Database Users

[Q] manually install 4.3.3 via odin

hey guys my i9500 is rooted on 4.2.2 ,i am currently running arrow rom.i just downloaded 4.3.3 official rom for my phone ,i just wanted to know whter it has to be installed in the same way as before via odin ,viz. selecting it on pda or i need to do anything else tooo.and do i need to make an efs backup also before i flash this rom.
i am a newb so plzz try to be noobfriendly
p.s i couldnt find any other post which could help me so if there is any,can you guys please post the link also

If you are still on 4.2.2, then I would recommend to not upgrade to a 4.3 stock rom. Doing so will flash the new bootloader which will setup Knox on your phone. When you have the new bootloader and you flash a custom rom, Knox wil be set to 0x1. You can read more about Knox in the Knox thread.
If you planning on flashing custom roms in the future, then stay away from official firmwares.

Lennyz1988 said:
If you are still on 4.2.2, then I would recommend to not upgrade to a 4.3 stock rom. Doing so will flash the new bootloader which will setup Knox on your phone. When you have the new bootloader and you flash a custom rom, Knox wil be set to 0x1. You can read more about Knox in the Knox thread.
If you planning on flashing custom roms in the future, then stay away from official firmwares.
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So is should stay on 4.2.2? What about flashing roms based on 4.3.3?
any significant changes in 4.3.3 that ill be missing?
btw thanks for replying bro.

when did 4.3.3 come out
i would like to know just where is this 4.3.3 coming from ..i know 4.3 is out but have not seen any official 4.3.3 on samsung servers...or google GE edition either ..
Is this a custom rom...

Nexsss1 said:
So is should stay on 4.2.2? What about flashing roms based on 4.3.3?
any significant changes in 4.3.3 that ill be missing?
btw thanks for replying bro.
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You can flash any custom rom based on 4.3 that you want. Because custom roms don't flash the bootloader. There seem te be some problems with sound and wifi (but i'm not sure) when you flash a custom 4.3 rom on an old bootloader. But you can always revert to a custom 4.2.2 rom. So you can just try it
Just don't flash originial firmwares. Custom roms are safe.

Lennyz1988 said:
You can flash any custom rom based on 4.3 that you want. Because custom roms don't flash the bootloader. There seem te be some problems with sound and wifi (but i'm not sure) when you flash a custom 4.3 rom on an old bootloader. But you can always revert to a custom 4.2.2 rom. So you can just try it
Just don't flash originial firmwares. Custom roms are safe.
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Thanks for the info bro..i just wanted to know whether I would be missinganything significant If idont updateto 4.3.3 or any 4.3.3 roms, cause of the problems you mentioned

sorry to highjack the thread as its a noob question but wanted to make sure.
I am on MH8 knox 0x0.
If i flash the 4.3 MJ5 stock firmware via know will it trigger knox? i have no intention of rooting just to upgrade to official 4.3?

[Q]Knox Bootloader

Hi all,
is there any possibility to downgrade s4 firmware from 4.4.2 to 4.3 or 4.2.2? Even activating knox counter.
i need to reflash on my s4 gt-i9505 the non contain knox-bootloader firmware. Is there any possibility?
Thanks to all you

From what I understand, the bootloader part (as downgrade from 4.3/4.4 to 4.2) is impossible, but firmware, I think it can be done, but maybe need custom CWM flashable one

Once you have the Knox bootloader, there is no going back.
Flashing other non official ROMS and downgrading is possible, but it will all trigger the KNOX security flag. Make sure the ROMs you are flashing has the KNOX bootloader, or is compatible with the KNOX bootloader, or you will lose a lot of functions.

could u pls link it to me?
rling said:
Once you have the Knox bootloader, there is no going back.
Flashing other non official ROMS and downgrading is possible, but it will all trigger the KNOX security flag. Make sure the ROMs you are flashing has the KNOX bootloader, or is compatible with the KNOX bootloader, or you will lose a lot of functions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] rooting without flashing a custom rom

hi guys. i would like to root my nexus 4 preferably without flashing a custom ROM, but which way is easier and safer: flashing a custom ROM or just rooting with SU without flashing a custom ROM? i am a "beginner" and afraid of bricking my device. could you recommend be the best in your opinion rooting tutorial? i saw some on stickies but apparently they are from 2012. are they still relevant? thanks a lot!

you dont need to flash a custom rom to root your phone. your phone just stock and locked as well? there are couple different methods you can use to root depending on the current state of your phone (ie what version os you are running, locked/unlocked bootloader, etc..)

thank you for the answer
i am using 4.4.4 kitkat downgraded from 5 lollipop, so does it mean that my bootloader is unlocked? or not necessarily?

how to downgrade from lollipop to jellybean?

Can it is possible? I have official firmware of jellybean dwnlded from sammobile.
Help.!

Not possible as the Knox-enabled bootloader prevents downgrades. Even if you were able to downgrade, say by perhaps not downgrading the bootloader while downgrading everything else, it's unlikely the radios on the device will ever function. About the only use there is for such a downgrade is to carrier unlock the S4 using RegionLock Away, and even then you only have to flash a modem to do that.
Downgrading to Android 4.4.2 should be possible, if you really want to. I'd recommend flashing a custom ROM instead. All the custom ROMs, regardless of whether they are Touchwiz-based, GPE-based or Cyanogenmod-based, all include the battery drain bugfix that stock ROMs lack.

Thanks but i dont want now bcz voltaqe kernel has solved my problem i.e sound gain

Excellent! Good to hear you got things resolved.

Installing custom roms onto untouched I9505 (5.0.1, I9505XXUHOE4 KNOX 2.3)

Hi,
I'm new to the custom roms and would like to see advice on the recommended method to install a custom rom onto my untouched I9505. It's currently running Lollipop 5.0.1, I9505XXUHOE4 with KNOX 2.3
Thank you

This would belong into the Q&A section.
Anyway, the first thing you will need to do is to install a custom recovery. I recommed TWRP.
Just google twrp s4.
Optional: if you want to backup any apps or data, you will have to root first. Use odin and cf auto root.
After you installed a custom recovery, just look for a rom that interests you and flash it. Every rom has flash instructions.
Also check to make sure your phone doesn't have a locked bootloader. If it does, things are going to get complicated. If it doesn't, then you're good to go. AT&T and Verizon lock the bootloaders.

Thanks for info GDReaper.
My concern here is KNOX. Will the new bootloader affect anything on the custom roms as compared to a pre KNOX bootloader. Do I need to downgrade the firmware first?
Thanks

Hi @elus,
Installing any custom firmware will trip Knox. You can't downgrade it to pre-Knox bootloader.
Sent from my GT-I9500

Knox will not affect anything. Flashing custom firmware will only trip knox. This means that you lose your warranty. But the warranty is crap anyway, so it doesn't matter.
You won't see any trace of knox in custom roms. You might as well forget you ever had something called knox.

An easy way to root the ROM with TWRP is to flash supersu.zip from TWRP. Upon first boot, open supersu and let it disable knox and update binary files if necessary. You should be fine from that point forward.

Great! Thanks guys for the guide. Let the custom rom mods begin! Happy New Year Everybody!