Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum (first post), I've owned my Continuum for a few months now happily with no problems. I actually love the phone! But recently I ran into a pretty big problem...
Let me give you a little background on my phone first, I have used SuperOneClick on it, to grant super user permissions, I've used the program to grant me access to the phone tethering apps that are out (currently using Open Garden), and the AdFree app in the market. I havn't used anything else in regards to 'hacking' my phone so I'm a bit confused as to why I'm getting trouble.
Anyways here's my problem, lol! Well the other day I turned off my phone and tried turning it back on and I would get a grey battery with the spinning disk, and it wouldn't turn on :\! I tried holding all the buttons, for over 10 seconds, no avail. It still turned on to the battery and nothing. I tried taking the battery out for a whiiiile and nothing. Eventually I plugged in my phone to the wall and it magically worked. Actually that's the only way I've been able to get my phone to turn on lately. It works fine once it's on but every time I turn it off the same thing happens .
So that's truly why I'm here... Is my phone 'bricked', or are these some symptoms of being 'bricked'? Are there any fixxes I can go about taking to you know...fix the problem ?
Any help would be Greatly appreciated,
Thanks everyone,
-Matt
Oops, I forgot to mention that my phone has been acting strange sometimes in the sense that I plug it into the wall and the 'Mass Storage/ Media player' option comes up, even though it's not plugged into the computer, just into the wall.
Pretty strange huh?
Anyways thanks again everyone who helps!!!
detex said:
Oops, I forgot to mention that my phone has been acting strange sometimes in the sense that I plug it into the wall and the 'Mass Storage/ Media player' option comes up, even though it's not plugged into the computer, just into the wall.
Pretty strange huh?
Anyways thanks again everyone who helps!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In short, you're not bricked, but there's obviously some fishy stuff happening. At this point, it would be good to determine whether it's a hardware or software issue. On that note, just a few quick questions:
1. Has anything happened (hardware-wise) recently that you're aware of? E.g. it was dropped, got wet, etc?
2. What sort of charger are you using? Is it the Samsung one that came with the phone?
3. What USB cable are you using to charge the phone? Again, Samsung original or something else?
4. Can you get into any sort of recovery (when booted, hold Vol+, Vol-, and Power at the same time until it shows the AT&T screen twice) or download mode (when off, hold V+ and V-, then insert USB cable)? This may not have anything to do with your issues, but it will help in troubleshooting.
Hello there, I found out that I wasn't supposed to really post this thread here so I went ahead and posted it in the Continuum section, where they had me do as you said, hold the vol- button and turn on the phone. It's currently "Downloading... Do not turn of Target!!!" I'm not really sure what it's doing but that's what it says (it's been doing this for 15 minutes lol). But to answer your questions, I took the phone with me on vacation this past weekend and I had it on the beach in some pretty hot weather, but I always kept it in the shade (I treat my things pretty well) so it shouldn't have gotten too hot, and I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything either! As far as the charger goes, it is the same charger that came with the phone, from Droid. And jsyk I'm with VZW if that changes anything, because I know you mentioned AT&T.
Thanks for the help , I'll let you know what goes on with the phone once it finishes doing what it's doing haha.
detex said:
Hello there, I found out that I wasn't supposed to really post this thread here so I went ahead and posted it in the Continuum section, where they had me do as you said, hold the vol- button and turn on the phone. It's currently "Downloading... Do not turn of Target!!!" I'm not really sure what it's doing but that's what it says (it's been doing this for 15 minutes lol). But to answer your questions, I took the phone with me on vacation this past weekend and I had it on the beach in some pretty hot weather, but I always kept it in the shade (I treat my things pretty well) so it shouldn't have gotten too hot, and I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything either! As far as the charger goes, it is the same charger that came with the phone, from Droid. And jsyk I'm with VZW if that changes anything, because I know you mentioned AT&T.
Thanks for the help , I'll let you know what goes on with the phone once it finishes doing what it's doing haha.
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Click to collapse
Oh, ok. Good luck - hopefully you find what you need in that forum.
(By the way, you'll never see the end of the downloading screen. Unless you're actively doing something to you phone (like flashing a ROM) at that screen, it will just sit there until something tells it to reboot.)
Wow, I feel like a dumbass! I've been waiting for it to do something lmao. No I'm not flashing it with a ROM or anything so should I just hold the power button or something?
detex said:
Wow, I feel like a dumbass! I've been waiting for it to do something lmao. No I'm not flashing it with a ROM or anything so should I just hold the power button or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't feel bad - I'm pretty sure all of us have done that same thing at one point or another.
As long as you just dumped it into download mode with the button combo you mentioned, just pull the battery out and try to restart the phone like normal. Assuming everything is the same as it is on the Captivate, you should be back to where you were.
Alright I pulled the battery out and stuck it back in, and tried turning on my phone normally and it turned on just fine. Pretty funny that it just worked just like that. Thanks lol. Also, any recommendation with what to do with my charger and the USB action it occasionally takes on my phone?
As a test, try turning on USB debugging (Settings-Applications-Development-USB Debugging) and see if you still get that set of options. You could also look on the applications menu for something about having it ask when you insert the cable, and change from that option to the one you use most often.
The only time I've had my phone do that to me in a strictly-charging scenario is when I hook it up to my car USB charger, but that's a non-Samsung charger.
Alrighty, I put it on that setting and I'll leave it that way. Hopefully it doesn't do that again, and if it does I'll try out another charger since I have two that are identical.
Thanks again for all the help,
-Matt
PS. one quick question ! What are mock locations?
You're welcome.
As far as the mock locations go, my understanding is that it lets you tell applications that your phone is a different location than what it actually is (think something like DVD regions). I'm not 100% clear on its use, but my guess would be that it either allows you to see more apps in the market than you normally would, or that you can run apps that are specific to a different region than where you are.
I see, thanks, I've been wondering what that was. See you around!
Related
I have had my Vario III for almost a year now (used to have a Vario II before this), and I've never had this problem before.
All of a sudden yesterday, my phone screen just went dim. I didn't install anything new and it didn't fall or anything. Since then, I cant use the power button on the side to switch the screen off, and the phone simple wont charge. I've tried doing a soft reset many times.
While the phone is restarting, the screen starts off bright as usual, but while in the loading process (10 secs after it starting rebooting), the brightness goes down approx 60-70%.
If I keep the power button down for a while, I get the option if I want to switch my phone off. If I say yes, the loader keeps spinning and the phone doesn't switch off, regardless how long I wait.
The phone is still usable and all the programs still work.... but its not charging and screen wont turn off. What should I do?
By the way, I haven't changed the ROM. I still use the original ROM that came with T-Mobile.
... And you didn't drop it right? Sounds like there was a hardware failure for sure...
Any Ideas?
My phone ran out of battery now. Still not charging. Its my only phone and its annoying me. I don't know if its the ROM thats gone buggy. If I need to change the ROM on it, I HAVE to get the battery fully charged right?
I cant think of any other possibilities. Any ideas would be great.
Digital Outcast said:
... And you didn't drop it right? Sounds like there was a hardware failure for sure...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I didn't drop it. I was just using it normally and it just decided to do that. I wasn't connected to the internet at that time either.
Well the ROM on the phone wouldn't cause it not to charge. The ROM is obviously not even taken into consideration when the device is off and charging (or in your case, not charging).
Have you tried different cables to see if it is working, i.e. USB vs wall-charger?
Digital Outcast said:
Well the ROM on the phone wouldn't cause it not to charge. The ROM is obviously not even taken into consideration when the device is off and charging (or in your case, not charging).
Have you tried different cables to see if it is working, i.e. USB vs wall-charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup... tried different chargers and different wall sockets.
The problem I explained earlier did happen before, about a month ago, and it had same symptoms. And even then it happenned for no particular reason. But after soft resetting it a few times, it sorted itself out. This time, nothing seems to work.
Man that stinks. I hate to say it but it definitely sounds like a hardware failure
Digital Outcast said:
Man that stinks. I hate to say it but it definitely sounds like a hardware failure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... Good thing I sync'd my phone last night and transferred all data onto the memory card.
I'll just keep working on it, see if I can figure something out. If I do, I'll post the solution here for future reference. Till then, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Thanx
I know nothing of Bricking/Unbricking... Rooting or anything. I have been researching for 3 days now. I know as much now as I did then all of zip!! I cannot get past the on screen. I have done the 20 second poewr button push for up to 5 minutes. I have talked to Amazon support and have been told Im pretty much SOL. I miss my kinde and I am not ready to give up. I have seen others have appreared to be in worse situations with this issue than I am so I am hoping for some assistance.
Every time I look into KFU and understand it it doesnt download right. Almost everything says it cant work on my computer. I have downloaded several versions. I feel screwed. Is there hope for this? all the apps for unbricking and rooting that i have downloaded have been for nothing. I would really appreciate some mojo and super geek help please.
Lisa
OK I can help
korexeileithyia said:
I know nothing of Bricking/Unbricking... Rooting or anything. I have been researching for 3 days now. I know as much now as I did then all of zip!! I cannot get past the on screen. I have done the 20 second poewr button push for up to 5 minutes. I have talked to Amazon support and have been told Im pretty much SOL. I miss my kinde and I am not ready to give up. I have seen others have appreared to be in worse situations with this issue than I am so I am hoping for some assistance.
Every time I look into KFU and understand it it doesnt download right. Almost everything says it cant work on my computer. I have downloaded several versions. I feel screwed. Is there hope for this? all the apps for unbricking and rooting that i have downloaded have been for nothing. I would really appreciate some mojo and super geek help please.
Lisa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First try and put it into recovery by holding down the volume up until a screen comes up saying to reboot or restore. Also, give me some background info. on how the kindle stopped working.
Is a definite must do. I have an appt I have to leave for in a minute so as soon as I get home I will def take care of the background info and the volume up try. Thank you. I will most assuredly appreciate your help. :highfive:
korexeileithyia said:
Is a definite must do. I have an appt I have to leave for in a minute so as soon as I get home I will def take care of the background info and the volume up try. Thank you. I will most assuredly appreciate your help. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem
catching up
Hi again... SO I did the volume up trick until my fingers started to shake. Nothing happened. I did it with the kindle attached to the computer and with out the usb tethered to anything. I did not try it straight off the wall plug tho. Nothing ....
Background. I have had the kindle less than a year. My 8 year old has been stealing it a lot the past few months trying it say is hers ;0 thats ok. Shes been playing games like bakery story Dragon story fashion world and temple run etc... she uses it for the calculator and reading programs. She also uses it for netflix. 5 days ago she watched netflix until the battery gave out. She plugged it in and waited a few minutes and it wasnt coming back in. She told me about it... I looked into everything I could think of. I tried everything I could find. I have downloaded (to my computer) a ton of root and unbricking programs. Nothing makes sense and everything says theres parameters missing. I called kindle. Support took me thru every step I had already tried (power button charging different ways killin the battery all the way doing different things etc) The only two things I see now are a huge battery in the middle of a black screen that has a very small red portion to it or the beginning screen that stays put with the words having the glowy part run across it over and over again... thats all I know for sure. IF theres any information you can help me with I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Lisa
korexeileithyia said:
Hi again... SO I did the volume up trick until my fingers started to shake. Nothing happened. I did it with the kindle attached to the computer and with out the usb tethered to anything. I did not try it straight off the wall plug tho. Nothing ....
Background. I have had the kindle less than a year. My 8 year old has been stealing it a lot the past few months trying it say is hers ;0 thats ok. Shes been playing games like bakery story Dragon story fashion world and temple run etc... she uses it for the calculator and reading programs. She also uses it for netflix. 5 days ago she watched netflix until the battery gave out. She plugged it in and waited a few minutes and it wasnt coming back in. She told me about it... I looked into everything I could think of. I tried everything I could find. I have downloaded (to my computer) a ton of root and unbricking programs. Nothing makes sense and everything says theres parameters missing. I called kindle. Support took me thru every step I had already tried (power button charging different ways killin the battery all the way doing different things etc) The only two things I see now are a huge battery in the middle of a black screen that has a very small red portion to it or the beginning screen that stays put with the words having the glowy part run across it over and over again... thats all I know for sure. IF theres any information you can help me with I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Lisa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might need to get a factory cable. I have to get one because mine won't start up anymore either.
Hi lisa
First off Don't Panic!!! Been where you are about 2 months ago and couldn't/hadn't flashed/used from etc etc before in my life.. but my kfhd was stuffed but the sounds of things similar to you.
The volume up trick will only work once you have 2nd boot working btw.
Go to the 7' android development section of the kfhd forum and read a few threads around getting something called second boot loader.. it actually really simple and very simple to do (as long as you do follow it EXACTLY).. I did get a factory cable to assist this process, and you may need one as well, but I have read that several people have now worked out how to do it without. (Read all the thread about second boot loader there's a lot but its worth it) factory cables are only cheap at worst case..
I'm sure someone will direct you to exactly the link on the xda forum you need shortly, everyone was amazing when I initially stuffed up.keep smiling and as I said don't panic!!
Kgyuszko
Sent from my KFTT using xda app-developers app
Does your Kindle take a charge at all do you know or just always the same screens no matter how long you charge?
3 in one
1st querant Do you buy them on amazon? can i get one closer to home? Is there a price range I should look into?
2nd querant Ill look but be warned that my inner geek has had meltdowns over all of this. Its over my head. I just kinda bug eye and try not to get stupefied.
3rd querant No it will not charge at all.
Thank you all and please be patient with me.
I don`t know if the charging has the same issue as the first gen, it required a running system in order for the battery to charge if it ever became flat. Here`s my suggestion plug it to your pc for several hours set your computer to not sleep and leave it, if you get lucky it will eventually boot good luck. It should not need unbricking by the way.
korexeileithyia said:
1st querant Do you buy them on amazon? can i get one closer to home? Is there a price range I should look into?
2nd querant Ill look but be warned that my inner geek has had meltdowns over all of this. Its over my head. I just kinda bug eye and try not to get stupefied.
3rd querant No it will not charge at all.
Thank you all and please be patient with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have not done anything to the device to cause this ie: root, custom recovery, flashed anything, then it sounds like you just have a hardware problem. Something went wrong that should not have and would be covered under warranty. I WOULD NOT mess with anything involving root or a factory cable or 2nd bootloader. If you do not know what you are doing when it comes to those things then you could potentially do more harm than good. Did you buy it on amazon? You said you already called amazon, call them back, they will replace it, even if you didnt buy directly from them.. Sometimes the people that answer the phones for amazon are idiots. Just call until you get someone who is helpful. tell them exactly what happened, it died and won't come back on. Don't mention anything about root, factory cable, ect.. These devices havent even been out for a year so all of them are still under warranty unless you've root or installed custom recovery.
Could just be a defective charger ? did you try an alternative mains/usb wall charger, left plugged in with the kindle powered off ? it takes a long time to charge them from flat, mine was approx 12 hours Edit - A computors usb output isn't usually enough to push a charge in only keep the kindle "as is" when in use
onemeila said:
If you have not done anything to the device to cause this ie: root, custom recovery, flashed anything, then it sounds like you just have a hardware problem. Something went wrong that should not have and would be covered under warranty. I WOULD NOT mess with anything involving root or a factory cable or 2nd bootloader. If you do not know what you are doing when it comes to those things then you could potentially do more harm than good. Did you buy it on amazon? You said you already called amazon, call them back, they will replace it, even if you didnt buy directly from them.. Sometimes the people that answer the phones for amazon are idiots. Just call until you get someone who is helpful. tell them exactly what happened, it died and won't come back on. Don't mention anything about root, factory cable, ect.. These devices havent even been out for a year so all of them are still under warranty unless you've root or installed custom recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wouldnt matter if I could root or unbrick it. My computer wont download the system operations for those properly. I did mention that I dont know how. and I did say that I dont understand what they are so I am not doing them. That I had tried the 20 second power button push all thw way up to 5 minutes on the usb to the computer and the wall as well as detached. Nothing worked. Its stuck and they wouldnt explain why. All I got was well sorry thats it we cant help you. *sigh* I have tried calling like 5 times. to no avail. Thanks tho.
I will be the first to say that unless I can figure something out I am not going to try it. My tablet is something I find as a MUST HAVE and I dont want to take any chances on ....
JohnFranklin said:
Could just be a defective charger ? did you try an alternative mains/usb wall charger, left plugged in with the kindle powered off ? it takes a long time to charge them from flat, mine was approx 12 hours Edit - A computors usb output isn't usually enough to push a charge in only keep the kindle "as is" when in use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its possible because my son was using mine and his to charge his reg KF and it wasnt charging. He tried several alternates power choices on that as well. I have ordered the factory charger but I am going to want to understand everything about it before it gets here on sat. I am going to start researching it tonight when i get home.
Try...
korexeileithyia said:
Its possible because my son was using mine and his to charge his reg KF and it wasnt charging. He tried several alternates power choices on that as well. I have ordered the factory charger but I am going to want to understand everything about it before it gets here on sat. I am going to start researching it tonight when i get home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try testing the charge on a couple different power cords that are know to work and put it on one for 12hrs. Then if it couldn't charge I'll walk you through the steps of using a factory cable.
What kind of computer do you have. These things always work smother on a Windows machine (or Linux). Also did you ever install the drivers for your Kindle on the computer. Nothing will work properly unless you have the drivers on there. They should load automatically when you plug your kindle into the computer. If they don't, here is a thread where you can download the drivers http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1890413 Just download and you can either unzip the file and use what's inside or just double click to install :good:
CVanB said:
Try testing the charge on a couple different power cords that are know to work and put it on one for 12hrs. Then if it couldn't charge I'll walk you through the steps of using a factory cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Cable will be here Sat. I have tried the charging but will do so again... thank you
korexeileithyia said:
The Cable will be here Sat. I have tried the charging but will do so again... thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont mean to discourage and maybe it will work but the only thing a factory cable is used for is to put the device into fastboot so you can flash partition imgs or other programming features(the cable uses the fifth lead on a micro usb cable to activate fastboot). Even if it goes to fastboot your kindle is not bricked and and you would have no reason or need for fastboot. From what you've said you have not rooted or modified your device at all, there are only two possibilities of what is wrong with it at this point- the charger is bad or the charging port has gone bad. That box with the red bar about a 1/4 full just means the device doesnt have enough charge to power up. It happens all the time on mine and once I charge it for a couple minutes its fine. So your device is obviously not charging and I dont think a factory cable is going to change that. I just want you to have the right info and not go wasting your time and money trying things that are irrelevant to what is actually wrong with your device.
trying
have cable, still lost. Am trying to figure out what I need. Things wont load on the computer. I have a samsung RV515 laptop. I cant get the computer to recognize the muffed kindle. The fastboot screen does show up but then goes no further. It does need to show up on the computer so I can do more things with it. Not so much atm. I have the recommended linked .exe on the computer but it will not run as it says not everything is downloaded and I have to finish d/l it manually. I am not ready to give up but I wont do anything to screw it up more.
No it wont go past the 1/4th charge. I have left it on the charge for 24 hours and not getting further. Again I have seen people not even able to get to the front screen pull it back from the dead. So Im hoping.. thanks
You mean the exe that I linked you to doesn't work?
from my Viped out one x
I have the feeling I'm going to get repetitive here guys, but I've been reading the troubleshooting threads for over an hour and couldn't find an answer to help me.
Last saturday I was to lazy to move from the couch, so I watched as my S3 Mini ran out of battery. I got the "phone is turning off" screen as usual. Later I went to bed, but as I needed my alarm to go off in the morning I tried turning it on again, and nothing* happened. Plugged it on the wall, nothing*. Replaced the battery, nothing*. Gave it a good half hour plugged, and as you can guess, nothing*.
* when I say nothing, I mean it won't light up, won't vibrate, won't wink for me, won't load any kind of error, it's actually just like if you were trying to turn on a phone without any battery connected, no grasp of life comes from its poor soul.
The only moment I could see some action on the device is when I tried connecting it on the PC a few hours ago, as it installed drivers to Windows. Right after installing the drivers however, it won't show in the file explorer. I've tried to detect it with a few development tools such as ORT and Odin and there was no sucess either. Download or Recover mode will not work as well.
One thing I think worth mentioning, is that ever since I rooted it a couple of years ago, whenever I tried to recharge it while it was off, the standard "green charging battery" would never appear. What would appear on the screen was a freezed loading icon (the one that keeps roling again and again, but frozen). This particular issue never came off, even reseting it or installing new ROMs.
I always used Maclaw's, some of the latest 4.x, because I tought the 5.x was to heavy for the s3 minis.
I've read some about USB JIGs and stuff, but what makes me very curious is what the heck?! The phone was working just fine, the battery runs out and I have a brick? Is this possible? Can anyone tell me any work around?
I apologize for possible grammar mistakes.
ScrewedImei said:
I have the feeling I'm going to get repetitive here guys, but I've been reading the troubleshooting threads for over an hour and couldn't find an answer to help me.
Last saturday I was to lazy to move from the couch, so I watched as my S3 Mini ran out of battery. I got the "phone is turning off" screen as usual. Later I went to bed, but as I needed my alarm to go off in the morning I tried turning it on again, and nothing* happened. Plugged it on the wall, nothing*. Replaced the battery, nothing*. Gave it a good half hour plugged, and as you can guess, nothing*.
* when I say nothing, I mean it won't light up, won't vibrate, won't wink for me, won't load any kind of error, it's actually just like if you were trying to turn on a phone without any battery connected, no grasp of life comes from its poor soul.
The only moment I could see some action on the device is when I tried connecting it on the PC a few hours ago, as it installed drivers to Windows. Right after installing the drivers however, it won't show in the file explorer. I've tried to detect it with a few development tools such as ORT and Odin and there was no sucess either. Download or Recover mode will not work as well.
One thing I think worth mentioning, is that ever since I rooted it a couple of years ago, whenever I tried to recharge it while it was off, the standard "green charging battery" would never appear. What would appear on the screen was a freezed loading icon (the one that keeps roling again and again, but frozen). This particular issue never came off, even reseting it or installing new ROMs.
I always used Maclaw's, some of the latest 4.x, because I tought the 5.x was to heavy for the s3 minis.
I've read some about USB JIGs and stuff, but what makes me very curious is what the heck?! The phone was working just fine, the battery runs out and I have a brick? Is this possible? Can anyone tell me any work around?
I apologize for possible grammar mistakes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to plug in the phone into charger & leave it there like 20 mins or more. battery loads then.
then try access samsung download mode, if you cant the phone is probably useless (brick for ever) because itslike mthe last standing thing.
& sorry i say that but thats typically samsung behaviuor. there allways this kind of threads in the samsung forums of xda... other manufacturer can mostly be restored or atleast you know what make it dead.
Exactly the same problems happening to me.
This is my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-mini/help/sgs3-mini-dead-t3085031
Can you try to follow what appears on this link? (I can't by now because my PC is broken)
I think won't do nothing because you won't be able to access to the recovery mode on android, as me, but to try...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1840030
bejunk said:
try to plug in the phone into charger & leave it there like 20 mins or more. battery loads then.
then try access samsung download mode, if you cant the phone is probably useless (brick for ever) because itslike mthe last standing thing.
& sorry i say that but thats typically samsung behaviuor. there allways this kind of threads in the samsung forums of xda... other manufacturer can mostly be restored or atleast you know what make it dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
Thank you for your interest but I have passed this point already. Tried a brand new battery I had laying down in the drawer (which was fully charged with an universal charger) and there is no answer to any attempt of turning it on. Via recovery, download or normal boot.
CrashOverride93 said:
Exactly the same problems happening to me.
This is my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-mini/help/sgs3-mini-dead-t3085031
Can you try to follow what appears on this link? (I can't by now because my PC is broken)
I think won't do nothing because you won't be able to access to the recovery mode on android, as me, but to try...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1840030
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there,
I'm sorry to hear I'm not the only one affected by this bug (lets call it a bug). This shows there is a lack of concern from Samsung on dealing with this issues, and thus we see that old programmed obsolescence.
I will try that later on the weekend, and I come back here with an report.
Cheers
ScrewedImei said:
Hi there,
Thank you for your interest but I have passed this point already. Tried a brand new battery I had laying down in the drawer (which was fully charged with an universal charger) and there is no answer to any attempt of turning it on. Via recovery, download or normal boot.
Hello there,
I'm sorry to hear I'm not the only one affected by this bug (lets call it a bug). This shows there is a lack of concern from Samsung on dealing with this issues, and thus we see that old programmed obsolescence.
I will try that later on the weekend, and I come back here with an report.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this guide useless for you. how u want flash things with odin if u cant enter download mode at all??
im really sorry for you that this phone is dead. just can give you 1 advice, dont buy samsung in future.
I have been repaired my phone successfully!!!
I just needed to change two capacitors on its motherboard, and that's it.
Here the video where I have found the info and how to do that. It's in Spanish but easy to understand for you I think. But if you need some help, send me a PM.
can you take a picture from the location of the 2 capasitors and the types of it
Hi everyone.
I have some news. It took me a while but I followed CrashOverride93's advice on that video. It actually solved one issue, as I now can turn it on, but now I have a second problem, I'm stuck on a boot loop, with acess to Download mode ONLY. No recovery.
Considering where my issue started, and where I am now, I have tried the following:
- Flashed via Odin stock ROM, kernel;
- flashed Wipe;
- flashed PARAM;
- three button combo.
So far I couldn't get it pass the boot loop. Any thoughts?
Hi guys, been a bit out of the loop (hospital) but bought an Alpha around sep last year...within 2 months i used a official Maze update (OTA) and it then no longer charges...got onto them via facebook (as there were no official threads for this phone back then) and they sent me this to reflash it...
http://www.mazemobile.com/download-center
The ROM used to be there, but they have the ****ing cheek to say "people tried to flash and blamed MAZE" now it was MAZE's update in the first place that buggered my phone.:silly:..i still have the original ROM...
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8XLZxEJR8albndMcXJhWGtlVDQ
^not sure if that works for you, but basically it was..
:A really crap tutorial
:Maze Alpha flash tool.zip
:Maze_Alpha_V05_20170816
I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???
Now MAZE are bloody useless, can i count on one of you clever chaps to help me out?
P.s it's the 4 gig model.
Many thanks lads...
Any joy?
Is there anybody on here that had the same problem? You guys are usually really helpful, as i'm getting no rsponse from MAZE i thought i'd try where the true tech heads reside (i've received help before on my Xioami phones and smartwatches before) or is it that not many people have bothered with this phone? please help a guy out...much appreciated.
seedaripper said:
Is there anybody on here that had the same problem? You guys are usually really helpful, as i'm getting no rsponse from MAZE i thought i'd try where the true tech heads reside (i've received help before on my Xioami phones and smartwatches before) or is it that not many people have bothered with this phone? please help a guy out...much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the thing is that you need to provide a bit more info. 'I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???' But you are not telling what works or not or what step you are stuck in the manual.
A lot of things come to my mind.
- is it still booting
- did you try another cable - charger
- ...
If it still boots and works a bit can you connect it to a pc and access for example the internal memory etc?
Some more info would be of help to get response... although I find the Maze Alpha part of the forum a lot of read and very little help (a bit of ranting may wake up people)
Cheers...someone lives!
Thanks for responding lukesan (much appreciated)
I'm using the original charger, it was working fine until i got the OTA so i doubt that's the problem.
No it doesn't boot (there is just enough charge to get to recovery mode,fastboot mode,normal boot)
I followed the manual/flash/tool etc (does the google drive doc show up for you as posted above?) everything seemed to go fine...but the problem still persists, it just wont charge?
Maybe i need a new ROM (or it could be the tool MAZE sent me) they are ****ing useless and i've started a bit of a social media campaign against them
(at first they were keeping in touch, but now they just ignore me completely on facebook) it pisses me off no end:crying:
P.s it does connect to my PC (sometimes), where should i dig around?
lukesan said:
Well the thing is that you need to provide a bit more info. 'I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???' But you are not telling what works or not or what step you are stuck in the manual.
A lot of things come to my mind.
- is it still booting
- did you try another cable - charger
- ...
If it still boots and works a bit can you connect it to a pc and access for example the internal memory etc?
Some more info would be of help to get response... although I find the Maze Alpha part of the forum a lot of read and very little help (a bit of ranting may wake up people)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Thanks for responding lukesan (much appreciated)
I'm using the original charger, it was working fine until i got the OTA so i doubt that's the problem.
No it doesn't boot (there is just enough charge to get to recovery mode,fastboot mode,normal boot)
I followed the manual/flash/tool etc (does the google drive doc show up for you as posted above?) everything seemed to go fine...but the problem still persists, it just wont charge?
Maybe i need a new ROM (or it could be the tool MAZE sent me) they are ****ing useless and i've started a bit of a social media campaign against them
(at first they were keeping in touch, but now they just ignore me completely on facebook) it pisses me off no end:crying:
P.s it does connect to my PC (sometimes), where should i dig around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checked, and yes it is the correct manual. But lets say that even me, a veteran (with no patience), had issues with it. It is 100% correct but ... well see later on where you get.
Ok, first couple of things come up in my mind. Could still be the cable, the charger or even the the charging port that is broken. Been in the electronics business since the late 80's and these things can go wrong or broken any minute even thinking that a firmware update caused it.
Charger you can easily check if you just connect it to another charger or a pc usb port. A PC usb port will only deliver (mostly) max 400mA to 500mA .. meaning it will charge, if it still does, extremely slow. So I would keep it connected to a pc all day long or night before trying to switch it on. Trying to switch it on during charging and batt at low level will probably not work. You could try to power on after 2 or 3 hours or so and if it powers on then I would power it off again to get at least some juice in it to play around.
Cable, I would go fetch another one, they will come in handy in the future too. If it doesn't fit properly because the port is to deep in the Alpha then just take a knife and carefully cut a very small piece of the plastic, just 1mm is enough. I've done this on the 2 extra cables I have here and it works perfectly and I don't even see it aesthetically so no harm done on mine.
Now if that still doesn't work we can try the next step. But be very careful to know that that will delete all data, pictures, etc off of the phone. Because of all my toying with this phone I stuck an sd-card in it and doing a backup before I play with it again.
The manual states that you have to press the volume up button.. Well you can already test that without hurting anything as long you don't press anything on the flashtool. So only volume up and then insert the usb cable to a pc. Now the mistake I made in the beginning was to also push the power button.
So on the pc open up your device manager. If you do volume up (not in any of the other modes like fastboot etc, so from a standpoint that the phone is completely off) hold it for 2 or 3 sec and plug it into the PC. Now you should hear the typical usb connection sound and see something happening like an extra device in the manager. Probably you do not have the correct drivers installed for starters. Look for mtk drivers for your OS. Be careful, a lot of crap and virus links out there.
Now another issue that I fell for the first time is that you have to connect it twice like that to the pc to actually flash. First time ... press the 'scan' and let it do it (think the top field will become green) and then disconnect the phone and do the same volume up and connect and then it will allow you to flash.
But first check what is happening before we have to flash it.
Btw I know about their attitude. Well, as a Chinese company they must understand that by this attitude they will not going to sell any products anymore. I only bought mine because it was a special deal and I wanted to test an MTK chipset. They never replied to me why there is no real fast charge on it etc.
I also very very highly recommend you to invest, well for the price of a sandwich, to buy a usb charging doctor which will allow you to see the voltage and current. You don't need to be a doctor to us it and at least you see something instead of having to guess. Also while you are at it buy good quality chargers and a couple of cables. They will always come in handy and take some of the guesswork away if needed.
Top lad.
Again many thanks luksan (hefty bit of typing you did there mate )
I very much doubt it's the charger (i was extremely careful everytime with insertion) or port for that matter...this is the only USB-C i have (everything else is old school micro USB) and i resent forking out more money (the original trader Cafago said to send it back tracked at my own cost...£60!!!)
i'd like to try and fix the bastard and then sell it, never to return
Again, all these probs literally appeared after i did the OTA (i doubt it was coincidence)
i do like your advice on the re-doing the flash twice, so i may give that a go...bloody nora, what a pain in the arse!
Thanks for being a voice in the void pal...
See
lukesan said:
Just checked, and yes it is the correct manual. But lets say that even me, a veteran (with no patience), had issues with it. It is 100% correct but ... well see later on where you get.
Ok, first couple of things come up in my mind. Could still be the cable, the charger or even the the charging port that is broken. Been in the electronics business since the late 80's and these things can go wrong or broken any minute even thinking that a firmware update caused it.
So on the pc open up your device manager. If you do volume up (not in any of the other modes like fastboot etc, so from a standpoint that the phone is completely off) hold it for 2 or 3 sec and plug it into the PC. Now you should hear the typical usb connection sound and see something happening like an extra device in the manager. Probably you do not have the correct drivers installed for starters. Look for mtk drivers for your OS. Be careful, a lot of crap and virus links out there.
Now another issue that I fell for the first time is that you have to connect it twice like that to the pc to actually flash. First time ... press the 'scan' and let it do it (think the top field will become green) and then disconnect the phone and do the same volume up and connect and then it will allow you to flash.
But first check what is happening before we have to flash it.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Again many thanks luksan (hefty bit of typing you did there mate )
I very much doubt it's the charger (i was extremely careful everytime with insertion) or port for that matter...this is the only USB-C i have (everything else is old school micro USB) and i resent forking out more money (the original trader Cafago said to send it back tracked at my own cost...£60!!!)
i'd like to try and fix the bastard and then sell it, never to return
Again, all these probs literally appeared after i did the OTA (i doubt it was coincidence)
i do like your advice on the re-doing the flash twice, so i may give that a go...bloody nora, what a pain in the arse!
Thanks for being a voice in the void pal...
See
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well don't flash it twice. You have to put it in that mode twice to start it to complete the procedure. I do not believe in the wipe it 3 times to be sure, turn around and jump to make it better or faster. Loads of voodoo that is not scientifically proven around. It's all about a 0 and a 1, there is nothing in between that.
But .£60 to send that charger, LOL.
A month ago I bought an Aukey charger that included a USB-C cable for like .£12 including shipping to Belgium. (well just followed the rain and snow and landed here)
Let us know what happens next.
Any update on what you did?
GAH!
Yes, i've just tried everything again...nothing seems to work? when i actually start the tool i get a number of errors (including scatter?) then the tool boots, i then go through the broken english bollocks of the 'guide' again, do everything and it still doesn't work?? listen man, could you do me a massive favour...just outline the steps (bullet point wise) on what to do? no chatting about the chinese or voodoo
just nice clear as day steps, because as it stands i'm going to have to pay £70 just to send this piece of **** back (and probably wont get a full refund)
If you could do that (and i mean laymans terms here) i'd be forever grateful...
Cheers bud.:good::good:
lukesan said:
Any update on what you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Yes, i've just tried everything again...nothing seems to work? when i actually start the tool i get a number of errors (including scatter?) then the tool boots, i then go through the broken english bollocks of the 'guide' again, do everything and it still doesn't work?? listen man, could you do me a massive favour...just outline the steps (bullet point wise) on what to do? no chatting about the chinese or voodoo
just nice clear as day steps, because as it stands i'm going to have to pay £70 just to send this piece of **** back (and probably wont get a full refund)
If you could do that (and i mean laymans terms here) i'd be forever grateful...
Cheers bud.:good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what about the drivers etc.... What shows up?
ROM?
lukesan said:
Any update on what you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps it's the ROM? any chance you could give me the latest version? (or a link) i keep getting error in the light green field (FAIL) on the Tool?
I'm not sure if it's the tool or the bloody ROM?
As usual not a sodding dicky bird from MAZE (emails,twitter facebook etc) what a sh!tty company...
Nothing shows up...i think the first time i tried to plug it into the PC it ran a scan,(i don't think it found the drivers, as it doesnt show up on my computer :running win 7) from there on in, nothing? it also makes the mandatory PC sound bleep when plugged in, then about a second later i get the discharge bleep? (not sure if this is lack of charge) if i had a frigging phone i'd post screenshots! damned if i do, damned if i don't!
lukesan said:
But what about the drivers etc.... What shows up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Nothing shows up...i think the first time i tried to plug it into the PC it ran a scan,(i don't think it found the drivers, as it doesnt show up on my computer :running win 7) from there on in, nothing? it also makes the mandatory PC sound bleep when plugged in, then about a second later i get the discharge bleep? (not sure if this is lack of charge) if i had a frigging phone i'd post screenshots! damned if i do, damned if i don't!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if it hasn't gotten the correct drivers it will never ever be able to flash. It's like trying to use your house keys to start your car.
I see all kinds of stuff happening if you keep the device manager open. Open up the 'ports' (com & lpt) section. Now press the 'volume up' key for a second or 2 and then connect it to a usb port while holding the key.. release it like a second later when it is connected to the port. Now you should see some stuff happening. Just did it on my win10 machine but should be pretty similar on a win7. One of them says first 'mtk usb' and then 'preloader usb vcom' . If these don't show up then look no further for now.
seedaripper said:
Perhaps it's the ROM? any chance you could give me the latest version? (or a link) i keep getting error in the light green field (FAIL) on the Tool?
I'm not sure if it's the tool or the bloody ROM?
As usual not a sodding dicky bird from MAZE (emails,twitter facebook etc) what a sh!tty company...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
dreambo said:
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His device doesn't charge and his battery is flat so I guess his by the time he can flash the device dies anyway.
er?
lukesan said:
Well if it hasn't gotten the correct drivers it will never ever be able to flash. It's like trying to use your house keys to start your car.
I see all kinds of stuff happening if you keep the device manager open. Open up the 'ports' (com & lpt) section. Now press the 'volume up' key for a second or 2 and then connect it to a usb port while holding the key.. release it like a second later when it is connected to the port. Now you should see some stuff happening. Just did it on my win10 machine but should be pretty similar on a win7. One of them says first 'mtk usb' and then 'preloader usb vcom' . If these don't show up then look no further for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, did that for a split second 'media TEK preloader USB VCOM (android) (COM4)' flashes up, i managed to click on it quickly and got to mediatek properties...then went to update driver (it searched the net and found it) all this time after the original insertion, literally a second after it just disconnects? (and it doesn't show up in my computer) i get this as device status.....
Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)
To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.
I plug it back in, it says normal, then a second later the above message? any ideas?
lukesan said:
His device doesn't charge and his battery is flat so I guess his by the time he can flash the device dies anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, when i try to power on i have a split second of the MAZE logo, then back to death...i Can leave it charging and i get the wobble liquid battery graphic, but it never goes above 0%, as explained this only happened after a firmware update (#dreambo)
Can't get my head round multi quote?
dreambo said:
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, when i try to power on i have a split second of the MAZE logo, then back to death...i Can leave it charging and i get the wobble liquid battery graphic, but it never goes above 0%, as explained this only happened after a firmware update (#dreambo)
seedaripper said:
Ok, did that for a split second 'media TEK preloader USB VCOM (android) (COM4)' flashes up, i managed to click on it quickly and got to mediatek properties...then went to update driver (it searched the net and found it) all this time after the original insertion, literally a second after it just disconnects? (and it doesn't show up in my computer) i get this as device status.....
Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)
To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.
I plug it back in, it says normal, then a second later the above message? any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm, if you see the preloader thing then I guess that is ok. ... it is no longer an 'unknown device' which sounds fine to me. Let me quickly test on my Maze for a sec. (will edit this post).
It is normal that it disconnects. My guess is that it tries to setup comms between device and something on the pc where it can talk to. If there is no communication then it just powers down again. The display etc will all stay off since it directly does the comms to the cpu and the ram. Sort of write only state. So it is a very low level form of programming. Can be scary for people because you see nothing happening on the phone during that process.
Ok just tested again.. Can you do step 1 to 5 in the manual without an error? (to be sure I would right-click on the exe and run it as administrator to start that program)
Till that step 5 no connection to the Alpha is needed. In step 5 if you have pressed 'scan' it should say something like resetting comm ports and only the 'stop all' should be clickable.
If we are that far then I guess we are a step further.
Give that a try and then we'll see for the next step.
lukesan said:
Mmm, if you see the preloader thing then I guess that is ok. ... it is no longer an 'unknown device' which sounds fine to me. Let me quickly test on my Maze for a sec. (will edit this post).
It is normal that it disconnects. My guess is that it tries to setup comms between device and something on the pc where it can talk to. If there is no communication then it just powers down again. The display etc will all stay off since it directly does the comms to the cpu and the ram. Sort of write only state. So it is a very low level form of programming. Can be scary for people because you see nothing happening on the phone during that process.
Ok just tested again.. Can you do step 1 to 5 in the manual without an error? (to be sure I would right-click on the exe and run it as administrator to start that program)
Till that step 5 no connection to the Alpha is needed. In step 5 if you have pressed 'scan' it should say something like resetting comm ports and only the 'stop all' should be clickable.
If we are that far then I guess we are a step further.
Give that a try and then we'll see for the next step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pics ...hopefully...
Hello everyone,
Having major issues with my Idol4S. It is the unlocked version (Cricket). It was working just great until a few days ago when I plugged it into the car charger. Phone instantly shut off, and got stuck with a blinking (rapid) LED light. This happens if plugged into my PC, or my Alcatel charger (both the wall and car).
The phone has suffered no damage (had a cover, but it was never dropped or exposed to external weather damage, nor water - I took great care of it), and was working quite well. I'm unable to boot it into any sort of recovery mode (as the screen is black, so I wouldn't be able to see anything anyways). The only indication of life is the flashing LED when plugged in ..(charging loop, maybe?)
I am using my idol4S Win10 (TMO/unlocked) phone in the meantime, but the base model was working just fine before this happened. I was also mindful of checking voltage/Amps when using chargers, so I would not have exposed it to any incorrect input/output. QuickCharge worked great too (sorely missed on Win10 model).
The phone was never rooted so it has the stock ROM, and whatever the last update Alcatel had pushed out for it. I did have developer mode and USB debugging on for MSVC/NSDK.
Is there anything I can do? After awhile being plugged in, the LED shuts off. I kind of need it as I was porting my game engine to it (using the SDK), plus it was my primary. I love the Win10 version too, but the Android idol4S was my primary phone. Kind of disappointed in Alcatel - I read it doesn't have an external battery otherwise I would attempt to transplant the battery (if that is even the issue). . .
Any tips, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! <3
what you describe is what the phone does when it's plugged into the PC in download mode. Since you have the Cricket version which is also what I have, it is very easy to start from scratch and reflash everything. I have released a newer version TWRP and also have the ~CricketRom~ available if you're interested.
PizzaG said:
what you describe is what the phone does when it's plugged into the PC in download mode. Since you have the Cricket version which is also what I have, it is very easy to start from scratch and reflash everything. I have released a newer version TWRP and also have the ~CricketRom~ available if you're interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, but would it work even though the phone gives no indication of being plugged in to the computer, or the chargers for it? I plugged it into the PC just now, brief flash of light and then nothing. .
Should mention again that the screen does not turn on, ever since that day, the screen has not came back on -- so I really can't do anything, even accessing 'download mode' does not show anything on-screen, nor does Windows 10 alert me of the USB device being connected.
I wouldn't mind starting from scratch at this point. I'm definitely interested in getting up and running again! It's not like I can do anything else at this point except spend money and get it repaired by TCL.
Would it be rude of me to ask for links to the TWRP/CricketROM from you? Maybe a quick-start guide, I pick up on things easy, but I've never properly flashed with TWRP =)
Also @PizzaG, THANK YOU for your help!! Definitely appreciated <3
Oh! @PizzaG, I also have an older Onetouch Idol 3 that has the _exact_ same symptoms, I wonder if that too could be recovered? ... ^__^
well I guess the first thing to do would be plug it into the PC. Hold volume+ and volume- then hold power until you feel the buzz and let go of power. Hopefully you get the red Download mode screen? I didn't realize it had no life at all, I thought it was just messed up. It's sounding like more may be wrong then just a simple reflash.
New TWRP and ~CriketRom~ Beta5: https://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-4s/development/rom-twrp-recovery-t3792659