What...happened?

Hardware Hub Phones, Tablets, & Wearables
1

So, long time android user here. Yet, for some reason, I have never, EVER done a backup.

Never needed to. Odds are, stock backups are online if you REALLY dun goofed, but I never really have data I care about between wipes, phones, and new ROMs (I would, but google backs up 99% of what I want backed up). However, only one ROM has 4.3 for my phone from a ROM maker I trust. However, since I put so much work into my current setup, I thought that I should do a backup, for once, since I was assuming the 4.3 build may have issues, I'd rather restore a backup then reflash, and spend a good hour gettings all my settings and app setting restored.

Info, before I get to the problem.

Optimus G for my phone, running on the Sprint network. I'm using a rootbox ROM, which is synced to the very latest kernals. Everything has been running flawlessly on my phone for a while now. I am using TWRP recovery, and the ROM is 4.2.2, with stock gapps (not that that matters, but I info is useful to someone). Also, the phone was at a 72% charge.

So, I start the backup, going well, although a tad slow compared to a wipe or flash. Then the screen goes black. I'd say the bar was about 30% finished in TWRP. I thought it may have been the screen going in to sleep mode, as it's done this when I leave the phone sitting after a flash, but alas. It was not. The power button did nothing. So I hold the power button, turn it off. Nothing.

Now here's the fun part. I CAN get in to the alternate booscreen. However, on my phone it's....just a screen. There are no options, and I don't remember anything beyond when getting it the instructions were "press down on the volume key twice and press power to enter into recover mode" which, does not work. The phone has been VERY weird at this point. When unplugged, nothing can happen at all almost as if the battery is dead. Sometimes trying to get into the bootloader the LED light flashes red, along with the "hard" key button lights flashing (what are those called? The hard keys on phones that aren't keys, but a surface you touch. I refraid from softkeys because that usually is talking about the NavBar). I CAN get in to download mode, but right now I am at work, and will be for the next 6 hours. Many, MANY sites are blocked here, and thankfully, tek syndicate is not one of them. However, I am very limited and no sources to download any software needed to fix the issue. 

If no one has suggestions beyond using download mode, feel free to post those links. I could most likely find all that info on my own when I get home. I'm no stranger to android at all, although never.....dare I say it, bricked anything before. I assume this would be not that hard to fix with download mode, and I'm hoping that maybe someone has a link that works here at work, and can be used with these computers.

The alternate question, or, TL;DR How could performing a backup cause a brick? I was backing up using TWRP, for the first time, on 4.2.2 android and during backup, black screen, can use bootloader, and download mode, but will not boot into ROM or recovery, as well as no actions at all without being plugged in.

Thank you in advance!

If this post in convoluted, I'm basically asking why this would have happened. After that, any suggestions to fix it without using download mode would be good, but I will take download mode suggestion as either the site may not be blocked here at work, or I could use the link when I get home later.

2

If your battery died it could have caused a brick, but as with MANY android phone getting an updpate especially one that was over the air, for some reason, causes severe bricks when combined with an old recovery. Examples are HTC Vivid, HTC One X Motorola Atrix and I know at least one more I can't remember now. This is very possible to be the cause of your problem. Chances are you have a "hard soft brick" (not sure if thats what it is called). I haven't used download mode since my Continuum, but it was hold volume down and power? The most common way I did it was take out the battery, plug it into the pc and hold volume down only. Now download mode was a safehaven for me because I always soft bricked my phone (this was a long time ago I know what i'm doind now). On my current HTC Vivid the ATT update RUU which was simple software for stores to update their in stock phones and was able to take away the soft bricks (thansk CM10). I have no idea what the quick fix is for LG phones, or your Optimus G, but I can almost guarantee their is one on xda or rootz somewhere. Just look around and try to find someone with a similar issue, it's probably happend before.

3

Yeah, since I posted this I've been on the IRC and XDA. 

Basically, it's possible my battery may need to be reset. Taken out, put back in. They came to this conclusing because I flashed a teenbin (basically, I flashed recovery, but not quite, but that's a good enough TLDR) and still nothing. So then I flashed the entire stock image, again, nothing. 

So, since I'm keen to not dabble with my phones hardware while I'm in contract, under insurance, I took it to sprint. The guy there seemed very helpful and nice. I talked to him behind the service counter since my rep just said to wait while he helped a customer. The tech and I talked about how he wasn't supposed to open my phones because LG and Sprint say they don't have the proper tools (torx and fingernail to open, torx and tap to put back together) and we got in to talking about the phone, even the possibility of me putting a touchstone wireless charger into the thing (we both agreed the back didn't have enough room to pull it off well).

Basically, he said my battery was seated into the board, well not seated, he used a different word that I can't think of right now. He seemed to think that the some phones had a replaceable battery and some didn't for that model. He already opened another phone and got the battery ready to remove. I still found it weird that the same phone would have different battery tech, and later IRC said he still should have reset the battery, since all the phones are the same (for once, I believe the tech. Who has opened multiple of that phone? Probably not users with only their phone, and a phone few probably have opened).

So, I'm waiting. No loaner phones available, thank god for google voice allowing me to text from my PC. They'll ship a new phone to the store in 2-3 days where I can swap my phone for it. Weird issue, tech things it's some other hardware that freaked out, IRC still thinks a battery reset would fix it, but either way, going the tech support route.

I'll try to backup on the phone again, just to make sure that wasn't the issue, but since most people DO actually backup, I assume plenty have before with my phone, and somehow, the hardware magically had a terrible hiccup that I hope I never have to deal with again.

4

It's good you got it sorted out, just remember when flashing again to read all must reads on xda and to make sure you follow all the steps, is easy to overlook a last step -cough boot.img on HTC devices cough-

5

Haha yeah.

On my s2 (only phone I've actually lost) I read AFTER I flashed to ICS, that no one should flash to ICS yet until they fixed the bug that randomly would brick upon flashing. Thankfully, I was fine, but after that I ALWAYS read posts. You never know what happens from phone to phone. Some are easy as hell to root (like my S2 was) but other phone, like the Thunderbolt I did for my roomate, was a GIANT pain in the ass. 

In the end though, as long as you have a basic knowledge of computings ins and outs, and you read each and every step, you should be fine. Oh and googling. I really want to try to get more people in to the scene because I find it so wonderful and a lot less scary than it seems (plus, once you get past getting a recovery, it's super hard to screw things up and as long you or a friend knows a decent bit about using the recovery)

Well, thanks for the reply, and happy ROMing!