Database Users

[Q] S5 changing Kernel

Dear All
This is my first time to post and use XDA, so please guild me and give me a hand. thanks
I am using Galaxy S5 LTE-A ( Korea Version SM-G906S)
Snapdragon 805,
3GB ram
Kernel version (3.10.0-1916255
Baseband
G906SKSU1ANFF
i am now facing to a problem that because its a Korea version and i am locate in Hong Kong, there are many Hong Kong local Samsung's feature i can not use and also are different then what i had with my S4 which i found it hugely inconvenience, such as the Keyboard's input are not the original, the watch on function is not working in my area, some korean words which i dont understand keep on poping up.
so i wonger if its possible i can download the S5 (G900S) hong kong Kernal to install in my G906S? so all the problem will be solved,
if not then what can i do? please give me a hand. thank you
Edmund

edmundluk6 said:
so i wonger if its possible i can download the S5 (G900S) hong kong Kernal to install in my G906S? so all the problem will be solved
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well according to Samsung this phone doesn't exist. Samsung swore up and down that there would be no S5 prime released.
But anyway, your idea to use the kernel from the existing S5 is exceedingly unlikely to work. You can't just transplant a stock kernel from a different model. The kernel may be nearly identical, but you have to expect at least a few differences in system level drivers and addressing which is enough to cause serious problems. An expert could probably recompile and port the kernel over, but this phone was just released and I doubt that anyone has done anything like that yet.
There probably isn't Chinese or English firmware for this model, but you check on that just in case. Also see if there is Chinese or English support in the current firmware. Failing that, you may be able to install an English or Chinese custom ROM. Once one is released that is. There is probably enough interest in the premium hardware for someone to tackle that.
Realize that you bought a Korean market only device, at least for the moment and unless Samsung releases it to more markets or a programmer takes it on as a project.. you don't have a lot of options. Hazards of being an early adopter and /or not researching your options in advance.
Also, few people outside of Korea will have any firsthand knowledge of this phone yet, so we don't know a lot of details e.g. if the bootloader is locked or much else.
.

fffft said:
Well according to Samsung this phone doesn't exist. Samsung swore up and down that there would be no S5 prime released.
But anyway, your idea to use the kernel from the existing S5 is exceedingly unlikely to work. You can't just transplant a stock kernel from a different model. The kernel may be nearly identical, but you have to expect at least a few differences in system level drivers and addressing which is enough to cause serious problems. An expert could probably recompile and port the kernel over, but this phone was just released and I doubt that anyone has done anything like that yet.
There probably isn't Chinese or English firmware for this model, but you check on that just in case. Also see if there is Chinese or English support in the current firmware. Failing that, you may be able to install an English or Chinese custom ROM. Once one is released that is. There is probably enough interest in the premium hardware for someone to tackle that.
Realize that you bought a Korean market only device, at least for the moment and unless Samsung releases it to more markets or a programmer takes it on as a project.. you don't have a lot of options. Hazards of being an early adopter and /or not researching your options in advance.
Also, few people outside of Korea will have any firsthand knowledge of this phone yet, so we don't know a lot of details e.g. if the bootloader is locked or much else.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for your help, looks like i will have to live with it for now, i hope there will be future rom for my phone. thank you very much. your information is very helpful.

@edmundluk6
FYI, root, custom recovery and custom ROM development for your phone.
SM-G906S/K/L/ S805 Info Sharing thread (Root/CWM/Custom Rom)
.

SM-P585 : Flashing firmware from a different variant

I could not wait for the SM-P585 to become available in the US, so I bought one from ebay, but turns out it is the SM-P585NO, the Korean version, which has LTE band 1,3,5,7,8. The tablet is unable to get LTE on T-Mobile and AT&T in the US, although I am getting a decent 3G signal.
Is there a way I can flash firmware from a different variant of SM-P585 and get US LTE bands? Firmware for several variant appears to be available on youmobile.org (I cannot post a link here yet)
Thanks a ton for your help!
Maaz

I would not hold out much hope on that front.
When we flash a different ROM, it basically changes the OS, however, I don't think it changes the underlying drivers which could enable us to use a different LTE band.
It might be possible, however, it would require too much of a technical effort to accomplish that.
However, what I've seen people say is that its the hardware which is different in such cases, so near impossible to do that.
Jp

Sadly the answer is no. Unless there are unpublished support for different bands and they release a firmware update to enable this, it won't happen.
Your best bet is to sell the you had and buy another one.

Thanks!
Thanks a ton for help, you two! Just wondering.. is there a harm if I do flash a different variant? There's Korean stuff in my tablet that I'd like to get rid of.
Thanks again for your responses!

MaazMax said:
Thanks a ton for help, you two! Just wondering.. is there a harm if I do flash a different variant? There's Korean stuff in my tablet that I'd like to get rid of.
Thanks again for your responses!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you flash another ROM for the same model, you should be okay. However, I've seen previously that a lot of the things are different even in software between the Korean & International variants of the same model, so directly using another ROM is not advisable, unless the ROM has been modified by someone & that person says he has made changes to make it compatible.
Why not use something like package disabler pro to disable unwanted apps?
Jp

Chinese version does not support Google Play as of version B115

So I want to kind of start this discussion and work on a fix. Ideally a fix without root, if it's possible.
According to the Chinese forums, the Chinese version (which I'm getting because I want 128GB of storage) has been altered as of version B115 to not include the necessary GMS framework to allow installation of google services, play store, and so on.
Previous versions (some Chinese models shipped with B109) included the ability to load Google Services.
The first step in fixing this for people whose phones ship with more recent firmware is to find a full package of B109. The only other option will be bootloader unlock and flashing of either international firmware or google play services after unlocking the bootloader.
My phone will arrive here in Japan tomorrow, so I will work on reverse engineering the update server like I did with Mate 8, and keep everyone up to date with any progress. Does anyone else have plans to buy the Chinese version? Please feel free to chime in!
UPDATE!!
As of December, Huawei has released a package to install google services on the Mate 9. Simply search the HiApp store for GMS and get the first result.

Couldn't just install a international from through the update?

So your saying if I purchase this from a Chinese online mobile store I wont be able to get google play store on it im in need of a new phone so bad and wanted this

intruda119 said:
Couldn't just install a international from through the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not without unlocking the bootloader.

NiggZ said:
So your saying if I purchase this from a Chinese online mobile store I wont be able to get google play store on it im in need of a new phone so bad and wanted this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be able to get Google Play store on it IF your phone ships with version B109 or earlier. Apparently this is rare. Otherwise, you will not be able to without unlocking your bootloader, at this time. My phone is supposed to arrive today, so I will be a guinea pig and figure out what needs to be done, as obviously it's useless to me without Google Play.

I have bought Chinese huawei mate 9 too. And it doesn't have google. If anyone knows the solution please help

Dr Qurat said:
I have bought Chinese huawei mate 9 too. And it doesn't have google. If anyone knows the solution please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the 128 version as well?

duraaraa said:
So I want to kind of start this discussion and work on a fix. Ideally a fix without root, if it's possible.
According to the Chinese forums, the Chinese version (which I'm getting because I want 128GB of storage) has been altered as of version B115 to not include the necessary GMS framework to allow installation of google services, play store, and so on.
Previous versions (some Chinese models shipped with B109) included the ability to load Google Services.
The first step in fixing this for people whose phones ship with more recent firmware is to find a full package of B109. The only other option will be bootloader unlock and flashing of either international firmware or google play services after unlocking the bootloader.
My phone will arrive here in Japan tomorrow, so I will work on reverse engineering the update server like I did with Mate 8, and keep everyone up to date with any progress. Does anyone else have plans to buy the Chinese version? Please feel free to chime in!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate I'm here. I plan to buy chinese versione (I've also international one) and work on it

raimondomartire said:
Hi mate I'm here. I plan to buy chinese versione (I've also international one) and work on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good! We work together again, like the old days!
Do you have the international one now? Can you use wireshark and find out the http query from eRecovery to get the location to the latest firmware?
For example, you can get latest Mate 8 AL10 firmware like this:
Code:
curl -d '{"rules":{"D_version":"","DeviceName":"HUAWEI NXT-AL10","saleinfo":"||||||||N","IMEI":"","FingerPrint":"","FirmWare":"HUAWEI NXT-AL10-all-cn","IMSI":"","C_version":"","OS":"","HotaVersion":"e.0.1","Language":"","devicetoken":"","PackageType":"full"}}' http://query.hicloud.com:80/sp_ard_common/v2/Check.action?latest=True

duraaraa said:
Good! We work together again, like the old days!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes as usual man :good::good: It's always a pleasure work together with you. I think is possible to create temp root but I don't know which command I can use. I write temp root script but I can test after this monday. I bought mate 9 6 GB version
No problem to have roms location (like mate 8 times) but I must wait mate 9 chinese version (international one can send me tomorrow)

raimondomartire said:
Yes as usual man :good::good: It's always a pleasure work together with you. I think is possible to create temp root but I don't know which command I can use. I write temp root script but I can test after this monday. I bought mate 9 6 GB version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pleasure is mine!
I also bought same version. Do you currently have European version in your hands? I think it might be possible to use some tricks to write European firmware onto Chinese version.

duraaraa said:
The pleasure is mine!
I also bought same version. Do you currently have European version in your hands? I think it might be possible to use some tricks to write European firmware onto Chinese version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now this is very confusing. I ordered the 4/64GB version from aliexpress. All of the descriptions (of all sellers) on ali clearly highlights all the network features and bands that are only supported by the european model of Mate9, called "MHA-L29". Huawei's official specs clearly say MHA-L29 is dual-sim supported and MHA-L09 (=chinese version) is not.
I asked the seller and after 3-4 questions he finally replied it's the chinese version (of course) but tried to convince me that it will work with google play because every huawei phone they sell can work with play.
I can't risk it to have a phone that I have to mod to use play, and I can't expect the firmware updates easily without any problem/risk.
I cancelled the order, asked a few other sellers they all have the chinese version. It seems I can't get the european version with a lower price I have to wait till the phone launches here, and it will be much more expensive.
What is your opinion how difficult will it be to update the firmware with sufficient google services by tricks on the chinese models? Would you recommend it to a noob like me(I unlocked bootloaders and stuff but I can only follow specific directions) to have the chinese model backed by a worthless warranty?

PapitaHD said:
Now this is very confusing. I ordered the 4/64GB version from aliexpress. All of the descriptions (of all sellers) on ali clearly highlights all the network features and bands that are only supported by the european model of Mate9, called "MHA-L29". Huawei's official specs clearly say MHA-L29 is dual-sim supported and MHA-L09 (=chinese version) is not.
I asked the seller and after 3-4 questions he finally replied it's the chinese version (of course) but tried to convince me that it will work with google play because every huawei phone they sell can work with play.
I can't risk it to have a phone that I have to mod to use play, and I can't expect the firmware updates easily without any problem/risk.
I cancelled the order, asked a few other sellers they all have the chinese version. It seems I can't get the european version with a lower price I have to wait till the phone launches here, and it will be much more expensive.
What is your opinion how difficult will it be to update the firmware with sufficient google services by tricks on the chinese models? Would you recommend it to a noob like me(I unlocked bootloaders and stuff but I can only follow specific directions) to have the chinese model backed by a worthless warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chinese version is not MHA-L09. It's MHA-AL00.

PapitaHD said:
What is your opinion how difficult will it be to update the firmware with sufficient google services by tricks on the chinese models? Would you recommend it to a noob like me(I unlocked bootloaders and stuff but I can only follow specific directions) to have the chinese model backed by a worthless warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it will be possible to do with specific directions, probably within a month -- hopefully sooner. I also think it's possible that Huawei re-introduces the ability to install Google services into a future update, because the outcry from the Chinese community is huge.
Once I find the way to do it, I will make as easy-to-follow guide as I can, but I can't promise anything! It might be very difficult if it's too different from the Mate 8.
My advice to you is to wait until a solution has been found before buying the Chinese version.

duraaraa said:
I think it will be possible to do with specific directions, probably within a month -- hopefully sooner. I also think it's possible that Huawei re-introduces the ability to install Google services into a future update, because the outcry from the Chinese community is huge.
Once I find the way to do it, I will make as easy-to-follow guide as I can, but I can't promise anything! It might be very difficult if it's too different from the Mate 8.
My advice to you is to wait until a solution has been found before buying the Chinese version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm gonna wait a little more then. I cancelled my order before shipment so they must refund me without any problem. There will be a 130-150 USD difference comparing the chinese version to prices in my country. I'm hesitating to either wait for this phone or buy the OnePlus 3T on the 28th of november, but I really like the Mate9.

A best solution could be to completely trasform chinese into european. With european rom, european modem and other features like sar reduction : do you remember that mate 8 EU had a string "sar reduction yes" that in chinese there wasn't?
Do you think that is possibile to convert At 100% chinese in european? (with unlock bootloader)
We can work At this?

Paolo83 said:
A best solution could be to completely trasform chinese into european. With european rom, european modem and other features like sar reduction : do you remember that mate 8 EU had a string "sar reduction yes" that in chinese there wasn't?
Do you think that is possibile to convert At 100% chinese in european? (with unlock bootloader)
We can work At this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Customs delayed my phone's delivery to Monday, so I can't really say without looking at how it works, but I don't see any reason it wouldn't be possible to convert the Chinese version to the european one as long as we have an unlocked bootloader or root.

Paolo83 said:
A best solution could be to completely trasform chinese into european. With european rom, european modem and other features like sar reduction : do you remember that mate 8 EU had a string "sar reduction yes" that in chinese there wasn't?
Do you think that is possibile to convert At 100% chinese in european? (with unlock bootloader)
We can work At this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat. i got a MHA-AL00 and I can't get the play store to work. Please anyone have instructions how to resolve this problem.??
thanks in Advance.
Bigantz

Has anyone ask the resellers/aliexpress people about this?

Bigantz said:
I'm in the same boat. i got a MHA-AL00 and I can't get the play store to work. Please anyone have instructions how to resolve this problem.??
thanks in Advance.
Bigantz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No solution yet. I will be working on it once my phone arrives, though!

Today received 128G - 4g RAM - need a little help

I have bought the 128 gig storage - 4 gig RAM from china and it arrived today, need some help and have some questions here:
1. In "about phone - Model number" section it said ZTE A2017, No app drawer, No G or U after the model number, no google play store, I searched a little on the various models, it seems mine is Chinese, am I right?
2. Is it possible to unlock the bootloader/ root/ xposed for my device model ( Chinese)?
3. If the answer is yes, Can I flash G or U model to the device? or because of its possible band differences and 128 G storage instead of 64 G it will cause problems?
4. It has android version 6.01 , mifavor ZTE_A2017V1.0.0B07, it said I can update if to B13, size 711.75 mb, are the info and changelogs are in Chinese, I don't know is it Nougat or just a regular bug fixing update. anyone have the same device that could help me here? I read in previous mifavor roms it is possible to unlock the BL, Should I update now?
please check the attachments
Thank you in advance

This is a Chinese version of axon 7 (that's why you don't have G or U). As I know so far only this version have combination of 128GB/4GB.
There are development section for rooting unlocking - just jump there and read a loot of stuff.
Probably the whole process is nearly same as U and G model.
Also you might have Chinese recovery menu. I do not have Chinese version of axon 7 in my hand but I have few others Chinese exclusive phones and they have some type of Chinese language core.
And before update search that unlocking method work with B13.
Cheers

Pretty sure bands are set by hardware and are not changeable.

Read your post again and see you just want to flash other firmware. This is fine if you follow the twrp flashable firmware guide.

MrMD69 said:
This is a Chinese version of axon 7 (that's why you don't have G or U). As I know so far only this version have combination of 128GB/4GB.
There are development section for rooting unlocking - just jump there and read a loot of stuff.
Probably the whole process is nearly same as U and G model.
Also you might have Chinese recovery menu. I do not have Chinese version of axon 7 in my hand but I have few others Chinese exclusive phones and they have some type of Chinese language core.
And before update search that unlocking method work with B13.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems bootloader of U models in previous firmware builds can be unlocked, seen it on youtube, I want to know if I do the same with my Chinese model it won't brick the device; hoped someone did this before, then I wanted to flash the G or U model on it, it would be so good if someone know if specific bands are limited in other models and they have all actual similar inside that could be useable in different models or some bands are really missed in different models and if not, maybe flash U firmware with Chinese model bands separately, confused here that I am only one trying to do that!
Chines recovery menu?! now I am :silly: now I am pissed why i did not think about it before
I think frimware numbers are different from U and Global models, last U model frimware is B29 and Chinese is B13, am I right? if that so I could not use the unlocking method on it
reasons that I order from China:
1. I don't live in US, I'm in middle east, even though I can get it with help of my brother who lives in US I have preferred not to bother him for purchasing and sending by post, tax...
2. when I decided to buy one, 128 G wasn't available in US
3. 64G is not enough for me especially with these VR programs and games sizes and yes I know I can expand with MicroSD but it's not adaptative and I always prefer more internal storage and it is UFS 2 and I want to use my 2sims on it.
4. this model cost me around 350 US$ (silver color), that's a good deal; this year BF the 64G model were 350$ , also 128+6 G is around 500 US$ and I think its not worth the 150 extra $.

lafester said:
Read your post again and see you just want to flash other firmware. This is fine if you follow the twrp flashable firmware guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said bands are not changeable, but if I flash other models frimwares like U or G model if the bands weren't there it could cause problem.
another question is firmwares of the same models but with different storage ( 64/128G) or Ram (4/6G) are different?

[SM-J5108] Convert my J5 SM-J5108 to a more usable version ? (510F ?)

Hello,
My title may not be very cler but I can't find any custom ROMs for my device the J5 SM-J5108CHM (J5 China Mobile version) I can find official firmware but I just hate the interface, I found a really good-looking ROM (VIperOS) but it was for another variant of the phone.
So my question is : can I convert this phone to some other variant with same specs ? Thanks in advance

I've got the same question but no one seems to go to this thread if anyone has an answer to this that would be very appreciated. the j5108 seems to have all the same specs as the other variants so it should work but I'm not taking any risks because this is my everyday phone.
also the china mobile os is complete rubbish use this one (im a new user so i cant post link but just search up updato (dot) com, go to search bar and search j5108, in teh filters bar up top choose hong kong and press update under the search bar)
First, install any lollipop update (if you skip straight to marshmallow you'll end up in a bootloop), and then install either OTA update (it keeps failing for people but its good if you don't want to use Odin again) or you can download the marshmallow os after you install lollipop (make sure to NOT do a factory reset etc you'll end up in a boot loop). Install MM os and boom GAPPS and everything else you'll need.

jeff the cheff's left nut said:
I've got the same question but no one seems to go to this thread if anyone has an answer to this that would be very appreciated. the j5108 seems to have all the same specs as the other variants so it should work but I'm not taking any risks because this is my everyday phone.
also the china mobile os is complete rubbish use this one (im a new user so i cant post link but just search up updato (dot) com, go to search bar and search j5108, in teh filters bar up top choose hong kong and press update under the search bar)
First, install any lollipop update (if you skip straight to marshmallow you'll end up in a bootloop), and then install either OTA update (it keeps failing for people but its good if you don't want to use Odin again) or you can download the marshmallow os after you install lollipop (make sure to NOT do a factory reset etc you'll end up in a boot loop). Install MM os and boom GAPPS and everything else you'll need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't. Its a different phone. Maybe you think because it says J5 chinese version that its the same thing, just different model number. There are reasons why ot has a different model number, baseband, etc... Its like you have the Samsung Galaxy S2 with exynos and the American one with SD. They are both S2, but totaly different phones.

does xda have a word cap or did my other post not post because it was long or is the image verification a post-verification. anyway, i was saying that all the j5 2016 variants are exactly the same which in theory would allow any model's OS to work on any variant. S2 isn't a great comparison because different models have different hardware while j5 2016 has different models with identical hardware. Just search up j5108 specs and j510x specs and they'll all be the same ill post back in a few weeks when I get a new battery and test out different OS (rn I'm using the stock hong kong OS). I'll try OS for different PDAs and then ill try out different models. Btw all the spec sites say the variants are compatible with Australia so I shouldn't have a problem using different models OS in Australia (meaning 4G, wifi, phone numbers etc should be fine).
Also please explain in more depth why j5 2016 variants are so different to the point that they have different model numbers (i know that sounds passive aggressive and pretend it isn't I honestly want to know). I'm super sorry if I sound like an arrogant **** that wants everything his way but the way the j5 2016 models are made they all seem identical and logically (and in theory) the other variants OS should work on the j5108. if for some reason I cant see my first reply but others can I'm so sorry for this post.

jeff the cheff's left nut said:
does xda have a word cap or did my other post not post because it was long or is the image verification a post-verification. anyway, i was saying that all the j5 2016 variants are exactly the same which in theory would allow any model's OS to work on any variant. S2 isn't a great comparison because different models have different hardware while j5 2016 has different models with identical hardware. Just search up j5108 specs and j510x specs and they'll all be the same ill post back in a few weeks when I get a new battery and test out different OS (rn I'm using the stock hong kong OS). I'll try OS for different PDAs and then ill try out different models. Btw all the spec sites say the variants are compatible with Australia so I shouldn't have a problem using different models OS in Australia (meaning 4G, wifi, phone numbers etc should be fine).
Also please explain in more depth why j5 2016 variants are so different to the point that they have different model numbers (i know that sounds passive aggressive and pretend it isn't I honestly want to know). I'm super sorry if I sound like an arrogant **** that wants everything his way but the way the j5 2016 models are made they all seem identical and logically (and in theory) the other variants OS should work on the j5108. if for some reason I cant see my first reply but others can I'm so sorry for this post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phones today can have the same harware, same SoC, same RAM, same everything, even the same RIL preferences, but they are different models. The whole stock software was made for a specific device model. The J510FN is different than the J510H, if there was no difference why would Samsung bother to make many versions? The whole operating system, every part of it: Kernel, Apps, Recovery, Hal, Bootloader are mannualy made for a specific model number. Because of that it is hard to make a ROM that supports all of the phones in one Samsung model family lineup. You see now that by pure logic the j508 is very different from the J510FN