coming from the g2x which was incredibly straight forward to deal with not having a locked bootloader or any other nonsense to deal with i have a few questions regarding a rogers s4 i337m
1. KNOX, as far as i have read this is a feature to detect tampering with the device and set a flag in place when tampered with. Specifically what sets off KNOX? as to that i have not really discovered a more direct answer. The repercussions to setting off KNOX is unable to use KNOX secured software aka roms/kernels? Is there any current updates by any of the providers that actually utilize this? or is it just more a enterprise feature being tested out in the s4 for additional security measures.
2. editions of roms, i honestly found a thread earlier for this but am failing to find it again i cant remember which s4 sub forum had it regarding the differences between google/asop/tw roms.
3. What are the mainstream Roms/kernels used, i noticed faux123 combined his rom/kernel of which i was not a fan of. for the G2x you had faux/morfic for kernels and just running stock cm7 was quite flawless for a combination.
4. I need a link to the latest CWM or has that been replaced for another recovery software? I know you can download it through rommanager but i thought that was like a fake flash more so then acutually pushing it to the phone via some other method. Is that done through rommanager as another step to avoid tripping knox? touch CWM is not essential and i recall the g2x touch CWM had issues so i don't really care if a legacy version can be used. stability > features for core components.
5. Having the unlocked bootloader has any other gains other then just not having to downgrade to a unlocked bootloader for flashing custom kernels/roms? flashing the roms even with the unlocked bootloader will still trigger knox correct?
I am quite aware of the safestrap feature and may try that if knox is required in any way. for warranty purposes i dont really care, if the phone runs for a month then it will probably last me 2-3 years. hell even the g2x survived 3 years now only with the power button becoming a tad problematic to turn on the phone. its more is there any software that may require it that as of now rom wise or app wise.
oh finally whats the difference between odin v3/v4? is there any real reason to use the newer. seems 3.09 is common revision to be used.
Seems like you may need to do a little more reading...but heres a little info for you
First let me ask you a question, what firmware is your s4 on, and is it an i337 (att branded)
As far as knox goes, I don't know much kore about it than you do...havent really looked into it, If you root your phone amd go in the superuser app it will ask you if you want to remove knox
Aosp vs touckwiz roms:
AOSP based roms can vary from pure AOSP, which is exactly what google intended android to be, no gimicks no extra features. But they can also be much more customizable such as cyanogenmod or aokp. Again these roms are built from the android source code, so it looks the way android was meant to be, the non pure ones having mamy added features
Touchwiz roms are simply based off stock realeases, they are often rooted and debloated, with a few tweaks thrown in and maybe a few mods...they typically loom and feel like a cleaner, smoother, and more polished stock rom, and with a lot less bloat
Recoveries: there are several recoveries available, you still got the basic CWM, than you got Touch CWM, Oudahs auto-loki recovery, phils cwm *I think thats the name lol* and than TWRP (may be missing some)***IMPORTANT: I asked earlier what firmware you were on, and this is way, if you have the mf3 firmware or mk2 firmware you CAN NOT flash any of the above recoveries due to our locked bootloader***
Safestrap: this is the recovery alternative which essentially is a recovery, however it is currently unable to flash kernels...which means you can only flash touchwiz roms, that are compatible with the stock kernel you currently have...so if your on mf3 with safestrap only 4.2.2 roms, if your on mk2 only 4.3 roms. Keep in kind safestrap is still in beta for mk2 so not every rom is working.
If you have an att phone with a locked bootloader there is currently and never has been any way to unlock the bootloader, so you are stuck with a locked bootloader. What this means is you can not downgrade to an earlier firmware, and if your mf3 or later you can not get a recovery and flash cyanogenmod aokp aosp or amy other aosp based roms
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
mg2195 said:
Seems like you may need to do a little more reading...but heres a little info for you
First let me ask you a question, what firmware is your s4 on, and is it an i337 (att branded)
As far as knox goes, I don't know much kore about it than you do...havent really looked into it, If you root your phone amd go in the superuser app it will ask you if you want to remove knox
Aosp vs touckwiz roms:
AOSP based roms can vary from pure AOSP, which is exactly what google intended android to be, no gimicks no extra features. But they can also be much more customizable such as cyanogenmod or aokp. Again these roms are built from the android source code, so it looks the way android was meant to be, the non pure ones having mamy added features
Touchwiz roms are simply based off stock realeases, they are often rooted and debloated, with a few tweaks thrown in and maybe a few mods...they typically loom and feel like a cleaner, smoother, and more polished stock rom, and with a lot less bloat
Recoveries: there are several recoveries available, you still got the basic CWM, than you got Touch CWM, Oudahs auto-loki recovery, phils cwm *I think thats the name lol* and than TWRP (may be missing some)***IMPORTANT: I asked earlier what firmware you were on, and this is way, if you have the mf3 firmware or mk2 firmware you CAN NOT flash any of the above recoveries due to our locked bootloader***
Safestrap: this is the recovery alternative which essentially is a recovery, however it is currently unable to flash kernels...which means you can only flash touchwiz roms, that are compatible with the stock kernel you currently have...so if your on mf3 with safestrap only 4.2.2 roms, if your on mk2 only 4.3 roms. Keep in kind safestrap is still in beta for mk2 so not every rom is working.
If you have an att phone with a locked bootloader there is currently and never has been any way to unlock the bootloader, so you are stuck with a locked bootloader. What this means is you can not downgrade to an earlier firmware, and if your mf3 or later you can not get a recovery and flash cyanogenmod aokp aosp or amy other aosp based roms
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so if i were to upgrade to 4.3 ota it would flash MK3 giving me a locked bootloader? i was under the impression that the i337m canadian models all have unlocked bootloaders. only the i337 US models had locked loaders. i listed the model earlier and everything is stock out of the box
baseband/build is MG1 on 4.2.2
actually ill just check that latest firmware thread, the candian models are equiv to the m919 tmobile models basically. we also have the m919v for wind/mobilicity.
100% my bad I missed that you had the i337m
So with that said, you dont have a locked bootloader, and theres nothing you can do that will lock it
You can flash any of the recoveries, cwm twrp or whatever. They are all stable and seem to be working fjne...so its just whatever you perfer
Personally I like twrp, and that can be installed using goomanager if youre rooted, rommamager should also work if your rooted for cwm recovery
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Related
I THOUGHT what I wanted was simple enough but apparently with Samsung nothing is ever simple.
I have the i9505 S4 and am currently on the Pre-Rooted I9505XXUBMGA rom. That means 4.2.2, Stock Recovery and PRE-KNOX bootloader.
My custom flash counter is also 0 as I've only ever flashed the pre-rooted stock kind of roms. No triangle has ever appeared on my screen.
What I want to do is install a 4.3 TW rom WITHOUT flashing a custom recovery (so probably through Odin) and WITHOUT having to flash the KNOX-enabled bootloader.
The reasons should be obvious enough, I want this phone kept as close to stock as possible with what I do being completely reversible without having to rely on Triangle Away as with every new firmware Samsung appears to be even more hell-bent on breaking it.
Obviously I'd want said rom to actually function correctly as I've read things like sound and/or wifi breaking or mobile data dropping with/without the phone being on sleep etc...
So, any takers?
KeyperOS said:
I THOUGHT what I wanted was simple enough but apparently with Samsung nothing is ever simple.
I have the i9505 S4 and am currently on the Pre-Rooted I9505XXUBMGA rom. That means 4.2.2, Stock Recovery and PRE-KNOX bootloader.
My custom flash counter is also 0 as I've only ever flashed the pre-rooted stock kind of roms. No triangle has ever appeared on my screen.
What I want to do is install a 4.3 TW rom WITHOUT flashing a custom recovery (so probably through Odin) and WITHOUT having to flash the KNOX-enabled bootloader.
The reasons should be obvious enough, I want this phone kept as close to stock as possible with what I do being completely reversible without having to rely on Triangle Away as with every new firmware Samsung appears to be even more hell-bent on breaking it.
Obviously I'd want said rom to actually function correctly as I've read things like sound and/or wifi breaking or mobile data dropping with/without the phone being on sleep etc...
So, any takers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
From where I am,I can see 3 options.
1.Stay where you are on 4.2.2
You just need to flash stock firmware ,and you are back to out-of-the-box state.
But....you want 4.3.... so,
2.Flash a custom recovery,and you have the choice of every custom ROM in the DEV section.4.22,4.3 ,TW,AOSP , you get my drift.As long at it does not contain the new knox bootloader,you can get back to out-of-the-box state in 2 easy steps:
Triangle Away.
Flash stock firmware.
3.Try to flash the new knox-pox 4.3 ROM and be stuck there.(because there is no coming back)
Look HERE
The [OP] explains it well.
And this is probably the ROM you would choose.(close to stock)
It seems the samsung is determined to mess things up for the user who wants to easily mod their own phones.
It has gotten so bad,that the [OP] has even jumped ship to the Z1.
He says he will maintain that ROM,but for how long,because they have already moved the goalposts twice...
I am on 2.
And I intend to stay there,because I like to be in charge of what goes on my phone.
Devs will almost certainly maintain their ROMS,and updates like 4.4 will come along in time.
Only you can make the choice.
Hopefully,I have given you some options.
Yeah, that's the thread I flashed my current 4.2.2 rom from. I saw him throw the towel and decided this just wasn't gonna work.
I guess I need to take the plunge and install Philz recovery.
Somewhat subjective I know but, which 4.3 TW custom ROM seems to work best when the OLD Pre-KNOX bootloader is being kept and with which modem? (I've seem answers vary wildly on this one).
KeyperOS said:
Yeah, that's the thread I flashed my current 4.2.2 rom from. I saw him throw the towel and decided this just wasn't gonna work.
I guess I need to take the plunge and install Philz recovery.
Somewhat subjective I know but, which 4.3 TW custom ROM seems to work best when the OLD Pre-KNOX bootloader is being kept and with which modem? (I've seem answers vary wildly on this one).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
The reason you have seen such wild variations on this,is because it is so subjective.
This is where the fun begins.
Trying out different ROMS,and seeing which is best suited to you,and your requirements.
Best advice...read the first post of a ROM,and see if it has what you want from a ROM...especially the bit about new knox bootloader removed.
And remember to make a nandroid!
As for modem,if you are having no issues or signal problems at the moment,stick with the one you are on.
Hey there everyone. I am trying to help my sister out with her (new to her) S4.
She bought an s4 and it is very cool (I'm having a blast playing with it.).
It is carrier unlocked at the moment (I believe, though I don't have a SIM to test it out with)
I believe that it is rooted.
It is advertised as having the MDB bootloader with a MF3 baseband. How do I check this?
When I go to setting I see that the baseband version is i337ucuamf3. I am assuming that since it ends in MF3 that is correct.
The rom installed is GoldenEye 38.1 XXUGNG8.
I am assuming that XXUGNG8 is the base firmware from Samsung\At&T, is that correct?
It currently has a version of TWRP installed and the person it was bought from says it doesn't need SafeStrap. Is that correct? I see a lot of posts saying that safestrap needs to be installed.
Lastly, I'm trying to figure out if she wants CM11, Stock TouchWiz or something like Goldeneye. I am assuming that the "S" apps will only work on a TouchWiz ROM, is that right?
Lastly, how would i get the phone back to a stock? HTC has RUU's, is there an equivalent for Samsung devices? Or is there a download somewhere of the plain stock ROM? I didn't see anything in the development section.
Thanks in advance for all the help, I know that I am asking a lot of questions but I am coming from the HTC side of android (which seems to be a lot less confusing) so I am doing the best I can here.
waterboy100 said:
Hey there everyone. I am trying to help my sister out with her (new to her) S4.
She bought an s4 and it is very cool (I'm having a blast playing with it.).
It is carrier unlocked at the moment (I believe, though I don't have a SIM to test it out with)
I believe that it is rooted.
It is advertised as having the MDB bootloader with a MF3 baseband. How do I check this?
When I go to setting I see that the baseband version is i337ucuamf3. I am assuming that since it ends in MF3 that is correct.
The rom installed is GoldenEye 38.1 XXUGNG8.
I am assuming that XXUGNG8 is the base firmware from Samsung\At&T, is that correct?
It currently has a version of TWRP installed and the person it was bought from says it doesn't need SafeStrap. Is that correct? I see a lot of posts saying that safestrap needs to be installed.
Lastly, I'm trying to figure out if she wants CM11, Stock TouchWiz or something like Goldeneye. I am assuming that the "S" apps will only work on a TouchWiz ROM, is that right?
Lastly, how would i get the phone back to a stock? HTC has RUU's, is there an equivalent for Samsung devices? Or is there a download somewhere of the plain stock ROM? I didn't see anything in the development section.
Thanks in advance for all the help, I know that I am asking a lot of questions but I am coming from the HTC side of android (which seems to be a lot less confusing) so I am doing the best I can here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the phone has TWRP installed, you either have MDB or MDL bootloader since newer firmwares (bootloader) do not allow for the stock recovery to be replaced.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=52415064&postcount=1625 gives you the way to find your bootloader (the most restrictive component of the firmware).
When samsung releases firmware/update, it sets the version of all components to the same. So, on the stock firmware, all components have the same version. Baseband is actually the version of the modem.
Since you have TWRP installed, you should be able to install a lot of ROMs. All you have to ensure is that the bootloader is not updated. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, your bootloader will get updated. Since MF3, we are not able to replace the stock kernel and recovery. This brings in a lot of restrictions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221 has a list of ROMs that can be installed.
jmjoyas said:
Since the phone has TWRP installed, you either have MDB or MDL bootloader since newer firmwares (bootloader) do not allow for the stock recovery to be replaced.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=52415064&postcount=1625 gives you the way to find your bootloader (the most restrictive component of the firmware).
When samsung releases firmware/update, it sets the version of all components to the same. So, on the stock firmware, all components have the same version. Baseband is actually the version of the modem.
Since you have TWRP installed, you should be able to install a lot of ROMs. All you have to ensure is that the bootloader is not updated. When you use ODIN to flash stock firmware, your bootloader will get updated. Since MF3, we are not able to replace the stock kernel and recovery. This brings in a lot of restrictions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221 has a list of ROMs that can be installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
So my bootloader is reported as i337ucuamdb (So MDB Bootleader)
My baseband is 1337ucuamf3 (MF3?)
Does this just mean that i have an older bootloader that was rooted and had newer radios installed?
That that a problem for anything? Should they be the same?
waterboy100 said:
Thanks.
So my bootloader is reported as i337ucuamdb (So MDB Bootleader)
My baseband is 1337ucuamf3 (MF3?)
Does this just mean that i have an older bootloader that was rooted and had newer radios installed?
That that a problem for anything? Should they be the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're on the mdb bootloader which is a good thing, don't update the firmware you can still use twrp or cwm. The baseband is the modem and does not need to be the same version as the bootloader
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Purchased my S4 at launch, only rooted it and never really got around to tweaking it much. It has slowed down a bit so now is the time.
I'm on MDL, stock 4.2.2, and rooted with TWRP 2.5.0.2 On to the questions/clarifications, hopefully these aren't egregious. I know the info is out there but for actually finding specific information, the xda forums are a bit overwhelming and sometimes conflicting...
1) Recovery - Latest/preferred recovery for the s4 (on MDL) with auto-loki baked in? Are any of the latest versions of TWRP/CWM dangerous/incompatible or can I just install the latest/greatest with ROM Installers and go from there?
2) Modem - Flashing an updated modem, regardless of ROM/OS # should not break anything and/or lock down the bootloader any more so than it already is at MDL, correct? Updating the baseband will have no effect on the build # and thus loki is still and option (versus safestrap)? Preferred modem at this time? (ATT, SF Bay Area)
3) ROMS - Any ROM, followed by loki patch or flashed via an auto-loki capable recovery should be fine, correct? Is a ROM specifically built for safestrap applications and thus would not work with MDL, or are ROMs noted as being safestrap ready just able to be used via safestrap, but loki as well?
4) Hard to keep track of all the ROMs and the builds and branches etc - Can anyone point me in the right direction of either a) the latest stock touch-wiz 4.4.4 ROM that can be flashed over MDL without essentially updating past MDL? b) the best/most recent pure google (Play Store S4 Edition) ROM, same story with not breaking MDL?
Again, I apologize I am sure the info is all buried in here somewhere, it just gets to a point where pointed questions rather than multiple 500+ post threads are hopefully less likely to brick my phone. Ideally I just want to get on the latest software (and enable screen casting, for one). Assuming it comes quick enough, once I get this process down I will probably make the jump to 5.0 when it is ready, anticipate a couple months? Who knows.
Thanks, much appreciated.
Norcalz71 said:
Purchased my S4 at launch, only rooted it and never really got around to tweaking it much. It has slowed down a bit so now is the time.
I'm on MDL, stock 4.2.2, and rooted with TWRP 2.5.0.2 On to the questions/clarifications, hopefully these aren't egregious. I know the info is out there but for actually finding specific information, the xda forums are a bit overwhelming and sometimes conflicting...
1) Recovery - Latest/preferred recovery for the s4 (on MDL) with auto-loki baked in? Are any of the latest versions of TWRP/CWM dangerous/incompatible or can I just install the latest/greatest with ROM Installers and go from there?
2) Modem - Flashing an updated modem, regardless of ROM/OS # should not break anything and/or lock down the bootloader any more so than it already is at MDL, correct? Updating the baseband will have no effect on the build # and thus loki is still and option (versus safestrap)? Preferred modem at this time? (ATT, SF Bay Area)
3) ROMS - Any ROM, followed by loki patch or flashed via an auto-loki capable recovery should be fine, correct? Is a ROM specifically built for safestrap applications and thus would not work with MDL, or are ROMs noted as being safestrap ready just able to be used via safestrap, but loki as well?
4) Hard to keep track of all the ROMs and the builds and branches etc - Can anyone point me in the right direction of either a) the latest stock touch-wiz 4.4.4 ROM that can be flashed over MDL without essentially updating past MDL? b) the best/most recent pure google (Play Store S4 Edition) ROM, same story with not breaking MDL?
Again, I apologize I am sure the info is all buried in here somewhere, it just gets to a point where pointed questions rather than multiple 500+ post threads are hopefully less likely to brick my phone. Ideally I just want to get on the latest software (and enable screen casting, for one). Assuming it comes quick enough, once I get this process down I will probably make the jump to 5.0 when it is ready, anticipate a couple months? Who knows.
Thanks, much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try to help with a few of these questions, but others I am not familiar with very much. On that note DO NOT update your bootloader!!! It will be locked down further and Loki will NOT WORK. And you could NOT flash any kernels with safestrap. So with safestrap ONLY the stock kernel can be used. Now on to your questions...
1) I am using TWRP 8.1 if I remember correctly. You can find it in the Original Android Development section. It does NOT Auto Loki, so keep the loki-doki flashable zip on your sdcard OR use Roms that already have/use the boot.Loki kernels like ShoStock-i 8.1
2) Modem flashing will NOT lock anything up further as far as the bootloader. You can flash ANY or ALL of them from my modem thread. See which works BEST FOR YOU in YOUR AREA. I am in So Cal and the best for me has been either MDL. But I have and do test ALL of them. You can always flash back to whichever one works best for you.
3.) Like I said I use ShoStock-i 8.1 because it has and does EVERYTHING I need my phone to do and does it without any issues. I have NOT tried to use a Safestrap modified ROM so I have very little experience with that. Normally most devs will have two separate versions, one for safestrap compatible and one for us without safestrap. ShoStock-i is already built with Loki in the kernel so you do not NEED to flash Loki-Doki patch.
4) there are NO Touchwiz 4.4.4 Stock Roms for ATT yet. But I did try out one of the Touchwiz 4.4.4 T-Mobile based Roms and it worked perfectly. You can either get it from the ATT forums and I believe it is already lokified, or get it from the T-Mobile forum and make sure to flash Loki-Doki patch before booting up phone after flashing the ROM. Again the will NOT update your bootloader past your MDL bootloader, so you are good as you are with no worries. By the way on ShoStock-i 8.1 the screen casting to Chromecast works PERFECTLY without having to flash any other .apk's or mess with ANYTHING
This is the exact same boat I'm in. Trying to track down the answers as well. Will keep an eye here as well to watch for answers.
awesome reply thanks RockRatt, that just about covers it. I will maybe give the ShoStock ROM a go and see how I like it. As long as all the normal features are working fine, I should be good.
One last thing I forgot - Odin. I have the stock odin firmware files from when my phone was new (The MDL package). As long as I dont update the bootloader, I should be able to Odin back to the brand new in box state should something go awry or not dig the other ROMs, correct?
Thanks again,
Norcalz71 said:
awesome reply thanks RockRatt, that just about covers it. I will maybe give the ShoStock ROM a go and see how I like it. As long as all the normal features are working fine, I should be good.
One last thing I forgot - Odin. I have the stock odin firmware files from when my phone was new (The MDL package). As long as I dont update the bootloader, I should be able to Odin back to the brand new in box state should something go awry or not dig the other ROMs, correct?
Thanks again,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Just don't update the bootloader...So no flashing newer firmware that contains the bootloader files. Most if not all custom Roms do not have the bootloader files in them. So no problem flashing back to MDL stock if the need never arises. I still in fact have the original MDB bootloader installed that came with the phone before the MDL firmware update.
Hi so I recently got a SM-N900v and I want to install a ROM, Ive been reading from multiple places and they said that the Verizon Note 3 has a locked bootloader (Idk what that means) and that in order to flash roms you need SafeStrap instead of (CWM or TWRP). I also see other tutorials where they tell you to directly flash TWRP/CWM via Odin so I'm really skeptical since there seems to be contradictions and that's why i'm asking here for confirmation.
Also the roms that i have in mind are Eclipse Note 3 TW 2.2(http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2620723) or Cyanogen Mod 11 (https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=hltevzw&type=nightly) .
In the Eclipse post it said the device required to be running NC4 unified firmware in order for installing the ROM.
These are the specs of my Verizon Note 3
http://i.imgur.com/23zKmWs.png
http://i.imgur.com/wscSV4o.png
My device is rooted but I'm just confused whether SafeStrap is obligatory or not for flashing custom Roms. Also in some tutorials they mentioned that safe strap might brick your device or something like that. Sorry i'm not very knowledgeable and require assistance which would be extremely appreciated. Is CM 11 for Verizon Note 3 stable, I know its Nightly but does it have all the features like S-PEN etc.. Can my device flash these roms and if it can, which recovery firmware should I use safestrap or Cwm/TWRP?
Thanks
I'm going looking into flashing a custom ROM on my sister's i337m (on Rogers) . Currently it is on Lollipop OTA update, and she says that ever since the update it has been super slow and laggy. I told her i can flash a custom ROM and it should be much better performance (in my experience good custom roms can provide much better performance than stock firmware in most cases).
I'm not familiar with the S4 specifically but have been using custom ROMs myself on various other phones so i generally familiar with the procedures involved. Just want to ask for advice on a couple points.
1) From what i've read so far i am trying to decide between Goldeneye and Kangapop. both seem to be pretty solid options. I noticed in the install instructions for both it mention that the i337m useres need to have 4.4.2 baseband and bootloader. Is there any specific one that works better than others i see a few different stock versions of 4.4.2 for i337m Rogers on sammobile (MG1, NC1, NE1, NI2) I am currently downloading the most recent NI2. Just not sure if specific versions have any bugs, flaws or advantages/disadvantages to worry about..
2) I figured while i'm going to have to downgrade the firmware to install the custom ROM i might as well try the Root/Unlock procedure from this thread . Is this still working? I think i would need to flash the stock NI2 firmware then follow the procedure in that thread to root and unlock the phone then from there i could install Goldeneye or Kangapop? Has anyone done this or can confirm if it should work this way.
Thanks