12
votes
Bootloader/BIOS, flashing ROMs and related risks. Why are Android devices more brickable than PCs?
SHORT ANSWER:
Android phones are more brickable than PCs because they can hardly communicate with us if the bootloader is erased. And bootloader(s) live on Flash memory (eMMC) partitions which are ...
- 19.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Did the "stop" command brick my phone?
From @AndrewT 's comment, I gathered this:
Referring this answer on StackOverflow
What does stop do?
stop entered in a root terminal basically stops the Android process called zygote. This in turn ...
- 3,185
8
votes
Accepted
Trying to flash a system.img I took with dd - failing
Episode 3: Return of the Shell.
If I ever had any chance of solving this, I first had to figure out why the shell wasn't working. adbd itself was responding, so it was started on the tablet side - ...
- 711
6
votes
Accepted
Soft bricked Moto G4 (XT1625) after SuperSU install
Proper research would have prevented this, in the future if you need information on rooting a device, go to a REPUTABLE source like XDA or a similar forum and make sure the information is specific to ...
- 6,197
5
votes
What is JTAG in regards to Android?
JTAG is a Protocol !
Simply in other Protocols such as USB is protocol UART is protocol for transferring DATA or communicating with devices .
JTAG Directly communicate with the CPU and with the ...
- 161
4
votes
Trying to flash a system.img I took with dd - failing
It seems you've already found some kind of solution to your problem (there's a lot of text to read on this page), but it seems this probably could have been resolved much more simply.
linuxbox# ...
- 171
4
votes
How to unbrick nexus 9 after an OTA update?
I've got the same problem on a recent OTA update on my Nexus 9. Unfortunately thes "Nexus Root Toolkit" app didn't help because my Nexus 9 was all stock, no root and the OEM unlock was disabled. The ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
My Pixel C tablet doesn't respond to the unlock pattern and the recommend action to debrick it doesn't work
Just in case anyone else comes this way searching for an answer, I did get one on the XDA forums.
The solution is to start the device with volume down and power pressed. This brings you to the menu I ...
- 161
3
votes
How to create complete image backup(Nandroid) of rooted phone if no cwm or twrp available for my phone
Provided your device is rooted, you can do that with simple dd commands. Trouble is just to find out what partitions you might need to backup: some devices have more than 20 partitions, and you will ...
Izzy♦
- 90.8k
3
votes
Accepted
Did I just brick a non-rooted device?
The device was not bricked. After a few hours I held down the power button again, and the frozen screen was replaced by the "no battery" screen. After charging, the device is back to normal. I caution ...
- 1,211
3
votes
Is xposed safe for my phone
Nobody will give you any guarantee – but a few hints we can give. I'm using Xposed on multiple devices, and encountered no issues. So here a few points to consider:
before installing Xposed, make a ...
Izzy♦
- 90.8k
3
votes
Accepted
Ran "adb reboot bootloader" now can't boot past logo (Azpen A746)
Fully draining the battery will unbrick an Azpen A746HD in this situation.
I did further testing and was able to repeat the conditions for bricking and unbricking the tablet:
Running adb reboot ...
- 181
3
votes
LG V30 - Flash ROM using download mode?
For linux use this link it's a tool called SALT. If you're good with Linux there are tools to use with Python such as ESPTools or LGLAF.
For Windows look up FWUL, it's "Forget Windows Use Linux", it'...
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
Can I flash Android on device with overwritten mmcblk0?
/dev/mmcblk0 is whole MMC storage chip which includes GUID partition table (GPT) and all partitions. On Android devices some of these eMMC partitions hold bootloaders (like sbl, aboot on Qualcomm ...
- 19.9k
2
votes
Trying to flash a system.img I took with dd - failing
With my Moto G I created a back up using dd like you did. I needed to restore my system partition the other day, so I booted TWRP (I didn't flash it, I just booted the image to RAM). I then used adb ...
- 21
2
votes
Core Prime G360T(5.1.1) soft brick TWRP issue
Touch is not working in the official TWRP release for Galaxy Core Prime. Current solution is to install modified TWRP for G360T1, the MetroPCS variant. Find it here. You should still be able to get ...
- 21
2
votes
How to safely root Samsung Galaxy Core Prime?
I suggest you search on Google on how to safely root your device. You should choose the one that is appropriate for your device (it should have the same model number).
Also, install a ...
- 451
2
votes
How to create complete image backup(Nandroid) of rooted phone if no cwm or twrp available for my phone
Yes, with ADB, this is possible. However, there are also some unofficial images on TWRP and CWM, which may be unofficially ported to your device. If not, you can follow ADB instructions below.
NOTE: ...
- 479
2
votes
How to enter recovery/download mode with broken home button and broken bootloader
Use ADB, there is a command on there to reboot your phone to Odin/download mode, it's adb reboot download.
- 21
2
votes
CWM Recovery can't see external SD card, need to install a rom from ext SD
Here is the Procedure:
Make sure latest Samsung USB drivers are installed on your PC.
Download Odin v3.07 on your PC.(Some SAMSUNG devices require Odin v3.04).
Download Recovery.tar, download link. ...
- 314
2
votes
Accepted
Nexus won't boot after update
This most probably means that you are stuck in a device boot-loop. The easiest way to fix Nexus devices (in my opinion) is to use the Nexus Root Toolkit, which automatically fixes most problems with a ...
- 553
2
votes
How to Unbrick Android Phone Which has No OS, No Recovery? and How to Repair IMEI in MTK Devices?
Unbricking MTK devices is quite simple. You need the stock firmware and the flashtool.
Download the firmware here
SP Flashtool (the tool needed to flash the files)
Extract firmware zip file (I think ...
- 3,207
2
votes
How to unbrick my Samsung Tab 1 (7 inch) from T mobile brought it from S. KOREA
Old Samsung devices (Galaxy S1 to S3 generations) where near impossible to brick unless you had the emmc bug or somehow flashed missmatched set of bootloaders. The best way to attempt to recover the ...
- 102
2
votes
What makes flashing ROMs risky?
As Death Mask Salesman pointed out, you need to be sure that the flashing process itself doesn't overwrite the partition table or the bootloader. But even if the flashing itself doesn't cause an ...
- 34.9k
2
votes
Red exclamation mark at top left when booting phone
Alright everyone, I have managed to solve the issue. If you find yourself in this same error, visit this site to know properly how to fix your SAMSUNG device.
In short, you need a PC running a ...
2
votes
How to fix bootloop or decrypt /data in TWRP?
I had same problem and I'll write tips how i fixed this situation.
You can fix it by just dirty-flash any rom.
Flash any rom by using external storage or by adb sideload(Advanced -> ADB Sideload -&...
- 51
2
votes
Accepted
SP Flash Tool does not recognize the firmware scatter file
The ROM you provided does not contain a valid scatter file or recovery.img so you can not use SP Flash Tool.
I recommend you to make a backup of boot, copy the boot.emmc.win to PC, then to another ...
- 3,875
2
votes
Can't boot into system or recovery
You can try to boot directly into recovery instead of flashing image: fastboot boot recovery.img
If it doesn't work, go for flashing factory firmware in bootloader or Emergency Download mode. Here ...
- 19.9k
2
votes
Unbrick pixel device
Yes. Qualcomm devices come with an Emergency Downloader EDL mode which helps to recover from a hardbrick. You need a Flashtool and Qualcomm EDL drivers. In order to access EDL mode, you need to use an ...
- 838
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible