Root Lucky or Standard Policy?

[justcallmeGreg]

Hello all,

I just wanted to share a little story about how I managed to brick my girlfriend's EVO 4G and how things were handled when I took the phone to get repaired.

After playing around on my rooted EVO 4G and liking what she saw, my girlfriend finally uttered those words I longed to hear, "I want you to root my phone" I was surprised and excited at what I heard and I immediately got started.

It had been awhile since I went through the starting stages of the rooting process so I used the HTC Evo 4G Rooting Essentials Here! guides written by the great people on this forum. Everything went well until I decided to update the radio to 2.15.00.0808. Little did I know I was about to experience what a truly "bricked" phone was; it literally weighed down papers as I desperatedly searched for a remedy.

Where it all went wrong is when I initiated the Reboot command after flashing the radio update instead of using the vol down + power buttons -- as stated at the bottom of the screen. The last thing I saw was "writing zip image ..." then the screen went black and refused to power on again.

I found and tried the HTC EVO 4G Unbrick Guide: Hard-Brick Only (won't turn on or charge) guide 5 times. It's a great guide, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

After hours of scouring the internet for a fix, it was inevitable that I had to bite the bullet and take the phone to get repaired.

Since my girlfriend and I purchased our phones from Best Buy, we opted for their insurance instead of Sprint's. Now I was faced with the moral dilemma of whether I should lie about what happened or tell the truth and face the consequences; I chose the latter.

When asked about what happened to the phone, I blatantly told the Best Buy representative that I was in the process of rooting the phone and I messed up somewhere during the process. To my amazement the rep said, "Ok. Do you have insurance with us?" I said, "Yes we do" ... and that was it. The order and phone was submitted -- costing us nothing -- and should be ready in a couple of days.

So this brings to question ... was it luck or is that part of Best Buy's standard insurance policy? I already know they cover things that Sprint's insurance doesn't like accidental breakage and water damage, but ... coverage due to rooting? I still don't know about that one. I think I just lucked out somehow.

Can anyone else share a similar experience?

 

[Rxpert83]

I have bestbuy insurance also, and when I took my phone in for replacement(not due to rooting issues) the representative there scoured my phone for hints that I had rooted it. He checked H-boot, SD card, rebooted the phone to check for bootimage/splashscreen changes, ect.


Long story short, you did the right thing, but you got lucky.

 

[justcallmeGreg]

I have bestbuy insurance also, and when I took my phone in for replacement(not due to rooting issues) the representative there scoured my phone for hints that I had rooted it. He checked H-boot, SD card, rebooted the phone to check for bootimage/splashscreen changes, ect.


Long story short, you did the right thing, but you got lucky.

I appreciate the reply and I agree that I got lucky too.

Any other time, I would have flashed the unroot file before taking it in, but I had no way of doing that this time.

 

[Granite1]

Yup you got lucky. It ultimately depends on where and who looks at your phone. Relationships with techs and sales people also come into account.

In the end I believe someone who roots their device has taken uppon themselves the responsibility for it. If you brick it, its your baby. Yes there are ways of "tricking" or "duping" Sprint into replacing the phone, but essentially that's fraud and unethical.

You did the right thing by telling the truth, and I personally respect you for that.

 

[andygu3]

Yup you got lucky. It ultimately depends on where and who looks at your phone. Relationships with techs and sales people also come into account.

In the end I believe someone who roots their device has taken uppon themselves the responsibility for it. If you brick it, its your baby. Yes there are ways of "tricking" or "duping" Sprint into replacing the phone, but essentially that's fraud and unethical.

You did the right thing by telling the truth, and I personally respect you for that.

When my phone went into the death boot, I knew that there wasn't much hope for the phone so instead of sending the phone back to Sprint, I bought a new/used one

 

[Granite1]

Exactly, now that bootloop of death wasn't because you didn't know what you were doing, it was a software glitch. Still, had you left your phone stock / no root it "probably" would not have died. You chose to take a higher moral ground and accept personal responsibility for it.

Ultimate respect my friend.

 

[andygu3]

Exactly, now that bootloop of death wasn't because you didn't know what you were doing, it was a software glitch. Still, had you left your phone stock / no root it "probably" would not have died. You chose to take a higher moral ground and accept personal responsibility for it.

Ultimate respect my friend.

That's the way I feel about it, anyways when I rooted my phone/phones, I took off the insurance policy for the phone(saved $7/month). I've always felt that if I make a decision to alter the phone in any way(root) other than what my carrier provided then by no means should I hold them responsible. We all make the decision to root and if it's something screen altering, drop the phone in water or something else that's not caused by rooting/romming/customizing then taking it back to Sprint might be an option but again, I'm not going to put it on them if I root/rom/customize/overclock/underclock/brick/deathboot the phone and then say it's their fault. This is my opinion only Others can do what they wish and if site rules allow me to point individuals in the direction to get your phone fixed, then so be it, I will help in any way I can

 

[justcallmeGreg]

When my phone went into the death boot, I knew that there wasn't much hope for the phone so instead of sending the phone back to Sprint, I bought a new/used one

If I still had the Sprint insurance, I wouldn't have even thought about taking it to them. Personally, I don't think their insurance is worth the paper it's printed on ... that's just my personal opinion coupled with a bad past experience -- and that was before I even learned what rooting was.

I was already prepared to purchase a new/used phone but I was curious about Best Buy's plan coverage and thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. Even when I get the phone back and they tell me it actually can't be covered because it was rooted, I'd be perfectly fine with that and purchase another phone.

 

[justcallmeGreg]

Exactly, now that bootloop of death wasn't because you didn't know what you were doing, it was a software glitch.

I've never experienced the "boot loop of death" -- and hope I never do -- but isn't that a soft-brick that can now be remedied by the user as opposed to a hard-brick situation which may require a technician's expertise?

 

[LittleRedDot]

I wish I had the OPs courage... When I bricked my BB after installing a custom OS I lied like a rug when I took it into the AT&T store and said that my phone was stolen and I found it using one of those find my phone programs, and this was the condition in which I found it. Ideally I would have loved to be a man and take responsibility, but practically I just had to have the phone replaced/fixed for free.

+1 on the respect... Glad you got lucky!

 

[Granite1]

I've never experienced the "boot loop of death" -- and hope I never do -- but isn't that a soft-brick that can now be remedied by the user as opposed to a hard-brick situation which may require a technician's expertise?

Unfortunately the unbrick methods don't work on said bootloop of death.
Another guide Andygu3 fell into this and he couldn't get it working, and he's a serious advanced user. He taught me how to root my first android.

 

[andygu3]

Unfortunately the unbrick methods don't work on said bootloop of death.
Another guide Andygu3 fell into this and he couldn't get it working, and he's a serious advanced user. He taught me how to root my first android.

Thanks Granite

With the death boot that some have experienced, the nv was corrupted somehow and when it's corrupted,there's nothing you can do but get a new/used phone

I've also read that this same "deathboot" is happening to users of the TWRP recovery so as always, I would recommend either using "old faithful" Amon Ra v2.3 or using the more recent Amon Ra Style recovery v3.11.