[Q] Note II won't power on or respond after flashing bootloader; please help!

Hello all,

So, I was recently trying to install Ditto Note 3 on my phone (I just got a Note Pro tablet so I was excited to get my Note II up to speed!), and it was sort of working, but there were some issues. I haven't changed my ROM since last year (I was still on 4.1.2) and thought I'd try updating my bootloader to see if that would help. I found instructions from dr.ketan on post #2789 on the Ditto Note 3 thread (I can't post links yet) with a link to the MJ5 bootloader. I followed his instructions exactly (I don't know if this makes a difference, but the only thing I didn't do was install Ditto Note 3 first; the active ROM was JellyBeans) -- I extracted the file and flashed it using heimdall:


It ran successfully...


Then the Note II turned off. That was this afternoon, and it hasn't responded since.

I've tried all combinations of keypresses, pulling the battery, pressing keys with and without the battery in, plugging it into the computer (adb doesn't detect it, nor does fastboot), plugging it into the wall (with a regular charger and also a USB wall adapter) .. I don't know what else to try. No matter what I do, the screen does not turn on, and the computer does not detect it. The battery was at least at 60% when I was doing that, so unless it spontaneously failed, I don't think it's that.

I don't know what to do. I did some searching and found things about Riffbox and JTAG? That is all foreign to me, and I don't know if they are viable options, or if there's just some simple thing I'm missing.

I'm really bummed about this .. does anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong, or what else I could try? Any help is greatly appreciated

Update: Verizon & Samsung couldn't repair; what now?

I stopped by the Verizon Store yesterday, and they tried basically the same things I had tried. They didn't seem to have anything more specialized for troubleshooting than what I've been using, and told me as much. They suggested I speak with the Samsung folks at the nearby Best Buy, but they told me that they are not even allowed to work on rooted phones at all. Neither the people at Verizon or Samsung had any helpful suggestions on how to actually repair it, unfortunately, and the phone is still not responding.

I keep coming back in my searches to Riffbox or JTAG for repairing or "ressurrecting" the phone but I have no experience with this kind of equipment. Does anyone here know anything about it? If such tools are universal, it may be worth learning, because I don't foresee myself stopping rooting/flashing/potentially hard-bricking my devices any time soon.

I also found a service that offers repair using these tools. Has anyone had experience with such services? If hard-bricking like this is a rarity it may be better to just get a repair with them and move on.

Please, any help or guidance is greatly appreciated.

Update #2

Because other things have been taking priority, and I did at least have my old Droid X as a backup, nothing has really changed since my last post. It may be a little while until there is anything more to report.

I am a little discouraged that no one has replied at all, but for the benefit of anyone who might experience a similar issue in the future I will continue to update this thread until I find some kind of resolution, replies or not.

mnm1992 said:

To respond you can get a jtag here: http://www.fonefunshop.co.uk/cable_picker/98025_EMMC_Z3X_Jtag_Pro_3_in_1_Adapter.html
And here some sort of manual on howto do it: http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f716/how-repair-n7100-dead-boot-1651472/

Warning it is missing a lot of details and overall i would advise you to let an expert/samsung/repair shop/specialized third party do it.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

mnm1992, thank you so much for the guidance! I have ordered a USB jig which is on the way, and if that does not work, I will explore the JTAG option some more as time allows.

Update #3: Still no jig, sending for repair

Hey all. Finally updating after over a month!

I've been waiting on the USB jig, so I've still been using my Droid X with ICS/flavors of JB. I primarily use my tablet these days anyway (with tethering off the X on Bluetooth!), so it's thankfully not too big of a deal, but since the jig still hasn't arrived (I contacted the vendor of course), I'm moving forward with just getting it professionally repaired. Tomorrow I will be sending it out for JTAG repair at MobileTechVideos, which through my Googling I've heard does an excellent job. I also heard they don't update you much, so I may not have anything to report until my phone gets back. But report I shall! Here's hoping I'll be back on my lovely Note II before long... :fingers-crossed: