Database Users

[Q] Upgrade to MK6 modem?

Ok, I'll start by saying that I'm trying to update my rogers 1337m to a custom ROM based on 4.4. The phone came with 4.2.2 on it and the 1337MVLUAMDJ modem. Since having bought it, I rooted it with motochopper, kicked the samsung firmware to the curb, and installed jamal's 4.2.2 google edition rom.
Anyhoo, now I want to install jamal's 4.4 rom. I installed it, but the phone doesn't work. I can't make calls, mobile data isn't working, and I get no bars in the signal indicator. I restored my nandroid backup to 4.2.2 and all is well again - calls, mobile data, and signal reception.
Do I need to upgrade my modem firmware? I have the MDJ firmware, and I noticed that there's an MK6 firmware that seems to be newer. Jamal's rom actually comes with a modem, I9505XXUFNA1, but when I tried installing that with Odin, it said 'security check failed'. I'm guessing that I can only install Canadian modems?
What would be the pros/cons of flashing MK6? Does this unroot my phone? Does this lock my boot loader? I seem to recall that AT&T pushed out an update that locked their users' phones in some way. Is that what I would be in for?

tedmm said:
Ok, I'll start by saying that I'm trying to update my rogers 1337m to a custom ROM based on 4.4. The phone came with 4.2.2 on it and the 1337MVLUAMDJ modem. Since having bought it, I rooted it with motochopper, kicked the samsung firmware to the curb, and installed jamal's 4.2.2 google edition rom.
Anyhoo, now I want to install jamal's 4.4 rom. I installed it, but the phone doesn't work. I can't make calls, mobile data isn't working, and I get no bars in the signal indicator. I restored my nandroid backup to 4.2.2 and all is well again - calls, mobile data, and signal reception.
Do I need to upgrade my modem firmware? I have the MDJ firmware, and I noticed that there's an MK6 firmware that seems to be newer. Jamal's rom actually comes with a modem, I9505XXUFNA1, but when I tried installing that with Odin, it said 'security check failed'. I'm guessing that I can only install Canadian modems?
What would be the pros/cons of flashing MK6? Does this unroot my phone? Does this lock my boot loader? I seem to recall that AT&T pushed out an update that locked their users' phones in some way. Is that what I would be in for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The i337m will never have a locked bootloader. AT&T was never unlocked, we only had an exploit. Updating yours will get you Knox however, i believe. There is a thread of the modems so you can flash just the modem by itself.

DeadlySin9 said:
The i337m will never have a locked bootloader. AT&T was never unlocked, we only had an exploit. Updating yours will get you Knox however, i believe. There is a thread of the modems so you can flash just the modem by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen knox before in my process list - when I had the samsung firmware installed, I thought knox was just an obnoxious ( obknoxious? ) policy agent for enforcing exchange rules or something. I've seen neither hide nor hair of it since I installed the google edition ROM, which of course doesn't come with knox. So you're saying the the new modem might have some knox component in it and this might cause problems?

tedmm said:
I've seen knox before in my process list - when I had the samsung firmware installed, I thought knox was just an obnoxious ( obknoxious? ) policy agent for enforcing exchange rules or something. I've seen neither hide nor hair of it since I installed the google edition ROM, which of course doesn't come with knox. So you're saying the the new modem might have some knox component in it and this might cause problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you already had a version with knox it doesn't make a difference. It's just that the newer official firmwares have the knox enabled bootloader and it adds an extra flag beyond the normal system status that would void your warranty on flashes but if you already have it then it doesn't matter. It wouldn't cause any problems, just adds that little flag and I'm not sure if recoveries are made to not trip that flag or what.

tedmm said:
I've seen knox before in my process list - when I had the samsung firmware installed, I thought knox was just an obnoxious ( obknoxious? ) policy agent for enforcing exchange rules or something. I've seen neither hide nor hair of it since I installed the google edition ROM, which of course doesn't come with knox. So you're saying the the new modem might have some knox component in it and this might cause problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, Knox is not part of any modem firmware. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

TLK3 said:
As far as I know, Knox is not part of any modem firmware. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't, flashing only the modem packages does not include knox. Using the full system ODIN or Heimdall files will include it if you update the bootloader.

tedmm said:
Ok, I'll start by saying that I'm trying to update my rogers 1337m to a custom ROM based on 4.4. The phone came with 4.2.2 on it and the 1337MVLUAMDJ modem. Since having bought it, I rooted it with motochopper, kicked the samsung firmware to the curb, and installed jamal's 4.2.2 google edition rom.
Anyhoo, now I want to install jamal's 4.4 rom. I installed it, but the phone doesn't work. I can't make calls, mobile data isn't working, and I get no bars in the signal indicator. I restored my nandroid backup to 4.2.2 and all is well again - calls, mobile data, and signal reception.
Do I need to upgrade my modem firmware? I have the MDJ firmware, and I noticed that there's an MK6 firmware that seems to be newer. Jamal's rom actually comes with a modem, I9505XXUFNA1, but when I tried installing that with Odin, it said 'security check failed'. I'm guessing that I can only install Canadian modems?
What would be the pros/cons of flashing MK6? Does this unroot my phone? Does this lock my boot loader? I seem to recall that AT&T pushed out an update that locked their users' phones in some way. Is that what I would be in for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were you able to figure this out?

Faultyy said:
were you able to figure this out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
First, I don't think that it was strictly necessary to upgrade the modem to get 4.4 - I think it might have just been a problem with jamal's ROM and the kernel he used. Anyways, I decided that I wanted the new modem anyways because I reasoned that it would probably have bug fixes and performance and reception improvements. I was pretty sure that flashing the official 4.3 Rogers image (there is no 4.4 Rogers image) with Odin would give me the new modem. Then I could flash whatever aftermarket ROM I wanted.
Strangely, this didn't work. At least not the way using Odin is recommended. Odin has two text fields pointing to tar.md5 Roms - onw of them is marked 'phone' and the other is marked 'PDA'. As I recall, I had to point BOTH of these at the official Rogers 4.3 ROM get get both the Samsung/Rogers android along with the Qualcomm mk6 modem. I don't think I've ever found a how to where they recommend using both at the same time.
After that, I flashed a Google edition ROM and all is well. And the new modem does seem to get somewhat better reception.

So there is no way to update just the modem from a custom ROM (without wiping everything and installing a stock ROM) for Canadian S4s?

[Q] Downgrade to older stock ROM N9005?

Hey all!
Is it possible to downgrade from a newer (NE3) firmware to an older (ND3) through Odin or it will brick my phone because of the bootloader?
The only things I know are that 1) Downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.3 is not possible 2) It's possibile to install a custom older rom on new bootloader and vice versa BUT I don't know if it's possible with stock roms with Odin.
I looked for a solution but nothing found and no one answered me so I opened this thread to find out a solution.
Thanks in advance.

UP still interested because NE4 + custom kernel gives problems that others doesn't have
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Dan
I also wanted to do dawngrade because the because the 4.4.2 is **** battery does not hold as it should as was holding before the update

kylothow said:
Hey all!
Is it possible to downgrade from a newer (NE3) firmware to an older (ND3) through Odin or it will brick my phone because of the bootloader?
The only things I know are that 1) Downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.3 is not possible 2) It's possibile to install a custom older rom on new bootloader and vice versa BUT I don't know if it's possible with stock roms with Odin.
I looked for a solution but nothing found and no one answered me so I opened this thread to find out a solution.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never actually tried going back to an older version but I really don't see why you shouldn't. As long as it's KitKat 4.4.2 just try it should work. I downgraded my Modem and haven't had any issue.
With the Bootloader worry...did you even change the bootloader? As well as the Modem you have to do that separate to the Rom, as flashing a Rom doesn't touch Modem an Bootloader!!! If you don't know how to do that please just leave it alone though unless you read, read, read a lot on how to do that.

4aces said:
I never actually tried going back to an older version but I really don't see why you shouldn't. As long as it's KitKat 4.4.2 just try it should work. I downgraded my Modem and haven't had any issue.
With the Bootloader worry...did you even change the bootloader? As well as the Modem you have to do that separate to the Rom, as flashing a Rom doesn't touch Modem an Bootloader!!! If you don't know how to do that please just leave it alone though unless you read, read, read a lot on how to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, every time I install a new rom I make sure to update the bootloader and modem too, and from what I can read from the Synapse app I have the NE3 modem and NE4 bootloader.
I'm asking how to go back to older roms because going from 4.4.2 to 4.3 updating the bootloader with Odin you obtain only a fancy paper weight, and I didn't know if going from newer to older 4.4.2 bootloader it was the same story.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

kylothow said:
Thanks for the reply, every time I install a new rom I make sure to update the bootloader and modem too, and from what I can read from the Synapse app I have the NE3 modem and NE4 bootloader.
I'm asking how to go back to older roms because going from 4.4.2 to 4.3 updating the bootloader with Odin you obtain only a fancy paper weight, and I didn't know if going from newer to older 4.4.2 bootloader it was the same story.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure there won't be an issue mate since I flash between custom roms almost daily which are most of the time different models. If you want to be 100% sure wait for someone to confirm as I'm rooted since I got the chance to do so.

Thanks to the developer Civato I read on his FlexKat thread he correctly downgraded his bootloader from NE6 to ND6 with Odin...
So problem solved, this is definitely possible.
Thank you everyone for your replies :good:

Downgrading bootloaders on the same version generally tends to work OK, mainly because on 4.3 Samsung patched the security flaw which stopped you going <MJ7
Kith Kitkat I never had any issues flipping back and forth.--- Until it's a BL upgrade with OS Number change (IE: 4.4.3 if it has new BL) then it shouldn't work.

hi. sorry,this is probably an old thread but I need some help,please and somehow,Google got me here. I want to downgrade (not really downgrade) my N9005 to 4.4.2.
I currently have a custom ROM(resurrection remix v5.6.9,in settings it says that I have android 6.0.1 marshmallow). Also,I have a custom recovery(TWRP). Well,I would like to install the KitKat stock ROM and really did a lot of research but I cannot find it anywhere :'( . Do you know any source? And also,can I flash it with mobile ODIN? When I opened Mobile Odin Pro it said that if I don't have the boot loader for the ROM I want to install then I will experience a soft brick. Isn't TWRP a good boot loader?
Also,does it matter what version of N9005 I own? mine is: XXUGBOJ1. Could I flash smth that is not for this ..base band is it called?...
pls help
I'm such a newbie and I don't wanna mess up

PainCutter said:
hi. sorry,this is probably an old thread but I need some help,please and somehow,Google got me here. I want to downgrade (not really downgrade) my N9005 to 4.4.2.
I currently have a custom ROM(resurrection remix v5.6.9,in settings it says that I have android 6.0.1 marshmallow). Also,I have a custom recovery(TWRP). Well,I would like to install the KitKat stock ROM and really did a lot of research but I cannot find it anywhere :'( . Do you know any source? And also,can I flash it with mobile ODIN? When I opened Mobile Odin Pro it said that if I don't have the boot loader for the ROM I want to install then I will experience a soft brick. Isn't TWRP a good boot loader?
Also,does it matter what version of N9005 I own? mine is: XXUGBOJ1. Could I flash smth that is not for this ..base band is it called?...
pls help
I'm such a newbie and I don't wanna mess up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get a 4.4.2 fw and flash with windows odin. Not really familiar with mobile odin. Find fw for you country csc. Flashing other csc fw sometimes requires pit file so better get the 1 for your country or originally came with the phone.
Sent from my SM-N920C

Rosli59564 said:
Get a 4.4.2 fw and flash with windows odin. Not really familiar with mobile odin. Find fw for you country csc. Flashing other csc fw sometimes requires pit file so better get the 1 for your country or originally came with the phone.
Sent from my SM-N920C
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd do that..my csc is for Romania. But I cannot find anywhere on the Internet the fw. And I searched alot

PainCutter said:
I'd do that..my csc is for Romania. But I cannot find anywhere on the Internet the fw. And I searched alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung updates.com.
I can see a few for Romania with CNX, ORO, COA, ROM, HAT csc.
But they very old. Probably not downloadable.
Sent from my SM-G925F

New to the S4. Need some help

Hey there everyone. I am trying to help my sister out with her (new to her) S4.
She bought an s4 and it is very cool (I'm having a blast playing with it.).
It is carrier unlocked at the moment (I believe, though I don't have a SIM to test it out with)
I believe that it is rooted.
It is advertised as having the MDB bootloader with a MF3 baseband. How do I check this?
When I go to setting I see that the baseband version is i337ucuamf3. I am assuming that since it ends in MF3 that is correct.​
The rom installed is GoldenEye 38.1 XXUGNG8.
I am assuming that XXUGNG8 is the base firmware from Samsung\At&T, is that correct?
It currently has a version of TWRP installed and the person it was bought from says it doesn't need SafeStrap. Is that correct? I see a lot of posts saying that safestrap needs to be installed.
Lastly, I'm trying to figure out if she wants CM11, Stock TouchWiz or something like Goldeneye. I am assuming that the "S" apps will only work on a TouchWiz ROM, is that right?
Lastly, how would i get the phone back to a stock? HTC has RUU's, is there an equivalent for Samsung devices? Or is there a download somewhere of the plain stock ROM? I didn't see anything in the development section.
Thanks in advance for all the help, I know that I am asking a lot of questions but I am coming from the HTC side of android (which seems to be a lot less confusing) so I am doing the best I can here.

waterboy100 said:
Hey there everyone. I am trying to help my sister out with her (new to her) S4.
She bought an s4 and it is very cool (I'm having a blast playing with it.).
It is carrier unlocked at the moment (I believe, though I don't have a SIM to test it out with)
I believe that it is rooted.
It is advertised as having the MDB bootloader with a MF3 baseband. How do I check this?
When I go to setting I see that the baseband version is i337ucuamf3. I am assuming that since it ends in MF3 that is correct.​
The rom installed is GoldenEye 38.1 XXUGNG8.
I am assuming that XXUGNG8 is the base firmware from Samsung\At&T, is that correct?
It currently has a version of TWRP installed and the person it was bought from says it doesn't need SafeStrap. Is that correct? I see a lot of posts saying that safestrap needs to be installed.
Lastly, I'm trying to figure out if she wants CM11, Stock TouchWiz or something like Goldeneye. I am assuming that the "S" apps will only work on a TouchWiz ROM, is that right?
Lastly, how would i get the phone back to a stock? HTC has RUU's, is there an equivalent for Samsung devices? Or is there a download somewhere of the plain stock ROM? I didn't see anything in the development section.
Thanks in advance for all the help, I know that I am asking a lot of questions but I am coming from the HTC side of android (which seems to be a lot less confusing) so I am doing the best I can here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the phone has TWRP installed, you either have MDB or MDL bootloader since newer firmwares (bootloader) do not allow for the stock recovery to be replaced.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=52415064&postcount=1625 gives you the way to find your bootloader (the most restrictive component of the firmware).
When samsung releases firmware/update, it sets the version of all components to the same. So, on the stock firmware, all components have the same version. Baseband is actually the version of the modem.
Since you have TWRP installed, you should be able to install a lot of ROMs. All you have to ensure is that the bootloader is not updated. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, your bootloader will get updated. Since MF3, we are not able to replace the stock kernel and recovery. This brings in a lot of restrictions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221 has a list of ROMs that can be installed.

jmjoyas said:
Since the phone has TWRP installed, you either have MDB or MDL bootloader since newer firmwares (bootloader) do not allow for the stock recovery to be replaced.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=52415064&postcount=1625 gives you the way to find your bootloader (the most restrictive component of the firmware).
When samsung releases firmware/update, it sets the version of all components to the same. So, on the stock firmware, all components have the same version. Baseband is actually the version of the modem.
Since you have TWRP installed, you should be able to install a lot of ROMs. All you have to ensure is that the bootloader is not updated. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, your bootloader will get updated. Since MF3, we are not able to replace the stock kernel and recovery. This brings in a lot of restrictions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221 has a list of ROMs that can be installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
So my bootloader is reported as i337ucuamdb (So MDB Bootleader)
My baseband is 1337ucuamf3 (MF3?)
Does this just mean that i have an older bootloader that was rooted and had newer radios installed?
That that a problem for anything? Should they be the same?

waterboy100 said:
Thanks.
So my bootloader is reported as i337ucuamdb (So MDB Bootleader)
My baseband is 1337ucuamf3 (MF3?)
Does this just mean that i have an older bootloader that was rooted and had newer radios installed?
That that a problem for anything? Should they be the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're on the mdb bootloader which is a good thing, don't update the firmware you can still use twrp or cwm. The baseband is the modem and does not need to be the same version as the bootloader
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

New around here. Some doubts.

Hello.
Ever since I bought a Galaxy Nexus and found XDA, my life changed. Without noticing I got infected a virus: addiction to Android.
My Nexus got outdated quickly and now is pretty done and I need a new toy. 3,5 years later I finally got some spare money to buy a new phone. Since here in Portugal the minimum wage is around 500€ and top flagship phones cost around 700€ (and there's no affordable contract to get something cheaper and still nice), I had to wait until now to get a used Note 3 for 300€.
I love the phone's design and above all the specs. There's no other phone with 3GB RAM and Snap 800 for this price and I always liked big sized phones.
Well, I write too much unnecessary info... I need to stop
Let's get down to the point. I will get the phone tomorrow!!
TL;DR
How do I check the bootloader version? I want to flash TWRP right away and maybe install a Note4/5 port or something stock Android, do I need to be careful with the bootloader?
I know from other phones (i.e LG G2) that any custom rom uses KK bootloader and the stock roms use their respective version bootloader. Is this also true for the Note?
Also, which version of TWRP should I flash? Does it depend on the stock rom version that I have?
Checking if the device has 2.3x GB of available RAM, if Odin and Recovery have their stock aspect and if the S-Pen works is enough to ensure that the Note I'm getting is truly original?
Well, that's all. I'm sorry if I'm asking the same questions everyone does. I'm used to Nexus so I'm afraid of bricking the Note with dumb moves. That's why I am taking my time to read every important thread and asking here some doubts that went into my mind while doing the required reading. I have no warranty (no box nor invoice) so I can't afford to mess up with the new babe
Cheers!

This app!
diogofd8 said:
Hello.
Ever since I bought a Galaxy Nexus and found XDA, my life changed. Without noticing I got infected a virus: addiction to Android.
My Nexus got outdated quickly and now is pretty done and I need a new toy. 3,5 years later I finally got some spare money to buy a new phone. Since here in Portugal the minimum wage is around 500€ and top flagship phones cost around 700€ (and there's no affordable contract to get something cheaper and still nice), I had to wait until now to get a used Note 3 for 300€.
I love the phone's design and above all the specs. There's no other phone with 3GB RAM and Snap 800 for this price and I always liked big sized phones.
Well, I write too much unnecessary info... I need to stop
Let's get down to the point. I will get the phone tomorrow!!
TL;DR
How do I check the bootloader version? I want to flash TWRP right away and maybe install a Note4/5 port or something stock Android, do I need to be careful with the bootloader?
I know from other phones (i.e LG G2) that any custom rom uses KK bootloader and the stock roms use their respective version bootloader. Is this also true for the Note?
Also, which version of TWRP should I flash? Does it depend on the stock rom version that I have?
Checking if the device has 2.3x GB of available RAM, if Odin and Recovery have their stock aspect and if the S-Pen works is enough to ensure that the Note I'm getting is truly original?
Well, that's all. I'm sorry if I'm asking the same questions everyone does. I'm used to Nexus so I'm afraid of bricking the Note with dumb moves. That's why I am taking my time to read every important thread and asking here some doubts that went into my mind while doing the required reading. I have no warranty (no box nor invoice) so I can't afford to mess up with the new babe
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo&hl=en
this app will help you confirm your phone.
then you can proceed flashing twrp and supersu, things are so easy for N9005
and Welcome Aboard

Install phone info samsung from playstore. It could tell a lot about your phone.
To make it easy as long as the phone is running with android version 4.4.2 and above you should use twrp 4.4. If 4.3 use the right one for 4.3.
Sent from my SM-G925F

White Note3 do you have? There are several versions made by Samsung.
Regardless of the bootloader on the phone, I recommend using the latest TWRP as the latest TWRP can be used to flash all ROMs and zip files. Find your device from here: https://twrp.me/Devices/
Before moving to custom ROMs, I also recommend installing the latest bootlloader and ROM.
Not sure if your phone still has warranty but if it does, I would not change the ROM or root because doing either may trip the knox counter and void the warranty.

nijom said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo&hl=en
this app will help you confirm your phone.
then you can proceed flashing twrp and supersu, things are so easy for N9005
and Welcome Aboard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I will keep the link in my favorites and install the app when I get the chance to test things.
Rosli59564 said:
Install phone info samsung from playstore. It could tell a lot about your phone.
To make it easy as long as the phone is running with android version 4.4.2 and above you should use twrp 4.4. If 4.3 use the right one for 4.3.
Sent from my SM-G925F
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'm pretty sure it has 4.4.x or lollipop. Should I update to any of those versions (just in case it comes with 4.3) first and then install TWRP?
audit13 said:
White Note3 do you have? There are several versions made by Samsung.
Regardless of the bootloader on the phone, I recommend using the latest TWRP as the latest TWRP can be used to flash all ROMs and zip files. Find your device from here: https://twrp.me/Devices/
Before moving to custom ROMs, I also recommend installing the latest bootlloader and ROM.
Not sure if your phone still has warranty but if it does, I would not change the ROM or root because doing either may trip the knox counter and void the warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone doesn't come with box nor invoice so I don't have any warranty xd
What is the number or version of the latest bootloader?

What is the model # of the phone? There is the n-900t, n9005, n-900w8, etc.

N9005, it's the european unlocked version

The model # is important when asking questions because the AT&T version of the note 3 has a locked bootloader so it's more complicated to flash custom recovery and to get root.
If you want to run custom ROMs, I recommend upgrading to the latest modem and bootloader, install a custom recovery, back up your stock ROM, and try some custom ROMs to see which one you like.
Look for the tar version of TWRP for your phone from here: https://twrp.me/Devices/
You can flash TWRP with Odin.

audit13 said:
The model # is important when asking questions because the AT&T version of the note 3 has a locked bootloader so it's more complicated to flash custom recovery and to get root.
If you want to run custom ROMs, I recommend upgrading to the latest modem and bootloader, install a custom recovery, back up your stock ROM, and try some custom ROMs to see which one you like.
Look for the tar version of TWRP for your phone from here: https://twrp.me/Devices/
You can flash TWRP with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll get the phone tomorrow!!!!!
So, by upgrading to the latest official rom avaiable I'll have the most recent modem and bootloader, right?
Do I need to follow the order you mentioned: modem->bootloader->recovery->backup->croms or can I flash TWRP, backup every partition, flash most recent modem and bootloader (not sure if I can flash a bootloader) and then install croms?

No, only flashing a newer custom ROM won't update your Bootloader and Modem. You will need to flash those files separately via Odin. Then you can flash the custom ROM you want. The order is simple. Get a custom recovery first, TWRP. Then update your Modem and Bootloader. Then wipe the device from TWRP (full wipe, take backup beforehand if you need) and flash the custom ROM of your choice.

Safest way to upgrade the modem and bootloader is via ota update on a completely stock unrooted rom with stock recovery. After the phone is running the latest rom, then start with customization.

audit13 said:
Safest way to upgrade the modem and bootloader is via ota update on a completely stock unrooted rom with stock recovery. After the phone is running the latest rom, then start with customization.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the phone and managed to update it to 5.0 -> n9005xxugboa1
Is it the latest version or should I update it to another one?

BOD2 appears to be the latest according to sammobile.com: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N9005/

audit13 said:
BOD2 appears to be the latest according to sammobile.com: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N9005/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm from Portugal but the phone is unlocked (no carrier) and they only have firmware for carrier notes... Which one should I download and flash?
Also... with a G2 I flashed a .kdz file (official rom) and ended up with a bricked phone (later fixed via warranty), but I have no warranty in this phone, how can I make sure that the file is safe?

Just check for software updates from your phone.

audit13 said:
Just check for software updates from your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says the phone is already at the latest version. I've cleaned framework services and checked again but got the same result.

Try removing the SIM card and moving the date ahead by two days, then try again.

audit13 said:
Try removing the SIM card and moving the date ahead by two days, then try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done that, no update avaiable. Connected to Kies3, no update avaiable.
Is it really in a old version? It's 5.0. Do I really need the latest version to start flashing a recovery?
Also, can I use the recovery without flashing it? I want to check if it works nicely before flashing if it is possible. TWRP can be used to flash any rom right? I'm interested in trying darklord first.

Yes, you can flash recovery without updating. I suggested updating because the update probably deals with the stage fright bug.

Upgrading ancient 4.3--->5.0 OF1 questions

Hi everyone
i've been out of the loop for ages, and still rocking the ancient 4.3 rooted "root-de-la-vega" version
My questions are thus:
1- will updating to 5.0 OF1 via keys even work? or am i risking a brick/other fudge-up?
2- if the above is not supposed to work, what's the best way to go about this?
3- is it possible to use the wifi hotspot on the new OF1 build after rooting? i'm not a verizon client.
I searched the forums a lot, doesn't seem like anybody stayed on 4.3 for so long he'll have to do 4.3-->5 as well
Any answer is much appreciated. thanks

I can't tell you anything about Kies, sorry.
I unlocked my bootloader on 4.3 / MJ7 using the same binary from the bootloader unlock thread (@donc113's from post #318 or something) . It would probably work for you on your current ROM as well.
I kept the MJ7 firmware ( still have it! )
The M* series (MI9/MJ7/MJE) firmware will not boot the N* (4.4) or O* (5.0) stock ROMs. Similarly you have to use the TWRP -4.3 variant in the custom recovery for the same reasons if you retain M* series booting firmware.
Curiously, however MJ7 bootloader will boot the CM13 custom ROM, as will later bootloaders. I suppose that means the later bootloaders are backwards-compatible to the older DTB (Device Tree) meta data format used in booting 4.3 ROM kernels.
I am a VZW subscriber, so I don't know if there are issues using the CM13 ROM on other carriers.
good luck
PS CM13 has WiFi and USB hotspot/tethering built in. I would be using that ROM right now were it not for some GPS issues - the whole reason I stayed on rooted MJ7 for so long was because of the hot spot bug/"feature".