Database Users

Should I even bother trying to upgrade to MF3?

I keep reading about the problems people are having with flashing to MF3 on their rooted S4As but I can't find anything on what you get with MF3. Can someone enlighten me on its new features or post a link that lists what it does?
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sleze said:
I keep reading about the problems people are having with flashing to MF3 on their rooted S4As but I can't find anything on what you get with MF3. Can someone enlighten me on its new features or post a link that lists what it does?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's worth it
Brings apps to SD
new camera firmware
much needed fluidity and stableness
various bug and fixes
and a few other features like emergency mode and stuff

sleze said:
I keep reading about the problems people are having with flashing to MF3 on their rooted S4As but I can't find anything on what you get with MF3. Can someone enlighten me on its new features or post a link that lists what it does?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Just install one of the stockish MF3 based ROMs or International Update based ROMs from the development section and you will have the best of both worlds. You will get any enhancements from the update (if there really is any) and still be able to keep custom recovery and use other ROMs / themes / etc.
If you update to MF3 (OTA) you will lose the ability for custom recoveries and ROMs.

scott14719 said:
Just install one of the stockish MF3 based ROMs or International Update based ROMs from the development section and you will have the best of both worlds. You will get any enhancements from the update (if there really is any) and still be able to keep custom recovery and use other ROMs / themes / etc.
If you update to MF3 (OTA) you will lose the ability for custom recoveries and ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

I don't think the active can run a custom recovery or other roms.
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I was able to install it pretty easily by unfreeze some apps. Reinstalled activeroot afterwards and refroze and am good to go.
I still can't tell any difference and am gonna wait before I upgrade my wife's s4.
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Didn't realize this was for the active. Nit sure what mf3 brings for that variant. XDA should seriously create a sub-forum for this variant. It not the same specs, software, the roms are not cross compatible, whats the point?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

polish_pat said:
Didn't realize this was for the active. Nit sure what mf3 brings for that variant. XDA should seriously create a sub-forum for this variant. It not the same specs, software, the roms are not cross compatible, whats the point?
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If I remember right the Active comes with mf3. Didn't have anything before that firmware.

jd1639 said:
If I remember right the Active comes with mf3. Didn't have anything before that firmware.
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Click to collapse
so then they didn't have the MDL stutter/lag we had when the S4 first came out

Well, I upgraded something for 18MB via software update. In the active master thread, it is being referred to as mf3.
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polish_pat said:
Didn't realize this was for the active. Nit sure what mf3 brings for that variant. XDA should seriously create a sub-forum for this variant. It not the same specs, software, the roms are not cross compatible, whats the point?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I agree with that Pat MOD???
It clutters thread, not in a negative way against the Active, just too much to watch for when trying to help people. Active owners want it too--
Not sure why it isn't

[Q] Fool Odin for MF3 to gain access to Reflash?

I'm not a mastermind at any of this so bear with me. Remember the google wallet fix with the build prop to let us install wallet? If not read this to refresh your memory. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2282892
Is there some way possible to fool odin into letting us downgrade similar to this? I did do a search regarding this. If there is a simple answer I and others would appreciate it. For those more with more knowledge then myself please inform.

It isn't Odin. It is a qfuse in the device itself.
Lookup Safestrap. The is a discussion thread in the general section.
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graydiggy said:
It isn't Odin. It is a qfuse in the device itself.
Lookup Safestrap. The is a discussion thread in the general section.
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Click to collapse
I understand that. So are we saying that we would need a totally different bootloader to work with the current one? I'm a little lost and will reread the Safestrap discussion.

Downgrade from mf3 to the previous firmware? No. There currently is no successful way in doing so as of now as far as I'm aware of.
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Br4nd3n said:
Downgrade from mf3 to the previous firmware? No. There currently is no successful way in doing so as of now as far as I'm aware of.
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If I am correct it's because Odin doesn't recognize MF3. So my question is, why can't we fool odin to believe this is a i9505 or some other variant to initiate the odin reflash?

The qfuse is blown. This completely disables any other firmware from being flashed.
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graydiggy said:
The qfuse is blown. This completely disables any other firmware from being flashed.
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I understand that. However, if Best Buy can reflash MF3, could we not get our hands on this program and just re-engineer it? By "we", I mean people smarter then me. :laugh:

The Basically, the new bootloader looks for a specific key. We don't have that key. If it is not present, it can't flash.
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---------- Post added at 09:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 AM ----------
I am in the works of getting my hands on the program. My cousin works at BB in geeksquad. He is going to have me bring my laptop in and you know what happens then. I can't really say much else on the topic for security reasons. But, if we get the Odin files, at the least, we will have a way to recover from a bricked MF3 device.
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Tyie101 said:
If I am correct it's because Odin doesn't recognize MF3. So my question is, why can't we fool odin to believe this is a i9505 or some other variant to initiate the odin reflash?
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Click to collapse
I am sure people are hard at work figuring out methods of downgrading and creating MF3 unlocking/recoverys. However the firmwire update (as said above) is coded to disallow a majority of this and usually ends up bricking the device, as the bootloader becomes rigged in MF3. Until Samsung's releases official MF3 support for odin/kies, development will probably be slow. You'll have to stick to safestraping for now.
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I got my I337 unlocked via Z3X box. Now at phone boots I get an open lock icon with the word "custom" Could I downgrade now? I don't want the set to get bricked! BR

bscaine said:
I got my I337 unlocked via Z3X box. Now at phone boots I get an open lock icon with the word "custom" Could I downgrade now? I don't want the set to get bricked! BR
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Click to collapse
No. That is just an alert that you have done something to the software of the device. It is to say that your warranty is voided.
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bscaine said:
I got my I337 unlocked via Z3X box. Now at phone boots I get an open lock icon with the word "custom" Could I downgrade now? I don't want the set to get bricked! BR
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Click to collapse
The custom sign is there because you've rooted it. I'm assuming you're MF3 so no you cannot downgrade to the previous firmwire as of now.
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Tyie101 said:
I understand that. However, if Best Buy can reflash MF3, could we not get our hands on this program and just re-engineer it? By "we", I mean people smarter then me. :laugh:
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Click to collapse
bscaine said:
I got my I337 unlocked via Z3X box. Now at phone boots I get an open lock icon with the word "custom" Could I downgrade now? I don't want the set to get bricked! BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both of you need to do a lot of searching and reading. Just minimum effort would have answered these questions and the next questions you will ask about the issues if you don't read. These issues have been covered MANY times.

Tyie101 said:
I'm not a mastermind at any of this so bear with me. Remember the google wallet fix with the build prop to let us install wallet? If not read this to refresh your memory. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2282892
Is there some way possible to fool odin into letting us downgrade similar to this? I did do a search regarding this. If there is a simple answer I and others would appreciate it. For those more with more knowledge then myself please inform.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was on MDL i flashed a rom that made my phone a I9505 and yes it fooled Odin and the app opened up and didn't ask me for a system dump or nothing.so I figured hay ill ask in the stupid questions thread if I can fool Odin and the app functions would it work,not one answer .so I tried a tar package and bam the yellow triangle of death is what I got
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jball said:
When I was on MDL i flashed a rom that made my phone a I9505 and yes it fooled Odin and the app opened up and didn't ask me for a system dump or nothing.so I figured hay ill ask in the stupid questions thread if I can fool Odin and the app functions would it work,not one answer .so I tried a tar package and bam the yellow triangle of death is what I got
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You didn't fool Odin. It'll let you flash whatever you want. Most of the time that's a big mistake though and you end up with a brick. Only flash what's specific for your device.

graydiggy said:
The Basically, the new bootloader looks for a specific key. We don't have that key. If it is not present, it can't flash.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 09:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 AM ----------
I am in the works of getting my hands on the program. My cousin works at BB in geeksquad. He is going to have me bring my laptop in and you know what happens then. I can't really say much else on the topic for security reasons. But, if we get the Odin files, at the least, we will have a way to recover from a bricked MF3 device.
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That would be awesome!
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---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------
Tyie101 said:
I understand that. However, if Best Buy can reflash MF3, could we not get our hands on this program and just re-engineer it? By "we", I mean people smarter then me. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone needs to go to Best Buy and take a high res pic of the PC screens the Samsung reps are using.
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silrosriv said:
That would be awesome!
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---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------
Someone needs to go to Best Buy and take a high res pic of the PC screens the Samsung reps are using.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
This has already been discussed in detail, but because people won't read I'll say it again. The "SMART" program is a proprietary program that Samsung uses to complete an entire suite of tasks. One of those tasks is to re-flash the latest and current firmware to many Samsung phones. Each Samsung employee is assigned a unique password that is needed to access Samsung's servers for the needed firmwares. Each copy of the SMART program will only work on ONE PC once it is installed. The program is no good without server access and the firmware package it installs is no good without complete access to the SMART application. So you see, modifying the SMART application will do no good and accessing Samsung's servers without a functional SMART application will also do no good. Not to mention it is completely illegal to modify a proprietary program or access Samsung's servers without consent. If you did get a hold of the program and was able to install it on your PC, AND, you had access to a working password, it would still only work from that PC for a short period of time until Samsung disabled it.

jd1639 said:
You didn't fool Odin. It'll let you flash whatever you want. Most of the time that's a big mistake though and you end up with a brick. Only flash what's specific for your device.
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Click to collapse
I didn't do it to show ignorance. It did it to do it.i thank you though.
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scott14719 said:
This has already been discussed in detail, but because people won't read I'll say it again. The "SMART" program is a proprietary program that Samsung uses to complete an entire suite of tasks. One of those tasks is to re-flash the latest and current firmware to many Samsung phones. Each Samsung employee is assigned a unique password that is needed to access Samsung's servers for the needed firmwares. Each copy of the SMART program will only work on ONE PC once it is installed. The program is no good without server access and the firmware package it installs is no good without complete access to the SMART application. So you see, modifying the SMART application will do no good and accessing Samsung's servers without a functional SMART application will also do no good. Not to mention it is completely illegal to modify a proprietary program or access Samsung's servers without consent. If you did get a hold of the program and was able to install it on your PC, AND, you had access to a working password, it would still only work from that PC for a short period of time until Samsung disabled it.
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Click to collapse
No need to be a ****. These are legitimate questions as I have searched for answers. Unless you are a moderator and feel like this is frivolous please move on.
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Tyie101 said:
No need to be a ****. These are legitimate questions as I have searched for answers. Unless you are a moderator and feel like this is frivolous please move on.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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If you had searched (and done a minimum amount of reading) you would have found that this subject has already been covered. Your laziness does not make me a ****. Start following the XDA rules and guidelines before you call others names. When you made this thread, a list of "similar topics" was also offered to you. You clearly ignored those as well. The others poster's comments about the "SMART" program were already covered also. I was still nice enough to take my time and repeat that information again.
You are not above the XDA rules and are expected to follow them the same as everyone else. I agreed to this when I made a user account, as did you. If having this pointed out to you pisses you off, you might want to find a place with different rules and expectations where people that follow the rules are considered "dicks". I would suggest "Facebook" or "Twitter".

[Q] Couple questions I have about rooting MK2

I am sorry if these questions have been asked before but I couldn't find the particular answers that I wanted. Please pardon me if any of these questions are noob questions.
1.) Are there MK2 TAR files that I can download just in case I mess something up and need to flash back using ODIN?
2.) I know that MF3 made it impossible to downgrade back to MDL, but if I have the MF3 TAR files (which I do) can I at least downgrade from
MK2 to MF3?
3 (Optional).) What ROMs work with rooted MK2? Is there some sort of list? Or do the ROMs that worked with MF3 work with MK2?
Thank you for all of your answers. Again I am sorry if some/all of these questions have been asked and/or answered before. I have been searching for the answers on many forums for the past two days and couldn't find someone who asked the same questions. I am also sorry if any of these are noob questions. I just started getting into rooting of the S4 in early November and I know that I still have a lot to learn.

1: yes
2: no
3: there is SS 1.70. It is in beta and is hit and miss. No list of ROMs. You cannot install a custom recovery of custom ROMs.
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graydiggy said:
1: yes
2: no
3: there is SS 1.70. It is in beta and is hit and miss. No list of ROMs. You cannot install a custom recovery of custom ROMs.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the time out and giving straight answers. I have one more question though: Do you by any chance know the download link to the MK2 TAR files?

It is located in the general section. Also, SS has been updated to 1.71. Still in beta.
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graydiggy said:
It is located in the general section. Also, SS has been updated to 1.71. Still in beta.
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I am sorry but I can't find the TAR files for it. All I can find is the recovery.img and the thread says no ODIN. I am really sorry for being a noob but I can't seem to find it.

Use this. http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23269279319196595
Place it on The SD card. And go to the stock recovery to flash.
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graydiggy said:
Use this. http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23269279319196595
Place it on The SD card. And go to the stock recovery to flash.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! Is there a way to flash with ODIN yet though just in case I am stuck in a boot loop and I can't reach the stock recovery because I have been in that position before when I was in MF3 and I had to use ODIN. If there isn't that's fine, I'll just be extra careful. Thank you for all your help and this is my last question.

Not that I know of.
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[Q] Root method for NC1 update?

So before I go any further I would just like to quickly note that I have tried to do some research on this question before posting it and have came up empty handed.
Now for the question: My Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337 updated to NC1 the night that the update was released and I was wondering how I could currently achieve root on NC1?
Specs:
Model: Samsung SGH-I337
Android Version: 4.4.2
Baseband: I337UCUFNC1
Currently running 100% stock and would like root.
Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Ingram0421 said:
So before I go any further I would just like to quickly note that I have tried to do some research on this question before posting it and have came up empty handed.
Now for the question: My Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337 updated to NC1 the night that the update was released and I was wondering how I could currently achieve root on NC1?
Specs:
Model: Samsung SGH-I337
Android Version: 4.4.2
Baseband: I337UCUFNC1
Currently running 100% stock and would like root.
Thanks in advance for any and all help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same way you root NB1. This has been asked, you proceed with the downgrade as normal. It may help to go to NB1 first and then MK2.
Sent from my SGH-I337 running BlackBox 3.0

Here is how to root NC1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=52289782
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All noobs should take a look at the general forum before making questions other had made. There are several guides there that can help you.
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I'm not exactly sure who you're calling a "noob", but if I would like to make a new thread that someone has already asked then I will damn sure do as I please. I appreciate your link in your first reply but the word noob isn't exactly a friendly one and some people take offense to it whether or not it is intended to do so.
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Anyone know anything new about bootloader unlock?
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dpwguenther said:
Anyone know anything new about bootloader unlock?
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nope, still locked
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That blows, I thought about perpously bricking my phone , sending it to a pay service from eBay and requesting they put 4.2 on it so many times now
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Ingram0421 said:
I'm not exactly sure who you're calling a "noob", but if I would like to make a new thread that someone has already asked then I will damn sure do as I please. I appreciate your link in your first reply but the word noob isn't exactly a friendly one and some people take offense to it whether or not it is intended to do so.
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Click to collapse
At one point we all were and called ourselves like that. What bothers is that we see the same questions on new threads over and over. A forum was design to read and search. Once you don't find your answer you post a new thread. Some moderators will suggest the same to avoid clogged our forum. That's how we should treated and care for. I don't feel it's offensive and if it is apologize to those who feel that way.
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I remember when I had my GS3 I had to flash stock 4.3 (which if I'm not mistaken still has a locked bootloader) and then I flashed a custom stock 4.1 rom and was able to flash the latest CM 11 plus a modem/bootloader combo zip from 4.3 and it worked fine. Is that even in the realm of possibilities with the GS4?
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dpwguenther said:
I remember when I had my GS3 I had to flash stock 4.3 (which if I'm not mistaken still has a locked bootloader) and then I flashed a custom stock 4.1 rom and was able to flash the latest CM 11 plus a modem/bootloader combo zip from 4.3 and it worked fine. Is that even in the realm of possibilities with the GS4?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the GS3 also and it was great you could flash anything Ubuntu and more, but now AT&T tied our hands because the war it's having with Samsung we pay. Others phones like the HTC it's reported to be bootloader unlocked. You can flash cm 11 without any problem.
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Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Root

I accidentally let my phone update to 4.4.4. Can someone guide me through the process of downgrading to 4.4.2 so I can use towel root? Thanks!
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app

88cougars88 said:
I accidentally let my phone update to 4.4.4. Can someone guide me through the process of downgrading to 4.4.2 so I can use towel root? Thanks!
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see All things root, help, guides and video roll up by KennyG123
This thread will be moved to Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

88cougars88 said:
I accidentally let my phone update to 4.4.4. Can someone guide me through the process of downgrading to 4.4.2 so I can use towel root? Thanks!
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Click to collapse
No way to downgrade. Your stuck. And no way to root 4.4.4. Please read around the General and Q&A sections of the Verizon Note 3. This question has been asked and answered plenty of times.

christianpeso said:
No way to downgrade. Your stuck. And no way to root 4.4.4. Please read around the General and Q&A sections of the Verizon Note 3. This question has been asked and answered plenty of times.
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Click to collapse
Sorry man I've looked all over and seen yes and no and never a clear answer. Thanks for clearing that up. I appreciate it.
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