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Fix S5 Dev Edition and or root new S5 on Mac

Hello fellow Android community. Recently I ended up bricking my Verizon S5 Dev Edition using Safestrap. I went out and bought a new consumer S5 it's running Kit Kat 4.4.4 NK2. I already know Towelroot doesnt work to root it. I'm using a Mac with Hemidall 1.4.0 installed and can't access Windows XP in Virtual Box no longer as it won't install properly. Is there any way I can fix my Verizon Dev Edition and or root this new Verizon S5 without having access to an actual PC using ODIN? Last summer I flashed the wrong file on my Dev Edition and it locked the bootloader making it a consumer version. Currently Verizon S5 Dev Editions from Samsung are on backorder. I'm setup to be emailed when they are in stock and it will take 4 weeks for them to get the product according to their site. Thanks for the help. This has been cross posted in another forum pertaining to root but less extensive in detail.
I have already towlroot installed on my current S5 and files to downgrade even though im already on NK2 stock.

Droid9684 said:
Hello fellow Android community. Recently I ended up bricking my Verizon S5 Dev Edition using Safestrap. I went out and bought a new consumer S5 it's running Kit Kat 4.4.4 NK2. I already know Towelroot doesnt work to root it. I'm using a Mac with Hemidall 1.4.0 installed and can't access Windows XP in Virtual Box no longer as it won't install properly. Is there any way I can fix my Verizon Dev Edition and or root this new Verizon S5 without having access to an actual PC using ODIN? Last summer I flashed the wrong file on my Dev Edition and it locked the bootloader making it a consumer version. Currently Verizon S5 Dev Editions from Samsung are on backorder. I'm setup to be emailed when they are in stock and it will take 4 weeks for them to get the product according to their site. Thanks for the help. This has been cross posted in another forum pertaining to root but less extensive in detail.
I have already towlroot installed on my current S5 and files to downgrade even though im already on NK2 stock.
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Did you make a backup of your aboot partition from the Developer Edition? The second you get a new Developer Edition, don't do anything and PM me. I'll walk you through how to backup your Developer Edition bootloader for safekeeping in case you need to unlock your device again. It's very important to make a backup first thing.

UPDATE
ryanbg said:
Did you make a backup of your aboot partition from the Developer Edition? The second you get a new Developer Edition, don't do anything and PM me. I'll walk you through how to backup your Developer Edition bootloader for safekeeping in case you need to unlock your device again. It's very important to make a backup first thing.
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Hi Ryan thanks for writing me back on my issues with the S5. Ok well yesterday I got Virtual Box to work as I updated the version and installed Windows XP on my Mac. I had used it previously and successfully had used Odin before. However this time I cant get it to recognize any USB devices even after ejecting them from the Mac part. I called Samsung support of the broken Dev S5 and after lengthy talks they refuse to fix it as it's in the system already as "Beyond Economical Repair" from last summer. Another person I reached out to from Brickedmyphone.com got back to me and said he thinks my devices via USB isnt recognized because of emmc failure. When I went to recover my Dev S5 I thought i had a backup in Safestrap but it turned out I didn't. So I did a factory reset thru that then backed out and had it in download mode in which it stayed on. Pulled the battery power on and it stays on Android boot screen now. I never did backup the bootloader of my Dev S5 because no one ever had told me to do so. Never would have thought about doing such a crucial thing. My biggest worry with another Dev S5 is will they be available again as they are on current backorder? And will they still ship out of box with version 4.4.2? When I had the S5 it wouldn't system update at all so my guess is that's the only version it will have unlike the regular S5 that now has 4.4.4? I guess with the Dev Edition weather I flash anything on it or not is that the warranty after 30 days is void. I figured if I didn't flash a custom recovery on that phone I would have been ok but thats not the case. I've had TWRP on my past two Droids and rarely do I run into problems.
As far as the regular S5 from Verizon i plan to return it for majority of my money back by the 17th. But what do you recommend I do for a phone in the mean time? Unless I can get my bricked S5 up and running again. It has a broken Sd card reader anyhow so eventually would have to be replaced.

Note 4 Dev Edition
I'm considering getting Note 4 Dev Edition even if the S5 Dev is available in weeks to come from now. I read someone posted a custom rooted deoxedized without knox rom for it. Otherwise your not able to root it? I plan to try a Note 4 from the store once i return this here consumer S5 to Verizon next week Friday. @ryanbg

Droid9684 said:
I'm considering getting Note 4 Dev Edition even if the S5 Dev is available in weeks to come from now. I read someone posted a custom rooted deoxedized without knox rom for it. Otherwise your not able to root it? I plan to try a Note 4 from the store once i return this here consumer S5 to Verizon next week Friday. @ryanbg
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You can most definitely root any Dev edition regardless of ROM. Send me a message when you have the phone in hand and I'll give you a hand. I'll help you back up your bootloader too.

ryanbg said:
You can most definitely root any Dev edition regardless of ROM. Send me a message when you have the phone in hand and I'll give you a hand. I'll help you back up your bootloader too.
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Thanks for the reply although very late. I ended up going with a rooted Samsung Galaxy S5 off ebay which is new running 4.4.2. By the time I purchased this phone the Note 4 and S5 Dev editions where still on backorder and I needed a phone quickly. I do like the Note 4 and can't wait for the Note 5 this fall to see what it will be like. I also have an inetrest in the LG G4 heard good things about the specs on it.

How To Unlock WIFI Hotspot on Rooted AT&T Galaxy S4 SGH-I1337 Android 5.0.1 Lollipop?

How To Unlock WIFI Hotspot on Rooted AT&T Galaxy S4 SGH-I1337 Android 5.0.1 Lollipop?
I am using at AT&T branded phone with Cricket service, stock ROM as far as I know. I can't find out anywhere how to unlock this Hotspot and I need it badly. None of the apps like wifi tether router seem to work. The build in hotspot worked fine on my galaxy s3 and I don't think I ever did anything specific to make it work, although it was rooted. If I need to downgrade to Kit Kat I will because I can't stand lollipop anyway. I can't even figure out how to make the flashlight work on this thing as there is no icon and none of the flashlight apps work. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Not one response? I guess I'll just try to downgrade to kit kat or something and try from there.

ctwftp said:
Not one response? I guess I'll just try to downgrade to kit kat or something and try from there.
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There is a tether add-on for stock rooted versions ending in OK2 in this thread. It's in the OP under optional.

Moto X Style updates without cell carrier?

I'm thinking about getting a Moto X Style just for use everywhere I have wifi coverage (I'd have no cellular service/carrier at all). Does anyone know if I will still get all of the security/OS updates or can they only come from a carrier?

If you buy it from Motorola directly, the carrier is not involved. But don't think that means you'll get timely updates. Apparently Moto used to be good at this, but no longer. Mine is still on Android Security Patch Level: February 1, 2016

Can anyone confirm they've gotten an OTA update without a SIM card installed or been able to load current updates with Motorola Device Manager?

xdafan15 said:
Can anyone confirm they've gotten an OTA update without a SIM card installed or been able to load current updates with Motorola Device Manager?
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I have with my Moto G3 which is unlocked, purchased from Motorola. Haven't tried with the Pure, but it is a carrier free device as well.
If you watch logcat and check for updates on the device, you'll see it connects to a Motorola server to check as well.

Pretty sure that's how all the tmo people got the update before it was released to them.

Has anyone had experience using Motorola Device Manager to load current updates or are they only available over the air?

MXPE is not carrier branded so you can get OTA without a SIM. Doesn't matter where you buy the phone (I have seen it sold on Amazon and Best Buy as well)
Sent from my awesome phone!

xdafan15 said:
Can anyone confirm they've gotten an OTA update without a SIM card installed or been able to load current updates with Motorola Device Manager?
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I received my Moto X Style on Friday, didn't have a sim card inserted when I plugged it on. It was on Android 5.1.1 and as soon as I set out the home wifi, it told me there was a software update, and I got 6.0 installed.

xdafan15 said:
Has anyone had experience using Motorola Device Manager to load current updates or are they only available over the air?
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Has anyone used MDM?

xdafan15 said:
Has anyone used MDM?
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We're all trying to tell you that it works, it's fine, you don't need to worry. Carriers are not involved in delivering updates for unlocked devices because a) nothing is customized by any carrier on the unlocked device and b) your only relationship with them is via the SIM card, and you haven't paid them anything for the device. At the risk of sounding condescending, the thing you're worried about is just not how it works.
However, I went ahead and tried to install MDM just to test it out, and it seems that software has other unrelated problems and I can't use it.
So instead, I turned off mobile data and took the SIM card out, and confirmed yet again that it can connect to Motorola's update server and report that there are no updates available. So that's the real problem: you can update the device, but there are no updates to be had.
Edit: maybe the confusion is that term "OTA". Are you just talking about OTA as in over the cell network, or are you referring to WiFi as "OTA" as well? You know that those two work differently, right? OTA updates from a carrier via the cell network clearly only come from them, and clearly can't happen without a SIM. But there's not much difference in downloading the update from Motorola's server via WiFi on the device vs. downloading it via WiFi on your computer with MDM and sending it to the device via USB; it still comes from Motorola.

thejoelpatrol said:
We're all trying to tell you that it works, it's fine, you don't need to worry. Carriers are not involved in delivering updates for unlocked devices because a) nothing is customized by any carrier on the unlocked device and b) your only relationship with them is via the SIM card, and you haven't paid them anything for the device. At the risk of sounding condescending, the thing you're worried about is just not how it works.
However, I went ahead and tried to install MDM just to test it out, and it seems that software has other unrelated problems and I can't use it.
So instead, I turned off mobile data and took the SIM card out, and confirmed yet again that it can connect to Motorola's update server and report that there are no updates available. So that's the real problem: you can update the device, but there are no updates to be had.
Edit: maybe the confusion is that term "OTA". Are you just talking about OTA as in over the cell network, or are you referring to WiFi as "OTA" as well? You know that those two work differently, right? OTA updates from a carrier via the cell network clearly only come from them, and clearly can't happen without a SIM. But there's not much difference in downloading the update from Motorola's server via WiFi on the device vs. downloading it via WiFi on your computer with MDM and sending it to the device via USB; it still comes from Motorola.
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Thank you for trying to test MDM for me, I really appreciate that. I wish it had worked properly.
I'm not asking about MDM because I'm still questioning the OTA availability. That has been answered.
I'm asking because in the past, rooted phones wouldn't accept OTAs, so I'm trying to figure out how to apply security updates without having to un-root, then re-root. Maybe the answer to this is obvious, but it isn't to me.
Maybe the OTA availability problem mentioned above isn't an issue any more as I believe Marshmallow uses systemless root? I probably will stick with the stock ROM, just rooted.
 @thejoelpatrol, are you rooted? If so, have you continued to be able to apply updates OTA?

xdafan15 said:
Thank you for trying to test MDM for me, I really appreciate that. I wish it had worked properly.
I'm not asking about MDM because I'm still questioning the OTA availability. That has been answered.
I'm asking because in the past, rooted phones wouldn't accept OTAs, so I'm trying to figure out how to apply security updates without having to un-root, then re-root. Maybe the answer to this is obvious, but it isn't to me.
Maybe the OTA availability problem mentioned above isn't an issue any more as I believe Marshmallow uses systemless root? I probably will stick with the stock ROM, just rooted.
@thejoelpatrol, are you rooted? If so, have you continued to be able to apply updates OTA?
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Ah, ok, now see that is a whole other issue. That would have been good to know from the start. No, I'm not rooted, but it's getting increasingly tiresome, so I'll probably need to do that at some point. I've mostly used Cyanogenmod in the past but last I checked it wasn't ready for clark. I'll probably take a look at some stock root options when I get around to it. And so your concern here is worth thinking about.

(SOLVED) Moto G4 Plus XT1644 Verizon Prepaid has no 4G (3G only)

I purchased my Moto G4 Plus from Motorola/Lenovo almost a year ago. FIrst I used StaightTalk/ATT and then switched to ATT prepaid. The 4G LTE worked great with both prepaid plans. Soon after I started to use the phone, the updates became very annoying (especially when interrupting GPS/Google maps and navigation while driving) so I followed this guide and rooted my phone:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/root-systemless-rooting-supersu-2-74-2-t3405772
I did not install TWRP permanently and only ran the image. My bootloader is still unlocked. The only root ap I've used (via SuperSU) is SDMaid, to freeze the Motorola update process. (I purchased both excellent aps to support development, BTW, but they work so well, I've never needed their support!)
I'm moving and ATT towers are not available near my new home so I just switched to Verizon prepaid at Walmart today. 4G stopped working. I have a ticket with Verizon open but I've learned that I'm not the first with this problem--either on the Moto 4G or other phones!
I read as many threads here on the subject as I could stand to read. Those who had some success with changing settings (Settings >> Cellular Networks, APN, network type, etc.) are luckier than I! Nothing is working for me so far.
I'm not a "cell phone guy." What do you experts here in xda-dev recommend for my next steps. I don't have much faith in Verizon customer service!

Oh...I forgot to mention that I also flashed the image to wipe the annoying unlocked bootloader warning image on boot. That's all I can think of in the way of mods I've made to my phone.

Thank you for moving this topic. I thought I was posting in the QA section (my Internet is so slow, the entire screen fails to load and I was not where I thought I was).
My gut feeling is this is a hardware problem (a signal integrity problem in reading the SIM card). For any other Moto G4 users who stumble upon this thread, I found a discussion over on the Lenovo site:
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/forums/v3_1/forumtopicpage/board-id/MotoG4thGen/thread-id/7585/highlight/false/page/1
Thank you all here at xda-developers who have read my post in consideration of my problem. I will restore and try install Nougat, which reportedly fixes the problem sometimes. I will post an update for Moto G4 users here too.

calinb7 said:
Thank you for moving this topic. I thought I was posting in the QA section (my Internet is so slow, the entire screen fails to load and I was not where I thought I was).
My gut feeling is this is a hardware problem (a signal integrity problem in reading the SIM card). For any other Moto G4 users who stumble upon this thread, I found a discussion over on the Lenovo site:
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/forums/v3_1/forumtopicpage/board-id/MotoG4thGen/thread-id/7585/highlight/false/page/1
Thank you all here at xda-developers who have read my post in consideration of my problem. I will restore and try install Nougat, which reportedly fixes the problem sometimes. I will post an update for Moto G4 users here too.
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What is your model? XT1644? What is your software currently (go to "Settings", "About phone", "Build number"

I un-rooted and took the OTA Nougat update, which fixed the problem (now getting LTE service). I suspect there is either a patch in Nougat for this Moto G4 problem or the problem, by good luck (software / hardware interaction and tolerance stackup, etc.), just doesn't occur with Nougat.
I have an XT1644 and now Nougat 7.0 NPJS25.93-14-4.
Thank you for your reply.

You have to update the radio;
As said above, you have to go back to stock and take whatever OTAs and then unlock your bootloader.
I went through this with Total Wireless (Verizon MNVO) and when the radio was updated to latest, everything is working great.

HueyT said:
What is your model? XT1644? What is your software currently (go to "Settings", "About phone", "Build number"
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ajw85 said:
You have to update the radio;
As said above, you have to go back to stock and take whatever OTAs and then unlock your bootloader.
I went through this with Total Wireless (Verizon MNVO) and when the radio was updated to latest, everything is working great.
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Some Moto G4 Plus Android 6 phones worked fine with Verizon LTE. I was just one of the unlucky ones. They all seem to receive Verizon LTE with Android 7, however. Sadly, I have found Android 7 to be far less stable than Android 6 (6 was quite good on my phone). Some of the Android 7 feature like split screen work very poorly too. (Split screen doesn't even work all the OEM-installed Android aps, which comprise a very minimal set of aps on a Moto G4.) I wish I could have avoided the update, but LTE is too important to stay on Android 6.
The OTA update worked well with my unlocked bootloader and there was no reason to re-lock it. Of course I had to return everything but /data to an OEM state (unrooted, etc.).

Updating rooted Android 6.0.1 phone

Hey, everyone! I used this method 2 years ago to root my phone so I could use it as a hotspot on my grandfathered unlimited Verizon plan. I disabled any kind of updates and am still rocking Android 6.0.1 on Kernel 3.18.20-eng. I really want to update to something newer/faster, but I read that depending on how I rooted my device, there is a possibility of bricking it if I do something wrong.
How do I go about updating my phone now? I used the method exactly as described in the linked post. Keeping root would be preferred, but it's not necessary.
Thanks!