I Bricked my LG Vortex

[helpme]

I will try to explain what happened. I downgraded to 2.2 rooted with z4root all was well. I decided to upgrade my kernel. I installed clockwork recovery, had already backed up all files with titanium, and thought I was being very careful and that there was really no worries - I was wrong. When I tried to use recovery to make a system backup first - the program said it needed to install clockwork, and gave me a selection of which phone I was using. Since mine was not listed I choice one that said several phones with more at the end. It said it installed fine. Then when I attempted to do the back up it went to LG screen bricked ! I was totally flabbergasted, never even got to try the new kernel or even get to that point in the process.

Any ideas anyone ? :-[ Besides buying a new phone that has flash, a much faster processor, more ram, etc. I really liked the phone though and was getting it just were I wanted it - but couldn't leave well enough alone LOL

PS first time smart phone user at that !!

 

[sonicbluemustang]

cool' a Vortex, arnt you in the wrong forum or were you experimenting with the optimus forum?
I wouldnt think Verizons firmware matched anyway even tho the guts are the same. Hope you have insurance.

 

[helpme]

Well this is the thread where I learned the most about the vortex since the optimus is virtually the same. What bricked the phone was something involving the Rom Manager, I was under the assumption that Rom Manager worked with Android 2.2 but maybe I was mistaken -

Will be getting Droid Incredible in a couple days, that will be quite a step up

 

[bigdaddylavar]

how do u unbrick lg vortex stuck on lg logo cant even access recovery menu

 

[drayellis]

Sounds like my ordeal...

Check out my possible fix:

http://forum.androidcentral.com/lg-vortex/77215-bricked-lg-vortex-looping-fixed.html

 

[sd1975]

All I can say is that I was drunk off my ass...bricked my phone hours before...took the battery out plugged the charger in...put the battery in...pressed home, volume up and on and it magically worked...wish you the best of luck...

 

[wizonater]

well ive tryed that several times and it just stays on the lg screen......

 

[pparcell]

I just fixed a friends phone so I thought I would share in case it helps anyone. This is for the LG Vortex on Verizon. Might work for other carriers.

Download and install the Vortex drivers from LG's mobile support site Mobile Support

Download and install the LG Mobile Update utility Mobile Support

Run the LG Update app and make sure your phone is up to date. You can also try the Recover option if it can't update. This phone's firmware was up to date.

Install the Android SDK from google. Android SDK | Android Developers

Access backdoor recovery through ADB

1. Plug phone in to laptop usb
2. Press and hold down the volume down key, the home key, and the power key at the same time. Keep them pressed until the screen goes black then you can release. If it goes in to some other visible recovery you can simply skip some of these steps
3. At this point your computer should start to recognize the phone and go through a series of driver installs
4. Once that is complete you should be able to go to the command line and enter the ADB shell
5. Follow the procedure at the following link to get the clockworkmod recovery installed

All In One Recovery Thread - Android Forums

Once you are able to boot in to clockwork, immediately do a backup. Then clear your data, cache and dalvik cache, then reboot. This won't always work, but many times it will allow you to boot a ROM that gets stuck booting (like this phone). If that doesn't work then just go back to recovery and utilize a manual ROM flashing procedure you can find on many forums.

This process worked great on this phone so hopefully someone else may have similar luck.

 

[qwixilver]

I recently had a similar problem on my LG vortex. I found out that I had accidentally deleted the home screen from the phones factory memory leaving me in a boot loop so even a hard reset wasn't working. After a day or so of research I found a couple of guides:
LG vortex downgrade guide - many thanks to Salem, as much of my guide is copied from his
how to boot vortex into emergency from XDA

after a bit of tweaking I was able to recover the phone by following these steps:

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for *any* loss or damage (including bricking) to your device -- use this guide at your own risk!

[Setting up your computer]

if you previously downgraded your LG vortex from 2.2.1 to 2.2 chances are good this part is already done


1. download files from following links:
factory flashing software & firmware
optional free un-rar software

2. plug in your phone (even in it's crippled state) it should autorun, and install some USB drivers

3. extract LGNPST.rar and run the LGNPST_General_v1.2_Lab_Version.msi this will setup to the directory C:\LG Electronics

4. copy/move LGNPST.exe to C:\LG Electronics

5. extract the LGNPST_Components rar file, this will make a directory with two MSI files in it - run these.

6. Go to C:/LG Electronics/LGNPST/ and create a folder called ?Model?. Inside that folder, create another folder called ?LGVS660″.

7. Extract LGVS660.rar. Inside this, you?ll find a VRZ folder. There are three files inside this: a .tot file, a .scr file, and a .dll file. Move these all into C:/LG Electronics/LGNPST/Model/LGVS660/ (the folder you just made.

8. If you?re on Windows XP, hit start, click on ?Run?, and run this:
regsvr32 "C:\LG Electronics\LGNPST\Model\LGVS660\VS660.dll"

If you?re on Windows Vistas or 7, hit start, type cmd.exe, right click on cmd.exe when it comes up in the search area, and run it as an administrator. Type in the following and hit enter:
regsvr32 "C:\LG Electronics\LGNPST\Model\LGVS660\VS660.dll"

[setup complete] your computer should now be ready to fix your phone


Contrary to popular opinion on the many forums I perused researching this, I found that this software does *NOT* require your phone to be in debugging mode! it will see your phone if you simply plug it in at this point

[Flashing the phone]

1. go to C:\LG Electronics

2. run lgnpst.exe

3. if you haven't already boot phone and connect USB if the phone was already connected disconnect and reconnect it to make sure the software recognizes it.

Warning! do not disconnect your phone from the cable under ANY circumstances until the software tells you it's safe to do so!

4. try to directly flash phone back to factory. This will require you to select the .tot file from above under where the program is expecting a .bin file (you'll have to manually type in a filter in your file selection box) also select the .scr file in that same directory.

5. if that doesn't work go to the Data menu

6. select 'data recovery'

7. let that work it's magic and it should transfer to 'emergency mode'

8. select the .tot file and then the DLL for your phone

9. flash -- if everything works out your phone will reboot around 60% with everything on it

10. once the phone has booted completely go to menu and set phone to USB debug to stop the 'flashing' process this will allow you to safely disconnect your phone

ENJOY!!!

[emergency flashing]

*WARNING! the following methods are untested! above methods worked for my phone!*

Once again, do not disconnect the phone under ANY circumstances until the software tells you it's okay to do so!!

1. boot the phone in emergency mode by holding volume *up* and the back button at the same time (as I gather from the above mentioned xda post)

2. once in emergency mode it should be safe to continue from step 8. above.

[end guide]

Many thanks to those out there who helped me build this guide!! I hope it helps!! Now you should have the freedom to try removing all that bloat ware again. Hopefully, with a bit more discretion this time

In case anyone is wondering -- yes, I'm a n00b, and yes, this guide is for n00bs just like me

 

[john1220]

Hey everyone i need realHELP . MY VORTEX COMES ON AND SAYS PIK LANGUAGE. THEN IT SAYS WAITNG FOR NETWORK. I HAVE NO NETWK CAUSE I ONLY USE PHONE FOR GAMES . I STILL GET WIFI. I VE TRIED MASTER RESET ALL IT DOES IS SHOW THE LITTLE BOX AN THE ANDROID GUY BUT IT NEVER RESETS. ALSO EVERYONE IF YOU HOLD THE POWR,MENU,VOL.DOWN KEY YOUR PHONE WILL RESET BUT MINE CANT. MY FATHER HAD THIS PHONE IN HIS HAND WHEN HE DIED SO ITS VERY SENTIMENTAL. I LIVE IN NY CITY AND IM A TATTOO ARTIST WHOEVER CAN HRELP ME FIX MY PHONE AN YOUR IN NYC ILL DO "any" kind of tat for you for free. My e mail is giagunz g mail. Ive tried everyth an nothin.

 

[john1220]

3 4 7. 357. 4399. Plez call me if you can help me. This iz the only thin i have of my dads. Thank you guys .

 

[gryncc]

i recently had a similar problem on my lg vortex. I found out that i had accidentally deleted the home screen from the phones factory memory leaving me in a boot loop so even a hard reset wasn't working. After a day or so of research i found a couple of guides:
lg vortex downgrade guide - many thanks to salem, as much of my guide is copied from his
how to boot vortex into emergency from xda

after a bit of tweaking i was able to recover the phone by following these steps:

disclaimer: I am not responsible for *any* loss or damage (including bricking) to your device -- use this guide at your own risk!

[setting up your computer]

if you previously downgraded your lg vortex from 2.2.1 to 2.2 chances are good this part is already done


1. Download files from following links:
factory flashing software & firmware
optional free un-rar software

2. Plug in your phone (even in it's crippled state) it should autorun, and install some usb drivers

3. Extract lgnpst.rar and run the lgnpst_general_v1.2_lab_version.msi this will setup to the directory c:\lg electronics

4. Copy/move lgnpst.exe to c:\lg electronics

5. Extract the lgnpst_components rar file, this will make a directory with two msi files in it - run these.

6. Go to c:/lg electronics/lgnpst/ and create a folder called ?model?. Inside that folder, create another folder called ?lgvs660″.

7. Extract lgvs660.rar. Inside this, you?ll find a vrz folder. There are three files inside this: A .tot file, a .scr file, and a .dll file. Move these all into c:/lg electronics/lgnpst/model/lgvs660/ (the folder you just made.

8. If you?re on windows xp, hit start, click on ?run?, and run this:
Regsvr32 "c:\lg electronics\lgnpst\model\lgvs660\vs660.dll"

if you?re on windows vistas or 7, hit start, type cmd.exe, right click on cmd.exe when it comes up in the search area, and run it as an administrator. Type in the following and hit enter:
Regsvr32 "c:\lg electronics\lgnpst\model\lgvs660\vs660.dll"

[setup complete] your computer should now be ready to fix your phone


contrary to popular opinion on the many forums i perused researching this, i found that this software does *not* require your phone to be in debugging mode! It will see your phone if you simply plug it in at this point

[flashing the phone]

1. Go to c:\lg electronics

2. Run lgnpst.exe

3. If you haven't already boot phone and connect usb if the phone was already connected disconnect and reconnect it to make sure the software recognizes it.

warning! Do not disconnect your phone from the cable under any circumstances until the software tells you it's safe to do so!

4. Try to directly flash phone back to factory. This will require you to select the .tot file from above under where the program is expecting a .bin file (you'll have to manually type in a filter in your file selection box) also select the .scr file in that same directory.

5. If that doesn't work go to the data menu

6. Select 'data recovery'

7. Let that work it's magic and it should transfer to 'emergency mode'

8. Select the .tot file and then the dll for your phone

9. Flash -- if everything works out your phone will reboot around 60% with everything on it

10. Once the phone has booted completely go to menu and set phone to usb debug to stop the 'flashing' process this will allow you to safely disconnect your phone

enjoy!!!

[emergency flashing]

*warning! The following methods are untested! Above methods worked for my phone!*

once again, do not disconnect the phone under any circumstances until the software tells you it's okay to do so!!

1. Boot the phone in emergency mode by holding volume *up* and the back button at the same time (as i gather from the above mentioned xda post)

2. Once in emergency mode it should be safe to continue from step 8. Above.

[end guide]

many thanks to those out there who helped me build this guide!! I hope it helps!! :d now you should have the freedom to try removing all that bloat ware again. Hopefully, with a bit more discretion this time

in case anyone is wondering -- yes, i'm a n00b, and yes, this guide is for n00bs just like me

ok first off thanks i got my phone back working thanks to this post but now i have no min,esn and meid plz help:'(

 

[Jetso]

If it's on the activation screen and you don't want it activated:

1.) Vol. Up.
2.) Vol. Down.
3.) Back.
4.) Search.

Now on another note. Does the above method actually work? I don't have a USB cord for my phone (yet) but when I get one Monday I don't wanna waste my time trying that...

 

[Kira237]

My phone is currently bricked and im trying to attempt this ,ethood but idk what im doing wrong anytime i try to open lgnpst i keep getting an error saying "LG USB/PARALLEL NOT DETECTED!!" i dont know what im doing wrong and when u say run the Dll what do i run it with? another problem im having is with i turn the phone on in emergency mode it keeps going on and off and wont stay connected but when i plug it in and iit shows the charge screen itll stay on Please help me:'(

 

[stivenmiguel72]

I recently had a similar problem on my LG vortex. I found out that I had accidentally deleted the home screen from the phones factory memory leaving me in a boot loop so even a hard reset wasn't working. After a day or so of research I found a couple of guides:
LG vortex downgrade guide - many thanks to Salem, as much of my guide is copied from his
how to boot vortex into emergency from XDA

after a bit of tweaking I was able to recover the phone by following these steps:

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for *any* loss or damage (including bricking) to your device -- use this guide at your own risk!

[Setting up your computer]

if you previously downgraded your LG vortex from 2.2.1 to 2.2 chances are good this part is already done


1. download files from following links:
factory flashing software & firmware
optional free un-rar software

2. plug in your phone (even in it's crippled state) it should autorun, and install some USB drivers

3. extract LGNPST.rar and run the LGNPST_General_v1.2_Lab_Version.msi this will setup to the directory C:\LG Electronics

4. copy/move LGNPST.exe to C:\LG Electronics

5. extract the LGNPST_Components rar file, this will make a directory with two MSI files in it - run these.

6. Go to C:/LG Electronics/LGNPST/ and create a folder called ?Model?. Inside that folder, create another folder called ?LGVS660″.

7. Extract LGVS660.rar. Inside this, you?ll find a VRZ folder. There are three files inside this: a .tot file, a .scr file, and a .dll file. Move these all into C:/LG Electronics/LGNPST/Model/LGVS660/ (the folder you just made.

8. If you?re on Windows XP, hit start, click on ?Run?, and run this:
regsvr32 "C:\LG Electronics\LGNPST\Model\LGVS660\VS660.dll"

If you?re on Windows Vistas or 7, hit start, type cmd.exe, right click on cmd.exe when it comes up in the search area, and run it as an administrator. Type in the following and hit enter:
regsvr32 "C:\LG Electronics\LGNPST\Model\LGVS660\VS660.dll"

[setup complete] your computer should now be ready to fix your phone


Contrary to popular opinion on the many forums I perused researching this, I found that this software does *NOT* require your phone to be in debugging mode! it will see your phone if you simply plug it in at this point

[Flashing the phone]

1. go to C:\LG Electronics

2. run lgnpst.exe

3. if you haven't already boot phone and connect USB if the phone was already connected disconnect and reconnect it to make sure the software recognizes it.

Warning! do not disconnect your phone from the cable under ANY circumstances until the software tells you it's safe to do so!

4. try to directly flash phone back to factory. This will require you to select the .tot file from above under where the program is expecting a .bin file (you'll have to manually type in a filter in your file selection box) also select the .scr file in that same directory.

5. if that doesn't work go to the Data menu

6. select 'data recovery'

7. let that work it's magic and it should transfer to 'emergency mode'

8. select the .tot file and then the DLL for your phone

9. flash -- if everything works out your phone will reboot around 60% with everything on it

10. once the phone has booted completely go to menu and set phone to USB debug to stop the 'flashing' process this will allow you to safely disconnect your phone

ENJOY!!!

[emergency flashing]

*WARNING! the following methods are untested! above methods worked for my phone!*

Once again, do not disconnect the phone under ANY circumstances until the software tells you it's okay to do so!!

1. boot the phone in emergency mode by holding volume *up* and the back button at the same time (as I gather from the above mentioned xda post)

2. once in emergency mode it should be safe to continue from step 8. above.

[end guide]

Many thanks to those out there who helped me build this guide!! I hope it helps!! Now you should have the freedom to try removing all that bloat ware again. Hopefully, with a bit more discretion this time

In case anyone is wondering -- yes, I'm a n00b, and yes, this guide is for n00bs just like me

I did everything you said .. and what I get. is:

0% Finish

process: emergency
task: initializing
cause:

unknown process type

error

Why? I am doing wrong .. stays at 0% and throws error .. please help. :'( :'(

 

[pvcpipe]

First off, thank you qwixilver for this guide. I had been teasing my girlfriend about her not being smart enough for a smart phone...her LG Vortex was so bloated that she was unable to use Google Navigation and the Bing search was basically useless, etc. She finally agreed to let me root it. Easy enough, until during my "optimization" of her phone, I managed to get it stuck in a boot loop. Who's the smart one now? I am confident that I too uninstalled the home screen, although I haven't dialed in which app specifically caused the issue. I am not a Verizon customer, so I am slightly less familiar with their proprietary apps. Also I am not as smart as I think I am.

Anyhow, this guide was not working for me, until I updated my computer with the LG Vortex usb drivers, as linked by pparcell in his post in this thread. Then I followed the guide qwixilver posted, and it worked perfectly. So not only has my ego been satisfied, but now my girlfriend's phone is back to square one and I can root/remove the bloatware again. Albeit a bit more cautiously this time.

Thank you very much for the guide, and credit to anyone else who may have been involved.

Yar!

 

[Chris Alloway]

This worked perfectly for me. I got into all this when I tried to upgrade to CM7 using ROM manager, and flashed the wrong recovery so when I booted into recovery to flash the new ROM, I couldn't select anything. I rebooted and then it stopped at the LG logo screen, I waited for about 20 minutes with a knot growing in my stomach trying to accept the fact that I had bricked my girlfriend's phone, I thought I was going to be in the doghouse! It took me awhile to find this but thank God I did. So, many kudos to you.

 

[krammer68]

I had clockwork recovery bricked my LG Vortex as well and this guide (especially qwixilver) helped me get it back to the v5 firmware. Will try to get it back to the v7 and 2.2.2 next. Thanks!

 

[Ryan Kingston1]

Hey I downgraded my phone to factory 2.2 ZV5 .....How do I get it back to v7 2.2.2 or higher preferably 2.3

Email me at Fresh.Ry@me.com

Thank you

 

[Michelle Poulton]

omg thank you so much that method worked thank you thank you thank you !