Database Users

[Q] Getting my S4 on Tues, have some questions to rom/root it.

So I am upgrading from my beloved S3 to the Red S4 now, getting it in on Tues. Thank you employee line deals.. So anyways, I saw some stickies about to avoid the OTA otherwise can not flash a diff kernel, correct? That there are no odin files of the new update.
That being said, How will I know when I get my device in, if they already gave it to me updated or if its where I can custom rom it. Would figure its a certain thing in the status menu part for a version. Dont wanna mess this up, so doing my research now.
Also any custom roms that are super worth it? I know on my S3, I use a nice one with the multi window and floating windows. So if there is a super good one to use, IF I can use one, what is it?
Also does the toolbox program we used for the S3 work for S4? (Havent checked on updates in awhile) cause I need to least root this sucker if I wanna restore my titanium backups.
Anyways thanks for any points in the right direction, this is the part I always hated.. working with a new phone then sitting with it till I study up on all the roms and tweaking of it.

When you get your device got to settings>more>about device and if the the last three characters of the baseband is MF3 then you can only use stock kernels with safestrap recovery and if it is MDL or MDB you can have custom recovery, custom roms with motochopper root. There are some pretty good roms out there. Unfortunately i'm on MF3 cause i got the OTA and it updated overnight.

Also when you first get your box with the phone inside. Look on the outside of the box and it will show which firmware is on it. It will have the last three letters of mdb, MDL, or MF3. All I can say is HOPE for MDL which may or may not be possible. But the red colored ones do not seem to go as fast so HOPEFULLY it is MDL.
Next course of action IF it is MDL is DO NOT connect to WiFi, and I would also suggest NOT putting in the Sim card yet. Download Motochopper by Jbliss and or Casual+motochopper by Adam Outler which will root and install tarp recovery. Then read up from there and flash a ROM.
If it comes with MF3 then you will need to flash SafeStrap to be able to out "some Roms" onto your phone and have root. But safestrap is more limited than what you are used to/what I posted in the paragraph above.
I am GUESSING you are buying it from ATT? Then chances may be slim of anything other than mf3. But I did get a MDL from Walmart (they had black and white if I remember correctly, not sure about red). I got a black one with MDL about a month ago and they had two others in stock. So places like that MAY be a better bet for you.
Now this is MY opinion and take it for what it is worth. I will NEVER be buying another ATT phone due to how hard they are locking the boitloaders down. NEVER... So my next suggestion is get a T-Mobile S4 and you can use it on ATT and it does not have locked bootloaders at this time and hopefully never.
Read all the sticky threads about MF3 and prepare yourself in case you want to keep it. Good luck to you
Sent From My Spiderman,Ironman,Red,Dark Blue,Green, GreyedOut BadAss Themed I337

You will have to try out different roms and see for yourself what they have to offer.if it turns out to be MF3 take the most important advice "!!READ!!"
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Before you get your phone read a whole lot about it. Read all the pinned (stickies) threads first. Then keep reading before you do anything with it. Good luck!

RockRatt said:
Also when you first get your box with the phone inside. Look on the outside of the box and it will show which firmware is on it. It will have the last three letters of mdb, MDL, or MF3. All I can say is HOPE for MDL which may or may not be possible. But the red colored ones do not seem to go as fast so HOPEFULLY it is MDL.
Next course of action IF it is MDL is DO NOT connect to WiFi, and I would also suggest NOT putting in the Sim card yet. Download Motochopper by Jbliss and or Casual+motochopper by Adam Outler which will root and install tarp recovery. Then read up from there and flash a ROM.
If it comes with MF3 then you will need to flash SafeStrap to be able to out "some Roms" onto your phone and have root. But safestrap is more limited than what you are used to/what I posted in the paragraph above.
I am GUESSING you are buying it from ATT?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, getting from ATT dealer accounts, while I know I can use T-Mobiles stuff, I wouldnt have the "LTE" ability, which is what is happening now with my TMO S3, I have 4G, yes, but not LTE. So giving that phone to my friend for her upgrade, so she can get LTE with TMO while upgrading myself. Now if I am MDL, then woot, I take it its almost business as usual with the way I worked my roms and so of the past?
Then lets say I am MF3, now that in itself. may not be "as bad" since honestly, the S3's rom was pretty solid out of the box, just root it and go. Could I assume if I dont wanna put a diff rom on MF3, I could least root the stock rom easy enough and move on? (Plus could use titanium backup to remove the bloat) Seems abit crazy on MF3 and safe strap, sounds like its using the internal storage space to run the rom off of.
Now in regards to if I am MDL, I assume you mean download motochopper for the pc, then hook up and let it run. Now after that point, is my phone safe from OTA? Do I need to install a new rom right then and there or can I use stock rom and know that I am safe from it updating to MF3. Just making sure I got my notes right for tm morning when it comes in by fedex heh.
Qbeezy24 said:
When you get your device got to settings>more>about device and if the the last three characters of the baseband is MF3 then you can only use stock kernels with safestrap recovery and if it is MDL or MDB you can have custom recovery, custom roms with motochopper root. There are some pretty good roms out there. Unfortunately i'm on MF3 cause i got the OTA and it updated overnight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there is no difference in MDL and MDB? Or was MDL still better? Sounds like really the next couple days are gonna be research and testing.. thats after I put my screen protector on it heh.

Mysticales said:
Now if I am MDL, then woot, I take it its almost business as usual with the way I worked my roms and so of the past?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it would be almost exactly business as usual. Of course READ any Roms HOW TO INSTALL section. About the only difference from the S3 flashing is if you are flashing kernels/Roms make sure the are loki'd or use Loki doki during flashing. Again read up on this.
Mysticales said:
Then lets say I am MF3, now that in itself. may not be "as bad" since honestly, the S3's rom was pretty solid out of the box, just root it and go. Could I assume if I dont wanna put a diff rom on MF3, I could least root the stock rom easy enough and move on? (Plus could use titanium backup to remove the bloat) Seems abit crazy on MF3 and safe strap, sounds like its using the internal storage space to run the rom off of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can flash some Roms (4.2.2 based Roms) with Safestrap. Read all about safestrap as I do not have it and don't know many if the answers since I cannot test. But the one thing is be VERY CAREFUL removing bloat with tibu, once it is gone you will NOT be able to get it back. Read many horror stories if debloating gone wrong and phone not working.
Mysticales said:
Now in regards to if I am MDL, I assume you mean download motochopper for the pc, then hook up and let it run. Now after that point, is my phone safe from OTA? Do I need to install a new rom right then and there or can I use stock rom and know that I am safe from it updating to MF3. Just making sure I got my notes right for tm morning when it comes in by fedex heh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes download either Motochopper or I like "Casual+Motochopper" as it gives you a recovery as well. Either cwm or twrp.
No at that point it is NOT safe from OTA updates, you will need to FREEZE certain apps with tibu.
Check out the Roms section. I haven't used it but I believe there is a "neutered mf3 stock firmware" that has the ota updating parts removed already. If you do NOT freeze the apps ATT set up mf3 to Auto Download and INSTALL mf3. Most users got it while they were sleeping, even if they were only stock and rooted. But IF you have a custom recovery and a ROM on it you will not get the auto update and install.
Mysticales said:
So there is no difference in MDL and MDB? Or was MDL still better? Sounds like really the next couple days are gonna be research and testing.. thats after I put my screen protector on it heh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MDB was what came with the phone and MDL was updated within a few weeks if I remember correctly. I believe I still have the mdb bootloaders on my phone and my wife's came with MDL and has those bootloaders. I have seen NO DIFFERENCE as far as flashing or things working differently in my case.
Sent From My Spiderman,Ironman,Red,Dark Blue,Green, GreyedOut BadAss Themed I337

So, being on MF3 will not allow us to flash kernals and we are limited to specific Roms? Are those the major differences? Also, should we stay away from the OTA...I keep hearing about it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

nash2000 said:
So, being on MF3 will not allow us to flash kernals and we are limited to specific Roms? Are those the major differences? Also, should we stay away from the OTA...I keep hearing about it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I believe you cannot flash kernels with safestrap. And only 4.2.2 based Roms will work and possibly on tw Roms, but there might be one cm variant that would work. Just check out the safestrap thread for more info on all if this. I think they even have a list if tested working Roms there.
No one knows FOR SURE but I believe the new 4.3 update blows a second qfuse, this will make it so you cannot downgrade to anything lower than MJ6.
MF3 blows the first qfuse which is why you cannot downgrade to MDL bases.
Sent From My Spiderman,Ironman,Red,Dark Blue,Green, GreyedOut BadAss Themed I337

Well I have a mf3 gs4 :/ sooo now then. I don't "mind" stock really too much.. ill miss my drop down toggles I thing more from my gs3. I saw one post that explains using terminal to get root access which is something I know I need for sure. So now then those on mf3 are you too staying on stock and just rooting?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Mysticales said:
Well I have a mf3 gs4 :/ sooo now then. I don't "mind" stock really too much.. ill miss my drop down toggles I thing more from my gs3. I saw one post that explains using terminal to get root access which is something I know I need for sure. So now then those on mf3 are you too staying on stock and just rooting?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kingo root method is an easy one click method that works also. Why stay stock when you can root easily? I was rooted but now on 4.3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

I just got my phone!!!! I got mine at Costco which I normally get my phone through best buy but there insurance plan stinks now.
Anyways, My phone had the MDF!! So get your phone at Costco!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

[email protected] said:
Kingo root method is an easy one click method that works also. Why stay stock when you can root easily? I was rooted but now on 4.3.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I am rooted... you think after being a pioneer with a beloved Htc G1, that I would EVER be on a device without root. =p (Man.. the reinstalling of a 100 apps manually alone without titanium backup along with its prefs, config and data would take a week to get right) I used that exFat method.
But yea, even tho I am rooted, I wouldnt "mind" a diff rom.. or least debloat this sucker. Half tempted to see which ATT apps I could get rid of, issue is... no odin to restore to if something messes up. I am sure someone will do a mf3 recovery sometime eh?
Oh... btw, how would I disable any auto OTA that could come in the future?

New to S4

How's it going? I am upgrading to the S4 coming from the e4gt on Thursday. I've flashed just about everything there is for the e4gt, but would like to know what is recommended for starting out with this phone. What recovery do you recommend? I've downloaded the cf autoroot which I plan on using, and also the cwm jfltespr 6.0.3.6. Is this the best route for getting started? Thanks in advance.

Welcome over bt.
If you're going to stay on 4.2 then TWRP 2..5.0.2 has proven best for me and most others. TWRP-Recovery-jfltespr-2.5.0.2
If you're going to jump in to 4.3 (and I suspect you will) then use Philz CWM based recovery. philz_touch_5.18.2-jfltespr.tar
Just know that if you take the OTA or Odin 4.3 there is NO going back to 4.2 because of the Knox bootloader.
You can however run 4.3 on 4.2 firmware (non Knox tripped bootloader).
Many of the usual Sammy stuff caveats are the same. biggest difference is that Kernels are seperated from Recoveries. Making it easy to mix and match.
Flashing is a breeze, developers here are great - many came from the e4gt and S3. Same with the contributors and others.
Take some time to read through the posts and you'll soon get a good handle on it.
Have fun!

Hey, i remember you. It's great to see you here. How do I avoid the ota? Can I freeze system updates in tb or for toolbox? Also, what rom do you recommend that I try first? I was looking at the carbon rom, but will try 4.2 first because it looks like they have the save data issues on 4.3 like the e4gt. I will miss all the guys on project x.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

btvolta said:
Hey, i remember you. It's great to see you here. How do I avoid the ota? Can I freeze system updates in tb or for toolbox? Also, what rom do you recommend that I try first? I was looking at the carbon rom, but will try 4.2 first because it looks like they have the save data issues on 4.3 like the e4gt. I will miss all the guys on project x.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you install a custom recovery and kernel you won't be able to take the OTA - it may download but shouldn't install. I use TB to freeze Sprint Installer and Sprint Zone. Sprint Installer is a really sneaky app - it goes out and grabs all their crapware and just loads it up!.
I'd recommend Any of the 4.2 ROMs if you'd like to mess around - Sac, Unknownforce, Negamann's and of course rujelus22's.
For 4.3 I'd say give those guys a go too; just be sure to do it without tripping the Knox counter - using custom recovery and flashing ROM that has the knox bootloader removed.
For CM/AOSP type there are some pretty good ones too.Carbon, Sniper and Garwynn have some builds up. I like to try them but I'm a TW guy - I have to have everything working flawlessly for business so even small things like no 4G, no sms or the like make using them for my daily driver still out of the question for now.

leaderbuilder said:
If you install a custom recovery and kernel you won't be able to take the OTA - it may download but shouldn't install. I use TB to freeze Sprint Installer and Sprint Zone. Sprint Installer is a really sneaky app - it goes out and grabs all their crapware and just loads it up!.
I'd recommend Any of the 4.2 ROMs if you'd like to mess around - Sac, Unknownforce, Negamann's and of course rujelus22's.
For 4.3 I'd say give those guys a go too; just be sure to do it without tripping the Knox counter - using custom recovery and flashing ROM that has the knox bootloader removed.
For CM/AOSP type there are some pretty good ones too.Carbon, Sniper and Garwynn have some builds up. I like to try them but I'm a TW guy - I have to have everything working flawlessly for business so even small things like no 4G, no sms or the like make using them for my daily driver still out of the question for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a chance my phone will come with the 4.3 already installed?

btvolta said:
Is there a chance my phone will come with the 4.3 already installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A friend of mine just bought the S4 two days ago and maybe he was lucky but it was still on 4.2 But don't know if that's the case with all of them.
GS4 Stock Rooted MJA 4.3,Philz Touch CWM,HotSpot Mod,Transparent Weather Widget,8SMS(Stock Messaging,KitKat)

btvolta said:
Is there a chance my phone will come with the 4.3 already installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as @BIGSAMDA1ST said, there is that possibility. Really depends on the supplier and how deep their inventory is.
If is on 4.2, after initial setup it will surely try and update to 4.3 if you let it - I wouldn't. But that's just me. I'd keep it 4.2 and go the 'non-knox' route to 4.3.

btvolta said:
Is there a chance my phone will come with the 4.3 already installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome!
I just got mine on Monday Pre Balck Friday Sale, been on E4GT bricked 3, 4th the power button broke and the E4GT was BO so the bumped me to GS3 was rooted running Cyan 11 4.4 kitkat, PA Gapps, Xposed 128 DPI then the Pre Sale .96 cent's upgraded to this GS4. Monday got it and a hour later the 4.3 OTA was pushed to the phone.
I do have to say this is a Big Learning Curve because a lot of the customization i was used to do on my phone is already stock on this phone.
Been researching trying to figure what exactly to do but also been running tests to see what improvements Sprint and or the phone has made for me. I agree with Leaderbuilder " I have to have everything working flawlessly for business so even small things like no 4G, no sms or the like make using them for my daily driver still out of the question for now".
Everything has seemed to be running great my wife upgraded from Galaxy S "GB" love ginger just not as a OP. Spending a lot of time finding how things work for her and have yet to set my phone up or let it settle in. I say all this to say "what I've read" in all different posts is there is possibly 1 stable 4.4 rom and just now trying to compare the benefit for me rooting. I know removing bloatware but it doesn't seem to be messing the phone up like it did on E4GT, battery life? What I've seen this is pretty good. So take your time get your phone and get used to it I think those of us who came from E4GT was used to having a "fairly good" phone and rooting to make it better however this seems to be at a different level.

I just moved from the Epic 4G to an S4. Still really missing my slide-out keyboard...
I bought my S4 a week ago and it came with 4.2.2. I had NO clue about the Knox BS, and doing a quick Google for 4.3 issues did not bring it up, so I took the OTA update. BIG mistake... Especially since I need to root to run ARLiberator.
Thankfully, my Sprint dealer is great, and after finding they could not roll it back, gave me a direct exchange to a new S4 with 4.2.2. If they would not have done that, I would have exchanged it for a white one to get back to 4.2.2.
Sooo, to sum it up, as of yesterday, it was possible to still get an S4 with 4.2.2 without Knox on it.

VaderSS said:
I just moved from the Epic 4G to an S4. Still really missing my slide-out keyboard...
I bought my S4 a week ago and it came with 4.2.2. I had NO clue about the Knox BS, and doing a quick Google for 4.3 issues did not bring it up, so I took the OTA update. BIG mistake... Especially since I need to root to run ARLiberator.
Thankfully, my Sprint dealer is great, and after finding they could not roll it back, gave me a direct exchange to a new S4 with 4.2.2. If they would not have done that, I would have exchanged it for a white one to get back to 4.2.2.
Sooo, to sum it up, as of yesterday, it was possible to still get an S4 with 4.2.2 without Knox on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chalk it up to me being an old 48 gray haired (although consider myself pretty good searcher) What exactly is Knox and why/not want or want it?What is the issue with taking the OTA update? Layman's terms? My sprint store has really cool tech's but they know nothing about rooting and all different issues. Always like playing with my phone for a bit and never get pissed if I get an issue they can't resolve.
Should I not have done the OTA update? I'm trying to determine if I actually want to root or not because things have seemed good so far.
Main 4.4 item i wanted was "OK Google" but I've got that on my stock phone, sure 128 dpi would be great but if it really worth it for me? I'm still out to lunch on that one.

VaderSS said:
I just moved from the Epic 4G to an S4. Still really missing my slide-out keyboard...
I bought my S4 a week ago and it came with 4.2.2. I had NO clue about the Knox BS, and doing a quick Google for 4.3 issues did not bring it up, so I took the OTA update. BIG mistake... Especially since I need to root to run ARLiberator.
Thankfully, my Sprint dealer is great, and after finding they could not roll it back, gave me a direct exchange to a new S4 with 4.2.2. If they would not have done that, I would have exchanged it for a white one to get back to 4.2.2.
Sooo, to sum it up, as of yesterday, it was possible to still get an S4 with 4.2.2 without Knox on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying you can't root it because of the update? I believe you still can.

btvolta said:
Are you saying you can't root it because of the update? I believe you still can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jtsv said:
Chalk it up to me being an old 48 gray haired (although consider myself pretty good searcher) What exactly is Knox and why/not want or want it?What is the issue with taking the OTA update? Layman's terms? My sprint store has really cool tech's but they know nothing about rooting and all different issues. Always like playing with my phone for a bit and never get pissed if I get an issue they can't resolve.
Should I not have done the OTA update? I'm trying to determine if I actually want to root or not because things have seemed good so far.
Main 4.4 item i wanted was "OK Google" but I've got that on my stock phone, sure 128 dpi would be great but if it really worth it for me? I'm still out to lunch on that one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OTA update installs the Knox boot loader which cannot be rolled back. Once on it, you are on it for good, at least at present.
Knox adds a tattle-tale, so that if you root in the conventional, "fully rooted" manner, install a custom recovery, rom, or kernel, it will trip a flag, titled "Knox Warranty Void" which cannot, at present, be reset. which also breaks certain functionality in the phone. If you don't care about tripping this flag, it looks like you can still mod your phone as before.
There is a way to partially root in spite of Knox, without tripping the flag, but this method may open your phone up in ways you don't want to do. This is still under investigation.
Personally, I did not want a non-resetable flag telling Sprint/Samsung that I had modded my phone... That in itself was enough to make me return the phone.

Thank you for explaining now you have given me more to think about. Why do they care since warranties still cover rooting? Also makes me have something else to add to the puzzle do I root or not. Most things I was rooting for are now stock so I will continue to think about now knowing about the Knox.

Hello BTVOLTA...looking fwd to being here as well. Coming from the E4GT myself this evening and am looking forward to the stuff this thing has the ability to do:thumbup:

btoddweber said:
Hello BTVOLTA...looking fwd to being here as well. Coming from the E4GT myself this evening and am looking forward to the stuff this thing has the ability to do:thumbup:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm waiting in line right now
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

jtsv said:
Thank you for explaining now you have given me more to think about. Why do they care since warranties still cover rooting? Also makes me have something else to add to the puzzle do I root or not. Most things I was rooting for are now stock so I will continue to think about now knowing about the Knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the knox bootloader is big if you are worried about warranty issus and if may need to run 4.2 ROMs.
If you don't think you ever will have either of those situations then that shouldn't matter.
Knox also does have some cool stuff for the corporate world - high security container for applications etc. It's essentially a secure 'sandbox'. I think you'll find many more corps. insisting on an using it. I know my brothers company gave him an S4 with knox for just that reason - secure email/CRM container and connection. This guy had the need too.
But for me I really am pissed that, if needed, I could not set my device to factory original.
Just one more thing an entity will use to keep from supporting a hardware problem they should own by blaming me.
I've had phones with bad radios (GPS part) that needed warranty replacement and one time was told no because I had a custom ROM and the problem was my ROM or my fault for 'destroying' the chip. I promplty went back around the corner flashed a stock .tar and walked back in and proved it to be the hardware.
All that being said this is so far the best phone I've had. And the developers and support folks here are great.
Welcom over y'all and have some fun.

Just got mine and I guess while I was looking foe a case they pushed the update while setting up my s4.
Any advice on what to do?

Depending on the inventory your new one may come with MF9. If so you can just use cf-autoroot to root install a custom recovery and go from there. There is a thread on how to update that firmware (modem and radio) without tripping the knox counter.
To keep it from updating don't take any 'Sprint Firmware updates' during install. You can root right away and then use Titanium to freez the sprint installer and sprint zone to keep the update at bay.
If it comes with MJA you can still root and then install custom recovery. You will just not be able to run a 4.2 ROM stock (using Odin).

Yeah thats the issue part says dont care othet says dont need security issue but its nice to be safe amd secure. Bricked 3 E4GT andb4th power button broke but all covered by insurance when they upgraded me to GS3 and then I needed a new phone and got the Gs4.
My 3 was running Cyan 11 w/4.4 kitkat and Xposed 128 dpi. I have almost everything I was used to with root with this stock except the 128 dpi so Im trying to figure if I just need to play it safe for a while or not.
I'm irritated by the play store every time I try to install with it pulling 1 of 3 error codes ever since upgraded to 4.3 so part of me wants to just root to 4.4 since I know how it runs but Ive only found 1 stable 4.4 available and not too familiar of roms since my experience is from E4GT and Gs3 days.
My first thoughts are if I know I may have issues and create more issues with my phone with Knox then why even bother?
Last clarification if I root Knox then acts like the old odin counter and or it also will keep me from flashing unroot back to stock? Kinda if can't reboot back to stock then if I softbrick and need help im on my own where as in past I still got help from sprint tech support and insurance because they couldn't prove I rooted an csused the issue.
Knox makes it permanent like water damage sticker with iOs?

btoddweber said:
Just got mine and I guess while I was looking foe a case they pushed the update while setting up my s4.
Any advice on what to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was all over it, made sure they didn't push the update. I now have it frozen, and I flashed beanstalk. It's running great so far. It seems though that none of the nice features that come with this phone are on this ROM. Next I will look to flash another kernel and then comadose. BTW, the recovery I installed B is Philz. It appears that if you want to use some of the nice stock options, probably need flash a TW ROM.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

[Q] KIT KAT on contracted Samsung S4 AT&T i337?

I have had my S4 since switching to ATT in late November and have been following the XDA forums very closely since then. It was thanks to the XDA forums that I was able to root my S4.
However, no matter how far, wide, and meticulously I look on the site, there is no mention of the existence of running KIT-KAT on the i337 S4 for AT&T, save for the Google Play Edition and the version with the octacore etc.
I know these forums are strict (and should be) about questions being asked more than once, but I am not asking when KITKAT will be released through AT&T or even Samsung because I honestly don't care. I simply want to get KitKat on my device running with relative stability. I know there are custom roms out there, but most of them were released...a month ago or so? MAYBE I'm missing something, but if anyone here is in similar shoes, I would appreciate it if you'd echo my sentiments/request to find out if it can be done and how.
Anyone who knows how I can learn more about loading ASOP onto my i337 S4, I would greatly appreciate it. If the limitation is a locked boot loader that you CANNOT get around (excluding safestrap), do let me know! I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from the answer to this question.
Otherwise I'm going to go buy the Google Play Edition of one of the Android devices that has an unlocked boot loader.
Cheers,
Justin

justintime001 said:
I have had my S4 since switching to ATT in late November and have been following the XDA forums very closely since then. It was thanks to the XDA forums that I was able to root my S4.
However, no matter how far, wide, and meticulously I look on the site, there is no mention of the existence of running KIT-KAT on the i337 S4 for AT&T, save for the Google Play Edition and the version with the octacore etc.
I know these forums are strict (and should be) about questions being asked more than once, but I am not asking when KITKAT will be released through AT&T or even Samsung because I honestly don't care. I simply want to get KitKat on my device running with relative stability. I know there are custom roms out there, but most of them were released...a month ago or so? MAYBE I'm missing something, but if anyone here is in similar shoes, I would appreciate it if you'd echo my sentiments/request to find out if it can be done and how.
Anyone who knows how I can learn more about loading ASOP onto my i337 S4, I would greatly appreciate it. If the limitation is a locked boot loader that you CANNOT get around (excluding safestrap), do let me know! I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from the answer to this question.
Otherwise I'm going to go buy the Google Play Edition of one of the Android devices that has an unlocked boot loader.
Cheers,
Justin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version are you currently running. Go to about phone and post your baseband version. If the 2nd to last digit is f or higher you can't get kit kat yet. If it is before f then you are free to do whatever you want., If you are rooted you can just download rom manager from the play store and flash a recovery the easy way. Then get cyanogenmod or something for your device.

failedjedi said:
What version are you currently running. Go to about phone and post your baseband version. If the 2nd to last digit is f or higher you can't get kit kat yet. If it is before f then you are free to do whatever you want., If you are rooted you can just download rom manager from the play store and flash a recovery the easy way. Then get cyanogenmod or something for your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply!!!
That is most unfortunate, since it is i337UCUEMK2 - even if I did some crazy stuff to go back to MF3, I'd be right at f anyway. ROM Manager and flashing a recovery the easy way seemed simple enough and I was going to do that but it ended up not working, then I tried using Goo Manager and that soft-bricked my phone and I spent hours getting it back to MK2 again. It's back to the way it was, but I still want to update to Kit-Kat.
Btw, could you tell me why it isn't possible because of my baseband? Thanks failedjedi, and anyone else that can offer useful information.
Cheers,
J

justintime001 said:
Thank you for your reply!!!
That is most unfortunate, since it is i337UCUEMK2 - even if I did some crazy stuff to go back to MF3, I'd be right at f anyway. ROM Manager and flashing a recovery the easy way seemed simple enough and I was going to do that but it ended up not working, then I tried using Goo Manager and that soft-bricked my phone and I spent hours getting it back to MK2 again. It's back to the way it was, but I still want to update to Kit-Kat.
Btw, could you tell me why it isn't possible because of my baseband? Thanks failedjedi, and anyone else that can offer useful information.
Cheers,
J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With mf3 they locked down the bootloader. So before mf3 you were able to put a custom recovery and custom roms. Since MF3 no one has figured out how to bypass it yet. With mf3 you can use safestrap to sort of get some custom roms, but it still needs to boot the stock kernel as you can't yet use a custom kernel. As a result you are limited to only 4.2.2 Touchwiz based roms working. Now safestrap has a beta for newer versions, not 100% sure what it does and does not support yet as I'm sticking with my mf3 and a 4.2.2 jellybean rom. But the beta is new and probably still buggy.
But basically since you need the stock kernel, you are limited to only the android version your current stock version is.

Yeah as an android developer, I accept that, but am not going to permit it to remain true. This might take awhile...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

If you are a developer there are bounties out for someone to get this working on mf3>
I don't have that issue but good luck if you try--:good:

Thanks! Didn't really know there were bounties for that - worthwhile ones anyway given that im dev apps and messing with AOSP and mainly my att s4 every chance I get.
Actually id be doing it for mk2, and if it becomes apparent that mf3 is easier to do it with ill do with that since I'd just DANGEROUSLY use Odin to go back, root, sideload titpro and block the sht out of the autoupdate. From what ive seen, the intermediary version between mf3 and mk2 might be most likely. This is all conjecture anyway. Sooner or later I will allow people to be free even with contracted or used phones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

[Q] Trying to get a rom for MF3

Hi guys, fairly new to Android, been an iPhone user for a very long time. Didn't like it, but they were always JB. I got the S4 and was hoping to get it in a custom rom since all this AT&T jargon is annoying. Not to mention the slow stock apps and useless apps.
Heres my phone specs.
ANDROID VERSION: 4.2.2
MODEL: SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
BASE BAND VERSION: I337UCUAMF3
BUILD NUMBER: JDQ39.I337UCUAMF3
It's an MF3 to the max I believe. And as far as I have seen, there is no option for it using any AOSP roms or any roms that use the 4.4. roms.
I may be wrong and was wondering what my options are for custom roms? I would like to go cyagen or google, but it seems I may be out of luck with either. I can't find help on the forums since most people claim they got a rom, while many others claim its impossible, while others have bricked phones. I dont even know which recover to use.
My phone is rooted, I have clockwork.

aermis said:
Hi guys, fairly new to Android, been an iPhone user for a very long time. Didn't like it, but they were always JB. I got the S4 and was hoping to get it in a custom rom since all this AT&T jargon is annoying. Not to mention the slow stock apps and useless apps.
Heres my phone specs.
ANDROID VERSION: 4.2.2
MODEL: SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
BASE BAND VERSION: I337UCUAMF3
BUILD NUMBER: JDQ39.I337UCUAMF3
It's an MF3 to the max I believe. And as far as I have seen, there is no option for it using any AOSP roms or any roms that use the 4.4. roms.
I may be wrong and was wondering what my options are for custom roms? I would like to go cyagen or google, but it seems I may be out of luck with either. I can't find help on the forums since most people claim they got a rom, while many others claim its impossible, while others have bricked phones. I dont even know which recover to use.
My phone is rooted, I have clockwork.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you can boot into clockwork, you don't have it. Chances are your recovery is broken at the moment. Your only option on MF3 is to use Safestrap, and if you stay on MF3 then you can use a 4.2.2 Google Edition ROM but that's the most you'll get besides other touchwiz. Otherwise, if you do have clockwork then you're either still on MDL with an MF3 ROM or on a different model. There's plenty of threads with information.

DeadlySin9 said:
Unless you can boot into clockwork, you don't have it. Chances are your recovery is broken at the moment. Your only option on MF3 is to use Safestrap, and if you stay on MF3 then you can use a 4.2.2 Google Edition ROM but that's the most you'll get besides other touchwiz. Otherwise, if you do have clockwork then you're either still on MDL with an MF3 ROM or on a different model. There's plenty of threads with information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. Thank you for the information. You may be right with the Clockwork being broken. I do get into the boot load but I don't think I got a recovery. OK so my best options are a 4.2.2 google edition rom. How about with cyogen? If you can point me to the proper forums I'd gladly stop annoying you lol. I'm sorry for being difficult. It's hard for me to dig for information correctly.

Keep Digging. You have a lot to learn. Read up on what you can and can not do on mf3. Look for safestrap

Mf3 shostock v2.3 was good... Try rooted stock with the wanam clean up w.e apps you don't need... Regardless its only TW and I'm holding off updating faithfully
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

you won't be able to use cyanogen, it's aosp
and you will have to use the recovery that comes with safestrap--no custom recoveries or kernels
you can, i believe update to mk2 and with latest Safestrap 3.7? and use 4.3 roms. not expert on SafeStrap as I don't need it, so not 100% on that
first step is getting recovery back

Everyone thanks a lot for the replies. I will look into all that was said and see what my best options are. Whether to update to mk2 and get 4.3 roms but risk the update or keep mf3 and hope for some custom recoveries.

[Q] Updating rooted S4 to 4.4.2 Kitkat

Firstly, thank you for your time in reading this, I appreciate it.
I made the mistake of rooting and installing safestrap on my AT&T S4 (SGH-I337) and even after unrooting,and removing safestrap, I am unable to take OTA updates. It reaches 25% in the recovery, and then fails.
This leads me to believe that in order to take the Kitkat update, I will have to flash the NB1 update using odin (In the PDA slot??), allowing me to go all the way back to stock and be able to take OTA's from then on out. I am probably wrong though.
Alternatively, I could just stay on 4.3 for the rest of my time on the phone before I upgrade in one (ish) years. I'm not really a poweruser, and only really use my phone for texting and internet, so it's probably not a big deal, although I would prefer to be running the newest version of android if possible.
In order to go completely back to stock, what would I have to do, and is it worth the risk of a brick to get to that point?
Thank you again, and have a nice day.

Follow this thread to install a pre-rooted KitKat ROM from a large list of Roms - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2680868
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk