I have read bits and pieces of the issue over the past month or so, but loki has been patched on the LS980(via ZVA), and it appears that loki was also patched in ATT 4.4 release(via 20c). My questions are these:
1. Was AT&T's loki patched through the same channel as the LS980(the radio files)?
2. Do devs anticipate being able to work around loki to enable running both the new kernel and new radios?
Seeing as how AT&T are total asshats when it comes to loki(coughATTS4cough), I am a bit worried that the loki patches may be similar and lock down all variants of the device. Having already been locked down by Motorola and stuck on Gingerbread forever, as well as having a friend on the perma-locked AT&T Galaxy S4, being perma-locked isn't something I'd take too kindly to. So are there any devs that see light at the end of the tunnel, or are we "up the creek without a paddle?" Thanks!
I'm going to go out on a limb and say if root and ROMS are important to you, DON'T take the update. Go ahead and get a custom recovery installed and wait for a flash able zip of KitKat.
As far as I know, Dan's out of the game and unless he's released Loki to be developed by others, it's done.
Related
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
Im looking to buy a note 3 from an individual to keep my unlimited data plan Do I need to make sure its not taken any recent updates aka 4.3 so I can unlock the bootloader and root I want to be able to run custom roms
DizzyFox said:
Im looking to buy a note 3 from an individual to keep my unlimited data plan Do I need to make sure its not taken any recent updates aka 4.3 so I can unlock the bootloader and root I want to be able to run custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're talking about a Verizon phone, ALL Verizon Note 3's have locked bootloaders & probably always will.
Only the Developer Edition, available directly from Samsung, has an unlocked bootloader. But can root and install custom ROMs by using hashcode's Safestrap, available in the Development section.
cam30era said:
Only the Developer Edition, available directly from Samsung, has an unlocked bootloader. But can root and install custom ROMs by using hashcode's Safestrap, available in the Development section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I know I have the note 2 now 4.3 on it I got it rooted but no way to insall custom roms. No SafeStrap Love. So even with a note 3 you cant install cwm recovery regardless of what android version you are running right?
DizzyFox said:
Im looking to buy a note 3 from an individual to keep my unlimited data plan Do I need to make sure its not taken any recent updates aka 4.3 so I can unlock the bootloader and root I want to be able to run custom roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DizzyFox; said:
Ok I know I have the note 2 now 4.3 on it I got it rooted but no way to insall custom roms. No SafeStrap Love. So even with a note 3 you cant install cwm recovery regardless of what android version you are running right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer both your questions - the latest release "MJE" is still rootable (e.g. with Kingo). By "rootable" here I mean something quite specific: you can get a root shell in the OS and modify the /system partition. Little else.
The other responders here are making the point that the retail VZW Note 3 has a crypto-signed bootloader sequence which has not yet been subverted, and everything is checked right up to and including bootable images (the recovery or the OS kernel). So (for now), no custom recoveries or custom kernels on the retail Verizon Note 3 - but you CAN modify the "ROM". Buy a developer version instead if you want to be sure you will be able to use custom kernels and ramdisks.
Within that limitation SafeStrap (a "pseudo-recovery") is still pretty nice - it is derived directly from TWRP, and behaves almost the same fashion, but with a few tweaks. It captures control early in the STOCK kernel boot sequence, and allows you to "flash" ROMs, and also maintain alternate ROM slots similar to a multi-boot arrangement. This happens via some mounting magic where alternate ROM slots are just file-blobs that live in the /data partition. To it's credit, it behaves in a way where this is mostly transparent to the normal "ROM flashing process". (It symlinks the boot partition to /dev/null so that any attempts to flash a custom kernel appear to happen, but those bits go bye-bye into the bitbucket).
Anyway - the upshot is that on the retail version, any "custom" ROM needs to live happily with the STOCK kernel and ramdisk. So, for example using CM11 for the retail Verizon Note 3 is currently out of the question. But there are a few custom ROMs that live with this limitation - head over to the dev forums and check them out. Just make sure to take note if a ROM is designated as a "developer Edition only" ROM; those will generally not be operational on the retail VZW Note 3.
Over the long term, if the bootloader security is not hacked, it will certainly put a huge damper on XDA development efforts for the VZW Note 3. But you still can do plenty with the tools that Safestrap gives you.
cam30era said:
Only the Developer Edition, available directly from Samsung, has an unlocked bootloader. But can root and install custom ROMs by using hashcode's Safestrap, available in the Development section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bftb0 said:
To answer both your questions - the latest release "MJE" is still rootable (e.g. with Kingo). By "rootable" here I mean something quite specific: you can get a root shell in the OS and modify the /system partition. Little else.
The other responders here are making the point that the retail VZW Note 3 has a crypto-signed bootloader sequence which has not yet been subverted, and everything is checked right up to and including bootable images (the recovery or the OS kernel). So (for now), no custom recoveries or custom kernels on the retail Verizon Note 3 - but you CAN modify the "ROM". Buy a developer version instead if you want to be sure you will be able to use custom kernels and ramdisks.
Within that limitation SafeStrap (a "pseudo-recovery") is still pretty nice - it is derived directly from TWRP, and behaves almost the same fashion, but with a few tweaks. It captures control early in the STOCK kernel boot sequence, and allows you to "flash" ROMs, and also maintain alternate ROM slots similar to a multi-boot arrangement. This happens via some mounting magic where alternate ROM slots are just file-blobs that live in the /data partition. To it's credit, it behaves in a way where this is mostly transparent to the normal "ROM flashing process". (It symlinks the boot partition to /dev/null so that any attempts to flash a custom kernel appear to happen, but those bits go bye-bye into the bitbucket).
Anyway - the upshot is that on the retail version, any "custom" ROM needs to live happily with the STOCK kernel and ramdisk. So, for example using CM11 for the retail Verizon Note 3 is currently out of the question. But there are a few custom ROMs that live with this limitation - head over to the dev forums and check them out. Just make sure to take note if a ROM is designated as a "developer Edition only" ROM; those will generally not be operational on the retail VZW Note 3.
Over the long term, if the bootloader security is not hacked, it will certainly put a huge damper on XDA development efforts for the VZW Note 3. But you still can do plenty with the tools that Safestrap gives you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much that totally clarifies all my concerns. Ive always owned phones even thru Verizon that I could root and unlock the bootloader. Thanks to great Devs. love the note even this note 2 maybe someine will give it a safestrap. Again. Thanks
Why is it so hard to unlock the bootloader for the phone? Why is it so important? Is anyone close to getting past it? Or even working on it?
If you're asking these questions, then it is probably a situation where it won't really matter to you. Not trying to offend, but just from reading through your forum posts, I don't believe that you'll see much difference between safestrap ROMs and full custom kernel ROMs.
The answer as to why it's so hard: Samsung/Verizon/ATT work to prevent the bootloader from being unlocked. As such, the same as soft-modding a game console, an exploit needs to be found within the bootloader. This is the most dangerous area on a phone to mess around with, because it's very easy to permanently brick the phone when playing around with the bootloader. On the original droid that was the leading android development platform for a long time, the motto was, "If you can get to your bootloader, you're not perma-bricked." Screw up on the bootloader, and chances are, you have an expensive coaster.
Why is it so important? Locked bootloaders require signed kernels. Signing custom kernels is not going to be an option as it requires a proprietary encryption that is closed source. This can be thought of akin to MagicGate on the PS2 memory cards. (If you tried to create a device to read a PS2 memory card on any other device, it wouldn't work because of the MagicGate encryption.) It's NOT legal to distribute these encryption keys. As such, even if someone were to discover the key for it, if they distribute it to anyone, Samsung can, and as Sony proved, will go after them legally. Unlocked bootloaders can run any kernel that is made for that device. Unlocked bootloaders also allow flashing things such as a modem update without flashing an official update from the OEM. The primary reason, though, is the kernel. To answer your question from another thread, CyanogenMod requires a CM kernel. It isn't built for an OEM kernel.
Is anyone close to getting past it? Your guess is as good as anyone else's here. Probably not. Each thread that was started has been closed for various reasons.
Is anyone working on it? I believe there are a few devs working on it. If it happens, it'll be posted for sure.
question you didn't ask: Is it worth it? This is the important question you should be asking. Is it worth it to you? This isn't a question that can be answered uniformly across the android community. If you don't understand the benefits of a custom kernel, then you probably won't get much mileage out of an unlocked bootloader. If kexec is fully implemented into safestrap, then custom kernels can be executed giving nearly all the benefits of both worlds (safestrap is a wonderful recovery tool. If you brick w/ safestrap, it is PROBABLY bricked AFTER safestrap). The only real lack you have with kexec vs unlocked bootloader is the flashing of modem updates. This can be overcome by keeping your stock slot updated to the latest OTA (given that it's still rootable).
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.
New to the I337. AT&T with NC1. Android 4.4.2. Stock ROM with the 3.4.0-1125940 kernel. Rooted, SE Linux permissive, Safestrap installed. Compared to other phones I have owned, rooted and installed custom ROMS for this one is way more complex.
Today I tried to Safestrap flash a couple of different ROM's- the Goole Play edition (jflte GPE) and the Lollipop 5.1 ROM 2015061jflte both times using Safestrap. Neither worked. In the case of the Google Play edition, it wanted to install a new kernel as well, I tried with the recommended kernel on the install GUI (wow an install GUI on Android). Both times stuck in a boot loop. I ended up using for the second time, the excellent information here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/guide-odin-to-stock-updating-rooting-t2926642
to get back to stock NC1 (thanks again guut13 for the excellent guide and links to resources) and restored via Safestrap the present stock configuration.
My questions are as follows (I am posting this after a LOT of reading here)
1)Can I use LokiDoki ? I understand it resolves problems with the locked boot loader where one can flash pretty much any S4 ROM on the I337.Is this true?
2) I wanted to give the two ROMS I mentioned today a try. Neither worked although I followed the instructions carefully (wipe, install and reboot). I also would like to try the Phoenix ROM. Is it compatible with Safestrap? Are the two I tried today compatible with Safestrap?
3) I am on 4.4.2. I understand that 4.4.4 is out there as well as 5 but when I check either via Kies or OTA I am told this is the latest firmware for my phone. Any way to update this?
As I said earlier this phone is a lot more complex from a modding standpoint than any other I have experience with. I am unclear on which ROM's will work with the NC1. Before I knew about Safestrap and the boot loader problem I tried installing TWERP and ended up having to rebuild things with guut13's excellent thread.
With NC1 am I stuck on the stock ROM ? Can kernels be updated on NC1 using LokiDoki?
Any light or advice to be shed on my confusion wold be very much appreciated.
Expat
Look at this other excellent thread started I by guut13,î answers all.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
Loki doki is not an option for you, and you can only install tw based roms.
Cats_PJ's
Thanks for the link. Have seen this thread. So I am on 4.4.2. So can I flash a 5.x ROM on the phone provided its TW --or does the phone have to be updated via OTH or another method to 5.x first? Or am I stuck on the ROMS specifically available on 4.4.2?
Thanks again very much for your interest and the link. Wish I had shopped more carefully and bought a non AT&T phone, one of the 5xxx models but I couldn't find anything other than the AT&T ones here in Ecuador.
Expat
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814
That will get you to 5.0.1. You can flash the lollipop roms after that.
I wish I had known more before I bought my phone too. Live and learn, I'm about do for an upgrade though. Good luck.
Cats_PJs said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814
That will get you to 5.0.1. You can flash the lollipop roms after that.
I wish I had known more before I bought my phone too. Live and learn, I'm about do for an upgrade though. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again many kind thanks for the help. This is the most complicated chain of BS to go through just to update a ROM thanks to the locked boot loader I have ever seen..... however you and others here deserve a lot of credit for finding workarounds...... the phone has been made needlessly complex with the BL and efforts by Google and AT&T to "protect" their turf and monetise the user. I would upgrade today were I not in Ecuador where everything costs double what it does in the US. The phone thief crop here is thick- this is the fourth phone in 2 years although the Galaxy Grand Prime I bought after the last robbery I still have. Broke the screen on that one and it was repaired improperly, I get a blank white screen on startup so can't get into recovery so its worthless to me for what I want it for..... so I have the S4 AT&T. Ah well.
Many thanks and enough of my *****ing.
Expat