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

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duckied

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2010
447
68
Chi-Town
I think i hard brick my prime, would there ever be a fix for this or should i just chuck this thing into the garbage?
 

Bec07

Senior Member
Aug 13, 2010
731
93
Just send it to scumbag asus. If the bootloader were truly unlocked the should be able to flash in APX mode... but nooo...
 

Bec07

Senior Member
Aug 13, 2010
731
93
Well APX mode always seems to work and since they probably have the SBK based on your serial no. it's a piece of cake for them to flash it. Most people who had warranty seem to have gotten it fixed for free. Will report o how my rma goes too.
 
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fordwolden

Senior Member
May 2, 2012
273
105
I was handed a soft-bricked Prime ($100 w/ dock), it's got a locked bootloader and latest OTA. He had put a new build.prop in /system and now it bootloops to a black screen.

[fixed]

Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
 
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kwineon

Member
Oct 18, 2007
35
0
Milwaukee
Well APX mode always seems to work and since they probably have the SBK based on your serial no. it's a piece of cake for them to flash it. Most people who had warranty seem to have gotten it fixed for free. Will report o how my rma goes too.

Thanks! I hope it goes smoothly and they will just suck it up and repair it. They could just find a way to release a full flash file for reprogramming the phone. I know nvidia has done it for some of their phones, so I can't believe that it would be physically impossible.
 

duckied

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2010
447
68
Chi-Town
I also email them about my situation I'll let you guys know how much of a hole in my pocket they will charge me if they can fix it.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
 

farfetch

Senior Member
Oct 1, 2008
460
18
32
Lecco
Hi, I had CM10 on my Prime, when Asus released JB, I restored to Stock ICS (JB rom was not already avaible for download). I searched for updated, but w/out success, so I followed a method found in this forum (something named "ugrade to JB for who have problem with OTA update")
but Rootkeeper didn't save my root.
2day i found a way to root JB directly, I tried to go into fastboot mode, but tablet doesn't!!! I see "loading fastboot USB mode" but it's stuck there =[
I can reboot in OS, I can wipe from bootloader menu, I can go recovery (at least i think, I see the droid with warning symbol, but that's normal because I wiped my device)...
is my tablet bricked??? :eek:
 

d1ez3

Senior Member
Mar 27, 2011
1,153
154
Orlando, Florida
I was on ICS bootloader with cm10, I did NVFlash and then downloaded hairy bean 1.3, In the install process after I did the first install of the rom (on TWRP 2.3) it just hangs at the asus splash screen. I can get into fast boot but I cannot shut down. I have NO idea what to do! Is there any way I can fix my prime?
 

captsakis

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2009
184
12
glyfada-athens
I was on ICS bootloader with cm10, I did NVFlash and then downloaded hairy bean 1.3, In the install process after I did the first install of the rom (on TWRP 2.3) it just hangs at the asus splash screen. I can get into fast boot but I cannot shut down. I have NO idea what to do! Is there any way I can fix my prime?

if you enter fastboot it is easy to flash roms in the card,just read the first page or search the forum for more instractions
 

erichung_13

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2011
555
59
Melbourne
I was on ICS bootloader with cm10, I did NVFlash and then downloaded hairy bean 1.3, In the install process after I did the first install of the rom (on TWRP 2.3) it just hangs at the asus splash screen. I can get into fast boot but I cannot shut down. I have NO idea what to do! Is there any way I can fix my prime?

I flashed hairy bean 1.3, then attempted to flash the TWRP recovery which came in the updater.. I cannot shut down, I can get into bootloader although if i try to enter recovery or wipe data I get the error "Unrecoverable bootloader error", only fastboot works.. Is there a way I can unbrick my prime using fastboot only? I am not sure how to get adb to work from the bootloader screen so all I got to work with is fastboot..

Thank you in advance.
 

COLJ04

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2012
82
17
I searched and dug and couldnt find any help so i resort to asking (pleading) for someone to be able to point me down the right path.

Ok i flashed HairyBean 1.3 last night after a full wipe. I gave it over a hour to redownload my apps and settle down. i then went in and started playing with some settings and getting everything how i wanted. i decided to reflash hairybean to up my overclock some more and BAM! no boot.

I am getting the Eee Pad screen which reads the device is unlocked.
If i try to enter Recovery or The menu to choose fast boot (vol down + power) i get the following:

android Cardhu-user bootloader (2.10 e) released by ""us_eeepad-9.4.2.28-20120525" a03
Checking for Android OTA recovery
booting recover Kernal Image

Sooo anybody seen this or know he next step. I didnt have a NVflash blob.bin saved to my new computer so i cant get to it (im a idiot) so what are the options short of sending it in. Thanks for any help

Cole
 

captsakis

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2009
184
12
glyfada-athens
Bricked tf201 by me ( APX MODE ) repaired by ASUS SERVICE CZECH with no charges.returned with jelly bean,everything o.k.,THANK U ASUS:
:good::good::good::cool::cool::cool::cool:
 

COLJ04

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2012
82
17
Bricked tf201 by me ( APX MODE ) repaired by ASUS SERVICE CZECH with no charges.returned with jelly bean,everything o.k.,THANK U ASUS:
:good::good::good::cool::cool::cool::cool:

Did you have it unlocked? I am curious because I am about to send mine in if no body can help me.

Cole
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
 

finneginsfast

Senior Member
Mar 6, 2011
944
181
BC
Did you have it unlocked? I am curious because I am about to send mine in if no body can help me.

Cole
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

I'd also like to know if anyone else has sent a brick back in and what the results are as well as costs involved.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium
 

duckied

Senior Member
Apr 5, 2010
447
68
Chi-Town
Send mines in almost two weeks ago, should be getting an email for the estimate any day now. When I last spoke to the asus the tech told me i will definitely get charge for the fix just don't know how much yet.
 
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Jeffrey687

Member
Dec 20, 2009
40
14
Motorola Razr (2019)
I'd also like to know if anyone else has sent a brick back in and what the results are as well as costs involved.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium
My 64GB Prime was unlocked, in Flawless condition, and far less than 1 year old.

OUT-OF-WARRANTY Repair

$161 - Motherboard
$65 - Labor
$10 - Ground return shipping

Asus received on 10/16/12
Asus emailed me the quote and a credit card authorization form on 10/23/12
I filled out and emailed the form back that same night.

No reply from Asus as of 10/25/12

Edit: My credit card has been approved. Asus is quoting 3-6 days for the actual repair.

11/01/12 - My repaired TP is on a FedEx truck now. It should be here in about 4 hours. I'm crossing my fingers that they didn't scratch/dent/crack anything. My tablet was FLAWLESS when I sent it in. Yes, I took about a dozen 16 Megapixel pictures of it before I sent it to Asus.

For those wondering.... I decided to the pay the $236 repair charge because I originally paid $600 for the 64GB gold model; and I really have NOT had any real problems with it! I could not buy another 64GB tables for anywhere NEAR $236. I'm responsible for bricking it; and I paid the price...

In the mean time, I bought a TF-700t and I can hardly tell it apart from my Prime! It works perfectly well with my Prime's keyboard and charger. I honestly see NO Difference in performance over my Prime! I can't wait to put them side-by-side to check out the screen differences and to see if the Infinity does, indeed run faster...
 
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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.