A bricked android device simply hang on bootloop or fails to boot on at all.
Here and there on the internet, you may have seen some issues and stories about bricked android devices and probably wondering what might have been the cause.
Here, we would explain five (5) main causes of android bricked state.
Corrupt Bootloader
The first thing that may render your android device useless (brick) is the bootloader. In android, the bootloader is what starts either the Android or Recovery. And because the bootloader performs crucial tasks, it is not easily spoilt or corrupted.
However, by one means or another, if the bootloader get corrupted or replaced by another bootloader that is not for the exact phone; the phone gets bricked.
An android device bricked by the bootloader is hardly fixable! So, don't toy with the bootloader except that you really know what you are doing.
ROM/Firmware Variant
In android, ROM is basically what contains all the files and codes necessary to boot and run android on your phone.
An android device could get bricked if a wrong ROM/firmware is flashed on the phone. The ROM is mostly specific for a particular phone. Even the same phone made for different carriers might not use the same ROM.
Example:
A Samsung Galaxy S4 made for China Mobile may not use the same ROM as Samsung Galaxy S4 made for ATT.
Although, android device bricked by means of a wrong ROM/firmware (flashed) is a soft-brick and is easily reversible. You must still be very specific at flashing ROMs/Firmwares on your android devices.
Invalid Kernel
All the interractions between the hardwares and the softwares on an android device are being handled by the kernel.
Flashing a wrong kernel on an android device could also result to a brick state. As a matter of fact, it could result to a hard-brick depending on the kind of phone.
Invalid Radio/Baseband
When an upgrade is done on an android devices, you might be required to change your baseband/radio -this is normal. However, flashing a wrong radio/baseband file on your android device might as well get the device bricked.
Root Applications
If you search the internet today, what eventually render most android devices useless is any of the root applications.
Although, rooted android devices are so enjoyable to use, abusing their root privileges could be so harmful to any android device.
Always becareful while using root-applications (applications that require root privileges) on your android devices especially; most applications that are being used to change android fonts.
ProTips:
- It is a good practice to backing up your android device using your favourite custom recovery. This can always help you revert your phone to its previous state easily.
- Do always make sure that you know exactly what you are doing when using any root application on your android device.