RIFF JTAG – ASUS P526 Unbrick, Dead Boot repair supported

10.03.2011   ASUS P526 Unbrick, Dead Boot repair supported

Resurrection of ASUS P526 is slightly complicated. JTAG pads are very small and sensitive thus extreme care must be taken when soldering wires to the board. Battery must be connected in order to establish JTAG connection.
Current resurrector re-flashes only the IPL area, and will not re-write MDOC XLOADER area (though write of this area is supported too).
Please note: DiskOnChip G4 memory has security features, due to which there is a risk of permanently blocking the access to the flash memory while re-flashing the XLOADER areas. Current resurrector will not touch the XLOADER zone, but it is possible you’re already holding such killed device in hands. If it is so you will see this error:
****************************************************************
Detected a Not Initialized FLASH1 Chip ID: 0x0400/0xFBFF
ERROR: Selected FLASH Chip was not initialized by the DCC Loader
****************************************************************

This can happen due to unknown protection keys used or due to permanently blocked MDOC chip. If latter is true we advise you to solder a new flash memory chip or throw this phone away to the trash bin.

To resurrect ASUS P526:

  • Solder JTAG cable to ASUS P526 JTAG pads;
  • Insert battery and connect USB cable to phone and PC;
  • Make sure ASUS P526 is selected in the list of models;
  • Click Resurrect button;
  • Wait till software signals a successful operation completion;
  • Disconnect USB cable, de-solder JTAG wires;

Now phone is in bootable condition, that is, even if it does not start up normally, you can flash it using known flashing methods.
If phone not enters download mode after resurrection then it means XLOADER was damaged too but memory chip is still usable. In this case repeat resurrection using RAM Downloader Mode and when USB connection is established reflash the phone with official firmware.

To enter download mode:

  • Disconnect PC cable;
  • Insert battery;
  • Move ‘Lock’ slider down, hold ‘OK’ key (on the left) and press ‘Power ON’ button. In few seconds you should see TriColor picture.

Additional info:

  • Phone has DiskOnChip G4 memory type, which has security features. It has two password protected partitions (Password1 = 12345678, Password2 = 00000000);
  • XLOADER re-flash is not performed in this resurrector on purpose. While re-flashing the XLOADER area there is a risk of permanently blocking the memory chip.
  • Any write access (Erase or Write) on MDOC NAND memory range 0x00000000 to 0x0017FFFF is rejected by the DCC Loader

Please click “Check For Updates” button in order to download and apply new files. Closing all running application before starting update process is recommended.