When a servicing tool outputs Brom disabled by Efuse[0x146] , it means the device attempted to activate BROM mode but was prevented by the processor's internal eFuse configuration. The hexadecimal value is a vendor‑specific identifier indicating which particular fuse or fuse set has been programmed to disable BROM.
[ CPU ] <=========( CLK line / Test Point )=========> [ Flash Storage ] | [ Ground/Shield ] (Shorting cuts communication)
from communicating outside the chip.
To avoid permanently bricking a device facing the 0x146 error, always keep these rules in mind: brom disabled by efuse 0x146
While fixing the "Brom Disabled by Efuse 0x146" error can be challenging, there are some steps you can take:
What “BROM disabled by eFuse 0x146” typically means
From a servicing point of view, the BROM is extremely valuable because it can be triggered even when the main flash is empty, corrupted, or boot‑looping. By shorting specific on the mainboard, you can force the device into BROM mode. In this mode, specialised tools—SP Flash Tool, various commercial “boxes” (Z3X, Pandora, etc.), or open‑source tools like mtkclient—can communicate directly with the chip, bypass many security checks, and perform low‑level operations such as: When a servicing tool outputs Brom disabled by
: Older MediaTek chips had a famous vulnerability (the Kamakiri exploit) that allowed users to bypass authentication and read/write to any partition. Disabling BROM patches this hardware-level loophole.
If the device is soft-bricked and the Preloader loop is corrupted, you cannot boot into standard Preloader mode. Technicians must resort to a physical hardware .
Hold (or sometimes just Volume Up) while inserting the USB cable. To avoid permanently bricking a device facing the
To understand the error, you need to understand the components involved:
This can sometimes force the processor to fallback into a state that allows communication.