Hello ! I have a Galaxy S3 GT-I9300, which i'm almost certain is from the first batches. 2 days ago I left it to charge overnight, and when I woke up it was bootlooping. I tried to flash lots of JB Roms, both custom and stock, and all kinds of formatting from recovery, but it didn't help. Eventually, thanks to a thread on xda, I flashed a stock ICS rom, which to my surprise, seemed to solve the problem, as my phone booted again, and I then successfully flashed stock JB. Unfortunately, since then I've been experiencing frequent lockups, which require either restarting the device or waiting for very long on different stock JB roms. I have downloaded eMMC Brickbug check, and my phone does indeed have the insane chip. Also, I have been able to replicate the lockups by using Dummy file generator, so I'm fairly certain that the lockups have something to do with the eMMC and SDS. Also, I have read in other threads that the lockups might be caused by the SDS fix present in 4.1.2 stock kernel, so that the phone freezes instead of bricking .I would like to have my device replaced, but i'm afraid warranty won't take this seriously. Is it possible to flash back an older firmware(without SDS fix), and have the device get bricked(SDS), so that Samsung will have to replace it/the mobo?
SHORT STORY:
16Gb GT-I9300 with insane chip, from first batches, locks up frequently on 4.1.2 with SDS fix. Can replicate lockups with dummy file generator, so it's probably eMMC problem. Can I somehow help the SDS brick my phone, to have it warranty replaced, or is there any other way of solving the problem ?
------EDIT------
After flashing 4.1.1, phone has gone to semi-brick mode, only download mode accessible, which reads:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME:
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: No
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
From what I've read here on xda, this is clearly a SDS half-brick, so warranty replacement shouldn't be a problem.
Is there anyone from Romania( with a COA i9300) who has an experience to share, regardin the warranty ?
Is there any chance that having a small crack in the upper-right corner of the phone(right over 2nd camera) will cause a problem ?
you can do whatever you want, but bricking the device on purpose to get it replaced under warranty is insurance fraud, FYI.
and they don't replace the device, only the mobo
If you are all stock then take it to service on warranty and insist on replacing mobo due to showing all symptoms of emmc failure. Point then to all the XDA posts on the issue, precedence set by Samsung etc....they will be hard pushed to refute it
Glebun said:
you can do whatever you want, but bricking the device on purpose to get it replaced under warranty is insurance fraud, FYI.
and they don't replace the device, only the mobo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I know. And of course I wouldn't brick the device, but I'd rather let it finish the job and brick itself(on an older OFFICIAL fw) and have a nonfunctional mobo to get replaced under warranty, than be in the current state of having a somewhat functioning device that the service will just wipe, flash and give back
"Mechanical damage"
Ok, so I sent the phone to the service a week ago and now they tell me that the warranty is void because of "mechanical damage" (aka a tiny crack in the upper-right corner of the phone I got a few months ago). I find this OUTRAGEOUS. How can they deny an otherwise well known and comfirmed factory defect because of an unrelated crack in the phone's outer glass? I am planning on going to the service and talking personally to them, and/or suing them. Any thoughts ?
daniel_andrei1996 said:
Ok, so I sent the phone to the service a week ago and now they tell me that the warranty is void because of "mechanical damage" (aka a tiny crack in the upper-right corner of the phone I got a few months ago). I find this OUTRAGEOUS. How can they deny an otherwise well known and comfirmed factory defect because of an unrelated crack in the phone's outer glass? I am planning on going to the service and talking personally to them, and/or suing them. Any thoughts ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are in the EU look up relevant law .
Or ask are they claiming that the crack has played a part in the fault and what is the fault in regard to the crack .
By that i mean if the fault is a cracked motherboard then a mechanical damage could have played its part but not if its say a memory block failed ..
You don't lose your cool but gather evidence at this point .
jje
Related
I had recently Hard Bricked my Vibrant while flashing Custom ROM. Nothing was showing up at all on the screen. This is the following detail mailed to me by Samsung when sent for repair.
Original Problem:
Technical Inquiry
Power
No Power Up
Problem found:
BAD BGA COMPONENT
WARRANTY, REPLACE PART
Solution:
Replaced PBA
Can anyone elaborate what the above statement mean ?
Also, Samsung had factory disabled the Recovery Button on my Phone, so can it be enabled again by Samsung by servicing it ?
Printed Board Assembly
BGA = Ball Grid Array. It's a type of packaging for an integrated circuit and how it is attached to the PBA.
So basically flashing a Custom ROM resulted in a physical defect on my Phone ?
I was planning to Jtag the Bootloader but thought that it might void warranty.
I dont think I might try to flash a ROM onto the Phone now.
I had somewhat same problem on my Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Mine said: "The unit is repaired. SOLUTION: Replaced PBA"
I hard bricked my tablet because I was flashing a GSM version when its a CDMA. Thus from what I researched those are not interchangeable. That might of what happened to you as well. I know my lesson about GSM and CDMA now....
I still haven't got my device back yet. Got the ticket update yesterday. Can't wait to get it back!
ech419 said:
I was planning to Jtag the Bootloader but thought that it might void warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your warrenty gets void when you root the phone
kyle51 said:
your warrenty gets void when you root the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can unroot your phone and flash original firmware and from what I gather, they can't get any evidence saying that you did. Although I have heard people overclocking their rooted phone and damaging the componets inside.... And they can tell that you did root it.
Same Thing! (Almost)
I have the Samsung Epic Touch 4G Touch on virgin mobile (Sprint's variant of the GSII) and had rooted it. I then updated it to jelly bean 4.1, then re-rooted (JB28 update) I then started to have charging problems that got worse, eventually so bad I went down to radio shack. I knew the guy that worked there and told him my situation, he said to send it into samsung and don't tell them it's rooted. Its on its way back to me now. I think either samsung missed it somehow, or just didn't care that it was rooted.
Here's the E-mail text:
Original Problem:
TECHNICAL INQUIRY - POWER - WILL NOT POWER UP
Problem found:
BAD BGA COMPONENT
Solution:
REPLACED PBA
...
Bad bga component
PCB assemblies fail due to bad BGA component connections. They can be repaired either by reflowing or removing the device and cleaning it with solder, reballing and replacing.
Hi,
I recently sent my Galaxy S II in for repair at Samsung Repair Center.
I flashed trough ODIN and it suddenly stopped without any reason. It was just flashing SBL, so I figured that the bootloader is gone.
My Odin flash count was at 20.
Will Samsung repair this under warranty ?
If not what will be the repair costs ?
Generally speaking, any messing around with custom roms or kernels will void your warranty. Given you didn't get a change to reflash stock or erase the flash count, I'd say you might well be looking at paying for the repair yourself.
Having said that, however, I have also heard some reports of some Samsung repair centres not caring that the phone had been messed with. Sooo...Looks like you're going to have to roll the dice & see what happens. How much the repair costs are will obviously depend on what they end up doing to the phone. This is probably going to vary from country to country.
Have you tried using a jig ?
Nick502 said:
Hi,
I recently sent my Galaxy S II in for repair at Samsung Repair Center.
I flashed trough ODIN and it suddenly stopped without any reason. It was just flashing SBL, so I figured that the bootloader is gone.
My Odin flash count was at 20.
Will Samsung repair this under warranty ?
If not what will be the repair costs ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know how you get on.
I recall some earlier threads where people still got the repair done under warranty, even though the flash count was high.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Sammy techs just flashed newest firmware as a matter of course, without even looking at the problem. That would fix a lot of the faults which resulted in phones being returned without spending a lot of time trying to diagnose for a fix.
killall said:
Let us know how you get on.
I recall some earlier threads where people still got the repair done under warranty, even though the flash count was high.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Sammy techs just flashed newest firmware as a matter of course, without even looking at the problem. That would fix a lot of the faults which resulted in phones being returned without spending a lot of time trying to diagnose for a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think they have time to check something like this.
they fix the Problem of the Phone as fast as they can (mostly flash new firmware/bootloader), and the Problem is gone, then they take the next phone.
(Most workers don't care if the warranty is gone, since its more easy for them to just flash the software.)
Got it back,
they repaired it under warrenty with new internal parts
Got it back with XWKI9 Firmware
Now its running CM9
Hey guys, sorry for another topic, however I actually do know what is wrong with my phone and know it needs to be JTAG repaired..
however... I was wondering if anyone knew the root cause of this (no pun intended).. I was flashing JellyBam v5.0 (custom [email protected]~) and mid installation, phone froze, powered down and is now bricked. Any reason why it would do that mid install? Battery was 95%+
cheers
rsr1 said:
Hey guys, sorry for another topic, however I actually do know what is wrong with my phone and know it needs to be JTAG repaired..
however... I was wondering if anyone knew the root cause of this (no pun intended).. I was flashing JellyBam v5.0 (custom [email protected]~) and mid installation, phone froze, powered down and is now bricked. Any reason why it would do that mid install? Battery was 95%+
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please state more details. Rom, kernel, modem, odin, cwm, etc
He did. Regardless, none of that info would be relevant/useful in this case anyway, phone's borked.
@OP - Honestly, that's impossible to say. Something hardware related in the phone, something simple like the battery contacts not making a proper connection, something on the PC side even (temporary issue with the connection b/w the PC & phone) ? The possibilities are endless.
Have it looked at by a JTAG repairer & if that can't be done, maybe try and source a motherboard from a donor phone (broken screen or whatever). That will be the cheaper option than having Samsung replace the MB if it can't be JTAG'd, even if you pay a local mobile repair shop to install the 'new' MB (if you're not confident enough to DIY).
seanwong98 said:
Please state more details. Rom, kernel, modem, odin, cwm, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
He did. Regardless, none of that info would be relevant/useful in this case anyway, phone's borked.
@OP - Honestly, that's impossible to say. Something hardware related in the phone, something simple like the battery contacts not making a proper connection, something on the PC side even (temporary issue with the connection b/w the PC & phone) ? The possibilities are endless.
Have it looked at by a JTAG repairer & if that can't be done, maybe try and source a motherboard from a donor phone (broken screen or whatever). That will be the cheaper option than having Samsung replace the MB if it can't be JTAG'd, even if you pay a local mobile repair shop to install the 'new' MB (if you're not confident enough to DIY).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you are right it could be anything happening within the phone without my knowledge, luckily phone was connected to mains when i was flashing using CWM so no problems there, but i don't think i will find the reason why it actually happened as you said the possibilities are endless
I'm trying to get in touch with a place that does JTAG repairs at the moment, however im just scared they say it can't be done. Havent really got the money to fork out for a new MB. I bought the phone second hand last year (april) where i was told it was only 3-4weeks old however had no old purchase details. Is there any way for me to check if the warranty is still valid or does it become void after resale? Thanks
There used to be an online warranty checker on one of Samsung's regional websites (can't remember which, maybe someone else does ?) where you could put the serial number in & get the warranty end date, but I recall people on here saying it either went away or didn't work anymore at some point last year.
But I doubt you'd get warranty service without the original receipt anyway, and even if you had it, I'm not sure the warranty is transferable beyond the original purchaser (Someone else please correct me if they know of cases where the warranty has been honoured regardless, I realise this might vary from country to country).
Unless the phone has physical damage as opposed to the NAND simply being scrambled beyond all recognition which normally happens when a flash goes wrong like that, you'd probably expect it to be JTAG'able.
If it's not, as I said in my PP, a board from a 'donor' phone would be much cheaper to both buy/have installed than paying a Samsung authorised repairer to put a new MB in (apparently they charge in the vicinity of half what a new phone would cost retail).
Edit - Re: getting a 'donor' phone for the MB, here's an example of what I'm talking about; no doubt you'll probably pick one up cheaper, just thought I'd give you an example of what to look for if you end up needing to go down that path.
rsr1 said:
-SNIP-
I'm trying to get in touch with a place that does JTAG repairs at the moment, however im just scared they say it can't be done. Havent really got the money to fork out for a new MB. I bought the phone second hand last year (april) where i was told it was only 3-4weeks old however had no old purchase details. Is there any way for me to check if the warranty is still valid or does it become void after resale? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MistahBungle said:
There used to be an online warranty checker on one of Samsung's regional websites (can't remember which, maybe someone else does ?) where you could put the serial number in & get the warranty end date, but I recall people on here saying it either went away or didn't work anymore at some point last year.
But I doubt you'd get warranty service without the original receipt anyway, and even if you had it, I'm not sure the warranty is transferable beyond the original purchaser (Someone else please correct me if they know of cases where the warranty has been honoured regardless, I realise this might vary from country to country).
Unless the phone has physical damage as opposed to the NAND simply being scrambled beyond all recognition which normally happens when a flash goes wrong like that, you'd probably expect it to be JTAG'able.
If it's not, as I said in my PP, a board from a 'donor' phone would be much cheaper to both buy/have installed than paying a Samsung authorised repairer to put a new MB in (apparently they charge in the vicinity of half what a new phone would cost retail).
Edit - Re: getting a 'donor' phone for the MB, here's an example of what I'm talking about; no doubt you'll probably pick one up cheaper, just thought I'd give you an example of what to look for if you end up needing to go down that path.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're right on that one, if i don't even have proof of purchase then I don't think warranty will be valid. Thanks anyway on that behalf. Yeah it is only that one issue nothing else is wrong physically so i am hoping for the best and do believe a JTAG should get me out of this situation without a problem (fingers crossed).
On the topic of a replacement motherboard thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction if JTAG fails. Buying a cheap phone as such is a great idea and taking a working motherboard for a lot cheaper than RRP is wonderful.
Thankyou very much for your input & help ::highfive:
I have the EXACT same problem...
the ivelstre
Simmyen said:
I have the EXACT same problem...
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Click to collapse
It happened to both of us whilst installing JellyBam v5, so surely there must be a problem with the ROM? We encountered the exact same issue 100% and are both left in the same position now due to the ROM
rsr1 said:
It happened to both of us whilst installing JellyBam v5, so surely there must be a problem with the ROM? We encountered the exact same issue 100% and are both left in the same position now due to the ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the exact same problem yeah, but i know a friend of mine who used the same ROM as we did.. it worked for him though
Always try a Jig before JTAG, no harm there.
If warrantu isn't voided, make sure it's really bricked so you can claim it with the "I was updating it via wifi and dropped dead" rutine.
No probs. Just sorry we couldn't be of more help. Best of luck (Hope it ends up being easily JTAG'able for you).
rsr1 said:
-SNIP-
Thankyou very much for your input & help ::highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I searched through the forums for an answer and googled it too but did not find one. Basically my s3 (international) died a week back and I have given it to samsung. They agreed to replace the motherboard.
What I wanted to know is that will I have to take the same precautions after I receive the new motherboard as the people whose s3 has not died yet? As in making sure I have the patch installed in the custom roms and having the proper recoveries with the patch installed?
Or i wont face this issue again since it will be a hardware fix and can just flash away as I will?
Thank you and sorry if it was a stupid question!
I doubt it would happen again but can't say for certain, .....what I have seen is a lot of people getting a 32Gb MB replacement so you may get lucky! Check your storage on return.....I reckon the people that get this are lucky victims of the service centre not having any safe 16Gb motherboards, so they slap in a 32 to honor return times. Fingers crossed for ya
Check the emmc chip version when you get the replacement, if the version isn't the problem batch then you shouldn't be at risk of SDS. If the version is still the same then you'll need to ensure you only use patched recovery and ROMs.
Hi Guys,
I have hard bricked my SGS2 I9100 as .pit file flash failed. Now there is no download/recovery/normal boot. It is completely dead, not detected on any PC by USB/Odin. It gets hot and there is slight vibration while charging. There is no response for USB Jig.
Samsung service center told there is motherboard issue and they don't repair it, they straight away replace it for $150 which I am unwilling to spend now.The phone has gone through the hands of many good technicians but all dismissed the chance of repair saying its an major hardware issue and components are out of stock/ unwilling to do it.
A repairman said he tried to JTAG it but from what he says is that eMMc chip didn't respond to Riff Box. I am not sure whether he correctly tried it on a Riff Box or any other box.
My questions are,
Q1) Should I once again try to JTAG it through other source ? Can any one tell me what's difference does it make to either JTAG it on Riff Box/Medusa/Z3X/GPG & Other Boxes ?
Q2) Does replacing the eMMc flash chip & power IC with new one increases the chances to revive the phone ?
Q3) If I were to replace the IC's from where could I buy it in "India" or should I buy it from aliexpress.com ?
Q4) Are the below IC models correct for I9100:
eMMc Flash IC: KMVYL000LM-B503 or KLMCG8GE2A-A001 (I am unable to
find this chip KLMCG8GE2A-A001 to buy if it is for I9100) source: mobiletechvideos.com
Power IC: MAX8997
Q5) Is there any other method apart from replacing IC's/JTAGGING through which I can repair my I9100 ?
Awaiting your responses. :fingers-crossed:
Long story short - replace the motherboard or buy a new phone.You already tried everything.
Only a few people had successfully replaced the eMMC chip.As it's very hard to do.Resoldering these kind of chips is simply impractical.
TheImpossibleEnemy said:
Long story short - replace the motherboard or buy a new phone.You already tried everything.
Only a few people had successfully replaced the eMMC chip.As it's very hard to do.Resoldering these kind of chips is simply impractical.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree to your point. But still I want to take a chance with the eMMc/Power IC replacement option. At my end I am looking for a proficient technician who can do precision soldering, what I want from this forum is, has IC replacement worked for any one of you guys and if yes can you mention the detailed steps for the same. Because on GSM Hosting forums a lot of guys have replaced the IC's and got their S2 working. But because of technical issue of minimum 10 post for a new thread I cannot ask there. This forum is my only hope to find proper solution to my problem.
You won't see anyone post those steps because I've never seen anyone on here post they've had someone do this repair successfully. I've seen a number of people post here (particularly over the past 6 mths & particularly in some countries) that they've been offered this fix, but not a single one has posted & said they had it done & it was successful.
Why ? Because no tech with any competence would attempt this for a couple of reasons:-
1) It would be a pain in the arse to try. It would be very fiddly/take a long time. Small electronics these days is mostly 'modular' & replacement of tiny parts just doesn't happen anymore; 'boards' are replaced because it's quicker/easier for the tech, and cheaper for the customer. Even if these fixes were possible, you'd pay more than what a motherboard replacement would cost. And even then you're probably relying on someone with questionable technical ability telling you it is possible when people who really know what they're doing & talking about just wouldn't bother.
2) You have no way of knowing yourself whether you're being told the truth about this 'power IC' nonsense actually being the problem. What happens if you try this fix, only to find out the NAND is actually corrupted (which it is 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time; you are not the exception here); this means you pay for the fix which has no chance of working, and then you pay again for a motherboard replacement or new phone.
By all means sit in this thread for months & months with a non-working phone waiting for the information you're after to be posted, but it never will be for the reasons I've mentioned. If it was me, I'd want my phone working ASAP because I need a phone.
MistahBungle said:
You won't see anyone post those steps because I've never seen anyone on here post they've had someone do this repair successfully. I've seen a number of people post here (particularly over the past 6 mths & particularly in some countries) that they've been offered this fix, but not a single one has posted & said they had it done & it was successful.
Why ? Because no tech with any competence would attempt this for a couple of reasons:-
1) It would be a pain in the arse to try. It would be very fiddly/take a long time. Small electronics these days is mostly 'modular' & replacement of tiny parts just doesn't happen anymore; 'boards' are replaced because it's quicker/easier for the tech, and cheaper for the customer. Even if these fixes were possible, you'd pay more than what a motherboard replacement would cost. And even then you're probably relying on someone with questionable technical ability telling you it is possible when people who really know what they're doing & talking about just wouldn't bother.
2) You have no way of knowing yourself whether you're being told the truth about this 'power IC' nonsense actually being the problem. What happens if you try this fix, only to find out the NAND is actually corrupted (which it is 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time; you are not the exception here); this means you pay for the fix which has no chance of working, and then you pay again for a motherboard replacement or new phone.
By all means sit in this thread for months & months with a non-working phone waiting for the information you're after to be posted, but it never will be for the reasons I've mentioned. If it was me, I'd want my phone working ASAP because I need a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyways.. I have given my phone for eMMc replacement let us see what it turns out to be. Thanks for your input Mistah. Will post back once I get my phone.
One more thing MistahBungle, as you have mentioned NAND corruption thats the exact issue I faced in Odin, does it means the flash chip is dying or as I read it its stuffed beyond recovery.. what exactly is NAND corruption and is there any solution for it apart from mobo change ?
Arjune said:
Anyways.. I have given my phone for eMMc replacement let us see what it turns out to be. Thanks for your input Mistah. Will post back once I get my phone.
One more thing MistahBungle, as you have mentioned NAND corruption thats the exact issue I faced in Odin, does it means the flash chip is dying or as I read it its stuffed beyond recovery.. what exactly is NAND corruption and is there any solution for it apart from mobo change ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means the chip has been 'scrambled' due to a bad flash, which means nothing can be written to or read from the chip anymore, which is why your phone won't boot, the (for the sake of simplicity, the tech version is available with a Google or XDA search) 'pre-boot' stuff/OS/etc lives on it, without that = dead phone.
Only solution is to replace it, and as we've said, replacing just that chip isn't feasible, so the whole board is replaced.