Is your Samsung phone bricked? Are you still wondering what to do next? If you come from a technical background and have a good understanding of how smart devices work, you may already know how to fix the issue. On the other hand, if you have no clue how to troubleshoot, this guide is for you.
In the following sections, you will understand what a bricked phone is, why this problem occurs, and what to do to bring your Samsung bricked phone back to life in no time.
About Bricked Samsung Phone
In this segment, you will get to know what Samsung bricked devices are and what causes the issue in the first place.
What Does Bricked Mean?
In a nutshell, bricked means that the device is dead with no symptoms of activity. To relate the term with its literal definition, a bricked device is like a piece of stone that has no use other than being a paperweight.
The term ‘Brick’ is broadly divided into two categories, namely:
- Soft Brick
When a device is soft-bricked, it means that the problem is related to the operating system or an app. In the case of a soft-bricked device, the issue can be fixed merely through basic troubleshooting techniques.
- Hard Brick
In the case of hard brick, the hardware could be the culprit and needs to be repaired or replaced. If your device is in the warranty period, this may not cost you a cent, unless the damage is caused due to falling from a height, exposure to fluid, or something similar that isn’t covered under the warranty.
Pro-Tip
Because it is hard to detect whether the device is soft or hard-bricked, the rule of thumb is to try the soft brick troubleshooting techniques. If they fail to help, you can take the appropriate step to check if the phone is hard-bricked, and get it fixed.
Why Is Samsung Phone Bricked?
There could be several reasons for your Samsung bricked device. The most common ones include:
- Firmware
If you’ve flashed custom firmware on your smartphone, sometimes, you may see that your Samsung phone is bricked due to incompatibility. Therefore, you are strongly advised to stick to the stock firmware (the default one that your smart device was shipped with), and update only when an official release by the vendor is rolled out via OTA (Over-The-Air) or through Samsung’s official PC software.
- App
If you installed an app that you received from an unreliable source, it may corrupt Android files and as a result, you may end up having your Samsung bricked. That is why all the latest Android versions are by default configured to decline installation of apps from unknown sources unless you manually allow them.
- Mishandling
Sometimes you may have a Samsung phone bricked when you don’t follow the instructions correctly. For instance, if you have connected the device to a charging point while it is updating its firmware and you abruptly unplug it, the update may fail and your phone will brick. Likewise, if you force shut down the device during an ongoing update process, you may end up having a dead (bricked) Samsung phone.
What Can You Do When Samsung Phone Is Bricked?
If you notice that your Samsung phone is bricked, you can try the following solutions to see if any of these works:
Solution 1: Force Restart Samsung Phone
When your Samsung is bricked and has become unresponsive, the easiest method to bring it back to normal and running is by force restarting. The method is given below:
- Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons of your device together.
- Wait until you feel the phone vibrating (this should be after 7 seconds or more).
- Check if you can use your smartphone normally.
Note: Depending on your phone model, the locations of the Power and Volume buttons may vary.
Solution 2: Wipe Cache Partition
Contrary to the misconception that wiping cache partition could be harmful, the fact is that it helps your device work more smoothly. The option to wipe the cache partition on your Samsung bricked phone is available in Recovery Mode, and since your device is already powered off (as it is bricked), you don’t have to switch it off manually.
The step-by-step process on how to wipe the cache partition of your Samsung smartphone is given below:
Note: Because your phone screen remains unresponsive to touches in Recovery Mode, you must press the Volume buttons to navigate through the options and press the Power button to select them.
- Use a genuine USB cable to connect your phone to a computer.
- Press the Volume Up and Power buttons together until your Samsung bricked phone enters Recovery Mode.
- Use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to highlight the Wipe cache partition option.
- Press the Power button to make a selection.
- Use the Volume Up or Volume Down button to highlight Yes.
- Press the Power button to select the option to trigger the cache partition wipe process.
- Once done, use the buttons to highlight and select the Reboot system now option.
- After your phone restarts, check if the problem is gone.
Solution 3: Use a Samsung Unbrick Tool
If the above two solutions fail to work, you can try a custom-made ‘One-Click Unbrick’ tool that has helped many users across the globe. The Samsung unbrick tool is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, and is effective on almost all Samsung phone models that use Odin.
You can obtain the One-Click Unbrick tool and learn how to use it from the following link:
Link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/release-one-click-unbrick-updated-10july11.1153310/#post-15330252
Solution 4: Use a Samsung Repair Tool
After you have tried everything and none of them worked, you are recommended to try a third-party program developed by a reliable vendor. One such application is DroidKit by iMobie. The best thing about iMobie DroidKit is that it doesn’t require you to root your bricked Samsung phone.
The tool is compatible with Windows and Mac computers and can fix almost all Samsung phone issues, including frozen or unresponsive screens, frequent app crashes, reboot loops, etc.
It has many features for Android devices. The feature we use to unbrick Samsung phones is System Fix.
Solution 5: Contact Samsung Support
So, you have tried all the troubleshooting solutions suggested above but none of them works? If that’s true, unfortunately, the issue could be related to the hardware. In such a situation, your best bet would be to visit the nearest authorized Samsung service center and let the professionals take care of your device.
Conclusion
Having a bricked Samsung device could be worrisome. There are some easy and free solutions that work in most case scenarios. In situations where they don’t help, you can use the One-Click Unbrick tool or try an efficient third-party application designed and developed specifically for the purpose. After trying everything, if your Samsung phone is bricked and doesn’t come back to life, you must take it to the nearest authorized Samsung service center and get it checked for any hardware failures.
