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Internal System Counters

x432hz

x432hz

Android Enthusiast
Is it true that the Samsung Galaxy Prevail SPH-M820 has an internal hidden counter built into the system that actually counts the number of times the phone has been modded, (and maybe other things as well) and if you were to go past a predetermined number of mods to the phone, it will render the phone useless, or completely "bricked" to the point to where you would not be able to use the phone anymore at all?

Has anyone ever heard of this?

thanks.
 
I read that and a few things like it, I don't remember where though, I found it accidently through random searches looking for something else about prevail modding. If I can find it again I'll post the url.
 
Wow! That's the craziest thing I've heard of in a long time.

Why, I've modded my phone so many times, I've lost count. The only thing I've ever noticed is that right after a mod, the phone has a tendencn&^@


*** CONNECTION INTERRUPTED BY BOOST SECURITY ***
*** THIS PHONE IS NOW DISABLED ***
*** PLEASE CONTACT BOOST MOBILE CONCERNING YOUR ACCOUNT ***
 
That really sounds like someone spreading FUD. I haven't heard of that on any phone, most try to prevent you from being able to do it at all, but once you get around the roadblocks, do it as mucch as you want.
 
If this is true at all, then it's obviously accessible through some kind of an advanced service menu and must be resettable, I would think. Probably not that simple though.
 
maybe, I never heard of it before, at least not here anyway, I cant find the page, I should have bookmarked it.
 
from what I read it made it sound like if you make so many changes so many times it auto disables somehow, I guess some kind of safeguard thing.
 
The jig for dl mode references a "flash counter"... Only place i have seen mention tho...
 
it is aleged that when the counter reaches a pre-determined number, your ability to flash anything will cease. (could this be the issue with people not being able to use Odin?) i cant confirm this to be true, tho i cant deny it either, nor have i purchased the jig (my phone has always been able to turn on ;) ) i have been wondering about this for a while (the flash counter)... but it has never come up so i left well enough alone... anyone else heard of this?
 
Lordvincent 90 said:
it is aleged that when the counter reaches a pre-determined number, your ability to flash anything will cease. (could this be the issue with people not being able to use Odin?) i cant confirm this to be true, tho i cant deny it either, nor have i purchased the jig (my phone has always been able to turn on ;) ) i have been wondering about this for a while (the flash counter)... but it has never come up so i left well enough alone... anyone else heard of this?
Click to expand...

OK, I dug around Sammy's site a bit and they use this counter to determine if you have voided the warranty. There is a way to reset the counter however, so the thought of it becoming "bricked" is moot.
 
Would that "voiding of the warranty" render the phone useless? and, how many flashes do you get? And, where can I learn more about this and how it's reset, etc. Got my curiosity goin now. If you happen to know offhand.
 
Ya know , even though you can wipe the phone during a flash , there are still basic files that are left on the phone such a PRL , etc. . So , keeping that in mind , it would be possible for the phone to keep a running count of how many times it has been modded . I've modded mine so many times that I would even hate to try and count them . Heh , my freakin counters probably worn out . :D
 
wetbiker7 said:
Ya know , even though you can wipe the phone during a flash , there are still basic files that are left on the phone such a PRL , etc. . So , keeping that in mind , it would be possible for the phone to keep a running count of how many times it has been modded . I've modded mine so many times that I would even hate to try and count them . Heh , my freakin counters probably worn out . :D
Click to expand...

My only question is:

How do you reset that fricking counter?
 
wyelkins said:
My only question is:

How do you reset that fricking counter?
Click to expand...

I found the thread by googling "samsung flash counter" so you could start there. You may want to add reset to that search string to narrow your search. I would pursue it for you, but I am not familiar with your phone so I would have no clue if I was feeding you bunk.:D
 
That reminds me of the fact that samsung's people are on these sites all the time figuring out what everybody's doing/how there doing it. Eventually boost/samung will probably put an end to modding their phones by screwing everyone.
 
I really doubt they want an end to modding, and even if they did I doubt it would happen.

The people that figure out how to put security on the phone are few the people trying to hack it are many. There is a saying what one man can think of someone will find a way to overcome.

However the main reason I doubt samsung want to kill the ability to mod is they must know many people only buy the phone so they can mod it. Sure they want to make that as difficult as possible so you dont have people screwing up the phone and trying to claim warranty
 
Lordvincent's comment about a 'jig' got me curious so I did some searching and came up with this site:

USBJig

The site owner lists the Prevail as one of the phones that this jig works on, but does not mention a counter in the Prevail.

From what I have gathered, you can make your own jig if you have a 301 K Ohm resistor, good eyes and a steady hand.

I wonder if the jig would allow a 'bricked' Prevail to be recovered. Anyone know offhand? Because I'm not going to brick my phone just to find out.
 
Yeah, I thought so, too.

I had some money left in an old Paypal account, doing nothing, so I bought one of the jigs.

What can I say other than it works as advertised. Stick it into a powered-off Prevail and the phone goes directly into download mode. Remove the jig and attach a USB cable and you can use Odin to shove files at it.

Still have no idea what it would do to a 'bricked' phone.
 
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