Database Develop

[Q] About to flash a ROM, Any last warnings or suggestions?

After waiting for the official AT&T froyo release with the captivate, I decided to just go ahead and flash a froyo ROM. I've decided to flash the axura ROM first since i heard good things about it.
So while I'm finishing charging my phone before the flashing, is there anything I need to keep note of before flashing so that I can prevent bricking my phone? I've read up on the forums and watched the video from connexion2005 from the post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867153.
Its pretty scary since I'm not much of a tech savy guy and this is my first android phone. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.

agegsg said:
After waiting for the official AT&T froyo release with the captivate, I decided to just go ahead and flash a froyo ROM. I've decided to flash the axura ROM first since i heard good things about it.
So while I'm finishing charging my phone before the flashing, is there anything I need to keep note of before flashing so that I can prevent bricking my phone? I've read up on the forums and watched the video from connexion2005 from the post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867153.
Its pretty scary since I'm not much of a tech savy guy and this is my first android phone. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup all your apps and data with Titanium Backup. Make sure your battery is fully charged, and removing your sim and SD cards are good practice.
Have fun! You won't go back.

- Backup all your files and make a nandroid backup!
- Get Odin3 One-Click and drivers to get your phone back to stock in case you brick it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731989
- There may be additional precautions you can take, so read through related threads on xda.

agegsg said:
After waiting for the official AT&T froyo release with the captivate, I decided to just go ahead and flash a froyo ROM. I've decided to flash the axura ROM first since i heard good things about it.
So while I'm finishing charging my phone before the flashing, is there anything I need to keep note of before flashing so that I can prevent bricking my phone? I've read up on the forums and watched the video from connexion2005 from the post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867153.
Its pretty scary since I'm not much of a tech savy guy and this is my first android phone. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've read as much as you claim to have read, then you're probably in good shape. It's really not an unsafe process as long as you have some idea of what you're doing. I was very nervous about it myself the first time, but since then I've probably flashed 20 roms without a problem.
A couple of things that I would tell you, if you aren't already aware:
1. MAKE SURE that BEFORE you flash, you can get into download mode from the phone being off using one of the methods. I'm sure you've seen the one-click flash back to JF6 (stock) that was posted - download that if you haven't. For me, removing the battery, sim, and ext sd, replacing the battery, and holding down both volume buttons while plugging in the USB works really well - just make sure Odin is running before you do that. If you do manage to brick it, you will want to be able to get to download mode and flash back to stock.
2. After moving to a custom rom, it is best to always flash back to stock before flashing a different rom; you can avoid a lot of potential problems this way.
3. After rooting your phone, backup the update.zip in /sdcard/ on your computer. Any time you flash back to stock, you can reinstall CWM really easily by just putting that update.zip back in /sdcard/ and choosing "reinstall packages" from the recovery menu again. Sometimes you may have to do it twice before it enters CWM.
4. OCLF in the market is, to me, the easiest and quickest way to root your phone, but the one click root method isn't much worse. Just a matter of preference, I guess.
Good luck! Come back if you have any problems.
EDIT: apparently two people replied while I was typing my response lol! But what they said is very good as well.

Thank you for all your help. One quick question though, do I need the android ID changer?

the biggest mistake people make is not making sure they have the button combinations to enter recovery or download. (download = hold both volume buttons own and plugging usb cable in; recovery = hold volume buttons down, then holding power until AT&T screen pops up, letting go of power but still holding both volume buttons) if either of these don't work, you must, before doing ANYTHING else, flash the stock odin one click with the button fixes; it is posted somewhere in the development forum. and no you shouldn't need the android id changer unless you want to keep the android id that your phone came with. then open the changer and click save id and flash your rom of choice. most custom roms have a script to automatically load a saved id or randomly generate one if there wasn't a saved one. good luck in all your flashing endeavors!
edit: also as bodaciousdrake mentioned previously about cwm recovery, you should always keep the update.zip that contains cwm recovery on your sd card and you'll never need to change that to something else because using cwm recovery you can flash any .zip file that you want and it does not need to be named update.zip.

Take out the external SD card before you accidently delete 10 GB of music you had just perfected the selection of. (not that I accidently did that... lol)

mindbullet said:
Take out the external SD card before you accidently delete 10 GB of music you had just perfected the selection of. (not that I accidently did that... lol)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol oops! Did that happen with a master clear, or when you flashed the rom? I have forgotten to take out the sim/ext sd once or twice but I have never had a problem...yet.

agegsg said:
Thank you for all your help. One quick question though, do I need the android ID changer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you need it. Download it from the market, while on 2.1, and save your id onto your sd card. After you are on 2.2, choose Load id and it will automatically reboot.

majinzen said:
Yes, you need it. Download it from the market, while on 2.1, and save your id onto your sd card. After you are on 2.2, choose Load id and it will automatically reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is the point in saving the phone id? Sorry I'm kinda a noobie at this and looking up things about phone id, it seems like it just is an identifier for the phone but doesn't really provide anything.

Also, how do I get out of download mode? I've put it in download mode to make sure it works and it seem I can't get out of it... I've done the 2 volume bottons with the usb cord.

there's another thread in this forum that answers that question perfectly. also to exit download mode you need to pull the battery out.

slifer315 said:
there's another thread in this forum that answers that question perfectly. also to exit download mode you need to pull the battery out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? just take the battery out?

agegsg said:
What exactly is the point in saving the phone id? Sorry I'm kinda a noobie at this and looking up things about phone id, it seems like it just is an identifier for the phone but doesn't really provide anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically, a lot of 2.2 Roms come with the same android id, 977blah... If you don't want market issues later I would suggest that you put in your original 2.1 android id. You can always search more if that answer isn't sufficient. And yes, do a battery pull to get out of download mode.

I've master cleared but can't seem to root. Every time I try with the one click root, and I go to recovery, it said it can't find the update.zip from the /sdcard/

yep, just pull the battery. also you don't need to root to flash roms. just grab the update.zip containing clockwordmod recovery from the thread in the development forum, put it on your sd card, boot to recovery and select reinstall pacakges. after that, reboot the phone (you might have to reinstall packages again) then you'll be ib clockwordmod recovery and you'll be able to flash any rom you want without having to change the filename.

agegsg said:
I've master cleared but can't seem to root. Every time I try with the one click root, and I go to recovery, it said it can't find the update.zip from the /sdcard/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason I got this too the first few times I tried to root. I then noticed that in the cmd prompt, for a split second it said failed to push update.zip or something due to privileges.
How I fixed it was ran the one-click root on windows in admin mode. It worked after that.

Thanks guys for all your help. I got it to flash the ROM and it seems I haven't bricked my phone
Thanks again

[Q] Brick

I am wondering how easy it is to brick my Captivate. Also, how easy is it to brick the phone, with the only solution being to use a JIG?
Is the only way to brick if you do something stupid? If you follow all instructions (flash to stock, etc.) is it even possible to brick it? I've upgraded my phone to 2.2 using Kies; does the fact that I've upgraded once make it muc less likely to fail and brick later?
I'm wondering this because all the ROM makers must flash constantly, so I'm thinking there must be a way to avoid bricks.
Thank you!

AmandeepG said:
I am wondering how easy it is to brick my Captivate. Also, how easy is it to brick the phone, with the only solution being to use a JIG?
Is the only way to brick if you do something stupid? If you follow all instructions (flash to stock, etc.) is it even possible to brick it? I've upgraded my phone to 2.2 using Kies; does the fact that I've upgraded once make it muc less likely to fail and brick later?
I'm wondering this because all the ROM makers must flash constantly, so I'm thinking there must be a way to avoid bricks.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on your Captivate. In general, it's a bad idea to flash back to stock unless absolutely necessary. Bad Odin flashes are one of the biggest causes of bricked Captivates. Bad flashes through other methods (like CWM) usually leave you with boot problems, but working button combos for download mode. You should also check beforehand that your button combos work, since some Captivates are without them out of the box.
Also, wrong forum. This belongs in Q&A.

GGXtreme said:
Bad Odin flashes are one of the biggest causes of bricked Captivates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the accepted way (as in the stickied thread) to always flash to stock?
GGXtreme said:
You should also check beforehand that your button combos work, since some Captivates are without them out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Hold down both volume buttons and while holding them down plug the phone in." works for me

I have bricked my phone to the point of needing a jig 3 times now all because of odin. But the jig is 99 cents and is easy to use
sent from my captivate running a kitchen rom and hardcores 256hz k12n

kschumake83 said:
But the jig is 99 cents and is easy to use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you buy it, or do you have to make it from components?

Flashing back to stock is only needed when you have to, but no you do not have to flash to stock every time you flash a rom, a bad odin flash is usually the main cause in a bricked phone.. But as long as you can get to recovery or download mode, then its not bricked, you can usually get something flashed either way

existz said:
Flashing back to stock is only needed when you have to, but no you do not have to flash to stock every time you flash a rom, a bad odin flash is usually the main cause in a bricked phone.. But as long as you can get to recovery or download mode, then its not bricked, you can usually get something flashed either way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the stickied thread says the exact opposite. I'm a little confused.
nbs11 said:
Here is the rule of thumb: if it does not specifically say anything about being able to not use ODIN in the original thread for the ROM you MUST you ODIN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

AmandeepG said:
But the stickied thread says the exact opposite. I'm a little confused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes personal habit becomes the correct way to do something. For instance one teacher teaching how to count with pictures of apples and the other using oranges.

GGXtreme said:
Bad Odin flashes are one of the biggest causes of bricked Captivates. Bad flashes through other methods (like CWM) usually leave you with boot problems, but working button combos for download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do these "bad" flashes occur do to doing improper things, like pulling the cable mid-update, or forgetting to unlagfix before, or stuff like that? Or are they purely random?

Normally The bad flashes from odin are due to the fact the the phone being flashed did not have the 3 button combo by default. I personally have flashed ALOT and always odin and master clear before a new rom, the only time I bricked and needed a jig was when I had my old phone (got it replaced) that didnt have the 3 button and used the wrong odin.

zelendel said:
Normally The bad flashes from odin are due to the fact the the phone being flashed did not have the 3 button combo by default. I personally have flashed ALOT and always odin and master clear before a new rom, the only time I bricked and needed a jig was when I had my old phone (got it replaced) that didnt have the 3 button and used the wrong odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'm gonna check if my Captivate has this 3 button recovery mode.
If it does, is the 3 button way just as effective as a JIG? And how effective is the 3 button and JIG at recovering from bricks (like I mean, how possible is it that they will not work)

AmandeepG said:
Can you buy it, or do you have to make it from components?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can buy jigs online people sell for 20$ or so...but it's actually very simple to make and so cheap as well so buying one is slightly pointless. also, i have flashed too many roms i've lost track, my phone shutdown in the middle of an odin, etc etc, and i always manage to get out of it so i wouldn't be concerned. having 3button enabled helps tho

AmandeepG said:
Thanks! I'm gonna check if my Captivate has this 3 button recovery mode.
If it does, is the 3 button way just as effective as a JIG? And how effective is the 3 button and JIG at recovering from bricks (like I mean, how possible is it that they will not work)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am guessing that you are concerned with bricking yours. You must be thinking about flashing a rom for the first time. I needed the jig yesterday for the first time. From what I understand, the jig method is almost a guarantee fir download mode, making the captivate nearly unbrickable. Can it be bricked... I am sure it can, but you are part of a community full of resources to keep you from doing so. You trepidation is not unique... I too was slow to flash my captivate. Now that I have, I have a phone that I love. I have been able to contribute to the community. And... I have a new found addiction.
Hi. My username is NunHugger and I am a flashaholic.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

NunHugger said:
I am guessing that you are concerned with bricking yours. You must be thinking about flashing a rom for the first time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are completely right there!
I think I'll hold off doing my first flash until I can go out and get the parts for the jig, make and test it, so I can be sure nothing bad will happen

zelendel said:
Normally The bad flashes from odin are due to the fact the the phone being flashed did not have the 3 button combo by default. I personally have flashed ALOT and always odin and master clear before a new rom, the only time I bricked and needed a jig was when I had my old phone (got it replaced) that didnt have the 3 button and used the wrong odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here...corrupted data is corrupted data..and will cause problems...no matter how it gets loaded ...I've have been using Odin since I came to the Captivate..and is the only way I have been able to actually enjoy a new rom..A new rom...a fresh install..less problems for me.
Mac

A question about download mode:
I want to test if my captivate can get into download mode by the 3-button combo. However, I don't have any zips to update or anything to download or anything like that.
How do I enter download mode and then exit without making any modifications?
I thought I could just power the phone off, but in big letters it says "Do not power off target" (in videos I've watched).

AmandeepG said:
Isn't the accepted way (as in the stickied thread) to always flash to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accepted, yes.
Stupiud, yes.

You don't need anything to flash to get into DL mode
Just follow the instructions as it says and if it comes up you can just reboot the phone. Although you have to pull the battery. Although I've heard that holding just the Vol Up and Power for 10 secs also works. I've never tried it though

AmandeepG said:
Do these "bad" flashes occur do to doing improper things, like pulling the cable mid-update, or forgetting to unlagfix before, or stuff like that? Or are they purely random?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on a lot of factors. It could be that your Captivate doesn't support flashing back to earlier than JH2 (JF6 one-click will brick), that your Captivate is already missing button combos (requires C3P0LOL's fixed Odin or AT&T's OTA JH7 update), a bad USB cable, problems with Windows, using the wrong USB port, etc. (all on top of user error). Lagfix won't affect Odin flashes.

AmandeepG said:
Do these "bad" flashes occur do to doing improper things, like pulling the cable mid-update, or forgetting to unlagfix before, or stuff like that? Or are they purely random?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say they are random. They are probably mostly caused by user error or some fault in the USB chain (port, cable, driver interactions). Whatever the root cause, from what I can see almost all bricks/semibricks are the result of using odin (I include cases such as where a cwm flash results in a boot loop and the user can recover because he used one-click and has no button combos).

[ROM] KA6, build date 2011.01.18

SGH-T959_T959UVKA6_T959TMKKA6_T959UVKA6_T959UVKA6_UV_TMB
ro.build.date = 2011.01.18 21:53:23 KST
ro.build.fingerprint = Samsung/SGH-T959/SGH-T959/SGH-T959:2.2/FROYO/UVKA6:user/release-keys
NOTE: Contains update to secondary bootloader ( but not a signed one )
http://www.multiupload.com/GZT6ZYFX46
NOTICE: I do not have this device model, nor have I tested the ROM, I'm only telling you where to find it.
Donate for my efforts (see sig) or at least use the thanks button if you don't want to donate
Uploaded by request - krylon360

White beat me to it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=919760
Thanks chain

Woah, nice. o;

w00t!
10char

Amazing Gotta love the leaks

LOLz, bootloaderz, lolz. ill fix your bricks.

2nd one this week!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Chainfire said:
SGH-T959_T959UVKA6_T959TMKKA6_T959UVKA6_T959UVKA6_UV_TMB
ro.build.date = 2011.01.18 21:53:23 KST
ro.build.fingerprint = Samsung/SGH-T959/SGH-T959/SGH-T959:2.2/FROYO/UVKA6:user/release-keys
NOTE: Contains update to secondary bootloader
http://www.multiupload.com/GZT6ZYFX46
NOTICE: I do not have this device model, nor have I tested the ROM, I'm only telling you where to find it.
Donate for my efforts (see sig) or at least use the thanks button if you don't want to donate
Uploaded by request - krylon360
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully where it says "NOTE: Contains update to secondary bootloader" that means that I'll be able to use Heimdall on my Mac now.

Thanks Chainfire. I don't think I'll be a guinea pig with this update because of the secondary bootloader. Sammy's already been playing with a locked bootloader with its tab firmware.

sw33t thanks

The secondary bootloader updates scares me, as if you bork up the bootloader not even odin will save your phone. And I would refrain from flashing this until the devs search through it and make sure there is no locked bootloader in the rom. The galaxy tab had a locked bootloader in one leaked rom.
I WOULD NOT FLASH THIS DUE TO THE BOOTLOADER UPDATE UNTIL DEVS HAVE SEARCHED THROUGH IT.
EDIT: Saw the edit in the OP Chainfire. Not signed. What is the update to the bootloader anyways?

Waiting for somebody else to guinea pig is always a good idea, especially if bootloaders are in the package.
However I did check the bootloader before posting, it doesn't seem signed / locked / protected. And you can always flash without the bootloader, just remove sbl.bin from the tar archive before you flash it.

Can we haz KA6 Modem pleaz?

what would be teh seconday bootloader? download mode?

The bootloader is basically what loads the boot image, rom, kernel, and all of that to start the phone. If you bork that up, the phone will not even start up, not even download mode since that is connected to the bootloader and is normally not affected by rom flashes.

alright so ill be holding out on this update for a while, lets let the devs search through it first

Chainfire said:
Waiting for somebody else to guinea pig is always a good idea, especially if bootloaders are in the package.
However I did check the bootloader before posting, it doesn't seem signed / locked / protected. And you can always flash without the bootloader, just remove sbl.bin from the tar archive before you flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chainfire has already stated in the OP that it's not signed

Chain,
I would've pressed on the thanks button, but i'm limited to 5...
LOLOL, we need more Thanks!!
I wonder what this secondary bootloader is... I'm tempted to flash.
Sent from the helm of Vibrant Galaxy!

eminembdg said:
Chainfire has already stated in the OP that it's not signed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, and you just quoted him saying it again....

Chainfire said:
Waiting for somebody else to guinea pig is always a good idea, especially if bootloaders are in the package.
However I did check the bootloader before posting, it doesn't seem signed / locked / protected. And you can always flash without the bootloader, just remove sbl.bin from the tar archive before you flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be the "guinea pig" for everyone here after i odin this to see if everything is gonna be legit. i have a nexus s as my backup phone so this is just my toy. should i try to odin back to a 2.1 rom with a sbl.bin included?
also as a side note should i check the box in odin that says bootloader update? lol

[Q] I think I hard bricked my Captivate

First off there is no section to Continuum so I'm simply posting in here rather than android development. I have read up and am going out later today to buy some resistors in order to test if I can get into download mode that way.
Okay so I 1 click odin'd back to stock from firefly 2.8. I then tried to use the button combinations to get back into download mode after flashing stock. I lost the button combinations after using odin. So I one click rooted, installed terminal emulator and was able to get into recovery and download mode using that method. I began the process of flashing continuum and flashed the gingerbread bootloaders. It went fine. I9000 flash screen popped up and it booted into eclair. Stupidly I used an older update .zip to flash cwm and then flashed a 3 button fix .zip in order to get the 3 button combo back before moving forward. After I choose to reboot in cwm. Nothing happened. Phone is completely unresponsive (button combos, power, won't charge). Complete paper weight right? I already have a replacement coming from att but I just wanted some input as to how much I messed it up and if ATT can go through my files after they jtag the phone I send them back.

Bricked!! You DID NOT need the button fix on the new bootloaders, you had a working combo with the new ones its contained in the secondary bootloader its just a different series of buttons flashing the button fix mixed a gb primary bootloader and a eclair/froyo secondary= completely ****ed. No jig in the universe can save it.
Att won't be able to tell, they have to take it apart and flash it, thus erasing all evidence.

studacris said:
Bricked!! You DID NOT need the button fix on the new bootloaders, you had a working combo with the new ones its contained in the secondary bootloader its just a different series of buttons flashing the button fix mixed a gb primary bootloader and a eclair/froyo secondary= completely ****ed. No jig in the universe can save it.
Att won't be able to tell, they have to take it apart and flash it, thus erasing all evidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol anything out of the universe that could fix it?... OH YEAH I KNOW, I KNOW! A JTAG
Then again, go for waranty 1st. Studa is right, once you mess up with the bootloaders, there's nothing you can do about it. Your phone is bricked.

studacris said:
Bricked!! You DID NOT need the button fix on the new bootloaders, you had a working combo with the new ones its contained in the secondary bootloader its just a different series of buttons flashing the button fix mixed a gb primary bootloader and a eclair/froyo secondary= completely ****ed. No jig in the universe can save it.
Att won't be able to tell, they have to take it apart and flash it, thus erasing all evidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Studacris,
I'm not a noob. I am running continuum on my other captivate and have flashed many times. I did try the other key combinations NOT the standard ones. They still would not work. I understand that is bricked. I figured as much. The jig was in case any of you asked if I at least tried. AlI needed to know.

I sort of did the same thing
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=944418&page=63
The last post here, the guy said he used the All-in-one tool to load Continuum 5, so I tried it. Woops. At least my contract is up, may look into the Inspire.
I have not tried a jig, since ever post I've seen, if it don't even flicker with the buttons, it's a waste of time.
Later

I recently bricked mine as well. I believe you can walk into an att device repair center located in your town and let them play with it for a few minutes. After they figure they cannot fix it they will give you a replacement.
Least thats what they did years back with my htc kaiser (at&t variant). I even took apart that kaiser and messed with the internals. They said "you know it's out of warranty cause the void sticker is damaged?" I said "What? No I didn't know I didn't do that." They replaced it anyway. They are pretty nice when it comes to these things.
I currently have a bricked cappy. Gonna take it in friday.

Where in any of the GB bootloader instructions on any of the ROMS does it say flash 3 button fix. Its says read over and over how to flash and follow to the T. You failed nice job. That is why the dev write the instructions so that you can read and follow.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

BWolf56 said:
lol anything out of the universe that could fix it?... OH YEAH I KNOW, I KNOW! A JTAG
Then again, go for waranty 1st. Studa is right, once you mess up with the bootloaders, there's nothing you can do about it. Your phone is bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HEY STUDA!!! doesnt this sound familiar??? lol dumb ass!
didnt i say what you did?
and you said what bwolf did?
couple days ago...
teach you for making me look dumb!
and +1 for dingokevin!!
keepin an eye on you!

TRusselo said:
HEY STUDA!!! doesnt this sound familiar??? lol dumb ass!
didnt i say what you did?
and you said what bwolf did?
couple days ago...
teach you for making me look dumb!
and +1 for dingokevin!!
keepin an eye on you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait what?

oops nevermind that was bwolf doing that to me the other day... lol
damn short term memory...
wait what?

Since nobody can read. I ALREADY HAVE a replacement coming. I DID read the instructions and have successfully installed roms since cognition. Mods please lock thread because everyone likes to jump down peoples throats and assume rather than reading my explanation and how I knew it was bricked already. Thanks for nothing.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

thread locked by op request.

Locked?

I figured i ask here I bought a phone from a friend and he told me the phone is locked and the users gmail account option will not respond. Not sure what he did but its mine now and im not sure what to do. This is a known glitch ive heard but I just cannot get the work around it. Can someone help what steps do i need to take? He also told me "This is what my friend told me about this phone as i dont have it yet. "If you can get it out of the lock screen from the password yes it is fully functional. You can still get incoming calls and the display is damaged but does not mess with the function of the screen". My question is will factory restore help this? Or what would i need to do? I dont have the phone yet its being shipped. Is this fixable?

Once you get it, you can flash a stock rom and it will wipe everything on it, restoring to like new
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

Thats grt can you send me a link to the stock rom? Also so if it is locked right now this stock rom would solve that problem? Also the password issue and gmail user account issue? I dont think its rooted does it need to be to flash the stock rom? Im new at all this with this type of phone. Since its already 2.2 does that help. And should it be 2.3.3 now?

Wait. Wait wait, before you go flashing things that could soft brick your phone. What's the build#
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

I dont have it yet im not even sure i know my friend that had it i think its just the way it is out of box dont know. All i lknow is what he told me the gmail user password issue and being locked. But can get incoming calls and if password was unlocked it would be fully functional and display damaged but doesnt mess with the function of the screen what ever that means. I just would like to think i can get this to work when i get it. I dont care if i have to start over meaning whatever is it at now just reset the whole phone from boot i guess

cell2011 said:
I dont have it yet im not even sure i know my friend that had it i think its just the way it is out of box dont know. All i lknow is what he told me the gmail user password issue and being locked. But can get incoming calls and if password was unlocked it would be fully functional and display damaged but doesnt mess with the function of the screen what ever that means. I just would like to think i can get this to work when i get it. I dont care if i have to start over meaning whatever is it at now just reset the whole phone from boot i guess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it would soft brick your phone if your phone is not compatible.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

I dont have it yet i should Tues or Wed its being shipped its an ATT phone i just dont know much about it except for what he has told me. ill try to get more info. Can this be fixed either way?

cell2011 said:
Thats grt can you send me a link to the stock rom? Also so if it is locked right now this stock rom would solve that problem? Also the password issue and gmail user account issue? I dont think its rooted does it need to be to flash the stock rom? Im new at all this with this type of phone. Since its already 2.2 does that help. And should it be 2.3.3 now?
Click to expand...
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b-eock said:
Wait. Wait wait, before you go flashing things that could soft brick your phone. What's the build#
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you start flashing, get yourself a JIG. It will fix a soft brick if it should happen. For the stock rom go into the development section and look for the KB2 thread. And make sure you read some of the stickies around here so you know the risks of flashing/modding your phone. Good luck.

Try to flash KI2 the latest gingerbread leak for the captivate!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

How do i flash something without being rooted what if clockwork is not there? Ive done these before roms and flashing kernels all that with Hero and Droid on here. If its the same thing im sure ill get you to this development. Is the K2 the beginning right?

cell2011 said:
How do i flash something without being rooted what if clockwork is not there? Ive done these before roms and flashing kernels all that with Hero and Droid on here. If its the same thing im sure ill get you to this development. Is the K2 the beginning right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to know. How to use odin
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

This is the latest i have heard about the phone. "You can get it unlocked. I got it to where I needed to get it unlocked by using the calling technique then going to notepad but every time I got there I messed up the steps. Is this an easy fix? Dont know build # yet but im working on trying to get that too.

Ok yes its sounds like when for hero or droid we use RSD lite and the phones drivers. Im sure i can pick up on this to get it to recovery.

No recovery just download mode.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

I will help you.
Just let me get out my my computer so it will be easier.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

Can we try this later this week ill PM you when i have my phone ok. I should have it by Tues Wed next week. Im just trying to get some input on what to do and link to what rom would be best for me and battery life i heard Mosiac was good and some others and Serendipity was too much battery usage. Ill learn im sure. Ill be on tommrrow

You can put the phone in DL mode with the help of volume and power buttons.
Press both volume and plug in usb= DL mode.
Just check what build is your phone and what current rom you have on it. Post more details

Instructions!
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BRICKING OF YOUR DEVICE OR ANY OTHER UNRELATED EVENT!!!!!
IF YOU ACCEPT, GO ON AND DO THIS GUIDE!!!!
Files needed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1129821
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17966615&postcount=214 (this is to get CWM on a stock kernel with init.d support)
http://fugumod.org/Samsung_galaxys/zImage-root.tar
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1282369
http://www.multiupload.com/8O9NYS8DE7
With phone off and not connected to the computer
Open odin KF1 ATT GB bootloaders as ADMINISTRATOR and B4 you connect phone(VERY important)
While holding volume + and - plug in USB that is connected to back of computer. That will get you download mode.
Hit start on Odin KF1 BL flasher. Let it finish and reboot you. (will boot into samsung recovery)then delete all user data.
Pull battery and disconnect phone. Close Odin BL flasher.
Open Odin3 v1.85 and place the KI2 tar.md5 in the PDA slot.(which is in a .rar file and the password is sampro.pl You have to extract it to flash with odin.) Start and wait. Let reboot and boot all the way up.
Let me know when its done and I will help you with root, cuz this post is way too long.

Ok ty yes i know the thread is long here is the latest ive heard maybe this might help a little bit. My friend told me after asking about the build #. "You can not get to that menu as the phone is locked on the password screen. Gmail will not kick it out of the screen as it is suppose to". Does this help ?

Wait till you get the phone.
Build number is inside the battery compartment, usually on a white label. It should be 4 digits, which interpret as yymm, the year and month of the time the phone was made by Samsung. Older builds came with Android 2.1 Eclair, referred to sometimes as JF6 software from Samsung. J is 2010, F is June, 6 is the 6th complete compile of the ROM.
After February, 2011, Captivates were upgraded to Android 2.2 Froyo, typically software build KB1, or KB2, 2011 February.
In May, Releases of Gingerbread, specifically for Captivate started being leaked by Samsung, nothing is official yet.
KEx is Gingerbread 2.3.3
KHx is Gingerbread 2.3.4
KIx is Gingerbread 2.3.5
Newer phones seem not to like going to older releases of Android for some reason.
Be careful, take out the SIM card and any SD card before you do anything like flashing.
Pick one of the stock ROM's first, and try to reset the phone with that. In the DEV section there are threads for each of the above. Be careful if the thread mentions flashing bootloaders, and read the directions.