Bricked? phone: Moto E 2nd gen

[Benm]

The oddest thing happened to my phone today: it was being slow and all, so i tried to reboot the phone, just from the normal power-off menu option.

After that it rebooted and got stuck on the cyan-on-white motorola logo page. It stays on that indefinitely.

Then i rebooted it with power + volume down, activating TWRP (this phone was rooted and got this bootloader installed). Now i can get into TWRP, but not into anything else. I tried everything from filesystem check to a complete wipe from TWRP, but no progress at all: if i boot into anything but 'recovery' the phone just gets stuck on the motorola logo page (things like 'factory' result in the same). SuperSU is installed on the phone if that matters at all.

This is odd since i didn't actually change anything on that phone, i just rebooted it since it was a tad slow. As it is an older phone replacing it is not that much of an issue, but i'd rather not discard it. The hardware seems to be all okay since it boots TWRP, but beyond that nothing works. I did manage to get TWRP to make a backup onto the SD card, which could be useful, though nothing essential is on there.

Do you guys have any idea on how to revive this phone, perhaps via usb connection?

 

[Rivem]

I had a similar issue with an older Android. It would get caught on the service logo on boot. I couldn't get it to work until I reflashed the ROM. Seemed fine after that.

 

[Benm]

How did you manage to reflash the rom?

I used some utility to that to phones in the past, but don't really recall how that worked or what is was called...

 

[dden4012]

Adb or look for a back to factory tutorial on xda forums. Probably need a windows pc.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-e-2015/general/guide-restore-moto-e-2015-stock-firmware-t3044936

 

[Benm]

I think ADB is what i used to root the phone with years ago

Perhaps it'll have some way to restore it as well, will look into that!

I want this phone back in working order regeardless if i replace it or not: even if i get a new phone to replace it as my smartphone it would be useful as a security camera or something similar. The hardware certainly is not a write off since it served me well until today, albeit a bit slow for modern standards

 

[94Z28]

Get a stock ROM from Google for use in Odin and do a factory flash from Odin on PC. May even have a rooted one available and Odin files required. Once bricked and recovery doesn't save it gotta use Odin to reflash.

I've been here before, and if the hardware is indeed good Odin always saves it. Make sure you read proper instructions on Odin and choose proper settings!

 

[dden4012]

I thought Odin was just a Samsung thing.

I have been using grooveip on this LG G3 and its great. Keeps non work phone stuff off the work phone.

 

[lasersbee]

IDK... the first place I look for info with a defective product
is the product seller or manufacturer... But that's just me. :undecided:
Don't really know how to help you.... sorry.

Jerry

 

[Benm]

I've flashed a custom rom to it (from xda developers forum, correct for the xt1021 european device). Seemed to work at first but no network or sim support so couldn't do anything with it. Did a factory reset after that and it got stuck in a boot loop. Tried to put the network-lacking custom rom back in, but still gets in a boot loop. It also powers on by itself when powered off (long press power button) after a few seconds.

For now i let it's battery die. I might give it another go if i have free time, but replaced the phone since i need these things to do my work.

I'd love to have it back in working condition thouhg, as a spare phone, or perhaps for some other application (those things make decent secury/dash cams or such).

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Sorry, sounds like you did most of these steps so I may be restating the obvious.
check off these steps as you go. I just found my class notes on mobile repair for exactly this sort of problem. As we've discovered by ripping a few apart, they are built using very cheap components. In some cases the chips used are recycled/reused from other sets. This helps keeps their cost down.

The worst part of the phone is most definitely the charger which is prone to overheating and even smoking in some cases.

1)Remove the memory card(for safety)

2) Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button then press the POWER button and hold both buttons for three to five seconds and release both buttons
You will now get boot screen.

3) Use VOLUME DOWN button to scroll and VOLUME UP button to select. These selection options may vary in your mobile. Select wipe partition cache option and restart the phone. If the phone works now, do not follow the rest of the steps. Others follow the rest of the steps to do factory reset

4) Again redo Step 2 to get the boot screen and select Recovery option from the menu using appropriate button.
After a few seconds (~12-15 sec) an Android icon will be displayed in the center of the screen with an exclamation mark. It will also show a message “No Command“

5) Now hold down VOLUME UP button for a 3 to 5 seconds and release it. You will be redirected to another screen where you should select the option

6) Wipe data/factory reset. The phone will restart after a some time and boot animation comes up. Then you will see the Blue M Screen for a minute and then you will be taken to normal phone screen.

Give it a go, hopefully there is something in these steps that might work..

 

[Benm]

Thanks for the tips. I've tried most of them, but i can't even get into recorvery anymore at this point (volume down + power). This used to get into TWRP but i that might have been erased by doing the factory reset.

If i do the volume down + power option it takes a while and then just starts as if i just pressed the power button. I've booted into recovery often before so i'm familiar with how to do it.

It does flash the notification led, vibrates briefly while displaying the blue M on a white background, and then just displays 'android' in white letters with varying brightness... forever. I let it run for 3 to 4 hours like that yesterday after which the battery drained. When connect to power it will do that for all eternity it seems.

As for this being a hardware issue: I might be. I've had some odd problems like calls not coming in in the days before. This could have been a phone network problem just as well, no way to tell.

I'm trying to restart it without a SIM or SD card installed, which should be fine in this phone (it should connect to wifi when working properly).

Only thing that remains is trying to push a new ROM through USB, which may be problematic as it doesn't present like a usb (mass storage) device when connected. Perhaps with different drivers

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Thanks for the tips. I've tried most of them, but i can't even get into recorvery anymore at this point (volume down + power). This used to get into TWRP but i that might have been erased by doing the factory reset.

If i do the volume down + power option it takes a while and then just starts as if i just pressed the power button. I've booted into recovery often before so i'm familiar with how to do it.

It does flash the notification led, vibrates briefly while displaying the blue M on a white background, and then just displays 'android' in white letters with varying brightness... forever. I let it run for 3 to 4 hours like that yesterday after which the battery drained. When connect to power it will do that for all eternity it seems.

As for this being a hardware issue: I might be. I've had some odd problems like calls not coming in in the days before. This could have been a phone network problem just as well, no way to tell.

I'm trying to restart it without a SIM or SD card installed, which should be fine in this phone (it should connect to wifi when working properly).

Only thing that remains is trying to push a new ROM through USB, which may be problematic as it doesn't present like a usb (mass storage) device when connected. Perhaps with different drivers

What you described for sure sounds like a hardware issue. Remember that these phones are made with subpar components.
I had a similar issue with a Galaxy tab S awhile ago. The issue was a corrupted 32GB eMMC disk. This was likely cause when the Galaxy tab S was set in a cupboard for several years with the power on. The battery drained away as did the RTC charge in the Motherboard.

 

[Benm]

It's certainly possible. I have had this phone for well over 2 years and it's been around the world, also in not-so-friendly environments that could have caused things like salt water ingress. Not that i dropped it in the ocean or anything, but it's definitely been in bags that also had damp salty towels in them and such, and might have gotten a splash or two when jumping of boats on beach landings. I've also dropped it from the table or out of my pants pocket several times.

Odd thing is that i just failed so randomly, just laying down on a smooth surface, no shock, drop or anything that caused the moment of failure.

So no big problem if it actually is the harware, i buy affordable phones (replacement is a g4 play) since i know i'll actually use the things in damaging environments and don't want some $1000 device to be a concern all the time.

One thing i must give motorola on the 2nd gen E2: they have used good glass for that screen! The plastic back is full of little scratches and such, but the glass screen is still pefect without a mark on it. I don't put it in the same pocket with keys or lighters, but other than that i have not been very careful at all...

 

[Seoul_lasers]

The oddest thing happened to my phone today: it was being slow and all, so i tried to reboot the phone, just from the normal power-off menu option.

After that it rebooted and got stuck on the cyan-on-white motorola logo page. It stays on that indefinitely.

Then i rebooted it with power + volume down, activating TWRP (this phone was rooted and got this bootloader installed). Now i can get into TWRP, but not into anything else. I tried everything from filesystem check to a complete wipe from TWRP, but no progress at all: if i boot into anything but 'recovery' the phone just gets stuck on the motorola logo page (things like 'factory' result in the same). SuperSU is installed on the phone if that matters at all.

This is odd since i didn't actually change anything on that phone, i just rebooted it since it was a tad slow. As it is an older phone replacing it is not that much of an issue, but i'd rather not discard it. The hardware seems to be all okay since it boots TWRP, but beyond that nothing works. I did manage to get TWRP to make a backup onto the SD card, which could be useful, though nothing essential is on there.

Do you guys have any idea on how to revive this phone, perhaps via usb connection?

hmm, so you've made a little progress though what you now are reporting is more along the lines of a corrupted bootloader/ corrupted disk. There should be an RTC battery on the motherboard. I'd be inclined to test it to see if you're still close to ~3V, if it's lower than 2.5V that could be part of the problem.

Additionally you may try to download the Android studio SDK and Odin from Download Odin 3.07 ... Android SDK can reload your OS and properly detect hardware, OS version ..etc. Odin can repair a bricked Android bootloader and do a number of diagnostics, hacks and custom ROMS that might help in your case. I'd get both of these programs. Both are quite valuable.

 

[Benm]

I'll not be taking it apart to check hardware - that's just too much work for something of this value (well, re-assembling it would be ).

I've worked with the SDK to root phones and such in the past, but never tried Odin. If I have some spare time i'll have a go with that.

It could be a corruption in storage, which could explain why problem occured witout trying to do anything at all (like rooting the phone, installing apps etc).

As you know quite a bit about these things: is there some tool to test the flash memory of the phone? I know i can test the RAM once i get it working again, but the flash storage seems a different story - i guess there is no testing that without wiping the device clean of even its bootloader if possible at all (?).

 

[dden4012]

hmm, so you've made a little progress though what you now are reporting is more along the lines of a corrupted bootloader/ corrupted disk. There should be an RTC battery on the motherboard. I'd be inclined to test it to see if you're still close to ~3V, if it's lower than 2.5V that could be part of the problem.

Additionally you may try to download the Android studio SDK and Odin from Download Odin 3.07 ... Android SDK can reload your OS and properly detect hardware, OS version ..etc. Odin can repair a bricked Android bootloader and do a number of diagnostics, hacks and custom ROMS that might help in your case. I'd get both of these programs. Both are quite valuable.

Last time I used Odin was with the Samsung note 2. I thought it was ONLY for Samsung platform. What am I missing here? Odin works with Motorola as well? I've only seen Odin in reference to Samsung phones.