Database Users

[Q] Can't update to 4.4.4

I have the Samsung Galaxy S4 (I337) It's unlocked and currently using it on T-Mobile's network.
It's running Android 4.4.2 and I am trying to update to Android 4.4.4 but it always says "Software Update Interrupted" & when I try to update again it says "Software up to date, try again in 24 hours".. I contacted AT&T and they said to turn data off and leave WiFi on and try again. I did and this time it did take longer to look for update but it said the same thing again. I contacted Samsung and they told me to try the "Samsung Kies 3" method, I did but it said " 'SGH-1337' does not support initializing." I told Samsung & they told me to go to a local Best Buy and ask them to upgrade the software for me.... But I don't really have time for that, so can somebody please tell why it's doing this / how can I fix this problem? / how can I update it?...
By the way, no , my phone isn't rooted.

Reset
Try removing youre sim card and doing a factory reset and go through the setup only connected to wifi and then check to see if it will upgrade that way
juandbz_ said:
I have the Samsung Galaxy S4 (I337) It's unlocked and currently using it on T-Mobile's network.
It's running Android 4.4.2 and I am trying to update to Android 4.4.4 but it always says "Software Update Interrupted" & when I try to update again it says "Software up to date, try again in 24 hours".. I contacted AT&T and they said to turn data off and leave WiFi on and try again. I did and this time it did take longer to look for update but it said the same thing again. I contacted Samsung and they told me to try the "Samsung Kies 3" method, I did but it said " 'SGH-1337' does not support initializing." I told Samsung & they told me to go to a local Best Buy and ask them to upgrade the software for me.... But I don't really have time for that, so can somebody please tell why it's doing this / how can I fix this problem? / how can I update it?...
By the way, no , my phone isn't rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Are you rooted? Once it downloads it probably won't flash correctly.
Do you have a ATT SIM card? I believe you HAVE TO be connected to ATT to get the update. It won't update if your on T-Mobile network.
What firmware are you on? Depending on what firmware you are on you should be able to find the stock .cfg file here in this forum somewhere. You MAY need to INCREMENT each update manually though. For example if your on NB1 you would need to flash in stock recovery the .cfg file for the next firmware to NC1. THEN flash the next .cfg from NC1 to NJ4 (or something along those lines with each firmware). NJ4 is the newest so you will end up there.
Give more info on what your firmware is? If rooted or stock? If custom recovery or stock? Any other info so others can help guide you better.

RockRatt said:
Are you rooted? Once it downloads it probably won't flash correctly.
Do you have a ATT SIM card? I believe you HAVE TO be connected to ATT to get the update. It won't update if your on T-Mobile network.
What firmware are you on? Depending on what firmware you are on you should be able to find the stock .cfg file here in this forum somewhere. You MAY need to INCREMENT each update manually though. For example if your on NB1 you would need to flash in stock recovery the .cfg file for the next firmware to NC1. THEN flash the next .cfg from NC1 to NJ4 (or something along those lines with each firmware). NJ4 is the newest so you will end up there.
Give more info on what your firmware is? If rooted or stock? If custom recovery or stock? Any other info so others can help guide you better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried doing the Kies method again and I have to say, I'm stupid for it... the phone upgrade failed & now it says "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again" it wont let me use my phone at all anymore... help

try here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...ng-rooting-t2926642/post56453100#post56453100

Question on upgrading to 5.0 from 4.4.4 when i was rooted.

hey guys i recently rooted my phone and then saw that 5.0 came out i wasnt able to find any reputable info on un rooting my phone so i could do the over the air update from verizon. however there was 2 updates available from OTA , one took me to another version of 4.4.4 and un rooted me. my boot screen still says custom but i no longer have root. however the ota 5.0 keeps failing. i figured maybe i can up date manually but the only site that has 5.0 for dl is sammobile and their site is down. all the other sites i found seem to be scams or want you to pay for faster dl. i dont care if i even have root any more i just want my phone on 5.0 with out loosing all the data on my phone. does any one have a link for instructions to do this? and a working link for 5.0? thanks

bump for help

Can you not boot into custom recovery twrp/safestrap? I Just re read your post, I'm assuming you can. So do that, and make a backup of /data. In addition it wouldn't hurt to use a usb drive or computer to back up any important files.
You say you want to be able to update without losing your data, I don't know if that's possible.if that is a real problem for you,I'd advise against modifying your phone in the future.
You didn't say why the update is failing, what is the given error message? Have you read the Verizon s5 forum?

OK2 Carrier Unlock & ROM Questions

I've got a S4 AT&T running OK2 with root and it ran my AirVoice Wireless SIM perfectly fine for a month while I researched and got a new phone. I'd now like to use it as a backup phone with a FreedomPOP SIM but it's giving me grief about "SIM network unlock PIN". This is the carrier lock correct? I found a tutorial that has you go into the Service Mode and turn off NETWORK LOCK. This tutorial doesn't seem to work (missing the options) in OK2. Do I have to downflash to 4.2.2 in order to get these options? If so, how do I go about doing that? I put OK2 with root on this phone but that process took 2 days and with all the mixed info out there and different versions, it's confusing to say the least.
My other question is, I tried flashing TWRP (jflteatt) and I believe I ended up with the "software not authorized by AT&T" error. Doing some reading, it looks like this may be due to not using a loki'd TWRP?
Any pointers/tips would be much appreciated. All this Samsung stuff is way over my head despite having rooted, recoveried and rom'd maybe a dozen Android devices. I much prefer LG and Moto

natenkiki2004 said:
I've got a S4 AT&T running OK2 with root and it ran my AirVoice Wireless SIM perfectly fine for a month while I researched and got a new phone. I'd now like to use it as a backup phone with a FreedomPOP SIM but it's giving me grief about "SIM network unlock PIN". This is the carrier lock correct? I found a tutorial that has you go into the Service Mode and turn off NETWORK LOCK. This tutorial doesn't seem to work (missing the options) in OK2. Do I have to downflash to 4.2.2 in order to get these options? If so, how do I go about doing that? I put OK2 with root on this phone but that process took 2 days and with all the mixed info out there and different versions, it's confusing to say the least.
My other question is, I tried flashing TWRP (jflteatt) and I believe I ended up with the "software not authorized by AT&T" error. Doing some reading, it looks like this may be due to not using a loki'd TWRP?
Any pointers/tips would be much appreciated. All this Samsung stuff is way over my head despite having rooted, recoveried and rom'd maybe a dozen Android devices. I much prefer LG and Moto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you're carrier locked. I think you can only downgrade to NB1 from OK2, not sure you can carrier unlock on NB1 or not. As for installing TWRP you can't due to the locked bootloader. You can only use safe strap recovery and boot only custom touch wiz roms. Loki only works on the MDB and MDL bootloaders, once you've upgraded the bootloader past MDL, you can't go back.

If the AT&T phone is like the i337m and m919, you may be able to flash down to 4.4.2, flash a 4.2.2 modem, root, run regionlockaway, upgrade modem back to 4.4.2.

Thanks for the replies. I grabbed NB1 from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
and flashed it via Odin. All went well but when it came time to follow various instructions I found online, they either yielded no unlock or the options weren't in the menu. I don't think the free unlock trick via the service menu works on 4.4.2/NB1.
I researched a bit more and feel very stupid with one of the results that came up... AT&T offers online unlocking of their devices and you don't even have to be one of their customers! I figured I could go to one of their retail stores but also figured they would deny me since I'm not a customer. I'll be jiggered though, here it is: https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/
Slapped my IEMI in with my e-mail and in less than an hour or so, I got my unlock code for free. AT&T said they would e-mail it but I checked back on the status page and found the code there. Hopefully this helps other people.
So, moving forward now, is OK2 the best I can do with a locked bootloader? I ran it for a while but I found that I burned through my data real quick because when I would leave my WiFi coverage and come back, it would reconnect but for some reason wouldn't actually use WiFi (data was still on, had the 4G icon) until I restarted the phone. Basically, every time I left and came back home, I had to restart my phone. Is this a known issue, did I botch something in the install process? I may make another thread for this.
*EDIT*
Running OK2 for a while, I no longer have the WiFi issues I had before. Doing some thinking, I can only attribute the issue to either incorrectly followed steps the first time around flashing OK2 or the use of the debloater script found in the OK2 downloads thread. I've been using Link2SD to remove system apps and so far haven't removed anything that has affected WiFi.

Noob question re bought half-rooted phone & poss issues if keep way it is?

I just bought what was meant to be a new factory unlocked HTC 10 online but it's actually half-rooted phone that was Sprint branded. As in Malwarebytes and Android Pay claim it's rooted but Root Checker says it's not rooted properly.
I'm also unable to open any free apps that require rooting (i.e., Titanium back up, Super SU), and checking for the latest Android software on my phone has a never-ending busy signal. Thus, I'm unable to wait for update to Oreo when it's released in a few months to unroot the noob way? I'm currently running Nougat.
I'd prefer the phone to be unrooted but I guess my concern is that if I revert the phone back I may not able to use the phone as it may be locked to Sprint? (I'm an Australian user). Is there anyway I can check this with the phone the way it is at the moment? If I just leave the phone not rooted correctly what issues will I run into while using the phone for next few years? What convenience apps (besides Android Pay) won't work?
Note: I'm also not keen on returning the phone as it's too much hassle and don't have a decent back up phone.

AT&T in Australia

Hi all,
Was recently in the 'States and broke my S8 - it's now the third mobile screen I've busted since Samsung brought in curved edges, never had any issues with the S2 or S5 - who ever thought tempering glass and curving it would be a good idea??
Anyway I had the opportunity to pickup a brand new Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and did a quick bit of research. I found the most compatible version with my carriers back home in AUS was the SM-G892A from AT&T. Picked up a brand new unlocked model, stupid me didn't connect it up to AT&T while I was there. I turned it on and played around with it on Wifi for the last few days of our trip and returned home to Melbourne.
Basically I now understand AT&T are a bunch of ***** and do not allow updates to be pushed even for unlocked devices overseas. Considering a lot of the updates are for security I'm very surprised by this.
Anyway so I've notcied a few tiny bugs here and there with apps/OS and figured updating my device/OS is the way to go and might resolve the issues. I guess the easiest way to get the info I need is to put the questions I have individually, as my mind tends to jump all over the place when I'm working a problem:
1. Is there any way to get my phone updated without rooting/flashing the phone?
2. If not, what is the best option for a S8 Active? Are there any firmware versions that will enable OTA updates so I don't need to keep flashing everytime new firmware is released? I have seen some posts about T-Mobile being able to be flashed over an AT&T model or even the G892U or maybe a custom firmware that allows this?
3. Will rooting/flashing interfere with any of the carrier settings etc? Don't want to upgrade it only to find it disables an LTE band or something?
4. I am an absolute noob at flashing, have never done it but am pretty tech savvy so if there is a step-by-step procedure I wil have no dramas following it. Saying that, I would rather not make the device worse than it is so I only want to follow tried & tested procedures if that makes sense, I don't want my device to be a lab-rat.
5. If there is no way to enable OTA internationally as per Question #2 when new firmware updates become available on XDA will flashing a new update delete personalisation/settings/files etc? Or will it retain them and update like a stock model performing a firmware upgrade would? If not, that would be a pain in the ass and time consuming to have to re-apply settings and reinstall apps every time and almost makes the idea of flashing unattractive.
6. I have baseband G892AUCU1AQG4 - taking into account Question #2 what is the best way to move forward? Considering Android 8.0 is available for the S8 Active and has been available for my model from AT&T since March 1st, 2018 apparently I'm hoping there might be some way to move towards that.
Hope someone might be able to help,
Thanks in advance
UPDATE 05/05/2019
Got some answers to my original questions...
1. Rooting/Flashing are different things - rooting allows custom firmware, flashing is the procedure to install custom or OEM firmware onto the device.
2. The best option for me I think is to just update to newer AT&T firmware so I get the updates and new software features as I'm not interested in custom firmware. I still do not know if it is possible to get OTA updates for this device directly from Samsung/Google.
3. As long as you are flashing from the same model firmware as in SM-G892A to SM-G892A should be no issues, however using SM-G892U might cause issues.
4. Once I wrapped my head around how baseband versions of firmware work and what is needed to get between bootloader versions flashing from SD Card or Odin (as I suspected) was very straightforward thanks to some of the guides out there. To make this easier for anyone facing the same issue I have written how I did this below.
5. Yes, flashing for AT&T will delete everything, it's an absolute PIA and that's why I will keep searching for a way to get OTA updates enabled if at all possible. However I believe Samsung SmartSwitch is pretty good for backing up and restoring so that might be a simple way forward.
6. See my latest post, I was 12 updates behind but able to skip 7 of them using my method.

I'm considering importing an S8 Active AT&T and have the same questions. How did you go?

secateurs said:
I'm considering importing an S8 Active AT&T and have the same questions. How did you go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the slow reply I've only just had the time to dive into this. Yes I have figured it out.
There are two ways, incrementally update by applying OTA updates via the SD card. However trying to find all of these can be a pain.
The other way you may have read about is to use Samsung's own 'Odin' flashing software.
Because I had the very first baseband version G892AUCU1AQG4 I was way behind. The fifth-last digit designates the bootloader version, you cannot jump from v1 to v3 for example. So what you can do is use a few OTA updates to jump you from v1 to the first v2, you can then use Odin to jump you all the way up and use another OTA to get you to the next bootloader version. Hope that makes sense?
So I was able to use x2 OTA updates to get from 1AQG4 to 1AQJ2, then I was able to do one more OTA to get from 1AQJ2-to-2AQK3. Now if I was to continue using the OTA method with the SD card, I would need to run the process x8 times. This presents 3 issues:
1. Time consuming, trying to find all the correct OTA updates.
2. Even when you do get all the correct OTA updates you then have to copy each on to the SD card waiting for the phone to update and then repeat the process.
3. Even if you can find a link for a required OTA update a lot of the links are dead.
However using Odin and the flash files I was able to skip these and go directly from 2AQK3 to 2BRF2, use one OTA update and then I was onto Bootloader v3 (which is the latest version). Here is how I compressed 12 updates do into 5, good luck..
1. 1AQG4-to-1AQJ2 OTA (SD CARD): dropbox.com/s/ikor71zt1ec0nyn/SS-G892AUCU1AQG4-to-S1AQJ2.zip?dl=0
2. 1AQJ2-to-2AQK3 OTA (SD CARD): dropbox.com/s/ott9fs9qunkvf9x/SS-G892AUCS1AQJ2-to-U2AQK3.zip?dl=0
3. 2AQK3-to-2BRF2 Odin Flash : androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904016415
4. 2BRF2-to-3BRG1 OTA (SD CARD): androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904016441
5. 3BRG1-to-3BRL1 Odin Flash: mega.nz/#!7M42VCAJ!-FKnhzwTZG0He1kb9FzHHaPX4Aanlnj4fpn0M61DzR4

Have the s8 active outside of America and desperately want to update it
Hey ,
I'm sorry to bring up this old thread but I didn't really understand the method you used sorry I'm really new to this thing, I have the s8 active Sm-g892A ( the att) model it's on the baseband version G892AUCS2ARB1 . If you could help me out a bit with this I would be really grateful, having Android 7.0 really makes me concerned as I've heard the security patches also won't update.

None2939 said:
Hey ,
I'm sorry to bring up this old thread but I didn't really understand the method you used sorry I'm really new to this thing, I have the s8 active Sm-g892A ( the att) model it's on the baseband version G892AUCS2ARB1 . If you could help me out a bit with this I would be really grateful, having Android 7.0 really makes me concerned as I've heard the security patches also won't update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you are on Bootloader v2 (5th character from the right). So you can skip straight to Step 3. Be warned all instructions below will result in all data on your device being wiped!
Using Odin to upgrade as directed on Step 3 & 5 or future upgrades (there is now v4 software appearing):
You need to download Odin (you don't need a modified/Comsy version).
You need to enable Developer Options on your Galaxy.
Once you have developer options you need to enable 'USB Debugging'.
You need to shutdown your Galaxy.
Connect your USB cabble to your PC.
Boot into Download mode by using the Power+Bixby+Volume Down combo. OR if that doesn't work Use the Power+Bixby+Volume Up and use the menu to get into Download Mode.
Open Odin on your PC, it should say 'Added' if it detects your Galaxy correctly. If it doesn't you may need to install some USB drivers (you can Google how to do this).
Once it says 'Added' you can add the files from Step 3 and flash but be warned it will wipe everything on your device.
For Step 4 OTA:
Very simply download the ZIP file and place the complete ZIP file on an SD Card (it should not be extracted must be complete ZIP archive). Place the SD Card in the Galaxy, power off and boot into Recovery Mode Power+Bixby+Volume Up. Then simply use the Volume Up/Down and Power keys to navigate through, 'Apply Update from SD Card', find your SD card and the ZIP file and allow the update to run.