Database Develop

Would you be interested?

i was sitting here on XDA and i saw that a user here had his phone stolen from him, and people posted several solutions like GPSTracker and latitude but the user did not have either installed. would anyone be interested in a remote brick? basically it would be like SMS commander, but you send a text that holds a password and the correct brick phrase and the phone will brick. the best(and worst) way i can see to do this would be to have an old radio on the sdcard and have the haykuro SPL on there as well. then when the phone receives the text it flashes the old radio and then the haykuro SPL which we all know would brick the phone. i am still working on possible implementation or another way of doing this(maybe run "wipe all" in terminal), but i was just wondering if anyone would be interested before i really try it out.
maybe in future if app works well our ROM devs could include in their build and then it couldn't be removed(easily). the main reason i would want something like this is so if my phone was stolen i could make it useless to the idiot that stole it.
few minor details that would need to be worked out:
won't work if SIM is changed as number would be different
if i use the terminal command "wipe all" then theif would only need to have a new ROM to install and it would be all better
on the of chance you get the phone back you would want to be able to easily fix the phone
let me know what you think, keep in mind this is a very early stage idea and i haven't put more than 20 minutes thought into it

cant lie the idea is brilliant but execution would be the make or break point, and i have a feelin this will take alot of test g1's to get working lol...and multiple devs as a team to get up off the ground. But im all for it, i have had bad luck in the past especially with sidekicks and etc and this would be a perfect idea to have.

Great idea but don't forget when restoring it (if you manage to retrieve your phone), it should only 'unlock' to a certain pass phrase pre-set by the user. If not anyone could just run the 'unlock' command to start using it again.

On the whole, a great idea.
However, I think flashing an incompatible theme with your current build would be sufficient, seeing as 99% of the people who go around stealing phones would have no idea how to fix a G1 stuck on the T-Mo/Not-Flashing-Android Screen.
Although the Old Radio+New SPL combo ensures that there will be minimal data retrieval, it also seems like overkill for the majority of circumstances, seeing as your phone would become a paperweight.

The terminal command "wipe all" will wipe the data and system partitions and crash the phone, when the person who stole it tries to reboot it it won't boot

Even if you wipe (or remove the SD card) most builds would still boot regardless. A remote kill switch has been around on many platforms for some time, hell even Microsoft have been threatening to use it on Vista for pirated builds but it has never happened.
In this case, perhaps the app would need root access, so it could remotely reboot the G1 and run a script to force a boot loop, if you wanted to go as far as rendering the mobile temp unusable.
However the G1 as it is has plenty of security flaws... I mean many of us managed to get root without issue and I'm sure any google searches will point them to this forum. There is no security for fastboot, nor accessing the recovery image so people can pretty much do as they please - If they know how.

Yeah, I don't know about bricking the phone because it would suck if eventually you did get it back. Then you're stuck with a brick phone maybe theres away around it though which could work not sure how you'd implement this though. I mean the idea is there just going to be abit hard to execute because the problem is with all these theft problems, if they have the phone off when the sms is sent then it doesn't work.

I wouldn't mind having this. If someone snatched my G1 out of my hands and got away, I would just use my friend's cell 1 minute later to make my phone a paper weight, then have peace of mind. lol

Dladu said:
Yeah, I don't know about bricking the phone because it would suck if eventually you did get it back. Then you're stuck with a brick phone maybe theres away around it though which could work not sure how you'd implement this though. I mean the idea is there just going to be abit hard to execute because the problem is with all these theft problems, if they have the phone off when the sms is sent then it doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am noting the issues, what i am planning is something similar to SMS commander, when the phone gets a text that says a certain thing it does something. if the phone is off then the text will still arrive when the phone is powered on, hell i could probably even remove the recovery screen and then the person would need to fastboot the phone.
sms commander just "listens" for the text of an incoming message and if it matches a certain phrase it runs a command. obviously i would need root, but at this point if you haven't rooted your phone this(if it works) woulud do it.
with that said, i am researching the APIs to see what would need to be done, i used to have something like this on my old 8525 and i never had to use it, but i'm paranoid about stuff like this

i love this idea, there was this time when i had sold my touch pro on craigslist but the buyer had ripped me off! so that just pissed me off!
(good name ideas)
Cold-Droid
Lock Me
Ban-Droid
Dream Lock
Use me...Not!
Where's My owner
or just a plain app called
"Brick"
This app would be cool if it detected the owners sim card so if it were ever replaced it would say wrong sim card enter passkey (which they will not know)
and if they were to ever put the sim card back in then still it will tell you(sim card has been removed please eneter passkey)
or something like that! just an idea!
kind of like sim lock but instead of sim being locked, the device will be locked!

Why you would want to destroy a phone?
Just remote wipe your data, thats enough. Write that as an app!
Not bricking!

Have you guys used/considered Mobile Defense?

So here is my idea for this application.
Instead of completely bricking the phone, make it so that if the SIM card is removed, or the secret SMS message is sent that it does a complete phone lock and displays a message on-screen stating "This phone is suspected to have been lost/stolen. Please call XXX number to return the property.". All the while sending precise GPS locations updated every x minutes to a preset Email address and/or send a SMS to a preset phone number. This way the real owner may be able to easily recover the phone and none of the information is exposed. The only way to unlock it is to put in a code to unlock it. After x amount of days without being recovered, the program will issue a recoverable brick all the while showing the same message. After x more days after the soft brick, the phone will format all ROM and be unrecoverable. By that time, the real owner would have already gotten his/her replacement G1 if they had insurance, and the thief will have a fancy paperweight.

Great idea

Is this going to get anywhere?

that'd be funny if you could lock the phone at a screen that has a customized text.
Like F**K YOU B*TICH
or maybe
If Found Contact -
ETC. and it just stays at that screen. wonder if thats possible
edit- i shoulda read page 2 haha. same idea as Setnev lol.

HELP XDA! Phone Reboot's if using 3g Data

Hey,
My AT&T rooted nexus one is still randomly rebooting if I use 3g data. I am in Costa Rica and the 3g is on the 850 band. I also have to add the apn "kolbi3g".
So basically I can use the phone for anything and it works great, but if I add the apn and start using the 3g heavily I will get a reboot, sometimes it will reboot vibrate 7 times and I have to pull the battery. I have tried 2.1 and 2.2 rooted and not also cyanogen 6 all the same problem.
If I do *#*#4636#*#* and select the wcdma only it runs the 3g better but reboots way more, sometimes the instant I place load on the connection. However if I select wcdma "unkown" the 3g works much better I can use it sometimes 30min at a time without a problem.
So any ideas what I could try? Is there a kernel that will up the volt's a bit just help stability? Or anything else I could try? Data roaming is off, I have tried both off and on, no difference that I can tell.
Thanks a lot this is driving me crazy! Just got this phone Sunday too sick to my stomach of the thought I spend $600 on this phone if I can't get 3g to work

How about radio image???
It is currently on baseband 4.06.00.12_7. Is there a more current radio?

I came across this multiple reboot issue on a (locked) Vodafone UK Nexus.
It booted into the OS (lockscreen) and as soon as data connected it looped back to the last couple seconds of the animated Nexus logo.... and again.... and again.
I powered down the unit (battery pull), booted into bootloader (voldown+power) and selected clear storage (voldown,voldown,power) then (volup) to confirm.
This deletes the user data and you have to sign in and set up the phone again but it certainly fixed the issue. My only guess is some user data became corrupt and the kernel panicked and forced a partial reboot.
Give it a try and lemme know.

Cabarnacus said:
I came across this multiple reboot issue on a (locked) Vodafone UK Nexus.
It booted into the OS (lockscreen) and as soon as data connected it looped back to the last couple seconds of the animated Nexus logo.... and again.... and again.
I powered down the unit (battery pull), booted into bootloader (voldown+power) and selected clear storage (voldown,voldown,power) then (volup) to confirm.
This deletes the user data and you have to sign in and set up the phone again but it certainly fixed the issue. My only guess is some user data became corrupt and the kernel panicked and forced a partial reboot.
Give it a try and lemme know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just did that (had the phone plugged into wall charger), and the second I got to the home screen it rebooted then vibrated like 6 or seven times. Seems to do it worse when it is plugged in. And now it won't even boot up even after pulling the battery, it vibrates 6-7 times.
I am really worried about this, any other ideas??? I will try anything! Thanks for the help

Update! Now the phone just reboot when I do anything period with it plugged in. Just like posted in another thread on this section!
Please any ideas I am very desperate and very sick to my stomach!

Hmmm very strange.
I'm aware from what you were saying on the other thread that you've got an unlocked bootloader and you're wondering what to do on the warranty front.
If you've really tried different combinations of stock and custom firmware and having the same issue I'm tempted to say its a hardware issue.
Many people have returned their unlocked phones with no comeback from HTC some have reported that they have noticed the unlocked bootloader and have issued a motherboard repair as part of the fix because of this.
Although im unsure of the additional cost (if any) i would definitely recommend going through the warranty repair route with HTC. They won't say no and send you back the same broken phone. And who knows, if its a confirmed hardware issue they may just replace it as a goodwill gesture.

Other than that I don't have any more ideas.
A nexus support thread has a popular answer referring to the clear storage fix.
http://www.google.de/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=40f52d29e9c4177e&hl=en
Just make sure you are definitely clearing the storage FROM THE BOOTLOADER before calling HTC. It is the first thing they will make you do before accepting a return anyway.

Cabarnacus said:
Other than that I don't have any more ideas.
A nexus support thread has a popular answer referring to the clear storage fix.
http://www.google.de/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=40f52d29e9c4177e&hl=en
Just make sure you are definitely clearing the storage FROM THE BOOTLOADER before calling HTC. It is the first thing they will make you do before accepting a return anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thank you so much sir. I am so glad to hear that I may still have a chance at getting it replaced! It was very fullish of me to unlock it, I know, it is just that I figured it was software and could be fixed by unlocking. It is going to cost me $$$ to get this to the States, but that is life. If I still can't get it to work I will call htc and let you know what they say

Little update here. I cleared storage again and just simply disabled data, I have been using the phone for a couple of hours on work without any problems. Next thong I am going yo yty is another friends 3g similar card and see if it still reboots on that sim, if it does then I am calling HTC.
Also still open to any other ideas you guys may have.

Help diagnosing freezes and random reboots

I am hoping someone has dealt with either of the following problems, and come up with a way to effectively diagnose and fix either.
The phone - 1101 build; running AT&T Stock KK4; rooted via kernel swap method (using stock KK4 kernel after swap, i.e., do not have clockwork recovery); some AT&T bloatware frozen with TiBu, otherwise stock with root
Problem #1 - roughly once a day, the phone will freeze when in sleep mode; I have had this happen with both the slide to unlock and Exchange PIN lock screen up; when I hit power to wake the phone, the screen wakes up but is unresponsive and then the screen won't shot off again; live wallpaper is frozen in place, but if the phone was plugged in, the battery icon continues with the animation loop. And if the phone is not plugged in, battery power drops rapidly in this state.
The phone isn't completely dead, because if I connect/disconnect it via USB (set to debug mode) to my laptop, the computer recognizes the phone is connected, but it is dead enough that if I call the phone, it does not recognize the missed call. The only way I can restore the phone is a battery pull. Usually it takes several minutes for the phone to come back after this, acting like it would if I had flushed the dalvik cache or installed an update.zip from recovery.
Problem #2 -also roughly once a day, at random times the screen will wake up momentarily, then clear, and I will hear the AT&T boot up sound, after a short while, the phone will run through the media scanner and any other startup launches, acting as though it had been turned on, but the battery stats show continuous uptime throughout. I have had this happen when using the phone, including when on a phone call (and the call did not drop).
I have seen problem #2 on virtually all of the AT&T GB leaks, and it seems to get more frequent the more apps that are installed. I had not seen problem #1 until recently.
The phone is out of warranty, and owned by my employer. I am not due for a new phone from them until July. I've done more master clear/reflash stock cycles than I care to admit, tried replacing/testing for disk errors the external SD card, etc..., and am afraid of doing that and having the problems come up again.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose either of these problems?

Hmm... I don't really think there is an exact diagnosis for any of these issues. Some phones are just problematic like that. The only thing I can suggest is trying a different ROM or kernel, and that might help your stability.

I have the exact same problems. Hope someone comes up with a fix. The only help I can give you is that when the phone freezes, instead of pulling the battery, you can hold the vol up & power buttons for 10 seconds and the phone will restart. Easier than pulling your phone apart, especially if you have it in a case, like I do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

korockinout13 said:
Hmm... I don't really think there is an exact diagnosis for any of these issues. Some phones are just problematic like that. The only thing I can suggest is trying a different ROM or kernel, and that might help your stability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, the way I see it, unfortunately these problems could be a function of:
Bad hardware
Misbehaving app
ROM issue
Kernel issue
I tried pretty much every leaked AT&T GB ROM and had random reboots with all of them. Seems to track with the number of apps installed, but can't prove that. I have not tried any custom ROMs or kernels.
Since this is technically not my phone, I am trying to avoid doing anything that can't really be undone if I need to turn the phone back in at some point. And I need something that can be a daily driver for work calls and Exchange email, and rely heavily on tethering when I am on the road.
Anyone with ideas on what to test, or how to capture enough log information to figure out where the problem is, would be a big help. Otherwise, I am stuck riding this out until July when I can get a new phone from my employer.

Nothing you do can't be undone, it's just a simple Odin flash away.
Be sure to back up your efs folder before flashing too much

studacris said:
Nothing you do can't be undone, it's just a simple Odin flash away.
Be sure to back up your efs folder before flashing too much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used Odin with the various GB leaks; if I go further afield (heck, performance is dicey already, how many more problems could I have with one of the ICS alphas), is it still a straight shot back to stock KK4, or are there other steps to do first?
And before I go down that road, any suggestions on diagnostics (other than yet again pulling apps off of the Captivate to see if one of them is the culprit...?)

stoobie-doo said:
I've used Odin with the various GB leaks; if I go further afield (heck, performance is dicey already, how many more problems could I have with one of the ICS alphas), is it still a straight shot back to stock KK4, or are there other steps to do first?
And before I go down that road, any suggestions on diagnostics (other than yet again pulling apps off of the Captivate to see if one of them is the culprit...?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You actually might have less problems on ICS. But it all depends. You can always get back to stock with one, bootloader-free, safe flash. Diagnostics wise, there isn't really much you can do besides removing apps. I would only worry about the ones that are constantly running in the background, as they could possibly be screwing with the phone while in sleep. I think it's unlikely that this sort of testing would actually help though. I still say try something different.

stoobie-doo said:
Anyone with ideas on what to test, or how to capture enough log information to figure out where the problem is, would be a big help. Otherwise, I am stuck riding this out until July when I can get a new phone from my employer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same issues except in my case I have tried to recreate the conditions and check memory and I am close to maxing it out. Part of my problem is that I come from a Palm background and I have found that Android, or at least the Cappy, is not as responsive (I was really spoiled by Cards on my Pre) I was thinking that my Android noobness is causing me to push the phone too hard and locking it up. FWIW, you might want to check memory issues

Power button; touch screen unresponsive; live wallpaper still animated

Very screwy behavior on my Captivate. Hoping someone out there can help me diagnose this..
Captivate is running stock KK4; rooted via kernel swap method; some AT&T bloatware frozen in TiBu - no other image changes
The Captivate is struck on the swipe to unlock screen. I sync this phone to my company's Exchange server and have a PIN-lock policy enforced. I believe that it goes to the PIN at 15 minutes. The clock and swipe screen are showing a time less than 15 minutes after the last time I had used the phone; the screen was dark until I pressed power once, but now I can not make the screen go back to sleep. Plugging the phone into the computer does show the phone connected, and the Live Wallpaper is still running (i.e., it is not frozen in place, which I also see some times).
EDIT: After rebooting (vol-up and power does respond); it looks like something may have been up the same time as I was frozen with my phone signal - yellow instead of green; don't know if that was a coincidence or not
Any one have any ideas as to what may be going on here, and how I would remedy this?

Probably asking the obvious, but can you get into recovery or D/L mode to possibly reflash the rom?

jeeper11 said:
Probably asking the obvious, but can you get into recovery or D/L mode to possibly reflash the rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can, and I can reboot, and have the phone work again for the next 24-36 hours before it freezes again.
I am hoping that someone has an idea of the root cause of this issue, bad flash or otherwise, to try to solve this once and for all. To be honest, I have had horrible experiences with GB on the Captivate, but since this is my work phone, paid for, and technically owned by my employer, I have been hesitant to stray too far from stock (heck, if AT&T's tethering manager could figure out that a corporate phone plan with tethering should be allowed to tether, I would have stayed fully stock).
I'm betting that it's bad behaved software, rather than a bad flash due to the unpredictable nature of this problem, but I am not sure of a way to capture logs in a consistent basis that would allow me to trap what actually goes wrong to solve this. GB seems to get progressively less stable the more apps are installed, but I don't know if that is the root cause, or just the increasing likelihood of installing something with an insidious bug. But short of stripping everything off and losing the advantage of having a phone with apps, I don't know how to solve this and the soft reboot issue that also came with the first GB leaks and never went away.
Sigh.

There could be just one rogue app causing it

BRom Error - Obtain DRAM Failed?

Soooooo, I installed a new layer and the phone borked, hooked it up to the unbrick restore tool kit, it flashed the whole rom and failed after 100%, Now when I connect it it gives me this. Any help?

Try this: http://onlinejobwithoutanyinvestment.com/sp-flash-tool-errors-fix-brom-error/
Can you get into recovery and reformat?

Maybe as of now, try to follow this post.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/r1-hd/how-to/guide-convert-to-prime-rollback-ota-t3432499
I assume you have tried the restore method posted by tomsgt. And on that thread there are a few other posts same error as you

Hello, the recent bricks appear to have something to do with a guide posted by a user recently. If you have bricked your phone, please join the hangout below where we will cooperate with you to investigate the cause of your brick and attempt to find a fix.
Join the conversation on Hangouts: https://hangouts.google.com/group/Q5wGs6508l1rqGng2
Sent from my LG G4 using XDA Labs

Various from errors
It looks like the hangout stated above is closed, but I looked at the other link and I'm hoping someone might be able to clarify. Under the brom 4032 it states:
download preloader and move it to target_bin folder and rename or move checksum.ini from target_bin.
Do they mean the preloader driver? Or the preloader file that would be in the firmware or somewhere. And it goes into the sp flash tools folder somewhere? Or the firmware I'm flashing? I have the 16/2 Amazon version, and I actually have another I'm using that has been successfully rooted and bootloader unlocked. Is there something I could extract from the working phone to help jumpstart the bricked one?

Persuasion89 said:
It looks like the hangout stated above is closed, but I looked at the other link and I'm hoping someone might be able to clarify. Under the brom 4032 it states:
download preloader and move it to target_bin folder and rename or move checksum.ini from target_bin.
Do they mean the preloader driver? Or the preloader file that would be in the firmware or somewhere. And it goes into the sp flash tools folder somewhere? Or the firmware I'm flashing? I have the 16/2 Amazon version, and I actually have another I'm using that has been successfully rooted and bootloader unlocked. Is there something I could extract from the working phone to help jumpstart the bricked one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what i reed from the error list. None of the fixes that i see say to touch the preloader.
"7. Error 5054 – BROM ERROR S_DL_GET_DRAM_SETTINGS_FAIL (5054)
Fix : Need to Check load matches your target which is to be downloaded. For more info, that the file you’re trying to flash do not belong or not compatible with your phone. Verify that you are using the right version of files for your device. If so, try to formatting before flashing again."
and just to show what i read about 4032 (not the error the op has)
14. Error 4032: Operation Skill Problems
Fix : Press the volume down button (key to reduce volume), then it can trigger the yellow bar progress continue. You’d better install batteries in your mobile during flash process.
edit 1:
sorry rereading page it get confussing. there multiple error 4032 messages.
6. Error 4032 – BROM ERROR : S_FT_ENABLE_DRAM_FAIL (4032) [EMI] Enable DRAM fail
Fix : Ensure that the files you are trying to flash are exact version of your phone model. If so, now try to formatting your phone but do not format the boot loader before flashing it. Sometimes, device that produce in 2014 also result this error code, solution is download preloader and move it to target_bin folder and rename or move checksum.ini from target_bin.
This would be the best solution for BROM ERROR : S_FT_ENABLE_DRAM_FAIL (4032) [EMI] Enable DRAM fail, SP Flash Tool is unable to enable DRAM or communicate effectively with your device issue.
but still this error does not have same text as the op

mrmazak said:
This is what i reed from the error list. None of the fixes that i see say to touch the preloader.
"7. Error 5054 – BROM ERROR S_DL_GET_DRAM_SETTINGS_FAIL (5054)
Fix : Need to Check load matches your target which is to be downloaded. For more info, that the file you’re trying to flash do not belong or not compatible with your phone. Verify that you are using the right version of files for your device. If so, try to formatting before flashing again."
and just to show what i read about 4032 (not the error the op has)
14. Error 4032: Operation Skill Problems
Fix : Press the volume down button (key to reduce volume), then it can trigger the yellow bar progress continue. You’d better install batteries in your mobile during flash process.
edit 1:
sorry rereading page it get confussing. there multiple error 4032 messages.
6. Error 4032 – BROM ERROR : S_FT_ENABLE_DRAM_FAIL (4032) [EMI] Enable DRAM fail
Fix : Ensure that the files you are trying to flash are exact version of your phone model. If so, now try to formatting your phone but do not format the boot loader before flashing it. Sometimes, device that produce in 2014 also result this error code, solution is download preloader and move it to target_bin folder and rename or move checksum.ini from target_bin.
This would be the best solution for BROM ERROR : S_FT_ENABLE_DRAM_FAIL (4032) [EMI] Enable DRAM fail, SP Flash Tool is unable to enable DRAM or communicate effectively with your device issue.
but still this error does not have same text as the op
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to clarify I also receive the 0x13be or whichever is in the op attached picture. I'm pretty sure this is what I get if I plug in my phone while completely powered down after hitting download. Red bar loads like in picture, and then error. However I've tried various button techniques as advised by other posts and sources, which yield various other errors including the 4032 and 5034. It seems like it just depends on how the setup is feeling. I'd verify which methods yield which results, but I'm having boot issues with my laptop now. My basic logic though is they're all hanging at the same spot, immediately after da load but prior to injection. Maybe this is noobish but I think it's one issue causing all of the errors, and I'm hoping that a solution for either op or I would benefit us both. I'm not very experienced but I have a feeling the preloader.bin isn't doing its thing. Will I be able to get this file with a read back of a working r1 16/2? That's a little long, and sorry if these answers are out there but I've looked around over the last week and I get pointed in a direction, but I can't find a solid answer. I'd really just like to be informed as I don't want to break anything else.

Persuasion89 said:
Well to clarify I also receive the 0x13be or whichever is in the op attached picture. I'm pretty sure this is what I get if I plug in my phone while completely powered down after hitting download. Red bar loads like in picture, and then error. However I've tried various button techniques as advised by other posts and sources, which yield various other errors including the 4032 and 5034. It seems like it just depends on how the setup is feeling. I'd verify which methods yield which results, but I'm having boot issues with my laptop now. My basic logic though is they're all hanging at the same spot, immediately after da load but prior to injection. Maybe this is noobish but I think it's one issue causing all of the errors, and I'm hoping that a solution for either op or I would benefit us both. I'm not very experienced but I have a feeling the preloader.bin isn't doing its thing. Will I be able to get this file with a read back of a working r1 16/2? That's a little long, and sorry if these answers are out there but I've looked around over the last week and I get pointed in a direction, but I can't find a solid answer. I'd really just like to be informed as I don't want to break anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well your attention to detail is vital. As you are one of the first to have come across this issue on this phone so when we do have a solution if will most likely become a stiky guide so to prevent further issues. Hopefully you are not past your Amazon return point. As far as I know there is not an answer on what you will need to do. So if we have time to keep troubleshooting that will be good but if you need to do a return that is understandable.

mrmazak said:
Well your attention to detail is vital. As you are one of the first to have come across this issue on this phone so when we do have a solution if will most likely become a stiky guide so to prevent further issues. Hopefully you are not past your Amazon return point. As far as I know there is not an answer on what you will need to do. So if we have time to keep troubleshooting that will be good but if you need to do a return that is understandable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have two, the other one is just going to be a backup so I'll report back if I find a silver bullet. It's recognized by PC and still trying to come back, so if I totally brick it I'll call the 60$ cost of education.

Persuasion89 said:
I have two, the other one is just going to be a backup so I'll report back if I find a silver bullet. It's recognized by PC and still trying to come back, so if I totally brick it I'll call the 60$ cost of education.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same way, legit bought two of these to just play around with. The mistake I made was somehow enabling format all + Download. This completely borked my phone.
I am using a S7 Edge, and i'm also on Verizon, my girlfriend is on Tmobile however and when her case comes tomorrow she will be retiring her G3 for this phone. Her phone is fine though.
Mine does the fancy download mode of just showing red at the bottom of the tool when you plug it in and the only sign of life is through the LED on the phone, like the eye of the terminator. Just a red led, constantly on.
Phone will connect instantly, but after being connected to the PC for at least 30 seconds it'll randomly make the disconnect noise and the tool will no longer recognize it, but interesting enough the LED is still on and if you hit download after the "disconnect" then actually REMOVE the cable, you'll get an error even though no download mode is present at least not visably.
If you open device manager under windows 10 for me, and then connect the phone it'll show the MediaTek under com/Ports, but after it makes the disconnect sound it's no longer there {No duh, right} Just an observation...but after a minute or so it'll automatically pop back up.
This made Colton and Mr. Mazak think that the preloader is still in tact, just everything else is out of whack.
We are currently in the process/thinking of a way to create a scatter for the entire backup of the phone (The first boot into TWRP) and seeing if there is a way to completely restore the phone from the SPFT via the new scatter/backup.
I do not know how to do this, so I am waiting on the R1 HD gods to bestow upon me their methods of wisdom and hopefully fix the brick! Colton told me it'll be a couple days, i'm in no hurry, but it's always exciting to think there's a possible fix, and considering this is an ugly problem, if it gets fixed they're going to save many phones.
etc, etc.

Yeah exactly what I'm dealing with, well first I was getting a flashy home screen after boot. Re flash didn't work so I took the bad advice of format+DL. The thing I don't get though is if it's not the preloader then why won't ANYTHING flash.
Have you tried a read back? Because every option on my end is just a brick wall right after initialization. I figured if preloader is intact then it would at least attempt to read the memory blocks, or let me attempt a format, or anything. My phone's picked up properly by two PCs, and really the red bar is the da handshaking the preloader to lock the phone in that state during the flash right? Or Chinese to English translation is more difficult to understand than I expected.
Regardless I'm just a noob with too much free time. I'm Trying to make a bootable drive for my laptop so I can put in work, but latest Ill be at it here in a couple hours once I'm free. I'm convinced this is fixable so I'm going to pull everything I can from the working phone and see what I can figure out. Ill be back to consult the thread before I do anything big though. Hopefully I can contribute some to this. I have a vision of how this is going to work, but I couldn't explain it for the life of me.

Gytole said:
I feel the same way, legit bought two of these to just play around with. The mistake I made was somehow enabling format all + Download. This completely borked my phone.
I am using a S7 Edge, and i'm also on Verizon, my girlfriend is on Tmobile however and when her case comes tomorrow she will be retiring her G3 for this phone. Her phone is fine though.
Mine does the fancy download mode of just showing red at the bottom of the tool when you plug it in and the only sign of life is through the LED on the phone, like the eye of the terminator. Just a red led, constantly on.
Phone will connect instantly, but after being connected to the PC for at least 30 seconds it'll randomly make the disconnect noise and the tool will no longer recognize it, but interesting enough the LED is still on and if you hit download after the "disconnect" then actually REMOVE the cable, you'll get an error even though no download mode is present at least not visably.
If you open device manager under windows 10 for me, and then connect the phone it'll show the MediaTek under com/Ports, but after it makes the disconnect sound it's no longer there {No duh, right} Just an observation...but after a minute or so it'll automatically pop back up.
This made Colton and Mr. Mazak think that the preloader is still in tact, just everything else is out of whack.
We are currently in the process/thinking of a way to create a scatter for the entire backup of the phone (The first boot into TWRP) and seeing if there is a way to completely restore the phone from the SPFT via the new scatter/backup.
I do not know how to do this, so I am waiting on the R1 HD gods to bestow upon me their methods of wisdom and hopefully fix the brick! Colton told me it'll be a couple days, i'm in no hurry, but it's always exciting to think there's a possible fix, and considering this is an ugly problem, if it gets fixed they're going to save many phones.
etc, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just a quick question here. Something clicked for a second. In this description you said Windows shows connected then lost , during the spft process?
If this is case means phone is not realy off.
But if I misunderstand the order nvm.
Maybe disconnecting battery is needed for your situation.

mrmazak said:
So just a quick question here. Something clicked for a second. In this description you said Windows shows connected then lost , during the spft process?
If this is case means phone is not realy off.
But if I misunderstand the order nvm.
Maybe disconnecting battery is needed for your situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disconnected the battery, ran the return to stock, red download and red led light only. Same boat.

So just a quick question here. Something clicked for a second. In this description you said Windows shows connected then lost , during the spft process?
If this is case means phone is not realy off.
But if I misunderstand the order nvm.
Maybe disconnecting battery is needed for your situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same as well but I was a little afraid to try and get in there to do it. New laptop is coming weds so I haven't had a way to work on this but it's worth a try. I kinda thought the same.
Disconnected the battery, ran the return to stock, red download and red led light only. Same boat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How difficult is it to remove? I'm assuming there's some soldering involved?

Persuasion89 said:
I thought the same as well but I was a little afraid to try and get in there to do it. New laptop is coming weds so I haven't had a way to work on this but it's worth a try. I kinda thought the same.
How difficult is it to remove? I'm assuming there's some soldering involved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Just remove all the screws underneath the removable cover then the backplate is held in by snaps, I used a guitar pick to pry the edges from the rest of the frame and it popped right out. Do note its rather stiff and flimsy so pry with care.

Gytole said:
Nope. Just remove all the screws underneath the removable cover then the backplate is held in by snaps, I used a guitar pick to pry the edges from the rest of the frame and it popped right out. Do note its rather stiff and flimsy so pry with care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might give this a shot. also I've read about the test point flashing by grounding one of the pins, Apparently that's how they do it in the factories. If it doesn't work and I'll have it apart anyway I might give it a shot.

Persuasion89 said:
I might give this a shot. also I've read about the test point flashing by grounding one of the pins, Apparently that's how they do it in the factories. If it doesn't work and I'll have it apart anyway I might give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do try to find the "meta" mode. Still can't flash anything yet. Unless you made your own backup before original flash. Because the files in the convert and unbrick section are not the complete ROM. Since you are stuck from doing a format all, I don't think those will do it.
But I do think it is a good idea to find a stable way to get phone connected to PC so it can be flashed though

just see something about vcom drivers. and the op screenshot shows usb driver(lower right corner of photo). it should be a vcom driver(lower right corner of photo)

mrmazak said:
If you do try to find the "meta" mode. Still can't flash anything yet. Unless you made your own backup before original flash. Because the files in the convert and unbrick section are not the complete ROM. Since you are stuck from doing a format all, I don't think those will do it.
But I do think it is a good idea to find a stable way to get phone connected to PC so it can be flashed though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i have a full rom backup. or at least it should be. I also have a full TWRP backup i cant use on my SD card. MT Droid tools doesnt support this chipset though, so I dont know how else to get this readback i did chopped into partitions.

Just wondering, how many phones are bricked? Of these bricked phones how many were caused from flashing witha VM? And how many used the format function to try and recover?