Bricking On Android - Meaning, Causes, Prevention & Unbricking Tips

Bricking of an android phone is a common occurrence associated with it due to different reasons ranging from software tweaking and lots more. In the event of bricking an android phone, what is the next line of action?, do you panic into disposing the phone all together or try to find a way or solution to the problem. If you’ve experienced such situation it’s a pity you are going to be reading this after the deed had been done. Whereas those of you that haven’t yet befall problems as such, then you’re on point to acquiring the right and most powerful information on how to prevent bricking your Android device. 

What is bricking?

Bricking is when a device refuses to boot up after a software update or an alteration on the system settings have taken place.

Now you know what the word BRICKING is. Let’s talk more on the major causes and silly mistakes we do that leads to bricking. Here is a question I asked Google? “What are the applications that could lead to bricking in android”. As usual Google always have an answer. But truly no app specifically cause bricking. I personally bricked my Tecno D9 android phone after I tried to change a system font using “ROMTOOL BOX”. From what I’ve seen and  experienced concerning bricking.. Here are my conclusions below..

CAUSES OF BRICKING ON ANDROID DEVICES

1. YOU

Sounds strange right? Yes you, this is my first and primary reason people bricks their device.. Its you because you didn’t follow the right instructions. Ignorance of procedures before changing or tweaking system settings is one big mistake people make. Make sure to consult someone with lots of experience and ensure to ask questions before doing anything on your device.

2. INSTALLING UNTRUSTED SOFTWARES

Take a very good look at softwares you install on your device, not all was properly built. Many of them won’t be found on Google play store though there are many stores out there that houses thousands of those illegal and untrusted softwares. Make sure to verify apps before installing. Reading people’s comments and reviews on a particular app should help too.

3. PROCEDURE

For instance, pulling out a battery when a bootloader is being installed or using not fully charged battery while installing a custom ROM. Imagine what could happen when these mistakes occur. So before installing any custom ROM or changing default system font(s) make sure to have read and followed the steps properly. You can use the help of an expert in hard circumstances.

4. CUSTOM FONTS

Like I said earlier, font installation is also of the major causes of bricking in android phones. There are a whole lots of font installer for Android, ask before installing any font installer. Often times many of these font apps doesn’t append with the version of android you’re using. An app might work fine on a friend’s device but failed on yours. Always seek for advice on the best font app for your device before proceedings. As for me, “kittyplay” does the job just fine.

[appbox googleplay com.kittyplay.ex]

5. ROOTING

Do you know rooting also leads to bricking? From study, when bricking occurs as a result of rooting, it happens to be either you didn’t root the device as instructed with proper instructions or you didn’t root the device using the recommended root app for the device. Always endeavour to use the right app for the right android device. See how to root android with or with PC.

HOW TO PREVENT BRICKING ON ANDROID DEVICES

1. CONSIDER ENABLING USB DEBBUGING TO ALWAYS ON

Enabling USB debugging grants you high level access to your phone. In this case, you have to consider keeping it on so as to make your phone easily detectable when connected to a PC. In cases of bricking and with USB debugging enabled, its very easy to access the phone and probably flash in your backed up ROM through PC. Read my tips on how to enable USB debugging on ANDROID 4.2.x and Above.

2. CONSIDER TAKING A FULL NANDROID BACK UP

Am sure the word backup isn’t something strange. A Nandroid backup is a full backup of your device which can be used to restore your device to the same state as to when it was backed up. This Nandroid backup must be taken before not after a brick occurs. To take a backup there is need for CLOCKWORKMOD or TWRP to be installed on your device. 

Clockwork link » download here
Twrp link » [appbox googleplay com.jmz.soft.twrpmanager]

3. DO IT RIGHT – FOLLOW INSTRUCTION

Now you know all the major causes of bricking so why not do everything right.

Follow instructions/procedures

• Seek advice from a more experienced geek
• Properly Root your device using the right Root Apps.
• Be wary of the font app you install on your phone, they could harm it.
• Make sure you flash in the right custom ROM and be sure to use a conforming FONT app for your device.

UNBRICKING | SOLUTION TO A BRICKED ANDROID PHONE

If your Android phone had bricked, then the best possible way to recover such device is through flashing a stock or custom ROM via SP Flash Tool or Custom Recovery. This is pretty complicated but should fix the problem if steps are properly followed.

Other solutions are, factory resetting your device via Android recovery and/or cache removal; this solutions are basically for soft bricks, while the others are for hard bricks.

1. Flash Tool Method

The SP Flash Tool is a PC application majorly used to format or flash a ROM into an Android phone. Requires a working USB cable, VCOM drivers, PC/Laptop, Stock/Custom ROM, and SP Flash Tool itself.

2. Custom Recovery (SD Card) Method

The other method that works just fine is using the Android Recovery, this method doesn’t require PC but your Android phone, SD card and the ROM.

To recover a bricked phone using…

• SP Flash Tool » click here
• Custom Recovery » click here

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