I'll start with how this began, a family friend brought me a taco'd Xperia Z1, I knew nothing about the Xperia devices. I was asked to recover photos and videos. After I was able to get the logicboard to boot with USB and back everything up for them, as payment, they gave me the taco'd phone.
Now, being a Samsung user, I was thinking Galaxy S, S2, S3, etc. No, for some reason Sony felt that the Xperia Z1 means it's the second model lol.
Long story short, I needed a C6906 donor phone, and ended up buying a C6606 because I didn't look into it further, my bad.
The cheapest one I found was a bad ESN C6606 which is (T-Mobile) that was on eBay.
I live in Canada and I didn't realize my mistake until I got the phone and noticed it was much smaller.
So, to try and make the best of things, this is my project for getting a bad ESN T-Mobile C6606 working on Bell in Canada.
To start, some of you may know, others may not, banned ESN's do NOT transfer betweens countries yet, a US carrier with identical radios (T-Mobile/AT&T) will work in Canada as long as its unlocked.
First thing I did was look into unlocking codes, went to SafeUnlockCode, I think it was around $40 Canadian after exchange rate. Six days later, got my code, typed it in, worked like a champ, Bell SIM reads and it would make calls and send SMS but no Data, so I checked the network info, no APN settings, entered the Bell APN settings, gave it a reboot, works perfect, like nothing happened.
T-Mobile for whatever reason is the only carrier who is still on firmware 10.4.C.0.814 which is Android 4.3
Bell received 10.5.A.0.230 (4.4.2) and 10.5.1.A.0.292 (4.4.4)
So, naturally, I want to update this to KitKat for no other reason then to have it up to date, but I like the fact that this phone is branded T-Mobile, gives it the hipster appeal that no one else here has one lol.
This is where I backup the T-Mobile boot and shut down animations and sounds from /system/media
It's now time to start the upgrade, I used XperiFirm to download the C6616 4.4.2 and 4.4.4 firmware, made sure to unchecked the box that asks to unpack files (because FlashTool requires them to be packed)
Next was opening FlashTool, I had to make a FTF bundle from the 4.4.4 Bell files. After that was done, I did the exact same process but only for the 4.4.4 kernel, and then again for the 4.4.2 kernel (this is for rooting)
After 4.4.4 booted for the first time, set it up, checked it out, now it needs root to swap the T-Mobile animations and sounfs back, so back to FlashTool.
Because of an issue with the 292 kernel, it wont allow root, so I flashed the 4.4.2 kernel that was made earlier, after first boot, WiFi is broken but mobile data still works so first I went to settings and then security, enabled unknown sources, and then on chrome I searched towelroot, and downloading the apk by clicking the red icon in the middle, used towelroot, now have root.
Back to computer, plug in USB, open FlashTool, now says I have root, now flashing the 4.4.4 kernel that was made and once that finished, rebooted phone, everything works perfect. Now download ES file manager from Play Store, copied T-Mobile files from earlier back into system/media and rebooted again. Everything works, all back to normal, looks like T-Mobile both on and off.
I now have a C6606 with Bad ESN from T-Mobile running Android 4.4.4 from Bell and rooted with 292 kernel.
That's my story, I hope some of you got some information needed for flashing, making ftf files, rooting, using other C660X firmwares, unlocking, or just info on bad ESN phones.
I'll update this later with all the images, links, and make it pretty with BBCode so its not as primitive.
I'm currently at work using the Xperia Z from this project.
Reserved for links and credits
Related
Hi,
I bought an S4 which was previously rooted. Last owner unrooted it and used triangle away to make sure all was as stock looking as possible.
Last week I did a factory reset on the phone as I was having issues with it. After the reset it shows all the stock apps and standard Rogers bloatware. BUT it now has a couple of Bell Bloatware apps as well!!!
I need to send the phone in for repair as I am getting "intermittent SIM card not detected, phone is restarting error". Should I be worried that Samsung will detect that the phone was at one time rooted?
What should I do?
Thanks
rezadue said:
Hi,
I bought an S4 which was previously rooted. Last owner unrooted it and used triangle away to make sure all was as stock looking as possible.
Last week I did a factory reset on the phone as I was having issues with it. After the reset it shows all the stock apps and standard Rogers bloatware. BUT it now has a couple of Bell Bloatware apps as well!!!
I need to send the phone in for repair as I am getting "intermittent SIM card not detected, phone is restarting error". Should I be worried that Samsung will detect that the phone was at one time rooted?
What should I do?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the last owner unrooted the phone, they likely used one of the odin files from here which are all Bell based for I337M (Canadian S4). There is a thread in here where this happened to another user and they returned the phone to stock Rogers instead of Bell, you will need to search for that thread. The bigger concern is Knox is probably tripped on the phone, when it boots up there will be some tiny text it the top left corner, yellow and red I believe, there is a thread about that here too.... If Knox is tripped (pretty sure it is) then all you can do is try to get it repaired by Samsung, I wouold be interested to find out if they do it or not.....
Thanks for the reply.
I shut the phone down and then turned it back on, paying close attention to evenrything. There is no small text in any corner. What is odd id that the phone goes through its boot sequence, gets to the lockscreen, and then goes through the boot sequence again a second time.
And for clarification, I have all the Rogers bloat, but I have three Bell bloat apps too!
I will do a search again to see if I can find the threads you have mentioned.
Gage_Hero said:
When the last owner unrooted the phone, they likely used one of the odin files from here which are all Bell based for I337M (Canadian S4). There is a thread in here where this happened to another user and they returned the phone to stock Rogers instead of Bell, you will need to search for that thread. The bigger concern is Knox is probably tripped on the phone, when it boots up there will be some tiny text it the top left corner, yellow and red I believe, there is a thread about that here too.... If Knox is tripped (pretty sure it is) then all you can do is try to get it repaired by Samsung, I wouold be interested to find out if they do it or not.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rezadue said:
Thanks for the reply.
I shut the phone down and then turned it back on, paying close attention to evenrything. There is no small text in any corner. What is odd id that the phone goes through its boot sequence, gets to the lockscreen, and then goes through the boot sequence again a second time.
And for clarification, I have all the Rogers bloat, but I have three Bell bloat apps too!
I will do a search again to see if I can find the threads you have mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to go into download mode to see the text.
Sent from Black<3's I337 running Foxhound ROM
Put the phone in download mode and no small text.
Now that the phone is not rooted, can I put it in download mode, attach it to a PC and flash a stock Rogers 4.3 ROM via ODIN? Do I need root for this?
rezadue said:
Oh, and one other question. Now that the phone is not rooted, can I put it in recovery mode, attach it to a PC and flash a stock Rogers 4.3 ROM via ODIN? Do I need root for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to ODIN it no. Root not required.
Found the other thread, you have spoken of. It seems like that guy got bloatware from Bell INSTEAD of Rogers. I have blaotware from Rogers(ok
) AND Bell(Not ok).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2422497
Almost same issue here on my N900W8. My phone is working fine and rooted, except I got the Rogers AND Bell apps too before rooting and flashing CWM (only way I knew of at the time to force boot following seandroid enforcing error). I data wiped, downloaded and flashed the labeled "Rogers" stock ROM from SamMobile, and first time I ever saw bloatware from two carriers on any phone.
I disabled the Bell apps thinking that was all, but instead of 4G, I get H+. LTE connects fine outdoors, but H+ seems slightly slower than the 4G I'm used to. Which makes me wonder if LTE speeds are impacted too, hope not. Anyway, it's a bother because I am rarely in an LTE zone.
Tomorrow, I will try unrooting with SuperSU (is this even important if I'm wiping & flashing?), data wiping with CWM, re-flashing same file from SamMobile and not flashing anything more, and trying emergency recovery with Kies. Anyone know if this will work or change anything in the end? Or is Kies 3 also affected by the Knox counter? CSC (OYA) is the same as the non-rooted up-to-date S4 in the house.
Thanks
OP, have you tried using someone else's SIM card? Just a thought.
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
i just realized this was posted in the wrong section of the forum. sorry mods, can it be moved to Q/A?
tedmonddo said:
Hi all, I'm new to XDA so hopefully someone can help me. I purchased a brand new unlocked note 3 N9000W8 in canada from a cellphone store on Monday Morning. The phone was great and worked without a hitch and had android 4.3 on it.
Later on during the day, there were numerous news headlines regarding a 4.4.2 was officially released. So i decided to do the software update. With failed attempts with the message "Your device have been modified, Software updates are not available"
I checked my Settings > about device > status > device status and it states custom or modified. I am unsure how this is possible thinking it was a brand new phone. After some in depth reading i powered off the phone and check the android download mode (power, home button vol down key combo).
It states device status: custom, firmware: custom, knox 0x1 (which meant my warranty was gone essentially). I proceeded to call the shop i purchased the phone at, and the manager said they buy the phones from the distributor which unlocks them before it gets in their hands. so it must have been rooted prior to me receiving the phone.
Long story short...i know its been quite the reading already my appologies. I used samsung KIES to backup the phone and it updated it back to the stock firmware 4.4.2. I was prepared to loose the root as i dont need it. More concerned about the warranty. With the device and firmware status back to original i can now do OTA updates, however
Problem i have now is after the factory firmware upgrade to stock, my sim no longer works on the network. Seems as if the device has a sim lock, but it never asked for one. A local cellphone shop in st.catharines said there might be an issue with the baseband after the official update.
before the update, i tried all the suggestions such as unmounting the sd card, wiping cache, using supersu to unroot.
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the distributor told you that the phone had been modified to enable an unlock, why did you say, "I was prepared to loose root as i dont need it"... the problem is fairly obvious, you had a software-unlocked phone and even though the seller told you that you would lose your unlock, you wiped it back to factory anyway lol...
honestly though, that's extremely sketch, lemme know that shop and I'll report them to BBB, you should never be paying for a cell phone that comes rooted unless your buying something from pacific mall, there are several options for you to unlock the phone, using software, hardware, or IMEI unlock codes
tedmonddo said:
...
Can anyone chime in on what the problem may be? I go to school here, so if all else fails i will have to go back to toronto where i purchased it, and have them figure it out. just a hassle for me to get there without a car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had a pre-rooted software-unlocked phone (that was originally network-locked). Your warranty to Samsung is completely void, you should get something in writing (or record on audio) from the guy that sold you the phone as to the warranty of the phone.
Other than that - you can buy a network unlock code for something like 15 USD or so.
Note, other threads related to this software go back to Oct 2014 (search computrace on XDA forum) however my issue with the software has not been discussed.
I have just encountered this software (along with others according to a quick google search) on my new Note 4 (SM-N910F) on EE. Initially the phone auto updated to lollipop before I knew this was pushed to the device while I set up my accounts on it. The SIM was not active and I found a number of outgoing, but failed SMS messages containing encrypted information being sent to the number (+13106916499). I immeditaly did a factory reset to remove my accounts and details, restarting with the stock lollipop build from EE.
Again the sms messages attempts started up again (and failed). The only downloaded app on the phone was Computrace Agent, with permissions to do everything on the device, including sending SMS messages (showing the cost warning too). As other threads have gone into what this app is, I'll leave that out, but will mention it is impossible to uninstall or even (force)stop this application. Ok you can force stop, but it restarts immediately, and sends another text!
I've left the phone with no accounts on it, and had the SIM activated. As soon as this was complete, Computrace successfully sent a new message to the above number., but has not stopped attempting to send more (failed for some reason).
I contacted EE support and registered a complaint, but they deny knowledge of the software, or it's intended use as a legitimate tracking tool. They also have no idea what the number this SMS is being sent to is for, nor what the information in the encrypted contents actually contains.
I'm looking for others recent experience with this software, and whether people have had charges/resource consumption on any newish device. I have the option to cancel the contract for 14 days, and I am mainly looking for more information before making my decision. Obviously nobody in their right mind would use such a compromised handset, so it's remaining in airplane mode and will have no accounts/services added while I have it, which kinda makes it an oversized 1990's brick right now!
Look forward to your comments and advice.
Thanks
4t
EDIT: My brother, who has more Android brains than I do found the number was actually registered to T-Mobile in the US http://www.whitepages.com/phone/1-310-691-6499
EDIT/Update: OK I went to the local shop today, they were also shocked at the texts, and knew nothing about it. The guy there is now checking his note 4 too, just in case. He hadn't seen the software before but admitted to not really looking for anything untoward. He recommended I call it in as a dodgy phone and get a replacement. So I tried that, but was passed onto Samsung support.. like transferred to their switchboard! Another queue? Stuff that, I hung up, called back on 150 and cancelled the contract. I'm now buying an unlocked replacement and will shop about for cheaper deals on the SIM as I'm out of contract. I still intend to raise a ICO complaint about the encrypted sms sent to the US though.
I noticed this as well with mine when I got it. Mine was EE locked, and before I inserted a SIM I was getting multiple messages just like yours, but containing different letters and symbols.
I have since unlocked my note and rooted, flashed a debloated stock ROM and all is good. It might not be carrier specific to EE, since Computrace is a Samsung app that's in all stock firmwares.
Hi. I'm also having ussues with this software. I want it GONE!
Info: this forum - p=60864843&postcount=896 | I cant post links, sorry.
I tried deleting it from /presdata/ to no avail. It reinstalls the dropper again. If anyone can remove this I will generously tip you. I want this removed from my phone.
illuz said:
Hi. I'm also having ussues with this software. I want it GONE!
Info: this forum - p=60864843&postcount=896 | I cant post links, sorry.
I tried deleting it from /presdata/ to no avail. It reinstalls the dropper again. If anyone can remove this I will generously tip you. I want this removed from my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From other information I have found around the net, the only way to remove is to flash a new rom that does not contain the software. I'll take a look at your post but see the poster above yours.
MDaveUK said:
I noticed this as well with mine when I got it. Mine was EE locked, and before I inserted a SIM I was getting multiple messages just like yours, but containing different letters and symbols.
I have since unlocked my note and rooted, flashed a debloated stock ROM and all is good. It might not be carrier specific to EE, since Computrace is a Samsung app that's in all stock firmwares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you might be right there, but the pattern so far from my Googling seems to point at EE/T-mobile. I'm not comfortable flashing my phone in the 1st 6months, also never done it before so I'd prefer a solution from my carrier. Also, I showed the situation to a family member who is senior in local trading standards. He was shocked, and more than a little interested in finding out more (no holding breath there though, resources and all).
I still have the Computrace app in my debloated ROM, it's not something easily removed I'm afraid. However, it doesn't send any sms messages in my ROM, I tried testing by removing my sim and rebooting the phone.
I did a little research into what it actually does and I believe it's what Samsung use for their 'Find my phone' feature, and to remotely delete data and lock it.
This info page sounds just like it:
http://www.absolute.com/en/landing/...demo?sc_camp=231FCC716F544DF08BFA6C366AA77EF5
So if you try to remove Computrace you are probably disabling this feature. But it's part of the firmware's SystemUI so removing it breaks the firmware.
This is still largely a guess but I would bet on this being exactly the case.
If it still bothers you I would search for a ROM that somehow totally removes it, or CyanogenMod 12.1 if you want to avoid any Samsung software at all.
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
illuz said:
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post? http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/10834349-post19.html
So you flash that file in Odin and it will wipe it out, nice.
Guys. Let me tell you my problem and how I solved the computrace issue on my Note 4 N910F on EE.
I bought my Note 4 from a community called Gumtree in UK. It was a phone locked to EE on contract from the guy I got it from. At this point, I didn't know what computrace was or whether to look for it on the phone.
Normally when I get a new phone, I wipe it, root it and make it work to my taste coz, what's android for right?
I installed titanium backup to freeze some bloatware and remove some as well. I then came across computrace and the name "trace" sounded funny to me. I decided to use titanium backup to remove it right away coz i dont want any Samsung crap snooping on my phone.
After a reboot, the software installed itself back and i was like WHAT?
I removed it again and it installed itself again and again. And i was like F*** this. I installed a custom recovery and installed a custom rom but it was still there. It appeared it wasn't a software on the data or system partition. It has a separate untouchable partition to itself or something. Very dangerous app even more than the NSA to me.
So i was randomly using my phone some day and my phone went to lockscreen to say "ABSOLUTE COMPUTRACE SOFTWARE, this phone has been disabled by EE.... Bla bla bla" and I needed a pin to unlock to use it.
I called EE, they didn't do jack ****. I called the person I bought the phone from, he was long gone. I checked the IMEI of the phone using swappa esn checker but it is clean and not blacklisted. Turns out the guy breached his contract coz the phone still belongs to EE for 6 months and within that time, he had sold it. It also kept sending some random jargon sms in form of an encrypted message to my most recent contacted person via sms. Weird and dangerous stuff is what Computrace is. I went on their website to read about them but I don't believe in them and need to sue them.
I had to resort to using a CyanogenMod rom for about a month to avoid the phone asking me for that pin coz the phone was basically useless. But having a note 4 with cm, letting go of all the Samsung and seen feature is like me cheating myself.
I went into deep research and finally found a solution to remove it completely by wiping the partition it's installed in (I think).
Using odin, I placed the file in AP/PDA then flashed a rom that is BTU CSC and not anything that had to do with EE (EVR) so that it won't come back. I booted my phone and computrace is totally gone. I was able to use the phone again.
I have uploaded the file here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k59gxqpwv7hofco/Note4PersistWipe.tar?dl=0
Reboot to recovery.
1. Wipe your current rom and install a fresh one.
2. Don't reboot into system yet.
3. Reboot to download/bootloader mode
4. Open Odin and place the file in AP/PDA.
5. Press "Start"
6. Reboot
7. Profit and give the middle finger to computrace.
Please note that this file is only tested on the SM N910F because that is what version of Note 4 I have.
As said here and one of the simplegx threads. http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/help/remove-computrace-reinstalling-t2929102#post60906417
On my device it seemed to mostly sit idle doing not much except waste memory, but after I did a rom flash it went crazy and had the following issues.
Laggy access to the "usage data" part of the settings. (taking 30 seconds to load it)
"Restrict background data" setting kept been turned back off.
Large battery drain by the computrace agent process.
All these symptoms stopped after I uninstalled it in the app manager (have to be on a non EE rom to successfully do this). It hasnt ran on my device since.
This is on my s5 901f which I got from UK carrier EE.
There is a thread on the EE forum, where they did initially deny the software is to do with them, but then instead of denying they started to ignore the discussion. But given all non EE roms seem to not have this software, it does point to them.
---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 PM ----------
illuz said:
It lies in the /dev/block/.../sda13 which links to - /persdata/absolute
Please check out this thread too: (google for thread link,I can't post them) galaxy-g900f-s5-phone-has-been-disabled-ee-1899259
I will work on removing it later, I have to go out, in my post you'll see I said I was runing XtresoLite deodexed ROM along with new bootloader and modem firmware, the software still persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I still have these files, somehow I cannot remove them.
The bad news is abit of googling shows this rootkit gets embedded into the bios not just the OS, so I think managing to stop it running in the OS is probably about as far as we can go. I ran a file in odin which supposedbly wipes that partition but the dir still exists.
A bit worryingly also is a few of the files can be deleted but then get recreated suggesting something somewhere still is using that folder. I asked androidgx (creator of simplegx rom) if he could add a command in the recovery installer to wipe that folder but he said it isnt possible.
---------- Post added at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
ok guys I read the forum illuz said to search for on google, I wont post the url incase it breaks XDA rules (dont know why he couldnt post it)
long story short did some reading and then went to this url.
http://www.cellrabta.pk/2015/05/thi...oftware-computrace-free-solution-all-samsung/
That guide worked for me, the flashing in odin wouldnt get rid of the folder, but manually issuing the commands in adb worked.
After booting the phone back up, I still had an empty absolute folder, but this time I wiped it in root explorer, there was nothing blocking the wipe.
So thankfully you dont need to factory reset the device like that guide says.
EE has never locked my phone, but I didnt like that rootkit been on it, thanks to those involved in the research.
Nice one, another poster here has a similar solution. I updated my post today, pretty much dropping EE. I called after getting advice from the local EE shop to do a return on the handset for one without computrace, and they almost instantly forwarded my call to Samsung switchboard before I could object! I'm not going to repeat the language I shouted down the phone here.
I hung up, and called 150 and cancelled my contract (14 day terms). I'm getting an unlocked Note 4 from a reputable retailer now, so we shall see if that has Computrace on it too (though advertised as Kitkat so doubtful). If I run into this malware again, I'll be grateful for all the help.
Edit: Phone has arrived, is clean and has kitkat 4.4.4, which I have been told to stick with (by the guy in the EE shop).
from what I understand all touchwiz roms now have ABTPersistenceService which enforces the file state, however the computrace agent app seems unique to EE roms so I think the ABTPersistenceService is just a support service, and so far I have not heard of any other EU carrier activating computrace agent.
The steps that seem to be required are (assuming phone hasnt been locked by the service).
1 - install a non EE rom, BTU is recommended.
2 - uninstall computrace agent app via app manager. (not listed on the other site but I did this)
3 - wipe the persdata partition using adb whilst in recovery using the guide I linked to (I didnt bother backing it up).
4 - enjoy
If its worked there should be no computrace app running and the absolute folder should stay empty.
ABTPersistenceService seems to recreate the folder tho but not the files.
To disable ABTPersistenceService, the framework2.jar needs patching.
Galaxy SM-G920X FIX:
1. Download a CLEAN NON-EE ROM.
2. Root the device & install TWRP (2.6.8.2), Copy ROM to the handset.
3. Advanced - Terminal - Execute the two commands: "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11" && "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13"
4. Install the ROM - Do not reboot the device, stay in TWRP.
5. Wipe dalvik & data / factory reset.
Hi,
How can I find out whether Computrace Agent is running on my phone or not?
I have Galaxy S4 I9500.
Thanks
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
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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.
I attempted to root my phone. Got as far as flashing the eng boot img and it kept rebooting. I aborted and needed to go back to stock (at least temporarily.)
My first attempt resulted in wrong fw (seemed open to all carriers, several glitches)
My 2nd attempt was closer. Everything appeared to work fine except for slow/failed downloads in audible and samsung gear app (yet gear app was able to restore all apps to my watch.)
Luckily I posted here last week and I wrote out the firmware I was running BUT with SO many variants this is still pretty difficult.
My model is SM-G935U (on back of my phone it reads sm-g935u with a UD after the model) The firmware was G935UUEU4BQF3 as of last week when I posted.
Currently Im running BQG1
Its unlocked to all carriers and my provider is AT&T. But I dont think Im supposed to download the AT&T firmware.
Any help would be VERY much appreciated. Thanks