Database Users

Should i Root my i9500

Hello follks....So i have a i9500 galaxy s4, having rooted my evo3d was a nightmarish experience for me i couldn't get OTA updates ...crashes, faulty kernels and what not. I am thinking of "JUST" rooting my s4 without flashing any custom roms or anything so that i can record my phones screen without lag. I searched a few threads in which someone has mentioned that even simple rooting can cause OTA to fail (has something to do with immutable flag thing) i have no idea what that is, Just wanted to know if i can root my phone and still be able to get OTA updates without messing around with that immutable flag stuff. Regards:good:

You cant install OTA or even using Kies after rooting.
Sent from my GT-I9500

I am not rooted and I don't have the desire too.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app

Chainfire's triangle away doesn't work on the I9500 ( yet ); therefore you can't reset the flash counter. This means that after rooting there would be no way to receive OTA unless you unroot. Additionally, the only way you can restore an official status ( to make a warranty claim ) after rooting is a complex method that involves messing with your phone's bootloader.

OTA works after rooting But effect warranty,Better take precautions before doing any thing.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 4

If you root and keep the stock rom you won't see much difference really. You will be able to delete bloatware from system directly, which is cool and you'll be able to use ad-blockers and that's about it. If you go for a custom rom you would get some speed and customizations (or not depends on what rom you are flashing) at the expense of stability. Recent devices always work best with the stock rom but there are these little things that you can't change on it.

[Q] Unlocked Bootloader? How to change it back?

I rooted my device a few weeks ago, and 4.3 released earlier, so I completely uninstalled root, through my superuser app. 4.3 downloads, and when it came time to install, it went through the install process in about five seconds, and booted up normally. I have an unlocked bootloader, I need help changing it back to normal? Is there a way?

Can we at XDA know what phone model you have and if your
MDL or MF3
Sent from my ATT S4 MF3 using Tapatalk

Please can some one help I'm rooted stock kernal cwm recovery on mdb there is a update that started to download I quick stopped it by shutting off WiFi. How do I no what update this is ? I don't want to mess up by DL mf3 and locking bootloader . but maybe it new update 4.3. What should I do ??
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

jball said:
Can we at XDA know what phone model you have and if your
MDL or MF3
Sent from my ATT S4 MF3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MF3.

How do you have an unlocked bootloader. ? and what leads you to believe its unlocked ?
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

Oh he thinks it's unlocked because of the icon on the Samsung splash screen. Lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

Lol if you have mf3 the bootloader is NOT unlocked.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

ralphie1267 said:
Please can some one help I'm rooted stock kernal cwm recovery on mdb there is a update that started to download I quick stopped it by shutting off WiFi. How do I no what update this is ? I don't want to mess up by DL mf3 and locking bootloader . but maybe it new update 4.3. What should I do ??
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are currently fully rooted and wish to stay that way then you NEVER want to update through your carrier! If you do take the update, your phone will be permanently un-rooted! You should always wait for the developer community to take a look at it and determine what the pit-falls may be and to produce alternatives (update based rooted roms).
And before everyone starts jumping on me for using the word permanently; My feeling is that until proven otherwise, it should always be presumed that the affect will be permanent to emphasize the potential severity of the action. I would be happy to be proven wrong!

We all know he either wants the padlock gone or back to completely stock rite.
Sent from my ATT S4 MF3 using Tapatalk

drichter12 said:
If you are currently fully rooted and wish to stay that way then you NEVER want to update through your carrier! If you do take the update, your phone will be permanently un-rooted! You should always wait for the developer community to take a look at it and determine what the pit-falls may be and to produce alternatives (update based rooted roms).
And before everyone starts jumping on me for using the word permanently; My feeling is that until proven otherwise, it should always be presumed that the affect will be permanent to emphasize the potential severity of the action. I would be happy to be proven wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im afraid your statement has already been proven to be wrong. He said he is MDB and the update he is getting would be to MF3 and there is already a root method for that firmware. Permanent is a strong word, especially given the abilities of the developers on XDA, Temporarily is a much more adequate word to use, which would the case for 4.3 MJ9, TEMPORARILY, there isn't a proven SAFE root method....as of yet.

gj23 said:
Im afraid your statement has already been proven to be wrong. He said he is MDB and the update he is getting would be to MF3 and there is already a root method for that firmware. Permanent is a strong word, especially given the abilities of the developers on XDA, Temporarily is a much more adequate word to use, which would the case for 4.3 MJ9, TEMPORARILY, there isn't a proven SAFE root method....as of yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you missed my point. Yes, there is a a way to root MF3 but not a clean bootloader/recovery replacement. The reason for using the word permanent was to emphasize that there are NO guarantees of root for those who choose to update from the carrier as soon as an update becomes available. I agree that there is a high likelihood that some form of root will be made available but until that method is discovered the user should assume he/she will be stuck with what they have. An excellent example of such is exactly the MF3 release he is talking about. If you receive the MF3 OTA you no longer have an unlocked bootloader available and if you desire running another rom you are stuck with a kludge solution, not a clean one.

drichter12 said:
I think you missed my point. Yes, there is a a way to root MF3 but not a clean bootloader/recovery replacement. The reason for using the word permanent was to emphasize that there are NO guarantees of root for those who choose to update from the carrier as soon as an update becomes available. I agree that there is a high likelihood that some form of root will be made available but until that method is discovered the user should assume he/she will be stuck with what they have. An excellent example of such is exactly the MF3 release he is talking about. If you receive the MF3 OTA you no longer have an unlocked bootloader available and if you desire running another rom you are stuck with a kludge solution, not a clean one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not real sure what you mean by a "kludge solution", but I'm on MF3 with Safestrap and there are quite a few ROMS available to flash and some of them are as good as any I've run before (excluding none). I would be willing to bet that 4.3 will have root and ROMS available in a very short time. Im quite certian that Hashcode will have Safestrapup and running on 4.3 before ya know it and if not, I'm happy with the device and options I have with it as it is now. I do agree that anyone who chooses to take the update right away, and then expect all the development options, are wishful thinking, and/or not doing their research

MDB,MDL,MF3,MJ9
The above list has always been bootloader locked.yes rooted minus the new MJ9 and a "work around" to flashing roms.
I have faith that one day someone will crack the lock,just not before I switch to a Nexus 5
Sent from my ATT S4 MF3 using Tapatalk

First time Sprint GS4 user trying to learn about root

Hi, I am new to the GS4, came from the EVO 4G LTE, couldn't wait until it was time to upgrade and here I am finally! I did a search and specifically looking for information on rooting. Looking for pros and cons and possibly of returning to stock when necessary. Any help would be appreciated! I am currently running latest and greatest firware. Phone was purchased this weekend and I have upgraded to the latrst. Hopefully not a bad thing as I know with the EVO you would be screwed with the wrong hboot etc.
Thanks for your time and glad I went with Samsung, I'm loving this phone!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

waterbound said:
Hi, I am new to the GS4, came from the EVO 4G LTE, couldn't wait until it was time to upgrade and here I am finally! I did a search and specifically looking for information on rooting. Looking for pros and cons and possibly of returning to stock when necessary. Any help would be appreciated! I am currently running latest and greatest firware. Phone was purchased this weekend and I have upgraded to the latrst. Hopefully not a bad thing as I know with the EVO you would be screwed with the wrong hboot etc.
Thanks for your time and glad I went with Samsung, I'm loving this phone!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've upgraded to the 'latest greatest' you actually are kind of screwed.
That means that you took the OTA to MK2 with the Knox bootloader. AND that means that you cannot modify your device without tripping the 'knox counter flag'. That may not be a big deal - you can still flash loads of ROMs.
AND you can root using CF-Autoroot - search it's here in the dev section. then add a custom recovery like Philz or TWRP (some ROMs require flashing with one or the other; I keep zips of both on my SD to let me flash between them for installing different ROMs.
And you can now return to stock MK2 via Odin thanks to a .tar you can download from Sammobile.com (link is here too). BUT you cannot 'reset' the knox counter - as of yet.
Take some more time and you'll surely find this device to be as fantastic as most of us do.
Good luck!

Thanks for the details! I figured I might have screwed myself a bit by taking the updates. I assume the counter flag isn't a big deal unless I want to return to stock? I'll read up on Knox to understand my limits. Thanks again!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

The Knox warranty flag will only affect you if you need to send the phone to Samsung for warranty repair or replacement. If you never need to send it to Samsung then it won't matter. Sprint has really changed their rooting policies lately and don't seem to complain as much if you rooted your phone. TEP, Best Buy Ins, Square Trade, and other insurances will still replace or fix your phone, Samsung is the only one that will have a problem that the warranty flag is tripped.

[Q] NAE Question

I just had to replace my S4 because I broke the screen on my old one. Unfortunately, the new one was shipped to me with NAE firmware and boot loader already installed. This means I'm already on KNOX from the first second of turning it on.
I have seen plenty of guides on how to update to NAE, and get root, etc. by not allowing KNOX to installed. However, I haven't really seen anything about what can be done if it's already installed. There's things scattered all over the net that suggest there might be ways around this, but nothing on the forums here that I have been able to find yet.
I'm not looking to flash any crazy roms or anything right now, I really just want root, but it seems like even that might be impossible now. Could I use something like "DrKetan Multitool" to "DeKNOX" my device and then root it? Does this tool even work on the S4, he claims it does but I've not seen it mentioned on the actual S4 forums. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Note, I am looking for a method that doesn't trip the flash counter; or at least allows a reset afterwards. I'd rather not void the warranty on a brand new device if possible.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53166571
Try this...it is a custom ROM but really close to stock
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I was already planning on installing UnknownForce Stock Rooted NAE Rom, if it's possible. However, you didn't really answer my question. Is there a method to bypass/kill the KNOX boot loader at this point or not? If not, then I might as well just stop now. I'm not prepared to void the warranty at this point.

tcatut said:
I was already planning on installing UnknownForce Stock Rooted NAE Rom, if it's possible. However, you didn't really answer my question. Is there a method to bypass/kill the KNOX boot loader at this point or not? If not, then I might as well just stop now. I'm not prepared to void the warranty at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Once you have Knox, you have it.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Q] SGH-I337 AT&T Bootloader Unlock

After reading up a bunch it appears that even though I've successfully rooted my AT&T Galaxy S4 running NI1, I will not be able to unlock the bootloader and need to use safestrap and simply be limited to TW based ROMs. LAME!
Honestly, I don't care about voiding the warranty by tripping the knox sensor. What I would like to find out is if anyone has successfully flashed a previous build that has an unlocked bootloader so that I can put a custom recovery on and flash AOSP roms. Again, I know it will void the warranty. Don't care. If anyone could point me to a thread or explaining the process that would be cool. I've been searching for hours and have come across people asking the question but they just get met with "you'll void your warranty" bs.
If it can be done without bricking the phone I'll do it.

It can't be done. Qfuses are blown. It won't brick your device trying, Odin will just fail. But it's not worth the time trying because it won't work.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

jd1639 said:
It can't be done. Qfuses are blown. It won't brick your device trying, Odin will just fail. But it's not worth the time trying because it won't work.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, can you clarify? You said "it won't brick your device trying", but it sounds like from the other parts of your post that you are saying it WILL brick the device.
What I hear you saying is that because of a "Qfuse" if I flash a pre-MGG stock release of the AT&T S4 firmware using ODIN on a rooted NI1 firmware then the device will brick. Is that accurate? I assume you know this because someone tried or is it theoretical? I don't ask because I'm skeptical but simply because sometimes people repeat things based on what someone else said rather than actual tested results.

Part of the reason I'm asking is because all the posts that I'm looking at people are saying flashing a pre-MGG rom will result in the knox register being changed to 0x1. I don't really care about that. What I want to know if warranty void or no, will it work. The QFuse posts don't seem real clear either.

objecttothis said:
Part of the reason I'm asking is because all the posts that I'm looking at people are saying flashing a pre-MGG rom will result in the knox register being changed to 0x1. I don't really care about that. What I want to know if warranty void or no, will it work. The QFuse posts don't seem real clear either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A brick is when you're device becomes completely inoperable and unrecoverable. That will not occur if you try to flash the mdl firmware. But, the mdl firmware will not flash onto your device. Doesn't matter if you don't care about voiding warranty or not. It simply won't work, ever.
And by the way, there are no AT&T i337 bootloaders that were unlocked. There were just two that could be exploited with Loki to flash custom recoveries and kernels.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

Once Kit Kat is on phone you can Not go back to Jelly Bean, mdl firmware !!!!