Related
Note, other threads related to this software go back to Oct 2014 (search computrace on XDA forum) however my issue with the software has not been discussed.
I have just encountered this software (along with others according to a quick google search) on my new Note 4 (SM-N910F) on EE. Initially the phone auto updated to lollipop before I knew this was pushed to the device while I set up my accounts on it. The SIM was not active and I found a number of outgoing, but failed SMS messages containing encrypted information being sent to the number (+13106916499). I immeditaly did a factory reset to remove my accounts and details, restarting with the stock lollipop build from EE.
Again the sms messages attempts started up again (and failed). The only downloaded app on the phone was Computrace Agent, with permissions to do everything on the device, including sending SMS messages (showing the cost warning too). As other threads have gone into what this app is, I'll leave that out, but will mention it is impossible to uninstall or even (force)stop this application. Ok you can force stop, but it restarts immediately, and sends another text!
I've left the phone with no accounts on it, and had the SIM activated. As soon as this was complete, Computrace successfully sent a new message to the above number., but has not stopped attempting to send more (failed for some reason).
I contacted EE support and registered a complaint, but they deny knowledge of the software, or it's intended use as a legitimate tracking tool. They also have no idea what the number this SMS is being sent to is for, nor what the information in the encrypted contents actually contains.
I'm looking for others recent experience with this software, and whether people have had charges/resource consumption on any newish device. I have the option to cancel the contract for 14 days, and I am mainly looking for more information before making my decision. Obviously nobody in their right mind would use such a compromised handset, so it's remaining in airplane mode and will have no accounts/services added while I have it, which kinda makes it an oversized 1990's brick right now!
Look forward to your comments and advice.
Thanks
4t
EDIT: My brother, who has more Android brains than I do found the number was actually registered to T-Mobile in the US http://www.whitepages.com/phone/1-310-691-6499
EDIT/Update: OK I went to the local shop today, they were also shocked at the texts, and knew nothing about it. The guy there is now checking his note 4 too, just in case. He hadn't seen the software before but admitted to not really looking for anything untoward. He recommended I call it in as a dodgy phone and get a replacement. So I tried that, but was passed onto Samsung support.. like transferred to their switchboard! Another queue? Stuff that, I hung up, called back on 150 and cancelled the contract. I'm now buying an unlocked replacement and will shop about for cheaper deals on the SIM as I'm out of contract. I still intend to raise a ICO complaint about the encrypted sms sent to the US though.
I noticed this as well with mine when I got it. Mine was EE locked, and before I inserted a SIM I was getting multiple messages just like yours, but containing different letters and symbols.
I have since unlocked my note and rooted, flashed a debloated stock ROM and all is good. It might not be carrier specific to EE, since Computrace is a Samsung app that's in all stock firmwares.
Hi. I'm also having ussues with this software. I want it GONE!
Info: this forum - p=60864843&postcount=896 | I cant post links, sorry.
I tried deleting it from /presdata/ to no avail. It reinstalls the dropper again. If anyone can remove this I will generously tip you. I want this removed from my phone.
illuz said:
Hi. I'm also having ussues with this software. I want it GONE!
Info: this forum - p=60864843&postcount=896 | I cant post links, sorry.
I tried deleting it from /presdata/ to no avail. It reinstalls the dropper again. If anyone can remove this I will generously tip you. I want this removed from my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From other information I have found around the net, the only way to remove is to flash a new rom that does not contain the software. I'll take a look at your post but see the poster above yours.
MDaveUK said:
I noticed this as well with mine when I got it. Mine was EE locked, and before I inserted a SIM I was getting multiple messages just like yours, but containing different letters and symbols.
I have since unlocked my note and rooted, flashed a debloated stock ROM and all is good. It might not be carrier specific to EE, since Computrace is a Samsung app that's in all stock firmwares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you might be right there, but the pattern so far from my Googling seems to point at EE/T-mobile. I'm not comfortable flashing my phone in the 1st 6months, also never done it before so I'd prefer a solution from my carrier. Also, I showed the situation to a family member who is senior in local trading standards. He was shocked, and more than a little interested in finding out more (no holding breath there though, resources and all).
I still have the Computrace app in my debloated ROM, it's not something easily removed I'm afraid. However, it doesn't send any sms messages in my ROM, I tried testing by removing my sim and rebooting the phone.
I did a little research into what it actually does and I believe it's what Samsung use for their 'Find my phone' feature, and to remotely delete data and lock it.
This info page sounds just like it:
http://www.absolute.com/en/landing/...demo?sc_camp=231FCC716F544DF08BFA6C366AA77EF5
So if you try to remove Computrace you are probably disabling this feature. But it's part of the firmware's SystemUI so removing it breaks the firmware.
This is still largely a guess but I would bet on this being exactly the case.
If it still bothers you I would search for a ROM that somehow totally removes it, or CyanogenMod 12.1 if you want to avoid any Samsung software at all.
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
illuz said:
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post? http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/10834349-post19.html
So you flash that file in Odin and it will wipe it out, nice.
Guys. Let me tell you my problem and how I solved the computrace issue on my Note 4 N910F on EE.
I bought my Note 4 from a community called Gumtree in UK. It was a phone locked to EE on contract from the guy I got it from. At this point, I didn't know what computrace was or whether to look for it on the phone.
Normally when I get a new phone, I wipe it, root it and make it work to my taste coz, what's android for right?
I installed titanium backup to freeze some bloatware and remove some as well. I then came across computrace and the name "trace" sounded funny to me. I decided to use titanium backup to remove it right away coz i dont want any Samsung crap snooping on my phone.
After a reboot, the software installed itself back and i was like WHAT?
I removed it again and it installed itself again and again. And i was like F*** this. I installed a custom recovery and installed a custom rom but it was still there. It appeared it wasn't a software on the data or system partition. It has a separate untouchable partition to itself or something. Very dangerous app even more than the NSA to me.
So i was randomly using my phone some day and my phone went to lockscreen to say "ABSOLUTE COMPUTRACE SOFTWARE, this phone has been disabled by EE.... Bla bla bla" and I needed a pin to unlock to use it.
I called EE, they didn't do jack ****. I called the person I bought the phone from, he was long gone. I checked the IMEI of the phone using swappa esn checker but it is clean and not blacklisted. Turns out the guy breached his contract coz the phone still belongs to EE for 6 months and within that time, he had sold it. It also kept sending some random jargon sms in form of an encrypted message to my most recent contacted person via sms. Weird and dangerous stuff is what Computrace is. I went on their website to read about them but I don't believe in them and need to sue them.
I had to resort to using a CyanogenMod rom for about a month to avoid the phone asking me for that pin coz the phone was basically useless. But having a note 4 with cm, letting go of all the Samsung and seen feature is like me cheating myself.
I went into deep research and finally found a solution to remove it completely by wiping the partition it's installed in (I think).
Using odin, I placed the file in AP/PDA then flashed a rom that is BTU CSC and not anything that had to do with EE (EVR) so that it won't come back. I booted my phone and computrace is totally gone. I was able to use the phone again.
I have uploaded the file here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k59gxqpwv7hofco/Note4PersistWipe.tar?dl=0
Reboot to recovery.
1. Wipe your current rom and install a fresh one.
2. Don't reboot into system yet.
3. Reboot to download/bootloader mode
4. Open Odin and place the file in AP/PDA.
5. Press "Start"
6. Reboot
7. Profit and give the middle finger to computrace.
Please note that this file is only tested on the SM N910F because that is what version of Note 4 I have.
As said here and one of the simplegx threads. http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/help/remove-computrace-reinstalling-t2929102#post60906417
On my device it seemed to mostly sit idle doing not much except waste memory, but after I did a rom flash it went crazy and had the following issues.
Laggy access to the "usage data" part of the settings. (taking 30 seconds to load it)
"Restrict background data" setting kept been turned back off.
Large battery drain by the computrace agent process.
All these symptoms stopped after I uninstalled it in the app manager (have to be on a non EE rom to successfully do this). It hasnt ran on my device since.
This is on my s5 901f which I got from UK carrier EE.
There is a thread on the EE forum, where they did initially deny the software is to do with them, but then instead of denying they started to ignore the discussion. But given all non EE roms seem to not have this software, it does point to them.
---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 PM ----------
illuz said:
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I still have these files, somehow I cannot remove them.
The bad news is abit of googling shows this rootkit gets embedded into the bios not just the OS, so I think managing to stop it running in the OS is probably about as far as we can go. I ran a file in odin which supposedbly wipes that partition but the dir still exists.
A bit worryingly also is a few of the files can be deleted but then get recreated suggesting something somewhere still is using that folder. I asked androidgx (creator of simplegx rom) if he could add a command in the recovery installer to wipe that folder but he said it isnt possible.
---------- Post added at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
ok guys I read the forum illuz said to search for on google, I wont post the url incase it breaks XDA rules (dont know why he couldnt post it)
long story short did some reading and then went to this url.
http://www.cellrabta.pk/2015/05/thi...oftware-computrace-free-solution-all-samsung/
That guide worked for me, the flashing in odin wouldnt get rid of the folder, but manually issuing the commands in adb worked.
After booting the phone back up, I still had an empty absolute folder, but this time I wiped it in root explorer, there was nothing blocking the wipe.
So thankfully you dont need to factory reset the device like that guide says.
EE has never locked my phone, but I didnt like that rootkit been on it, thanks to those involved in the research.
Nice one, another poster here has a similar solution. I updated my post today, pretty much dropping EE. I called after getting advice from the local EE shop to do a return on the handset for one without computrace, and they almost instantly forwarded my call to Samsung switchboard before I could object! I'm not going to repeat the language I shouted down the phone here.
I hung up, and called 150 and cancelled my contract (14 day terms). I'm getting an unlocked Note 4 from a reputable retailer now, so we shall see if that has Computrace on it too (though advertised as Kitkat so doubtful). If I run into this malware again, I'll be grateful for all the help.
Edit: Phone has arrived, is clean and has kitkat 4.4.4, which I have been told to stick with (by the guy in the EE shop).
from what I understand all touchwiz roms now have ABTPersistenceService which enforces the file state, however the computrace agent app seems unique to EE roms so I think the ABTPersistenceService is just a support service, and so far I have not heard of any other EU carrier activating computrace agent.
The steps that seem to be required are (assuming phone hasnt been locked by the service).
1 - install a non EE rom, BTU is recommended.
2 - uninstall computrace agent app via app manager. (not listed on the other site but I did this)
3 - wipe the persdata partition using adb whilst in recovery using the guide I linked to (I didnt bother backing it up).
4 - enjoy
If its worked there should be no computrace app running and the absolute folder should stay empty.
ABTPersistenceService seems to recreate the folder tho but not the files.
To disable ABTPersistenceService, the framework2.jar needs patching.
Galaxy SM-G920X FIX:
1. Download a CLEAN NON-EE ROM.
2. Root the device & install TWRP (2.6.8.2), Copy ROM to the handset.
3. Advanced - Terminal - Execute the two commands: "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11" && "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13"
4. Install the ROM - Do not reboot the device, stay in TWRP.
5. Wipe dalvik & data / factory reset.
Hi,
How can I find out whether Computrace Agent is running on my phone or not?
I have Galaxy S4 I9500.
Thanks
Hey folks, hope I`m not coming off as one of the "hey, I broke my stuff, how can I fix it without anyone knowing I broke it" types LOL. I`ve actually been modding Android devices since my Droid X what seems like ages ago, and have done a few along the way so it`s not new in theory. So....I`ve got an I337 S4. It appeared with 4.4.4 on it, and you can imagine how that went when I started modding. My ultimate goal was/is simply to have the native tether app working (and it was, very briefly). Long story short, I bricked it, and brought it back with 4.3 on Odin. It functions fine with the exception of Wifi. It won`t activate wifi, a very, very common problem I`m reading. I`m totally comfortable doing the mods to get it going, I just don`t know what I need. It`s rooted. (here`s where I`m lost): Baseband version is FNJ4, bootloader is FNJ4, but the BUILD number is MK2. Tried the BypassLKM method, no dice. So my question is this: What is the simplest way to get WiFi access back so I can get the Native Tether function going again? If everything was FNJ4 or MK2 I`d be able to make something happen, but several approaches have gotten me bootlooped and I`1m just ready to get it right (safestrap has saved my a$$).
Thanks for any help!!
update
See, a studious and persistent student of modding gets the worm LOL. I got my WiFi back with this procedure right here http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/how-to-root-i337ucufni1-t2881298
I used the safestrap method without a hitch. Hope it helps someone else out there
I just ordered my sprint s7 edge. And have a few questions. i am looking for somthing up to date and not from march which seams to be most of the threads i find regarding this topic.
After browsing the S7 edge for Att, verizon, T-mobile and international it seams they all have root, roms and recoveries. What is so different about sprint?
Main things i want from my s7 (short of installing a slimmed down rom) is Full ad blocking (Not just in browser ad blocking) and titanium backup for freezing apps, backing up call log and SMS/MMS and the likes.
Any help would be great, thanks.
ch0de said:
I just ordered my sprint s7 edge. And have a few questions. i am looking for somthing up to date and not from march which seams to be most of the threads i find regarding this topic.
After browsing the S7 edge for Att, verizon, T-mobile and international it seams they all have root, roms and recoveries. What is so different about sprint?
Main things i want from my s7 (short of installing a slimmed down rom) is Full ad blocking (Not just in browser ad blocking) and titanium backup for freezing apps, backing up call log and SMS/MMS and the likes.
Any help would be great, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We first of all please take time and read up on the phone.
Basically there are various models of the phone but two processors.
The Qualcomm (US versions with T-Mobile, ATT, Spring and Verizon) all are Qualcomm. The Qualcomm phones (to include your Sprint phone) have locked bootloaders. What this means is that you cannot ODIN flash anything not signed by a carrier or by Samsung. It just won't install. If you do manage to acquire root and modify the system, the kernel will cause it to bootloop. Currently, we have an engineering kernel that allows root access and to boot the phone... but many to most people (to include my own experiences) report the phone to run sluggish (or lag), hot and with terrible battery life. Most I can ever get from my phone before rooting was about 20 hours. I get about half of that now. A lot of games are unplayable now and sometimes the phones just lock up and/or crash for no reason. A few have even reported waking up to see their phones stuck in a bootloop and had to flash the stock firmware and re-root just to fix it. So.... we're a long way from perfect regarding rooting.
Some things to research:
After rooting you'll notice a strange icon. That's the RCS icon. There are threads with instructions with how to remove it.
Look up Busybox on Rails to install busybox. You'll need that.
Lookup and install Flashfire from Playstore. You'll likely need that.
We don't have a custom recovery so Flashfire will be as close as you can get.
Just in case, download a copy of your firmware from Sammobile.com. You'll never know if you need to restore back to stock.
Also, check my signature for a guide from psouza4. That'll really help.
Remember that almost nothing that you can think of is original so I'm sure that almost anything that you can think to ask has been asked before. Search before posting.
Good luck!
Here is the issue. A friend of mine had gone a bought a Galaxy Sky SM-S320VL from TracPhone. And had been using the phone without any problems until a couple of weeks ago. Then he decided to do a Factory Reset. Instead of doing the software reset, from with in Settings, he went and did a HARD Reset without unlocking the google account. And guess what, he can't remember the account information for that phone. And came to me to reset the phone. (As I had to deal with this problem in the past with other people and their phones.)
I have downloaded the only stock rom I can find for this phone and flashed it with Odin3. But for some reason the flashing of the rom is never done. By this I mean, the phone downloads the rom as Odin sends it. Odin reports a Success with the flashing. But, when the phone reboots. The system has not been reset and FRP is still active.
I have flashed only the AP, and the phone reboots directly into setup and shows a message about an unauthorized Factory Reset.
I have flash all 4 files in the ROM set (BL, AP, CP, and CSC). and Odin states the flash was a success. The phone reboots, goes to recovery and states Starting System Update. Goes so far into the update, then stops and shows Erasing. After a short time of showing Erasing it reboots to setup. Where again the phone shows the message about authorized Factory Reset.
I have used Odin3 v3.9.0, v3.11.1, v3.11.2, v3.12.5. And I have updated to the latest USB drivers from Samsung.
So my question is this. Has anyone had come across this behavior before? And how can I get past this?
The phones particulars:
Name: Samsung Galaxy Sky
Model #: SM-S320VL(GP)
OS v: 6.0.1
Firmware #: S320VLUDU2APJ3
Model #, as reported by Downloader: SM-S320VL
Note: As a strange side effect of when I flash all 4 rom files. For some reason once the phone has failed the system update, erased and has reboot. I have complete access to the phones User data area from within my computer. But, I am unable to access the phone with adb.
Hey folks,
I'm having the exact same issue as the OP. Odin does a successful install on the phone but I get the unauthorized reset message and then Wifi does not work when prompted on the next screen.
Is there a tracfone version of the rom or a fix that anyone here knows of? Thanks!
@drasnah
I have yet to get any kind of reply from anyone on this. Either now one knows, and is not stating so, or doesn't care.
I have seen the wi- fi fix in another thread.
Modify /system/build.prop:
ro.securestorage.support=true to false
Hope that helps!
20eyes said:
I have seen the wi- fi fix in another thread.
Modify /system/build.prop:
ro.securestorage.support=true to false
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First this is not a wi-fi problem it is a re-flashing of the rom problem.
Second, I do not have access, root or otherwise, to any of the system files on the phone.
Third, with the first two in mind this possible solution is of no help.
Fourth, Re-read my original post. I have given complete detailed information as to what I have access to and what I have done.
Can someone send me a download think for this phone i downloaded one but it won't flash it keeps failing
This device has been locked down by Tradphone and Samsung. It gives errors flashing even the correct stock firmware. It's a piece of garbage. NEVER buy anything from Tracphone. Garbage company. You'll never fix this issue. Only pushed updates will flash via software from sammy and tracphone that is built into the rom..
Curtis1973 said:
This device has been locked down by Tradphone and Samsung. It gives errors flashing even the correct stock firmware. It's a piece of garbage. NEVER buy anything from Tracphone. Garbage company. You'll never fix this issue. Only pushed updates will flash via software from sammy and tracphone that is built into the rom..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if that's correct? It depends on the firmware and odin version being used.
---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 PM ----------
Nate1k904 said:
Can someone send me a download think for this phone i downloaded one but it won't flash it keeps failing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Post more details on the error, screenshots, firmware and odin version used.
Need to know if works. Or if needing to settle for a different route.
The_WABBIT said:
Here is the issue. A friend of mine had gone a bought a Galaxy Sky SM-S320VL from TracPhone. And had been using the phone without any problems until a couple of weeks ago. Then he decided to do a Factory Reset. Instead of doing the software reset, from with in Settings, he went and did a HARD Reset without unlocking the google account. And guess what, he can't remember the account information for that phone. And came to me to reset the phone. (As I had to deal with this problem in the past with other people and their phones.)
I have downloaded the only stock rom I can find for this phone and flashed it with Odin3. But for some reason the flashing of the rom is never done. By this I mean, the phone downloads the rom as Odin sends it. Odin reports a Success with the flashing. But, when the phone reboots. The system has not been reset and FRP is still active.
I have flashed only the AP, and the phone reboots directly into setup and shows a message about an unauthorized Factory Reset.
I have flash all 4 files in the ROM set (BL, AP, CP, and CSC). and Odin states the flash was a success. The phone reboots, goes to recovery and states Starting System Update. Goes so far into the update, then stops and shows Erasing. After a short time of showing Erasing it reboots to setup. Where again the phone shows the message about authorized Factory Reset.
I have used Odin3 v3.9.0, v3.11.1, v3.11.2, v3.12.5. And I have updated to the latest USB drivers from Samsung.
So my question is this. Has anyone had come across this behavior before? And how can I get past this?
The phones particulars:
Name: Samsung Galaxy Sky
Model #: SM-S320VL(GP)
OS v: 6.0.1
Firmware #: S320VLUDU2APJ3
Model #, as reported by Downloader: SM-S320VL
Note: As a strange side effect of when I flash all 4 rom files. For some reason once the phone has failed the system update, erased and has reboot. I have complete access to the phones User data area from within my computer. But, I am unable to access the phone with adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
J3 sm s320vl... tracfone root availability? Just bought phone hopefully got a good one to root? Or maybe someone knows who maybe be able to... please help
No updates? Interested, I have the same phone.
There is no solution for this phone. It will forever be a Trac-phone.
Yes, it nice to imagine what could had been. If there was a fix for the locked bootloader. Its encrypted, and is highly unlikely to be broken by anyone.
Do not flash the boot.image that some people have suggested
Although that method works on some devices such as the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5. In this case flashing the boot.image from an unlocked device does nothing but places the phone into an even more precarious situation, that makes it unusable even as a Trac phone.
While its true that this very low budget phone could had been decent with a custom Rom ,
You will not be able to get it working.
I have one that belonged to my daughter a couple of years ago and I managed to get it boot into the system again.
Its only function is as a calculator, or preschool game, the cellular reception and Wifi connections are highly unstable and will not stay connected.
Now it serves as my nieces play toy. I would donate to some poor person at the Salvation Army it if it was useable.
By the way, for anyone reading this.
If you have an old phone that is useable. You could dramatically help a Homeless people, by gifting them with a phone especially, if it has some minutes on it.
This gift will help them schedule job interviews, doctors appointments , etc and you will feel good knowing that you helped someone in need.
I have done this before, and will be dropping off a Blu phone, and Kindle Tablet this week.
tsongming said:
There is no solution for this phone. It will forever be a Trac-phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible to gain root on this device.
ashyx said:
It is possible to gain root on this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have permissible SE Status but can not achieve root on this device. Also, I have not found that anyone has had success rooting this exact model.
To be clear my device is the 2016 TracFone Samsung Galaxy J3 Sky model : SM-S320VL
Build S320VUDU1APG2
Hardware Version S320 VL04
I have found reports of people with S320VLUDU2API3 stating that the were able to achieve root and then assumed that it must also be possible with S320VUDU1APG2.
I am usually the guy that can figure these things out, very often before others. But I have had no success gaining root on this device using published methods. Also, I have not seen one example of someone with this identical device who gained root.
You are apparently the Wizard of these Samsung phones, so if you know of a definite way to root it, please point me towards the solution. I would really appreciate it.
I would love to root this phone, get it working again, and gift it to lady who was beaten by her husband and she is now living in a homeless shelter with her two children. She could use a phone to help with her job search. She would appreciate it.
At the moment this phone can will not keep a signal and I can't attempt the build prop solution without root.
Thank you.
tsongming said:
I have permissible SE Status but can not achieve root on this device. Also, I have not found that anyone has had success rooting this exact model.
To be clear my device is the 2016 TracFone Samsung Galaxy J3 Sky model : SM-S320VL
Build S320VUDU1APG2
Hardware Version S320 VL04
I have found reports of people with S320VLUDU2API3 stating that the were able to achieve root and then assumed that it must also be possible with S320VUDU1APG2.
I am usually the guy that can figure these things out, very often before others. But I have had no success gaining root on this device using published methods. Also, I have not seen one example of someone with this identical device who gained root.
You are apparently the Wizard of these Samsung phones, so if you know of a definite way to root it, please point me towards the solution. I would really appreciate it.
I would love to root this phone, get it working again, and gift it to lady who was beaten by her husband and she is now living in a homeless shelter with her two children. She could use a phone to help with her job search. She would appreciate it.
At the moment this phone can will not keep a signal and I can't attempt the build prop solution without root.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See the thread below. Root was gained, albeit temporary. However I believe this is due to kernel panics which may be solved by a few build.prop edits. We had to do the same on the J327T1.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-j3-2016/help/samsung-galaxy-j3-sm-s320vl-rooted-t3561762
Also if you firmware S320VUDU1APG2 then why not just update it to the firmware that has been reported to work?
I have found one these phones left on a table of a food truck area, screen was cracked - the device was only getting the android guy with triangle on it, I done some research and found the stock rom and flashed it with odin; as some have mentioned in comments above I also experienced wifi issue, so I thought I had installed incorrect rom - downloaded a different one this was a combination file that was the factory repair rom used for testing the device, but wifi worked - it wasn't a fully working telephone it didnt have the app store, well it really didnt have any apps, but I found I could copy over apk files from my PC to the device and then install them, so the phones not completely useless or junk --- it could be used for something. I myself am using that device as a security camera using IP CAM app works great. I was actually using this device for quiet some time as my roku tv remote, because my actual roku remote grown legs and walked off... i havent tried this, but I am sure you could install a launcher apk such as "apex launcher"
well i wasted enough of your time today...
I have a Verizon GS5 that has been towelrooted on 4.4.4 for close to 2 years. It's worked ok, but I've started seeing various issues that required a factory reset. Since I'm back to no settings, I was thinking updating the OS would be a good idea. I would like to move to either Lollipop or Mashmallow but it looks like the latter may be a problem with my phone (CID 11 and Verizon) while keeping Knox 0x0.
I'm having a problem following the guide that I've found here:
https://www.androidinfotech.com/2016/07/root-samsung-galaxy-s5-sm-g900v-verizon.html
The issue is that I can't get the phone to connect to my PC for Kies or ODIN. It fails to load the MTP driver for my GS5 but works fine with my wife's GS5. Hers is stock Lollipop or Marshmallow and mine is still on JB but is rooted.
I guess what I'm wondering is what my options are. Should I remove root so that I can hopefully connect to the PC to transfer the files over and updating? Or, is there something else I should try first? I haven't worked on many phones and I'm a little nervous about doing something irreversible at this point. I don't know that I need Knox at 0x0, but since I can't get back if I trip it, I'd rather not trip it.
bkenobi69 said:
The issue is that I can't get the phone to connect to my PC for Kies or ODIN. It fails to load the MTP driver for my GS5 but works fine with my wife's GS5. Hers is stock Lollipop or Marshmallow and mine is still on JB but is rooted.
I guess what I'm wondering is what my options are. Should I remove root so that I can hopefully connect to the PC to transfer the files over and updating? Or, is there something else I should try first? I haven't worked on many phones and I'm a little nervous about doing something irreversible at this point. I don't know that I need Knox at 0x0, but since I can't get back if I trip it, I'd rather not trip it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to dial *#0808# in the stock phone application.
You should see a menu with several options.
Select "MTP+ADB" under USB settings and press "OK".
Then you'll be able to connect your phone via MTP or ADB to your PC.
If there's no menu, then (assuming you're rooted) open a good file browser (ES, Root Explorer or something) and open the file /efs/carrier/HiddenMenu (it's a simple text file) and replace OFF with ON there.
Save the changes and reboot the phone.
Now the menu should be operational.
Unfortunately, I already tried to update to 6.0.1 so this very helpful info is a little to late.
I followed all directions on the linked page above but didn't get things working. I repeated 2 or 3 times now and I'm clearly missing something. I can get through installing busybox, but then when I reset, it hangs at the samsung screen and just vibrates 3 times repeatedly. I'm going to have to figure this out tonight as I don't really have a backup phone.
bkenobi69 said:
Unfortunately, I already tried to update to 6.0.1 so this very helpful info is a little to late.
I followed all directions on the linked page above but didn't get things working. I repeated 2 or 3 times now and I'm clearly missing something. I can get through installing busybox, but then when I reset, it hangs at the samsung screen and just vibrates 3 times repeatedly. I'm going to have to figure this out tonight as I don't really have a backup phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently root is impossible for MM on G900V CID11.
Impossible means you cannot gain it now, most likely it's forever.
There's no internet site which can help.
You must choose: root on LP or unrooted MM.
You must decide if you want a stock ROM or something (TW-based) else too.
It's a good idea to flash and use a stock firmware for the time while you're thinking.
Interesting... I guess I must have been reading things wrong because I thought I could go to MM with root. I'll try going to Lollipop then but first I'm going to just flash back to JB 4.4.4.
I downloaded 4.4.4 from Samsung and was going to write it with Odin, but it says FAIL when I try to flash. I suspect I just tripped Knox...
SW REV CHECK FAIL : [aboot]Fused 2 > Binary 1
I'll look around to find a guide, but if you have a suggestion, I'd certainly listen!
bkenobi69 said:
SW REV CHECK FAIL : [aboot]Fused 2 > Binary 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means that you've upgraded your phone's firmware while experimenting.
Now you cannot directly flash 4.4.4 with Odin, you're limited to 5.0 (BOK3) and above.
Ok. I'll read the guides on the head of this list and see if I can find the right information.
FWIW, I was following the same how-to that most of the stickies point to and say is safe. I wonder how I got to a position that I'm in now when I did the same as recommended. Painiac's thread points to the same thing I did:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve...al/guide-painiacs-essential-guide-to-t3319848
I think I may have tried to flash a MM stock rom though when it got into a boot loop. I suspect that would be the issue.
Bootloop is not a problem in this case.
Just reboot to the recovery and perform a factory reset from there.
The phone will boot but the first boot will take 10-15 min.
bkenobi69 said:
I have a Verizon GS5 that has been towelrooted on 4.4.4 for close to 2 years. It's worked ok, but I've started seeing various issues that required a factory reset. Since I'm back to no settings, I was thinking updating the OS would be a good idea. I would like to move to either Lollipop or Mashmallow but it looks like the latter may be a problem with my phone (CID 11 and Verizon) while keeping Knox 0x0.
I'm having a problem following the guide that I've found here:
https://www.androidinfotech.com/2016/07/root-samsung-galaxy-s5-sm-g900v-verizon.html
The issue is that I can't get the phone to connect to my PC for Kies or ODIN. It fails to load the MTP driver for my GS5 but works fine with my wife's GS5. Hers is stock Lollipop or Marshmallow and mine is still on JB but is rooted.
I guess what I'm wondering is what my options are. Should I remove root so that I can hopefully connect to the PC to transfer the files over and updating? Or, is there something else I should try first? I haven't worked on many phones and I'm a little nervous about doing something irreversible at this point. I don't know that I need Knox at 0x0, but since I can't get back if I trip it, I'd rather not trip it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marshmallow can not be rooted on CID 11 devices. The Samsung drivers are found here: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/galaxy-s5-verizon You can follow the 5.0 root guide here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve.../testers-required-easier-root-method-t3561529 to downgrade to 5.0. If you want to downgrade past that to a version lower than 5.0, you will still have to follow that guide then follow the instructions here (I recommend you to follow the root guide for 5.0 above then skip steps 1 and 2 on this page): https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve.../guide-downgrade-to-kk-nk2-ncg-mm-lp-t3686858 . You can find stock firmwares here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2784880 (stock firmware, kernel, and modem files) and if you get bootlooped or bricked, just reflash the combination file from the root guide. If you want to root 4.4.4, follow the downgrade method using all of the NK2 files but the flash the NGC kernel, run through the setup, then use towelroot and flash the NK2 kernel after that. If you ever get stuck on the red Verizon screen, just pop the battery out and reboot.
That's about all anyone can do and a run down of everything.
Thank you for posting specific guides. I'll go back to step 1 and try again. The primary issue I have at this point isn't reading the guide and following directions, its finding the right guide to reduce the number of images I need to download. I'm on 1.5mbps DSL so d/l a 2GB file takes most of a day. I have several that don't appear useful at this point which means I've lost several days.
bkenobi69 said:
Thank you for posting specific guides. I'll go back to step 1 and try again. The primary issue I have at this point isn't reading the guide and following directions, its finding the right guide to reduce the number of images I need to download. I'm on 1.5mbps DSL so d/l a 2GB file takes most of a day. I have several that don't appear useful at this point which means I've lost several days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understandable, I can't believe it is 2018 and we still haven't invented a way to compress 1.7GB into 1.7MB archives to make life easy on low connections. How is battery life on 4.4.4 and which update of 4.4.4 are you on? I've been having an issue with my phone dropping a percent every 2 minutes on 5.0/6.0. It would be nice find a version to root along with excellent battery life.
The reason I was looking at updating was due to battery issues. I had the phone for around a week before I rooted it (a couple years ago). After rooting, I started seeing immediate battery issues. My wife has the same unrooted phone (currently on MM) and has never had the type of issues I have. I figured the issue was likely a bad kernel and was thinking I'd just update to something newer (LL or MM) to help. I assume a new battery would help since mine is 1-2 years old, but I swapped with my wife's phone and she still gets lots better performance. Once I get this back up, I'll probably buy a new battery for each phone.
So it appears that I must have upgraded the bootloader to a point where towelroot no longer works as was previously suggested. I believe then that I need to follow the second guide to be able to downgrade to a rootable Lollipop version:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve.../guide-downgrade-to-kk-nk2-ncg-mm-lp-t3686858
I am downloading the PB1 rom and lolliroot and need to also get a system restore, kernel, and modem. As I said, my connection is terrible so it would be great if someone could suggest which version of restore I should go with. I was going to install Lollipop in the end (that was the original goal). I figured I'd just get OC4 since it's likely to have the least bugs and best performance. If that is a mistake and I should go with an earlier version of LL PLEASE throw it out there!
Ok, I tethered to my wife's phone and am burning her data (shhhh, don't tell her).
I grabbed all of the OC4 files, the PB1 rom, and lolliroot. I think I have everything I need so long as OC4 is a good place to end up.
bkenobi69 said:
The reason I was looking at updating was due to battery issues. I had the phone for around a week before I rooted it (a couple years ago). After rooting, I started seeing immediate battery issues. My wife has the same unrooted phone (currently on MM) and has never had the type of issues I have. I figured the issue was likely a bad kernel and was thinking I'd just update to something newer (LL or MM) to help. I assume a new battery would help since mine is 1-2 years old, but I swapped with my wife's phone and she still gets lots better performance. Once I get this back up, I'll probably buy a new battery for each phone.
So it appears that I must have upgraded the bootloader to a point where towelroot no longer works as was previously suggested. I believe then that I need to follow the second guide to be able to downgrade to a rootable Lollipop version:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ve.../guide-downgrade-to-kk-nk2-ncg-mm-lp-t3686858
I am downloading the PB1 rom and lolliroot and need to also get a system restore, kernel, and modem. As I said, my connection is terrible so it would be great if someone could suggest which version of restore I should go with. I was going to install Lollipop in the end (that was the original goal). I figured I'd just get OC4 since it's likely to have the least bugs and best performance. If that is a mistake and I should go with an earlier version of LL PLEASE throw it out there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some files (that I been hunting for about an hour for). Just gonna reference this for future use and anyone who comes across this thread. http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Galaxy S5
Nice find!
I have the phone up and running on stock PB1 currently. I'm going to let it sit to see what the battery is like prior to rooting. While I haven't gotten it hooked back up to my account yet nor do I have it rooted, I feel pretty confident now that I'm on the right track. Thanks!
Just to finish out this topic, I have not successfully completed attaining root on 5.0. I flashed PB1 to the phone and then followed this guide for installing KingRoot:
https://androidforums.com/threads/root-question.1120150/
I got the lolliroot files from here:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=312968873555011514
Thanks to all who offered help!
Qyuck question... I've got my phone working well bow, but there's one issue with apps I'm not sure how to address. I want to use Verizon Visual Voicemail but I can't find it on the Play store. I disabled updates so I wouldn't get the marshmallow update and break root. but, with updates turned off, VVM won't get pushed. Any suggestions?