In many cases, a failed installation of a custom ROM often results in a soft-bricked device. With so many tutorials promising safe procedures for upgrading your device, there’s some chance that you could end up scratching your head thinking about what could possibly have gone wrong.
With over a million devices already sold, the Amazon Kindle Fire is certainly the best Android tablet around town. Featuring a decent dual-core 1 GHz processor and an entertaining 7-inch IPS display, the Kindle Fire is no ordinary device to mess around with. Flashing custom ROMs and over-the-air (OTA) updates are just some of the few reasons that could likely brick your precious device during a failed attempt.
Owners of the Amazon Kindle Fire who have soft-bricked their devices will finally be able to unbrick their tablets and bring it back to life. Thanks to the application known as the Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility developed by the guys at XDA-Developers, you can now resurrect your Kindle Fire to full gear.
The application is easy to use and can be applied to your tablet, regardless of the firmware that it is running. The best thing about this tool is that it generally addresses the most common causes of your device’s malfunction.
From failed modding of framework–res.apk to pesky recovery boot loops, the Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility generally covers everything. Think of it as an all-in-one Kindle Fire solution for your soft-bricked devices. With the simple to use interface, it is perfectly safe and easy to follow.
Requirements
- Amazon Kindle Fire
- Computer running Windows
- Java installed on the Windows machine (Get Java here)
- Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility (download here)
- Ensure that your device has at least 60% of power left so that it doesn’t get turned off once the unbricking process starts.
Instructions
- Extract the contents of the Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility to your computer.
- Open a command prompt and change directory to where you extracted the Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility files.
- Run KindleUnbrickV1.0.jar (it’s a Java JAR file). You can run the JAR file by executing “java -jar KindleUnbrickV1.0.jar” (without the quotes).
- Connect your Kindle Fire to your computer using a USB cable.
- From here, you’ll then be able to choose from 5 different options with their corresponding number of choice. The options are:
- Recovery Loop
- Stuck at logo
- Framework-Res
- Modded /system/app
- Other…
- Click the appropriate option that best describes the current condition of your Kindle Fire.
- Depending on the choice you made, the recovery process will roughly take 10 minutes to finish restoring your device to normal state. Your device will automatically reboot itself after the recovery process.
- If your device continuously reboots itself after the recovery process, repeat the procedure to unbrick your device.
Congratulations! You have successfully unbricked your Amazon Kindle Fire with the Kindle Fire Unbrick Utility. You can now use your device again.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.A bricked Samsung phone means that you cannot turn on it and can do nothing with it. Then, why does your Samsung Galaxy phone get bricked? Most people suffer from the problem after they rooting their Samsung devices and there are also some of the other reasons for Samsung device getting bricked:
Reasons may cause your Samsung phone brick:
- A virus can easily mess up your phones' operating system
- Your phone might have fallen in water or some other type of liquid
- Bugs in the software which aren’t easily noticeable
- A corrupted operating system
- Using a defective or malfunctioned memory card with numerous files and apps on it
- When a software update has not finished accurately
- Software customization such as flashing a new ROM or rooting the device.
- Your phone might have fallen in water or some other type of liquid
- Bugs in the software which aren’t easily noticeable
- A corrupted operating system
- Using a defective or malfunctioned memory card with numerous files and apps on it
- When a software update has not finished accurately
- Software customization such as flashing a new ROM or rooting the device.
Then, how to rescue a bricked Samsung phone? In the following passage, we will provide two solutions to unbrick your Samsung phone and fix it to normal.
Solution 1: Wipe Data to Fix Bricked Samsung Galaxy Phone
First of all, you should turn your bricked Samsung phone into Recovery Mode. Just follow the steps in the below:
1. Press and hold the Home, Volume Up and Power buttons on your bricked Samsung phone.
2. A menu will pop up on the phone screen, in which you should scroll down to choose the 'wipe data/factory reset' option.
3. Press Menu/Power.
4. A dialog will pop up with a slightly daunting 'are you sure?'. Just choose 'Yes' and then power off your Samsung phone with the power button.
The way above is fast to rescue your bricked Samsung phone, but it is not the best solution because it may lead to data loss during the rescue process. Next, we will introduce a professional program that can unbrick your Samsung phone without any data loss.
More Similar Guides:
Recover Data from Bricked Android
Recover Lost Files from Broken Samsung
Recover Lost Files from Broken Samsung
Solution 2. Unbrick Samsung Phones with Broken Android Fix & Recovery Tool
The software that is professional in unbricking Android devices called Broken Android Data Extraction. Using it, you can fix bricked Samsung to normal with 4 simple steps and even easily recover photos, videos, contacts, SMS, etc. from damaged Samsung device. It works on overall types of Samsung devices, including Samsung Galaxy S8/S7/S6/S5/Note 7/6/5/4. What you need to do is installing the program, connecting your bricked Samsung phone and then starting the program to repair the phone.
In the beginning, you should download and install the Broken Android data recovery on your computer.
Step 1. Connect your bricked Samsung to the computer
Launch the program on your computer and connect your bricked Samsung phone to the computer with a data cable. The program will son detect the connected phone. You should choose the option 'Broken Android Phone Data Extraction' when the following screen shows.
Step 2. Click Fix Device to restore your Samsung phone
If the system of your Android device is damaged and you cannot operate it, you can click 'Fix Device' to try to restore it. Then, you will see the following screen. Just choose your phone fault type - Bricked.
Step 3. Choose and confirm your phone name and model
Select the name and model of your Samsung phone and click 'Confirm' button. Then, follow the operations on the pop up window to get your Samsung phone into Download Mode.
Step 4. Unbrick Samsung phone and recover data
After your Samsung enters Download Mode, the program will detect it and scan for data. All the scanned out data will be displayed by categories, such as text messages, contacts, videos, photos, etc. Select the file categories you want and click 'Recover' button to save them on your PC.
Free download the broken Android Fix & Recovery tool to have a try!
Related Articles:
So you’ve bricked your phone. You flashed a ROM6 Best Android 6.0 Marshmallow Custom ROMs6 Best Android 6.0 Marshmallow Custom ROMsIf you want to upgrade your phone to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, don't wait! These custom ROMs make it easy.Read More, installed a mod, tweaked a system file, did something — and now your phone won’t boot.
Don’t panic, it’s almost certainly fixable, depending on how it is bricked.
- The soft brick. The phone freezes on the Android boot screen, gets stuck in a boot loop, or just boots straight to recovery. So long as something happens when you turn it on, it’s soft bricked. The good news is these are pretty easy to fix.
- The hard brick. You push the power button and nothing happens. Hard bricks can be caused by things like attempting to flash an incompatible ROM or kernel, and there’s normally no software solution for them. Hard bricks are very bad news, but fortunately they’re very rare.
Chances are that you’re soft bricked. While the differences in how various Android phones work make it hard to come up with a catch-all solution for every instance of a soft brick, there are four common tricks you can try to get yourself back on track:
- Wiping data, then re-flashing a custom ROM
- Disabling Xposed mods through recovery
- Restoring a Nandroid backup
- Flashing a factory image
Before you get started make sure your phone and computer are set up and ready with the proper tools.
What You Need
Chances are you’ll already have most of the tools you need to recover your bricked phone. They’re the same tools you used to root your device and flash ROMs, and you should also be familiar with how they work. Even so, double check before you begin.
Most important is a custom recoveryWhat's a Custom Recovery? Exploring CWM, TWRP, and FriendsWhat's a Custom Recovery? Exploring CWM, TWRP, and FriendsIf you've ever considered tinkering with your Android device, you've probably read that you need to flash a custom recovery onto it before you can do anything serious. But, that begs some questions.Read More. This would have been installed when you rooted your phone, but it can sometimes get overwritten by the stock recovery, or wiped entirely. If you do need to reinstall it we recommend going with TWRP. It’s a fully featured custom recovery, very to easy to use, and has builds for most popular devices.
Next up, you might need Fastboot and ADBNew To Android Debug Bridge? How To Make The Process Simple And EasyNew To Android Debug Bridge? How To Make The Process Simple And EasyADB is incredibly useful for sending commands to your Android device from your computer. For the beginners out there, here's a dead simple way to use ADB.Read More. These are commonly used for rooting and flashing system mods, and you can get both from the Android Developers website.
And finally, some manufacturers use specialist software to flash factory images. Hopefully you can avoid doing this, but if you need to you can use Odin for Samsung, the LG Flash Tool for LG devices, and the HTC Sync Manager for HTC. Love is blue song 1968.
1. Wipe Data and Re-flash a Custom ROM
Try this method if: You flashed a ROM and now Android won’t boot.
One of the most likely causes of soft bricking your phone is when flashing a custom ROMHow to Find and Install a Custom ROM for Your Android DeviceHow to Find and Install a Custom ROM for Your Android DeviceAndroid is super customizable, but to fully take advantage of that, you need to flash a custom ROM. Here's how to do that.Read More goes wrong. And one of the most likely causes of that is that you opted to not wipe your data first.
Often referred to as a “dirty flash”, this is when you choose to forego the inconvenience of having to restore your apps and data by flashing a new ROM on top of your old one. As a general rule, you can get away with it if you’re flashing a newer version of your existing ROM, but you must always wipe your data whenever you flash a different ROM.
Fortunately, it’s easy to fix — as long as you’ve backed up all your dataBack up Your Android Phone Today Before It's Too LateBack up Your Android Phone Today Before It's Too LateIf you lost your phone today (or it was stolen or damaged), would you still have all your photos, contacts, and data? Let's make sure everything is properly backed up.Read More properly. If you haven’t, well, you’ve learned an important lesson the hard way.
- Boot into your custom recovery
- Navigate your way to the Wipe option and choose Advanced Wipe
- Check the box marked Data (you can wipe the system, ART cache, and cache again too), then Confirm
- Re-flash your custom ROM
Wiping your data effectively performs a factory reset, but it shouldn’t clear your internal storage or SD card (although, again, you should back it up just to be safe). When you restart your phone, you’ll see the Android setup screen. After entering your Google account information, your apps should begin reinstalling automatically.
If you need to, you can restore your data from your Nandroid backup. See the Restore a Nandroid Backup section below.
2. Disable Xposed Modules in Recovery
Try this method if: You get boot loops after installing a new Xposed module.
The Xposed Framework is one of the best tools for modding your phone9 Amazing Android Customizations Worth Rooting For9 Amazing Android Customizations Worth Rooting ForHaven't rooted your device yet? Once you get a look at all this awesome root-only customizations, you might change your mind.Read More, but it’s also one of the most dangerous. Xposed modulesThe 13 Best Xposed Modules for Customizing Your Android DeviceThe 13 Best Xposed Modules for Customizing Your Android DeviceThe Xposed Framework is one of the best reasons to root Android, and these Xposed modules add awesome functionality.Read More are so easy to install — many of them are available in the Play Store itself — that it lulls you into a false sense of security. It’s unlikely anyone makes a Nandroid backup before installing a new Xposed module, even though they can brick your phone.
Use ADB Push to Install the Xposed Uninstaller
The best way to deal with problems is with the Xposed Uninstaller. This is a small flashable zip that you can install through the recovery to remove Xposed from your device.
If you don’t already have it on your phone, you can put it on an SD card, or you might be able to copy it over using the ADB push method:
- Download the Xposed Uninstaller to your desktop
- Connect your phone to your computer via USB and boot into recovery
- Launch the command prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac) and use the cd command to change the directory to where you have adb installed
- Type adb push [full path to xposed uninstaller.zip] [full path to destination]. On Mac and Linux, precede the command with ./ (eg ./adb)
- When the file finishes copying, flash it through the recovery
Easy Unbrick Android Free Download
How to Disable Xposed Modules in Recovery
If you can’t use ADB push, try either of these solutions.
This method disables Xposed:
- Boot into recovery, navigate to Advanced > Terminal command
- Create a file called /data/data/de.robv.android.xposed.installer/conf/disabled
- Reboot your phone
This method prevents Xposed modules from starting:
- Boot into recovery, select File Manager
- Navigate to the folder /data/data/de.robv.android.xposed.installer/conf/ then delete the file modules.list
- Reboot your phone
None of these solutions will undo any changes the modules have made to your system. If this is the cause of your problem, you will have to restore your Nandroid backup.
3. Restore a Nandroid Backup
Try this method if: You need to remove other system mods, replace a tweaked system file, or if the methods above didn’t work.
The Nandroid backupWhat Is A Nandroid Backup and How Exactly Does It Work?What Is A Nandroid Backup and How Exactly Does It Work?You need that backup at the ready.Read More is the safety net for Android mods and tweaks. It’s a complete snapshot of your phone, not just your data and apps, but of the operating system itself. So long as you can access your custom recovery and have a Nandroid backup, you will be able to get your soft bricked phone up and running:
- Boot into recovery and navigate to Restore
- Select your backup, confirm, and wait while it’s restored
- Reboot your phone
Nandroid backups are a bit of a pain to make. They take a while and cannot be done in the background. But they’re worth it: they’re the simplest way to unbrick your phone.
Recover Data From a Nandroid Backup
A Nandroid backup can also save the day if you had to wipe your data and didn’t back it up in an easily restorable form. It’s possible to extract specific parts of a Nandroid, so you can restore your apps and data without needing to restore the operating system as well.
- Boot into Android and install Titanium Backup from the Play Store
- Tap the menu button and navigate to Special Backup/Restore > Extract from Nandroid Backup
- Select your backup from the list
- Choose whether to restore apps, data, or both, and select them (or hit Select All)
- Tap the green tick icon to start the restore process
4. Flash a Factory Image
Try this method if: None of the other options work.
If all else fails, the nuclear option is to re-flash a factory image. This restores the phone to its original state and will wipe your internal storage as well as everything else. It’ll also unroot your phone.
Because it wipes everything, you might be better off trying to flash a stock ROM first. OnePlus actually offers flashable ROMs for recovery rather than factory images, and you’ll find similar for virtually every device at xda-developers.com. In many cases you’ll be able to flash a pre-rooted stock ROM for added convenience.
Where flashing a factory image differs from flashing a ROM is that it happens over a connection to your desktop computer rather than through recovery. Some devices use the Fastboot tool from the Android SDK, but others use custom software. Samsung uses the Odin tool, for instance, while HTC uses the HTC Sync Manager.
Because of the different methods used, the instructions for flashing a factory image differ for each device. And not all manufacturers make their firmwares publicly available, so you have to find them from unofficial sources.
Here’s where to find factory images for some popular Android brands:
What About Hard Bricks?
First make sure it is bricked — plug it in and leave it to charge for a while. Attempt to reset it by either pulling the batteryThe Android Repair Guide to Fixing Boot ProblemsThe Android Repair Guide to Fixing Boot ProblemsIs your Android phone or tablet failing to power on? Odds are good you'll be able to fix it with these simple steps.Read More or holding the power button down for 10-15 seconds.
If it is definitely hard bricked, then you may be out of luck. Some phones can be revived with a USB Jig, a tiny device that plugs into the USB port and puts the phone into Download Mode to reinstall the stock firmware. These can be found cheaply on Ebay, but only for a very small number of devices, and even then there’s no guarantee that they’ll work.
Beyond that, you may need to send your phone in for repair (though rooting your phone probably voided your warranty) or seek out a local phone repair person. But you most likely will end up needing to buy a new phoneBest Places To Buy And Sell Used Android PhonesBest Places To Buy And Sell Used Android PhonesLooking to sell an old Android phone or buy a used Android phone? Let's compare the best services for buyers and sellers.Read More.
Still, hard bricks are quite rare, especially for the most popular mods like flashing ROMs. Soft bricks are far more likely. It’s almost inevitable you’ll experience a soft brick eventually, but fortunately, it will just be an inconvenience rather than something to worry about.
One Click Unbrick Tool Download
Have you bricked your phone? Join us in the comments to share your experiences, along with any other tips for getting your device up and running again.
Explore more about: Android Rooting, Custom Android Rom, Data Recovery, .
- Hello, I'm scared of flashing ROM since you explained the hard brick.
- How about after finish the installation and starting to reboot your phpne and you accidentally remove the battery then trying to switch the phone, again it's turn on and off its stack in phone logo and also I can't access the recovery mode its that fixable?
- Hello mate. I am khairul from malaysia. Here so hard to get usbjig. The only way to fix something like that happend, send it to retailer. But that for others. I have experience this situation last 2 weeks. My sony xperia zr ntt docomo, cannot turn on. I charge it for 2 days. Still wont turning up. I make my step. I try sony xperia companion, failee. I try flashtool, failed, i try adb, also failed. I still wont turn up. My final step, i use mtk8789 and usb cable, then i restore back to my original japanese code firmware, then i run clockworkmod. And jow i can use it as a new unit. All running smooth. thats all from malaysia.
Adios - I hard bricked my Huawei P10 VTR-L09 by trying to flash an update through TWRP, I ended up deleting my 'system' database by mistake and had not made a backup. It is totally my own mistake, but now my phone is wiped clean and I would like to use it for software development but Huawei have their way of making bricked phones unusable.
- How did you do it, even I flashed wromg TWRP I think, but now it is stuck on first boot screen. PC doesn't recognises it, and can't get into any recovery modes listed. Please help.
- There really is no such thing as a 'Soft Brick' , its known as a boot loop and you can always get your phone into download mode at this point in time so its not really a brick yet, when you have bricked your phone its dead and I mean dead, its mostly caused by flashing a wrong boot loader and the phone has no way to even turn on so you now have a bricked phone.Some phones like Samsung use a usb dongle (jig) to get into download mode (hardware feature built in) so you can flash the proper firmware and the phone comes back to life, if you have a hardware failure then your not going anywhere so its now a expensive paper weight for your desk. Hardware failures are less common than a brick compared to them damn boot loops when flashing custom roms.
- My coopad note 3 lite is soft bricked when I flash it.It's flash successfully but it's always going into boot loop and and I also try
Adb cammand but my computer says error: null no device foundPlease help me - my O+ android phone is dead when i click power button' Its just nothing happen what i did is while my phone is updating firmware through computer i accidentally unplug the cable then boom after shit happens. I think my phone is hard brick...... can't detect to my PC anymore ... sorry for my bad english
- Same with my android phone. While flashing my pc turned off due to insufficient battery and now I ended up getting a bricked phone
- i can be fixed, try to unscrew your phone and look for colo/kcolo then solder it to the ground then flash again this method will force the emmc
- My device is Lenovo phab 2 it's not booting because I installed twrp after I go and wipe data after reboot my device is a not booting mobile is stucked and One thing is I am not backuping my device , pls help me how to recovery mobile. And how to backup my software pls pls pls help me....
- Please tell how to unbrick micromax a111
- I hard bricked my miceromax a111,please anybody knows how to unbrick it.
- hi,
my Lava Iris x1 grand phone is soft brick .i have custom recovery . so,how to flash stock framware rom ? - Hlo. I firstly used TWRP 3.0.2-2 . And istalled AOSP for my Lenovo k3 note. As it had some bugs I thought to flash Super RR custom rom by Jdesing. I tried to flash the rom through the same version of twrp recovery. Error 7 occurred. I searched on Google about error 7 and I came to know it happens because of fake version of TWRP. So again backup my previous data and installed Flashify app and flashed TWRP 3.1. and it prompted for 'Flashing Complete' 'reboot'. I rebooted. And its stuck in bootlooping. And as for my fate, I didn't enable USB Debugging before doing all that. Can anyone please tell me what to do now?
- Hello i am facing a hard brivk in my micromax e353..is there any solution for it
- I have redmi 2
In multirom mod ,,I flashed roms in multirom mod
I flaah Tesla then temasek both are OK but then I flash miui Rom lollipop version
It takes too much .After completing when I click .reboot to system in twrp
All black neither recovey nor fastboot and my device not turning on and detected by pc!!:( - OK. I soft bricked my Samsung Galaxy s3 . I have twrp installed and I did backup my system before. I followed all instructions to restore backup and it's telling me that there is no is installed.
I do have a backup on my SD card.. my USB port also isn't working to connect to a computer.
I need help. I don't know what to do.- Hi there, have you got your phone running again yet? I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that i have successfully recovered from a soft brick experience. My phone is model I9305 if your phone is same model i can send info on how i got mine going again.
- Unfortunately I haven't gotten my poor old phone up and running. I truly appreciate your offer of assistance but mine is a SPH-L710
- You need driver to detect your devices. Just flash stock rom with odin(choose scatter file only preloader in download mode 1st)usb work back. After that flash again all file without preloader. Again, flash again whole file scatter will revive your phone. Now your phone imei and wifi not working. Google nvram or .. For solution.
- I bricked my phone, first a softbrick where I flashed android 6.0 ROM on my Alcatel Flash 2 and can't enter recovery mode, then I tried ADB fastboot but it also wont let me do fastboot -w, down to my 3rd option is sp flash tool I did the format all+download (which I think or now know is wrong) plugged my phone and error occured in the middle of the process, instead of the green check box, I had a red txt error which where I know I f*d up bad, now my phone wont turn on, pc is reading it but as USB DA, adb wont recognize it as well as sp flash tool, not charging as well. I guess i have now a Hard Bricked Phone.
- were u able fix?
- Hey I have flashed twrp recovery on infocus bingo21 m430 by flashify app(root users) after flashing , as I click on reboot in recovery , then it stops on infocus android logo screen & showing fastboot mode.
Plz anyone help me - I flashed wrong twrp.img which is for other device because I cant find twrp for Lenovo A2010,so it stops at the Lenovo logo and reboots again and again and it doesn't boot into recovery mode..now it became worser the battery drained out and it connects and disconnects automatically while charging indicating low battery it does the same when connected to an PC..can anyone help me with a solution
plz help me- same problem bro..did u find a solution?
- I was able to successfully root my phone and things were working pretty awesome.However, when I tried to flash linux.img using TWRP, the phone phone went into a bootloop (I guess). Now, the phone keeps flashing the screen light and immediately attempts reboot. I am using a HTC Desire 626g plus dual sim and the above mentioned loop just keeps going on.Kindly advice whether it seems like a soft brick or hard one. Also would appreciate any sort of guidance towards resolution.Thank you in advance.
- I soft bricked my galaxy gt s7582,..but I was successful to solve that problem.. Kinda internet
?? - Hard bricked my 200 quid zuk z2 by lenovo. im guessing theres nothing I can do D:
- Hi there, thanks for your article. Please I got a Sm-T311 tablet clone. Same tablet other company call it HDC tablet. Mine came originally with android version 4.2.2. Mtk 6582. I tried to upgrade to android 5 which I didn't succeed, but got a dark screen now. I have search for a ROM everywhere, which I got 1 ROM out of 8, which when flashed with sp tool, tablet will be charging but two colors on screen, with no images. Please I have a nandroid backup in my PC which I did before bricking the phones. Please any help with my nandroid backup?
- Although it was awful at the time, I've hard-bricked a Nexus 4. Was playing around with some kernel tweaks that weren't compatible with my kernel. Phone suddenly shut off and refused to power back on. I knew it was all over when the charging LED went out. Kinda glad that device is gone though - needed a new battery and overheated very badly (like 90 degrees badly). I'm much more educated now, and enjoying my Nexus 5X.
- My yuphoria yu5010 is hard bricked during installing a custom rom update plz tell me solution call me if u have zig tool in UP 8057648799
- When your android phone or tablet gets bricked and won't start up, bootloops or stuck on the logo screen, you should seek expert help. Many novice android users attempt to root, flash custom rom or install apps that could mess up their android device. iQAndroid helps in person and remotely with rooting, custom rom installation, backups, flashing custom recovery, fixing bricked devices and more. We are members of XDA Developers and have many years of experience with several android devices and versions of software. We are software developers who understand how android works and are familiar with many methods of fixing, rooting, and restoring android phones and tablets. We have a website and youtube channel where we share information and offer support.
- can i install a different rom for any phone
- I av flashed an infinix note 2 16g 2g with a ROM for 16g 1g and now d phone is bricked is there any hope for me to revive d phone?
- I have an HP Slatebook 14 that is soft bricked and I cannot get it into recover, ADB, since HP locked the device down so hard. I have an OTA update file but from about a full week of research and scouring all the sites its a huge mystery how to fix this. I had TWRP on it and rooted but as I said it just boots to the HP powered by android screen and stays. Every once in a while it reboots on its own and back to the for mentioned screen. HELP!!! PLEASE!!!!
- Yep, I've hard-bricked mine (LG L5 E610) after a couple of unsuccessful flashes of some of the CMs (probably just bad versions). Boots into a screen with some strange lines and colours and stays like that. But it was high time I bought a new one, the LG was really at the end of its life. Looking back, I'm glad I did it, lol.
HomeHow To'sHow To Flash or Unbrick All Android Phones and Tablets
Have you been searching all around for quick and easy steps to flash or unbrick any kind of Android phone or tablet? Then this post is for you.
The method I am going to analyze below has been tested and confirmed working extremely well on phones like the Infinix, Tecno, Gionee, LG, Samsung and iTel.
I will only share with you the quick and easiest method to do this and bring back your device no matter how stubborn it is.
Best Method to Flash/Fix Bricked Android Phones & Tablets
What We Needed:
- MT6577 USB VCOM Driver (W7/Vista/XP): Download
- MT6577 USB VCOM Driver (W8 + W10): Download
- USB data cable
- SP Flash Tool: Download
First, make sure that you have MediaTek USB VCOM drivers installed on your PC
How To Start Flashing New ROM
> Go to the SP Flash Tool to open it (DON’T connect the phone yet)
> Click “Scatter-loading” button to load the scatter file provided in the downloaded ROM ( you may see something like MT6575_Android_scatter_emmc.txt OR MT6577_Android_scatter_emmc.txt, all depending on the type of phone you have)
> Ignore any message that may appear
> Turn off the phone, remove the battery and replace it after some seconds (but don’t turn it ON).
> Press F9 OR hit the “Download” button)
> Connect your phone into the computer via USB data cable.
> The process will start and a red progress bar will appear
> After the red progress bar is complete, there will appear a purple progress bar (stay calm)
> Right after the purple progress bar is complete, a message will appear underneath that reads:
“Please insert USB cable in x seconds”
> Immediately after that, the download will start and you will see a yellow progress bar filling up
> When the yellow progress bar is complete, you will see a pop-up with a green circle and Download OK message, which means that the flashing process is successful :)
> You can now safely disconnect the phone from the USB cable and turn it on.
The process ends here.
If you have any question(s), I will be here to guide you during the flashing process and even after it.
Dear Lifehacker,
Rooting my Android phone went well, but I've tried to flash a custom ROM and now I think I've bricked my phone. Is there anything I can do?
Rooting my Android phone went well, but I've tried to flash a custom ROM and now I think I've bricked my phone. Is there anything I can do?
Everything You Need to Know About Rooting Your Android Phone
We love Android, but rooting your phone can give you the opportunity to do so much more than your…
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Sincerely,
Brickdroid
Brickdroid
Image remixed from an original by Fe Ilya.
Dear Brickdroid,
First of all, lets get something straight. Most people use the term 'bricked' improperly. A bricked phone means one thing: your phone won't turn on in any way, shape or form, and there's nothing you can do to fix it. It is, for all intents and purposes, as useful as a brick. A phone stuck in a boot loop is not bricked, nor is a phone that boots straight into recovery mode. These are things you can usually fix, and they're a lot more common than a truly bricked phone. If your phone is actually bricked, you won't be able to fix it yourself (but there are things you can do—see the end of this article). For those other problems, you have a few options.
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If Your Phone Keeps Rebooting: Wipe Your Data and Cache
If you've flashed a ROM and your phone won't boot into the home screen, it's probably because you forgot to wipe your data and/or cache. It's trying to boot into the ROM, but some leftover data from your last ROM is causing it to error out, and it'll reboot itself over and over again. If your phone's eating a big bowl of boot loops, your first course of action should be to wipe its data and cache, which you can do from recovery mode. This method assumes you're using ClockworkMod Recovery, like the majority of Android users, but if your particular phone uses a different third-party recovery (like AmonRA), you should still be able to find these options in the interface. They might just be in a different place. To wipe your data and cache:
- Power down your phone. Turn it back on and boot into Recovery mode. This is a bit different for every phone, so you'll have to Google how to do it for your specific model. Usually it involves holding down another button, like Volume Down, as you turn your phone on. HTC phones will have to then select 'Recovery' from a menu, while other phones will boot directly into ClockworkMod. You'll know you're in ClockworkMod by the words 'ClockworkMod Recovery' at the top of the screen.
- Use your volume keys to navigate the menus, and your power button to select menu items. Scroll down to Advanced, and choose 'Wipe Dalvik Cache'. When that's finished, go back to the main screen and choose 'Wipe Cache Partition'. Lastly, head to 'Wipe Data/Factory Reset'. This will delete all your settings and apps, but you should still be using the correct ROM.
- Reboot your phone.
With any luck, it should boot right into your ROM. If that didn't work, try the below method with the same ROM (or with a different ROM) and see if you get different results.
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If Your Phone Boots Straight Into Recovery: Flash a New ROM
If, when you boot up your phone, it goes straight into ClockworkMod, then there's likely an issue with the ROM you flashed. Note that some ROMs boot into recovery mode automatically after flashing, so reboot your phone once from recovery mode to make sure you're having a problem. HTC users: if you boot up your phone, it might go straight into the bootloader—check to see whether you can choose 'Recovery' from the list before continuing to the next step. HTC phones usually don't boot straight into recovery.
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In this case, you'll want to reflash the ROM from scratch. Try again with the ROM that messed up your phone, if you so choose, but if that doesn't work, try an entirely different ROM. The best way to do this is to download a ROM from somewhere on the net and putting it on your SD card. You'll need to take the SD card out of your phone, and you'll need an SD card reader that you can plug into your computer. Here's how it works:
- Plug the SD card into your computer. Drag the ROM's ZIP file to your SD card, and wait for it to copy.
- When it's done copying, eject the SD card and put it back in your phone. Reboot into Recovery mode. This is a bit different for every phone, so you'll have to Google how to do it for your specific model. Usually it involves holding down another button, like Volume Down, as you turn your phone on. HTC phones will have to then select 'Recovery' from a menu, while other phones will boot directly into ClockworkMod. You'll know you're in ClockworkMod by the words 'ClockworkMod Recovery' at the top of the screen.
- Use your volume keys to navigate the menus, and your power button to select menu items. Scroll down to 'Install ZIP From SD Card' and navigate to the ZIP file you just copied over. Give it time to flash the ROM.
- When it's done, reboot your phone.
Hopefully, your phone should successfully boot into the new ROM. From there, you can probably assume that the previous ROM that messed up your phone isn't going to work, and you'll have to find another ROM for now—or find another copy of that ROM that isn't corrupted. Remember to make backups of your working ROMs so you don't lose all your data!
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If Your Phone Boots Straight Into its Bootloader: Restore From a Stock ROM
If you're really having trouble, one of the most surefire ways to get your phone working again is to restore from the original ROM your phone came with—unrooted, stock, stable goodness. Each manufacturer and phone has a different method for doing this, and we can't go into too much detail here, but we can steer you in the right direction.
Note that this will unroot your phone, and return it to exactly how it was when you bought it from the store. You'll lose all your apps, settings, ClockworkMod recovery, you'll get over-the-air updates again, and you'll even have to re-activate your phone if you're on a CDMA provider like Verizon or Sprint.
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For Motorola Phones: If you have a Motorola phone, you'll need to use RSD Lite, the program that Motorola and its partnered carriers use to restore almost-bricked phones. We've actually run through how to use RSD Lite before, so check out step one of our original rooting guide to restore your phone to its original factory ROM. RSD Lite isn't exactly an official program open to the public, so you'll have to Google around to find a version that works for you. You'll also need an SBF file for your device, which is the original stock ROM that RSD Lite will flash to your phone. Google for this as well. RSD Lite only runs on Windows, so if you're a Mac or Linux user, you'll need a Windows partition or a friend with a Windows machine to help you out.
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Read more ReadFor HTC Phones: HTC phones can flash stock ROMs, known as RUUs, right from the phone's bootloader. You'll need to Google around for your device's specific RUU file, but once you download it, save the ZIP file to your SD card, and rename it (to something like PG05IMG.zip—the download page for the RUU file should specify which filename is required), booting up your phone should automatically flash the stock ROM from HBOOT, HTC's bootloader. Check out the video at the left to see an example of this on the HTC Thunderbolt.
For Samsung Phones: If you're using a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can use a tool called Odin to reflash an OPS file, which is a stock ROM that will return your phone to factory settings. You'll need a Windows machine and a copy of Odin, which you can find by Googling around the net (as its not an official tool). Check out the video to the left to see an example of Odin, and check out The Unlockr's guide to using Odin to familiarize yourself. You may need to Google around for your specific device's OPS file and instructions.
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If You Get Errors with Any of The Above Methods: Reformat Your SD Card and Don't Give Up
This is less likely, but it's a problem I and a few others have run into on occasion: sometimes your SD card just gets corrupted, which makes the above methods useless (since they rely on your SD card to work). Take your SD card out of your phone, put it into your computer using an SD card reader, and format it. It's very important that you format it through an SD card reader directly and not by plugging in your phone in USB mode—I learned this the hard way. Format it as FAT32 and try the above methods again.
Other errors, like during the ROM flashing process, might give you a hint as to what's wrong. Try heading to the XDA Developers forums and asking for help, as your phone could have one of a million specific problems we can't address here today. Remember, if your phone turns on, there's still a good chance you can recover from whatever error you're experiencing, so don't give up just yet!
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If Your Phone Is Truly Bricked: Take It Into the Store and Play Dumb
If your phone is actually bricked—that is, it won't turn on at all, no matter how hard you try—it's time to give up and move on. The first thing you can do in this situation is try to take it back to your carrier's store and play dumb—just say something like 'I don't know what happened, but my phone won't turn on anymore' (don't tell them you rooted it, obviously). Most carriers don't have time to deal with such issues and they'll just give you a new phone. Sure, it's a tad evil, but it should work most of the time.
If they're wise to your act, though, you can try another store or just sell your bricked phone for a few bucks on Craigslist. Sadly, if no one will replace your phone, you'll have to buy an entirely new one. Such are the dangers of rooting, but don't be discouraged! Bricking your phone is pretty rare, so I wouldn't worry about it being a common occurrence. As always, though, when you void your warranty, only do so if you're ready to replace that device completely, since you never know what can happen.
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Sincerely,
Lifehacker
Lifehacker
P.S. If you're an iPhone owner and are having the same trouble with your device, be sure to check out our guide to troubleshooting a nearly-bricked iOS device.
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You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.