[Q] JTAG without RIFF? - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Does anyone know how to initiate a JTAG with out the riff box. Im more than capable of jtaging and have tons of tools as I am an electrical engineering student. Im not getting definitive answers from people online they all want me to send the my phone and $50 to them. I know you can get RIFF software from theyre site but I wont pay $150 for the RIFF box.

adam oulter has also suggested this is possible in a thread but he never tried it. he seems to have an idea of what you need. like a computer with a parallel port and software but i think he is trying to avoid the need to try it untill he has a way to force download mode and flash the normal way even with bad bootloaders or param.ifs. that is what he is actively developing and he wants the jtag to be a backup, and the riffbox service from connexion is a backup for his backup.

re:
I spoke with someone from mobile tech videos on youtube about jtagging with out RIFF he said "ORT Tool or maybe the SPT box but both require the same level of soldering. I must warn you though, the Captivate is most likely harder to solder than anything you have ever done. It's pads are .1mm in size and spacing and I know many electrical engineers that consider it extremely challenging." Im just freaking out because my baby (captivate) is dead. Maybe Ill just go play dumb at AT&T or blame it on KIES since Ive seen people say the bricked the bootloader with kies

if the phone doesnt boot they cant prove anything.
Dont blame it on keis. none of the keis updates touch bootloaders. so this should not happen. dont blame bootloaders at all.
ALL YOU SAY "it stopped working. i woke up, it was dead"
THATS ALL YOU NEED TO SAY.

Dani897 said:
adam oulter has also suggested this is possible in a thread but he never tried it. he seems to have an idea of what you need. like a computer with a parallel port and software but i think he is trying to avoid the need to try it untill he has a way to force download mode and flash the normal way even with bad bootloaders or param.ifs. that is what he is actively developing and he wants the jtag to be a backup, and the riffbox service from connexion is a backup for his backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That about sums it up... however we are exploring UART, I2C, Serial, USB, and all other methods of communications supported by the Application processor... maybe even tunnling though the call processor into the application processor... Basically, if we can get something into memory and then tell the processor to execute that code, we'd be in business.
There's about 25 total external pins available on the phone, two of which we believe make up the "EXT-I2C" bus. This would allow almost direct communication with the Application Processor and OneNand. .... Gotta find those pins.
There's nearly 20 test-points on the main-board inside the phone... 5 of those testpoints are likely the "OM" pins. If we can locate and apply 3.7VDC to OM5, then we can get the memory value OM=9 to change to OM=10+ which would allow booting from the external MMC card.
Research still needs to be done and the single diagnostic output we have located thus far is UART which uses the USB port... 619kohm resistor between pins 4-5, and read/write to D+ and D- on the USB port.
All of these things need help. You can help with your brick. Bricks will put out UART communications.
UGART3 said:
I spoke with someone from mobile tech videos on youtube about jtagging with out RIFF he said "ORT Tool or maybe the SPT box but both require the same level of soldering. I must warn you though, the Captivate is most likely harder to solder than anything you have ever done. It's pads are .1mm in size and spacing and I know many electrical engineers that consider it extremely challenging." Im just freaking out because my baby (captivate) is dead. Maybe Ill just go play dumb at AT&T or blame it on KIES since Ive seen people say the bricked the bootloader with kies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can contact Connexion2005. He can JTAG your phone. it's been made easy now because I located the proper jacks and recepticals, and had a couple of receptical circuitboards made for JTAG.

Just to clarify...... my definition of brick...
1. black screen
2. unresponsive to buttons or button combos
3. appears to operate equally with or without the battery
4. 301Kohm resistor between USB pins 4-5 is not effective
If it does not meet those qualifications, then it's not really bricked. it just needs to have software reloaded.

Im gonna give the jig a whirl just in case. i think I got a waranty on my phone so if jig dont work I may just tell ATT its stolen, get a new one and use the old one for testing. Ill post results of the jig afterwards. Can I just use a micro usb wall plug for jig, I only got 1 USB-micro cable and I aint cutting it lol.

Which jig? Usb or uart?

I tried to just use resistors only and I had 270k and 39k ohms which reads 298.8k on my DMM and on mobile tech videos he said he did it with 295k so it should work......but it didnt. Ripped apart my ONLY micro usb cable cable tried to touch the leads to the resistors......nothing ://....soldering Iron is warming up gotta make sure leads are solid.

Well I guess its off to AT&T lol cuz it aint doin nothin right now. Its $125 deductible If i say i lost it so no candidate for a lab rat. Now i gotta rock this busted old cracked screen samsung solstice til I get my new one. I appreciate your help immensely guys, this is why I love this community.

The RIFF will run you closer to $225 after shipping as it's all overseas and they only ship with big carriers and ground shipping.

I've been pricing them at $190 on ebay.

AdamOutler said:
I've been pricing them at $190 on ebay.
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Click to collapse
This is true if you can find the parcel post China sellers. Good luck if you ever need support though or a return! There are definitely some defective boxes floating around that will have you pulling out your hair until your realize it's a RIFF hardware defect. One of my boxes I believe has an issue with i897 ressurection and has me thinking it's why I was successful on the the i897 I did a few days back.

Hi to all can someone tell me how to open riff jtag manager without box

AdamOutler said:
Just to clarify...... my definition of brick...
1. black screen
2. unresponsive to buttons or button combos
3. appears to operate equally with or without the battery
4. 301Kohm resistor between USB pins 4-5 is not effective
If it does not meet those qualifications, then it's not really bricked. it just needs to have software reloaded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a captivate board that you can have if you want it. I believe that it is softbricked. Though due to the busted screen I can't say for sure. I have a T959D screen that doesn't have a board which I have dremeled here and there to be able to accept the captivate board which you can have too.
If you can cover shipping it's yours or if I pay shipping could you help me with unbricking my SGH-I727R. I bricked it during a failed ODIN flashing of clockworkmod. For some reason the partition box got auto ticked the second time by the time I stopped my wide eyed loud inhale "OHHH NOO" it was all over.
I can get QHUSB mode. At least I was able to until the USB gave out. I had another USB board but it came from a corroded phone and during the cleaning I knocked off two resistors. I salvaged the same two resistors I knocked off from a the broken board. The person I got the phone from somehow managed to melt the USB cable to the phone, how this was achieved I haven't a clue.
Anyway I haven't gotten around to soldering the resistors to the board yet, I was waiting for a new soldering iron to come come in. It did the other day and I have to pick it up. Sorry for the rambling if you would like the captivate board to play with and or the T959D's screen let me know and we can arrange shipping etc...Thanks

Related

USB Port Broke How to fix

Wow I am wanting to replace my usb miniport myself I have the AT&T Tilt 8925/HTC Kaiser. The other day I was trying to reset the phone In the Dark thought that I was pressing the reset button on the bottom of the phone, what was happening I had my styles in the usb port DAM IT!!!! Next thing you know I go to charge and the USB port just falls back I then open the unit, and find the usb port has broken from the motherboard, seems to be a pretty clean break, all I need is a new MINIPORT does anyone know where I can buy? An OEM port...
Please HELP!!!!
Afrojack
HELP USB Miniport Broke
Can someone help I have an issue, I broke my usb port, I have the phone opened, I was able to access the usb port it has been completely broken off the board, seems to be broken of clean no cracks on the board, all I need is the usb port does anyone know where I can buy a miniport? Also the correct size of the head for the Soldering pen? Is there anything else I may need to repair this issue. Keep in mind I have the phone open, and Have the ability, but if there is any more steps I may use I would really appreciate it. Thanks
AfroJack
Is this a common problem? Mine is now loose, and it will be so annoying of it breaks off the mobo.
I don't know anywhere where you can buy the miniport, but surely warrantee will cover fixing the miniport?...
I did almost the exact thing a couple days ago. I only noticed now from this post. My pins were bent but it didn't break. I had to bend it pretty far so my charger would work again. Do you have pictures of what it looks like from the inside? Maybe you can buy a cheap device with the same pin layout?
No Picture
No I dont could take one, the usb port broke off the board I have talked to PocketPCTechs.com They will sale me a USB Port for $25.00 dollars I wish they had a picture of it maybe I will call them for a picture. They also said they will fix it for $79.00 dollars. I would like to do myself but for 79.00 dollars well I think it is well worth it.
I had the same problem 25 for the part 0 for a local company to put it in. pocketpctechs does give you the mogul usb port which I think is better than what comes standard on my kaiser. (humorous fact htc wanted $350 and 3 wks to fix it)
its not covered under warranty its considered misuse
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Kaiser
there are disassembly pics somewhere on this page, if your comfortable soldering it shouldn't be a problem. did it w/ my 8525.
Hey maybe you can extract the port from this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-HTC-MINI-US...ryZ20336QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I get one like the one I posted and it has the HTC symbol on it and everything. It looks OEM to me. Well the mini usb port on there to where you can plug in the headphones has all the pins on there and it seems like you would be able to just extract the one on the adapter for much cheaper. (around $5)
HTC repairs
I recently sent my kaiser to htc repairs USA austin tx and had to give them my credit card number. Anything they find broken not covered by the warranty they fix for $28 which seems cheap since you know they will repair it the right way. Also its oem parts
Hey I am currently living in Austin, TX for school. I just have an ATT Tilt and am not with ATT so I am probably not covered by anything.
damn, smaething happened to me , but it didnt broke off the phone, now that i look at it the usb thing its bend, now I know why the charger didnt want to plug in yesterday...
HTC has a one year warranty and as I stated befor they will fix non warranty items for only $28. That is what I was told when I sent in a Tilt that was not with AT&T.
I think mine must be bent or something too. The USB goes into it to charge, but it falls out really easily. It's not as big of a deal if i am charging it at my house and just leave it alone. The problem is when I'm in my car and it moves around and the charger falls out when it just slides a little bit.
taylor310 said:
I think mine must be bent or something too. The USB goes into it to charge, but it falls out really easily. It's not as big of a deal if i am charging it at my house and just leave it alone. The problem is when I'm in my car and it moves around and the charger falls out when it just slides a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats how it started with my apache, now it doesnt charge at all. I found a site on google, search for PPC techs and they do the repair for $60, but you have to be without the phone for that time.
Tilt port repair from HTC USA
Called them about a port repair and was told it would probably be around $350 since it is part of the main board. Might be covered under warranty, up to the technician to determine if it is a normal failure or customer caused.
Too big a crap shoot!!
I just had the same thing happen, and they also told me it was "user error" and that it would be $300+ to fix...... this is clearly a manufacturing/design error and should be covered by warranty!
Big_Dutch said:
I just had the same thing happen, and they also told me it was "user error" and that it would be $300+ to fix...... this is clearly a manufacturing/design error and should be covered by warranty!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just bumping this thread because I have the same problem. One of the metal pins inside the usb port ended up being "pushed down" so my phone wouldn't charge/connect to activesync.
It might be time to move on from an HTC phone, I guess.
The phone was a refurb though, and I've had it for 8 months.

What the **** just happened to my phone ???? NEED HELP !!!

I just bought an 8925 a couple of weeks ago (about a year used) and it was working fine...Best phone I've had so far...Yesterday I'm sitting in my car, I start the TT software and drive off. As I'm driving off I plug the phone into the car charger and pouf! Phone just blacks out. No lights no nothing. I tried to plug the phone into a wall charger, data cable, car charger, nothing. No light, no sign of life at all...
I also had just purchased a new battery for it, tried it and still the same, nothing at all....Suggestions ???????? PLEASE !!!!!!
What kind of car charger do you have? There are reports that if you use a cheap, generic charger it may fry your phone.
dieneverknowing said:
What kind of car charger do you have? There are reports that if you use a cheap, generic charger it may fry your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS ONE. If it is fried, what can I do ? I mean, I'm sure I can't do much about the phone itself but can I maybe go after CellularAccessory.com ???
Good luck...
It's indeed highly recommended to only use HTC car chargers, there have been many reports of similar cases.
I dont think you are gona have much luck trying to go after the place you bought the charger from they usually have disclaimers about damage caused by anything they sell. If the phone truely is dead and going on your description you have probably fried components on the board, is to try claming on your household contents insurance just say it went pop when you plugged it in at home using your htc charger. Failing that if your phone is still under waranty then try the place you bought it from. DONT say you used a non branded charger though or you are screwed lol. Good Luck.
Charger
Damn, paid $3.95 for a multipurpose car charger and it fried your Tilt. I can't imagine that. I'd be p*ssed.
take it to att and see if its still in warranty and get a new one..if its out of waranty then call htc in usa and it should still be covered (manufactures warranty is 15 months). Htc devices are the most knoqwn swapped out phones with warranty exchanges..its very simple..ive exchanged my tilt 4 times now. I dont even break a sweat if something even SEEMS wrong..i used to freak out and try to fix things myself but i eneded up doing more damage than needed and luckily att is so nice and understanding..i just emediately take it in and get a new one now..even if something doesnt feel right..if need be i throw it in boot loader mode and say it wont boot.
It probably should be noted that nobody is suggesting you defraud HTC or AT&T on an open forum, especially senior members. Since your device is regulated by the FCC and it would probably make it a Federal offense, I think I would stick to the basics in any discussions with everyone. If they don't ask, fine, If they do ask then use your own judgment.
pazookie said:
take it to att and see if its still in warranty and get a new one..if its out of waranty then call htc in usa and it should still be covered (manufactures warranty is 15 months). Htc devices are the most knoqwn swapped out phones with warranty exchanges..its very simple..ive exchanged my tilt 4 times now. I dont even break a sweat if something even SEEMS wrong..i used to freak out and try to fix things myself but i eneded up doing more damage than needed and luckily att is so nice and understanding..i just emediately take it in and get a new one now..even if something doesnt feel right..if need be i throw it in boot loader mode and say it wont boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will definately try that, but my only concern is that it's an unlocked att phone that I'm using in Montreal, Canada...Should I go to HTC Canada or USA???
Just tried calling HTC North America (the # that's on their website (425) 679-5318) and it just answers but with no sound at all..It's like if someone picks up the phone but it's just muted....I waited around 3 minutes thinking someone would probably end up answering, but no...
just take it into an att device support center (look on there site or call them) and just tell them it wont turn on..its not defrauding them its honest..as ling as its not PHYSICALLY DAMAGED (as in mving parts were damaged by dropping or mishandling) or WATER DAMAGED (as in the white square on the back is pink) then your good..This happened to me the frst time..i left it on a charge all night and next morning it wouldnt charge nor turn on and att took it with ease.
Wow, a three dollar car charger that is multipurpose for a several hundred dollar device.....the real question is...why? Before you ever plug anything into an electronic device please, please check the output voltage and amperage, a lesson to all.
Ok I was finally able to reach the repair dept. at HTC. They told me the phone is still under warranty so I sent it to their repair center in Indianapolis in the hopes they will be able to exchange it...
I do believe the phone is completely fried, but is there a way for them to still detect what caused it to fry ? Also, they told me that any third-party application they find on the phone voids the warranty, will they be able to see what was installed on the phone ??
fredericroumi said:
Ok I was finally able to reach the repair dept. at HTC. They told me the phone is still under warranty so I sent it to their repair center in Indianapolis in the hopes they will be able to exchange it...
I do believe the phone is completely fried, but is there a way for them to still detect what caused it to fry ? Also, they told me that any third-party application they find on the phone voids the warranty, will they be able to see what was installed on the phone ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone is fryed I doubt they will be able to get it working thus they wont be able to see whats been installed on it and anything could have fryed it such as a power surge while it was plugged in at home. Just wait and see i guess.
once they take it apart they will be able to figure out the problem. sometimes not easy .
HBEAR said:
It probably should be noted that nobody is suggesting you defraud HTC or AT&T on an open forum, especially senior members. Since your device is regulated by the FCC and it would probably make it a Federal offense, I think I would stick to the basics in any discussions with everyone. If they don't ask, fine, If they do ask then use your own judgment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL at your post..
"Htc devices are the most knoqwn swapped out phones with warranty exchanges"
Where do you get facts like that, I though nokias were the most swapped.. Is there a website that has these stats?
Either way, good luck on that exchange.
mskip said:
I dont think you are gona have much luck trying to go after the place you bought the charger from they usually have disclaimers about damage caused by anything they sell. If the phone truely is dead and going on your description you have probably fried components on the board, is to try claming on your household contents insurance just say it went pop when you plugged it in at home using your htc charger. Failing that if your phone is still under waranty then try the place you bought it from. DONT say you used a non branded charger though or you are screwed lol. Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So as a moderator you like to teach people how to commit fraud?
TheChemist187 said:
So as a moderator you like to teach people how to commit fraud?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted that message well over a month ago lol I have only been a moderator for under 2 weeks so I think im pretty safe
Mark.
mskip said:
I posted that message well over a month ago lol I have only been a moderator for under 2 weeks so I think im pretty safe
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL... good answer mskip... and congrats for your new role.
gmaniac2008 said:
LoL... good answer mskip... and congrats for your new role.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
Mark.

[Q] Another Brick Question

Hi guys,
I've read through the fourms, I know that a JTAG is the final option, but I wanted to run this by you guys before I resort to that.
Here's my scenero:
1st generation Captivate. I have flashed tons of times. I flashed back to Eclair 2.1 Stock. I was flashing with the I897UCK1+Odin-1 Click to then flash to gingerbread. However, during the flashing process it hung on the factory.fs. I got a blue screen on the Captivate---never happened before. I did the usual when Odin hangs -- I exited out of Odin and restarted the Captivate. However, it did not restart.
I get no booting signs or a charging symbol. It's a black screen. It does get warm when I plug it into the AC to charge --- so it's doing something. It's just not showing on the screen.
Tried the "pull battery, hold down 3-button, plug into usb" dance. I have a jig I made (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0aoabVtPJ8) , haven't gotten it to work yet. Its only been about 2 hours or so though.
Any ideas? Anything is helpful before I resort to a JTAG send in or something.
Thanks.
If its not showing any sings of life, then i believe it is hardbricked.... Jtag isnt your only option you can do the Unbrickable Mod found here. Im almost certain its hard bricked, I've never had my phone compleatly unresponsive. But I could be wrong, anyone else confirm?
Right now all I am getting is some warmth when I plug it into a wall socket
If you have a Linux machine or a VM you can try this firsthttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1257434
Sent From My Captivate Fasty Fast while flying in my Tardis
Thanks Captain_Nero, tried it with no success. I am going to get a 1k Ohm resister and add that to my Jig to see if it does anything.
I just sent this thing in for a port repair so I really do not feel like investing anymore money into it :-\
Unbrickable mod is what I would do before jtag. If its hard bricked.
Sent from my unbrickable cappy *bam*
Its better cost the same to do (in theory easier to obtain if you want to do it yourself) and will save you from future hard bricks. And in theory could open the doors to a bunch of things thats being dev at the moment.
How hard is it to do the unbrickable mod? I have no experience with a soldering gun.
Its easier then Jtag but its still hard. There is a thread in dev section look at it.
crispy1805 said:
How hard is it to do the unbrickable mod? I have no experience with a soldering gun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easier and cheaper. JTAG requires a minimum of 6 connections assuming you already have the JTAG setup. UnBrickable mod requires two. You must have soldering skills though. Once the mod is done, recovery is very easy. This thread will show you everything you need to know and lead you to the hardware modification thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1242466 . I can do it for $35 including return shipping.

[Q] Bricked Captivate, at a loss here

A work friend of mine had his Captivate bricked mid update by his child.
I offered to fix it, brought it back by Heimdall (2.2). Charged it for about an hour and a half, then decided to try to upgrade it to gingerbread through Kies mini on my wife's laptop. It got stuck at 4%, and after a while I figured I could use Heimdall again, then flash 2.3 through other means.
Problem is now I can't get into download mode, nor powered on to the phone ! PC screen.
I owned a captivate before switching to Sprint, soft bricked it numerous times (Odin was my best friend) haven't ran into this problem before.
What next?
Sent from my Evo w/ CM7 using XDA App
So...it does nothing at all? Just sits there like a bag o'marbles?
If so, Sounds like it failed while updating bootloaders, and if that's the case it's bricked, like brick bricked. Only unbrickable mod can bring it back.
On a side note FU kies for flashing the bootloaders FIRST, that's just dumb....they should be at the end so if it does disconnect or fail it would most likely be before it got to the dangerous part, making it a safer flash. Wtf were they thinking?
Kind of what I feared, thought it was odd that it crashed the phone that hard after only 4%.
Luckily he's already got a new phone, I was just curious if I could bring the old one back to life.
Was kind of hoping it might be a battery thing.
Sent from my Evo w/ CM7 using XDA App
studacris said:
So...it does nothing at all? Just sits there like a bag o'marbles?
If so, Sounds like it failed while updating bootloaders, and if that's the case it's bricked, like brick bricked. Only unbrickable mod can bring it back.
On a side note FU kies for flashing the bootloaders FIRST, that's just dumb....they should be at the end so if it does disconnect or fail it would most likely be before it got to the dangerous part, making it a safer flash. Wtf were they thinking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heimdall does flash bl last. And when i make an Odin package with boots, i put them last in order.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
I'm aware.... Just another example of the inefficiency of the companies compared to us dorks who do this as a hobby.
studacris said:
So...it does nothing at all? Just sits there like a bag o'marbles?
If so, Sounds like it failed while updating bootloaders, and if that's the case it's bricked, like brick bricked. Only unbrickable mod can bring it back.
On a side note FU kies for flashing the bootloaders FIRST, that's just dumb....they should be at the end so if it does disconnect or fail it would most likely be before it got to the dangerous part, making it a safer flash. Wtf were they thinking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is incorrect. You could have Mobile Tech Videos JTAG it and resurrect it. Although the unbrickable mod is the prefered solution (Hence unbrickable) JTAG is for the people who have never held a soldering iron in their hands before. They are reliable and can have your phone running stock within 5 days of mailing it off.
Off topic: why would it be so hard for samsung to solder those couple wires that make up the unbrickable mod in factory during production. Theres another defficiency in over seas companies, they try to get off doing as little work as possible. When you make a phone running an open source OS, 99% some kid in his basement is going to mod it to perform better than stock OS. which is the case of most androids. Cmon' samsung! get your act together!
Yes....jtag can bring it back, but once and then it.can be bricked again, why do that when you can send it to mobiletechvideos and get unbrickable mod applied? he offers that service too.
a solution and then A chance to brick and have to send it off again, versus a solution that is done once and then after that is fixable by the user themself...i am aware of jtag but on phones that have unbrickable mod it's really just too antiquated to be a viable option, which is why i didn't mention it.
studacris said:
Yes....jtag can bring it back, but once and then it.can be bricked again, why do that when you can send it to mobiletechvideos and get unbrickable mod applied? he offers that service too.
a solution and then A chance to brick and have to send it off again, versus a solution that is done once and then after that is fixable by the user themself...i am aware of jtag but on phones that have unbrickable mod it's really just too antiquated to be a viable option, which is why i didn't mention it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was not aware of that haha. Definately if deciding between JTAG for 40$ and Unbrickable mod for 45$, the 5$ will save you whole lot of time, money, and headaches.
McSpammer5 said:
That is incorrect. You could have Mobile Tech Videos JTAG it and resurrect it. Although the unbrickable mod is the prefered solution (Hence unbrickable) JTAG is for the people who have never held a soldering iron in their hands before. They are reliable and can have your phone running stock within 5 days of mailing it off.
Off topic: why would it be so hard for samsung to solder those couple wires that make up the unbrickable mod in factory during production. Theres another defficiency in over seas companies, they try to get off doing as little work as possible. When you make a phone running an open source OS, 99% some kid in his basement is going to mod it to perform better than stock OS. which is the case of most androids. Cmon' samsung! get your act together!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI...mobile tech videos will also do the unbrickable mod for you... either option is available from them. AdamOutler will also do it for you last i heard 30 bucks after shipping.
are you friggin kidding me?? its not just regular soldering... or a regular soldering iron. And JTag is a method of using open pads on the mainboard, used by almost all cell companies to program the phones and allows direct input/output control. And until AdamOutler's research into the processor was the only way to de-brick. oh.. and on some phones JTag requires soldering..
WIKIPEDIA Jtag.
TRusselo said:
FYI...mobile tech videos will also do the unbrickable mod for you... either option is available from them. AdamOutler will also do it for you last i heard 30 bucks after shipping.
are you friggin kidding me?? its not just regular soldering... or a regular soldering iron. And JTag is a method of using open pads on the mainboard, used by almost all cell companies to program the phones and allows direct input/output control. And until AdamOutler's research into the processor was the only way to de-brick. oh.. and on some phones JTag requires soldering..
WIKIPEDIA Jtag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I am tinkering with software, and not hardware ^.^. Thanks for the info.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo dead. Need help

Hello guys,
I have an old Samsung GT-i9060 phone which I'd received from my previous employer. It has finally given up and is now completely dead. I suspect a faulty charging cable to be the culprit this time as my attempts at superficial repair has proven that the problem is deeper. I tried getting it fixed at a local repair shop but he gave up on the basis that parts aren't available and that the motherboard has gone kaput.
So, to summarize....
Samsung GT-i9060 completely dead
has been dropped several times and cracked digitizer has been replaced.
old battery is not at optimum condition but problem persists when tested with a new battery.
No vibration or samsung/charging logo on display when powered on battery or charging but certain areas of motherboard get heated up if I try to turn it on.
I got some important contacts and backup on this phone which I'd really like to salvage. I invested in a few basic tools and looked up a few tutorials on the interwebz but none seem to help me understand the actual problem. I am a novice when it comes to electronics and can easily try to recover the data through some specialists but the satisfaction in getting it done myself is priceless!
So any kind of help would be immensely appreciated.
Thanks
Make sure that the battery voltage is over 3.6 volt. Then connect phone to pc using usb cable without pressing any buttons then check pc detects phone's soc(broadcom interface) or not.
Thanks. Let me try that out and get back to you.
Update - @engage4 Battery was at 4.27V, fully charged. Connected to PC but it wasn't detected although I observed the same heating issue as mentioned in my original post (see attached pic)
Coincidentally, the memory chip and processor are on the exact underside of the mobo area that I have highlighted (which heats up)
For reference, my previous reply to you is here:
How to check voltage level at a resistor?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F) that appears to be dead. I found the service manual online and I'm now trying to follow the troubleshooting flowchart for power issues. I am stuck at the third step (already), where it tells me to check the...
forum.xda-developers.com
Rizzi87 said:
I suspect a faulty charging cable to be the culprit this time as my attempts at superficial repair has proven that the problem is deeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by superficial repair? What made you suspect the charging cable?
Rizzi87 said:
I tried getting it fixed at a local repair shop but he gave up on the basis that parts aren't available and that the motherboard has gone kaput.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kaput? I know that word. That's a German word for broken. I wonder if he told you this because he wanted to repair the components on the board, or because he wanted to toss out the old board and install a new board and call it repaired.
Rizzi87 said:
old battery is not at optimum condition but problem persists when tested with a new battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you already tested with a new battery. Good! That's one of the first things I would do as well. GSM Arena says the battery is "Li-Ion 2100 mAh, removable". At least you didn't need to send it in or leave it to a repair shop to replace the battery. I remember the time when you could replace the battery of your phone yourself. That in itself was very satisfactory. Those were great times! Those times are gone. Now you have to pay a premium to replace a battery. It's "complicated" they say, and so it's not for everyone (or anyone).
Rizzi87 said:
No vibration or samsung/charging logo on display when powered on battery or charging but certain areas of motherboard get heated up if I try to turn it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hotter than what's usual for a phone that's charging? If it's shorted, charging may damage it further. You can test it of course, but you're risking it. Don't test charge for longer than you need to, preferably not at all as soon as you realize there's something wrong with the device. There's the risk of battery leaking or catching fire. So be careful and don't leave it unsupervised.
Rizzi87 said:
I got some important contacts and backup on this phone which I'd really like to salvage. I invested in a few basic tools and looked up a few tutorials on the interwebz but none seem to help me understand the actual problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of tutorials are you reading or watching? What do you think is the problem?
You have to go over more than a few tutorials if you want to be able to intuitively know what to look for or what to do. One way is to start learning about electronics in general, experiment and learn, before you get down to this specific problem. Another way is to start exploring from the repair side of things and work your way into the topic of electronics repair by troubleshooting this specific problem.
Your problem is most likely caused by a short somewhere on the board. So I would suggest you learn about short circuits or "shorts" for short (duh) and how to find shorts in general, and then work your way down to how to find shorts on mobile phones specifically.
Rizzi87 said:
I am a novice when it comes to electronics and can easily try to recover the data through some specialists but the satisfaction in getting it done myself is priceless!
So any kind of help would be immensely appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that feeling. I'm wired the same way. If I can, I will try to repair and fix things on my own. Sometimes I will take on things I hardly know anything about. I will try anyway and learn in the process. Some things are admittedly more difficult than others. But that's how you learn and grow your knowledge base.
People no longer repair things. They throw out the old and broken things, and just keep on buying new things like on conveyor belt. This is not good in by any means. The biggest negative impact of this I think is that people stop using their head. They begin to believe that everything in the world is automatic. A light bulb is the result of true magic, especially when you throw in smart home plugs and switches into the equation. People are slowly being turned into slaves of consumerism. Common knowledge diminishes, like what household products you can use to remove stains, and we only live to serve a higher purpose of capitalism.
Do you have the service manual for this phone? You can usually find these online free of charge. Do you have a multimeter? The first tool you should buy and learn to use is a multimeter. Learn about the continuity test, diode mode, and how to measure voltage.
I worked as an electrician and I felt like I had to ask about how to measure voltage at a resistor, because I was unsure and didn't want to risk damaging a board more than it already is. As an electrician, I worked with voltages relative to Earth ground. I never worked with electronics, although I did get basic electronics training and I know all the basic components and how they work. We worked with soldering iron as well, and learned to use an oscilloscope. I was best in class at soldering. This was a long time ago though. We programmed PLCs, made Delta and Y-configuration connections of three phase electric motors, worked with relays and contactors, and we learned a whole load of other useful things.
My point is, always ask someone more knowledgeable and experienced if you're in doubt about something, rather than taking a risk or gambling. This is much more important of course when working with unforgiving high voltages and high currents, so as an electrician I learned early on to respect electricity. This was all part of my training and thankfully I have never had any accident. It's OK to make mistakes, and you're bound to make mistakes when experimenting, but you better have a backup plan and put in some kind of safety net, to protect yourself and to protect your equipment or whatever it is you're working on.
R7027 said:
What do you mean by superficial repair? What made you suspect the charging cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The USB connector on the charging cable I was temporarily using sometime back had a flimsy connector and I suspect the loose connection might have caused 'spikes' and maybe shorted some components/mobo.
I had dropped this phone on numerous occassions and almost everytime the ribbon connector for the LCD would come loose since the connector on the board was a bit wonky. I used to check this and get the phone working again. This is what I meant by superficial repair.
R7027 said:
Kaput? I know that word. That's a German word for broken. I wonder if he told you this because he wanted to repair the components on the board, or because he wanted to toss out the old board and install a new board and call it repaired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah. He simply didn't bother about repairing or even replacing it on the basis that parts are hard to come by!
R7027 said:
So you already tested with a new battery. Good! That's one of the first things I would do as well. GSM Arena says the battery is "Li-Ion 2100 mAh, removable". At least you didn't need to send it in or leave it to a repair shop to replace the battery. I remember the time when you could replace the battery of your phone yourself. That in itself was very satisfactory. Those were great times! Those times are gone. Now you have to pay a premium to replace a battery. It's "complicated" they say, and so it's not for everyone (or anyone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEs, I thought the battery maight be the culprit but alas, it turned out to be a problem with the mobo.
R7027 said:
Hotter than what's usual for a phone that's charging? If it's shorted, charging may damage it further. You can test it of course, but you're risking it. Don't test charge for longer than you need to, preferably not at all as soon as you realize there's something wrong with the device. There's the risk of battery leaking or catching fire. So be careful and don't leave it unsupervised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hotter than usual, yes. I have tested and/or repeated the scenario only couple of times so as to not risk any further damage.
R7027 said:
Do you have the service manual for this phone? You can usually find these online free of charge. Do you have a multimeter? The first tool you should buy and learn to use is a multimeter. Learn about the continuity test, diode mode, and how to measure voltage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have invested in a multimeter, soldering iron and supplies and a heat gun. I do also have a manual for the phone and it has helped me partially.
Rizzi87 said:
The USB connector on the charging cable I was temporarily using sometime back had a flimsy connector and I suspect the loose connection might have caused 'spikes' and maybe shorted some components/mobo.
I had dropped this phone on numerous occassions and almost everytime the ribbon connector for the LCD would come loose since the connector on the board was a bit wonky. I used to check this and get the phone working again. This is what I meant by superficial repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clarifying.
Now that you mention it, one of my charging cable was a bit flimsy as well. Might be what happened with my phone as well. The connector would wiggle left and right so I would have to make sure it points straight into the port and rotate the phone left and right to make sure it's not tugging on it as I put it down on a book shelf. I always charge my phones on this book shelf as the power outlet is close by.
I have actually four identical Samsung 15 W chargers sitting there, all for the Galaxy S7. Three white ones and one black, and each with its own charging cable. I had purchased some extra chargers just as spares, and one of the chargers had a bit flimsy connection, as you say. I actually once spotted that one of the 4 pins on one of the charging cables was too short, and because of it, it was not charging fast enough. I stripped it down to bare wires, all for science and learning, before throwing it away.
On another occasion, I discovered that one of these cables didn't want to charge my phone when combined with one of the four chargers. It was a perfectly fine looking cable. The same cable worked well on the other three identical chargers though. So this was a bit of mystery I had never seen before. That will remain a mystery. That same charger also worked well when combines with other cables. So both the charger and the cable worked well, but only with others, not with each other. Note that these were all original Samsung chargers and cables. The "travel adapter", model EP-TA20EWE. They all came in original Samsung retail packaging. Although the spare chargers I purchased did have a bit stiffer and thicker cables, when compared to the original that came with the phone. They were presumably made in later years, so Samsung had probably changed them up a little bit.
But this goes to show that there is more to a cable and a charger than meets the eye. I suspect it had something to do with lack of compatibility across the many charging protocols that are in circulation in the fast charging universe, like Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. USB Power Delivery 2.0 vs. what-have-you.
So you're not wrong to suspect something as "simple" as a charging cable. Not even a cable can be left alone, they have to make it "smart" and complicated. If the cable doesn't know how to talk the language of the charger, it's useless. Or worse, it can destroy a device. All because industry wants to satisfy inpatient people that want fast charging, and so instead of 1 standard, they make 4 different ones, if Apple Lighting-whatever is included. By the way, the faster you charger a battery, the faster it will lose its capacity and die out.
Rizzi87 said:
Nah. He simply didn't bother about repairing or even replacing it on the basis that parts are hard to come by!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends where you look and how determined you are.
I ordered a new S535 power IC for my Galaxy S7 from Germany via Ebay, and I received it last week. I don't have the exact dates, but it arrived within the same week, so about three to five days. From Germany to Sweden. I also ordered three of the same chip from a supplier in UK, also via Ebay, and it has yet to arrive. This has to do with Royal Mail strikes, so everything is delayed. In addition, I had to pay customs fee and import tax from the UK. Not sure if it will be held at Customs service and delayed even more because of this, or if it will be delivered straight to my mail box since the UK supplier made sure I can pay upfront so it can be cleared for delivery. So I will have 4 of these in total.
Let me give you another example. I have an older car that's well looked after and only driven occasionally. A few years back, it started leaking oil from the rear axis. I went to the authorized repair shop. They told me they had to either replace the differential or rebuild it. But because it's an old timer, there are no parts for it readily available. This is a BMW car and BMW has a good reputation for stock keeping parts for old models for a long time. Well, maybe they don't keep a stock of big parts such as differentials. But it's not true that it's not available. I looked it up online and found several car stripping companies that have a number of these parts to pick and choose from, some of which were in almost new condition. So if they really wanted to, they could have ordered in from there. This is where small and independent auto repair shops order from as well. I even offered to order it myself and deliver to them. But they could not make the needed arrangements. Or rather, they didn't want to. I understood the message. They can't be bothered with something as heavy, oily, dirty, difficult, skill demanding, and time consuming as a differential replacement... and a rebuild is probably as distant as science fiction to them. I never went back there. I used to go to them for years and was always happy. Since they changed the owner and relocated, it's a completely different company. I would never again go to an "authorized" repair shop. They are properly titled "car dealers", because they are more interested in selling you a new car or a used car than repairing your old one.
It's the same with phone companies like Samsung and these places they call "Support Center" where you can walk in to get support and service on the device you already own, and they put up their latest "flagship" models on display and under your nose. That's how you know you're in the wrong place. It's all sell, sell, sell.
Rizzi87 said:
I have invested in a multimeter, soldering iron and supplies and a heat gun. I do also have a manual for the phone and it has helped me partially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure to get the needle-like test leads for it. This is needed for probing and measuring tiny components. The ones that came with my multimeter were very good, but they were not fit for the job, because they are not thin enough at the top. Most of the standard test leads have blunt tips. I ordered a pair from Amazon, a complete kit actually, but they are not very good. The whole kit was very cheap and I could not find any other, higher quality, more expensive ones. I don't want to promote Amazon, but I can post a link if you want.
A heat gun might work, but a hot air station is better. You need about 350 C to rework big components like BGA chips. Based on my limited knowledge, but extensive research. You should be able to tell what the temperature is at, and only the more expensive heat "guns" will have a temperature sensor and a digital display.
A service manual is a good resource. I wish I had a complete service manual for Galaxy S7. I looked for a places to buy one but I only found dodgy websites that seemed to be in the business of downloading free manuals, packaging, and selling. So if you have a complete manual, that's better. I only found excerpts of the most important chapters for Galaxy S7, and it has been very useful.
So, umm, there has been no progress on the repair front as I had been away on a trip and got my phone stolen
I was a bit occupied with reporting to the authorities and blocking my phone number hence I couldn't reply earlier.
Btw, I stumbled upon something called as boardview bitmap files; I'm yet to fully explore it but it seems really helpful.

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