Idol4S (Android) - No power, blinking LED - Alcatel Idol 4S Questions & Answers

Hello everyone,
Having major issues with my Idol4S. It is the unlocked version (Cricket). It was working just great until a few days ago when I plugged it into the car charger. Phone instantly shut off, and got stuck with a blinking (rapid) LED light. This happens if plugged into my PC, or my Alcatel charger (both the wall and car).
The phone has suffered no damage (had a cover, but it was never dropped or exposed to external weather damage, nor water - I took great care of it), and was working quite well. I'm unable to boot it into any sort of recovery mode (as the screen is black, so I wouldn't be able to see anything anyways). The only indication of life is the flashing LED when plugged in ..(charging loop, maybe?)
I am using my idol4S Win10 (TMO/unlocked) phone in the meantime, but the base model was working just fine before this happened. I was also mindful of checking voltage/Amps when using chargers, so I would not have exposed it to any incorrect input/output. QuickCharge worked great too (sorely missed on Win10 model).
The phone was never rooted so it has the stock ROM, and whatever the last update Alcatel had pushed out for it. I did have developer mode and USB debugging on for MSVC/NSDK.
Is there anything I can do? After awhile being plugged in, the LED shuts off. I kind of need it as I was porting my game engine to it (using the SDK), plus it was my primary. I love the Win10 version too, but the Android idol4S was my primary phone. Kind of disappointed in Alcatel - I read it doesn't have an external battery otherwise I would attempt to transplant the battery (if that is even the issue). . .
Any tips, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! <3

what you describe is what the phone does when it's plugged into the PC in download mode. Since you have the Cricket version which is also what I have, it is very easy to start from scratch and reflash everything. I have released a newer version TWRP and also have the ~CricketRom~ available if you're interested.

PizzaG said:
what you describe is what the phone does when it's plugged into the PC in download mode. Since you have the Cricket version which is also what I have, it is very easy to start from scratch and reflash everything. I have released a newer version TWRP and also have the ~CricketRom~ available if you're interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, but would it work even though the phone gives no indication of being plugged in to the computer, or the chargers for it? I plugged it into the PC just now, brief flash of light and then nothing. .
Should mention again that the screen does not turn on, ever since that day, the screen has not came back on -- so I really can't do anything, even accessing 'download mode' does not show anything on-screen, nor does Windows 10 alert me of the USB device being connected.
I wouldn't mind starting from scratch at this point. I'm definitely interested in getting up and running again! It's not like I can do anything else at this point except spend money and get it repaired by TCL.
Would it be rude of me to ask for links to the TWRP/CricketROM from you? Maybe a quick-start guide, I pick up on things easy, but I've never properly flashed with TWRP =)
Also @PizzaG, THANK YOU for your help!! Definitely appreciated <3
Oh! @PizzaG, I also have an older Onetouch Idol 3 that has the _exact_ same symptoms, I wonder if that too could be recovered? ... ^__^

well I guess the first thing to do would be plug it into the PC. Hold volume+ and volume- then hold power until you feel the buzz and let go of power. Hopefully you get the red Download mode screen? I didn't realize it had no life at all, I thought it was just messed up. It's sounding like more may be wrong then just a simple reflash.
New TWRP and ~CriketRom~ Beta5: https://forum.xda-developers.com/idol-4s/development/rom-twrp-recovery-t3792659

Related

[Q] Captivate Won't Charge But Will Recognize PC Connection

Edit: It looks like this is a hardware issue and I'll likely try to get it replaced via insurance since I cannot revert to stock using Odin. It is impossible to revert without using Odin right? Thanks to all who read!
To start, I just want to state that I've searched and searched for answers/information on this (not just on XDA forums either) and I haven't found a similar issue - my sincere apologies if I missed it.
Quick "this post is way too long to read" Summary:
1. Phone will not charge
2. Phone will recognize PC connection via USB but with no functionality
3. PC will not recognize phone
4. All details on what I've done so far below
Friday 3/4/11 - I used a USB car charger (link below) to charge my Captivate with a USB cable known to be working (had worked on my Captivate before, works on my brother's Captivate). If you're asking why I used that charger... well I got it for free with my E-71. I'll never use it again. Anyway later that night I tried to charge my phone on my official AT&T A/C charger but nothing happened - the phone acted like no USB was inserted.
newegg[dot]com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882923001
Sorry for the bootleg link, this certainly isn't spam but I'm not allowed to post links yet.
Since that date, my Captivate won't charge via AC power cord. My PC won't recognize it either, but here's the weird part - my phone recognizes when it's connected to the PC via USB. For example, I can connect the phone to the PC and it will state "USB connected" on the Android pull-down (top) menu. Since I have mass storage chosen as the default, it will give me the option to send or receive files from the PC from the same menu. However, if I attempt to actually take that option, the pop-up menu which allows you to mount your memory cards does not come up. In addition, if I have the phone in USB debugging mode and I connect to my PC, the phone recognizes that as well. The PC does not recognize the phone in any capacity, at any time. No matter what I've done so far it will not charge via A/C.
Background: I've had my phone for a little over 6 months now, I've been running Cognition 2.1.6 since about 3 weeks after I got it - before this problem I haven't done any modifications whatsoever since the first load of Cognition. My PC is Windows 7 Ultimate 64. To rule out a bunch of other things, I've tried to use multiple USB cords that are known to work with a different Captivate and my Captivate prior to this problem (3 to be exact), I've uninstalled and reinstalled all Samsung's drivers on Windows, and I actually reinstalled Cognition using the three button recovery mode. To further rule out external problems, I just put Serendipity on my brother's Captivate using the same USB cord and PC that I'm attempting to use with my phone. He had been using the exact same version of Cognition I was.
I of course tried to revert the phone to stock using ODIN in order to fix the problem. I attempted to use the two button method (hold volume keys and insert data cable from PC with Odin running) but of course since the USB is not working properly that didn't work. It's worth noting that the described method worked perfectly for my brother's Captivate to revert to stock in preparation for installing Serendipity. I attempted to manually unmount and remount my memory cards several times, change USB modes between mass storage, Kies, modem, etc - nothing seems to work. The phone seems to be completely normal except for this USB issue. One last thing that's strange is if the phone is powered off and I have the USB A/C charger plugged into it, I cannot turn it on. When I hold the power button a relatively small spinning circle comes up after a second or two near the top of the screen. It disappears when I release power. If I remove the USB cable and hit power again it powers up completely normally.
Because of all of the above, I'm 99% certain that the issue is with my phone (not from any other external source). My only uncertainty is whether this is a USB hardware issue or a software issue where the phone is trapped in some sort of limbo due to being in a quasi-data mode which is causing it not to charge via A/C power and causing the PC not to recognize it. Has anyone had an issue remotely like this? I've come to terms with the sinking feeling that this is a hardware issue and that the only option I'm going to have is for my phone to be accidentally run over by a car (in order to pay my $125 and get a "new" phone under AT&T insurance). If anyone has any suggestions I'll be more than happy to try, maybe we can get this thing fixed!
If you made it this far I'll just say thanks for reading my wall of text and thanks in advance for any advice you have.
Were you able to get this issue resolved? It just started happening to my Captivate earlier today, and I was hoping that a solution had been found.
I haven't been able to get it resolved, I actually just sort of gave up on it and went back to my old phone for now. I have insurance so I'm not totally screwed, but it's not that cool obviously.
Were you able to get anything resolved on your end? If so I'd love to hear how. The one good solution would be a package to restore to stock that you could run through update.zip on a memory card, that isn't available yet is it?
i have this issue as well. I flashed Cognition 4.4 and it ran just fine for a couple weeks and then it began not even recognizing the micro plugged into any power source or the samsung dock! debugging on or off, battery saver apps removed, all that. multiple reboots. nothing. it takes a spell of, if i'm lucky, recognizing it after i eff with it for a few minutes and flukes a decent charge but at night, it usually has a loop cycle charging effect. I can hear the "boop beep" charger plugged in sound over and over throughout the night.
i use the phone in my cars and everywhere with the same problem.
no resolution! HELP!!!
I came across the same problem with USB on ARMANI I9010 after installing Cognition5. The most unpleasant is that i have bought it abroad and there is no possibility to return it
Does any body found the solution?

[Q] Continuum, what have I done?

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum (first post), I've owned my Continuum for a few months now happily with no problems. I actually love the phone! But recently I ran into a pretty big problem...
Let me give you a little background on my phone first, I have used SuperOneClick on it, to grant super user permissions, I've used the program to grant me access to the phone tethering apps that are out (currently using Open Garden), and the AdFree app in the market. I havn't used anything else in regards to 'hacking' my phone so I'm a bit confused as to why I'm getting trouble.
Anyways here's my problem, lol! Well the other day I turned off my phone and tried turning it back on and I would get a grey battery with the spinning disk, and it wouldn't turn on :\! I tried holding all the buttons, for over 10 seconds, no avail. It still turned on to the battery and nothing. I tried taking the battery out for a whiiiile and nothing. Eventually I plugged in my phone to the wall and it magically worked. Actually that's the only way I've been able to get my phone to turn on lately. It works fine once it's on but every time I turn it off the same thing happens .
So that's truly why I'm here... Is my phone 'bricked', or are these some symptoms of being 'bricked'? Are there any fixxes I can go about taking to you know...fix the problem ?
Any help would be Greatly appreciated,
Thanks everyone,
-Matt
Oops, I forgot to mention that my phone has been acting strange sometimes in the sense that I plug it into the wall and the 'Mass Storage/ Media player' option comes up, even though it's not plugged into the computer, just into the wall.
Pretty strange huh?
Anyways thanks again everyone who helps!!!
detex said:
Oops, I forgot to mention that my phone has been acting strange sometimes in the sense that I plug it into the wall and the 'Mass Storage/ Media player' option comes up, even though it's not plugged into the computer, just into the wall.
Pretty strange huh?
Anyways thanks again everyone who helps!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In short, you're not bricked, but there's obviously some fishy stuff happening. At this point, it would be good to determine whether it's a hardware or software issue. On that note, just a few quick questions:
1. Has anything happened (hardware-wise) recently that you're aware of? E.g. it was dropped, got wet, etc?
2. What sort of charger are you using? Is it the Samsung one that came with the phone?
3. What USB cable are you using to charge the phone? Again, Samsung original or something else?
4. Can you get into any sort of recovery (when booted, hold Vol+, Vol-, and Power at the same time until it shows the AT&T screen twice) or download mode (when off, hold V+ and V-, then insert USB cable)? This may not have anything to do with your issues, but it will help in troubleshooting.
Hello there, I found out that I wasn't supposed to really post this thread here so I went ahead and posted it in the Continuum section, where they had me do as you said, hold the vol- button and turn on the phone. It's currently "Downloading... Do not turn of Target!!!" I'm not really sure what it's doing but that's what it says (it's been doing this for 15 minutes lol). But to answer your questions, I took the phone with me on vacation this past weekend and I had it on the beach in some pretty hot weather, but I always kept it in the shade (I treat my things pretty well) so it shouldn't have gotten too hot, and I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything either! As far as the charger goes, it is the same charger that came with the phone, from Droid. And jsyk I'm with VZW if that changes anything, because I know you mentioned AT&T.
Thanks for the help , I'll let you know what goes on with the phone once it finishes doing what it's doing haha.
detex said:
Hello there, I found out that I wasn't supposed to really post this thread here so I went ahead and posted it in the Continuum section, where they had me do as you said, hold the vol- button and turn on the phone. It's currently "Downloading... Do not turn of Target!!!" I'm not really sure what it's doing but that's what it says (it's been doing this for 15 minutes lol). But to answer your questions, I took the phone with me on vacation this past weekend and I had it on the beach in some pretty hot weather, but I always kept it in the shade (I treat my things pretty well) so it shouldn't have gotten too hot, and I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything either! As far as the charger goes, it is the same charger that came with the phone, from Droid. And jsyk I'm with VZW if that changes anything, because I know you mentioned AT&T.
Thanks for the help , I'll let you know what goes on with the phone once it finishes doing what it's doing haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, ok. Good luck - hopefully you find what you need in that forum.
(By the way, you'll never see the end of the downloading screen. Unless you're actively doing something to you phone (like flashing a ROM) at that screen, it will just sit there until something tells it to reboot.)
Wow, I feel like a dumbass! I've been waiting for it to do something lmao. No I'm not flashing it with a ROM or anything so should I just hold the power button or something?
detex said:
Wow, I feel like a dumbass! I've been waiting for it to do something lmao. No I'm not flashing it with a ROM or anything so should I just hold the power button or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't feel bad - I'm pretty sure all of us have done that same thing at one point or another.
As long as you just dumped it into download mode with the button combo you mentioned, just pull the battery out and try to restart the phone like normal. Assuming everything is the same as it is on the Captivate, you should be back to where you were.
Alright I pulled the battery out and stuck it back in, and tried turning on my phone normally and it turned on just fine. Pretty funny that it just worked just like that. Thanks lol. Also, any recommendation with what to do with my charger and the USB action it occasionally takes on my phone?
As a test, try turning on USB debugging (Settings-Applications-Development-USB Debugging) and see if you still get that set of options. You could also look on the applications menu for something about having it ask when you insert the cable, and change from that option to the one you use most often.
The only time I've had my phone do that to me in a strictly-charging scenario is when I hook it up to my car USB charger, but that's a non-Samsung charger.
Alrighty, I put it on that setting and I'll leave it that way. Hopefully it doesn't do that again, and if it does I'll try out another charger since I have two that are identical.
Thanks again for all the help,
-Matt
PS. one quick question ! What are mock locations?
You're welcome.
As far as the mock locations go, my understanding is that it lets you tell applications that your phone is a different location than what it actually is (think something like DVD regions). I'm not 100% clear on its use, but my guess would be that it either allows you to see more apps in the market than you normally would, or that you can run apps that are specific to a different region than where you are.
I see, thanks, I've been wondering what that was. See you around!

Please Help: Rooted & stock. OS won't load unless the charger is plugged in

This is a very strange problem. I never saw anything similar in my life and I searched for someone with a similar problem but I cannot find anything. So I am posting this thread, maybe someone here knows what I should do.
This tablet has been riddled with problems, but this one makes it close to useless. I had several problems since I got the tablet where it won't wake up after sleeping and you had to reboot the thing, where the dock is not available after sleeping and you have to undock and redock it, where the battery drains while sleeping etc etc. Annoyances but I can live with them. I know there is a fix for the dock and you have to send it to Asus, but shipping is expensive so I'll learn to live with it.
This problem though.. this is a big one. So just to clarify, the tablet is rooted with the original 4.4.2 ROM. I did not make any changes in the past week. Yesterday morning, I woke up and used it normally. Later that morning I unplugged it from the charger and that's when I noticed this problem. So while it is connected to the charger the tablet will function normally. After I unplug it the tablet will freeze after a few seconds, reboot on its own and then it will boot until the icons start coming up. Usually after this you get the lockscreen, but instead the screen will black out. After a few seconds the icons start coming back and the the screen will black out again and so on. This loop will continue forever unless you plug the charger in. When you plug in the charger, the icons will come up and after you get the lock screen (instead of the black screen), and you can use it normally. If you unplug it again, the boot loop starts again. This behavior is the same whether using the dock or not.
I don't want to do a factory reset just yet if I can. Last time I did a factory reset, the tablet would not boot and I had to send it back for a replacement. When I get to the fastboot screen, trying RCK I get the dead Android with the red exclamation, and cold booting does nothing.
Any suggestions please? Any kind of log I can get to help? I can post a video if the problem is not clear.
Thanks.
pantera1989 said:
This is a very strange problem. I never saw anything similar in my life and I searched for someone with a similar problem but I cannot find anything. So I am posting this thread, maybe someone here knows what I should do.
This tablet has been riddled with problems, but this one makes it close to useless. I had several problems since I got the tablet where it won't wake up after sleeping and you had to reboot the thing, where the dock is not available after sleeping and you have to undock and redock it, where the battery drains while sleeping etc etc. Annoyances but I can live with them. I know there is a fix for the dock and you have to send it to Asus, but shipping is expensive so I'll learn to live with it.
This problem though.. this is a big one. So just to clarify, the tablet is rooted with the original 4.4.2 ROM. I did not make any changes in the past week. Yesterday morning, I woke up and used it normally. Later that morning I unplugged it from the charger and that's when I noticed this problem. So while it is connected to the charger the tablet will function normally. After I unplug it the tablet will freeze after a few seconds, reboot on its own and then it will boot until the icons start coming up. Usually after this you get the lockscreen, but instead the screen will black out. After a few seconds the icons start coming back and the the screen will black out again and so on. This loop will continue forever unless you plug the charger in. When you plug in the charger, the icons will come up and after you get the lock screen (instead of the black screen), and you can use it normally. If you unplug it again, the boot loop starts again. This behavior is the same whether using the dock or not.
I don't want to do a factory reset just yet if I can. Last time I did a factory reset, the tablet would not boot and I had to send it back for a replacement. When I get to the fastboot screen, trying RCK I get the dead Android with the red exclamation, and cold booting does nothing.
Any suggestions please? Any kind of log I can get to help? I can post a video if the problem is not clear.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, to start this reply, I'll let you know that I am no professional at any of this stuff. I am a regular person that has had experience with flashing ROMs and whatnot. In my opinion, this seems like a software (maybe hardware) related problem. So there are a couple of options you have here.
1. Are you still under your warranty period? You could return it and get another one (easy fix)
2. You could try to factory reset, and if it doesn't turn on, rma the tablet (which it sounds like it may be cheaper to just buy a new one anyways)
3. You could try unlocking the bootloader. Then install a custom ROM (kind of risky, but might be less risky than #2)
Overall, you are not in an amazing spot with your tablet. It saddens me to see all the problems with asus's tablets. I have been with them since the transformer prime because of their laptop like tablet makes it easy to use in school, but its always been a struggle staying with their lineup. I have returned their tablets multiple times. Please update when you can
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
If you have a microSD in the tablet take it out and try to boot it. I have seen the weirdest problems because of a card on the fritz....
Second possibility: Hardware. The behavior (working fine when connected to power) seems to indicate it doesn't get the charge it needs from the battery. Could be that it is going kaputt. It's not totally fried but enough that the tablet does not get a reliable charge from the battery.
Third option would be to reflash the firmware. That would eliminate a software problem. You will loose root if you do that...
Since you're still on the original firmware, I assume you did not unlock the bootloader and rooted with Towelroot - correct?
Whatever you do, backup everything you care about off the tablet now....
Thanks for your replies/suggestions. I could not use towelroot as it was on 4.4.2 (I think I read it is not possible). The bootloader is unlocked. This is my second tablet as I had returned the original one. I tried putting Cromi-X on it, and when I got to the step to factory reset it (using fastboot), the thing just was stuck in an endless loop. I could not even get to fastboot and my PC wouldn't recognize it. All it did was boot to the ASUS logo (and the message that the bootloader was unlocked) and reboot.
So this is the replacement unit and the charging issue was the problem. I say was because believe me or not the tablet is now smashed to bits. Since it must always be connected with a charger to work, I was carrying it around docked as I usually do and forgot that it was plugged in. I have resorted to an extra long extension cord with the charger plugged in to walk around. Anyway I forgot it was plugged in, the extension cord reached its limit and the charger cord yanked the tablet out of my hands and onto its side - screen facing away. I sweared, feared the worst and went to pick it up. The good news is that it still boots. The bad news is that the screen is completely smashed. The back cover is bent at one corner and the glass is smashed at that corner with cracks running to the other side. The touchscreen is not working anymore either. To add insult to the injury the tablet still only boots up with the charger plugged in..so there's that.
I don't know what to do now. I have contacted ASUS for a possible RMA but got no response yet. The thing is I don't feel like spending more money on it given the problems experienced. A screen with digitizer on ebay is about €75..so not exactly cheap.
I guess we can close this thread as it is now pointless. I hope no one has to go through my experience and that maybe it was a one off thing.
Thanks again to whoever replied. I appreciate it.

[Q] Hard briked S3 mini out of nowhere

I have the feeling I'm going to get repetitive here guys, but I've been reading the troubleshooting threads for over an hour and couldn't find an answer to help me.
Last saturday I was to lazy to move from the couch, so I watched as my S3 Mini ran out of battery. I got the "phone is turning off" screen as usual. Later I went to bed, but as I needed my alarm to go off in the morning I tried turning it on again, and nothing* happened. Plugged it on the wall, nothing*. Replaced the battery, nothing*. Gave it a good half hour plugged, and as you can guess, nothing*.
* when I say nothing, I mean it won't light up, won't vibrate, won't wink for me, won't load any kind of error, it's actually just like if you were trying to turn on a phone without any battery connected, no grasp of life comes from its poor soul.
The only moment I could see some action on the device is when I tried connecting it on the PC a few hours ago, as it installed drivers to Windows. Right after installing the drivers however, it won't show in the file explorer. I've tried to detect it with a few development tools such as ORT and Odin and there was no sucess either. Download or Recover mode will not work as well.
One thing I think worth mentioning, is that ever since I rooted it a couple of years ago, whenever I tried to recharge it while it was off, the standard "green charging battery" would never appear. What would appear on the screen was a freezed loading icon (the one that keeps roling again and again, but frozen). This particular issue never came off, even reseting it or installing new ROMs.
I always used Maclaw's, some of the latest 4.x, because I tought the 5.x was to heavy for the s3 minis.
I've read some about USB JIGs and stuff, but what makes me very curious is what the heck?! The phone was working just fine, the battery runs out and I have a brick? Is this possible? Can anyone tell me any work around?
I apologize for possible grammar mistakes.
ScrewedImei said:
I have the feeling I'm going to get repetitive here guys, but I've been reading the troubleshooting threads for over an hour and couldn't find an answer to help me.
Last saturday I was to lazy to move from the couch, so I watched as my S3 Mini ran out of battery. I got the "phone is turning off" screen as usual. Later I went to bed, but as I needed my alarm to go off in the morning I tried turning it on again, and nothing* happened. Plugged it on the wall, nothing*. Replaced the battery, nothing*. Gave it a good half hour plugged, and as you can guess, nothing*.
* when I say nothing, I mean it won't light up, won't vibrate, won't wink for me, won't load any kind of error, it's actually just like if you were trying to turn on a phone without any battery connected, no grasp of life comes from its poor soul.
The only moment I could see some action on the device is when I tried connecting it on the PC a few hours ago, as it installed drivers to Windows. Right after installing the drivers however, it won't show in the file explorer. I've tried to detect it with a few development tools such as ORT and Odin and there was no sucess either. Download or Recover mode will not work as well.
One thing I think worth mentioning, is that ever since I rooted it a couple of years ago, whenever I tried to recharge it while it was off, the standard "green charging battery" would never appear. What would appear on the screen was a freezed loading icon (the one that keeps roling again and again, but frozen). This particular issue never came off, even reseting it or installing new ROMs.
I always used Maclaw's, some of the latest 4.x, because I tought the 5.x was to heavy for the s3 minis.
I've read some about USB JIGs and stuff, but what makes me very curious is what the heck?! The phone was working just fine, the battery runs out and I have a brick? Is this possible? Can anyone tell me any work around?
I apologize for possible grammar mistakes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to plug in the phone into charger & leave it there like 20 mins or more. battery loads then.
then try access samsung download mode, if you cant the phone is probably useless (brick for ever) because itslike mthe last standing thing.
& sorry i say that but thats typically samsung behaviuor. there allways this kind of threads in the samsung forums of xda... other manufacturer can mostly be restored or atleast you know what make it dead.
Exactly the same problems happening to me.
This is my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-mini/help/sgs3-mini-dead-t3085031
Can you try to follow what appears on this link? (I can't by now because my PC is broken)
I think won't do nothing because you won't be able to access to the recovery mode on android, as me, but to try...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1840030
bejunk said:
try to plug in the phone into charger & leave it there like 20 mins or more. battery loads then.
then try access samsung download mode, if you cant the phone is probably useless (brick for ever) because itslike mthe last standing thing.
& sorry i say that but thats typically samsung behaviuor. there allways this kind of threads in the samsung forums of xda... other manufacturer can mostly be restored or atleast you know what make it dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
Thank you for your interest but I have passed this point already. Tried a brand new battery I had laying down in the drawer (which was fully charged with an universal charger) and there is no answer to any attempt of turning it on. Via recovery, download or normal boot.
CrashOverride93 said:
Exactly the same problems happening to me.
This is my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-mini/help/sgs3-mini-dead-t3085031
Can you try to follow what appears on this link? (I can't by now because my PC is broken)
I think won't do nothing because you won't be able to access to the recovery mode on android, as me, but to try...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1840030
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there,
I'm sorry to hear I'm not the only one affected by this bug (lets call it a bug). This shows there is a lack of concern from Samsung on dealing with this issues, and thus we see that old programmed obsolescence.
I will try that later on the weekend, and I come back here with an report.
Cheers
ScrewedImei said:
Hi there,
Thank you for your interest but I have passed this point already. Tried a brand new battery I had laying down in the drawer (which was fully charged with an universal charger) and there is no answer to any attempt of turning it on. Via recovery, download or normal boot.
Hello there,
I'm sorry to hear I'm not the only one affected by this bug (lets call it a bug). This shows there is a lack of concern from Samsung on dealing with this issues, and thus we see that old programmed obsolescence.
I will try that later on the weekend, and I come back here with an report.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this guide useless for you. how u want flash things with odin if u cant enter download mode at all??
im really sorry for you that this phone is dead. just can give you 1 advice, dont buy samsung in future.
I have been repaired my phone successfully!!!
I just needed to change two capacitors on its motherboard, and that's it.
Here the video where I have found the info and how to do that. It's in Spanish but easy to understand for you I think. But if you need some help, send me a PM.
can you take a picture from the location of the 2 capasitors and the types of it
Hi everyone.
I have some news. It took me a while but I followed CrashOverride93's advice on that video. It actually solved one issue, as I now can turn it on, but now I have a second problem, I'm stuck on a boot loop, with acess to Download mode ONLY. No recovery.
Considering where my issue started, and where I am now, I have tried the following:
- Flashed via Odin stock ROM, kernel;
- flashed Wipe;
- flashed PARAM;
- three button combo.
So far I couldn't get it pass the boot loop. Any thoughts?

**Help needed with no charge and the lacklustre help not given via MAZE(Alpha 4gig)**

Hi guys, been a bit out of the loop (hospital) but bought an Alpha around sep last year...within 2 months i used a official Maze update (OTA) and it then no longer charges...got onto them via facebook (as there were no official threads for this phone back then) and they sent me this to reflash it...
http://www.mazemobile.com/download-center
The ROM used to be there, but they have the ****ing cheek to say "people tried to flash and blamed MAZE" now it was MAZE's update in the first place that buggered my phone.:silly:..i still have the original ROM...
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8XLZxEJR8albndMcXJhWGtlVDQ
^not sure if that works for you, but basically it was..
:A really crap tutorial
:Maze Alpha flash tool.zip
:Maze_Alpha_V05_20170816
I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???
Now MAZE are bloody useless, can i count on one of you clever chaps to help me out?
P.s it's the 4 gig model.
Many thanks lads...
Any joy?
Is there anybody on here that had the same problem? You guys are usually really helpful, as i'm getting no rsponse from MAZE i thought i'd try where the true tech heads reside (i've received help before on my Xioami phones and smartwatches before) or is it that not many people have bothered with this phone? please help a guy out...much appreciated.
seedaripper said:
Is there anybody on here that had the same problem? You guys are usually really helpful, as i'm getting no rsponse from MAZE i thought i'd try where the true tech heads reside (i've received help before on my Xioami phones and smartwatches before) or is it that not many people have bothered with this phone? please help a guy out...much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the thing is that you need to provide a bit more info. 'I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???' But you are not telling what works or not or what step you are stuck in the manual.
A lot of things come to my mind.
- is it still booting
- did you try another cable - charger
- ...
If it still boots and works a bit can you connect it to a pc and access for example the internal memory etc?
Some more info would be of help to get response... although I find the Maze Alpha part of the forum a lot of read and very little help (a bit of ranting may wake up people)
Cheers...someone lives!
Thanks for responding lukesan (much appreciated)
I'm using the original charger, it was working fine until i got the OTA so i doubt that's the problem.
No it doesn't boot (there is just enough charge to get to recovery mode,fastboot mode,normal boot)
I followed the manual/flash/tool etc (does the google drive doc show up for you as posted above?) everything seemed to go fine...but the problem still persists, it just wont charge?
Maybe i need a new ROM (or it could be the tool MAZE sent me) they are ****ing useless and i've started a bit of a social media campaign against them
(at first they were keeping in touch, but now they just ignore me completely on facebook) it pisses me off no end:crying:
P.s it does connect to my PC (sometimes), where should i dig around?
lukesan said:
Well the thing is that you need to provide a bit more info. 'I've followed everything by the letter to no avail???' But you are not telling what works or not or what step you are stuck in the manual.
A lot of things come to my mind.
- is it still booting
- did you try another cable - charger
- ...
If it still boots and works a bit can you connect it to a pc and access for example the internal memory etc?
Some more info would be of help to get response... although I find the Maze Alpha part of the forum a lot of read and very little help (a bit of ranting may wake up people)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Thanks for responding lukesan (much appreciated)
I'm using the original charger, it was working fine until i got the OTA so i doubt that's the problem.
No it doesn't boot (there is just enough charge to get to recovery mode,fastboot mode,normal boot)
I followed the manual/flash/tool etc (does the google drive doc show up for you as posted above?) everything seemed to go fine...but the problem still persists, it just wont charge?
Maybe i need a new ROM (or it could be the tool MAZE sent me) they are ****ing useless and i've started a bit of a social media campaign against them
(at first they were keeping in touch, but now they just ignore me completely on facebook) it pisses me off no end:crying:
P.s it does connect to my PC (sometimes), where should i dig around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checked, and yes it is the correct manual. But lets say that even me, a veteran (with no patience), had issues with it. It is 100% correct but ... well see later on where you get.
Ok, first couple of things come up in my mind. Could still be the cable, the charger or even the the charging port that is broken. Been in the electronics business since the late 80's and these things can go wrong or broken any minute even thinking that a firmware update caused it.
Charger you can easily check if you just connect it to another charger or a pc usb port. A PC usb port will only deliver (mostly) max 400mA to 500mA .. meaning it will charge, if it still does, extremely slow. So I would keep it connected to a pc all day long or night before trying to switch it on. Trying to switch it on during charging and batt at low level will probably not work. You could try to power on after 2 or 3 hours or so and if it powers on then I would power it off again to get at least some juice in it to play around.
Cable, I would go fetch another one, they will come in handy in the future too. If it doesn't fit properly because the port is to deep in the Alpha then just take a knife and carefully cut a very small piece of the plastic, just 1mm is enough. I've done this on the 2 extra cables I have here and it works perfectly and I don't even see it aesthetically so no harm done on mine.
Now if that still doesn't work we can try the next step. But be very careful to know that that will delete all data, pictures, etc off of the phone. Because of all my toying with this phone I stuck an sd-card in it and doing a backup before I play with it again.
The manual states that you have to press the volume up button.. Well you can already test that without hurting anything as long you don't press anything on the flashtool. So only volume up and then insert the usb cable to a pc. Now the mistake I made in the beginning was to also push the power button.
So on the pc open up your device manager. If you do volume up (not in any of the other modes like fastboot etc, so from a standpoint that the phone is completely off) hold it for 2 or 3 sec and plug it into the PC. Now you should hear the typical usb connection sound and see something happening like an extra device in the manager. Probably you do not have the correct drivers installed for starters. Look for mtk drivers for your OS. Be careful, a lot of crap and virus links out there.
Now another issue that I fell for the first time is that you have to connect it twice like that to the pc to actually flash. First time ... press the 'scan' and let it do it (think the top field will become green) and then disconnect the phone and do the same volume up and connect and then it will allow you to flash.
But first check what is happening before we have to flash it.
Btw I know about their attitude. Well, as a Chinese company they must understand that by this attitude they will not going to sell any products anymore. I only bought mine because it was a special deal and I wanted to test an MTK chipset. They never replied to me why there is no real fast charge on it etc.
I also very very highly recommend you to invest, well for the price of a sandwich, to buy a usb charging doctor which will allow you to see the voltage and current. You don't need to be a doctor to us it and at least you see something instead of having to guess. Also while you are at it buy good quality chargers and a couple of cables. They will always come in handy and take some of the guesswork away if needed.
Top lad.
Again many thanks luksan (hefty bit of typing you did there mate )
I very much doubt it's the charger (i was extremely careful everytime with insertion) or port for that matter...this is the only USB-C i have (everything else is old school micro USB) and i resent forking out more money (the original trader Cafago said to send it back tracked at my own cost...£60!!!)
i'd like to try and fix the bastard and then sell it, never to return
Again, all these probs literally appeared after i did the OTA (i doubt it was coincidence)
i do like your advice on the re-doing the flash twice, so i may give that a go...bloody nora, what a pain in the arse!
Thanks for being a voice in the void pal...
See
lukesan said:
Just checked, and yes it is the correct manual. But lets say that even me, a veteran (with no patience), had issues with it. It is 100% correct but ... well see later on where you get.
Ok, first couple of things come up in my mind. Could still be the cable, the charger or even the the charging port that is broken. Been in the electronics business since the late 80's and these things can go wrong or broken any minute even thinking that a firmware update caused it.
So on the pc open up your device manager. If you do volume up (not in any of the other modes like fastboot etc, so from a standpoint that the phone is completely off) hold it for 2 or 3 sec and plug it into the PC. Now you should hear the typical usb connection sound and see something happening like an extra device in the manager. Probably you do not have the correct drivers installed for starters. Look for mtk drivers for your OS. Be careful, a lot of crap and virus links out there.
Now another issue that I fell for the first time is that you have to connect it twice like that to the pc to actually flash. First time ... press the 'scan' and let it do it (think the top field will become green) and then disconnect the phone and do the same volume up and connect and then it will allow you to flash.
But first check what is happening before we have to flash it.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Again many thanks luksan (hefty bit of typing you did there mate )
I very much doubt it's the charger (i was extremely careful everytime with insertion) or port for that matter...this is the only USB-C i have (everything else is old school micro USB) and i resent forking out more money (the original trader Cafago said to send it back tracked at my own cost...£60!!!)
i'd like to try and fix the bastard and then sell it, never to return
Again, all these probs literally appeared after i did the OTA (i doubt it was coincidence)
i do like your advice on the re-doing the flash twice, so i may give that a go...bloody nora, what a pain in the arse!
Thanks for being a voice in the void pal...
See
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well don't flash it twice. You have to put it in that mode twice to start it to complete the procedure. I do not believe in the wipe it 3 times to be sure, turn around and jump to make it better or faster. Loads of voodoo that is not scientifically proven around. It's all about a 0 and a 1, there is nothing in between that.
But .£60 to send that charger, LOL.
A month ago I bought an Aukey charger that included a USB-C cable for like .£12 including shipping to Belgium. (well just followed the rain and snow and landed here)
Let us know what happens next.
Any update on what you did?
GAH!
Yes, i've just tried everything again...nothing seems to work? when i actually start the tool i get a number of errors (including scatter?) then the tool boots, i then go through the broken english bollocks of the 'guide' again, do everything and it still doesn't work?? listen man, could you do me a massive favour...just outline the steps (bullet point wise) on what to do? no chatting about the chinese or voodoo
just nice clear as day steps, because as it stands i'm going to have to pay £70 just to send this piece of **** back (and probably wont get a full refund)
If you could do that (and i mean laymans terms here) i'd be forever grateful...
Cheers bud.:good::good:
lukesan said:
Any update on what you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Yes, i've just tried everything again...nothing seems to work? when i actually start the tool i get a number of errors (including scatter?) then the tool boots, i then go through the broken english bollocks of the 'guide' again, do everything and it still doesn't work?? listen man, could you do me a massive favour...just outline the steps (bullet point wise) on what to do? no chatting about the chinese or voodoo
just nice clear as day steps, because as it stands i'm going to have to pay £70 just to send this piece of **** back (and probably wont get a full refund)
If you could do that (and i mean laymans terms here) i'd be forever grateful...
Cheers bud.:good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what about the drivers etc.... What shows up?
ROM?
lukesan said:
Any update on what you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps it's the ROM? any chance you could give me the latest version? (or a link) i keep getting error in the light green field (FAIL) on the Tool?
I'm not sure if it's the tool or the bloody ROM?
As usual not a sodding dicky bird from MAZE (emails,twitter facebook etc) what a sh!tty company...
Nothing shows up...i think the first time i tried to plug it into the PC it ran a scan,(i don't think it found the drivers, as it doesnt show up on my computer :running win 7) from there on in, nothing? it also makes the mandatory PC sound bleep when plugged in, then about a second later i get the discharge bleep? (not sure if this is lack of charge) if i had a frigging phone i'd post screenshots! damned if i do, damned if i don't!
lukesan said:
But what about the drivers etc.... What shows up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seedaripper said:
Nothing shows up...i think the first time i tried to plug it into the PC it ran a scan,(i don't think it found the drivers, as it doesnt show up on my computer :running win 7) from there on in, nothing? it also makes the mandatory PC sound bleep when plugged in, then about a second later i get the discharge bleep? (not sure if this is lack of charge) if i had a frigging phone i'd post screenshots! damned if i do, damned if i don't!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if it hasn't gotten the correct drivers it will never ever be able to flash. It's like trying to use your house keys to start your car.
I see all kinds of stuff happening if you keep the device manager open. Open up the 'ports' (com & lpt) section. Now press the 'volume up' key for a second or 2 and then connect it to a usb port while holding the key.. release it like a second later when it is connected to the port. Now you should see some stuff happening. Just did it on my win10 machine but should be pretty similar on a win7. One of them says first 'mtk usb' and then 'preloader usb vcom' . If these don't show up then look no further for now.
seedaripper said:
Perhaps it's the ROM? any chance you could give me the latest version? (or a link) i keep getting error in the light green field (FAIL) on the Tool?
I'm not sure if it's the tool or the bloody ROM?
As usual not a sodding dicky bird from MAZE (emails,twitter facebook etc) what a sh!tty company...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
dreambo said:
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His device doesn't charge and his battery is flat so I guess his by the time he can flash the device dies anyway.
er?
lukesan said:
Well if it hasn't gotten the correct drivers it will never ever be able to flash. It's like trying to use your house keys to start your car.
I see all kinds of stuff happening if you keep the device manager open. Open up the 'ports' (com & lpt) section. Now press the 'volume up' key for a second or 2 and then connect it to a usb port while holding the key.. release it like a second later when it is connected to the port. Now you should see some stuff happening. Just did it on my win10 machine but should be pretty similar on a win7. One of them says first 'mtk usb' and then 'preloader usb vcom' . If these don't show up then look no further for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, did that for a split second 'media TEK preloader USB VCOM (android) (COM4)' flashes up, i managed to click on it quickly and got to mediatek properties...then went to update driver (it searched the net and found it) all this time after the original insertion, literally a second after it just disconnects? (and it doesn't show up in my computer) i get this as device status.....
Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)
To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.
I plug it back in, it says normal, then a second later the above message? any ideas?
lukesan said:
His device doesn't charge and his battery is flat so I guess his by the time he can flash the device dies anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, when i try to power on i have a split second of the MAZE logo, then back to death...i Can leave it charging and i get the wobble liquid battery graphic, but it never goes above 0%, as explained this only happened after a firmware update (#dreambo)
Can't get my head round multi quote?
dreambo said:
Have you tried my backup here ?
Flash TWRP using fastboot method and then boot into TWRP and do a restore with the backup I provide for Maze Alpha 4/64
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, when i try to power on i have a split second of the MAZE logo, then back to death...i Can leave it charging and i get the wobble liquid battery graphic, but it never goes above 0%, as explained this only happened after a firmware update (#dreambo)
seedaripper said:
Ok, did that for a split second 'media TEK preloader USB VCOM (android) (COM4)' flashes up, i managed to click on it quickly and got to mediatek properties...then went to update driver (it searched the net and found it) all this time after the original insertion, literally a second after it just disconnects? (and it doesn't show up in my computer) i get this as device status.....
Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)
To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.
I plug it back in, it says normal, then a second later the above message? any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm, if you see the preloader thing then I guess that is ok. ... it is no longer an 'unknown device' which sounds fine to me. Let me quickly test on my Maze for a sec. (will edit this post).
It is normal that it disconnects. My guess is that it tries to setup comms between device and something on the pc where it can talk to. If there is no communication then it just powers down again. The display etc will all stay off since it directly does the comms to the cpu and the ram. Sort of write only state. So it is a very low level form of programming. Can be scary for people because you see nothing happening on the phone during that process.
Ok just tested again.. Can you do step 1 to 5 in the manual without an error? (to be sure I would right-click on the exe and run it as administrator to start that program)
Till that step 5 no connection to the Alpha is needed. In step 5 if you have pressed 'scan' it should say something like resetting comm ports and only the 'stop all' should be clickable.
If we are that far then I guess we are a step further.
Give that a try and then we'll see for the next step.
lukesan said:
Mmm, if you see the preloader thing then I guess that is ok. ... it is no longer an 'unknown device' which sounds fine to me. Let me quickly test on my Maze for a sec. (will edit this post).
It is normal that it disconnects. My guess is that it tries to setup comms between device and something on the pc where it can talk to. If there is no communication then it just powers down again. The display etc will all stay off since it directly does the comms to the cpu and the ram. Sort of write only state. So it is a very low level form of programming. Can be scary for people because you see nothing happening on the phone during that process.
Ok just tested again.. Can you do step 1 to 5 in the manual without an error? (to be sure I would right-click on the exe and run it as administrator to start that program)
Till that step 5 no connection to the Alpha is needed. In step 5 if you have pressed 'scan' it should say something like resetting comm ports and only the 'stop all' should be clickable.
If we are that far then I guess we are a step further.
Give that a try and then we'll see for the next step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pics ...hopefully...

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