranty.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
JiroPrinz8 said:
Since it's already harbricked, i'd say just turn it in and let Samsung fix it for you. It is under warranty, and last time i brought in my i9000 that I bricked, they just replaced the phone. the jig is ok only if you already know where to get one or how to make one, but if you have to go out of your way for it, just use the warranty.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, Think that is best, can't really go without phone for 2-3 weeks while waiting for a JIG to arrive.
Just a few questions about the service centre, do you think they will ask me if I have flashed the phone? Cause I'm afraid they will think the brick was caused by that (could be) but probably unlikely since it died during the night a month after its latest flash.
If they do get it working will they go in and check the flash counter? Then what happens?
And lastly, if they ask me if I have flashed it should I lie and say no?
Thanks for the help.
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
priyana said:
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope brisbane here, thanks for the offer though. What would the chances be of a JIG fixing it though, cause I have a feeling the mainboard has died. Kinda wish I didn't turn off the red LED charging light, apparently some others who's phones hardbricked the light still turned on showing some sign of life.
Any suggestions on sorting out the micro sim card issue now, assume I have to get it our before taking it to service centre, or just leave it in for them to fix?
priyana said:
I ordered my jig from ebay from overseas but it arrived in a few days.
I am in Melbourne city btw, pm me if you are too. I can lend you mine.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the jig work on s3? I have an old one from s2 and if I'm not wrong is not working on s3...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
ceo.mtcl said:
Does the jig work on s3? I have an old one from s2 and if I'm not wrong is not working on s3...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-it will force the S3 in download mode
BUT
-it will not reset the flash counter like with S2
Got a little bit of good news, this might help other people out with jammed sim cards, NO damage and worked like a treat.
In the top of the sim card holder down the bottom left there is a little circle around one mill wide, got a sharp thumbtack and pushed it gentelly into the sim card, the just applied a little pressure and the sim card started to slide up, was very easy, had a great grip on the sim cad and no damage done trying to grab it with needle nose pliers like I read elsewhere, now to get the phone replaced or unbricked.
Thinking about it more I think it is a hardware fault, cause I had flashed the correct version of omega for international S3, I havn't had any wrong signs like freezing or crashing, been working flawlessly for over a month, then out of the blue completely dead. So I think I will just go into the service centre and tell them I suspect the motherboard has died, or the charger port (didn't charge over night), dont have a spare battery to test with though).
http://lifehacker.com/5940308/save-a-bricked-phone-using-paper-clips-and-pencil-graphite
Just a post tyat i found today..not sure if it ll work or not.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
That video is pretty cool, don't have an old connector to try it, but seeing as my phone didn't hard brick from a flash going wrong while flashing or wrong firmware or anything I have a feeling a JIG or similar wont work. Would try it if I had the connector though.
How often do batterys and charger ports fail, cause that could be another reason I guess.
Nicholas68 said:
Ok, Think that is best, can't really go without phone for 2-3 weeks while waiting for a JIG to arrive.
Just a few questions about the service centre, do you think they will ask me if I have flashed the phone? Cause I'm afraid they will think the brick was caused by that (could be) but probably unlikely since it died during the night a month after its latest flash.
If they do get it working will they go in and check the flash counter? Then what happens?
And lastly, if they ask me if I have flashed it should I lie and say no?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. There were no problems with the flashing part, i think ypu have a hardware issue.
They didn't ask me anything really, just asked what happened prior to the phone dying.
But i was ready to lie my ass off.. lol!
Dont say anything about flashing. They wont even bother trying to flash the phone if they dont get it into download mode.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
JiroPrinz8 said:
Exactly. There were no problems with the flashing part, i think ypu have a hardware issue.
They didn't ask me anything really, just asked what happened prior to the phone dying.
But i was ready to lie my ass off.. lol!
Dont say anything about flashing. They wont even bother trying to flash the phone if they dont get it into download mode.
Sent from my LG-LU6200 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks for the info, I've tried everything besides a JIG to try get it into a download mode, so I doubt they will get it into download mode, Ive seen a couple of other cases where the S3 has had a mainboard issue, only other thing is in the last week I have been using the wall charger where as I normally use the computer and usb, so not sure if this could link to it though, might have got a power surge, but had no storms in months so unlikely and the fuse box is modern with pretty good protection. Ill just go in and tell them it was working one night, and dead when I woke up the next morning, which is the truth. And if they ask if its flashed, ill miss understand them and say, not the screen wasn't flashing/flickering when it died, I was asleep
Reality is though if they get the phone to a restored point to where they can see the flash counter, then I no longer need their help to fix it.
One more question. At the service centres do they try fix it while I'm there, or do they tell s to come back in a few hours, or do they ring a few days later. And if they can't get it in download mode do they normally give you a replacement there? Or do they ship it off to get parts replaced and then ship it back taking weeks/months?
Thanks
I'd give the jig a chance. Just imho.
Btw it is very likely that the jig would arrive in, like, 24-48 hours if you choose the right seller, while other users already told you it's probably gonna take more then a few days (probably from 2 weeks to a month) for samsung to "close the ticket". In my experience only with apple you'd be up and running in less then a week.
Nicholas68 said:
One more question. At the service centres do they try fix it while I'm there, or do they tell s to come back in a few hours, or do they ring a few days later. And if they can't get it in download mode do they normally give you a replacement there? Or do they ship it off to get parts replaced and then ship it back taking weeks/months?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure they will ask you to come back in a few days or even weeks. Don't think they will replace new unit for you. They will just replace the faulty part.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I have the same issue so thought i would post here rather than starting a new thread.
Here's the story for mine. Working fine on current rom for about a month no issues at all. Today battery got to about 9% then switched off and i haven't been able to get it to turn on again, no download mode,no recovery, no charging led nothing at all.
I had to change my screen a couple of days ago, has been working fine with the broken screen for months, have i now voided my warranty?
A lot of faulty s3 i think... My s3 suddenly died last night. Battery is around 90+. Check the phone and it's not responding. Power button doesn't work. Doesn't even go to download mode or recovery mode. I'm running on stock ICS with root only. Sad part is I don't have any access for a jig right now. So can't test it. Bought this phone in SG and I'm in the Philippines right now. Warranty is good for SG only. Dec would be my next trip back to SG. By then no S3 as of now. For a phone I'm getting depressed LOL!
over the air jellybean brick my phone unrooted unflashed phone
BEWARE EVERYONE!! when updating to jellybean some do go very wrong! not all! but some do!! and it will brick your phone!! i updated over the air.. and for a few days. my phone kept on freezing! and locking up! one night i went to bed woke up and the phone was stuck on the boot screen! i thought thats weird took battery out, put back in, as ya do.. nothing took sim out and back in nothing... so only option was to reapair it through kies. put serial in and model number in it found the sortware. i downloaded it. told me to put phone in recovery mode.. so i did,kies said it was gonna install it to my phone.. but everytime it tryed to install it kept on saying it couldnt find my phone.. i tryed this all day long used different usb ports. different computers. to know avail, so my only option was to take it in for repair.. so i took it back to phones 4 u! they sent it away, i waited over 2 weeks! which was undiscrible it was like i lost my right arm with no phone! as you can imagine.. than the repair center turned round and said that the phone has been rooted! which it hadnt!! and they said this in order to brake the terms and conditions of my warentee so phones 4 u can get out of giving me a new handset. so they all save money!! i wouldnt do that to a 500 pound phone!! the phone does everything you could want from a phone! im launching a full investigation into this matter.. and have writen a formall complaint to phones 4 u headoffice, and will be contacting trading standards, ofcom, watchdog, and the ombudsman, and plaster it on all the forums ,social networking sights i can think of, to give them as much bad press as possible!! untill my problem is resolved and i will restore there name and clear it once they have done the right thing by me
I am afraid I can also report a bricked S3 here.
Rooted two weeks ago, but did not yet install a rom. Didn't Triangleaway yet aswell.
Same problem as described, I was browsing the net, and suddenly, screen went black (off). Could not get it powered on anymore. (nor in download/recovery mode)
So i brought it to the local telecom service center of my office, they could tell me the battery was fine and the buttons were working but they never saw one in this state.
So they are sending it to a samsung repair company.
This was two days ago, heard nothing yet, but I am very curious if I will get repaired or if I need to pay because of the rooting.
Will post the result if I know more.
Does anyone know if this problem also happens to people who did not root?

[Q] Phone wouldn't turn on - no download mode, no recovery mode.

I have been running Siyah 1.7rc1 dual booting Omega v30 as primary and AOKP milestone 1 as secondary. I also have the 4.2 camera and keyboard mods installed. The phone has been working fine until last night.
Last night the phone was fully charged. This morning the phone was off and wouldn't turn on when I pressed the power button. Hoping it was just a depleted battery, I put the phone on the charger for a couple of hours. However, it still won't turn on. I can't get to either recovery mode or download mode with the vol_up+home+power or the vol_down+home+power.
There is no reaction from the phone to any combination of buttons. I have removed the battery a few times with the same results.
Does anyone have any ideas? I might try and see if Samsung service can fix this but wanted to know if there was any advise from XDA.
Well if you do want to go to samsung service """ you have a freaking rooted phone bro"""""",,,BTW your phone is dead.
As repair is chargeable i would first try a new battery or borrow one and a USB jig to boot to recovery mode .
jje
*sob*
Mine has gone exactly the same way.
Had it on charge. Took it off charge and checked emails then left it on my desk. Came back 30 minutes later, picked it up and phone was completely dead.
No light when plugged into a charger, phone won't power on.
Plugged it into a computer, no luck.
Different chargers, different cables, no luck.
Tried a USB jig, no luck.
I've NOT tried a new battery yet, that's next on my list. I suspect this won't make any difference either.
I suggest you send it to samsung bro.
happened to my phone too.
They won't find out you rooted/have custom ROM etc, cause this is caused by hardware failure. They'll need to replace it to get it to boot, so they can't tell if you rooted or not.
LemonPlusTea said:
I suggest you send it to samsung bro.
happened to my phone too.
They won't find out you rooted/have custom ROM etc, cause this is caused by hardware failure. They'll need to replace it to get it to boot, so they can't tell if you rooted or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
take it back to the shop first, if you havent had it too long them may just swap it out. If not then they will send it back for you and should lend you candybar phone to use if you leave them a deposit (depends on the shop though).
Sammy wont even both to check if its been rooted, they will just replace it.
Thanks both. I'm going to send it straight to Samsung as soon as I've found proof of warranty. Hopefully it won't take too long to sort out.
zaphy42 said:
Thanks both. I'm going to send it straight to Samsung as soon as I've found proof of warranty. Hopefully it won't take too long to sort out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like i said its a paid for repair .
Totally dead mobo that requires change you will probably get away with warranty .
jje
I did try using a friend's battery. No go. I saw another thread on XDA where a bunch of people seem to have hit the same problem in the last week. I am wondering if it is some time-triggerred bug?
randombrick said:
I did try using a friend's battery. No go. I saw another thread on XDA where a bunch of people seem to have hit the same problem in the last week. I am wondering if it is some time-triggerred bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just got round to trying a friends battery too. Likewise, no go.
I think it's probably more likely a design flaw on Samsungs part.
I wonder if they've produced a different revision of the S3 circuit board to fix it? I've heard on other threads that Samsung just replace the system board when it's sent back for warranty repair...
Well there certainly has been quite a lot of them over the last 4 weeks or so. Probably some sub-standard motherboards found their way into the production line every now and then (given the number of units produced), or a design flaw as noted above. It's going to be a reasonably expensive exercise for Samsung if they end up having to replace a lot of them though...
I just hope that the new one they put in my phone isn't going to commit suicide again in 4 months time
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
I have the exact problem.
But it was my fault in this case. Flashed an "unmatched" md5 file of WanamLite.
It booted up normally. Then i proceeded installing TiBu & restore apps. After 10mins, i came back with a dead phone.
After some googling & advice from phone shops, there's a possibility that the motherboard may be fried.
I sent to Samsung Service Centre, and within 2 working days, my S3 is alive.
Sent from my GT-I9300

[Q] Bricked my S3? Does not respond to anything.

Hi,
I think I may have bricked my phone somehow.
I have an international Samsung galaxy S3 I9300.
I'm using SiyahKernel S3 v1.7rc1 for dual-boot.
ParanoidAndroid 2.51 as primary ROM and Stock Samsung JB as secondary.
I have used the battery mod that comes with the kernel to speed up charging.
Here's what happened:
I have been using this setup for quite some time without any problems, but I have noticed lately that the phone have been rebooting automatically a few times. I didn't think too much about it. Annoying, but didn't happen often. Yesterday I put my phone on charging before I went to bed, and the phone was on. When I woke up the phone had turned off (alarm didn't go off either, so I missed work..) and the green charging notification light was stuck on permanently. I couldn't turn on the phone, it didn't react at all. I took out the battery to reset it, put it back in and tried again. The charging light was gone, but still couldn't turn it on. No sign of life.
I tried my battery in a friends phone and it worked fine. Also tried his battery in my phone, but no change. So seems the battery is not the problem. I have tried to keep the battery out for some time, holding buttons to drain all power, but no change.
It doesn't respond to any cable being plugged in either (USB or charging), so can't flash anything.
I'm lost here really. The phone doesn't respond to anything any more so I have no idea what to do to fix it. And I'm guessing if I send it back for repair they're not going to accept it as it's not stock. Would really appreciate any help.
Hi,
Are you able to put your phone in download mode at least? It happened with my old Galaxy S and the only thing worked was download mode.
If download mode is possible, try to flash a new rom via odin and than install siyah kernel to remove the 2nd rom partition.
Good luck.
Cheers
ramsorriso said:
Hi,
Are you able to put your phone in download mode at least? It happened with my old Galaxy S and the only thing worked was download mode.
If download mode is possible, try to flash a new rom via odin and than install siyah kernel to remove the 2nd rom partition.
Good luck.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, can't enter download mode either
You're boned....
Unless you can enter download mode or CWM theres nothing to be done....
Send it to a Samsung Service center.
Overdriving the battery charging circuit comes with a cost. That is it and now your phone is FUBAR.
Have you tried shouting at it loudly and calling it a few names? You're out of luck, it seems (needs returning to Samsung) but at least it'll make you feel better!
Simonetti2011 said:
Send it to a Samsung Service center.
Overdriving the battery charging circuit comes with a cost. That is it and now your phone is FUBAR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm that sucks. Back to my iPhone 1 then
But will they not be able to see that It's not stock firmware on it?
Kryten2k35 said:
Have you tried shouting at it loudly and calling it a few names? You're out of luck, it seems (needs returning to Samsung) but at least it'll make you feel better!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm usually a calm person, but I'll try that shouting and see if it makes me feel better. Don't have the money for a new S3 so shouting will have to do.
star85 said:
Hmm that sucks. Back to my iPhone 1 then
But will they not be able to see that It's not stock firmware on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they can't boot the phone, they'll simply replace the defective board, restore your original IMEI, wipe your phone and send it back to you.
At least that is what has happened to other users whose phones had the same fault as yours, and for the same reasons.
I guess your phone is still under warranty, isn`t it? If so, just get it repaired under warranty and let this be a lesson that nothing comes free, including fast-charging the battery.
Simonetti2011 said:
If they can't boot the phone, they'll simply replace the defective board, restore your original IMEI, wipe your phone and send it back to you.
At least that is what has happened to other users whose phones had the same fault as yours, and for the same reasons.
I guess your phone is still under warranty, isn`t it? If so, just get it repaired under warranty and let this be a lesson that nothing comes free, including fast-charging the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This ^
Plus, the phone is knackered, so you don't have anything to lose by trying, really!
Man: had this happen to me today as well, and now that I notice, I see LOTS of similar reports.
FWIW: Most people weren't "fast charging" their phones; there's clearly just a hardware fault somewhere.
What was your official stock firmware you were running?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Simonetti2011 said:
If they can't boot the phone, they'll simply replace the defective board, restore your original IMEI, wipe your phone and send it back to you.
At least that is what has happened to other users whose phones had the same fault as yours, and for the same reasons.
I guess your phone is still under warranty, isn`t it? If so, just get it repaired under warranty and let this be a lesson that nothing comes free, including fast-charging the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help. Yes it's still under warranty.

[Q] S2 with broken/not working screen - how to tell if the rest still works?

Hi
I recently bought a broken Galaxy S2 with a non-working display/screen off a swiss auction portal (smiliar to eBay) for very little money.
The seller stated that the display broke after he dropped it, the rest of the phone should be fine. Effectively, only the LCD is broken, the glass is intact, but the screen doesn't show anything when I try to turn on the phone.
The first few times I tried to turn on the phone, nothing happened, no boot sound or touch buttons glowing. After trying several combinations of pressing buttons (hard reset, soft reset, download mode, recovery etc.) I heard the boot sound and saw the buttons glowing, but only once and I dont know how I exactly managed it to start. But, nevertheless, I can't really see what the phone is doing, if it is booting, if its in download mode, etc.
Does anyone have an idea, what I can/should do to make sure, the phone itself is working and its only the display which is broken? I just don't want to spend over $100 for a new display, if im not sure if the rest works...any suggestions?
Thanks very much for your help guys!
Greetings from Switzerland!
nkb88
How can anyone answer if the phone is going to be worth the cost of a new screen.It could be water damaged or blacklisted,or faulty.
Did you not foresee these things.What did you expect to happen.You must have trusted the seller,but all of a sudden you have doubts.Why didnt the seller replace the screen.
You probably think youve scored,when in fact it could work out more expensive than buying a working phone.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
How can anyone answer if the phone is going to be worth the cost of a new screen.It could be water damaged or blacklisted,or faulty.
Did you not foresee these things.What did you expect to happen.You must have trusted the seller,but all of a sudden you have doubts.Why didnt the seller replace the screen.
You probably think youve scored,when in fact it could work out more expensive than buying a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, the mentioned auction platform is very small and not quite comparable to eBay, maybe it was my fault to make the comparison to eBay. Its much smaller, only people from Switzerland and people much trustworthier than on eBay. I talked to the seller even before I commited my bid on the phone, and he told me he already bought another one and the place, where he first wanted to repair it, told him, it would be more than $200, which wasnt an option for him...
The phone was very cheap, only about $25 - due to the fact that the sellar put it in a wrong category (mobile accessoires but not mobile devices itself) so almost nobody beside me bidded for the auction. There are several other Galaxy S2s with broken displays for sale, which sell at least for $50-70, rather between $100-150.
So to put it straight: I just bid for the phone because its cheap and, if the display is replaced and the phone is fully working again, the potential selling price is much higher than what I payed for the phone and the display together.
Now, I was just wondering, if there is a possibility to tell, if the phone boots normally and to be sure that the display is the only faulty part...
If you know what network it's on, and you can find a way to get it switched on, you can put a compatible sim card into it and call it....if the phone rings (provided the volume is set right) you can assume it's good.........
That is.....assuming there's charge in the battery.......
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
Ok I see now.
All you need to do then is to relist the phone on that auction site you said....in the proper area/listing....and you could make a profit without risk.
You could put it in dl mode and see if it is ready to take a flash.Or see if someone could hook up a screen to test,or see if you can borrow one/get sale or return.
And people on here help with tech problems,not get rich quick schemes......LOL
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
Ok I see now.
All you need to do then is to relist the phone on that auction site you said....in the proper area/listing....and you could make a profit without risk.
You could put it in dl mode and see if it is ready to take a flash.Or see if someone could hook up a screen to test,or see if you can borrow one/get sale or return.
And people on here help with tech problems,not get rich quick schemes......LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I could have bought the phone and relisted it in the proper category, you are right on that BUT I acually don't have any interest in making money with this phone, if it is fully working again, I probably will give it to my GF cause her crappy iFone will probalby be moving to the bin soon... You really probably missunderstood me in this case...
But thanks for you help! I'll see this evening if I can put it in download mode...
keithross39 said:
If you know what network it's on, and you can find a way to get it switched on, you can put a compatible sim card into it and call it....if the phone rings (provided the volume is set right) you can assume it's good.........
That is.....assuming there's charge in the battery.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats also a good idea BUT afaik you need to enter a PIN code before the phone actually connects to the carrier/provider, isn't that correct?
Not necessarily......unless the phone has been set up that way post purchase.....as I said, you need to know what carrier the phone was with before, and simply go and get a sim card (pay as you go) for that carrier and put it in the phone....job done.
It's not necessary to enter a pin code here in the UK.....I don't know how the mobile operators operare with respect to that in Switzerland though......
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
How about if you cant "borrow' a screen,just buy one off eBay from a seller that takes it back with a small restocking fee.
Then hook it up(without fixing it permanently) and see if any problems me/keith mentioned.
Look near the end of this video in this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25438587
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maybe your an iphone expert
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Okay, i managed to connect the phone to my computer and it shows up in KIES! *yay*
Unfortunately, KIES shows: "The connected device is locked..."
But, as far as this looks like, the phone is working! Am I right on this?
I dont know much about kies as I dont use it.Maybe its not an unbranded phone and youve put in a different sim its not used to.
Unless someone has a better idea,I think buying the screen under the conditions I said earlier is the way to go.It may only lose you £15 at the worst.
Check the online imei checket first though to see if it throws amything up.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
I dont know much about kies as I dont use it.Maybe its not an unbranded phone and youve put in a different sim its not used to.
Unless someone has a better idea,I think buying the screen under the conditions I said earlier is the way to go.It may only lose you £15 at the worst.
Check the online imei checket first though to see if it throws amything up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't put in a SIM at all, as it is not neccesary to be able to use the phone.
I will buy a screen anyway, if I can't use it myself, I will give it to a frend who has also got a smashed S2.
Another question: Is it possible to hard reset the phone, without a working screen? Afaik you have to boot into recovery and select the reset from a menu, which is not really possible without having a working display... Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Someone has just posted this utility.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43448133
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maybe your an iphone expert
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theunderling said:
Someone has just posted this utility.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43448133
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but with the phone being locked, i cannot do anything, also not install any apps...
How can I reset the phone without the screen? Or can someone tell me which buttons to press in recovery menu to do a wipe/reset?
Thanks!
That in itself could cause you issues. You have to get the number of and order of presses exactly right otherwise you could end up formatting the system partition (os)
Aaaaand.....you don't know whether you're running 4.0.4 in which case, doing a wipe *may* permanently kill your phone (search emmc brickbug for the why/how)......
Realistically the only option is to obtain a screen......have you thought of taking the phone to an unofficial repairer, explaining the situation and asking for the temporary instore use of a screen? (You could even offer to pay a small fee.....just as a sweetener)
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
nkb88 said:
Thanks, but with the phone being locked, i cannot do anything, also not install any apps...
How can I reset the phone without the screen? Or can someone tell me which buttons to press in recovery menu to do a wipe/reset?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That mymobiler didnt look like an app to me.The other thing that was mentioned was an app that needed root.
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maybe your an iphone expert
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keithross39 said:
That in itself could cause you issues. You have to get the number of and order of presses exactly right otherwise you could end up formatting the system partition (os)
Aaaaand.....you don't know whether you're running 4.0.4 in which case, doing a wipe *may* permanently kill your phone (search emmc brickbug for the why/how)......
Realistically the only option is to obtain a screen......have you thought of taking the phone to an unofficial repairer, explaining the situation and asking for the temporary instore use of a screen? (You could even offer to pay a small fee.....just as a sweetener)
Sent from my rooted, de bloated, stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and XDA developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right - thats really too risky. As I said, i'm going to order a screen now and we'll see how things work out! Thanks for your help! I'll keep this thread updated with my progess.
Cheers! :good:
nkb88 said:
You are right - thats really too risky. As I said, i'm going to order a screen now and we'll see how things work out! Thanks for your help! I'll keep this thread updated with my progess.
Cheers! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a new screen and everything is working smoothly!
Thanks for your support! :good:
PS: Any recommendable, FAST rom without too much bloatware?
Cheerio!
Lol....not gonna recommend a specific ROM as that's against XDAs rules......but if you want the stability of stock without the bloat, try one of the hybrid ROMs. Look for "samsung based" in the ROM sticky thread.....or do what I've done. ....stay with your stock firmware, but root it and debloat it.......
My Wife says I'm a phone geek.....
I'd have to agree.....

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