Questions tagged [unbricking]

Questions about getting Android devices out of a "bricked" state.

Questions with this tag should have to do with "unbricking" an Android device. Although technically the term "bricked" used to mean that a device is beyond rescue (therefore "a brick"), it is recently often used for devices that simply will not boot.

If your device will not boot, one way to restore it can be to put it into fastboot mode. The process of putting your device in a mode like this is different from every device, but it usually involves pressing a hardware button while the phone is connected with USB, and the basic point of it is the same: by putting your device in fastboot you can access your device with fastboot. Running fastboot devices will list all connected devices that are detected, and running fastboot update <filename> would install something like an update.zip. The CyanogenMod wiki article on fastboot has more information on available commands. The binary fastboot is a part of the Android SDK.

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What is JTAG in regards to Android?

I see the term JTAG used for reviving dead Android devices that otherwise don't respond to anything and aren't seen when USB connected. It seems that it's something done from the physical hardware side of the device (as opposed to some pure…
stackuser
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Trying to flash a system.img I took with dd - failing

Long-time UNIX guy here, but relatively new to the world of Android. Read on. EPISODE 1: A New Backup (I hoped) I have recently purchased an Asus MemoPAD (ME103K) ; I then became root, and took a dd image of the read-only system partition to the…
ttsiodras
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What does it mean to "brick" your phone?

I'm considering unlocking the bootloader on my Verizon Galaxy S3 (SCH-I535). However, a guide I was reading made this statement: Once you have unlocked your phone’s bootloader using this app, you must not receive any over-the-air (OTA) updates or…
Eric
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Device boots normally, but cannot enter recovery or fastboot

I have secondhand Vodafone Smart Tab 4G. It seems to me that previous owner messed something up. The device boots normally but I cannot enter either bootloader, fastboot, or recovery. I have tried HW combinations, RebootManager software, and ADB…
Fenikso
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Google IO Galaxy Tab 10.1 refuses to power on, any hope of revival?

This is one of the some thousand limited edition Google IO handout Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices. Was known working for quite some time, and susceptible to the "sleep of death" that left it not powering on until you long press the power button…
TechNinja
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Bricked my Asus TF300T? Manual JB update

First, my device failed to get the OTA Update because I deleted some system apps (see my original post). Then I found this post where another user restored original APKs in /system/apps and managed to manually update to JB by downloading the…
Ben Orozco
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How to fix bootloop or decrypt /data in TWRP?

I am trying to recover the data from a default/factory encrypted Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge stuck in a bootloop (i.e.: restarting endlessly when booting the system). It is using the stock rom. Only the recovery (twrp) and download mode are working. I…
twrpuser
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How to install a new launcher after deleting the only launcher?

I deleted my only launcher and now I cannot open settings to set to debug mode in order to use ADB or similar to install a new launcher. I can't open the Play store, can't open anything except those that use voice commands: e-mail, text, phone,…
beth
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Bootloader/BIOS, flashing ROMs and related risks. Why are Android devices more brickable than PCs?

I have solid experience with installing different OSes (Linux, Windows,...) on PCs. I would like to try just for fun to install Linux on an unbranded Android low cost tablet acquired in 2015. I spent some time browsing the web and as far as I…
user904838
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How to unbrick my Samsung Galaxy Y

I put custom ROM ussrv8_evanlocked@ogy@xda after rooting my Samsung Galaxy Y, and then I wanted to update kernel to overclock my phone (I followed this set of instructions). Now the phone is not starting. It shows E:failed to mount/cache(invalid…
Samson
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Samsung Galaxy S3 not booting up, just shows ”Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-19300” black screen

This morning I woke up to my Samsung Galaxy S3 which just “hung” during the start-up screen with the white text “Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-19300” on a black background. It never comes to the “Enter Pincode” screen. It worked without a problem when I went…
Mestika
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Force debug in safe mode via USB?

I did something so stupid I'm almost kind of proud of it. I rooted my LG Optimus T (Froyo) using Gingerbreak, cleaned out a bunch of stuff, and accidentally deleted the home screen launcher. No big, I'll just install a new one... but I have a…
beth
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Bricked Moto Defy

I have bricked my Motorola Defy. I have tried flashing a new ROM using RSD Lite (following this guide). It says 'complete' but my phone will not turn on. Sometimes it will just show the Moto boot logo but never fully boot up. I can only open the…
Kit
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Bricked my TF300T: How to re-partition internal storage to get it back?

I upgraded to Katkiss's Android 5.0 image. It was nice but in reading I saw I could use the F2FS file system to prevent slowdown from normal usage. So I went to format /data thinking that would give me the F2FS option (instructions were not very…
Chip
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How can I physically remove the internal memory device from my Samsung Galaxy S2?

My Galaxy S2 has recently died completely over night. It does not turn on regardless of which combination of buttons I try and how long I press them. I've tried with two different batteries, without a battery, SIM, no SIM and so on. It still seems…
simbabque
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