Tl;Dr - my pixel 5a5g got the black screen of death a few months ago. Last night, I tried using the flash tool to try to flash it back to Android from GrapheneOS - so that Google would be willing to fix it maybe. Flashing seemed to fail. Unsure what to try or do next.
---------------
My Pixel has had the black screen of death for a few months now. I'm assuming it is from falling a few feet to the ground. It had a custom ROM - GrapheneOS - on it. Unless I can reflash to stock Android, it sounds like Google/ubreakifix won't look at it, and thus - no chance of repairing it for free or a smaller charge.
The other night, I tried attaching an OTG keyboard to the phone to log in to it. Since the display is black, I'm not sure it worked. I also tried several times to press where I thought the numbers for logging in would be - on my completely black screen. Somehow, I was eventually able to get my PC and Google's flash tool to recognize the phone. However, I might have messed up on some steps - because I think it might be bricked now.
I think I forgot to remove the grapheneOS key via their Web installer before trying to flash android. I used minimal abd tools to unlock the bootloader (and it still says it is unlocked)... When I tried flashing back to stock android using the android web tool, it went through the motions, but then said something like it needs to detect the phone again after flashing. And it wouldn't detect the phone again. Even if I unplugged then replugged the phone. The directions said I shouldn't/wouldn't need to press any keys on the phone for this step, but it just wasn't progressing further... So, I ended up holding the power button and volume down button - and it went into fastboot(?) again - or whatever that does.
I can repeat the steps of going thru the motions of flashing the device now, but now it gives an error saying something like it can't lock the device.
Being that the 5a screen is completely black, I have no idea what is going on - or what to do from here. I've reached out to some local repair places, but honestly, if I can't flash it myself to stock so that Google/ubreakifix would look at it, then it probably isn't worth sinking money into.... There's decent condition used ones around $120 or something out there... And ubreakifix would probably charge between $160 and $200 for screen replacement + labor - and I'm assuming that's not including a motherboard replacement - if necessary.
Ubreakifix said that they would be willing to look at it, but they can't actually do any repairs to it if it isn't running stock Android. They'd charge for the labor, and they'd temporarily use a screen to look at what it is doing/not doing... But wouldn't actually do the screen repair. I'm assuming the phone never flashed completely, but I'm hoping they can tell me if their diagnostic tools work on it - since I imagine it should work -- IF stock Android is actually installed again on it.
I've also looked into doing something like getting a displaylink adapter + display link app so that I can see the screen on the computer... But even after my multiple attempts of logging in to the phone, I can't send app downloads to the phone. Google Play store shows that the phone was "last seen" months ago... And even if I could push the app download, GrapheneOS still requires manual approval from the user to accept/finalize install of the app... Which would be pretty hard to do without seeing the screen. And obviously since I've tried flashing the phone several times last night, i have no idea what the phone is looking like. Probably app downloads are out of the question now.
Apparently you can't normally do display out of any sort with Pixel phones. The rumor I've seen on here and/or reddit is that Google got rid of it years ago, maybe so that they can sell more Chromecasts...
Does anyone have any further suggestions? I could try using scrcpy or whatever it's called, but I probably should have tried to use that before attempting to flash the phone... It's sure hard to give up on something that I spent good money on. I'd like to think there's something I haven't tried yet that I can do to save it...
You could probably try these steps:
1. Open up Device Manager on PC
2. Connect your phone
3. Hold Power + Volume Down
If you have new device in Device Manager, you can do everything with your device like flashing or try "to remove the grapheneOS key".
Edit: I'm dumb and didn't notice that part where you tried this. You should just boot into fastboot and remove that custom AVB key with fastboot erase avb_custom_key, and then reflash the phone on flash.android.com. Hope that helps!
Related
Hey,
I bought a T-Mo HTC G1 on ebay and it worked pretty well. It would reboot a few times a day but oh well. I sold it on ebay (full disclosure on the problem) when I bought my Milestone.
It was working fine, I took some photos of it turned on, sold it on ebay. Shipped it off, the guy got it, and then claimed it wouldn't turn on and shipped it back.
So, I shipped away a working phone, and now when I've received it when I turn the phone on it just indefinitely hangs on the "T-Mobile G1" screen as soon as I turn it on. I never get to the "Android" loading screen or anything. Any tips on what I can do? I'd love to be able to fix it so I can try and sell it for _something_ while I still can.
Thanks for all your help in advance
If it honestly worked as you state when you sent it, then my guess is that one of two things happened to it;
1) he tried to install the deathspl using the dangerous method -- which means using RECOVERY rather than fastboot and bricked it.
2) he ALREADY HAD a bricked phone and swapped mainboards out.
Either way, if what you say is true, he's pulling a fast one on you.
You can confirm either of these with just a serial cable.
If the device is stuck in boot mode 3, then its bricked.
If the IMEI matches, it is #1 he's pulling.
If the IMEI doesn't match, it is #2 he's pulling.
Either way, I wouldn't refund his money. If he paid with paypal or something like that, then you should be able to present your case for him causing the damage, which makes HIM liable TO YOU. It also makes him liable for FRAUD, which is a CRIMINAL offence.
Make sure that you confirm bricking first though;
you need to try to start it in fastboot or recovery mode.
If it won't go into either of those modes (note: stock SPL doesn't HAVE a fastboot mode... but it its bricked, then it has some engineering spl installed -- which is how it was bricked), then start it in bluelight mode and attach a serial cable to diagnose.
Note: If it IS bricked, then you'll need a jtag to fix it.
bradass said:
Hey,
I bought a T-Mo HTC G1 on ebay and it worked pretty well. It would reboot a few times a day but oh well. I sold it on ebay (full disclosure on the problem) when I bought my Milestone.
It was working fine, I took some photos of it turned on, sold it on ebay. Shipped it off, the guy got it, and then claimed it wouldn't turn on and shipped it back.
So, I shipped away a working phone, and now when I've received it when I turn the phone on it just indefinitely hangs on the "T-Mobile G1" screen as soon as I turn it on. I never get to the "Android" loading screen or anything. Any tips on what I can do? I'd love to be able to fix it so I can try and sell it for _something_ while I still can.
Thanks for all your help in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all that info. Too bad that when he filed his dispute with Paypal he claimed the phone didn't work when he received it, and so they automatically sided with him seeing as he's the buyer. I've been disputing it and getting them to re-open the case over and over trying to get them to listen but so far no luck. Hopefully this last time it will have a better chance of being overruled seeing as I've been speaking with managers the whole time.
Anyways, I've tried booting the phone normally, booting the phone pressing home, camera key, all different combo's and the only time it _doesn't_ hold up on the T-Mobile screen is with the "home" key, where it gets to that rainbow screen and just displays a few lines.
So are you saying the phone is more or less hooped? What's this jtag you speak of?
If you can get to the bootloader "rainbow" screen, then it's not bricked and it's quite possible your buyer was being honest. You should be able to reflash an official image and get it back in working order.
Download this:
http://android-dls.com/files/upload/DREAIMG.nbh (for a US phone)
or this:
http://android-dls.com/files/upload/uk/DREAIMG.NBH (for an EU phone)
Use a card reader to put it on the root of your sdcard (not in a folder), and power on the phone using [camera]+[power]. You should get the rainbow screen followed by a progress bar and if all goes well, a working phone.
goldenarmZ said:
If you can get to the bootloader "rainbow" screen, then it's not bricked and it's quite possible your buyer was being honest. You should be able to reflash an official image and get it back in working order.
Download this:
http://android-dls.com/files/upload/DREAIMG.nbh (for a US phone)
or this:
http://android-dls.com/files/upload/uk/DREAIMG.NBH (for an EU phone)
Use a card reader to put it on the root of your sdcard (not in a folder), and power on the phone using [camera]+[power]. You should get the rainbow screen followed by a progress bar and if all goes well, a working phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you roughly know how long it will then take the phone to update to latest T-Mobile release, as until then can't use a lot of the software on the market place
walkerx said:
Do you roughly know how long it will then take the phone to update to latest T-Mobile release, as until then can't use a lot of the software on the market place
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea.. iirc there's an option in the settings to check for OTA updates.
Edit: There are more recent nbh files floating around the internet but I don't have links to hand. Should be easy enough to find a 1.6 image.
goldenarmZ said:
No idea.. iirc there's an option in the settings to check for OTA updates.
Edit: There are more recent nbh files floating around the internet but I don't have links to hand. Should be easy enough to find a 1.6 image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh, looked for the OTA check in the phone and can't find it. I tried another NBH image but that reported 'not allowed'
Correct, ability to get to rainbow screen means not bricked.
In fact rainbow screen means stock SPL 0.95.0000.
The NBH is the only option.
Doesn't matter about being able to "OTA" it -- just root the RC29 and install preferred system image.
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.
Hello everyone,
I'm experiencing a pretty tough issue mith my beloved (and, so far, flawless) Nexus 6. It had root and a stock rom on it, 6.0.1 (MMB29V). I had unlocked the bootloader and rooted the phone right after buying it more than a year ago and I've been flashing new factory images a couple times (specifically when 6.0.0 and 6.0.1 were released). I usually do everything via Wugfresh's NRT, not because I can't use adb and fastboot, just because it works fine and I'm lazy.
Yesterday, while I was working, I used "Tiny Scanner Pro" to scan a document (legit copy bought on the store, as any other premium app in my phone) and it got stuck for a while, then a popup about Google Play Services came up. I dismissed it and another appeared, and it kept going like that. I was at a client's and I was in a hurry, so I took the pic with my tablet and forced the phone off. Later I turned it on, it seemed to boot regularly, but when the SIM unlock screen appeared and I entered the (right!) PIN, it said that no SIM was found, then the home screen appeared but after a while the screen went black and it started rebooting. Recovery (TWRP) and fastboot were working, so I decided to take it home and re-flash the stock rom: it had been a while since the last time anyway, a new version was out and the OTA update notification was getting annoying. I connected to my PC in recovery mode and transfered my pics and data via adb while I downloaded the latest stock rom (6.0.1 MOB30D). Then I user NRT to flash it (selecting "Soft-bricked/Bootloop" as current status). It appeared to work fine as it went through the usual copying and unpacking. Then, when the phone was supposed to reboot, it just blacked out. I waited a long time, in fact I went out and came back a few hours later, and it was still that way. Now it doesn't power up, no matter how long or hard I press any combination of the three buttons, adb and fastboot do not detect it in any way, of course, and it doesn't seem to charge either (i.e. I left it plugged to its original charger overnight and it still feels dead cold). By the way, the phone warranty shouldn't have expired, but I'm afraid it wouldn't cover this since it should still have the custom recovery and unlocked bootloader in its comatose body.
I've taken a look at similar threads but none of them describes the very same situation. Is there something, anything I can try to do before giving up? I hope somebody can help me. I thank you all very much in advance.
lupus
lupusyon said:
.... I'm afraid it wouldn't cover this since it should still have the custom recovery and unlocked bootloader in its comatose body.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bricked!. When the phone is still under warranty send it for repair. Do not use arguments.
Just: phone will not switch on and does not charge.
Because this is a Nexus device, the custom recovery shouldn't affect your warranty. It is however, a moot point. The device is totally dead, and a call to Motorola is in order.
lupusyon, I had a discussion with Google about an 18-month-old Nexus 5 on which the radio had died - the "no SIM found" error that seems very popular. They asked me what I'd done to try to fix it. I told them that I'd tried several different radios, half a dozen different ROMs (not just Google stock), in short I'd messed around with it over a long period (it had been rooted with custom recovery pretty much since I bought it).
Response? No quibbles. "Here's a refurbished N5. Just send the broken one back in the enclosed pre-addressed pre-paid bag."
Go for it...
dahawthorne said:
lupusyon, I had a discussion with Google about an 18-month-old Nexus 5 on which the radio had died - the "no SIM found" error that seems very popular. They asked me what I'd done to try to fix it. I told them that I'd tried several different radios, half a dozen different ROMs (not just Google stock), in short I'd messed around with it over a long period (it had been rooted with custom recovery pretty much since I bought it).
Response? No quibbles. "Here's a refurbished N5. Just send the broken one back in the enclosed pre-addressed pre-paid bag."
Go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it on Amazon Italy Marketplace, I'm not sure if they're supposed to handle the thing or if I should contact Motorola. I'll just check with them first. Thank you everybody for the kind advice, I'll let you know how this turns out. :good:
I confirm what dahawthorne wrote above: it took them about a month but Motorola repaired my Nexus under warranty, no questions asked. It seems they replaced the Mainboard PCB.
Thanks everybody!
Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Before restarting, I'm confident the "ear sensor" that turns the screen off when I'm on a call as functioning. I'm also confident the auto-rotate functionality of the phone was working perfectly.
After I tried to factory reset the phone from the power-volume reset options, I actually ran into a TON of trouble trying to get the phone to properly reset. It tooks me countless tries to eventually get the phone to start after resetting it over and over again. I was stuck trying to get the phone to actually move through the setup steps. SUPER frustrating. I actually went to sleep while the phone was somewhere in the middle of setting up and when I woke up the phone somehow eventually made it through some setup steps.
I'm now using the phone as I normally would, but it's very odd. The phone is a LOT more unstable. At least 3 of the sensors I had working have just completely stopped working.
The phone is in otherwise perfect condition. I'm genuinely confused about how I should go about trying to resetting this thing to a pure stock configuration and slowly installing apps again to make the experience what I'd want.
And no, I'm not a super power user. I am a strong engineer happy to do crazy things like flashing bootloaders and whatnot, but I'm honestly confused about where to start. I understand other versions of this device may have had corrupted persist partitions during updates -- those problems seem like my problems -- but I don't know how I should go about simply flashing my phone at the lowest level into something stock that I can try to build back from.
And obviously when talking to google support their suggsetion is that I mail them the device and wait 10 days without a phone. I'm confused about how that could EVER be a reasonable way to get a phone repaired, sigh -- phones are not toys, they're pretty critical to the day-to-day work of so many people including myself. I'm pretty disappointing with that approach from Google and I had always considered them much better than that before this experience.
Anyway, I'm really lost and I'd love to understand how to repair the software on my phone.
(You all kick ass!)
aliljet said:
Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Before restarting, I'm confident the "ear sensor" that turns the screen off when I'm on a call as functioning. I'm also confident the auto-rotate functionality of the phone was working perfectly.
After I tried to factory reset the phone from the power-volume reset options, I actually ran into a TON of trouble trying to get the phone to properly reset. It tooks me countless tries to eventually get the phone to start after resetting it over and over again. I was stuck trying to get the phone to actually move through the setup steps. SUPER frustrating. I actually went to sleep while the phone was somewhere in the middle of setting up and when I woke up the phone somehow eventually made it through some setup steps.
I'm now using the phone as I normally would, but it's very odd. The phone is a LOT more unstable. At least 3 of the sensors I had working have just completely stopped working.
The phone is in otherwise perfect condition. I'm genuinely confused about how I should go about trying to resetting this thing to a pure stock configuration and slowly installing apps again to make the experience what I'd want.
And no, I'm not a super power user. I am a strong engineer happy to do crazy things like flashing bootloaders and whatnot, but I'm honestly confused about where to start. I understand other versions of this device may have had corrupted persist partitions during updates -- those problems seem like my problems -- but I don't know how I should go about simply flashing my phone at the lowest level into something stock that I can try to build back from.
And obviously when talking to google support their suggsetion is that I mail them the device and wait 10 days without a phone. I'm confused about how that could EVER be a reasonable way to get a phone repaired, sigh -- phones are not toys, they're pretty critical to the day-to-day work of so many people including myself. I'm pretty disappointing with that approach from Google and I had always considered them much better than that before this experience.
Anyway, I'm really lost and I'd love to understand how to repair the software on my phone.
(You all kick ass!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try flashing the latest factory image via fastboot.
[Guide] Root Pixel 4 XL with Magisk Android 13
[Guide] Root Pixel 4 XL With Magisk Android 13 Android Security Bulletin—Feburary 2023 Pixel Update Bulletin—Feburary 2023 Introduction This Guide is for Pixel 4 XL owners that want to Root their phone, and enjoy the benefits of rooting it. The...
forum.xda-developers.com
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-unlock-flash-root-for-the-pixel-2-xl-taimen.3702418/ (This is for a Pixel 2 XL but the process is the same. It's basically a condensed version of the one above.)
aliljet said:
Hi!,
I'm a long-time reader of this forum, but this is my first post. In the last few days, something happened (I wish I could pinpoint exactly what) where I ended up restarting my phone and it entered a continuous boot loop. The phone was receiving updates per normal and may have received an update not that long ago that required some kind of restart, but I'm not confident about that. Either way, the phone was restarted and it entered into a permanent boot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did not provide the most important information we need- whether your phone is bootloader unlocked. Probably not, otherwise you would have already flashed it with a full Google image, which returns the phone to "out of the box" condition. You need to determine whether you can unlock your bootloader. If you cannot unlock (allow oem unlock is off and or greyed out in Dev options) then you will not be able to fastboot flash ANYTHING. If that is your case, the next best thing is flashing a full OTA image (sometimes called a rescue OTA) from recovery mode using the OTA via ADB option. This means you need fastboot/adb installed and working on your PC. Instructions on how are on the same Google dev page for OTA's.
So, my phone's bootloader is not unlocked. But I have an update for the crowd that may one day find this. I know your frustration and I can report that my phone is once again fixed.
A day (or two) after I sent this, a set of updates came down to my phone. And WebView was updated. That restored all of my sensors and also restored most of my crashing applications. It was an incredibly odd experience.
My phone once again functions. And the nightmare of owning a Google phone and talking to Google support has ended.
Bricked Pixel 5a/QUSB code of death
Has anyone found a solution to the QUSB code of death? I entered the club last week. I was using my Pixel 5a as usual, scrolling through social media. Then suddenly, the screen freezes, the phone shuts off, reboots, freezes on the Google logo, then shuts off. Has not turned on since.
I have done all of the rudimentary “diagnostic solutions” but to no avail. When I plug the phone into my computer, the QUSB device code shows up in device manager.
I filed a request to obtain a replacement/repair with Google last week. They gave me the option to replace the device after determining it was bricked. However, Google seems to think it’s liquid damaged and ineligible for repair/replacement under the warranty. The phone has never had any sort of extensive liquid contact.
I am currently waiting to receive the same exact phone back. So far, I have not been able to find a legitimate solution other than sketchy “freezer” fixes and uncontrolled banging around the device with the hopes of it turning on again.
Has anyone figured out a legitimate solution to the same problem among multiple generations of Pixel devices?
can you get into bootloader? power on + vol down.
or a response when you have it plugged in with adb devices or fastboot devices?
or try a force off? power + vol down + vol up for about 30 seconds then try to power on again?
I have already tried those solutions. So far, nothing has worked.
wow. i don't know what's going on. mine did the same thing on sunday. got it to clean flash the official 13 with the chrome flash tool. was getting set back up and it happened again. and i just replied to another thread on here about someone it happened to. they better not tell me mine is suspected to be liquid damaged. but if they're not gonna replace it, i suppose you could try the freezer trick. and the best thing to do would probably buy a cheap 3a and trade it in for a 6a. maybe i shouldn't go with pixels anymore though. only had the 3a and now this one. they should get back to me tomorrow. i gave up trying to fix it the 2nd time it happened. wouldn't boot into userspace fastboot. never saw the qusb issue
Same thing just happened to my wife's 5a while she was browsing Facebook. There is no user accessible fix for this; while the QPST/QFIL programs may be found online, the MBN files necessary to reimage the device are not.
If you bought your device within the last 12 months, you should be able to get it repaired under warranty.
Here is the link for warranty repair.
V0latyle said:
Same thing just happened to my wife's 5a while she was browsing Facebook. There is no user accessible fix for this; while the QPST/QFIL programs may be found online, the MBN files necessary to reimage the device are not.
If you bought your device within the last 12 months, you should be able to get it repaired under warranty.
Here is the link for warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife's phone now has this issue and we have important pictures on there we don't want lost. Is there a way to use the QPST program to get files off of the phone? Is there another way to get the files off of the phone when we cant get the device to even power on? When I plug it into a computer, I do get the QUSB device to appear.