Ok, so I have searched the forums for a few days now and I'm still a bit confused on certain aspects of rooting and flashing roms.
Information:
Galaxy S5 Tmobile, SM-G900T
From what I gather from my build number I have NK2 Firmware.
It is USB debug enabled.
Drivers installed (Not with Kies so it won't interrupter the flash process.)
I have the latest version if Odin ready to go.
My understanding of the Root Process for my phone so far:
1. Find the Model of your phone and Firmware Version as well as take note on Android version. In my case from what I have read I'm going to want to downgrade to 4.2.2 to use towel root.
2. Install Drivers, set up USB debugging.
3. Download the proper ROM that you want to downgrade to making sure that it matches model and firmware.
4. Flash using ODIN following a tutorial I have saved from here.
5. Once flashed, use towel root to gain SU then Flash back over to 4.4.2 and you will have regained Root. After that you can use another ROM ETC.
Now here is where I'm confused. First off, I'm having a hell of a time finding the right ROM for me. I keep seeing explicit warning about flashing ROMS for the wrong build number. In my case it's NK2 as I stated earlier. I can't seem to find one for NK2 ANYWHERE. Also, I'm having a hell of a time finding the ROM for 4.2.2 for the G900T. What am I missing and what if anything in the instructions am I missing or potentially doing wrong once I do find the right ROM with Firmware NK2?
In short I just need clarification and possibly a pointer to the right direction of the needed ROM that's compatible with my Firmware NK2.
Any help would be much appreciated. I really am trying to read and learn as much as possible but with all the information here I'm not sure which to follow and what's outdated. Thanks.
Hello Gurus,
I have the Canadian S4 (I337MVLUFNI2) running stock 4.4.2. I've just downloaded the Lollipop upgrade from Koodo but did not install.
I'm looking to root and flash CM12 or other ROMs, but I'd like to try Lollipop first.
Few questions about the upgrade:
-Will I be able to root the device after upgrading to Lollipop?
-If I don't like Lolipop, can I revert to my 4.2.2 using my Kies back up ?
-If I want to be able to evert, do you recommend that I root my 4.4.2 and take a nandroid back up first ?
(Battery life is important for me. If the upgrade turns out to be disastrous as some online reports indicates, I'd like to be able to go back to 4.2.2).
-What is the recommended way to root and install recovery for my device ?
Thanks to all..
Do what I did.
Backup all files to PC
Flash lollipop firmware through Odin which you can download from sammobile
Reboot into recovery and wipe data and cache(this will erase everything on phone)
Boot up phone and setup accounts
Then once finished flash this through odin http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293800
Flash twrp through odin
Boot up and copy files back to phone
Reboot into recovery and flash cm12 or whatever you want
So far, there is not a root method for Lollipop on the S4, nor does Xposed work for it yet (lots of issues with the way Samsung implemented ART to Touchwiz).
There is a keep root method in the S4 general Forum, which is just a way to keep root throughout the install of lollipop if you are already rooted on the current ROM you're upgrading from. I'm on my phone though so apologies for not linking it.
I'm not certain if a kies backup will restore after the upgrade, but even though the keep root method removes safestrap functionality, there is a way to get it working temporarily, which may provide some hope.
Seeing as you're using a Canadian model I don't think you need safestrap, and seeing as I do (AT&T model), I can't tell you how other recoveries will handle the situation.
DankHeals said:
So far, there is not a root method for Lollipop on the S4, nor does Xposed work for it yet (lots of issues with the way Samsung implemented ART to Touchwiz).
There is a keep root method in the S4 general Forum. I'm on my phone though so apologies for not linking it.
I'm not certain if a kids backup will restore after the upgrade, but even though the keep root method removes safestrap functionality, there is a way to get it working temporarily, which may provide some hope.
Seeing as you're using a Canadian model I don't think you need safestrap, and seeing as I do (AT&T model), I can't tell you how other recoveries will handle the situation.
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Actually http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293800 worked for me to root stock lollipop on my Bell s4
Zehlek said:
Actually http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293800 worked for me to root stock lollipop on my Bell s4
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Ah, didn't realize the Canadian model had a root method yet. I'm in america on AT&T and our bootloaders are locked.
Zehlek said:
Actually http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293800 worked for me to root stock lollipop on my Bell s4
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Hey Zehlek, I'm coming from CM11 (details below). I'm trying to move to CM12 because CM11 is doing strange things with my GPS. Which version would you recommend that is stable for the SGH-I337M? I read the CM12 dev page, but I'm a little nervous about the whole "editing scripts" part of the process.
Current Software -
SGH-I337M
CWM v6.0.5.1
CM v11-20141112-snapshot-m12-jflte
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.
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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
Dear Benevolent Android Wizards: please help me root an AT&T S4! I plan to buy a used S4 and want to make sure it can be rooted. Are some firmware versions rootable and some not? If so, which ones? I've seen phones available running I337UCUFNB1 and NJ4, as an example. I tried to check the forums here, but I'm new to this and it's too confusing. Also, as time passes, some of the comments become dated and wrong. One forums here say to downgrade NC1 by flashing NB1, take OTA update to NC1, then OTA to NL1- but I don't know if these OTAs are still available, for example. I'm simple and hope someone can explain things in a simple way! I don't want custom ROMs, just to root and maybe make backups. Please help, O Wise Ones!
You will probably buy a phone with at least 4.4.2 or above. It can be rooted by flashing the NB1 firmware (if it is not already on NB1), flashing the NC1 kernel and rooting with Towelroot. Then you can upgrade to 4.4.4 or 5.0.1, depending on what you want. You can install Safestrap to do backups on KitKat or Flashfire to do backups on Lolipop.
Here is a good place to start reading. Contains all info and links you need.
Thanks a lot!
So you're saying that any S4 running 4.4.2 or 4.4.4 should be able to be rooted?
And I would use Odin to flash NB1 firmware and then NC1 kernel (also using Odin?), then Towelroot would work?
How do I get the phone back to the firmware and kernel it came with?- also with Odin?
Yes. Or 5.0.1 for that matter.
You can root phones with earlier versions of the firmware as well.
All the instructions you need are available in the thread I linked above. You probably don't want to go back to what firmware came on the phone. You will need to decide if you want KitKat, in which case you should flash the latest one, which is NJ5, or Lolipop, in which case you will have some decisions to make as well.
Thanks, I will definitely read that whole thread once I get a chance.
Isn't there some issue with changing firmware where the software changes how the phone interfaces with the cell and wifi radios and they don't work right after you change version? Don't you have to do something to make sure the ROM and radio software stay in sync? Or isn't that an issue when changing stock ROMs with Odin?
Shouldn't be an issue. The stock firmware includes the corresponding modem, but the modems are interchangeable and can be flashed separately. There is a thread dedicated to modems in the general forum.
I would definitely recommend that you read enough to be comfortable with what you are going to do before you flash. There are several good threads in the general forum that you should familiarize yourself with.
Thanks again. I read 10 pages of the thread you mentioned in your first reply:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/guide-odin-to-stock-updating-rooting-t2926642
Very helpful
Another question- you said to load NB1 firmware on the phone, but also NC1 kernel, apparently, NC1 is required for towelroot to work. Why not just load NC1 firmware- won't the NC1 kernel will come along? Is NB1 firmware specifically needed for some reason?
Or did you mean to keep upgrading from NB1to reach the final desired firmware, say NL1, then flash the NC1 kernel, root with towelroot, then flash the final desired (in my example, NL1) kernel.
Also, the first section in that link says if you want to end up on Lollipop OC3 or OC4, to root using Kingroot, but warns "there is mixed feeling about this application". Can't I root with towelroot instead to avoid Kingroot?
Sorry! As I learn more it brings up new questions.
xdafan15 said:
Thanks again. I read 10 pages of the thread you mentioned in your first reply:
HTML:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/guide-odin-to-stock-updating-rooting-t2926642
Very helpful
Another question- you said to load NB1 firmware on the phone, but also NC1 kernel, apparently, NC1 is required for towelroot to work. Why not just load NC1 firmware- won't the NC1 kernel will come along? Is NB1 firmware specifically needed for some reason?
Or did you mean to keep upgrading from NB1to reach the final desired firmware, say NL1, then flash the NC1 kernel, root with towelroot, then flash the final desired (in my example, NL1) kernel.
Also, the first section in that link says if you want to end up on Lollipop OC3 or OC4, to root using Kingroot, but warns "there is mixed feeling about this application". Can't I root with towelroot instead to avoid Kingroot?
Sorry! As I learn more it brings up new questions.
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NB1 is the only full stock tar available. There is no full NC1 stock tar, or any other 4.4.2 or above stock tar. No matter which distribution you are on, 4.4.2 4.4.4 or 5.0.1, to go back to stock you have to flash NB1 with Odin.
If you want Lolipop, I would suggest that you root with towelroot, and then use the keep root method to go to OC4.
I'm trying to decide if I should update up to NJ5, OC3, or OC4. Any thoughts about advantages/disadvantages? Should I just update to the latest (OC4) for simplicity?
I don't have an opinion between KitKat and Lolipop.
As far as OC3 or OC4, the OC4 update is just a bug fix update from OC3 that supposedly protects from at least part of the stagefright vulnerability. NJ5 is the same update with respect to JN4.
I'm making more progress on your thread- I'm up to page 20 now and feeling much more comfortable as I see how to deal with (or hopefully avoid) other's problems.
I think I'm almost ready to go, but I know I have one more question- I know that some versions of towelroot need internet access, but when you flash the NC1 kernel onto NB1, you lose wifi. I plan to do this on a phone that will not have data, at least at the beginning. I saw others talk about getting around this and they said they used an earlier version of towelroot that didn't need internet. Do you think that will work for me?
If I get a chance, I'll edit here and list the specific older version.
squatting in this thread because I too have an s4 w/ ni1 bootloader (4.4.2) .. gonna check that thread out too ... (fist bumps @xdafan15 .. me and u are the lone desperados)
got some good help too. check that thread about ALL THINGS ROOT in the general tab.
I found the version of towelroot v3 that doesn't need internet access. It is referenced here in the first post.
File here
@creepyncrawly or anyone else who knows: Is is OK to use this version to root instead of the normal version of towelroot 3 that needs internet access?
xdafan15 said:
I found the version of towelroot v3 that doesn't need internet access. It is referenced here in the first post.
File here creepyncrawly or anyone else who knows: Is is OK to use this version to root instead of the normal version of towelroot 3 that needs internet access?
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Go ahead at try it. I don't actually have the S4, so I don't know from first hand experience, but it will either work or it won't. I expect it will work.
I got a surprise- I bought a used S4 and when I checked it, found out it has 4.2.2, MDL- one of the rare ones that was never updated and still has the unlocked bootloader! So all of the work I've been doing was somewhat off target.
Now I guess I need to root 4.2.2 and flash a custom rom to get the phone updated. If I update with the stock firmware it'll lock the bootloader permanently.
I found instructions to root on the first post here "[HOW-TO] The ULTIMATE All-In-One Guide - I337M & MDL - MF3 - MK2"
Is that the correct method?
I wonder if I can just load towelroot and root that way?
Can anyone suggest an updated ROM (preferably one that has been patched against stagefright)?
Do I also flash this phone using Odin? And does the firmware always go in the "AP" slot?
Sorry, I'm trying to learn this and I thought I'd be using the locked bootloader method in the 2nd post.
MDL oh don't let that bad boy ever update. You can root and unroot as often as you like.
Can you please help me understand what to do? I have a Samsung Galaxy s4 with AT&T that I switched to Straight Talk. I need to know how to root this phone but this forum is very confusing and outdated. Plz help me!
Hi, @Tmtd78. The S4 is getting pretty old now so this forum is pretty quiet. What version of android does your phone have? Under *Settings*, *About device*, what are the last 3 characters under *Build number*? I think every version of android on this phone can be rooted, but you will have to spend some time here to learn how everything works. Did you read the posts linked earlier by @creepyncrawly? Read the first and last 10 or 20 pages of each thread of interest and you will get the idea. The method you use will depend on the firmware your phone has. If it has the mdl or mdb bootloader, you probably will want to make sure the firmware doesn't update.
By the way, to @creepyncrawly and @engloa, thanks for your help. I was able to learn how to successfully root my S4, load a custom recovery, make backups, load a custom ROM, and make some tweaks to the kernel. Everything is running well now.
It was a long road, but everything was here on XDA and I appreciate your help.
@xdafan15, the build number is NI1. And I will definitely read the posts. I really appreciate you getting back with me so fast. I'm just scared I'm going to mess something up lol.
Sure thing. I'm not an expert, just a beginner, but I have learned a few things along the way. The NI1 bootloader is locked so you will need to follow the instructions for using Odin under the first post shown above by @creepyncrawly (here). Also, read this one. Also, this.
As long as you are 1) careful to not load code incompatible with an AT&T S4 onto your device and 2) follow instructions EXACTLY you should be fine. Be wary of following instructions listed on a forum that is not specific to the AT&T S4. Don't get sloppy and try to do stuff from memory- read and follow the instructions step by step. The good news is as long as you don't cause as few specific types of problems with your storage, I think you'll be able to Odin back to the NB1 firmware and start over.
Learn how to and practice booting your phone into download and recovery modes.
Get Odin running on your computer and see if it will recognize your device. A guide here. I think .tar or .tar.md5 files always go in the *AP* slot if memory serves. You may also see references to an older version of Odin where the *AP* slot was called *PDA*