The i9020T Nexus S Development Platform, AKA. UnBrickable Mod - Nexus S Android Development

Wow... Sure has taken enough time to get this one...
introduction
I'm not kidding when I say UnBrickable. Modifying the OM pins means you can boot from USB, UART or MMC. This makes the phone quite UNBRICKABLE. There is nothing you can do software wise to prevent the device from booting into this mode. We are communicating with the unrewritable, efused IROM on the processor. It's the thing that makes the system on a chip into a "system on a chip".I am here now to tell you how to turn your Nexus S into a KIT-S5PC110 development board. The KIT-S5PC110 development board is the platform used to develop our phones. There are some differences between this mod and the official development platform. The S5PC110 has a removable internal SDCard and no touchscreen.
Why would you want to do this? When you plug in the battery and connect it to the computer in "off" mode, it will become an S5PC110 board awaiting download of a program to run. This occurs long before anything like software or firmware enters the processor. This is the IROM of the device awaiting commands or a power on signal.
Because it is accepting a memory flash, anything may be put onto the device to perform a boot sequence..... Apple iOS (iPhone4 has the same processor) WP7 (mango supports this processor).
I was not working with a fully operational unit when I developed this modification so I was not able to test everything... However, it did go into Fastboot and Recovery mode from a hard brick
How could it possibly be better then JTAG? Let's count the ways....
1. The only part required is a wire.
2. No shipping time.
3. No cost for a box to interface the computer.
4. Permanent.
5. Can be done as a preventive measure.
6. Gives the ability to test new Bootloaders temporarily.
7. Allows development of the entire system.
8. Removes worry about flashing and acts as a backup.
After performing this mod:
Remove the battery, replace the battery, your phone will connect to the computer via USB and await commands. Otherwise it will pretty much act like a Nexus S. See the Special Instructions section.
Modification
You will need:
1. Get someone who knows what they're doing with a soldering iron. If they don't know what flux is, then they don't know what they're doing. You can send me a PM(or email my [email protected]) or Connexion2005(aka MobileTechVideos.com).
2. soldering iron - make sure it's sharp, if it's not sharp, then sharpen it, flux it and retin it.
3. flux
4. solder
5. tweezers
6. A relay (possibly- for the wire within to use as a bridge)
performing the modification:
1. tear apart your phone... Make sure to take out your SIM before you do this.
1A. Remove the screws.
1B. Separate the top case from the bottom case
1C. disconnect the display connector and free the camera and button assemblies from the case.
1D. Remove the mainboard
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Here's the area we're working with
2. Perform the mod as follows: Replace the xOM5 resistor from the top position to the bottom position.
*OR: remove the xOM5 resistor and jumper the center pads of xOM5 to the center pads of xOM0 or xOM3... I was not able to flash a complete firmware package to this device because it had a MMC failure, so I'm not able to tell you which point is which.
3. reassemble the phone.
4. Use the UnBrickable Resurrector to resurrect your device
See here for instructions on using the UnBrickable Resurrector with your UnBrickable device: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1397393
Special Instructions
This replaces the battery charging sequence. The normal battery charging sequence can be activated by holding power for 4 seconds.
To turn on the device, and operate in normal mode, you must hold the power button for 5 seconds.
3 button Download mode works as usual, however you must not have the S5PC110 drivers installed on the computer. You can use your custom rom menu option, adb reboot download, or use a terminal to "reboot download". 301Kohm Factory Mode JIGs work as well, but you must press power to bypass the S5PC110 mode.
To enter recovery mod, press and hold power for 3 seconds, then hold volume+ and volume- until the screen comes on then release.
Conclusion
Congratulations. You now have a device which works like a KIT-S5PC110 with an OM Value of 29. Now get to developing some serious custom software. See here for setting up the UART output http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1235219
reading material
Creating your own Samsung Bootloaders: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1233273
KIT-S5PC110 manual: http://www.mediafire.com/?94krzvvxksvmuxh
how to use DNW: http://tinyurl.com/dnw-how-to
Flash using openOCD and DNW: http://www.arm9board.net/wiki/index.php?title=Flash_using_OpenOCD_and_DNW
another DNW example: http://www.boardset.com/products/mv6410.php
ODroid dev center: http://dev.odroid.com/projects/uboot/wiki/#s-7.2
drivers and utilities
This will be an ever expanding list
Windows Drivers http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=678937&d=1312590673
Windows Download Tool DNW: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=678938&d=1312590673
Windows Command Line Download Tool: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17202523&postcount=27
Linux DNW Utility: http://dev.odroid.com/projects/uboot/wiki/#s-7.2
firmware
Official Nexus ROMs: http://code.google.com/android/nexus/images.html
One-Click Resurrector: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=705515&d=1314762609
Bootloader Hello World by Rebellos http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=698077&d=1314105521

Reserved if needed in the future . You are a lord man Adam!! ( you already saved my nexus with your unbricktool)
May the lord praise you
Sent from my Crespo using xda premium

I have seen this on tons of different devices, great job by the way..
but correct me if im wrong, with this mod we could technically write custom bootloaders to flash any os? I remember seeing someone with this mod flash a bada os bootloader.. So would it be possible to somehow modify a wp7 bootloader to fit our partition tables and any other custom parts of our bootloader, and run wp7 ?
random mumbo jumbo in my head, just curious..

swamp goblin said:
I have seen this on tons of different devices, great job by the way..
but correct me if im wrong, with this mod we could technically write custom bootloaders to flash any os? I remember seeing someone with this mod flash a bada os bootloader.. So would it be possible to somehow modify a wp7 bootloader to fit our partition tables and any other custom parts of our bootloader, and run wp7 ?
random mumbo jumbo in my head, just curious..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've written every single UnBrickable Mod guide. I was the first and to my knowledge, the only person to ever publish such a mod on a non-development device.
I was the Guy who flashed bada bootloaders. .. it destroyed my EFS. I also was the first to flash nexus bootloaders onto a captivate... neither worked to full boot.
It would be possible. In fact, its likely it could work if you can find a hummingbird based wp7 device and bootloaders.

AdamOutler said:
I've written every single UnBrickable Mod guide. I was the first and to my knowledge, the only person to ever publish such a mod on a non-development device.
I was the Guy who flashed bada bootloaders. .. it destroyed my EFS. I also was the first to flash nexus bootloaders onto a captivate... neither worked to full boot.
It would be possible. In fact, its likely it could work if you can find a hummingbird based wp7 device and bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just browsing through all of the other unbrickable mods, thats really impressive you are phone god.
I remember reading that and seeing the pictures of the nexus bootloader on your captivate, it was a few months ago and that is when the idea of wp7 on android hit me haha...
Installing custom bootloaders and such on these phones seems like a ton of hard work, which could end up not working.. This is still a great tool for resurrecting bricked devices, thanks much

Will it also work with the i9023? Or just the i9020?

Awesome!
I also like, that you are still developing for this "old" device, altough you already have SGS2.

If we got Windows Phone or iOS running on this phone, it would be amazing. How was Windows Phone on the HD2 completed? Would it be a similar process now that we have this?

i want windows phone 7 on my nexus s

ketchup539 said:
If we got Windows Phone or iOS running on this phone, it would be amazing. How was Windows Phone on the HD2 completed? Would it be a similar process now that we have this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i saw someone is working on MeeGo now ...

Thedauntlessone sent me this link: http://code.google.com/android/nexus/images.html
here's flashall packages for use with fastboot.

RE
Hi Adam, I made a bad flash bootloader I put in my Nexus S 4G a Bootloader.img of korean version. Now I'm not root and my USB can't set connection. All things are working less USB and CDMA radio. I can start in fastboot mode and download mode but the usb connection is broken. I tried to follow this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1566475 but when I opened my nexus s 4G the electronics things was in different side. I made a USB to UART converter and I could see a linux debugger and a state console and sent me a message such as: The bootloader are not ready to start a USB connection. As I have a Android 4.0.4 working now I'm waiting a Jelly Bean Updated to patch a new Bootloader image. What do you recommend me to fix it?

Can this mod unbrick an already bricked device (Nexus S) ?
It is not identified by USB, no boot, no nothing (recovery mod does not working).

I can only get into downloading mode BUT ONLY if i select Galay S.
The phone it is "seen" by ODIN, but the main problem on ODIN is that its ask for PIT file.

The best man! Thanks Adam, always giving a back to problems :good:
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

I know.that this thread is as old as dirt, but does this work for the Nexus S 4G (d720)? Or just the GSM?

Hi, I have a question regarding the mod, that I will perform as soon as I find the right person with the right equipment:
from this picture http://i43.tinypic.com/23k8zzs.jpg and the explanation in the first post
AdamOutler said:
*OR: remove the xOM5 resistor and jumper the center pads of xOM5 to the center pads of xOM0 or xOM3...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the two operations to perform are pretty clear.
---
But I cannot understand what does it mean the first phrase of point 2
AdamOutler said:
2. Perform the mod as follows: Replace the xOM5 resistor from the top position to the bottom position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for my knowledge:
a) is this an alternative way to get the same result?
b) are there any reasons to prefer one way rather than the other?
c) could somebody specify which is the "top position" and "bottom position"?
thank you!

dddbbb said:
Hi, I have a question regarding the mod, that I will perform as soon as I find the right person with the right equipment:
from this picture http://i43.tinypic.com/23k8zzs.jpg and the explanation in the first post
the two operations to perform are pretty clear.
---
But I cannot understand what does it mean the first phrase of point 2
Just for my knowledge:
a) is this an alternative way to get the same result?
b) are there any reasons to prefer one way rather than the other?
c) could somebody specify which is the "top position" and "bottom position"?
thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting ready to perform this mod myself as my i9020a just bricked a few days ago.. AND, @AdamOutler, I'm wondering the same things.. and..
VictoriousShooter said:
I know.that this thread is as old as dirt, but does this work for the Nexus S 4G (d720)? Or just the GSM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also wondering if this will work for d720 as I have one of those as well, and would like to do the mod as a preventative measure on that one, and I'm also (I know, redundant, lol) actually wondering if this same mod will work on my i9020a as the hardware appears to be exactly the same..
Thanks for all the help, in advance, Adam!

sir adam, will this mod work with an m200 korean nexus s ? i recently bricked it by pulling out the battery while booting down,
i installed ubuntu, java but it just can't detect my phone, i know that i have to do the mod but i read in the other that this mod is not working with m200 variants, please help me sir adam to fix my phone

KenEmerenciana said:
sir adam, will this mod work with an m200 korean nexus s ? i recently bricked it by pulling out the battery while booting down,
i installed ubuntu, java but it just can't detect my phone, i know that i have to do the mod but i read in the other that this mod is not working with m200 variants, please help me sir adam to fix my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's my understanding, and after some research, that if you had the right knowledge, you could apply this to any phone with a similar set up in hardware, but Adam's direct instructions are for the phones in the op. This is an i9020t and i9020a fix. D720 (and probably M200 as well) have different resistor and wiring layouts. You would have to do the math, be able to draw up a schematic for the area (for a guide) that you're working on, and know the trigger points of the pre-processing to boot into dev mode. This is all VERY low-level stuff, but if you have the time to spare and a steady hand, you could do this, by researching the programing specs on the chips, which is what it sounds like Adam has done.
Hope this helps, even if it's not much of a help..
One last note, D720's and M200's are going fairly cheap on eBay atm. S3's have come down considerably in price as well, if you decide to give up on the NS, which after 3 years of being an owner of 3 different 9020s and 2 different 720s.. I'm sorry to say, I'm about at that point..
I'm putting more focus into my tablet these days (Transformer Prime), as it is, after discovering OnLive.. Lol
~Wickid~
---------- Post added at 04:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:22 AM ----------
AdamOutler said:
2. Perform the mod as follows: Replace the xOM5 resistor from the top position to the bottom position.
*OR: remove the xOM5 resistor and jumper the center pads of xOM5 to the center pads of xOM0 or xOM3... I was not able to flash a complete firmware package to this device because it had a MMC failure, so I'm not able to tell you which point is which.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adam, can you please explain the "top" and "bottom" positions? That sounds like it would be the easier way to go, as I attempted the latter fix, and due to a hot iron, knocked off the resistor that was supposed to be just jumpered. Thanks man!
~Wickid~

Related

MyGuide 3100 ROM sample

This is a FLASH-able ROM sample. My question is : Is there any way to edit this and add more programs to it ? (the flash is for some of the MyGuide 3100 devices on the market. another question : is it the same for my device ?)
I tried to flash my device with this... it worked but it still does'n boot. only the boot image has changed. it's still frozent at about 8-10%.
Here is the sample :
http://rapidshare.com/files/140578865/MYGUIDE_3100_DACH_Inand_Update.rar
Guess no one is able to give a hand with this ?
the persisent registry do not want to go away even after flashinf it. i guess it just replaces the os and bootloader anl does not touch the partition that holdes the registry. any ideea how can i make it delete/replace the registry too ?
the device has 3 partitions (it copies the windows folder on RAM) :
1. The bootloader
2. the registry
3. the OS ( called BINFS - i can see but not edit or copy)
hello,
once i received my myguide 3100, it did NOT start.
it rested on a bootscreen showing some kind of "progress bar".
i managed to fix this by installing the firmware again, downloaded at the manufacturers website http://www.myguidegps.com/
it worked for a few months properly. since last week, i've got the same problem again....
but unfortunateley, the manufactuerer does NOT provide any more support...
seems they are insolvent or some...
could one of you guys gife me the original firmware for this device to get it working?? the one in this thread does not.... dont know why
would be SOOO nice
myguide3100 - arival naca400
Hello!
I have a similar problem with a A_rival naca400 which is said to be a clone of myguyde3100. Can you help me with a rom and drivers for myguide3100 try to write in arival?
Bricked my device using the downloaded firmware
Hello. I also have a big problem with My 3100: I downloaded the firmware attached to the first post and fleshed it to my device. Unfortunatelly, something really is wrong , because the update never reached 100%, it allways stops at 98%. Since then (about 2 weeks) i searched all around the web but couldn't find anywhere another firmware (a good one this time). forumleecher, you mentioned you have a valid firmware. Could you be so kind to upload it somewhere for me and others who need it? The original source, www.myguide.com is no longer available, since the company bancrupted and all it's sites are gone. Would be a great help.
Please help us with some good rom for myguide3100.
Looking for a few weeks and yet I found something that works.
You should be very careful by downloading and flashing devices by accident.
There are different hardware platforms of MyGuide 3100 on the market and flashing the wrong ROM will cause boot failures.
Afaik there are no ROMs available in the net (haven't discovered yet) and MyGuide is insolvent.
Cheers
sdr you solve this problem??? and how
MyGuide 3100 GO
same problem here, i am looking 4 a good rom
OK guys. I know how to do total hard reset registry and rest MyGuide 3100(i had the same problem with registry boot keys)
Download this first
http://rapidshare.com/files/299528735/myguide_3100_total_reset.rar
1. First You have to open PNA, disconnect power supply, SD-card etc.
2. After that You have to desolder this big metal cover.
3. Under this cover You will find k9f2g08 Chip.
4. Now you have to connect pin 9 to GDN and connect the battery.
5. Now wait until progress bar start moving, after he start, disconnect Pin 9 from GND.
6. The progress bar should load normal to the end and on the screen should be picture with SD-card.
7. Disconnect battery, assemble PNA and have fun
CHIP ENABLE RUlezz
[email protected]
hi
Mice20 said:
OK guys. I know how to do total hard reset registry and rest MyGuide 3100(i had the same problem with registry boot keys)
Download this first
http://rapidshare.com/files/299528735/myguide_3100_total_reset.rar
1. First You have to open PNA, disconnect power supply, SD-card etc.
2. After that You have to desolder this big metal cover.
3. Under this cover You will find k9f2g08 Chip.
4. Now you have to connect pin 9 to GDN and connect the battery.
5. Now wait until progress bar start moving, after he start, disconnect Pin 9 from GND.
6. The progress bar should load normal to the end and on the screen should be picture with SD-card.
7. Disconnect battery, assemble PNA and have fun
CHIP ENABLE RUlezz
[email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately not functional on MyGuide 3100 go
What exactly is happening with your PNA??>
Maybe You did something wrong.... GND connection or wrong PIN..?
Tell me what display is viewing ???
Hello
My daughter had a problem with her MYGuide 3100, it simply would not switch on any more.
I stripped the unit down and removed the big metal cover (not very well but it worked anyway) and then found this...
You can see a different chip to the Samsung one noted but I have guessed that it is just a matter of where they sourced the chips from.
Chip used to ground pin 9...
So I ground pin 9 and followed the instructions to now find that I get this...
The unit now boots but the progress bar will no longer progress beyond the amount shown in the above photo.
THe unit can no longer be switched off, but just reset. It also is not recognised by Windows and thus is not accessible.
It gives me the impression that sadly the unit is dead
In this type of nand FLASH memory, You have to connect pin nr 30 to GND and fallow with step's .
Pin 9 is NC(non connected) so that's reaction for GND connection is totally normal.
PS. I don't have email notification about post's here so if You can give me a shot about progress on my mail too ([email protected])
Thanks for what you have posted but alas it simply does not work. I found details of the chip too and realised that I needed to short a different pi, the one that you have so kindly noted, but it still does not allow the unit to boot.
This has also been noted here...
http://forums.ebuyer.com/showthread.php?t=11402&page=66
I am guessing that the ROM image is somehow corrupt and even though there is RomUpdate_RD_R01.exe available without a working USB connection, or an image to upload, then it is just a dead GPS.
Ok. So You have broken rom......Last chance to wake him up is desoldering the chip and write rom file on it in external programmer (Willem, cheapest one).
My solution is working for wrong writed registers(but rom must be ok).
Write , if You need deeper details
I appreciate your help. However the sourcing of a programmer and then the likelihood of me being able to desolder that chip has made in beyond my levels of skill to repair.
Thank you again for your help
write with what?
Mice20 said:
Ok. So You have broken rom......Last chance to wake him up is desoldering the chip and write rom file on it in external programmer (Willem, cheapest one).
My solution is working for wrong writed registers(but rom must be ok).
Write , if You need deeper details
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still can't find a rom image for 3100 go....
You will find him on working PCB of 3100go. This is the fastest way
Thanks Mice
Mice20 said:
You will find him on working PCB of 3100go. This is the fastest way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the fast reply, unfortunately I don't have another one....
If you have a hex file or someting like that and you can post it please do it.
Now I try to find a jtag solution.

Bricked Captivate Assistance

Hi team. I've searched the forums for answers and even though I've read a thousand excellent posts, none (of course) fit my situation specifically. I'll try to be as brief as I can.
My AT&T-branded, Chinese imported Captivate was only three weeks old when I first soft-bricked it trying to do an update using Kies (thanks Samsung!) and then because it would only go into download mode, I tried using Odin to reflash back to where I was. The flash didn't take and I was left with nothing; no charging icon, no computer recognition (Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit using the generic Samsung Android phone drivers downloaded from somewhere on XDA) and no boot/download mode; in other words, hard-bricked and nothing working.
I bought myself a riffbox and spent a long time reading various forum posts about using it; I own a computer repair company and have flashed a million motherboard, modem, router and other firmwares over the past 15 years and have even done a Samsung S2 and a Galaxy Pad in the last week so am reasonably comfortable with the process, even though I'm not hugely experiences yet with the riffbox.
Anyway, I imported and soldered the recommended panasonic socket to the JTAG point and made myself some PCB adapters to fit and break out the Riffbox cables. That's all done and dusted and today I used the Riffbox on my Captivate for the first time, apparently detecting the 'dead body' and flashing the ROM successfully (the box and software would soon tell me if something wasn't right). While I hoped it would, I didn't expect my phone to boot straight away, but did expect it to go into download mode, as suggested in the JTAG literature with the Riffbox. This is where it all gets bent out of shape.
I always get into download mode with my Captivate by dropping the battery and then replugging with the Vol + and - buttons held. I have tried all methodfs I can find on XDA but all either don't work or do the same thing, that is, my phone enters download mode for about ten seconds, then drops out again. During that time, all USB devices 'hang' while the computer tries to fathom what the hell is connected there and Andy just holds his shovel and laughs at me before disappearing once again into the inky blackness of a dead screen. The device manager shows an unknown device detected before letting it go again and mouse and keyboard control resumes. Weird. I thought it might be a flat battery but I've charged that so it has plenty of juice. When plugged via USB, there is 4 volts at the battery terminals (measured with the battery out) so it would charge when plugged in (wall wart or USB cable) even though no icon shows.
Like any good tech I went back and reflashed using both the recommended ROM and 'last resort' option in the Riffbox (Clone Gremlin Zone flash) and the phone still does the same thing; enters download mode then off. I made up a USB dongle/jig using exactly 301 kilohms of resistance (measured digitally) across pins 4 and 5 and followed the various videos/explanations to get into download mode that way but this does not work on my phone, leading me to think something else is broken.
Bottom line is that it seems the phone doesn't have to be connected via USB to enter download mode but if Windows cannot load the phone, then I cannot use Odin or Heimdall to reflash it. I don't think it is drivers because it worked OK before the brick (well, not perfectly but it did connect and I had USB drive support etc.) and besides, I have tried reinstalling drivers to no avail. Can anyone suggest anything I can try (shipping it to some guy in the USA is not the answer I'm going for here so please don't waste your time or mine). As far as I can see, I have done everything the people here suggest and the JTAG/Riffbox instructions to the letter but it just does not want to happen. I'd rather not lose the phone and since I eventually want to offer this sort of service in my business, I want to get it to work on my own phone for my own pride and knowledge.
Cheers from Christchurch New Zealand.
Follow up.
davenz said:
Hi team. I've searched the forums for answers and even though I've read a thousand excellent posts, none (of course) fit my situation specifically. I'll try to be as brief as I can.
My AT&T-branded, Chinese imported Captivate was only three weeks old when I first soft-bricked it trying to do an update using Kies (thanks Samsung!) and then because it would only go into download mode, I tried using Odin to reflash back to where I was. The flash didn't take and I was left with nothing; no charging icon, no computer recognition (Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit using the generic Samsung Android phone drivers downloaded from somewhere on XDA) and no boot/download mode; in other words, hard-bricked and nothing working.
I bought myself a riffbox and spent a long time reading various forum posts about using it; I own a computer repair company and have flashed a million motherboard, modem, router and other firmwares over the past 15 years and have even done a Samsung S2 and a Galaxy Pad in the last week so am reasonably comfortable with the process, even though I'm not hugely experiences yet with the riffbox.
Anyway, I imported and soldered the recommended panasonic socket to the JTAG point and made myself some PCB adapters to fit and break out the Riffbox cables. That's all done and dusted and today I used the Riffbox on my Captivate for the first time, apparently detecting the 'dead body' and flashing the ROM successfully (the box and software would soon tell me if something wasn't right). While I hoped it would, I didn't expect my phone to boot straight away, but did expect it to go into download mode, as suggested in the JTAG literature with the Riffbox. This is where it all gets bent out of shape.
I always get into download mode with my Captivate by dropping the battery and then replugging with the Vol + and - buttons held. I have tried all methodfs I can find on XDA but all either don't work or do the same thing, that is, my phone enters download mode for about ten seconds, then drops out again. During that time, all USB devices 'hang' while the computer tries to fathom what the hell is connected there and Andy just holds his shovel and laughs at me before disappearing once again into the inky blackness of a dead screen. The device manager shows an unknown device detected before letting it go again and mouse and keyboard control resumes. Weird. I thought it might be a flat battery but I've charged that so it has plenty of juice. When plugged via USB, there is 4 volts at the battery terminals (measured with the battery out) so it would charge when plugged in (wall wart or USB cable) even though no icon shows.
Like any good tech I went back and reflashed using both the recommended ROM and 'last resort' option in the Riffbox (Clone Gremlin Zone flash) and the phone still does the same thing; enters download mode then off. I made up a USB dongle/jig using exactly 301 kilohms of resistance (measured digitally) across pins 4 and 5 and followed the various videos/explanations to get into download mode that way but this does not work on my phone, leading me to think something else is broken.
Bottom line is that it seems the phone doesn't have to be connected via USB to enter download mode but if Windows cannot load the phone, then I cannot use Odin or Heimdall to reflash it. I don't think it is drivers because it worked OK before the brick (well, not perfectly but it did connect and I had USB drive support etc.) and besides, I have tried reinstalling drivers to no avail. Can anyone suggest anything I can try (shipping it to some guy in the USA is not the answer I'm going for here so please don't waste your time or mine). As far as I can see, I have done everything the people here suggest and the JTAG/Riffbox instructions to the letter but it just does not want to happen. I'd rather not lose the phone and since I eventually want to offer this sort of service in my business, I want to get it to work on my own phone for my own pride and knowledge.
Cheers from Christchurch New Zealand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since none of the gurus here bothered to respond I'll do it myself in case someone else finds the same issue.
Turns out the battery was faulty; I replaced it and succeeded in getting the phone into download mode with both the jig and the usual methods. Then the computer would not recognize the phone, the dreaded 'unknown device' in the device manager. I was using the factory cable that came with the phone but tried a third-party one I had for a Chicom HTC copy I had lying around and this allowed the phone to be recognized by Windows (go figure). I used Odin to unbrick/reflash and it is all go now, interestingly both cables now work for the phone within Windows so it is always worth trying something even though it makes no real sense to do so.
Darn, that is exactly what I was going to say to do!
Next time, try a rotating disc nebulizer, which you can redesign with respect to the principle parameters that determine its analytical performance. The flow pattern of the aerosols you will attain can be optimized by altering the shape of the inner chamber for optimum aerodynamic characteristics. Furthermore, the optimum angle of impact needs to be established using particle size distribution and mass transport efficiency as criteria. Any analytical characteristics you determine will be through monitoring the emission signal from an aqueous standard. The accuracy has to be assessed by using reference steel and iridium samples.
It is easy to construct, and the fundamental component is a rotating disc onto which a liquid sample is introduced. It should require no additional spray chamber and be easy to operate effectively. Once in operation it should produce aerosols with mean droplet diameters of approximately 0.50 µm.
You may then utilize inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry to determine the defect.:good:
^
ROFLMAO !!!!
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
Rotating Disc Nebulizer
-SGA- said:
Darn, that is exactly what I was going to say to do!
Next time, try a rotating disc nebulizer, which you can redesign with respect to the principle parameters that determine its analytical performance. The flow pattern of the aerosols you will attain can be optimized by altering the shape of the inner chamber for optimum aerodynamic characteristics. Furthermore, the optimum angle of impact needs to be established using particle size distribution and mass transport efficiency as criteria. Any analytical characteristics you determine will be through monitoring the emission signal from an aqueous standard. The accuracy has to be assessed by using reference steel and iridium samples.
It is easy to construct, and the fundamental component is a rotating disc onto which a liquid sample is introduced. It should require no additional spray chamber and be easy to operate effectively. Once in operation it should produce aerosols with mean droplet diameters of approximately 0.50 µm.
You may then utilize inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry to determine the defect.:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is excellent advice and ordinarily I would agree 110%, however I have found that the later model Rotating Disc Nebulisers have an inherent fault in the flange valve regulator, which in turn affects the lead mercury ratio and results in even harder bricking of susceptible devices. If, however, you feather an older nebulizer with the updated underhead/overhang mod then even the nastiest conflibulator inversion is easily bypassed. Just for information's sake...
davenz said:
This is excellent advice and ordinarily I would agree 110%, however I have found that the later model Rotating Disc Nebulisers have an inherent fault in the flange valve regulator, which in turn affects the lead mercury ratio and results in even harder bricking of susceptible devices. If, however, you feather an older nebulizer with the updated underhead/overhang mod then even the nastiest conflibulator inversion is easily bypassed. Just for information's sake...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG, that was some seriously original stuff! Anyone try Googling "conflibulator inversion"? This is the only result, lol!
Glad to hear your flashing worked out, I think the process you followed is a lot more in depth than many of us would ever undertake...
-SGA- said:
OMG, that was some seriously original stuff! Anyone try Googling "conflibulator inversion"? This is the only result, lol!
Glad to hear your flashing worked out, I think the process you followed is a lot more in depth than many of us would ever undertake...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I wasn't about to throw away 350 bucks (our money, which is worth about three chickens and a bag of salt in anyone else's currency) and since I pride myself in being able to fix anything, the challenge was set in motion when I discovered (via this excellent resource) that the Captivate was a) hard to brick (I found it pretty easy to be honest) and b) the hardest to unbrick.One poster claimed that if you can unbrick a Captivate you can unbrick anything, so I had to give it a go. After all, what did I have to lose?
As I mentioned, I intend to diversify my computer repair business into mobile gadget repairs anyway and I can think of nothing more noble than unbricking phones. I learned an incredible amount on the way through the whole process and while just having the tools doesn't make me an expert, I'm happy to work my way toward that goal and if I help others on the way, well, it's a win/win.
Thanks for the entertaining posts and cheers from Christchurch, New Zealand.
I sure hope you tried locating the flux capacitor before going through all that work. Could have saved you from having to go through the whole "Seismic Declan Brown Eyed Goose" process.
Glad to hear you are de-worse-ifying your biz.
You should add the left-handed skyhook-bipolar-transmogifier-probe to your tools. I am told its use dramatically improves GPS performance, and provides immediate position locks to some position, however distant from where you thought you were.
-written whilst sipping high temperature psychoactive botanical filtrate in my ceramic gravitational containment vessel with plalangeal bracket (aka coffee in my mug).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda app-developers app
Thanks
wwcjr91 said:
I sure hope you tried locating the flux capacitor before going through all that work. Could have saved you from having to go through the whole "Seismic Declan Brown Eyed Goose" process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you tell me! The entire Seismic Declan Brown Eyed Goose scenario had me stumped there for a while but after referencing 'Nocturnal Urinary Releases and other Stories', the famous Declan-decoding text by I. P. Nightly, a liberal application of lubricating gel in all the right places had the whole thing well in hand...
And as for the left-handed skyhook-bipolar-transmogifier-probe, that's again where I went wrong with a newbie mistake. Sadly I ordered the right-handed skyhook-bipolar-transmogifier-probe and of course it didn't moglify the selindicular quadronizer at all. In fact, it broke it off at the chalisticator and left me up the paddle without a creek, so to speak. Nevertheless, a little old-fashioned luck and a tap with the old thorificating polookanizer soon had things back on track.
Now all I need is another Speckled Jim for the halitosinifer (do you REALLY want to know?) and all will be well in my world (which is not like other worlds if posts on XDA are anything to go by...)
Thanks all for your excellent input, it has been a journey through the looking glass!
well i really liked the "brilliantly" thought of posts about the legendary tools mentioned... hehe
i was really looking forward to more comments to lighten up the mood
pls keep posting
3 cheers
btw i am also stuck at dead hard brick on my cappy
regards
alot of youtube videos provide help on unbricking
...'last resort' option in the Riffbox (Clone Gremlin Zone flash)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please.
Someone know what Gremlin Zone exactly is?
Location in OneNAND ? Or somewhere else?
Maybe adresses or dump of Gremlin Zone would be nice.
Thanx in advance.
Best Regards
adfree said:
Please.
Someone know what Gremlin Zone exactly is?
Location in OneNAND ? Or somewhere else?
Maybe adresses or dump of Gremlin Zone would be nice.
Thanx in advance.
Best Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the person to ask would be AdamOutler. You're asking for some deep knowledge in general

[Q] Stuck in low power (charging) mode, constant reboots

Hi, have a bit of an issue. My sister dropped her GXS in a pool today. she got it out and wiped it and it seemed to work fine (i told her that she should have taken the batt out immediately... she didn't) She went on then the phone died and got stuck in an endless reboot cycle. i opened it up and cleaned it and dried it, looks clean, from what i can tell. the screen shows the little refresh circle in the center, then shows the battery image for a few seconds then repeats the process (if i connect it to a wall charger, the battery image lasts about a second longer but it still restarts). it constantly restarts. and here is the problem, i can get it to download mode, but even in download mode it restarts after 3-4 seconds so i cant flash anything in such a short period. recovery does not work (even if it did i bet it would still restart after 3-4s). it starts doing this as soon as the battery is inserted.
It was running an old nightly of CM9 (about 2-3 months old)
Any help will be greatly appreciated
UPDATE:
Left it out on the sun for a few hours to dry even more off, now shows the galaxy I9000 splash screen and the semaphore kernel logo but it still restarts after 3-4s
UPDATE 2:
Dissasembled it and put it in a jar of rice, not expecting much. Took a look at the motherboard to prepare for the unbrickable mod. Those pads are TINY, i mean really tiny
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FULL size image here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11992935/2012-09-08 18.32.42.jpg
That HUGE thing on the chip above is the microsd card
So my new questions are, in the original unbrickable thread i dont quite understand the instructions. IS it like in the picture near the enlarged piece numbered 1. that you must resolder the yellow marked resistor to the blue marked pads, or like in number 2. you must remove the resistor and put a wire (drawn grey) like in the picture or do you do first number 1. and then attach the wire to the upper end of the moved resistor and then to the other pad?
Congrats to your sister, looks like she killed her SGS.
Looks like the battery's not the problem, if it reboots when it's unplugged (an almost empty battery -almost empty = already shut down, but reboots for a few seconds- shows at
least unlock screen for me when I turn it on).
If recovery and download mode don't last enough to flash, it's over IMHO. And even if your warranty is still valid, water damage is not covered..
I am starting to consider doing the unbrickable mod, but i dont know whether this is a software or a hardware problem. any way to test that?
quantity rostsrt
total.destroyer said:
I am starting to consider doing the unbrickable mod, but i dont know whether this is a software or a hardware problem. any way to test that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to put the phone in a jar of rice for 24H.
After that try to flash a rom using odin.
total.destroyer said:
I am starting to consider doing the unbrickable mod, but i dont know whether this is a software or a hardware problem. any way to test that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt this has anything to do with Unbrickable mode solutions, anyway links to test mode tare on My Android Solutions, link below.
You problem would be most likely due to moisture shorting power and usb ports/contacts
xsenman said:
I doubt this has anything to do with Unbrickable mode solutions, anyway links to test mode tare on My Android Solutions, link below.
You problem would be most likely due to moisture shorting power and usb ports/contacts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went over your list before posting, nothing helped in my situation, and there is no test mode on your list, or maybe i missed it. I cleaned the usb port and it looks clean, the battery contacts are also clean, no obvious damage shows, and the power on button can not be shorted because it is a potted foil membrane and the leading contacts are clean, and the button works otherwise i could not get temporarily in download mode. gonny try and mess about with adb if i can get the phone to be seen.
total.destroyer said:
and there is no test mode on your list, or maybe i missed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem:- Phone completely DEAD, Not Charging and NO response, only this SEC S5PC110 TEST B/D
you can only revive phone using unbrickable mode when phone is totally dead with only this words SEC S5PC110 TEST B/D, that why I said, i am doubtfull you need to use it.
xsenman said:
Problem:- Phone completely DEAD, Not Charging and NO response, only this SEC S5PC110 TEST B/D
you can only revive phone using unbrickable mode when phone is totally dead with only this words SEC S5PC110 TEST B/D, that why I said, i am doubtfull you need to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think i have no other choice, i have tried everything, my only options now are to get it repaired without warranty (probably will cost more than a new gxs off ebay), use it as a paperweight or try to do the unbrickable mod and see if that works.
Is there a possibility that a software error is constantly rebooting the phone or is there a hardware problem? I mean, could a corrupted bootloader constantly reboot the phone, no matter what mode the phone is in, like in download mode is the bootloader still runing in the background? or the kernel?
Good luck if you decide to try. I'm considered extremely good at soldering by many, I have all the proper tools including a top notch soldering station, and moving that 0201 resistor took me like an hour. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, and I didn't think it would work in the end. Having two irons and a microscope would have helped a lot but it's not a mod for the faint of heart. That said it saved my phone from some nasty software business.
I really doubt it would solve this problem, since it's water damage it's probably long gone. If you have no possible other option though, there's no harm in trying this.
FjarrKontroll said:
Good luck if you decide to try. I'm considered extremely good at soldering by many, I have all the proper tools including a top notch soldering station, and moving that 0201 resistor took me like an hour. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, and I didn't think it would work in the end. Having two irons and a microscope would have helped a lot but it's not a mod for the faint of heart. That said it saved my phone from some nasty software business.
I really doubt it would solve this problem, since it's water damage it's probably long gone. If you have no possible other option though, there's no harm in trying this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a friend that does electronics and solders daily so he should be able to do it, but the big question is, is this actual hardware damage from water or a short caused data corruption and the problem is software, because the thing works, the display works, animation works, the buttons work, it only decides to repeat the process every 3-4s (it varies, sometimes it last about 6-7s, especially if i plug it in to charge, or it dies in a second or two). Could water damage it so precisely to do that, or was there a short that caused some data corruption of the rom/bootloader/kernel/whatever that makes it reboot after the boot process encounters that section of bad data, or the memory chip got corrupt. Is there a way to find out, can a log be dumped out while it is booting? my pc does not recognize anything is connected while it does its refresh battery thing, or maybe you need special drivers.
total.destroyer said:
I think i have no other choice, i have tried everything, my only options now are to get it repaired without warranty (probably will cost more than a new gxs off ebay), use it as a paperweight or try to do the unbrickable mod and see if that works.
Is there a possibility that a software error is constantly rebooting the phone or is there a hardware problem? I mean, could a corrupted bootloader constantly reboot the phone, no matter what mode the phone is in, like in download mode is the bootloader still runing in the background? or the kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone had no problems and this problem only developed after the water damage it has nothing to do with software and all to do with hardware . I think the Phone reboots due to minute shorts in the hardware ..moisture underneath the chips could be one...you can try heating a few of larger chips...best would be to keep the phone wrapped in tissue and in a pot of rice for a week or so
solved
i see one galaxy s like this before.
the phone boots if after u see a green battery on screeen
1.but u have to connect a strong charger (1 to 2 Amps) or a USB (1 Amp) laptop computer .
2.after connect the phone, u have to wait aprox. 30 sec, if nothing happened u ned to reconect (pull out battery , then insert it back in the same time with usb or charger plug )
3.if the grenn battery appears on screen wait to charge to 50% then press power button but not detach cable or charger
4.after complete boot , u are free to use your phone (ALL THINGS WORKS)

[WIP][HOW TO][UNBRICK][HARD-BRICK][KF2]Bringing your KF2 back from the dead

This guide is a work in progress.
Please be patient as I work on completing this guide, as I work full time and am a full time student.
You can find the original discussion thread for this topic here!
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage to yourself, your Kindle, or other property incurred by following any or all parts of this guide. Proceed at your own risk.
WARNING: Do not attempt to follow this guide unless you are fairly familiar with soldering and Linux commands. Serious harm to yourself, your Kindle, and/or your computer can result if you are not careful.
Q. What devices will this work on?
A. This how-to works for the Kindle Fire 2 only. (There are other methods of restoring a bricked original Kindle Fire; refer to the FAQ for that device)
Q. Why won't this work for KFHD7"/8.9"?
A. The motherboard designs for the KFHDs are different. That means that the entire process of finding all the solder points for those motherboards (including desoldering the e-MMC) has to be repeated before the same method for fixing hard-bricks on them can be used. (Note: If you have a hard-bricked or otherwise broken KFHD7"/8.9" that you'd be willing to donate for this endeavor, please PM me)
Q. Under what circumstance does will this guide help?
A. This guide is intended to restore the KF2 that was previously thought to be beyond restoring, or hard-bricked, as a result of flashing the incorrect image to your ROM. This means a KF2 that does not display anything on the screen and does not light up the power LED when the power button is pressed (i.e. it appears dead even after charging). If your KF2 still shows signs of life but is not working, please try one of the other methods of repairing it. Might I suggest Q16-23 of the FAQ?
Q. Is there any way to do this without all the soldering?
A. At this time, no; however, I am in the process of developing a device to do this that does not require soldering.
Q. I don't feel comfortable doing this myself. Can I have you fix it for me?
A. Send me a PM and we'll work out the details.
Required materials:
Hard-bricked Kindle Fire 2
USB SD card reader (one with only one slot, NOT the multi-card readers)*
30 AWG wire (I found mine at Radioshack)
solder (the smaller the diameter, the better)
soldering iron (pencil iron will work, but soldering station is better)
plastic opening tools
a small Phillips screwdriver (mine came with my plastic opening tool kit)
a computer with Linux (a live CD of a distro should theoretically work, but I used an installed copy of Ubuntu 13.04)
*For cheap card readers near me (literally three blocks up the road), I found this one from Microcenter and this one from Tigerdirect. Go with whatever is cheapest for you.​
Suggested materials:
Helping hands tool
A good light source
Magnifying glass/magnifying visor (I used a x7 magnifying glass with built-in light)
Desoldering pump/wick (in case you mess something up, need to desolder the SD card reader, or want to clean up your board after you're done)
Lots of patience​
Preparing the motherboard
Warning: Take care to protect sensitive electrical components (like the ones found on your KF2) from ESD.
1. Remove the motherboard from the Kindle. If you need directions on how to do that, please refer to ifixit (stop at step 8). Note: You do not need to remove the battery from the case.
2. Take a moment and familiarize yourself with the layout of the motherboard.(Solder points are marked. Keep these images handy for reference)
Front:
(Click for larger image)
This is just an FYI (not required to do this): When you first take out the motherboard, the e-MMC will be covered by a piece of grey foam. Underneath that is a sticker that covers the chip information.​
Back:
(Click for larger image)
Note: For CMD and DAT1, you will be soldering to the marked leads of the SMD components. All other soldering will be to the marked copper pads.​3. Place it to the side in a safe location
Preparing the SD card reader
There are a few different variations when it comes to SD card readers. In addition to through-hole vs. SMD, there may be variation in the location of the card-detect switch pins. All other pins (DAT0-3, Vcc, GND, CMD, and CLK) will always have the same location relative to each other.
Examples:
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"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
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"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
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"lightbox_download": "Download",
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SMD with card detect switch at the top
Through-hole with card detect switch in the middle (Front) (card connector removed)
Through-hole with card detect switch in the middle (Back)​
1. Remove your reader from the package.
It should look something like this:
2. Remove the plastic housing and any metal shielding from the SD card connector.
You're left with this:
3.There are two ways to proceed from here: (a) For through-hole, use the pads (b)For through-hole or SMD, solder directly to the connector pins.
4. (a) Carefully desolder all the pins from the card connector. (b) Skip this step.
5. Cut your wire. You will need 10 pieces. 9 of them need to be long enough to get from the MB to the card reader (I went with about 6-8 inches) with 6 of them the same length (for DAT0-1, CMD, and CLK to minimize chance of signals arriving at different times). The last wire should be long enough to jump the card detect switch (CD_SW) to ground (GND).
6. Carefully strip about 0.5-1 cm of the insulation each end of all the wires.
7. (Refer to example images at beginning of post) Take your small wire and jump CD_SW to GND by (a) placing the wire through CD_SW and GND and soldering or (b) soldering one end of the wire to the CD_SW connector pin and the other to a GND connector pin.
8. (Refer to example images at beginning of post) Take your 6 wires of equal length and solder one each to DAT0-3, CMD, and CLK (a) through the hole or (b) to the card connector pins.
9. (Refer to example images at beginning of post) Take one of the remaining wires and solder it to GND by (a) or (b) as above.
10. (Refer to example images at beginning of post) Take your last two remaining wires and twist one end of the exposed wire together. Solder this end to Vcc by (a) or (b) as above. These will be used to connect to Vcc and VccQ on the motherboard.
11. Your finished product should look something like this (for a):
Front:
Back:
(Blank)
Connecting it all together
Soldering to the copper pads is tricky. The solder doesn't like to stick, and when it does, you have to be very careful not to move the wire until it cools. Also, if you have to attempt to solder the same pad more than once, lacquer tends to build up. Keep something handy (like tweezers) to scrape it off if it gets in the way
Reference photos:
Front:
(Click for larger image)
Back:
(Click for larger image)
Card reader:
1. Solder the wire from the card reader to the corresponding pads as marked in the images above. Using the helping hands tool to hold the board and the reader makes things much easier. It's probably easiest if you solder DAT0 on the front first, then turn the board over and with audio jack, etc. on the left, solder each spot from top to bottom, left to right. Note: Solder one Vcc wire from the card reader to one Vcc pad on the board and the other to VccQ.
Once finished, it should look like this:
Next Step?
Wanna try this with my bricked kf 2nd gen. But I need to research more on it first...
On what state will the tablet be when you plug in the finished product to the computer?
can you please put the next steps ?
Thanks!
What's next??
Hello there... I was reading your steps to repair my dead KF2 on your post... and I noticed you said on the requirements that we need a Linux PC, preferably with Ubuntu, to proceed... but There are no more steps after you show how to solder.
Can you tell me, please, What's next? What happens when I connect the logic board with the soldered wires to the SD adapter, to the linux PC? how do I revive it?
Please, help me... I want to give that Kindle as a gift to someone on my church who needs it, And I want to try to fix it!!
Thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge. God bless you.
-----
kurohyou said:
This guide is a work in progress.
Please be patient as I work on completing this guide, as I work full time and am a full time student.
You can find the original discussion thread for this topic here!
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage to yourself, your Kindle, or other property incurred by following any or all parts of this guide. Proceed at your own risk.
WARNING: Do not attempt to follow this guide unless you are fairly familiar with soldering and Linux commands. Serious harm to yourself, your Kindle, and/or your computer can result if you are not careful.
Q. What devices will this work on?
A. This how-to works for the Kindle Fire 2 only. (There are other methods of restoring a bricked original Kindle Fire; refer to the FAQ for that device)
Q. Why won't this work for KFHD7"/8.9"?
A. The motherboard designs for the KFHDs are different. That means that the entire process of finding all the solder points for those motherboards (including desoldering the e-MMC) has to be repeated before the same method for fixing hard-bricks on them can be used. (Note: If you have a hard-bricked or otherwise broken KFHD7"/8.9" that you'd be willing to donate for this endeavor, please PM me)
Q. Under what circumstance does will this guide help?
A. This guide is intended to restore the KF2 that was previously thought to be beyond restoring, or hard-bricked, as a result of flashing the incorrect image to your ROM. This means a KF2 that does not display anything on the screen and does not light up the power LED when the power button is pressed (i.e. it appears dead even after charging). If your KF2 still shows signs of life but is not working, please try one of the other methods of repairing it. Might I suggest Q16-23 of the FAQ?
Q. Is there any way to do this without all the soldering?
A. At this time, no; however, I am in the process of developing a device to do this that does not require soldering.
Q. I don't feel comfortable doing this myself. Can I have you fix it for me?
A. Send me a PM and we'll work out the details.
Required materials:
Hard-bricked Kindle Fire 2
USB SD card reader (one with only one slot, NOT the multi-card readers)*
30 AWG wire (I found mine at Radioshack)
solder (the smaller the diameter, the better)
soldering iron (pencil iron will work, but soldering station is better)
plastic opening tools
a small Phillips screwdriver (mine came with my plastic opening tool kit)
a computer with Linux (a live CD of a distro should theoretically work, but I used an installed copy of Ubuntu 13.04)
*For cheap card readers near me (literally three blocks up the road), I found this one from Microcenter and this one from Tigerdirect. Go with whatever is cheapest for you.​
Suggested materials:
Helping hands tool
A good light source
Magnifying glass/magnifying visor (I used a x7 magnifying glass with built-in light)
Desoldering pump/wick (in case you mess something up, need to desolder the SD card reader, or want to clean up your board after you're done)
Lots of patience​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have a Linux PC up and running or even just a Ubuntu live is will do, download the boot loader for your kindle, I don't have links at the moment, but one place you can get it is download the latest official update for your device from Amazon's support section, I am pretty sure Linux should automatically recognize it as a zip file even though it ends in .bin, if not just changes the end to .zip. Extract the file called u-boot.bin to wherever you find convenient, for my convenience I will say extract to the home folder( the terminals default to that directory so it makes things simpler). Now plug in the USB adapter you have soldered to the kindle. If it mounts anything I suggest unmounting it just to be on the over protective side. You will now need to determine the device path that is given to the kindles emmc, easiest way is to check in gparted or disks, or by running the mount command from a terminal if you haven't yet unmounted the other partitions and know what you are looking for. Once it has been determined you should run a command similar to this in a terminal:
Code:
sudo dd bs=1 if=u-boot.bin of=/dev/sdb2
take note to replace sdb2 with the device name your PC assigned to the device, but remember to leave the 2 so it only flashes that to the second partition instead of over the entire emmc. Once you run this and it succeeds, you should eject the device or just shut the PC down, disconnect your wires and try powering on the kindle. @kurohyou did I leave anything important out? I will probably make this formatted better later on when I am actually on a PC.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
Looks good to me. The semester is almost over and someone is sending me a KF2 to fix, so once it arrives, I'll go through and take screenshots of the process and finish up the guide. At that time, I'll ask the mods to clean up this topic (delete posts) so it flows well.
super!
but if you know how the AMAZON lab126 guys fix it you will know it‘s very easy
y.
Yes but they have signed files we don't have access to that are necessary for reflashing it with usbboot/aboot or w/e that utility is called.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app
Has anyone managed to write up a walk through on exactly what to do once you've gotten the board soldered up and ready to go? I have Linux up and running, and the soldering shouldn't take more than 20 minutes, but I'm holding off on doing this until I know I can do the software side of things. I am a complete noob with linux, and don't want to make things worse by making a mistake. Part of me really wants to try this out but not knowing what to do after I'm wired up keeps me from trying this.
Some great news!
First off, a very big thank you to @kurohyou and @stunts513 for all their efforts, all their suggestions in all their posts helped me get to the end, thank you guys!
Right, here's my story, had a Kindle Fire 2 flashed with the wrong bootloader a few months back, forgot about the device till 2 days back when i came across the
original post by kurohyou, with the idea of getting direct access to the eMMC and flashing the bootloader, then followed up on his post with the how to's, decided to
give it a shot.
Started off with the soldering on the Kindle motherboard, it was a pain, but what helped in attaching the solder to the points was a good paste, i used solder paste on
the points, then dabbed a little solder with flux on the tip of the soldering iron and kept the tip on the point for a few seconds at a time, sometimes more than once,
once all the points were tinted, i tinted the ends of the cables i was going to use with the same solder with flux, the cables i used were from an old HDMI cable which
i stripped up, they were thin and flexible. For the SD card reader, i used one similar to kurohyou's, except i didn't have the points on the other side, so i soldered
the cables directly to the legs of the SD reader slot without removing the slot, also, i did not short ground and CD_SW, instead i just left a blank SD adapter in the
slot, which did the trick.
Now once everything was soldered on, i used the ubuntu-12.04.3-desktop-i386.iso to create a UBUNTU live CD and booted from that, once in UBUNTU attached the SD reader
and voila, eMMC detected! Now to get to the flashing of the bootloader, i read a numerous amount of posts suggesting to flash the u-boot.bin file from the original
Kindle firmware, and the suggested version was the 10.2.4, so i downloaded the firmware (in .bin format) from the amazon site, right clicked on the file, open with,
used Winrar, there extracted the u-boot.bin file. To flash the bootloader i used the dd command suggested by stunts513, which was:
sudo dd bs=1 if=u-boot.bin of=/dev/sdb2
The first time i ran that command, i had an input/output error, i ran the command another 3 or 4 times till it flashed successfully, i got an error message when
ejecting the SD, so shut down the machine, detached the SD reader and connected up the Kindle, no life, tried usb, fastboot and mains charger, no signs of life.
Disconnected everything and attached the SD reader again, now UBUNTU recognized the eMMC, but as 1 disk with no partitions! So thought ok, il reboot the system and try
again, tried all the different USB slots i had on the laptop, all giving the same result, so i left the SD reader out for a few minutes, while i figured out what to do
next, then when i re-attached it, it picked it up again with all the correct partitions, however, nothing was mounted, i read stunts513's suggestion of unmounting to
be safe, so i though that was fine, ran the dd command again and same thing, input/output error, tried a few times and it flashed successfully, again detached and
connected up the Kindle, no signs of life, didn't really know what to do next, decided to ponder on the Kindle folder i had on my drive, with the backups, there i found 'otter2-u-boot-prod-10.2.4' which was 227KB, the same size as u-boot.bin, thought lets give this file a go, again reconnected up till all the partitions were detected correctly and ran the dd command with otter2-u-boot-prod-10.2.4.bin, detached everything and connect the Kindle up, plugged in the USB and got an orange light!
A few people got the orange light without the kindle actually booting the OS, so never had my hopes up too high, let the kindle charge for a few mins and then it started up, stuck on the kindle logo boot loop, as i started reading the forum, i came across a post about the kindle boot loop, where stunts513 suggested flashing via fast boot, i attached the kindle to the fast boot cable and was waiting for the laptop to recognize the kindle, suddenly i get a blank screen, i left it like that for a few minutes then decided to press the power button, no response, i kept the power button pressed in till i saw the kindle logo again, took a few seconds but this time, it booted the OS! I don't know if the fast boot cable had anything to do with that, im sure stunts513 and kurohyou will be able to shed some more light on that.
My apologies for the long post, but im trying to put down as much detail as possible to help all the other guys with the bricked Kindle fire 2's, im also attaching the boot file i used.
Again, a big thank you to kurohyou and stunts513 for all their efforts!
Bit of an interesting one if anyone could try and shed some light onto it. Connect everything up as usual but with VccQ every time it is connected something must short and fries the SD card reader, without VccQ connected the light on the SD card adaptor flashes continually but it's not recognised by Ubuntu.
Thank you!
I just wanted to drop by and say a HUGE thank you to @kurohyou for starting this thread and for all who have contributed to it
BEFORE I CONTINUE, PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THE PARTITION NUMBER/DESIGNATION BEING SHOWN AND WRITTEN TO IN THIS THREAD, BY MYSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE, WILL NOT NECESSARILY BE THE SAME WHEN YOU CONNECT YOUR KINDLE eMMC TO YOUR SD CARD READER AND FLASH THE CORRECT BOOTLOADER, TO DE-BRICK IT. LINUX ASSIGNS DIFFERENT PARTITION NODES BASED ON VARIOUS CRITERIA, SO YOU MUST ALWAYS ENSURE YOU ARE "dd'ing" TO THE CORRECT PARTITION, OTHERWISE YOU COULD BE WRITING TO *ANY* DEVICE ON YOUR PC, POSSIBLY YOUR MULTIPLE TERABYTE FAMILY PHOTO ARCHIVE... ARGH! DO *ALWAYS* ENSURE YOU ARE WRITING TO A 256KB PARTITION - REFER TO MY PHOTOS, BELOW; THEY SHOW A PARTITION LISTING AND WHERE THE BOOTLOADER PARTITION IS, AND IN WHICH ORDER THE PARTITIONS ARE.
I bought a pristine, boxed *DEMO* Kindle (2? Gen 2? "Otter2" anyway the 7" one, 600x1024) from eBay for just £6.99, and when I tried to flash the bootloader with my fastboot cable, as soon as I rebooted... it DIED. Being a long time qualified electronics engineer, this kind of disassembley is all part of life for me, and doesn't phase me one iota, but the soldering of wires is a VERY precise and delicate operation - PROCEED VERY VERY SLOWLY, DOUBLE CHECK AND THEN AGAIN, ALL YOUR PIN DESIGNATIONS AND SOLDER JOINTS OR THERE'LL BE TEARS BEFORE BEDTIME!
Anyhow, I simply booted into 32 bit Ubuntu (I have a huge repository of ISOs to hand, so that was no big deal, and bash commands I can do in my sleep) so I flashed the bootloader to the relevant unmounted partition @mohibr attached to this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=49549083&postcount=13
... using "dd" command, et VOILA! it works! (I knew it would, this is hardly rocket science, but still an extremely joyful moment to behold, seeing my less-than-one-day-old KF revived!)
I'm rather too tired to expand thoroughly on all the details, but if anyone needs any help, let me know soon before this whole episode is lost and forgotten (you've no idea HOW much of this kind of thing I do weekly, to myriad devices).
Here's my witness photos - please feel free to add me to the testimonys of people who took their time and revived their KF(2? not sure that it's a "2", just that it's a later version using "otter2", whatever that pertains to.)
Photos---> https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/albums/72157660358184524
Thank you so much, and God bless you all and have a lovely Christmas
Matthew.
Vcc location on mobo?
Trying to find a Vcc point on the fire gen2 mobo. multimeter took a crap and im getting scary readings. anyone have a picture of location so i can short to ground. My gen2 is currently stuck at "boot, then blackscreen". its not a loop and windows doesnt recognize the device at all.
Any pictures of the location would be greatly appreciated. ciao.
On a side note, i apologize for reviving this thread. I accidentally flashed a zipped boot image to my kindle. its been sitting for a few weeks. just finally ordered a fastboot cable.

[Help] Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos Hard Brick

After I took this Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos(SCH-i589) and refreshed the GT-S5830 ROM with Odin, it became a hard brick (I did this because I installed AIDA64 Android Edition and it said gt-s5830 under "Hardware", which turned out to be purely misleading, I thought it would refresh successfully) now the phone has no reaction, no Recovery, no download mode, nothing, complete hard brick, no reaction, what should I do? : (
DavidLiang1129 said:
After I took this Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos(SCH-i589) and refreshed the GT-S5830 ROM with Odin, it became a hard brick (I did this because I installed AIDA64 Android Edition and it said gt-s5830 under "Hardware", which turned out to be purely misleading, I thought it would refresh successfully) now the phone has no reaction, no Recovery, no download mode, nothing, complete hard brick, no reaction, what should I do? : (
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the device is completely unresponsive, there is nothing you can do as an end user to fix it.
You're going to have to have it repaired or replaced.
V0latyle said:
If the device is completely unresponsive, there is nothing you can do as an end user to fix it.
You're going to have to have it repaired or replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply! It's not completely unresponsive, after I press the download mode shortcut for a few seconds, the screen flickers a little and then goes out, nothing happens, as if it wanted to enter download mode but failed
V0latyle said:
If the device is completely unresponsive, there is nothing you can do as an end user to fix it.
You're going to have to have it repaired or replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition I had to remove the battery and then connect the computer without the battery before this could be triggered
In addition, I tried this method, but I don't know how long to press these buttons, I keep pressing them, but the screen just keeps flashing and nothing happens
V0latyle said:
If the device is completely unresponsive, there is nothing you can do as an end user to fix it.
You're going to have to have it repaired or replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my friend who has a Samsung Galaxy Ace 3(GT-S7278U) also went through a hard brick like this, he told me to charge the phone, after about 24 hours, the phone will automatically go into download mode, I haven't tried it yet, I've never heard of this method (picture is my friend's phone)
V0latyle said:
If the device is completely unresponsive, there is nothing you can do as an end user to fix it.
You're going to have to have it repaired or replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a USB JIG from an online shopping platform because I checked the forums and the vast majority of people said that USB JIG would help, but the merchant said "this product will not help hard bricks" which confused me a little, I wanted to know the exact answer? If you or someone else can answer it, I would appreciate it! (Also, luckily, I didn't refresh the partition table. A friend of mine said that if I did, the phone would be dead.)
DavidLiang1129 said:
I bought a USB JIG from an online shopping platform because I checked the forums and the vast majority of people said that USB JIG would help, but the merchant said "this product will not help hard bricks" which confused me a little, I wanted to know the exact answer? If you or someone else can answer it, I would appreciate it! (Also, luckily, I didn't refresh the partition table. A friend of mine said that if I did, the phone would be dead.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only jig I could think of would be JTAG, and while I imagine the board does have a JTAG header, Qualcomm (and Samsung) provides a means to perform low level flashes using specialized tools such as QPST. However the tools and the files necessary are not publicly available and there is zero end user support. Most repair centers won't reflash your phone; they'll just replace the main board and program it with your IMEI.
V0latyle said:
The only jig I could think of would be JTAG, and while I imagine the board does have a JTAG header, Qualcomm (and Samsung) provides a means to perform low level flashes using specialized tools such as QPST. However the tools and the files necessary are not publicly available and there is zero end user support. Most repair centers won't reflash your phone; they'll just replace the main board and program it with your IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. As far as I know, USB JIG comes in two varieties, one is forced to boot the device into download mode via a MicroUSB plug with 4 resistors, and the other is what you call JTAG, and I bought the former
V0latyle said:
The only jig I could think of would be JTAG, and while I imagine the board does have a JTAG header, Qualcomm (and Samsung) provides a means to perform low level flashes using specialized tools such as QPST. However the tools and the files necessary are not publicly available and there is zero end user support. Most repair centers won't reflash your phone; they'll just replace the main board and program it with your IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB JIG arrived today, but it didn't work... I removed the battery two seconds later, put it back on the phone, and plugged in the USB JIG, but nothing happened, I even waited five minutes, was I using it wrong? I even paid about 10 CNY(about $1.50) for it, including a 2 CNY USB JIG and 8 CNY shipping... If it's just a dust plug, it's not a good deal...) I need help. Thank you so much!
Good news, guys! Instead of using the USB JIG, I switched to a USB cable that was just on the charger of one of my old phones. I connected my battery-free Galaxy to my computer, pressed volume up + Volume Down + Power, and something magical happened: my computer made the sound of new hardware discovery! The screen lights up and displays the Samsung Logo, but it goes black after a few seconds. (I think the USB cable doesn't connect reliably, but only it works.)
DavidLiang1129 said:
Good news, guys! Instead of using the USB JIG, I switched to a USB cable that was just on the charger of one of my old phones. I connected my battery-free Galaxy to my computer, pressed volume up + Volume Down + Power, and something magical happened: my computer made the sound of new hardware discovery! The screen lights up and displays the Samsung Logo, but it goes black after a few seconds. (I think the USB cable doesn't connect reliably, but only it works.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check Device Manager and see if it displays an unknown device
V0latyle said:
Check Device Manager and see if it displays an unknown device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply, on my first attempt, I didn't look for an unknown device, Windows just said "failed to install device driver" and I never succeeded again... The screen was just black, but when I plugged the phone into the computer using the USB cable, Windows said there was an unrecognized USB device. I tried several USB cables, but only that made the computer respond
V0latyle said:
The only jig I could think of would be JTAG, and while I imagine the board does have a JTAG header, Qualcomm (and Samsung) provides a means to perform low level flashes using specialized tools such as QPST. However the tools and the files necessary are not publicly available and there is zero end user support. Most repair centers won't reflash your phone; they'll just replace the main board and program it with your IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By the way, this phone uses Qualcomm SOC. Can I remove it and short some contacts to enter 9008 mode?
DavidLiang1129 said:
By the way, this phone uses Qualcomm SOC. Can I remove it and short some contacts to enter 9008 mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I know of
V0latyle said:
Not that I know of
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so it doesn't seem like there's any other software-based way to recover it, thanks for all your help, but I'm still looking forward to what software-based way to recover it
DavidLiang1129 said:
Ok, so it doesn't seem like there's any other software-based way to recover it, thanks for all your help, but I'm still looking forward to what software-based way to recover it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try these if you haven't already. Sometimes 3's a charm... This article indicates there are hard points present, I can't verify that as you're deeper than I ever care to go. If that option is viable you better make sure you get it right as it bypasses all built in safeguards and as I understand it could completely brick the phone for good. Might want pay a expert with lots of experience try to recover it... or learn as you go.
blackhawk said:
You can try these if you haven't already. Sometimes 3's a charm... This article indicates there are hard points present, I can't verify that as you're deeper than I ever care to go. If that option is viable you better make sure you get it right as it bypasses all built in safeguards and as I understand it could completely brick the phone for good. Might want pay a expert with lots of experience try to recover it... or learn as you go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!! When I followed Method 3, the phone screen flashed and Windows told me it had found an unrecognized USB device! I feel like I'm getting there!!
blackhawk said:
You can try these if you haven't already. Sometimes 3's a charm... This article indicates there are hard points present, I can't verify that as you're deeper than I ever care to go. If that option is viable you better make sure you get it right as it bypasses all built in safeguards and as I understand it could completely brick the phone for good. Might want pay a expert with lots of experience try to recover it... or learn as you go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do I do next? Do I need any hardware drivers?
DavidLiang1129 said:
What do I do next? Do I need any hardware drivers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't a clue but for Windows you need the right USB drivers. You can try the find the right driver option as well as checking Event Viewer for error messages, etc. Or more Google searches...
I purposely avoided playing with the firmware on Androids including upgrades/updates. That works well for me.

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