yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Whatever the case may be, the important point here is that skipping the one and only step that actually writes changes to the device is bad advice

So if you really did have a brick (this all could be a huge miscommunication), and your download mode still isn't working, all you need to do is repeat this recovery process but don't skip that very important step :)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] nastyking:
ok cool ill give this a go and see what happenes
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
I'm reasonably confident that you'll be able to Odin successfully without the sd card once the process is complete - hope to hear good news when you return :)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] deskjet390:
Anyone have access to de-brick image for R530u the d2usc? Or know which image I can t-flash to create my own from another working sch-r530u?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] deskjet390:
Anyone?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
You might check the forum section for your device - if you can find a volunteer with the same phone, perhaps you can get help from the guy who created the Sprint image to create an image for your device (I can't remember the username, need to go back and look)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] deskjet390:
I guess what I need to know is what all do I need to do to create my own image because I have access to another working device just like mine,
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Oh, that's fortunate - be patient while I finish what I'm doing (half hour at most), then I'll see if I can find the instructions used to create the Sprint version's image so we can repeat it with your working device.

If you want to get a head start, look in the OP of this thread - I think it included a link to the original thread where this info was found, and that thread might have instructions or a link to another thread... we'll get this figured out, shouldn't be too difficult (I'm hoping my Linux experience will be an asset in this venture, lol)

---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

Update: I followed the links back to the threads that the OP used to write his version of the guide. Here is an excerpt describing how to copy the needed data from a working device:

That will create a file named backup.bin on the root of the sd card (in the working device). You should then be able to substitute that backup.bin in place of the Sprint image in the instructions in this thread to get your US Cellular version unbricked :)

If you're using the same sd card, be sure to copy backup.bin to your computer and backup everything else on the sd card before writing the image back to the sd card. And if you are successful, share the recovery image for the benefit of other US Cellular GS3 users. Let me know if my explanation needs clarification, and best of luck!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] deskjet390:
I will have it done this eve ashen I get home
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] xtreemgreen:
I installed a wrong version of cwm to replace TWRP. But now . my phone does nothing except the red light comes on when plug into the battery charger. I was told I repartitioned the internal sd and needed a new mother board. Will this process work on mine?

Sprint s3 Wicked Purple
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] a940600:
First, OP thanks for this guide. I also want to thank the original person who found this method. I tried to follow the original thread, but got a little lost.

I've quoted the above post, because it really made a difference. If the OP could add this to their guide, it would really help. I was originally trying with a 2gb sd card and was restarting multiple times to try and do it. After seeing the above post, I ran out and bought a 16gb SD card. I was able to get it in one go for that.

Some suggestions for the guide:

May want to tell the user to run "fdisk -l" for them to list all the drives on the computer when they boot into ubuntu/linux. This will probably be easier because they can see by size which drive is the sd card, rather than possibly taking the wrong one from the output of the dmesg. All in all, I had success with my ATT galaxy s3, which i flashed accidentally with a i9300 ROM. I don't see why this method would not work for any type of mistake in flashing. As long as the hardware itself isn't fried, this should work.

Thanks again to everyone who provided a guide for this, saved me from a paperweight. Where are the donate buttons?:o (BTW, I made an account just to post this)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] CNexus:
I suggest you donate to gTan64, seeing as how he originally came up with this method.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2345860
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] a940600:
Done, donated to both of them. Been a long time lurker on XDA, this finally made me sign up for an account
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
There's only one way to find out... but check one thing to see if this method is really necessary:

Can you get into download mode? (Hold home and vol-down along with power to boot up, I think)

If dl mode still works, just Odin a stock rom and go from there. If not, then that's where the recovery sd card comes into play
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] xtreemgreen:
No. Can't get into anything.

Sprint s3 Wicked Purple
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
That's what this method is for - since the dl mode partition (etc) in your internal memory is in some way corrupted, the sd card provides a temporary dl mode (a lot like booting your computer from a cd or usb drive to repair a broken operating system on the hard drive).
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] xtreemgreen:
This will also fix the messed up partition?

Sprint s3 Wicked Purple
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Also? In addition to what? Everything else is caused by the partition issue... which will be fixed by using Odin to flash the full tar file...
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
I'm having the same issue with HBrick that you guys had. My phone has had a few freeze/reboots the last few weeks, but nothing nothing much of it. Always happened in same program, so figured it was some sort of bug. It might of been a prelude to this =(

anyway, My phone worked fine saturday morning, and during my first break at work it didn't. I saw something about encryption error, must reboot/delete phone. I just threw it back in pocket and ignored it. Note I've never encrypted my phone.

Of course my phone became Hbricked. Unable to do anything. no boot. no charge light. no recovery.

I followed the guide and made the 16gb microsd class 10 card, and it worked. Well sorta. I get "Boot Recovery Mode" but I can't odin anything from it. I've tried a few things, and even when odin works for a few steps, it fails. And then the card doesn't work anymore. It seems to be flashing TO the microsd card instead of the phone itself. PIT errors as well.

Here's a photo of my SGS3 (Sprint, L710) sitting on the boot recovery mode page. I never get the download mode. I think the "Flash Write Error" might mean I have an internal memory issue?

Cropped Photo. snag [.] gy/eBLpY.jpg

Uncropped photo snag [.] gy/hIuwx.jpg

Apparently, even though I'm not a new poster, I've never been talkative enough to not have to have links blocked. There is an http in those 2 links obviously, as well as the dot in the snag and the gy.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] IDontKnowMang:
This download mode allows you to use Odin and go back to stock
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Azeedc:
Had same problem with Sprint and AT&T, once the SD card is created phone automatically goes to 'BOOT RECOVERY MODE', never goes into DOWNLOAD MODE.

When this happens the phone shows 'WRITING ERROR" failure and if I proceed with ODIN, shows 'READING ERROR' and Pit file/partition missing or not found.

Tried writing the card multiple times, using the relevant pit file, relevant de-brick file, different SD card, etc,, no go, phone will start in 'BOOT RECOVERY MODE'.

I indicated this in previous posts, that the card was going into RECOVERY MODE not DOWNLOAD but did not find any solution.

I do not know if this RECOVERY MODE using the de-brick file is a special mode similar to DOWNLOAD using the three buttons.

The only way to know if this mode is correct, is for somebody that is going through with the de-brick procedure, to post if this mode is correct,

and if it is, then the problem could still be the SD card, something with the computer.

I'm going to try again with different card and downloads and post the results.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
I had the same problem, as I posted a little bit above, with a picture of the recovery mode message on my gs3. I have a pretty strong feeling my phone was corrupted internally or something. I think most people who used this method, got the normal download mode message.

I went to the store today, and they switch out my phone for a refurb. They said (Read: Claimed) that the motherboard was bad on the last one. I'm sure a JTAG or whatever overwrite would of fixed it, but didn't want to bother with it. Free replacement, and hopefully this refurb that replaced my 'new' GS3 won't be a bad egg.

It's a l710.14 Hardware Version. Wonder what this will mean for me when I attempt to go root it and stuff.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
My S3 is almost a year old same exact L710.14 so that means nothing important
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
Ok cool. I remember hearing something vaguely somewhere about new hardware revisions with more security.. or something. Maybe not able to triangleaway or something? *shrug* Well I just hope this refurb stands test of time.

Wish the google backup would actually restore stuff as well.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
As far as I know, if a jtag would have fixed it then so would this method - it's possible that the sd card wasn't flashed correctly, or that your hardware actually was damaged (hardware can't be fixed with software).

And of course your phone was corrupted internally - if it wasn't, then you wouldn't have needed this method (it is specifically meant to fix internal corruption that affects the boot loader/download mode). The only question was whether it was strictly corrupted data, or damaged hardware as I mentioned above - hopefully that makes a little more sense
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
Right, I think it was hardware failure. I'm with you on that. I got you on that =p

I don't think it was a issue with the sd card. I did flash it following the exact directions of the thread using ubuntu and everything. class 10 16gb microsd as well. Also did it on a 32gb card I had. Both had exact same results.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
so its officially i got this far and now im stuck in boot recovery mode! so theres no fix?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
[MENTION=1476011]killa2009[/MENTION] you placed sd card in phone an tried to vol down +power+home button at same time to get into DL mode?

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
yes sir
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
Then it's your image. Either the image is not pulled correctly from a working phone or it has not copied to the SD card correctly. The image is the key on which the phone is going to boot into DL mode off the sd card in order to allow you to odin the recovery tar. Your image must be that of a recovery load and not of a download mode. Since the sd is allowing you to boot it must just just be the incorrect image.

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
thanks for taking the time to help me. thats what i was thinking? i have flashed the images numerous found here in the thread. i dont know what else to do. my sg3 is sprint. does someone have a new img file they can upload now? i use linux to put the img on the sd card..
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
Your phone is Sprint SPH-L710 then the image in the OP should work for you. I thought at one point you mentioned the ATT image which some one else has shared here

In the instructions it says that flashing the image several ties was necessary. Same size card as the phone you have and class 10 highly recommended by everyone who has had success in this method

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
this is what i see after image to sdcard

here what my phone looks like
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
Looks like mine did. Regular odin flash of stock wouldn't work. If you tried it with tflash checked it would work sometimes, but then you would get a new error message on odin/screen of phone. Also found a L710 pit file that I used and did similarly. No photos to post.

When it "partially worked" it seemed to be writing over the information stored on the sd card vs the actual phone. I think On a normal phone, it would flash past this stage and the initial red error, and head to the normal download mode, where odin would flash to the internal memory.

Anyways, good luck. I had the warranty from sprint, so free replacement. Told them I tried to do an upgrade and it never recovered. Also mentioned encryption failure message.. Which is really what happened. For no reason I saw that error right before break on saturday. Never encrypted phone. *shrugs*.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
Ok correct that's not Download Mode.

What size internal memory phone?

Is your SD card of equal size?

Is it a class 10 card?

Have tried rewriting the image on the card?

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
16

yes

yes

yes
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
Maybe [MENTION=4645794]CNexus[/MENTION] can stop by and give some assistance or advice. Or [MENTION=2300635]gTan64[/MENTION] or [MENTION=4625732]deBricker[/MENTION] but I don't think they are currently available.

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
i had an idea but i need help. since i put dbrick img onto sdcard and then put the sdcard in my computer i can read the files inside card. But i need another img to compare to.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] CNexus:
I'd suggest getting the PIT file for your device and flashing that, your partitions might be screwed up and need fixing

MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT PIT FILE. invisiblek has them on his site IIRC
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
heres more info. in the img folder on my sdcard the size is 41.4mb and 84 files,0 folders. thats the image properties. is that right?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Azeedc:
I posted this before, it says ' BOOT RECOVERY MODE ', but observe that below ' FLASH WRITE: FAILURE ' in red, it shows ' ODIN MODE ' as well, in red.

I believe that the de-brick image puts the device in a special mode and although it says ' BOOT RECOVERY MODE ', it is actually ' DOWNLOAD ' and ready for ODIN.

I think the ' FLASH WRITE: FAILURE ' problem is the real issue and the damage locks the FLASH out and can not be written to it so the rest of the process fails.

If the same screen shows up on a phone that during the de-brick process recovers properly, then it means that for some reason, the nature of the damage

is such that the FLASH can not be written to.

If this is the case, then jtag would be the only solution, provided that the Flash or memory itself is not damaged.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] CNexus:
See my post above
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
I did this earlier using "sph-i710-16gb.pit" that I got online, and It didn't help. Hopefully it works out differently for him?

I got it from http://www.invisiblek.org/sph-l710/

Man. I can't even edit a post w/o a 5 minute cooldown. At least I don't think it's yelling at me for the image link anymore. And captcha is gone.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
i know nothing about iirc and getting files. can you please get the file for me? i have 16 gig sprint sg3
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
I think iirc is short for, "if I recall correctly"
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Mandabar:
Styles is correct killa2009. I linked the pit file i used that I also retrieved from invisblek's site that CNexus is suggesting you try. I linked the section of his site that has his L710 Sprint Files. 16gb and 32gb files are there.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
i did try it and nothing

---------- Post added at 04:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 AM ----------

can some one load a sprint img to sdcard and load to their computer so i can compare with mine. In my sdcard i see the files wcnss.mdt,wcnss.b04,vidc.b02,tzapps.mdt,q6.mdt, modem mdt and modemf2.b09
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
I should have said, "if I recall correctly, iirc stands for... hmmm..."
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] ShorterACE:
Mine has just loaded after plugging it into the computer but now it just shows a battery screen with 4 dots.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
okay people! i have made progress, but still no download mode. i was able to push \sph-i710-16gb.pit and VRALEC.bootchain.tar.md5.file threw odin. thats progress because everything would cancel. this went through and reset and said pass.

but no download mode. can i flash any other files?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] Ragnar:
Ok at this point you've able to push these through Odin onto your phone? So the device boots completely? So you have removed the sd card and booted he device on its own?

Have a great day!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
nothing happens. i pulled the sdcard and tried to boot. i just know the two files are the only thing that flashes with odin. no other file work in combination.
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Have you tried that pit file in combination with a full tar instead of just the boot loader? (Technically, the full tar should include the pit, but it shouldn't hurt to provide one externally as well, as long as it's the correct pit of course)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
Yes sir, it fail every time. I think its the combination of pit and the other files
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
Hmmm... what about the full tar by itself? (Not that I think you'd overlook that option, I just don't want to assume and therefore overlook the suggestion just in case)

Alternatively, have you consider trying heimdal? Since I switched to Linux a few years ago, I've used it a couple of times, and I swear it works more consistently than Odin ever did... I admit that my anti-Winblows sentiment might skew my judgement, but I also think that the more manual approach of heimdal (which requires the user to have a better idea what he's doing than with Odin) puts more of the chance of success in the user's hands, because software that does more of the work has more functions that can fail... if you or anyone else who is struggling with Odin would like to try, I'd be happy to do what I can to help (I'll need to refresh my memory via Google since is been so long since I've needed it, but that's no problem for me - everything I've learned about android and Linux, I've learned by starting with Google, lol)
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
yes, i have tried a tar only but it fails without pit file?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
But which tar? I don't know if the pit is included in partial tar files, which only contain some of the partitions (like the boot-loader-only tar that you mentioned)... the safest route is probably to use the full stock tar, which includes the boot loader, the downloaded mode and recovery partitions, and the rom itself - you might even want to forget about a pre-rooted tar and just use the bone stock official tar to eliminate any extra potential failing points...

Once your phone can boot without the sd card, you'll be able to use the newly restored download mode to Odin a custom recovery (uncheck "auto reboot" for that part, because the stock rom will just overwrite the recovery as it boots). Then you would unplug the phone and remove the battery to power down, then insert the battery and boot into the custom recovery to flash your preferred custom rom, and you're back in business :)

One last tip that I theorize might make a difference is to write the sd card with one extra parameter (you may have seen my mention of it in past posts) - after the if and of parameters, add "bs=4k" - this sets the block size, which is the size of each individual write operation. The default block size for the dd command is much smaller, because dd was originally created back in the day when it was intended for writing to tape drives. But flash memory like sd cards are structured very differently, so the smaller default size is not optimal. The size that I recommend will drastically speed up the process, and my theory is that the more optimal size will also improve the odds of a successful flash. It's possible that the failures you've experienced up to this point are caused by a corrupted flash, so redoing the sd card with that option might do the trick - it won't hurt anything, so it's worth a shot...

Keep us posted, and good luck!
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] killa2009:
what do you mean, extra parameter? and how do i do that?

I have flash multiple tars. example, stock, rooted stock, bootloaders,etc. the only file that flashes is the bootloader.

I think odin flashes everything to my sdcard instead of phone, because when it done and resets on odin my phone can no longer boot and i have to rewrite image using linux to my sdcard.

Also Tflash check plays a major role in odin working for me?

nothing works in odin unless i have tflash check. why is that?
[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] styles420:
I should have explained the parameter better using an example:

dd if=[debrick image filename] of=/dev/sd[letter of you sd card] bs=4k

The items in square brackets aren't too be typed literally, replace them (eliminating the brackets) with the appropriate information as indicated. The extra parameter I referred to is the third part, bs=4k - this is the option that sets the block size for writing to the card.

The short explanation is that dd writes the data in blocks, or chunks of bytes, which by default are much smaller because dd was originally made for older, now obsolete tape drives. Telling it to use the larger size allows it to write more bytes per write operation, which is why it will go much faster. My understanding is that modern flash storage such as sd cards have a sort of internal block size, so writing smaller sized blocks will cause each block to be written repeatedly until the sd card's native block size is reached, because internally the sd card cannot write partial blocks - matching it's block size is ideal.

I don't know if that makes much sense since I'm summarizing several page's worth of information, but the summary of the summary is that using a size that is at least closer to the sd card's native block size will reduce redundant rewrites, which will reduce unnecessary wear (flash memory can be overwritten thousands of times before it fails, but more redundant rewrites will only get you to the failing point that much sooner). And fewer rewrites means fewer chances for a corrupted write operation.

If Odin is writing to the sd card instead of your internal memory, maybe it has something to do with the sd card being flashed incorrectly somehow - perhaps remaking it with the adjusted block size will correct that, although I also wonder if a.) you're writing the wrong image to the card by mistake, or b.) you're using the wrong button combination, thereby booting the phone into the wrong mode... both seem like they should be simple steps, but this is a lot to take in so mistakes can happen (and when I make mistakes in these situations, they're usually small and hard to notice)

So that's a lot to absorb, but the shortest version is that I recommend double checking the recovery image that you're using and the button combination, and try rewriting the sd card with the block size option as in the example I provided at the beginning of this essay (lol...) - let me know what mashes sense and what doesn't, and whether you notice any difference... I'm determined to figure out what is tripping people up - it's becoming a personal challenge, lol