Database Users

restore to KNOX-disabled firmware

i have a galaxy s4 i9500 with android 4.2.2 and i read that if i update to 4.3 i will get a security feature called KNOX which tracks your custon kernel flashes and cannot be reset. and also you can't flash back to 4.2.2. is that true?
if it is so:
1.what will happen if you'll try to flash 4.2.2 with odin?
2.what other disadvantages KNOX have?
3.shoiuld i really care about KNOX if my phone's warranty is already void?
4.can KNOX harm my device by any way?
please answer the question by order!
i am thankful for any help i can get in this forum and appriciate everyone who answers my questions beacause i wanna know if i should update or not.
P.S.:if i have 4.2.2 can i install cyanogenmod 11 (unofficial) or i need to update to 4.3 to do that?

Knox doesn't track custom kernel flashes specifically, it detects if you flash anything non-samsung (whether it's cf-autoroot, custom recovery or whatnot). It just says knox 0x0 or 0x1, if it's 0x1 your warranty is void. There is another counter detecting number of flashes, but that can be reset with TriangleAway. Knox cannot be reset. EDiT: TriangleAway only works on i9505, sorry.
1. If you don't have a knox-enabled bootloader you can flash an older rom version. Boot into recovery mode, if you see a knox counter there you cannot flash older firmwares than the one you already have (on i9505 there was one knox-enabled fw before 4.3). If you don't see anything knox related you can flash what you want, but once you flash a knox enabled rom you cannot downgrade to older official samsung roms.
2. Besides not being able to reset the knox counter there isn't really anything special. Atleast none that I have noticed. SuperSU asks if you want do disable knox-features upon first run.
3. No, then it doesn't really matter. Unless you really want to flash an older firmware from samsung.
4. No, it's a samsung feature.
If I were you I'd flash official 4.3 builds anyway, as they're generally much faster and much more stable, atleast for me on i9505. And the improvements outweigh the downsides of knox. 4.3 feature list: http://www.sammobile.com/2013/10/18...al-android-4-3-update-for-galaxy-s4-gt-i9500/

[Q] [noob] help i am clueless about s4 i9505

In odin mode i saw something like this.
ODIN MODE
Product Name: GT-i9505
Current binary: custom
system status : Custom
Knox kernel lock : 0x0
knox warrenty void : 0x1
CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0x30
Write protection : Enable
eMMC Burst mode: Enabled
I have 4.3 firmware
Can i downgrade my firmware to 4.2.2 ??
or if i get official firmware of 4.4 then can i update it to 4.4 using ODIN??
i am really in delimma i don't know what will happen because of the new bootloader i can work or not.. Just need reply if i cannot downgrade or upgrade using ODIN then it's usless of keeping this phone i have to sell it that's why i need fast reply !!!

No. Can you upgrade to official 4.4 - probably, given if you have the Knox bootloader you can flash firmware the same or newer than what you have, but not firmware with the old bootloader.
nishangrg said:
I have 4.3 firmware
Can i downgrade my firmware to 4.2.2 ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

MistahBungle said:
No. Can you upgrade to official 4.4 - probably, given if you have the Knox bootloader you can flash firmware the same or newer than what you have, but not firmware with the old bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thankyou but is there any possible solution to downgrade to 4.2.2??
i have heard if i downgrade my bootloader then i can install 4.2.2 is it true??

*cough*
I've already answered your question (and the answer is easily found in hundreds of different threads here/elsewhere anyway). And as I said to someone else on here a week or so ago, I find repeating myself tedious in the extreme.

[HELP] Soft-bricked i9505 Snapdragon

Alright, fellow S4 owners.
My stupidity has caused some serious issues.
I have the GT-i9505, everything was going great. Had Jamal's Nexus ROM on there, went to flash another ROM. BAM, first mistake. Didn't make a backup (Yes, I know about my signature).
Second mistake, wiped everything including firmware. I'm currently downloading UK firmware which was originally on the phone, however I'm not even quite sure I have the correct region code for this one as it is unbranded.
Tried connecting to Kies, said something along the lines of "Device does not support initialising".
All I have right now is the download screen, just going down the list:
ODIN MODE
Product Name: GT-I9505
Current Binary: Custom
System Status: Custom
Knox Kernel Lock: 0x0
Knox Warranty Void: 0x1
CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0x30
Write Protection: Enable
The big message says: Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again.
Any help would be appreciated.

Just flash any latest stock firmware in Odin and you'll be up and running again mate.
You can find firmware on Sammobile
BTU is unbranded UK firmware I believe.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app

Well, I'm certainly hoping. I have been downloading the firmware for about 3 hours now. Damn you Terafile.
EDIT: Alright, got the S4 back up and running, however I downloaded UK firmware, but I don't believe it's the BTU as suggested. Are there any immediate side effects of this?

Cyanidex00 said:
Well, I'm certainly hoping. I have been downloading the firmware for about 3 hours now. Damn you Terafile.
EDIT: Alright, got the S4 back up and running, however I downloaded UK firmware, but I don't believe it's the BTU as suggested. Are there any immediate side effects of this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- This is latest BTU for u phone: HERE
- When u finish of flash with ODIN u can root it
- Conect it to KIES 3, maybe it will tell ya u have the latest firmware installed. If no take a look close the word CSC and btw () u will have ur phone code
- If u need change it:
- Make a SD Internal Backup
- For change CSC only download this program HERE.
- If works, enjoy it :highfive:

[Q] Haven't ever been able to upgrade firmware on Note 3 since purchase - what's up?

Hola,
Got my Note 3 a while back, and I'm getting itchy firmware fingers!
Maybe I'm being stupid - but so far I haven't had any luck in 'automatically' finding updated firmwares - still sitting on the MHN one that was installed when I bought the phone back on November.
Am I doing anything wrong? Do I need to root to be able to update the firmware? KIES says I'm on the latest... Not a network locked phone - have used t-mob, orange and currently a 3 sim.
Halp!

Hup we go!
No updates have ever come through either OTA or KIES... why me!

pipohippo said:
Hup we go!
No updates have ever come through either OTA or KIES... why me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mate why dont you update via pc odin then ? and you dont need root to upgrade via kies
here try this for guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/guide-odin-flash-guide-t1671969
get your firmware from here
http://www.samfirmware.com/

pipohippo said:
Hup we go!
No updates have ever come through either OTA or KIES... why me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you should post more details - for instance what version of Note 3 do you have (ideally you want to know the original code, something like N9005ZWE or N9005ZKEBTU, which identifies a N9005 for UK) and what firmware are you right now. And eventually what have you asked when originally asked about the country where you are (for the license agreement). If the combinations above get very weird you also need to know your effective CSC, but that could be a longer shot.

Thanks for the responses guys - I assumed Odin also required rooting, so I will have a proper look! Good questions to ask as well, so just for reference, phone is the following:
Product Code SM-N9005ZKEBTU
Bootloader Version N9005XXUBMHN
Baseband Version N9005XXUBMHN
Android Version 4.3 (whatever came out of the box)

pipohippo said:
Thanks for the responses guys - I assumed Odin also required rooting, so I will have a proper look! Good questions to ask as well, so just for reference, phone is the following:
Product Code SM-N9005ZKEBTU
Bootloader Version N9005XXUBMHN
Baseband Version N9005XXUBMHN
Android Version 4.3 (whatever came out of the box)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No my friend as I said before updating via odi n dsnt require root... great now you can just download 4.4.2 firmware for your note 3 and update
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

pipohippo said:
Thanks for the responses guys - I assumed Odin also required rooting, so I will have a proper look! Good questions to ask as well, so just for reference, phone is the following:
Product Code SM-N9005ZKEBTU
Bootloader Version N9005XXUBMHN
Baseband Version N9005XXUBMHN
Android Version 4.3 (whatever came out of the box)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N9005ZKEBTU seems to be be EU-British unlocked N9005 - I would assume that you also picked UK when asked about the license agreement.
N9005XXUBMHN is a very interesting version of the firmware that is not even listed here:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/1/?model=SM-N9005&pcode=BTU#firmware
You seem to have a fairly recent firmware and for the moment there is no 4.4.2 version of the BTU sub-region.

I am guessing that the firmware is actually way old, so it's not listed! Assuming the firmwares are in alphabetical order!
MHx < MJx
All UK aye - good to know that the phone is actually unlocked though I'll have a look on SamMobile and grab a nice 4.3 firmware - not ready for KitKat yet!
xclub_101 said:
N9005ZKEBTU seems to be be EU-British unlocked N9005 - I would assume that you also picked UK when asked about the license agreement.
N9005XXUBMHN is a very interesting version of the firmware that is not even listed here:
-
You seem to have a fairly recent firmware and for the moment there is no 4.4.2 version of the BTU sub-region.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

pipohippo said:
I am guessing that the firmware is actually way old, so it's not listed! Assuming the firmwares are in alphabetical order!
MHx < MJx
All UK aye - good to know that the phone is actually unlocked though I'll have a look on SamMobile and grab a nice 4.3 firmware - not ready for KitKat yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, for some reason I was thinking MK instead of MH, indeed your firmware is unusual! But please be aware that those old firmware versions are the only ones that can be safely rooted without triggering the knox warranty flag. Which reminds me - if you go to download mode do you see any reference to knox?

Knox Kernal Lock: 0x0
Knox Warranty Void: 0x0
I am guessing that is kind of good right?
final clarification - rooting has the possibility of triggering knox warranty shizzle, but just doing a 'standard' firmware update (even via odin) should keep things fine right?
xclub_101 said:
Hmm, for some reason I was thinking MK instead of MH, indeed your firmware is unusual! But please be aware that those old firmware versions are the only ones that can be safely rooted without triggering the knox warranty flag. Which reminds me - if you go to download mode do you see any reference to knox?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

pipohippo said:
Knox Kernal Lock: 0x0
Knox Warranty Void: 0x0
I am guessing that is kind of good right?
final clarification - rooting has the possibility of triggering knox warranty shizzle, but just doing a 'standard' firmware update (even via odin) should keep things fine right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, standard Odin update WITH THE RIGHT FIRMWARE will be fine.
IMHO your absolute best path from this point would be something like this:
- save whatever you need to save to the cloud or eventually on the external microSD (just in case)
- disable reactivation lock; disable any updates and security updates in the current ROM; stop mobile data and WiFi; keep all updates off and all network off until the very last step of the entire procedure
- using normal Odin and download mode install oldest BTU firmware you can get - MI7 in the link I provided above; that update should go without any problem; reboot and check everything is OK (and stop again any network or update if re-enabled); this step is only needed in order to get you on the EXACT same path that the huge majority of the people around (including me) have used with URDLV; it might be possible to skip this and still have everything working 100% (and this is quite very likely but I have not tested it);
- using Universal Root de la Vega (URDLV) and the same MI7 from above you will generate a N9005XX____MI7_HOME_VEGA.tar.md5 file which then you will again write with normal Odin and in download mode; this will get you rooted on MI7 with knox 0x0 ; you can read more about this in the URDLV thread
- then using Mobile Odin Pro (NOT normal Odin / download mode) and the most recent 4.3 version available for BTU you can update to MJ7 or MK2 - while keeping root and knox 0x0!
Read for more details on the last step this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2522729
Also note that Mobile Odin Pro will also let you update to 4.4 and keep root and knox 0x0, so it is not a bad investment. Also note that at this point there is no other way to root with knox 0x0 once you got past a certain firmware, nor is it possible to go back before the version of your bootloader (so in other words the above procedure also would guarantee that you can get back to MI7 if for instance you do not like MK2, something you would never otherwise be able to do).
As my signature shows - MJ7 / MK2 are currently very solid versions (and if you are rooted you can get amazing battery life and performance) and I would strongly suggest avoiding any upgrade towards 4.4 in the immediate future.

[Q] SG Note 3 Showing Custom Software

If some one can help me with my troubles it will be greatly appreciated, I recently purchased a SG Note 3 Brand new sealed and brought it to a store to unlock and the person tried and said this phone was new and was not able to be software unlocked unless by code which was more expensive so i declined.While waiting in the mean time i started reading xda forums for info on rooting my note 3,Where i discovered Canadian SM-900W8's weren't locked to a specific carrier.I proceeded to get my phone rooted and then discovered my phones knox was tripped and shows i have an custom software on it,other then bringing it to the store i haven't done anything else to my phone.
So my questions:
1.Should i do an EFS back up then Restore to official then re-root? while reading forums read somewhere sometimes restoring to official can also damage the EFS partition?
2.Should i proceed rooting my phone in the state its in or do i restore with official Firmware then proceed to root?
3.Is update 4.4.2 able to be rooted if yes,should i restore my phone straight to 4.4.2 then root?
4.if i update to 4.4.2 do i loose the ability to switch between Canadian carriers.
5.Is Knox 0X1 able to be reset for Qaulcomm yet?
6.Am i missing anything else before i begin ?
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (Model:SM-900W8 / Rogers)
Android Version:4.3
Baseband version:N900W8VLUBMJ4
Build number :JSS15J.N900W8VLUBMJ4
-
Current Binary:Custom
System Status :Custom
-
Knox Kernel Lock:0X0
Knox Warranty Void:0X1

D_01 said:
If some one can help me with my troubles it will be greatly appreciated, I recently purchased a SG Note 3 Brand new sealed and brought it to a store to unlock and the person tried and said this phone was new and was not able to be software unlocked unless by code which was more expensive so i declined.While waiting in the mean time i started reading xda forums for info on rooting my note 3,Where i discovered Canadian SM-900W8's weren't locked to a specific carrier.I proceeded to get my phone rooted and then discovered my phones knox was tripped and shows i have an custom software on it,other then bringing it to the store i haven't done anything else to my phone.
So my questions:
1.Should i do an EFS back up then Restore to official then re-root? while reading forums read somewhere sometimes restoring to official can also damage the EFS partition?
2.Should i proceed rooting my phone in the state its in or do i restore with official Firmware then proceed to root?
3.Is update 4.4.2 able to be rooted if yes,should i restore my phone straight to 4.4.2 then root?
4.if i update to 4.4.2 do i loose the ability to switch between Canadian carriers.
5.Is Knox 0X1 able to be reset for Qaulcomm yet?
6.Am i missing anything else before i begin ?
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (Model:SM-900W8 / Rogers)
Android Version:4.3
Baseband version:N900W8VLUBMJ4
Build number :JSS15J.N900W8VLUBMJ4
-
Current Binary:Custom
System Status :Custom
-
Knox Kernel Lock:0X0
Knox Warranty Void:0X1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. You don't need to restore something that's not broken.
2. Since you already tripped KNOX, yes.
3. 4.4.2 can be rooted.
4. 4.4.2 doesn't prevent you from doing anything related to carriers when compared to 4.3.
5. No
6. Flash stock using Odin by updating to 4.4.2 official Sammy NB7 ROM. Then begin there.

nicholaschum said:
1. You don't need to restore something that's not broken.
2. Since you already tripped KNOX, yes.
3. 4.4.2 can be rooted.
4. 4.4.2 doesn't prevent you from doing anything related to carriers when compared to 4.3.
5. No
6. Flash stock using Odin by updating to 4.4.2 official Sammy NB7 ROM. Then begin there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will I be able to downgrade back to 4.3 if ever i decide 4.4.2 is not for me ?

D_01 said:
will I be able to downgrade back to 4.3 if ever i decide 4.4.2 is not for me ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow my guide in my signature. If you update to NA2 bootloader, you are able to downgrade.