Database Users

[Q] Noob needing help updating and backing up

Hi all...sorry if this is very noob but hope someone can help me out...
i got my galaxy s4 for att and its been great so far...i did root it and got rid of all the junk stuff on the phone which was nice to do... but a little issue now..there is an OTA update and its trying to apply it by rebooting but it goes to my console screen i guess and i know even if it applies it it would get rid of root.... is there a way to apply this without having to reinstall all my emails (5 emails) and my apps and keep the root ability on it? I would love to get the feature to send apps to my SD thats the only reason i really want it.
again im sorry if this is very noobish to some of u but would like a nice guide if possible how to do it.
Thanks in advance

What device? Thats important, and DO NOT let it do the update. if you are rooted, you could freeze the samsung updater.
I would get off stock and flash a custom rom.

TheAxman said:
What device? Thats important, and DO NOT let it do the update. if you are rooted, you could freeze the samsung updater.
I would get off stock and flash a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im on a samsung galaxy s4 as mentioned above....which rom would u suggest that is not bugged? i want all the features to work just as it stock would..and the battery life now is great.
thanks

nxtstep said:
im on a samsung galaxy s4 as mentioned above....which rom would u suggest that is not bugged? i want all the features to work just as it stock would..and the battery life now is great.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehe I know you stated galaxy s4, but I needed to make sure, US version right?
Use my rom, mine is totally stock, with a few modifications, and FAST!
or you can go any TW rom.
here is mine..
[ROM] ViSiON-X v1.0|AROMA|4.2.2|MGA|TW|[08-03]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2391142
then you will not have to worry about an update, until someone finds a patch for the update...

TheAxman said:
hehe I know you stated galaxy s4, but I needed to make sure, US version right?
Use my rom, mine is totally stock, with a few modifications, and FAST!
or you can go any TW rom.
here is mine..
[ROM] ViSiON-X v1.0|AROMA|4.2.2|MGA|TW|[08-03]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2391142
then you will not have to worry about an update, until someone finds a patch for the update...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there anything running 4.3??? and yes its US version

nxtstep said:
is there anything running 4.3??? and yes its US version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No 4.3 just yet. Google only.

Questions and help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
FNM

I am using KANGABEAN Rom 4.2.2 v all Samsung goodies works plus better performance and some kool tweaks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2349077
Infamous S4 is great rom as well I go back and forth between those 2 All Samsung goodies works plus some kool modes.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304792
Try either one you will love it!

Backup and Restore
maxshah912 said:
I am using KANGABEAN Rom 4.2.2 v all Samsung goodies works plus better performance and some kool tweaks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2349077
Infamous S4 is great rom as well I go back and forth between those 2 All Samsung goodies works plus some kool modes.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304792
Try either one you will love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Infamous S4 as well, I love it. It's pretty stock feeling.
When it comes to the backing up part, I suggest Titanium Backup. Get the pro version and you can batch install all of your apps from a backup, otherwise you have to do it one by one. It also saves all app data and system data and accounts, so you can do a full wipe when installing an update or a new ROM (always a good idea,) then just let it completely restore the phone from a backup. You can use it to back-up everything, except for the home-screen layout (android limitation apparently.) Plus you can backup right to the phone if you have space so you don't have to wory about using the computer. I recomment getting a microSD card for 10 bucks at Staples and backing up to that. When you're restoring, make sure that you check what you're restoring. Most of the stuff in red are system apps that don't need to be restored (as newer or the same versions may already be installed from the update.)
For restoring root priviledges, CWM and TWRP custom rrecoveries have a tool for this.

To root or not to root

To root or not to root
After my last bad experience and also after reading how some have faced issues after rooting their note 3 I was wondering if rooting has any adverse effects on the phones functionality. What are cons of rooting?
There's bit of lag on note 3 which is really annoying for such a beast.
Any advice would be much appreciated thanks
I own N9005 model from O2 unlocked.

riz157 said:
To root or not to root
After my last bad experience and also after reading how some have faced issues after rooting their note 3 I was wondering if rooting has any adverse effects on the phones functionality. What are cons of rooting?
There's bit of lag on note 3 which is really annoying for such a beast.
Any advice would be much appreciated thanks
I own N9005 model from O2 unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an update from Samsung that should fix the lag.

I would wait until a good (really) good rom is out

elias2204 said:
There is an update from Samsung that should fix the lag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No update available for my model unfortunately.

CoolDevelopment said:
I would wait until a good (really) good rom is out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm....are current roms poor or no improvement?

I've rooted my phone and hence sacrificed the ability to get OTA update from Samsung... but still, in my opinion, it really depends on the user own personal preference. I root my phone because there's a lot of apps that I am using requires root access (tasker, xposed, etc)...
There are currently not too many custom roms available for note 3 yet (as far as i know), better wait for a while if you're planning on rooting simply for the sake of flashing new rom. :good:

jigzopuzzle said:
I've rooted my phone and hence sacrificed the ability to get OTA update from Samsung... but still, in my opinion, it really depends on the user own personal preference. I root my phone because there's a lot of apps that I am using requires root access (tasker, xposed, etc)...
There are currently not too many custom roms available for note 3 yet (as far as i know), better wait for a while if you're planning on rooting simply for the sake of flashing new rom. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But for a popular device like taht i won't take too long

I'm tossing up the same thing and wondering if anyone can answer this question. If I flash back to stock firmware after rooting will device status revert to official thus allowing me to have ota updates again or does setting the knox flag mean I will be system status modified forever?
I know knox flag can't be reverted but what about system status?
Sent from my SM-N9005 now Free

jigzopuzzle said:
I've rooted my phone and hence sacrificed the ability to get OTA update from Samsung... but still, in my opinion, it really depends on the user own personal preference. I root my phone because there's a lot of apps that I am using requires root access (tasker, xposed, etc)...
There are currently not too many custom roms available for note 3 yet (as far as i know), better wait for a while if you're planning on rooting simply for the sake of flashing new rom. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
Although I'd liked to get a good recovery, too. I just rooted with stock recovery, so I can't make a full nand-backup so far. I tried xposed yesterday, but it didn't work. And as long as there isn't a working recovery option (except for going back to stock and installing my apps again vs. installing the full OS including apps and settings), I probably won't try xposed again. But I do miss the "skip tracks with volume rocker" feature.

Mikegrmn said:
Same here.
Although I'd liked to get a good recovery, too. I just rooted with stock recovery, so I can't make a full nand-backup so far. I tried xposed yesterday, but it didn't work. And as long as there isn't a working recovery option (except for going back to stock and installing my apps again vs. installing the full OS including apps and settings), I probably won't try xposed again. But I do miss the "skip tracks with volume rocker" feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to this website xposed should work? Are you using version 2.2?
Sent from my SM-N9005 now Free

Which is the safest way to root please?
My main reason for rooting is to reduce lag and install custom ROMs, at the moment their aren't many ROMs to choose from but I'm sure it won't be too long before that changes.
Also My phone is from o2 and they are one of the carriers who still have their ugly logo bootup at startup, shut down which is very annoying.
Also if things go wrong I can still revert back to stock via Odin?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

Auto root by chainfire is the safest and easiest way ti root.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk 4

riz157 said:
Which is the safest way to root please?
My main reason for rooting is to reduce lag and install custom ROMs, at the moment their aren't many ROMs to choose from but I'm sure it won't be too long before that changes.
Also My phone is from o2 and they are one of the carriers who still have their ugly logo bootup at startup, shut down which is very annoying.
Also if things go wrong I can still revert back to stock via Odin?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting or putting a custom rom(based on touchwiz) won't probably change anything.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

Yes that's true simply rooting wont get rid of lag however my main questions are which is the safest way to root and would I be able to flash generic rom via Odin? It's been awhile since I used Odin.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

Ever time I consider rooting I come across post were user bricked phone. This is really of putting don't fancy bricking my phone. However can't do with lag which is very annoying.
Which is the simplest and safest method of rooting?
Not worried about knox my Model N9005 on MJ3 FW, unlocked version from the UK. Thanks

Rooting does not brick your phone. Only users who don't read the instructions properly bricks their phones.
I have been rooting andriod phones since Samsung S2 with no bricks.
Rooting gives you 'Admin' rights on your phone and I want / need that to have full control of my device.
Rooting does not stop OTA updates but you will need to re-root for every new update.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium HD app

I had the same dilemma. I rooted my Note 1, flashed mods & ROMs, and it was eventually what I wanted. It was, however, locked in that version. I had no time to play with it any more, so left it.
On buying the Note 3, I flashed a stock ROM for the Note 1, got the updates, and it was much better than what I had customised. I guess I had my customised ROM earlier than any OTA update, so did benefit.
The other aspect is a firewall. You can now block apps from Mobile data access (although it is tedious), but not from WiFi access. You can, however, block the access that apps have to your data (although also tedious), so at least you may be safer.
Finally, we have the bloatware on the device. This generation of Andoid seems a bit better behaved than previous ones, and I can disable a lot of the stock apps, which is good. I am not finding any wakelocks (or at least not a great deal), and battery life is very good overall.
So, for me, I would like to have a firewall, but as for the rest of the system, it is perfectly good for me, and I have no current plans to root this device.

What's the easiest way of disabling stock apps such as trip advisor, flipboard, ant bloatware etc?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

dholms said:
What's the easiest way of disabling stock apps such as trip advisor, flipboard, ant bloatware etc?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately some of the ones you listed cannot be turned off in the app manager. Many other apps, can however be turned off. Once I rooted I deleted most of the third party nonsense and froze most of the extra Samsung apps.

Techweed said:
Unfortunately some of the ones you listed cannot be turned off in the app manager. Many other apps, can however be turned off. Once I rooted I deleted most of the third party nonsense and froze most of the extra Samsung apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you keep Knox counter at 0x0 if you fiddle with deleting stock apps?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Q] Is it safe to uninstall AT&T bloatware on rooted I337UCUAMF3?

Given that there's no way to reflash the factory image, is it still safe to remove all the AT&T bloat using Titanium Backup? Right now I have all the AT&T bloatware frozen and it doesn't impact anything, but I just want to if it'll change if I completely uninstall the AT&T programs i.e. My Locker, Blurb Checkout, etc. Would this impact my ability to receive firmware updates or unroot and reset the handset? I should mention I'm probably going to be selling the phone when the Nexus 5 comes out so I still want to be able to unroot and factory reset (as long as it can reset, it doesn't bother me if the AT&T bloatware is gone).

I guess that depends on what you mean by "safe."
I removed almost all of the AT&T stuff except for the update service and the hotspot app, and I know I'll never miss them even without a recovery option.
If you need a recovery option, then probably best to not remove anything and use Safestrap to experiment with other roms.

Don't delete it, freeze it. That way if you mess something up you can defrost it.

If your on MF3 I wouldn't touch anything and just use safestrap.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk 5

There is always risk.

I learned the hard way... I touched too much stuff with Tibu on my stock ROM and it doesn't even work anymore. I can't do anything with it... luckily I have safestrap still until they release an mf3 factory image for Odin or kies I can't do anything with my stock ROM.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

jd1639 said:
Don't delete it, freeze it. That way if you mess something up you can defrost it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I removed all att and samsung bloat except for watch on and several services. We should put a list together of safe package to remove.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

re: safe to remove bloatware
[email protected] said:
I learned the hard way... I touched too much stuff with Tibu on my stock ROM and it doesn't even work anymore. I can't do anything with it... luckily I have safestrap still until they release an mf3 factory image for Odin or kies I can't do anything with my stock ROM.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About the time you posted this last night I was freezing apps. Apparently too many. Phone will not boot past the at&t logo now. I can still boot into my custom rom slot 1 so I'm not at a total loss, but would really like to know if there is anyway to replace/defrost those frozen apps on the stock ROM via the ADB terminal running on my custom ROM. Seems like you could just copy and overwrite the package files on the stock ROM... Which leads me to my ultimate question of what does TiBackup Freeze option actually do? Uninstalling would remove the app and files from the system completely so since they are still present it seems there would be some sort of a control file that you could edit manually to defrost the app(s) in question.
Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
I've read a few times that best buy can do a factory restore, yet every time someone says they are going to ask their "friend" at best buy for the method/procedure for the restore they drop off the grid... Is this a possibility?
---------- Post added at 11:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:26 AM ----------
jd1639 said:
Don't delete it, freeze it. That way if you mess something up you can defrost it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you don't reboot it =)
Can you defrost it if you have rebooted and now you can't get past the at&t boot logo?

colbur87 said:
I removed all att and samsung bloat except for watch on and several services. We should put a list together of safe package to remove.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't recall the urls but there are already a few in-depth lists of safe bloatware to remove from our phones..

@xda_n I'm not too sure I'm still researching on this, but haven't really been actively looking for it. Not in a rush really because I'm not going to sell my phone or anything so I'm just going to wait on Samsung to release the mf3 file via Odin or kies. I'm just using vision-x and shostock which is giving me better battery and performance than stock and still have stock feel so I'm not in too much of a rush to fix my stock ROM yet. My stock ROM would boot but it would say com.android. something and it'll freeze. I accidently tried to do a factory reset after deleting all the apps via tibu so I couldn't recover any files I saved and froze so i learned my lesson and don't want to deal with best buy right now.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

MD5.tar!!!
I'm not sure if you guys found this thread or not, but I'm so thankful, I decided to pay it forward and share it. PERFECTO.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2502003

Question about rooting for first time (4.4)

I've never rooted a phone before and I'm a little nervous about doing so. I don't fully understand the difference between all the various ROM's. For instance are there advantages and disadvantages between the different ROMs that are floating around? Also what happens when 4.4 comes out? I'm assuming I'd be blocked from Updating. Would I have to wait until someone releases a 4.4 ROM? The main reason I want to Root is to remove all the useless apps Samsung/Tmobile stuck on my phone, but when I check out the processes, I don't even see that they are running. Would it even be worth it to root if this is the only reason I am doing it for?
I also see people talking about removing TouchWiz once they are rooted. I already am using Nova, but if I remove TouchWiz, will I just have the basic Android UI like I had on my Nexus? Or will I have to stick with a 3rd party launcher? Does removing TouchWiz result in a noticeable speed difference?

Hey rooting isn't for everyone. You could root and get rid of certain apps and bloatware. What I did before rooting was just disable and hide those apps.
It was fine but then as root user for a long time, I rooted and now use it more to tweak the look and feel.
The best way to know a rom is to try it.
I have used alot on this forum but currently feel comfortable with Omega Rom v6 with Wanam Xposed.
The possibilities are endless and as long as you understand the Knox flag then you should be free to try and do what you will.
Last if you ever want to just go back to stock and leave it there with updates it's pretty easy.
Sam mobile has always the latest updates available to download and you install those with Odin.
Good luck
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

jetbruceli said:
Hey rooting isn't for everyone. You could root and get rid of certain apps and bloatware. What I did before rooting was just disable and hide those apps.
It was fine but then as root user for a long time, I rooted and now use it more to tweak the look and feel.
The best way to know a rom is to try it.
I have used alot on this forum but currently feel comfortable with Omega Rom v6 with Wanam Xposed.
The possibilities are endless and as long as you understand the Knox flag then you should be free to try and do what you will.
Last if you ever want to just go back to stock and leave it there with updates it's pretty easy.
Sam mobile has always the latest updates available to download and you install those with Odin.
Good luck
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response! May I ask how you disabled and hid the apps without rooting?

Nevermind actually, I figured out how to turn them off from the App info screen. But is there a way to hide them so they don't show up at all?
Edit: lol nevermind again. They disappear when you turn them off. Thank you so much for letting me know about this! I had no idea this was possible

brildenlanch said:
Thanks for the response! May I ask how you disabled and hid the apps without rooting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's using the main launcher and also you can under application manager in settings
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

jetbruceli said:
That's using the main launcher and also you can under application manager in settings
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Again thank you for taking the time to help me out. I really appreciate it

No problem and thanks for hitting the thanks button
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Since I really don't care about my warranty, I just went and flashed TWRP via Odin.
Sent from Spaceball One.

New to Custom ROMs

Hey,
I'm new(ish) to using custom ROMs for my Galaxy Note 3 and I have a few questions, and questions pertaining to previous custom ROM expieriences.
For starters, my Note 3 is already Knox 0x1 (or whichever one means void).
I'm using a Canadian Galaxy Note 3 (Rogers) and I am trying to find a Custom ROM that can suit my needs.
Previously I've used xnote (I think that's what it's called) and it was great, except that trying to re-stock my Note 3 has led to problems with the LTE as LTE service is fairly unavailable since.
So, what I'm looking for is a ROM much like xnote that doesn't require me to change my device from the SM-N900W8 to some other modem or whatever, or atleast can repair the issue with my current stock firmware.
That aside, the features I need are fairly basic. I need something that doesn't hijack my device. I don't like seeing that Facebook starts itself after I close it, I don't like seeing that I can't remove stock applications. So I need something that is free of bloat-ware and gives me full access to my phone and the applications that I've installed. If possible I'd like to limit the permissions they require to be used.. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing that my "clock" app needs to access my phone call history, browsing history, bank info, can install other apps, delete apps, remove the password, create a password, etc. It's absolutely ridiculous that google has allowed these apps to exist with such permissions.
Basically. I am looking for freedom, with a ROM that supports Canadian modems rather than forcing me to mess up my extremely expensive signal. (trust me, Canadians pay $43 more than the rest of the world)

LostKeys said:
Hey,
I'm new(ish) to using custom ROMs for my Galaxy Note 3 and I have a few questions, and questions pertaining to previous custom ROM expieriences.
For starters, my Note 3 is already Knox 0x1 (or whichever one means void).
I'm using a Canadian Galaxy Note 3 (Rogers) and I am trying to find a Custom ROM that can suit my needs.
Previously I've used xnote (I think that's what it's called) and it was great, except that trying to re-stock my Note 3 has led to problems with the LTE as LTE service is fairly unavailable since.
So, what I'm looking for is a ROM much like xnote that doesn't require me to change my device from the SM-N900W8 to some other modem or whatever, or atleast can repair the issue with my current stock firmware.
That aside, the features I need are fairly basic. I need something that doesn't hijack my device. I don't like seeing that Facebook starts itself after I close it, I don't like seeing that I can't remove stock applications. So I need something that is free of bloat-ware and gives me full access to my phone and the applications that I've installed. If possible I'd like to limit the permissions they require to be used.. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing that my "clock" app needs to access my phone call history, browsing history, bank info, can install other apps, delete apps, remove the password, create a password, etc. It's absolutely ridiculous that google has allowed these apps to exist with such permissions.
Basically. I am looking for freedom, with a ROM that supports Canadian modems rather than forcing me to mess up my extremely expensive signal. (trust me, Canadians pay $43 more than the rest of the world)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you don't need custom ROM just for that.
a root access will be good enough

If you need something super responsive with great battery life, I'd recommend Vision X N3. They just released a great update. You mix that with the Compulsion KK 15 kernel and you have a beast in your hands.
I have a Telus Note 3 and I wouldn't want anything else. Maybe the Note 4 soon

Bibz0r said:
If you need something super responsive with great battery life, I'd recommend Vision X N3. They just released a great update. You mix that with the Compulsion KK 15 kernel and you have a beast in your hands.
I have a Telus Note 3 and I wouldn't want anything else. Maybe the Note 4 soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you experienced any connectivity issues with this? It seems awesome but I don't want to jump the gun and flash this as I'm not a big fan of setting everything up over and over since Titanium Backup is about as useful as a potato for backing up important information / data.

LostKeys said:
Have you experienced any connectivity issues with this? It seems awesome but I don't want to jump the gun and flash this as I'm not a big fan of setting everything up over and over since Titanium Backup is about as useful as a potato for backing up important information / data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have screwed up my modem firmware once because of a bad flash but that's because I was careless. If you follow a tutorial properly and read on the subject (this forum is a great place to learn), you should not have any issues. You'll see that the advantages of a custom ROM will, by far, surpass all the trouble to get there.
I have to agree about Titanium Backup... The thing that I hate the most is re-creating folders and re-arranging widgets. I know that if you use another launcher (ex: Nova Launcher) you can save the layout but personally, I like the stock launcher.

Sorry for the invadence, i have two questions before doing the "damage", i am on the latest NF4, stock rom, i would like to root and install custom recovery and custom rom (i don't care about knox), can i just root with cf auto root, install latest TWRP and then custom rom as usual or, at cause of the locked bootloader, could i have some problems? In the case i want to return "stock", do i just have to flash stock rom with Odin? I already backed up my EFS just yo be sure...
Thank you in advance!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

sapphire88 said:
Sorry for the invadence, i have two questions before doing the "damage", i am on the latest NF4, stock rom, i would like to root and install custom recovery and custom rom (i don't care about knox), can i just root with cf auto root, install latest TWRP and then custom rom as usual or, at cause of the locked bootloader, could i have some problems? In the case i want to return "stock", do i just have to flash stock rom with Odin? I already backed up my EFS just yo be sure...
Thank you in advance!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly!
Root > TWRP > Custom ROM
If you need to flash back to stock, use Odin with the stock firmware file from SamMobile.
Let me know if you require more information.

thank you, so i will not have any problem with the locked booloader? do i have to backup anything else more tha the original EFS?

I just flashed Assassin ROM and LTE etc.. are working just fine on that

Over a stock nf4 and locked bootloader?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app