Bricked Captivate Assistance - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

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

Related

Is my USB port busted?

Tried connecting my kaiser to 2 different pc's and it won't get detected. The device will charge but activesync won't pick it up. Also its not listed in device manager! I tried disabling/renabling advanced network functionality as well has soft reset the device several times. I'm on the verge of hard reseting BUT when i put my device in bootloader mode it only says serial.. will not say USB as its supposed to
any help would be appreciated.. i'm on death v4 rom btw.
thanks in advance!
fone_fanatic said:
The device will charge but activesync won't pick it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you get an activesync connection via Bluetooth? When you inspect the extUSB connection can you see anything which looks wrong (such as a wire sticking out/in more than the others? What happened preceding this problem?
If you hard reset the device I don't see the relevance of the bootloader. It'll just restore the original image from where it's tucked away in the devices ROM. If it was working fine straight after you installed the ROM thats on it now and doesn't work after a hard restore then that points towards a hardware failure. If you have to go down the path of restoring to a different (original) ROM for returning purposes, there are ways of doing this with a microSD card - although I've not tried. I think the wiki would help there.
bluetooth activesync is working, i did a hard reset and nothing. Flashed to romeos via microsd and now its acting all strange.
After it completed the flash from microsd, i soft reset the device and it rebooted backinto bootloader.. i removed the microsd and soft reset several times and it kept going to bootloader. I attempted to hard reset as well and same thing, would go to bootloader. Removed the battery for a couple minutes and still same thing. Plugged it into USB with it off and it turn on by itself and go straight to bootloader. Unplugged the USB cable, took out the battery and put it back in, then plug the USB cable back in and this time the orange light came on as if charging and it finally booted up. The above has happened to me previously on my hermes but that was when the battery was extremely low, my battery level is currently at 97%!
now its booted into the freshly flashed rom and still same thing... charging but not being recognized by the PC... i've checked the usb port on the device and everything looks fine.
I'm lost at what to do now....
This might be a stupid reply but I had the same problem. My cable was busted so you could try another cable.
I am in the same situation here
Tried it with 3 different PCs with 3 different cables.
It's charging, Active sync pickes it up and trying to connect but fails to connect.
The only think I can come up with, I used new charger in the car. May be it killed the port
Is there any way to find out for sure?
i tried 2 cables with 2 different pcs... its only charging it and the computer won't detect the device at all. Nothing under usb in device manager.. even in bootloader, it only says serial not usb. I've downgraded to a shipped AT&T rom and Radio through the storage card but i still need to downgrade the SPL before i attempt to get a warranty exchange. IS that possible to do with through microsd yet?
I'm having the same issue. The usb port charges the phone fine with the USB cable, but teh computer does not detect the device. I also tried the headphones and they work fine as well. Help!
Update: I just tried a different usb cable, and now the computer recognizes the device, but as an unknown device.!!!!!
fone_fanatic said:
bluetooth activesync is working, i did a hard reset and nothing. Flashed to romeos via microsd and now its acting all strange.
After it completed the flash from microsd, i soft reset the device and it rebooted backinto bootloader.. i removed the microsd and soft reset several times and it kept going to bootloader. I attempted to hard reset as well and same thing, would go to bootloader. Removed the battery for a couple minutes and still same thing. Plugged it into USB with it off and it turn on by itself and go straight to bootloader. Unplugged the USB cable, took out the battery and put it back in, then plug the USB cable back in and this time the orange light came on as if charging and it finally booted up. The above has happened to me previously on my hermes but that was when the battery was extremely low, my battery level is currently at 97%!
now its booted into the freshly flashed rom and still same thing... charging but not being recognized by the PC... i've checked the usb port on the device and everything looks fine.
I'm lost at what to do now....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried these steps?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/help/synchronize/activesync-usb.mspx
ajay6780 said:
Have you tried these steps?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/help/synchronize/activesync-usb.mspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that suggestion but still no dice
The computer isn't detecting the device at all! Usually when a usb device is plugged in you can go to device manager and look under USB and see it there, but its not showing up. I've scanned for hardware changes several times and nothing.
I've now tried on 3 different computers (2 pc's and 1 mac) with 2 different USB-MiniUSB cables and nothing!!
i guess i'll just go to the at&t device support center tomorrow and hope they'll replace it on the spot and notice that i've changed the SPL...
can i ask for the people that are having this problem to do the following.
With your device unplugged from the PC open device manager. (Right click My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware (3rd tab) -> Device manager) Then expand the last tab (Universal Serial Bus Controller) and plug in your device.. if it doesn't show up then click actions -> scan for hardware changes..
I just want to make sure if your computer is detecting your device or not..
just an update with my situation. i went into the att device service center today and told them my problem... the guy behind the counter had no clue what he was doing. he just looked at it like a monkey for minutes then swapped it out for a new one. no questions asked even though it was hard spl'd, cid unlocked, and sim unlocked.
but now this device's vibration is really weak and i lost my invsishield protection on the front (kept the battery cover and my ppctechs scren protector)
Busted? or just won't work
Hi all,
I have been coming to these forums for a little while and only posted a couple of times. I felt this was important. I was having the same problem. Tried the cables, resets, ROM changes the works. I have had my at&t tilt htc 8925 for 36 days when I reported the problem to them. But it actually started about 10 days before. At&t tech support was very rude and accusatory when it came to them "helping" me. I, like probably all owners of a phone like this treat it like gold. It is very important to me. So when I contacted tech support and was told it was probably abuse or I had "buyers remorse" (I don't want to return the phone I just want it fixed!?)
The best they can do and they do not budge on this is for me to return the phone for an exchange. BUT, and this is a BIG AT&T but, the phone they exchange it with is refurbished. Something someone has returned. I do not want a phone that has been returned. I want mine fixed. "This is my phone, there are many like it but this one is mine" Know what I mean? When I bought the phone the guarantee was "we'll just replace it with a new phone" and I like 1000's of others did not ask if that "new phone" was refurbished. It is. Now advocates will tell you as they did me, refurbished is actually BETTER than new. Huh? Then why aren't all phones sold refurbished ones? And if they are so great, take mine back, give me one of those "crappy" new phones and give mine to someone who wants a sweet refurb. I am outraged by the whole mess.
I have searched forums and complaint sites. The bad usb port problem is NOT an isolated incident. There are a lot of people with the same "it charges but won't sync" problem. This is a known problem they refuse to address. Their stand, send in for refurb.
Personally I would like to see a recall fix class action against at&t. It can be fixed but they just don't want too. I thought I would be relatively safe buying for a huge company. They spend millions on advertising to simply leave their customers twisting in the wind after 30 days. Very bad business.
That's the rant. So I decided that if the warranty was useless anyway I'd take a shot at it myself before sending out for repair myself. There is a place in California PPC Tech http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main.asp?area=home that will fix the usb for $79 and ship it back to you in a few days. They seem to be reputable and a lot of people are opting to fix this problem themselves.
How did I fix mine? by altering the mini usb end of the sync cable. I tried other cables and connectors but I think it has something to do with the contact points. The only way mine would work was if I plugged it in, wiggled it slowly and with a little bit of pressure at times, around until the screen brightens. That means it has made a connection, then don't move. Hold very still. It took both my hands. Wait for what seems like 2 mins and it would start to sync. Based on this. my repair (before I send it to California for repair, which I may end up doing anyway) is make sure the plug on the phone is straight and not damaged. If you can get the phone to sync this way you may be able to crimp the mini end of the usb very very slightly to make the connection you are manually doing by wiggling it around. It took a lot of small tweaking but it now syncs about 29 out of 30 times. That's about as good as it gets.
So good luck to us all. If you can't get it to work yourself send it out west to PPC Tech. In this economy the phone companies like at&t better start getting their customer service back on track before they have no customers to service, It has happened to the biggest before. Wake up AT&T! The days of the business model of massive turnover and new signups is coming to an end as people tighten their belts. Treating current and future users poorly is a sure fire way to put yourself out of business.
here is my gift to you all..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=362679
read this post and check EVERY SINGLE LINK in the first post...i had this issue and i ended bending my usb plug every which way until finally i broke the plastic seperator off and in turn smashing the second pin from the left on the top off (the one in charge of activesync) over and over until it broke...i didnt really care i could still flash by sd but then i smashed the + power pin and so i was on the phone with att for many many hours explaining to them that its a known issue to users but not to the company and they finally sent me a replacement..i should have just searched my butt off before trying to deal with a problem/fox it myself (yes i dissasembled it and soldered the pin back on and it broke off multiple times causing me to dissasemble it many many times and smashing it again and i ended up getting alcohol on the water damage void pad which i replaced) learn from me...if you ever have ANY problems that are significant..dont try fixing JUST GET A REPLACEMENT...who cares if its a refurb..if the refurb sucks then send it back until they send you a new kit...after 5 returns you get a new kit soo just keep sendin back them refurbs until your happy
oh and to make it easy on yourself because if you tell att you have a usb problem its NOT covered under warranty and will take you many many hours like me to convince them otherwise (which someone eventually will understand because certain people ARE familiar with this problem at ATT it just depends who you get and how many times youve been elevated in support)..what you need to do is IF YOU CAN return your spl back to stock (if you manage to get a long enough connection with activesync) but if not dont worry too much att doesnt really check spl just that you have the shipped rom on there so load the shipped rom (found on here) on your sd and flash back and just make up some excuse that it isnt working right and youl get a replacement or if you can get the spl revrted jus throw your device in bootloader by a failed flash (pull the usb out during flash) and say its stuck in the funny colored screen lol
jaysjob, i've been dealing with ppctechs for a long time (probably since '03-'04) they're very reputable and highly recommended. They actually got the contract to be the authorized repair center for I-Mate about a year ago.
But why would you pay $79 for something where u can get a complete replacement? Yah it might be a refurb but my device that i turned in was all scratched up from drops.. the images on the start, ie, and messaging buttons by the d-pad had scratched off.. and now the device i got looks brand new (i actually think it is a new one but i never asked if it was a refurb or not)
pazookie, what your saying is true.. always take advantage of the warranty if you have it. If you dont and you want to repair it yourself, know what your doing! I'm very handy and have done many lcd replacements and other various repairs on cellphones (nokias, HTCs, sony ericsson, samsung, motorola, u name it!)
My little brother has the n82 and he bought the black case, I told him to wait for me and i'd help him do it but he got impatient and he thought it was gonna be a simple swap. He ended up breaking his LCD doing it which set him back $80!
anyways i'm happy now with a new device but i'm gonna go back tomorrow and get it replaced again because the vibrate is extremely weak!
fone_fanatic said:
jaysjob, i've been dealing with ppctechs for a long time (probably since '03-'04) they're very reputable and highly recommended. They actually got the contract to be the authorized repair center for I-Mate about a year ago.
But why would you pay $79 for something where u can get a complete replacement? Yah it might be a refurb but my device that i turned in was all scratched up from drops.. the images on the start, ie, and messaging buttons by the d-pad had scratched off.. and now the device i got looks brand new (i actually think it is a new one but i never asked if it was a refurb or not)
pazookie, what your saying is true.. always take advantage of the warranty if you have it. If you dont and you want to repair it yourself, know what your doing! I'm very handy and have done many lcd replacements and other various repairs on cellphones (Niki's, HTCs, sony ericsson, samsung, motorola, u name it!)
My little brother has the n82 and he bought the black case, I told him to wait for me and i'd help him do it but he got impatient and he thought it was gonna be a simple swap. He ended up breaking his LCD doing it which set him back $80!
anyways i'm happy now with a new device but i'm gonna go back tomorrow and get it replaced again because the vibrate is extremely weak!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi fone
Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I agree with you. If the phone has something else that is messed up like you were saying a scratched screen or buttons. It's just that I am as careful as I can be to keep the phone in nice condition just to send it back for maybe one that someone didn't take the same care of.
Mine works good now. I think it has something to do with when I crimped the cable end. It make a tighter fit. I think that may be the key to mine and others problems. For sure it is becoming more and more clear that there is a design flaw whether att wants to acknowledge it or not.
Thanks for your input about PPC too. If I do end up having to fix it that's probably the way I'll go if that is still the only thing wrong. Otherwise it's in for the warranty as you suggested. I KNOW I'm not that smart.
Im having this same issue and it is definately not a cable problem.
tayloryork said:
Im having this same issue and it is definately not a cable problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if u think its a hardware problem then take it to a service center. The guys there just follow step by step guides on how to diagnose phone issues. For me he saw a crack in the usb jack on my device and just replaced it. If you send it in to HTC i think theres a higher risk of them figuring outu the device is hard spl'd and wont honor your warranty.
tayloryork said:
Im having this same issue and it is definately not a cable problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
taylor, I'm not saying it is a cable problem. I am saying it is a hardware port problem. I "fixed" mine, probably temporarily, by crimping my usb cord so that it holds more firmly in the port. I did say if you have the same problem and you use the same test I did ie: move it slightly, Gently, not like others I have heard stories of where they ram it from side to side until it snaps off, that you might be able to do what I did. I thought others with the same problem might be able to use this workaround until at&t figures out it is not an isolated incident with thousands of people having the same problem thats all. Hope this helps.
jj
I had a similar problem. Phone would charge fine, but windows didnt even recognise anything was plugged in. Interestingly the bootloader changed to USB when the cable was connected, and Serial when unplugged.
As it turns out (thanks Flying Kiwi for suggesting the obvious I had overlooked) the middle top pin was recessed too much into the plastic guide, so I stabbed it a bit with a scapel and all is well.
So it seems that the Serial/USB section of the bootloader cant even be trusted.

Completely bricked?

Hey all!
Today my phone seems to have completely died, it only boots into speedmod recovery but wont let me do anything in it, I managed to access the 'Install Zip from SD card' but there was nothing there it said. It wont boot into android what so ever. I again managed to access speedmod recovery and get to mount for storage mode which when connected shown no files.
It hasn't worked right since I was pushed over in town, I landed onto of my phone and it came out unscathed but since then it has crashed allot and the when I remove the back the smell of like when a capacitor has blown up (If you don't know that smell it's nasty, my tutor at college popped one to show us what happened, he was actually bored and wanted to do something fun and random XD) but yeah it stinks like that really bad.
I tried to boot into download mode and access it to install stocks but my computer hasn't picked it up at all in any way, doesn't even play the device connected or device faulty sound...
=/ I guess it is broken. What can you tell me? Any help would be awesome.
Scott
Hi, first of all don't panic until you have tried every possible fix.
I had once a problem when the phone only would boot up to an ugly exclamation mark and a drawing telling me to plug it to the computer, but the computer din't even notice when I plugged the phone so I supposed it was dead.
I would recommend you to try to make the JIG cable recommended in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=819551, I managed to put my phone in a working download mode and use odin to flash the SO again
Hope this helps
Hey! Thanks for the quick reply but unfortunately I tried this and nothing would happen. I had the download mode problem when I first tried to install custom roms, it worked then but unfortunately this time it hasn't =[
From what you say I would be very careful, from the smell you describe it sounds like a short somewhere, and could feasibly cause a fire , so pull the battery!
GTi 9000 insanity006/glitch
Smell of burned capacitor? Dude, dont turn it on.
Take battery off, disassemble it and watch the mainboard for any broken elements, if you have got a little electronic physics knowledge then take service manual, all onboard elements are marked there as R, C and so on, test them with multimeter, or ask someone to do it and pray you'll find damaged element. Start checking from power circuits (most likely the biggest capacitors sets onboard)
Also some soldering around may be broken, on battery circuit it would cause high temperature gain, use magnifying glass and little tool to make careful pressure to check it.
If some BGA chip unsoldered/bricked, then you are screwed. Maybe you know someone in hi tech service can resolder it for you, as usually it is not cheap.
Thanks for your help, I haven't disassembled the phone where the scent had grown stronger then faded slowly, I placed the battery back into the device enough so that the contacts were fully meeting and the scent came back strong. I will check it with a multi meter to see if there is any kind of fault to do with that.
Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated =]
FIXED
Hey guys,
I just want to post a quick update to say I've got my Galaxy S working again. I managed to get the phone into download mode and it was eventually picked up in Odin3 I managed to get the phone working again, rooted and installed Darky's ROM 10 and as it turns out it is that causing the problem, sorry Darky but it doesn't work for me, 9.5 runs like a dream though so it's all good on that front.
Just got all my apps downloaded and installed and everything is in perfect order.
The wierd smell I spoke of in an earlier post is actually because of the wallet I kept my phone in, I've taken it out n it's stopped smelling so I've bought a new wallet for it, don't know why it smelled, probably because I kept my phone in my friends rucksack which has had alsorts spilled in it XD Thanks for the advice, it was much appreciated.

[Q] 1 Year In - want to throw cappy. Help??

History:
Bought Captivate 08/10. I'm on my 3rd phone, all replaced due to "sleeping death", capacitive buttons not working, some other common bug with this phone.
In May, I (and the captivate) was pushed in a swimming pool so my phone is no longer under warranty and I'm stuck with this thing. I actually tried to get it replaced at the AT&T service center and the guy was going to let me, but I had to get it back to stock firmware - I was running Paragon. The capacitive buttons are sometimes working, sometimes not so getting to stock fw was a challenge. I did that after several hours and returned to the store, but they voided the warranty due to water damage.
Present:
1. Capacitive buttons sometimes work. sometimes don't (days at a time)
2. USB will not work (I hate you for this Samsung). 2 cables, 3 pcs, drivers galore. I can charge off USB, but the PC doesn't see the phone and the phone doesn't see the PC.
3. Can no longer dl any apps from the Market - get unsuccessful message. Tried clearing cache of download manager, etc. as recommended on xda.
What can I do at this point? I'd like to install a decent ROM and recover as much as possible, but this thing blocks every attempt I make with some problem. I would replace it, but $600 is pretty steep for a phone right now.
Thanks
I'll offer what I can (I'm ready to give up on this $&@# device, too)
The buttons are flimsy as ****. They are just rubber inserts whos 'spring mechanism' is the rubber itself (to restore itself to its original shape). This isn't 'mechanical' its like expecting a seat cushion to always retain its shape (and not create ass divots). I suppose these extremely small rubber inserts could be replaced, but there is no mechanism to 'fix'.
**I'm assuming you meant the vol / power buttons (not the touchscreen buttons)
The USB thing.....I would get this sometimes. I found the BEST way around this (and this may not be a solution for you), but the market app "USB Cable" essentially sets your device up as an ftp location on whatever wireless you're on. Freaking golden if you're on your home wireless network, but if not, I doubt its much of an option (it is considerably faster than a 2.0 / 3.0 USB connection). **since you can't access Market (http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/productivity/wifi-ftp-box-free_vkuk.html)
One year in, then it's time for an early upgrade.
What do you expect after it being under water?
You can't blame samsung for usb or button problems, blame the water.
That said sell it and put the money towards another phone.
By any chance did you buy the insurance? If you did, just call it in lost and pay the $125 deductible and have a working phone. If not there's really not that much you can do. What did you do to dry the device out? believe it or not, there may still be moisture in there. You might try putting the phone in a container of some sort and covering it with rice (uncooked of course) and letting it sit for a day or two, and then try it out.
I would blame the jerk that pushed you in the pool, not the phone....That person owes you a phone.
If you've been running stock 2.1 or 2.2 the poor performance will happen.
I felt the same way about the phone until I discovered the cognition rom, it's well known for being very stable but with your usb issues...good luck.
thanks for the advice everyone. i will check on the insurance route.
but yes, i can blame samsung for the usb issues. why is it so difficult to access your phone via the built in usb port? special drivers, distinct cables, etc. are absurd.
spanishfry said:
thanks for the advice everyone. i will check on the insurance route.
but yes, i can blame samsung for the usb issues. why is it so difficult to access your phone via the built in usb port? special drivers, distinct cables, etc. are absurd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How many phones don't use some sort of drivers to get this kind of access to it? I know the majority of the phones I have used in the past have needed some sort of drivers. Also, what distinct cables? It's a micro USB, you can't get any more common for a modern device than that. Samsung uses excellent hardware in everything they build and they regained my respect from the Froyo flop when they leaked Gingerbread so quickly to realistically a fairly old device. On top of that, they also leave their hardware to be hacked by our skilled developers (unlike Motorola).
Reamer09 said:
How many phones don't use some sort of drivers to get this kind of access to it? I know the majority of the phones I have used in the past have needed some sort of drivers. Also, what distinct cables? It's a micro USB, you can't get any more common for a modern device than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He didn't mention this issue specifically, but even when using the correct cable/drivers you can still get the dreaded adb offline error. Sometimes changing usb port fixes the issue. This screams bug, either in the samsung drivers or maybe adb itself?
BenKranged said:
He didn't mention this issue specifically, but even when using the correct cable/drivers you can still get the dreaded adb offline error. Sometimes changing usb port fixes the issue. This screams bug, either in the samsung drivers or maybe adb itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What "special drivers" would he be talking about then? I'm just one of the lucky ones that got a phone that works, 3 button works, adb always works, never had USB problems, never bricked (yet).
sent from my KF1 Galaxy S Captivate
spanishfry said:
but yes, i can blame samsung for the usb issues. why is it so difficult to access your phone via the built in usb port?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly because you submerged the phone in water?
spanishfry said:
thanks for the advice everyone. i will check on the insurance route.
but yes, i can blame samsung for the usb issues. why is it so difficult to access your phone via the built in usb port? special drivers, distinct cables, etc. are absurd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of smartphones.
thread closed

[Q] Headless Mobo data retrieval.

Hey guys bout to beat my head against a wall on this one.
A buddy of mine "tired" to replace his front glass on his Moto X and ended up destroying it. Apparently he cooked it pretty well with a hair dryer on high in the process of trying to the glass off and fried the LCD and digitizer and possibly more. Anyway he brought me over a bag of parts and asked if i could retrieve his data. He was running unrooted stock with a locked bootloader and I'm assuming debugging turned off but not sure.
So this is the part i start hitting my head against the wall. After reassembling it without the LCD/digitizer assembly pluged in, I pluged it in via USB and it installs it's self as a MOTOROLA PHONE, and seams to be using the USB INPUT and HID Compliant Vendor Defined Device drivers. I cant for the life of me get it to use the right drivers. I've installed Motorola's driver/device manager and run the Motorola driver installer but nothing is working.
Really don't know that much about the Moto X as I don't own one myself but i'd assume that it should install as a specific device and not a generic MOTOROLA PHONE as well as using MTP drivers instead of USB INPUT
Basically though, short of the driver issues, my main question is. Is there anyway of pulling data from a headless, bootloader locked, ADB disabled device? I personally don't think there is but just in case i thought i'd ask.
Would rather not buy a new LCD/Digitizer assembly for $70 if the main board got fried from the heat of the hairdryer, but might have to if there's no other way, at least then I could see what going on.
Have checked though the forms and didn't see any other similar topics on this, so if I missed it please link it.
Thanks ahead of time.
~Ninjaboy837
Ninjaboy837 said:
Hey guys bout to beat my head against a wall on this one.
A buddy of mine "tired" to replace his front glass on his Moto X and ended up destroying it. Apparently he cooked it pretty well with a hair dryer on high in the process of trying to the glass off and fried the LCD and digitizer and possibly more. Anyway he brought me over a bag of parts and asked if i could retrieve his data. He was running unrooted stock with a locked bootloader and I'm assuming debugging turned off but not sure.
So this is the part i start hitting my head against the wall. After reassembling it without the LCD/digitizer assembly pluged in, I pluged it in via USB and it installs it's self as a MOTOROLA PHONE, and seams to be using the USB INPUT and HID Compliant Vendor Defined Device drivers. I cant for the life of me get it to use the right drivers. I've installed Motorola's driver/device manager and run the Motorola driver installer but nothing is working.
Really don't know that much about the Moto X as I don't own one myself but i'd assume that it should install as a specific device and not a generic MOTOROLA PHONE as well as using MTP drivers instead of USB INPUT
Basically though, short of the driver issues, my main question is. Is there anyway of pulling data from a headless, bootloader locked, ADB disabled device? I personally don't think there is but just in case i thought i'd ask.
Would rather not buy a new LCD/Digitizer assembly for $70 if the main board got fried from the heat of the hairdryer, but might have to if there's no other way, at least then I could see what going on.
Have checked though the forms and didn't see any other similar topics on this, so if I missed it please link it.
Thanks ahead of time.
~Ninjaboy837
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now , I'm not a hardware specialist or anything ,but , do you suppose you could somehow "Directly" access data from the NAND chip ?
Ref: " https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Motorola+Moto+X+Teardown/16867 "
I did a little research on the NAND chip, unfortunately there is an NDA in place, so you probably won't be able to find out what the pins are to access it. I have been wrong before. Problem with using the hair dryer on high is that heat=energy in motion, which can cause electron flow.
If your friend didn't take appropriate precautions, ie grounding himself, ESD pad, dry hands, it is possible he shorted the entire assembly, and all his data is destroyed, especially if he didn't disconnect the battery.
Finally, the bag of parts=sensitive electrical components in a heavily charged static bag. Chances are that could've killed any chance of getting data.
The reason that your computer is recognizing the device as a Motorola Phone and that is it is as a failsafe, the processor isn't completely dead and is doing what it can to help you, by trolling you.
Good Luck!
I picked up a 4.4.2 Moto X with a bad battery and a bad (broken panel, no display) screen assembly. It did the same as what you're describing when hooked up via USB. After installing a good battery and plugging in a working screen it booted right up without any trouble. Before the parts the phone would light a green LED in the earpiece when plugged into the charger. Unless he really super baked the crap out of it you can probably get it working with a screen and possibly a battery.
If you do need a screen I was looking at the $52 dollar option on ebay myself before I found another option, it's auction number 251892071870 .
I'd suggest trying this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786395
You'd be able to run the recovery by pressing all three buttons when the device is off to get to the bootloader. Then when you guess that its loaded press volume down once, then volume up once. Then wait 10-30 seconds for recovery to load
tormin said:
I picked up a 4.4.2 Moto X with a bad battery and a bad (broken panel, no display) screen assembly. It did the same as what you're describing when hooked up via USB. After installing a good battery and plugging in a working screen it booted right up without any trouble. Before the parts the phone would light a green LED in the earpiece when plugged into the charger. Unless he really super baked the crap out of it you can probably get it working with a screen and possibly a battery.
If you do need a screen I was looking at the $52 dollar option on ebay myself before I found another option, it's auction number 251892071870 .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might just have to try that, i did notice with the battery out and connected via USB the phone shows up as a USB INPUT, but as soon as you plug in the battery and the X8 computing system then it switches to MOTOROLA PHONE.
mrmidnight said:
I did a little research on the NAND chip, unfortunately there is an NDA in place, so you probably won't be able to find out what the pins are to access it. I have been wrong before. Problem with using the hair dryer on high is that heat=energy in motion, which can cause electron flow.
If your friend didn't take appropriate precautions, ie grounding himself, ESD pad, dry hands, it is possible he shorted the entire assembly, and all his data is destroyed, especially if he didn't disconnect the battery.
Finally, the bag of parts=sensitive electrical components in a heavily charged static bag. Chances are that could've killed any chance of getting data.
The reason that your computer is recognizing the device as a Motorola Phone and that is it is as a failsafe, the processor isn't completely dead and is doing what it can to help you, by trolling you.
Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, some people don't realize the big affects of not following little precautions.
Found a article on hackaday about reading NAND chips in place on the pcb might give that a try if all else fails.
http://hackaday.com/2010/12/24/reading-nand-flash-chips-without-removing-them/
http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/2007/05/05/read-embedded-flash-chips/
raddacle said:
I'd suggest trying this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786395
You'd be able to run the recovery by pressing all three buttons when the device is off to get to the bootloader. Then when you guess that its loaded press volume down once, then volume up once. Then wait 10-30 seconds for recovery to load
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When booting in to the Moto X's recovery does it start ADB? I'm not sure if ADB is enabled or not, but it's worth a shot. I've gotten spoiled with My TWRP recovery auto enabling ADB on recovery boot.
ooo just saw this, there might be hope after all
Ricky Divjakovski said:
for people who dont have adb enabled, i suggest you contact a kernel developer to automatically enable it in the default.prop and sideload the kernel in recovery!
i broke my S3 on stock so nothing was enabled.
i enabled adb via the default.prop and compiled the kernel and flashed in recovery(sideload).
now i have full control over the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ninjaboy837 said:
When booting in to the Moto X's recovery does it start ADB? I'm not sure if ADB is enabled or not, but it's worth a shot. I've gotten spoiled with My TWRP recovery auto enabling ADB on recovery boot.
ooo just saw this, there might be hope after all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm you know what, you're right. It seems Nexus devices have adb on stock recovery- Moto's don't. Though what you found might be gold, I hope you can bust out a modified kernel- or know someone who does.
EDIT: Though I don't know how you're going to get the Update.zip on the phone to flash it. Worse comes to worse you could plug a mouse into the phone and play a guessing game of what you're clicking on

Nexus 6 USB Issues

Hi All,
So I've had my Nexus 6 for about 2 years now, but recently had some weird issues with USB connections and I'm pretty stumped. The issue itself is that my phone will not be recognized by Windows, it doesn't even display in device manager. If I type 'adb devices' in cmd, then no devices show. I've tried using USB Charging Only, P2P and MTP usb options specified in the settings. However, when I connect my phone through the wall, it says "Charging over USB", now if I remember rightly it used to say "Charging over AC", I'm still using the official Motorola plug that came with the phone. I still have access to TWRP, but phone can't connect to phone through fastboot. Also, my PC is running Windows 10, just in case this is a known issue - although I've scoured google and couldn't find any answers.
One last detail, I first noticed this issue around the time that I moved from stock to Pure Nexus + Franco Kernel, think it was around the first release of 7.1.1. I've got a feeling this is entirely coincidental and unfortunate timing, but figure it's a detail I'll include just in case it is relevant.
So here's what I've tried so far:
Different USB cable
Different device (hudl2 was recognized by Windows)
Different ROM, didn't install FK this time
Different ROM with FK
Reinstalling official google USB drivers
So any suggestions as to what the issue itself is (dead charging port maybe? Although seems strange it'd charge at USB speeds still) and any suggested fixes?
Thanks in advance
SamConnolly said:
....So any suggestions as to what the issue itself is (dead charging port maybe?.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Below suggestions about the USB-port:
1.
Cleaning USB contacts with air pressure or a small brush wetted with alcohol.
2.
Check the connection with Windows:
Use a different phone; different cable.
3.
Connect your phone to a different PC. When working you know that there's no hardware failure.
NLBeev said:
Below suggestions about the USB-port:
1.
Cleaning USB contacts with air pressure or a small brush wetted with alcohol.
2.
Check the connection with Windows:
Use a different phone; different cable.
3.
Connect your phone to a different PC. When working you know that there's no hardware failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brilliant suggestions, I'd tried cleaning with a toothpick already but not a brush, so went out, bought a toothbrush (couldn't find any alcohol) and after very little effort it started to work. Thank you so much, you have just saved me from buying a new phone
SamConnolly said:
Brilliant suggestions, I'd tried cleaning with a toothpick already but not a brush, so went out, bought a toothbrush (couldn't find any alcohol) and after very little effort it started to work. Thank you so much, you have just saved me from buying a new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isopropyl alcohol can be found at either Wal-mart or your local pharmacy for around $1.50 to $2.00 a bottle. Just be sure to use 89% or above, you don't want to lower as it would have too much water content, maybe even causing damage. 91% is very common in stores and alot of times the only option, I like to use 99% but you may have to hunt some down lol. Also very very soft toothbrushes are fine, but what I found works even better are the tiny, thin, very soft makeup brushes as you can fit the entire thing in the port allowing greater contact area when cleaning, also they are amazing for cleaning out the Nexus 6's speaker grills, they fit every nook and cranny, but most importantly, holding them at an extreme angle the bristles actually can fit up under the plastic guard of the speaker between it and the grill mesh without any worry of damaging it. Try it out and you would be amazed by just how much random debris get trapped between the guard and mesh. Just make sure if you are gonna "borrow" your girlfriends, wifes, or daughters brush, you clean it very very good with the isopropyl alcohol first, wouldn't want to give your phone a new, messy, smudgy, paint job lol. Also for the debris such as fuzz and dirt that are extremely packed down into the port, alot of times even shining a bright light, you cannot tell there is a layer of crud stopping your cable from inserting fully (I have cleaned some unbelievably disgusting phones people bring me over the years) I use a pair of ifixit's fine tip ESD safe tweezers and a lot of lighting along with a dab of patience lol. Just have to be careful, most importantly, not in a rush, and you can get it clean as day 1.

Categories

Resources