Database Users

I think she bricked?

I was attempting to flash 2.x using behnaam and lox's rom.
Rom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=592596
Here is the HBoot info previous to my tinkering:
HERC XC
HBOOT-1.41.0000 (HERO20000)
MICROP-0110
TOUCH PANEL-SYN0104
RADIO-1.04.01.09.21
SEP 1 2009,19:18:45
Phone is rooted using adb.
I used unlockr's guide to flash a custom recovery image onto my CDMA hero and that worked fine, here is the guide I followed:
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/how-to-flash-a-new-recovery-image-if-you-are-already-rooted/
I first moved the radio recommended for the rom by the dev to root on the sd and renamed it update.zip. After, I used the recovery image to wipe, then apply update.zip from sdcard. It seemed to flash fine, as it said please select reboot to complete, which I did, and it completed and rebooted the phone.
Once rebooted it gave me the android installing software image without anything else for a while, then turned off. I cannot seem to awaken my phone with any combo of keys or by plugging it into its use cable. The charging led doesn't even light up anymore.
Well I seem at the moment to be SOL, unless someone can come by and throw me a bone. I really am at a loss as to what I did wrong, as I have always read to do radio first. Not to mention as I watched it install radio it said it was installing radio.
Thanks for the help everyone.

You attempted to flash a GSM ROM to your CDMA phone, this is why your phone is bricked. I'm not sure if its possible to recover, people with more experience than I have can help you there. The problem was flashing a GSM ROM to CDMA. You are not the first to have done it, we all mess up from time to time.

Uuuh Umm...that software was for the GSM hero's NOT THE CDMA Hero.............bless your heart.

Ah **** I thought it was CDMA, guess it was a bad idea jumping into roms while still a noob.
Yea I only got the radio installed, not the rom, although that probably doesn't make a difference.

I don't think the phone can be recovered once you attempt to flash the Radio, but I could be wrong.

Hmm well if worst comes to worst I'm going with what I read on another thread and saying that I was installing the update that it found when I went to phone details and halfway through the update the phone just turned off and won't turn on anymore.
According to the other thread once it is bricked beyond belief and you play stupid they can't prove you wrong.
Best case scenario they replace it, and I won't feel bad seeing as it was a defective phone that is allowing dust to enter under the screen. But that who ordeal is an entirely different rant...lol
Sigh

ftp://xda:[email protected]_Hero_C_Sprint_1.29.651.1_signed_release.exe
Go......Now......Move with haste...

gu1dry said:
I don't think the phone can be recovered once you attempt to flash the Radio, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, you're right. Flashing a GSM rom on the CDMA won't really break much. It's flashing the radio that bricked it.

flipzmode said:
Yea, you're right. Flashing a GSM rom on the CDMA won't really break much. It's flashing the radio that bricked it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All is lost!!!!

Yep RUU brought back Error 170 cannot connect to phone.
Maybe the sprint repair stores will not be so asshole-esque this time around.
I'm hopeful though, as I have read a few posts about them exchanging it for a new one. Which after a bunch of calls I had hoped to have happen due to the dust thing, but oh well.
Maybe I will get lucky and my brick will actually turn out to be a phoenix in disguise.

unfortunately, flashing the GSM radio on pretty much destroys the phone.
i think its got something to do with the voltage and electricity used by the GSM radios. probably higher than what the CDMA radios use, so you didn't really brick your phone, you 'fried' it in a sense.
sorry bout that... but if you have the equipment protection plan you can probably get it replaced real easily, since the sprint people probably won't really understand what's wrong.

again I am reminded why I dont screw with radios

willowmp said:
Yep RUU brought back Error 170 cannot connect to phone.
Maybe the sprint repair stores will not be so asshole-esque this time around.
I'm hopeful though, as I have read a few posts about them exchanging it for a new one. Which after a bunch of calls I had hoped to have happen due to the dust thing, but oh well.
Maybe I will get lucky and my brick will actually turn out to be a phoenix in disguise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you do get it replaced and you want to put a custom ROM on it, look at the first page of this forum and you'll find sticky threads regarding four different ROMs you can put on your phone (two production release and two experimental betas).
I would suggest either MoDaCo's rom or Fresh rom. I use Fresh in mine and had no problems (although I have used MoDaCo's before and also had no issues).
Also, if you want to root the phone, there are also sticky threads that will tell you how to root your phone from Windows, Mac and Ubuntu.
Good luck.

Yep thanks everyone.
Yea I figured once no buttons would do anything and the leds wouldn't even light up for charging that it was pretty much fried. Definitely got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I definitely should have come into this section specific to my phone and read this info instead of just doing tons of searches and getting mixed up.
Although I'm hesitant on flashing to a replacement phone if I get one, I think I will but this time make a post just to verify without a doubt. I'm sure many wouldn't mind a simple post asking if this will blow up my phone or not, lol.
Once again thought, thanks for the help. Especially to a noob that made a real noob mistake lol.
Edit: All is well, I contacted sprint chat and they confirmed I will be receiving a brand new phone when I arrive at a sprint store, and with the chat log sent to my email and printed out the repair stores cannot pull any of their gimmicks on me, they are getting a command from sprint HQ after all. This is nice, I kill my phone and I get a brand new one without dust, and this time the invisible shield goes on asap.

willowmp said:
Although I'm hesitant on flashing to a replacement phone if I get one, I think I will but this time make a post just to verify without a doubt. I'm sure many wouldn't mind a simple post asking if this will blow up my phone or not, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well once you are retry the flashing on your new phone, just msg me & I'll give you my contact info & I'll walk you thru it.

willowmp said:
Edit: All is well, I contacted sprint chat and they confirmed I will be receiving a brand new phone when I arrive at a sprint store, and with the chat log sent to my email and printed out the repair stores cannot pull any of their gimmicks on me, they are getting a command from sprint HQ after all. This is nice, I kill my phone and I get a brand new one without dust, and this time the invisible shield goes on asap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
while the attempted flash was boneheaded , this (what I quoted) was very smart. I've had them try to reverse the decision and noted on my account in the past. All ended well, but a hard copy of the convo between me and Corporate would have been nice to have.
props for a good idea.

if you don't want trouble with rooting and flashing new ROMs to your phone, try flipz's pre-kitchen. just to try it, i RUU'd my phone and re-rooted it through that app, and its simply amazing. you just sit back and watch, don't even have to do anything.

Ok so its pretty funny but whoever it was who says that once you flash for the first time its addictive, I do have to agree. I will be getting my phone tomorrow because they had to replace it and I will be flashing, although this time I will play it safe and triple check before I get click happy...lol
So what are the danger zones in flashing, like what can brick or kill your phone? I know playing with radios can kill it if the wrong one is flashed, and I know powering off or interrupting a flash will kill/brick, but what else.
I know people said firmware alone usually will not brick you.

willowmp said:
So what are the danger zones in flashing, like what can brick or kill your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well obviously it can brick your phone if you flash the Radio I kid, I kid
willowmp said:
I know playing with radios can kill it if the wrong one is flashed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the CDMA Hero, you do not have to flash the Radio. So if your attempting to flash the Radio, you're doing it wrong.
willowmp said:
I know powering off or interrupting a flash will kill/brick, but what else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if the custom recovery is installed (RA-heroc), if the phone looses power while flashing the firmware, you are usually still safe, because you (usually) still boot into the recovery without issues.
Like I already said, if you want I can walk you thru the entire process thru an IM client, Steam, or Skype.

Oh ok thanks, I'm actually headed up to PA for a little trip but definitely will hit you up on that offer when I get back.

G1 Needs Root and Froyo in Vegas. Any takers?

Hey guys.. Basically I'm still sort of new to Rooting, and flashing, and doing all these other things. I have the Nexus One and I was told it's much easier to root and unlock it than something like the G1. then doing the Danger SPL also has me worried.
Basically my mother has the G1, and she used to love it, but between using my N1, and it just getting older she's really starting to complain she wants a new phone.. The 1.6 Email client sucks compared to 2.2 & I'd really like to throw Cyan 5.08 or CM 6 on her G1.
Basically is there anyone in Vegas that would do this procedure for me for a small fee? I cant risk messing it up as she needs it for work n such. PM me if you're in vegas! Thanks!

Froyo isnt avalable for the G1 yet, there are a couple of smashed together builds, but nowt with everything working.

xguntherc said:
Hey guys.. Basically I'm still sort of new to Rooting, and flashing, and doing all these other things. I have the Nexus One and I was told it's much easier to root and unlock it than something like the G1. then doing the Danger SPL also has me worried.
Basically my mother has the G1, and she used to love it, but between using my N1, and it just getting older she's really starting to complain she wants a new phone.. The 1.6 Email client sucks compared to 2.2 & I'd really like to throw Cyan 5.08 or CM 6 on her G1.
Basically is there anyone in Vegas that would do this procedure for me for a small fee? I cant risk messing it up as she needs it for work n such. PM me if you're in vegas! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your better off doing it yourself its not hard. (That's what she said)
And after your done rooting I suggest flashing a 2.2 (Eclair) ROM.
because their the most stable and fastest.

Well, basically I've rooted and flashed many rom's and updates on my Nexus One. But I had someone helping me from Androidcommunity.com and made it easy because we had a few snags and I'm new to fastboot and never done much in command prompt either.
I was told it's much harder, and easier to screw up when rooting a G1. and doing the Danger thing so i can use something like CM5 is even riskier.. Thats why i'd like to just get someone to do it.
as long as I follow instructions it's not to bad is it

If you look around in the development section...you'll see fireats got versdions of cm5 that don't require the dangerspl.
Also, if your mother is needing this phone for business....don't go messing around with it.
Oh and if by email you mean exchange, check out Touchdown in the Market.

This is the site i used when I rooted for the first time. it was easy.
http://theunlockr.com/2010/04/26/how-to-root-the-htc-g1dream/

Rooting the G1 is actually easier than a lot of other phones. The aforementioned 1-click method is probably the easiest way to go. Even though I no longer use my G1 as my daily driver, I still flash it pretty regularly. All my friends with G1's usually have me root their phones. So far I haven't bricked one yet so u should be all good. I'm in Vegas too so if u have any questions, lemme know. Having said that, you should be all good.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

I used this video to root my G1. YOUTUBE for the rescue!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8F7FVISb7w - part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H00kN2K2Q_8&feature=related - part 2
and remeber... the most hepful guide of all http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+To+Root+G1+in+One+Click.

i clicked your lmgtfy link just because i was curious if there was a 1 click procedure and was too lazy to type the search...+1 for you, next time hide the lmgtfy, it makes it that much better when they don't suspect it.

I personally used the guide on CyanogenMod's Wiki (im new on the forums so i cant link its addy but just google "Full Update Guide - G1/Dream Firmware to CyanogenMod" if youre interested) when i was first learning. It's been updated so everything is current. Its well written and pretty easy to follow, IMO.
Also, there is a shoutbox on CM's forums you could use to ask for help in realtime should you get in a jam. Just do your homework, be confident, and read the instructions!

[Q] Be gentle... decided to root, need CURRENT advice

It seems like most of the threads about rooting are from back in July. I want to root my phone. I'm pretty sure I should use the Cyanogen ROM. Should I use stable? Experimental? Nightly? I want 2.2 for sure, beyond that I don't really know what the differences are I should be looking for.
So, using Windows 7 what should I do starting from square one, and in which order should I do it?
I would like the ability to un-root and return to stock, if possible.
Thanks for any helpful replies.

911jason said:
It seems like most of the threads about rooting are from back in July. I want to root my phone. I'm pretty sure I should use the Cyanogen ROM. Should I use stable? Experimental? Nightly? I want 2.2 for sure, beyond that I don't really know what the differences are I should be looking for.
So, using Windows 7 what should I do starting from square one, and in which order should I do it?
I would like the ability to un-root and return to stock, if possible.
Thanks for any helpful replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you posting this in the appropriate sub-forum. Here is a link in the Development sub-forum that explains all of the steps you need to root your Aria and prepare for loading custom ROMs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788737
As for a Froyo 2.2 ROM, you have CM 6.0/6.1 or Liberated FRxx Series. The Liberated FR series has the familiar HTC Sense interface that came on your Aria, but it is built on Froyo 2.2 instead 2.1.
Regards,
Tom

Thanks for the reply Tom, although I'm still hesitant. It seems like every thread I've seen with instructions has quite a few posts afterwards from people having issues. The instructions are also usually about as clear as mud. It seems like the people writing the instructions are writing them for people who have rooted in the past, because they use terminology that a new user like me doesn't understand. I have lots of computer experience (used to design websites in the 90's with Notepad - ha!) but I have zero Linux or smartphone experience, so maybe I should just forget the root thing. It's just that I love Photoshop and would really like to be able to use those skills to customize the look of my phone much more than I currently can.

911jason said:
Thanks for the reply Tom, although I'm still hesitant. It seems like every thread I've seen with instructions has quite a few posts afterwards from people having issues. The instructions are also usually about as clear as mud. It seems like the people writing the instructions are writing them for people who have rooted in the past, because they use terminology that a new user like me doesn't understand. I have lots of computer experience (used to design websites in the 90's with Notepad - ha!) but I have zero Linux or smartphone experience, so maybe I should just forget the root thing. It's just that I love Photoshop and would really like to be able to use those skills to customize the look of my phone much more than I currently can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you know what I did when i rooted my phone? I watched a youtube video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjgg__m-KHc

911jason said:
Thanks for the reply Tom, although I'm still hesitant. It seems like every thread I've seen with instructions has quite a few posts afterwards from people having issues. The instructions are also usually about as clear as mud. It seems like the people writing the instructions are writing them for people who have rooted in the past, because they use terminology that a new user like me doesn't understand. I have lots of computer experience (used to design websites in the 90's with Notepad - ha!) but I have zero Linux or smartphone experience, so maybe I should just forget the root thing. It's just that I love Photoshop and would really like to be able to use those skills to customize the look of my phone much more than I currently can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well 922jason, I think we are both going through exactly the same thing. I bought my Aria already rooted by the seller, and so I missed out on the learning curve of rooting and the terminologies involved. Think I'm more of a learn it on the job kinda fella and now I have to read all these texts.
Anyway, I just did the most daring thing today. I was running Liberated Aria R12 few hours ago and decided to get hands on. Downloaded FroYo Cyanogen, made nandroid backup (yes it's such a noob thing) & flashed (sounds fancy) Cyanogen. Anyways, I found out that it didn't suit me at all because:
1. I can't find my ALL my installed and backup-ed Apps anywhere
2. The familiar Market isn't anywhere in the phone
3. ALL my contact list are gone
4. I couldn't find any application that lets me access my SD card
5. There were wayyyyy too many options to customize in Cyanogen that gave me a headache instead
Now I realize that the pros would bombard me with comments and advice to sort out those problems, and they certainly would know better what to do than me. But as a new user to Android in the smartphone era, I'm just plain confused.
So I restored the nandroid backup and I'm back to the state before I installed Cyanogen
BUT, I'm not done yet. I'm now downloading Liberated Aria Froyo FR007 and want to try it out. Just don't chicken out at getting hands on with this cos I wanna get the most out of my Aria. So good luck!
The people at XDA are really helpful and you shouldn't worry about getting lost. Thanks guys!

Thanks for the link Zervic, I'll check that out.
I also appreciate the info Emigre, glad to know I'm not the only noob on XDA! =)

Root yet or still having problems?

Noz85 said:
Root yet or still having problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm waffling big-time!
I just read through the huge CM6 thread and seeing all those different problems posted gives me the willies. Going to read through the Sense/Froyo thread next and see if it looks any safer.

Dont worry so much with any of the roms here theres a very small chance to brick your phone. If you like how your phone looks now then Liberated is for you. If you want to customize everything them go with CM6.
Your choice but dont over think it lol.
if you need help just ask.

Hey man, I really appreciate that... I like the idea of all the customization possible with CM6, but all of the bug reports in that thread scare the crap out of me.

Thats mostly for the nightly roms. CM6 and CM6.1 RC1 are very stable, I didn't have any major problems with them. Just make sure to fallow all the instructions when installing to avoid any problems with any roms you chose.

Noz85 said:
Thats mostly for the nightly roms. CM6 and CM6.1 RC1 are very stable, I didn't have any major problems with them. Just make sure to fallow all the instructions when installing to avoid any problems with any roms you chose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree. Both CM 6.0.2.1 and CM 6.1 RC1 have been very reliable for me. As has been mentioned in other posts, most of the 'bugs' are about the nightly CM builds which are truly 'experimental'.
There are a few caveats with CM 6.x that you won't run into with the Liberated ROMs. Number 1 is read the wiki instructions completely. Once you flash the CM 6 you then need to flash the Google Apps so that you can access the Android Market. Number 2 is that the CM 6.x cannot read any contacts you have stored on your SIM card, so you should export them from the SIM and sync them with your GMAIL account.
Regards,
Tom

Okay, anything I need to set aside for doing this? Will the stock 2gb SD card work fine? How long does the process take, from start to finish?

i too am on the learning curve of all this rooting and whatnot. before i got the aria just this last wednesday i had the hero cdma with Alltel. which apparently was a B* to root and whatnot, cuz alltel isnt popular for devs ive noticed. when i first got the hero it was really new for alltel, and there were people working on the root process. I too get pretty nervous when i read stuff that i could do to my phone but could brick it.. but then i found out about the recovery mode and nandroid backups.. and OMFG they help a lot when you change a setting to be incompatible and get a boot loop. that was VERY often with that hero.
When i found out that i was getting the Aria cuz of the Alltel to AT&T transition, i kept an eye on the aria threads. day one of getting the aria, i plugged it right in running unrevoked and it went real quick, however thats just the root process of course. you havent installed any roms at this point, just got the privileges.
thats when you boot the recovery mode, do that nandroid backup and copy that backup somewhere safe on a computer or something.. then of course after that then you follow the steps for whichever rom you choose that you want.
IMO- i prefer the Liberated series, i had my chance with CM6.1 on the hero and enjoyed it a bit, but got tired of it and went to the Fresh Hero ROM. so since i knew i liked fresh hero, i knew i wanted liberated series, and most especially because its 2.2 FroYo with the HTC Sense UI (the "stock look" that was mentioned earlier)
and to answer your questions:
1. make sure you have the right usb drivers, youll know if you read the tutorials. the nandroid backup would be somewhere between 200-350MB so make sure you have enough free on the sd.
2.the stock 2gb will work just fine. in the future look into upgrading with a class 4 or class 6 speed MicroSD for even better performance.
3.once you get the drivers and software downloaded, the unrevoked root process takes probably around 5 minutes, if that.. it seemed really fast to me. the nandroid backup process will be fast if you dont have many apps installed now. should only take a few minutes as well. im guessing it takes me like 10-15 minutes sometimes cuz of apps and such, (sometimes i lose track of time). then after nandroid, the wipes are like instant, then flashing the rom, (like i said im bad with time sometimes) and i believe that takes about 5-10 minutes.

So it seems like after I root my phone, I should boot back into the stock ROM and download Titanium to back-up my apps and app data. Is this correct? I don't want to lose access to the apps I have purchased. Is that the best way?

the purchased apps you can obviously re-download, but yes. titanium backup is really useful for saving app/app-data. however, if needed, you can always nandroid the custom rom, restore your stock backup and pull info from that, then restore back to the custom.

joachim123 said:
the purchased apps you can obviously re-download
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have found quite a few threads around the internet about people losing their paid apps after rooting and flashing a custom ROM. Wasn't sure if there was some step I needed to take to ensure that I can retrieve my paid apps. There aren't many, I've only had my phone for a few weeks, but still... I'm cheap!

1. You can use titanium to back up your apps, though that isn't 100% necessary because, as previously mentioned, you can re-download your purchased apps.
2. Once you get the ROM installed (if it happens to be cyanogenmod) you need to also install gapps, which includes the market app. If you don't flash the gapps package, obviously, there will be no market.
3. Keep in mind that if you install CM, there will be no more HTC Sync.
4. If you follow the directions in 1, the video i posted for you or 2, any of the threads that explain this process the possibility for you to brick your phone is slim to none. -- as attn1 said "If you manage to brick your phone with this ROM from there, you are a dumb ass of unimaginable proportions, and I absolve myself of any responsibility whatsoever. "
There were a few other things I wanted to mention but I gotta run...

oh haha, well as far as im concerned, the purchases should be saved in the google database as long as you use the same gmail account to log in to the phone. ive been fine every time. even from goin thru the transition of different cell providers and phones. there is an app that im not sure if its allowed to be posted but ill message a link to you. its helped a lot lately even tho i just found it out like two days ago.

zervic said:
There were a few other things I wanted to mention but I gotta run...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh that's just great... reminds me of the teases for "News at 11 - The critical info you need that could save your life"... meanwhile, it's 4pm, what do I do until 11 to stay alive?!?!

ROOT - PLAY - UNROOT or UNROOT & START OVER

With all of the issues with Sprint and their 'replacement' units I've had lately, I thought I would post a quick 1-2 punch to show an easy process that I used. This will work going from a NIB EVO (providing it has been rooted by the DEV's depending on the HBOOT...etc) or from fully rooted to wanting to go back to scratch (for whatever reason you may have). Usual searches will give you what you need, just thought I would put what I've done together. Just make sure you have an actual ROM running and DO NOT WIPE. Otherwise I've included the usb driver links below and an RUU so that you can install through HBOOT USB.
http://unrevoked.com/rootwiki/lib/e...unrevoked.com/recovery/android-usb-driver.zip
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1059719&highlight=ruu
I know there are other threads out there that show you the way, just wanted to give my two cents and show what I've used to play and to send it back or start over. Can go ROOT-UNROOTED with minimal effort as of today...things will change as they always do!
I am just going to paste the links I've used in hopes that it will help in any way...if not...oh well, I tried. You should be able to figure out where you need to start..going forward or backwards depending on what you are wanting to do.
ROOT:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=838448
THANKS xHausx
Depending on what HBOOT you have, read through the first couple posts. You will also have options to root with and without a rooted ROM (Autoroot Quick). Depending on what version you have...it may need to use the Unrevoked Forever. The UNROOT link will also show you what to do if that occurs and if it does not. (Son/Soff)
UNROOT:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780141
THANKS djR3Z
This link will give you the ability to unroot with a bit of ease. Just make sure if the ROOT direction needed the Unrevoked Forever applied. You will need to use the Unrevoked Forever Son. The UNROOT links will give you an older version of factory software and will require 3 upgrades if you want to get to the most current (as of today anyway). Unless they update the PC36IMG file to include a more up to date version. Depending on what Radio you have, you will need to make sure you are not above the below link. If so, you will need to flash this radio so that the script works. Otherwise it will give you an error saying wrong radio:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2pjq2dhjv6ntxnh/EVO_Radio_2.15.00.11.19.zip
Just my way of doing things lately...mileage may very!
Oh yeah, and by doing any of these options breaks your precious, not my fault or the fault of the actual individuals who did the work
EDIT: Just rooted and unrooted for the second time this week...third EVO will be here in a couple days. Well that is if they actually ordered it this time (long boring story). Sitting stock is boring...but actually have to work tomorrow and won't have time to get rid of the fun stuff before going in and a good excuse to quit messing with it for a couple days and actually do something else. Off to Breast Buy tomorrow to get one for my son for $50 bones.

Finally..the 3rd EVO replacement had a defective screen as well. The sympathetic rep agreed that it was time...he swapped it out with a brand NIB EVO (004)....yes. Fortunately, the same day I picked up another EVO (004) from Best Buy ($50), and took them both without activation being done by either rep, for obvious rooting ease. Fortunately, they were both still on 3.7 and am a happy camper.

My LTE is not working only 3g. Would like to flash modems. How?

Can someone link me to some instructions that involves Either rooting my note 4 that involves flashing the modems or a stock root that will also flash all modems? Can you also recommend a ROM that you have no had any issues with for at least a year?
I'm not sure if my board is bad or if it just needs to be reflashed. My girlfriend purchased the phone and broke the screen. So before I buy a new screen for it I would like to see if the board is still good.

Board's good (if it runs, you're golden)... and I recently had this problem, too... but mine was due to a system error in whatever ROM I running at the time. Sounds like you're on stock, though? I had that issue when I was on stock (within the first like 3 days having the device). The fix was getting ahold of Sprint on chat, and making sure they had the correct SIM ICC. They fixed it, refreshed, my phone rebooted and ran thru HFA and I had the LTE. Hopefully that's all it is. As for the other questions... umm, flashing TWRP thru odin gets you in the right direction for rooting. And as far as the ROMs go, anything by db_txs_db will work. Beyond that, starr53 ROMs work extremely well. Sorry if I ramble or speak in sentence fragments. Sometimes it happens. Best of luck and lemme know how it goes!

As far as I know firmwares only have one modern and if you have an SM-N910P that is not on the latest DQ15 update then it definitely worth fixing. Good luck