Help Desire Bravo unable to boot, recovery not working

[NobodyAtAll]

Hi

I have had a desire bravo for about 3 years. It was originally locked to T-Mobile (UK), but I had it unlocked and have been using it on the 3-UK network for some time. (It still shows the T-Mobile logo on booting, but works OK)

The other day, I got up and the device (which had been left on) was showing the T-mobile pink swirl, but it was static. The previous night it was working fine.

I gave it a few minutes and then pulled the battery. On reboot, the same stuck logo comes up immediately and the phone vibrates once.

Several reboots all produced the same result, with and without SIM and micro-SD installed.

I then started reading and hoped that it was a software glitch which might be fixed by an update. Eventually I was able to get into the recovery menu (va the back-key and power key option, NOT the up/down keys, which do not work for me).

On getting into this menu, I can find the Hboot info, which is below. I tried wiping cache and rebooting, also recovery, but I can never get past the pink static logo.

Hboot info

Bravo PVT4 Ship S-on
HBOOT - 0.93.0001
MICROP-051d
TOUCH-PANEL-SYNT0101
RADIO-5.11.05.27
August 10 2010, 17:52:18

I have tried to update the ROM using the guide here with a CID error (presumably because it is not a carrier ROM). I found the link to that article on here, and it seemed to be well-written and comprehensible!

So I tried to see if I could find the serial number to create a gold card using the guide here

Unfortunately, after installing the Google SDK and running "apd devices" in a command window, it returned no devices, even though the drivers installed properly and there are no errors in "system" (control panel)

I tried again via GoldCardTool, but using both options (COM1, COM0) it couldn't find the CID either, presumably because it is "S-On" and I haven't been able to enable USB-debugging (as it wont boot up)

I am now stuck with a device that I like, but which seems to have either failed or had an update pushed that didn't install properly - 3 won't give me a direct answer on the latter.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on how I might bring this back to life . . . getting a new one is simply not an option and I use PAYG, so nothing is on offer from the carrier.

Thanks in advance for any help
Brian

 

[nicka3200]

It's a shame that you can't get into recovery as a cache wipe or a factory reset might solve the problem.

You might like to try the official 2.3 upgrade which is not carrier specific so should work on any GSM Desire. You'll find a copy here http://www.shipped-roms.com/index.php?category=android&model=Bravo towards the bottom of the list.

Boot into fastboot (from off hold the back button and press power) before running the exe file inside the zip.

 

[NobodyAtAll]

OK thanks - I tried a cache wipe - which went fine, but factory reset would not work (it still hangs at reboot)

 

[nicka3200]

Run the 2.3. Official upgrade from the above link in that case.

 

[NobodyAtAll]

Curiouser and Curiouser . . . the upgrade ran successfully, identifying the ROM version on the phone and updating it.

The reboots all worked fine whilst updating and it completed (apparently) successfully.

On reboot, however, I get the HTC spash screen and (after various times of a few seconds) the phone reboots repeatedly.

After 15 of these, I wiped cache, which succeeded and then tried recovery, but got the same reboot cycle again . . . .

One step forward . . .

Edited to add Hboot now showing as version 1.02.0001 and Radio as 5.17.05.23

 

[nicka3200]

The upgrade will have updated your ROM, radio and hboot while completely wiping all cache and data. I think that rules out software issues. Unless anyone else had any other ideas I would say you have some kind of hardware problem.

 

[NobodyAtAll]

Thanks Nicka - I unfortunately agree.

If anyone can suggest whether it is something that is likely to be recoverable, I'd appreciate it . . . I don't think it's right to treat items like this as disposable, so if it's a common issue that might be repairable, I'd like to try.

I found it extraordinary that the upgrade program was able to identify and communicate with the device when nothing else was able to, and that the upgrade process passed off (seemingly) without a hitch (including reboots!)

 

[Hadron]

As long as you can get into the bootloader (fastboot mode, which is what booting while pressing the back button does) then the RUU will work. Other things require Android to be running and/or USB debugging to be enabled.

However, I concur with Nicka: if you still have a problem after running that update package it's likely to be hardware. Very hard to say what though, if all we have is that it won't boot - there are, unfortunately, many possible reasons for that.

 

[NobodyAtAll]

Thanks Hadron - seems like it's toast then!