Help - bricked the camera, need the original firmware

GalaxyMeh · September 20th, 2009, 01:44 AM

While playing with my new Samsung Galaxy i7500, I installed Anycut, and a shortcut to the "Camera firmware" activity. You can reach the same app by dialing the code *#*#34971539#*#*.

Once you launch the Camera firmware, there will be 4 menu entries:

update camera firmware in image - do NOT do this
update camera firmware in sdcard
get camera firmware version
get firmware update count

I chose the first option, and the phone took a while to (probably) flash something, then rebooted. After that reboot, the camera no longer works. It displays a black screen and force closes when I clicked any button, or the screen.

I've since flashed the H8 and G8 firmwares, the Fatal1ty mod, and did lots of factory resets. However, the camera is still broken, and other applications (e.g. SnapTell, Wikitude) can't use it.

If I click "get camera firmware version" in the Camera firmware screen, I get:

CurrentVer: A9A9
RecentVer: DBB6

I guess that this weird "Camera firmware" 'activity' flashed a crap firmware over the camera, which is somehow separate from the "entire" firmware. No matter how many ROMs I've flashed, the camera firmware was not affected.

Can someone please tell me how to get the original camera firmware?

I've paid close to $600 for this phone and if the camera doesn't work, I'm screwed.

*UPDATE* Willing to Paypal $50 to someone who can teach me how to fix this problem.

Rastaman-FB · September 20th, 2009, 06:25 AM

have you hard reset it since the firmware update?
you might want to

GalaxyMeh · September 20th, 2009, 06:47 AM

Not sure what you mean by hard reset... As I mentioned in my first post, I had gone thru another firmware upgrade.

Here's what I've tried so far:

upgrade the firmware from H7 to H8
factory reset with H8
restored the nandroid backup I made before messing with the camera firmware
downgraded the firmware to G8

Nothing worked. The damn camera firmware version is still A9A9 (or ADAD sometimes), but not DBB6.

Rastaman-FB · September 20th, 2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

factory reset with H8

thats what i mean

damn, sorry mate i dont have an answer
ive not used anycut, why does it want to fk about with the cameras firmware?
could this be a result of you rooting your phone and then linking a shortcut to the wrong command

GalaxyMeh · September 20th, 2009, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rastaman-FB

ive not used anycut, why does it want to fk about with the cameras firmware?

I think Anycut simply makes available an app ("activity") that's there already, but not accessible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rastaman-FB

could this be a result of you rooting your phone and then linking a shortcut to the wrong command

The command was called "update camera firmware in image". There was another comman, "update camera firmware in sdcard", which did not work ("firmware update failed"). Now both commands return the firmware update failure message.

Rastaman-FB · September 20th, 2009, 08:00 AM

ahh i see now i thought you were just trying to link to camera, not link to the firmware.

any reason why you wanted to update the camera firmware?

im unaware of any samsung camera firmware

maybe why the csc builds do not change the firmware version

pegasus21 · September 20th, 2009, 11:41 AM

There's a way to get to the camera update program even without root. Just from the dialer by using one of the service commands.

Your best bet to get the camera fixed is to ask samsung. Either they send you the file or you'll have to send your phone back to them.

GalaxyMeh · September 20th, 2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pegasus21

There's a way to get to the camera update program even without root. Just from the dialer by using one of the service commands.

Galaxy Essentials - Android Wiki - Camera firmware code

Quote:

Originally Posted by pegasus21

Your best bet to get the camera fixed is to ask samsung. Either they send you the file or you'll have to send your phone back to them.

I hoped someone here could extract the firmware and send it...

I had flashed firmwares G8, H7 and H8 but none overwrote the camera firmware. How does the camera firmeware evade the flashing process? The only thing I didn't flash was the CSC, since I'm in the US. Should I try that? With what CSC?

pegasus21 · September 21st, 2009, 01:00 AM

CSC is just mobile provider info like apn and such. I supppose it wasn't flashed since it's not there to start with.

koy · September 21st, 2009, 12:25 PM

I did the same thing but mine just flashed the same firmware. So I guess you got unlucky.

There's a folder somewhere on the phone where you put the firmware image in, which it flashes.

I'll maybe have a look later and upload that image for you: you'll probably need root to copy it over though.

GalaxyMeh · September 21st, 2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koy

I did the same thing but mine just flashed the same firmware. So I guess you got unlucky.

There's a folder somewhere on the phone where you put the firmware image in, which it flashes.

Drakaz kindly helped me troubleshoot this issue and pointed out that that folder may be /sdcard/ so I copied /system/firmware/RS_M4Mo.bin there:

adb shell cp /system/firmware/RS_M4Mo.bin /sdcard/
adb shell chmod 777 /sdcard/RS_M4Mo.bin
adb shell sync

However, the firmware update failed. We also tried moving RS_M4Mo.bin to /sdcard/sd/RS_M4Mo.bin, but that didn't help either. He suspected the cause was attempting to flash with the same version.

Quote:

Originally Posted by koy

I'll maybe have a look later and upload that image for you: you'll probably need root to copy it over though.

Cool. Got root already with the hdblog.it recovery image. I just need the file and where to put it.

How would you extract your camera's firmware though?

koy · September 22nd, 2009, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyMeh

Drakaz kindly helped me troubleshoot this issue and pointed out that that folder may be /sdcard/ so I copied /system/firmware/RS_M4Mo.bin there:

adb shell cp /system/firmware/RS_M4Mo.bin /sdcard/
adb shell chmod 777 /sdcard/RS_M4Mo.bin
adb shell sync

However, the firmware update failed. We also tried moving RS_M4Mo.bin to /sdcard/sd/RS_M4Mo.bin, but that didn't help either. He suspected the cause was attempting to flash with the same version.

This is what I thought of doing.

I don't think that it's failing because it's the same version; as I told you, I managed to flash mine to the same version successfully.

If you keep your Galaxy connected to the PC and start "adb logcat" while you try to flash, you can observe the process. Maybe it'll give you an informative error message which could help troubleshoot the problem.

GalaxyMeh · September 22nd, 2009, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koy

I don't think that it's failing because it's the same version; as I told you, I managed to flash mine to the same version successfully.

Very interesting, how did you do it? Could you maybe list the exact steps?

Quote:

Originally Posted by koy

If you keep your Galaxy connected to the PC and start "adb logcat" while you try to flash, you can observe the process. Maybe it'll give you an informative error message which could help troubleshoot the problem.

"W/camerafirmwarejni native.cpp( 5507): {PGH} MSM_CAM_IOCTL_PGH_MSG for FW fail", apparently. The full log is at Private Paste :: Paste efuhyfxxHi

RAndomTag94 · October 14th, 2009, 03:20 PM

I need help with this same issue...

GalaxyMeh · October 15th, 2009, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAndomTag94

I need help with this same issue...

Tough luck - I had to return my phone and get a replacement. If anyone knows how to extract the camera firmware, I'd be happy to do so.

19ghz · January 31st, 2010, 02:22 AM

same question

blackfalcon · February 6th, 2010, 07:01 PM

@GalaxyMeh what did you told them when you return the phone? What did go wrong? Did they accept the warranty? I have done the same stupid thing like you

and I'm looking for solution so that I do not need to return the i7500 to samsung service. Have anyone found the solution for this stupidity?

GalaxyMeh · February 7th, 2010, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackfalcon

@GalaxyMeh what did you told them when you return the phone? What did go wrong? Did they accept the warranty

I told them the camera didn't work. While it was technically my fault that I bricked the camera, and I do feel bad about it, it was Samsung's fault for including a firmware update the bricked it. So I don't feel *that* bad, also given that I wasted a lot of time (mine and drakaz's) trying to fix this. The retailer, MobileCityOnline, processed the return without asking any questions. In the meantime, I sold my Galaxy and got a Nexus One. Much happier.

blackfalcon · February 9th, 2010, 06:43 PM

My Samsung retailer and they sent it to technician and they fixed it.
I just told tehem that camera never worked and they just put the camera firmware back to the galaxy and now works perfect.

I'm happy with Galaxy.. anything better then that is much much expensive