Database Users

[Q] Should I install the OTA update if I want to root?

Got a new S4. First time I start up, it asks if I want to install OTA update. Will this stop me from rooting the device after? If I root first, can I apply the update after root? What has been the best practice?

Still extremely easy to root the mdl update
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

Agree. Take the update and then easily install custom recovery/kernel/root without to much trouble.

easy to root with MDL easy to revert back to stock. Ultra noobs :silly: with no patience who can't read would be the only people I could think of that could brick this install...

Ok I'll break it down to it's most easy form. Rooting MDL involves this:
1) Take the update from sprint. That will get you to all MDL (radio, rom and kernel)
2) flash a custom recovery. I really don't care which.
3) flash a custom kernel. Shabbys works well.
4) flash busybox/supersu zips
5) profit.
It's not hard to root MDL. if you think this is hard you should have tried rooting the HTC 4g LTE. with a locked bootloader. THAT was hard.

Oh, so even if we accepted the OTA, everything is fine? I thought there was a kernel issue?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

eyecon82 said:
Oh, so even if we accepted the OTA, everything is fine? I thought there was a kernel issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is, hence why rawintellect stated that you need to "flash a custom kernel."

[Q] Factory reset MF3 but still shows unlocked

My friend accidentally took MF3 update while rooted, update installed successfully but now "custom padlock" is showing every time the phone boots which I believe is preventing him to connect to out corporate MDM.
We've tried factory reset from the OS as well as from stock recovery. Is there any other way to go back to 100% stock?

I surely like to know this as well......
morbidz said:
My friend accidentally took MF3 update while rooted, update installed successfully but now "custom padlock" is showing every time the phone boots which I believe is preventing him to connect to out corporate MDM.
We've tried factory reset from the OS as well as from stock recovery. Is there any other way to go back to 100% stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

did you follow the other thread detailing how to remove the custom padlock screen? Did you preserve root through OTA rootkeeper?

Odin
Sent from my SGH-I337M using xda premium

htc0101 said:
Odin
Sent from my SGH-I337M using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin won't work with mf3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

!
jd1639 said:
Odin won't work with mf3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^ odin wont work because we dont have a MF3 odin package and we cant downgrade to MDL due to the efuse. If he still has residual busybox or su binaries in his /system partition, that would trigger the unlocked bootscreen. In that case, i am afraid he might be stuck till someone figures out how to root MF3 or we get an MF3 ODIN package.
This may or may not work but try installing a superuser app from market and see if yo have root. If yes, then switch to superSU and update binary. Reboot a couple of times and the custom screen should be gone. If not, download a root browser and delete busybox and su binaries and reboot a couple of times.
If none of the above works, take it to att store and play dumb. See if they will reflash bone stock MF3 firmware for you!
Good luck!

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How can any one give a solution to an issue without knowing which device the OP is talking about? Not all devices are the same, is it an att i337m which is bootloader unlocked. Odin back to stock, root, and run triangle away, follow the online instructions, it will remove the padlock..
Thanks

TheAxman said:
How can any one give a solution to an issue without knowing which device the OP is talking about? Not all devices are the same, is it an att i337m which is bootloader unlocked. Odin back to stock, root, and run triangle away, follow the online instructions, it will remove the padlock..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
att is i337, genius. and the bootloader is locked. thanks for pitching in. :good::good::good:

morbidz said:
att is i337, genius. and the bootloader is locked. thanks for pitching in. :good::good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say you're off to a rocky start in here.
Here's a hint: try not to insult the guys who are helping you out.
Another hint: use the search feature.

TheAxman said:
How can any one give a solution to an issue without knowing which device the OP is talking about? Not all devices are the same, is it an att i337m which is bootloader unlocked. Odin back to stock, root, and run triangle away, follow the online instructions, it will remove the padlock..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
joeybear23 said:
I'd say you're off to a rocky start in here.
Here's a hint: try not to insult the guys who are helping you out.
Another hint: use the search feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry just a bit frustrated by one word replies from people that have no idea what they are talking about.

Triangle away works on the att i337 to remove pad lock from boot up.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

Febby said:
Triangle away works on the att i337 to remove pad lock from boot up.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesn't that require root??

morbidz said:
doesn't that require root??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does. As i said before, your only option at this point i think is to try and install supersu and see if you still have functioning root. If yes, you can use triangle away and the custom screen thread in general section to get rid of it and then unroot.
If root is not functional, download any root browser and see if you have busybox or su in /system/bin or /system/xbin (you can view the files without root using root explorer i think). If those files are there then you can not get rid of them at this point. You have to wait for someone to figure out a way to root MF3.
In any case, some ppl around here have had the custom screen come up on a bone stock never rooted phone. So you can go to the att store and say that it just came up and play dumb. (make sure you uninstall all apps that need root) If they check the /system partition for signs of root, you are screwed but if they just go ahead and reflash the full firmware, it will solve your problem.

Root mf3 now http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2387577
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

MF3 stock firmware question - Don't bash

First let me say I'm not a noob.. I'm a developer but don't really deal with rooting, etc. So please don't bash...
I tried searching for answers to this question, but couldn't find an exact one..
I have the AT&T S4 with the MF3 OTA update. I want to try and install a custom rom, but in reading the hot to's, it says not to attempt to do it with the mf3 update since it's boot locked. Can I re-install a stock S4 firmware using odin and then, after a stock firmware is installed, then install twrp with a custom rom?
Thanks!

itsdavetime said:
First let me say I'm not a noob.. I'm a developer but don't really deal with rooting, etc. So please don't bash...
I tried searching for answers to this question, but couldn't find an exact one..
I have the AT&T S4 with the MF3 OTA update. I want to try and install a custom rom, but in reading the hot to's, it says not to attempt to do it with the mf3 update since it's boot locked. Can I re-install a stock S4 firmware using odin and then, after a stock firmware is installed, then install twrp with a custom rom?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.

scott14719 said:
No.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha.. Well, that's an exact answer

There is a method in the works on the VZW forums that will allow custom ROMs on locked bootloaders. We are hoping to get it ported over the our side. Things are looking very promising. This method, known as a safestrap, will also allow multiple ROMs at once. Up to 4 slots. It keeps your stock ROM safe so if you have a bad flash, you can still boot right back and have a functional phone. You are only limited by how much space you have on your internal SD.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

itsdavetime said:
Ha.. Well, that's an exact answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
graydiggy said:
There is a method in the works on the VZW forums that will allow custom ROMs on locked bootloaders. We are hoping to get it ported over the our side. Things are looking very promising. This method, known as a safestrap, will also allow multiple ROMs at once. Up to 4 slots. It keeps your stock ROM safe so if you have a bad flash, you can still boot right back and have a functional phone. You are only limited by how much space you have on your internal SD.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until then, OP, my advise is to just roll on stock/unrooted. Period.
Cheers

Throwing in the towel, I need help.

Hey all, I just acquired the SGH-I337 as an upgrade to my Galaxy S3. I can not for the life of me get a custom ROM running on it. My goal is SlimKAT because I like the ROM and have been using it on every phone since my Samsung Vibrant. Any time I'm flashing something in ODIN that has anything to do with ABOOT, it fails, soft bricks the device, and I have to reflash in ODIN all over again.
Please let me know what information I can provide to help with this. I've never had so much trouble with a phone before.

zeusakatkm said:
Hey all, I just acquired the SGH-I337 as an upgrade to my Galaxy S3. I can not for the life of me get a custom ROM running on it. My goal is SlimKAT because I like the ROM and have been using it on every phone since my Samsung Vibrant. Any time I'm flashing something in ODIN that has anything to do with ABOOT, it fails, soft bricks the device, and I have to reflash in ODIN all over again.
Please let me know what information I can provide to help with this. I've never had so much trouble with a phone before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please tell us the firmware of your phone (baseband, modem, etc..)
I337 has locked bootloader if your firmware is MF3 and above (MK2, NB1, NC1). You have to use the safestrap as a recovery if you want to flash the custom roms. If you want to flash SlimKAT you have to the SlimKAT safestrap version if they have one.

If he had to use Safestrap he can't use Slimkat as it's AOSP and he can't change the kernel. Chances are if he was getting issues flashing aboot then he's on a newer version. Confirm it in the about phone section of the settings though.
Sent from my SGH-I337 running GPE

I believe when I got the phone, it was updated all the way. Although I'm not entirely sure what the latest firmware is. I tried using Odin to go back, which worked sort of
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

zeusakatkm said:
I believe when I got the phone, it was updated all the way. Although I'm not entirely sure what the latest firmware is. I tried using Odin to go back, which worked sort of
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't go back to older bootloaders ever. Sounds like you are updated to something that you can't flash custom anything to. So safestrap is the only way to go with modded touchwiz based roms.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

drock212 said:
You can't go back to older bootloaders ever. Sounds like you are updated to something that you can't flash custom anything to. So safestrap is the only way to go with modded touchwiz based roms.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to successfully unbrick the phone by using Odin to get it to MK2, although Wifi didn't work. Now I'm trying to get it back to the latest firmware so that I can sell it.
UPDATE!
Phone had been successfully reflashed to firmware NB1, with everything seemingly working. This phone seems so much more complicated than the S3 was, thanks locked bootloader.

zeusakatkm said:
I was able to successfully unbrick the phone by using Odin to get it to MK2, although Wifi didn't work. Now I'm trying to get it back to the latest firmware so that I can sell it.
UPDATE!
Phone had been successfully reflashed to firmware NB1, with everything seemingly working. This phone seems so much more complicated than the S3 was, thanks locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use this to get to the NB1 firmware then take the NC1 OTA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2674223

shamelin73 said:
use this to get to the NB1 firmware then take the NC1 OTA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2674223
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it matter if I use the rootable version?

I would use the non root one then let phone take the NC1 OTA update.
That shod give you a clean slate to sell the phone or you can root NC1 with towelroot
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

I've already flashed the stock one, but it says there is no software update available

I've already flashed the stock one, but it says there is no software update available
UPDATE!
Success! I am successfully running this rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2767026

Anyone know how to get rid of that "custom" logo on bootup?

So, I have the MF3 firmware and wanted to update it to the latest version. I backed up my phone, went to settings->Accounts->Backup and Reset->Factory Data Reset
I wiped my phone and after all that, it still has the custom logo. What can I do to get rid of the custom logo so I can update my phone? Any help you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!

jbrookley said:
So, I have the MF3 firmware and wanted to update it to the latest version. I backed up my phone, went to settings->Accounts->Backup and Reset->Factory Data Reset
I wiped my phone and after all that, it still has the custom logo. What can I do to get rid of the custom logo so I can update my phone? Any help you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you root ur phone
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app

PR3DATOR Aaron said:
Did you root ur phone
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did, but I also did a full unroot using the superuser thingy (I think it was Super SU). My understanding is I should be able to remove root, restore to factory default and the custom logo would go away. Any idea why it wouldn't be working?

jbrookley said:
I did, but I also did a full unroot using the superuser thingy (I think it was Super SU). My understanding is I should be able to remove root, restore to factory default and the custom logo would go away. Any idea why it wouldn't be working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best to unroot ur phone is using Odin don't use Super SU cause if u download roms inside the custom rom will not be gone
And what phone are u using
Sent from my GT-I9505

PR3DATOR Aaron said:
The best to unroot ur phone is using Odin don't use Super SU cause if u download roms inside the custom rom will not be gone
And what phone are u using
Sent from my GT-I9505
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the S4, Because I have MF3 firmware, I've been pretty careful to avoid doing any sort of custom flashing to avoid bricking my phone (since they locked the bootloader). Do I have to use ODIN to reset the custom status? And are there any significant risks to the phone if I do it this way? I'm aware anytime you mess with these kind of things, there is some risk, I just want to know it should be safe, it's been tested before, and I'm not just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

jbrookley said:
I have the S4, Because I have MF3 firmware, I've been pretty careful to avoid doing any sort of custom flashing to avoid bricking my phone (since they locked the bootloader). Do I have to use ODIN to reset the custom status? And are there any significant risks to the phone if I do it this way? I'm aware anytime you mess with these kind of things, there is some risk, I just want to know it should be safe, it's been tested before, and I'm not just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The custom logo can also be removed by using the triangleaway app.

jbrookley said:
I have the S4, Because I have MF3 firmware, I've been pretty careful to avoid doing any sort of custom flashing to avoid bricking my phone (since they locked the bootloader). Do I have to use ODIN to reset the custom status? And are there any significant risks to the phone if I do it this way? I'm aware anytime you mess with these kind of things, there is some risk, I just want to know it should be safe, it's been tested before, and I'm not just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I unroot my GT-I9505 using Odin
And there is no risk of unroot s4 using Odin
And i downloaded S5 custom rom and i use odin and my stock firmware to unroot my phone and the custom rom will be gone
All custom rom downloaded and if u want to go back to the original is just using Odin and unroot it
Hope it helps
Sent from my GT-I9505
---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
Using TriangleAway app might brick ur phone and it might affect our phone, if u try it and it is Hard Brick and thats will be a problem over there.
Hard Brick and Soft Brick are different
Hard Brick is your phone is dead can't turn to recovery or download mode and you need to change ur motherboard
Soft Brick is usually just when you're phone is stuck in a bootloop, and as the name implies, is caused by a software error, usually the lack of a system to boot from or some other minor software bug that glitching boot. They are easily fixable by reflashing your ROM in recovery.
Sent from my GT-I9505

PR3DATOR Aaron said:
I unroot my GT-I9505 using Odin
And there is no risk of unroot s4 using Odin
And i downloaded S5 custom rom and i use odin and my stock firmware to unroot my phone and the custom rom will be gone
All custom rom downloaded and if u want to go back to the original is just using Odin and unroot it
Hope it helps
Sent from my GT-I9505
---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
Using TriangleAway app might brick ur phone and it might affect our phone, if u try it and it is Hard Brick and thats will be a problem over there.
Hard Brick and Soft Brick are different
Hard Brick is your phone is dead can't turn to recovery or download mode and you need to change ur motherboard
Soft Brick is usually just when you're phone is stuck in a bootloop, and as the name implies, is caused by a software error, usually the lack of a system to boot from or some other minor software bug that glitching boot. They are easily fixable by reflashing your ROM in recovery.
Sent from my GT-I9505
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do I get the correct stock MF3 firmware file to be flashed by ODIN? I just want to make sure I use the correct one if I'm going to mess with ODIN. Haven't used it since my droid charge . . . which was a piece of garbage but I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge and affects no one at this point . . .

jbrookley said:
Where do I get the correct stock MF3 firmware file to be flashed by ODIN? I just want to make sure I use the correct one if I'm going to mess with ODIN. Haven't used it since my droid charge . . . which was a piece of garbage but I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge and affects no one at this point . . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to SamMobile
Here is the link to find ur firmware
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/
Sent from my GT-I9505

PR3DATOR Aaron said:
Go to SamMobile
Here is the link to find ur firmware
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/
Sent from my GT-I9505
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to that page and found my phone:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I337/ATT/
All I found for firmware is MDL and MDB. I'm on MF3 but I'm not sure which of these I can use. Would I want to use one of these two? Or would I want to use the TAR files from this location?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504311
I just want to make sure you know that the MF3 version has a locked bootloader, so if I can't do this with a locked bootloader, I probably need to know sooner rather than later. Thanks for your help!

jbrookley said:
I went to that page and found my phone:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I337/ATT/
All I found for firmware is MDL and MDB. I'm on MF3 but I'm not sure which of these I can use. Would I want to use one of these two? Or would I want to use the TAR files from this location?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504311
I just want to make sure you know that the MF3 version has a locked bootloader, so if I can't do this with a locked bootloader, I probably need to know sooner rather than later. Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to this video
❤ How To Unroot Any Samsung Galaxy S4 Easiest Way…: http://youtu.be/pLcdvm17rJA
Hope it helps
Sent from my GT-I9505

Since you want to update the phone, you can directly flash the latest using odin. It will remove the custom logo too. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2926642
I have used triangle away on my phone (ATT S4) multiple times and have never seen any issue
More info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221

jmjoyas said:
Since you want to update the phone, you can directly flash the latest using odin. It will remove the custom logo too. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2926642
I have used triangle away on my phone (ATT S4) multiple times and have never seen any issue
More info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bah, I just following the guide to flash my phone back to stock:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504311
I boot it up and it STILL shows it as a custom ROM. What am I doing wrong? Why would it still say it's custom?

jbrookley said:
Bah, I just following the guide to flash my phone back to stock:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2504311
I boot it up and it STILL shows it as a custom ROM. What am I doing wrong? Why would it still say it's custom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boot into recovery and do a factory reset

jmjoyas said:
Boot into recovery and do a factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had done that. I did finally get it working after resetting it a few times. No idea why that is though . . . Hopefully, I'll get those OTA updates soon so I can go back to enjoying my phone. I hate stock so much and don't see much point in making many changes since I'm going to just reload everything via titanium backup once it's all updated.
Thanks for your help!

jbrookley said:
I had done that. I did finally get it working after resetting it a few times. No idea why that is though . . . Hopefully, I'll get those OTA updates soon so I can go back to enjoying my phone. I hate stock so much and don't see much point in making many changes since I'm going to just reload everything via titanium backup once it's all updated.
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go find for our senior member for help cause they can resovle this problem
Cause this is a very hard case to resovle this thing
Sent from my GT-I9505