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[Q] Flashing i9505 ROM + Modem on SGH-i337?

Hi folks, I'm thinking about getting the SGH-I337 (AT&T version of the s4) which from what I've heard is identical to the i9505 but flashed with a different Modem and ROM. What I was wondering was if it was possible to flash the i9505 ROM + Modem onto the SGH-I337 and essentially "convert" it to the i9505. I was wondering if anyone had more details on the hardware and if there were any issues that I'm just not seeing. I see that the ROM is not an issue. More curious about the Modem. I would like to use the phone on LTE in the UK
I'm looking for a 32GB version of the i9505 and so far, the only option I have is the SGH-I337.
Any thoughts?

dilwaala said:
Hi folks, I'm thinking about getting the SGH-I337 (AT&T version of the s4) which from what I've heard is identical to the i9505 but flashed with a different Modem and ROM. What I was wondering was if it was possible to flash the i9505 ROM + Modem onto the SGH-I337 and essentially "convert" it to the i9505. I was wondering if anyone had more details on the hardware and if there were any issues that I'm just not seeing. I see that the ROM is not an issue. More curious about the Modem. I would like to use the phone on LTE in the UK
I'm looking for a 32GB version of the i9505 and so far, the only option I have is the SGH-I337.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can flash i9505 rom but not sure if you can flash i9505 modem. The way everybody is doing it, to insure ATT network compatibility, is to flash just the i9505 rom while keeping the ATT radio. By doing so, your device ID will switch to GT-I9505 and the SGH-I337 will be gone.

So from what I'm understanding he can flash the i9505 ROM which by he means stock firmware? So I can flash i9505 5.0.1 lollipop stock firmware on my i337? That's what I understood. Is it true?

The bootloader on the i337 may be locked so flashing the i9505 stock firmware onto the i337 may not be possible. I am just guessing here as I have the i337m which does not have a locked bootloader.

audit13 said:
The bootloader on the i337 may be locked so flashing the i9505 stock firmware onto the i337 may not be possible. I am just guessing here as I have the i337m which does not have a locked bootloader.
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Click to collapse
Mine is not locked, I bought it used and it was rooted already, so I installed twrp through flashify and I am using cm12. The reason I'm asking is because in sammobile there isn't any lollipop not even kitkat firmwares for my i337 model. So I wanted to know if flashing the i9505 kitkat/lollipop stock firmware on my device could be fine. If not, I can keep on using cm12.

Att never released a complete kk or LP rom. These were only available via ota updates which explains why they cannot be found on sammobile.com.

audit13 said:
Att never released a complete kk or LP rom. These were only available via ota updates which explains why they cannot be found on sammobile.com.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How could I update it then? I'll be stock in jellybean 4.2.2 because with no root I never received the ota update nor for kikat and not even lollipop.

The rom must be running a completely stock 4.2.2 rom, including stock recovery with no root, to install ota updates.
You could look in the general or development forum to see if anyone has made a flashable zip for the ota updates. The again, the ota updates may not work without an updated bootloader and modem which may mean locking the bootloader.

[Q] Does software upgrade revoke sim-unlock?

I have an att sgs4 which is sim-unlocked and rooted on ucuamdl firmware. I want to upgrade to the android version 4.3/ 4.4 will upgrading lock my phone again...?? I dont care about losing root.
And one more question:- iam on mdl firmware rooted sgs4 and some bloatware permanently deleted... when I click on search for update.. it say no update available and iam in india.. so now how to upgrade..?

Once it's unlocked it'll remain unlocked. But rather than take the update why don't you use one of the 4.4.2 custom roms. That way you'll retain the mdl firmware.
Sent from my Nexus 5

[Q] ATT GS4 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 Kitkat Need Help !

I'm currently running on 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on my ATT Galaxy S4(SGH-i337). I want to upgrade to the latest Kitkat 4.4.2 Stock Update. My ATT S4 is rooted and unlocked to work in India.
Can someone tell me:-
- If I need custom recovery for this ?
-If Yes/ No how do I go about it ?
-Will I lose root & and Carrier unlock after update ?
- Link to the Stock 4.4.2 Kitkat OTA

ashishk2 said:
I'm currently running on 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on my ATT Galaxy S4(SGH-i337). I want to upgrade to the latest Kitkat 4.4.2 Stock Update. My ATT S4 is rooted and unlocked to work in India.
Can someone tell me:-
- If I need custom recovery for this ?
-If Yes/ No how do I go about it ?
-Will I lose root & and Carrier unlock after update ?
- Link to the Stock 4.4.2 Kitkat OTA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you update, depending on which firmware you are on now, you will lose your ability to boot custom roms. If you have the MDL firmware, I suggest keeping it as you can use LOKI to bypass the locked bootloader and boot custom roms and recoveries. Now to answer your questions.
You can use a custom recovery to update to 4.4.2 if a .zip file for the update is available. You can also use ODIN to flash the update. You will lose root unless you use a pre-rooted update file. The stock 4.4.2 update is in the General forums I believe.

Using an S4 as emergency phone, and I need slight guidance for rooting & recovery

Hello
My LG V10 came across the famous bootloop issue, and I shipped it to LG. In the meantime, I am using an old S4 that was saved for emergencies like this one. It is running 4.4.4, I337UCUFNJ4, and I rooted it with Kingoroot.
I understand that it should OTA to 5.1 in pronably a day or 2 if I check for a software update; it sat turned off since 2014, so it did not receive anything.
1. Do I OTA and reroot?
2. Can I manually jump to 5.1?
Ultimately, I would like to install TWRP and the Blissrom or some other ROM, but I don't want to take an OTA that may screw me up for later. I read that there's a loki thing that will prevent future installations of recovery or something like that. I realize that I will be using a short time (2-3 weeks), but I would like to leave it rooted and with a good ROM.
Thank you

The bootloader is locked so that means TWRP cannot be flashed to the phone and the phone will only run custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung ROM.
OTA updates will not work if the phone is rooted.

audit13 said:
The bootloader is locked so that means TWRP cannot be flashed to the phone and the phone will only run custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung ROM.
OTA updates will not work if the phone is rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm confused or perhaps you are misinformed. I have seen a lot of ROMs for this device including Blissrom and many others. All od them get flashed through twrp or Safeway or aome name like that.

You mean safestrap?
Maybe you are thinking of the non-AT&T models of the s4 that work with custom ROMs such as Lineage and Validus. Only the AT&T version of the s4 has a locked bootloader, starting with Android 4.3 and up.
There has never been an sgh-i337 s4 with a locked bootloader than can run TWRP. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a note 3 with a locked bootloader.

audit13 said:
You mean safestrap?
Maybe you are thinking of the non-AT&T models of the s4 that work with custom ROMs such as Lineage and Validus. Only the AT&T version of the s4 has a locked bootloader, starting with Android 4.3 and up.
There has never been an sgh-i337 s4 with a locked bootloader than can run TWRP. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a note 3 with a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But there's a forum dedicated to AT&T development full of roms here on xda.

Yes, there is a full section but you need to look at the ROM requirements. Some of these ROMs were developed before AT&T pushed out an OTA update that locked the bootloader. Other ROMs are made for the non-AT&T s4 such as the sgh-i337m and gt-i9505.
You will not see any ROM that is not based off a stock Samsung ROM that can be installed onto an AT&T s4 that has a locked bootloader. Also, you will not see any version of TWRP/CWM/Philz that can be installed onto an AT&T s4 that has a locked bootloader. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a.
I understand your skepticism and appreciate your posts as we are all here to learn from each other.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785166
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/ez-unlock-bricked-phone-galaxy-att-s4-t3703235
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/help-installed-chainfire3d-phone-doesnt-t3700830
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/samsung-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337-ok2-locked-t3458353

Thanks for the clarification. So how do I know if my bootloader is locked? If I took that ota update that messed things up?

The bootloader becomes locked when the phone is updated to Android 4.3 or newer. I think it needs to be on the MDL bootloader to be unlocked. Anything beginning with an "N" or "O" means that the bootloader is locked.

Thanks audit. And I assume that there's no way to go backwards to a pre-4.3 rom and unlock that bootloader.
So. I'm on 4.44 rooted. Do i remove root and take any ota and reroot? I guess that I'll settle for going as high as possible with the stock rom but rooted with the ability to disable some of the bloatware.
How can I proceed?
In those links that you mentioned, it states that we can flash debloated TouchWiz roms that might be better than stock. Is that right? So can I do that?

You will need to install safestrap to flash a custom ROM. The debloated ROMs must be based off a ROM that is designed for the AT&T s4.
I recommend reading through this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221

Audit... I odined back to nb1, rooted, and used flashify to get to rooted stock oc3.
How can I get to ok3? And should I leave ota services frozen so as to not ruin and loose root?

OTA will not work with a rooted phone.
Maybe this will help: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56453108&postcount=2
I don't have an sgh-i337 so I can't tell you how to get back to a completely stock ROM to get OTA updates. I have the sgh-i337m which is the Canadian version of the s4 without a locked bootloader.

I wrote a guide and FAQ revolving around the MDL bootloader here (if anyone cares to read it):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/how-to-one-guide-to-mdl-bootloader-t3584122

[Q] Can I use Lineage OS 15.1?

I have a question since I watched the youtube video on how to upgrade my phone samsung s4 at&t to Oreo, but I read that I need a bootloader. Then when I read articles here in xda, mostly says that this phone can't be unlock? so How do I deal with this? Please explain simply because I am new in this.

If the phone is running an MDL bootloader, it may be possible to flash Oreo. If the phone is running a newer bootloader, the phone can only run TWRP and will not run Nougat or Oreo.

hjayc24 said:
I have a question since I watched the youtube video on how to upgrade my phone samsung s4 at&t to Oreo, but I read that I need a bootloader. Then when I read articles here in xda, mostly says that this phone can't be unlock? so How do I deal with this? Please explain simply because I am new in this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot unlock the bootloader. However, if you're on the MDL bootloader then you can use an exploit called loki doki to install a custom recovery and a custom ROM. If you're on a newer bootloader other than MDL, then you are stuck with only booting custom touch wiz based ROMs and must use safe strap if on kit kat or flash fire if on lollipop.

Can you oden back to mdl if you are running NJ4.
does it matter id i upgraded to Kittkatt with a custon rom vs ota update on if the bootloader got locked? does goldeneye kittkatt 4.4.4 lock the bootloader?

cousindan said:
Can you oden back to mdl if you are running NJ4.
does it matter id i upgraded to Kittkatt with a custon rom vs ota update on if the bootloader got locked? does goldeneye kittkatt 4.4.4 lock the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you cannot odin back to MDL, if you try you will brick your phone. It doesn't really matter how you update given your bootloader is locked (unless you're on the MDL firmware). Golden eye ROM does not lock the bootloader, no custom ROMS lock the bootloader.