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Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

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Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#31

Post by hyperpl »

biotinker wrote: post #16
usui wrote: post #8

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned: - Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage…

Pixel 4A: Known for failures of its OLED screen manifesting as quickly-spreading purple smears.

Interesting, I just RMA'd mine because of this and they asked about liquid damage, etc.. I had no idea this was common. It almost looked as though some purple ink got under the screen.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#32

Post by shakna »

wyldfire wrote: post #28

I have no idea what EDL mode is but some googling led me to an open source utility [1] called "Sahara." I wonder if you could use it for recovery? [1] https://github.com/openpst/sahara

As noted by the project:

> It should be noted that devices that are hard bricked and in Sahara mode (Qualcomm USB PID 9008) and have secure boot enabled (pretty much EVERY production device) will only accept signed programmers. This means that it is not only device specific (i.e. MSM8x26,MSM8974,etc) but vendor specific as well (i.e. LG, HTC, etc) since OEMs generate their own private keys to sign all firmware images, including EDL images.

Google have _not_ released the signed firehose files required to be able to fix this.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#33

Post by breput »

usui wrote: post #24
schmichael wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what got me to switch to iPhone. Ewaste is a big problem with Google phones. My wife has always bought iPhones and has gone through half as many phones as me.

On e-waste: I'm not sure if the Pixel 5 has done better in this aspect, but the Pixel 3/3XL's screen is almost impossible to remove without destroying it. There's low-quality hard-to-remove adhesive all over the screen, and you have to handle both the front-facing portion of the phone and the rear-facing portion in order to handle a screen replacement. IMO iPhones fare a lot better in terms of screen replacement (and…

I was preparing to replace my Pixel 3a screen and even got the kit from iFixit when I realized that this would never work.

I took it to the local repair affiliate (ubreakifix) and let them break the screen instead. They were apologetic but I wasn't surprised and I got a new screen and glass for next to nothing.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#34

Post by samueldr »

wyldfire wrote: post #28

I have no idea what EDL mode is but some googling led me to an open source utility [1] called "Sahara." I wonder if you could use it for recovery? [1] https://github.com/openpst/sahara

Short answer "not really".

While it could be used to recover the phone, it requires a "programmer" program, which is signed by the vendor (Google, here) that hasn't been leaked.

Or, really, I should say that these programs should be made available as "software rights to repair".

---

Some reading:

https://alephsecurity.com/2018/01/22/qualcomm-edl-1/

A more up-to-date open source tool:

https://github.com/bkerler/edl/

EDIT:

see also this sibling (to you) reply:

- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28545937

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#36

Post by mcny »

usui wrote: post #8

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned: - Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage…

I’m sorry but the Nexus 4 had what I called a “study assist” feature. If you tried to use Snapchat, the phone would randomly turn off or reboot. You don’t know when it will happen but it will happen meaning you will not respond to Snapchat messages, meaning you don’t get distracted by friends, meaning you can do your homework.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#37

Post by dmitrygr »

That mode indicates that the boot ROM failed to verify the signature on the bootloader. Generally this means that for some reason your bootloader got corrupted. The way to restore this is a special qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you.

How did it get corrupted? FTL issue in an aging eMMC? Bug in linux kernel block device driver? Malicious code? Sheer dumb misfortune? Who knows...

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#38

Post by nerdwaller »

madars wrote: post #21
schmichael wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what got me to switch to iPhone. Ewaste is a big problem with Google phones. My wife has always bought iPhones and has gone through half as many phones as me.

How do you deal with lack of uBlock Origin? It's Android's killer feature: you can have real browsers with extensions.

iOS allows content blockers now, at least for Safari. While it’s not quite as good, it makes the Internet usable again. Firefox focus’s content blocker has been sufficient for me, as a specific recommendation.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#39

Post by userbinator »

dmitrygr wrote: post #37

That mode indicates that the boot ROM failed to verify the signature on the bootloader. Generally this means that for some reason your bootloader got corrupted. The way to restore this is a special qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you. How did it get corrupted? FTL issue in an aging eMMC? Bug in linux kernel bloc…

The way to restore this is a qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you.

I don't know how it is now, but my almost-decade-old generic Mediatek Android smartphone (still working, although seldom used) lets you access the whole eMMC in a special recovery mode using SPFlashTool, and there's no signing required. Looks like they have locked down things since then, ostensibly for security but more likely for corporate control and planned obolescence...

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#40

Post by cschmittiey »

madars wrote: post #21
schmichael wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what got me to switch to iPhone. Ewaste is a big problem with Google phones. My wife has always bought iPhones and has gone through half as many phones as me.

How do you deal with lack of uBlock Origin? It's Android's killer feature: you can have real browsers with extensions.

iOS 15 (releasing within the next week or so) adds extension support for mobile safari. I’ve been using Wipr with it on the beta and it’s great
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