Hey guys, been looking through the forum all morning at different ROM's. I considered the KK upgrade, however can't find a working link to a DL, my telco still have not released the KK update.
I have N9005 model, on 4.3 rooted using Chainfire, have CWM. I DL a 4.3 ROM, but can't figure out how to get it on my phone from PC (I sent the zip file over, but it does not show up on CWM), I found a few KK ROMS that interest me, but can't find a working link to a DL of 4.4.2 it for me to flash. I would post in the respective thread, but I cn't post in the developer forums yet.
As I understand to do most roms on here now, I need to flash 4.4.2, Root it, install new version of CWM, then install the rom.
However if I have used CWM to do a nandroid backup, is it possible to flash it back to that, or is any chance of 4.3 gone once I flash 4.4
I know this is very noob, but we all gotta learn some day.
Any help, even a link to 4.4.2 DL would be awesome.
Spudz30 said:
Hey guys, been looking through the forum all morning at different ROM's. I considered the KK upgrade, however can't find a working link to a DL, my telco still have not released the KK update.
I have N9005 model, on 4.3 rooted using Chainfire, have CWM. I DL a 4.3 ROM, but can't figure out how to get it on my phone from PC (I sent the zip file over, but it does not show up on CWM), I found a few KK ROMS that interest me, but can't find a working link to a DL of 4.4.2 it for me to flash. I would post in the respective thread, but I cn't post in the developer forums yet.
As I understand to do most roms on here now, I need to flash 4.4.2, Root it, install new version of CWM, then install the rom.
However if I have used CWM to do a nandroid backup, is it possible to flash it back to that, or is any chance of 4.3 gone once I flash 4.4
I know this is very noob, but we all gotta learn some day.
Any help, even a link to 4.4.2 DL would be awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing, if you go to KK you can't come back. Nobody has yet found a way to reset Knox or to revert the bootloader from KK. Go to it and you're stuck with it. May not matter depending on how you use your phone but there's a thread on here where the poster actually got his phone replaced because KK update meant he could no longer use it as he wanted and as he had it set up under 4.3.
(see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2709623 )
You've already tripped Knox using Chainfire's autoroot so you're free to do pretty much whatever you wish. I have stayed with 4.3, using Alliance ROM, Philz recovery and Lean kernel because the phone is awesome using them and KK seems to be generating lots of problems even now and doesn't appear to offer anything really worth having to make up for the troubles... IMO.
If you can't see the zip in CWM the most likely reason is you're looking at the wrong 'card' - in Philz recovery for example, the external SD card is SDCard1, not SDCard. At a guess you have copied the zip to the external card and CWM is looking on the internal memory.Not sure what the options are for plain CWM but look for another card option or move the zip from where you have it. Given the best flash is to wipe everything on the internal memory, the external card is the best location - it won't be wiped.
Another way to do it is to use Odin - extract the zip till you get the MD5 file and flash that via Odin to the phone - you need to put the phone in Download mode to do it. (hold Menu + Vol Down + Power to get to DL mode) There are threads on here with instructions on how to use Odin.
Journyman16 said:
First thing, if you go to KK you can't come back. Nobody has yet found a way to reset Knox or to revert the bootloader from KK. Go to it and you're stuck with it. May not matter depending on how you use your phone but there's a thread on here where the poster actually got his phone replaced because KK update meant he could no longer use it as he wanted and as he had it set up under 4.3.
(see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2709623 )
You've already tripped Knox using Chainfire's autoroot so you're free to do pretty much whatever you wish. I have stayed with 4.3, using Alliance ROM, Philz recovery and Lean kernel because the phone is awesome using them and KK seems to be generating lots of problems even now and doesn't appear to offer anything really worth having to make up for the troubles... IMO.
If you can't see the zip in CWM the most likely reason is you're looking at the wrong 'card' - in Philz recovery for example, the external SD card is SDCard1, not SDCard. At a guess you have copied the zip to the external card and CWM is looking on the internal memory.Not sure what the options are for plain CWM but look for another card option or move the zip from where you have it. Given the best flash is to wipe everything on the internal memory, the external card is the best location - it won't be wiped.
Another way to do it is to use Odin - extract the zip till you get the MD5 file and flash that via Odin to the phone - you need to put the phone in Download mode to do it. (hold Menu + Vol Down + Power to get to DL mode) There are threads on here with instructions on how to use Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will stick with JB for now as I like my setup anyway. I know how odin works and CWM was definitely looking at my External SD as my backup was on it. This is the ROM I was trying http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2541304 I DL, extracted to a folder on my PC, put onto my micro SD, but alas, nothing to choose from to flash.
Found the Alliance one for N9005, looks real nice, so will give it a shot.
Deleted
Urghhhh why is it after hours of trawling and googling I can't find my answer. I did the alliance ROM (and now know how my first rom stuffed up) how do I get rid of the icon in the top left which shows download rate? Can't find the option anywhere on phone
Edited: Found it myself.
Final bit of noob from me for now. I tried to restore my CWM backup after installing Alliance, alliance overwrote CWM with TWRP, I did a factory reset, but could not restore from backup. It noted my CWM backup, but I could not restore it. Anything I did wrong here?
Edited: Once again from learning I fixed my own issue. Reflashed CWM, restored from todays backup, phone has gone from factory reset to how it was earlier today. Love the nandroid backup.
Related
Hello, and thanks for reading this. I know it's long, but I wanted to be specific.
I got a brand new AT&T Galaxy S4 yesterday, and decided I wanted to run CM. I easily rooted using this
method, but ran into problems in multiple attempts to install CWM. I found out about the MF3 software version, which I have, so I installed safestrap.
In safestrap, I factory reset, installed CM 10.2-20131102.zip
snapshot, and then installed loki-doki.zip as mentioned in this thread (there were some mentions in the xda forums but I can't find the one I was looking at earlier.) The problem is I forgot to make
a new rom slot/partition thing, so I think I wrote over the stock rom.
Now, when I turn on the phone, an option for safestrap comes up. If I choose to not go through safestrap, the screen goes blank black, but the phone stays on until I
hold the power button and it vibrates, indicating a power down. Safestrap's recovery mode still works as expected.
What I've already tried:
1. Factory reset. Nothing changed.
2. Create rom slot for CM, install, and boot (Has since been uninstalled). Nothing changed.
3. manually put stock rom zip into phone. Computer did not recognize device.
4. Use adb to push same stock rom zip onto phone. ADB did not see device.
5. Change PIT via ODIN as per a thread I can no longer locate. Nothing changed.
6. Take a stock rom and flash it from ODIN (I used the PDA, then bootloader, option because I wasn't sure which to select.) Both failed.
Is this something y'all can help me with? What do I do? If you have any ideas, questions, comments, please ask. I know I need more information.
Thanks for the help.
FalseAim said:
Hello, and thanks for reading this. I know it's long, but I wanted to be specific.
I got a brand new AT&T Galaxy S4 yesterday, and decided I wanted to run CM. I easily rooted using this
method, but ran into problems in multiple attempts to install CWM. I found out about the MF3 software version, which I have, so I installed safestrap.
In safestrap, I factory reset, installed CM 10.2-20131102.zip
snapshot, and then installed loki-doki.zip as mentioned in this thread (there were some mentions in the xda forums but I can't find the one I was looking at earlier.) The problem is I forgot to make
a new rom slot/partition thing, so I think I wrote over the stock rom.
Now, when I turn on the phone, an option for safestrap comes up. If I choose to not go through safestrap, the screen goes blank black, but the phone stays on until I
hold the power button and it vibrates, indicating a power down. Safestrap's recovery mode still works as expected.
What I've already tried:
1. Factory reset. Nothing changed.
2. Create rom slot for CM, install, and boot (Has since been uninstalled). Nothing changed.
3. manually put stock rom zip into phone. Computer did not recognize device.
4. Use adb to push same stock rom zip onto phone. ADB did not see device.
5. Change PIT via ODIN as per a thread I can no longer locate. Nothing changed.
6. Take a stock rom and flash it from ODIN (I used the PDA, then bootloader, option because I wasn't sure which to select.) Both failed.
Is this something y'all can help me with? What do I do? If you have any ideas, questions, comments, please ask. I know I need more information.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few things...
CM will not work on SafeStrap as of right now, it's AOSP-based whereas SS currently only supports TouchWiz-based ROMs.
Is your stock ROM-slot intact, or did you flash over it as well? if so move on to the next bullet.
Your need to take these files and use ODIN to flash back to stock MF3 (I don't know what stock files your using) and start from scratch.
Alternatively, you can try to flash a TouchWiz-based ROM (look here) in a ROM-slot other then stock in SafeStrap and see if it works, just don't forget to flash the MF3 modules afterwards.
NighthawkXL said:
A few things...
CM will not work on SafeStrap as of right now, it's AOSP-based whereas SS currently only supports TouchWiz-based ROMs.
Is your stock ROM-slot intact, or did you flash over it as well? if so move on to the next bullet.
Your need to take these files and use ODIN to flash back to stock MF3 (I don't know what stock files your using) and start from scratch.
Alternatively, you can try to flash a TouchWiz-based ROM (look here) in a ROM-slot other then stock in SafeStrap and see if it works, just don't forget to flash the MF3 modules afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really appreciate the help. I had no idea CM would not work with SafeStrap. Is it possible to get CWM through SafeStrap? If not, I'll just have to do some research to see if I want one of the TW-based ROMs, I've never looked into it before. Actually, just before you posted, I started the Odin flashing in this thread, which seems to be another thread pointing to the same file downloads written by the same guy as the thread you posted. The phone is back to perfect stock; no root, no SafeStrap, still MF3 software version. I'm going to reroot and reinstall SafeStrap, and not be so reckless this time. Thanks again for the help!
No CWM won't run on the locked MF3 bootloader. SafeStrap is "recovery" itself designed specifically for MF3 devices. Just use a TW Rom and br careful!
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
NighthawkXL said:
No CWM won't run on the locked MF3 bootloader. SafeStrap is "recovery" itself designed specifically for MF3 devices. Just use a TW Rom and br careful!
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think you could help me install a ROM? I tried to get GoldenEye, but it didn't work. I made a new ROM slot and didn't change any of the default sizes. Then I activated that ROM slot, wiped the data, and intalled the GoldenEye zip file from the /sdcard folder. The I rebooted, and installed the MF3 modules on the same ROM slot. Then I rebooted again, but all I got was a black screen. I was able to get back into SafeStrap and the stock ROM still works, but what did I do wrong installing GoldenEye?
I deleted and then remade the ROM slot, and tried installing the two files again without rebooting in between, but it didn't change anything. But I did notice the following when trying to install the MF3 modules:
Installing 'sdcard/jflteatt-MF3-modules.zip'..
Checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found.
Updating partition details...
E:Unable to mount internal storage.
SafeStrap says "Successful," but this text doesn't sound like it. I couldn't find any in-depth tutorial on using SafeStrap, so I'm not sure what to try next.
Thanks for the help.
FalseAim said:
Do you think you could help me install a ROM? I tried to get GoldenEye, but it didn't work. I made a new ROM slot and didn't change any of the default sizes. Then I activated that ROM slot, wiped the data, and intalled the GoldenEye zip file from the /sdcard folder. The I rebooted, and installed the MF3 modules on the same ROM slot. Then I rebooted again, but all I got was a black screen. I was able to get back into SafeStrap and the stock ROM still works, but what did I do wrong installing GoldenEye?
I deleted and then remade the ROM slot, and tried installing the two files again without rebooting in between, but it didn't change anything. But I did notice the following when trying to install the MF3 modules:
Installing 'sdcard/jflteatt-MF3-modules.zip'..
Checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found.
Updating partition details...
E:Unable to mount internal storage.
SafeStrap says "Successful," but this text doesn't sound like it. I couldn't find any in-depth tutorial on using SafeStrap, so I'm not sure what to try next.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of this is covered in the "SafeStrap" thread.
I have a Note 3 that I bought the day they where released so obviously I don't have the latest firmware.
I have safestrap installed (rooted with delavega). I have the stock but debloated ROM in the stock slot & Beans awesome ROM running in slot 1.
I have nandroid backups of both ROMs (on my 64gig card) and I have actually done a restore of both just to make 100% sure they worked.
I should probably leave well enough alone as EVERY SINGLE THING works perfectly in my slot 1 Beans setup but I'm still kinda on the fence about flashing the new firmware (my long time Wife once commented "you break things intentionally just so you can figure out how to fix them!!").
I have never had a phone that used safestrap so this is all new to me. My questions are:
1. I have downloaded the Odin flashable tar for the new firmware. If I flash this, does it wipeout safestrap/the ROM slots etc.(like formatting a windows hard drive) so it becomes basically a new stock phone unrooted and all the internal storage blank??
2. If that is the case, can I first flash the new firmware tar, then root with kingblo, then install safestrap/recreate ROM slot 1 and then restore the nandroid of my current Beans BU and be basically right back to where I am now but with the new firmware installed??
jmorton10 said:
I have a Note 3 that I bought the day they where released so obviously I don't have the latest firmware.
I have safestrap installed (rooted with delavega). I have the stock but debloated ROM in the stock slot & Beans awesome ROM running in slot 1.
I have nandroid backups of both ROMs (on my 64gig card) and I have actually done a restore of both just to make 100% sure they worked.
I should probably leave well enough alone as EVERY SINGLE THING works perfectly in my slot 1 Beans setup but I'm still kinda on the fence about flashing the new firmware (my long time Wife once commented "you break things intentionally just so you can figure out how to fix them!!").
I have never had a phone that used safestrap so this is all new to me. My questions are:
1. I have downloaded the Odin flashable tar for the new firmware. If I flash this, does it wipeout safestrap/the ROM slots etc.(like formatting a windows hard drive) so it becomes basically a new stock phone unrooted and all the internal storage blank??
2. If that is the case, can I first flash the new firmware tar, then root with kingblo, then install safestrap/recreate ROM slot 1 and then restore the nandroid of my current Beans BU and be basically right back to where I am now but with the new firmware installed??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I basically have the same set up as you except I’m running Hyperdrive. I just did this myself about an hour ago and didn’t lose anything. But I did and always make a backup before I do anything just in case.
1. Download Beans MJ7 Full Stock Tar: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23212708291674903
2. Make sure you boot into your “stock rom” before you Odin the stock tar. Latest Odin v.3.09: http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23212708291676783
3. Odin the stock tar and when you’re done you’ll be un-rooted but on the MJ7.
4. Download and install the Kingo Root App to your PC and follow the instructions. LINK REMOVED BY VECTUS
5. After you re-root your phone and it reboots go back into safestrap or re-download it if it’s missing and reinstall the recovery. http://forum.xdadevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=2517610
Everything was still there for me when safestrap recovery booted up. I didn’t lose any data.
Good luck
Uhm. I don't think you're allowed to post links for Kingo.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
haza12d said:
Uhm. I don't think you're allowed to post links for Kingo.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not... I removed the link... :good:
Whoops you're right my mistake sorry about that.
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda premium
Is that app the only way to root the note 3 currently?
Thanks for the responses guys, it went like clockwork.
I Odin flashed the full mj7 tar that I downloaded from crack flashers (after beans like timed out on me about 25 times). Then immediately did the Kingo thing which worked super.
At that point, I installed the newest safestrap & recreated the same #1 ROM slot I had before the flash. I then restored a nandroid I had made of the Bean ROM install from that slot from before the Odin flash to that new ROM slot and it works perfectly.
I see no difference whatever except for the new firmware showing in the device properties.
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,
Oh boy, I really screwed this one up...
I purchased a used Note 3 from eBay, hoping to be able to root it after it arrived. Much to my surprise, it arrived rooted with Safestrap, Hyperdrive ROM in Stock slot, and a different Hyperdrive ROM in Slot1. I was also impressed that KNOX had not been tripped. (It said Custom, but the KNOX flag showed 0x00)
Sweet looking phone in hand, I was thrilled! I wasn't going to have to cut my teeth on rooting the device myself prior to having an opportunity to explore a rooted Android and a custom ROM. The very first thing I did was to use Safestrap to backup both the Stock slot and Slot1. After the backups, I booted the stock slot first, to see how a factory Note 3 should look. Surprise again, the stock slot booted a Hyperdrive ROM. I was a bit nervous that I didn't have a truly stock ROM, but wasn't too worried about it because I had no plans to resell or seek repairs under warranty.
I then spent a couple of days tinkering with the device. Unfortunately, half asleep during the wee hours of the morning, I was tinkering around with SuperSU -- setting grant/deny/prompt flags for different apps. Somewhere in the midst of that, SuperSU informed me that I had lost root. I checked with RootChecker, and sure enough NO Root.
Things got worse from there, as I'm sure you can imagine. RootChecker had a button to relaunch SuperSU, so I tapped it. This time, SuperSU wanted to re-install itself. Being the ignorant noob that I am, I told SuperSU to proceed, and crossed my fingers. After a few seconds of thrashing around, SuperSU wanted to reboot, so I said okay...
Now the device attempts to go into recovery, reboots itself, attempts recovery, reboots, again, and again... boot loop... and no way to charge the battery... I believe I am around 55% to 60% charged at the moment.
So I read great things about Odin and downloaded a copy -- not yet sure exactly what I was going to do with it. I have been trying to wrap my head around this for a couple of days now, but I have several questions that I hope somebody can shed some light on.
Does the rooting take place in the boot image, or in the ROM image? I am assuming it has to be in the boot image, but then I've heard you can have rooted and unrooted ROMs in different slots.
If I use Odin to flash fresh firmware, will this firmware will have a functional recovery tool bundled with it?
Since the phone is no longer rooted, the recovery will not be able to re-flash a ROM onto the device?
If an Odin installed recovery can't re-flash a ROM due to being unrooted, am I faced with JTAG options only?
If I were to use Odin to flash this firmware: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2726558 , could I perhaps get SafeStrap back and be able to restore the backups I made? The links on that page appear to be to the same (or very similar) firmware that was running prior to this disaster. NC2, Safestrap, etc.
If I can't use Odin to flash the firmware linked in the previous paragraph, and get Safestrap to restore my backups, can I use the firmware, ROMs, and PIT file linked here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2576104 to restore the phone to factory conditions and re-root from there?
Finally, is there any way for me to avoid tripping KNOX at this point? I'm not really sure I care if it gets tripped, but if I can avoid it then I probably should. Am I likely to need KNOX container support on a private device in the near future? Is there any other reason to be spooked about losing KNOX? I really don't care much about the warranty.
Any help with this mess will be **greatly** appreciated!
lintex said:
If I were to use Odin to flash this firmware: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2726558 , could I perhaps get SafeStrap back and be able to restore the backups I made? The links on that page appear to be to the same (or very similar) firmware that was running prior to this disaster. NC2, Safestrap, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, if anybody comes across this thread looking for answers -- I did successfully use Odin to get this firmware back onto the device. Upon booting, I had Safestrap, was able to boot Slot1, and had root. When I boot from the Stock slot, still no root.
I have not yet attempted to restore the Stock slot backup, because I first want to see if I can boot Slot1 (to get root), and then find/mount the Stock slot image and see if I can find a way to re-root it manually.
lintex said:
Ok, if anybody comes across this thread looking for answers -- I did successfully use Odin to get this firmware back onto the device. Upon booting, I had Safestrap, was able to boot Slot1, and had root. When I boot from the Stock slot, still no root.
I have not yet attempted to restore the Stock slot backup, because I first want to see if I can boot Slot1 (to get root), and then find/mount the Stock slot image and see if I can find a way to re-root it manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using any other slot other then stock is going to be problematic. So use the stock slot. You are using the nc2 firmware if you have the reboot to recovery bootloop issue. You can flash the nc4 patched firmware in beans firmware thread if you want. Reboot to recovery is not the same as reboot to safestrap. Download a fresh rom. Wipe everything but external sd under the advanced wipe button in safestrap. Flash your new rom making sure stock slot is the active slot. Setup phone like normal. Make a backup with your now freshly setup rom. Rinse and repeat for new roms. Label your backups if you want to rom jump. Always use stock slot. Odin the nc2 kernel if you have a blackscreen on first boot of a new rom.
RomsWell said:
Using any other slot other then stock is going to be problematic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case, Slot1 is simply a rooted ROM that I can use when the Stock slot gets messed up. I have no desire or intent to tinker with Slot1. I consider it as an emergency tool only. It does seem to have an issue though. It never seems to want to power all the way down for some reason.
RomsWell said:
So use the stock slot. You are using the nc2 firmware if you have the reboot to recovery bootloop issue. You can flash the nc4 patched firmware in beans firmware thread if you want. Reboot to recovery is not the same as reboot to safestrap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the NC2 firmware, but I no longer have the bootloop problem. After using Odin to re-install the NC2 firmware from BeansTown, the device was once again able to boot to Safestrap. From there, I was able to select and boot either of the existing slots. Slot1 still boots to root, Stock slot is still unrooted. I should be able to use Safestrap to restore my Stock slot backup and regain root on Slot1, right?
The only reason I have not yet attempted to restore the Stock slot backup is because I hope to boot my rooted Slot1 ROM, mount the Stock ROM image, and fix the Stock ROM image. If not, then I will try to restore the Stock slot backup.
RomsWell said:
Download a fresh rom. Wipe everything but external sd under the advanced wipe button in safestrap. Flash your new rom making sure stock slot is the active slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely plan to flash a new ROM, soon. I want a fresh clean ROM for personal use, and I also need to find a ROM that supports HDMI -- because I want to get Debian to display on a larger screen. My ultimate goal is to create my own ROMs. I have a bit of experience with kernel tweaking/building, and created a bootable Linux-based DVD image by hand. I believe I will someday be able to tweak phone ROMs as well, but I'm still fuzzy about much of the Android system. Stuff like locks and KNOX seem like quite a mine field and make me very nervous. A blank DVD coaster is one thing, an expensive smartphone is scary.
lintex said:
In my case, Slot1 is simply a rooted ROM that I can use when the Stock slot gets messed up. I have no desire or intent to tinker with Slot1. I consider it as an emergency tool only. It does seem to have an issue though. It never seems to want to power all the way down for some reason.
I am using the NC2 firmware, but I no longer have the bootloop problem. After using Odin to re-install the NC2 firmware from BeansTown, the device was once again able to boot to Safestrap. From there, I was able to select and boot either of the existing slots. Slot1 still boots to root, Stock slot is still unrooted. I should be able to use Safestrap to restore my Stock slot backup and regain root on Slot1, right?
The only reason I have not yet attempted to restore the Stock slot backup is because I hope to boot my rooted Slot1 ROM, mount the Stock ROM image, and fix the Stock ROM image. If not, then I will try to restore the Stock slot backup.
I definitely plan to flash a new ROM, soon. I want a fresh clean ROM for personal use, and I also need to find a ROM that supports HDMI -- because I want to get Debian to display on a larger screen. My ultimate goal is to create my own ROMs. I have a bit of experience with kernel tweaking/building, and created a bootable Linux-based DVD image by hand. I believe I will someday be able to tweak phone ROMs as well, but I'm still fuzzy about much of the Android system. Stuff like locks and KNOX seem like quite a mine field and make me very nervous. A blank DVD coaster is one thing, an expensive smartphone is scary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you stick to the known exploits like safestrap and towelroot then theres no worrys about knoxs. And no real way to perma brick the device. Make sure you stick to offical firmware when using odin and abuse your device like you would any other.
EDIT: I have successfully installed the Alliance ROM. Here's how i did it.
Prerequisites:
Your phone at at least 50% battery
A charge cable
MicroSD card that you can plug into your computer
Odin 3.09
SafeStrap, version 3.75 APK on your MicroSD card
Alliance ROM on your MicroSD card
NCG tar.md5 (the big file, not the kernel)
I started off on a rooted 5.0 VZW Galaxy S5. After some confusion, I downgraded to NCG (4.4.2) using Odin. After doing that, I went to Towelroot, got the APK, rooted, downloaded SuperSU from the play store (I had to sign into google at this point), installed it's binaries (NORMALLY! Don't choose the TWRP method), rebooted when it asked me to. From there, I installed BusyBox from the play store and installed it within the app. Then I installed Safestrap (version 3.75), which I had on my MicroSD card. I used the app My Files to navigate to my MicroSD and installed the APK. Then I installed it within the app, and when the "reboot to recovery" button worked, I rebooted into SafeStrap recovery mode. At this point, the Alliance ROM zip file should ALREADY BE ON YOUR MICROSD CARD, WHICH SHOULD BE IN YOUR PHONE. Now, you're going to press the INSTALL button to the top right in Safestrap recovery, and you're going to navigate to your MicroSD card. It might be already opened to that. Then you're gonna select the Alliance ROM and flash it. After it successfully flashes, reboot into download mode (if for some reason you aren't able to do it immediately, you get into download mode by holding volume down, home button, and power button at the same time). Now, using Odin, you're gonna flash the firmware that the instructions in the Alliance thread tells you to (here's the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver.../rom-alliancerom-build-3-rom-control-t2818632). If everything works, it's gonna take a couple of minutes, optimize apps, and boot.
Huge thanks to Beans and his team for creating the Alliance mod, and huge thanks to Tulsadiver for helping me get through the process during my confusion.
Original thread below
Hi. I'll cut to the chase. I was an idiot and thought I could just flash the Alliance ROM from my SD card, but my phone is currently a factory restored 5.0. So, after unsuccessfully flashing Alliance ROM, I thought, well, I probably need to be on 4.4.2 to do this. So, what I'm wondering is, do I need to go back down to 4.4.2 to install Alliance ROM? And do I need Safestrap recovery to do it, or can I do it from stock recovery (home button+volUp+Power)? I did a lot of digging in the Alliance ROM post and there were no posts regarding my problem/question, probably because they're all experienced and I'm not (this is my first time trying to flash a custom ROM).
It SOUNDS like I need to flash a full stock tar using Odin, is that correct? Once I do that, I would be on stock wiped 4.4.2, I assume. From there, could I flash the Alliance ROM and continue with the instructions? Or do I need to root first and get safestrap and all that crap? I feel like Beans was really vague with his instructions on installing ROMs, but whatever. Please help though, I'm kind of stuck in the middle of this with a softbricked phone.
Thank you so much in advance, I appreciate it.
~isra
EDIT: Also, I was on ROOTED 5.0 Lollipop just before this. I just got so sick of lollipop, I was ready for something different. So here we are. To confirm, my phone is the standard retail SM-G900VZW model.
EDIT2: Apparently App Ops and SuperSU survived the wipe and, after downloading Root Checker, I can confirm that I'm still rooted... Huh.
israphial said:
Hi. I'll cut to the chase. I was an idiot and thought I could just flash the Alliance ROM from my SD card, but my phone is currently a factory restored 5.0. So, after unsuccessfully flashing Alliance ROM, I thought, well, I probably need to be on 4.4.2 to do this. So, what I'm wondering is, do I need to go back down to 4.4.2 to install Alliance ROM? And do I need Safestrap recovery to do it, or can I do it from stock recovery (home button+volUp+Power)? I did a lot of digging in the Alliance ROM post and there were no posts regarding my problem/question, probably because they're all experienced and I'm not (this is my first time trying to flash a custom ROM).
It SOUNDS like I need to flash a full stock tar using Odin, is that correct? Once I do that, I would be on stock wiped 4.4.2, I assume. From there, could I flash the Alliance ROM and continue with the instructions? Or do I need to root first and get safestrap and all that crap? I feel like Beans was really vague with his instructions on installing ROMs, but whatever. Please help though, I'm kind of stuck in the middle of this with a softbricked phone.
Thank you so much in advance, I appreciate it.
~isra
EDIT: Also, I was on ROOTED 5.0 Lollipop just before this. I just got so sick of lollipop, I was ready for something different. So here we are. To confirm, my phone is the standard retail SM-G900VZW model.
EDIT2: Apparently App Ops and SuperSU survived the wipe and, after downloading Root Checker, I can confirm that I'm still rooted... Huh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download busybox from play store. Install it. Install safestrap. Once recovery is installed, go into recovery, install alliance, from within safestrap, boot into download mode and flash the full firmware Odin tar.
Tulsadiver said:
Download busybox from play store. Install it. Install safestrap. Once recovery is installed, go into recovery, install alliance, from within safestrap, boot into download mode and flash the full firmware Odin tar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, so I don't need to downgrade my phone? Keep in mind I'm on stock rooted 5.0, which just got factory reset so I got nothing except for the root. Also, what full firmware odin tar are you referring to? NE9? This one: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23610159112652201
Or this one: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23622183712472727
I'm getting these links from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...ment/stock-collection-kernels-modems-t2842069
I really appreciate you replying. Thank you.
The first one. That firmware will downgrade you to NE9.
Tulsadiver said:
The first one. That firmware will downgrade you to NE9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I don't need to downgrade to install the ROM. Got it. Thank you. Is there anything else I should know?
Not that I know of. ROM installations are different so always refer to their installation instructions. Some will say to flash the firmware first. The op knows best. Alliance NE9 says to do a full wipe (everything but SD card). Install the ROM, reboot to download mode ( don't hit reboot system). Once in download mode, flash the firmware tar and let your phone reboot.
Tulsadiver said:
Not that I know of. ROM installations are different so always refer to their installation instructions. Some will say to flash the firmware first. The op knows best. Alliance NE9 says to do a full wipe (everything but SD card). Install the ROM, reboot to download mode ( don't hit reboot system). Once in download mode, flash the firmware tar and let your phone reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, I installed Safestrap and did all that, but when I press the reboot into recovery button, it just reboots the phone normally. It doesn't go into safestrap recovery. Am I supposed to hold some buttons or something?
Did safestrap ask for SuperSU permissions? Did you install busy box? You can't just download the app.
Tulsadiver said:
Did safestrap ask for SuperSU permissions? Did you install busy box? You can't just download the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I've installed BusyBox and given SS root permissions. I installed the APK 3.75 Safestrap that I used to get into SS recovery when I was getting to rooted 5.0 a while back, so I know that the APK isn't corrupt or anything like that.
I forgot. You are on lollipop. You need to flash the NE9 kernel first ( via Odin). You already have safestrap but it doesn't work on lollipop. After you flash the NE9 kernel you will have the option to boot into recovery. Have alliance on your SD card ready to install.
Tulsadiver said:
I forgot. You are on lollipop. You need to flash the NE9 kernel first ( via Odin). You already have safestrap but it doesn't work on lollipop. After you flash the NE9 kernel you will have the option to boot into recovery. Have alliance on your SD card ready to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found a "NE9 Stock tar.md5". Does that sound right? DL is here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23578570567721275
Found a "NE9 Stock tar.md5". Does that sound right? DL is here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23578570567721275
israphial said:
Found a "NE9 Stock tar.md5". Does that sound right? DL is here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23578570567721275
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is it.
Tulsadiver said:
That is it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'm going to flash the kernel then, then I'll get back to you if anything comes up. Again, I really appreciate you helping me. Thank you.
Tulsadiver said:
That is it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It booted into stock recovery mode after odin successfully flashed NE9. Now do I install the ROM from stock recovery, or do I boot the phone and get to Safestrap to install the ROM from Safestrap recovery? I am currently in recovery mode.
You must not have had safestrap on your phone after all. Can you get back to download mode? You probably need to flash your lollipop kernel to get back to lollipop.
Tulsadiver said:
You must not have had safestrap on your phone after all. Can you get back to download mode? You probably need to flash your lollipop kernel to get back to lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely had safestrap. Though, here's something: Everyone talks about a menu that pops up during boot that allows you to enter either safestrap recovery, or boot, and I've never had/seen that menu, even when I was rooting 5.0. Yes, my BusyBox worked and was properly installed, and yes, I had Safestrap recovery installed.
I just tried rebooting and it after sitting at the first screen for a while, it rebooted quickly and went back into recovery mode. What if I try installing Alliance from recovery mode? Will it work?
israphial said:
I definitely had safestrap. Though, here's something: Everyone talks about a menu that pops up during boot that allows you to enter either safestrap recovery, or boot, and I've never had/seen that menu, even when I was rooting 5.0. Yes, my BusyBox worked and was properly installed, and yes, I had Safestrap recovery installed.
I just tried rebooting and it after sitting at the first screen for a while, it rebooted quickly and went back into recovery mode. What if I try installing Alliance from recovery mode? Will it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never been on stock recovery before. I think it has to be a custom recovery. You might need to pull your battery and let it set for a bit and see if you can get into download mode.
Tulsadiver said:
I've never been on stock recovery before. I think it has to be a custom recovery. You might need to pull your battery and let it set for a bit and see if you can get into download mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can get into download mode perfectly fine. I'm going to kernel back to 5.0 then...
But what do I do now? Should I downgrade to 4.4.2 with the stock firmware once I successfully boot 5.0?
EDIT: Yup, booted 5.0 perfectly fine. Now what? Downgrade to 4.4.2 and flash the NE9 Kernel?
Proof that Safestrap is on my phone:
http://imgur.com/cGa1v1n