Database Users

AT&T SGSIII Warranty info

All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.

das7982 said:
All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.
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Click to collapse
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.

That's nice to know. Thanks, but I think I will wait a good spell before flashing anyways.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

If this is official AT&T policy I will sticky this for all to see. If it is a store by store basis then I won't. Let me know.
Thanks
FNM

das7982 said:
All,
I run a warranty device support center for AT&T and I want to dispel some rumors that are going around about flash counters and voiding warranty.
1. Running custom software on any samsung device does not void your warranty as we have samsung reflash tools from samsung in every warranty center around the country.
2. Flashing custom software does indeed raise the flash counter but no one at at&t cares.
3. When you receive a warrant replacement with at&t the phone goes down to RLO ATC in FT worth Texas and is destroyed. You will not be charged for flashing custom roms
4. The only thing that will void your warranty is having liquid damage, physical damage, or being outside your 1 year warranty. Thats it, thats all.
Hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.

BLOWNCO said:
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
outsides are taken off and crushed into raw material and sent back to manufacturers. main boards, wafer, silicon, radios are then recycled and sent back to the manufacturer so they can install into new cases and refurbished back to the warranty service centers

Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will post official at&t documentation soon.

Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also was talking about samsung as this is a samsung forum.... we have samsung reflash tools that aren't available to the public to repair samsung issues... thats why flashing with samsung does not void the warranty. Read the OP please... nothing was said about atrix as it has a locked bootloader and requires bootstrapping and other non sense

das7982 said:
I will post official at&t documentation soon.
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Click to collapse
Awesome, should calm alot of nerves around here.
das7982 said:
I also was talking about samsung as this is a samsung forum
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Click to collapse
LoL, thanks for clearing that up.

Thanks for giving clarity on this.
I'm sure others are wondering as well.. how come you're a Verizon user working for AT&T?

I can jump in with a few things here:
AT&T's employee discount blows, to be honest. As a retail rep you get 2 lines, one with 500 and one with 1000 minutes. You then have to pay for everything a la carte. Data, texts, etc are all a paid addon, and you don't save much over a consumer plan. In addition, AT&T "reserves the right" to ask to inspect your phone for content and usage at any time, though admittedly it rarely happens. AT&T gives you a COU line and free phone (mostly of AT&T's choice), but they have the right to monitor anything & everything on it, and tell you not to use it for ANY personal use. Again, it's rarely inspected, but still... Screw that.
When I was with AT&T, I kept my Sprint line, because I was paying next to nothing with it.
As for destroying the phone casings, anything that has come into contact with the general public has to be destroyed for sanitary purposes. This is also why it's illegal to sell returned or used Bluetooth headsets. God forbid in the rare & unlikely instance you contracted a disease from a refurb phone? AT&T would be liable for millions in a lawsuit. It's cheaper to just destroy the casings.
Edit:
As for custom roms, it's not a store by store basis, because the repairs are only done in repair facilities. With Sprint, the "official" ruling was that rooting was fine, as long as that wasn't the cause of the phone breaking. If your power buttons cracked and you had a rooted phone, they were (mostly) smart enough to know that a custom rom didn't crack your power button. We also reserved the right to take customers who treated us like assholes and tell them to go kick rocks. Treat the repair techs well, and you'll be treated like gold.

Gadgetz said:
I could type up a similar declaration but that doesn't make it true. So if you really want to ensure us of the things you've said, show some official AT&T documentation backing up what you just said.
My daughters Atrix 2 needed to get replaced cause I tried to flash 2.3.5 over 2.3.6 without following the proper procedure and it failed the flashing process and ended up at the Fastboot screen and wouldn't boot the rom. Phone is just 9 months old. It also wouldn't send or receive MMS messages with the stock messaging app in the rom it was running. She took it in to the AT&T repair center and he got it to boot up but because I had CWM on boot installed it went right to CWM, he booted it up and noticed it was running a custom rom and told her he couldn't do anything for her since because the phone was "jailbroken" and running non-AT&T software.
Since he got the phone to boot again, I installed GoSMS Pro and her messaging issues were fixed so she ended up keeping the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My GPS stopped working on my Atrix 4G. I took it to a DSC in miami...
They noticed my bootloader said 'unlocked' at the top, but they didn't seem to care. they just gave me a new phone.
It all depends on where you go, or who you run into. there is no policy, just upto them I guess.

Make sure when you post the documentation you post the mycsp I'd too...
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

My local att tech support has two representatives that assist customer. One is an indian that with all do respect it a total idiot and the other is a super short girl that even she cant believe that she works at the tech support. It takes them 45 minutes each to find out the diagnose after talking on the phone to some devine authority. Now you are saying they told you all that stuff about warranty. Well in my opinion that is not worth even my dogs crap because tech support reps most of the time are just a bunch on morrons.

razorseal said:
My GPS stopped working on my Atrix 4G. I took it to a DSC in miami...
They noticed my bootloader said 'unlocked' at the top, but they didn't seem to care. they just gave me a new phone.
It all depends on where you go, or who you run into. there is no policy, just upto them I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly why I asked for some official documentation. It doesn't effect me cause I rooted w/o tripping the counter, but I know tons of people here would be interested.

Gadgetz said:
Exactly why I asked for some official documentation. It doesn't effect me cause I rooted w/o tripping the counter, but I know tons of people here would be interested.
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Click to collapse
indeed.

If this turns out to be legit, I'm going flash crazy.
Herp derp Captivate Tapatalk 2

BLOWNCO said:
whats up with number 3? why are they destroyed? seems like a huge waste of money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do not destroy them, but actually tear them apart and refurbish other phones with the parts.

cincygeek said:
They do not destroy them, but actually tear them apart and refurbish other phones with the parts.
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Click to collapse
yes, I thought this was the case too. like let's say they take the camera out of it, so when they get a phone with a broken camera, they swap it out. or maybe the capacitor. or an internal speaker.

entropism said:
AT&T's employee discount blows, to be honest.
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Click to collapse
I work for VZ landline, and our discounts are so bad that it is cheaper for me to keep Sprint service.

[Q] Has anyone had luck with warranty after root?

Has anyone had luck with getting a replacement thru warranty after being rooted? my vibration stopped and the warranty dept said they will send me a new phone... but also said i could pay the full price off the phone if the warranty dept finds i voided my warranty. this has me scared, im tempted to just pay the deductible on insurance rather than be at risk for the full price.

What firmware are you on? You can remove root.

jd1639 said:
What firmware are you on? You can remove root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
currently removed root and on mf3... but i was amdl and removed root, as soon as i removed root it prompted me to install mf3, so i did. i guess im more curious if someones been denied due to havinig had root, assuming anyone who would of sent theres back would of removed root, but like they found traces of it

I've seen a lot of people here use warranty claim and none of them reported any problems. If you're unrooted no one can tell if it was rooted. I've personally sent two devices in over the years and had no problems. Both of them were rooted.

I was like that too (rooted on MDL though)...but I had to RMA to Samsung regardless. My LCD screen had discoloration and lines on it. It's in this topic if you're interested to read: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2395948
But in short. I called Samsung and made a repair ticket. Sent it to Samsung using free 2day air UPS they gave. I put a sticky note on my phone mentioning "Hardware problem - screen is weird".
I got my phone back 2 weeks later with everything fixed. Upon inspecting the receipt and email they sent me, everything was free because of my valid warranty. Once I found that out I was happy since I was worried about paying for some stupid fee :S
Unfortunately, they updated my phone to MF3, might have left my phone on for awhile during the repair and it auto-updated.

ok cool, i feel better about sending it in now. im sure i will still be wondering for a couple weeks until they clear it lol. thanks

Forced Update

Anyone get forced into updating? I have been delaying the update for a day, and it just suddenly rebooted my phone and tried to update it for me instead.

if you dont want the update then you better do something about it stat. get it rooted and either freeze a few particular files or get a custom rom on there.

asdfuogh said:
Anyone get forced into updating? I have been delaying the update for a day, and it just suddenly rebooted my phone and tried to update it for me instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about 4.3? I didn't think that was live yet

Yeah 2 times. I didn't know that anyone can force you to do anything..... ATT is pushing MF3 like an mf..... I had mdl a "friend" Stole it and sold it.... lied to att. now have to buy a gs4 off craigslist stat. Or else I owe them 600 dollars.
You can get overnight repair if you call 611 and on att you have a year warranty havent said anything and I've bricked about five of these..... I have one to brick today so I can send it back... Any ideas or anything to try that someone is scared to do. I'm not scared to brick it..... ATT device support center isnt too happy with me though.

JohnMonsour said:
Yeah 2 times. I didn't know that anyone can force you to do anything..... ATT is pushing MF3 like an mf..... I had mdl a "friend" Stole it and sold it.... lied to att. now have to buy a gs4 off craigslist stat. Or else I owe them 600 dollars.
You can get overnight repair if you call 611 and on att you have a year warranty havent said anything and I've bricked about five of these..... I have one to brick today so I can send it back... Any ideas or anything to try that someone is scared to do. I'm not scared to brick it..... ATT device support center isnt too happy with me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read your contact. They can "upgrade" the firmware when ever they want. And quit bricking your phones. I hope you get caught.

You are a funny person. You really think sammy has time to check every single phone and even look at the software on it. You have a one year warranty. If I want to brick my damn phone because of "defective hardware" meaning if my q-fuse is not intact I dont want the phone. They are breaching their own contract when they blow a fuse on the board. I mean that is just a ridiculous way to **** us...... I wonder if we take it apart and just solder a trace where the q fuse was if we would be able to downgrade. But then of course I would be breaking my warranty.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium HD app

Grow up dude. Take responsibility for yourself.

You should have read the contract with at&t before contracting. They have full rights to force an update regardless of any say you may have. They believe their forced updates benefit their carrier service and customer support, they'll never change that for the modding community. As for intentional bricking, if caught doing it multiple times it's considered warranty fraud which voids your warranty infinitely until getting a different device; and no you cannot fight it (try lol). Samsung themselves are strictly against rooting their new line of devices and have every right to modify your phone through at&ts forced updates to prevent it. Your options are either disable the updating, or flash a custom ROM which won't allow it.
There is multiple threads here that already explain all of this.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium HD app

JohnMonsour said:
You are a funny person. You really think sammy has time to check every single phone and even look at the software on it. You have a one year warranty. If I want to brick my damn phone because of "defective hardware" meaning if my q-fuse is not intact I dont want the phone. They are breaching their own contract when they blow a fuse on the board. I mean that is just a ridiculous way to **** us...... I wonder if we take it apart and just solder a trace where the q fuse was if we would be able to downgrade. But then of course I would be breaking my warranty.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Former AT&T rep here. We have every right to deny you service for modifying or tampering with a device. Samsung can and will check the KNOX Warranty flag to see if it's been tripped, and if that's the case, you're liable. You are under a contract and service agreement. It's not the company's fault if the user didn't read the fine print and signed the contract anyway. That's called ignorance on your part.
Also, the fuse they blew is software based, but hardwired onto the board itself. Good luck with modifying that and seeing if it will stick. Also, don't be surprised if AT&T goes after you legally.

asdfuogh said:
Anyone get forced into updating? I have been delaying the update for a day, and it just suddenly rebooted my phone and tried to update it for me instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JohnMonsour said:
Yeah 2 times. I didn't know that anyone can force you to do anything..... ATT is pushing MF3 like an mf..... I had mdl a "friend" Stole it and sold it.... lied to att. now have to buy a gs4 off craigslist stat. Or else I owe them 600 dollars.
You can get overnight repair if you call 611 and on att you have a year warranty havent said anything and I've bricked about five of these..... I have one to brick today so I can send it back... Any ideas or anything to try that someone is scared to do. I'm not scared to brick it..... ATT device support center isnt too happy with me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do some reading.

Will someone post a link on freezing the right files so I can be prepped for 4.3, please?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

Br4nd3n said:
You should have read the contract with at&t before contracting. They have full rights to force an update regardless of any say you may have. They believe their forced updates benefit their carrier service and customer support, they'll never change that for the modding community. As for intentional bricking, if caught doing it multiple times it's considered warranty fraud which voids your warranty infinitely until getting a different device; and no you cannot fight it (try lol). Samsung themselves are strictly against rooting their new line of devices and have every right to modify your phone through at&ts forced updates to prevent it. Your options are either disable the updating, or flash a custom ROM which won't allow it.
Moto doesn't care either I've done the same thing with atrix. They don't have time to really gaf at this point.... Do you realize how many people a day send their phone in for warranty replacement.... and individuals check each and every phone. You blow my mind. I've been with ATT for 13 years.... Since the cingular days..... I signed a contract with Cingular. And ATT is Cingular they bought out ATT but kept their name.... I also have the grandfather plan and got my 10 dollars for the class action lawsuit for when they forced me to get a data plan when I got the first gen iphone.... So I am very experienced with ATT and they back down and ***** out at every threat..... I say I wan't to back out cause I do read fine print and they make me pay for unlimited data or what was then have the audacity to send me a message saying that I am a threat to the network because I am in the top 3 percent of data users..... hmmmmm theyve breached their own contracts..... They want to throttle my data but when I bought an iphone years ago they forced me to get an unlimited data plan.... hmmmmmm then want to throttle my data.... they do not care about their customers. Just money hungry giants and I will do everything in my power to **** them as hard as I can...... As for samsung..... I've read my contract with them about their device.... I'ts not theirs it's in my possession, ergo if I feel like breaking it via any software method I want to I have that right and they just have to keep them coming and keep on replacing them because I'll claim that kies did it every time and they can't take any legal action there is no way in hell they can prove that kies didn't brick my phone..... so thanks samsung for 9 gs4's you too ATT cause your reps are uneducated and I mean that is of course why they are reps and work for your company I bet they don't even have good benefits... wait that is a min wage job isn't it......? ATT is a joke and will soon go bankrupt..... Pretty bold statement? Talk to me in 5 years..... I signed my contract 13 years ago..... And I buy my new phones for 700 no contract extension... They've never sent me a revised version of it.... and after the first two years they just assumed I wanted to continue service with them without even asking me just continued to bill me..... Why are they offering phones running android which is based on Linux which is open sourced.... and that is what google intended it to be... that's why I had to get the nexus version. But also continue to have animosity toward ATT for all their bull****.
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[Q] New Phone, Device Status: Custom

I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 III N900 32gb Black Factory Unlocked Android Cell Phone from Amazon. The store was SHOPEBEST. (cant post links yet)
Got it, had the IMEI tag removed from the box for some reason dunno why.
Everything looks brand spanking new, got a new sim from AT&T, setup install some apps then I try to run update got the device is modified message. Wiped cache partition, restarted numerous times, never had an SD card in but i did try to put an old one in and remove it etc.
Still shows up as CUSTOM.
In odin download mode it shows:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SM-N900
CURRENT BINARY: Custom
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
WARRANTY BIT: 1
I'm new to android so i have very little knowledge about android systems, rooting or roms or anything only the stuff i learned from hours of reading.
My question is if this phone is new WHY is it showing custom and the warranty showing 1 meaning void right out of the box? Is there anyway i can go back to stock and get the warranty back to 0?
Thanks for your time and help.

I would hazard an opinion the phone is not brand new or wasn't factory unlocked? I thought I saw something about some shop opening brand new phones, unlocking them and selling as factory unlocked. I guess they tripped flag unlocking it? Strange there was no IMEI on the box, maybe the phone IMEI and box didn't match?

pete4k said:
I would hazard an opinion the phone is not brand new or wasn't factory unlocked? I thought I saw something about some shop opening brand new phones, unlocking them and selling as factory unlocked. I guess they tripped flag unlocking it? Strange there was no IMEI on the box, maybe the phone IMEI and box didn't match?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't even notice at first but the sticker is /was removed from the box. Had the caution sealed package sticker on it though. I contacted them already. There's no way this phone is brand new with the odin mode showing that.

I would return it, just for warranty sake. Also I don't think you can do OTA updates if it's custom. And if it's rooted already, it could have virus or some other stuff on it as well.

Sorry to hear that you got scammed. Though there is no way to reset the warrannty bit counter back to Ero. But you may check if you had a Super SU app in your app drawee. If it there that means your phone is rooted. So yoi can try Triangle away app it might help im not sure if it works then reflash a stock rom and do a fulk factory reset and wipe the cash partition.
Sent from my SM-N900 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Mirage20uk said:
So yoi can try Triangle away app it might help im not sure if it works then reflash a stock rom and do a fulk factory reset and wipe the cash partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't bother with Triangle-Away. It won't reset Knox back to 0x0.

Knox seems tripped.
You def need to return this.

If it's this obvious that it wasn't unlocked by the manufacturer but instead has been modified by the reseller you might also want to shoot Amazon an email at the reports form hereabouts: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/reports/contact-us
Sometimes it helps to be specific... I find that just returning the item solves my own problem but then leaves the seller free to cause problems for others. And Amazon has from my own experience been really awesome and helpful with this stuff. I reported a seller who sold me a red-screened Kindle Fire 2 and I actually got to speak to a human being. In general I find they have some of the best support imaginable.

pete4k said:
I would return it, just for warranty sake. Also I don't think you can do OTA updates if it's custom. And if it's rooted already, it could have virus or some other stuff on it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm returning it first thing Monday. I find it funny how the seller didn't want any problems. They told me to just return the phone for a full refund even though i used it for 3 days. They charge a restock fee for returns but i told them im not paying any restocking fee and they still said return it. They know what they did.
Mirage20uk said:
Sorry to hear that you got scammed. Though there is no way to reset the warrannty bit counter back to Ero. But you may check if you had a Super SU app in your app drawee. If it there that means your phone is rooted. So yoi can try Triangle away app it might help im not sure if it works then reflash a stock rom and do a fulk factory reset and wipe the cash partition.
Sent from my SM-N900 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i was wondering what that was its called SuperSU has a yellow shield with a # sign on it. Is that not supposed to be included with android?
oddbehreif said:
Don't bother with Triangle-Away. It won't reset Knox back to 0x0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skander1998 said:
Knox seems tripped.
You def need to return this.
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Click to collapse
Yeah its going back either way. Even if i could revert it back to stock/valid warranty its still being returned because i paid for a NEW phone and someone else used it already. I don't know what they did to it or did with it. Being shady doesn't earn my business or trust.
BewareAlbatross said:
If it's this obvious that it wasn't unlocked by the manufacturer but instead has been modified by the reseller you might also want to shoot Amazon an email at the reports form hereabouts:
Sometimes it helps to be specific... I find that just returning the item solves my own problem but then leaves the seller free to cause problems for others. And Amazon has from my own experience been really awesome and helpful with this stuff. I reported a seller who sold me a red-screened Kindle Fire 2 and I actually got to speak to a human being. In general I find they have some of the best support imaginable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh you bet I'm telling amazon. These guys wasted a lot of my time with this now. I now have to wipe it, return it, go back to ATT get another sim and put my old phone back on my plan and buy another phone. So it is my duty to to warn amazon about this shady seller so other people don't fall victim to what happened to me.
Bright side to all this. I think the note is way 2 big for me so I'm thinking about trying out the nexus 5, cheaper smaller and everyone says its awesome. So thanks to this shady seller i got to test it out for a few days.

Juansito said:
Bright side to all this. I think the note is way 2 big for me so I'm thinking about trying out the nexus 5, cheaper smaller and everyone says its awesome. So thanks to this shady seller i got to test it out for a few days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll find this amusing but I still prefer my old Galaxy Nexus over the Nexus 5. It may not have ran 4.4.2 perfectly but man... User-replaceable battery, amazing kernel mods, none of the weird bugs I encountered with the Nexus 5, rock solid GPS, and it took SD Cards.
I liked the Nexus 4 just fine, but man the 5 really burnt me on the Nexus line. I had a lot of problems with it. So did my coworker with his. Ended up returning both.

BewareAlbatross said:
You'll find this amusing but I still prefer my old Galaxy Nexus over the Nexus 5. It may not have ran 4.4.2 perfectly but man... User-replaceable battery, amazing kernel mods, none of the weird bugs I encountered with the Nexus 5, rock solid GPS, and it took SD Cards.
I liked the Nexus 4 just fine, but man the 5 really burnt me on the Nexus line. I had a lot of problems with it. So did my coworker with his. Ended up returning both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm new to android what phone do you suggest? I want a new phone latest model. I picked the note 3 because of the screen. Although it is nice and i love using it when im at home or laying down its just not functional for me as a phone everyday.

Juansito said:
I'm new to android what phone do you suggest? I want a new phone latest model. I picked the note 3 because of the screen. Although it is nice and i love using it when im at home or laying down its just not functional for me as a phone everyday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the sold you a repaired phone..... seems like the LCD broke and they bought a LCD from ebay and swap the board.......
the FULL LCD from ebay does not include IMEI sticker....... and some times its difficult to remove the original sticker....
I know this because I Note 3 fell and the screen broke... I bought a Black complete Note 3 without the logic board and I was good again...
My Phone was originally white....... I was able to transfer the IMEI sticker though....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-N90...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item4d162a5a50
it would have been better if the the knox was not tripped.... it depend how much you paid if its over 500 return it....

BewareAlbatross said:
You'll find this amusing but I still prefer my old Galaxy Nexus over the Nexus 5. It may not have ran 4.4.2 perfectly but man... User-replaceable battery, amazing kernel mods, none of the weird bugs I encountered with the Nexus 5, rock solid GPS, and it took SD Cards.
I liked the Nexus 4 just fine, but man the 5 really burnt me on the Nexus line. I had a lot of problems with it. So did my coworker with his. Ended up returning both.
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antiguangenius said:
the sold you a repaired phone..... seems like the LCD broke and they bought a LCD from ebay and swap the board.......
the FULL LCD from ebay does not include IMEI sticker....... and some times its difficult to remove the original sticker....
I know this because I Note 3 fell and the screen broke... I bought a Black complete Note 3 without the logic board and I was good again...
My Phone was originally white....... I was able to transfer the IMEI sticker though....
it would have been better if the the knox was not tripped.... it depend how much you paid if its over 500 return it....
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Click to collapse
$693.42 and I'm returning it first thing tomorrow morning.

Juansito said:
$693.42 and I'm returning it first thing tomorrow morning.
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RETURN THAT FAST!!!! you got scammed......

antiguangenius said:
RETURN THAT FAST!!!! you got scammed......
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Click to collapse
Already got the box, packing and shipping box. Glad i have amazon a-z to fall back on just in-case these guys try to pull something when i return. Getting signature confirmation and insurance.

Juansito said:
Already got the box, packing and shipping box. Glad i have amazon a-z to fall back on just in-case these guys try to pull something when i return. Getting signature confirmation and insurance.
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That's crazy though OMG.... make sure you leaave a review warning people and report it to Amazon
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

antiguangenius said:
That's crazy though OMG.... make sure you leaave a review warning people and report it to Amazon
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Read page 1, I'm reporting them to amazon as soon as i get my money back. A review wont do anything.

Juansito said:
I'm new to android what phone do you suggest? I want a new phone latest model. I picked the note 3 because of the screen. Although it is nice and i love using it when im at home or laying down its just not functional for me as a phone everyday.
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Best thing I could tell you, since asking what's the best phone is like asking what's the best ROM, is go to your local carrier stores like ATT and T-Mobile, Sprint, etc... And just try out phones in your hand. Don't worry too much about specs these days. If it's running at least Android 4.2 with a 1Ghz processor it will make calls, end texts, and play cat videos. Even without, it should still.
If you want the absolute most epic and powerful phone you're already holding it as far as I know. The Note 3 not only has premiere specs but USB 3, support for something ridiculous like another 64 gigs or 128 gigs of CLASS 10 MicroSD goodness...And a stylus, which is something I've genuinely missed ever since the old WinMo 6.5 days when you could either choose the multitouch mod or the overclock mod but not both. :laugh:
Really though, your best is just go to stores and see what feels best especially since you seem to be the kind of person for whom the feel of the phone in your hand and how it carries is important. You can always then walk out of the store, go on someplace like Swappa, and find the phone at a cheaper price and probably unlocked.

[Q] N900W8 software problems

i had a thread in generals, but figured it was the wrong place so i moved the post to here. c/p from OP
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.

Seems that the phone was software unlocked while it was rooted. Un rooting the device will simply lock the phone back up. Have you tried entering your carriers APN settings under mobile network?
You have a couple of options, you can root your phone again and software unlock your phone using "CF Region Lock Away" (I've heard that it worked on 4.3 (N900W8) not sure if it'll work with 4.4.2.
2nd option is to get a hardware unlock code from a retailer who unlocks phones.
If I were in your position, I'd try and return the USED phone back to the person you bought it from as it was clearly tampered with. You bought a phone which has KNOX 0x1 which VOIDS your warranty. You were under the assumption that the phone you bought was brand new in the box, FALSE ADVERTISING.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

tedmonddo said:
i had a thread in generals, but figured it was the wrong place so i moved the post to here. c/p from OP
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro.....
Meet me at the store you bought this from in T.O, I will get you a refund in 5 minutes.
Not even slightly kidding.
You were RIPPED OFF bud!! Do not allow that to go down. Tell them to switch it for another one, until you get one that has a warranty.
Seriously, my offer stands. If you want to meet down there sometime this week I would be glad to do so, I live about an hour outside the GTA but I don't give a ****. If there is anything I can do to help you in this situation I'll do it.

I have tried registering it on the fido network without any luck. Even the local cellphone shop was tinkering with it for 30minutes trying to help me out. They weren't able to do anything either. From my understanding, a software unlock only works for europe phones (based on what i have read) even the local guys said its usually just a pin unlock.
Update: The retailer that i bought it from said he ordered me a new white note 3 unlocked as well to replace my problematic one. When i go again i have to make sure its not rooted. IS there such thing as a Factory unlocked/unbranded samsung note 3 from samsung themselves?
djnoicatse said:
Seems that the phone was software unlocked while it was rooted. Un rooting the device will simply lock the phone back up. Have you tried entering your carriers APN settings under mobile network?
You have a couple of options, you can root your phone again and software unlock your phone using "CF Region Lock Away" (I've heard that it worked on 4.3 (N900W8) not sure if it'll work with 4.4.2.
2nd option is to get a hardware unlock code from a retailer who unlocks phones.
If I were in your position, I'd try and return the USED phone back to the person you bought it from as it was clearly tampered with. You bought a phone which has KNOX 0x1 which VOIDS your warranty. You were under the assumption that the phone you bought was brand new in the box, FALSE ADVERTISING.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

The manager is more than willing to help me by getting me a new device. As mentioned in the previous post, i do hope that this one is unmodified/unrooted out of the box. Anything to look out for besides the software download information screen?
May i ask where you got your device? maybe i can go there and get mine. I might take you up on that offer, and I can swing by to get you. I live on the border of milton/oakville so you're not that far out.Go to school in st.catharines. It seems you're much more knowledgeable about this that i was at first.
appreciate the help
nexxusty said:
Bro.....
Meet me at the store you bought this from in T.O, I will get you a refund in 5 minutes.
Not even slightly kidding.
You were RIPPED OFF bud!! Do not allow that to go down. Tell them to switch it for another one, until you get one that has a warranty.
Seriously, my offer stands. If you want to meet down there sometime this week I would be glad to do so, I live about an hour outside the GTA but I don't give a ****. If there is anything I can do to help you in this situation I'll do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

tedmonddo said:
The manager is more than willing to help me by getting me a new device. As mentioned in the previous post, i do hope that this one is unmodified/unrooted out of the box. Anything to look out for besides the software download information screen?
May i ask where you got your device? maybe i can go there and get mine. I might take you up on that offer, and I can swing by to get you. I live on the border of milton/oakville so you're not that far out.Go to school in st.catharines. It seems you're much more knowledgeable about this that i was at first.
appreciate the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I traded a Red Nexus 5 I had at the time for a Black Unlocked Note 3 +$200 cash on Kijiji. Came with a Spigen Slim Armor too.
There are tons of decent deals on Kijiji, you NEED to know how to spot fakes, check IMEI's, look for defects, etc.
I can help you find something if you'd like, just say the word. I will still help you deal with the other guy as well. I'll bring an SD card with .apk's on it like CPU-Z to make sure it's legit. The IMEI we just type in protectyourdata.ca on my phone or tethered laptop to make sure it isn't blacklisted. Checking for unlock is easy too, as long as we have multiple sims from different companies (I have 2, we might have 3 with yours).
I'll make sure you walk out of there with a fully legitimate Note 3. 100%.
If I can help a fellow XDA'er, a Canadian to boot, I will do it in a heartbeat.
Sometimes I come off like a **** (especially to n00bs, I am really mean now and then...) but I am always willing to help.

I watched a few videos on how to spot fake devices and this one was legit for sure. I plan to go saturday to get this sorted out once and for all. The problem is i require the knox to be 0x0 as my part time job requires me to have a phone that is enterprise capable, for the byod. In the event he only has rooted unlocked phones, i will get my money back because i need a legit clean phone.
as mentioned i really appreciate the help, Can you send me a PM with your phone number? If you have a few hours to spare on saturday im more than willing to swing by and get you, in hopes to figure out my phone problem.
nexxusty said:
I traded a Red Nexus 5 I had at the time for a Black Unlocked Note 3 +$200 cash on Kijiji. Came with a Spigen Slim Armor too.
There are tons of decent deals on Kijiji, you NEED to know how to spot fakes, check IMEI's, look for defects, etc.
I can help you find something if you'd like, just say the word. I will still help you deal with the other guy as well. I'll bring an SD card with .apk's on it like CPU-Z to make sure it's legit. The IMEI we just type in protectyourdata.ca on my phone or tethered laptop to make sure it isn't blacklisted. Checking for unlock is easy too, as long as we have multiple sims from different companies (I have 2, we might have 3 with yours).
I'll make sure you walk out of there with a fully legitimate Note 3. 100%.
If I can help a fellow XDA'er, a Canadian to boot, I will do it in a heartbeat.
Sometimes I come off like a **** (especially to n00bs, I am really mean now and then...) but I am always willing to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

tedmonddo said:
I watched a few videos on how to spot fake devices and this one was legit for sure. I plan to go saturday to get this sorted out once and for all. The problem is i require the knox to be 0x0 as my part time job requires me to have a phone that is enterprise capable, for the byod. In the event he only has rooted unlocked phones, i will get my money back because i need a legit clean phone.
as mentioned i really appreciate the help, Can you send me a PM with your phone number? If you have a few hours to spare on saturday im more than willing to swing by and get you, in hopes to figure out my phone problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand. Knox containers, etc. hehe.
Will PM you my number. Just to let you know though, I'm NOT a small guy. I hope you don't have a Smart Car or something... lol.
6'4, 330 lbs here.
Talk soon.

no smart car here. will wait for pm
nexxusty said:
I totally understand. Knox containers, etc. hehe.
Will PM you my number. Just to let you know though, I'm NOT a small guy. I hope you don't have a Smart Car or something... lol.
6'4, 330 lbs here.
Talk soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse