System Software not authorized? - Verizon Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Just rooted my Note 3 (MJE) and flashed CWM via Rom Manager and tried to boot into the recovery and get this message "System software not authorized by verizon has been found on your phone, please turn off your phone and go to the nearest store." Now the phone won't boot at all. Anyone know how to fix this without having to use Odin?

Slimfast35 said:
Just rooted my Note 3 (MJE) and flashed CWM via Rom Manager and tried to boot into the recovery and get this message "System software not authorized by verizon has been found on your phone, please turn off your phone and go to the nearest store." Now the phone won't boot at all. Anyone know how to fix this without having to use Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Verizon Note 3 uses secure (signed) blob verification at each step in it's boot sequence including boot images (normal OS kernel or recovery); if you attempt to flash anything which is not signed by Samsung, it results in exactly what you are experiencing. For now - no custom recoveries nor custom boot partitions.
If the phablet won't boot into *anything*, how exactly would you flash anything except by using Odin?
Disclaimer: I've never flashed used Odin. If the question you are asking is "can I put only the recovery back using Odin to avoid a full wipe?" then I suspect the answer is "possibly yes" - if you provide an Odin .tar file containing only the stuff you want to flash (e.g. the recovery image).
I note that the folks with developer versions of the VSGN3 use Odin files that do not include "aboot.mbn". That sort of suggests that Odin only wipes partitions that are slated to be flashed, not all of them. Were that not the case, you would have to always use a PIT file and always provide an image for every partition.
OTOH, Odin is a rather opaque tool, so you can't preclude it from having unexpected behaviors. Given that your device is brand-new, it would be a bummer to hard-brick it, so it might be better for you to just take your lumps and reflash the entire MJE Odin release ROM.
I *think* that folks here have said that attempting to roll back to prior full (factory) releases with Odin will result in a hard-brick. (Well, at least flashing down-rev low-level boot gearing such as aboot.mbn, sbl1.mbn, dbi, tz, etc). So if you flash anything, use MJE components (for now).
good luck. Please report your experiences, good or bad.
.

bftb0 said:
The Verizon Note 3 uses secure (signed) blob verification at each step in it's boot sequence including boot images (normal OS kernel or recovery); if you attempt to flash anything which is not signed by Samsung, it results in exactly what you are experiencing. For now - no custom recoveries nor custom boot partitions.
If the phablet won't boot into *anything*, how exactly would you flash anything except by using Odin?
Disclaimer: I've never flashed used Odin. If the question you are asking is "can I put only the recovery back using Odin to avoid a full wipe?" then I suspect the answer is "possibly yes" - if you provide an Odin .tar file containing only the stuff you want to flash (e.g. the recovery image).
I note that the folks with developer versions of the VSGN3 use Odin files that do not include "aboot.mbn". That sort of suggests that Odin only wipes partitions that are slated to be flashed, not all of them. Were that not the case, you would have to always use a PIT file and always provide an image for every partition.
OTOH, Odin is a rather opaque tool, so you can't preclude it from having unexpected behaviors. Given that your device is brand-new, it would be a bummer to hard-brick it, so it might be better for you to just take your lumps and reflash the entire MJE Odin release ROM.
I *think* that folks here have said that attempting to roll back to prior full (factory) releases with Odin will result in a hard-brick. (Well, at least flashing down-rev low-level boot gearing such as aboot.mbn, sbl1.mbn, dbi, tz, etc). So if you flash anything, use MJE components (for now).
good luck. Please report your experiences, good or bad.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just flashed back to stock via odin. Worked fine.

Slimfast35 said:
I just flashed back to stock via odin. Worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full MJE over the top of soft-bricked MJE?

bftb0 said:
Full MJE over the top of soft-bricked MJE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.

Related

Install Recovery and CM on Locked I9500

Hi All,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this as I'm relatively new to posting on XDA. My girlfriend has a Galaxy S4 (I337) that I quickly and easily installed Cyanogenmod on. It's awesome and significantly better than TouchWiz. So, I bought an S4 off Ebay assuming it would be similar enough. It turns out this new S4 is an I9500 and before shipping it was updated to 4.3, which appears to lock the bootloader and prevent downgrading. I've tried Odin, Heimdall, ADB, Philz, Chainfire, Cofface, stock ROMs, etc with no luck. Today I did manage to root the phone and confirm root with TowelRoot. I'm wondering/hoping someone might have some resources to get CM on this thing. While I'd prefer not to brick it I am willing to take risks as I have a Razr (soft-bricked and unbricked) running CM and am relatively comfortable with computers/Linux.
I've been Googling and trying things for a month now and can't even find that much information on the locked bootloader. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
--
SL
The I9500 doesn't have a locked bootloader. You just can't downgrade from 4.3 to 4.2.2 with official roms. Same applies when you are running 4.4, then you also can't downgrade officially.
Just flash a custom recovery true Odin and flash away.
Why would you even want to downgrade? Are you sure you are picking the right files? You cant flash the files for the I337 on the I9500. So just go to the section for the I9500 roms and flash away.
Hi Lennyz1988,
Thanks for the quick reply. I don't specifically want to downgrade but that's the last option I've tried. Ultimately the goal is to put Cyanogenmod on the phone. When I attempt to upload any file via Odin I get "secure magiccode check fail : boot" (or fail : recovery) depending on what I'm flashing. All the reading I've done says that when these phones are updated to 4.3 a fix has been applied that stops Odin from working. Thus, I my last resort is/was to try and downgrade. As I said, I've been Googling for the last month and while few people have posted about this I have not found any solutions.
Hoping someone might have a solution or anything new to try that I haven't tried already, thanks again,
--
SL
Download the latest TWRP recovery:
http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/i9500
Fire it up in Odin under PDA. You need the .tar (DON'T EXTRACT IT).
If it fails:
- Different usb port
- Different cable
- Different pc
- Reinstall drivers
- Make sure Kies is not running the background.
Or you can use heimdall to flash it. Use the command line though:
heimdall flash --recovery nameoftherecovery.img (you need the .img instead of the .tar)
No luck there, Odin still fails with the same message. I have tried Heimdall on 2 different computers (4 different usb cables) and always get the libusb 12 error.
Since I have root access I figured I might be able to wipe the recovery partition from a terminal emulator. I copied recovery.img from the I9500 CWM to the internal sd card. I then went to /dev/block/msm_sdcc.1/by-name to figure out what partition is recovery, turns out its 21. I then did “dd if=/sdcard/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21”. I then booted into recovery and it just hung up. I had previously found a stock recovery partition so I flashed that via Odin (the only file I have found that works flashing via Odin). I could then boot back into the normal recovery. I then tried flashing both recovery and cache with the CF Auto files (cache is partition 18). Same result, it just hangs when trying to boot into recovery. At one point I did manage to flash a recovery that then came up with a warning about “software installed that is not supported by AT&T” and I couldn’t get past that so had to flash the stock recovery again.
On a side note, I accidentally wiped the EFS partition in this process (if found a tutorial that shows the S3 had recovery in partition 10, which is EFS on the S4). As a result 1.) the menu didn’t pop up when I hit the power button and 2.) wifi didn’t work. So, I made an .img of the EFS partition on my GT-I337 and moved it to the I9500 and that worked restoring both. In case anyone makes the same mistake.
I have now also used CWM ROM Manager and GooManger and tried installing recovery that way with no luck.
Just check if the internal memory partitioning is correct ( number, size and format) (use fdisk or parsed).
ODIN will install according to the PIT file and if drivers and cables are OK it is no other explanation than that.
PS: do not trust heimdall data because it just read the PIT file and do not give the true info from the memory part.!
Uhm on the TWRP website they say that the I9500 has it on partition 10.....
This would be the proper partition based on their website:
mmcblk0p10
Are you absolutely sure you have an i9500? Because my guess is that you don't.....
Boot into download mode. What does it say your model is?
Because on the AT&T it's partition 21.... So my guess is that you are messing up....
Thanks everyone for the input/feedback,
Something I think I had forgotten to mention previously, when the initial root/recovery attempts didn't work I downloaded an app to verify it is a genuine Samsung as I have heard of very good knock-offs. It is genuine according to the app.
Good point/catch regarding the location of the recovery partition. Under About Phone it shows as an I9500 and always has. When in download mode it currently shows as I337 but I wasn't sure if that was simply a result of all my attempts so I figured best to go with the one I am certain has been the same since I bought the phone. I had been hesitant to try wiping the recovery with for the I337 as that is how I soft-bricked my RazrHD (ultimately un-bricked it).
Tonight I will try the I337 files and see if Odin is successful. Thanks again.
Damn! Turns out my phone is an I337. The hardward (under the battery) says I9500 and when I plug it into a computer it shows up as I9500. On the weekend I thought I read that there is now the ability to flash recovery and install CyanogenMod on I337 if its updated to 4.4.2. So, I donwloaded the firmware and flashed with Odin. It flashed successfully but now I realize I am mistaken and 1.) cannot flash recovery, and 2.) cannot downgrade. For the time being I have installed Nova Launcher and removed as much of TouchWiz as possible. It's not perfect but at least usable. I'd like to start researching what it would take to flash recovery on this phone but I suspect I'm too busy at this moment.
Thanks everyone for the help,

Need help upgrading bootloader and modem

I've gotten no help at all with this. Very unlike this forum. My phone is a kltevew, which is straight talks version of a g900v. I need help, there are lots of great looking Roms that require you to have mm firmware I'd like to try!
Not sure why I'm getting g no responses on this. Surely someone must know something... The only response I got was not only not helpful but jerky and obnoxious. Doesn't anyone know how to upgrade the firmware on my phone? (And no, google has no answers for me on this.. I look everyday)
ddjr said:
Not sure why I'm getting g no responses on this. Surely someone must know something... The only response I got was not only not helpful but jerky and obnoxious. Doesn't anyone know how to upgrade the firmware on my phone? (And no, google has no answers for me on this.. I look everyday)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download it with samfirm http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647 (Model= SM-G900V Region= VZW) or from sammobile http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G900V/ , do you know how to flash firmware with odin?
I do. Thanks so much for responding. Every time I try with Odin, a few different releases, it always gives me the error message fail. Can it be done with flashfire?
What stands in the log of odin when the flash completes?
Ill have to do it again to see... Be back in a bit!
I think it says FAIL! modem but I'll have to run it again... Brb
Last night I used flash fire to install firmware. That didn't get past the red Verizon logo, so I put twrp on it with Odin. Twrp showed it as dpd1, but it just wouldn't boot. So I wiped it once and flashed a ROM that requires mm firmware. Same thing, justbootloop. So I put stock back on it, then mokee 6.0.1. which works, I'm just not on mm firmware and all the great new roms are still unavailable to me.
ddjr said:
Last night I used flash fire to install firmware. That didn't get past the red Verizon logo, so I put twrp on it with Odin. Twrp showed it as dpd1, but it just wouldn't boot. So I wiped it once and flashed a ROM that requires mm firmware. Same thing, justbootloop. So I put stock back on it, then mokee 6.0.1. which works, I'm just not on mm firmware and all the great new roms are still unavailable to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you enabled the option to flash bootloader on flashfire setting?
What? No, I haven't... but do do right now. Thanks for the tip! Actually, where would I find it?
So would I do it in this order? Flash the dpd1 bootloader, then modem, them rom, then jrkruse patch? All in flash fire?
ddjr said:
So would I do it in this order? Flash the dpd1 bootloader, then modem, them rom, then jrkruse patch? All in flash fire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's in setting of flashfire...but only do it if odin doesn't work because do it from flashfire is more riskiy...
1)do a backup
2)check the bootloader flash option
3)install the firmware with all the wipe except internal storage(it mean that flashfire delete /data excluding /data/media/0 (sdcard) but include it in your backup copy because you never know )
4)wait till reboot skip setup wizard "spamming" the next button then install the rom with flashfire or twrp
On the flashfire site i found this:
Flash bootloaders
"This setting controls if FlashFire will attempt to flash bootloader partitions. By default, bootloader partitions are only read and never written. Even when enabled, flashing bootloader partitions may not succeed - many devices have protections in place against the bootloaders being overwritten.
Please note that flashing bootloaders is extremely dangerous. Any bug, error, or failure may result in an unrecoverable hard-brick. Do not use this feature unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Due to the danger of this feature, it is automatically turned off every time FlashFire starts. You have to manually re-enable it every time you want to use it.
If you must flash bootloaders, it is advised to use a bootloader-based flashing tool such as fastboot or ODIN to do it, as these are the safest methods. OTAs may also update bootloaders, and though slightly less safe than fastboot/ODIN, it is still much safer than having FlashFire flash bootloader partitions directly."
So i suggest to try to flash the firmware directly from odin first
No dice... still doesn't boot up past the red Verizon logo
ddjr said:
No dice... still doesn't boot up past the red Verizon logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you install the firmware in the "AP" box on odin? (after you factory reset your phone)
I did. At this point guess I'm lucky I haven't bricked my phone. Ive tried every possible combination, nothing works!
ddjr said:
I did. At this point guess I'm lucky I haven't bricked my phone. Ive tried every possible combination, nothing works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Redownload the firmware extract it again,factory reset your phone,and try to install the firmware,maybe it's a bad download
Should I be flashing a kernel too? Will it even start/boot without the right kernel?
find out if you phone is refurbished. to install stock ROM you would need the main board and boot to be the same model.
if it's not, then you just need to install bootloader/modem without full ROM. look around in xda for bootloader/modem.

Need help

Was running Temasek's CM13 on a rooted, unlocked note 3. Somehow during a flash, I ended up with a restart to the Note 3 screen and hangs there. I always do a backup prior to my flashing, so there's one there but now there's no twrp for me to get to? Do I restart the process over (flash OS via Odin, reroot, reunlock, etc)? Or is there something different I need to do bc my phone is unlocked as a developer? Please help and thank you
?hang budged?
^^^ that's indecipherable; try again.
It is unlikely that you will need to start from scratch, but let's start with this:
Will the phone boot into *any* mode, including Odin Download mode?
Try pulling the battery, reinserting, and booting with
Vol-Up+Home+Power (recovery)
Vol-Down+Home+Power (Odin)
If you can get into Odin mode and it still says "Developer" you should be able to reflash twrp using Odin.
stoph8n24 said:
Somehow during a flash, I ended up with a restart to the Note 3 screen and hangs there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, that's better than "hang budged"
stoph8n24 said:
...but now there's no twrp for me to get to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You state that as a question... what happens when you try booting to the recovery or to Odin (download mode) using the button combinations as suggested?
Restoring a custom recovery to an unlocked bootloader phone using Odin:
Code:
cp twrp-3.0.2-0-hltevzw-4.4.img recovery.img
tar -H ustar -c -f OdinInstallTWRP.tar recovery.img
md5sum OdinInstallTWRP.tar >> OdinInstallTWRP.tar
mv OdinInstallTWRP.tar OdinInstallTWRP.tar.md5
Flash OdinInstallTWRP.tar.md5 using Odin (v3.0.9 or so) in the AP slot and be happy.
This ONLY works if the phone still has MODE: DEVELOPER showing on the Odin (Download) screen.
cheers
.
Lost developer mode, had to reinstall all the steps then insert my primary sdcard with the backup, then restore my last backup. Wasn't a hassle, just didn't know if I need to flash a something totally different since my phone is recognized as a developer now. Thank you, I did download twrp to flash in case it happens again.
stoph8n24 said:
Lost developer mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way that would have happened is if you overwrote the bootloader with stock firmware ("aboot" in particular) or - even less likely - that your CID got changed somehow.
Unless you are saying that you intentionally flashed a full stock firmware set in Odin in order to effect the repair... then it would make sense.
What were you flashing that caused the original trouble?
bftb0 said:
The only way that would have happened is if you overwrote the bootloader with stock firmware ("aboot" in particular) or - even less likely - that your CID got changed somehow.
Unless you are saying that you intentionally flashed a full stock firmware set in Odin in order to effect the repair... then it would make sense.
What were you flashing that caused the original trouble?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually think I may have flashed the partial firmware instead of the modem firmware that I wanted. But looking at my laptop, I have firmware for so many different notes it's ridiculous. I wouldn't doubt that I just flashed the wrong file.

Galaxy s4 att stuck on screen with costum and a padlock

Okay, here is the deal. I was trying to install a costum rom on my att galaxy s4. What I did was I rooted it using king root and tried to flash a rom through rom toolbox, but I believe it was just going to take me to my recovery. After that the screen got stuck on the costum screen with the padlock, and only seems to turn on with a charger plugged into it. I am on 5.0.1 lollipop and have managed to flash the original recovery, but any stock rom I try to flash using Odin fails by saying complete thread failed or something like that, and says on my phone binary 1 or something like that. I really need help on where to start.
Thanks
What is the exact Odin error?
AT&T never released a full firmware for flashing via Odin beyond 4.1.2. Look here for a possible solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814
Once the phone is running a 4.3 or higher bootloader, the bootloader is locked and custom ROMs can't be installed unless the custom ROM is based on a stock ROM.
There's an ODIN flashable Android 4.2.2 MDL bootloader tar file out there somewhere too.
If the bootloader is locked, and it sounds like it is since it's running 5.01, Odin will not be able to flash a 4.2.2 ROM or bootloader.
audit13 said:
If the bootloader is locked, and it sounds like it is since it's running 5.01, Odin will not be able to flash a 4.2.2 ROM or bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are there any other options, or should I just give up on it?
Look at this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814.
Pay attention to this part of the post which may help:
Notes:
1. The above process will not affect your Knox Warranty Flag.
2. The process will update your Modem, Non-hlos, System, Kernel, and Stock Recovery.
3. No need to wipe prior to flashing! The ROM will automatically perform a factory data reset.
4. If you are not already rooted (or to unbrick) you must first flash the I337UCUFNB1_Rootable_Full_Odin.tar (use Odin's PDA slot (AP in Odin v3.09+), root with Towelroot, then proceed with the above process.
5. To learn more about FlashFire's capabilities on locked bootloader devices see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...10&postcount=2​
audit13 said:
Look at this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814.
Pay attention to this part of the post which may help:
Notes:
1. The above process will not affect your Knox Warranty Flag.
2. The process will update your Modem, Non-hlos, System, Kernel, and Stock Recovery.
3. No need to wipe prior to flashing! The ROM will automatically perform a factory data reset.
4. If you are not already rooted (or to unbrick) you must first flash the I337UCUFNB1_Rootable_Full_Odin.tar (use Odin's PDA slot (AP in Odin v3.09+), root with Towelroot, then proceed with the above process.
5. To learn more about FlashFire's capabilities on locked bootloader devices see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...10&postcount=2​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally fixed it. I had downloaded that rom before, but it hadn't worked. I decided to try it again and used a different USB port and it worked! Thanks for the help!

Soft Brick Help? (NC2 or NC4)

Recently decided to try the Bootloader unlock.
Thought everything had gone well, it seemed OK.
Flashed TWRP, and now it won't boot.
I'm stuck at the phone telling me to take it to a Verizon store to fix it.
That being said, I can get into download mode and I get the following :
ODEN MODE
PRODUCT NAME : SM-N900V
CURRENT BINARY: SAMSUNG OFFICIAL
SYSTEM STATUS: Custom
KNOX KERNEL LOCK: 0X0
KNOW WARRANTY VOID: 0X1
QUALCOMM SECUREBOOT: ENABLE (CSB)
AP SMREV: S1, T1, R1, A2, P1
WRITE PROTECTION: Enable
UDC START
SYS REV CHECK FAIL : No Version
SECURE MAGICCODE CHECK FAIL : recovery
From all that, it seems that my recovery is not any good (probably from flashing twrp, duh).
I haven't been able to find a NC2 or NC4 flashable recovery anywhere.
Help?
Or am I barking up the wrong tree and do I need something else?
darkhawkff said:
Recently decided to try the Bootloader unlock.
Thought everything had gone well, it seemed OK.
Flashed TWRP, and now it won't boot.
I'm stuck at the phone telling me to take it to a Verizon store to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That "Verizon" message means that you did NOT unlock the bootloader succesfully.
You would normally see [size=+1]MODE: Developer[/size] in the Odin/Download mode screen if you had successfully unlocked.
As a matter of fact, that condition should always be checked for before trying to flash any recovery.
darkhawkff said:
AP SMREV: S1, T1, R1, A2, P1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[size=+1]Whoa! HOLD THE PHONE![/size] (Somebody with an older bootloader - MJE or NC2 at the latest)
If you reflash with Odin, USE EITHER MJE or NC4 at most - nothing later than that!
darkhawkff said:
SYS REV CHECK FAIL : No Version
SECURE MAGICCODE CHECK FAIL : recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never seen those messages before, but it's probably because you flashed something either into the boot partition or the recovery partition and your bootloader is not yet unlocked.
darkhawkff said:
From all that, it seems that my recovery is not any good (probably from flashing twrp, duh).
I haven't been able to find a NC2 or NC4 flashable recovery anywhere.
Help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will help you out. Please stand by. DO NOT FLASH NJ6 NK1 OB6 or OF1.
darkhawkff said:
Or am I barking up the wrong tree and do I need something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stand by for more. posting now (quickly) so you don't do something rash.
bftb0 said:
That "Verizon" message means that you did NOT unlock the bootloader succesfully.
You would normally see [size=+1]MODE: Developer[/size] in the Odin/Download mode screen if you had successfully unlocked.
As a matter of fact, that condition should always be checked for before trying to flash any recovery.
[size=+1]Whoa! HOLD THE PHONE![/size] (Somebody with an older bootloader - MJE or NC2 at the latest)
If you reflash with Odin, USE EITHER MJE or NC4 at most - nothing later than that!
I've never seen those messages before, but it's probably because you flashed something either into the boot partition or the recovery partition and your bootloader is not yet unlocked.
I will help you out. Please stand by. DO NOT FLASH NJ6 NK1 OB6 or OF1.
Stand by for more. posting now (quickly) so you don't do something rash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the insight. No worries, I was downloading NC4 ATM, but I would prefer NC2 I think, for now. I got no problems waiting...it isn't my 'main' phone anymore. I got a note 5, but I prefer my note 3 for most usage. It's just....nicer....
I appreciate the help greatly though! Finding older files (like NC2) is damn near impossible. If I was at home, it's probably sitting on my file server somewhere, but I don't have access at the moment. Still at work.
I will also note, I did verify prior to trying to bootloader, to ensure the CID started with 0x15, and it does. Checked like 5 times, just to be sure.
And I figured it would.....since I bought this the day it was released. Anyway.....
Thanks!
OK. First things first. Let's examine the state your phone is currently in before you flash anything.
My educated guesses are that (a) your bootloader is NOT unlocked, and possibly (b) the phone is "stuck" always trying to boot into the recovery - which gives you the Verizon screen, or (c) something worse - for example if you flashed the custom recovery into the wrong partition.
The not-unlocked condition means that whatever is trying to be booted (either the recovery partition or the boot partition) has something non-Samsung in it. Either one would give you the Verizon message about unauthorized software.
When the phone boots from a cold startup, it looks at something in NVRAM called the "BCB" - the Boot Communication Block. If it is "empty" it will do the normal thing - try to boot the phone normally, starting with the "boot" partition. But, the BCB can contain other instructions, such as "boot to recovery", or "boot to Odin mode". And experience seems to indicate that the conditions under which the BCB is cleared (i.e., goes back to the default) is a little bit buggy or quirky - so that the phone can get "stuck" always trying to boot either the recovery or Odin/Download mode.
The "three-finger salute" of Vol-Down + Home + Power - which you normally use to start up Odin - seems to clear the BCB when you choose the "Cancel" option (Vol-Down) from that initial splash screen, and it usually will attempt to boot the normal ("boot") partition if you select "Cancel" ( = Vol-Down ).
So FIRST: Pull your battery. Re-insert. Vol-Down+Home+Power until you get that "do you want to install custom software?" screen. Press Vol-Down to cancel.
===> Does your ROM boot correctly?
If so, then you can attempt to unlock again without any flashing. I suppose you are still rooted if your phone still boots.
===> If your ROM still boots, please report it's exact firmware version. It makes a big difference whether it is a M-series or an N-series. (Note: I am asking about the bootloader firmware, not the ROM version).
If your ROM does not boot, then you are going to have to use Odin in one way or another.
I can help you out with that and point you at the correct custom recovery, depending on which bootloader firmware you want to end up with. (Especially if you have a copy of the NC2 firmware at home (it's the only one I don't have).) DON'T FLASH NJ6 OR ABOVE IN ODIN - yet. (Towelroot V3 is trivially easy on anything from MI9 through NC4, and rooting appears to be a pain in the rear beyond that)
let me know what you find.
darkhawkff said:
I will also note, I did verify prior to trying to bootloader, to ensure the CID started with 0x15, and it does. Checked like 5 times, just to be sure.
And I figured it would.....since I bought this the day it was released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That certainly is a mandatory prerequisite to success. But it doesn't mean that something won't go wrong during the unlock process. To be sure, just boot into Odin mode after you think everything has succeeded and look for that "MODE: Developer" message on the Odin screen to verify that the unlock process succeeded.
There are a couple different versions of the unlocker binary in that Unlock thread, and most of the variations have to do with how the program went about reading the CID value out of the volatile filesystem /sys during initial sanity checks. As that location seemed to change from firmware release to release, there was some dependency between the unlock binary version and the OS release level of the rooted ROM it was used on. So a "safety check" in the code was what was making it non-portable; the actual CID change and binary patching of the "aboot" partition was the same in every version.
I might have used @donc113's original variant (post #218) when I was on MJE. If you are rooting with M* or N* ROM firmware, that version should work.
The other thing that happened was that (I think?) someone released an app that was really just a wrapper around the binary file. That had the unfortunate side effect of hiding the status and error messages the unlock binary produces if someone happened to use it on the wrong OS version. It's possible that someone that is rooted could slip a different version of the "unlock" binary underneath that app (in it's appropriate /data/data/* location), but that's asking a lot from people who gravitate towards using "one click" apps.
You didn't mention whether you were using the app or just the command line. If it was the latter I think that careful inspection of the unlock binary's output would have indicated success or failure.
Anyway, some TWRP custom recovery links:
TWRP for hltevzw
If you have a M* series bootloader use the -4.3.img recoveries, otherwise use -4.4 for N*, O*, or P* firmware
(The AryaMod ROM uses the Aroma installer, which apparently needs the twrp-2.8.7.0-hltevzw version, not the twrp-3.0.2-0-hltevzw. So... grab both of them)
PS I recently "upgraded" my bootloader from MJE to NC4. I did this because the M* series bootloader is incompatible with later kernels (due to technical issues about how the "DTB" (Device Tree Blob) attached to the kernel is parsed and initialized by the bootloader). I probably would have gone with NC2 instead of NC4, but all the links for the NC2 leak firmware were dead. At least NC4 is easy to root with Towelroot v3, and so far I've been able to boot and run not only lolipop roms (e.g. CM13) but a marshmallow rom (AryaMod) without major troubles. So I have an Odin-back-to-stock method for device recovery that is easily rootable (in contrast to NJ6, NK1, or PL1 which have no root method, or OB6/OF1 which have crufty/difficult rooting methods (& perhaps dodgy too)).
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Any chance of just using Odin and flashing a stock recovery image? Rather than killing the entire os too?
I can't find just a recovery image though.
darkhawkff said:
Any chance of just using Odin and flashing a stock recovery image? Rather than killing the entire os too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That works when the bootloader is unlocked (even with unsigned recoveries such as TWRP). Not sure about the locked case.
Code:
tar -H ustar -c -f my_recovery_only_Odin_bundle.tar recovery.img
md5sum my_recovery_only_Odin_bundle.tar >> my_recovery_only_Odin_bundle.tar
mv my_recovery_only_Odin_bundle.tar my_recovery_only_Odin_bundle.tar.md5
Note that the above technique for preparation of Odin flashables isn't restricted to adding just a single file. For instance, someone that had a bootlooping stock ROM in need of repair could probably create a tar.md5 bundle that only contained "boot.img" and "system.ext4.img"* Note that when Odin does the MD5 checking, it wants the filename to be unchanged (other than the .md5 extension). So don't change the name of the .tar.md5 file to something else or the MD5 check in Odin will fail.
darkhawkff said:
I can't find just a recovery image though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's inside the stock Odin tar.md5 bundle. Just extract it.
Is it even important at the moment? So long as your phone boots normally, what's in the recovery partition simply doesn't matter
Did you try the Vol-Down+Home+Power startup (followed by Cancel == Vol-down) that I suggested above? What happens?
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* There is one place where partial firmware flashes would be extremely ill-advised: if you were flashing a bootloader (dear lord why?) ALL five pieces (aboot.mbn, sbl1.mbn, rpm.mbn, tz.mbn, sdi.mbn) need to be flashed as a group all in one go
Yup. Just tried that finally (was busy at work).
Fixed. I'm unlocked bootloader.
Yup, I'm still on NC2 (not that it's a surprise).
Still haven't been able to find the files at home. I thought I might have them saved somewhere, but apparently not. Still have 1 or 2 places to look, but I'm going to guess that I don't have it anywhere.
darkhawkff said:
Yup. Just tried that finally (was busy at work).
Fixed. I'm unlocked bootloader.
Yup, I'm still on NC2 (not that it's a surprise).
Still haven't been able to find the files at home. I thought I might have them saved somewhere, but apparently not. Still have 1 or 2 places to look, but I'm going to guess that I don't have it anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hope I helped.
Make a backup of your current ROM in TWRP and get it off the phone into a safe place. Then you will feel free to experiment with different ROMs as time allows. I would also suggest it is really a good idea to save that "debrick" image on the SD card in case a utter disaster happens (probably you will never use it though).
(before reformatting the SD card to get it back to usefulness)
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk1 bs=4096 count=65536 of=/data/local/debrick.img
(or, too-late... get a debrick image with the modded "aboot" partition unlocked bootloader)
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=4096 count=65536 of=/sdcard/debrick.img
I'll archive the NC2 if you can find it (send me a PM) even though I can't use it any longer as I recently flashed NC4 bootloader. I have all the other firmware releases, just not that one.
The NC2 (leak) engineering bootloader appeared at a time when the kernel DTB blobs were changing structure; hopefully it is able to boot all later kernels. Please drop a note somewhere in these forums if you discover problems booting newer kernels - whether custom or stock. As I mentioned, if NC2 won't work, NC4 seems decent enough so far and it preserves a full-stock Odin recovery/rescue to a ROM version which is easily rooted with Towelroot v3
As to modems, I've done a few pairings of my flashable-stock ROMs with different modem releases (see the flashable stock thread for downloads) and - strangely - the NC4 modem won't work at all with NJ6 or NK1 (no service) kernels/ROMs, but it will work with later kernels/ROMs e.g. OB6-PL1. Just mentioning it because the NC2 modem might behave in a similar strange fashion since it is of the same vintage. I haven't had any troubles flashing modems up-version or down-version.
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Well, all great!
I got Aryamod installed and going well.
NC2 bootloader yet too! TWRP obviously installed and OK, with 2.8.7 I believe. Installing apps now.
It really makes a difference with this phone too. I'm quite surprised by it to be honest.
All I know, is I might actually switch back to using my note 3 instead of my note 5 as my daily driver again.
Thank you again for the help. I really appreciate it.
darkhawkff said:
Well, all great!
I got Aryamod installed and going well.
NC2 bootloader yet too! TWRP obviously installed and OK, with 2.8.7 I believe. Installing apps now.
It really makes a difference with this phone too. I'm quite surprised by it to be honest.
All I know, is I might actually switch back to using my note 3 instead of my note 5 as my daily driver again.
Thank you again for the help. I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good deal.
AryaMod is a pretty nice ROM. Marshmallow FTW!
(I'm glad I bought a device with 3GB of RAM.)
Could you please message me at [email protected] I tried to root my sm-n900v note 3 on 5.0 and it's soft bricked. I can't get Odin to flash..keeps failing. I need to talk to someone just bought it week ago man.

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