[HOW-TO] Unbrick your Transformer Prime (or not)

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JPxM0Dz

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2010
551
33
For those who have been having issues with the adb not seeing your device with either the Asus or the naked drivers I had the same issue.

I ended up doing it the old fashioned way (aka the long way) by actually installing the SDK tools step by step. It was the only way I could get it to recognize my 1a bricked device after hours of trying a dozen different drivers.

Thanks for the info, I'll reinstall sdk step by step
 

BugsBunny891

Senior Member
Dec 26, 2010
98
9
I'm having trouble with Option 3. Not exactly sure how to push the boot image to my Transformer using adb and also, installed the naked drivers but when I go to adb shell and get the "#" it says device not found.



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UPDATE
I am able to do adb push but pretty sure the second command isn't working because it just hangs at the Epad screen. Since its a kernel issue shouldn't I be able to flash a new kernel and fix it?
 
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JPxM0Dz

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2010
551
33
I'm having trouble with Option 3. Not exactly sure how to push the boot image to my Transformer using adb and also, installed the naked drivers but when I go to adb shell and get the "#" it says device not found.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE
I am able to do adb push but pretty sure the second command isn't working because it just hangs at the Epad screen. Since its a kernel issue shouldn't I be able to flash a new kernel and fix it?



Try reinstalling SDK step by step, someone mentioned earlier that that was the only way they could get sdk shell to recognize device.

Plus you might want to seek out other resources, I doubt you get much help here...
 

BugsBunny891

Senior Member
Dec 26, 2010
98
9
Try reinstalling SDK step by step, someone mentioned earlier that that was the only way they could get sdk shell to recognize device.

Plus you might want to seek out other resources, I doubt you get much help here...

I got my computer to recognize my device, that's not the problem. I can't get that final step to work for option 3 to unbrick my device.
 
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gee21

Member
Feb 13, 2010
5
0
Please Help! Only CWM

Hello

Sorry my englisch is very bad. But i need really Help.

1. I have first unlocked my Device
2. I have installed CWM an Backup the original Rom
3. I restart my Prime an its only CWM here. I cant load my Backup an i cant select the Custom Rom on my MicroSD. (Micro sd will not be showed and i cant select anyfile of the microsd)

I have tried with Power+VolDown (it will come only CWM)
i have tried with the Hardreset button (it will come only CWM)
I have tried Variante 1A (Bricked) but the Problem is my PC say i cant install the USB Driver for the Transformer. So my PC detect my Prime not correctly...


I hope you understand me and can help me to fix my really big fail :):eek:

Falls jemand Deutsch kann, wäre ich natürlich auch nicht unglücklich :)
 

nicolaerugina

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2007
92
7
Manama
Unbrick your Transformer Prime (or not)

No we are all getting 0x4 not 0x8.
But I think I heard of your error before too. Still no way to recover... :(

Hi,

I get my Prime on the 0x4 error ("unrecoverable bootloader error") :mad:. I believe that no update yet for unbrick :confused:. There is someone which is trying to develop this fix? Or I should directly go to ASUS?

Thank you.
 

tedr108

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2011
416
138
Los Angeles area, CA
Ok I finally figured out adb shell and got it up and running, just having issues pushing image file to sd via cwm as per the instructions in first post

Yet another hurdle ;)
You do not push the image file with CWM ... you push it from the command prompt on your PC. When the OP says go to CWM, it only means to have your Prime up and running with CWM active, so that your PC can see your device in adb.

The adb push boot.img /sdcard/ command is all done from the PC's command prompt. This exact command will work, if you have boot.img in the same folder as adb.exe. Once this push completes, it's on to adb shell, etc, etc...as shown in the OP.

Your Prime will be back up and running in no time!

(P.S.) If you get an "adb command not found" sort of message, just do the cd command at the prompt and point yourself to the same directory where adb is located. You'll have to do something like cd c:\android\android-sdk\platform-tools -- don't know the exact directory name where adb.exe is. Then adb will run fine.
 
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JPxM0Dz

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2010
551
33
Thanks for the info! Yeah I did try to push boot.img from adb shell but I was still having issues. Adb was not finding my device, so didn't matter what I typed ;)
No worries, sold my Prime on fleabay, waiting for new one to show up

UPDATE: Apparently my Prime was Brick 1A - Buyer had some driver issues to begin with, but then successfully unbricked tablet ;)


Sent from my SGH-I717R using xda premium
 
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Smando

Senior Member
Jun 24, 2008
136
821
guys need help!!

my TFP stuck at eepad logo, booting with volume down show me only wipe data and fastboot mode.
wipe data don't work, can i restore from Fastboot??
 

nilesf

Member
Apr 5, 2007
33
5
Brick Option 2 "HELP"

Count me in for Brick Option two.

Had latest CWM Premium installed with Virtious Primetime 4.5. Powered off, then "vol-with pwr", wiped data and proceeded with Asus orginal 9.4.2.15 (US) rom. The device rebooted with three icons, Wipe, USB and Android, but in the upper left corner there was thee lines of text in red below the CWM lines of text. Cannot remember what they said but they did not look good.

Now I get "Unrecoverable Bootloader Error 0x00000004". Strange thing is if I "vol+pwr" I can feel the little "bzzz" but nothing ever displays.

I am looking at an Asus RMA?

Thanks,
Niles
 

nilesf

Member
Apr 5, 2007
33
5
Have not tried that. To late anyway. Spoke with Asus support this afternoon trying to unbrick the device. No luck. RMA in process. They are upgrading (TF201 wifi/gps fix) me to the TF700. Sweet!!!
 

smelian

Senior Member
Nov 21, 2009
158
4
i have option 3 porblem

every thing work good but this command now
dd if=/data/media/boot.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0 seek=3968 bs=4096 count=2048

its says 'dd' is Not recognized as an internal external command
 

michaelatrix

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2011
500
52
I need help I have option three problem but it won't recognize my device I've tried the universal drivers too! Can someone post a video with links to exactly how to set up android sdk?
sent from cm7 atrix 1.3ghz
 

paddycr

Senior Member
Jan 25, 2012
659
156
OnePlus 8T
Have not tried that. To late anyway. Spoke with Asus support this afternoon trying to unbrick the device. No luck. RMA in process. They are upgrading (TF201 wifi/gps fix) me to the TF700. Sweet!!!

How did you RMA when you have an unlocked bootloader? Did you give support your serial number when you spoke to them??:confused:
 

blublub

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2009
136
4
Count me in for Option 2.

I was stuck at the EEpad logo after flashing the wrong ROM with the old CWM instead of the new one.

I did as told in instructions for an Option 3 brick - that what it at least looked like (CWM working with ADB, stuck at boot logo Asus Eee Pad - Device was recognizes. All commands via adb and pushing the file went well "ok", no error - and I did not put the "" in the sehll command :)
However after reboot I got stuck at "signature mismatch" "unrecoverable bootloader" 0x0000008 Error.

Now I only ca get into the "asus" boot option. Wipe data or cold boot - Well none of both works!

But I have to say:
Thank you Asus for giving as a crappy unlocked bootloader system, otherwise I would never have gotten such a great looking paper weight!

greetz
 
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nilesf

Member
Apr 5, 2007
33
5
How did you RMA when you have an unlocked bootloader? Did you give support your serial number when you spoke to them??:confused:
Tell me about. I thought I was screwed because of installing the unlock tool. I argued that regardless of the unlock tool the very poor wifi/gps issue still would exist with or with out the unlock tool.

Told them that I wanted a unit that did not have issues with wifi/gps and pointed out that the TF700/Infinity. Basically played the whole "The TF201 is nothing more than a over priced pad of paper"

So after about 20-25 minutes they agreed to swap me with the F700/Infinity. The did say however that I would not get the unit until the middle of next month, which I think would be about the same if I was just getting another TF201.

My old Tf201 was shipped out yesterday via UPS overnight. I did have to pay for the shipping, but is well worth it if I am getting the TF700/Infinity.
 
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  • 138
    Hey guys,
    I just wanted to put some information together on how to recover your bricked Prime (if possible).


    DISCLAIMER
    I am in no way responsible for what you do with your Prime, even when you are following these (my) instructions.
    There is always the risk of making it worse and this risk is completely down to you!!!


    Currently we know 4 states of bricked Primes whereas 3 are more or less widespread.

    • Brick 1a: You unlocked your Prime with ASUS' tool, did some stuff to it (like flashing a custom ROM) and now it always boots into recovery instead of your ROM.
      You can't select to boot to fastboot or anything else. No matter what you do it's always the recovery. (happening to many users)
      -> Please go to Option 1a

    • Brick 1b: You unlocked your Prime with ASUS' tool, did some stuff to it (like flashing a custom ROM) and now once you want to boot your new ROM it shows you the bootanimation but suddenly tells you something about an "unsuccessful encryption" (it's a real android screen, with a touch button etc.)
      Once you hit the "Reset" button it restarts but you can't boot the ROM anymore, you are now caught in a CWM loop (much like Brick 1a)
      -> Please go to Option 1b

    • Brick 2: When booting up your Prime hangs at the splashscreen (the screen with "EeePad" in the middle) and tells you something about an "unrecoverable bootloader error" (happened so far to at least 4 users)
      -> Please go to Option 2

    • Brick 3: (After messing around with your Prime in recovery it won't boot any ROM anymore, you can however still access fastboot and the recovery)
      Update: This particular brick happens due to a bad kernel flash. If you are flashing kernels via the ASUS /staging method, make sure /staging is unmounted before flashing stuff to it, otherwise it WILL faill and brick.

      Update 2: It seems we can't use the old fix for this brick anymore. Sometimes it does more bad than good. :(
      ->Please go to Option 3

    Option 1a

    Don't be afraid, your Prime should be recoverable. This is the good news. The bad news is, that you need quite some knowledge of ADB.

    To recover your Prime (most likely) you need the following:
    • A working ADB setup (please google that if you don't have it, "tutorial setup adb" or something like that should do the trick)
    • The USB-Cable to connect the Prime to your PC
    • A few minutes time

    Now do the following:
    • Make sure your Prime is in Recovery mode (CWM)

    • Open a cmd line on your pc

    • Type: "adb shell"

    • You should see a "#" now

    • Once you have that "#", please type: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 bs=100 count=1 and press [Enter]

    • Now type: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 bs=16 count=1 and press [Enter]

    • Exit the shell and reboot your Prime via CWM

    • It should not reboot to CWM automatically now. It either boots your ROM or is stuck at the splash screen. If it is stuck, boot to recovery and install any ROM you want. :)


    Option 1b

    Good news, this brick should be no problem. :)
    Basically you need to first do Option 1a, but don't reboot the Prime just yet.
    • After executing the dd commands, you need to reboot your Prime to the bootloader menu and NOT the ROM itself.
    • To do this you need to reboot your device while holding down the Volume_Down key.
    • Once the white text in the top left corner appears release the buttons.
    • Now don't press anything until you can see a menu with 3 icons, an Android symbol, an USB symbol and a Wipe Data symbol.
    • Select the Wipe Data icon with pressing Volume_Down twice. Now press Volume_Up twice to reset the device to factory state.
    • WARNING: OF COURSE THIS WILL DELETE ALL YOUR DATA!!!! EVEN THE INTERNAL MEMORY AKA SDCARD!!! CURRENTLY I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER WAY TO RECOVER FROM THIS BRICK!!!
    • After the wipe is done, you should be able to flash a new ROM or boot the existing ROM :)


    Option 2

    Sorry, but your Prime is most likely hard bricked.
    This can happen if you try to apply a stock blob file after you installed CWM. There is currently no way to recover from this. :(


    Option 3

    If you are in this situation (Prime doesn't boot but you can access both recovery and fastboot) please go to #asus-transformer on freenode and ask for help there. We currently don't know if you can recover from this state.
    Do not, I repeat, do not try to flash a stock ASUS ROM/blob file.
    Doing this you will most likely hard brick your Prime.

    We now found a way to un-brick this one too :)
    This one is a bit more risky, so make sure you follow all instructions with a bit of extra care.


    Update: It seems the old method for this brick could make things even worse on some Primes.
    On some primes this can be easily fixed, however putting this in a guide could do more harm than good.




    Troubleshooting
    • Problems getting ADB to work in recovery mode? Only seeing something like "Full Android on Emulator" in the device manager instead of your tablet?
      Well I have a posible fix for you: Got to this thread and download the drivers. Then override the drivers for the Emulator device manually with the new ones. ADB should work now :)


    --- Read here how to prevent future bricks and other common problems ---

    Bits & pieces
    You might want to have a look here for a possible solution for some bootloader errors (It's from a TF300):
    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44244313&postcount=12


    Credits:
    thx to kmdm for his solution on Brick 1a and Brick 3 :)
    6
    Not sure if you have the same problem that I had(stuck at eee pad screen with no access to recovery). I used fastboot to flash recovery and stock boot.blob to resolve the issue.

    Holly Sweet Baby Jesus!!!!!

    Thank God!!! *Breaths sigh of relief*

    Problem/Issue:
    - Was on AOKP Milestone 5.
    - Installed TWRP Recovery via fastboot (over CWM).
    - Made Backup.
    - Installed CM9, played with it for a day or so.
    - Wanted to go back to AOKP... Restored TWRP Backup
    - Upon Reboot, stuck at boot screen (EEE Pad Screen).
    - No recovery, only options were wipe & fastboot
    - Flashing either version of recovery yielded no results... still stuck.


    Solution:
    - Download AKOP Rom zip again to computer. (or which ever particular rom you restored).
    - boot into fastboot
    - flash recovery via "fastboot -i 0x0b05 flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch-5.8.1.8-tf201.img" <--- CWM Touch Version
    - Extract boot.blob from Rom .zip
    - flash boot.blob via "fastboot -i 0x0b05 flash boot boot.blob"
    - reboot via "fastboot -i 0x0b05 reboot"

    BOOTING UP & Recovery Access!!!
    3
    stuck on Brick options 1a
    adb devices cannot see my device
    does not show up in device manager
    But I do have at other devices "Full Android on Emulator"
    Any Help
    Thanks

    Try instaling these drivers here manually please

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1426502

    Adb should work fine afterwards :)
    2
    Okay I added a 4th brick to the list. It's a variant of the first Brick and it is recoverable :)
    2
    Okay we successfully un-bricked a Brick 3 just now. :)
    Updating the thread tomorrow.