Database Users

Debating on rooting my S4

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!

Very confused about MF3

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.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

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.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

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.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
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.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

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.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
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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How to go from 4.2.2 MDL to the lastest 4.3 without OTA

First of all Im not in the USA, my phone have 4.2.2 MDL, I have tested some custom ROMS (goldeneye is really good) but I just want to go stock AT&T 4.3 and yes I know once you go mf3 or above there is no way back.
Can I odin through new AT&T stock releases?

inmortal009 said:
First of all Im not in the USA, my phone have 4.2.2 MDL, I have tested some custom ROMS (goldeneye is really good) but I just want to go stock AT&T 4.3 and yes I know once you go mf3 or above there is no way back.
Can I odin through new AT&T stock releases?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, you could make someone on here very happy if you sell your S4, then pick up one with the new official 4.3 software.

MattMJB0188 said:
You know, you could make someone on here very happy if you sell your S4, then pick up one with the new official 4.3 software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure but here nobody cares about that also i just got tired of full wiping for where new update. Is it possible to do what I want?

Why? Your device is a rare one. When you do decide to sell it, the value will be at least $100 more if not more with the MDL bootloaders vs the MF3 or higher bootloaders. There is a ton of custom ROMs all better than stock for this device. You can even flash ROMs from other carrier S4s. If you are worried about wiping data because of losing stuff, titanium backup will save you a ton of trouble. Also, it is not a requirement to do a full wipe for a ROM update. It is suggested because if you run into a problem, you can report it to the developer properly. I only do full wipes when going to a different ROM. I can promise that you will regret updating. Like I said, there are a ton of ROMs that are better than stock. Battery life, performance, storage space, etc. There are also ROMs that are almost completely stock.
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inmortal009 said:
Sure but here nobody cares about that also i just got tired of full wiping for where new update. Is it possible to do what I want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still say, make someone on these forums very happy with your MDL firmware, and sell them your device. I'd recommend swappa. Then go buy what you desire with the money. If you shop around, you an find a very good deal on a MF3 or higher S4 and you'll have money left over.
You can do so much with your MDL firmware. Maybe try a different rom for a while. Oh, and just because a developer updates the rom, doesn't mean you have to. If everything is working great, why touch it?

inmortal009 said:
Sure but here nobody cares about that also i just got tired of full wiping for where new update. Is it possible to do what I want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hows the condition of your phone i'd be willing to trade i have 4.3 firmware and my phone is like brand new.

Good points guys you just changed my mind Ill stick with my mdl and goldeneye rom.

inmortal009 said:
Sure but here nobody cares about that also i just got tired of full wiping for where new update. Is it possible to do what I want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is possible. I did it. I have written about it several times in different responses. My latest was yesterday here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48980723
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inmortal009 said:
Sure but here nobody cares about that also i just got tired of full wiping for where new update. Is it possible to do what I want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WRONG!!! A lot of people around here would trade their current MF3 or higher S4's for an MDL S4 in a second. Do some research before making such a foolish assumption.

MattMJB0188 said:
WRONG!!! A lot of people around here would trade their current MF3 or higher S4's for an MDL S4 in a second. Do some research before making such a foolish assumption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my thread before making suck kind of assumption too my HERE I mean here in my country

inmortal009 said:
Good points guys you just changed my mind Ill stick with my mdl and goldeneye rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just want plain stock 4.3 as in back to unrooted ?
I'm not sure sure but there should be just a stock 4.3 ROM for at&t or the i9505 around the forums somewhere. Goldeneye is pretty much stock but optimized and with crude removed.

Let's keep things civil in here, this is a worldwide site. Attacks on culture and country of origin will not be tolerated.

hednik said:
You just want plain stock 4.3 as in back to unrooted ?
I'm not sure sure but there should be just a stock 4.3 ROM for at&t or the i9505 around the forums somewhere. Goldeneye is pretty much stock but optimized and with crude removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted a stock rom because of constant custom roms changes. But thanks to your replies I understood that staying with mdl is better and I dont have to full wipe every time.
Thank u vwry much and Happy new year

I have MDL on my wife's S4
Hello guys. I am running into a lot of problems wih my wife's s4 on MDL. It has been a while since I tweaked any gadget i have because of our baby. I was wondering what I can do to fix everything. NOTE: Everything is stock
The problems are:
1. I cannot use the tethering option. We are currently in the philippines right now and we have a plan on globe that offers tethering and 4g LTE.
2. The battery life if very poor. The battery on the phone is new and I dont think it is the battery because;
3. the phone gets very very hot and I and assuming something is running in the background continuously hence the problem.
4. I cannot update to new firmware ( the only thing I want on the new firmware is the installing of apps on the memory card.)

I would say you would benefit from a firmware upgrade. If you want to stick to stock and don't care about the other roms then refer to my previous post on page 1. If you have further questions feel free to PM me.
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Guys... Buying, selling, or trading any device is not allowed on XDA. There is Swappa. Use it.
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graydiggy said:
Guys... Buying, selling, or trading any device is not allowed on XDA. There is Swappa. Use it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This^^^^ Swappa.com , And since this thread has run it's course.....Thread Closed.

Poll: Getting the Note 4 DevEd. or Note 4 Regular?

Which Note 4 are you guys getting?
The Note 4 Developer Edition or the regular Note 4?

The Developer edition is the same as the regular with the exception of open boot loader allowing custom ROMs to be installed and extensive UI customization

Definitely getting the developer edition. Not concerned with custom kernels or roms, but having an unlocked bootloader is a much clearly path to root access. All I want to do, can be done with Xposed modules.

jpmcnown said:
Definitely getting the developer edition. Not concerned with custom kernels or roms, but having an unlocked bootloader is a much clearly path to root access. All I want to do, can be done with Xposed modules.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same, I'm really hoping that the Note 4 DevEd. will gain traction and popularity unlike the Note 3 DevEd.
I can't live without root and custom roms.

It's no longer on their site
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jmm22 said:
It's no longer on their site
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only temporary, don't worry it'll be back.

With Android L security, I would only consider a Dev N4 at this point. It is unlocked and will be easy to root. Flash TWRP recovery in Odin, boot into TWRP recovery from a powered off state, then flash Chainfires SuperSU.zip. From there it is game on...adaway, tibu, xposed modules, and I can pretty much create my own TW rom from that point.

droidstyle said:
With Android L security, I would only consider a Dev N4 at this point. It is unlocked and will be easy to root. Flash TWRP recovery in Odin, boot into TWRP recovery from a powered off state, then flash Chainfires SuperSU.zip. From there it is game on...adaway, tibu, xposed modules, and I can pretty much create my own TW rom from that point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The big question is whether any devs will be able to make lollipop roms possible for the note 4 dev.

The apparent lack of Root possibility on the retail VZ Note 4 had me resigned to keeping my N3 (which isn't the worst thing). But IF we can actually buy the Dev Edition of the N4 anytime soon, and IF the Dev Edition is as easy to root as purported, then yes, I will buy the Dev Edition ASAP. I do want to see other peoples experiences with the Dev Edition before I throw down near $700 for it however. I am not overly excited for Lollipop, so a good, unlocked, rooted and user (myself) tweaked stock kitkat ROM will be just fine for me for quite some time. If Lollipop is available, rootable and worth the upgrade, then I will upgrade to it. I always disable/freeze the OTA apk on my phones so I can see what bugs/problems a new factory ROM presents before taking it. My N3 was on the original stock JB ROM until just recently when I upgraded to the latest kitkat, and I can honestly say I preferred the kitkat rom. No going back now though.
Long story short, the Dev edition will likely be my only N4 if I do get the N4.

I was going to get the dev version, but paid $60 total for the retail model verses over $600 more for the dev version.

jpmcnown said:
Definitely getting the developer edition. Not concerned with custom kernels or roms, but having an unlocked bootloader is a much clearly path to root access. All I want to do, can be done with Xposed modules.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

where is the option for both?

Agreed. All I want is root. A few os mods. Camera mods and build prop mods. Other than that I have no need to flash roms

All I need is free wifi tethering really and they say foxfi is working flawlessly on reg version bt I dnt kno if I wanna risk it lol...dev ed for me too
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Noob question... Dev models are only sold outside of carriers, right? So I can't upgrade to that? And how much is it? I'm assuming the full retail price.

bought regular here.. don't feel like returning it. I have faith we'll get root.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk.

SketchySean said:
Noob question... Dev models are only sold outside of carriers, right? So I can't upgrade to that? And how much is it? I'm assuming the full retail price.
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No, you can't upgrade to the Developer Edition. The price is $662.53 plus tax and shipping if you want other than their 4-5 day shipping/delivery. You have to order through the Samsung web site.

jayochs said:
bought regular here.. don't feel like returning it. I have faith we'll get root.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

What to lookout for

I am looking to get rid of my htc one m8 and go back to Samsung. I know the s5 does not have an unlocked boot loader but it looks like custom roms can happen via safestrap. My question is, when buying the phone used, is there a specific software version i DO NOT want? The goal is to root, safestrap and then put some sort of custom rom on the phone.
Thanks

dougmod said:
I am looking to get rid of my htc one m8 and go back to Samsung. I know the s5 does not have an unlocked boot loader but it looks like custom roms can happen via safestrap. My question is, when buying the phone used, is there a specific software version i DO NOT want? The goal is to root, safestrap and then put some sort of custom rom on the phone.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently you are good to go even on the latest NI2 update. You only need to downgrade the kernel to NCG via odin, run towel root, then reflash the newest NI2 kernel. There is a good write-up on it. Just look a few posts down.

BladeRunner said:
Currently you are good to go even on the latest NI2 update. You only need to downgrade the kernel to NCG via odin, run towel root, then reflash the newest NI2 kernel. There is a good write-up on it. Just look a few posts down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I'm so excited to get off of the m8. The reception is terrible.
I also see that the dev scene looks pretty limited in the Verizon section. Is that because everything has been unified like the s4 so I can pretty much use any rom? AOsp, cm, etc

dougmod said:
Thanks for the reply. I'm so excited to get off of the m8. The reception is terrible.
I also see that the dev scene looks pretty limited in the Verizon section. Is that because everything has been unified like the s4 so I can pretty much use any rom? AOsp, cm, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, unfortunately, things are somewhat limited as the bootloader remains unlocked for the consumer edition so no custom kernels.

I think he meant to say the bootloader remains locked on the retail version.
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kclive said:
I think he meant to say the bootloader remains locked on the retail version.
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, you are correct :silly: