[Q] Has anyone had luck with warranty after root? - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin

Has anyone had luck with getting a replacement thru warranty after being rooted? my vibration stopped and the warranty dept said they will send me a new phone... but also said i could pay the full price off the phone if the warranty dept finds i voided my warranty. this has me scared, im tempted to just pay the deductible on insurance rather than be at risk for the full price.

What firmware are you on? You can remove root.

jd1639 said:
What firmware are you on? You can remove root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
currently removed root and on mf3... but i was amdl and removed root, as soon as i removed root it prompted me to install mf3, so i did. i guess im more curious if someones been denied due to havinig had root, assuming anyone who would of sent theres back would of removed root, but like they found traces of it

I've seen a lot of people here use warranty claim and none of them reported any problems. If you're unrooted no one can tell if it was rooted. I've personally sent two devices in over the years and had no problems. Both of them were rooted.

I was like that too (rooted on MDL though)...but I had to RMA to Samsung regardless. My LCD screen had discoloration and lines on it. It's in this topic if you're interested to read: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2395948
But in short. I called Samsung and made a repair ticket. Sent it to Samsung using free 2day air UPS they gave. I put a sticky note on my phone mentioning "Hardware problem - screen is weird".
I got my phone back 2 weeks later with everything fixed. Upon inspecting the receipt and email they sent me, everything was free because of my valid warranty. Once I found that out I was happy since I was worried about paying for some stupid fee :S
Unfortunately, they updated my phone to MF3, might have left my phone on for awhile during the repair and it auto-updated.

ok cool, i feel better about sending it in now. im sure i will still be wondering for a couple weeks until they clear it lol. thanks

Related

Should I un-root my G1 before sending it back?

Well, I got my replacement G1 today, which I rooted and installed Haykuro 5.0.2H within 30 minutes of opening it, but on my old G1 that I now need to send back, do I need to unroot it and install the original software? Id think they would be concerned if they received a G1 phone with G2 software.
Yep, if they find out you modded or rooted your phone, they would charge you... well at least im pretty sure they would lol
false. They only check for physical damages.
I did a warranty exchange with my old g1 (had cracked lcd and I knew it ($100 out of warranty fee was cheaper than $130 insurance deductible ) ) They only charged me because of my screen.
Other friends that have done exchanges have not gotten charged because it was rooted. As long as you master reset it before sending it back, I don't think they notice. None of my friends that had rooted phones were charged.
From my understanding, Tmobile just sends the phones back to HTC to repair or destroy, depending on the condition of the phone.
While they very well might not check... why not just unroot it for ****s? Takes all of 10 minutes
Before I "rooted" my phone I called t-mobile about the warenty, and specifically told them what I was planing on doing "Downgrading to RC29, "rooting", installing somebody else Rom (Thank you JF), ect. and asked if that would void anything or cause a problem with any exchanges in the future. The T-mobile rep informed me that it does not void anything and will not cause any charges of that sort.
Now my first phone I had I needed to return because the speaker stopped working, and one of the first questions they asked me was if I installed any software that would alter the sound settings. so being paranoid I did reinstall to the stock RC33 just in cause they came back and said it was the modded software that caused the problem.
same here
i did it with the old phone i exchanged they only check for damage to the phone
Id imagine it wuld give the next user problems if they have no knowledge of root, and just cause them 2 send it back in
AsaSpades said:
Id imagine it wuld give the next user problems if they have no knowledge of root, and just cause them 2 send it back in
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Click to collapse
I'd think that if the phone is going to be refurbished that they would reflash it as part of that process.
benmyers2941 said:
I'd think that if the phone is going to be refurbished that they would reflash it as part of that process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they know what theyre doing, but id hope they do
when i jettisoned my g1 (i hated it but my girlfriend loves hers so i still get to fiddle with the g1) i restored it to factory ota defaults... you never know and what's a few minutes of your time to ensure that you'll get what you want.

AT&T SGSIII Warranty info

All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.
das7982 said:
All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.
That's nice to know. Thanks, but I think I will wait a good spell before flashing anyways.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
If this is official AT&T policy I will sticky this for all to see. If it is a store by store basis then I won't. Let me know.
Thanks
FNM
das7982 said:
All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
BLOWNCO said:
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
outsides are taken off and crushed into raw material and sent back to manufacturers. main boards, wafer, silicon, radios are then recycled and sent back to the manufacturer so they can install into new cases and refurbished back to the warranty service centers
Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will post official at&t documentation soon.
Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also was talking about samsung as this is a samsung forum.... we have samsung reflash tools that aren't available to the public to repair samsung issues... thats why flashing with samsung does not void the warranty. Read the OP please... nothing was said about atrix as it has a locked bootloader and requires bootstrapping and other non sense
das7982 said:
I will post official at&t documentation soon.
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Click to collapse
Awesome, should calm alot of nerves around here.
das7982 said:
I also was talking about samsung as this is a samsung forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL, thanks for clearing that up.
Thanks for giving clarity on this.
I'm sure others are wondering as well.. how come you're a Verizon user working for AT&T?
I can jump in with a few things here:
AT&T's employee discount blows, to be honest. As a retail rep you get 2 lines, one with 500 and one with 1000 minutes. You then have to pay for everything a la carte. Data, texts, etc are all a paid addon, and you don't save much over a consumer plan. In addition, AT&T "reserves the right" to ask to inspect your phone for content and usage at any time, though admittedly it rarely happens. AT&T gives you a COU line and free phone (mostly of AT&T's choice), but they have the right to monitor anything & everything on it, and tell you not to use it for ANY personal use. Again, it's rarely inspected, but still... Screw that.
When I was with AT&T, I kept my Sprint line, because I was paying next to nothing with it.
As for destroying the phone casings, anything that has come into contact with the general public has to be destroyed for sanitary purposes. This is also why it's illegal to sell returned or used Bluetooth headsets. God forbid in the rare & unlikely instance you contracted a disease from a refurb phone? AT&T would be liable for millions in a lawsuit. It's cheaper to just destroy the casings.
Edit:
As for custom roms, it's not a store by store basis, because the repairs are only done in repair facilities. With Sprint, the "official" ruling was that rooting was fine, as long as that wasn't the cause of the phone breaking. If your power buttons cracked and you had a rooted phone, they were (mostly) smart enough to know that a custom rom didn't crack your power button. We also reserved the right to take customers who treated us like assholes and tell them to go kick rocks. Treat the repair techs well, and you'll be treated like gold.
Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My GPS stopped working on my Atrix 4G. I took it to a DSC in miami...
They noticed my bootloader said 'unlocked' at the top, but they didn't seem to care. they just gave me a new phone.
It all depends on where you go, or who you run into. there is no policy, just upto them I guess.
Make sure when you post the documentation you post the mycsp I'd too...
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
My local att tech support has two representatives that assist customer. One is an indian that with all do respect it a total idiot and the other is a super short girl that even she cant believe that she works at the tech support. It takes them 45 minutes each to find out the diagnose after talking on the phone to some devine authority. Now you are saying they told you all that stuff about warranty. Well in my opinion that is not worth even my dogs crap because tech support reps most of the time are just a bunch on morrons.
razorseal said:
My GPS stopped working on my Atrix 4G. I took it to a DSC in miami...
They noticed my bootloader said 'unlocked' at the top, but they didn't seem to care. they just gave me a new phone.
It all depends on where you go, or who you run into. there is no policy, just upto them I guess.
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Click to collapse
Exactly why I asked for some official documentation. It doesn't effect me cause I rooted w/o tripping the counter, but I know tons of people here would be interested.
Gadgetz said:
Exactly why I asked for some official documentation. It doesn't effect me cause I rooted w/o tripping the counter, but I know tons of people here would be interested.
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indeed.
If this turns out to be legit, I'm going flash crazy.
Herp derp Captivate Tapatalk 2
BLOWNCO said:
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.
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Click to collapse
They do not destroy them, but actually tear them apart and refurbish other phones with the parts.
cincygeek said:
They do not destroy them, but actually tear them apart and refurbish other phones with the parts.
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Click to collapse
yes, I thought this was the case too. like let's say they take the camera out of it, so when they get a phone with a broken camera, they swap it out. or maybe the capacitor. or an internal speaker.
entropism said:
AT&T's employee discount blows, to be honest.
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I work for VZ landline, and our discounts are so bad that it is cheaper for me to keep Sprint service.

Defective phone, replacement process?

I've come to the conclusion after unrooting/changing to stock rom that my WiFi and Bluetooth is defective, cause it shows very little access points compared to other S4s and Bluetooth is intermittent cutting in and out.
It's been over a month since I've received the phone, would I still be able to bring it to a Sprint Store and exchange for a new one, or would I have to ship it in to Samsung. Also, would I have to stock recovery/unroot before I give it back to them?
Anyone who works at Sprint or have done this before, please let me know!
Thanks!
tinkleondabeach said:
I've come to the conclusion after unrooting/changing to stock rom that my WiFi and Bluetooth is defective, cause it shows very little access points compared to other S4s and Bluetooth is intermittent cutting in and out.
It's been over a month since I've received the phone, would I still be able to bring it to a Sprint Store and exchange for a new one, or would I have to ship it in to Samsung. Also, would I have to stock recovery/unroot before I give it back to them?
Anyone who works at Sprint or have done this before, please let me know!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must unroot. You must flash stock mdc odin 1 click restore and wipe fully. They will laugh at you if you dont.
Put it completely back to stock. Reset the counter and binary to official. Odin the MDL full stock with data wipe. Wipe/format the internal storage. Remove the SD card. Do full factory reset and format internal memory. Pray. Don't act like you've been mucking around with the phone. They might want to do a factory reset and or flash the rom to official stock again. Take it back the next day and tell them it's still malfunctioning. Hope they put in an order for a refurb. If you can replicate the problem, show them. Sometimes one repair center might be less likely to get you a replacement. Find another repair center. When I went to a different place with a previous phone, they were more inclined to just order me a replacement. I had to go back three times within a month to get a fully working phone, because the replacements were defective. Don't be a jerk towards the employees.
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I believe that it's a hardware defect maybe a loose wifi antenna. Went to sprint store and they're holding my phone right now, they said they'd charge $50 for repair if it's a defect but checkup is free.. I told them about a warranty and they told me that I'd have to go through Samsung to get that. Would it void my warranty if I opened up the phone myself?
If you have the TEP insurance a replacement would be free of charge.
You only have 14 days to return a phone if it is defective if the device was a new act or upgrade. A replacement without insurance is $50.
Your situation is difficult though. If the tech can verify the issue it is fine. Verifying your issue is not easy at all.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
supercholo said:
If you have the TEP insurance a replacement would be free of charge.
You only have 14 days to return a phone if it is defective if the device was a new act or upgrade. A replacement without insurance is $50.
Your situation is difficult though. If the tech can verify the issue it is fine. Verifying your issue is not easy at all.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the tech can verify the issue I'm still charged the $50 right? I assume the free warranty process through returning to Samsung would take like a month without a phone right?
tinkleondabeach said:
If the tech can verify the issue I'm still charged the $50 right? I assume the free warranty process through returning to Samsung would take like a month without a phone right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was told around 2 weeks when I asked Samsung about replacing my phone because of a screen defect. Can't go that long without a phone though so I'm just dealing with my screen defect. I'll maybe get it replaced before I sell it or the year is up. Whatever is first.
Yeah I hate Samsung and Sprint, I'm probably going to have to pay $50 for a refurb'd replacement cause the phone they gave me is defective.
Does anyone know if I will void the warranty if I were to open up the casing of the s4?
tinkleondabeach said:
Yeah I hate Samsung and Sprint, I'm probably going to have to pay $50 for a refurb'd replacement cause the phone they gave me is defective.
Does anyone know if I will void the warranty if I were to open up the casing of the s4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you will void the warranty if you open it up.

Root or waiting to knox fix?

With the new bootloader Samsung seems to have made the root impossible without leave a trace.
After the root we will have knox 0x1 in the bootloader and no chance to reset it to 0x0.
So...
What do you recommend?
Wait for someone to be able to find a solution or root the phone anyway and hoping we can reset the knox later?
kenzolo said:
With the new bootloader Samsung seems to have made the root impossible without leave a trace.
After the root we will have knox 0x1 in the bootloader and no chance to reset it to 0x0.
So...
What do you recommend?
Wait for someone to be able to find a solution or root the phone anyway and hoping we can reset the knox later?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lucky for me, I'm buying mine at Best Buy and getting the Geeksquad protection plan ($10 per month). If the phone bricks or something, I'll return it to them for an expedited replacement (new) at no additional cost! I hope we get root and custom roms and with the risk of tripping the Knox counter since I could care less! :highfive:
I'm keeping it untouched for the first couple of months. maybe there are some bugs or flaws in the device since it's the 1st production line we got. I want to be sure to have warranty if really needed.
I have everything needed to root already downloaded and ready to go. My Note III will not even boot once before it's rooted!
I'm opening the box and booting straight into the bootloader!
Yup I'm rooting as well I'm insured tho so don't really need to worry as I can get a replacement handset if there are any defects from first line
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Ill just root and mod...could care less about warranty.
sent from Canada via my S3,S4 or Note2
Protect Your Bubble
I have Protetc your bubble insurance on my new baby here in the UK and it protect against 'Accidental Damage
Liquid Damage
Theft
Unauthorised Calls
Breakdown
Worldwide Cover'
So if it doesn't boot I'm okay, but i'm still on the fence with it really.
Got my device today...having itchy fingers ...will root tomorrow!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 4
i will probably wait a week or so before rooting.
better sooner than later though
Bataga said:
Lucky for me, I'm buying mine at Best Buy and getting the Geeksquad protection plan ($10 per month). If the phone bricks or something, I'll return it to them for an expedited replacement (new) at no additional cost! I hope we get root and custom roms and with the risk of tripping the Knox counter since I could care less! :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I'm not mistaken Best Buy has changed there cell phone policy. Now I believe you have to pay $100 or $150 for insurance replacements just like every other carrier. I asked about it and the employee told me that people were taking advantage so it was changed. Just a heads up for you.
I can't remember the last phone the I actually booted into stock firmware. My first boot is always into the bootloader to flash/root it.
I'd wait. My Note 2 didn't see root for 4 months after purchase. The only reason I did root was to add ViPER.
Waiting here as well.
480dpi is killing me tho
Hi y'all!
Actually I was fairly lucky I didn't root right away. The first device I received turned out to be a dud. It took about a week to be sure but when it started reboot looping i turned it in.
Had it been rooted it might had been made an issue.
When I root it though I'll just kick Knox out. Never had any security issues. In my experience it only takes a little common sense.
Regards
Elo.
From what I understand the same issue with the Knox counter stepping up was not fixed yet on the galaxy S4 though the device was released a couple of month back already, don't know if it's really worth it to wait for a workaround to be found soon!

[Q] Bought a "new" note 3 from ebay...

Supposedly untouched brand new in box "unlocked". When I went to give it the ol rootaroo found the knox at 0x1. So here is my question.
Other than screwing me out of the warranty, what other problems will this cause me?
It's a tmobile. What happens when kit kat comes along, or any other update, am I going to be able to update? As of now, there are no roms, so I am stuck with what samsung sends down the pike and if I cant even get that then what good is the phone. I put in an open case, but if it's not going to screw me up too bad, I might just keep it. However, at 649, for another 50 I can buy one straight from tmobile. Should I return it?
Regards,
J
jackler1 said:
Supposedly untouched brand new in box "unlocked". When I went to give it the ol rootaroo found the knox at 0x1. So here is my question.
Other than screwing me out of the warranty, what other problems will this cause me?
It's a tmobile. What happens when kit kat comes along, or any other update, am I going to be able to update? As of now, there are no roms, so I am stuck with what samsung sends down the pike and if I cant even get that then what good is the phone. I put in an open case, but if it's not going to screw me up too bad, I might just keep it. However, at 649, for another 50 I can buy one straight from tmobile. Should I return it?
Regards,
J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aside from the warranty which you have mentioned, Not a lot else except KNOX functions (which unless you use for company purposes is useless to the every day user 99% of the time) -
As for returning it, it's up to you, if you feel you have been tricked into buying a phone with no warranty and mis sold, then return it
It was misrepresented as "new" so you do have an option to return. Hopefully you paid via paypal or a secure way as I wouldn't trust them to return the monies voluntarily.
jackler1 said:
Supposedly untouched brand new in box "unlocked". When I went to give it the ol rootaroo found the knox at 0x1. So here is my question.
Other than screwing me out of the warranty, what other problems will this cause me?
It's a tmobile. What happens when kit kat comes along, or any other update, am I going to be able to update? As of now, there are no roms, so I am stuck with what samsung sends down the pike and if I cant even get that then what good is the phone. I put in an open case, but if it's not going to screw me up too bad, I might just keep it. However, at 649, for another 50 I can buy one straight from tmobile. Should I return it?
Regards,
J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not new. Return.
And don't buy electrical things at eBay unless you want to take risk.
A friend recently bought what was supposed to be a used, unlocked AT&T S3 on Amazon, to use on T-Mobile. When she got it I discovered that it is actually a T-Mobile S3. She had problems getting any data connection on it and after speaking with T-Mobile tech support for a few days they ran her IMEI and said they would honor the warranty, she explained that she bought it from a 3rd party and that they said that it doesn't have a warranty but the tech said not to worry, it is covered by the manufacturer. T-Mobile is currently sending her another S3 at no cost.
Sent from my S3 using whatever is in the chamber...
radicalisto said:
Aside from the warranty which you have mentioned, Not a lot else except KNOX functions (which unless you use for company purposes is useless to the every day user 99% of the time) -
As for returning it, it's up to you, if you feel you have been tricked into buying a phone with no warranty and mis sold, then return it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you saying that should updates come, such as kit kat, I will have no problems getting said updates?
I just want to make sure the phone isn't locked out from updates, won't care if I ever get roms.....
Yeah you'll get updates, if you're rooted you won't get them via OTA though. You'll have to use KIES or flash via ODIN. Not really a massive task tbh
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
.... and you'll probably get those updates much faster here on XDA than you will via OTA updates anyway!

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