[Q] I777 Soft bricked, stuck on logo. Can't access Recoveryv

[peakbagger66]

Hello, my phone is apparently soft bricked and stuck on the Samsung logo. I am trying to follow ATT's instructions on how to perform a master reset. These are the instructions I am following:

1. Power off the device.
NOTE: If unable to power off, remove and reinsert the battery.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up + Volume Down and Power key.
3. Release ONLY Power Key when Samsung Logo appears.
4. Use Volume Up and Volume Down to scroll down to "Wipe data/factory reset", and then press Power key to confirm to delete all the user data.
5. Scroll down to "Yes! delete all user data" and press the Power key to confirm.
6. When "Data wipe complete" is displayed, select "Reboot system now" and press Power key to confirm to reboot your handset.​

Problem is, when I reach step 3, I get an animated Android with some blue thing in it's belly that spins faster and faster until the Samsung Galaxy SII logo appears and gets stuck again.

I've attached an image of the logo I am seeing.

I'm probably doing something stupid. Anyone have any ideas

EDIT: The phone is completely stock. Not rooted, no ROMS, etc

 

[creepyncrawly]

As far as I can remember, that logo comes with custom recovery but not the stock recovery. What firmware is installed on the phone?

Basically, you are not able to boot into recovery. You should try again, holding down all three keys, vol+ vol- pwr, until: the Galaxy SII logo appears, screen goes black, Galaxy SII logo appears again. Then release all three buttons. Recovery should come up within a few seconds.

If you are unable to get into recovery, you will need to re-flash the stock firmware using Odin. We can guide you through the process if you are unfamiliar with it.

 

[peakbagger66]

Hi CreepynCrawly. I tried the three button salute, hold down until you see the logo twice thing but it always goes to the animation. No menu! Tried more than just a few times, thinking I was fat fingering something.

So, I gave up and I took the flash to stock firmware route. My phone is at Android version is 4.1.2 and baseband I777UCMD8.

I downloaded Odin 3.0.9 and the stock firmware from Sammobile . It fails when it attempts to write the sbl.bin. (see attached). I've tried a few times and two different machines. I also tried doing a restore from Kies (installed the USB drivers along with it). Should I just keep trying? Seems like some people had success with that (although I don't understand why).

As far as I can remember, that logo comes with custom recovery but not the stock recovery. What firmware is installed on the phone?

Basically, you are not able to boot into recovery. You should try again, holding down all three keys, vol+ vol- pwr, until: the Galaxy SII logo appears, screen goes black, Galaxy SII logo appears again. Then release all three buttons. Recovery should come up within a few seconds.

If you are unable to get into recovery, you will need to re-flash the stock firmware using Odin. We can guide you through the process if you are unfamiliar with it.

 

[badger109]

I think we need to use Odin 1.8.5 for our device... don't quote me though. You could try that instead

 

[peakbagger66]

I think we need to use Odin 1.8.5 for our device... don't quote me though. You could try that instead

Thanks Badger, I tried it, but it seems to just hang. I wonder if it is a hardware issue. It just "happened" that way. Had it in my bag. Took it out, and there it was, all soft bricked and what-not with the Samsung logo. Had not installed anything whatsoever in the past few days.

3 months to go before I can upgrade. I can live with my Captivate 'til then I guess.

 

[creepyncrawly]

This sounds like it could be a case of nand read/write corruption. The fix is fairly specific. And it is recommended to use Odin version 1.85 for this phone, although any version of Odin should work (in theory.) There have been some reports where newer versions of Odin did not.

Since you currently have UCMD8, you will be changing to an earlier version of the os during this procedure, so you will need to perform a wipe data/factory reset from within recovery after step 2 before the phone will boot. Please follow the steps in order and exactly.

1)Go to this post and download the Tar version of Siyah 2.6.14 Kernel. Flash it in the PDA slot without ticking Re-Partitioning. If you get a pass, it won't boot, so turn the phone off and then back to download mode and...

2) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the Download Repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot.

3) If you get a pass here, then the phone might boot, or you might have to boot into recovery first and perform a wipe data/factory reset. If you're able to boot the phone, then you are back in business, and can flash whatever firmware you want.

If it is not, then:

4) Download the SBL Bootloader from the Download Repository. Flash it as PDA in ODIN, without ticking Re-Partitioning.

5) Flash the Kernel, as in step 1.

6) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution, as in step 2.

 

[peakbagger66]

erponsha maniacal

Hi CreepynCrawly, I started on your suggestion, but I cannot get past the kernel update. The green progress bar in Odin goes green and then just sits there with "NAND Write Start!!!". I let it sit for 30 minutes the first time, and then I tried with different versions of Odin - 1.3, 3.09, etc...no go. Found an article on here about a similar issue and went through the checklist - different USB ports, different computers, different cables, Odin version, etc, etc...not much success. The download count has increased though, and "Current Binary" says "Custom" on the phone. Any ideas from here on would be great, because my Captivate is kind of sad comparatively speaking .

[EDIT]: I've also tried flashing the SBL from the Download Repository - same issue. It sticks at "NAND Write Start!!"

This sounds like it could be a case of nand read/write corruption. The fix is fairly specific. And it is recommended to use Odin version 1.85 for this phone, although any version of Odin should work (in theory.) There have been some reports where newer versions of Odin did not.

Since you currently have UCMD8, you will be changing to an earlier version of the os during this procedure, so you will need to perform a wipe data/factory reset from within recovery after step 2 before the phone will boot. Please follow the steps in order and exactly.

1)Go to this post and download the Tar version of Siyah 2.6.14 Kernel. Flash it in the PDA slot without ticking Re-Partitioning. If you get a pass, it won't boot, so turn the phone off and then back to download mode and...

2) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution from the Download Repository, I777UCKH7 including the bootloaders and everything, in the PDA slot.

3) If you get a pass here, then the phone might boot, or you might have to boot into recovery first and perform a wipe data/factory reset. If you're able to boot the phone, then you are back in business, and can flash whatever firmware you want.

If it is not, then:

4) Download the SBL Bootloader from the Download Repository. Flash it as PDA in ODIN, without ticking Re-Partitioning.

5) Flash the Kernel, as in step 1.

6) Flash the full stock Gingerbread distribution, as in step 2.

 

[creepyncrawly]

Yeah, my wife is still using my old captivate. I just bought her an SII on Swappa, so once I get her new phone set up for her, I'll be selling her captivate.

If steps 1 - 3 didn't work, you should proceed to steps 4 - 6. Loading the secondary bootloader first may allow the kernel to flash, followed by a successful system flash. Try it out and let us know.

The flash counter is really irrelevant now that the phone is out of warranty, but it can be dealt with later once the phone is booting normally. Completing the process will remove the yellow triangle warning boot screen.

 

[peakbagger66]

Yup - Step 4 hangs - green progress bar and then "NAND Write Start!!" and then...nothing! It just sits there. Am I toast or what?

Yeah, my wife is still using my old captivate. I just bought her an SII on Swappa, so once I get her new phone set up for her, I'll be selling her captivate.

If steps 1 - 3 didn't work, you should proceed to steps 4 - 6. Loading the secondary bootloader first may allow the kernel to flash, followed by a successful system flash. Try it out and let us know.

The flash counter is really irrelevant now that the phone is out of warranty, but it can be dealt with later once the phone is booting normally. Completing the process will remove the yellow triangle warning boot screen.

 

[creepyncrawly]

The common understanding is that if the phone can boot into download mode, it can be recovered to working. This would be true in all but a few rare cases of partial emmc memory damage. I would still assume that your phone can be made to work again.

Please view this post in another thread. I'm not familiar with "hg42's 120824-151927-emmc_find_brick_start.zip" but it would be worth the time to find this file and try it to see what it reports.

There are a large variety of things that can prevent Odin from completing. You need to do some research, and try all the possible issues, but just off the top of my head, it could be due to the cable, the usb port on the computer, the usb port on the phone, the usb driver on the computer, etc. So, try different cables - a Samsung original usb cable is best, try different ports on the computer, try a different computer, reinstall the usb driver, etc.