yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
No not really but if you like you could use aluminium or copper for better cooling and thermal performance. But it must be no thicker than 3 or 4 folds of cereal cardboard.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
This has worked for many people already.

See the comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLPHWtb0StI
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jerryspring:
We're you able to revamp the thread? Thanks.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
Would be nice if it were pinned. ;)
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jerryspring:
Huh?

---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 AM ----------

I'm Chris n on your YouTube comments
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tranms:
Instead of cardboard, I used folded aluminum to the desired thickness and reassembled. My note 4 actually turns on properly where prior the phone would shut off from minor use and had to remove the battery and pop it in the freezer just to turn on.... I did have 2-3 reboots so far but that was after heavy usage (few minutes gaming and gps usage).

I saw a similar youtube video that actually showed a voltage power supply and volt meter to the out put and pressure on the emmc card was the solution as well.

Thanks for the fix! Hope I can get more usage out of the old Note 4.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
Yeh I actually upgraded this to aluminium as well. ?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kudzufarmer:
worked

just worked for me....unfortunantly I somehow messed up the home button and the right touch key....guess I went too far in and messed up cable......not sure its worth taking screen off to repair the buttons...using navigation bar app instead.....can still access recovery or download via adb.......
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
If you find the back button does not work properly its normally down to the screen not being pressed into the housing fully. Try squeeze the the screen into the casing more. It should sit flush.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kudzufarmer:
An update...the home button works when hard pressed and the screen is flush with the case........the "springiness" for lack of a better term is not there...the left optical button still does not work. not sure whats its called, but the button that displays the multiscreen view of open apps is not working...... I typed wrong button in my first post.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
You could always install a navigation bar button to get around it.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kudzufarmer:
I am using a navigation bar app insted
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] maryius:
i've messed something and now the front camera doesn't work anymore...it shows an "error to the server , please restart camera" message. i was carreful with the front camera and the band, what can it be the problem?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
Thank you for sharing this. I'm going to use a 2mm thermal pad, do you think that will be sufficient?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jerryspring:
Please try and let us know. Thanks.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
Yeh sure but maybe do 0.5mm to 1.25mm, I would say 0.5mm minimum but 1.25mm should be ok. Its only purpose is to put pressure on the chip
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
Thanks. I will just stack the pads for 4mm in that case, just waiting to receive them.

The reason I asked if 2mm was sufficient was that I saw you mention that thickness in your video comments although perhaps you said that as you were referring to a copper pad there which would not compress with pressure applied.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
So it turned out that the 2mm thermal pads were way way too thick! I had a huge bulge in the phone, I actually think 0.5 to 1mm would be the correct thickness.

I ended up reverting to some thin cardboard folded once. I had major problems with both of these methods aligning and reconnecting the two cables to the motherboard but got there in the end. Not sure why it was such hard work compared to how easily you do it in the video!

Anyway the end result is a Note 4 that instantly boots and reboots without the eMMC read failed error! Previously I was running wakelock and never turning the phone off for fear of being unable to reboot. I'll see how I get on with it now, thanks once again for sharing.

The only issue I've been left with is that the 'selfie camera' is no longer functional (gives an error), I'm not particularly one for selfies but I'd still like to fix it, any tips?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
Sorry was thinking of another project when I said 4mm Dough. Should have said 0.5mm to 1.25mm

Have you checked that you have not caught the camera ribbon behind the mainboard. Its very easy to miss. if you remove the back and just compare to the video. If the cable has become trapped behind the board you will see the empty connector socket. It should just be a case of reconnecting the ribbon.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] oem42:
Im gonna give this a go and want to order some copper thermal pads... just wondering what the chip dimensions are? would 20x20x1.2 mm or 15x15x1.2 mm be best? I can get any thickness from 0.3 to 1.5mm.. what will be best? Also what sort of glue is suitable?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jerryspring:
I was able to flash firmware....it boots to recovery after flash, then boom.... bootloop. Was able to flash firmware, flash TWRP then flash ROM...works...but after awhile...bootloop....recovery seems to be corrupted...anyone know a remedy?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] maryius:
Front camera issue

Hi! If he had caught the camera ribbon behind the mainboard, does the back camera still work? i donțt think so! i have the same issue now with the front camera and i am so dissapointed...ițve connected very well the camera ribbon because the front camera works well. is it possible that the front camera ribbon got damaged during the process?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] BluSpectre:
I don't see how it can possibly cause a fire. Perhaps if you intentionally shunt the battery for 5 or so minutes you might.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
It's not the camera ribbon that was mentioned as that is for the back camera as you say. The front camera is part of a module in the top right corner of the phone, you can try and remove and reseat the module to see if that fixes it.

This did not fix it for me so I think I may have damaged it, I believe the sensor on that module is no longer working either. I have ordered a replacement front camera module (they are really cheap) and I am waiting for it to arrive, when I've replaced it I will let you know if it works.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shonkin:
I had a phone with this error, and sadly tried to fix it using a misleading video by someone else... trashed it. But just had to give you huge kudos for this video / info re fixing the error. Love it when end users sort out messes left by the manufacturers of our hardware. I still have one Note 4 left me, and it runs fine (though I use it only for storing e-books these days). God bless.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jonyutah123:
Confirmed

Just thought I would chime in and confirm that I fixed my note 4 that needed to be put in the freezer for 20 min to boot.

For anyone else who needs to know what the right thickness is, I used an old sim card and super glued it right to the EMMC chip. I haven't had a single reboot after 2 weeks doing this. Before this fix the phone was almost unusable but certainly unreliable enough to upgrade.

Thanks to the OP now I have my Note 4 as a solid backup.

Samsung knew this I have no doubt. This is a factory process failure that samsung tried to ignore. A damn shame but there really should have been a full on recall by samsung for this BS.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jerryspring:
Did you glue the contacts of the sim card against or away from the emmc area?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
Update - I installed the new front camera module and it's working fine, I believe I must have damaged the first one as the front camera flops around quite a bit when it becomes loose from the casing while doing this mod. For anyone else opening their device up, be careful with the front camera!

If reseating the front camera module didn't work for you I would recommend buying and installing a replacement, they are really cheap.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] broacher:
I found this video a week and a half ago and almost out of desperation (after trying all the software fix suggestions short of rooting) and can confirm it worked great. For TWO Note 4s that I have.

Big thanks to Arnookie for getting this fix out there. Spread the word folks -- and be sure to send the man some beer money for coming up with this fix. It's gotta be humbling for all the other software-based solution providers tried to be trumped by a scrap of aluminum foil or cereal box cardboard. (And I hate to think of the Note owners who got their mobos replaced under warranty and STILL had this problem!)

It requires some skill, some patience, good lighting, and careful review of the process (particularly the case removal and avoiding screen damage problems -- try the hairdryer tip: it works!), but I think it's within the realm of doability for most phone owners. Or, find someone who can handle the closeup work needed. Don't rush it!

Thanks Arnookie! You're the Note 4 owner hero of the year! :victory:
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shah78639:
hi I also tried to apply the fix but sadly my touch not working after this fix. I tried to put pressure on emmc but it returns to the same with touch not working . Any one experienced this issue? any remedy?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EmulaMind:
Watch the video for when he mentions the two clicks (around 6 min 40 seconds), you haven't reconnected one (or both) of the connections that he puts small pieces of cardboard under to raise the connectors up.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
I am so glad this is working for so many people.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Andycar:
When I first found your video (by the chance) on the internet, I was kinda desperate, and I thought: "what the heck, this might be interesting to try", so I found a piece of thin cardboard and put it there right there on the chip< and assembled it back.

And now I see that you are also here on xda! And I've been spreading this knowledge of yours a little bit here also :), and as I promised to give a small donation ;), so I went on further and finally did it ;)

No, really... I mean, thank you, man!

P.S. Happy New Year to you and your family :)$$$
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
Thank you really appreciate it Enjoy your working phone. :o :)

Happy new year.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ardanai:
thanks for this guide, I want to try it on my dead note 4

guys, should I glue the cardboard to the emmc or not?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ardanai:
I did the steps, and when I turned the phone on, the emmc place was hot again and I was scared of an explosion, so I turned it off :D

I used cardboard of my perfume and didn't glue it, just put it on the place, do you think that replacing with an aluminum film can solve that?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wolfie1_0:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news and rain on the parade, but this will definitely only be a temporary fix, like those screw kits for the Xbox 360 heatsinks. The true way to fix it is to reflow/reball the cpu/eMMC package. In the long run this will be putting more pressure on other parts of the main board and actually preventing the cpu from cooling properly as you've put a non thermally conductive material inbetween it and the chassis.

I actually am typing this from a note 4 I reflowed 2 days ago, we shall see how long this will last :P

But I was on here looking to see if there was anyone here with an old device/old board they've replaced that they would be willing to part with so I could practice and maybe attempt a reball. Hit me up in PM's if you do
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dacorsa:
thanks for your work, but i want to know why i have to do this? to keep cool eMMC??? or other reason?

Thanks
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wolfie1_0:
I actually answered this in the post above, but the goal is to apply pressure to the broken connections in the hopes that they are pushed back together
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] raul6:
A post from 2016 detailing all the possible ways to fix emmc issue

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=69873982&postcount=46
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] zabzyl:
thank you so much! folllwing your instructions, i just bring my dad's old note 4 back to life. I use aluminum foil and find the most difficult step is to reconnect the screen connector( I tried so many times,,hah.)
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tempra291:
One year I was wrong. I wanted to throw it. I put two thin coats of copper and now it works great. Thank you very much.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hockeyfan:
My Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910F just came down with the eMMC read failure. I was looking at ordering these silicon thermal pads for the fix: https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-FSU010110-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTT3I2

They are 0.5mm thickness, so according to the thread, I can stack two of these to fit within the recommended 0.5-1.2mm thickness. However, their length/width is 50x50mm. Approximately how big is the surface area of the eMMC chip that this pad needs to cover? Do I need to cut a lot off the pads to fit them into the area?

Thanks!

Edit: After measuring, it looks like the size needed is 12.7x12.7mm (0.5x0.5 inches)...
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aol-kunde:
Hi together, can anybody post please the messurements for the part i need? I plan to buy a chopper plate which is 1.2 mm thick, but how many mm/cm should it have with/high? hope somebody can help, because if possible i wanna order the plate exact fitting...
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mohito6:
Dude, to be honest, I couln't beleive this would work. I am a mobile technician and I had my Note 4 left in it's box because of eMMC errors for almost one year. I tried a lot of things when the problem started but I could not find a solution, so I bought a new phone. Today I saw your guide and all of these positive comments about your method. I gave it a try and holy sh!t, it worked! eMMC errors are so common on the Note 4 and I beleive this is a very good and cheap solution. The only thing left now is to see how long it will last!
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Timpaa:
Not 100% fix.

I also have the dreaded emmc fail om my 910F. Stock rom, not rooted. Had the phone since 2015. First it was under warranty, so an authorised Samsung repair sho changed the motherboard. After 6 months that started failing. I used wake lock for about a year, but every time the battery died, I had to use fridge to get it to restart again. I checked with androbench and I was getting around 40 mb/s seq reads. Opening apps was extremely slow, we are talking 10 seconds to open camera. I finally opened her up and did the cardboard under the emmc. I also did a factory reset. I was back up to 200 mb/s reads! Battery life was amazing again, great! This held for about 2 weeks, then the phone started with random reboots while using. Back down to 40 mb/s reads. I could now however restart the phone without the fridge trick. I used a thin piece of corrugated cardboard, so I thought it might have been too compressed, so I redid the trick but this time with a business card folded 3 times. It worked! Back up to 200 mb/s reads! BUT after another 2 weeks, same thing, back down to 40 and more and more random reboots. It will also reboot randomly when fx using the camera, trying to install a new app (after reboot the app is installed) or even typing sometimes. It also runs quite hot. But I can still turn on the phone without the freezer trick, which is nice! After a few reboots it's back up and running, and androbench will give me high read and write speeds again, other times the lower. Its very strange to me, this inconsistency in performance.

My next step is to replace the motherboard and hope that the emmc chip on that is a good one, but most of the cards seem to be "used" on ebay. They are only about 40 dollars so worth a shot.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Hasan Khurshid:
I have tried your method firstly with a double tape and after that it lets me flash the firmware before i cannot do it. But still the phone hanging and is very slow in responding so I put 3M scotch metal repair tape layer by layer which is I think is aluminium and still the problem presist. What should I do or I am doing something wrong?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] olex195:
I bought a used mobo, want to extend its life as long as possible.

Which thermal pads should I use? Thinking about buying Gelid GP-Extreme https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Computer-Fans-Cooling/Gelid-Solutions-TP-GP01-B-gp-extreme/B01AAHM1WW . 1mm thick, very high thermal conductivity, but I'm not sure about hardness/elasticity.

How much of the damage is done by heat vs. memory cells wear-out (frequent wiping, trying new ROMs, TWRP backups & restoring, etc)?

Will using F2FS instead of EXT4 make a difference in this case?

I have suspicion that EFIdroid multiboot may have negative impact - I had 2 Notes, both died in <6 months, installed EFIdroid on both the same day I bought. Not sure if was just bad luck, excessive flashing, or something related to multiboot.

Are there any other not obvious causes to watch out for? I've read about guys putting phones on ice packs when flashing with Odin - the hypothesis was that flashing in download mode or OTA is causing the EMMC itself to heat up too much, but I think that's a bit extreme.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rakionowner:
i tried this method, but it not works for me.. My model is sm-n910c... Any ideas?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yorab:
How long did this fix hold up for folks?

I have a Note 4 that I haven't been able to start up in over a year due to the same issue. At first, I was thinking that this thread was bogus and is just another BS internet "fix", not based on any logic. However, after putting my phone in the freezer to promote parts contraction and better connection between components, it actually started up again! I'm so stoked. I'd like to give the procedure a try if it is a semi-permanent fix.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yorab:
Is anybody still looking at this, lol?

I went ahead and did the deed, using aluminum foil folded up into multiple layers but I had trouble connecting the 2 connectors behind the board. I think those connectors are for the screen display and touch? Anyway, I then put some thin cardboard under those connectors to more evenly match the height of the shim under the emmc and tried again. I still had trouble connecting them. Therefore, I reduced the shim thickness under the emmc. I was then able to connect the 2 connectors. However, there was no audible click, but the board seems to be locked in.

Now I have no screen display nor touch. The phone is turning on as evidenced by the vibration, the working indicator light at the top left, and the working button lights on each side of the home button.

I'm guessing that those two behind-the-board connectors are not fully connected, but of course it's so difficult to determine. I actually disconnected and reconnected those 5 or 6 times trying to hear the clicks, but I only heard one click once.

Do you think it is indeed the connectors giving me problems? Could I have messed up something else in this process that is preventing the screen display and touch from working?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yorab:
Ok, so I've played around with this some more. I've adjusted the shim height under the behind-the-board connectors. Now I believe that both connectors are connected based upon the fact that the board seems to be 'stuck' well at both places. I still don't hear an audible click when connecting though.

The last time that I connected this, the LED (front, upper left) did not work. Perhaps this is a clue to what is going on and why I don't have display and touch now. If I knew more about the circuits, I could probably figure this out, but alas, this is new to me. Anybody have any ideas?

BTW, if I didn't explicitly mention it, the display and touch worked fine before I opened up the unit.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ppcguy2:
Thanks for this great tutorial. I was able to apply this fix but now I can't seem to connect to my cellular network. I can see my sim card # and the network but it won't register on the network. Did I disconnect something by mistake? Anyone else experience this issue?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] johnfre:
ya, that is definitely a tricky part... those two wee connectors that he shims up... of 4 junk Note4's, i was able to resurrect 2... but the Stylus no longer works on one... but, hey, it works otherwise! (I'm the one that did the "put in the freezer" trick originally, and now i know it's the expansion/contraction that causes it to work sometimes... but this fix is MUCH better, if you can do it carefully, and if it works... it all makes sense... crappy Samsung soldering!

The two connectors where he puts tiny cardboard shims, i think is necessary. I also put a TINY spec of whiteout on the opposite side of the board, so i'd know where to press kind of firmly to seat those in. you could also try that... also, make sure the shims keep the connectors perfectly flat, as ANY angle will stop from connecting properly. This DOES WORK (but you gotta get a bit lucky...)... one of the screens separated on me (i tried to pull the screen itself instead of the backing that the screen is attached to. If I were doing again, i'd put my oven up to about 150F, then turn it off, and put the phone in for about 20 minutes to loosed the sticky on the seals, and then pushing from the battery compartment should be a bit easier.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] o0o.paw:
I just stripped the motherboard out of the phone and put it on a piece of cardboard, then on an over tray, 150 degrees Celsius for 6 minutes. After baking ? allow a few hours for everything to cool down before re-assembling the phone. I have fixed a Note Edge and a Note 4 this way. Also tried this without taking the phone apart (other than removing the battery and the back cover). Ummm don't try it as the screen is likely to melt ?
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PlaysWithElectrons:
I have a comment on ARNOOKIE's fix. As a Tech, I fail to see how insulateing an IC from its SilPad is a good idea under ANY circumstances, more likely to do more harm than good. As substitute heatsinks go, aluminum foil is a poor choice, copper is way better. I would be more inclined to try ARNOOKIE's fix if he provided a DARN GOOD reason to uncouple an IC from it's thermal sink.(and I cant think of one GOOD reason)....IF the problem he believes he's solveing is a heat issue, I would replace the current SilPad, add a piece of copper foil the same size, and place another SilPad on top of it to add mass to the sink. But what do I know? Im just a 64 year old Career Technician.
[Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] arnookie:
I do actually suggest using aluminium or copper in my video description. If you look through my video comments you will see that many people have had success doing this fix even with the cardboard shim. The only thing I would not suggest is using thermal paste especially any that are conductive. ?