How to fix SDS(Sudden Death Syndrome) on the Samsung Galaxy S3

SDS(Sudden Death Syndrome) is a very bad bug which is killing a lot of Galaxy S3’s. But what is this bug and what does it do? Well, everything starts with the memory chip of the Galaxy S3.

It it not a well finished chip, so it degrades after some amount of time using the phone. Not every Galaxy S3 has this chip, so download this app to check the version of the chip your Galaxy S3 has.

Also Read: Download all Galaxy S5 Features on the Galaxy S3

If you have the insane chip then you are in danger, if not, you are safe.

But how to stop your Galaxy S3 from dying? It is very simple. Samsung has fixed this bug via a firmware update which prevents the chip from dying and degrading.  But which firmwares are safe? Every firmware that includes Update7 script + are safe.

Also Read: Best Galaxy S5 ROMs (S5 Theme) for Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3

To be more precise, every firmware which is Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and up is safe. So, if you have the insane chip and are using Android 4.0.4 or 4.1.1 , hurry up to upgrade to Android 4.1.2 or 4.2.

725 COMMENTS

      • Hi Ronaldo, you seem to know your stuff. Quick question, hope you can help. Had my S3 for nearly 9 months now, never had a problem. Today I was snapping pictures, all of a sudden it black screens and won’t turn back on. I take the battery out, fire it up and we’re good. I view the pics I just took and they are an odd “icon” of sorts, not a pic. I try to delete, locks the phone up. Take the battery out, put it back in, fires right up. I go to the “gallery” this time, view the bad pics and try to delete, freezes. Take the battery out, put it back in, fires up. This time I think I’m smart, I go to the “files” folder, find the bad pics, delete them and I think I’m all good as it says “processing” and it shuts down. After that, take the battery out, put back in, this time it doesn’t get past, “Samsung Galaxy S3” logo. Take the battery out, leave it alone for 40 min. and nothing I do now turns it on. Tried Odin mode, recovery mode, tried a different battery, nothing. Is there ANYTHING I can do to get my pics/vids off this phone???? Do you know what this might be? I would gladly pay a repair fee to fix whatever it is, even if only to get the data, don’t care if the phone is no good. Anything ya got, much appreciated!

        • Hi Thomas, thanks for your kind words. You said you have tried recovery mode, so can you go there? And does the Samsung logo shows up when you try to turn it on?

          • No, at this point it is just “bricked”. Nothing I do turns the phone on, just dead. Was just hoping that maybe it can be repaired. Like I say, it is under warranty so Samsung will fix/replace it at no charge. I’m just hoping maybe you’ve heard of this and can point me in the right direction as to what it can be and most importantly, if you think there’s a chance I can recover my pics/vids. Thank you-

          • Unfortunately, my phone also died from SDS back in January. I did everything i know about smartphones and i was unable to retrieve any data but Samsung changed the motherboard for free though.

          • One last question Ronaldo. Physically, where are the pics/vids stored inside the phone? Like on a PC you have your RAM, Hard-drive, Motherboard etc. All these things are separate, thus easy to replace the part that has failed. On these phones, is the “motherboard” all these things wrapped in one part? Which is what makes it impossible to data mine anything off the phones once that fails? Thanks so much for your insight

          • Yep, every data is stored in Storage Memory of the phone and it is impossible to replace it. Only the Samsung Factory on Korea is able to do this, but only when creating the phone so, it’s not possible.

          • Hey Ronaldo – This might be a bit out of date but still: Below you were saying that the Memory Storage needs to be changed. Do you know if my Data on the phone is stille accessible to Samsung or the Fixing company? Is it possible to save them or are they lost forever? Thank you!

          • yesterday , my samsung s3 had 1 or 2 % battery and i thought i will charge it in the morning.but when i plugged it to the charger .my mobile was not charging. the screen was black.no indication of red light or anything..plz help

      • Hi. I got a rooted galaxy s3 16gb (gt i9000) with CM 10 rom flashed on it. I run eMMC and it says that i have the bad chip. I am running android 4.2.2 but that is not samsungs verion, it’s cyanogenmods version. Do i need to flash the samsugn nature nx version of android 4.2.2 to get rid of the problem? Do i need to be worry? Pls respond to me, I am kind of worry now when i dont have the warranty left becasue if have rooted the phone, right?

      • Hi my name is Jamar my s3 won’t stay on for least three seconds, I tried taking the battery out and it just powers on without me even touching the power button. just started doing this today, couple of days ago it would stay on for a couple of hours then cut off. I don’t know what the problem is.

          • ok ronaldo i have a serious problem i think i locked up my own boot i down loaded the rong boot then it shut of all of a sudden no it wont even turn on i plug it in nata i pull out the battery then plug it in the charge light comes on nuthing happens at all i have had this phone stollen twice it has costed over 900 to get this phone where it was two days ago its rooted network unlocked its the sgh1747 att phone i cant get this phone to do anything jyust the lil light in the corner to come on when the batterys out and its plugged in plz ohh plz help. need advice any thing i can get

      • hi ronaldo, i was wondering if you could help me out. basically my phone has worked fine until this morning, forgot to charge it up so it was like 3% when i put it on charge it just flickered on/off constantly, bought a new charger, and now there is absaloutly no response at all

        • Yes, my phone screen also flickers when it is at 1-2% battery. Try a fully charged battey from another S3. If that doesn’t help, send it to Samsung

      • Ronaldo, … you are WRONG!!! ….my T-Mobile SGH-T999 was on 4.1.2 already and it died on me last week it was stock!!! not rooted nor does it have custom rom on it.

        I took it to Samsung yesterday to have them swap out the board! now it’s working again.

      • Is there any recourse when you can’t download this app? My phone has died so I can’t download anything. It seems like it is on because my alarm went off this morning, but the screen is completely blank. I’ve tried removing the battery but that hasn’t fixed it. Wierd because it was fine last night – I had a phone conversation about 11 p.m., put the phone on the charger and went to sleep. This morning it was no longer functional 🙁

          • Yep, the phone is on. I called it and it rang, but the screen is black so no way to answer the call. Just like with the alarm, it went off but I couldn’t make it stop.

          • Thanks! Tried it three times though and it didn’t work. Still black screen and still rings when I call it from another phone. Good to know though for future use.

          • I’m heading to Verizon during my lunch hour – thinking about upgrading to the Samsung Galaxy IV. Good choice? This is assuming my phone is not easily fixable.

      • My galaxy III died immediately after one year warranty expired so I had to get a new phone. Probably dumb but I went for galaxy IV. Is this phone also going to die with no reason? Should I invest in the overpriced insurance?

      • That’s not really true. My phone was fully stock and never rooted; with the latest 4.1,2 firmware provided by at & t but it died suddenly. It began with the phone freezing then trying to restart itself. It’ll show the Samsung logo then restart. Now all that happens is it’ll just vibrate when you stick a battery in. I have to genuine Samsung batteries but none work.

        • Your phone doesn’t have SDS for two reasons. This bug affects only the international version of SGS3 and also SDS completely kills the device. Your phone probably has another problem, so you should go to a repair centre.

          • My phone just did the same as Henry’s. I took it to the T-Mobile store and they just ordered me a new one, but I have a bunch of photos and music on there. Is there anyway for me to get it off since the phone won’t even stay on long enough to transfer via USB?

      • Hey, I was hoping you could help me out. I’ve had my Samsung Galaxy s3 for almost a year and two days ago it stopped working. I have tried other other batteries and it won’t go to recovery mode. When i put the battery back in, it vibrates once, goes to the black screen with samsung galaxy s3 written in white, then turns off. When i charge it there is no light. Is there anything I can do to fix it?

      • Hi Ronaldo,
        My phone just died after more than two years. is it normal to have the SDS? I guess I won’t be able to fix it, right?

    • I was using the 4.1.2 and was experiencing the sudden death. I just “fixed” my phone using this ROM from UK. Even using this ROM, I still got “Insane Chip” on the app (eMMC Check).

      S3 sudden death users will be able to update to Android Kit Kat?

    • Dear All, I Strongly Recommend Not to Buy Samsung S3, I bought Mine 2 Months ago and Paid the high Price that was Requested to discover later on yesterday , after My Mobile did not boot anymore,that the warranty does not cover “SDS” and I Have to pay again around 350$ to replace the Main board ,this is a DIRECT RIP OFF,TOO BAD For a Company like Samsung,tghey should have recalled the Bad chips instead of Having such annoying issues.

    • Hi…I have a Sam S 3 and changed the battery and then phone stuck on samsung logo and never get started why????? do i lost my information inside the phone?

    • I guess I had the SDS as the phone bricked and did not respond, took it to a local vendor who mended it, (did not change the motherboard, just what he thought was wrong) and did tell me that there may a possiblilty of the Mass memory stop functioning. Will this happen?

    • I have had my s 3 for about a half year or longer and the other day I was playing a game and then all of a sudden my fone shows alot of different colors then shuts off and would not turn on my wife took it and somehow got it working wat would be the cause of this

  1. I have and Android 4.1.2 with Sudden Death bug and is still dying… so what is described in this article is not completly true

      • I had 4.1.2 and it just died a week ago. All of a sudden it’s dead. Doesn’t come on, doesn’t charge. Switched batteries, still nothing. Dead dead. Must be sudden death.

          • Same thing here, my sgs3 LTE died tonight, had JB and fully updated phone. I just died, same symptoms as “JP”

            I dont think i will come back to this site tho to answer, just giving the info

    • My S3 is the same.. it’s running on Android 4.1.2 and has an insane chip. Randomly restarts, freezes constantly 7 or 8 times a day in the middle of phone calls or when using apps or even just when the screen is locked on standby. Is it best to just have the memory chip replaced?

      • Hello savvy. You can’t replace just the memory chip because it is soldiered into the motherboard. Try to factory reset your phone, it will make your phone as fast as a new one.

        • I already factory reset it. It froze within ten minutes after the reset. I now have to check my phone every ten minutes or so to make sure it hasn’t frozen because I use my phone for work and my clients can’t contact me when it’s frozen. Is it expensive to have the mother board replaced? Or is it better just to get a new phone? I can’t handle this for much longer!

  2. a while ago my gakaxy s3 was charging good, then i unplugged it in the middle of the charge cuz i had to go somewhere, when i came back my battery was dead, so i put it back on charge, but it wouldnt start now, the battery sign appears for a while when ever i plug it in or press the power button, but after 3 seconds it goes away too.. please tell me what to do.

  3. Hi, My Galaxy S3 has the chip with the SDS problem.. but the death of the phone has been prevented with the 4.1.2 update…
    However, if I want to upgrade to 4.2 what should I consider? My phone is rooted and is not updating automatically, so I´d have to change the ROM manually.
    Thanks!

    • You should consider to back up all your apps and games via Titanium Backup. Then just factory reset your phone and flash the Android 4.2.2 firmware.

  4. Well……… This is not a HOW TO FIX but a HOW TO PREVENT!!!
    Can someone help me out? My Galaxy Note 2 just died SUDDENLY 2 days ago! How can I recover my data inside the phone?

      • No Recovery Mode I’m afraid. My device is totally dead. The annoying thing is my device worked perfectly now and then and never had even “half SDS”. I’m about to see if I can get some kind of warranty but I’m worried maybe is going to be NO since it’s an international version that was carried out from Korea or Taiwan since September 2012! Samsung is not only losing me as a customer but also all the people who I used to recommend these devices, what a shame.

          • Ronaldo my s3 died i took it to Verizon they are warrantying it.
            Just a note…My accu weather app pre installed by Samsung was always a day behind on my home page no matter what even with refresh…I went to app manager to see if anything there…saw that PERMISSIONS on this app and samsung could use and send contacts messages with out my permission or knowledge so I uninstalled wonder if this had anything to do with SDS was about 24 hours after uninstall????/

          • Nope this doesn’t have anything to do with it. SDS is caused because the memory chip is bad. Tell me if Samsung fixed your phone when you’ll get it.

  5. please i need your help.. my samsung galaxy s3 just died … i did change the battery but it wont just come up..can someone please help am running on 4.1..what do i do

  6. So I downloaded the 4.2.2 jelly bean onto my s3 as you suggested. This is my second day using it. Froze about 4 times the first day I upgraded it. And today it has frozen only once this morning but been great all day. I’m thinking maybe I should still send it back to Samsung before my warranty runs out? By upgrading my phone to4.2.2 will my warranty be void? If I factory reset the phone before sending it back will it revert back to 4.1.2?

    • It will avoid warranty as it is a beta firmware. If you want to send it back you have to flash a stock 4.1.2 firmware and then use triangle away to reset flash counter

      • It’s better to use the Triangle Away to reset the binary count while on beta firmware, then load a stock frimware with Odin immediately after that.

  7. Hi!

    My parents bough me the s3 for my 17th birthday, simlock free. Really expensive! I love the phone but it isn’t that fast as it should be now. There was a period where it became really hot and shutted down soon after it 🙁 It still gets really hot sometimes. My phone can’t handle heavy applications.. Now I finally found out that I’ve got the insane chip! I activated my phone on January 24th (live in the Netherlands). I’m really scared that one day it won’t work anymore.. I’m so disappointed! Two years ago my first smartphone, the SE Xperia X10i died suddenly as well.. what a nightmare! How can I prevent this? My phone is running on 4.1.2..

    I’m really scared!

    Thank you!!

    • Hello nadya. As I said before, because it lags doesn’t mean it will die. If you want a smooth and lagfree phone, you should try CyanogenMod 10.!

  8. How can I back up my files on my S3? And can my phone get SDS sometime even if my chip is Sane at the moment?

  9. Om my is brand new and i turned it of and it did not start den i did reser it and my little brother took out the battery while it was charging and i putted the battery back and now the phone turns to samsung galaxy s3 logo then it blinking te logo and wheni. Try to reset its dying

  10. i just flashed 4.2.2 the leaked one hope its safe but i have trouble when I restart, have to take out battery couple time to boot normally.. any suggestion, thanks

  11. Hi Ronaldo, I bought my S3 with 4.1.1 as default Android, then I updated to 4.1.2 using the option on settings(not with Kies), now with this 4.1.2 version, I install the app eMMC-Check, and my sorprise is that the app say that Sudden Death could happen, should I use the warranty and ask for another device?
    Thanks in Advance!

  12. Okay i think my phone has died due to the SDS. is there anything i can do to bring it back to life. ANYTHING!

  13. I have sent mine back to Samsung for a replacement, but what I want to know is if there is ANY chance of retrieving my photos etc from it? I don’t care if it’s expensive, I just want them back! Yes, yes, I know, should have backed it up. I tried, I had an apppointment with the computer shop this week to explain why even with the correct version of KIES my Macbook couldn’t recognise the phone.
    I just need some hope here!

      • I feared that would be the case! Still going to call them in the morning and get them to do an autopsy! Maybe mine died from natural causes rather than this SDS disease – Beattie the Eternal Optimist!

          • They said they’ll try! Which is more than the people who sold me the phone said they’d do. Apparently this is quite common and they said they have a 90% success rate at recovering photos etc – for a cost of course!

          • If you can recover the photos, good :). But if the phone has died from SDS it is almost impossible to recover them as no one hasn’t be able to do it.

        • Beattie where did you try? My phone has died and seems to be SDS. I am fuming because if this is common knowledge why isn’t there a product recall? Desperate to try anything to salvage the data :0(

          • Hi did you have any luck getting your photos and if so where did you take it? Mines died for no reason and i need to get my photos off there. Really annoyed these were not recalled!

  14. my note 2 already replaced with new Motherboard. but before this my note 2 is already updated to 4.1.2 with my old MB, why the sds still happening?just wandering.

  15. hey my s3 dies suddenly and wont turn on, i tried everything replacing the battery, holding the vol up+ home+ power button but nothing works…my phone warranty has expired, is there ANYWAY i can try to fix the problem with the board manually???please i need help immediately i will try anything u suggest…..PLEASE HELP ME :'(

  16. My phone dies two weeks ago and I can only acces to download mode it’s anything that I can do to bring it back to life?

  17. I assume you’re brazilian because of “Ronaldo”, so i’ll speak portuguese…If you’re not, sorry
    😀
    Meu S3 morreu há mais ou menos 1 mês, e eu o levei pra consertar em um camelódromo.
    O cara me cobrou 130 reais e o consertou em 1 minuto. Quando perguntei a ele o que era ele disse que não podia falar. Ele me disse também que eu não podia deixar a bateria do celular acabar de maneira alguma e eu não deixei!
    Ontem ele morreu novamente, mas eu não quero ter que pagar pra um cara consertar meu telefone por tempo indeterminado e daqui uma semana duas ter que pagar de novo etc
    Você saberia me informar o que é isso?
    Muito obrigado

      • I’ll try to speak english, so…
        I paid about 10% of a new S3 for a guy and he took a minute to fix it.
        When I asked him what was the problem he told me that he couldn’t tell
        He told me to don’t let the battery die.
        At the first time he fixed it, my S3 lasted a month working perfectly, but now it’s dead again and I don’t wanna pay to fix it over and over.

  18. Hi i just had my recent status update. After that, i tried factory reset. . Then my phone wont open the blue led kept blinking:( and then after couple of hours it wont open. Please help. 🙁

  19. I don’t know S3 have SDS , i am not prevented it .In few day , my phone (S3) is SDS with 4.1.2 firmware. When using Internet it happen. Can enter download mode but can’t enter recovery mode . In Odin is not show product name , can not install any firmware with “no pit partition ” error. I show it to phone service (not Samsung) ,he said replace motherboard can fix this error.
    Replace motherboard is too expensive (about 150$)
    Is it True?

      • Hi my s3 also suffers from sds aftwr updating my software. I can proceed to download mode. Is it really too long to open? Its been a day my phone is overheating and it wont open. Please help. Thanksss

          • Hi sir, yes im in odin mode. The screen says product name:gt-i9300, custom binary download: no, current binary: samsung official, system status: official ( what does it mean?;( ) and with an android logo saying : Downloading… do not turn off target!! – i left it for almost a day nothing happened.:( isnhere any chance that it would open again? Thank you so much!

      • yess, sure. it 4.1.2
        now, i replace motherboard but i use mobile data my phone is restsart again.it no death.i think it will death i use mobile data again .
        in 4.1.1 ,now , why.

          • I think you don’t known what I mean.
            My phone is died with 4.1.2 (sure) and replace motherboard is cost about 150 $.

            (Before repair)
            Recovery can not access
            Download mode can access like that
            ODIN MODE
            PRODUCT NAME:
            CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (2 counts)
            CUSTOM BINARY: Custom
            SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
            Using Odin can not flash anything with pit partitions error.

            (After service repair)
            4.1.1 (now)
            Emmc check = yes (0xf1)
            Recovery mode can access.

            In download mode,
            ODIN MODE
            PRODUCT NAME :
            CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (4 counts)
            CURRENT BINARY: Custom
            SYSTEM STATUS: Custom

            My phone is restart when using mobile data after repair. I fear using mobile data again because my phone is die when open mobile data.I fear it is death again.

            I want to know
            Is my phone can flash with product name is not show ?
            Is it normal after replace motherboard?

  20. Hi there

    Last evening my samsung galaxy s3 died. It was just an hour before I made some calls and everything was okay. Dont know what happend. Tried to connect charger, took out battery many times but didn’t help. Then I read about this SDS thing in S3 (i wasn’t aware of this before).

    So, it appears that my phone died bcz of this SDS, so is there any way it can be alive again? I have got my warranty till august end, so what are the chances of getting the phone alive?

    Is there any option I can try myself before taking it so samsung/orange shop? Or if I try something it will screw things further?

    any help much appreciated.

    Faraz

    • Hi faraz, as i have said before, you can replace the motherboard but it is very expensive so your only real chance is to send it to Samsung under the warranty.

  21. i had 4.1.2 and it had a SDS. and know samsung don’t want to gine me the warrantybe it has a smal crack on the left coner. i think that samsung have to recall the galaxy s3 with SDS.

  22. One last question Ronaldo. Physically, where are the pics/vids stored inside the phone? Like on a PC you have your RAM, Hard-drive, Motherboard etc. All these things are separate, thus easy to replace the part that has failed. On these phones, is the “motherboard” all these things wrapped in one part? Which is what makes it impossible to data mine anything off the phones once that fails? Thanks so much for your insight.

  23. Hey wow you’ ve helped a lot of people here. That’s really nice of you. Well I am also one of the disappointed owners of S3. I thought I was making an investment when I bought it. It’s been barely 9 months and my chip is insane and my phone has gone psycho. Basically it shuts down without warning again and again, freezes, I cant download apps and now it stopped reading my sim. All of a sudden! I hadn’t even removed it. I inserted my sister’s sim into my phone and it worked but I also inserted my sim in my sister’s phone and it also worked which means there is no problem with my sim. Why doesnt it read MY sim? Should i get rid of this phone or is this syndrome fixable?
    I dont understand how to upgrade my phone to the jellybean version…

    • Hi Vibha.
      Download this firmware here http://naldotech.com/leaked-android-4-2-2-jelly-bean-for-the-samsung-galaxy-s3-is-out-out/ and install it using this guide:

      1. Power off Samsung Galaxy S3.
      2. Press and hold down Volume Down + Home + Power buttons at the same time.
      3. Press Volume Up button when warning prompt.
      4. Odin download mode will be loaded.
      5. Connect USB cable to your phone.
      6. At PC, extract firmware .tar (or .tar.md5) file that you downloaded to Firmware folder.
      7. Then bring up Odin3. download odin3 http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1168422&d=1341114468
      8. Click on PDA.Select the .tar (or .tar.md5) at Firmware folder.
      9. Click Start then.
      10. Remove USB cable from your phone when you see green PASS! at Odin3.

      This will help you

      • My phone died with SDS, sent it to Samsung they say my phone is rooted so warranty is void. Until I checked the internet I didn’t even know what rooted was let alone doing it. I suspect either Samsung is telling me that it is rooted so they do not have to cover repairs, or phone was rooted before I bought it from Rogers in Canada. So is there a way I can tell when the phone was rooted, if in fact it was?

          • Hi Ronaldo, just wondering if you are aware whether Samsung is honoring the warranty for phones with SDS but which have been rooted. Seems to me this is a memory chip problem that should not have been caused by rooting the phone. Comments?

          • Hi again Ronaldo, I was just wondering if you had any ideas if other people were able to convince Samsung to honor their warranty even if the phone is rooted.

          • Yes, I know many people that had their phones fixed but only in Europe because EU laws say that root does not affect warranties.

        • All you have to is find the stock ROM for your phone according to your service provider, flash it. Then hop onto xda developers and search and download the triangle away and apply it. This will remove the count on your phone to zero implying that your phone hasn’t been tampered with. Bring it to another store and ask them to replace it

          • Hi Anthony, thanks for the information but is it possible to do this even if the phone is completely dead?
            Cheers, Paul

          • Hi Ronaldo, that is exactly what I am arguing with Samsung about, they say my phone is rooted although I didn’t do it and I bought the phone new less than a year ago. When I asked for proof that my phone was rooted they sent me a picture that shows ‘system status: Custom’ they say this means the phone was rooted­. I am loosing hope that they will repair my phone under warranty as they are not answering any of my e-mails anymore. When I call, they say there is no more they can do about it those are their rules. Phone rooted warranty void.

          • Yes I’m sure I didn’t do it on purpose. The only thing I did was download some Apps. Is it possible that certain Apps would root the phone? Otherwise all I can think of is that they sold me a used phone as new.

        • Hi Ronaldo, just an update on my battles with Samsung (Canada). They finally agreed to fix my phone under warranty even though the phone was apparently rooted. They replaced the motherboard. I checked and it now does not have the insane chip. It did take over 3 months to get them to do it however. I strongly feel that is very poor customer service for a problem that should have been addressed through a recall. Although I like my S3 I will seriously consider getting a phone from a different manufacturer when the time comes to upgrade it.
          Thanks for all you help during this process.

          • Hi Ronaldo,
            I bought my S3 in July 2012 it worked fine until it had the SDS in March 2013. Samsung did not recognize the responsibility or honor the warranty. I had the motherboard replaced at a hefty price. The phone worked fine again until few days ago when it died again. I also liked my S3, but I am very pissed with the quality and support of Samsung who does not take responsibility of their products’ quality. I will not repair my S3 again but will move to another manufacturer.
            Thank you for publishing my experience.

          • I’m sorry to hear your unfortunate story, Farid. Have you tried to go to download or recovery mode? Or even trying a new battery? When did you replaced the motherboard?

  24. hi i have a galaxy s3 and my battery totally drained out and has been in the charger for about 2 hours and it still wont start, what should i do?

    • It is a hardware problem which is fixed with 4.1.2+ firmwares. After some use of the phone, the memory chip degrades and dies, but with the new firmware the degradation doesn’t happen

  25. Hi Ronaldo , i experienced the same SDS with my S3 two days back. Now Samsung has taken it back to change the motherboard as it’s under warranty. I would like to know, will my updating firmware 4.1.2 , without testing the version of the chip through the app, be alright ? Or do i need to check the sane, insane version first before updating the 4.1.2 firmware ? Plz advice what best can i do to prevent my phone from dying later ?

  26. i have 4.1.2 but my s3 still killed my memory card’s memory chip (sent it to a professional data recovery company and they said the memory chip in the card has failed, nothing they can do apparently).

  27. Hi Ronaldo, I have 2 questions:
    1) A few weeks ago I rooted my phone using Odin. The phone worked fine up until then but as soon as it was rooted it started freezing and rebooting. So I googled the symptoms and found out about SDS and the insane chip. I then tried several things (can’t remember all of them), the only thing that kind of worked was flashing CM 10.1 and running fstrim after a reboot. Fstrim made the phone more or less usable but it still rebooted 2 or 3 times a day. After that I decided to go back to stock (JB 4.1.2, which did not put a stop on the freezes/reboots at all, in fact it made it much worse) and send it in for repair. When I got it back the repair description said “software update”. The JB version is still 4.1.2, same as it was before I rooted, so I gathered there was no real update and they just flashed stock again. But the strange thing is, it hasn’t frozen or rebooted since! So my question is: how can this be? How come it works when they do it but not when I do it?

    2) I am now scared to update my phone. I disabled checking for updates because I fear the whole thing will start all over again as soon as another update gets flashed. Am I right or is it safe to update?

    • 1. It’s hard to say. But nonetheless you should know that there are many 4.1.2 firmwares and not just one firmware. And all these firmwares have many differences between them. Some are faster without bugs and some are slower with some bugs. Check out what firmware you currently have.

      2. You should update it. But if you are scared that problems with start again just remember your current firmware name and then you can easily flash it again. And updates do not always change the build number.

  28. hey ronaldo, my gf phone battery died last night, when she got home she put it to charge for a bit and when she turned it on it wnet back off again, then she waited a bit, turned it on again and suddenly the phone died, the led is not working it wont vibrate it wont do nothing, i bought it over the interernet so it does not have a warranty, what should i do?

    • Hi nathan
      First of all try if you can go to recovery or download mode. If you can’t, then try using another battery from another S3. What firmware did the phone have?

  29. Hi Ronaldo.
    You seem much more knowledgable and up to date on SGS3 and SDS then most

    A while ago, my SGS3 (from orange on their firmware, not rooted) started playing up, freezing up (but no sudden death). I did a factory reset, and it seemed to get rid of the issue. I downloaded the chip checker app, and my chip is not safe or so it told me. But my SGS3 is updated to 4.1.2 jellybean. However, today, my SGS3 started dying very suddenly. Turning the phone on, the phone would start to turn on, but it would die quickly upon the Samsung logo appearing. Then it would seem to start a loop, endlessly turning on but then dying. A battery pull seemed to fix the issue for a while, but it started up again a while later. Is these symptoms SDS like? Being on 4.1.2 I thought I was safe.
    Thanka

  30. Hi Ronaldo,

    My S3 has this SDS also, what if the mainboard was replaced does it means SDS will not occur again. Or if it will happen again what are the things need to do to prevent it, except to upgrade.

    • It depends. If the new motherboard does not have the affected chip, the SDS will not occur even on Android 4.1.1 But to be sure upgrade to Android 4.1.2. In this case even of you have the affected chip you are safe

  31. i left my phone in the locker and it was fully charged and it was ok i checked it 2 hours later it was black screened it wont turn on again tried another battery and its the same what should i doo help me plzz? i had my phone since december and before its sudden death with 3 weeks it started with a charging problem sometimes it charges too slow and sometimes it notifies me as charging and charge goes down

  32. So my s3 decided to go sudden death on sunday. lol. i followed your tips in downloading the app. it says i have insane chip. but my phone’s version is already 4.1.2. so…… any suggestions?

  33. Hey Ronaldo, my phone suddenly shut down today and restarted on its own. After this happened, i suspected that sudden death syndrome would occur. When i checked my EMMC chip i found that i have a sane chip, can sudden death still occur if my emmc chip is sane but i havent updated to 4.2

  34. Thank you. I also keep trying to update my firmware but it keeps failing on both kies and OTA updates. Any tips or do i have to visit a service centre?

  35. When i do it over the air it says ‘update failed’ and shows a warning sign inside the android logo. When i connect to kies it downloads the components then says ‘pc does not recognise this phone, please disconnect and start again’ but on the phone screen it still has the android logo and says ‘downloading update, do not disconnect’.

  36. My phone died, but it does go into download mode, but when I try to flash it is says there is a pit file error. Can I flash a new pit file, or just give up on it as dead?

  37. Help me please, this morning my phone which is Note 2 suddenly froze then I pressed the power button, it stayed in SGN2 logo till I guess the battery is drained. And now when I charge the phone the screen is freezing again and seems like it’s not charged at all. Now it’s totally died, what should I do? thank you and sorry for my bad english.

  38. My phone is died with 4.1.2 (sure) and replace motherboard is cost about 150 $.

    (Before repair)
    Recovery can not access
    Download mode can access like that
    ODIN MODE
    PRODUCT NAME:
    CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (2 counts)
    CUSTOM BINARY: Custom
    SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
    Using Odin can not flash anything with pit partitions error.

    (After service repair)
    4.1.1 (now)
    Emmc check = yes (0xf1)
    Recovery mode can access.

    In download mode,
    ODIN MODE
    PRODUCT NAME :
    CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (4 counts)
    CURRENT BINARY: Custom
    SYSTEM STATUS: Custom

    My phone is restart when using mobile data after repair. I fear using mobile data again because my phone is die when open mobile data.I fear it is death again.

    I want to know
    Is my phone can flash with product name is not show ?
    Is it normal after replace motherboard?

  39. my s3 which is around 6 months now suddenly went blank a while back and refuses to charge…as i switch the on button the sign of the battery with the circle appears but the green does not ….i have tried taking the battery out sometimes it shows the screen which comes before it starts with samsung s3 written but then it hangs there…please advice what do i do now….should i approach the retailer or samsung? is there a way i can make it fine,….

  40. Hi Ronaldo,

    I don’t have a Galaxy s3 but I do have a Galaxy S Relay (the Galaxy with the slide-out keyboard) and the same thing happened to me. One moment I recieved a phone call at 95% and then 5 minutes later I check the time, its fine. Then when I checked it afterwards the screen was all black. I removed the battery for a few minutes, put it back in, and the phones green-blue light turned on, but the screen didn’t. Still could recieve calls the day aftewards. . Fortunately my carrier t-mobile was able to send me a replacement phone since my warranty was still active. However, I am afraid that this will happen again. I heard that there was a new update available for the Galaxy S3 that would fix this but as my phone is kind of different, I’m not sure if the issue will be corrected on my version. Maybe it wasn’t even the issue, for as T-mobile told me it was a dead LCD battery. Can SDS affect my phone? Did it receive the same software upgrade (since it comes with 4.0 Ice Cream)? I appreciate this very much. Thank you.

      • Yeah, going to do that now. And do you know what`s the funny thing about this? I had a custom ROM with version 4.2.2, but I changed back to official 4.1.1 because it was lagging, and also was going to update the phone to official 4.1.2 when I found it dead.

          • My SGS3 ( T-mobile) Suddenly died, i dont know why, i tried everything, Going to donwload mode, going to recovery mode, take out the battery and put it again. it cant open anymore. and after that happen. i put it in sleep but after 30mins. it did not respond,even if i click the home button or the power button. its unresponsive 🙁 what can i do 🙁 huhu. my SGS3 is only 5 months to me. sorry for my bad english.

          • So you can’t turn on your phone at all? Nothing much you can do. You should send it to Samsung since it is only 5 months, so it should be under warranty.

  41. I can go to download mode, now it shows ‘downloading.. Do not turn off target’ is there anything that I should do?

  42. Hello Ronaldo,

    I bought a second hand s3 last week and installed Cm9 on it because i wanted a stable cm version for daily use. It worked perfectly until i tried to restore all my sms from my previous phone. The restoration process started out fine so i put the phone down while i waited and the screen timed out (normal). I wanted to check on the progress 30 seconds later but i couldn’t turn the phone back on! It had shut off and suddenly and silently died!

    Unfortunately i don’t have any of the phone’s documents so the repair shop couldn’t make the warranty apply. What do you suggest i should do upon receiving the fixed phone? Sell it and buy a model without the bad chip? Which models don’t have it? I read somewhere that only the 16gb models had SDS… Or should i avoid restoring sms? Which cm version should i install? Are 10.1 nightlies “stable” enough for daily use? Which nightly do you recommend?

    Thanks for your help!

      • I see, well I sent the phone off to Samsung.

        How stable would you say CM 10.1 nightlies are? Do you use them daily?

        Thank you Ronaldo for taking the time to respond. You seem very dedicated to this blog post! 🙂

        • CM10.1 nightlies are very stable. When I was on CM I never experienced a single lag or freeze. I prefer Touchwiz though as it has a better battery consumption and Mobile Data is faster.

          Thanks for your kind words. 🙂

          • Oh really? Wow, I thought CM was all about the opposite! Now I’m actually reconsidering my choice to go for CM! How about Stock Android?

  43. Hi Ronaldo i will show u what happened with my Galaxy Note 2 i guess its a sudden death but i didnt do anything yet to fix it, i just tried to flash it to see if it can take the 4.1.2 version and asked about this problem and told me no solutions yet … look out.

    My phone is died with 4.1.1

    Recovery can not access
    Download mode can access like that
    ODIN MODE
    PRODUCT NAME:
    CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: No
    CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
    SYSTEM STATUS: Custom

    Using Odin can not flash anything with pit partitions error.

    Im all hope that u can help me … by the way i have a knowledge about how to flash roms …. so plz if u have a solution i will be very thankfull and i will appreciate.

    Thank You

  44. u mean there is no way to fix this but take it back to samsung ? if this company respect itself it must take out all mobiles with sudden death … and give people new mobiles instead but i realy dont know what to say … anyway thank u so much and i apreciate ur help for anyone

  45. Hi Ronaldo, my s3 i9300 is freezing every 5 minutes or less, I tried a lot of restores with many firmwares but it freezes sometimes before touchwiz start, I also tried CM 10.1 but the problem persists. emmc says that my chip is insane but sometimes the celphone works for a while, any suggestions? Is it the beginning of death? Tks man

  46. Hello. A couple of days ago I bought an S3. I should say that I am not it’s first owner. Everything was great until I connected it to my laptop. Then it started to reboot himself randomly. I ran the application and it sais I have the insane chip. I rooted it and I am now running a 4.2.2 version of android. Would it help if I go back to the 4.1.2 official release of android?

  47. My phone would not charge. I sent it for repair (it is under guarantee) and it came back, it is charging now. However it keeps freezing every 10 minutes. I checked eMMC and it has the insane chip. My question is what happens when I send it to Samsung for repair? Do they change the chip, the motherboard or give me a new phone? Did anyone go through Samsung to fix this issue?

  48. Hi Ronaldo. I might have sds on my s3. My screen went black, except a couple lights at top and bottom of screen. I pushed on the left and right bottom return light. It quickly flashed safe mode. I couldn’t get it to do anything, so I took off the phone back and pulled the battery out. When I put it back together it didn’t turn on. I read online to push the up volume button, the on button and the home button at the same time for recovery. I did release the on button and the Samsung logo flashed, taking me to the ultimobile update and recovery system. It will allow me to scroll down to any option. I read to wipedata/factory reset. I didn’t know where to go from there. I found your site explaining everything. I’m just not sure what I need to do in my case. I have it set up to factory reset, I was afraid to do so though. I know it needs new firmware to upgrade. I’m just not sure the best way to get everything right. I have read all the comments…to be honest I’m so confused. PLEASE HELP:(

    • Hi sandy,
      Once you have factory Reseted it, turn on the phone on and install the emmc check app. If you have the sane chip don’t worry, you are completely safe. If you have the insane chip check out what firmware version you are currently running. If it’s >4.1.1 then don’t worry. If it’s 4.1.1 or 4.0.4 please flash a stock 4.1.2 or 4.2.2 firmware with ODIN.

      • hi Ronaldo. do you think I should try rebooting the system to get the phone turned on? I was thinking the data could possibly be recovered? I just don’t want to mess up the chance to wipe/factory reset. I could still install the emmc check app, then the firmware if needed. If the phone turns on I could try to import some of data, then do factory reset before installing emmc check app. what do you think?

          • Hi:) It was off until I did volume button, power on button and home button all the same time. Now on recovery system screen. One of the options on this screen is reboot system now. Actually I can scroll through five options. The five options are reboot system now, apply update from external storage, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache partition and apply update from cache. It has utimobile with triangle and explanation point under the list in the center. I wasn’t sure if I should try any of the other options, to get the phone to turn back on possibly recover data/pictures. I could do the factory reset after. Then I can install the emmc check app? Thank you for being so patient and kind:)

          • Hi sandy,
            I think your phone is fine and not experiencing SDS as you can go to recovery mode. Just select Rebot now and tell me how it goes.

            Thanks for your support and kind words 😉

  49. Hi Ronaldo..

    Glad to see this forum that you made..

    I have samsung S3 totally dead after charging,,can’t turn on,,can’t charge,,can’t connect to my pc.. So its totally being dead phone,,and trully i’m sad because of it.. 🙁

    I buy it on April last year,,so its out of warranty of samsung.. i’ve tried to bring it on to SSC,,after their technician check it,,they said,,there’s a problem on my motherboard/processor..

    So it need to be replacement as they said.. and i need to wait the stuff about 2/3 month later,,and its not cheap…

    My question is,,is it true if i need to replacing my motherboard/processor with the new one like SSC said? and can it be fix without replacement,because of , it can’t connected with the PC?
    If it can be fixed,,what is the solution..?

    Looking forward for your favourable reply..

    • I am sorry for your loss but unfortunately this is the only solution. The affected memory chip is soldiered in the motherboard and there is no way to replace only that part. You have to replace all the motherboard.

      • Already talking with my IT friend,,the different stuff between motherboard Phone and PC is,chip on PC soldiered isn’t connected directly to motherboard,and on Phone it’s soldiered directly on motherboard..
        There’s no another solution except replacement..

        Well,i thank you in advance for your reply…

        I’m so dissapointed with samsung. i think they need to make 2/3 years warranty for their stuff before release new stuff like this..

        • I agree with you. Once users reported this problem, Samsung looked it carefully and released the fix with new firmwares. The problem is that no one knows about SDS till it hits them.

  50. Hi,

    I have a Galaxy S3 and after 7-8 months it started to randomly dying or restarting. After a quick google search and after I downloaded the mentioned app, I found out that it has the insane chip. When the 4.1.2 came out I updated my phone and all the problems stopped since then.

    What I want to ask is if there is a possibility that the chip is already damaged up to a point and if I should take it to the Samsung service and ask for a replacement/fix. After all I paid for a lag free phone, though I am not sure if I have any more lags than that of the sane chip phones.

    Regards

      • OK thanks for your help. Looks like I’m out of luck as I can’t prove that I didn’t root my phone and I can’t prove that I got a used phone.

          • Hi Ronaldo,

            I had the S3 since September last year and was also saved by the 4.1.2 update. But in April it started to freeze and reboot all the time. So at this point I could not rely on the phone any more.
            I took it to a t-mobile shop and they already knew the problem and replaced my phone within 48 hours based on warranty.

            Two weeks later I got the information from an Italian friend that the patch actually did not really fix the sudden death but converted it instead from something which caused the phone to die to something which prevented it from dying but causing reboots and freezes all the time.
            I am aware that the freezes were meant to happen once in while to check the memory but as I told you with my device they happened about every hour or every second hour and in between I had some reboots.

            The service of my provider was great.
            But now I am having another problem. The new phone has the bad motherboard again so I fear that it will face the reboots and freezes again in November.
            So first question was there a second fix to solve the issue in the end or is the first fix from Samsung still the only one out there?

            Second:
            Recently I found out that the lags and all in all degrading speed of the device is caused by a somehow bad memory management from Samsung. Therefore many custom roms are much faster(It is annoying to wait for 10 secs after you pressed the home button to really get to the home page)

            If I got this right rooting the phone will not cause loosing the warranty in Europe but this question seems not to be answered to end since there is often a change of the bootloader required and this is not covered by this law which means changing the bootloader will result in loosing the warranty.
            So the second question is:
            Is there a kind of easy way to actually go from a rooted s3 with a changed bootloader back to Samsung stock bootlader and rom without being noticed by Samsung at all?

            I mean I like the phone and there is some great hardware in it.
            But with the lags caused by the software from Samsung it is just annoying. The bad point here is my mam has an S3 mini and my sister an S4 and both have the same problem with lags and degrading speed of the phones starting after approximately 2 months so for me this seems to be a problem which different Samsung devices are facing and which can only be detected after a certain period of usage.
            You can argument that the more data which goes to the phone ( like the more apps are installed etc) the slower the phone will get.
            But the point with my S3 is that after the warranty replacement I basically installed all the apps I had used before and restored my data. After this which happened in April, the data on my phone changed only marginally.
            And the lags appeared the first time around June.

          • Hi Dom,
            To answer your first question, yes, this is the only fix but as I’ve said some 4.1.2 firmwares have a higher update number list which means these firmwares are faster and with less lags and freezes.

            Second, yes, it is possible to make your phone like it has never been rooted. First of all flash a stock firmware and then using Triangle Away (can be founded on the play store) reset the flash counter to zero.

  51. Hi All

    ive read through these post and im annoyed greatly with samsung i have suffered from SDS lost all pics and contacts, i approached the store in sydney after checking with repairer whats wrong. Repairer says not enough charge getting to phone to start in new battery doesn’t help.

    im going to approach Samsung again and if they cant fix or replace the numbers etc, i plan on handing out flyers and wearing a shirt out front say SAMSUNG phones suck

    it seems to me this is going to happen more and more to people and SAMSUNG should be making every effort to tell plp

  52. Hey ronaldo unfortunatly my s3 has insane chips… firmware: 4.1.2 , two days ago my phone went crazy freezing like 10 or 15 times a day so i installed “Dummy File Generator” and it fixed the freezing problem and the phone is working faster and smooth now..

    • Dear,

      I’ve got a S3, 4.1.2 official rom, not rooted(never rooted in fact). with eMMC Check, Insane Chip.
      And every 3-4 hours, S3 reboot itselfs, no pin code asked.
      Which settings are you using for Dummy File Generator?

      Thanks in advance!

      • Dear mic, first of all uninstall some applications till u get 8 gb free at least then use the DFG on internal memory and “Generate Full” (NB: IF UR PHONE FREEZES DONT FORCE REBOOT BUT LEAVE IT ALONE AND IT WILL UNFREEZE BY ITSELF 5 TO 25 MIN AT MOST). When it finishes delete the dummy file then repeat the all above like 3 times and till there is no freezing while generating the dummy file.Trust me it will fix the freezing and reboot problems or at least minimize the freezing to 1 times a week.

  53. Hi,

    I hope you can help.

    Last night my phone informed me that there was a new software update.

    I accepted it & fell asleep whilst this was happening.

    When I woke up this morning my phone was frozen on the start up ‘Samsung’ screen.

    I have looked this up & have tried a soft/hard reset and rebooted and still it is staying on this screen.

    Samsung won’t touch it as there is a small hairline crack on the surface of the screen which is very frustrating as it is so irrelevant!

    Please let me know if there is something I can do before I go through my insurers.

    Thank you in advance 🙂

  54. Thank you for your speedy response! You are going to laugh at me but I don’t know what this means!! I am a complete novice, sorry! Is it legit to do this, ie. will it affect any future insurance claims etc? Sorry to waste your time!

  55. That’s my samsung warrant, I have separate insurance with protectthebubble but would quite like to avoid the £50 excess if it is possible to fix it myself..

  56. Thanks for your help but I am a bit concerned that if this doesn’t work & then goes on to affect my insurance it won’t be too great. I assume by the avoidance of the question that it is deemed as slightly dodgy to do this Odin thing?

  57. Please help
    My phone just freez every hour i think the only solution is to replace battery or leave it for about 20 minutes!! And what do u mean s3 dies? I use 4.1.2 but lags tried factory reset also not fine
    My question is why does this happens and what is the solution please help i just trust ur mind!!

        • 1. Go on “internal memory” tab
          2. Don’t worry on what to put on the “byte” box
          3. Select “generate FULL” generate dummy files until storage is full
          4. YES, your phone will hang and freeze a couple of times. (what i did is pull out the batt again). Keep on doing this until your memory is full.
          5. Then select “delete” delete all dummy files.

        • Dear marc, first of all uninstall some applications till u get 8 gb free at least then use the DFG on internal memory and “Generate Full” (NB: IF UR PHONE FREEZES DONT FORCE REBOOT BUT LEAVE IT ALONE AND IT WILL UNFREEZE BY ITSELF 5 TO 25 MIN AT MOST). When it finishes delete the dummy file then repeat the all above like 3 times and till there is no freezing while generating the dummy file.Trust me it will fix the freezing and reboot problems or at least minimize the freezing to 1 times a week.

  58. Please help Ronaldo – my S3 is dead, was freezing for a while and turning it off and on again fixed it until the other day when I turned it off and it now will not turn on again – is there anyway I can recover my photos saved onto the phone??? Thx

  59. HI Ronaldo.. My phone is experiencing SDS on The GS3. please help me.. My chip is Insane, But I have 4.1.2.. Will my phone die? Should I just get a new phone.. Or Try to fix it? It isnt taking that much charge and shuts off by itself sometimes.

  60. Hi Ronaldo, i have android 4.1.2 , my device software have been modified recently and the app eMMC check said that there is insane chip so my S3 turn off by him self …… what i have to do
    This problem made me tired

  61. i hve just upgraded 4.2.2 in my s3 unofficial before seven days then today when i was downloading some files it suddenly turns off nd not starting it only shows samsung logo, so what to do,is it due to virus or damage due to unofficial 4.2.2,what it could be

  62. hey ronaldo my phone died from sds this morning i just got out of warranty last week will they still repair it and i also am routed

  63. i do have insurance but if i didnt break it and it was a known defect why didnt they send an a text to have it checked i think they should be held liable

      • Hi Ronaldo. My S3 has sort of died… can’t get into recovery mode, but CAN get into download mode. Kies can’t connect to it, but when I connect to my laptop with a USB cable, the laptop at least recognises that it’s connected, but not visible as a device when I go to ‘My Computer’. Have loads of precious photos and just want them back. Is there anything I can do?

        • Since your PC can recognize your phone, try to flash a firmware with ODIN. If that doesn’t work that means that you phone has experienced a half SDS. You can’t do anything to recover your photos.

  64. Hi newbie here i purchased a galaxy note 2 about three weeks ago and have updated it the second day after purchase. I have had no problems with the device but i only found out about SDS about four days ago and now in absolutely scared that my phone could experience these horrible issues. I did the emmc check and i have the insane chip 🙁 but my phone is on 4.1.2 but my Fw Rev says 0xf1 should I be worried ? should i let the company i purchased phone from install a new firmware i really dont know can you help thanks

  65. Hi i bought new Note 2 GT-N7100 here in india 21 days ago before three days back i turned off my phone and keep it for charging after it was 45% charged i tried to power it up but i dont know what happened it showed me downloading mode i dont know what is that so i took battery out and try to start phone but it did not wake up plz can u help me to know what may be the reason behind this collapse and what can i do further to get my phone ringing back..

  66. Hi sir,
    I had the same sudden death problem with my Note 2 GT-7100 last month after 5 months of use, since my phone is not covered by the warranty of samsung here in our country (it was bought outside our country) i had my mother board replaced at a local technician but unfortunately when i checked my new board with emmc checker, it also has an insane chip so i immediately updated my phone with 4.1.2 new software update. I want to ask you if i’m safe with this sudden death syndrome with the firmware update? Also is it also safe if i root my phone even though my chip is insane?

    This thread greatly helped us. Thank you so much and i’m hoping for your reply. God bless

  67. Thank you Ronaldo was really worried but does being on 4.1.2 make the battery charge run down faster i have never gotten more than a day of use out of my phone sometimes i have to charge it twice and that is not even with heavy use .

    • There are many factors that can drain battery life. There are many 4.1.2 firmwares, each with different battery life. You can also try 4.2.2

  68. Hello Ronaldo , I am glad that there is someone who tries his bbest to help people from problems. thanks for that,

    Now i want to join s3 family owners – means i want to buy one. but came across sds on xda forum.

    So what do you suggest me for ?

    will the newer device – ( newly manufactured ) have the problem??

    if so – can u tell me probable date of manufacturing – so i can kkep a watch on the date and purchase the device?

    or i should avoid getting the device?

    because affected s3 + motherboard replacement = new s4 price and i cant spend more 150$ after getting affected s3.

    i hope you got i mean to say

    • Hi jayesh, the newly manufactured phones are safe as they don’t have the affected chip. The best is to install eMMC app and to check if the chip insane or not. If it says that it’s sane then it’s the new chip.

  69. Hey Ronaldo!

    I was just hoping that you could help me to solve the issue in my GN2, it appears to be suffering from the SDS, it is 4.1.2 and rooted.

    Is there any native rom (or in an extreme case non native, because I might lose S pen functions) that I could flash for the GN2 that for sure has this fixed?

    Do you think Samsung could help me? Even though it’s rooted, the problem was detected to be hardware, right?

    Came up to you because I’m not very familiar with flashing, modding, etc. devices, so even though I research for a fix or a rom, I’m not sure if it is safe.

    Thanks in advance!

    Olliver

  70. Oh by the way, let me describe the symptons:

    It is working normally when all of a sudden the screen freezes and will only work again with a battery pull and turn on again.

    Tried the eMMC Checker and it turns out I have an insane chip.

    Already tried generating dummy files with DFG and tried factory reset from the phone.

  71. Hi Ronaldo
    I have Samsung Galaxy I9300 and I rooted it and installed custom firmware (Paranoid Android 3.65, with intentions to update to Android 4.3 when it is released), I just read about SDS and checked if my chip is in the “bad chip” group via eMMC check and it is (hence why I am posting), I had slow-ups in my older firmware (thats why I changed firmwares, I thought that the TouchWiz UI slowed up my device), should I turn back to any ROM which is Samsung 4.1.2 i9300 based?

  72. hello ronaldo…i just check my chipset n its have sds issue…n rite now wanna flash custom rom n recovery..does all custom rom n recovery have sds fix…for example wanamlite n twrp..

  73. Hi my phone died due to sds and samsung have told me its the mother board. The issue I have is that it was running a custom rom and they are telling me its not covered by warranty. If they replace the motherboard will it restore back to factory and I will lose my rom

  74. Hello. My phone last night bricked. Completely. No recovery or download mode. No sign of life either except when I plug it in without the battery the red led appears, then disappears after a little. Not even a vibration of the Samsung logo. Before it had become increasingly sluggish and would at times reboot itself and apps would crash. I didn’t know about SDS until today when I began reasearch. Therefore I didn’t know to check for the “insane chip”. Does my phone have the dreaded SDS? If it helps, it is the SGH-i747, 16 GB variant. Also it was rooted but all I did was remove some of AT&T’s bloatware. Will they send it in for repairs of replace it? I have only had it since April of this year. Thank you in advance.

  75. hi i know that this is a topic for s3 but could you please tell me if there is any chance that Samsung galaxy note 2 version ( 4.1.2 ) will be affected by this so called SDS.. thanks in advance mate (:

      • Himy name’s niyi .my s3 has been freezing for a while now and today it froze..I took the battery out and reinserted it..the samsung logo came up but it got stuck there..I tried the rebooting and all that but still no change…now immediately u insert the battery the samsung logo with the 19300 just pops up and stays there…is this fone totally dead?

  76. Hello. I have Galaxy Note N7000 with the latest Android update 4.1.2. I googled my problem and came here. I found that I have the same exact problem, did the check and said it’s the insane chip. Rather that after it dies if the battery was 70% when I switch it on again it would be 15%, I restart it again and then it’s 42%. It always keeps changing, mostly would be 1% and would die again. Is it the insane chip? Sorry for my poor English.

  77. Hi Ronaldo,

    My GT-i9300 has the “insane” chip, i ran the eMMC Check Bug and i got this:

    Type: VTU00M
    Date: 04/2012
    FwRev: 0xF1

    But my device OS info is:

    Android 4.1.2
    Baseband: I9300UBELL1

    Kernel version: 3.0.31-789635

    Am i safe? o_o

    Kind regards,

  78. Sorry Ronaldo,

    I forgot to say that, a month ago my phone started to reboot by itself at random times, 5 days ago it started to “hung up” on me like it was a case of windows freeze, i uninstalled almost all apps but Instagram and Twicca, i even did a wipe several times, i removed the external microSD card, im trying out a new battery and issue still occurs, today it froze already 3 times, only way to use it is to maintain power button pressed for several seconds until it reboots.

    Should i start thinking in buying another phone?

    Thanks in advance for your kind response.

    Regards,
    Gokudan

  79. hey man. i have been using my S3 for way over a year. i have rooted my device and running CM 10.1 nightlies. untill yesterday, i tried swapping the internal memory with the external memory. i accidentally deleted the mnt boot file (one in the system/ect/….) when i restarted the phone i was not able to mount my external sd. some of the external sd viewing apps wont work. so i rebooted my phone in clockwork recovery and formated system data and everything in the the mount and unmount section. when i restart my phone, it says that root file missing and the phone reboots to the Samsung galaxy s3 logo and stays there for infinity. what should i do? will giving my phone to the samsung service be able to fix the problem? it is ok if i dont have warranty. i just want my phone to work again. the thing is i dont want to buy another s3. if the samsung service is able to repair it, can u tell me approx at what cost ( ur extimate). will i get it with stock firmware or with the custom kernel?

  80. Hi Ronaldo, I have Galaxy S3 that becomes unresponsive since 1 week ago.
    The phone was on 4.1.2, but suddenly started to reboot in a loop
    and the only way to avoid this , is if i let it charging it. Also I checked the manufacturer date introducing in phone keypad *#12580*369# and yes, the RF cal is 2012.6.26. which means that in theory has the insane chip SDS as far as I know ( by the way,
    is the 16gb White version)

    Do you think if there is any way to recover the phone?

    I can enter in both download mode and recovery to Wipe factory reset, but stil not working even if I flash it from Odin

    I tired many things:
    1) Used the UK PDA ROM with seems to fix the problem but didn’t work. The reboot loops stills
    2) Tried with 4.0.4 instead, Same as above
    3)Also tried with 4.2.2, but in this case, the phone freezes at 15 seconds after wake up, no matter if is charging it or not.

    I noticed that when started with this problem , the speaker seems not work anymore 🙁 , because I try to look any video and shows very laggy without any sound,
    if I go the ringtones prefrences and select one still not sounds and even by pressing volume buttons doesn’t make any sound, only vibrates, but before the problem started every thing was ok

    I don’t know what anything else I can do, it’s really frustrating

    In advance, I really appreciate your help, Thanks

  81. guys i know im so late but im gonna say try to remove your sd card and check if sds still there

  82. hi!

    my S3 phone is almost a year old now and it started having problems like yours. The screen would suddenly die even during calls. It won’t cut the call but I can’t open the screen. I tried tapping a friend to call me when my fon is having problems and she said it is ringing, but i can’t see the screen. I have already upgraded it to android 4.1.2 two months ago..

  83. Ronaldo , How do you know about these stuff ?

    i want to buy note 2 but i’m sort of afraid from that sds thing, what do you think ?

  84. Hi Ronaldo, I have a Samsung galaxy 3 mobile phone for just over a year now. This afternoon I had about 9% battery left and my phone suddenly just froze. No matter what I pressed nothing happened. So I took the battery out. Left it a few minutes and put it back in. Now the phone wont switch on. Ive put a couple of different chargers in it and nothing happens. Still wont turn on or charge. Do you have any suggestions on whats happened or any ideas how I could possibly rectify it. I haven’t had a single problem with my sg3 since today but as I say cant switch it on or do anything.

      • No I haven’t. I could try that tomorrow when I see someone with the same battery as me and then let you know the outcome if that’s ok.

        • Yes, because the battery might have died when you pulled it out. When your phone freezes, don’t take the battery out, hold the power button instead for a few seconds to force it to turn off. What version of Android did your phone has?

  85. Yeah I was trying that with the power button but nothing was happening, that’s why I ended up taking them the battery out. Sorry how would I know what version of Android ive got. Not to great with phones.

  86. hi, I have a glaxay s3 GT I9300 and I have the syndrome, I’ve had it for over a year, so I rooted and Instaled cyanogenmod 10.1 which got me the 4.2.2 version of android, this should fix the freezes but it didn’t. It still dies and I have to remove the battery, is this happening to somebody else?

    • CyanogenMod are nightly builds, which means not everything will be working properly. Also, be sure to update your phone to the latest nightlies.

  87. ok I updated it, thanks for the quick answers and for the help man! I’ll keep you posted if it dies again.

  88. My unrooted S4 phone gets stuck with the blue colour legend Recovery booting. I am unable to enter safe mode, any ideas? been surfing google for 15hrs with no proper answer for MAC. Thanks!!

  89. well sadly my phone died again, with the lastest cm version and android 4.3, I dont know what else to do =/ it happens when I’m simply using the phone, no particular reason, configuring the device, or chatting, it freezes…then, off goes the battery again

    • No it’s not the gapps. Well, your last chance is try a stock TouchWiz ROM. If that still doesn’t work, I suggest to send it to Samsung.

  90. yeah =/ i get some error msgs like “unfortunatly youtube has stopped” and etc then after a while it freezes, but I don’t think samsung can do something because it’s rooted now

  91. hey look I realized that even when my phone dies, I dont need o remove the battery, I can press the command to enter the recovery mode, and it does, so is this actually sds or what?

  92. Hi Ronaldo, I tried 2 different batteries in my Samsung galaxy s3 and still the same. Nothing works, wont turn on and wont charge? Any other suggestions?

    • This is your last chance. Try to go to recovery mode and also download mode. If you can access only Download Mode then send it back to Samsung as there’s nothing you can do.

  93. Sorry Ronaldo, how do I attempt to go to recovery mode/ download mode. If I cant switch it on. Or am I being thick again.

  94. Absolutely nothing happening either with recovery or download mode when pressing those three buttons together 🙁

  95. my cm 10.1 freezes and I have to reboot it, but only when I install gapps =/ to change the rom i just download and install it using teamwin? like I did with cm?

  96. ok I’m using omega 46.1 and it already has google apps, so my phone keeps freezing… then I have to press vol up+ home key + power button, to reboot it when I was using cm without google apps, it didnt freeze, but I coouldnt use the phone properly (couldnt download apps) any suggestions?

  97. Hi I’m a Note 2 user for 8 months. As usual sudden death before I can do anything. Then only I read about all your posts. Luckily under warranty and was told have to change mother board. My question is – what is the first thing I need to check after getting in back from Samsung to prevent sds happen again? Tks

    • To prevent SDS from happening again you have to be on a Android 4.1.2+ firmware or you should have the safe chip which can be diagnosed by the app.

  98. Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but I have a 4.2 .2 version and it’s still crashes. after many web searches this seems to be a very common problem. How on earth is this phone getting good reviews is beyond me: it’s a piece of junk. Be warned if you’re thinking about ever purchasing an S3.

    • OK all…….For those who cant even turn on the phone, got some tricks for ya..NOT gona fix the problem, but help you to get it on and follow RONALDO`s tips and tricks 😉 OK: Charge the battery full, over night or so! Than try to jump start it with the charger, (NOT THE USB). Simply just take the charger fast in and out of the power source, do this mulitply times. Did this on 3 galaxys and working fine. Also try to remove the battery multiple times…..!! Im sure that this messes with the software on it, and thats why you can get it on! Sorry for my English :P:P And Ronaldo, great work helping 😉

  99. i was trying to upgrade my Samsung S3 firmware from 4.0.4 to 4.2.2 but it froze and my phone is no longer working. i tried using Odin 3 to upgrade but it just didnt work. please, i hope my phone can still be fixed and how do i go about it please…

  100. Hello, Nice article 🙂

    My S3 originally came with android 4.0.4. I upgraded it to 4.1.2 using the normal process(Settings->About Device->Software update->Update) around 6 months back.
    Never had any problem until a week ago, now the phone freezes many times a day and I have to unplug/plug the battery each time, in addition sometimes it restarts alone.
    The SDS syndrome that you are talking about started to show a week ago knowing that I am on 4.1.2 how come?
    More importantly how can I fix it?

    Thanks for your precious Help 🙂

  101. Hey Ronaldo,
    I am reallyyy hoping you can help me fix my galaxy 3. Several times a day my screen just goes black. I thought it was just turning off but my light still flashes when I have a message and If I screen shot something it shows when I turn it back on. I have to hold the power button several times and it finally turns back on and is fine for a little while. I have NEVER had problems with my phone until it told me I needed to update my software so I did, Right after that is when it started. I cant take this anymore! Hope you can help.

    Sincerely,
    Emilie

  102. hello… i had my samsung s3 working fine.. i was trying to take a photo and send it via whatsapp when i realized that the mobile network was gone, and the wifi signal still on. i restarted the phone and the problem still exists, but the wifi is gone too… now the wifi, bluetooth are not working too… the power button is not working too.. if i press it even so quick it will restart the phone.. it will not give me the option to restart/turn off/ or airplane mode.
    i tried to factory reset it from the settings but it wont work, it will restart the phone only. i tried using the code but it wont work, and since the power button is not responding i wasnt able to perform a hart reset using the volume up/home and the power key.. my phone seems now so useles.. any suggestions ?

  103. Hi there, my galaxy S III died suddenly yesterday. Ive been reading all your comments on here which are very interesting Ronaldo. Luckily my phone is under warranty still as ive only had it a year. This phone has been perfect up until it died 🙁 The shop have sent it off to be repaired, and informed me they would pos it backt within 7 – 10 days. they are not replacing it, im now worried this could happen to my phone again. what are the chances??!! lol.

    • Chances are slim to none. Usually new motherboards come with the safe 0xf7 chip. Update to the latest Android version and you are totally safe.

  104. Hi Ronaldo. I am using galaxy s3. It is keep freezing because touchwiz n then i switched to go laumcher but problem is still there. What should i do

  105. Hey Ronaldo
    My wife and i are so worried beacuse my s3 wont turn on, we are from australia and this is possibly our last visit to the us…this morning the phone was working fine, i turned it off to save battery, then 2 hours later i tried turning it on and nothing.. so far i have tried the simple battery removal and its still dead.. We need these photos cause it is the end of the trip…PLEASE HELP WE ARE DESPERATE

  106. PLEASE HELP ME I HAVE NOTE 2 UPGRAD TO 4.1.2 THIS MORNING THE PHONE DID NOT WORK………….. WHATS THE PROBLEM??
    IT COULD BE SDS? WHAT CAN I DO ?
    IF NOT WHAT CAN I DO ALSO ?
    PHONE IS NOT IN WARRANTY

  107. Hi I have a sprint sph-L710 last night i was using my phone and it just shut off i thought it was the batter cause it was low and put it to charge when to it this morning and it wont turn on. I tried getting to recovery mode and I still am getting nothing from the phone.. What do you suggest i do?

  108. Hi Ronaldo. Thanks for ur help and support. I am using nova launcher but i did not gry custom rom. My phone is still freezing only when i charge. It happend twice in 5 days. What should i do. I am using original samsung charger of s3

  109. hi!!ronaldo..my phones suddenly gone to boot logo..then i try to change the rom..and error comes..now my phone is in restart mode.. on and off in 1 seconds with an message of update error problem..now when i go to the recovery mode the restart problem occurs..can u help me..

  110. Hey man!

    So here is my question. I have an Galaxy S3. 4.1.2 Randomly it started doing this thing where it would randomly shut off. However, every time I took out the battery and put it back in, it would start working. All of sudden one day though, it turned off and I tried putting the battery back in and it didn’t turn on. When I put the charger in the phone it doesn’t even show a charge light. I’ve the factory reset combo, and nothing shows up. The store said I might need to get the charger port changed, but that doesn’t feel right.

  111. I have the S3 model GT-l9300 and i ran the app and it says i have the insane chip, my phone had been freezing almost every 10 to 15 mins so i did a factory reset after reading a lot of articles about SDS, well for a week i had no problems at all none, the only apps i have re downloaded to my phone is FB and Instagram and synced my emails still no problems. yesterday my phone started to freeze again not as often but i still have to remove the battery to get it to fire back up.My phone says it is on Android version 4.1.2 I was wondering if someone could help me prevent my phone from crashing I purchased my phone from overseas and i don’t have a warranty so i really cant have it crash on me. Also i have basic knowledge of the phone and can follow instructions but i don’t know the ins and outs of how to do things like, rooting or manually installing things on my phone any help would be great.

  112. hi i have got a samsung galaxy s3 and my phone has always run nicely but today i woke up and the fone was warning with no baterie so i put it to charge all day,when i came to bed the phone was frozen and wodnt even turn off so i toke the batterie out put it all back together now it dosnt even turn on erghhhhh.ive tryed the home +up volume+the shut off buttome all together and no signal off the fone ive tryed all that you been teeling people to do but the fone just dosnt even dos anything just stays off.have you got any idea of whats happen? please help. thank you

  113. Im a bit confused here so sorry for asking some stupid questions..

    I have my friend’s S3 and its stuck on boot (the non-animated one), so i tried updating it using kies, reboot and passed the first boot logo, then it got stuck on animated boot ( the one with spinning effect then “samsung” logo) it keeps repeating there on the second one, NOT RESTARTING BUT STUCK ON THE SECOND BOOT LOGO. So is this SDS? I can access recovery and download mo. Any suggestions?

    • Hi Aries. You are just experiencing a bootloop which can be easily fixed. Go to recovery, find wipe data/factory reset and click it. It will perform a factory reset and then your phone will boot again.

  114. Hi, does SDS happen to the S3 mini too? I am thinking of buying one for my boyfriend in Cuba, it will be our sole means of communication and I really don’t want to risk anything going wrong. Will a new S3 mini bought now be safe? I had been looking at the Galaxy Fame but despite the extra cost decided that the S3 was better based on various reviews. Now I’m not sure!

  115. Good Day Ronaldo, I have a SGS3 with the ‘insane chip’ that I checked with your emmc check app, the phone keeps freezing and/or shutting off but comes back on once I switch it on. I’ve also tried multiple hard resets, factory resets etc but still the same thing. My andriod version is 4.1.2. Please tell me what I can do to fix this problem since I don’t think there is a Samsung Support Centre in my region.

  116. It’s saying that the latest software updates have already been installed, how do I flash 4.2.2 firmware with Odin?

  117. Hi Ronaldo! I wanna buy Samsung Galaxy S3! but I am worried of insane chip! can i make it sure in advance that my phone has not insane chip before unboxing !… I mean is there any information on the box about the insane chip!
    thanx in advance!

  118. Hi ronaldo, i have a S3 with omega rom v46, an JB 4.2.2 ithing is not official, baseband xxella, and the bad chip VTU00M, im in risk? I dont have the bill, so i cant send it to SAT…. And im really worried, could you helpme :(, i dont know about this x.x …. Tnks!!!!!

  119. Ronaldo thank you for your great help to everynone, can you or anyone tell me where i can find the emmc chip replacement online shiping to Portugal?
    And i also need to know if samsung release a good update that fix everything, the chips already affected will work normally?
    Has anyone repaired Note 2 emmc on stores or on samsung, if yes how much does it cost?

  120. my problem is not the equipment cause its just a heat gun and a soldier iron, the real problem is that the chip is the hardest thing to find on web, honestly i think only the stores have acess to it, its a shame,

  121. i found it too the thing is, i thing we need to send the phone to them and they repair and send it back, i really want the chip cause they, charge a lot(in my opinion) for a chip replacement, and then i could replace myself at home.

  122. tomorrow i will take him to assistance, and if they wont repair it for free if it be really expensive, i will buy it and install it. thank you ronaldo.
    do you think its needed to “reprogram ” the new chip or it´s just put in odin mode and flash a firmware?
    PS: sorry about all of these questions

      • thank you Ronaldo, as i promiss today i went to samsung here in uk, but im leaving this country on 15th this month and the phone will only be ready on 16th this month, so i will ask another person to get it, i didn t have the warranty of the phone, so they said that if its needed to pay they will call me, so far so good, i think they will repair it, they ask me if i root it,i said no, but i think theres no way they now if o rooted cause the phone wont pass the boot logo and if they replace the firmware board they will not know.

          • No they arent but i will ask my aunt to get it and send it to me, i have another thing to annouce, if samsung charge me more than 50~60 $ i will buy a jtag riff box, and repair myself the problem, since its software a riff box should be able to unbrick it

  123. Hello Ronaldo
    I’ve been reading everything I can to see if the problem can be solved, but apparently not
    it looks like the only way is by doing root and things I dont like
    My question is: with the Android update that is happening like in october-november, the problem is going to be fixed then?

    thank you

  124. I have a Samsung Galaxy 3 phone and I’m having some problems. I’m hoping someone here might be able to help me since US Cellular couldn’t help me. When I plug in my phone to my laptop and download my photos from my phone to the laptop it saves each picture like 3 or 4 times. However each picture is a different size. Does anyone know how I can get my phone to only download ONE picture and not 3 or 4 downloads of the same pic?

  125. hey just wondering toke my to the shop cause it would only turn on to the screen saying samsung galaxy 3 the shop told me thy cant fix it cause the memory is glued to the motherboard is there any other way to fix it

    • i cant really confirm if it works but search someone that has a jtag riff box machine, they will do it probably for 50 $ and they reprogram the emmc chip.

  126. hi ronaldo i have an sg III perfect until today was low on charge so left it over night ued it for a few minutes and i heard it turning its self off then rebooting i have had my phone for 14 months but was unaware of this issue until today .
    when i lifted my phone it was stuck on the sg3 opening screen took out battery same again used usb and just sits on the empty battery display tried another battery same thing tried reset no response i dont know if it has insane chip all i know is its14 months old and not updated any software since i got just apps is it sds ? live in scotland and i think i am under warranty got it when i upgraded my phone with t mobile i have a 2 year contract with them any advice please

  127. Ronaldo, good to know there’s someone helping desperate people with this problem, thanks in advance. Hopefully I also might be helped…. please! 🙂

    I keep updated my SGSIII GT-i9300 Firmware as well as apps, but recently I noticed my phone getting very hot with some apps, since it had the 4.1.2 Stock ROM and there was no signs of official updates, I decided to give a try to a 4.3 custom ROM. After some research, there were two options for me: CM 10.1 and SlimBean (JB 4.3) both stable versions. So I rooted my phone using the “Samsung_Galaxy_S3_ToolKit_v7.0” and flashed SlimBean ROM according to the precise instructions, of course.

    The problem is that right after flashing, my phone started freezing very often, minutes from one freeze to another. So I was able to make the basic configuration (accounts, apps, look&feel…) with just one or to freezing interruptions, after that freezing got more frequent. The only solution is to keep pressed the power button until reboot. I thought it was because of the ROM so I flashed CM 10.1, but the freezing was still there, then restored the backup made prior flashing (CWM Recovery) and still freezing.

    I finally came back to SlimBean (I like it a lot and had it for long on my previous SGS GT-i9000) but this time after formatting sdcad, system, cache, data; (all from CWM Recovery) full wipe… a complete fresh install. Since that (4 hours ago) it has stopped once, during a heavy load while installing many apps. This is is not good!!!

    eMMC check says “YES. Insane chip”…. am I doomed or are there any options?

    Your best guess will be very welcome, thanks!

      • Nop, I went back to SlimBeam (currently on it) and yes I did factory reset every time. The last time I even formatted all.

        Since the last post I had a second freeze, so i went into Safe Mode for a little and every thing was ok, this last test might not be very useful because I stayed in Safe Mode just for 10 minutes.

  128. Hey, i have a galaxy s3 and it was working ok until i left it to charge over night like usual. When I took it of the charger in the morning it had the green led light (fully charged) and it continued even thoe the phone wasn’t connected o the charger. It wasn’t turning on at all either so I press the factory reset (volume up, power, and home buttons) and the green led turnt off but the phone is completely dead. I’ve tried taking the battery off (even another battery), hooking up the charger, and connecting it to a PC but is completely dead…. Do you have any idea what this could be, thanks in advance for your any help. Have a great day, god bless

  129. Hello, Ronaldo.
    I’m about to buy a S3, but I’m worrying about this SDS thing. The S3 I’m looking at, comes with Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). Please tell me, what is the probability to experience this failure called SDS.
    Would you recommend a S4 instead (considering the 200$ more).
    Thank you.

    • Well, if you want to buy a Galaxy S4 rather than the S3 that’s up to you, but what I can say is that if you buy a S3 it will be perfectly fine.

  130. Hi Ronaldo,
    I’ve s3 phone and got sudden dead about 15 days before with same sds problem. I sent to samsung for repairing in warranty and today got back from them. Its software version is still 4.1.2 and after installing emmc app on phone its still showing result …. Yes. insane chip
    What will u recommend me to do as I dont want to loose my very important data on phone as already badly suffered with lost of all my data.
    Thanks in advance

  131. I call samsung they want 150 pounds to repair my board, its a shame. If i replace the emmc chip will solve all brick bugs, even if it has nothing to do with sds ?

  132. i have the same issue with my s3..got SDS problem..i brought it to samsung and they said that they need to replace the motherboard. Can i still retrieve all my data in case they replace it with a new one? Will i still encounter the sds problem once they replace the motherboard?

  133. hey Ronaldo. i have had my s3 for coming to a year now. and all over a sudden it just dies 2days ago. i cant charge or even put it on. nothing. when i put it on charger all i see is the battery pic but it doesn’t charge. the green light doesn’t go up.
    i have tried what u advised. held the recovery mode by Holding at the same time Power + Home + Volume Up buttons for a few seconds. and all the came up was the Samsung galaxy III. GT-i9300.
    Nothing else is happening . is there anything else that can b done to revive my phone or that it?
    please helppp…. Thx

  134. help! my phone shutoff last night durimg charging and would not power on. nothing. i have had my phone a year and half no problems. i downloaded app above it says I have Sane chip, shows v1.4.4 is that bad? and is it normal to be fine over a year? I pulled battery put back and still nothing. my hubby put his s3 battery in my phone. nothing. then when I put mine back in it powered on?? is sds about to happen to me or sound like smthng else?? please respond 🙁

  135. hey dude , hope ur fine , i just got my phone bricked i guess , it was all sudden , no image is showing on booting , no recovery , just the download mode , have tried to upload some basics SAMSUNG roms there with the download mode but nothing , is there any chance i can fix the problem ?? thx for replay

  136. Hey mate. I am facing a unique issue with my Samsung s3 purchased from Switzerland last year and now I am in Australia. Purchased with over a year now.

    Yesterday while coming from a long ride i saw my battery is dead, so i tried putting the battery charger but nothing seems to be working. I tried taking phone battery out and tried charging from electric point and even from my PC> But nothing seems to be working.

    I shown to a repair shop (But I am not sure of whether they are really expert in repairs) but they told me that phone needs to go to Samsung. Can you please tell me following:-

    1) Any way for to do some random checks (if something gets working)?
    2) How can i take the backup of my phone?

    Thanks in advance.

    • You can try to use another battery which is fully charged. See if you can go to recovery or download mode. And you can back up your phone only if it’s turned on.

      • Hi Ronaldo,

        Thanks for your quick reply. But i have checked my battery is getting into charging mode with other phone and my phone is not responding to new battery as well.

        All of a sudden i could see my phone is dead 🙁 with no issues from last 1 year.

        Any clue what should i do to try to recover at least my data if not the full phone.

          • Hi Ronaldo,

            As you suggested that main cause could be mother board, but can i still recover my data after getting mother board replaced?

            Does it sound reasonable to get mother board replaced from local vendor (not Samsung) as Samsung is asking the cost which is very much the same price for the new Samsung Galaxy S3?

            Repair cost in Australia is very high, is there a more cost effective solution?

          • Well, you can’t recover any data from the motherboard. You can change the motherboard from not a Samsung store but be sure to be a legit motherboard.

  137. Hello Ronaldo, great forum. I apologize for my bad english, I´m from Argentina. My S3 has the insane chip (checked with the eMMC), and it´s on Jelly Bean 4.1.2. As I read through out the post, I should be confident now that my cellphone wont die of Sudden Death (because 4.1.2 fixes the issue). My question is: No sudden death for my cell, but it stills does not work properly. Sometimes it freezes and reboot, specially when I try to install a new app (for example, the phone works fine, but when I install facebook Messenger from Google play), it freezes (so I have to take out the battery and get it back on, to power on). I want to solve those freezes and reboots, so I can enjoy my cell as I should, and not just be happy that it wont die of SDS. Any ideas? I´m no expert on flashing or anything, my cell is original (no root, no firmware updates, other than those that my carrier suplies), Hope you can guide me on what to do. Thanks a lot, Best Regards,

  138. Hi ronaldo, thanks a lot for your quicker response.
    The application gets installed, and I´m currently using it, but the problem is the other one.

    I want to solve the root cause of these freezes and reboots (as I said, it happens to a variety of apps, not just facebook messenger.).

    Sometimes, without dowloading any app, the phone still freezes or reboot…. its quite anoying…

    What do you mean by “software update available?” you mean an update for the apps on my phone, or and update for the phone itself?

    Thanks again, between post and replies, I´m brosing your site, most interesting!

    • I mean an update for your phone. Go to settings, about phone and check Software Update. You can also try to factory reset your phone to see if it does any good. If you factory reset it, make sure to back it up first. Thanks for your kind words.

  139. Ronaldo, thanks a lot again.

    I´ve done a factory reset, a few weeks ago, when I first heard of the SDS, the phone before that reboots a lot of times, and now a few times (from lets say, 12 times before, to 1 or 2 now).

    There is no update available for my phone, as I go to settings and check software update, and it says “Your software is updated to the most recent version” (sorry for the translation, my phone is in spanish).

    I´ve no longer have warranty from neither my carrier nor samsumg, so I can experiment with it, hoping not to break it.

    What you suggest me to do?

    • Since you don’t have a warranty anymore, I would suggest to root your phone and install a fast and stable custom ROM. ROMs are usually better than stock firmwares.

      • Thanks a lot for all your guidance on the matter Ronaldo. I was reading your other post, and read about Cyanogen 10.2. I may go that way and see if i can get the most of this phone.

        First of all, thanks a lot for this post, where I could find that my cell wont gonna die of SDS, because I have 4.1.2. This was very important, because I tought that I would have to buy another phone, and here in Argentina, are very expensive, due to taxes.

        And many thanks for your time on helping me here.

        I will continue to read your other posts, as they are very interesting.

        Have a good week.

        Best Regards,

        Iván.

          • Ronaldo:
            i have a problema (my primary language is spanish, so, sorry if i make some mistakes when im writting)

            i have a galaxy s3, i bought it in june of 2012 i guess, and i always upgrade the firmware the very first day when it’s available on Samsung kies.

            acctualy i have the 4.1.2 ver. of android, and i upgraded it when it became abailable (time ago) however, the last 3 days i have been experiencing some weird and annoying synmptoms in my phone, like: the phone gets slow, sometimes it gets frozen, using an App or doing nothing. (i have the s3 in my pocket, i took it and try to wake it up, but it not response. the only way to wake it up is to hold power button and restart or sometimes take out the battery cuz sometimes the power button doesnt work)
            it happens about 5 to 10 times at day.

            so, this are my questions:
            what is going on with my s3?

            it is sds? and how? because i have upgraded the firmware long ago, so it will prevent the chip from degrading, but apparentli it still degrading (i have used the ap, and my phone has the danger chip)

            what should i do?

            thank you Ronaldo!

          • No, it isn’t sds. There are many factors that can slow down your phone. See if you have any apps that run on the background. Factory reset is also a good idea.

  140. Hi Ronaldo
    It happend twice in last three months when i start to charge my s3 ot takes tooo long to charge my phone. I am using original charger but it reallu takes too long. What should i do???
    Thanks alot for your help n support

  141. Hi Ronaldo. I got a Note 2. At first it start failing at charge, then it begin to reboot it self, right now it freez out, like 4 to 6 times a day, soy i have to take the batery to restart it. what can i install to fix it? i have the bug and i am using android versión 4.1.2 Thank you very much.

      • Hi,I’ve had my s3 for about a year now and for the past couple of days it’s been flickering on and off and kept freezing. So yesterday I decided to pull out the battery and when I put it back in it won’t turn on past the Samsung s3 screen. It’ll stay like that for hours. I got my phone from three but I cancelled the contract after a few months so I’m not sure if I’m still on warranty. I have no idea what to do and my screen has been cracked for a couple of weeks now so I’m not sure if they would blame it on that. What do I do?

      • Yes i did and it didnt work, but i just fix it!!!! I download the china firmware version n7100ubdmg2, install it by odin 3 and thats it. It works perfectlly!!! Thx!!!

  142. Hi wondered if anyone could help me. My samsung galaxy s3 died and wouldn’t turn at all past the samsung logo. I’m not bothered about the phone in the slightest but I have pictures and videos on the phone of my newborn baby which are so precious to me. Is there any way to get them back?? Unfortunately I had dropbox on my phone but I hadn’t synced it with my phone. I also had flickr on there but again not sure if it was synced!!!! I am desperate for the pictures and videos back and would pay a fortune.

      • Hi Ronaldo. Sorry to bother you again. I have been in contact with a data recovery company who retrieve data for court cases etc so I am only hoping that they may be able to retrieve some data. The job I do involves obtaining evidence for court cases and I know that data can be recovered from all sorts of damaged technical equipment but I have no idea about technology. I’m just hoping this company will bring me some good news. They will do a diagnostic check first and then contact me to let me know if there is any chance of the data being recovered. I can’t believe samsung have allowed this to happen. I know I am responsible for backing up the data and didn’t realise how easy it was and now I am having to deal with the consequences. At the moment I feel as though the pictures are stuck in the phone and someone should be able to retrieve them for me. I used the emmc check pp on my husbands phone and his says insane chip. Please can you tell me what he needs to do to avoid this happening to his phone. Thanks.

        • First of all Emma, I hope you will retrieve your photos. Now I wanted to say that data can be retrieved if another part of the phone or computer is damaged. But in this case the damaged part is the memory chip which has all the data, and since the chip is broken all data is gone. For your husband’s phone, just be sure that it has a 4.1.2+ firmware. Anyways, tell us if you will be able to retrieve the photos or not.

  143. My samsung galaxy s3 got hot and then the screen went white and the phone seems dead. No response when connected to PC. Had ver. 4.2.1. Any chance of recovering data?

  144. Hi,

    My s3 freezes at the logo.. pressing volume + home + power does nothing. Can it be fixed by replacing the motherboard?

    Thanks

  145. Hi I’m Mustafa my phone has stop worken they told me it’s sudden death, and I don’t know what it’s mean can anyone help me my phone galaxy s3 16g 4.1

    I should be grateful to our helpful>…!

      • it’s completely dead,don’t responds if I turn it on,and if I put the battery inside it on automatically turn it on
        and totally black screen does not respond to formate..plz wht i do to back my phone.

        I go to servicing they told me the screen is damaged, and I do not think they are right because the device is not exposed to anything but the phone was my hand this problem occurred, and I think it’s sudden death, but what is the solution

  146. Hi Ronaldo, My Samsung Galaxy S3 appears to have developed the SDS fault. The phone has a cracked screen glass cover which occurred 6 months ago but that has never affected the operation of the phone.2 weeks ago it just died. It has never been flashed or anything. I searched the inet for the answer and learned about odin. The phone stops on Samsung gt-19300 screen. The only way to reset it is to remove the battery. When this is done I enter a phase locked loop always ending on the log on screen. I can however enter the custom OS screen and volume up send it to the
    ODIN MODE
    PRODUCT NAME:
    CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD : NO
    CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL
    SYSTEM STATUS: CUSTUM

    I tried loading few a UK PDA but it always errors NO PIT PARTITION.

    I negotiated Samsung UK to examine it under warranty and leave the screen alone as I was under the impression that the phone had a faulty motherboard. Their engineer examined it and although on their site they appeared that they were repairing it, returned it to me with the engineers report as liquid damage. Beyond economical repair. The phone has never ever been in contact with any liquid.
    Is there anyway to physically examine the motherboard to ascertain if the phone has the faulty chip.

    It is my belief due to the worldwide failings of this model that is NOT of satisfactory quality and DEFINATELY NOT fit for purpose.

    Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
    Thanks.

    • Can you go to recovery mode too? The only way to see if the phone has water damage is by finding some moisture stickers inside the phone. Not much you can do, unfortunately. Ask how much the repair will cost.

      • Hi again Ronaldo, Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately it will not enter the recovery mode. My father has been doing some research on the internet for me and is becoming more and more frustrated about Samsung’s stand. He had experience years ago when it was cheaper to buy a new television than purchase the chip to repair it and the Samsung Technical people at that time told him to ensure that he got the correct software version of the chip otherwise it wouldn’t work. The Samsung TV went in a skip and a Grundig was purchased. He thought that they would have improved since then. He has found that rather than address the exact problem they use one of 2 get out of their responsibilty cards.
        1.Screen damage no matter how superficial even although it works fine.
        2. Liquid damage. It appears so even if the sensors are apparently not activated. I will require an independent assessment as the visible one in the battery compartment looks fine. Purple crosses on a white background Unless this means it has been affected. If this is the case and it has not been in contact directly with a liquid exactly how sensitive are these devices.

        How much credibility would Samsung have if they as a good will gesture as a result of a defective component fixed these free of charge with no issue. After all how much would it actually cost Samsung in the long run. A few pounds for the chip and keep an employee in an active role protecting their reputation as a responsible manufacturer.
        When they had my phone in their possession how easy it would have been for them to tackle the problem head on and assess if a defective chip was actually fitted rather than try to avoid the issue.

  147. Dear Ronaldo,

    Thanks for the sharing!
    my s3 Sudden Death while capture pic. Sent to samsung, no warranty, needa pay rm679 for a new motherboard. is it advisable to repair? the contract with maxis still have about half a year to go. without smartphone, will be paying the data plan for nothing. but at the moment can’t get a new one as new one will need to register for another line, means paying both side. if terminate the data, will cost more than the repair. is there any other way to safe the s3? T.T

    • It is worth it to fix your phone shiro. You can’t get another phone for 6 months and you’ll be paying data plan for nothing. Unless you can live without a smartphone for 6 months, my suggestion is to fix it.

    • What I did Shiro , as I was in a similar position to you, was buy a NON Samsung sim free phone and will do the same on contract renewal and await when cheap and cheerful replacement motherboards become available or I can trace someone with the skills and equipment to reasonably exchange the eMMC chip.

  148. For those of you having problems getting Samsung to repair your phone, under warranty, after an SDS: After about 3 months of arguing with Samsung Canda, they did eventually repair my phone at no cost. Of course, at first they told me I had somehow got the phone wet, when I asked them to prove it they then said I must have dropped it. Again I asked for specific proof of this. After numerous calls (i.e. bugging them) I was able to get my case referred to the office of the president. I indicated to them that I wanted a written letter from them explaining why the warranty didn’t cover a defective chip as I wanted to bring this matter up with my local national newspaper and report them to the Better Business Bureau. The following day they called to tell me to send my phone in for repairs, free of any costs.

  149. Hi Ronaldo or anyone that can help,

    I have the Samsung galaxy s3 and it has recently had a meltdown, but I’m not sure if it is the Sudden Death Syndrome mentioned above. Yesterday although it was fully charged it continually replayed the Samsung startup logo and would not either start up or shut down even when the battery was taken out and put back in. Today it is not recharging properly. When on the charger it will swap between the no battery symbol and the recharging symbol (which looks to be at approximately 50%). If I take it off the charger it will revert back to replaying the Samsung startup logo without actually starting up.

    Do you have any advice for me on how I can fix this problem and if it is Sudden Death Syndrome?

      • Ronaldo, Do you have details of how to prove SDS after the phone has died. It’s easy enough beforehand due to the excellent developers app. Is it the fact that the model no. cannot be displayed in the odin set up. Is it the fact that no pit partition cannot be found and not re written. Or something else.
        I hope you can give me a definitive answer or point me in the right direction.
        Thanks

        • First of all there are two kinds of SDS. The first one is “Half SDS” which means the phone can go to recovery mode but no pit partition can be found. The second one is “Full SDS” which means the phone is completely dead and can’t be turned on. If you are experiencing “Half SDS” then the reason for not finding pit partition is because of a failure of the memory chip.

          • Thank you so much Ronaldo. On the premise that half a loaf is better than none…I am so happy to have the half SDS. My only problem now is to get Samsung to acknowledge their responsibility in the matter. Further to this I have an old GT-S5600 which has a cover over the USB port to prevent in ingress of “dust or sand”. The S3 doesn’t have this. This allows aforesaid crap to enter via this and this is in the vicinity of the eMMC chip. Samsung say the phone has suffered severe liquid ingress and yet their sensors for liquid damage have not been activated. To me with my layman’s knowledge points exactly to a design fault whether the chip or the usb connector which renders the item in the category as being not of merchantable quality and definitely not fit for the purpose which it was intended. Phones are not failing all over the world with similar/identical problems due to a passing alien mother ship. I am guessing that will be their final excuse. Tace care and thanks Stuart

          • Liquid doesn’t go inside the phone only from the USB port Stuart. It can also go from the headphones jack, speaker or earpiece. But the fact that sensors of liquid damage are intact means that phone hasn’t been in contact with water or another liquid. You should keep asking them why are they refusing to repair your phone when nothing is wrong with it except SDS, which in this case isn’t your fault.

  150. That is a lot easier said than done Ronaldo. Their service dept. has the complete inability to follow a simple instruction of leave the screen alone as the slight crack does not affect the operation of the phone. They removed the protective screen protector for absolutely no reason at all. I have asked them why instead of just rejecting the repair ,due to alleged serious liquid ingress, and not check whether the defective chip was fitted. (If the phone was so severely damaged by this why is it in sudden death mode) No answer. I have even asked how many they have had returned with this problem. No answer. All I get is Thank You for contacting Samsung ( Even although I have told them to stop thanking me) your phone is not covered by a warranty.
    1 says if I fix the screen the warranty will resume. The service dept. says beyond economical repair. Until I can reach someone in their organisation with some common sense I am beat.
    The phone does indeed display the signs of half SDS. I will persevere and if nothing will have no recourse but to try the small claims court for a decision.
    I am far from happy with Samsung’s Customer Care.

  151. hey ronaldo i have issue regarding software update, when i press software update it shows check for update but wheni pree update it does nt show anything,neither it says no updates available nor its says latest already installed means k updates key is not responding so any problem with device OR anything else, m so much worry plz suggest something yaar, eagerly waiting for ur reply

    • i mean daevice is not able to connect to server,usually when we press the update button it connects to server then it shows whether updates available or not but my device when i press update key its not say anything neither conncet nor any other problem showing

  152. i had rooted before four month with 4.2.2, but after that factory reset done as my cell was frezed so it again comes to custom firmware, and my device update does not show like modified or no updates or already new firmware installed,

  153. and factory reset was done by service center person twice as once after root for frezz and second before 10 days to check for the updates,so is it problem with device or problem as i have rooted ? and my another device GT I9100 galaxy s2 upgraded from service center to official 4.1.2 and that mobile’s update button is also not responding,so is it problem in 4.1.2 or issue for this would be as no updates till now , means k should i wait for new updates and then to see k device can be upgradable or send phone to service center as it is not responding update keys,

    • So now you are on 4.1.2 right? A factory reset doesn’t unroot your phone so maybe it’s still rooted. For now there’s no official update above Android 4.1.2 for Galaxy S3 except Android 4.3 but that update has been delayed from Samsung.

  154. ya may be rooted, but how to solve this problem and if samsung gives 4.3 for s3 then whether my device upgradable to that or not, and my other mobile s2 also running on 4.1.2 official and thats software update keys also not responding so whether its issue regarding firmware or this issue is not significant that i do nt know, but want to confirm that whether its upgradable or not?

  155. my samsung s3 mobile is suddenly stopped and cant operate it back, it was on charging ,, my memory is full and cant take new photos or update my applications,, while it tries to update the app. automatically it gives me “insufficient memory”, i clear the updates but while it was charging and i was using the whatsapp ,, the battery was full to 96%, in a sudden, it stopped and i am unable to re-operate it, i was trying to ring and my number from a different number, it was first ringing but is not shown on my mobile,, this morning it tells that it is turned off, i picked the battery out and put it back,, nothing changed,, does a new memory help to recover it back or do i need a new software,, ACTUALLY I DONT WANT TO LOOSE MY PHOTOS MY PRECIOUS ALBUMS.. PLEASE HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE THANKS ALOT

  156. I hope someone can help me here, back in December the service started to go on my s3, started to drop calls…anyway took it to a samsung approved repair centre and they sent it away to Samsung, who said there was a problem with the motherboard, anyway got the phone back 2 weeks later same imei number but phone was working….but i couldn’t update to new firmware, but that wasn’t a big deal to me…..anyway last week, phoned died, was starting to get laggy and eventually froze on start up screen…dropped it off at same repair shop yesterday,and they have been in contact today to say that they cant repair it as their was custom firmware on it….i know 100% that i didn’t put it on there as i wouldn’t have the first clue how to do it….anyone any ideas

      • Hi Ronaldo….No i couldn’t get into the phone, was stuck on the Samsung start up screen, then when i tried to charge, the symbol came up, but no green as if it was charging

        • The problem is your phone might have been rooted (hence the inability to update your firmware) or you or someone at the service center has flashed a firmware. There’s no way to know the real problem if you don’t have your phone with you.

          • Ronaldo, that’s the issue, the service centre are saying it has custom firmware on it, but i know for sure i didn’t put it on it as i wouldn’t even know where to start….so the only other explanation is the custom firmware was put on my phone when it was repaired last time

  157. We have two Galaxy Note1 here and both get a kind of sudden death every few days. It can happen when you do nothing or when you use the camera. The phones boot loop into the Samsung logo. You can reset them though and they will work for another week or so. Even a restore from a NAND backup is possible. The only thing they have in common is the ROM, which is stock 4.1.2 with preRoot. Any ideas?

    • Hi Thomas, it is not SDS as your phones can turn on again after a reset. My suggestion is to change the ROM since it is the same on both of your devices and that might be causing all those problems.

  158. Hi There.
    My girlfriend’s T-Mobile SGH-T999 S3 with Android 4.1.2 died last week, with about 1,5 year of good services. Nonetheless she liked it very much and has no money to buy a good phone right now, so I’m thinking about repairing it.

    I have no idea if it was a SDS problem, as I heard somewhere that it only affected the quad-cores, and hers was a dual-core.

    I took it to some repair guy and after some tests he said that it wasn’t battery of firmware issues, and I would have to replace the mainboard, and it would cost me around $270.

    My questions are: is it worth it? What are the chances that it will brick again? And what are the chances that I’ll get a SDS now, or an “insane” chip?

    It’s a very nice phone, no doubt, and fact is it does still have a mint-condition display, camera, etc., but I wonder if we should just let it go….

    Thanks

    • It is weird that your American variant of Galaxy S3 died. SDS occurs only to the international variant of the S3. It is all up to you and your girlfriend if you want to replace the motherboard or not. If your girlfriend can live without a smartphone and you think the replacing cost is high, don’t repair it. But if you really need a good smartphone then replacing it is a good idea.

      • My main concern is the probability that i’ll brick again, that is, the chance that I get the “insane” chip in my “new” mainboard. If not, I think the price is fair for a still nice phone.

        • No, chances are very low to get an “insane” chip again because Samsung has put safe chips on the new motherboards. So don’t worry about that.

  159. My Phone is almost one year old and it is SCH-I535 from Verizon and now it is not a black brick, any idea how to repair it??

  160. Hi Ronaldo my S3 got SDS, i had the phone fixed and downloaded the emmc check app, it says the chip is sane, is there a possibility that it could ever become insane again???

  161. Hi Ronaldo,
    my brother has a gs3. He said his phone has been randomly shutting off the past month or so. Tonight it all of a sudden went to a blue screen, shut off, and now won’t turn back on. Tried the reset buttons but nothing. Every once in awhile the logo screen or the battery screen will come on but that’s it. Is this SDS? Still under warranty but I’m worried Samsung won’t honor it since the screen is cracked(dropped it on GRASS!!)

    • You dropped it on glass and it shattered? Well, since you can’t go to recovery mode I suggest you to go to the repair shop and ask what is the problem with your phone. Also note to them that the cracked has nothing to do with your current problem.

      • Thanks for the reply. It was dropped on grass not glass that’s why I can’t believe the screen broke. It actually came back to life last night but heard it died again today. Hopefully when I go back over there today it will come on again so I can check what chip is in it.

        • Wow, can’t believe the screen got shattered after being dropped on grass. Anyway, as I said earlier, go to the repair shop and see what they are going to say. Keep us updated.

  162. i placed my phone on my bed so I could finish typing my paper. then once I was done I picked my phone up and realized it shut off by itself. I keep taking the battery out and stuff. it just turns on for a second and shuts off. now it wont turn on at all. so…..

  163. Hi Ronaldo
    I experienced SDS in my note 2 1 month back I bought it from America but presently I am in another country so there was no way I could claim the warranty so I just contacted Samsung here in my country and replaced my motherboard on payment it ..I checked it after replacement it has the same insane chip but is updated to 4.1.2 it crashes now and then but is working fine although I am really worried is it it gouing to die again?? What should I do to avoid SDS in future. Thanks do reply

  164. Hi., i need to ask., My (almost) 1.5 year S3 suddenly went “died” after my conversation ended. already did the primitive thing, take out the battery, but it wont turn on. the power button also did not work. the battery still remain 70% though. if i got this repaired do they need to change my samsung motherboard? or chips? hw much does it will cost me then ??
    thx

    • Yes, they are going to replace the motherboard. As for the price, you should ask the repair centre because different shops have different prices.

  165. Hi Ronaldo, u seem like u know what to do, so please help me!!! my phone is an S3. so the screen suddenly turned black and it keeps flashing ‘Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9305’. i tried everything – pressing power button, home button, every button there is. i also tried Power+Home+Volume down button, and the warning screen appeared. after that i pressed the Volume Up button to download, but it went back to flashing ‘Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9305’. now the battery has been drained out and i havent done anything else. please help me!! thanks so much 🙂

    • You should have gone to recovery mode and not download mode. The first thing you should do is to charge your battery or get another fully charged battery. Insert it in your phone and then try to go to recovery mode.

          • oh okay yay 😀 anyway i charged my battery and tried going into recovery mode but i cant… its Power button + Home button + Volume Up button right? if it is, i can’t do it.

          • Yes, that’s the right combination. Well, see if you can go to Download Mode. Press the same buttons but this time instead of Volume Up press the Volume Down button. However, I’m afraid your phone is broken and you probably have to send it to a repair shop.

  166. Hi Donald I have the galaxy s3 sprint 4.1.2 thank you but my phone had frozen before I had the app so than i try to recover it deleted every thing but it keeps on freezing on the samsung logo the won’t even turn on it just says samsung galaxy s3 and freeze is there a way I could fix it or do I got to get a new one please text me as soon as possible

  167. Hi Ronaldo, I have GS3 and it freezed i removed the battery and inserted again and it worked but the same issue happened again then it freezed and didnt respond. when i try to open it i is stuck on the logo and when charging it the charge sign and red light appear.is there any hope to revive my phone without losing my data.?

  168. My Samsung Galaxy S3 died overnight. It was working fine at night, then I woke up the next morning and it had a black screen. It had been fully charged but was not plugged in at the time. There was still the blue light intermittently flashing. I guess in hindsight I should have tried to connect it to a computer to see if I could copy the files. Or I should have tried to go into recover mode. But instead, because this has worked for me in the past, I popped out the battery so that it would power up. It got stuck on the white/on/black Samsung logo screen and could not complete the cycle. Tried the battery thing again, and on the third try it would not power on at all. I am like a few other people in that I just want my data back. I guess in the future I should store all files on the SD card so that the data can be removed if the phone fails. Also I should be copying all files to the cloud. Looking for any suggestions on what we should do in the future to keep from losing our data. Also is anyone pursing a class action lawsuit? This just seems crazy that this many people are having issues through no fault of their own, and losing important data.

  169. i didnt send my phone to the repair shop, but i left it alone for about 1 week. after that, i tried to turn it on and it worked – the phone was working perfectly, my data and apps were still there. i downloaded this app to check if my chip was the insane one, but it said mine was the sane chip so what was actually the problem with my phone?
    the phone was working for a few days till today. it started flashing the samsung s3 logo again. i cant go into recovery mode but i can go into download mode. what shld i do? pls help me asap ><

  170. i managed to revived my s3 i9300 after SDS no signs of power
    as in totally dead
    so decided to try sdcard boot repair without opening my phone and it works

    i am glad to help you…
    email me

  171. Hello,

    My Samsung Galaxy S3 GT i9300 a few weeks ago died. I went very fast to a phone-service and they could fix the phone but not 100%. They told me that I have to change the eMMc chip. So now, I can use the phone like an Ipod, but untill that chip will be changed I can not use the phone like a real phone.

    My question its… If the phone can work, I can turn it on, can you say that may phone has SDS??? Please help me. Thanks! With the app from google play they say to me that I have insane chip…

  172. Hello Ronaldo , this mourning my phone was dead and i went to plug it back in and when i went to turn it on it showed the same sung logo and then in the 30 seconds i went back and fourth to the bathroom it decided to just turn off completely and when i go to turn it back on it just vibrates for half a second and then doesn’t turn on , no logos or anything. I’ve tired rebooting but nothing happens there either, its been sitting ton the charger for about 45 minutes now and no charge or anything, i was hoping you could help because it cost me 100$ to get a new phone and I’m trying to avoid that.

    thanks!

  173. hi ronaldo i had my GS3 plugged in my laptop and was charging fine. when i decided to plugged it out my GS3 emit a sound, sort of like interference, and all of the sudden it turned off. this occured last night JAN 6, 2014. i have tried the hard reset but no response. what will this problem might be…i will be glad if could give me a hand. thank u!

  174. yaar ronaldo plz help me,i dont have whatsappp shortcut on gallary,how to enable whatsapp short cut near sharing button in gallary,m running 4.3 in s3 and both whatsapp and gallary on ext sd card

    • Hi ronaldo
      I have galaxy s3 international and i have checked it with emmc and found insane ship but working very good
      My version 4.3
      My question is : what should i do to prevent SDS or samsung hzve fixed the issue on 4.3

  175. Hi Ronaldo.

    My samsung galaxy S3 was working fine earlier today. I put it on my desk while I went to get my laundary and when I got back the phone was dead. I can’t connect it to my laptop or charge it, I can’t turn it on, the Power button + Home button + Volume Up button doesn’t work either. Did my phone get the SDS? Will I have to send it to samsung for a repair and can it be repaired?
    I’ve had the phone since september 2012 so it’s not too old.. :/

  176. Hi Ronaldo I have the S3 intl versión and its freezes on the Samsung logo. I have done the master reset and nothing happens. I did update the firmware thrue kies before this happened! What are the simptons of SDS? If the pone doesnt have SDS which firmware you recommend to install since where I took it for repair they have tryed variuos firmwares and havent been lucky to install the correct firmaware

      • hi..rolando i have Galaxy S3 Sprint white smartphone. was in PERFECT working condition, but had a cracked screen. I tried to fix the screen and since then the screen will not turn on. Battery charges fully and lasts forever.any help???thanks

  177. My phone did suffer SDS as for my knowledge the local vendor did the repair and adviced me that the Mass Memory may not work in the future. Will it stop functioning as he was not sure either.

      • Well its running on 4.3 so will there be any problems? And today I did find out that my wifi as well as the bluetooth are not working, is there any remedy for that? As for my Knowledge the SDS can be fixed by changing the EMMc chip? So once thats changed will there be any other SDS that will occur later one?

  178. Hi Ronaldo. I have an S3 with an insane chip. The phones working but it randomly freezes up. I did a factory reset and did not restore everything so the memory utilization is low. It now freezes once in 2 days (down from 10 times a day). I’m running 4.1.2. Should I sell the phone and buy a new one or continue using it? The freezes are annoying and I don’t want restore the full backup back to the phone in fear of the freezes increasing. Please advise. Btw I also wrote 5gbs with dummy file generator and it did not freeze

  179. What’s up Ronaldo? look, i have a Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100, as you should know, those cellphones comes with SDS as well, recently i get somebody that just replace the emmc memory and the cellphone now is working fine, the cellphone startups and works fine but after 1 hour the cellphone just reboot…now, the time of rebooting is getting shorter, i dont know what to do, i have now the 4.3.1 android version installed to be more specific, the cyanogenmod cm-10.2-20140209-NIGHTLY-n7100 file, maybe you should now something about it, thanks in advance!!

    • You are using an old version of CyanogenMod. That might be the problem because CM is never stable. Update to the latest CM version or go back to official firmware.

      • Hey thanks for your answer but finally i have noticed that my cellphone is rebooting just when i install the gapps, it seems that there is a google process that is killing my cellphone…do you know what should i do in order to solve that? thanks in advance!!

          • The version of the Gapps i am using is the same of my android version, 4.2.1 and nothing…Do you know if i can install google apps not as a group, i mean, individually? on the other hand, i need to use this version of android, i know, it is kinda old but with recent versions, mi cellphone reboot…this is the only version which my phone doesnt reboot!

  180. hi
    i have installed CM 10.2 on galaxy s3
    with CWM 6.0.4.7
    so i’m safe ? or i must install a kernel safe ?
    or i must back to 4.3 official
    Thanks

  181. What is the name of this insane chip? Which is the specific chip on the motherboard, model number or chip number and name?

  182. Unplugged my fully charged 3S from car charger and phone was dead. No lights, no power nothing. Put in new battery, plugged in another charger- nothing. Aside from SDS is there any other possible reason for this that can be fixed? My main concern is retrieving all my videos and pictures of my kids growing up the last 6 months since I last backed up.

  183. My galaxy s3 also suffered from SDS. I was able to get the phone to turn on by repeatedly pressing the power button as fast as I could until it cape completely on. I then held the power button and manually shut it off. After that, I pressed the power button and it came on (completely) by itself. It stayed on for a couple of hours which allowed me to retrieve anything I needed to but it eventually wouldn’t come on no matter what technique I used.

  184. Thanks for your post. I discover that my S3 has an insane chip. But so for no symthon of sudden death. My S3 has 4.3 jellybean.

  185. Hi

    my phone I believe has SDS..wont charge in any way and samsung want to replace the motherborad..any way of recovering the data..dont care for th ephone as I have another one..just want the photos/contacts..if remove the chip EMMC is ther any way can retrieve data?

  186. Ronaldo,help!my samsung S4 was working fine until it just died.i couldnt on it nor charge.WHen i charge the icon isnt even there nor notification light.It is just a black screen.the samsung icon comes out for 2seconds when i take out and put the battery back in.however its completely dead now:( any idea what caused this?it was working fine a few hours ago till it just died:(

  187. Hi Ronaldo. So the other day I was using my galaxy s3 when all of a suddenly shut. It still had about 30% battery life before it shut off so I knew that it hadn’t died. I removed the battery and tried to restart the phone and it made the booting up noises but nothing appeared on the screen. I let the phone sit for a while and then tried to charge it. Still nothing happened. I know the phone still works because the blue notification light still works and my phone still recievers messages and calls I am just not able to answer them because the screen doesn’t work. Is this a problem with the display or the phone itself and is it repairable? Any help would be much appreciated.

  188. Hey My S3 suddenly shut off on me. When I try to turn it on, it sows the “Samsung” sign for about for seconds then goes off again. The only way I can turn it on is by taking the battery out and putting it back in =. This is not the first time this has happened to me. The other times, it took about a day before the problem fixed itself. But this time, it’s been more than a day and it’s still not working

  189. Hello, I have my Galaxy s3 1.8year now, running 4.1.2
    yesterday I found my phone shutdown and it was not responding to anything
    tried to get in any mode and nothing happend.
    but when I plug it to charge suddenly a white scrren with pixels like a TV is on and that’s it… any clue what is that?
    thx in advance 🙂

  190. I have sgs3 with android 4.1.2. But still its dying. Its not responding i tried all your suggestion but i am unable to turn on my phone.plzz help me.when i take put my battery and plug the charger in the led flash light lit but when i put battery in no battery graphics was seen

  191. I have a note 2 and all of a sudden my phones not working when I went to charge it the battery came up as normal but it didn’t spin

  192. Also when I go to turn my phone on it stays on the samsung galaxy note ll screen and won’t move after that until the battery dies

      • I got the same problem on my s3. How to flash a stock firmware if odin cannot detect my phone? when i connect usb cable from my pc to my phone,omy pc cannot recognise my phone same as odin

  193. hi, My note 2 has dead (SDS) even if it’s in Android 4.3 ….
    I can’t get into Recovery mode, Only download mode is available
    And also, I dont have any warranty…
    Odin: No Pit repartition ERROR
    Jtag JIG has failled….
    Changing the Main board will fix that ??
    any other software methode still available ???

          • i need to get it fixed too the repair shop told me it will cost $350NZD to get it fix its like buying a new phone.. since i dont have that kind of money i want to know if is it worth getting a new motherboard? or worth getting a new phone?and also if i myself can fix it with proper care and tools?

  194. Hi, I have a Galaxy s3, and it’s having a severe battery drainage issue. I thought I might have SDS or something, but I’m on 4.3, I’ve sent it to Samsung twice and they’ve even replaced the motherboard, but it seems that nothing has changed. Do you know how I could fix this battery issue?

  195. Hello my sg3 screen has went black. I can hear it rebooting but the logo doesnt appear. The blue led at the top is constant (which may just mean I have a message).. Also the touch buttons at the bottom are illuminated. I cannot get to recovery mode. Is there a way I can fix this? Or at least recover my photos?

  196. i have Samsung S3 T999 American version. i have issue with EMMC card. is it fair to replace EMMC card and does it have some issues

  197. Hi Ronaldo, I have a Samsung Mega 6.3. It’s now dead… no power on, no lights… nothing at all. I know it’s not the battery coz I have a separate Samsung battery charger. What can this be? Thanks

  198. i have a galaxy s3 my probleme is that every time it bug and told me that measure or other app has stop working help me please

  199. I have a samsung s3 original korean, the problem is the screen will flickered and then it will shutdown, when i turn it on, it will not open unless i charge it, and when i look how many percent it has, it have 0 percent, Why is that so?

  200. mine just stays in the’samsung galaxy s3 gt-19300′ part and even when i take out the battery and put it back in, it’s still the same.
    does that mean my phone is already experienced sds?

  201. Hi, i might be late but i have samsung s3 whenever i open it the screen shows that its scrambled. I can access recovery mode. I took it to various repair shops they only say it needs to be replaced (emmc) and my data cannot be restored because its physically damaged. Is there anyway i can retrieve data from it?

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