Restoring a bricked phone

Why does the phone turn into a “brick”?

The most common reason for turning a smartphone into a “brick” is independent firmware. Many users get bored with the built-in operating system, so they install custom versions of the OS. Incorrect actions during firmware can lead to various errors when the phone stops turning on and responding to presses.

The second possible reason is an unintentional failure during the installation of the operating system. For example, if the device’s battery is completely drained during an update, the gadget may turn into a brick. When flashing firmware and other operations with the system, it is recommended not to touch the device so as not to disrupt data transfer.

The third situation is rare, but sometimes it happens — the smartphone is turned into a “brick” as a result of installing various applications that interact with system processes. In most cases, we are talking about malware. For example, after forcefully shutting down some system programs, the device will constantly generate errors and not respond to user actions.

Returning factory firmware

There are several ways to restore Android functionality for different situations. If, after turning your phone into a brick, the desire to install modifications is gone, return the official software using the same programs — FlashTool and Odin. Official files can be found on the forums, in the topic with your device.

Restoring a bricked Android device

To return a smartphone or tablet to working condition, you will definitely have to use a computer running Windows and specialized software. Only in this way and in no other way can you directly access the device’s memory sections.

Note:
Each of the methods for restoring a “brick” presented below contains links to detailed instructions on this topic. It is important to understand that the general algorithm of actions described in them is universal (within the framework of the method), but the example uses a device of a specific manufacturer and model (will be indicated in the title), as well as a file or firmware files intended exclusively for it. For any other smartphones and tablets, you will have to look for similar software components yourself, for example, on thematic web resources and forums. You can ask any questions in the comments under this or related articles.

Restoring Huawei Mate 10, which became bricked after changing the region

Restoring a smartphone from a non-working state

Actions with third-party shells (downloaded from the Internet) usually lead to immediate loss of warranty. Therefore, you will have to order flashing from unofficial specialists, and this is expensive and unsafe. However, if Android won’t turn on, the necessary repair work can be done at home — using a PC and a program to manually install a modified version of the OS. The methods below will help you figure out how to restore your phone from a bricked state.

Jig is the last hope for recovery

• If none of the previously discussed methods helped you, and it’s a pity to throw away your phone, then you can only hope for the Kulibins’ creation from the world of mobile electronics — jig.
• This device allows you to start firmware update mode on your phone even if you cannot get any signs of life from it.
• The most remarkable thing about the jig is its design: we are not talking about any nano-programmers here.
• This device, in fact, is just a phone network cable plug with a cut wire and short-circuited through a resistor of a certain resistance.
• In general, as you understand, provided that you have a warm (as long as not scalding) relationship with the soldering iron, you can make it yourself.
• So, remove the battery for 5 five minutes, and after returning it, install the jig in the main socket of the smartphone (carefully, do not touch the resistor), after which the phone will restart and go into update mode — remove the jig and connect it to the PC to install the update .

Using custom recovery

When a modification was installed on the mobile phone that “killed” even the built-in Recovery, setting up a custom one will help. If the system does not start, use the following instructions:

Using a PC and programs for flashing

To restore your smartphone, first download the necessary file with the firmware itself to your computer. This can be either a standard OS for the device, installed from the factory, or a custom version. Download files only from trusted sites and forums.

How to restore a brick phone?

If your smartphone has become a brick, it is not necessary to immediately contact the service center. There are several simple methods that can restore the device’s operation.

1. Reset settings. First you need to open the Recovery menu. Turn off your phone, press the power button and the volume button at the same time. Wait until the system menu is displayed. There will be several points here.

You can move between them using the sound adjustment buttons (the touch screen does not work here). Select the Wipe Data / Factory Reset section from the list presented and confirm the action by pressing the power button. As a result, all user accounts and data will be deleted, but there is a chance that the phone will work again.

2. Clear the cache. Open the Recovery menu and select the Wipe Cache Partition. It usually lasts for several minutes. The smartphone will automatically be cleared of various temporary files that interfere with stable operation.

3. Smartphone firmware via PC. Try connecting your smartphone to another computer or changing the cable. The wire may be damaged and causing various errors when transmitting information. Run the flashing using a specialized program that matches your phone model. In most cases, the installation of the Android operating system is completed successfully.

How to avoid further errors when updating the system?

Some Android models may become inoperable even without manipulating the operating system. The culprit will be a regular security or functionality update downloaded to the device automatically.

Disabling automatic updates and installing security patches 1-2 days after release is a good solution for owners of devices running Google OS.

How to turn a smartphone into a “brick”?

1. Disconnect the cable during flashing.
2. Stop and delete system processes and files.
3. Reinstall the operating system when the battery is dead.

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Huawei honor 8a recovery mode, show more — huaweidevices.ru

Recovery and fastboot

The first method that we will consider is recovery, that is, restoring the phone’s firmware. You can use “native” firmware or third-party firmware as the base – it’s up to you personally.

Let’s immediately consider the option with third-party software, since everything is a little more complicated here.

1. First of all, we need to install some kind of file manager in order to install CWM or TWRP (flashing programs).
2. Press and hold the volume up/down buttons at the same time until the phone goes into fastboot mode. Here you select the “Recovery” item and then change the firmware to the one you want.
3. If everything goes well, then we can assume that the restoration is complete, but if not, then read on.

Method 1: fastboot (universal)

The most commonly used brick recovery option is to use a console tool to work with system and non-system components of Android-based mobile devices. An important condition for performing the procedure is that the bootloader on the gadget must be unlocked.

The method itself may involve either installing the factory version of the OS via Fastboot, or flashing custom recovery firmware with subsequent installation of a third-party modification of Android. You can find out how all this is done, from the preparation stage to the final “revival”, from a separate article on our website

Read more:How to flash a phone or tablet via FastbootInstalling custom recovery on Android

Method 2: qfil (for devices based on qualcomm processor)

If you can’t enter Fastboot mode, i.e. The bootloader is also disabled and the gadget does not respond to anything at all, you will have to use other tools, individual for specific categories of devices. Thus, for a number of smartphones and tablets based on a Qualcomm processor, the most radical solution in this case is the QFIL utility, which is part of the QPST software package.

Qualcomm Flash Image Loader, as the name of the program stands for, allows you to restore seemingly completely “dead” devices. The tool is suitable for devices from Lenovo and models from some other manufacturers. We discussed the algorithm for its use in detail in the following material.

More details: Firmware for smartphones and tablets using QFIL

Method 3: miflash (for xiaomi mobile devices)

To flash smartphones of its own production, Xiaomi offers to use the MiFlash utility. It is also suitable for “reanimating” the corresponding gadgets. At the same time, devices running a Qualcomm processor can also be restored using the QFil program mentioned in the previous method.

If we talk about the direct procedure of “unscrambling” a mobile device using MiFlash, we will only note that it does not cause any particular difficulties. Simply follow the link below, read our detailed instructions and follow all the steps suggested in it in order.

Read more: Flashing and restoring Xiaomi smartphones via MiFlash

Method 4: sp flashtool (for devices based on mtk processor)

If you “caught a brick” on a mobile device with a MediaTek processor, most often there should be no special reasons for concern. The multifunctional program SP Flash Tool will help bring such a smartphone or tablet back to life.

This software can function in three different modes, but only one is intended directly for restoring MTK devices — “Format All Download”. You can find out in more detail about what it is and how to revive a damaged device by implementing it, in the article provided at the link below.

More details: Recovering MTK devices using the SP Flash Tool.

Method 5: odin (for Samsung mobile devices)

Owners of smartphones and tablets manufactured by the Korean company Samsung can also easily restore them from a “brick” state. All you need for this is the Odin program and special multi-file (service) firmware.

Like all the “revival” methods mentioned in this article, we also talked about this in detail in a separate material, which we recommend that you read.

Read more: Recovering Samsung devices using Odin

Results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-O84kF_h0Y

To turn a smartphone into a “brick”, you don’t need to make a significant effort. It is enough to disconnect the cable when flashing or install the operating system on a phone with a dead battery. It is much more difficult to restore the functionality of a smartphone.

Conclusion

From this short article you learned how to restore an Android smartphone or tablet that is in a “bricked” state. Usually, to solve various types of problems and troubleshoot problems, we offer several equivalent methods so that users have plenty to choose from, but this is clearly not the case.

Exactly how you can “revive” a non-working mobile device depends not only on the manufacturer and model, but also on what processor is at its heart. If you have any questions about the topic we discussed or the articles we link to here, feel free to ask them in the comments.