Is the phone data stored on the mainboard/motherboard?
My touchscreen stopped working well, and I bought a replacement phone (seems to be cheaper now then a genuine replacement screen...)
I wonder where data on the phone is stored. If I swap mainboards between the two phones, will the new phone automatically be rooted and my data? I'm considering just swapping the boards since I replaced my main board in the past because of eMMC problems, and I bet that the new phone will develop them soon, too.
Also, I'm lazy and want to go the easiest way....
Data Naturally is stored within the internal storage of any phone.. If all you have is a dead screen, replace it.. That screen not working has nothing to do with your data.. New screen, you won't loose any data you have on your phone.
doubledragon5 said:
Data Naturally is stored within the internal storage of any phone.. If all you have is a dead screen, replace it.. That screen not working has nothing to do with your data.. New screen, you won't loose any data you have on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But is internal storage on the mainboard? That is my question. Since many mainboards have eMMC problem and need to be replaced, I thought to just switch the board between my old phone, where I already fixed the eMMC problem, and the new phone off ebay where it might creep up again. And, at the same time I was hoping to avoid having to root the new phone, unlock it and having to copy over all my data. Some time saved. So, if it is all on the main board, I just switch it. That is in any case much easier than installing a new screen on my old phone. Since original samsung screens are now more expensive than a whole phone, it seemed worthwhile.
Anyway, the phone I bought has a broken digitizer. So pen not working. Luckily seller says he accepts returns and will refund me. :good:
I might try my luck on a seconds round. Or switch to the Xiaomi Mi 9 lite....
ghostwheel said:
But is internal storage on the mainboard? That is my question. Since many mainboards have eMMC problem and need to be replaced, I thought to just switch the board between my old phone, where I already fixed the eMMC problem, and the new phone off ebay where it might creep up again. And, at the same time I was hoping to avoid having to root the new phone, unlock it and having to copy over all my data. Some time saved. So, if it is all on the main board, I just switch it. That is in any case much easier than installing a new screen on my old phone. Since original samsung screens are now more expensive than a whole phone, it seemed worthwhile.
Anyway, the phone I bought has a broken digitizer. So pen not working. Luckily seller says he accepts returns and will refund me. :good:
I might try my luck on a seconds round. Or switch to the Xiaomi Mi 9 lite....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can access all data if you can boot with out a screen using adb and fastboot to download your stuff.
ghostwheel said:
But is internal storage on the mainboard? That is my question. Since many mainboards have eMMC problem and need to be replaced, I thought to just switch the board between my old phone, where I already fixed the eMMC problem, and the new phone off ebay where it might creep up again. And, at the same time I was hoping to avoid having to root the new phone, unlock it and having to copy over all my data. Some time saved. So, if it is all on the main board, I just switch it. That is in any case much easier than installing a new screen on my old phone. Since original samsung screens are now more expensive than a whole phone, it seemed worthwhile.
Anyway, the phone I bought has a broken digitizer. So pen not working. Luckily seller says he accepts returns and will refund me. :good:
I might try my luck on a seconds round. Or switch to the Xiaomi Mi 9 lite....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my knowledge there and a few hardware differences between models so play it safe and purchase the exact model as your current one. Good luck and Happy holidays.
https://swappa.com/buy/samsung-galaxy-note-4
Related
I guess I'm one of the unlucky ones who has to send this phone in for repair.
Going there this morning..
My question is to those that have received their phones back. Any indication that the repair done has anything done different to the phone?
I mean, if they are just replacing the defective guts with essentially the exact same guts but working, does that not mean it will just happen again (SD Failure)?
Or did they actually change something within the phone to make it more durable and essentially eliminate what brought it to them in the first place?
Hopefully someone in the know could answer this... pointless to repair something with another soon to fail board or sd card.
that is a very good question, of all the phones i sent in for repair and got back
they kept their original IMEI numbers
they all came back with replaced PCB (motherboard) and cause of failure is "No Power"
by that i figure out they mean, it does not charge when you plug in the USB cable to the phone after it dies.
it seems like whatever controls the internalSD also controls the USB charging of the phone
so the problem might not really be with the internal SD but rather the power relay that supplies power to the internal SD and battery charge.
greeced said:
I guess I'm one of the unlucky ones who has to send this phone in for repair.
Going there this morning..
My question is to those that have received their phones back. Any indication that the repair done has anything done different to the phone?
I mean, if they are just replacing the defective guts with essentially the exact same guts but working, does that not mean it will just happen again (SD Failure)?
Or did they actually change something within the phone to make it more durable and essentially eliminate what brought it to them in the first place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a great point allgamer.
However fact still remains... if they are swapping out the guts for identical, but working internals, that defeats the purpose of actually correcting the problem as the problem will surely pop up again.
Lets hope it doesnt.. but this phone doesn't seem like a good candidate for constant flashing the way my old HTC Touch Diamond was. Especially if you're doing it with ODIN, you may not have a leg to stand on come out of warranty claims.
At least if you flash something with KIES, because it was an "official" update provided by samsung. So if the phone goes corrupt, you can yell to the heavens and they'd have to fix it, because essentially they corrupted your phone.
It would be great to get some feedback from other members who received their phone back from repair. I wonder if one of those members had the SD go corrupt again with the new Motherboard in place.
I have been trying to repair this phone, but the usual faults have not turned out to be the problem. This is the background on the repair efforts:
In my research I found 3 main causes for a dead touch screen.
1) Corruption of system software.
2) Failure of digitizer cable (hinge FPC)
3) Failure of digitizer screen (touch panel)
To check for #1, I flashed the firmware again (after a wipe). I downgraded to Android 1.5 because I wanted to root the phone and install CyanogenMod Android 2.2 Froyo.
This was a big mistake because I learned that when you don't have a working touch screen, you cannot get past the "Touch the Android to Start" screen.
So on to step 2 - replace cable (hinge FPC). I have a G1 parts phone that was lightly used in good condition before it was damaged. There was no damage to the sliding section, so I expected the hinge FPC to be in good condition.
So I installed the hinge assembly with its hinge FPC from the parts phone, but this did not work either.
So next I installed a new touch panel (digitizer screen), but that did not fix the problem either.
I had a chance to borrow a working G1 motherboard, and I was surprised to see that the phone was working with the borrowed motherboard.
So my question is whether my problem motherboard can be recovered with a software solution, or if these symptoms indicate a hardware failure.
I thought that a wipe followed by firmware flash would eliminate all soft system errors, but I am not sure if the wipe and flash really erase absolutely everything, or if there is something else I need to do to get it working again.
Thanks.
more than likly it was the point in the motherboard where the flex cable connects. try using some electronic parts cleaner.
i have ran into this a few times and simply replacing the motherboard has only helped a twice, when i cleaned it up it worked.
That sounds reasonable. I still have some Tweek. I'll give that a try. It worked with the same kinds of problems on computer sockets.
Okay. You are on the right track. When I went back to the phone, I actually got two taps out of the screen, which it hasn't done in a long, long time. (I was running keyboard only for a long time before I could take it down to fix it.) I attribute that to just disturbing the contacts with so many assembly/disassembly efforts.
After I applied Tweek to the joints, it ran well.... for about an hour. Trying again was no luck, so I don't think I'm going to mess with the contacts anymore. By the time you figure how infrequently motherboards come up for sale and the cost, I think I'd do just as well with a trade in on a flat-rate repair.
But at least now we know for the record that there is another cause of dead touch screens.
well i have about 13 motherboards, if your interested let me know
Thanks. What has been your experience with changing motherboards?
The reason I ask is because the service manual wants the phone to be tuned again after a motherboard swap. I see a lot of people changing motherboards, and I can't believe that is much of a problem when you don't see anyone complaining about the phone not working well afterwards.
A spare motherboard might be a good idea for a diagnostic tool. It would have saved me a lot of work changing the touch panel and cables if I would have had a motherboard to try first.
I thought I had a good spare in a damaged phone, but when I took it out the other day to test this phone, I found out it had physical damage too. The SIM holder and RF shielding were dented, but the killer was that the daughterboard cable connector was bent.
I suppose back when the phones were $900 you might try to fix something like that, but it's hard enough to do a connector swap on a computer motherboard. I can't imagine that even the factory has the equipment to properly swap the connector even if you can get the part.
How much do you want for a motherboard? On that famous auction site I've seen them go for around $10 to $30. I could kick myself for not buying the last one I saw at $7 because I thought I had a spare.
The phone was plugged in to my computer (I was doing development) and was running all the time. Suddenly, while I was not doing development or doing anything, the phone died and I have have never been able to turn it on again.
I've tried:
Hold the Power button
Hold both Power and Volume down button
Take out the battery and put it in again
Replace the batter with another one from my friends' working-perfectly-fine Galaxy S3
The result is the same: no response from the phone at all - it's completely cold, no sound, light or vibration at all - all I've seen is the blank unchanged screen so please don't ask me about the start up screen
What can I do?
*Notes: I've read this thread but my warranty has ran out so bringing it to Samsung is not really the best option.
Recovery mode download mode ???
Usb Recovery Jig to access download mode ,
As mentioned, I have already tried holding the Power button and the Volume Down button so no recovery mode for me
JJEgan said:
Recovery mode download mode ???
Usb Recovery Jig to access download mode ,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fuzzybee7 said:
As mentioned, I have already tried holding the Power button and the Volume Down button so no recovery mode for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does not get either recovery or download mode and is the reason i posted .
Recovery Vol UP + Home + PWR
Download Mode Vol Down + Home + PWR
Suggest you read the basics faqs and guides first .
Same problem
Did this ever get sorted? Mine is doing the same.
Won't power on whatever I try.
As the OP never posted again suggest you take it to a service centre .
Try reading the sudden death syndrome post.
Basics read first.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2344125
Critical you read the first two posts .
Hi all, I eventually had to take my phone to a service for replacement of the phone's mainboard. The mainboard was the problem and now the phone is ok again.
Thanks everyone
fuzzybee7 said:
Hi all, I eventually had to take my phone to a service for replacement of the phone's mainboard. The mainboard was the problem and now the phone is ok again.
Thanks everyone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same problem, just wondering could they save back the data?
23 26963633
lospower said:
The same problem, just wondering could they save back the data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are going to replacet the motherboard and use the same phone, your data should still be there.
If you are going to use a new phone, you have to take out the hard drive and connect to it to get the data from there.
There is no hard drive in the Galaxy S3, just an eMMC flash chip soldered to the motherboard.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
fuzzybee7 said:
If you are going to replacet the motherboard and use the same phone, your data should still be there.
If you are going to use a new phone, you have to take out the hard drive and connect to it to get the data from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That has got to be the most stupid post /advice ever on this forum .No wonder so many brick their phones .
JJEgan said:
That has got to be the most stupid post /advice ever on this forum .No wonder so many brick their phones .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you feel smarter now after calling my post stupid?
If it's wrong, why not simply say it's wrong?
And if you are smart and decent enough, point out the details that can help people in need.
fuzzybee7 said:
Do you feel smarter now after calling my post stupid?
If it's wrong, why not simply say it's wrong?
And if you are smart and decent enough, point out the details that can help people in need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are posting totally misleading information that may end up causing major problems to new users .
So yes i stand by what i said .
Answers are all posted in the basic faqs and guides .
This is a developers forum not some kindergarten playground .
Red triangle is the report my post button .
JJEgan said:
That has got to be the most stupid post /advice ever on this forum .No wonder so many brick their phones .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JJEgan said:
You are posting totally misleading information that may end up causing major problems to new users .
So yes i stand by what i said .
Answers are all posted in the basic faqs and guides .
This is a developers forum not some kindergarten playground .
Red triangle is the report my post button .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure all people on this forum are developers? Also, just what kind of developers?
Again, my answer could be wrong but how can it cause problem for others?
Let's break it down:
I said data should not be lost after motherboard replacement
There is no action required here so how can it lead to anything harmful?
Last time I checked, the data in my S3 was still there after its motherboard was replace
Taking out the hard drive from the phone was the part I wasn't sure
As of now, I can see that it's apparently wrong as someone pointed out
However, if there is no hard drive ==> how can one take it out ==> how can one damage anything?
How can I be responsible for anything here?
What do say now Mr. smart developer?
Please provide something concrete and convincing.
Don't waste your time, don't waste mine
After checking my hard brick phone by a bestbuy technical, i was told my phone was totally dead. The phone wouldnt connect to PC, can't do power charge, no any response even the jig method. And the data is gone. However, I am not sure how the data backup works. maybe they just don't wanna do it or their lack of doing it.
Normally, the data recovery from damaged hardware is expensive. cause it need plenty of time and they probably think the customer wouldn't pay for that.
Directly replace a motherboard could cost less than repair it. In some cases, could even replace a new phone cost less than a new motherboard. Technically, backup data from hard brick phone could be possible.
fuzzybee7 said:
Hi all, I eventually had to take my phone to a service for replacement of the phone's mainboard. The mainboard was the problem and now the phone is ok again.
Thanks everyone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similar problem with my Samsung Galaxy S3. Mine turned off randomly and wouldn't turn on again for half a day each time. The last time it happened it wouldn't turn on for a day, so I tried the DOWNLOAD MODE combination, cancelled it, got prompted to RESTART PHONE then it turned on again.
I took in my phone directly to Samsung Customer Service in Albany, Auckland (for New Zealand people). They found that the "current was not stable" and all they had to do was replace the mainboard. It only took them half a day to repair and it was covered by warranty. He said the cost of the mainboard, outside of warranty, would cost around NZD $260.
Replacing mainboard shouldn't affect your memory but it is always best to back up your phone via Samsung Kies (or something similar) before taking it in for repair. According to the Samsung guy, in New Zealand, they are not legally allowed to back up a customer's data on any of their computers, but there is no harm in asking them if you trust them to do so.
Hope this helps
mattparkour said:
Similar problem with my Samsung Galaxy S3. Mine turned off randomly and wouldn't turn on again for half a day each time. The last time it happened it wouldn't turn on for a day, so I tried the DOWNLOAD MODE combination, cancelled it, got prompted to RESTART PHONE then it turned on again.
I took in my phone directly to Samsung Customer Service in Albany, Auckland (for New Zealand people). They found that the "current was not stable" and all they had to do was replace the mainboard. It only took them half a day to repair and it was covered by warranty. He said the cost of the mainboard, outside of warranty, would cost around NZD $260.
Replacing mainboard shouldn't affect your memory but it is always best to back up your phone via Samsung Kies (or something similar) before taking it in for repair. According to the Samsung guy, in New Zealand, they are not legally allowed to back up a customer's data on any of their computers, but there is no harm in asking them if you trust them to do so.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replacing the main board replaces all data except the External SD-Card, as the EMMC is built onto the motherboard, they can always backup the /data over QPST, where it isn't readable by any program except that one.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
You're wrong
fuzzybee7 said:
If you are going to replacet the motherboard and use the same phone, your data should still be there.
If you are going to use a new phone, you have to take out the hard drive and connect to it to get the data from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you replace the motherboard you are going to lose all your information. All the information its in the old motherboard so there is no way to save your data if your motherboard is replaced.
I have the 32g turbo and like having lots of music on my phone. I want to load TWRP but am concerned about how much space it takes up. Can anybody clue me in to that info?
Also, I bought the phone on the edge program, so if I turn it in, will it be a problem with Verizon that the bootloader is unlocked? Has anyone had any experience with this?
devlop said:
I have the 32g turbo and like having lots of music on my phone. I want to load TWRP but am concerned about how much space it takes up. Can anybody clue me in to that info?
Also, I bought the phone on the edge program, so if I turn it in, will it be a problem with Verizon that the bootloader is unlocked? Has anyone had any experience with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP lives in a separate partition than where your user data is kept, so it will have 0 impact on the amount of storage space on your phone.
I don't have any first hand experience with the edge program, but I can almost guarantee you that you'll have to pay the full price for the phone if you try to turn it in. Unlocking the bootloader is a permanent modification. Even if you re-lock it, the flash counter will still indicate that the phone has been unlocked at some point.
Thanks for the reply. According to my contract, once 75% is paid off, I can trade it in for another phone. I'm just not sure if looking for an unlocked bootloader is one of the things they consider during trade in.
devlop said:
Thanks for the reply. According to my contract, once 75% is paid off, I can trade it in for another phone. I'm just not sure if looking for an unlocked bootloader is one of the things they consider during trade in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does it say that they look for?
Did a little digging, found this on their site :
The device must be in good working condition and must meet the following requirements or it will be rejected and returned to you:
Device has a functioning battery
Device can power on and off
Device has an intact, functioning LCD screen and glass with no cracks or breaks
Device and charging port must be intact (not broken or charging port missing)
Device and connecting ports must be free of visible corrosion and water damage
If your previous device is an Apple® device with iOS 7 or later, you must disable Find My iPhone prior to sending it back
Looks like I might be in the clear. I always just assumed they reflashed any device that was traded in or turned in for warranty anyways. Seems like the easiest route instead of trying to go through each phone to clear out memory to put back on the shelf. I have in the past turned in phones for warranty that were rooted and unlocked. Never been an issue.
devlop said:
Did a little digging, found this on their site :
The device must be in good working condition and must meet the following requirements or it will be rejected and returned to you:
Device has a functioning battery
Device can power on and off
Device has an intact, functioning LCD screen and glass with no cracks or breaks
Device and charging port must be intact (not broken or charging port missing)
Device and connecting ports must be free of visible corrosion and water damage
If your previous device is an Apple® device with iOS 7 or later, you must disable Find My iPhone prior to sending it back
Looks like I might be in the clear. I always just assumed they reflashed any device that was traded in or turned in for warranty anyways. Seems like the easiest route instead of trying to go through each phone to clear out memory to put back on the shelf. I have in the past turned in phones for warranty that were rooted and unlocked. Never been an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh nice. Looks like you're good to go then.
Hi,
First of all, I am sorry if this is a long post; I just want to tell everything that has happened for clarity.
A month back, my phone (Xperia Z1) fell on the bathroom floor and the screen got badly damaged. I took it to the Sony authorized service center and they told me that since my warranty period is over, I should pay for the replacements. Since the authentic parts were not cheap, I took it to another place in the city where they do cheap electronic repairs with second quality hardware. Sure enough, one guy told me that he can fix the phone and i have to change the display and touch. And he quoted me a price which was a third of what the Sony guys said. I asked him to do it. He asked me to come and collect the phone later on the day, but since I am very paranoid about all the security issues (all kinds of shady things happen in this place), I told him I'll just stay there till he's done. After he installed the parts, He turned the screen on and it said, "android is loading.." with the android logo. Like when we update or install ROMs. I wasn't sure why a system update or anything software related was needed to change the display. I asked him this and he told me that since this was a phone with non removable battery, when we remove and put it back, this will happen. I was actually thinking that he might be putting some cheap board from some other used phone and will finally give me a formatted phone saying he coudnt retrieve the data. I was paranoid for some time but when he switched it on, all my data were there. All well and good.
Last week, unfortunately, i dropped my phone again and the back glass panel cracked. This time i thought I'll order the part online and assemble it myself. So, i started watching YouTube videos on how to dissassemble and reassemble Xperia Z1. And then I noticed, in all the videos, they removed all the parts and put it back together, and when they started the phone, Sony logo appeared. Normal Loading screen. No "Android is Loading" part. This is when i started getting paranoid. Did he install some spyware on my phone? Is there any way to find out? I coudn't find anything suspicious in the installed or system apps list. My bootloader is not still locked. If it indeed is being tracked, Is there any way to remove it? I've done factory reset a couple times after that, that doesn't fix it, does it? Should i do a clean firmware reinstall. Please Guide me. Could he be tracing my phone for a month? I have had a lot of personal stuff on my phone and i would not like those to be compromised. Or, am i being too paranoid and it does actually happen when you change hardware?
Please please help..Sorry for the long post.. Hope you understand
First of all, STOP DROPPING YOUR GOD DAMN PHONE!
Second, you won't see anything when they install spyware or malware, that's the beauty of it, and yes, you are being paranoid.
Third, not that it's necessary, flash it with flashtool, make a backup of data (Images and Videos) to someplace ( Cloud, preferably) and then download the latest FTF and flash it, make sure to wipe data and every other partition (boo).
Fourth, stop watching too many "hacking" movies.