Bricked Nexus 7, USB not being recognised and cannot connect with ADB

[ahmed24]

My Nexus 7 all of a sudden stopped sending data through usb OTG and i tried to erase cache through TRWP but ended up deleting the OS. Now I am stuck with a device with no OS. I cannot mount the USB for my computer to recognise it so that I can restore it. I tried ADB sideload but it doesnt load and gets stuck on starting...

If I click on Mount, I cannot click on the USB-OTG box. My computer does have the correct drivers for the USB as it used to work on it before but since the OTG stopped responding to data I am now stuck and cannot push a restore image to the device. I tried different OTG cables, different computers. None of the computers even detect a device as plugged in. Whether I boot into bootloader or recovery I just cannot get the PC to even acknowledge the fact that something is plugged in. As a result I am just not able to flash it at all. I tried NRT with the soft-brick option but that fails too because it says no adb connectivity.

Any help would really be appreciated.

 

[LeoRex]

You might have a faulty USB port... I know that one of the more common issues people have had with the Nexus 7 was with the port's connections to the main board. That and a screen replacement are the big hitters for DYI repairs.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to do anything until you get the USB port repaired.... that's a pretty critical point of failure.

 

[ahmed24]

Is there any way to confirm this? The device charges through USB. If i plug it into a computer it starts charging but that's all and no data at all.

 

[LeoRex]

That is charging is a good sign. So fastboot didn't connect when you are in the bootloader menu?

 

[ahmed24]

That is charging is a good sign. So fastboot didn't connect when you are in the bootloader menu?

Nope, fastboot just doesnt connect or detect the USB device at all in bootloader or recovery mode. I've attempted it so many times. At first this started happening within the OS itself thats why i decided to try and wipe the cache but ended up wiping the OS accidentally. The USB was working and all of a sudden stopped. Any ideas what I can do?

 

[LeoRex]

When you connect it to a computer, does anything get detected? Like an unknown device in Device Manager, one of those "Safe to disconnect" icons in the systray? And have you tried a different PC?

If the data portion of the port isn't responding anywhere, that's kind of a game over type scenario... .not much you can do at that point.

 

[ahmed24]

When you connect it to a computer, does anything get detected? Like an unknown device in Device Manager, one of those "Safe to disconnect" icons in the systray?

Nothing at all. As if it just does not exist. Furthermore if I boot into recovery and go into TWRP and if I plug a USB stick to mount, the USB-OTG shows up as 0MB and just does not let me mount the USB at all. This is something that used to work before. If i click on "Mount" and try to mount USB-OTG, it doesnt let me click on it.

And have you tried a different PC?

Yeap tried 3 different machines and also a Mac without any luck. None of them pickup anything.

If the data portion of the port isn't responding anywhere, that's kind of a game over type scenario... .not much you can do at that point.

That's what I am worried about, But just don't understand how all of a sudden the USB data part of it stopped working completely.

 

[LeoRex]

That's what I am worried about, But just don't understand how all of a sudden the USB data part of it stopped working completely.

Well, sometimes things work great... right up until the point that they break.

I would suggest maybe replacing the port.... iFixIt has a really good set of guides for that tablet. Not sure what else to tell you at this point. Sounds like you've exhausted every troubleshooting step that you can at this point.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nexus+7+I-O+Assembly+Cable+Replacement/9925

 

[ahmed24]

Thanks. Not sure what more I can do, might have to cut my losses and sell it for spares and parts and maybe buy another. But worried same thing might happen to the other one.

 

[ahmed24]

That guide is for the Nexus 7 first Gen, do you know of a guide for the 2nd Gen? I think the connector is the problem. I flashed a torch into it and it appears and looks like one pin might be damaged. I dont really need to micro-usb port as a port and don't mind directly soldering the OTG host cable on because i am using for a fixed car install. Do you happen to know which pins on the logic board are for which wire in the micro usb cable? The micro-usb cable seems to have 4 cores but the usb connector seems to have 5 pins, so any idea on pin configuration?