brick Archives - Gizmochina

HyperOS 3 update bricks Xiaomi phones running fake Global ROMs: Here’s how you can fix it

Sean — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:13:52 +0000

A new HyperOS 3 update from Xiaomi is reportedly bricking certain devices, especially imported smartphones from the brand that are running unofficial global ROMs. The update has left some models stuck in a bootloop or recovery mode, so here’s what we know and how you can possibly fix it.

Why is HyperOS 3 bricking some phones?

Some Xiaomi phones, particularly those imported from China and sold via gray market channels, are facing booting issues after updating to HyperOS 3. These Chinese smartphones were released unofficially with converted global ROMs. Basically, the update introduces a region lock check that compares the phone’s hardware to its software region. So if the software doesn’t match the hardware’s intended market, the OS fails to boot and traps the device in recovery or a bootloop condition instead of loading normally. Xiaomi considers converted ROMs unauthorised software installs, so the company is not classifying this as a “bug.”

Xiaomi HyperOS 3

How to Fix a Bricked Phone After the Update

If you’ve already updated and the phone won’t boot past recovery mode, there’s a known workaround that can trigger an automatic rollback to HyperOS 2.2 (the previous official version):

Force Restart Repeatedly: Keep force-restarting your device roughly 10–15 times in succession. This repeated reboot sequence is key because it prompts the system into an emergency rollback mode, which restores the earlier HyperOS build that’s compatible with your converted ROM. Once this rollback completes, your phone should boot normally again.
Disable Updates Once Recovered: After your device successfully boots back into HyperOS 2.2, turn off automatic updates in Settings to prevent the phone from attempting to upgrade back to HyperOS 3 again.

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The post HyperOS 3 update bricks Xiaomi phones running fake Global ROMs: Here’s how you can fix it appeared first on Gizmochina.

Samsung bricks some Galaxy Watch 4 units with a recent update

Sean — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 04:36:55 +0000

Software updates aren’t always a simple and easy roll out. There are times when the new release comes with various bugs and glitches. However, it seems that Samsung has went a step above this and released a new update that ends up bricking some of its Galaxy Watch 4 models.

A buggy software release is quite common in the tech world with an example being Apple, which is facing many issues with its iOS 16 update in recent times. Now, the South Korean tech giant has apparently rolled out an update that basically makes it impossible to use its smartwatch models. A “limited” number of units of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic have been bricked over the last couple of weeks and the company has pointed at a recent update being the reason.

As per official notes, the recent update is bricking the two 2021 smartwatches. However, Samsung found that the “VI3” update oddly doesn’t immediately cause this effect. Rather, affected users of the Galaxy Watch 4 update found that the issue began arising after they switched off their devices since they refuse to restart once turned off. At the moment, there is no immediate fix to this bug and those affected will have to visit an authorized service center and get a replacement unit.

Although the brand has promised that it will be working on fixing this issue for its customers free of cost in its home market of South Korea. But we can expect a similar move for other regions as well. So one piece of advice right now is to not switch off your Galaxy Watch 4 series smartwatch till Samsung rolls out a new update. The company has even stopped the “VI3” update due to this issue, so stick around for more updates.

This Image can Soft-Brick your Smartphone if you set it as a wallpaper

Sean — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 09:59:01 +0000

There is an image that can actually soft-brick your smartphone if you set it as your device’s wallpaper. This image is known to affect smartphones from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Nokia, Xiaomi, and more, but have different effects on each of them.

WARNING！！！
Never set this picture as wallpaper, especially for Samsung mobile phone users!
It will cause your phone to crash!
Don't try it!
If someone sends you this picture, please ignore it. pic.twitter.com/rVbozJdhkL

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) May 31, 2020

The issue was recently revealed by a known leakster, Ice Universe, on Twitter. While Huawei handsets were reportedly not affected by this issue, DO NOT try this with your smartphone. If you do end up doing this regardless of all the warnings, expect to see an immediate crash. An attempted reboot animation should also pop up but the smartphone will eventually get stuck in an endless booting sequence making it impossible to restart your device.

According to users on Reddit and Twitter, the issue is caused by the color profile of the image in question. Reportedly, the image exceeds the bounds of Android’s color compatibilities and can cause a crash. Although, this issue isn’t universal and effects models offered from various companies differently. The issue has been sent to Google developers and the response should arrive soon.

If you do end up soft-bricking your device, a factory reset will always fix the issue but that would make you lose all your data as well. Another method of fixing this issue is entering in safe mode and changing the wallpaper again. Hence, we highly advise against readers trying this out themselves, but do let us know in the comments section down below if you were brave to a fault.

The post This Image can Soft-Brick your Smartphone if you set it as a wallpaper appeared first on Gizmochina.