Galaxy safe & worth to root? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My friend recently got his s4 in the mail the other day, and i was showing him rooted features on my nexus 4. He was wondering what kind of features are available on the s4 and is it safe, as he is scared of bricking his phone.
Thanks
Also what roms/kernals do you guys run on the s4? in case he wants me to root and flash a rom for him.

zeffy621 said:
My friend recently got his s4 in the mail the other day, and i was showing him rooted features on my nexus 4. He was wondering what kind of features are available on the s4 and is it safe, as he is scared of bricking his phone.
Thanks
Also what roms/kernals do you guys run on the s4? in case he wants me to root and flash a rom for him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Firstly ,what variant of the phone do you have?

Related

[Q] Should I buy an S4

Hi all
I currently own a galaxy note N700 and am a flashaholic, keep switching between CM & Touchwizz roms.
I have the chance to upgrade to an S4 from O2 (uk), now i have read a lot on this forum but still not sure wether to go for it.
My biggest concern is about rooting, that is all i am after, just want to remove bloat and keep the rest stock, as i rather like
touchwizz. On the N700 rooting was easy with philz kernel/recovery, how easy is it on the S4?
I dont know what firmware it will come with (probably not the latest), keep reading about this Knox thing and am a bit confused.
can anyone en-lighten me as to the easiest way to root and is it safe. We had the EMMC drama on the note originally
is there any problems like that here?
cheers
jock11 said:
Hi all
I currently own a galaxy note N700 and am a flashaholic, keep switching between CM & Touchwizz roms.
I have the chance to upgrade to an S4 from O2 (uk), now i have read a lot on this forum but still not sure wether to go for it.
My biggest concern is about rooting, that is all i am after, just want to remove bloat and keep the rest stock, as i rather like
touchwizz. On the N700 rooting was easy with philz kernel/recovery, how easy is it on the S4?
I dont know what firmware it will come with (probably not the latest), keep reading about this Knox thing and am a bit confused.
can anyone en-lighten me as to the easiest way to root and is it safe. We had the EMMC drama on the note originally
is there any problems like that here?
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's my suggestion that, if you are a flashaholic who likes CM/AOSP, you get a Qualcomm based GT-I9505 since the 9500 is Exynos based and will cripple support for CM because Samsung doesn't provide proper userspace drivers. If you can flash the Samsug device you have, you'll be right at home going to the S4. The procedures are basically the same.
Just don't update when you first use it root straight away the efuse is triggered by the update. So you will be safe.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
donalgodon said:
It's my suggestion that, if you are a flashaholic who likes CM/AOSP, you get a Qualcomm based GT-I9505 since the 9500 is Exynos based and will cripple support for CM because Samsung doesn't provide proper userspace drivers. If you can flash the Samsug device you have, you'll be right at home going to the S4. The procedures are basically the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm! thats a bit worrying, cos i can only get the I9500, seems the I9505 is always out of stock on O2.
TBH i'm quite happy sticking with touchwizz, as long as i can root and debloat. I assume its just as easy to root as N7000,
flash CF Root then flash a custom recovery as long as i dont update before?
Can someone confirm before i jump in and buy one? Cos i'm also tempted by GN2 and S3.
cheers
I own a i9500, did a a cf-root and flashed wanam, now it's better battery life and much more smoth with the touchwiz.
Overall, i have a very good experience with my octa.
jock11 said:
Hmmm! thats a bit worrying, cos i can only get the I9500, seems the I9505 is always out of stock on O2.
TBH i'm quite happy sticking with touchwizz, as long as i can root and debloat. I assume its just as easy to root as N7000,
flash CF Root then flash a custom recovery as long as i dont update before?
Can someone confirm before i jump in and buy one? Cos i'm also tempted by GN2 and S3.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's easy.
S4 rocks man.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 4

Is it possible to enable Native Tethering on the S4?

Hello all,
I Currently have the S3 Running Dandroid 4.7. I really like it. Was not looking to upgrade. As it happens my wife is in need of a new phone and not due for an upgrade so she will be taking mine.
The only thing either one of us use is the Native WiFi Tethering. Is it possible on the S4? Should I just buy a used S3 and stick to the custom ROM's?
I see that rooting is possible now via External SD. Is there an exploit available to enable the Native Tethering?
Thanks in advance,
-NJ
not only is root possible for the MF3 build, there an exploit called "safestrap". it allows you (after rooting) to flash a custom rom in a secondary slot and boot into it, leaving the stock firmware untouched.
check out the link and read up on it (under step 3) for some better understanding. it might help you make the decision for S3 or S4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42320414&postcount=2
xBeerdroiDx said:
not only is root possible for the MF3 build, there an exploit called "safestrap". it allows you (after rooting) to flash a custom rom in a secondary slot and boot into it, leaving the stock firmware untouched.
check out the link and read up on it (under step 3) for some better understanding. it might help you make the decision for S3 or S4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42320414&postcount=2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying with the link that was very helpful.
Knowing my wife she would not be comfortable with the S4 this early in the modification game. TWRP is awesome but she would more than likely not be happy if I had to load ROM after ROM until the Developers coded a truly stable Daily Driver.
I'll talk to my wife tonight and see if she will take my phone for now and I'll use her cracked screen phone. That way maybe we can give the Devs a few months to mature some of the ROMS and make the upgrade to the S4 an easier decision.
Thanks for the help,
-NJ
njdevils28 said:
Thank you for replying with the link that was very helpful.
Knowing my wife she would not be comfortable with the S4 this early in the modification game. TWRP is awesome but she would more than likely not be happy if I had to load ROM after ROM until the Developers coded a truly stable Daily Driver.
I'll talk to my wife tonight and see if she will take my phone for now and I'll use her cracked screen phone. That way maybe we can give the Devs a few months to mature some of the ROMS and make the upgrade to the S4 an easier decision.
Thanks for the help,
-NJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem. glad to help.
ps. most of the roms, specifically the 4.2.2 material, is super solid. real daily driver stuff. cheers
njdevils28 said:
Hello all,
I Currently have the S3 Running Dandroid 4.7. I really like it. Was not looking to upgrade. As it happens my wife is in need of a new phone and not due for an upgrade so she will be taking mine.
The only thing either one of us use is the Native WiFi Tethering. Is it possible on the S4? Should I just buy a used S3 and stick to the custom ROM's?
I see that rooting is possible now via External SD. Is there an exploit available to enable the Native Tethering?
Thanks in advance,
-NJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the AT&T S4 (on MF3) I am able to use the WiFi Hotspot on the stock out-of-the-box rom with no problem. I am currently replying to you using it with my laptop. I have not tried the USB tethering feature yet but it is there.
drichter12 said:
On the AT&T S4 (on MF3) I am able to use the WiFi Hotspot on the stock out-of-the-box rom with no problem. I am currently replying to you using it with my laptop. I have not tried the USB tethering feature yet but it is there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold the phone! You're saying that the Wi-Fi is active without paying the added fee for it on the stock ROM?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
I am pretty sure but I need to confirm with my office that they didn't automatically add that to my phone without telling me.
I will check on Monday unless someone else can confirm before then.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

New S4 new to ROMS and add ons

Hi I just got a new sprint Galaxy s4. I had a Samsung infuse 4g that I rooted and unlocked (which btw was hard to do for a newb way back then) but I never flashed a rom. To be honest I was afraid that I would destroy the phone. They are not cheap. I still have the infuse, so I guess I could practice flashing roms on that one but is it basically the same process? I just really really do not want to destroy my beautiful phone. Is it risky to flash ROMS or put other stuff in the phone? Thanks for the advice. This is an awesome site.
*Anything* you flash to your phone carries a risk (however minute) that it'll brick the device. The root method may be different, but for the most part ROM flashing is the same across any Android device.
IMPORTANT: Check your device model, since there are two variants of the Sprint S4 out there (SPH-L720 and SPH-L720T). The 720T doesn't work with all ROMs, and (last I checked) you lose the Spark connectivity, but 1x/3G/LTE will still work. I have one of the old models before Sprint started rolling out Spark, so I haven't really been keeping up with that part of it.
emeralds5668 said:
Hi I just got a new sprint Galaxy s4. I had a Samsung infuse 4g that I rooted and unlocked (which btw was hard to do for a newb way back then) but I never flashed a rom. To be honest I was afraid that I would destroy the phone. They are not cheap. I still have the infuse, so I guess I could practice flashing roms on that one but is it basically the same process? I just really really do not want to destroy my beautiful phone. Is it risky to flash ROMS or put other stuff in the phone? Thanks for the advice. This is an awesome site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
once you get the rooting done here is a great place to start looking for ROM's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2303917
cyberweasal said:
once you get the rooting done here is a great place to start looking for ROM's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2303917
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for replying. I posted a question on the rooting thread regarding the s4. I was wondering about rooting it with my
Android version. I believe it's the latest but was not sure. Do you know if it's relatively safe to try that or are there issues like boot loops? Maybe I should leave well enough alone because I doubt I could fix a brick. These are really nice phones...thanks for your help
emeralds5668 said:
thanks for replying. I posted a question on the rooting thread regarding the s4. I was wondering about rooting it with my
Android version. I believe it's the latest but was not sure. Do you know if it's relatively safe to try that or are there issues like boot loops? Maybe I should leave well enough alone because I doubt I could fix a brick. These are really nice phones...thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had no problems. that being said. make sure you also have a stock rom down loaded on the phone or on a pc to fall back on, that way if you do boot loop you can just flash that. also once rooted make a backup!
you can root without doing a new rom or even choose a rom thats mostly stock with minimal changes its up to you how deep you go.
first thing if first once you root if you have KNOX you WILL flag the knox warranty count by 1 and that is not reversible yet.
good luck

[Q] Am I missing Bobcat Rom for the AT&T 4.4.2?

Um, just wondering if there is a confirmed way to use Bobcat Rom on a 4.4.2 AT&T S4??? I have this on my Note 3, which is essentially the same restriction-wise...and it's by FAR, the best rom I've ever used. I'd love to share this with my girlfriend's S4. Thanks in advance!
jreed3786 said:
Um, just wondering if there is a confirmed way to use Bobcat Rom on a 4.4.2 AT&T S4??? I have this on my Note 3, which is essentially the same restriction-wise...and it's by FAR, the best rom I've ever used. I'd love to share this with my girlfriend's S4. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A word of advice, don't mess with your gf's phone. But, a google search found this http://galaxys4root.com/t-mobile-ga...-galaxy-s4-attt-mobilecanadiangt-i9505app2sd/ This will only work if you are on mdb/mdl firmware. If you aren't then don't even try it.

[Q] Newbie

First off, I'm looking for replies from Developers/moderators with much experience. Im new to Android and rooting, I have not rooted a device before. Also, I'm a Mac user as a windows pc will never enter my home! I would like to root my ATT Galaxy S4 which is using Android KitKat 4.4.2. I want to be able to remove bloatware and install apps that require a rooted device. Please point me in the right direction! Thanks for the replies.
mohr308 said:
First off, I'm looking for replies from Developers/moderators with much experience. Im new to Android and rooting, I have not rooted a device before. Also, I'm a Mac user as a windows pc will never enter my home! I would like to root my ATT Galaxy S4 which is using Android KitKat 4.4.2. I want to be able to remove bloatware and install apps that require a rooted device. Please point me in the right direction! Thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Look at this one http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2591068&page=2
But you need to confirm if it's working ok on KitKat and if it's triggering the knox counter as this will ruin your guarantee even if you de-route it. Check if the method works on your device, basically there are two different S4s out there, the I9505 (with LTE) and the I9500 (whitout LTE); the processors are also different. You will find your device name under settings/more/about device/model number if I remember correctly.
mohr308 said:
First off, I'm looking for replies from Developers/moderators with much experience. Im new to Android and rooting, I have not rooted a device before. Also, I'm a Mac user as a windows pc will never enter my home! I would like to root my ATT Galaxy S4 which is using Android KitKat 4.4.2. I want to be able to remove bloatware and install apps that require a rooted device. Please point me in the right direction! Thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try towelroot from here
Press Thanks if I helped
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 via XDA app.

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