Bricked HTC U11

[slzihc]

I'm hoping there's a solution here but I've probably bricked the phone badly. Don't worry about shaking your head and rolling your eyes. I've already done that for you.

I have a HTC U11 that I bought online which came with a Latin American OS for the phone. It had Claro bloatware attached and wouldn't update beyond Nougat 7.1.1. I was looking at changing the CID, at least to install a stock firmware that wouldn't have any bloatware. I was reading through various tutorials and through my tired viewing I had pulled a file from the phone, modified it (sdf1 located I believe in /dev/block/) and then proceeded to push it. Without thinking, I rebooted and now I'm stuck in the bootloader screen without an option to get into TWRP. Although I'm sure I flashed TWRP, I may have just used the "fastboot boot TWRP" command to initially use TWRP. I can't go pass the bootloader screen and if I try "fastboot boot TWRP", it ends up booting to a black screen. Any attempts to flash TWRP gives me an error as well. I have a copy of the original file that I modified so all I would need to do is have access to the file system and replace the modified file. I'm not sure if I'm screwed here or not. I hope this all makes sense as I've been at it for many hours and feeling really tired now.

 

[miffymiffy]

I'm hoping there's a solution here but I've probably bricked the phone badly. Don't worry about shaking your head and rolling your eyes. I've already done that for you.

I have a HTC U11 that I bought online which came with a Latin American OS for the phone. It had Claro bloatware attached and wouldn't update beyond Nougat 7.1.1. I was looking at changing the CID, at least to install a stock firmware that wouldn't have any bloatware. I was reading through various tutorials and through my tired viewing I had pulled a file from the phone, modified it (sdf1 located I believe in /dev/block/) and then proceeded to push it. Without thinking, I rebooted and now I'm stuck in the bootloader screen without an option to get into TWRP. Although I'm sure I flashed TWRP, I may have just used the "fastboot boot TWRP" command to initially use TWRP. I can't go pass the bootloader screen and if I try "fastboot boot TWRP", it ends up booting to a black screen. Any attempts to flash TWRP gives me an error as well. I have a copy of the original file that I modified so all I would need to do is have access to the file system and replace the modified file. I'm not sure if I'm screwed here or not. I hope this all makes sense as I've been at it for many hours and feeling really tired now.

in download mode, try fastboot flash recovery twrp.img ensuring that twrp.img name is correct.
fastboot boot twrp.img is what should have been typed. again, ensuring the name of twrp is correct.

Alternatively,
In download mode, can you do fastboot getvar all?
Get your CID and download a rom more current than the one you have. (if cid is still there or not)
change file name to 2pzcimg.zip and place on root of sd card.
boot back into download mode and press volume up.

 

[slzihc]

in download mode, try fastboot flash recovery twrp.img ensuring that twrp.img name is correct.
fastboot boot twrp.img is what should have been typed. again, ensuring the name of twrp is correct.

Alternatively,
In download mode, can you do fastboot getvar all?
Get your CID and download a rom more current than the one you have. (if cid is still there or not)
change file name to 2pzcimg.zip and place on root of sd card.
boot back into download mode and press volume up.

Thanks for the reply miffymiffy. The phone doesn't appear to go into download mode. Whether I choose Reboot, Reboot to Bootloader, Reboot to Download or Reboot to Recovery, it always ends up on the bootloader screen. Either way, when I attempt to flash recovery I get the following:

Sending 'recovery' (46312 KB) OKAY [ 1.391s]
Writing 'recovery' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')

Also, I thought it was the bootloader screen that I'm stuck on but when I've done the getvar command I see it says "boot-mode: Fastboot". Not sure if that changes anything.

 

[miffymiffy]

Thanks for the reply miffymiffy. The phone doesn't appear to go into download mode. Whether I choose Reboot, Reboot to Bootloader, Reboot to Download or Reboot to Recovery, it always ends up on the bootloader screen. Either way, when I attempt to flash recovery I get the following:

Sending 'recovery' (46312 KB) OKAY [ 1.391s]
Writing 'recovery' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')

Also, I thought it was the bootloader screen that I'm stuck on but when I've done the getvar command I see it says "boot-mode: Fastboot". Not sure if that changes anything.

Can you fastboot boot twrp.img

 

[slzihc]

I can but all I get is a black screen.

 

[korom42]

I can but all I get is a black screen.

I think that you should find and flash the firmware image corresponding to your device model. If you're saying that "getvar" command to get the CID isn't working you can try to ask the seller if he knows or had any informations about the exact details.
Also can't you get any informations by reading the original pulled image via a hex editor ?
Finally you can search for other people with similar models from "Latin America" maybe there's only 1 model of it.

 

[slzihc]

I think that you should find and flash the firmware image corresponding to your device model. If you're saying that "getvar" command to get the CID isn't working you can try to ask the seller if he knows or had any informations about the exact details.
Also can't you get any informations by reading the original pulled image via a hex editor ?
Finally you can search for other people with similar models from "Latin America" maybe there's only 1 model of it.

Getvar did work and return details. Although it didn't display the CID, I do have the CID written down. I will try to find the firmware image but it was difficult to find when I was trying to do it the other day. While I look for it, are you able to point me to a guide on flashing the firmware. Hopefully I can still flash it despite where the phone is stuck at.

 

[korom42]

Getvar did work and return details. Although it didn't display the CID, I do have the CID written down. I will try to find the firmware image but it was difficult to find when I was trying to do it the other day. While I look for it, are you able to point me to a guide on flashing the firmware. Hopefully I can still flash it despite where the phone is stuck at.

Sure, have you looked at the pinned thread in this forum section ?
This : https://forum.xda-developers.com/u11/how-to/collection-htcu-u11-ruu-firmware-t3612048

 

[slzihc]

Sure, have you looked at the pinned thread in this forum section ?
This : https://forum.xda-developers.com/u11/how-to/collection-htcu-u11-ruu-firmware-t3612048

I've briefly looked at it but I'll go through it soon and see how I go. I think my biggest issue will be finding an RRU for the phone. The CID is HTC__332 but I can't seem to find it in the spreadsheet that many refer to. Also, I'm not sure what the phones MID was so not sure if that's going to be a problem.

 

[miffymiffy]

I've briefly looked at it but I'll go through it soon and see how I go. I think my biggest issue will be finding an RRU for the phone. The CID is HTC__332 but I can't seem to find it in the spreadsheet that many refer to. Also, I'm not sure what the phones MID was so not sure if that's going to be a problem.

Do you still have the sdf2 img you pulled?
the info will be in there. By the looks of it, its a mexican telcel device.
I cant find any RUU for your particular cid, but maybe another of same mid will work

It may also be the fact that the cid/mid change has worked and the current rom wont boot into it with a different one??

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------

RUU 1.28.598.4 for Latin America:
OCEAN_WHL (Single SIM), Product ID: htc_ocnwhl, CID: HTC__332 | MID: 2PZC50000
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397896643
2PZCIMG_OCEAN_WHL_N71_SENSE90GP_HTC_LA_AMX_SPA_1.28.598.4_Radio_8998-001791-1706061715_release_508453_signed_2_4.zip

---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

RUU 1.28.600.5 for Mexico Telcel:
OCEAN_WHL (the SIM Single), the Product ID: htc_ocnwhl, the CID: HTC__332 | MID: 2PZC50000
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397896644

 

[slzihc]

Do you still have the sdf2 img you pulled?
the info will be in there. By the looks of it, its a mexican telcel device.
I cant find any RUU for your particular cid, but maybe another of same mid will work

It may also be the fact that the cid/mid change has worked and the current rom wont boot into it with a different one??

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------

RUU 1.28.598.4 for Latin America:
OCEAN_WHL (Single SIM), Product ID: htc_ocnwhl, CID: HTC__332 | MID: 2PZC50000
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397896643
2PZCIMG_OCEAN_WHL_N71_SENSE90GP_HTC_LA_AMX_SPA_1.28.598.4_Radio_8998-001791-1706061715_release_508453_signed_2_4.zip

---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

RUU 1.28.600.5 for Mexico Telcel:
OCEAN_WHL (the SIM Single), the Product ID: htc_ocnwhl, the CID: HTC__332 | MID: 2PZC50000
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397896644

Thanks miffymiffy. That's the same conclusion I came to. The CID is HTC__332. I was trying to get in contact with HTC in the US so I could ask them which one was the correct RUU to download. I do have a couple of questions. First of all, what's the difference between the two RUU links you've given? Both appear to be the same details. Secondly, the phone I have may be dual SIM though. That is, the SIM card tray appears to accommodate both a micro sim and nano sim (or is that still single SIM)?

 

[miffymiffy]

Thanks miffymiffy. That's the same conclusion I came to. The CID is HTC__332. I was trying to get in contact with HTC in the US so I could ask them which one was the correct RUU to download. I do have a couple of questions. First of all, what's the difference between the two RUU links you've given? Both appear to be the same details. Secondly, the phone I have may be dual SIM though. That is, the SIM card tray appears to accommodate both a micro sim and nano sim (or is that still single SIM)?

Looks like one is carrier specific and one is regional.
If it is I fact the details, it will be a single Sim with the microSD tray

 

[slzihc]

Looks like one is carrier specific and one is regional.
If it is I fact the details, it will be a single Sim with the microSD tray

Thanks for your help so far miffymiffy. I've downloaded both at the moment but I don't think I'll be using the Mexico Telcel as I bought this phone in Australia and I doubt it'll be that one. I'm guessing that I'll be following this tutorial

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72831916&postcount=3

My only roadblock will be that I can only seem to access one menu when the phone switches on. I'll attach a photo of that menu. The only options I have on the menu are

Reboot
Reboot Bootloader
Reboot Download
Reboot Recovery
Power Off

And no matter what, I still come back to the same screen (except for power off).

 

[slzihc]

From what I can tell, the phone is stuck on Fastboot mode. There's a page I've come across regarding being stuck in Fastboot mode

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2779007

The OP has included files to use to get out of Fastboot mode but it's in the Spring LG G2 forum. I'm not wanting to follow these steps as I'm not sure what those files are and whether they're only specific to that particular phone.

 

[slzihc]

After speaking to HTC in the US and providing my IMEI to them, they have advised that I should be fine using the Unlocked/Developer Firmware. I will have to try it and see how I go. Is there anyone who knows how I can get past Fastboot mode when I'm stuck on it as mentioned above?

 

[miffymiffy]

After speaking to HTC in the US and providing my IMEI to them, they have advised that I should be fine using the Unlocked/Developer Firmware. I will have to try it and see how I go. Is there anyone who knows how I can get past Fastboot mode when I'm stuck on it as mentioned above?

The rom i provided will work if the info you provided earlier was correct. Id try this first
Can you type fastboot oem rebootRUU?

The process would be put the rom zip you downloaded earlier in to the fastboot folder and type in cmd

fastboot oem rebootRUU
fastboot flash zip rom.zip (it will error the first time, this is normal)
fastboot flash zip rom.zip
when its complete
fastboot reboot

 

[slzihc]

The rom i provided will work if the info you provided earlier was correct. Id try this first
Can you type fastboot oem rebootRUU?

The process would be put the rom zip you downloaded earlier in to the fastboot folder and type in cmd

fastboot oem rebootRUU
fastboot flash zip rom.zip (it will error the first time, this is normal)
fastboot flash zip rom.zip
when its complete
fastboot reboot

Followed the process you mentioned including running "fastboot flash zip rom.zip" twice and then "fastboot reboot" and still stuck in fastboot mode. Running "fastboot flash zip rom.zip" yielded the exact same errors both times:

Invalid sparse file format at header magic
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1226526620 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 689659804 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 152792988 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
Sending sparse 'zip' 1/5 (524284 KB) error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
OKAY [ 17.929s]
Writing 'zip' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')
fastboot: error: Command failed

That was for the Latin American rom. I then followed through the procedures once again for the Mexican Telcel one and also got similar errors both times:

Invalid sparse file format at header magic
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1204136748 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 667269932 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 130403116 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
Sending sparse 'zip' 1/5 (524284 KB) error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
OKAY [ 17.678s]
Writing 'zip' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')
fastboot: error: Command failed

 

[miffymiffy]

Followed the process you mentioned including running "fastboot flash zip rom.zip" twice and then "fastboot reboot" and still stuck in fastboot mode. Running "fastboot flash zip rom.zip" yielded the exact same errors both times:

Invalid sparse file format at header magic
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1226526620 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 689659804 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 152792988 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
Sending sparse 'zip' 1/5 (524284 KB) error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1763393436 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
OKAY [ 17.929s]
Writing 'zip' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')
fastboot: error: Command failed

That was for the Latin American rom. I then followed through the procedures once again for the Mexican Telcel one and also got similar errors both times:

Invalid sparse file format at header magic
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1204136748 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 667269932 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 130403116 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
Sending sparse 'zip' 1/5 (524284 KB) error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 1741003564 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
OKAY [ 17.678s]
Writing 'zip' FAILED (remote: 'Not allowed on PRODUCTION device')
fastboot: error: Command failed

Is the rom.zip named that? or is it the full downloaded file name?
No idea what the issue may be. Not sure if you will need to s-off to flash the individual partitions how you linked earlier.

 

[slzihc]

Is the rom.zip named that? or is it the full downloaded file name?
No idea what the issue may be. Not sure if you will need to s-off to flash the individual partitions how you linked earlier.

I named the file rom.zip. Should it be named to something else?

 

[slzihc]

The only other way I'm aware to flash the firmware is to place it on an SD card and switch to download mode. The problem is that I can't exit fastboot mode at all. There was a link I pasted above to exit fastboot mode but it's for the Sprint LG G2. I'm hoping someone knows how to do this on the U11. If I could gain access to the file system, I could just replace the modified file with the original one and everything should be ok.