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Hello,
After trying to flash CM 10.2 to my AT&T Galaxy S4 last night, it will now only boot to download mode. I cannot flash a stock rom or TWRP via Odin, as it always returns "Complete(Write) operation failed." in the output window and " SW REV. CHECK FAIL : fused : 2 binary :1" in the top left of the phone. Upon booting, the top left of the phone reads:
"Could not do normal boot
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SGH-l337
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0x30
WRITE PROTECTION: ENABLE"
I don't care about any personal data, I just want my phone to be usable again. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
DorkCat
Dude, you have the mf3 firmware. I can tell by the "fused 2". You can not use Odin. At this point, take the battery out and then put it back in. When in tries to boot to download mode cancel out by vol down. That should get it to boot.
I'm assuming you hadn't done any research and didn't know that you were on the MF3 firmware build. A quick search through the Q&A and general sections will yield plenty of information on this matter.
Yeah, I was pretty stupid about this whole thing. Didn't do nearly enough research before I went and tried to flash CM. Holding vol down fixed it though, so thanks for that.
jd1639 said:
Dude, you have the mf3 firmware. I can tell by the "fused 2". You can not use Odin. At this point, take the battery out and then put it back in. When in tries to boot to download mode cancel out by vol down. That should get it to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is, if he hadn't wiped before trying the firmware flash. By going a step further and trying to install a rom in addition to a recovery, his device might be on standby until there is more help available.
xBeerdroiDx said:
That is, if he hadn't wiped before trying the firmware flash. By going a step further and trying to install a rom in addition to a recovery, his device might be on standby until there is more help available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, wish people would have a better understanding of their phone and would read a little before messing with them. Your right, he may be hosed.
Hi I have a big problem because since I tried to reboot to install an add-blocker, I can't go into recovery and I can't start my gt-n9005 anymore because following error message comes:
Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock.
SECURE FAIL: KERNEL
And when I want to flash something with odin in download mode following error message appears:
SECURE CHECK FAIL: Recovery
Please help me I don't know what to do. Thank's in advanced...
Could please someone help me?
Can you boot your phone? If you, can, you can go to settings and uncheck the reactivation lock..after that, you should be able to enter recovery normally.
Regards!
empat said:
Can you boot your phone? If you, can, you can go to settings and uncheck the reactivation lock..after that, you should be able to enter recovery normally.
Regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My dear fellow please read the title of the OP , it says that mani1999 is not able to boot his phone !!! That's the major issue...
ketani73 said:
My dear fellow please read the title of the OP , it says that mani1999 is not able to boot his phone !!! That's the major issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I misread the statement..my bad!
To the OP: what happens when you try to boot? I am asking because I just recovered my device from a similar condition...
Regards, sorry again!
empat said:
Sorry, I misread the statement..my bad!
To the OP: what happens when you try to boot? I am asking because I just recovered my device from a similar condition...
Regards, sorry again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apology not needed bro , sometimes such things happen to me as well (we are all humans & subject to making such errors) ....
Maybe a factory reset?
Regards!!
mani1999 said:
Hi I have a big problem because since I tried to reboot to install an add-blocker, I can't go into recovery and I can't start my gt-n9005 anymore because following error message comes:
Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock.
SECURE FAIL: KERNEL
And when I want to flash something with odin in download mode following error message appears:
SECURE CHECK FAIL: Recovery
Please help me I don't know what to do. Thank's in advanced...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try flash back your country firmware with correct CSC.
Try this it might help if that is the thing you did before - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=46389503&postcount=2 scroll down to section mention
HELP! I flashed N9005XXUBMJ3_N9005OXABMJ1 and now I am stuck in download mode! What do I do?!
You are mostly going to trip the KNOX Warranty at this point.
Flash this AP N9005XXUBMJ3_N9005OXABMJ1_BTU_RECOVER.tar.md5 (2.05 GB) and this CSC N9005OXABMJ3_CSC.tar.md5 (38.0 MB)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset won't help, as Reactivation is blocking you if you had use different country CSC and you did it before you un-tick the Reactivation Lock.
I can't boot my phone and i can't boot recovery...i always get the message "Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock. Secure fail: Kernel" with a yellow alert triangle underneath, even if I normally try to boot my phone. And when I than press the power button the phone turns off again.
I tried to flash cwm with odin but that also failed.
So before i go downloading another firmware (i live in a dormatory and only have 10gb internet a month) do you really think that would work?
mani1999 said:
I can't boot my phone and i can't boot recovery...i always get the message "Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock. Secure fail: Kernel" with a yellow alert triangle underneath, even if I normally try to boot my phone. And when I than press the power button the phone turns off again.
I tried to flash cwm with odin but that also failed.
So before i go downloading another firmware (i live in a dormatory and only have 10gb internet a month) do you really think that would work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this exact problem recently and I booted by going into download mode and then pressing volume up to reboot. Somehow or other that would boot. Powering off and back on would always get that error that you are getting.
Thank you very much RP that let me boot and uncheck the lock. I had just installed Goo and put twrp on my device.
rp1790 said:
I had this exact problem recently and I booted by going into download mode and then pressing volume up to reboot. Somehow or other that would boot. Powering off and back on would always get that error that you are getting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put my phone into download mode but volume up mean geting into download mode. Its volume down to reboot but it still says the same when trying to boot. Custom Binary Blocked by Reactivation Lock. Secure Fail: Kernal. Kindly help please
Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock
njan_ivide said:
I put my phone into download mode but volume up mean geting into download mode. Its volume down to reboot but it still says the same when trying to boot. Custom Binary Blocked by Reactivation Lock. Secure Fail: Kernal. Kindly help please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey guys.
Had the same problem with a similar message after Flashing the N3EchoeSlimV2.zip. (was running on Xnote V3 europeen firmware )
Custom binary blocked by Reactivation Lock.
SECURE FAIL: RECOVERY
Only way to boot, was the download mod
So i went back stock rom with Odin.
But i coudnt flash any Custom recovery or Cfroot. Many tries with différent Odin version.
I finally installed a recovery after took the battery off a couple of hours.
Sorry for my bad english
Same problem here with the slim version!
Anybody have an idea?
Kinoal said:
Same problem here with the slim version!
Anybody have an idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had posted the solution here on a different thread but let me make it easier for you:
Solution.
1. download KIES 3 (for note 3)
2. Click tools>Firmware upgrade and initialization
3. Put phone into download mode (press Volume down+Home Button+Power Button and then volume up)
4. Connect your phone (it is OK if it is not recognized by KIES, just keep it connected)
5. Now do as it says by typing in your Phone model number (check the battery compartment).
6. Type in the S/N.
7. Let it do its business and download the firmware.
8. Once firmware is downloaded, It will start communicating with the phone.
9. You can see a blue progress line on the screen under the android guy.
10. Let it finish and restart.
DONE! you are back to stock..
NOTE: This doesnt make your KNOX warranty 0x0 if it is already 0x1.
Click Thanks if it helped!!
Calm down guys
What I did was enter into download mode like rp1790 suggested and maybe he did a typing error. When in download mode press down to restart the phone. It bypassed the custom binary block error and booted as normal.
njan_ivide said:
I had posted the solution here on a different thread but let me make it easier for you:
Solution.
1. download KIES 3 (for note 3)
2. Click tools>Firmware upgrade and initialization
3. Put phone into download mode (press Volume down+Home Button+Power Button and then volume up)
4. Connect your phone (it is OK if it is not recognized by KIES, just keep it connected)
5. Now do as it says by typing in your Phone model number (check the battery compartment).
6. Type in the S/N.
7. Let it do its business and download the firmware.
8. Once firmware is downloaded, It will start communicating with the phone.
9. You can see a blue progress line on the screen under the android guy.
10. Let it finish and restart.
DONE! you are back to stock..
NOTE: This doesnt make your KNOX warranty 0x0 if it is already 0x1.
Click Thanks if it helped!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't work if you install a firmware with the new bootloaders... You CAN'T flash an older bootloader over the new one. It just sends you into a bootloop....
And thats before you include the re-activation lock error...
Kinoal said:
Same problem here with the slim version!
Anybody have an idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have also just encountered the same error as the OP, however the above method doesn't work for me, kies 3 gives me an unknown error (i.e. it doesn't say what error) and just fails.
Same deal as me, was using X-Note and installed the add blocker, rebooted, BAM.
Any help is going to be greatly appreciated!
:crying:
yop
i've the same problem and a full wipe fix it
Just got it fixed
I recently had this problem.
I've read from this thread to boot into download mode and just cancel. It will boot normally after that. I'll never reactivate it again.
Getting "System software not authorized by Verizon Wireless has been found on your phone. Please turn off your phone and go to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help."
Any ideas?
Thank you
Go into Recovery mode (Vol Up + Home Button + Power Button) and Factory reset Data & Wipe Cache Partition...
moin786 said:
Go into Recovery mode (Vol Up + Home Button + Power Button) and Factory reset Data & Wipe Cache Partition...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still get the same thing. It starts to boot to recovery then says something that fails then goes to the screen I have posted previous.
This is what first loads (pretty quick - had to reboot about 10 times to get it)
recovery booting...
SYS REV CHECK FAIL : no version
Secure : Secure Version Failure (recovery.img)
Set Warranty Bit : Recovery
norem0rz said:
Still get the same thing. It starts to boot to recovery then says something that fails then goes to the screen I have posted previous.
This is what first loads (pretty quick - had to reboot about 10 times to get it)
recovery booting...
SYS REV CHECK FAIL : no version
Secure : Secure Version Failure (recovery.img)
Set Warranty Bit : Recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you do prior to this? It looks like you flashed a custom recovery but Knox is terminating the boot process.
Have you tried to odin back to stock?
Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 ?
Trying to use Odin - downloading a stock ROM now.
No. You must get into download/Odin mode by pressing volume down + home + power simultaneously, then launch Odin, then connect phone to computer.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
norem0rz said:
yes, I was using clockwork and did something wrong...
doesn't the phone need to boot up before I can use Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a Verizon retail version of the Note 3, you can not use Clockworkmod recovery. Because your bootloader is locked. You can only use Hashcode's Safestrap (in the Development section).
cam30era said:
If you have a Verizon retail version of the Note 3, you can not use Clockworkmod recovery. Because your bootloader is locked. You can only use Hashcode's Safestrap (in the Development section).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Which means you must be rooted first, then install Safestrap, which is a modified TWRP recovery. You can thank Verizon for that bullsh!t
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Thank you all - using Odin with this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2483380
Got me back up and running.
Flash PIT - this will fix it
You need to flash the PIT with ODIN, latest version (3.09, I believe). Google for a download mirror that hosts the PIT for whichever type of note 3 you have, then flash it with odin (should work while in the invalid software screen). Then, if it doesn't reboot, just remove the battery and unplug that sucka. When it reboots, it should go back to download mode or just regular bootup. I recommend setting up adb, which makes it much easier to put the phone into whatever mode you desire with a simple dos command.
got out of it
this happened to me last night, I went into Odin mode "home, volume down, power button" instead of selecting odin mode from that menu I selected "reboot phone" (or something to that effect) My note 3 restarted......PHEW...... hope this helps someone
enable android recovery mode
SM-N90OV
ok so I once got to the point to where I could not but factory reset my phone and so I did settings > backup and restore > factory reset > YES I'M SURE!!! then my phone when into recovery mode as it should normally only to tell me that it could not enter recovery. Verizon's fault and now I cant access my recovery mode. is there a way to get back into it so I can finally flash a new rom. oh I had figured out how to get out of the boot loop thing by entering download mode and canceling. but it would be nice to be able to mess with this beast of a phone. please help me. I don't want to do something I wasn't supposed to. im not sure want to do with klms agent deals with knox right?
Em also one of the victim
hi
i am rooted (de la Vega ) safestrap installed using Jelly beans 6 & stock Rom as well. i don't know how but i am not being able to get in the recovery to format the device.
Getting "System software not authorized by Verizon Wireless has been found on your phone. Please turn off your phone and go to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help."
What i do is getting into the download mode and only pressing Volume down to continue boot and Viola my phone restarts every time, but the thing which is pinching me is i can't able to format the phone.. Help required please.
xaneey said:
hi
i am rooted (de la Vega ) safestrap installed using Jelly beans 6 & stock Rom as well. i don't know how but i am not being able to get in the recovery to format the device.
Getting "System software not authorized by Verizon Wireless has been found on your phone. Please turn off your phone and go to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help."
What i do is getting into the download mode and only pressing Volume down to continue boot and Viola my phone restarts every time, but the thing which is pinching me is i can't able to format the phone.. Help required please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
look at page one towards the bottom, the OP posted how to fix your problem
Solution
HI all
What worked for me is just ODIN
MI9 t0 MJE
and this is the beauty of ANDROID really happy to get it back..
Downloaded MJE for N900V http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=23535
Root through this in my case Vroot worked Kingo didn't work for me http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528707
Thn safe strap and all done
you guys and gals rock
saved my bacon ,was a little confusing to my novice self but downloaded odin to pc and ran it,downloaded clean vzw file and pit file ,plugged phone into pc and drivers loaded then ran odin and followed the steps.
Thank you very very much
Hi Guys,
I think I messed up my Note 3, SM-N900W8. on 4.3 I thought I would give Kingo Root a try to root my phone. Everything seemed to go well until it got stuck in Odin Mode screen , " Downloading, Do not turn Target Off". Been on this screen now for more than 3 hours.
How do I get out of this screen. Not sure how to proceed from here. I hope I did not mess up my phone.
Info on screen: Current Binary- Samsung Official
System Status- Custom
Reactivation Lock- OFF
Knox Kernel Lock- 0x0
Knox Warranty Void- 0x0
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Man!!!
You don't need to go into download mode to use kingo. You just need to enable USB debugging and plug the phone into your computer
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app
Either remove battery or press power button for few seconds until it turns off. If you use the latter, might restart back to system.
I have a suggestion though before you try rooting with kingo. Go to general section and find post by polish_pat. It's a guide where you can update to 4.4 and your knox ( unless it's tripped already ) won't trip even after flashing custom recovery/roms and root it.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app
Hey_Joe and Triavq,
Thank you guys for your response. I so wanted to remove my battery this afternoon already but was skeptical that powering down will damage my phone. After removing battery she booted up fine and as it turns out I have successfully rooted my phone. I went ahead and used Root Checker and it says successfully rooted. I don't know why it sat on that screen for so many hours.
I'm just very happy that my phone is still operational. Having a successful root is just an added bonus.
I have so much to learn with regards to rooting etc. It is really information over load.
Thank you once again!!!
Cheers!!!
Glad it worked out for you, enjoy☺
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app
I have the same problem and I want to ask the only thing you did was to take out the battery ?Nothing else because I am terrified that I am going to loose everything
Removing the battery may be the only option. If you leave it in download mode, the battery may eventually lose power and the phone will turn off. If you have data on your phone and it will not boot, you may be able to recover the data by flashing TWRP, mounting the data partition in TWRP, and copying the files over to a computer via USB.
Same problem guys. IT said root successful then phone shut off and continued to restart until I took the battery out, then I pushed volumn down power and home button and instead of taking me to the recovery screen it took to the downloading custom os screen. Said downloading all night long. Took the battery out tried turning it on it continues to restart =[[[[ any suggestions on what I can do? I cannot unroot as I cannot access my phone via phone or usb cable bc the phone will not turn on
I pushed volumn down power and home button and instead of taking me to the recovery screen it took to the downloading custom os screen.
>>> Yes that what you have done entered download mode ..
Vol down is Download mode Vol Up is Recovery
Said downloading all night long.
>>>Yes until you flash a new firmware via Odin .
Read the instructions .
Suggest recovery mode and factory reset .
You have to put the oficial ROM in your phone,
Because if y don't do that, your phone will continue in infinite loop...
Davide_Duarte said:
You have to put the oficial ROM in your phone,
Because if y don't do that, your phone will continue in infinite loop...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your post does not make sense .
More so as its well over a year late .
hey_joe said:
Either remove battery or press power button for few seconds until it turns off. If you use the latter, might restart back to system.
I have a suggestion though before you try rooting with kingo. Go to general section and find post by polish_pat. It's a guide where you can update to 4.4 and your knox ( unless it's tripped already ) won't trip even after flashing custom recovery/roms and root it.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked with an old S3 mini.
It was stuck to 99%. Not bricked but nor rooted too....I'l try the good old way, adb and bootloader unlock.
I have a VZW S5 running 4.4.1, rooted, with TWRP (don't remember which version, possibly 2.6.1). I wanted to do a full backup straight to an OTG USB drive, and it seemed like I needed an updated version of TWRP to be able to mount the OTG drive. So I installed the TWRP app and tried to flash the latest version (I believe it was twrp-3.2.1-0-klte.img, but I can confirm when I get home). After I selected the file and accepted, I rebooted to recovery from the TWRP app. And I got a screen that says:
RECOVERY BOOTING
SYS REV CHECK FAIL: NO VERSION
SECURE: SECURE VERSION FAILURE (recovery.img)
I get that screen if I power off and back on, or if I hold vol up and home when powering up. Either way, the phone then goes to a second screen with a large yellow triangle on it, and SECURE FAIL: RECOVERY in the upper left. Under the triangle it says System software not authorized by Verizon Wireless has been found on your phone. Please turn off your phone and go to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help.
If I power on while holding vol down and home, I get
WARNING!
A custom OS can cause critical problems in phone and installed applications...
Vol. up CONTINUE
Vol. down CANCEL
Hitting vol. down restarts as above. Vol up gets me to a screen that says:
Odin mode
Product name SM-G900V
Current Binary Samsung official
System status Official
Reactivate Lock (KK) off
Qualcom Secureboot: Enable (CSB)
AP SWREV: S1, T1, R1, A1, P1
UDC Start
Downloading
I'm hoping that this means that I haven't completely killed my phone. What I would like to do is get it working again and rooted. All of my apps/data have been backed up with TiBu, so I figure restoring data should be easy once I'm back up. Ideally I would like to get the phone running something higher than Kit Kat (which was my original goal in all this, as a few apps I use no longer support KK.
Thanks in advance!
bgg1 said:
I have a VZW S5 running 4.4.1, rooted, with TWRP (don't remember which version, possibly 2.6.1). I wanted to do a full backup straight to an OTG USB drive, and it seemed like I needed an updated version of TWRP to be able to mount the OTG drive. So I installed the TWRP app and tried to flash the latest version (I believe it was twrp-3.2.1-0-klte.img, but I can confirm when I get home). After I selected the file and accepted, I rebooted to recovery from the TWRP app. And I got a screen that says:
RECOVERY BOOTING
SYS REV CHECK FAIL: NO VERSION
SECURE: SECURE VERSION FAILURE (recovery.img)
I get that screen if I power off and back on, or if I hold vol up and home when powering up. Either way, the phone then goes to a second screen with a large yellow triangle on it, and SECURE FAIL: RECOVERY in the upper left. Under the triangle it says System software not authorized by Verizon Wireless has been found on your phone. Please turn off your phone and go to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help.
If I power on while holding vol down and home, I get
WARNING!
A custom OS can cause critical problems in phone and installed applications...
Vol. up CONTINUE
Vol. down CANCEL
Hitting vol. down restarts as above. Vol up gets me to a screen that says:
Odin mode
Product name SM-G900V
Current Binary Samsung official
System status Official
Reactivate Lock (KK) off
Qualcom Secureboot: Enable (CSB)
AP SWREV: S1, T1, R1, A1, P1
UDC Start
Downloading
I'm hoping that this means that I haven't completely killed my phone. What I would like to do is get it working again and rooted. All of my apps/data have been backed up with TiBu, so I figure restoring data should be easy once I'm back up. Ideally I would like to get the phone running something higher than Kit Kat (which was my original goal in all this, as a few apps I use no longer support KK.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen you described is download mode
You enter it by holding Vol down home button power button
Download the latest firmware for your device from sammobile.com and then flash it via odin whilst your phone is in download mode & connected to the PC via USB by putting the firmware in the AP section of odin
I thought so, but it just looked different than i remember it. Although last time I entered that was a few years back.
Is there a specific firmware that I should choose so I can re-establish root?
Also, is there any way to access data on the phone that I didn't have a chance to back up yet?
Try to flash this via Odin first and see if the phone boots:
link removed
Unzip it first, of course.
Use AP slot in Odin.
Actually i was about to post that after trying unsuccessfully to flash all sorts of TWRP versions, I finally decided I have no choice and have to flash the firmware. I chose the 4.4.2 NCG, because it's what I thought I was running before. After flashing and rebooting, my lock screen wallpaper was the same as I had left it. Cautiously optimistic I swiped the screen, and lo and behold, everything was intact! Except root, which i easily regained with towelroot. Only issue is I do not have TWRP any more. What's the best way to regain that?
bbsc said:
Try to flash this via Odin first and see if the phone boots:
https://mega.nz/#!3hNhEAoY!vkI12WptC0_OWiN4hpTxo5R_6KCLBJ76vUvvd98NL80
Unzip it first, of course.
Use AP slot in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't access this site from work. What is this?
bgg1 said:
Can't access this site from work. What is this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was APA1 firmware only, without system partition.
Forget it if flashing ANCG gave you the necessary result.
You cannot directly flash TWRP at the moment because of the locked bootloader.
If you really need root, it would be wise to install Memory Brickbug Test from the Market and determine the CID of your phone.
It will help to plan the future actions.
BTW, there's a nice G900V section on the forum.
So I have root again from towelroot. I don't remember how I originally did it, but I previously had TWRP, but never an unlocked bootloader. Does that make sense?
bgg1 said:
I previously had TWRP, but never an unlocked bootloader. Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's impossible on SM-G900V.
Most likely you had SafeStrap Recovery, they look similar.
But SafeStrap Recovery is a part of the system partition, not a real recovery as TWRP.
Unlocked bootloader on SM-G900V looks like on the screenshot (MODE: Developer)
So I meant to post here but you beat me to it. On my drive home the other day it hit me that I had safestrap. Because once you boot to recovery it looks like TWRP, and it's been so long since first installing it, I simply forgot.
Anyway, at this point I regained root with towelroot, but was having difficulty installing safestrap, until I realized that I hadn't installed busybox or supersu. Finally got thos going, and after a couple of hours of multiple slowdowns, freezes, and crashes, I finally got everything back. So now I'm rooted and safestrap is back.
Questions:
Prior to this whole mess I had backed up the recovery image from safestrap. Is there any reason to restore that if everything seems to be working?
Also, I believe that TWRP can mount an OTG USB. Can this be done with safestrap?
Thanks
bgg1 said:
Prior to this whole mess I had backed up the recovery image from safestrap. Is there any reason to restore that if everything seems to be working?
Also, I believe that TWRP can mount an OTG USB. Can this be done with safestrap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see any reason to repair a working thing.
Don't remember exactly, but seems it worked, for some version at least.
Again: install eMMC Brickbug Check from the market and see the CID of your phone.
It can be 11 or 15.
If it is 15 then you'll be able to unlock bootloader and flash TWRP.
It is 15.
I think I'd like to get up to lollipop just for some app compatibility issues. I've seen a few different approaches. Any way to do this without wiping? or is that just wishful thinking? Besides the ability to flash ROMs (not a major interest for me, as with bloatware disabled or removed I kind of like Touchwiz), and install TWRP (again, not sure I need it if I can use safestrap for recovery), should i still look to unlock the bootloader? Better to do that now or after upgrade?
Thanks