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Hi everyone! I just upgraded to the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Before I had the original Galaxy Note. I've rooted and loaded custom ROM's on all my previous Android devices (Captivate, Inspire 4G, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Note), but I'm debating on rooting this device. It's running great on the stock ROM.
Has anyone else debated this? If so, did you go ahead and root and loaded a ROM then regret it or were you glad you did it?
You can run it absolutely stock and still be rooted. Rooting gives you the advantage of certain apps that require it, as I'm sure you know, such as Titanium Backup, Root explorer and others. Plus ability to get rid of AT&T apps you never do or never will use. fwiw
Root it! You want regret it. The possibilities are endless. And if you do prefer a stock like rom, well believe me there are GREAT custom stock like roms that these great devs have put together that run flawlessly with added benefits. Hope this helps. Happy Rooting
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even if you plan to keep the stock ROM, its worth it to root so you can uninstall the AT&T bloatware and remove the AT&T splash screen on start-up.
lazard said:
even if you plan to keep the stock ROM, its worth it to root so you can uninstall the AT&T bloatware and remove the AT&T splash screen on start-up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on stock with root. I rooted it using Adam's casual only to have TiBu work. I froze all ATT bloats and some google and samsung apps. The stock is very fine for me.
Now I am debating to flash Paranoid rom to try their multiwindow and halo features...
Thanks for all the input everyone, I appreciate it. Knowing me I'll end up rooting it and loading a ROM since I can't leave stuff alone. HA!
Does anyone know if there's a ROM out there that someone has gotten Bluetooth Tethering to work? That's one thing I miss from ICS on my Galaxy Note.
Hey gk
In same boat, been flashing roms hundreds of times for over 3 years from early Nexus One days. Most of the reasons were to get newer OS's without waiting. However, one of the reasons I got the S4 was it already has the latest as in 4.2.2.
One thing I have learned as most of us have is there always seems to be something not 100% on each rom for some folks. Goes with the territory as we know. Although, I have been lucky in that area. Maybe due to lots of reading and proper pre-install wipes. Hats off to all the devs though for their long and tiresome hours giving us these great roms.
My concern, since this is early on with the S4 and no unlocked bootloader, are our chances higher to have issues.
My phone with all it's "gimmicks" is running fast and perfect--NO issues. I also would like TiBu and eventually a custom recovery for nandroids even if I don't flash a custom rom. Used both CWM and TWRP in the past. Also, Amon_Ra. All worked great for me.
But, like you and others will probably root and flash a custom recovery anyway.
Damn Samsung for making this so tough of a decision--
I was in same position lol I've been flashing andneven Ade a few Roms but ya know its cool and all but its a hassel sometimes enough for me to be stock! There's no reason IMO to flash anything this phone is packed to the gills with features already and its on a very new os so I feel like I wanna root and flash away but have found no reason to YET key word there and of course its purely my own standpoint
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Root it! You can get new features before they come to your carrier. ... I debated it and told myself I would stay rooted but run stock rom.... now they figured out ways to bypass the bootloader and flash roms and im back to crack flashing lol. ..
Yup. I thought I wouldn't root this thing. That lasted a week. Then I told myself it's fine the way it is, I don't need to flash a rom. That lasted 3 weeks. I'm not a flashaholic though. I usually pick one and stick with it for a while.
You think it runs fine until you've rommed it and added a kernel. Then you realize you had no idea how fine it could be.
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I wouldn't ever even own a phone that I couldn't root. It just gives you freedom over your phone. Again you don't NEED to run a custom rom to be rooted, but check out some of the TW custom Tom's that just take the phone to another level but still being stock
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Custom toms are bad ass lol I had to say it
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The Mint Jelly Rom battery life is insane ..it's worth rooting for that alone. Definitely root
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I'm more than likely going to root and load a ROM soon. I'm between two different ROMs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2280556
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2305752
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I was a flashaholic on the captivate, and S II. I loved trying new ROMs like Miui and AOKP. But, since I got the Note II and now the S 4 I don't have that desire. My only reason for rooting usually was TiBu, and only from flashing so often. Without flashing a new ROM each week I had little need for restoring apps. After three weeks I finally rooted and started trying ROMs on this phone. It was about the same for my Note. I really like TouchWiz, and miss some of those features on AOSP based ROMs. I don't see the performance need for custom ROMs on either of these phones like I did on the older phones. I guess it just came out of boredom, in the end.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
Well, I finally gave in and rooted--knew I would
Used Adam's Casual--very easy--much more so than my HTC phones
TiBu and Nandriods already in use
Next step roms--
Still haven't rooted yet. I probably will over the weekend. Why can't I leave stuff alone? HA!
I just bought the HTC One for $200, but then I saw that Best Buy had the Samsung Galaxy s4 on sale for $50. I did not know which one I wanted and was truly torn between the two and ended up buying the HTC but if I can save $150 I will gladly get the s4. My only problem is that as I've been reading up on cs4 forums to make sure that I would be able to unlock root and flash custom roms I had came across what seems to be the problem with an AT&T firmware update known as mf3. If I cannot root and flash custom kernels and roms I do not think I will take advantage of the offer from Best Buy. My problem is that even after all the reading I cannot figure out whether it is possible to root and flash custom ROMs and kernels to the new version from AT&T, known as mf3, or if it is still not possible, or if it will be possible very soon so that I'm may use Android 4.4 Kit Kat on the phone or any custom Rom I wish. Can someone please clarify this for me as soon as possible because my time to return the HTC One to AT&T is coming close to its end?
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You can root and flash some roms using safestrap. But it's very limited. Imo I'd stay away from the s4
It's there any progress toward cracking MF3? I've had a one x for pat year and kinda wanted a change and I love the screen on the s4. If you had to choose between the s4 and the HTC one taking into consideration the mf3 problem, which would you choose? And which would you choose if there was no mf3 problem?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
If you can find a S4 with MDL or earlier firmware it's a excellent phone. Personally if it has MF3 or later I wouldn't bother. But that's just my opinion.
You might as well get rid of the One as well. It's just as locked down.
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Untrue, about HTCone being just as locked down. It can have it's boatload unlocked quiet easily and if you want to, although it's not necessary, you can even do s-off to get full unbridled access. I previously had a HTC one x and also from everything I've read it seems AT&T went out of there way to lock down s4 tight , just like they did to the one x but eventually the devs got it. I do want the s4 though,even though this phone is awesome(HTC One), and I can live with no custom Rom for a while but I can't go without root. So if I get a s4 with mf3 will it still be able to be rooted ? I've read up on it but don't understand what everyone is talking about when they say if the phone is encrypted or notand it seems to be random.
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So sick and tired of reading about MF3, or MK2 constantly on these forums. If you want to buy an S4 on AT&T look for an MDL one on eBay. It's not that hard, really.
Or buy the T-Mobile variant or International version.
Thanks for your kind response to my honest question mattmjb0188. I can't get a t mobile or international variant bc I'm on a budget. I will use my upgrade to get the phone at best buy for $50, and the condition of this price is that it must be a contract renewal/upgrade, which is another reason I can't get diff version of the phone. Did you even read the op? I would love to get one brand new out of the box with mdl but the odds of that are slim hence why I asked the question in the 1st place. So if you can't help or don't like the question then don't respond, but I do thank you for your info about the other variants that don't have issues, it just doesn't help me.
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Rad ryan said:
Thanks for your kind response to my honest question mattmjb0188. I can't get a t mobile or international variant bc I'm on a budget. I will use my upgrade to get the phone at best buy for $50, and the condition of this price is that it must be a contract renewal/upgrade, which is another reason I can't get diff version of the phone. Did you even read the op? I would love to get one brand new out of the box with mdl but the odds of that are slim hence why I asked the question in the 1st place. So if you can't help or don't like the question then don't respond, but I do thank you for your info about the other variants that don't have issues, it just doesn't help me.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone new on these forums just asks over and over about MF3 and the Android 4.3 update. Basically, if you get an S4 with Mf3 or later firmware, you are pretty much stuck on stock. Then we have noobs who don't read and attempt to root their MF3 phones and brick them.
On pure stock, the S4 is a bad phone. The software is very laggy and needs a lot of improvement. I was one of the early adapters when it first came out. The phone was a nightmare with MDB and MDL firmware. Mf3 made slight improvements, but not enough.
I would not even invest in buying this phone right now. Most development for it has died down because of the restrictions. Developers are moving on. Those of us with MDL firmware (like myself) won't see much continued support for Loki nowadays anyway. If the bootloader could be unlocked, I believe it would have been unlocked by now. All these workarounds are very limited, and dangerous.
Personally, I wouldn't even buy the phone at this point. Scrape the funds together for either the T-Mobile S4 or Note 3.
Get the nexus 5, you'll be very happy
Thank you very much for that answer, that was an excellent answer. Although I'm not a noob bc I've been doing this stuff for years and been a member for years.I did the trading but I am not familiar with Samsung at all bc the last Samsung I had was a captivate. It's there a lot of active development for the t mobile variant? I'm guessing it's probably around $600, right? Lastly do you think that there will be a solution to the lock down of mf3 and later in the next few months?
Again thanks for your very helpful answer.
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Rad ryan said:
Thank you very much for that answer, that was an excellent answer. Although I'm not a noob bc I've been doing this stuff for years and been a member for years.I did the trading but I am not familiar with Samsung at all bc the last Samsung I had was a captivate. It's there a lot of active development for the t mobile variant? I'm guessing it's probably around $600, right? Lastly do you think that there will be a solution to the lock down of mf3 and later in the next few months?
Again thanks for your very helpful answer.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The development for the AT&T S4 has died down. In my opinion, no one will ever unlock the bootloader for it. Maybe someday with some future device, but not this device. The closest we got was with the loki method, which was great. But that's long gone now.
Look on negri for the T-Mobile variant. I think its M919. I'm not sure. T-Mobile developers have been able to make great roms for the device, instead of wasting so much time to find a workaround. Maybe even try T-Mobile out and see if they've improved in your area. They got a lot better in my area, but still a lot of EDGE.
If I were you, I'd go for the Nexus 5.
Rad ryan said:
Thanks for your kind response to my honest question mattmjb0188. I can't get a t mobile or international variant bc I'm on a budget. I will use my upgrade to get the phone at best buy for $50, and the condition of this price is that it must be a contract renewal/upgrade, which is another reason I can't get diff version of the phone. Did you even read the op? I would love to get one brand new out of the box with mdl but the odds of that are slim hence why I asked the question in the 1st place. So if you can't help or don't like the question then don't respond, but I do thank you for your info about the other variants that don't have issues, it just doesn't help me.
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Click to collapse
Heres my suggestion, if you want the s4, get it from best buy than sell it unopened for as much as you can and than with the money you get buy a tmobile or i9505 international variant...(not i9500 or the verizon or sprint one)
The tmobile variant is probably your best bet, the tmobile variant supports all of ATT service bands so youll have no issues with reception or internet. The tmobile variant can flash roms from any of the other s4 variants (verizon sprint att i9505...just not any roms from the i9500)
So in other words if you get the tmobile variant you dont have to worry about a dead dev scene as you can always flash roms from a differnt carrier...only thing is you will probably have to set up your apns for att rom flashes
Hope that helps you
And on another note if you decide to stick with the ATT s4, every firmware can be rooted
Mdb has real recoveries, so you can flash anything as long as you "loki" the kernel - Unfortunately I do not think there are any stores that are selling phones with this firmware
Mdl has real recoveries, so you can flash anything as long as you "loki" the kernel...Unfortunately it is pretty much impossible to find a phone with this firmware in any store now
Mf3 has safestrap which is kinda like a recovery, with it you can flash any touchwiz based 4.2.2 rom (stock roms) or any 4.2.2 Google Phone Edition (aka GPE, which is an aosp experience S4, no bloatware no samsung features, its like having a nexus in the body of an s4) rom...NO CUSTOM KERNELS, NO AOSP ROMS (no cyanogenmod) - this is the firmware most phones come with
Mk2 (latest firmware) recently got a beta safestrap...as of now you can flash some 4.3 touchwiz stock based roms, alot dont boot yet, and the GPE 4.3 rom doesn't boot with it either. As it becomes stable it should work identical to the one for mf3 - phones will probably start coming with this one soon
In other words, safestrap allows you to run roms that are built off the same firmware version as your stock rom, safestrap flashes no kernel, so whatever rom you flash has to be compatible with the stock kernel of your current firmware
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---------- Post added at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
Rad ryan said:
Thank you very much for that answer, that was an excellent answer. Although I'm not a noob bc I've been doing this stuff for years and been a member for years.I did the trading but I am not familiar with Samsung at all bc the last Samsung I had was a captivate. It's there a lot of active development for the t mobile variant? I'm guessing it's probably around $600, right? Lastly do you think that there will be a solution to the lock down of mf3 and later in the next few months?
Again thanks for your very helpful answer.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They actually seem to be getting close to another work around which will allow you to flash any rom or kernel using safestrap...turns out theres a feature in the 4.3 mk2 kernel which allows unsigned drivers to run, in theory they can compile a kexec driver for the kernel which would allow you to use any kernel thus allowing the flash of any rom...theres a how-to thread in the original development section with more info, however...its not a guarentee we will see this anytime soon, as you never know what issues they may run into...but something to look into if your interested
EDIT: actually heres a post from the thread i mentioned which pretty much sums up how we hope this "exploit" will work as far as kernel flashing goes http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48703510&postcount=10
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With all that said; how come I have the MF3 baseband my s4 (jflteatt), and I still have a custom recovery with the ability to flash different roms and kernels? Is it because I installed the custom recovery on an earlier baseband and then it got updated to a newer baseband but still kept recovery?
I only found out I had MF3 on my phone now because I couldn't flash a different recovery anymore.
Yes
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noel_leon said:
With all that said; how come I have the MF3 baseband my s4 (jflteatt), and I still have a custom recovery with the ability to flash different roms and kernels? Is it because I installed the custom recovery on an earlier baseband and then it got updated to a newer baseband but still kept recovery?
I only found out I had MF3 on my phone now because I couldn't flash a different recovery anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is literally impossible to have officially updated through OTA while on a custom Recovery. What I suspect has been done is the same as my phone. I got an MDL device and quickly installed TWRP and a custom ROM. As new updates came out, I flashed just the baseband. So now, I have a 4.4 ROM with the MK2 baseband and am able to install anything I like.
If I were to have ever done an OTA, I would no longer be able to have a custom recovery because of a blown Qfuse.
Please don't try to say that what you have is the only phone with OTA MF3 and custom recovery.
The only way to have anything like that is through SS and that is not a true recovery. If you do have that, you can only install certain ROMs not including AOSP, AOKP, MIUI, or CM.
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When did I ever say I was the only one? I asked a simple question that I mostly had the answer to already; which in turn was answered by a simple "Yes" from HiTideBlastoise.
And I never said anything about OTA either. I said I had installed custom recovery on an earlier baseband and then my baseband was updated but recovery was still intact.
I never said you did say that. It was preemptive. Secondly, you make it out to seem like you did nothing to update your baseband. You are making it seem like it just happened. Well, that can't happen without either updating the entire phone or flashing it yourself. The funny thing is the baseband means nothing when it comes to recoveries and flashing ROMs. It can only be used as a possible sign on a stock device as to what version one is running. On a modified device, like yours, it is worthless information on the version of Android. Like I said before, I have 4.4 with MK2 as my baseband. How can I install ROMs. Not because it updated my baseband after I already have a custom recovery... But because I never took an OTA and made it do the stuff I wanted.
Basically what I am saying is that you need to be clear with what you say. Everything you said makes it sound like your phone did it all by itself without you or someone else making it the way it is. There is no other option. You have to have done something to have a custom recovery and an MF3 baseband with pre MF3 bootloaders.
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I agree with graydiggy that the only way to still have a custom recovery and mf3 baseband is that you either flashed an mf3 tw rom with a modem or a a standalone modem to your mdl software. If you took the "OTA" successfully, you will definitely have a locked down bootloader now.
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Hi I just got a new sprint Galaxy s4. I had a Samsung infuse 4g that I rooted and unlocked (which btw was hard to do for a newb way back then) but I never flashed a rom. To be honest I was afraid that I would destroy the phone. They are not cheap. I still have the infuse, so I guess I could practice flashing roms on that one but is it basically the same process? I just really really do not want to destroy my beautiful phone. Is it risky to flash ROMS or put other stuff in the phone? Thanks for the advice. This is an awesome site.
*Anything* you flash to your phone carries a risk (however minute) that it'll brick the device. The root method may be different, but for the most part ROM flashing is the same across any Android device.
IMPORTANT: Check your device model, since there are two variants of the Sprint S4 out there (SPH-L720 and SPH-L720T). The 720T doesn't work with all ROMs, and (last I checked) you lose the Spark connectivity, but 1x/3G/LTE will still work. I have one of the old models before Sprint started rolling out Spark, so I haven't really been keeping up with that part of it.
emeralds5668 said:
Hi I just got a new sprint Galaxy s4. I had a Samsung infuse 4g that I rooted and unlocked (which btw was hard to do for a newb way back then) but I never flashed a rom. To be honest I was afraid that I would destroy the phone. They are not cheap. I still have the infuse, so I guess I could practice flashing roms on that one but is it basically the same process? I just really really do not want to destroy my beautiful phone. Is it risky to flash ROMS or put other stuff in the phone? Thanks for the advice. This is an awesome site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
once you get the rooting done here is a great place to start looking for ROM's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2303917
cyberweasal said:
once you get the rooting done here is a great place to start looking for ROM's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2303917
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for replying. I posted a question on the rooting thread regarding the s4. I was wondering about rooting it with my
Android version. I believe it's the latest but was not sure. Do you know if it's relatively safe to try that or are there issues like boot loops? Maybe I should leave well enough alone because I doubt I could fix a brick. These are really nice phones...thanks for your help
emeralds5668 said:
thanks for replying. I posted a question on the rooting thread regarding the s4. I was wondering about rooting it with my
Android version. I believe it's the latest but was not sure. Do you know if it's relatively safe to try that or are there issues like boot loops? Maybe I should leave well enough alone because I doubt I could fix a brick. These are really nice phones...thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had no problems. that being said. make sure you also have a stock rom down loaded on the phone or on a pc to fall back on, that way if you do boot loop you can just flash that. also once rooted make a backup!
you can root without doing a new rom or even choose a rom thats mostly stock with minimal changes its up to you how deep you go.
first thing if first once you root if you have KNOX you WILL flag the knox warranty count by 1 and that is not reversible yet.
good luck
Hi guys, i'm planning to buy an Galaxy S4 Value Edition Model 9515L (L from Latin, probably southamerican-friendly frequencies) (The only difference i guess is the back cover and it comes with 4.4) and i want to know if i can install S4 9505 ROMS on it, is there any problem? Plus, is there also a root for it?
No, you can't flash those roms.
What actually is the difference between a regular S4 and a 'Value' S4. pdadb.net shows they have pretty much identical specs?!
dave106 said:
What actually is the difference between a regular S4 and a 'Value' S4. pdadb.net shows they have pretty much identical specs?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it's the basebands and software
Lennyz1988 said:
No, you can't flash those roms.
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Click to collapse
even if the hardware is the same? There are alot of unified ROMs for several défices, isnt there ANY way of converting ROMS to work on value edition? Or at least its possible to root the phone?
I believe that the ROMs may work since the unified builds work, however does it have LTE?
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Battlehero said:
I believe that the ROMs may work since the unified builds work, however does it have LTE?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, its the SAME hardware as the Galaxy S4 LTE, the only difference is that it comes with 4.4 instead of 4.2.2
Root I9515 with CF-Autoroot file for I9505
EverLost123 said:
even if the hardware is the same? There are alot of unified ROMs for several défices, isnt there ANY way of converting ROMS to work on value edition? Or at least its possible to root the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just rooted my I9515 with the I9505 CF-Autoroot file. :good: It all ran quick and easy, as if they really were the same phone. Haven't tried any customs roms yet, so I can't say anything about them. The rooting, although, is flawless so far.
Rune Walker said:
I just rooted my I9515 with the I9505 CF-Autoroot file. :good: It all ran quick and easy, as if they really were the same phone. Haven't tried any customs roms yet, so I can't say anything about them. The rooting, although, is flawless so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so, if root works, everything that you flash that is not a ROM that is supposed to work on 9505 will work on 9515?
EverLost123 said:
so, if root works, everything that you flash that is not a ROM that is supposed to work on 9505 will work on 9515?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be very cautious on jumping to that general conclusion.
Although the CF-Autoroot for I9505 has worked in my device, when I flashed the I9505 TWRP (2.7), I couldn't use it because the touch screen didn't work. Then I tried I9505 CWM (6.0.4.7, non-tocuh), and everything was smooth and functional.
Later, I flashed Slimkat 5 (which is supposed to be S4 LTE unified, I9505 included, but obviously not for the I9515 yet), but the touch hasn't responded as well. After a few minutes being really afraid I'd burned the digitizer for good :crying:, I was able to flash the stock I9515 rom and the touch went back to life! :victory:
So, it seems that flashing I9505 stuff (even custom roms) in the I9515 is possible, but the touch doesn't work. That is just a first impression based in my quick experience in this matter, though.
Rune Walker said:
I'd be very cautious on jumping to that general conclusion.
Although the CF-Autoroot for I9505 has worked in my device, when I flashed the I9505 TWRP (2.7), I couldn't use it because the touch screen didn't work. Then I tried I9505 CWM (6.0.4.7, non-tocuh), and everything was smooth and functional.
Later, I flashed Slimkat 5 (which is supposed to be S4 LTE unified, I9505 included, but obviously not for the I9515 yet), but the touch hasn't responded as well. After a few minutes being really afraid I'd burned the digitizer for good :crying:, I was able to flash the stock I9515 rom and the touch went back to life! :victory:
So, it seems that flashing I9505 stuff (even custom roms) in the I9515 is possible, but the touch doesn't work. That is just a first impression based in my quick experience in this matter, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This times a thousand!
It's totally plausible that the 9505 is completely interchangable with the 9515.
It's also totally plausible that flashing a 9505 recovery on the 9515 will brick it beyond all repair.
And then its plausible that some things are compatible but others aren't without any pattern to figure it out by. (CWM Recovery might be fine but TWRP might brick it, etc)
It's your phone so you can do whatever you want. Lord knows that the vast majority of hacks to gain root (and various other things) have been tested by someone manning up and just rolling the dice on their phone to see if it works or bricks it. So feel free to try it, but be very careful, research first, and know that nothing is guarenteed until AFTER it flashed successfully and boots.
Skipjacks said:
This times a thousand!
It's totally plausible that the 9505 is completely interchangable with the 9515.
It's also totally plausible that flashing a 9505 recovery on the 9515 will brick it beyond all repair.
And then its plausible that some things are compatible but others aren't without any pattern to figure it out by. (CWM Recovery might be fine but TWRP might brick it, etc)
It's your phone so you can do whatever you want. Lord knows that the vast majority of hacks to gain root (and various other things) have been tested by someone manning up and just rolling the dice on their phone to see if it works or bricks it. So feel free to try it, but be very careful, research first, and know that nothing is guarenteed until AFTER it flashed successfully and boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is absolutely true!
There is at least one legitimate reason for devices being sold without straight forward root access: consumers safety, that is, avoiding them to brick their devices tweaking something they don't fully know or understand. That way, granting root access is a risk itself, and the ones which decide to do it should be aware of those risks (and be responsible for the consequences). And, if using a rooting procedure to your specific device is a risk itself, trying stuff for a different (albeit similar) one is a risk even bigger!
In my case, I ended up with a european phone I can't use in Brazil, what made me try and unlock it by all means, including the very risky ones. And, even though I'm far from having any deep linux/android knowledge, I know exactly the risks of what I'm doing, and things are really like giving stuff a try and rolling the dice.
That is the experience I'm sharing in this thread, but, like Skipjacks advised, be very careful before trying anything - and, when you do, be aware of the risks involved.
Rune Walker said:
I'd be very cautious on jumping to that general conclusion.
Although the CF-Autoroot for I9505 has worked in my device, when I flashed the I9505 TWRP (2.7), I couldn't use it because the touch screen didn't work. Then I tried I9505 CWM (6.0.4.7, non-tocuh), and everything was smooth and functional.
Later, I flashed Slimkat 5 (which is supposed to be S4 LTE unified, I9505 included, but obviously not for the I9515 yet), but the touch hasn't responded as well. After a few minutes being really afraid I'd burned the digitizer for good :crying:, I was able to flash the stock I9515 rom and the touch went back to life! :victory:
So, it seems that flashing I9505 stuff (even custom roms) in the I9515 is possible, but the touch doesn't work. That is just a first impression based in my quick experience in this matter, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm... So, there are touchscreen drivers for each ROM(device) right? So if devs make ROMS with 9515 drivers maybe we could get it working?
I really can't understand that... the phone is almost exact like the original S4. EVERY spec besides frequencies, why there is so much difference?
EverLost123 said:
Hm... So, there are touchscreen drivers for each ROM(device) right? So if devs make ROMS with 9515 drivers maybe we could get it working?
I really can't understand that... the phone is almost exact like the original S4. EVERY spec besides frequencies, why there is so much difference?
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Click to collapse
I'd love to see xda experts developing I9515 stuff, for I'm sure they would work just fine, but I'm afraid this might not happen. This S4 version is kind of a last selling one, and, with the new devices coming out, devs may not be interested in working in a dated - and probably not so spread - version.
Regarding the specs, I do think that, if we could flash the hole I9505 software, and not only a main kernel file, maybe we could get everything working. Nevertheless, I don't know where to get those files, nor how I could do that through Odin, or even how to bypass the write protection enabled bootloader.
Rune Walker said:
I'd love to see xda experts developing I9515 stuff, for I'm sure they would work just fine, but I'm afraid this might not happen. This S4 version is kind of a last selling one, and, with the new devices coming out, devs may not be interested in working in a dated - and probably not so spread - version.
Regarding the specs, I do think that, if we could flash the hole I9505 software, and not only a main kernel file, maybe we could get everything working. Nevertheless, I don't know where to get those files, nor how I could do that through Odin, or even how to bypass the write protection enabled bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to hear what most devs have to say about this
We need xda devs help!
EverLost123 said:
I would love to hear what most devs have to say about this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So would I...
Today I tried a different 9505 ROM (Omega v31) in my 9515. Just like the other time, the installation went ok (albeit tough to go through, because AROMA didn't respond to touch), but, after the device rebooted, I couldn't get the touch screen to work as well. Adding this new experience to the previous ones, I think it's reasonable to state that, at least so far, the main incompatibility regarding the 9505 and the 9515 is the touch screen drivers...
Could any dev help us out here? Any possibility of custom recovery and roms for the I9515?
Hey there!! I don' t have an s4 anymore and i guess this is basically the reason you don' t see any custom rom for s4VE.. all has a 9505 or an s5 now..
Anyway.. when i had the s4 i tried to build a rom for the 9515 and sent to a tester.. unfortunately it didn' t boot.. so i guess it was due yo the kernel.. so i thought.. why not to flash the single system and leave the stock, altready rooted kernel?.. and believe me i would have bet my car it should have worked.. but it didn' t ?? even if the same rom worked as a charme on my s4 with 9505 kernel modules.. ?
So to @Rune Walker if you' re up for a test i would really love to have a second attempt, given that you already know and tested how to recover... so i will PM you soon ?
Wuby986 said:
Hey there!! I don' t have an s4 anymore and i guess this is basically the reason you don' t see any custom rom for s4VE.. all has a 9505 or an s5 now..
Anyway.. when i had the s4 i tried to build a rom for the 9515 and sent to a tester.. unfortunately it didn' t boot.. so i guess it was due yo the kernel.. so i thought.. why not to flash the single system and leave the stock, altready rooted kernel?.. and believe me i would have bet my car it should have worked.. but it didn' t ?? even if the same rom worked as a charme on my s4 with 9505 kernel modules.. ?
So to @Rune Walker if you' re up for a test i would really love to have a second attempt, given that you already know and tested how to recover... so i will PM you soon ?
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Click to collapse
I'll be looking forward to run the test! :good:
Wuby986 said:
Hey there!! I don' t have an s4 anymore and i guess this is basically the reason you don' t see any custom rom for s4VE.. all has a 9505 or an s5 now..
Anyway.. when i had the s4 i tried to build a rom for the 9515 and sent to a tester.. unfortunately it didn' t boot.. so i guess it was due yo the kernel.. so i thought.. why not to flash the single system and leave the stock, altready rooted kernel?.. and believe me i would have bet my car it should have worked.. but it didn' t ?? even if the same rom worked as a charme on my s4 with 9505 kernel modules.. ?
So to @Rune Walker if you' re up for a test i would really love to have a second attempt, given that you already know and tested how to recover... so i will PM you soon ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey there, I also have a 9515 and know how to recover, even PM`d Rune Walker for more info on this, so if you need an extra tester hit me up
righi said:
hey there, I also have a 9515 and know how to recover, even PM`d Rune Walker for more info on this, so if you need an extra tester hit me up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks.. in the past days i wasn't able to think to anything new.. the rom is working with no wifi by now.. so i guess is not ready to release.. i was actually thinking to make a "patch" in order to make the 9505 rom working with the V.Ed.. but is still a project, and nothing more
thanks for your help, i will consider if need!
Before I start, I use "nerds" in the lowest form of derogatory possible. I am a nerd myself, just not in touch with the Android life.
I've had an iPhone since iPhone 4S. I have a 5S. Getting a Galaxy S5 for the specs and size of the phone. However, I'm not a fan of TouchWiz + Bloatware. I know all Droid devices come with bloatware. What firmware, official or custom, would be the best. I'll say right now before I was leaning towards to the Nexus 5 due to its firmware is straight from Google and isn't necessarily filled with as much bloatware.
Any suggestions?
Lottodaumas said:
Any suggestions?
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Click to collapse
Read more? .. so that you'll have a better idea of what would be best for you. Touchwiz (S5) and Nexus are almost antithetical UI experiences. So it's an odd comparison. If you strongly favour either one, then you'd be unlikely to really like the other one.
It's easy to debloat the S5 though. A simple search will find many threads on debloating the S5. But arguably the best way to proceed is to root your phone then install a custom ROM. A custom ROM is a ROM that is already debloated and optimized to run on your phone. Custom ROMs vary from basically 99.9% stock (just debloated) e.g. XtreStoLite. To ROMs that add a lot more customizations e.g. Phoenix or Alliance.
As to rooting, Towel root is the method most people prefer and it's basically just a click or two. Look for the prominent Towel root thread or you'll find links to it on most custom ROM threads. Note that Towel root only works on pre June 6th firmware builds. So if you have a very recent firmware you'd need to first write an older build of 4.4.2 firmware to your phone. Then root with Towelroot and flash a custom ROM.
.
Lottodaumas said:
Before I start, I use "nerds" in the lowest form of derogatory possible. I am a nerd myself, just not in touch with the Android life.
I've had an iPhone since iPhone 4S. I have a 5S. Getting a Galaxy S5 for the specs and size of the phone. However, I'm not a fan of TouchWiz + Bloatware. I know all Droid devices come with bloatware. What firmware, official or custom, would be the best. I'll say right now before I was leaning towards to the Nexus 5 due to its firmware is straight from Google and isn't necessarily filled with as much bloatware.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest here as i had the Nexus 5, its fair to say that the Nexus 5 with for instance a custom kernel like Franco kernel is faster and smoother then the S5 will ever be. Yes the S5 can be debloated and is off course costumisable and is a good phone, the Nexus devices are the true tech/geek/nerd phones
fffft said:
Read more? .. so that you'll have a better idea of what would be best for you. Touchwiz (S5) and Nexus are almost antithetical UI experiences. So it's an odd comparison. If you strongly favour either one, then you'd be unlikely to really like the other one.
It's easy to debloat the S5 though. A simple search will find many threads on debloating the S5. But arguably the best way to proceed is to root your phone then install a custom ROM. A custom ROM is a ROM that is already debloated and optimized to run on your phone. Custom ROMs vary from basically 99.9% stock (just debloated) e.g. XtreStoLite. To ROMs that add a lot more customizations e.g. Phoenix or Alliance.
As to rooting, Towel root is the method most people prefer and it's basically just a click or two. Look for the prominent Towel root thread or you'll find links to it on most custom ROM threads. Note that Towel root only works on pre June 6th firmware builds. So if you have a very recent firmware you'd need to first write an older build of 4.4.2 firmware to your phone. Then root with Towelroot and flash a custom ROM.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gee2012 said:
To be honest here as i had the Nexus 5, its fair to say that the Nexus 5 with for instance a custom kernel like Franco kernel is faster and smoother then the S5 will ever be. Yes the S5 can be debloated and is off course costumisable and is a good phone, the Nexus devices are the true tech/geek/nerd phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the replies guys.
I have been looking at the Phoenix ROM. It looks promising. I will agree with Gee though, Nexus being the "most" tech/geek/nerd around device. Hmm. Maybe I'll just go get a 32GB Nexus 5. Just really want to leave team iPhone.
Again, thanks for the info guys.
Lottodaumas said:
Thanks for the replies guys.
I have been looking at the Phoenix ROM. It looks promising. I will agree with Gee though, Nexus being the "most" tech/geek/nerd around device. Hmm. Maybe I'll just go get a 32GB Nexus 5. Just really want to leave team iPhone.
Again, thanks for the info guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better wait for the Nexus 6 or X mate, its just around the corner I know i will.