Android phones, apps and tablets

oops!

Tried hard resetting it?

http://www.hard-reset.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-hard-reset.html

Or is it unresponsive even when off?

I tried the hard reset. Im still super user. I think I need to use the Odin tool to re-flash it with the original firmware

It's sporadic. If I turn it off then on again I can access it for a while before it starts to play up. It is frustrating

Did you back up before the root? Boot from that. Surely you can't have bricked it completely? So long as the computer will pick it up you have a chance.

hhmm am going to try the hard reset option now from that link see how I get on.
I had nothing to back up before root as it was a brand new phone with nothing on it. I figured it would go ok. Thing is I am not certain it is the rooting that caused this. I think it is a hardware fault, but I need it completely clean for the warranty. I'm a twat

If you can turn it on, it's not bricked - bricking means it is a brick - does nothing.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1671969

that thread should have all you need to get back to stock. Try and take it slow, relax and not worry too much!

good luck :)

Branwen savior of the universe!

A word of warning for those wanting to root the s3. Shortly after I followed the above guide my phones touch screen stopped responding. I couldn't answer calls or unlock it and when it did respond it was very brief. I finally managed to get it to cooperate enough to restore to factory settings. this solved rthe issue, but interestingly the phone is still rooted. now that I's something I didn't expect

I have basically bricked my phone now. It is completely unresponsive and I am going to have to send it back. Can I remove the root access and role it back to exactly how it was when I received it as I understand if they know I have rooted it then I have no warranty. It's a bit crap really :( A £500+ phone that I bust within 3 days

I'm not sure you understand what you're doing when you're rooting the phone and what a reset does.

You have 3 partitions on the phone (disk):
1) Kernel (Boot)
2) Recovery
3) Operating System and User Files

When you root you replace the Kernel with an insecure version.
To flash a custom ROM you replace the Recovery with a version that allows overwriting of the OS partition.
Flashing a ROM replaces the OS partition.

Restoring factory defaults reverts the OS partition... but leaves the Recovery and Kernel as is.

To get it back to near perfect, you also need to revert the Recovery partition and Kernel partition.

It sounds like you blew away the first 2 partitions, reverted the third back to itself, and have yet to revert the first 2.

Even if you revert all 3 partitions, you will never get a phone back to the original condition before you touched the Kernel partition. This is because the Kernel is signed, and even replacing it with the original changes the signature. On the S2 this shows itself as a big yellow exclamation triangle during the first part of the boot screen.

So: "Can I remove the root access and role it back to exactly how it was when I received it"?

The answer is no. If the person who serves you knows their stuff, they will know that you tried to root the phone.

You can get the phone back to all stock software (and use the phone as if you never broke it), but you can never remove the trace that shows that you rooted it.

On the S2 this shows itself as a big yellow exclamation triangle during the first part of the boot screen.

Triangle Away? From the comments on that how to root article:

"No credits to Chainfire for his work Cnet...!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238

Also you never mention the triangle away app to remove the custom binary count and reinstate your warranty! Again, this app was made by Chainfire.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.triangleaway&hl=en"

That's awesome. And would work. Do that!

Downloaded the Game GTA 3 on Galaxy S2. It plays with no sound, (which is a shame as the in game radio has awesome tracks). I searched the web and it seems a common problem, the solution suggested is to delete all the game files in the android data folder then download them again. Didn't work for me, though seems to for others. I did this 3 or 4 times. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure you understand what you're doing when you're rooting the phone and what a reset does.

You have 3 partitions on the phone (disk):
1) Kernel (Boot)
2) Recovery
3) Operating System and User Files

When you root you replace the Kernel with an insecure version.
To flash a custom ROM you replace the Recovery with a version that allows overwriting of the OS partition.
Flashing a ROM replaces the OS partition.

Restoring factory defaults reverts the OS partition... but leaves the Recovery and Kernel as is.

To get it back to near perfect, you also need to revert the Recovery partition and Kernel partition.

It sounds like you blew away the first 2 partitions, reverted the third back to itself, and have yet to revert the first 2.

Even if you revert all 3 partitions, you will never get a phone back to the original condition before you touched the Kernel partition. This is because the Kernel is signed, and even replacing it with the original changes the signature. On the S2 this shows itself as a big yellow exclamation triangle during the first part of the boot screen.

So: "Can I remove the root access and role it back to exactly how it was when I received it"?

The answer is no. If the person who serves you knows their stuff, they will know that you tried to root the phone.

You can get the phone back to all stock software (and use the phone as if you never broke it), but you can never remove the trace that shows that you rooted it.

Thanks for the info. Hardware and OS are not my specialities, clearly :)

I will attempt to reinstall the boot partition that the phone came with. I used the Odin tool to install the insecure rooted boot partition so I can use this tool to put the right one back, I guess? Now how would I find the one I need?

If you can turn it on, it's not bricked - bricking means it is a brick - does nothing.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1671969

that thread should have all you need to get back to stock. Try and take it slow, relax and not worry too much!

good luck :)

This looks interesting, but I still cant work out which tar ball I need to use with Odin to revert to the original partition. I understand that I do not need to update the firmware, from the post above, I need to reinstall the boot partition?

Triangle Away? From the comments on that how to root article:

"No credits to Chainfire for his work Cnet...!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238

Also you never mention the triangle away app to remove the custom binary count and reinstate your warranty! Again, this app was made by Chainfire.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.triangleaway&hl=en"

So it's possible using this, that I can get the phone back to pre-Michael fuck up mode?

I have a history of fucking these kind of things up :)

Found this cool video which should give me all I need :)

http://hdtechvideo.com/community/index.php?threads/how-to-root-and-install-cwm-recovery-in-samsung-galaxy-s3-gt-i9300.259/

Thanks agin people for pointing me in the right direction

My HTC wildfire got soaked at the LO, and while it sounds like its still on (it rang one sunday) screen is asleep and won't wake up - ie completely black and unresponsive. Is this fixable?

have you put it somewhere warm buried in (dry) rice? give it 12-24 hours to ensure as much moisture as possible is drawn out. remove all covers.

Can I eat the rice afterwards?

Don't see why not TBH - it will only have absorbed water vapour, which should be pretty pure.

Triangle Away? From the comments on that how to root article:

"No credits to Chainfire for his work Cnet...!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1695238

Also you never mention the triangle away app to remove the custom binary count and reinstate your warranty! Again, this app was made by Chainfire.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.triangleaway&hl=en"

Brill as that link appears to be it may as well be written in Cyrillic. Is there somewhere that can explain this kind of stuff to folk that get laid?

#haven't had 'any' for ages

I installed this last night, downloaded the apk. You need to uncheck the box in your phone that says 'only download apps from trusted sources' I am going to run it when I get to work as I only have a mac at home and try to put the original boot partition back on my phone. Used in conjunction with this I should be able to get it replaced under warranty. Though bizzarely, the damned thing is working fine today :$

My phone is back to exactly how it was when I purchased it now thanks to the knowledgeable people here and elsewhere. I do feel I have learned a great deal about these phones and how they work over the weekend and that is not a bad thing. I also feel I have learned a valuable lesson - never fuck about with things unless you fully understand them. However, that does not mean I won't do something like this again next time.

I am considering rooting it again in the future if I can find a more stable version. However for now, I will see how the phone behaves and see if it was my messing around with it that caused the issues or if indeed it is a faulty phone.

Once again LFGSS coming through with valuable info on more than just bikes :)

options for a sub £100 phone if my HTC wildfire is dead? looked at a san francsisco 2 on the webz, looks good. no flash for the camera though!

HTC Desire?

over my budget i think.