[HOW TO] Unbrick your phone from flashing an International gsm boot image

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mskip

Retired Senior Moderator
Mar 20, 2008
12,328
16,072
Norfolk
Anyone with a bricked phone from flashing the gsm boot image, flash this via Odin as a PDA.

It will flash a stock boot image back to your device.

1. Extract Odin files to a folder from the attachment.

How to get into Download Mode (For Odin)
1. Unplug the USB cable.
2. Shut down the phone.
3. Hold down the 'HOME' + 'VOLUME DOWN' buttons and press the 'POWER' button for about 2 seconds until a WARNING! Screen appears. Press the 'VOLUME UP' button to enter Download Mode.

2. Tick 'Auto Reboot' and 'F. Reset Time' in Odin and nothing else.

3. Download the boot image and load into Odin as a PDA.

4. Click on Start to flash the image.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?i8ulpdcq4t9go41

DO NOT UNZIP THE BOOT TAR FILE, FLASH IT AS IT IS.

Mark.
 

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Disconn3ct

Senior Member
Nov 5, 2008
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157
Washington, DC
andblogs.net
I'll get into it in the next hour or two and see if I can't get a basic cwm image built. (Simple version, cwm ramdisk with this kernel.)

Update: Here's an image (recovery, not boot!) for anyone who wants to test it.

Edit 2: Tested it, it doesn't work. Seemed a little too easy :) Same symptoms as the other recovery - shows 'starting recovery' and then turns off.
 
Last edited:

Tweezydak1d

Senior Member
May 6, 2009
644
86
Sacramento, CA
With the sprint recovery as soon as I see starting recovery I let the buttons go and it goes into recovery

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 

pakeha

Member
Feb 20, 2010
24
1
when i get into "download" mode, it says "downloading" as tho it is waiting for something? is that what it is supposed to say?
 

orangekid

Sr. Mod / Mod Committee / RC-RT Committee
Staff member
Apr 10, 2009
14,775
9,160
I am a little confused.

Is this for CDMA users who accidentally flashed a GSM image, or is this made for GSM users?
 

orangekid

Sr. Mod / Mod Committee / RC-RT Committee
Staff member
Apr 10, 2009
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This is in the Sprint/Verizon/AT&T Forum and is therefore for those users who have bricked their devices by flashing a gsm boot image.

Mark.

so just to clarify, this wouldn't apply to AT&T or T-Mobile since they ARE GSM and therefore will not brick their devices by flashing a gsm boot image correcT?
 

mskip

Retired Senior Moderator
Mar 20, 2008
12,328
16,072
Norfolk
so just to clarify, this wouldn't apply to AT&T or T-Mobile since they ARE GSM and therefore will not brick their devices by flashing a gsm boot image correcT?
As far as I was aware AT&T, Verizon and Sprint models are CDMA/LTE and T-Mobile is GSM but none would work with an International boot image since the hardware is different. If I am wrong please correct me as that was my understanding of these devices.

Just to clarify I have added the 'International' part to the thread title.

Mark.
 

jntdroid

Senior Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,019
162
DFW, TX
Thanks for this Mark.

To clarify a couple of things - the combination of this, plus your tool, should pretty much make the GS3 (on Tmobile) able to restore completely back to it's factory state in just about any situation, correct? Or are we still looking for a Tmo recovery.img?
 

orangekid

Sr. Mod / Mod Committee / RC-RT Committee
Staff member
Apr 10, 2009
14,775
9,160
As far as I was aware AT&T, Verizon and Sprint models are CDMA/LTE and T-Mobile is GSM but none would work with an International boot image since the hardware is different. If I am wrong please correct me as that was my understanding of these devices.

Just to clarify I have added the 'International' part to the thread title.

Mark.

Tmobile and AT&T are GSM, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA, so when you said gsm I was confused.

Since all US variants have the same SoC which is different than international this makes more sense now that you added international to the title.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

mskip

Retired Senior Moderator
Mar 20, 2008
12,328
16,072
Norfolk
Thanks for this Mark.

To clarify a couple of things - the combination of this, plus your tool, should pretty much make the GS3 (on Tmobile) able to restore completely back to it's factory state in just about any situation, correct? Or are we still looking for a Tmo recovery.img?
There are no stock recovery images for any of the US variants yet as the only rooting method to date is to flash a custom recovery image (cwm) and install the root files via cwm. This means the stock recovery image is overwritten and cannot be dumped after rooting.

I am working on a rootable boot image which would leave the recovery untouched and therefore retrevable.

Mark.
 
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jntdroid

Senior Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,019
162
DFW, TX
There are no stock recovery images for any of the US variants yet as the only rooting method to date is to flash a custom recovery image (cwm) and install the root files via cwm. This means the stock recovery image is overwritten and cannot be dumped after rooting.

I am working on a rootable boot image which would leave the recovery untouched and therefore retrevable.

Mark.

Thanks - and thanks for working on all of it. Looking forward to that.
 

mskip

Retired Senior Moderator
Mar 20, 2008
12,328
16,072
Norfolk
Tmobile and AT&T are GSM, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA, so when you said gsm I was confused.

Since all US variants have the same SoC which is different than international this makes more sense now that you added international to the title.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sorry about the confusion lol.

Mark.
 

mskip

Retired Senior Moderator
Mar 20, 2008
12,328
16,072
Norfolk
Hey Mark haven't seen you in a bit finally on the same phone with you again, at least for now right lol. Hope you been good bro.

-McMex

Sent from my SG3 using xda premium
Hey buddy you planning on getting another phone soon then lol. I have been good thanks glad ur here its nice to see a familiar face :)

Mark.
 

mcmexican

Retired Senior Moderator
Feb 2, 2007
1,006
33
Los Angeles
Yeah I am thinking of selling my Gnex and just having my SG3 and iPhone in my bag. But glad your on this forum :)

-McMex

Sent from my GS3 using xda premium
 

AxAtAx

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2011
13,116
20,412
ViSiON,Texas
Forgive me if this is the wrong place to post this, I have already hard bricked my phone last week, fixed now, but question, for example, this was the rom that hard bricked my device http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1734643. what I am asking, was this rom compatible with the T-mobile T999? I wish that this thread was going before I started, are the roms going to broken down into different categories for specific model GS3? Good info to know on the GSM and CDMA differences.
Thank you, good job.
 
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    Anyone with a bricked phone from flashing the gsm boot image, flash this via Odin as a PDA.

    It will flash a stock boot image back to your device.

    1. Extract Odin files to a folder from the attachment.

    How to get into Download Mode (For Odin)
    1. Unplug the USB cable.
    2. Shut down the phone.
    3. Hold down the 'HOME' + 'VOLUME DOWN' buttons and press the 'POWER' button for about 2 seconds until a WARNING! Screen appears. Press the 'VOLUME UP' button to enter Download Mode.

    2. Tick 'Auto Reboot' and 'F. Reset Time' in Odin and nothing else.

    3. Download the boot image and load into Odin as a PDA.

    4. Click on Start to flash the image.

    http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?i8ulpdcq4t9go41

    DO NOT UNZIP THE BOOT TAR FILE, FLASH IT AS IT IS.

    Mark.
    1
    Thanks for this Mark.

    To clarify a couple of things - the combination of this, plus your tool, should pretty much make the GS3 (on Tmobile) able to restore completely back to it's factory state in just about any situation, correct? Or are we still looking for a Tmo recovery.img?
    There are no stock recovery images for any of the US variants yet as the only rooting method to date is to flash a custom recovery image (cwm) and install the root files via cwm. This means the stock recovery image is overwritten and cannot be dumped after rooting.

    I am working on a rootable boot image which would leave the recovery untouched and therefore retrevable.

    Mark.
    1
    link is dead can anyone reupload..?

    Last post was nearly two years ago. If you can get to download mode, just try flashing your stock firmware. If you need a PIT file, those are in a separate thread in General section. If you still have problems, try the debrick thread in the stickies, or post in Q&A.