[Q] G1 wont boot... sometimes - G1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
I have recently got my hands on old G1; got it as "bricked" - no matter what i did, it just wouldnt turn on. I could, however, get into bootloader (or whatever is that tri-colored screen called). Using goldcard, i was able to flash RC29 DREAMIMG, which would however result in same error (phone stuck at g1 logo).
Finaly got it "working" by flashing package from stem 3 of this guide; which enabled fastboot. Using fastboot i than flashed hboot and radio from this thread and RA recovery. Using recovery, i finally flashed (tried more, same problem on all of them) this rom ("FroyoByLaszlo Port" one).
Now to the problem; sometimes, phone just wont boot, or access the recovery. I am able to enter bootloader screen every time, even if it wont boot. Sometimes it boots straigt away, sometimes it enters some kind of bootloop (and might actually boot after several [g1 logo -> some time -> reboot] cycles. Also, what i noticed, is that phone sometimes has problems with waking up - buttons would light up and screen stays black. If i open keyboard, screen goes on, but digitezer wont react (trackball works).
Have to say I am not quite sure what might be wrong (one suspect MIGHT be battery, which seems to be quite weak). I will gladly accept any new idea.

Doubtful its the battery but it sure sounds like hardware, maybe a bad chip with some corrupt partitions. Flashing a new bootloader should take care of this but being you have done so.... maybe bad blocks in the chip?
What is you current bootloader and radio? Write down all from that screen
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

DREAM PVT 32B SHIP S-ON
HBOOT-1.33.0013d (DREA11000)
CPLD-4
RADIO-2.22.27.08
Oct 21 2009,22:33:27
Than theres just fastboot and action selection stuff.
Edit: also, i have opened it up (everything except lcd part, which i might check later) to check for any loose cables (what i noticed, is that if i give the phone few harder knocks, it usualy boots - however i am still not sure if this isnt just an coincidence) and oxidation; everything seemed clean & in great condition (ie, no oxidation).

A strange one you have here, the intermediate problems always trouble me the most. Its possible you have a sometimes sticky camera button that keeps you from booting properly without banging it around...
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

I will give these buttons a go later (will open it up once more, might check the lcd part as well), however they dont feel like they are geting "stuck" - and both of them works well for selecting actions in bootloader.
Also, would that explain the "wake up" bug? Just happened.
edit: However i think i may confirm the "bang a phone" theory. Just refused to boot, gave it bang right into the butons and there it boots.

Gentle Bang for The Win!
demkantor said:
A strange one you have here, the intermediate problems always trouble me the most. Its possible you have a sometimes sticky camera button that keeps you from booting properly without banging it around...
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently pulled out my HTC G1 which has been out of commission for some time; it's long since had some battery issues - doesn't hold a charge (well, it does now, but not for long..), and I look forward to rooting it this weekend as it's far past warranty and I'm no longer w/ T-Mobile. Long story short, I forgot the screen unlock code and couldn't log in using a Google account (btw - still haven't found a way around this one yet). I used the pinhole reset and I'm pretty sure it got stuck as my phone wouldn't boot, take charge or anything. Was fairly convinced it was bricked - until I came across this post (many thanks) and gently whacked my G1 against the wooden coffee table and pressed over ALL the buttons on the unit to be sure nothing was stuck. During the process - there was light (literally)! Sure enough - I put power back to the unit, and it's taking a charge again. So today I being the journey to root, and wanted to throw this out there for anyone else stuck before boot with an apparently bricked phone. This is the first Android smartphone they made and certainly has it's share of bugs - sticky keys, etc. Give it a good whackin' and try again, hope this works for others as well!
~Sockum

Related

Nexus One stuck in bootloader

Pardon for the long post but my Nexus One has been out of comission for a few days now so I'll list everything I've tried to make it work in an attempt someone might be able to help me!
Okay, here goes.
A couple days ago I removed the battery on my phone to install an invisible shield. Prior to that I had owned the Nexus One brand new for about a week, had it rooted first thing with the HTC Desire ROM...it was running perfectly
After the installation of the shield was complete I reinserted the battery and hit the power button. The phone booted straight to the bootloader (aka white Robots on Skateboards screen). Funny thing, I was unable to navigate the bootloader (vol up/down) without fiddling with the trackball first by pressing it a couple times) Anyway if I would reboot the phone via bootloader it would return...power off the phone it wouldn't power off just reboot to bootloader.
In this mode I could still use fastboot perfectly and I could enter the restore screen. At this point I kept attempting a reboot and it actually went through at one point and did a full boot to the OS...when I powered down and booted up again however, it was back to the same issue.
On the modaco forum they suggested I flash an alpha2boot.img as the boot image replacement for r21 desire rom as a fix, I tried this method with no success. Since, I've factory reset the phone several times replacing it with various ROMs (currently running stock) none of it fixed the problem.
I also found a way to brute force the phone into safe mode via the fastboot command in prompt: fastboot-windows reboot Using this command the phone successfully reboots, albeit into SAFE MODE. In safe mode the phone works perfectly in every way. I'm just limited in that I can't install any applications and I can't reboot properly (without a computer and command prompt).
I was doing some research on the forums and read the problem could be with the trackball. It would make sense that the phone could only boot to bootloader if the phone had the key press for the trackball triggered somehow. That said, the trackball functions perfectly when operating the phone in safe mode so I doubt this is the issue.
Another idea is that the phone is stuck in some state in the SPL or bootloader...I was wondering if there was anyway to reflash the SPL or bootloader to see if I could resolve the issue that way. (how I would do this, I have no idea)
Any help, suggestions, or advice is very appreciated. As I already unlocked my phone I have a feeling I am out of luck for warranty though I would pay for HTC to repair it if they could. I would prefer to fix it in the software however and not send it in.
Reflash the stock ROM and see if that helps.
mortzz said:
Reflash the stock ROM and see if that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said he's running stock rom...
@ OP, if everything was absolutely perfect before putting the shield on, and everything to crap immediately after finishing the shield, then obviously something went wrong during the install.
The obvious yet unfortunate conclusion is that some solution got inside or something, most likely inside the trackball. =\
Detail exactly what you did when you installed the invisible shield.
Did you get you phone wet at all?
Got the front of the phone a little wet and I'm guessing some did get in the trackball. That said, I do invisi shields every day for my job and never had an issue with any phone...wouldn't it be ironic that mine was the one that got screwed up.
I think it's interesting to note that the trackball still works perfectly when the phone is running in safe mode, no double clicks or anything like that...possibly a sensor was tripped?
Got the front of the phone a little wet and I'm guessing some did get in the trackball. That said, I do invisi shields every day for my job and never had an issue with any phone...wouldn't it be ironic that mine was the one that got screwed up.
I think it's interesting to note that the trackball still works perfectly when the phone is running in safe mode, no double clicks or anything like that...possibly a sensor was tripped?
So I called it quits on fixing this phone and I'm sending it out to HTC does anyone know how I go about getting restore back to factory settings?
Well you can't relock the bootloader, but if you can use fastboot when your phone's on the booatloader, you can use that to wipe the phone.
Oh wow, sorry to hear it.
If your phone will not boot without the help of fastboot, I wouldn't worry to much about what state Android is in (factory, or custom rom). HTC will attempt to boot the phone, toss it in a bin, and then send you a replacement.
Or that is my assumption anyways. A friend had a similar issue; he unlocked his phone and decided after flashing the Desire rom, that he wanted to stay stock with what came on his Nexus for a while. After flashing the stock images back, his phone looped into bootloader. Off to HTC it went and within a week he had a new phone.
Best of luck!
Sorry to post in such an old thread, but I'm having the exact same issue. Even the part with the invisible shield. Didnt install it myself, the idiot at best buy used too much of the liquid I guess. Did you send yours in or what? I managed to get the phone to work for about a month then it started acting up again today. Wont boot into anything other than safe mode, or fastboot. When it boots into safe mdoe, the phone turns off within a few seconds then goes straight to the boot animation. Would love to get this issue settled, really annoying
i am having same problem. fasboot doesnt even find my phone. i got into safe mode but when i turned it off and back on it went back to fastboot
Same
I am getting the same problem! this really sucks. I think the phone might have gotten a little bit wet, just a few drops of water, and that may have caused this. Should I just call HTC and send it in?
btw, the phone was working fine, even with the very little moisture that was wiped from it. But, I took out the battery when I got home, and this happened.
so is this because on invisibleshield? cuz i just ordered mine today!!
I think its from a little bit of moisture getting into the trackball. I've been doing many "tests" trying to figure out the problem, and my almost final conclusion is the trackball not working good. Most of the time I try to start-up the phone i get into safemode, and once I have gotten into the normal way of things, but the trackball wasn't working well. I think I might have to cal htc, and that sucks because I am going out of the country in 4 days... I won't be able to take my nexus if I can't come up with a way to fix it myself.
I DID IT!
Well, I think I did.
My theory that moisture was the cause of this bootloader stuckness is quite correct. I took a towel, and rubbed the trackball to it for a good 5-10 min, then I did it for another 5-10 min wiping while pressing down on the trackball. I'm very sure that there was some moisture extracted from the device. The trackball is working now. I now do not have to call HTC or send it in.
I kept on booting into fastboot and then recovery, being unable to press buttons, but then I rebooted again into safe mode, where the trackball wasn't working either. I kept moving around the trackball, and then I figured it out, because I felt a slight bit of moisture. Now, it boots up normally, I can access the recovery, and all selection is working.
But, I have a bad feeling that this problem will come back to haunt me. It's good for now though.
Phone is working great as usual.
Can confirm the same issue.
Drop of water on the trackball.
Rebooted into an unresponsive fastboot.
Fastboot reboot command from the computer got me into safemode.
Rolling the trackball while pressed fixed it, the phone boots properly now.

[Q] Please help: trackball constantly registering clicks even if not pressed

Hey guys
I tried to search but I haven't found anyone with this particular problem:
Today I had to swap the SIM card on my dad's N1. I must have touched something the wrong way since after doing so, it seems the trackball is constantly being pressed (even though it's not).
Here's some of the consequences of this, that are making me literally freak out:
1. I can't get into recovery (as soon as I do, a click is registered on "Reboot phone).
2. It only boots in safe mode
3. Navigating around the phone is almost impossible, opening up the app drawer immediately launches an app.
By hitting a text input field, I can observe how it's registering clicks really fast (by observing how the whole text field is selected/deselected)
I tried fiddling a bit with the trackball, long pressing it, clicking it, etc, but it's still a no go (long pressing it does register as a long press, but as soon as I let go, the constant clicking continues)
Seeing as how this happens whether or not after the ROM has booted, it looks like this is a hardware problem.
Has anyone run into something like this before? Any ideas on how to fix this myself?
I don't know if sending it to HTC is an option because of two reasons:
1. I live in Costa Rica, don't know if there's HTC support here, or if it'd be safe shipping the phone to the states for a repair.
2. My dad's N1 is rooted, but bootloader hasn't been unlocked. It's running a custom rom. Right now I'm not sure if I can't get it back to stock since I can't even get into recovery.
Please help! Thanks
I had this exact problem for about a day or so it turns out I had got the trackball wet try clicking it and rolling it also try giving it a day or two it might just come back good luck on your nexus
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Turns out you were right!
I left it sitting for a day, turned it on and the problem was still there. I got a hair dryer and used it on the phone for like a minute, turned it on, and all is good now!
Thanks!
Problem has come back and won't go away now... definitely looks like a hardware issue, will call HTC support.

Sliding won't work anymore

Hey guys,
I could need a bit of help! It's now the third time I'm having this problem, don't ask me why. I've got the feeling that I read the whole forum here, but didn't find anything similiar.
The 1st time I didn't change anything (ok, rooted it, but nothing else)
The 2nd time I overclocked it slightly (~850-900 MHz)
Now I'm using MIUI.
But back to the problem:
I'm unable to use the keyboard, every time I'm sliding open the keyboard (even when it's turned off), it "crashes". The screen stops working or it freezes, the only way to turn it off is taking out the battery.
However, the bigger problem comes now: I'm barely able to restart it. It tries booting, but is restarting all the time or the screen is just turning on (in some angles you see that it is turned on but it's black). After many retries, it starts working, sometimes the bootloop is running 15min or i have to manually restart it 10 times or more. The strange thing is that the keyboard works fine, nevertheless I have to choose between using it opened (taking it with me becomes difficult ) or closed...
...the main problem now is flashing a new Rom, I'm currently trying it through the android sdk and adb, but using the power-button + x is easier
I don't think that I can solve the problem, I sent the device two times back (warranty till may 2012), but maybe someone here knows a bit more. My guess is that one of the sensors is broken, or some parts of the display that should manage the sliding process...
Anyway, thanks for your attention!
Web
If you already have Rom Manager, just click Reboot into Recovery..
inches0 said:
If you already have Rom Manager, just click Reboot into Recovery..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried to use one a time ago, but it wasn't working right....
However, now I'm not even able to boot it, the screen just flashes and turns off itself before trying to restart a few moments later....guess I lost my Milestone
Sbf back to stock?
taptaptouch said:
Sbf back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the computer isn't finding it anymore...I'll back up the data and try use my warranty... I hope that they don't complain about MIUI...
But I'm still not getting the point, why my mobile had these issues three times, although they "repaired" it twice...and nobody else is having the same problem

[Q] Hard-Bricked G1

Hi there,
I fear I hard bricked my G1 (after long years of good service as gps device thanks to a 2600mAh battery).
Since it was quite slow on CM7, I downgraded it to CM6.1. But this would'nt boot. (boot loop)
So I did a bit of reading and decided to downgrade the radio too. I downloaded a flashable zip and flashed it the usual way in the CWM recovery - which didn't finish (after a few minutes), so I removed the battery.
Since then my G1 wont start any more. On top of that, it want event charge. If I try to charge it the status led wont event light up. (I already tried it with two different batteries, both yield the same results.)
Funny thing though: If I don't charge it and let it sit for a few hours, the status LED very shortly lights up when pressing the power button. (But other than this nothing happens and if I press the power button again shortly after the LED stays dead.)
So ... I fear the problem is hardware and not software related.
Does anybody have an idea what could be broken (software or hardware) and if it's software based if there's a way to revive my phone?
(Before anybody asks ... yes, I have newer android phones, but I really live my G1 for nostalgic value so if there a way to get it running again I definitely would try.)
thx a lot,
Bapf
Sounds like you need JTAG, and don't take this the wrong way, but flashing firmware isn't the usual way, its the way you brick your phone. If possible always use fast boot to flash firmware or you are asking for a brick.
You can buy the JTAG equipment yourself and the software is free. Or you can see if you can find someone locally to do it. Unless you have a particular sentimental value to this phone it maybe cheaper to buy a new one.... Sorry for bad news
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Bricked G1 - Try Again w/ SIM Card IN!
I had the exact symptoms mentioned in this post - tried nearly everything until I finally put back in the SIM card (even through I don't have T-Mobile anymore) - it booted again and registers the AC adapter and/or USB cable. Hope this helps some who are struggling at this level as I did!!
Bapf said:
Hi there,
I fear I hard bricked my G1 (after long years of good service as gps device thanks to a 2600mAh battery).
Since it was quite slow on CM7, I downgraded it to CM6.1. But this would'nt boot. (boot loop)
So I did a bit of reading and decided to downgrade the radio too. I downloaded a flashable zip and flashed it the usual way in the CWM recovery - which didn't finish (after a few minutes), so I removed the battery.
Since then my G1 wont start any more. On top of that, it want event charge. If I try to charge it the status led wont event light up. (I already tried it with two different batteries, both yield the same results.)
Funny thing though: If I don't charge it and let it sit for a few hours, the status LED very shortly lights up when pressing the power button. (But other than this nothing happens and if I press the power button again shortly after the LED stays dead.)
So ... I fear the problem is hardware and not software related.
Does anybody have an idea what could be broken (software or hardware) and if it's software based if there's a way to revive my phone?
(Before anybody asks ... yes, I have newer android phones, but I really live my G1 for nostalgic value so if there a way to get it running again I definitely would try.)
thx a lot,
Bapf
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if this will work,as I've never encountered a situation such as this, but have you tried bootloader(power button+camera button)?
If you can get it into bootloader, then I have the original rc29 DREAIMG.NBH file(plus, rc29 is the best place to start if you want to root it or install a custom rom).If you get it working and just want stock 1.6, i have those updates as well.
(all said out of hope, I have a g1 and I love it,I'm really glad that someone else shares my enthusiasm!!)
If bootloader works, give me your email and i'll send you the files, good luck!:fingers-crossed:
Nope. It won't even start the bootloader.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Well thats unfortunite, I guess it's just for a soft brick.

[Q] Dropped HTC M7, now boot loop and no recovery

Hi there... new to the forum, but long-time reader, especially over the past two days since I dropped my AT&T HTC M7 (flashed to GPE) on cement and it pretty much died.
I'm out of ideas and could use some help. After the drop, it was stuck in a boot loop, but I was able to get to hboot with volume down. From there, I can access fastboot, but recovery or factory reset options just trigger the boot loop again. During the loop, it shows the Google logo (or HTC logo when flashed to stock) for 15-20 seconds and then reboots. Physical damage to the phone is not too substantial, and I have unfortunately extensive experience opening it up from repeated attempts to fix the purple tint issue with bad modules from eBay, so I checked inside and everything is intact.
Over the past two days I've flashed RUUs and recoveries like crazy, downgraded and upgraded hboot, changed CID, etc. I can oem lock and unlock... fastboot kicks out an error when I do it, but the status in hboot is changed when I reboot into the bootloader. Flashing ROMs and recoveries works like a charm, so does erasing cache. What I mean is that the process works exactly like before in fastboot, and I can see the splash screen logo change, so I know it's taken effect, but NOTHING gets past the boot loop. I am thinking the drop resulted in a corrupt partition, but since I can't get into recovery I haven't been able to find any way to do anything about that. If it was physically broken, it just doesn't seem like I would be able to do everything I can. I initially thought maybe it was a busted/stuck power switch, but that works perfectly navigating hboot menus and nothing ever auto-selects or anything like that, which I would expect.
Aside from the fact that I really like this phone, and that I really don't want to have to pay to replace it, I feel attached to it since I've dismantled it successfully to repair more than once and flashed ROMs many times in the past without issues. I've just run out of ideas, and of course I can't go on much longer without a phone.
Does anyone have any experience with this or hunches I can try out?
placebored said:
Hi there... new to the forum, but long-time reader, especially over the past two days since I dropped my AT&T HTC M7 (flashed to GPE) on cement and it pretty much died.
I'm out of ideas and could use some help. After the drop, it was stuck in a boot loop, but I was able to get to hboot with volume down. From there, I can access fastboot, but recovery or factory reset options just trigger the boot loop again. During the loop, it shows the Google logo (or HTC logo when flashed to stock) for 15-20 seconds and then reboots. Physical damage to the phone is not too substantial, and I have unfortunately extensive experience opening it up from repeated attempts to fix the purple tint issue with bad modules from eBay, so I checked inside and everything is intact.
Over the past two days I've flashed RUUs and recoveries like crazy, downgraded and upgraded hboot, changed CID, etc. I can oem lock and unlock... fastboot kicks out an error when I do it, but the status in hboot is changed when I reboot into the bootloader. Flashing ROMs and recoveries works like a charm, so does erasing cache. What I mean is that the process works exactly like before in fastboot, and I can see the splash screen logo change, so I know it's taken effect, but NOTHING gets past the boot loop. I am thinking the drop resulted in a corrupt partition, but since I can't get into recovery I haven't been able to find any way to do anything about that. If it was physically broken, it just doesn't seem like I would be able to do everything I can. I initially thought maybe it was a busted/stuck power switch, but that works perfectly navigating hboot menus and nothing ever auto-selects or anything like that, which I would expect.
Aside from the fact that I really like this phone, and that I really don't want to have to pay to replace it, I feel attached to it since I've dismantled it successfully to repair more than once and flashed ROMs many times in the past without issues. I've just run out of ideas, and of course I can't go on much longer without a phone.
Does anyone have any experience with this or hunches I can try out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah try a new motherboard yours is broken, really it's hardware damage no amount of flashing will fix it
clsA said:
yeah try a new motherboard yours is broken, really it's hardware damage no amount of flashing will fix it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks clsA. I'm surprised by that since in my experience a broken motherboard results in a much more substantial and obvious failure, but I guess the point is moot if I can't get into recovery to try anything else.
There isn't much of a market for new motherboards, and my experience with eBay sellers for oem components on this device makes me think trying to replace it there would be a fool's errand. I guess I could buy a used M7, but on the other hand the damn thing has basically been nothing but problems. The defective camera turned to garbage in under a year and one drop killed it? Unless anyone has another suggestion, I guess it's time to cut my losses on this thing. I may feel a sentimental attachment because I've nursed it along so much, but damn... a phone is a phone and this one has been a LOT more problematic than any other one I've had.
Gotta thank you again clsA! Your words of doom made me feel that extra bit wreckless, so I decided if the phone was cooked anyway I might as well tear it down and try whatever I could... firmly reseating cables and squeezing heatsinks, etc. Low and behold, I reassembled and the problem is fixed! I'm not sure what the exact issue was, and I won't be surprised if it comes back at some point down the line, but I'm back up and running tonight and that's a hell of a lot more of a victory than I was expecting.
So... it wasn't a motherboard issue, but it was hardware related.
I should have posted on here when this first happened. I love xda!
placebored said:
Gotta thank you again clsA! Your words of doom made me feel that extra bit wreckless, so I decided if the phone was cooked anyway I might as well tear it down and try whatever I could... firmly reseating cables and squeezing heatsinks, etc. Low and behold, I reassembled and the problem is fixed! I'm not sure what the exact issue was, and I won't be surprised if it comes back at some point down the line, but I'm back up and running tonight and that's a hell of a lot more of a victory than I was expecting.
So... it wasn't a motherboard issue, but it was hardware related.
I should have posted on here when this first happened. I love xda!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great, I'm glad you were able to fix it

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