yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II General] promi:
Vilzu just don't use CWM at all.
[Galaxy S II General] emptyluve:
Why is it going to get bricked? I thought xwlpm is a stable official rom
[Galaxy S II General] karendar:
The issue with what you're saying is that people shouldn't be scared of flashing a ROM that has a report of bricking with recovery. Until Entropy and Samsung confirm that the ROMs are completely safe, why risk it for a minor upgrade? The other problem with XDA is that everyone's opinion becomes factual to someone. And that can end up being a major issue for some people, especially if hard bricking is involved.

And the "risk" in bricking or damaging the phone during a flash is minor unless your bootloader gets affected or you mess up your partition table (Which VERY rarely happens). This is a warning for people to be careful when doing a wipe, which because of a faulty emmc chip, wipes alot further than intended for partitions, thus rendering the chip completely useless. It's alot more dangerous, thus people are being warned and an alarm was raised.

Even if you THINK that it's not that big of an issue, people who have damaged their phone (Stock, custom kernel, whatever) wouldn't agree with you that it's not that problematic. Would rather people be informed and scared of flashing the ROM than risk it and brick their phones. 1% of damaged phones because of a factory reset (Yes yes, even something as simple as factory reset can brick the phone) is unnaceptable to be quite honest with you...

People are working on the issue and the ROMs have been flagged as potentially damaging with stock recovery. When someone's 700$ phone is at stake, posting opinions like yours can be quite dangerous. So your "Here we go again" comment riled me up. If you felt mocked, I'm sorry. It was not (Entirely) my purpose. But I don't want people to belittle the situation either.
[Galaxy S II General] Brotuck:
Oh but i fully agree at the point that people cannot be warned enough.

But isn't that part of the deal, when people start doing stuff like flashing with ODIN or rooting ? Every action they do has a certain risk. This brickbug is just one more risk in bricking. Personally i think it has become a hype to talk about the brickbug, so ignorant users think now that all other methods are safe. But they are not. Even being rooted is enough to do harm beyond repair.

Again this is my view on the recent developments here and my reaction was maybe a little oversimplified. But i mean no harm. ;)
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
Man , root access is not enough for a brick to happen , don't misguide people .

Entropy and a couple of other developers actually explained the reasons and conditions for a brick to occur. And the explanation is pretty straight forward . It looks like the misinterpretation of the whole thing is the reason for confusion of many users . Go to Entropy512s post , Chainfires too , read in detail and you will see it is not a hype but a serious problem for those who are not skillful enough to keep their phones safe (probably the group of people who want to try out new and maybe unsafe ROMs but they also have potentially brickable phones - known "unsafe" eMMC chips in a combination with a unsafe kernel + a flash or a wipe that triggers eMMC corruption )
[Galaxy S II General] DaReDeViL:
Post updated : added XXLQ7 as verified having mmc_erase flag enabled (hardbrick on the corner ...)

Edit: I think I should stop referencing the concerned roms as it seems that ALL SAMSUNG 4.0.4 ROMS are concerned !!!
[Galaxy S II General] :
What about "sane" chips? I've been trying to convince one of my local s2 communities that the best way to avoid the brick is to stay away from all sorts of wiping for three days (since even stock recovery turned out to be unsafe.) It's kind of obvious that insane chip + data wipe = inevitable brick, (question is just when?). However I haven't read anywhere that "sane chips" are 100 percent unbrickable .... so I didn't say those lucky dudes that they shouldn't worry. I just said that theoretically they should be safe, but since none gives guarantee it's best not to wipe att all when you're on this kernel. But maybe I went too far with this warning (cos I missed something) and there's really no risk involved there (sane chips).
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
You are right for the most part - it is the interaction with eMMC chip that is the cause , not the format itself - eMMC chip gets corrupt and locked in some way - technical details I forgot ... but the corruption occurs when a format of data/system partitions is performed :

.

So actually , you need to be in a very specific situation to brick your phone ( YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEFFECTIVE CHIP FOR DATA CORRUPTION TO HAPPEN FOR THIS KIND OF A HARD BRICK and that is why "sane" chips are safe . The stock recovery causes the brick because it can issue a mmc_cap_erase command and it will try to write/delete data from eMMC chip and when it hits a defective block the chip locks up and you have a brick - BUT ONLY IF THE CHIP IS DEFFECTIVE. Also , pre - July kernels are safe because they do not have the mmc_cap_erase function enabled . Also , flashing a "unsafe" binary through CWM can cause the brick , so watch out what , and from whom you flash stuff to your phones . Anyway, I'm too tired right now -3:47 AM , so I pasted Entropy512 post below and some links which are very useful for understanding the problem - READ THROUGH , IT IS IMPORTANT )

Entropy512 :

A couple of links that are very informative :

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=27074278#post27074278

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/hard-brick-bug-on-galaxy-s-ii-and-note-leaked-ics-kernels/

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=28416723&postcount=403

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/samsung-diligently-working-towards-hardbrick-fix/
[Galaxy S II General] :
Thank you very much. You helped a lot. I've read a lot of Entropy's posts, but I completely missed that information.
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
It is a big issue , but it is very specific because of the conditions that cause the brick . So it is the best to prevent the brick by making people understand what is the cause of the brick and how to avoid it . But don't scare them on purpose . . . there is no reason for fear if you can follow a couple of guidelines ( if you do not have conditions for a brick - no problem / if you have a faulty chip - flash a safe kernel , don't flash untested/not well described binaries through CWM (if you can not determine by yourself ,ask someone to help you choose or stay away from flashing at the moment completely ).
[Galaxy S II General] mubeenshahid:
I flashed XWLPM and then wipe data through stock recovery almost 3 times but phone is fine.Also in emmc brickbugapp it shows insane chip
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
You like playing with fire then !!! It is not a question will it happen , but when ! When you have a mmc_cap_erase function enabled kernel it is a mater of time when will your deleting/writing to the chip hit a defective block in your eMMC chip and cause the brick . For some it happens with the first wipe , for some a 100th time .

Read posts on this page (and the next one 32. - there are Entropy512 posts on it) of this thread I pasted below (it can give you a insight to the cause and how the problem could be individual regarding the number of successful vs "leading to brick" wipes )

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1644364&page=31

Don't risk it unless you know for sure if you are covered by warranty or do it if you simply like experimenting about flammability of six 100 $ bills , your choice (sarcasm) .

---------- Post added at 04:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:24 PM ----------

Another piece of useful info , for those who are into understanding more about the problem itself :
[Galaxy S II General] Carson_ls:
:good:Thanks for the info :good:
[Galaxy S II General] cdaarif:
Hay Neerajganga, many many tnx to u :) as ur suggestion i do these links

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1457458

1)First flash pit with repartition. Cuz doin can't start without re partition. once done phone on & remove usb , off my phone, remove battery again get the phone in download mode.

2) flash only kernel in pda once done phone on, remove usb, but my phone show me only starting logo, don't show boot s-logo, off my phone, remove battery, wipe factory data & catch partition. on it again it show staring logo but don't show boot s-logo, get the phone in black screen in soft brick. using 3combo for download mode.

3)after that then flash pit ( without repertition) and the firmware together without bootloader. Now i get my phone again :)

Sorry for my bad English
[Galaxy S II General] hakaz:
Hi all,

can anyone confirm please:

currently I have 2 SGS2,

one orginal with eMMC chip VYL00M/FW Rev. 0x19 dated 09/2011 (which is "insane")

one after bricking with replacement board and eMMC chip VIS00M/FW Rev. 0x09 dated 04/2012 (which is obviously newer and not on the brick list, so I assume the replacement board "sane")

Testing both with "eMMC check" from Play shows respective results insane/sane but checking the eMMC memory for bad blocks shows the insane chip with test runtime 310s/speed 48,8 MB/s (and luckily without any error) and the sane chip with test runtime 465s/speed 34,8 MB/s which is obviously alot slower.

I have no idea at first if this has any meaning but want to ask for any (un)equal findings ... :confused:
[Galaxy S II General] mubeenshahid:
buddy can i flash custom rom on it will there be any risk:(
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
You can flash custom ROMs , just watch out what kernels you flash (if you need root and other "perks" ) . New Syiah kernels , appropriate Chainfire kernels are safe , and CyanogenMod ROMs (and kernels ) are safe to flash and wipe with (if someone knows that I am wrong , set me straight) . Just watch out and try not to flash binaries that are "shady" because some of them can call to the same mmc_cap_erase function and cause the brick .
[Galaxy S II General] bombaybadboy:
Has anyone made a safe lq5 kernel and added it to the new 4.0.4 firmware to download yet. Sure the person that does that will get a few extra thanks on there thank meter ;)
[Galaxy S II General] hakaz:
Try SpeedMod K3-30 from hardcore, it's based on Samsung's 4.0.4 original source (GT-I9100_ICS_Opensource_Update7) and has MMC_CAP_ERASE disabled, therefore wiping is safe. Look here if you want. ;)
[Galaxy S II General] Carson_ls:
Does any one has tried to flashed the XWLPO firmware that downloading from checkfus? It's the same firmware from sammobile? I had downloaded this firmware from checkfus and it has only one tar.md5 file. But luckily i saw this forum and i didn't flash it!

Today i'm trying to checked back this firmware from checkfus but its seem this latest firmware was no longer exist on checkfus and might think samsung has pulled out from its server:confused: I'm curiously want to know it was all because of hardbrick issue so that samsung has to temporary pulled out from it server or just want to adding back the search function to this firmware:confused::confused::confused:

Hopefully i can find some answer here :o
[Galaxy S II General] acid87:
could someone tell me exactly, what to do, to go back to a safe state of my s2?

i updated my firmware to LPO by OTA-Update.

i also rooted my phone by temp cwm prior to the update and my phone is still rooted.

due to emmc-check i have an insane chip.

does just flashing a 4.0.3. stock over the LPO with odin do the trick?

and if this is the case, a 3-part-firmware oder 1-part?

i am really scared to brick my phone.

thank you
[Galaxy S II General] crazy_4_and1:
Yes it would do the trick .

You can :

1. Flash a stock ROM that is built before July via ODIN ( from sammobile.com or androidfirmwares.net/ ) or you can use checkfusdownloader app to download your firmware (but if u use this app watch out to download a pre-july build) - I am currently using the one for Poland (GT-I9100	Poland 2012 May Android 4.0.3 I9100XXLPW I9100OXALPW )

2. And if you decide to flash a custom ROM than flash a safe Syiah/Chainfire/CyanogenMod KERNEL BEFORE flashing ROM through recovery
[Galaxy S II General] remorema:
I was one of the luccky *******s to get my phone hardbricked.

Luckly Samsung repair service center replaced the main PBA without costs.

I wish thos thread was up before I did it.

good job mate to keep the rest of users safe.
[Galaxy S II General] mayekk:
Details about this problem:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1644364

Samsung is working to fix this on next ROM update:

http://omgdroid.com/samsung-hard-brick-fix-being-worked/
[Galaxy S II General] berlin-biker:
New 4.0.4 Stock-ROM I9100XWLPT is released! Still brick bug???

...is this new release (31-07-2012) also at risk to get a brick bug?

can anyone say if emmc-erase is still unanbled in this brand new release?:eek:

(Info at Samfirmware says:

PDA: I9100XWLPT

CSC: I9100XEULPA

Version: 4.0.4

Date: 2012-07-31

Regions: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom)

is it safe, to flash it over an XWLPO (which is known as "brick bug version") without doing a wipe?

any ideas... i don`t now how it can be tested...:confused:
[Galaxy S II General] mayekk:
Can someone confirm brickbug on stock ICS 4.0.4 after data wipe/factory reset from stock recovery menu ? - without CWM installed ?
[Galaxy S II General] :
Factory reset in stock recovery is known to be less risky (for devices with insane chip). However the risk is still present. There are known several examples (mostly GNote but even few S2) where people bricked their devices just like that.
[Galaxy S II General] mayekk:
according to http://www.android-hilfe.de/original-firmwares-fuer-samsung-galaxy-s2/280564-i9100xwlpt-ics-4-0-4-odin-xeu-27-07-2012-a.html

brickbug is present in XWLPT... :(

---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------

Can someone confirm this from personal experience ? Stock, original ICS 4.0.4 & kernel, no CWM, no root...

I just wonder because Samsung knows about this bug, but they are rolling out new firmware ( XWLPT - build date - 4 days ago: 27-07-2012 ) with MMC_CAP_ERASE enabled... (at least according to link above)

All posts about bricked S2 (that I have found) are related to modded ICS / kernel or CWM.
[Galaxy S II General] Mittaa:
Android-hilfe.de do not mention any source to information!

It might be right ... but is still unconfirmed until we get a proper known source of information!
[Galaxy S II General] mayekk:
I know, I didn't want to post any information without source, that's why I pointed to Android-hilfe.de.

On XDA sekhargreen posted while ago that in this ROM brickbug is present.
[Galaxy S II General] berlin-biker:
How to test emmc-erase capability?

...that`s realy irritating!

looking at "sekhargreens" posts he was asked if he`s realy been testing this rom, but no answer has followed...

he only says "no recommended". but what`s his source for such a statement?

selftest? or only picking up the info of someone else?

i don`t wanna believe that samsung is realy so stupid, to release again a new FW with this well known issue...

so how can this FW be tested if emmc-erase is still enabled, without going the risk of bricking my own phone?:confused:
[Galaxy S II General] :
My friend it's not about faith abut about facts :) mmc_cap_erase is enabled in kernel. It was supposed to improve sd-writing speed if I remember right.

Before you test this FW please download emmc brickbug check from gplay and see whether you have sane or insane chip. If your chip is sane then you don't have to worry.
[Galaxy S II General] sohail19:
is it safe to flash XWLPT??
[Galaxy S II General] :
It the same situation as in case of all other 4.0.4. Thus emmc brickbug is present here. To read more detailed information I recommend to read the first post.
[Galaxy S II General] frenchiiiiii:
just read the thread ... god thanks to have share :good:
[Galaxy S II General] sohail19:
will there be a fix for that in future???
[Galaxy S II General] Mittaa:
Yes it would be nice if one of the dev's could make some kind of patch to set MMC_CAP_ERASE = false :good:
[Galaxy S II General] capitaine:
the same problem,my friend
[Galaxy S II General] chocolate_lover:
I just want to be sure before I flash something and end up bricking my SGS2 i9100.

I have XWLPO installed right now and the "Got Brickbug?" app says that the eMMC chip is known to have the brick bug.

I was wondering that if I used Odin to to install XWLP7 ( I9100XWLP7/I9100ODDLP9/I9100DDLPA/I9100XWLP7 ), the latest 4.0.3 stock ROM available for my country (India), would I be in a safer situation?

If not, what should I do to get back to 4.0.3 with a safe kernel?

EDIT:

So I just flashed XWLPG using Odin and then asked it to format data and cache.

I have disabled Software Update since it keeps pestering me to get XWLPT :)

I don't think this helps anyone though. That was the obvious thing to do, :P
[Galaxy S II General] s2_d2:
Hi, I'm currently using XWLP7 4.0.3. I would like to upgrade to 4.0.4 and I'm trying to wrap my head around these new firmwares that may potentially lead to bricking your phone. So far I've gathered that the issue resides with those who have rooted their phones with an unsecure kernal? Please help me make a bit more sense of this.

I downloaded the eMMC check app and I do have an insane chip. When I flashed the current firmware that I am on, I did root it, though it was rooted with a safe method that is not meant to overwrite with an unsecure kernal: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1501719

Will it be safe to wipe my phone and upgrade to the latest XWLPT 4.0.4 firmware, with having previously done this "secure" rooting method? Or do I have to uninstall the super user access first, then wipe and install the new firmware?

Any help will be much appreciated. The current firmware I am on is getting a bit frustrating with the wi-fi bug only choosing to connect once in a blue moon. Most of the time I have to keep clearing memory and turning flight mode on and off to get it to connect.

Thanks.

**EDIT**

After doing some more research and having some advice, I am happy to say that everything went well, thanks.

My method was to delete all user data, boot the phone in recovery mode and do a factory reset. Then flash the new firmware via Odin. It booted up though kept having this error message during the setup screens when starting fresh. I did another factory reset and it solved the issue. I used Rachmat3's method of safe rooting (see above link), and then restored all my apps via Titanium backup.

Everything is working as it should. The wi-fi shortcut actually works now! Scrolling and apps feel much more responsive. Very happy with the new firmware.

Cheers.
[Galaxy S II General] hakaz:
There are 4.0.4 kernels around like hardcore's SpeedMod K3-30, which have MMC_CAP_ERASE disabled, so included CWM can be used without risk ...
[Galaxy S II General] Sigma Seth7 ™:
I see so ... if you are in 4.0.3 makes wipes and go to 4.0.4 and then for security, go updating without wipes.

Sorry my English ... is google!
[Galaxy S II General] xstarbuckx:
Tried looking but getting in a muddle.

I have a stock s2 and updated via kies lucky no hard brick just the serial number reset to 00000000000

Does this lead to any problems other than no serial number.

As far as I can see no other problems
[Galaxy S II General] jgcaap:
i have used the app to test and i have an insane chip according to the app, so it can lead to brick bug. using syiah i'm completly safe if i wish to flash another rom (jelly bean for instance)? Thank you very much
[Galaxy S II General] rmaiod:
Cover by Warranty ??

May be a noob question but... it's the "Brick Bug Chip" cover by warranty ???

I test my phone with eMMC Check and it says my phone it's using a "bad chip" also i run the memory test and says it's OK so i'm a little confused here.

My phone is under warranty so if this issue is cover by warranty may be i'll go for it.

Thanks in advance.
[Galaxy S II General] hawkn:
So, my dear S2 has been at the service center for more than 2 weeks now.

I've had a dialogue with them and the actually pulls out the moisture card they had up theire sleve.

They showed me a picture of the claimed damage, and said that the damage could cause heat problems phone not booting etc.

Even I told them where the phone got hot, said I've read about the update and such.

A guy at samsung even made me see a light in the tunnel, but the *******s at the service center gives me request denied all over the line.

They even went as far as assuming where the water had entered the phone, trought the back plate, under the battery and sim holder.

What they could NOT, was to actually prove that the problem with the phone was because of the claimed water damage.

I know for a fact that I'm NEVER using the service center again without having a round with my dear soldering iron and some electric cleaner and such !

They chose the easy way out and gave me the finger.

Going to try jtag when I get the phone back (after paying a test-fee of 70-80USD) if this does not work I'm using my travel insurance for sure.
[Galaxy S II General] rmaiod:
Sorry.... that really sucks :(
[Galaxy S II General] cpl.Bower:
Lawyer

Thats actually a good question and the answer to that is not easy. Technically the phone works well with that chip and if you use the official channels to update and you dont install an insecure kernel, you will be fine. But the problem is there, so... Im not a lawyer to answer that and you need to find a international lawyer (because samsung is from korea) and ask him about the (if there is any) legal action. You can proof that you have a faulty chip (with the Chainfire application Got Brickbug ? v1.1) but its not an official samsung applicaction, so seems like its a dead end.
[Galaxy S II General] xstarbuckx:
Just wanted to update. Rang Sammy about the serial number and was told that they are working on a fix, it wont effect anything and its a software problem not reading the serial number correctly so it just displays 00000000000 instead.

They didnt give a eta on a fix.

Apart from that Im happy with the UK unbranded phone seems faster, only other problem is MMS not working on O2 need to play with the settings
[Galaxy S II General] chocolate_lover:
XWLPT also has the bug. Someone should update that.

Wasn't Samsung going to fix the bug and not push more firmwares that could brick?
[Galaxy S II General] vokodlok:
i think this is not an ordinary bug, this could be an intended bug for us using cwm...
[Galaxy S II General] hawkn:
2nd that!
[Galaxy S II General] webjunky:
thats on a update given by Samsung

this brick problem is with a leaked version
[Galaxy S II General] Sigma Seth7 ™:
3rd that!
[Galaxy S II General] Crescendo Xenomorph:
Sorry for discouragement to everyone....

Here's my own story: I had Samsung Omnia II...

And when Samsung DECIDED NOT TO UPDATE the said device but the community keep pushing and asking Samsung for new update, THEY WILL PROVIDE what seemingly WEEKLY UPDATE but without proper bug fix, just some minor update every week to PLEASE EVERYONE until the community fed up with bugged update and bake themselves community-made-ROM without bug...

That's what I experienced with Samsung since Omnia I -> Omnia II -> Galaxy S -> and now Galaxy S II....

Trust me...
[Galaxy S II General] rmaiod:
Thanks for the answer, i will try some local forums here in Spain in order to find out how they are dealing with the problem.

I will post here any info i find regarding warranty.