[GUIDE][FIX][DISCUSSION] LG G3 Hard Brick Recovery

Several people have been having issues with hard bricks and there are several posts with a bit of info about how to fix them but no simple instructions so I'm posting a (hopefully) fool proof guide to fixing your hard brick. Tested on windows 7 and windows 10.

First what is a hard brick? A hard brick is a phone that does not boot, or is stuck in a boot loop, or has a security error AND cannot access recovery or download mode.

Disclaimer: Your warranty is now void etc. I am not responsible etc. You have to open your phone to do this so it is a last resort. Read the entire tutorial before beginning!

Required Materials:
Bricked LG G3
Stock USB cable <-- or at least one that you know is good
a short thin but stiff wire to short pins
Qualcomm high speed usb drivers
BoardDiag by willcracker <-- other versions don't seem to work
The tot file of the rom that you were running. (not older not newer same version) You can find these easily on XDA or google but it varies depending on your software version

First you need to install the Qualcomm high speed usb drivers. Your phone will be detected as Qualcomm 9008 (COM) later on in the tutorial but you need these drivers. I will include the drivers in this post. If you are on a 64 bit system you will need to disable driver signing. Here is how:

Step 1. Open the Windows command prompt as “Run as Administrator”.
Step 2. Run

Code:

bcdedit -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

Step 3. To finalize the process run

Code:

bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ON

Step 4. Reboot and you’re done.

I have attached both the 32 bit version and the 64 bit version be sure to only use the 64bit one on 64bit and likewise only use the 32bit one on 32bit, you do not need both sets of drivers.

1. Open your phone and take out the battery. Remove the top half of the phone housing. You do not need to remove the bottom half by the usb. Also you don't need to remove the screw next to the camera. If you do remember that it is a different size so keep it separate.

2, You will see a big metal shield. You need to remove it. It is pretty easy just pry it off and it pops back into place when you are done.

3. Next you need to short the pins as shown in the following picture. While continuing to short the pins plug in your usb cable. You should hear windows detect the phone almost instantly. Keep shorting the pins for the count to 5 and then you can release the wire. See image below, ignore the ethernet connector.

4. Now open device manager in windows and it should show your phone under com ports as Qualcomm 9008 (COM #). If it doesn't try the process over again. When it does work remember this number. It is going to be used later.

5. Now fire up BoardDiag by willcracker be sure to run it as administrator. It is in this post named willcracker.rar There are some pictures on how to flash with this app but I will describe it as well. First we are going to need to extract your tot file. This can take some time. Like 10 mintues on a decent PC. The app may look like it froze up but it is just thinking. When it is complete move on to the next step.

6. You need to tell the program the com port that you are using that we found earlier and the folder where you extracted the firmware to.

7. once you have extracted the firmware and set up the program with the correct port you need to Check "AP" and "EMMC" then press start. Be sure not to select any partitions or change any other options than the firmware directory and comport.
It should come back as PASS. If it throws an error about not being in dload mode you need to restart the shorting process. Hold the short for a bit longer this time.

8. Flash all of the partitions except for Cache, System, Userdata, and Sbl1. Sbl1 will be flashed later and causes the phone to reboot.
You can flash System, Userdata, and cache but it takes a really long time so I don't recommend it. It is better to get your phone into download mode and use LG flash tool to do a full restore.

9. Once you have finished flashing all of the partitions one after the other put in thebattery and flash Sbl1. Your phone will now reboot and try to boot into android. If your system is messed up it wont. You will still be in a boot loop. But you should now be able to enter download mode and recovery. 

10. Open up LG Flash Tool and flash your tot using Board DL mode. Everything you need at this point is in the following thread Link

Hope that this helps, also if you find any problems or need help please post so I can update this post.

NOTES: If you get an error about a dll missing you need to download and install the following http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl...s.aspx?id=5555
Also make sure that you use "B2 (MSM8974AC)" as the AP Chipset for the LG G3.

[GUIDE][DISCUSSION] How To Restore The Sprint LG G3 (LS990) To Stock w/ LG Flash Tool

Introduction

**EDIT**: Please see 4th post on how to obtain your MSL/SPC Code for the last step in restoring stock firmware

I figured it would be good to have a dedicated Factory Restore thread here for the LS990 (Sprint) G3 seeing as how we now have root and people want to be sure they can restore their phones if they screw something up. 

First off, I am not presenting any new material here, I just simply gathered guides/tips/tricks from many forum members in an attempt to make it easier for LS990 users to restore their phones. Also, if you notice something wrong with the guide please say so! I have no ego here, we're all here to help one another so if I made a mistake please let me know

Hopefully this will be helpful to those who want to restore their phones back to stock and allow a thread for troubleshooting if someone is having issues

Disclaimer

I, nor anyone on XDA, is responsible for any damage done to your device. Please use at your own risk! The LG Flash Tool has the power to save your phone from a bootloop or soft-brick, however it can also do more damage if used improperly for the specified device. Please use with CAUTION.

Thank-You's/Credits

@wolfgart for hosting the stock G3 files. Please thank him in his thread here

@dokyson for his guide on how to restore the LG G2. Please thank him in his thread here

@AlanVenu for pointing out Sprint users should select "Board DL" in the LG Flash Tool. Please thank him at his post here

Team Codefire for finding an exploit that allows us to root our phones. Please thank (and donate if you can) to them here

Now lets get started!

Prerequisites

• Sprint LG G3 (LS990)
• Windows 7/8
• LG Drivers (Links will be below)
• Sprint LG G3 stock .tot file (Links will be below)
• Sprint DLL file for LG Flash Tool (Links will be below)
• LG Flash Tool (Links will be below)
• A good/reliable USB cable
• Backup your data! This will format your internal storage, including user apps, SMS/MMS, Call Logs, Pictures etc. So please backup your data

Downloads

• Sprint LG G3 Stock LS990ZV4 .tot file
• Sprint LG G3 DLL File
• LG Drivers
• LG Flash Tool
• Generic LG G3 DLL (**ATTENTION!!! ONLY USE IF YOU EDITED THE BUILD.PROP TO A DIFFERENT PRODUCT MODEL/BUILD ID AND ARE STUCK IN A BOOTLOOP. USE THIS DLL INSTEAD OF THE SPRINT)<------Big Thanks to engine95 and autoprime

Steps

1. Download all files/zips above
2. Double click on the LGUnitedMobile exe to install the drivers
3. Extract the Setup_LGFlashTool.zip and double click on the exe inside the extracted folder to install the LG Flash Tool (note: make sure you don't choose a custom directory and that it installs to C:\LG\LGFlashTool)
4. Inside the extracted LG Flash Tool folder (where the exe is) there is a file called "MegaLock.dll". Copy this file and paste it in the C:\LG\LGFlashTool directory (overriding the current MegaLock.dll file)
5. If your phone is still working (and not in a bootloop or perpetually off) plug it in to your computer and let the installation of the LG Drivers finish (if your phone is in a bootloop or it won't turn off it shouldn't be a big deal)
6. Unplug your phone from your computer then turn off your phone
7. While its turning off you can open up the LG Flash Tool program (if no desktop icon was created for the program just do a search for it within your installed apps or browse for it from the start menu). You can open it with the default setting (Korea Factory)
8. Once your phone is completely powered off press and hold the Volume Up button and reconnect the phone to your computer via the USB while still holding the Volume Up button until you enter Download Mode (it will look like this)
9. Once you're in download mode let go of the Volume Up button and wait for the drivers to install on your computer
10. Once the drivers have finished installing navigate to your desktop and right-click on your Computer (or This PC) icon and select "Manage" (or do a search for "Device Manager")
11. In the Computer Manager screen select "Device Manager" then select Ports
12. Look for the LGE AndroidNet USB Serial Port (COM#) (where # just means whichever port is was installed to. Ex: (COM3)). Double Click on this and select "Port Settings"
13. Next, select "Advanced" then change the COM Port Number to COM41. Once COM41 is selected click OK, then OK again to save your settings. Now your Device Manager should have refreshed and the LGE AndroidNet USB Serial Port should have changed to (COM41). Exit out of Device Manager/Computer Manager.
14. Navigate to wherever you downloaded the LGLS990_20140704_LGFLASHv160_Download.zip and extract the zip.
15. Back in the LG Flash Tool Program the Model Config screen should be open. Select "Manual Mode". Right below it select the LGLS990_20140704_LGFLASHv160.dll you extracted for the DLL selection (navigate to wherever you extracted it)
16. After that select "Add" (immediately after the DLL selection option) and select the LS990ZV4_04.51101.tot file (navigate to wherever you downloaded it)
17. Now, navigate to Action Mode section and select Board DL. Click OK, then click the yellow arrow in the top left corner 
18. After you click the yellow arrow (start) button the LG Flash Tool begins examining the DLL and tot file you selected. IF everything went OK after a little wait you'll see a "READY!!" prompt under the COM41 Port. 
19. Once you see "READY!!" sign unplug your phone from the USB, wait 5 seconds, then plug your phone back into the USB
20. After you reconnected your device you'll notice the flashing process begins as indicated by the progress bar. It could take a while so just hang tight and keep an eye on the progress
21. Sometimes the LG Flash Tool will not show 100% progress but will successfully flash the firmware so keep an eye on your phone
22. Once the flash is finished (either indicated by 100% progress or the PASS sign that pops up) your phone will begin to reboot into the AAT Mini OS Screen. Once at the screen hold onto the power button and select "OK", then select the "normal boot (+power)" option
23. After that selection is made your phone should reboot normally
24. Sign into everything and let your phone settle for a few minutes. Then, restart the phone
25. If you're missing certain apps like WiFi Calling and Sprint Bloat please follow the links provided by @engine95 to restore these apps (I took apart the Sprint tot file and the apps are present, however for certain people these apps are not showing up immediately after the flash)

Success or Failure?

If your phone successfully rebooted into the system congrats! If not please look down for some trouble shooting tips (coming very soon! I need to hit the hay right now lol)

Again, I did not discover anything new, I thought it would be good to have a concise and detailed guide to restoring the LS990 to stock firmware. Hopefully this helps!