A smartphone is called bricked when it turns into an unusable box because its software or hardware is damaged. Software issues generally are in the form of corrupted firmware or key system files which won’t let the device boot up. While hardware issues would require a physical repair, most software issues (soft brick) can be sorted out by flashing the factory image and hence bringing the device back to life. This however requires a device to be bootable into Fastboot and Recovery modes. Here’s how to recover (unbrick) an Asus Zenfone 2 from such a situation.
Recovering (Unbricking) the Asus Zenfone 2
Whether your Zenfone 2 has bricked due to a failed OTA update because the device is rooted or there’s some other issue, the solution is pretty straightforward – Flash the Full Stock ROM. Read on to find out how to do that and recover your phone from a soft-bricked or malfunctioning state. Your personal data will generally stay right there, but don’t get too surprised if it is all cleaned up.
- Download and Install ADB on your PC.
- Download and Install the Intel USB/ADB Drivers.
- Download the latest Stock ROM from the Asus website by visiting the following links. If your device got bricked after a recent OTA software update, wait a few days while Asus uploads the latest Stock ROM. On the page below, select Android as the OS and then expand the Firmware section. For non WW devices, please check your regional Asus website for the download details.
Zenfone ZE551ML Stock ROM
Zenfone ZE550ML Stock ROM - Copy the downloaded Stock ROM to the folder where you installed ADB (Generally C://adb)
- In power off state, press and hold the Volume Up key and then press and hold the Power Key till the phone vibrates. Release the power key at vibration, but keep pressing the Volume Up key. Wait for the phone to boot into fastboot mode.
- In the fastboot mode, keep pressing the Volume Down key till you see Recovery Mode. Press Power Key to select it.
If you encounter a dead android icon at this stage, just press and hold the power key and then press the volume up key. Release both and you’ll be into the recovery mode. - In recovery mode, select Apply update from ADB.
- Connect your phone to the PC and open the ADB folder. Right click while holding down the shift key and choose Open command window here.
- Pass the following command in ADB. Replace file.zip with the name of Stock ROM zip (eg: UL-Z00A-WW-2.19.40.22-user.zip) downloaded in step 2.
adb sideload file.zip
- Wait for the process to complete as it will take a couple of minutes.
Reboot the phone when it is all done and hopefully your Zenfone 2 will be boot up fine, alive and working again.
Dear sir,
After complete your Given Instruction completing i have lost my singals Of Jio And vodafone 4g , plz give me new instructions for connecting Jio and Vodafone 4G ?
The instructions are complete. Do note that only 1 SIM is 4G enabled on the Zenfone 2.
Sir i am unable to pass the white screen step where i have to press the power button and volume button together to go to recovery mode Please help
This article saved me from a factory reset on my Zenfone 3 !
PS : if your adb.exe can’t read the rom zip, you can try this https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/large-address-aware.112556/
Thanks
Please help me! I’M DESESPERATE my Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ml has a bootloop (stuck at asus logo infinitely.)
I did all the process step by step but at the moment of connect the phone to the lap, this is not recognized (unknown device and it says 43 code)(I didn’t disable the usb debugging because the phone gone bricked suddenly) and in cmd.exe it says cannot read…I don’t know whats happening, i also try flashing my phone with asus flash tool and raw firmware, but still the same problem…what am i do wrong? It’s the USB, Lap, me (I know nothing about rooting and all that things) or the phone is literally dead and has no remedy
Thank you and sorry for the bad english :/
hope you can help me!
I know this is a very late answer, but did you download the ASUS drivers for your phone?
https://www.asus.com/us/support/Download/39/1/0/13/Lk0Sg1Ulh0Ph49Hl/32/ – Go to USB and download the drivers. Make sure everything is installed properly, then try again. If it still doesn’t work, then I don’t know how to help you :/
Further to my previous comment…an update…
I have further investigated…and something cropped up…
For some weird reason…Asus, supposedly with ‘normal’ micro input…have input slots that will not accept any data/charge cable but their OWN-!
As it is not micro C 3…what’s the point, as many gamers use long leads, so use a good quality 3M lead.
The one supplied with Zen 2 is very short….so I use a good branded one which I just found isn’t charging.
I used it’s OWN-it is now charging…and a message came up asking me to use Asus cable!
So….very restrictive policy Asus…WHY?
And quality cable should be acceptable…ALL other devices we have accept my 3M-!
We had several Asus products in our family….and despite being au fait with various recovery options…none worked….Asus in general seems to have a product bricking problem….I have been with Android since OS 1.6…I find HUAWEI are way ahead for dependability…will never buy Asus products again.
in recovery mode,my zenfone 2 z008 not detected.so after i type command adb sideload file.zip,there is no reaction.after few mins its shows timeout.what can i do sir?
Did you install the ADB drivers? Please check in device manager that the drivers are installed for the ADB device.
i entered in cwm and was able to install zip from external sd card but it just stopped on ifwi. what should i do?
even after flashing stock rom, my phone is directly booting to fastboot mode and staying there
Sir i cant go through the recovery in my asus ze550ml showing an error which is blinking i tried power button +up volume button when error comes ….i tried all the suff…plzz help
No worries you can still get into recovery if you are getting an error. When the error pops up after trying to boot into recovery simply press the power and volume up buttons at the same time and release them.(dont hold them together for more than 2 seconds or you will have to restart this process) If you do it right you will get a screen that pops up with the options :reboot system now :apply update from ADB :wipe data/factory reset :wipe cache partition :reboot to bootloader :power down :view recovery logs
I follow the procedure but when I go to recovery mode, I get an android on his back with an exclamation mark and Error.
Did you follow the steps mentioned under step 6 of the article?
I can’t go into fastboot mode, i tried to press all buttons, it’s not working, i’m stuck at asus logo “ASUS, IN SEARCH OF INCREDIBLE, POWERED BY ANDROID” and my PC doesn’t detects my phone. Sometimes the USB logo appears, but when i go to my devices on my PC, there is only “Cloverlock”, ADB doesn’t detects my phone, too.
Thanks alot! It worked.
Very easy explaination Sir. Thanks. please tell , Does this metod erases user data.
Ideally, it should not, because only System partition is flashed. But since it is bricked, anything can happen. No guarantees 🙂
While my phone has started downloading the package via ADB, it suddenly stops and says
E:failed to verify whole-file signature
E:signature verification failed
Installation aborted
What should I do? Would really appreciate your response.
Your file seems corrupted (broken download?). Or you’re installing a file not built for your phone model.
is it working with usb debugging not enable? because i have invalid boot.img
USB Debugging is only used when Android is booted. When it is not even booted, USB debugging plays no role. Try this method or use the Asus Flash Tool.
i cannot change in bootloader its just showing bootloader what ever i select, like, if i select recovery mode/normal boot/restart bootloader/power off”” it is showing bootloader and it is in fastboot mode with “continue the fastboot process?” in green colour…whatever i select it is not going forward..stuck here..plz help
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551kl International Version Android 5.1 Rooted
I Interrupted a factory reset. Erased system in error using TWRP but then removed TWRP in error.
Now only able to get bootloop with logo or fastboot.
No recovery. fastboot erase cache or user-data works fine.
‘H:\asus>fastboot oem device-info
(bootloader) Device unlocked: true
(bootloader) Charger screen enabled: false
(bootloader) Display panel:
OKAY [0.004s]
finished. total time: 0.004s’
unable to flash system, boot or recovery.
fastboot responds with ‘FAILED (remote: Permission denied, phone is protected)’
how do I recover from this?
Oops.. So many things done in error.
Anyways, try using the Asus flash tool and it might be able to pick up the device.
My ASUS Zenfone 2 is facing dual problem (1) It is stuck in fastboot and (2) while trying to connext throuch PC, it say USB cannot be recognized. So effectively, I cannot bring my Zenfone out of this. What to do ?
Alright. When you connect to PC in fastboot, did you check the device manager if it shows the Fastboot device or android device or something on the same lines? If so you should be able to push some fastboot commands after installing the fastboot drivers.
How can install cyanogenmod in ASUS ZenFone2 laser kl550..
Pls give me a solution
Hello Sir,
i have ASUS Zenfone 2 ZE550ML
Last 3 day ago my phone is running very well with OS 6.0.1 marshmallow. but it doesn’t support VoLTE I look up for method to enable VoLTE and found a tutorial ” Zenfone 2 cyanogenmod 13″ this ROM let enable VoLTE. But because of bad luck my device is hard bricked.
My Steps:-
1. Flash TWRP Recovery (.img) via Fastboot Mode.
– After flashing it stuck on ASUS Boot
2. i tried another (.img “stock recovery”)
– After this i lost my recovery menu when i chose recovery mode it reboot to bootloder screen (fastboot screen)
3. Then last i use xFSTK tool with these 3 Files
a. ‘dnx_fwr.bin’
b. ‘droidboot_dnx.img.POS_sign.bin’
c. ‘ifwi.bin’
The Process was stuck on:
“XFSTK-STATUS–Firmware download completed. Continuing to OS”
“XFSTK-STATUS–Reconnecting to device – Attempt #1 – Attempt #20”
“XFSTK-STATUS–Timeout to detect the device, make sure to charge up your phone before flashing”
– After this step my phone hard bricked
No vibration, no usb logo, no charging led nothing 🙁
Only detecting as “MOOREFIELD”.
Please Help Me
[email protected] thanks in advance.
same with me..did u already fix it? im stuck on xfstk
elly deo or len have you ever found the solution for the same have you tried charging the battery anything have you visited any repair shop please let me know I have been scratching my head since 2 years on this still no luck
Yash shringare…I sent to asus centre , then they change the motherboard.. until now my zenfone 2 work.. but now i using ios.. my father use my zenfone 2 .. overall its still working.. better u buy a new phone .. its cost much expensive on new motherboard.. but i love zenfone 2 because of its performance ..goodluck bro ..!
I tried to flash my phone, but now it gets stuck at the “ASUS in search of incredible … powered by android” and I can’t enter the fastboot mode either. Any idea? Or am I screwed?
hi narinder,
my ze551ml was struck in fastboot mode after trying to install marshmallow update.
used xsftk to flash 3 files and it did is sucessfully.
now able to use the phone but the update is not detected by the phone now also recovery does not open at all (power+ voul down ). if i use power + vol up) it goes to fast boot but on selecting recovery over there it does not go to recovery it just boots back to the andriod.
otherwise the phone is working fine.
pls help how to fix this recovery issue.
i download all file when i reached in fastboot recovery then i press volume down byt unable to reach recovery, but when i switch off and press power and volume down it open recovery all options, tell me detail steps how to do fuether steps ,what i should type in cmd window abd how tu run all if possible provide screen shot
I’m guessing your phone isn’t one of the ZE551ML/ZE550ML for which this article was written?
Same problem bro
I downloaded all but i am unable to open command windown by hold shift click right then how i can find option help me plz
Which Windows are you using on your system?
pradeep, i need ur help actually i rooed my zenfoneselfie afer that only screen appears nothing else, i tried every thing but nothing happen ,now i am going o follow ur pos i downloaded driver and rom from website and adb and boo loader now please tell me how i have to do can u provide me screen shOT or though email.
thanks for replying
i am a new bie pls let me know the commands of fastboot also when i connect the phone with adb devices none is listed there. if it does not connect with adb how to run the fastboot command?
pls help i have gained some knowledge from internet but need help from you.
pls let me know in detail where to get the recovery img from and which commands to run as when i connect the phone to computer and run command adb devices none is listed there.
hi narinder,
i was updating the zenfone 551ml to marshmallow so manually downloaded the update file and put it in the root of phone. phone detected the file and said to install update. firstly it was installing but after few minutes fastboot mode displayed on phone by itself it has normal boot written on top which on selecting with volume down button goes to power off, recovery mode, restart bootloader. when recovery mode is selected by pressing power button. it reboots again back to fastboot mode withe normal boot written on top and at the bottom it is written ‘continue the fastboot process’.
pls help i am struck here. waiting for ur reply.
YOu should try flashing/booting stock recovery (img file) via fastboot commands and see if you can enter recovery that way. You might be able to flash the older version of stock ROM from there.
Hello I would like to get my smartphone after a ASUS update the device restarted and stayed at the ” ASUS in shearch of incredible ” ( Note: I have root)
I can not install ADB on my computer, is giving access denied. please help me!
Do you have Admin account on the PC?
my model number is asus zenfone 2 laser ze550kl i dont know whether it is brick or not? and i cant install any os its showing error 7 for all os which i try to install
please get me back bro
Hi, can you please advise on this error message. The installation gets aborted
* daemon started successfully *
Total xfer: 0.00x
That isn’t an error, can you please check what it displays on the phone’s screen?
Hi,
Phone goes to recovery mode menu and says ‘installation aborted’ at then bottom of screen.
That is strange. There needs to be an error on at least one side. Can you manage to try a different PC?
hello,
mine is error too. it message is ‘error: more than one device and emulator’. please help me.
You probably have Bluestacks or some other emulator installed on your system. Kindly close all its processes so that it is not detected in ADB.
How do I turn Usb debugging on when I cant boot up my device?
You do not need debugging on a device that is not starting up. ADB sideload from recovery will still work.
usb debugging off,
thus, it shows no devices found
Thank you so much. It saved my phone.
one thing sir when I install adb it says list of device atach…successfully.demon not shown this type
yes sir.I replace the name by copy the zip file name and paste it adb sideload file.zip(ul.20…..the download file name)..but then also it not working plz help me…
when I type adb sideload file.zip its say cant read
Did you replace file.zip with the name of downloaded file?
sir, it is must to put the rom zip file in c drive adb folder in pc???? I have asus zenfone 2 ze550 ml and after I rooted my phone i took a ota update and phone is not opening stuck on boot logo.I want tried your proces .
No. It is not. You can point it to the location of the zip file.
When I write fastboot devices in the command window my device doesn’t show up. Is it because I don’t have USB debugging on and is there any way to turn it on?
You should check that ADB drivers for your device are correctly installed. Even if debugging is disabled, the device will be detected.
what comnd ..and what name will enter plz clearly tell
I’ve already written as clearly as I could. Can you tell me what part is unclear?
I have a problem where the phone is rooted and stuck in boot loop from xposed framework install and will not accept the firmware. ADB error status 7. I also cannot flash any of the boot images without getting a denied access response. I have already tried formatting user data and the cache. The only parts of the phone that are accessible is the boot menu and recovery mode. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
What package are you trying to flash via ADB? Make sure it is newer or current to what is already installed. If it still fails, try booting into an older stock recovery via fastboot boot command.
thanks mate!
plss help .. cannot read UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.183-user.zip
Thanks a ton! I rooted my zenfone 2 some months ago and then yesterday I took OTA update. And It got stuck. I followed your tutorial and I was able to unbrick my phone. Thanks once again.
I’m glad that this has helped you! Enjoy 🙂
Thank you so much, your guide brought my zenfone back to life 😀
Worked like a charm.
Thank You
I did exactly stated above and completed the installation and when I reboot it again prompts the same error as stated below..
” ERROR: Can’t load invalid boot image!”.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooT finnaly got out of fastboot mode previously deleting my at&t rom and it bootloader. google up for “Unlock & Relock for Zenfone 2 (ZE500CL)” and install the unlock bootloader while install twrp my phone actually goes in twrp by itselfand thanks god
Unlock & Relock for Zenfone 2 (ZE500CL)
How to start the dead zenfoen 2 and whats the key combination
Hi, my Zenfone 2 Z00A has been bricked for quite some time. I have NO Operating System. I was able to push a Tethered version of TWRP onto it. Using adb sideload i get the message ” error : closed”. I Should also mention that TWRP sees my internal storage as 0MB. Is there any anyone who knows how to restore or repartition the internal storage?.. if it can be done by the ROM, then how can i fix the sideload error message?..
I have a feeling that i might need to find a way to root it if possible if that would allow the sideload to go through..
Please help! I’m in need of guidance
Thanks.
Hi i had downloaded for my zenfone 2 Z00A-2.20.40.174 and necessary usb drivers and adb drivers while i typed the cmd as adb sideload file name.zip iam getting cannot read thw filename.zip.Pls help me wat can i do nxt.
My ZenFone 2 was bricked by the latest beta OTA to Marshmallow. I installed the OTA but in the “Installing System Update” screen, the update was not happening after 15% approximately, I even waited for 3hrs. So, I thought of restarting the phone to retry the installation. I switched off the phone using the power button, but when I pressed the power key to boot up the phone, it doesn’t work. I tried connecting to a charger, but there was no response. No Vibration, No LED charging indicator. I can’t even boot the phone into recovery mode(Volume up+power key also doesn’t work). So, the phone is totally dead.
I also tried reconnecting the battery connector after unscrewing the back of the device, still doesn’t work. When I connect the phone to PC via USB, it shows ‘MOOREFIELD’ in the unrecognised devices category (Device manager in windows 7). So, the phone might somehow connect to the PC, but it is unrecognised. Could anyone please provide a genuine solution to the problem?
Please help!!
Thank you.
Try this procedure to return the display of my asus zenfone laser 2 to life before it had had a problem with the touch trying to root, so I was forced to try to install another update to reinstall, drivers . When I did my phone battery was not much, and the process was half and the screen has not reignited. The touch works because I can answer calls, but does not enter recovery and does not give me logo or image. Surely the process was interrupted, what can I do to fix this? Someone could help me?
how to recover bricked zenfone 4 A400cg ?
umm.. there is no recovery option at fastboot !
so is that mean there is no recovery?
if anyone has recovery of zenfone plz uplod and give link and my bootloader is also locked for you’re information
and if anybody found solution regarding this issue plz give reply
thanks
Hello!
I’ve got a Zenfone 2 my ze551ml and i have not root it or anything else , i have left it in a factory mode since i bought it and one day I restart it by pressing the power button and selecting “restart” and the next thing I saw on the screen was the usb logo.
i have tried to enter the reboot mode by pressing the power off plus volume up button and it does not enter in the boot mode. It keeps shwing the usb logo and the white line under it
I’m scared about it because i have not change anything software related in the phone, as i said, i left it in the default factory settings and software has being updated only when the notification appears.
How can i enter in the boot mode if the key combination (power off+volume up) does not work?
Thanks for your help beforehand.
Serial no shows 0123456789abcdef what to do ?
This is normal. The same shows for all Zenfone 2 devices. Don’t worry and proceed with flashing the stock ROM.
I have another problem …..mobile doesn’t enter to the recovery mode
If the dead Android icon shows up, you have to follow the key combinations mentioned in the post.
thanks a ton man !!!!! You are the best !! 🙂
I’m glad it was helpful. Enjoy! 🙂
fala amg meu zenfone deu um brik tentei fazer o tutorial acima mas na hora de fazer o comando da rom aparece a seguinte mensagem ”não é reconhecido como um comando internoou externo, um programa operável ou um arquivo em lotes.” voce poderia me ajudar por favor to desesperado!!!!!
hello bosss not working ur trick in youtube Zenfone 2 – Reinstalando a rom original
same fone ……..whyyyy……plzzzzz help me ………cm 13 is problematic version ……..i want original Rome ….plzzz help
C:\adb>adb sideload UL-Z00A-JP-2.20.40.174-user.zip
loading: ‘UL-Z00A-JP-2.20.40.174-user.zip’* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
serving: ‘UL-Z00A-JP-2.20.40.174-user.zip’ (~6%) * failed to read command: cannot connect to daemon
Mine does the following then stops the process. please help thanks
🙂
Hi, Asus Zenfone 2 getting restart, battery draining, over heating .Rotted through IDB sideload, while on IDB devices serial number showing as 123456789.please help me to solve the issue.
You can try doing a factory reset of the device and see if that sorts out the problem.
As for the serial number, it is a system bug and applies to all Zenfone 2 devices. Do not worry about that 🙂
And it happens again, after accidentally OTA update my ze550ml brick. But now i can’t even use adb sideload command, trying fastboot boot update.img gave me an error result about not enough space. Is there something i can do? Help pls. Thanks in advance.
You’re trying to boot update.img, but what is that update.img file? If you’re trying to push the update using that, it isn’t tight. You need to boot the recovery with that command, but if you’ve renamed recovery.img as update.img, then it is okay. The space issue should only happen because there’s a limited amount of space allocated to the recovery and it cannot go beyond that.
when i’m trying to switch on my zen2 z008d, it’s vibrates and showing a dead android. So plz help me out from this problem….
Hello.. maybe you can help fix my bricked problem
i’ve tried everything listed and tried every possible way to unbrick my zenfone 2
no matter what ROM i used, it always get failed at 50% or something when im trying to update via adb sideload
here what is written on the log:
cant install this package (11 4 10:05:40 CST 2015) over newer build (1 7 22:31:02 CST 2016)
error in /sideload/package.zip
See, it already says in the log that you’re trying to flash an older ROM when you have a newer one already installed.
In the default setup, you can only flash the same version or a newer version. It won’t pick up an older.
If this happened after a recent software update, you should wait for Asus to update the latest full ROM on their website and flash that. This can take upto 7 days. Your other option is to boot into an older recovery and then flash the ROM file which you already have. That way it will be picked up and the phone will be up and running.
I’ll try to help you further. Can you tell from where you downloaded the ROM that you’re trying to flash? 2015 doesn’t seem like the most recent ROM. Also, do you have TeamViewer on your PC? I’d try to remotely help you if you do.
I have an issue with entering recovery mode. It goes back to the fastboot screen. Adb shell doesn’t recognize my device. Stock ROM isn’t working, says the package can’t be used on a newer build. The only thing that works is Fastboot. I use CWM recovery but I’m not able to do anything substantial with it. Is there way to get my ROM working or my bootloader unlocked without a ROM?
Hi everybody
may you help to unbrick my zenfone :(((
i tryed the adb sideload but i also failed at 50% progress whatever the rom i was using
Does it print a log on the display of the mobile?
my zenfone is hard bricked. does not go to the recovery mode. stuck on a usb logo. what should i do? model: zenfone ze550ml.. TIA
i am stucked with the sleeping android screen. please help
Where you put the adb-setup-1.4.2.exe and UL-ASUS_Z00D-WW-12.16.5.118-user.zip.
I put into desktop and my ASUS Phone only say
Now send the package you want to apply to the device with “adb sideload “…
but I´m in command prompt and follow your instructions and all is working like you in step 9
I see my phone and see the same message
could you please help me.
Tankyou
You have the place in in the same director where you have your ADB installed or to say it more clearly, the same directory in which you’re using CMD.
I accidentally flash a wrong RAW FILE for my ze550ml zenfone 2, and when im turning my z2 only setup wizard appears, no asus logo, and i cant even enter recovery mode. Help 🙁
Are you able to reach the fastboot mode?
Thanks you’ve noticed me 🙂 but i already fix my zenfone 2 🙂 but i still have a question, i still can’t receive OTA updates
Well, are you sure that there’s an OTA update which you’re missing out on? If you recently flashed the full stock ROM, chances are that you’ll already have the latest version installed 🙂 If the update really doesn’t show up, you’ll be needed to manually update by downloading either the OTA file or the full stock ROM which is published after the update being talked about.
This is what i did, i unlocked my bootloader after that, tried to lock it again by flashing raw file in asus flash tool, and then i flash 2.20.40.138 stock rom. There’s 2.20.40.144 update so i should receive ota but i did not.
Hi Lorenz
My problem is what you describe, the phone is totally dead, when I try to turn it on, it only vibrates, also I’m not able to enter to recovery mode nor bootloader (fastboot mode)
Do you have any idea of how to fix it?
hy there i my zenfone 2 os has been crashed and un able to go to recovery ood any 1 can help me with this
Hi how it’s going?
I have a bricked zenphone ml551 to, but im not able to enter to the recovery mode 🙁
The screen is not turning on, I the phone just vibrates when i try to turn it on or well i try to enter to recovery mode.
Do you have any idea about why is it happening ?
thanks in advance
What happen ?? It’s the same as mine, cant enter recovery mode and even bootloader, it only vibrates when im turning it on, maybe i can help you
Hi Lorenz
Yes my problem is exactly what you describe, the phone is totally dead, when I try to turn it on, it only vibrates, also I’m not able to enter to recovery mode nor bootloader (fastboot mode)
Do you have any idea of how to fix it?
I DO WHAT YOU SAY BUT WHEN I CHOOSE RECOVERY MODE THE PHONE REBOOT.LIKE ITS NOT FIND THE RECOVERY MODE.HOW CAN FIND OR FLASH AGAIN RECOVERY MODE?
I just downloaded a rom at http://romdienthoai.com/25-stock-rom-asus-zenfone-2-ze550ml/ but i don’t know how to flash. please tell me.
Why do you download from there? Download the latest from Asus’s website directly.
thanks, so many thanks 🙂 save the day
Hey, I just want to say thank you for this. It took me the whole day to figure out how to do all the steps and even flashing my installed ROM to make way for an older one so the steps you gave here would work – but all the effort was worth it!
I was losing hope in the middle of the process cos I keep on encountering the same road blocks, but hey, try and try until you succeed right? The effort paid off! Thanks again!
– Lean from the Philippines
Good to hear that, buddy. I’m sorry however if the article felt cumbersome. I understand that absence of images isn’t a good thing to have 🙂
Disregard my last comment – I made a few typo’s, sorry about that
I tried the ADB bootloader and it just quits at 52% 3 times in a row (used 3 different Firmware files), I did the most recent update from ASUS for
the storage issue from the OTA flaw and it completely bricked my Phone, Phone wasn’t rooted, and It was working fine “before” said Storage Issue update from Asus, Wish they would QC Check everything before hand am I right!?!?!
But I’m sending my Phone back to Asus under warranty for a replacement, gah makes me so angry that asus would pull a crappy stunt like this I mean really asus???
The latest full ROM takes a few days to appear on their website. Also, didn’t the LOG on phones screen show some error as to why it quit?
i tried it. but when its was installing when it reaches about 50% it fails 🙁 my phone is still unusable after i accidentally updated it. help me
anyways…i got the another alternative way to do the thing.. thanks for help though 🙂
You’re welcome. I however don’t think there’s any alternative other than doing via fastboot which might not work for bricked devices. Good luck with that 🙂
is UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.160-user.zip is for asus zenfone 2 ze551ml 4gb ram variant???…
Yes it is for the Zenfone 2. Are you checking out your phone’s screen? Can you please mention what it says in the logs there when you run the command on your PC? Also, do you have teamviewer, maybe I can help directly over there.
it does only 50% that abort
did u figure a way to fix that issue , because even mine stops at 47%
Is there some error that pops up on the phone? The log should reflect something.
no it didnt throw any error…i guess i shall extract the zip file and do the steps again
with different command
You do not need to extract the contents for the sideload or it will probably not work.
Trying to follow the steps, but in step 9 the ADB says “error: device not found” after trying to load…
The drivers installed correctly, but when I plugged the phone to the comp, windows wanted to install drivers as it didnt recognise it… Could it be that windows are not recognising the drivers even if it installed ?
Thanks
With device connected, please go to the device manager and see if the driver for the ADB devices is properly installed.
after doing all the steps repeatedly i discovered that my phone is aborting the installation …i downloaded the latest firmware from asus website …
i dont know what to do ahead..help ny1 ASAP 🙁
Does it throw an error or something? Because that is needed to guess what’s the issue.
After doing all the steps successfully ..I rebooted my rooted Asus zenfone 2 ze551ml but it still stays in the boot animation…I did a factory reset too ..but the results are the same :(.. Plz help ASAP
For how long did you wait with the Asus animation? The first startup can take longer than usual. Also, are you certain that it finished successfully?
when i type adb sidelload file.zip, it does till 50% after that it aborts 🙁
I”ve tried the steps, but my phone said: timed out waiting for package. What should I do?
Make sure that the ADB drivers are installed.
Thx , I will try it later
my device is not going to recovery mode after pressing the volume key for several time ///pls help me
You need to have it pressed.
Hello, please help me. My zenfone 2 stuck in usb logo. I try the instructions above like press and hold the power button and volume up, unfortunately my phone doesnt respond, it only vibrates and return to usb logo.
Hi. Those instructions are not for the devices stuck on USB logo. I can try to help you with an alternate way which might just work as I’ve never tried it myself. If you happen to have teamviewer on your system and ample time, maybe we can proceed.
help me by team viewer
Can’t go into the recovery.
After pressing volume up + power at sleeping android logo, this is what is popping on the scree…:
E:Can’t mount/cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can’t open/cache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:failed to mount /data (invalid argument)
btw, this cp is not mine im just helping for a friend. i want to fixed this :3 someone give me a help tHANKS!
while coping the firmware folder to adb folder copy the ziped one not the extracted one….it will work
C:\adb>adb sideload UL-ZC500TG_ASUS_Z00VD-WW-12.1.0.29.zip
loading: ‘UL-ZC500TG_ASUS_Z00VD-WW-12.1.0.29.zip’
*cannot read ‘UL-ZC500TG_ASUS_Z00VD-WW-12.1.0.29.zip’ *
every time, how to fix this?
The first thing I’d ask is what is the amount of RAM you have in your system and if the zip file opens up if you double click on it?
u can rename the zip file in the adb folder to something easy to copy like “file” after that in the cmd type adb sideload file.zip
I’m stuck. Can’t get into recovery mode.
after pressing power and vol up button, it shows normal boot and then after selecting recovery mode using poerdown to select it it shows android symbol and a message “error”
The info step between 6 and 7 isn’t working for me and the dead android is just flashing.
pls help me i beg you..
i have 1year warranty.. will service center people help me??
Hi Niranjan
Sorry to hear that you’re not able to get past that error screen. If you’ve tried the info step like 5 times already and it still does not work, you can either boot one of the recovery.img files via fastboot and you should then be taken to the recovery. It isn’t really easy to explain all that in this comment, so you can message our facebook page.
Otherwise yes, the service center should be able to help you. Just tell them that it is not booting up since the update. Do not mention that you have had it rooted or anything.
I Owe you a big thanks, you saved my life. Thanks so much. Works properly.
Glad that I was of help. Enjoy 🙂
hye bro i am using zenfone 2. first my double tapping did not work so i thought it might be a sensor problem and the next day when i turn on the vibration doesn’t work. now i can turn on my phone and only a dead android guy with red triangle keeps on popping up. cannot get into recovery mood as well because when i turn on no vibration on the error android sign. pls help me pls!
my zenfone 2 got rooted and accidentally updated while rooted. it got softbricked. a friend tried to recover it. The firmware was installed but still cant be used because a part of the screen doesnt function. what could have happened?
It seems like a hardware issue happened with the screen. You can still try doing a factory reset and see if it is of any help.
does it have something to do with the version of adb driver used?
some adb is for 32bit others are for 64bit..
It shouldn’t. The drivers are system specific, if they installed for you, they were the correct for your system. An incorrect ADB would not cause such an issue.
Done, perfect, thank you so much!!
what if i can’t access the fastboot mode with the power+vol up method? it just keeps showing the usb connection logo. 🙁
stuck with step 9… jst winrar popup and nothing…plz help
WinRAR? You’re not to open the file, Bijoy. You need top run that command.
I’m stuck. Can’t get into recovery mode.
The info step between 6 and 7 isn’t working for me and the dead android is just flashing.
You save me and my phone. Thank you.
This is great. Thank you for the great steps to recover my bricked phone! kudos!
I’m glad that it was helpful. Enjoy!
My Zenphone 2 (2GB RAM) has got stuck (or bricked). It shows a ‘usb logo’ on the screen… I guess it happened as i didn’t root the phone properly.. am not able to solve it by any method given above.. pressing 1,2, or 3 buttons simultaneously also doesn’t help much..
Please guide!!
it showing file.zip cannot read
How much RAM does your system have?
My Zenphone 2 (2GB RAM) has got stuck (or bricked). It shows a ‘usb logo’ on the screen… I guess it happened as i didn’t root the phone properly.. am not able to solve it by any method given above.. pressing 1,2, or 3 buttons simultaneously also doesn’t help much..
Please guide!!
*Switched off
I am not able to enter into recovery mode bro. By pressing Vol up and power key getting USB logo only and after that whatever i do no changes. it is getting switched after that…
Bro I root my Asus zenfone then its was OK bt few days later I update my phone via softwer update.after finishing update my phone get restart and it won’t open.its stuck on Asus logo.I am confused what can I do?
Help me plz
I badly need help
Just follow this article, mate. Your phone will get back to life. Lemme know if some step is hard to understand.
what if I have twrp installed?
bro recovery mode not showing up?
What else shows up, buddy? If there’s that dead android icon, the way to get past it is already mentioned 🙂
MANNN!!!!…..That ASUS stupids are not updating the new update that i updated on my phone…Narender, what to do buddy…!!??
You just need to flash the older recovery and fastboot and then you’ll be able to flash the older software version that you have. Please email directly or message the facebook page if you don’t know how to do that 🙂
YOO!!!!MAN!!!…..I GOT IT….AND ITS WORKING LIKE CHARM!!!…..MILLION THNX BRO…
Happy to hear that 🙂 Enjoy buddy!
Hello, can you pls tell us how flash the stock recovery and fastboot, just in case?
Thanks
You can download recovery.img, droidboot.img and boot.img from https://www.mediafire.com/folder/6voyfzipp287s/Z00A .
Copy them to the folder where you have your ADB installed. Then reboot the phone into fastboot mode. Finally run the following commands from a command line within your ADB folder:
fastboot flash fastboot droidboot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
If all goes well, you’ll be back to the stock recovery.
Ha bro I wl text you there…but if it was dead it wouldnt have on and show a usb symbol bro
Yes that is right, but there are certain hardware components on the motherboard as well which can cause that. So, we never know 🙂
Ya…U are right…I just have to wait for the correct update to download…And i am waiting…thanx Narander singh!!!
No problem, buddy. You can flash an older version after flashing an older fastboot and recovery, but I won’t advise that unless it is urgent.
Narender help me out I tried al the possible steps:((
Hey Rithvik, if the service center has called out that the device needs a replacement of motherboard, maybe it is really dead because if it had a chance, they’d have tried fixing it.
I’m not sure if we can still fix the device, but for ease, if you’re on Facebook or Twitter, please message our official accounts (https://www.facebook.com/TechMesto ) and I’ll try to help you as much as I can.
Hello Narender Singh…i have a problem in my Asus zenfone 2.First i rooted my phone and then i have updated my phone. From there when it comes to switching on the phone and under Asus logo the circle goes on rotating…What should i do??…Can the method above can solve the problem??
Yes. Just follow the steps in the post and your phone should be back to life. Lemme know if you need any additional help 🙂
Even if I connect to my pc it gets connected to the processor something morefield wil be displayed and I culdnt open it guys help me out
Guys if i on my zenphone just a usb symbol shows and and theres no fast booting mode that usb symbol wil be fo 10secs and aftr that cell shuts off…my cell was out of waranty and when I askd what had hapend dey said that mother board has gone and it would charge 5000 so guys pls help me to fix it
hello guys, I’m in trouble!
error: Total xfer: 1.12x in adb.
During the press-ROM, around 50% have this error in zenfone2:
Can not install this package (sun March 8 17:11:34) o er newer build (12 CTS 25 13:28:52 2015).
E: error in /sideload/package.zip
(Status 7)
PS: I forgot my smart was rooted and realized the system upgrade and it got caught on screen Asus
Hmm.. It seems that you’re writing an older version while a newer version was installed on the phone. Downgrading this way is impossible, hence you need to flash the latest version (the update that you received). If that version is not available on their website, you need to wait for some days before it becomes available.
YEAH ! It work !
Thank you so much, god bless you <3
Hi all
What about the dead phone?
Power on the phone and vibrates twice then restarts, screen is off and nothing happens.. even could not get into recovery mode..
I’ve rooted my ZE551ML and then unrooted for apply one OTA update, but i get an error right after the installation begin and the dead android stands there, i’ve tried to install with adb via recovery mode but i get the “system/app/newsstand/newstand.apk has unexpected content”. I live in Europe and have the Zencare protection, can i get a refund or the warranty is over? And is there any method to update?
Edit: i’ve also done a factory reset and still get that message
That’s correct. I can only go back to fastboot.
I’d be happy to flash back to a stock recovery but don’t know how to do that.
I have downloaded a few different versions but don’t know where to go from here to load.
It doesn’t matter to me which one works as long as i can wipe the phone and start over.
files I have downloaded:
UL-Z00A-WW-2.13.40.13-user.zip
UL-Z00A-CUCC-2.20.40.159-user.zip
UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.160-user.zip
Thank you for the help!
Is yours the WW version? Check on the device’s packaging (box). If so, grab one of the recoveries from here – http://www.mediafire.com/folder/setyy42t2cymy#dy87k1a0f8m81
Choose Z00A if your handset is ZE551ML and then open the folder 2.20.40.97 and download the 3 files provided there. Next, flash them via fastboot mode one by one using following commands:
fastboot flash fastboot droidboot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
Once that is done, try booting into recovery mode again and you’ll hopefully enter into recovery. Thereafter choose the apply update via ADB and then sideload the file.
If you happen to have TeamViewer on your computer, maybe we can connect and sort it out more easily than this comments thread 🙂
Thank you for the response. I don’t see a WW anywhere on my box.
The model is ASUS_Z00AD (ZE551ML)
I did download those files and try to write them using the fastboot commands you listed.. for some reason my device isn’t allowing me to write and I am at an Administrator command prompt
I do have TeamViewer11 installed and would be happy to let you connect anytime at your convenience.
Here’s the output:
C:\Users\mike\Desktop\asustemp>fastboot devices
F6AZFG12T398 fastboot
C:\Users\mike\Desktop\asustemp>fastboot flash fastboot droidboot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending ‘fastboot’ (14822 KB)…
OKAY [ 0.682s]
writing ‘fastboot’…
FAILED (remote: Permission denied
)
finished. total time: 0.836s
C:\Users\mike\Desktop\asustemp>fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending ‘recovery’ (11882 KB)…
OKAY [ 0.597s]
writing ‘recovery’…
FAILED (remote: Permission denied
)
finished. total time: 0.751s
C:\Users\mike\Desktop\asustemp>fastboot flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending ‘boot’ (11868 KB)…
OKAY [ 0.587s]
writing ‘boot’…
FAILED (remote: Permission denied
)
finished. total time: 0.738s
That’s strange. Please mail me at [email protected] when you are available. We’ll try solving it over teamviewer.
Email sent.. thanks again!
You’re the man!!
In the remote TeamViewer session he had me boot to a recovery.img in the fastboot console.
fastboot boot recovery.img
That got me to where I could actually get to the recovery console. From there it was a matter of sideloading it with adb sideload .zip
adb sideload UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.160-user.zip
I appreciate all the help!!
Thanks for the comment, Mike 🙂 I’m glad I was of help.
I can get into recovery mode and issue fastboot commands..
eg. fastboot devices – shows my device
fastboot reboot – reboots it so I know there’s a connection
However, it just loops back to the same fastboot screen when recovery is chosen.
I tried ‘fastboot format cache’ and I get
formatting ‘cache’ partition…
Creating filesystem with parameters:
Size: 268435456
Block size: 4096
Blocks per group: 32768
Inodes per group: 8192
Inode size: 256
Journal blocks: 1024
Label:
Blocks: 65536
Block groups: 2
Reserved block group size: 15
Created filesystem with 11/16384 inodes and 2089/65536 blocks
error: wipe_block_device: wipe not supported on non-linux platforms
sending ‘cache’ (0 KB)…
FAILED ()
finished. total time: 0.254s
I think I hosed the bootloader
It shows as unknown and my serial shows as an alpha numeric sequence 0123456789ABCDEF
I had been able to make a connection with adb at the normal hung bootup screen but I can’t anymore.
Any ideas? it appears file writing is locked
So, you cannot enter recovery mode from the fastboot screen? It restarts back to fastboot? You might be needed to flash back one of the stock recoveries and then try entering the Recovery mode.
The serial and unknown status seem strange when you see them, but trust me, all Zenfone devices show the same. Be it properly working, be it bricked 😛
Things i learn while trying to fix this phone of mine;
1) If the recovery mode instructions are too complicated to understand with words, Pls go to youtube. They do have a vid on it. Easier for ppl who are more visual. Dont add unnecessary stress seeing that dead android.. 😛
Check it out: How to get to recovery mode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuixmZ11Kyc
2) Check that the downloaded firmware is not corrupted by trying to open it. If it cant be open, then its corrupted.
(Took the liberty to read all of the old comments. I like that Narender took the time in answering ppl’s queries.)
3) Prepare a simple “copy paste” of the code for cmd on notepad *adb sideload UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.139-user.zip*
(Definitely has helped me to lessen my stress level. HAHA!)
4) Make sure your phone is in DEVELOPER option is ON & USB Debugging has been TICKED.
(ADB didnt read any of my cmds when tried it. It was so stressful. Only to realise my own klutz moment; that my phone wasn’t on developer mode when i performed factory reset earlier. Thank God i went to read older comments on this post, & saw Narender’s suggestion on checking out device manager for ADB. yes, i keep on reading… lol.)
5) Ensure that the firmware being copied to C:\adb is a .zip file! DO NOT extract out the contents.
(Maybe because my phone decides to be a brick on me on new yr eve, the stress level just made me read an imaginary line to extract the firmware files into a folder. So when i kept commanding ADB to load firmware.ZIP, it obviously couldn’t load as there weren’t any .zip file in that folder….. *EPIC FAIL* – talk about stress! :’D)
Dear Juliana
That was a really long comment. I appreciate people who go through what has already been spoken and hence don’t force me to rewrite the same thing again and again. Thanks for that 🙂
For that video part, yeah I’ll try to prepare side-by-side videos of the guides that I share here. With internet getting faster globally, people are more inclined towards videos rather than reading dumb text. Sure, it is more interactive and easier to understand 🙂 Thanks for this suggestion.
For that copy paste part, the easiest is to hmm.. Open command prompt, type adb sideload and then drag and drop the zip file into the command prompt window. This way you do not even need to have the file saved to the same folder and no chance of wrong typing and confusing (e.g confusing l with I). Similarly, the file can be renamed to something like xyz.zip, so while typing the command manually, it becomes super easy 🙂 I wish I could write all this in the post itself 😛
Actually, when your phone is dead (bricked), you do not need those developer options to be turned on. And nor can you enable them because the phone won’t boot up. Yes, those ADB drivers via Device Manager are needed. I don’t know why, but these Asus devices usually don’t get their drivers installed automatically. 80% of the times I was required to manually add from device manager.
Lastly, thank you for the comment. Comments like yours help me in improving the articles to make them more easier to understand for users who are unknown to things like this.
I wish you a very happy and prosperous new year! Take care 🙂
Problem solved! Found out the ROMs I downloaded are incomplete, I was using Chrome, then I tried Mozilla instead, tried the steps again and it worked! Damn you Chrome!!!! Thank you for this very informative page!
Chrome Chrome Chrome.. hah! Sorry but I really don’t like that browser. Only for testing do i use it. Others are going crazy for Chrome, but their choice 😛
Anyways, glad that you managed to sort out the issues. Wish you a very happy upcoming new year 🙂
Also tried to unzip the user.zip but it just give me the same file right after. Has anyone know where or how to get those .img files for the latest WW-2.20.40.156-user.zip version?
As mentioned on one of the response above, that you can’t flash older versions to the one that you have currently, the problem is I’m on the latest version .156 WW. Is there a way I could get the recovery.img, boot.img, and droidboot.img for that version so I can flash that in fastboot and apply the same version .156 stock in adb sideload? Will that work?
Btw I updated mine to the latest version 2.20.40.156, got rooted, and when I tried installing xposed using the installer, when I rebooted the phone, it’s just gotten stuck there. My zenfone 2 can be detected when in fastboot using command fastboot devices, and adb devices can show a serial number right beside the word sideload. Don’t know what’s wrong
Need help! Tried every possible way on both fastboot and adb sideload but nothing works. Mine has bootloop and I can’t flash a new rom using any of the method. In flashing system.img process it says cmds error and in adb sideload using the user.zip file it is says footing is wrong, signature verification failed.
What should I do?
my fastboot isnt opening..what i have to do in this case?
What happens instead of fastboot?
nothing happens..when i try to press the power button + volume up button at the same time,just the asus logo appears,then it turns off automatically.it turns all black.nothing happens.it used to happen,because i tried to do factory reset opening fastboot mode.i tried to wipe chache and then i never opened and againg stuck in the asus logo.
After doing this my screen icons r vey small in spite of keeping it to huge what is the reason for this and how can it be fixed
Dear Narender,
Successfully rooted my phone.
A day before I root, i did my system update, after root can see supersu and also installed root check to confirm i have rooted sucessfully. Then installed xmod which asked root permission, i press allow, this proves my phone was rooted right?
Later there occured some error, idk what was that, device restarted and gets stuck on “asus in search of incredible, loading…”.
About to follow ur above steps, i can enter recovery mode easily just left with download of latest Stock ROM which got stucked twice at 79% and 85 % -_-.
two more things to ask,
1. i will enter this comand in ur step 9 > “Replace file.zip with UL-Z00A-CUCC-2.20.40.104-user.zip ”
2. Knowing my situation, you think its soft-bricked?
As per the email communication. I don’t think there is need to reply to the comment anymore. Thanks 🙂
Hello techies! Last night, I tried to wipe the cache partition and then in just 5 mins screen turned off by itself. So I panicked and tried to reboot the phone. When it opened it gets stuck at the loading area. My phone is not rooted. Will it void the warranty if I try this?
No. Your warranty is going to stay intact when you follow this method as there is nothing unofficial that you’d be doing.
please help, while flashing from adb i am getting error whole file signature verification failure. installation aborted.
Can you double check that you’ve downloaded the correct file and that it has correctly downloaded?
For everybody with the sleeping droid error
Press Power button and Volume up, after one second release the Volume up
Hello Narender, I m stuck on sleeping bot screen with a red exclamation mark that keeping blinking every few seconds … i tried to open recovery .. but again the same blinking dead bot screen with “error” written. and while entering in recovery mode by pressing power and volume+ button, getting “continue to fastboot process. Pls help me
I don’t know, buddy. I’m not able to get that as I’ve not come across such an error myself so unsure what it is.
hello Narender.. i couldn’t find where my ADB folder after i installed it. and another one, i am confusing with step number 7… i don’t know what to do with it….please reply back..thanks in advance
When I attempt to sideload I get error: device not found
i have no issues with fastboot mode. in recovery mode i must hold power and hit up twice to get the menu, and then when i choose to update with adb, it presents all of the proper prompts and seems to be working fine.
Check Device Manager and confirm that ADB drivers are installed correctly.
Any fix to “Error in /sideload/package.zip (status 7)” installation aborted
nm i got it. Apparently in my case this error ““Error in /sideload/package.zip (status 7)” installation aborted, came as a result of choosing the incorrect firmware version. My version was Version WW_2.20.40.59. Since I could not get into my device due to the soft brick I was unable to find my devices firmware version. However I figured out that the firmware version was listed in red at the top of the fastboot screen after selecting recovery. This is how I was able to select the correct firmware version from the Asus site in step 3. Thank you to Narender Singh for this article, fixed my zenfone 2
Aha! Nice to hear that you fixed it by yourself 🙂 Yeah you cannot flash a firmware version older than the one currently installed on the phone.
brother will u plz give me ur no…. i m having a huge prolem plz give me a misscall to me then i tell u in hindi whats going on
my no. is 9074979580
Bhai you can send message to our Facebook page (in Hindi as well) and I’ll try to help you out.
hey. can I downgrade my firmware by copying the previous update to sd card and selecting apply update from sd card from fastboot?
No. It won’t process the files with the lower firmware version. As such, downgrading is not possible.
i had done this a lot of times before, but now, i don’t know for what reason, while flashing from adb i am getting whole file signature verification failure. now i am not able to flash any stock rom.
Are you sure that you’re downloading the correct ROM for your particular device? Also confirm again that the file was correctly downloaded and ain’t a corrupted download.
I am having trouble loading into recovery mode. Here is what I tried:
Power Button + Vol Up Button to enter the selection menu.
Then used the Vol Down to reach the Recovery Mode selection and then used the Power to select it.
It the reboots and shows a dead android with a red triangle.
I then press and hold the power button and then press the Vol. Up buttons then release them together.
Nothing happens.
I tried pressing them simultaneously together and releasing them together; pressing them together till I feel a vibration; holding them till the screen goes black. Nothing. No matter what combination, or time period of application I tried, nothing happens. Please, I really need a solution for this problem.
I have solved the problem. The solution was to use
fastboot format cache
please brother
tell me
how u solve the problem?
While your phone is in the fastboot page and is connected to adb, send this line of code using the adb:
fastboot format cache
Wait for the success notification. Then restart recovery mode. While you’re in the error page of recovery mode hold the power button and click the volume up button twice. You’ll enter into the recovery list page.
That’s all to it.
do you know anything about a blinking error screen? yes i know it is the one that gets you into recovery mode but everytime i try turning on my phone it shows this screen
i m facing same problem. what did u do to get rectify problem of your phone?
Thanks Spandan worked like a charm. Connected my phone on Fastboot mode screen via USB after installing ADB and Intel ADB drivers. Opened command prompt and typed “adb” and pressed enter, which listed all the adb codes. Type the code you provided and it displayed a log that indicates erasing cache “Okay”. Went back to the phone and selected recovery mode using volume down and hit power. Once the dead android error logo appeared, pressed power and volume and finally the recovery mode showed up.
Tried rebooting the device without reinstalling the official firmware and it worked. It seems that the fastboot cache was corrupted which resulted to a bricked device. Fastboot format cache fixed the problem.
btw my phone’s issue started when I wipe cache partition from recovery mode. process was taking a while without an progress which lead me to reboot the phone. Phone was bricked unable to boot normal and recovery mode.
Your fix did the trick! Rock on!
thanks Maximus 🙂 It really worked! We have the same issue like what you did in the recovery mode.
Btw, How do I get rid of the display glitches on my zenfone 2 ze551ml?
Hi im not computer savvy, so would you mind explaining that in depth? lol sorry to trouble you, or provide us with video tutorial. i installed adb driver but somehow command wont recognise my installation only my connected device
thanks
to simplify my question, how do you open adb via command prompt, pardon this old man lol.
nevermind that, i havent installed ADB setup on my laptop and the download page isnt responding. whenever i clicked on Download Button, it redirected me to an unresponding page.
Oh dear. Lot of questions 🙂
I’d try replying to them in this one comment here:
1. You should’ve waited on the Wipe Cache page because althought it seems frozen, it is actually working in the background. It can take the device a few minutes depending on the cache size to clear all of it. Wish Asus provided a log or progress bar though.
2. If you choose the Recovery Mode and your device drops an error with the dead android icon, worry not and just do this – Hold the Power Key & Press the Volume Up key once. You should be in the recovery mode.
Now because you’re replying to this thread, I’d really want you to try what worked for Maximus & Spandan. If it doesn’t work, do what I recommended in the post.
1. Download the ADB package (let me know if the link still doesn’t work. It is hosted on Google Drive which should be always up lol). When you click download, the nest page should take a few seconds to load the file and start downloading. Do wait there, please 😛
2. Install it.
3. With your phone turned off, press hold down volume up key and press power kedy. Hold both till you reach the fastboot mode. Connect your phone to PC now.
4. If you didn’t change anything during ADB install, go to C:\ADB.
5. With Shift pressed, right click within the ADB folder and choose Open Command window here.
6. In the command window, type – fastboot devices
7. If it shows your connected device, type – fastboot format cache
8. When the command is finished, try rebooting your device.
You can email me directly at [email protected] if you still face any issue. I’d be willing to help.
Take care and I wish you a happy upcoming new year 🙂
thank you, sorry for delay, i’ve tried to adb reboot recovery, but its same issue after restart its showing usb logo. pls help me.
about 1 year ago my HTC ONE M7 getting this issue, i solved it with CM Installer. just turn off htc then connect it to computer via usb than start CM installer application from pc. its automatically repair bootloader and install CM rom perfectly. but when i try this method with my zenfone 2 CM installer showing device is not listed.
i m on twrp recovery whn i go to install from sideload thn it says cannot update binary script … plss hwlp
Master, I can my phone turn on but after sometime running my phone showing system isn’t responding. and main problem is its camera wont turn on, system hang, when i going to charge or connect to usb cable its hang for 15 seconds above. so i cannot reset to it factory setting, go to the fastboot mode. etc. when i try to go fastboot mode its showing usb. nothing else
How about issuing the following command via ADB.
adb reboot recovery
If it goes in, flash the latest stock rom zip using adb sideload. However, if it fails, try flashing the latest fastboot and see if it then lets you enter the fastboot.
Hello master, 1st thanx for your reply. but i’ve tried this method but reboot boot-loader its showing stuck on usb logo. so how can i recover from this
Hey tanmoy. Does your phone turn up and works normally? Or it doesn’t turn on at all?
i tried to wipe cache by recovery mode and it starts erasing but unfortunately i stopped the process. now the robot error blinkiing and if i use power+volume button then it shows E/cache process failed and my phone doesnot start and robot error remain blinking continuously. Plzzz help me.
Unfortunately it did not work for me. I did everything I was told, but I always get the following message ” Cannot read ______.zip”
I have absolutely no clue about what to do next.
Actually, after doing some steps again, I managed to get throw it. But, right at the end of the process, I got the following message in my phone “Can’t install this package” “Installation aborted”
E:file path:/cache/recovery/log
E:file path:/cache/recovery/last_log
E:file path:/cache/recovery/last_instal
E:file path:/cache/recovery/last_locale
E:file path:/cache/recovery/log
E:file path:/cache/recovery/last_log
E:file path:/cache/recovery/last_install
E:file path:/cache/recovery/comand
Any ideas?
There needs to be some additional details about why it was aborted, else it is impossible to make a guess. Were you trying to flash an older version while your phone is already running a newer?
Hey man, first of all, congrats for your behaviour, trying to help everybody. I’m having some problems, and I’d like your help too.
When I type the comand “adb sideload file.zip” it keeps giving me the “error: device not found” warning
When I go to Device Manager, it only show “Android phone” with the yellow sign. What can I do from now on?
Could you help me throw TeamViewer too, if necessary?
Thanks a lot man
You’ve had submitted a bunch of comments, and I’m getting confused here. For device not found, you need to install the ADB drivers via the Device Manager.
If it says cannot read the zip, but you are able to open the zip file in the explorer by double clicking it, then please try another PC as a user here was also facing the same issue and changing PC worked fine for him. If the zip doesn’t open, it is unfortunately a corrupted download and you will be needed to re-download it.
Hello Master narender. My asus ZenFone 2 is stack on usb logo. Cannot enter in bootloadee mode. Now how can i recover from it. How to get back my bootloader?
install adb driver in your computer … start debugging mode….connect your phone with your computer and open command prompt
type “adb reboot bootloader” then hit enter…may be it will take your mobile in bootloader mode…try this.
Hi, thanks for this tuto, but i’ve got a question…
I’ve “bricked” my phone while an OTA update ( I forgott to unroot with superSU) and it’s stuck in a bootloop.
I follow your post step by step, but next the sideload , the only thing I have is a bootloop.
Any idea, master?
Edit : The log says :
E: failed to verify whole-file signature
E: signature verication failed
Installation aborted.
Seems like a corrupted download.
Hi as far as i can sense… you have to download boot.img , droidboot.img , recovery.img and then insert it in your phone via command prompt after that try narender singh’s method….
Hi guys plss i need help..my asus ze551ml 4gb ram brick my bootloader/fastboot..pls help
Did you try following this post, buddy?
Hi narender…
Firstly its awesome topic you sharing with people and its really needed. Well I want to know one thing if you can confirm that
Can I go back to stock ROM with this method if I am in Cynogenmod 12.1 ? Can i get back into my original stock ROM ?
Is there anything I have to be careful about ?? please just suggest me the way …
Thank you.
Do I need to perform all these steps : adb reboot bootloader (to reboot the phone to is bootloader)
fastboot devices (type at bootloader to see if the device is picked up in this state)
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img (to apply the version-appropriate recovery)
If you can explain in a bit more detail it would be very helpful to me … thanks.
Hi Samir. I’m sorry that I’m not sure about this. But generally speaking, it should be all that you need to do to get back to stock. If your custom recovery allows you to do ADB Sideload, it should be capable of handling it as well. If not, you would need the stock recovery in place before you start the process.
Thank you buddy. Will update if I will need to perform these procedure. Keep up the good work 🙂
Hello Sir it shows Error in /sideload/package.zip (status 7)
excelent tutorial
Hi Narender Singh
I have same problem like austin,my computer just recognize my devices it only says android
when i open devices manager it just show portable mtp devices and not installed correctly
when i try updated it,it says already up to date
but my computer and adb still dont recognize it
please help me,sorry for my bad english
Just been an hour or so since Austin and I went to TeamViewer to bring his device back to life. We were successful in the end!
So, here’s how you should do – Install the INTEL Drivers and then Go to Device Manager. For the ADB Device, please manually install the drivers by browsing to the location. And you’re then ready to go.
If you don’t get it, can we too go to TeamViewer and I’ll try helping you directly?
thx…its ok,i already find the problem
but after i unbrick my phone
it still the same,nothing change
Did you see the process happening and the system partition on your phone replaced. The command window does display some working.
yes…but it still the same
Hello,
I have a ze551ml, 4gb, 64gb, CN (aliexpress)
I have the mobile Root
recently did the update OTA (forget unroot)
My mobile is left loading icon asus.
I wanted to know if this approach would serve me to unlock the phone
and another thing: there is no way to know my number of firmware (CN_2.20.40.59, CN_2.19.40.20 ….) now locked phone?
sorry for the English translator of google, xd
The only thing you need to confirm is whether or not yours is a CN version actually or not. Just boot into the Recovery Mode and it will display the current firmware version installed on your phone. If it is CN, download the latest firmware for CN and sideload it via Apply Update from ADB. You’re good to go when that finishes.
Thanks for the tutorial, very helpful information, 1 basic but important question
how do I know which version of the Stock ROM to download?
I bought the phone in the US so I suppose I need a WW SKU version (World Wide Stock Keeping Unit).
I have a soft bricked rooted Zenfone ZE551ML (4 Gb RAM), do to a failed OTA update without unrooting.
the failed OTA update was preformed today 20/Aug/2015 and this is the information shown on the fastboot screen of my phone so you can help me decide what Stock ROM is the appropriate for my phone.
PRODUCT_NAME – Z00A
VARIANT – AUS_Z00A
HW_VERSION –
BTLOADER VERSION – unknown
IFWI VERSION – 0094.0175
SERIAL NUMBER – F5AZFG13D505
Thanks.
Unless it was purchased from eBay or some 3rd party seller who sourced the unit from China, it should be the WW SKU only. Unfortunately, you cannot really find out any further details from the fastboot. If your phone came sealed, check the phone’s box. It should mention WW or CN.
You should try flashing the latest WW SKU and most probably the phone will deny the install if it doesn’t match the certain hardware specifications.
Answer to self: Once on the recovery mode you can actually see the current Stock ROM version installed in your phone, that gave me the answer I needed, the right ROM version for my phone as of 20 Aug 2015 is WW_2.20.40.59. I´m writing this after successfully unbricking my phone.
Thank you immensely Mr. Narender Singh, you just gave me back my phone, saved me 300 USD and taught me a valuable skill all with one single post. Thumbs up for you, your generosity and knowledgeable advise.
Oh yeah! My bad there. Been to the recovery so many times and I probably noticed that too, but got out of my mind when I was replying to your comment.
Anyways, glad that it was helpful, at least some parts 🙂 Take care and if you root it again, be sure to un-root before installing the OTA.
Yes that is very wierd. No there is nothing in none of the sub categories for some reason.. May I email you as it would be much easier to figure out this problem
Hey Austin i have same problem like you,do you have the solution??
I did email you in the morning from the server email, but it seems it went into your SPAM box. I’ll try sending it again from my personal ID.
https://gyazo.com/b7fb5ece0208c9c78a7bb59680e78ebf
This is the screenshot of my drivers when it is in recovery mode and when im in apply update from ADB. All screens still dont show anything. It does beep and give a signal that it is plugged in though so i know it does recognize it partially.
https://gyazo.com/0e8cd79274f96bbe3ce880d082d70daf
^^^ Also this is what it looks like when it is recognizing it.. Says Intel android ADB interface? I don’t think that is correct or not? Idk
Also, https://gyazo.com/959c72465c78d835acde51e8d1c7f9bd
^^ This website for some reason won’t refresh right until i post something.. I only see your response in my email. So sorry if i cant hit reply to your response and i have to make a new reply.
Hey Austin. That was strange. The ADB Device shows up in your Devices and Printers, but not the Device manager? Could be hidden under a sub-category. I’d like to check further. So I’m sending you another email to which you can reply.
I have tried and looked for that adb composite driver and stuff and i can’t seem to find it at all. That is the issue but when i use your link to download it i click yes yes yes and for some reason it still doesn’t show? I tried several times? idk how to see if it worked or not? How do i make it so it recognizes my device?.. If this doesn’t work through adb isn’t there a way to do it through an sd card? i have the firmware on the sd card and tried to flash it from that but for some reason there is no option to update from sd card and can’t seem to find an option at all or a solution online 🙁
For a bricked phone, you cannot apply update via SD card. It just won’t work. Let’s try doing that properly.
put your phone to the Recovery mode, choose Apply Update via ADB and then connect your phone to your PC. Open Device Manager on the PC and take a screenshot. Then upload it somewhere so that I could see.
Yes i downloaded multiple firmware versions.. The newer one and couple others and have tried them all. It opens up correctly but still says the same thing. When i plug my phone into the computer when nothing is turned on it does recognize it as just android?..
Does the Android device have a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager? If so, you need Drivers.
It still won’t work when i try to flash it. Says it cannot read. I literally try to type and copy and paste it and all of that. Is it not recognizing the phone or what is going on? i type adb devices and all it says is list of devices but doesn’t show my phone at all. This is frustrating as i cannot use my phone for days now because i’m trying to find the answer Please Help :,(… It would be very appreciated
If there’s a problem reading the package, there are chances of a failed/incomplete download. If you try double clicking the zip file on your PC, does it open up? If it doesn’t it is most probably corrupted.
If it does not show any device at all when you run ADB Devices, can you check in the Device manager that the driver for ADB devices is installed? Your phone should be marked something like ‘F4AZFG22S716’ when you run ADB Devices. Don’t expect ASUS/ZOOA or something else there.
Yes i downloaded multiple firmware versions.. The newer one and couple others and have tried them all. It opens up correctly but still says the same thing. When i plug my phone into the computer when nothing is turned on it does recognize it as just android?..
With the ADB drivers installed, it will look like as shown in image below:
There is no asus android device or anything that shows there about my phone. I don’t know how to download that either. It must be not downloading right from your link?
Oh that’s just strange. Can you please put your phone to the Recovery mode, choose Apply Update via ADB and then connect your phone to your PC. Open Device Manager on the PC and take a screenshot. Then upload it somewhere so that I could see.
please help aftercommand in adb
it say error device not found
Check Device Manager to confirm that ADB Driver is installed?
When i try to send the image to my phone for some reason it says… cannot read ‘UL-Z00A-CN-2.20.40.59-user.zip’
I can’t send it to my phone and is not working! I type adb sideload UL-Z00A-CN-2.20.40.59-user.zip
I don’t know why it isn’t working but I can’t make it work. PLEASE HELP!!! :,(
You got same problem with me, but now i can solve it, actually it cant read because wrong path mean word u type not correct, try copy and paste in your command, *adb sideload UL-Z00A-CN-2.20.40.59-user.zip.zip* or. *adb sideload UL-Z00A-CN-2.20.40.59-user.zip* . Not include (*)
[…] /system), I have no recovery. On Booting the phone starts fastboot. I Googled a lot and found this How to Recover a Bricked Asus Zenfone 2 Smartphone. Will I be able to recover my phone by following these steps? i.e. 1) Download the latest Stock ROM […]
error it says more than one device and emulator
Disconnect any other device connected and close any emulator (like Bluestacks) that you’ve installed.
it says error multiple loader exist
I was able to recover it but can i root it again..
Yes you surely can root it again. Just unroot before installing an OTA update.
How did you do it…i’m stuck in step 8…can you explain it to me?
It would be great if some one could make a step by step video.
Every day there’s more people with the same issue.
Thanks.
You just replace file.zip with the file you downloaded from the Asus website and let the command run.
try planet to root your ZenFone 2 once again. download it from Google and install it to your pc and when it ask you to connect your device then simply turn on your USB debugging and connect your ZenFone 2. now just try rooting it…….
My phone rooted .firmware version is 2.17.40.17. I did unroot but can’t recieve ota updates. How i unlock the bootloader lock?
Error!
[In the fastboot mode, keep pressing the Volume Down key till you see Recovery Mode. Press Power Key to select it.]
When i do this, i get a screen with Error! written on it and nothing else happens.
Please help!
If you see the error screen with a dead Android bot, just hold down the Power key and quickly press the Volume up key. You’ll be then taken to recovery.
Error: Can’t install this package over newer build. From version numbers I can see the version I am trying to install is the latest one. Not sure what is going on
It also shows you the current installed version on your phone. As said, if you recently took an OTA, please wait for a few days for the Full ROM to be uploaded to the website.