I thought I would fill you guys in on a recent project of mine. I think this can also add on to the repository of awesome help on WPCentral for people with any future troubles of trying to fix bricked 920's:
Chapter 1: What I Settled For
Like many of you, I followed the introduction of WP8 and was enamored. When I first heard of the Lumia 920, I was impressed, and when I saw the power of its camera, I was in love. Of course, as an American, it was simply soul crushing when I learned that it was going to be exclusive on AT&T, with no sign of a Lumia handset coming to T-Mobile.
When I learned of the 810, I was happy again, but I wasn't enamored with it as I was the 920. I bought it anyways, spending a good $500 (when I could have simply gotten the Nexus 4 for about 300) and enjoyed my experience.
What upset me was the way T-Mo handled the device. Almost no accessories and very little support. In fact, I believe they announced the EOL of the device, hoping to replace it with less costly devices (Lumia 521). I was pretty upset when I learned that even though the 810 is LTE capable, T-Mo wouldn't bother with supporting it.
Chapter 2: Not Quite the 920 I was Looking For
I looked to replace it but with what? The Lumia 925 was coming out but that would easily run me $600. Pentaband Lumia 920s were going for $400-500. I could wait a few months after the 925 was released and buy one for about $400 but A. I'm impatient, and B. that's still too expensive.
I looked to eBay to see if I could purchase a 920. I purchased an ATT one in near perfect condition and hoped that I could live off of re-farmed areas but it was too frustrating. Luckily, my girlfriend was desperate for an upgrade so I was able to get away with gifting it to her (Think Apple iOS refresh desperate) and she fell in love with the 920 (She's on Telus so it fully supports her network. Yes she's Canadian).
Chapter 3: The Decision
I was still bummed because I really thought it would work. I started figuring out how to justify paying for a Lumia 925. I just happened to be on eBay when I saw a pentaband Lumia 920 for $300. I figured the screen was shattered because they normally don't go that low. I read the description. "In perfect condition but the phone is BRICKED. Nokia Care couldn't even fix it. It falls into an endless boot loop".
Great. Of course it's $300. Then I got curious because I remembered reading something...I found that article again and here it is:
Tip: How to fix a bricked Nokia Lumia 920 | Windows Phone Central
*Thanks itxJobe!
I sat there looking at the eBay listing and decided to gamble. On one hand, if I am able to fix it, I just got the phone of my dreams, in perfect condition, for pennies on the dollar. On the other hand, if it fails...I'm out $300. Chances are this guy got a new Lumia 920 from Nokia after being unable to fix this one.
Chapter 4: Failure
After waiting for what felt like months, I finally received the phone in the mail. I opened it and it was in stunningly flawless condition. I brought it inside and began following the directions. Except that Navifirm didn't work. I was dejected. Then I read a comment at the bottom of the instructions that stated that Navifirm doesn't have the files anymore, but there was a way to force Nokia Care Suite to download it for you. I followed the directions in that link:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...oad-official-nokia-roms-without-navifirm.html
in that link and an hour later I was ready to play with my Lumia 920! Except. That. It. Failed.
Right then I realized...man I'm an *****. WHO spends $300 on a phone that doesn't work thinking they can fix it? I felt like a complete moron.
Chapter 5: Lol JK, Success
I frantically searched for other fixes. After reading various post in WPCentral and XDA, I noticed that there was alot of focus on the actual firmware file being uploaded. The one that Nokia Care Suite was allowing me to download was .0000. The one everyone kept talking about was either .1002 or .1001. So I did a few more google searches and came across this link:
Rom needed not available anymore - xda-developers
Post #8 had a link to the .1002 firmware from an incredibly sketchy Chinese website. I figured, hell, what do I have to lose? Already lost 300...so I started downloading the files and replacing the firmware that Nokia Care Suite required me to download. It took five tries to download the damn files. Every time it was close to finishing (the main file size is about 1.4 GB) my internet would crap out on me. As I was about to lose hope, it finally downloaded. With my heart beating (yes, I'm a loser) I tried uploading the firmware onto the phone. After an agonizing few seconds...SUCCESS! The firmware started to load.
A few hours later, I updated (through the phone itself) to Portico and had it customized to my liking.
Definitely a gamble that paid off but it may not necessarily be worth it to you folks out there. Big shout out to the various members of WPCentral. Without your posts I never would have been able to figure this out. Shout out to the eBay seller, my girlfriend for taking my phone, and my own idiocy for taking a $300 risk.
If anyone is stuck in a rut feel free to message me and I'll do my best to help you out!
Chapter 1: What I Settled For
Like many of you, I followed the introduction of WP8 and was enamored. When I first heard of the Lumia 920, I was impressed, and when I saw the power of its camera, I was in love. Of course, as an American, it was simply soul crushing when I learned that it was going to be exclusive on AT&T, with no sign of a Lumia handset coming to T-Mobile.
When I learned of the 810, I was happy again, but I wasn't enamored with it as I was the 920. I bought it anyways, spending a good $500 (when I could have simply gotten the Nexus 4 for about 300) and enjoyed my experience.
What upset me was the way T-Mo handled the device. Almost no accessories and very little support. In fact, I believe they announced the EOL of the device, hoping to replace it with less costly devices (Lumia 521). I was pretty upset when I learned that even though the 810 is LTE capable, T-Mo wouldn't bother with supporting it.
Chapter 2: Not Quite the 920 I was Looking For
I looked to replace it but with what? The Lumia 925 was coming out but that would easily run me $600. Pentaband Lumia 920s were going for $400-500. I could wait a few months after the 925 was released and buy one for about $400 but A. I'm impatient, and B. that's still too expensive.
I looked to eBay to see if I could purchase a 920. I purchased an ATT one in near perfect condition and hoped that I could live off of re-farmed areas but it was too frustrating. Luckily, my girlfriend was desperate for an upgrade so I was able to get away with gifting it to her (Think Apple iOS refresh desperate) and she fell in love with the 920 (She's on Telus so it fully supports her network. Yes she's Canadian).
Chapter 3: The Decision
I was still bummed because I really thought it would work. I started figuring out how to justify paying for a Lumia 925. I just happened to be on eBay when I saw a pentaband Lumia 920 for $300. I figured the screen was shattered because they normally don't go that low. I read the description. "In perfect condition but the phone is BRICKED. Nokia Care couldn't even fix it. It falls into an endless boot loop".
Great. Of course it's $300. Then I got curious because I remembered reading something...I found that article again and here it is:
Tip: How to fix a bricked Nokia Lumia 920 | Windows Phone Central
*Thanks itxJobe!
I sat there looking at the eBay listing and decided to gamble. On one hand, if I am able to fix it, I just got the phone of my dreams, in perfect condition, for pennies on the dollar. On the other hand, if it fails...I'm out $300. Chances are this guy got a new Lumia 920 from Nokia after being unable to fix this one.
Chapter 4: Failure
After waiting for what felt like months, I finally received the phone in the mail. I opened it and it was in stunningly flawless condition. I brought it inside and began following the directions. Except that Navifirm didn't work. I was dejected. Then I read a comment at the bottom of the instructions that stated that Navifirm doesn't have the files anymore, but there was a way to force Nokia Care Suite to download it for you. I followed the directions in that link:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...oad-official-nokia-roms-without-navifirm.html
in that link and an hour later I was ready to play with my Lumia 920! Except. That. It. Failed.
Right then I realized...man I'm an *****. WHO spends $300 on a phone that doesn't work thinking they can fix it? I felt like a complete moron.
Chapter 5: Lol JK, Success
I frantically searched for other fixes. After reading various post in WPCentral and XDA, I noticed that there was alot of focus on the actual firmware file being uploaded. The one that Nokia Care Suite was allowing me to download was .0000. The one everyone kept talking about was either .1002 or .1001. So I did a few more google searches and came across this link:
Rom needed not available anymore - xda-developers
Post #8 had a link to the .1002 firmware from an incredibly sketchy Chinese website. I figured, hell, what do I have to lose? Already lost 300...so I started downloading the files and replacing the firmware that Nokia Care Suite required me to download. It took five tries to download the damn files. Every time it was close to finishing (the main file size is about 1.4 GB) my internet would crap out on me. As I was about to lose hope, it finally downloaded. With my heart beating (yes, I'm a loser) I tried uploading the firmware onto the phone. After an agonizing few seconds...SUCCESS! The firmware started to load.
A few hours later, I updated (through the phone itself) to Portico and had it customized to my liking.
Definitely a gamble that paid off but it may not necessarily be worth it to you folks out there. Big shout out to the various members of WPCentral. Without your posts I never would have been able to figure this out. Shout out to the eBay seller, my girlfriend for taking my phone, and my own idiocy for taking a $300 risk.
If anyone is stuck in a rut feel free to message me and I'll do my best to help you out!
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