Hard brick? Soft brick? I need help

Search This thread
By:
Advanced…
B

butch50

Member
Sep 5, 2010
12
0
Please treat a newb gently...

I rooted my phone earlier tonight, followed all the instructions here, and everything went well. I flashed cwm recovery (I was most comfortable with it from an old phone.)

The first thing I did was back up my stock configuration for future use.

I then rebooted and started removing some bloatware. (The real reason I wanted to root.) I got a little overanxious and removed one app I decided I wanted back, so I rebooted to recovery and restored my backup with no problem.

Then, my phone wouldn't boot up out of recovery. So, I removed the battery and tried a simple boot - no luck. To make a long story short, I've booted to recovery multiple times. I've wiped and restored multiple times. No matter what I do though, the phone will not boot to anything but recovery.

Help!
 
ProtheusIRC

ProtheusIRC

Senior Member
Apr 4, 2012
393
55
37
Thomasville
Sounds a bit like the bootloader didn't unlock.

card.png
[/url]
 
B

butch50

Member
Sep 5, 2010
12
0
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ezunlock requires me to boot to the ROM. I can only boot to cwm recovery.

And yes, I rooted before trying to unlock the bootloader.
 
Last edited:
B

blackwolf77

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2010
78
9
Sounds to me like you need to odin back to stock and start over. Guessing you didn't get the bootloader unlocked.
 
B

boldred

Member
Feb 19, 2012
14
1
Followed [GUIDE] Root for Jelly Bean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2, cannot mount sdcard to get .tar

blackwolf77 said:
Sounds to me like you need to odin back to stock and start over. Guessing you didn't get the bootloader unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the directions exactly on this excellent xda site's "[GUIDE] Root for Jelly Bean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2" with all the correctly downloaded and installed files but when I get to "Step 4 - Rooting Your Device and Unlocking Your Bootloader Quote: Using your custom recovery flash the download you chose above from Step 1 (#3)"
I go to "install zip from sdcard" and I select it, and go to "choose zip from sdcard" I get "E: Can't mount / sdcard/".
So what does one do to "odin back to stock and start over"? Are the sequences of the steps in that guide in correct order? Thanks.
 
shimp208

shimp208

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 25, 2011
2,613
3,089
Boston
boldred said:
I followed the directions exactly on this excellent xda site's "[GUIDE] Root for Jelly Bean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2" with all the correctly downloaded and installed files but when I get to "Step 4 - Rooting Your Device and Unlocking Your Bootloader Quote: Using your custom recovery flash the download you chose above from Step 1 (#3)"
I go to "install zip from sdcard" and I select it, and go to "choose zip from sdcard" I get "E: Can't mount / sdcard/".
So what does one do to "odin back to stock and start over"? Are the sequences of the steps in that guide in correct order? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

To clarify after you flashed the bootchain through Odin did you then proceed to the step to flash a custom recovery? If you did, at the end of the custom recovery step did you wind up in recovery and do you have the SuperSU .zip on your phone? Keep in mind those instructions in that thread and the recovery image should work but are outdated. If things still don't work for you I would Odin back to stock to give yourself a fresh slate and then check out beanstown106's 1-click CASUAL package that will painlessly root, unlock your bootloader, and flash custom recovery for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boldred
B

boldred

Member
Feb 19, 2012
14
1
blackwolf77 said:
Sounds to me like you need to odin back to stock and start over. Guessing you didn't get the bootloader unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

shimp208 said:
To clarify after you flashed the bootchain through Odin did you then proceed to the step to flash a custom recovery? If you did, at the end of the custom recovery step did you wind up in recovery and do you have the SuperSU .zip on your phone? Keep in mind those instructions in that thread and the recovery image should work but are outdated. If things still don't work for you I would Odin back to stock to give yourself a fresh slate and then check out beanstown106's 1-click CASUAL package that will painlessly root, unlock your bootloader, and flash custom recovery for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. :)
Yes, I did have the SuperSU zip on the sdcard in the phone but I got the error message and continue to do so even after formatting two different sdcards, using the CWM that was installed. The sdcards won't mount in the phone. I can still use the phone (it's one week-old now) but the "custom" screen now appears when turning it on. I'd just like to get the stuff off of the phone that I put on there during this botched process. Apparently, after reading about this situation, this problem appears to be that the CWM corrupts itself and has to be uninstalled, re-installed, uninstalled and etc. until it finally correctly does it what it was supposed to do. This seems too risky now. This is an expensive phone and I thought that I had selected the best option for rooting, unlocking the bootloader and installing a ROM after searching for a week, so I was prepared for problems. I've rooted/unrooted devices before. But I wasn't prepared for this kind of error at this level. I still may try it using TWRP Recovery 2.4.3.0 rather than the ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.2.3. But, first, I need to know how to get back "to stock" -- the way it was before I tried this. The firmware of my phone is VRBMF1 and I do have a "d2vzw_VRBMF1_firmware.zip". I would deeply appreciate tips on how to use Odin to undo the changes made to my phone and restore it back to where it was before I tried this.
Thank you for your reply. :)
 
shimp208

shimp208

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 25, 2011
2,613
3,089
Boston
boldred said:
Thank you for your reply. :)
Yes, I did have the SuperSU zip on the sdcard in the phone but I got the error message and continue to do so even after formatting two different sdcards, using the CWM that was installed. The sdcards won't mount in the phone. I can still use the phone (it's one week-old now) but the "custom" screen now appears when turning it on. I'd just like to get the stuff off of the phone that I put on there during this botched process. Apparently, after reading about this situation, this problem appears to be that the CWM corrupts itself and has to be uninstalled, re-installed, uninstalled and etc. until it finally correctly does it what it was supposed to do. This seems too risky now. This is an expensive phone and I thought that I had selected the best option for rooting, unlocking the bootloader and installing a ROM after searching for a week, so I was prepared for problems. I've rooted/unrooted devices before. But I wasn't prepared for this kind of error at this level. I still may try it using TWRP Recovery 2.4.3.0 rather than the ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.2.3. But, first, I need to know how to get back "to stock" -- the way it was before I tried this. The firmware of my phone is VRBMF1 and I do have a "d2vzw_VRBMF1_firmware.zip". I would deeply appreciate tips on how to use Odin to undo the changes made to my phone and restore it back to where it was before I tried this.
Thank you for your reply. :)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

To use Odin I would first download the latest version of Odin from here. Then I would extract the contents of the .zip file that contains Odin to a folder on your computer. Also I would recommend downloading the I535VRBMF1 firmware from here. Once you have done this click on the Odin .exe file. Now that you have launched Odin I would recommend taking a look at this guide on how to flash the firmware. After you have flashed the firmware to your device and have a clean slate then I would go ahead and use the 1-click by beanstown106 to root, unlock bootloader, and install custom recovery. Feel free to keep asking questions if you need as I'll be happy to answer them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boldred
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
[HOW-TO] Unbrick your soft bricked Galaxy S III (+ bootloader brick)
Replies
389
Views
367K
S
Smil3yWulf
ThePagel
[GUIDE Win/Linux/Mac] Debrick 4.3 with Odin or Verizon Utility + PIT [SOFT BRICK]
Replies
314
Views
136K
postal302
postal302
SpyroDazee
  • Sticky
[GUIDE] Debrick your bricked SCH-I535! [BOOTLOADER/HARDBRICK]
Replies
431
Views
244K
S
sinnersays
Archangel
Inverted/Transparent Apps PlayStore, Hangouts, Inbox, etc,,Updated 20170518
Replies
6K
Views
403K
Archangel
Archangel
droidshadow
How to root your samsung galaxy s3 (easily)
Replies
92
Views
388K
J
jerryspring

Top Liked Posts

24 Hours All time
  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 1
    shimp208
    shimp208
    boldred said:
    I followed the directions exactly on this excellent xda site's "[GUIDE] Root for Jelly Bean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2" with all the correctly downloaded and installed files but when I get to "Step 4 - Rooting Your Device and Unlocking Your Bootloader Quote: Using your custom recovery flash the download you chose above from Step 1 (#3)"
    I go to "install zip from sdcard" and I select it, and go to "choose zip from sdcard" I get "E: Can't mount / sdcard/".
    So what does one do to "odin back to stock and start over"? Are the sequences of the steps in that guide in correct order? Thanks.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    To clarify after you flashed the bootchain through Odin did you then proceed to the step to flash a custom recovery? If you did, at the end of the custom recovery step did you wind up in recovery and do you have the SuperSU .zip on your phone? Keep in mind those instructions in that thread and the recovery image should work but are outdated. If things still don't work for you I would Odin back to stock to give yourself a fresh slate and then check out beanstown106's 1-click CASUAL package that will painlessly root, unlock your bootloader, and flash custom recovery for you.
    View
    1
    shimp208
    shimp208
    boldred said:
    Thank you for your reply. :)
    Yes, I did have the SuperSU zip on the sdcard in the phone but I got the error message and continue to do so even after formatting two different sdcards, using the CWM that was installed. The sdcards won't mount in the phone. I can still use the phone (it's one week-old now) but the "custom" screen now appears when turning it on. I'd just like to get the stuff off of the phone that I put on there during this botched process. Apparently, after reading about this situation, this problem appears to be that the CWM corrupts itself and has to be uninstalled, re-installed, uninstalled and etc. until it finally correctly does it what it was supposed to do. This seems too risky now. This is an expensive phone and I thought that I had selected the best option for rooting, unlocking the bootloader and installing a ROM after searching for a week, so I was prepared for problems. I've rooted/unrooted devices before. But I wasn't prepared for this kind of error at this level. I still may try it using TWRP Recovery 2.4.3.0 rather than the ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.2.3. But, first, I need to know how to get back "to stock" -- the way it was before I tried this. The firmware of my phone is VRBMF1 and I do have a "d2vzw_VRBMF1_firmware.zip". I would deeply appreciate tips on how to use Odin to undo the changes made to my phone and restore it back to where it was before I tried this.
    Thank you for your reply. :)
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    To use Odin I would first download the latest version of Odin from here. Then I would extract the contents of the .zip file that contains Odin to a folder on your computer. Also I would recommend downloading the I535VRBMF1 firmware from here. Once you have done this click on the Odin .exe file. Now that you have launched Odin I would recommend taking a look at this guide on how to flash the firmware. After you have flashed the firmware to your device and have a clean slate then I would go ahead and use the 1-click by beanstown106 to root, unlock bootloader, and install custom recovery. Feel free to keep asking questions if you need as I'll be happy to answer them.
    View

New posts