• Hardware

  • Rooting Samsung S2 - bricked phone

Hi, I've searched for a detailed guide on rooting a Samsung S2 mobile on this forum but haven't found any.

Yesterday I tried this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2382579 and I bricked my phone.

Here's what happened:

I started with this step http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1118693 because I was unsure if I had a kernel with the MMC-SUPERBRICK-BUG.

After I flashed CWM-SuperSU-v0.97.zip using Odin version 1.85 the phone rebooted and it was stuck at the "triangle screen" for a few seconds then the display went black. The phone was still accessible in download mode (volume up, power and center button). I believe this is called "download mode".

So I panicked and took the phone to a repair shop (big mistake). The technician in charge was not there so some other young guy ran it in download mode then tried to flash something onto it (I think he used all 4 fields: Bootloader, PDA, Phone and CSC).
Then, in the middle of the operation, Odin froze when writing "setting up connection". Then the phone died ! pressing the 3 famous buttons does nothing and the phone just stays dead.

I had to leave the phone there as the guy said they will try to JTAG it and, if that fails I presume they'll change motherboards.

I did update my modem firmware and my computer BIOS in the past... but I guess the phone was a much more complicated/delicate operation.

What was the mistake I did ?
Is the phone hard bricked ? Should they bear all expenses for what they did (after they tried to fix it the phone wasn't even powering up anymore and the display was just black).

Another question, do you have to unlock the phone before trying to root it and what exactly does "unlocking the phone" mean in this case ?
Go get your phone NOW!
Why ? I can't get it, I left it there since yesterday ?
If you are worried that they will charge me for a new motherboard, don't be.
I talked to the shop's owner and explained that they are the ones who messed up my phone. When I came in to the shop the phone was bootable in download mode. So he said, we will fix it and I will only charge you the cost of installing new software even if we have to replace the motherboard.
DG wroteWhy ? I can't get it, I left it there since yesterday ?
Go get it. We'll fix it with a USB Jig and I'll help you flash it. PM your number
Thanks for the help. Really, I appreciate it and it's good to see there are still good people out there who are willing to give a hand.

However, after reading this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1402286 it says that if the phone is hard bricked the USB Jig method won't work. So how can I be sure the phone is not hard bricked ?

I think they tried the USB Jig method and it didn't work. They even tried jolting it (if this is the correct term) by pressing the buttons then inserting the battery. The phone is simply not powering on after they flashed some files to it.
DG wroteThanks for the help. Really, I appreciate it and it's good to see there are still good people out there who are willing to give a hand.

However, after reading this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1402286 it says that if the phone is hard bricked the USB Jig method won't work. So how can I be sure the phone is not hard bricked ?

I think they tried the USB Jig method and it didn't work. They even tried jolting it (if this is the correct term) by pressing the buttons then inserting the battery. The phone is simply not powering on after they flashed some files to it.
Software can be fixed one way or another.
To give you some relief, the eMMC brick superbug is, AFAIK, encountered when the eMMC is wiped on Kernels that have been deemed unsafe for that, Stock Samsung ICS Kernels (GB is safe, JB are mostly / all safe). Custom kernels are safe (Cyanogenmod, not sure about the rest), especially when mentioned (newer Kernels since the discovery and solution for the brick bug), as they disable the EMMC_CAP_ERASE command which causes the corruption in the NAND chip's microcontroller firmware, as far as we know (unrecoverable).

The bootloader could be corrupted if it is now in an incomplete / corrupted state, and JTAG can fix that.

JTAG might be able to fix the brick bug. Using JTAG, when accessing the sector where the NAND corruption starts, the JTAG device used freezes; I've seen commands being done over ADB (IIRC) that bypassed the corrupt sectors so the phone can be reused. However, that was in the case of incomplete bricks, meaning partial corruption not necessarily related to flashing as said above (mostly deleting large files could cause that).

I wish I still had my bricked Note to try the JTAG method in some way. A repairman (psssht) tried JTAG and it froze with him, so he gave up. Second repairman...let's not get into that. Let's just say they gave me a new phone for a small fee.
Thanks for the replies guys.
I hope my phone can still be salvaged and I would sure want to try and root it in the future, but it's just that I might be too scared to do that and mess up the phone again.
Ok, I got my phone today in good working condition.
According to the shop, they had to replace an IC (I don't know what damaged the IC, I am assuming this happened when they tried to electrically jolt the phone) then JTAG it to get it to work again. It cost them around 55USD to do that but they only charged me 25USD because I brought in a phone that was booting in download mode and they take responsibility for what happened after that (flashing wrong files which caused the phone to completely stop booting).

Anyway, long story short, this was my first attempt to root a mobile phone and I learned my lesson.

I am running the following:
Model Number: GT-I9100
Android Version: 4.0.3 (which I will need to upgrade to 4.1.2 of course)
Baseband Version: I9100XXLPW

Can I use any ROM (example I9100XWLSW_I9100XEULS5_XEU which is JB 4.1.2 released on May 16th 2013) or are there specific ROM for each region/country ?

Another question, what can I do to safely root it and install a mod like Cyanogen ? I am guessing CFRoot is not compatible with JB ?

** Edit: I just browsed to About then clicked on "Software Update" and it said "No update available". I am running on 4.0.3 and before I was running on 4.1.2 so what gives ?
He flashed a ROM from another region. According to Sam Mobile, your baseband version indicates that your ROM is from Poland. Only Polish phones on the PLUS network have been upgraded to Jellybean, thus making another different ROM entirely for that carrier.

First tip: Don't EVER take your phone to any shop no matter how bad it looks. One shop wanted to charge a family friend $50 for a process that took me only 15 minutes to do and it involved flashing only.

Second tip: When on XDA, read EVERYTHING. If you don't understand what you're reading, read again and again until you understand. YouTube videos of the flashing processes help a lot. Flashing is not for the faint-hearted, and you don't want to know how it feels like to soft brick a phone that has a locked bootloader >.>

Anyway I found a very helpful link that teaches you to flash the UAE/Middle East ROM, so PM me and I'll send it to you. I hope this helped.
Aveline wroteHe flashed a ROM from another region. According to Sam Mobile, your baseband version indicates that your ROM is from Poland. Only Polish phones on the PLUS network have been upgraded to Jellybean, thus making another different ROM entirely for that carrier.
Region doesn't matter. What matters is the model number to be the EXACT same thing. I'm currently using a UK firmware at the moment and it's running fine. UAE firmware can be really old builds which will be buggy and slow.
Aveline wroteHe flashed a ROM from another region. According to Sam Mobile, your baseband version indicates that your ROM is from Poland. Only Polish phones on the PLUS network have been upgraded to Jellybean, thus making another different ROM entirely for that carrier.
When I was on stock Rom I got an update to download Jelly Bean 4.1.2 (XWLS8 I think) from Alfa many months ago so it's not only for Polish phones (not sure what you meant by that comment).
Aveline wrote First tip: Don't EVER take your phone to any shop no matter how bad it looks. One shop wanted to charge a family friend $50 for a process that took me only 15 minutes to do and it involved flashing only.
Yes, but being the first time for me, I just panicked. But you are right, I think they didn't change any IC (they just said that to charge me some money) and they used that excuse to buy themselves some time (see next reason to know why I think that).
Aveline wrote Second tip: When on XDA, read EVERYTHING. If you don't understand what you're reading, read again and again until you understand. YouTube videos of the flashing processes help a lot. Flashing is not for the faint-hearted, and you don't want to know how it feels like to soft brick a phone that has a locked bootloader >.>
I think that's why they did to my phone at the shop. I remember the guy there checked all 4 options in Odin (Bootloader, PDA, Phone and CSC) so I'm guessing they had to JTAG it and they tried to buy some time to do that.
Aveline wrote Anyway I found a very helpful link that teaches you to flash the UAE/Middle East ROM, so PM me and I'll send it to you. I hope this helped.
Ok, thanks.
AvoK95 wrote
Aveline wroteHe flashed a ROM from another region. According to Sam Mobile, your baseband version indicates that your ROM is from Poland. Only Polish phones on the PLUS network have been upgraded to Jellybean, thus making another different ROM entirely for that carrier.
Region doesn't matter. What matters is the model number to be the EXACT same thing. I'm currently using a UK firmware at the moment and it's running fine. UAE firmware can be really old builds which will be buggy and slow.
I am well aware that it doesn't matter, and I wouldn't have recommended the UAE firmware if I wasn't sure it was the Jellybean build, so don't worry. The only difference is the option to display the entire UI in Arabic. All ROMs after ICS have the capability to read all characters, including Arabic. The only thing that can make a firmware slow and buggy is the large amount of bloatware that comes with the phone when you buy it.
I am thinking of installing "I9100XWLSW_I9100XEULS5_XEU" JB 4.1.2 released May 16 2013.
I read about that particular build. There's a reason why there are different regions for the same ROM. This is a UK ROM, and the UK has both GSM and CDMA networks, so there is that to consider. I recommend installing the Middle East ROM so you won't have to put up with applications and settings exclusive to other regions.

EDIT: There shouldn't be an issue whichever ROM you install, as long as it's not exclusive to a carrier.
What about a custom Rom like Cyanogen. Will it work on the GSM network ?
That is the Spanish firmware. Go to XDA and into the SII forum and check the Stock firmwares thread. All the information is there.

Yes, Cyanogenmod will work with all networks.
A few other questions as I am learning about the "mobile world".
Are phones in Lebanon simlocked ? What does it exactly mean and does it cause a problem for Rom flashing and/or rooting ?
I understand CFRoot is not compatible with JB. What do you use to root a phone running JB ?

What about the EFS Data / IMEI data ? Should I back up that ?
You don't have to worry about SIM lock, because the SII sold here was the international version. SIM locked phones are phones exclusive to carriers and require a special SIM card to work on the phone, for instance T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and so on.

As for affecting the rooting process, carriers have a habit of customizing the phone hardware in addition to adding their own software, and it would have different internals and sometimes different sizes. The AT&T Galaxy SII is a good example. While the international SII model number is i9100, the AT&T SII model number is i777. The rooting process is then different.

You'll find a guide for rooting the JB SII in one of the links I sent you.

APN settings is the information you put in for setting up mobile data, in your case the 3G. All information about the MTC and Alfa APN settings is available on their websites.

By hard reset the author means factory reset. I doubt this will make any difference since you are flashing a stock ROM from scratch, so ignore that.

According to my experience if you're careful with how you install a custom ROM or kernel you won't have to worry about backing up the EFS and IMEI data. Be responsible and flash only from experienced and trusted developers, one of which is Cyanogenmod. I'm not sure if flashing stock firmware with Odin will automatically restore the EFS and IMEI.
Thanks again for the informative replies.

The reason I also asked about EFS Data / IMEI data is because I read the phone would become unusable is those are erased/modified.

I noticed something about my mobile after I brought it back from the shop (who claims to have only replaced an IC, not the entire motherboard). I noticed the wireless Mac address displayed by my Thomson router under "Home Network" -> "Interfaces" is not the same one that I had before taking the phone for repairs. Could that be the case if the motherboard was still the same ?