How to Fix the Soft Bricked Android Phone?

Part 1: What is the difference between soft brick and hard brick?

To begin with, let us understand the basic difference between a soft brick and hard brick issue. Both versions of a bricked phone prevent it from booting but differ in their causes and gravity of the problem.

A soft-brick problem is caused merely by a software error/crash and makes your device switch on automatically every time you manually turn it off. This phenomenon is referred to as Boot Loop. Soft bricked Android phones are not as difficult to fix as the hard bricked Android phones. It is convenient to say that a soft bricked phone only boots up half-way and not fully, whereas a hard bricked device does not switch on at all. A hard brick error is thus caused when the kernel, which is nothing but an interface for the software to communicate with the hardware, is tampered with. A hard bricked phone is not recognized by your PC when plugged in and is a serious problem. It requires troubleshooting techniques and cannot be easily fixed as the soft brick problem.

Hard bricked phones are a rare sight, but the soft brick is very common. Given below are ways to fix a soft brick Android phone. The techniques listed here are the best and the most efficient ways to get your phone back to its normal working conditions without losing your important data or damaging your device or its software.

Part 2: Stuck at the Boot Loop

This is the first sign of a soft bricked Android phone. Boot Loop is nothing but when your phone does not remain switched off and turns itself on automatically, and freezes at the logo screen or blank screen, every time you manually try to power it off.

Stuck at boot loop problem can be fixed by clearing your Cache partitions. These partitions are nothing but storage locations for your modem, kernels, system files, drivers and built-in Apps data.

It is advisable to clear Cache partitions regularly to keep your phone free from such glitches.

Since the phone refuses to boot, Cache can be cleared from entering into the Recovery Mode. Different Android devices have different ways to put it in recovery mode. Normally pressing the power key and volume down key helps, but you may refer to your phone’s guide for better understanding and then follow the steps given below to clear the cache partition:

Once you are the recovery mode screen, you will see a number of options as shown in the screenshot.

Use the volume down key to scroll down and select ”Wipe cache partition” as shown below.

>

After the process is completed, select “Reboot System” which is the first option in the recovery mode screen.

This method will help you erase all the clogged up and unwanted files. You may loose some App related data, but that is a small price to pay to fix your bricked phone.

If this method does not boot up your brick smartphone and the problem still persists, there are two more things you can try. Read ahead to find out about them.

Part 3: Booting straight into recovery mode

If your bricked phone does not boot up to your Home Screen or Lock screen and instead boots directly into Recovery Mode, there is not much left to do. Booting straight into recovery mode is undoubtedly a soft brick error but it also indicates a possible problem with your current ROM. The only option you have to flash a new ROM to reboot your bricked phone back to its normal functioning.

To flash a new ROM:

Firstly, you must root your phone and unlock the Bootloader. Every phone’s mechanism to unlock the bootloader is different, thus, we suggest to refer to your user manual.

Once the Bootloader is unlocked, take a backup of all your data by selecting “Backup” or “Android” back in recovery mode. The process should not take long and all you need to do is tap “OK” to config backup.

In this step, download a ROM of your choice and store it in your SD Card. Insert the SD Card in your phone to begin the flashing process.

Once at the recovery mode, select “Install Zip from SD Card” from the options.

Scroll down using the volume key and use the power key to select the downloaded ROM.

This might take a few minutes of your time, but once the process is complete, reboot your phone.

Hopefully, your bricked phone will not boot normally and work smoothly.

Part 4: Booting straight into Bootloader

If your bricked phone boots straight into Bootloader, then this a serious issue and must not be taken lightly. Flashing a new ROM or clearing cache partitions are of little help in such a brick smartphone situation. Booting straight into Bootloader is a peculiar soft bricked Android phone feature and can be tackled only by downloading and flashing your original ROM from the manufacturer. In order to do so, a detailed study about your manufacturer’s ROM, ways to download and flash must be carried out. Since different Android phones come with different types of ROMs, it difficult to cover all the aspects about the different types of ROMs.