Help Samsung SGS2 (almost) bricked. Any chance of fix?

[David Kelly]

Hi Android Forums.
Here's an interesting one for you guys. Maybe you can help!

I have a Samsung SGS2 GT-I9100 that became bricked while flashing Siyah kernel.

The phone powers on and now hangs on the boot screen.
The phone can go into Download Mode **maybe
It can't go into Fastboot Mode .

Here's where it gets fun...

When connecting the phone in download mode to a Windows machine, it detects the phone and loads the SGS2 drivers.

Kies cant connect to the phone.

Heimdall "detects" the phone also but errors out when I try and flash anything. (libsub error -12).
**I've two good condition cables so I think we can rule that out.
**I've also connected the device to a Mac with Heimdall and gotten similar libsub error
I'm pretty sure the phone didn't have USB debugging enabled before the incident.

The Android Forums mini SDK ADB/Fastboot commands don't detect the device.

So Android Forums, what do you think. Do you think it's recoverable?
Is there a way to reenable USB debugging or flash CMW at a very low level (I mean, if download mode loads the SGS2 drivers in windows, is there a way to send information back over the USB cable?)
**edit*Would a USB jig be of any use?

All the best,

David

 

[lunatic59]

You should be able to flash CWM (or TWRP) using Odin if you can get the thing into download mode. The only catch is it's Windows only. (Windows 7 preferably)

There are some pretty good step-by-steps here.

 

[dynomot]

A USB Jig will get you into download (Odin) mode. If it still charges, charge it to full. Stick the Jig in and the phone will jump straight to download mode, without the "Custom OS" warning. However you need a Windows PC (as Lunatic59 says). A Windows 7 machine is fine as is a Vista one (well, for our purposes at least.)

Download and install Kies for PC (Samsung's "PC suite"), you need the drivers only, it is Kies and not Kies 3 you need:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/usefulsoftware/KIES/


Once installed run it, then close it completely, kill any of it's processes in Windows Task manager as well, it detests it's big brother Odin and will stop Odin running properly.

Now you need the firmware for your galaxy S2. Here is the (Britain and Ireland) stock latest firmware for a Samsung galaxy SII - GT-I9100, download it to the PCs desktop, unzip (extract) it once only to get to the .tar file which is the flashing file you need for Odin. From the link to SamMobile below is also a link further down to download Odin V3.09. Odin doesn't need to install it just runs when opened (Right click the .exe in the Odin folder and run it as a PC administrator).

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/14473/I9100XWLSS_I9100XEULS4_XEU.zip/

Now your ready, this should all be straight forward as long as the drivers initiate and install properly from a phone in download mode, they should.

Close everything on the PC down to desktop. Stick in the USB Jig on your device then connect it to the PC when you get the large Android telling you "Downloading - Do not turn off target". Use a main USB port, not one on a hub. Hopefully the drivers will install on the PC correctly (see bottom right on the PC in the notification tray.) Once done. open Odin, you should get a blue box top left in Odin saying your SGS2 is connected. The larger real time report box bottom left will also tell you it is connected. Now Make sure the only boxes that are checked are "Auto Reboot", "F.Reset Time" and check the box "AP" yourself. Now click the AP tab next to the tick box and navigate and select the .tar file you unzipped from the desktop. Now press "start". Sit back and watch and with any luck you will have an SGSII starting up as if it had been first switched on with UK stock firmware on it in two minutes or so. The first boot of the phone may take a while, this is because it is building it's dalvik cache from scratch (nothing to worry about - a once only thing.)

As long as the drivers install from Kies and the USB jig forces the phone straight to download (Odin) mode with the large Android,all should be well.

Once all done reroot and start again with the Siyah kernel (the best -Happy days !)

Good luck