[Q] i9505 "clean" stock Android - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello guys,
I’m aware this has been discussed many times before, but this information is "old" most of the times. My Galaxy S4 (i9505) is now running stock Touchwiz Android 4.3 (i9505XXUEMJ7).
What I want to do is the following: flash my phone to a i9505G, but with some research I've found that that isn't possible. Are there any other ways to get the clean i9505G 4.4.2 ROM without any changes (like root) on my i9505? (I know there are much custom ROM's, but if possible I'd like to keep it "stock".)
Since I'm running 4.3 with Knox I'm a little scared about the Knox 0x1 status, is this already "resolved" or will this still be a problem?
Thanks.

Broodplank's AOSP rom is the way to go:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2397511
You still need to flash a custom recovery to flash it, though. I recommend CWM. Simply works.

tsphere said:
Broodplank's AOSP rom is the way to go:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2397511
You still need to flash a custom recovery to flash it, though. I recommend CWM. Simply works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. Rooting and flashing a custom recovery shouldn't be a problem, however I'm still a little worried about Knox, there simply isn't a way to reset it after it goes to 0x1?
The HTC One can be "changed" into a HTC One Google Edition: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2358781
But as far as I can tell this isn't possible for the Galaxy S4?

As far as i seen, once you flash something with odin, your knox flag gets changed. However it's not clear to me whether it changes the warranty actually...

tsphere said:
As far as i seen, once you flash something with odin, your knox flag gets changed. However it's not clear to me whether it changes the warranty actually...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not just the warrenty I'm worried about. If I want to sell the phone later I want it to be fully working, I assume with Knox 0x1 Knox isn't working anymore?

JoeyLe said:
Thanks for your reply. Rooting and flashing a custom recovery shouldn't be a problem, however I'm still a little worried about Knox, there simply isn't a way to reset it after it goes to 0x1?
The HTC One can be "changed" into a HTC One Google Edition: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2358781
But as far as I can tell this isn't possible for the Galaxy S4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory every non G device can be converted into a G device if the hardware model is the same but in practice is not always accomplished 100%. The problem here is Knox, for waht I understand it has 2 layers: The knox bloatware that comes stock on sammys ROM and the off rom portion included in the bootloader. The bootloader is basically what the system loads up first
. so it can't bypassed. So to kkep it simple, if you flash ANYTHING (not sure however if re flashing the stock original ROM activates the flag) on the knox bootloader (AKA: new bootloader) the ''flag'' will change to 0x1, this flag is called eFuse so basically 0x1 means is burned and it can't be changed ANYWAY. If you don't plan to use your phone for work you shouldn't care about the flag.
For more information you can check this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447832

JoeyLe said:
It's not just the warrenty I'm worried about. If I want to sell the phone later I want it to be fully working, I assume with Knox 0x1 Knox isn't working anymore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It isn't clear if Knox 0x1 voids warranty or not.
2. If you have Knox 0x1 your phone will work fine, but you won't be able to use Knox security enhancements.
3. You can't convert the 9505 to the 9505G, the Google Play edition has different bootloader, modem and pit partition.
Enviado do meu Xposed Galaxy S4 4G LTE

dclarkg said:
In theory every non G device can be converted into a G device if the hardware model is the same but in practice is not always accomplished 100%. The problem here is Knox, for waht I understand it has 2 layers: The knox bloatware that comes stock on sammys ROM and the off rom portion included in the bootloader. The bootloader is basically what the system loads up first
. so it can't bypassed. So to kkep it simple, if you flash ANYTHING (not sure however if re flashing the stock original ROM activates the flag) on the knox bootloader (AKA: new bootloader) the ''flag'' will change to 0x1, this flag is called eFuse so basically 0x1 means is burned and it can't be changed ANYWAY. If you don't plan to use your phone for work you shouldn't care about the flag.
For more information you can check this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2447832
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much! That was very interesting to read. I personally don't care about Knox, all the Samsung bloatware is the main reason I want to have stock Android on my S4.

dandroid13 said:
1. It isn't clear if Knox 0x1 voids warranty or not.
2. If you have Knox 0x1 your phone will work fine, but you won't be able to use Knox security enhancements.
3. You can't convert the 9505 to the 9505G, the Google Play edition has different bootloader, modem and pit partition.
Enviado do meu Xposed Galaxy S4 4G LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information. I see there are many custom roms which are very close to stock Android, that should be fine as well.

JoeyLe said:
Thanks for the information. I see there are many custom roms which are very close to stock Android, that should be fine as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but the 4.4 roms (Google Play) have one main issue, random reboots.

Related

[Q] Stock 4.3, KNOX and rooting

Alright, where to begin.
I've owned quite a few Samsung phones by now and I've rooted every single one of them and installed custom recovery and ROMs. But with KNOX on the S4 this has made me unsure...
What will happen to my device when I root it now? I figure it'll trigger the Knox flag to 0x1. What are the drawbacks of that? Will it affect the function of my device?
And is the rooting procedure done as usual with Odin like on the S3?
And maybe most of all, is it worth rooting the S4 and installing custom ROMs?
Many questions, but I haven't found any real answers to any of them...
Nothing will happen to your device when counter z 0×1
Drawback z you'll void ur warranty & youll not get official updates if u r on I9500.If ur on I9505 then triangle away can solve both problems.No function gets hampers until you really mess with ur phone but that's after root
Yes the procedure z same
Well if ur on I9500 then there r only customised stock version nothing much only debloated or deodexed.If ur on I9505 then definitely worth it
Sent from my GT-I9500 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Triangle away dont do much with the knox . Once trigger there is no way at the moment to reset this.
hjertis said:
Alright, where to begin.
I've owned quite a few Samsung phones by now and I've rooted every single one of them and installed custom recovery and ROMs. But with KNOX on the S4 this has made me unsure...
What will happen to my device when I root it now? I figure it'll trigger the Knox flag to 0x1. What are the drawbacks of that? Will it affect the function of my device?
And is the rooting procedure done as usual with Odin like on the S3?
And maybe most of all, is it worth rooting the S4 and installing custom ROMs?
Many questions, but I haven't found any real answers to any of them...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happens when you actually get Knox flagged to 0x1?
You basically lose the ability to install Knox softwares, and your device will be flagged as 'insecure', which means if your company allows employees to bring their own device to work for accessing corporate emails etc and they use knox to keep security, your device will not allow this. However, you will still have the ability to use future samsung firmware releases even though you have the knox flagged.
How do you trigger Knox?
You still can root your phone with CFautoroot, but that will trigger knox to flagged to 0x1. If you try to downgrade your firmware, knox will also trigger to 0x1, therefore, once you upgrade to new bootloader, there is no way to go back to old bootloader without knox. (I would suggest if you do not want knox, but you want the new firmware, you've got to manually flash the modem.bin files using Odin)
Lastly, there is still a big question mark as to whether Samsung will actually service devices with knox 0x1
kenshi08 said:
What happens when you actually get Knox flagged to 0x1?
You basically lose the ability to install Knox softwares, and your device will be flagged as 'insecure', which means if your company allows employees to bring their own device to work for accessing corporate emails etc and they use knox to keep security, your device will not allow this. However, you will still have the ability to use future samsung firmware releases even though you have the knox flagged.
How do you trigger Knox?
You still can root your phone with CFautoroot, but that will trigger knox to flagged to 0x1. If you try to downgrade your firmware, knox will also trigger to 0x1, therefore, once you upgrade to new bootloader, there is no way to go back to old bootloader without knox. (I would suggest if you do not want knox, but you want the new firmware, you've got to manually flash the modem.bin files using Odin)
Lastly, there is still a big question mark as to whether Samsung will actually service devices with knox 0x1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you except last words. Modem has nothing to do with knox... flashing a different modem version from rest of FW version (ROM and CSC) will probably give some data or voice problems, and he will still have the same android 4.2.2 version....
What I suggest if he wants last FW, is just flash it, root it, delete all knox files, assume he will have knox bit activated, and enjoy it.

[Q] CWM recovery removal with out tripping Knox Counter??

I recently purchased a SM-N900W8. Love this device, just retired my S2 which i messed around with for a few years and never had issues...
I neglected to do research on XDA (Big mistake) before rooting it and had no idea about the repercussions of this KNOX issue.
I used this method to root it (http://galaxynote3root.com/galaxy-note-3-root/how-to-root-galaxy-note-3/)
I successfully installed CWM recovery and SuperSu and the phone is rooted. I had no intentions of installing Custom Roms just yet just wanted to be able to use some of my favorite apps that require rooting. The phones Current Binary and Phone status have both been tagged custom but my KNOX Warranty Void is still tagged at 0X0. Needless to say maybe I got lucky?
I was hoping to Revert to Stock and Unroot so I could follow this method instead (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2498850)
Is there anyways to Accomplish this without tripping the KNOX counter? I've been scouring the forums for several hours trying to find a concrete answer but cannot.
I have downloaded my stock firmware (http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=26653)
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have included a screenshot of my device info. I apologize in advance if this issue has already been addressed.
Thanks,
-Rob
For device info and Knox warranty status, you can use my app Phone INFO ★Samsung★ to get more detailed info.
Download link in my signature.
Why did you even install CWM if you didn't need it ?
Why do you want to remove it ? Don't fix it if it ain't broken. De la vega will trip Knox in 4.4, so leave it as it is.
Sent from my N9005
Dejan Sathanas said:
Why did you even install CWM if you didn't need it ?
Why do you want to remove it ? Don't fix it if it ain't broken. De la vega will trip Knox in 4.4, so leave it as it is.
Sent from my N9005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do. Was just worried about official updates and warranty if phone still says custom but knox is not tripped. But bell outsources another company for repairs and doesn't send back to Samsung directly so I probably don't need to worry to much..
I used CWM because I've used it for a couple years with my S2 and enjoyed the features so when I saw cwm was avaliable for note 3 I jumped on it.
But there is no way to revert to stock without tripping count?
Thanks.
SSJ3Rob said:
Will do. Was just worried about official updates and warranty if phone still says custom but knox is not tripped. But bell outsources another company for repairs and doesn't send back to Samsung directly so I probably don't need to worry to much..
I used CWM because I've used it for a couple years with my S2 and enjoyed the features so when I saw cwm was avaliable for note 3 I jumped on it.
But there is no way to revert to stock without tripping count?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing stock using odin should rever everything back to stock and possibly not trip knox counte, I am saying possibly cuz nobody has tried to flash stock recovery and try to keep knox cool as custom recoveries have tripped everyone's knox AFAIK. But your phone FW or maybe something else might make your device an exception.
Sent From My SM-N9005 To All You Wonder Nobodies!!
Khizar said:
Flashing stock using odin should rever everything back to stock and possibly not trip knox counte, I am saying possibly cuz nobody has tried to flash stock recovery and try to keep knox cool as custom recoveries have tripped everyone's knox AFAIK. But your phone FW or maybe something else might make your device an exception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will leave as is for now until more info on the subject surfaces. As much as I want to try to flash back to stock recovery and test your theory I will hold out and not mess around with CWM or mess with apps requiring root to much incase it decides to trip the counter.
Thanks.

[Q] Binary Counter

Hello guys, i have recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 I9500. I switched from ios to android and i am loving it so far. I have a couple of questions: I want to root my device. Does this affect the binary counter? Also if i have a problem with my device and i have warranty, will i be able to format my device (un-root)? Also will this affect binary counter? I don't want to loose my 2 years warranty. Thanks!
PS: While i was on IOS i received a lot of support on reddit but when i asked for android stuff, i never got any response. Is this the right forum for a beginner like me?
Arjoni said:
Hello guys, i have recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 I9500. I switched from ios to android and i am loving it so far. I have a couple of questions: I want to root my device. Does this affect the binary counter? Also if i have a problem with my device and i have warranty, will i be able to format my device (un-root)? Also will this affect binary counter? I don't want to loose my 2 years warranty. Thanks!
PS: While i was on IOS i received a lot of support on reddit but when i asked for android stuff, i never got any response. Is this the right forum for a beginner like me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1)Yes rooting will affect your binary counter.
2) Yes you can unroot your device to gain back warranty.
BUT the binary counter is HIDDEN!
So you can just reset the STATUS(which is official for stock n custom for unofficial)
There is an app called Triangle away which resets this counter but it only available for i9505 n not for i9500.
you have one more problem that is Knox In some service centers do not pay attention to it, but in others lose two year warranty on the phone
AIkizov said:
you have one more problem that is Knox In some service centers do not pay attention to it, but in others lose two year warranty on the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes absolutely a problem. I forgot to mention it. If any unofficial stuff is flashed then this knox pox is triggered.
Mandark52 said:
1)Yes rooting will affect your binary counter.
2) Yes you can unroot your device to gain back warranty.
BUT the binary counter is HIDDEN!
So you can just reset the STATUS(which is official for stock n custom for unofficial)
There is an app called Triangle away which resets this counter but it only available for i9505 n not for i9500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AIkizov said:
you have one more problem that is Knox In some service centers do not pay attention to it, but in others lose two year warranty on the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does this mean i shouldn't root? I don't want to loose my warranty...
Arjoni said:
So does this mean i shouldn't root? I don't want to loose my warranty...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do you live? In the UK, for example, (and I believe the EU as a whole) then it doesn't matter if you trip Knox.
Arjoni said:
So does this mean i shouldn't root? I don't want to loose my warranty...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First have a look on the stickies of Knox discussion. You wont get official software updates if you trip knox(as recovery is custom aftr rooting) n there are knox friendly rooting methods. But I dont really care about knox and after rooting it is upto you that you aint flashing anything wrong or not following the instructions. All the best.
Arjoni said:
So does this mean i shouldn't root? I don't want to loose my warranty...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally am currently with stock firmware
Twice my phone was in service for Knox experiments that I did
Had twice to change the motherboard, but it was replaced under warranty because I have a version that my phone and just motherboard died and there is nothing to see in the Samsung service centre
Knox is a major obstacle
The choice is yours
andyjg247 said:
Where do you live? In the UK, for example, (and I believe the EU as a whole) then it doesn't matter if you trip Knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mandark52 said:
First have a look on the stickies of Knox discussion. You wont get official software updates if you trip knox(as recovery is custom aftr rooting) n there are knox friendly rooting methods. But I dont really care about knox and after rooting it is upto you that you aint flashing anything wrong or not following the instructions. All the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AIkizov said:
I personally am currently with stock firmware
Twice my phone was in service for Knox experiments that I did
Had twice to change the motherboard, but it was replaced under warranty because I have a version that my phone and just motherboard died and there is nothing to see in the Samsung service centre
Knox is a major obstacle
The choice is yours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i want to make it clear that i don't intend to flash a custom ROM. I just want to root my stock firmware (4.4.2) and then to unroot (format with the stock ROM). Will this flag Knox and the counter? will that avoid my warranty? sorry for all of these questions but i just moved on android. thank you
Arjoni said:
i want to make it clear that i don't intend to flash a custom ROM. I just want to root my stock firmware (4.4.2) and then to unroot (format with the stock ROM). Will this flag Knox and the counter? will that avoid my warranty? sorry for all of these questions but i just moved on android. thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your warranty will void
AIkizov said:
your warranty will void
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so samsung doesn't allow you to format your device? well i think i am going back to ios... -_-
Arjoni said:
so samsung doesn't allow you to format your device? well i think i am going back to ios... -_-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have the ability to format, but the stock rom allows do not have permission to freely manipulate software - Void your warranty
Arjoni said:
i want to make it clear that i don't intend to flash a custom ROM. I just want to root my stock firmware (4.4.2) and then to unroot (format with the stock ROM). Will this flag Knox and the counter? will that avoid my warranty? sorry for all of these questions but i just moved on android. thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said previously that you should know what are you flashing and what will happen after it. If you flash anything by not following the correct procedure then you ll pay for it. I rooted my s4 3 months ago and immediately took a backup of my OS through a custom recovery. This backup helps me if something gets wrong. And I really dont care about about Knox because what you lose is only OTA updates and nothing else. So after rooting even you can backup your OS n stay on stock as long you want. Choice is yours. All the best.
Mandark52 said:
As I said previously that you should know what are you flashing and what will happen after it. If you flash anything by not following the correct procedure then you ll pay for it. I rooted my s4 3 months ago and immediately took a backup of my OS through a custom recovery. This backup helps me if something gets wrong. And I really dont care about about Knox because what you lose is only OTA updates and nothing else. So after rooting even you can backup your OS n stay on stock as long you want. Choice is yours. All the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Triggered Knox not prevent for receive OTA updates
AIkizov said:
Triggered Knox not prevent for receive OTA updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stock recovery of the phone changes there will be no OTA updates for that device it ll say THE DEVICE SETTINGS HAS BEEN CHANGED or something similar to it. And stock recovery is replaced by philz touch or cwm while rooting. And side by side this knox pox is also triggered.
Mandark52 said:
As stock recovery of the phone changes there will be no OTA updates for that device it ll say THE DEVICE SETTINGS HAS BEEN CHANGED or something similar to it. And stock recovery is replaced by philz touch or cwm while rooting. And side by side this knox pox is also triggered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now just talking about root that does not alter Recoverу
Arjoni said:
i want to make it clear that i don't intend to flash a custom ROM. I just want to root my stock firmware (4.4.2) and then to unroot (format with the stock ROM). Will this flag Knox and the counter? will that avoid my warranty? sorry for all of these questions but i just moved on android. thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your warranty will be void depends strongly on in which country you live. There is no yes or no answer.
Flash anything but an official Samsung package through Odin and it will trigger the Knox flag and change the device status to Custom. OTA updates will stop.
Re flashing an official Samsung package afterwards will change the device back to Official and OTA updates will resume. But the Knox flag will still show as triggered. Theres no way to reset it.
Sent from my SM-T310

Camera crash after modem update

Hi guys,
After updating my modem with ZHUFNL1 (GSM_Modem_ZHUFNL1_and_LTE_Modem_ZHUFNL1.tar), the camera stopped working. I tested multiple different ROMs, and a full system wipe, with no luck. I have a Knox free bootloader, that means I don't even have the Knox warranty 0x0 message. Never upgraded to Knox roms. I saw in a post about installing a full ROM (bootloader and all) in order to get the camera fixed, but not sure if that would also get me knoxed? What are my options here?
Thanks!
You will receive knox if you update.
But it can be removed if you have root. Or you can flash a stock rom that has knox removed.
I assume you don't have anymore warranty since the latest versions of the s4 come with the knox bootloader.
So it won't matter if you get knox and root the phone. There's no warranty to lose.
GDReaper said:
You will receive knox if you update.
But it can be removed if you have root. Or you can flash a stock rom that has knox removed.
I assume you don't have anymore warranty since the latest versions of the s4 come with the knox bootloader.
So it won't matter if you get knox and root the phone. There's no warranty to lose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you...I'd like to try first without knox. What do you mean it can be removed if I have root? I don't quite understand that.
Could you point me to a stock ROM with no knox?
EDIT: Oh I see, you talk about removing the app part from the ROM, but not the bootloader, right? Still, I'd like to install a knox-less ROM first...
timonoj said:
Thank you...I'd like to try first without knox. What do you mean it can be removed if I have root? I don't quite understand that.
Could you point me to a stock ROM with no knox?
EDIT: Oh I see, you talk about removing the app part from the ROM, but not the bootloader, right? Still, I'd like to install a knox-less ROM first...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-develop/rom-bhp-rom-v6-supercharged-t2833146
That is a knox free rom.
I haven't used it personally. though.

Upgrading my TMo S4 firmware/baseband/radio from AMDL (Pre-KNOX)

I have an older TMobile S4 still on firmware M919UVUAMDL, which I think was the version before KNOX was introduced (it definitely has no KNOX now).
I plan on upgrading the firmware with heimdall soon. Before I do, is there anything I should know, or any devs want to experiment before I blow it?
I am under the impression that there was never discovered a way to prevent KNOX bit from being blown.
I use a custom ROM, of course.
I think you can update the modem and bootloader without flashing the entire firmware.
GDReaper said:
I think you can update the modem and bootloader without flashing the entire firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I think that too. I have seen some howto/blogs on how to do it with heimdall/odin and I will have to read them before I do the task.
I am under the impression that some hardware, like the Note 4, can have it KNOX bit reset via software. It is unfortunate that no method for this was ever found for the Qualcomm based S4.
denverjoe72 said:
Yes, I think that too. I have seen some howto/blogs on how to do it with heimdall/odin and I will have to read them before I do the task.
I am under the impression that some hardware, like the Note 4, can have it KNOX bit reset via software. It is unfortunate that no method for this was ever found for the Qualcomm based S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think Knox flag 0x1 can be reset to 0x0 ever.
You can reset the flash counter but not the flag.
Same applies for the Note 4. Knox works the same, regardless of device.
You can use triangle away to reset the flash counter, but once Knox status is 0x1, it stays 0x1.
Good info here for the T-Mo version of the s4: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-tmobile/help

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