[Q] Bricked SGS2 GT-i9100M (Bell/Virgin) - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Okay, So I am as NOOB as NOOB can be,
I got a used SGS2 (Bell/Virgin), I am on Telus so I figured, how hard can it be to unlock it instead of paying some dude to do it for me? (First mistake, and have been humbled every step of the way since!...)
Anyway I will try to keep this relatively short (it will be difficult)... ...I read a few things online and saw that I needed ODIN and a Rooting software, I originally used SuperOneClick, and to download the right insecure kernel to match my original one etc... ...problem is I obviously didn't read nearly enough when I started because I was almost done and then there was a hiccup when SuperOneClick said that I needed to enable SU in Kies. So I decided to go into Kies to try and do so but the instructions before I started Rooting said to put the phone in USB debugging mode. Apparently Kies doesn't see the phone if it is in that mode. Well by this time I can't get past the logo screen and this is where my downward spiral begins.
I then tried to unroot the phone to go back to stock but didn't really know what I was doing and then I read something about the cache needing to be wiped and then after that I read that maybe my OS was wiped. So at this point I did lots of reading (what I should have done in the first place) and most of anything useful I found was on XDA so that is why I am here. It seemed like yes, in fact my OS was wiped because of one of my not so S-M-R-T actions. So I fumbled through and found the right OS for my S2 and I had ODIN going strong and I had the OS loading, the green bar getting bigger in ODIN and the blue bar working it's way across the screen of my S2...I thought "finally!!, I rock!!"... ...then for some reason everything stopped! I had seen in a post that I had to uninstall Kies before doing anything, which I did...but I didn't see until after the fact that my anti-virus likely interfered (I didn't disable it for the process before I started).
At that point of course I was left with a phone that says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
So then I was afraid to try anything else because many say to steer clear of Kies and also I had read that I may need a USB jig to be able to get it back into download mode because all I was getting was the "firmware upgrade issue" screen. I did make a USB jig with a resistance of 300K Ohms and I *can* get the phone into download mode. (Though another concern is that when I plug the USB jig in and it brings the phone into download mode, the counter is not reset and I read that that was supposed to be reset by the jig.)
So last night I got brave and decided to try and run ODIN and to have another attempt at installation of OS. Now I can get ODIN to detect the phone, but I put the I9100MUGLD3_I9100MBMCLD3_I9100MXXLD3_HOME.tar.md5 file into the PDA section of ODIN and it starts and gets to the part where it says loading firmware or something and then bootload.bin and it stayed like that for like, an hour and then I gave up, fearing that I am just going to screw it up even more.
So now I decided that I am not even close to knowing what to do next but every time I found anything to move forward it was on this site so I figured I may as well join the site since I have been here so often. Now I am hoping for some kind of miracle...so, in advance, please please please and thank you thank you thank you all for your input. (Sorry for the length of this I just wanted to get all the info I could into this)

Its quite a long story and didnt bother reading it.
If you can still access your phone via odin at downloadmode. Flash a stock firmware for your device and it should fix if it is just a soft brick.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

UnwiredDroid said:
Its quite a long story and didnt bother reading it.
If you can still access your phone via odin at downloadmode. Flash a stock firmware for your device and it should fix if it is just a soft brick.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the length of the story, I thought there may be alot of useful info mixed in with the useless info... ...when you say use stock firmware do you mean the kernel or the actual OS? I tried loading ICS onto it (which I thought was stock but I may be wrong). Is it supposed to be gingerbread or something else? Also where would I find a good file for it.
Thank you again for any input, very much appreciated!

Hey ,
I also have a Virgin Samsung S2 i9100 and the first time I tried rooting it, it got stuck on the screen with the yellow triangle and wouldnt move at all. I believe it was bricked?
anyways, I m not sure I totally understand your situation, but I solved my problem using this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21493413
look it under the i9100M section. hope this helps

schtiven said:
Hey ,
I also have a Virgin Samsung S2 i9100 and the first time I tried rooting it, it got stuck on the screen with the yellow triangle and wouldnt move at all. I believe it was bricked?
anyways, I m not sure I totally understand your situation, but I solved my problem using this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21493413
look it under the i9100M section. hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you all so much for your help, I could not get it to work after several tries, I even tried three or 4 different USB cables and ports on my PC and still no. I read on another thread that one person tried another PC and it worked so I tried my friend's laptop and it worked!...my SGS2 boots up and all that now! Very very happy thank you all.

Related

[Q] Samsung Galaxy S2 - Download mode but no recovery, not recognized by Odin or Kies

Hi all. I have searched for this problem and found some similar ones, but nothing quite like this.
The problem first started when I tried flashing Zedomax Kernel v3 via Odin. Odin reported a successful flash, but when it went to reboot it sat at the Galaxy S2 splash screen with yellow triangle for about 45 mins. I figured something was wrong so rebooted to CWM. I was able to get into both CWM and download mode at this point.
No matter what I tried I could not get the phone to boot up, so I thought I would try flashing a factory image to get back to out of the box settings. In the middle of this Odin got stuck on a step and then failed out after a good 10-30 minutes (sorry for lack of detail, this was pretty late last night).
Now, when I try to boot into recovery mode I see the [phone]....!....[computer] screen with the message "Firmware upgrade encountered" (part of this screen is cut off on the right, and appears to overflow to the left side? weird). I can boot into download mode, but Odin doesn't see my phone when I plug it in. The device doesn't show up in device manager either.
Things I have tried:
-Different USB port
-Kies "Resolution connection errors" button, which seems to reinstall the drivers
-Reboot computer after above step
-Remove battery from phone and replace
After these steps I still can't get my computer to see my plugged in phone in any way. I'm getting kinda nervous but the only thing giving me hope is that I can get it into download mode. Any ideas on how to get Odin to see it again?
Remove Kies and reinstall see if it picks the phone up and installs the drivers .
jje
OperationIvy85 said:
Hi all. I have searched for this problem and found some similar ones, but nothing quite like this.
The problem first started when I tried flashing Zedomax Kernel v3 via Odin. Odin reported a successful flash, but when it went to reboot it sat at the Galaxy S2 splash screen with yellow triangle for about 45 mins. I figured something was wrong so rebooted to CWM. I was able to get into both CWM and download mode at this point.
No matter what I tried I could not get the phone to boot up, so I thought I would try flashing a factory image to get back to out of the box settings. In the middle of this Odin got stuck on a step and then failed out after a good 10-30 minutes (sorry for lack of detail, this was pretty late last night).
Now, when I try to boot into recovery mode I see the [phone]....!....[computer] screen with the message "Firmware upgrade encountered" (part of this screen is cut off on the right, and appears to overflow to the left side? weird). I can boot into download mode, but Odin doesn't see my phone when I plug it in. The device doesn't show up in device manager either.
Things I have tried:
-Different USB port
-Kies "Resolution connection errors" button, which seems to reinstall the drivers
-Reboot computer after above step
-Remove battery from phone and replace
After these steps I still can't get my computer to see my plugged in phone in any way. I'm getting kinda nervous but the only thing giving me hope is that I can get it into download mode. Any ideas on how to get Odin to see it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That kernel is for the Epic touch 4g is that your phone or do you have the international version? If you flashed the wrong kernel it could cause problems.
Yes it's an Epic touch 4g from sprint.
EDIT: Uninstalled Kies, reinstalled Kies, restarted computer, still no kind of recognition of my phone in any state (powered off, at "Firmware upgrade encountered" screen it boots into, or in download mode). Starting to get nervous, I used to at least hear a sound when plugging my phone into my comp. It is like there is nothing on the other end of the USB cable.
More things I have tried:
-All of the above steps on a different computer
-Sweet talking it
-Talking dirty to it
Am I brick'd? I figure not, since I can at least get into download mode. Not sure what else I can do though. I'd go see what the Sprint store can do for me, but on the download mode screen it lists my custom binary download count as 5, I understand they will see that and tell me I'm out of luck?
OperationIvy85 said:
More things I have tried:
-All of the above steps on a different computer
-Sweet talking it
-Talking dirty to it
Am I brick'd? I figure not, since I can at least get into download mode. Not sure what else I can do though. I'd go see what the Sprint store can do for me, but on the download mode screen it lists my custom binary download count as 5, I understand they will see that and tell me I'm out of luck?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to reset your binary counter with a usb jig.
you could try and download the drivers again from here and see if it then connects
http://modem-techno.blogspot.com/2010/09/epic-4g-usb-driver-download.html
I also had a similar problem once with an old i9000 and what worked was doing this and then connecting the phone first and then opening Odin.For some reason opening Odin first and connecting wouldnt find the phone.If nothing else works try wipeing the bin counter with the jig and send it back.Youll have to say that kies crashed while updating on Win7 64bits.Samsung know that before the September 30th kies update kies wasnt fully functional with 64bit drivers and they had a few phones replaced under warranty because of crashing kies updates on Win7 64bits.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
I made a USB jig but it had no result. I checked the resistance with a multimeter and I am connected across pins 4 and 5 of the usb dongle I bought. I plug it in and nothing happens.
I can still get into download mode by the usual means, just no recognition from my computer, odin, or kies. Very frustrating. Am I going to have to buy a new one or is there another way to reset the bin counter?
EDIT: Got the USB jig to work! I was using a bad diagram and was on pins 1/2 instead of 4/5. Now I can't boot, can't get to recovery, can't get any PC to recognize my phone in download mode.. but at least my download screen says "Custom binary download: NO." So if nothing else works before tomorrow evening I'm gonna bring this thing back to the Sprint store and tell them what cooza said about kies crashing on win7 64 bit. Thanks everyone! Also I just realized there is a specific forum for Epic 4G touch.. sorry >.>
The good thing is that your bin counter is at "0" again.The Kies thing is the real deal as there are also posts here on XDA of the same thing happening.I also know its true from first hand experience as it has happened to me and when i told them about the Win7 64bit driver problem (this happened to me a couple of months back too) they had no option but to accept it cos they know its true.Also i offered to e-mail links from forums with other complaints from users on 64bit PCs but they didnt even dought my storey and in 4 days it was back in my hand.I told them that when the update finalized the programe froze and the phone rebooted to a black screen.Had to pull the battery cos it appeared to be dead and refused to reboot again.Important to say that you where on Kies prior to the update I mentioned.Ived update to the latest Kies and it works fine now on my Win7 64bit so be carefull there that date is important
Thanks cooza I really appreciate your help. I do have a couple questions though.
1. Is the update you are referring to an update to Kies software.. or an update to the Galaxy S2? Reason I ask is because my phone is the Epic 4G Touch (accidentally posted in this forum >.>), will they still believe my story?
2. Not sure if you will know the answer to this one, but should I go through Samsung tech support or can I take it back to the Sprint store where I bought it?
3. Just trying to get clear on the story I should tell them. I was using Kies to update my phone on a Win7 64bit computer, but I accidentally used the version of Kies from before the Sept. 30 update? And then the phone crashed resulting in it's current state. Correct? Anything else I should watch out for?
4. With the problem you are describing with Win7 x64, does the phone go into a soft brick where it won't boot up?
Thanks again.. you've been very helpful
OperationIvy85 said:
Thanks cooza I really appreciate your help. I do have a couple questions though.
1. Is the update you are referring to an update to Kies software.. or an update to the Galaxy S2? Reason I ask is because my phone is the Epic 4G Touch (accidentally posted in this forum >.>), will they still believe my story?
2. Not sure if you will know the answer to this one, but should I go through Samsung tech support or can I take it back to the Sprint store where I bought it?
3. Just trying to get clear on the story I should tell them. I was using Kies to update my phone on a Win7 64bit computer, but I accidentally used the version of Kies from before the Sept. 30 update? And then the phone crashed resulting in it's current state. Correct? Anything else I should watch out for?
4. With the problem you are describing with Win7 x64, does the phone go into a soft brick where it won't boot up?
Thanks again.. you've been very helpful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies via to its Sep 30th update was not fully compatable with 64bits and gave a lot of problems to a lot of people.I had a few problems with it when I got a new laptop (HP Win7 64bit) so started searching the web for solutions and found that kies was designed mainly to support the windowsXP versions 32bit and had caused Samsung to accept various repairs under warranty because of crashing Kies updates mainly on android running phones.For some reason Bada didnt seam to affected.Maybe cos there arnt to many around like android.In the 4G forum there is post from someone who has bricked their phone using Kies to update and a reply from another with the same problem.Take it into where you bought it to start with and if its not there problem then they might send it back to Samsung for you.All you need to say is that you where updating your firmware via kies and on completion it froze and the phone booted to a black screen like mine did.You had to pull the battery and restart your PC to close Kies cos it wouldnt close or minimize or anything.Tell them that you searched on the net for possible causes and found what i told you about Kies and since you have a Win7 64bits PC then thats most likely to have been the cause.Your bin counter is at 0 so there is no way they can counter-attack your story.
OperationIvy85 said:
Hi all. I have searched for this problem and found some similar ones, but nothing quite like this.
The problem first started when I tried flashing Zedomax Kernel v3 via Odin. Odin reported a successful flash, but when it went to reboot it sat at the Galaxy S2 splash screen with yellow triangle for about 45 mins. I figured something was wrong so rebooted to CWM. I was able to get into both CWM and download mode at this point.
No matter what I tried I could not get the phone to boot up, so I thought I would try flashing a factory image to get back to out of the box settings. In the middle of this Odin got stuck on a step and then failed out after a good 10-30 minutes (sorry for lack of detail, this was pretty late last night).
Now, when I try to boot into recovery mode I see the [phone]....!....[computer] screen with the message "Firmware upgrade encountered" (part of this screen is cut off on the right, and appears to overflow to the left side? weird). I can boot into download mode, but Odin doesn't see my phone when I plug it in. The device doesn't show up in device manager either.
Things I have tried:
-Different USB port
-Kies "Resolution connection errors" button, which seems to reinstall the drivers
-Reboot computer after above step
-Remove battery from phone and replace
After these steps I still can't get my computer to see my plugged in phone in any way. I'm getting kinda nervous but the only thing giving me hope is that I can get it into download mode. Any ideas on how to get Odin to see it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have this same problem now. Except that....I cannot even get into download mode. My phone is stuck at the [phone]....!....[computer] screen, but without any message. I am told that the exclamation mark tells Samsung that warranty is voided.
Is there anyway I can do anything to save my phone?
Who told you that the exclamation point means you voided your warranty?
bajaber said:
I also have this same problem now. Except that....I cannot even get into download mode. My phone is stuck at the [phone]....!....[computer] screen, but without any message. I am told that the exclamation mark tells Samsung that warranty is voided.
Is there anyway I can do anything to save my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exclamation point on a normal boot up screen (Galaxy S II splash screen) means there is a custom rom installed. This can be removed with a USB jig, which will also reset your custom binary counter.
I have absolutely no idea still what [phone]....!....[computer] means though. I ended up taking my phone back to the Sprint store and they replaced it for a small service charge while telling me next time I won't be so lucky. My next step was going to be to try calling Samsung with the story cooza suggested. I told that same story to the people at Sprint but they definitely didn't buy it, but you may have better luck with Samsung. If you get this resolved I'd be curious to hear how, but I am not optimistic for you
bajaber said:
I also have this same problem now. Except that....I cannot even get into download mode. My phone is stuck at the [phone]....!....[computer] screen, but without any message. I am told that the exclamation mark tells Samsung that warranty is voided.
Is there anyway I can do anything to save my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sign you see means that your phone is semi-bricked and that you needed a jig to force the phone to boot into download mode.You can buy one on ebay for a couple of bucks.Best you do cos it could may mean that your warranty is void.Let me explain,no one can actually say that your warranty is void because of this sign but being only "semi-bricked" the service centre are still able to enter the phone and see the bin counter.So if you semi-bricked flashing a non official firmware or you have done so earlier and your bin counter is not at 0 then YES your warranty is void.Semi-brick is not so bad as you can normally fix it yourself but Hard-brick is a dead phone and you gotta pay for a jtag .In your case buy a jig force the phone into download mode and re-flash it yourself.You shouldnt need to go anywhere.Semi-bricking is something you save yourself.Just wait till the jig arrives in the mail.
EDIT:there have been posts of people pulling the battery for 10min and re-trying and it has booted to download.They say they have had to do so 4 or 5 times for it to finally work but if youve got time on your hands then give it a try.
---------- Post added at 04:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:22 PM ----------
OperationIvy85 said:
The exclamation point on a normal boot up screen (Galaxy S II splash screen) means there is a custom rom installed. This can be removed with a USB jig, which will also reset your custom binary counter.
I have absolutely no idea still what [phone]....!....[computer] means though. I ended up taking my phone back to the Sprint store and they replaced it for a small service charge while telling me next time I won't be so lucky. My next step was going to be to try calling Samsung with the story cooza suggested. I told that same story to the people at Sprint but they definitely didn't buy it, but you may have better luck with Samsung. If you get this resolved I'd be curious to hear how, but I am not optimistic for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well at least you got a phone now hope they didnt charge to much!!!!Good on ya mate
Update on my issue....
It turns out the problem is because I tried to flash an I1900 firmware while my phone is a G variant (I900G).
After using the right firmware, it worked.
OperationIvy85 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.
I made a USB jig but it had no result. I checked the resistance with a multimeter and I am connected across pins 4 and 5 of the usb dongle I bought. I plug it in and nothing happens.
I can still get into download mode by the usual means, just no recognition from my computer, odin, or kies. Very frustrating. Am I going to have to buy a new one or is there another way to reset the bin counter?
EDIT: Got the USB jig to work! I was using a bad diagram and was on pins 1/2 instead of 4/5. Now I can't boot, can't get to recovery, can't get any PC to recognize my phone in download mode.. but at least my download screen says "Custom binary download: NO." So if nothing else works before tomorrow evening I'm gonna bring this thing back to the Sprint store and tell them what cooza said about kies crashing on win7 64 bit. Thanks everyone! Also I just realized there is a specific forum for Epic 4G touch.. sorry >.>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I'm having an exactly same problem with you and I just got a USB jig in mail, but even though I am following the instructions for the USB jig the counter is still not going back to 0 :/
This is the instruction I followed: take battery out for like a minute -> put the battery in but don't turn phone on -> put the usb jig in -> it's supposed to boot up with 0 flash count?
Mine still says 4... Can anyone please help?
sfoksn said:
Hi, I'm having an exactly same problem with you and I just got a USB jig in mail, but even though I am following the instructions for the USB jig the counter is still not going back to 0 :/
This is the instruction I followed: take battery out for like a minute -> put the battery in but don't turn phone on -> put the usb jig in -> it's supposed to boot up with 0 flash count?
Mine still says 4... Can anyone please help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is yours a i9100? If so is your firmware the latest 2.3.5 KI3 or KI8?
Could be your device has the new bootloader. If so check intratechs original firmware thread in original development section and install his old bootloader via Odin. Have a read while your there to get the latest info.
Good luck
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
aceofclubs said:
Is yours a i9100? If so is your firmware the latest 2.3.5 KI3 or KI8?
Could be your device has the new bootloader. If so check intratechs original firmware thread in original development section and install his old bootloader via Odin. Have a read while your there to get the latest info.
Good luck
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I got stuck while flashing 2.3.5 Gingerbread... Yeah I think it has a new bootloader, as I remember Odin updating the bootloader section before messing up.
Is there any way I can get the USB jig to work? My phone is no longer recognized by the USB anymore so I can't even flash another bootloader or anything.
Is there anythign I could do to make the USB jig work without connecting it to the computer?
Can you get into download mode using the buttons?
Volume down+home+power
If so try and flash another Rom from intratechs thread to get back to stock.
If that works you can try again.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

[Q] Stuck on Vibrant Screen after flashing stock from ODIN

Here's the story - purchased a soft-bricked Vibrant for $50. It booted up to the phone - ! - computer screen. Took it home, used One-Click Unboot. Took a few tries, drivers, and USB ports, but eventually it worked. After that, it was just turning on and hanging at the Vibrant screen. Going along with other threads, I tried flashing to stock from ODIN. I followed this guide: http://androidspin.com/2010/08/09/how-to-restore-or-recover-your-samsung-vibrant/
ODIN was finicky but eventually recognized my phone on COM Port 4. With the appropriate PIT and PDA loaded, I clicked Start and all the files uploaded. The phone restarts and.. stuck at Vibrant again. ODIN even lights up with a green PASS but I've let the phone sit and sit and it never gets anywhere.
Is this thing a total dud? Granted I'm trying to boot without a SIM card in it but I didn't think that would make a difference. Please, someone help. I'm stumped and annoyed.
Tried following this guide as well. Same problem. I'm definitely frustrated.
http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/6998-howto-recover-from-a-soft-brick-on-your-vibrant/
I'm having this same problem, any info would be nice. I've actually tried several different guides online and none have worked for me, I can never get past the bootloader screen.
Also, I have been unable to find the file to install CWR, so I have no backup. I know my phone isn't bricked because I can install different modems and such but nothing is working to get it back up and working.
Make sure you've got the right files. Grab the ones out of the noob guide just to be sure
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Yep, same problem. I can't seem to get into recovery either. Or connect to ADB to reboot into recovery. I'm tearing my damn hair out over this.
I tried ODIN flashing the Froyo No-Brick ROM for the hell of it cuz I read it fixed this issue as a last ditch for some people. No dice. Boots to the Vibrant screen for a second, then Vibrant switches to Galaxy S and it just sits there.
If no one has any ideas soon, I'm just going to say screw it. Pretty bummed - I've been on a G1 forever and was excited to use an Android phone that doesn't totally suck.
Wrrryyy said:
I tried ODIN flashing the Froyo No-Brick ROM for the hell of it cuz I read it fixed this issue as a last ditch for some people. No dice. Boots to the Vibrant screen for a second, then Vibrant switches to Galaxy S and it just sits there.
If no one has any ideas soon, I'm just going to say screw it. Pretty bummed - I've been on a G1 forever and was excited to use an Android phone that doesn't totally suck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into the Developers section and look at the 2nd or 3rd post "Bay_wolf's AIO Vibrant Toolbox 2.5" . Download that into your computer and run 'Flash to Stock'.
That should help you get to where you need to go. Try the one click method first.
PM sent to Wrrryyy
Thanks for the advice guys, but still no go. Installed the drivers from the toolkit but all I can still do is use ODIN to try and flash stock. Results are exactly the same. Reboot into recovery still isn't working - I have a feeling USB debugging was not enabled on this phone before any of this happened so I'm screwed in that respect.
Keep trying, it's not bricked, one combination of files has to work for you.
Well there's only so many files I can apparently try. I've tried JFD, JI6, Eugene No-Brick.. Is there anything else I should trying flashing with ODIN?
Take out your sim card and microSD card. Download the appropriate stock JFD files, make sure you check repartition; you should be fine. USB debugging box not being checked before has nothing to do with your problem now. I believe either your partition or your bootloasder is screwy. Follow my steps above and you should be ok.
In fact, look at this and follow it to the T.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848737
That's what I've tried probably 30 times by now. Repartition checked and unchecked. And yeah I know USB debugging doesn't have to do with ODIN, it's why I'm assuming I can't get ADB to recognize the phone so I could at least try "adb reboot recovery".
Outside of flashing JFD, JI6, or Eugene's No-Brick, is there anything else I could try?
Wrrryyy said:
That's what I've tried probably 30 times by now. Repartition checked and unchecked. And yeah I know USB debugging doesn't have to do with ODIN, it's why I'm assuming I can't get ADB to recognize the phone so I could at least try "adb reboot recovery".
Outside of flashing JFD, JI6, or Eugene's No-Brick, is there anything else I could try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try eBay
Sent from my T959 using XDA App
I'm in the same boat, same scenario with constant boot loop. This is my girlfriends phone too
IA-32e said:
I'm in the same boat, same scenario with constant boot loop. This is my girlfriends phone too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look for a new girlfriend on ebay
djquick said:
Look for a new girlfriend on ebay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha no Craigslist I ended up having her file a claim and send it back. I must have borked the bootloader somehow cause now it wont turn on at all. Thank God for insurance. She's SUPER pissed though.
Compared to my Galaxy SII this phone is very finicky and ODIN is even more unreliable than normal. Never hard bricked a device before.
Picked up a G2 practically new for $100. Loving it so far - rooting process was a snap.
F this Vibrant. Back to Craigslist it goes. Still open to ideas before it's gone so I can attempt to get my money back, lol.
Wrrryyy said:
Picked up a G2 practically new for $100. Loving it so far - rooting process was a snap.
F this Vibrant. Back to Craigslist it goes. Still open to ideas before it's gone so I can attempt to get my money back, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I see that will fix the Vibrant when it's in this state is JTAG brick repair for $50. This is after spending 12 hours searching and attempting to ODIN different stock firmwares till I finally hard bricked it.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-4g-vibrant-4g-jtag-brick-repair/
Yeah I was considering this. I e-mailed the guy asking if it was an appropriate fix. I figure, if the service takes care of a hard brick, it can certainly take care of a soft brick. Maybe I'll do that to keep it around as a back-up phone. Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Horridly softbricked SII, need help

Hello everyone,
As this is my first post, i'd like to apologise in advance if this issue i'm about to detail has been posted before, but after about a month's worth of trial and inevitable error, reading everything i could find and following every walkthrough i've come across to the t...i'm at wit's end here.
So, i've got a Galaxy SII GT i9100, standard euro version i suppose, my provider is Vodafone Romania (wretched buggers the lot of 'em).
My troubles had started ever since the update from 2.3 with which the phone had arrived, to 4.0.3. I made the update through my home wifi, and i'm guessing the software was provided by either Google, Samsung or Vodafone Ro.
In any case, 4.0.3 was a lot more sluggish and badly calibrated in terms of touch responses and video lag while streaming.
About a month ago i got another notification to update to 4.0.4. This update worked fine for about 20 minutes till the thing decided to freeze up completely, and not turn off from the power button held down a while.
After i had removed the battery and turned it back on, i simply got the following message: "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
Naturally Kies is a steaming pile and recovery fails every time with a message composed only of empty squares instead of text, i'm guessing it's because i lack a certain language pack, but the only option is "OK".
So i turned to Odin, when that failed, instead of wiping the counter before sending it into the warranty, i did not. so they voided my warranty because it seems Odin is "unauthorized".
Multiple tries and failures later, quite a few attempts by other people that know more about this than myself...some have said i've got corrupt flash memory while other say "NAND rw corruption".
I'm a rather experienced pc builder...but this seriously stumps me.
I've also tried the walkthrough here on XDA with the same results.
So any new input would be much appreciated...be it through skype or another medium.
can you enter the download mode, if yes then try flashing stock firmware which comes with .PIT file (using odin)......may be that will help
try this thread as well http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1457458
RazorwireClouds said:
Hello everyone,
As this is my first post, i'd like to apologise in advance if this issue i'm about to detail has been posted before, but after about a month's worth of trial and inevitable error, reading everything i could find and following every walkthrough i've come across to the t...i'm at wit's end here.
So, i've got a Galaxy SII GT i9100, standard euro version i suppose, my provider is Vodafone Romania (wretched buggers the lot of 'em).
My troubles had started ever since the update from 2.3 with which the phone had arrived, to 4.0.3. I made the update through my home wifi, and i'm guessing the software was provided by either Google, Samsung or Vodafone Ro.
In any case, 4.0.3 was a lot more sluggish and badly calibrated in terms of touch responses and video lag while streaming.
About a month ago i got another notification to update to 4.0.4. This update worked fine for about 20 minutes till the thing decided to freeze up completely, and not turn off from the power button held down a while.
After i had removed the battery and turned it back on, i simply got the following message: "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
Naturally Kies is a steaming pile and recovery fails every time with a message composed only of empty squares instead of text, i'm guessing it's because i lack a certain language pack, but the only option is "OK".
So i turned to Odin, when that failed, instead of wiping the counter before sending it into the warranty, i did not. so they voided my warranty because it seems Odin is "unauthorized".
Multiple tries and failures later, quite a few attempts by other people that know more about this than myself...some have said i've got corrupt flash memory while other say "NAND rw corruption".
I've also tried the walkthrough here on XDA with the same results.
So any new input would be much appreciated...be it through skype or another medium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry i forgot to mention that i can enter Download mode using Vol. down + home + power, BUT...i can't enter recovery mode or whatever it's called with Vol. up + home + power...that button combo only starts the phone with the same old error message.
also, i've tried this walkthrough
as far as i know if you can enter into download mode, your phone is not dead...........................i don't know much about android development but i am sure that your phone can be revived...........keep searching the forum and try contacting some of the sgs2 developers they might be able to help you
cheers
RazorwireClouds said:
sorry i forgot to mention that i can enter Download mode using Vol. down + home + power, BUT...i can't enter recovery mode or whatever it's called with Vol. up + home + power...that button combo only starts the phone with the same old error message.
also, i've tried this walkthrough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pretty much what i'm thinking as well, there should be a way to restore it without resorting to cannibalism and taking a broken phone's mobo.
but i have been searching and being new to these forums i've no clue who to contact, but anyways, thanks for the reply sir. my thanks
bumpdonkey.
Come on,are you trying different things like disabling kies/USB cables/ports/different PC.
Have you tired flashing the stock Rom through Odin? You can find it at sammobile.com.
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
as i've stated in the first post, i've tried almost everything. this includes flashing a series of different roms, kernels, pits etc.
as well as trying it with kies uninstalled, and since it's been attempted by other people, i'm guessing it's superfluous to try it on another PC than my own because others have already done so with it. and the cable is just a cable.
i have the same problem and i still searching
when i try to mount the data partition it fail
i tried all things but still no solution
come on guys help us to revive our sgs2
so far, the most i've accomplished was bringing it from the error message to the boot screen where it remains forever...by flashing the bootroom.
but if i tick "nand erase all" it fails to do anything.
No bumping
Do not bump this thread. The answer will come because someone knows it, not because it's bumped every few hours.
which reatmne
sorry about that, i'll cut the bumping then...i'm just...beyond frustrated at this point...it's been a brick for about a month now...nobody seems to know how to fix the blasted thing
Maybe...
I had once got stuck.
If you could get to the recovery, i think you can try wipe data, wipe data, wipe data....................
Then flash stock rom, or those you think is reliable.
wipe and flash. wipe and flash.
If you can't, use ODIN....... the only way
flash and flash the stock rom or any others.............
if it works, there you are.
Hope it works!!
you may wanna read the whole topic before replying, just saying
Your phone's obviously stuffed and only one of two (but 95% likely only one) things is going to fix it (nothing anyone here can suggest will).
I think you know what they both are. Continuing to post to this thread is simply delaying getting your phone fixed or getting another phone.
RazorwireClouds said:
you may wanna read the whole topic before replying, just saying
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly pal.Surprised he didnt say "if only you could boot up the phone you wouldnt need to get it repaired"......lol
MistahBungle said:
Your phone's obviously stuffed and only one of two (but 95% likely only one) things is going to fix it (nothing anyone here can suggest will).
I think you know what they both are. Continuing to post to this thread is simply delaying getting your phone fixed or getting another phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i may ask what are thee two things which are going to fix the phone cuz mein is in the same situation thanks
I'm stuck in a similar position I'm stuck at galaxy s2 boot screen can get to download mode but not recovery I havnt tryed Odin yet only because I don't know what I'm.doing with Odin could somebody direct me on where to get the right files n stuff for Odin please I would be really gratfull thanks
Sent from my HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio X315e using xda app-developers app
Google Odin 3, use the 1.85 version. Get the stock Rom from sammobile.com for your device. Unzip Odin and then run it. In PDA browes to the stock Rom. Make sure only auto re boot and F. Reset are checked in odin. Then hit start. Check the stickies for more details. See vincom's in the development forum.
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Cheers mate am all sorted now bk rooted with the rom I wanted lol
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

[Q] How to unbrick a phone if odin doesn't detect it? (!!SOLVED!!)

Phone specs first
Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-i9100
Rooted
CWM
Hardcore speedmod
android 4.1.2 jb
PC is windows 8
I remember i had turned the usb debugging on in dev options
so last night i tried to install cyanogenmod on my device with the cyanogenmod installer for PC and Android.
I was having a bit of usb problems with noticing that my pc did detect the phone, but i couldn't see the phone in
"my computer" file. I thought it would soon fix by itself(i dont know why) and also noticing that detecting device in cm installer
took a lot of time. So when it finally detected the phone it started installing the CM. Although after coming to the
"installing operating system" point, it stopped and said "we couldn't talk to your phone" and having this blue CM guy standing in the screen
of my phone. I tried again several times with rebooting my pc and phone. To the phone appeared again this blue cm figure just standing there.
When i would go and try again on pc it said the "we couldn't talk to your phone" text again. So i gave up with the installer and thought that would be better to flash that CM with Odin. At this point i couldn't access my phone(except for download mode and recovery) of course because it had screwed up the system. I tried to search internet for some usb problem fixes and there were some solutions on changing something in your
device settings and dev options, i cant go there, so for now thats not an option. I started following a tutorial in youtube on how to install cm with odin and root your device. My first question here is that should i install everything and start from scratch (Gapps,CM and kernel) or just the CM ROM? And the problem here is that when i started following the tutorial and came up to the part of having to move the Rom,kernel and gapps to the phone's sd card, i realised that wouldn't work because i cant see the phone on my pc, for now that's the problem number 1. My pc says "unknown device" ( i think thats what it means, see im translating) when i try to plug my phone in. Got any solution for this so we could move on to step 2?
And btw this is in a bit of a hurry, as i really have to get this phone working today.I need it! :crying:
And yeah i did read the other threads about PC not recognizing the phone but those solutions there require the phone to be turned on and changing something there. So basically my phone is bricked and cant connect to pc with usb, i have tried another pc too with 2 usb cables but the phone wont show up under "my computer"
Get stock firmware from Samfirmware, try & flash with Odin. Problems with flash ? Find Hopper8's 'Odin troubleshooting' thread stickied in General; try as much of the stuff in that thread as you need to in order to get a successful flash of stock firmware & a clean slate (I.E a working phone, getting the phone back to this state should be your only thought at this point), then you can try reflashing a custom rom/whatever from there if you want to.
If you do have problems with the stock flash, make sure you actually do everything in the thread, or your phone will stay busted. These things are fixed with perseverance & doing everything possible, there is no easy fix.
Also, please don't post about the same issue twice, there was no need for you to make this thread & post to the other thread as well.
MistahBungle said:
Get stock firmware from Samfirmware, try & flash with Odin. Problems with flash ? Find Hopper8's 'Odin troubleshooting' thread stickied in General; try as much of the stuff in that thread as you need to in order to get a successful flash of stock firmware & a clean slate (I.E a working phone, getting the phone back to this state should be your only thought at this point), then you can try reflashing a custom rom/whatever from there if you want to.
If you do have problems with the stock flash, make sure you actually do everything in the thread, or your phone will stay busted. These things are fixed with perseverance & doing everything possible, there is no easy fix.
Also, please don't post about the same issue twice, there was no need for you to make this thread & post to the other thread as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just flashing the stock rom? Does the firmware need to be specifically from that region you live in?
Got the Odin detecting my phone now so that's one step further. Huge thanks for helping me!
itsFreezy said:
So just flashing the stock rom? Does the firmware need to be specifically from that region you live in?
Got the Odin detecting my phone now so that's one step further. Huge thanks for helping me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, for me. I never tried to flash stock rom using other country. So, I don't know what will happen if I do so. Maybe you will get some problems with calls, messages, etc..?
So now i have tried to flash 3 different ROM's and everytime i get stuck for a while in the SetupConnection step and after about 2 minutes it just says all threads completed succeed 0/1 failed and cant open the serial (COM) port. I am on download mode on the phone.
Then you need to go back to Hopper's thread and try everything suggested in the thread, including multiple PC's if necessary.
I did say your phone will stay busted in my PP if you didn't do everything in that thread as many times as you need to (looks like the prophecy is being fulfilled). There is nothing else that isn't in that thread that can be suggested in these situations, that thread is the Bible.
Only you can fix your phone in this situation, we can't do it for you. I've given you the tools to get it done, it's up to you whether you do & how long your phone stays in its current state.
Huuuge thanks to you !
MistahBungle said:
Then you need to go back to Hopper's thread and try everything suggested in the thread, including multiple PC's if necessary.
I did say your phone will stay busted in my PP if you didn't do everything in that thread as many times as you need to (looks like the prophecy is being fulfilled). There is nothing else that isn't in that thread that can be suggested in these situations, that thread is the Bible.
Only you can fix your phone in this situation, we can't do it for you. I've given you the tools to get it done, it's up to you whether you do & how long your phone stays in its current state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already said this, but thank you for helping, i got it working! I flashed in a cwm kernel and stock rom.You really dont know how
grateful i am! It was kinda stupid to go and try install cyanogenmod without backing up, but that's not going to happen in the future.
Also i think i needed this to happen, i mean it still was a very good lesson to understand the basics of odin flashing and kernels,roms and rooting.
I really thought for a while that i had lost my phone. Hopper8's thread really helped!
Good man. And yes, you're right, having this sort of thing happen early on can be a really good learning experience & give you the knowledge/confidence to recover from just about anything (had a not dissimilar experience to yourself about a week after I got my S2 2+ yrs ago, I learned a helluva a lot in the two days my phone was borked) that happens in future.
Don't forget to thank Hopper's OP in his thread if you haven't already.

galaxy S2 strange problem

It's my beloved I9100P. Last night it strangely failed. I realised in the morning when the alarm didn't go off. The phone was switched off.
When I tried to switch on, it got stuck in boot loop. The carrier animation and samsung logo will keep repeating. So I thought I will go into recover mode and do a factory reset. Phone went into factory mode the first time. I thought let me do a restart from there, just to see what happens. At this point, I noticed a lot of red errors on recovery mode screen, most of which saying something like "unable to mount /cache". I restarted it, but unfortunately the phone again went into boot loop.
Now when I tried, it refused to go even to recovery mode. I tried several times, but every time it got stuck on Samsung Galaxy logo.
It went into download mode fine, so I thought I will flash Orange UK carrier ROM. I downloaded the ROM and tried flashing with ODIN. ODIN recognised the device, but the flashing failed with error "Complete (Write) operation failed".
I don't know what to do now, have exhausted all option that I knew.
Any help in reviving my phone please?
@kaushal101 Keep yourphone phone connected to your pc and keep it in download mode. Dont disconnect it it could turn into a hardbrick which you can't fix without jtag repair service.
What you could do is see or you have installled all drivers, kies is disabled, right odin version. Google the problem and you would probably find an answer fast. I hope this message isnt too late..
wulsic said:
@kaushal101 Keep yourphone phone connected to your pc and keep it in download mode. Dont disconnect it it could turn into a hardbrick which you can't fix without jtag repair service.
What you could do is see or you have installled all drivers, kies is disabled, right odin version. Google the problem and you would probably find an answer fast. I hope this message isnt too late..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. After trying several things, I did unplugged it from the machine. It shows the upgrade failed warning message whenever I try to switch it on now, which was expected.
I can still go to download mode and restart the ODIN flashing original Orange firmware process, but it fails with the same error. The only difference is, the first time it failed on CACHE step. Now it is failing one step earlier, at NAND writing stage.
Is there any hope? I had kies disabled etc., but will give it another shot. My phone was accessible with kies and I could also upload my development APKs from Android studio. So I think drivers shouldn't be a problem.
@kaushal101 I dont really have much knowledge about the s2 anymore, so the only good thing I can suggest is to google the problem and get more people to your thread here to help you and or find other threads about the same thing.
It is good that your phone can still go into downloadmode, I think there is still hope to fix your phone
wulsic said:
@kaushal101 I dont really have much knowledge about the s2 anymore, so the only good thing I can suggest is to google the problem and get more people to your thread here to help you and or find other threads about the same thing.
It is good that your phone can still go into downloadmode, I think there is still hope to fix your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for keeping the hope alive!
Have followed XDA's S2-ODIN troubleshoot guide, with no luck so far. Tried different versions of ODIN, reinstalled USB drivers, made sure KIES is removed from processes etc. None has helped so far. I'll keep looking!
kaushal101 said:
Thanks for keeping the hope alive!
Have followed XDA's S2-ODIN troubleshoot guide, with no luck so far. Tried different versions of ODIN, reinstalled USB drivers, made sure KIES is removed from processes etc. None has helped so far. I'll keep looking!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you tryed another stock rom version?
Try other usb cable.
Sounds weird but try to leave the battery out of your phone for like a couple minutes
Try other usb port.
Try other computer:silly:
These are the things I can think of atm.
Have tried other USB port. Have tried a different firmware.
Am going to try a different PC today, will also give different cable a shot. But the cable I'm using is Samsung official one which came with the phone. And I've been uploading APKs using this cable fine, so am quite sure the cable is fine. But still, will give it a shot. Thanks for replying

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