Can I change my bootloader on my S4? - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshootin

Hello all. I just got a new Galaxy S4 (i337m) and I hate the stock firmware on it. I want to install something custom, however the custom roms require a certain bootloader that I do not have. I have searched for if / how I can change my bootloader but none of the forum posts I have found seem to be related to my specific phone so I'm posting this to find out about my specific phone. I believe it is a locked Fido phone. I used the ADB shell to check the bootloader version and it is not the UCUAMDB or UCUAMDL bootloader I need to have for the roms Im interested in. Mine was something like CUVL. I can verify later when I get home. However, can I change my bootloader? If so, are there any instructions for this specific phone? My goal for this phone is a light weight / vanilla version of 5.1.1 Lollipop, rooted. Thanks.

If it's an actual i337m the bootloader is already unlocked... I'm a bit rusty though. I've moved on to a G4, and dumped most of my S4 knowledge with it.

NighthawkXL said:
If it's an actual i337m the bootloader is already unlocked... I'm a bit rusty though. I've moved on to a G4, and dumped most of my S4 knowledge with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I tell if it is unlocked? If it is unlocked, does that mean I can install a different bootloader?

Related

recived NOTE 3 from verizon (live in israel) can i flash international roms ?

hii i live in Israel and received verizon note 3 from a friend that live in the US
i don't need all the Verizon bloatware also i want to put a rom from the international note 3 forum...
can i do this ??
will everything work normal ?
thank you !
(i did search google for those things and didn't find anything related)
Clicker7 said:
hii i live in Israel and received verizon note 3 from a friend that live in the US
i don't need all the Verizon bloatware also i want to put a rom from the international note 3 forum...
can i do this ??
will everything work normal ?
thank you !
(i did search google for those things and didn't find anything related)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you can not. Unfortunately the bootloader on the Verizon version is locked. You can flash hashcode's safestrap (found in Android Development section), and then you can flash a variety of TouchWiz based customized Verizon ROMs, but that's it.
cam30era said:
No, you can not. Unfortunately the bootloader on the Verizon version is locked. You can flash hashcode's safestrap (found in Android Development section), and then you can flash a variety of TouchWiz based customized Verizon ROMs, but that's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thank you
can you explain little bit more ?
what do you mean the bootloader is locked ??
is there any chance it will be unlocked anytime ?
and if it will be unlocked than i will be able to use whatever rom i want ?
Clicker7 said:
ok thank you
can you explain little bit more ?
what do you mean the bootloader is locked ??
is there any chance it will be unlocked anytime ?
and if it will be unlocked than i will be able to use whatever rom i want ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For an explanation of bootloader go here > http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Bootloader
Verizon and AT&T lock the bootloader on all of their devices. No official statement as to why, but there is a lot of conjecture. In the end, it doesn't matter why, really. Sad fact is that they do it.
Several of the best developers have tried, and failed to unlock the Note 3 bootloader.
There appears to be no one currently working on unlocking the bootloader on the Verizon Note 3.
If the bootloader was unlocked, then you could flash any custom ROM and kernel that was made for Note 3.
But as of today, you are condemned to use customized variations of the Verizon Touchwiz ROM and stock TW kernel.
cam30era said:
For an explanation of bootloader go here > http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Bootloader
Verizon and AT&T lock the bootloader on all of their devices. No official statement as to why, but there is a lot of conjecture. In the end, it doesn't matter why, really. Sad fact is that they do it.
Several of the best developers have tried, and failed to unlock the Note 3 bootloader.
There appears to be no one currently working on unlocking the bootloader on the Verizon Note 3.
If the bootloader was unlocked, then you could flash any custom ROM and kernel that was made for Note 3.
But as of today, you are condemned to use customized variations of the Verizon Touchwiz ROM and stock TW kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK
thank you very muchhh !

Auto root i9506 locked bootloader

Hey guys, I have had limited experience with rooting. I have been looking for a way to root my i9506 without flashing it. I came across chain fires auto root. The only problem with this is that it says it can brick devices that are have a locked bootloader . I've tried to do some research on that but have yet to find a way that tells me if my i9506 is locked. Is anyone able to provide some extra info on how I check it?
knobbs said:
Hey guys, I have had limited experience with rooting. I have been looking for a way to root my i9506 without flashing it. I came across chain fires auto root. The only problem with this is that it says it can brick devices that are have a locked bootloader . I've tried to do some research on that but have yet to find a way that tells me if my i9506 is locked. Is anyone able to provide some extra info on how I check it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not locked. Just go ahead and flash it.
OK thanks for the info, but how do you tell?
The only way to tell would be when you attempted to replace the bootloader, as the device would throw up a warning about tampering. However, unless you live in the United States and have a device from AT&T or Verizon, you have nothing to worry about. It's only the United States that has to worry about locked bootloaders and anti-competitive practices from the carriers who lock them.

I'm just confused please someone help me

I have Samsung Galaxy s4
Model is i9500
But when I go to download mode, I see modem number to sch-i545, which is from Verizon. I want to root my phone and also want to download stock rom or flash custom rom but I don't know which rom to download because I'm confused of which model is correct. My phone has 4G LTE and CDMA. I know i9500 does not support 4G LTE but the model number is i9500 and baseband I9500UBUHOE1. Hope someone cam help me out. Thank you
The correct model # can be found in download mode; therefore, your phone is a Verizon phone with a locked bootloader.
audit13 said:
The correct model # can be found in download mode; therefore, your phone is a Verizon phone with a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I unlock?
Can't be unlocked as far as I know.
Here's a thread about unlocking: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2500826
I want to root and install custom rom, you have thread for that?
You may be able to root but no custom Roms based on cm or aosp.
More information about your device is at http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-verizon . In short, unless your device has an early bootloader that would allow modification, there is no way to unlock the bootloader, no way to install a custom ROM, and no way to even root the device.
Return this device and get something else.
could this phone have a locked bootloader AND still have other firmware trying to disguise it at the same time ?
No. It's likely his bootloader is unlocked, but he needs to head to the Verizon S4 forums to be sure. But when it comes to frankenphones, my instant response is to return the phone if possible. Frankenphones are a PITA to deal with.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
No. It's likely his bootloader is unlocked, but he needs to head to the Verizon S4 forums to be sure. But when it comes to frankenphones, my instant response is to return the phone if possible. Frankenphones are a PITA to deal with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed on that, if nothing else it's deception by the vendor/seller

G900V CID 11 Running CyanogenMod 14 - Unable to make phone calls/Use sms

Hi, in an attempt to unlock Wifi Tethering capability on my phone, I installed [G900F]CyanogenMod 14.0-20161020-UNOFFICIAL-klte, and now I'm unable to make phone calls or use SMS/MMS.
Is there anything I can try to get service back?
I've tried installing a new modem with no success, using Odin, FlashFire, Terminal Server. I'm not confident I was doing it correctly though, or even if I was using the correct modem files.
I was able to root the phone with Stock firmware, but Mobile Hotspot/Wifi Tether wasn't built-in, and I had no success with any of the apps... FoxFi, Wifi Tether Router, Barnacle Wifi.
Some more information on the phone:
It's the StraightTalk variant made for TotalWireless MVNO. The phone's Stock firmware said it was the S902L Samsung S5 variant, but under the battery FCC ID of the device is actually just a G900V. I took it to the Verizon MVNO PagePlus and they were able to activate the phone, and everything was working perfect, until installing CM14.0.
A roadblock I found out, that might be the root of some of the problems, is the phone may not have the ability to unlock the bootloader, possibly limiting some modding methods. When looking at /sys/block/mmcblk0/device/cid, it starts with 11, designating a Toshiba eMMC chip.
I'll take any suggestions, or alternatives... I don't mind using the stock firmware or any other Roms. The main feature I'd like to have is the ability to use Wifi Tether and the basics, make calls, send sms.
Thank you.
I know this is off topic, but how in the world did you get CM14 running on G900V-CID11?
leotakacs said:
I know this is off topic, but how in the world did you get CM14 running on G900V-CID11?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not entirely sure, but someone had an idea they mentioned to me, that it might've been possible to get CM installed from a very outdated Android version, from before CID 11 was locked. The previous stock Android version the phone came installed with was 4.4.2. It was the StraightTalk variant made for TotalWireless MVNO. The phone's Stock firmware said it was the S902L Samsung S5 variant, but under the battery FCC ID of the device is actually just a G900V.
You will not be able to run any version of Cyanogen on your Toshiba S5 properly. Your best course would be to install FlashFire from the play store and use it to install a TouchWiz ROM such as Moar (5.0) or Phoenix (6.0).
TechFellow1 said:
I'm not entirely sure, but someone had an idea they mentioned to me, that it might've been possible to get CM installed from a very outdated Android version, from before CID 11 was locked. The previous stock Android version the phone came installed with was 4.4.2. It was the StraightTalk variant made for TotalWireless MVNO. The phone's Stock firmware said it was the S902L Samsung S5 variant, but under the battery FCC ID of the device is actually just a G900V.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, no, no. don't listen to any of these other people. if your phone boots CM14 then your bootloader is unlocked. this has nothing to do with bootloaders. you installed the wrong ROM for your phone. CM14-kltevzw is the correct variant for your phone, not CM14-klte.
see here:
https://archive.org/download/cmarchive_nighlies/cm-14.1-20161225-NIGHTLY-kltevzw.zip
Hariiiii said:
no, no, no. don't listen to any of these other people. if your phone boots CM14 then your bootloader is unlocked. this has nothing to do with bootloaders. you installed the wrong ROM for your phone. CM14-kltevzw is the correct variant for your phone, not CM14-klte.
see here:
https://archive.org/download/cmarchive_nighlies/cm-14.1-20161225-NIGHTLY-kltevzw.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said his phone has a CID11 Toshiba chip. @OP, are you positive you have a Toshiba chip (11)?
leotakacs said:
He said his phone has a CID11 Toshiba chip. @OP, are you positive you have a Toshiba chip (11)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter. He is on a straight talk phone. The bootloader is unlocked by default. The firmware is different.
Hariiiii said:
It doesn't matter. He is on a straight talk phone. The bootloader is unlocked by default. The firmware is different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
generally correct. best way to know would be to take a cid 11 based device, and flash twrp same way you would cid 15.
as far as i know though, most straight talk phones i see at work that i've repaired software wise have had unlocked bootloaders... which makes recovering/backing up files a breeze lol
KaptinBoxxi said:
generally correct. best way to know would be to take a cid 11 based device, and flash twrp same way you would cid 15.
as far as i know though, most straight talk phones i see at work that i've repaired software wise have had unlocked bootloaders... which makes recovering/backing up files a breeze lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that is correct. Here's the final solution I came up with and everything's working perfectly now.
I flashed the kltevzw 14 version with TWRP and had no luck getting service, then I tried flashing the kitkat factory ROM with ODIN to see if that would fix it, but ODIN failed after many attempts. Finally I flashed with the lower but stable release kltevzw CM13, instead of the nightly, and everything worked again. I'm thinking I must be extremely lucky to have gotten a Straight Talk S5 variant with an unlocked bootloader, but it's interesting that even though my CID definitely starts with 11, the bootloader is unlocked. Not all hope is lost on CID 11 S5's.
TechFellow1 said:
I think that is correct. Here's the final solution I came up with and everything's working perfectly now.
I flashed the kltevzw 14 version with TWRP and had no luck getting service, then I tried flashing the kitkat factory ROM with ODIN to see if that would fix it, but ODIN failed after many attempts. Finally I flashed with the lower but stable release kltevzw CM13, instead of the nightly, and everything worked again. I'm thinking I must be extremely lucky to have gotten a Straight Talk S5 variant with an unlocked bootloader, but it's interesting that even though my CID definitely starts with 11, the bootloader is unlocked. Not all hope is lost on CID 11 S5's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to dump your boot and bootloader partitions somehow? The "dd" command from adb shell somehow?
Couldnt we just use a diff program to compare yours with one of the Locked 11's?
TechFellow1 said:
I think that is correct. Here's the final solution I came up with and everything's working perfectly now.
I flashed the kltevzw 14 version with TWRP and had no luck getting service, then I tried flashing the kitkat factory ROM with ODIN to see if that would fix it, but ODIN failed after many attempts. Finally I flashed with the lower but stable release kltevzw CM13, instead of the nightly, and everything worked again. I'm thinking I must be extremely lucky to have gotten a Straight Talk S5 variant with an unlocked bootloader, but it's interesting that even though my CID definitely starts with 11, the bootloader is unlocked. Not all hope is lost on CID 11 S5's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Delgoth said:
Are you able to dump your boot and bootloader partitions somehow? The "dd" command from adb shell somehow?
Couldnt we just use a diff program to compare yours with one of the Locked 11's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, all hope IS lost on CID 11's. You have a different phone provided by a different company. It is loaded with a different software and hardware configuration. There is no bootloader signature verification. Yes, the configuration is very similar to that of a G900V, but the bootloader comes unlocked. This is phone specific. This has no value for an actual G900V.
Hariiiii said:
No, all hope IS lost on CID 11's. You have a different phone provided by a different company. It is loaded with a different software and hardware configuration. There is no bootloader signature verification. Yes, the configuration is very similar to that of a G900V, but the bootloader comes unlocked. This is phone specific. This has no value for an actual G900V.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if that's correct, then why does the dev edition bootloader work on the non-dev edition? Sure, its still a g900v, but never hurts to find a way and try
a little optimism can go a long way in life. don't think so negatively
KaptinBoxxi said:
well if that's correct, then why does the dev edition bootloader work on the non-dev edition? Sure, its still a g900v, but never hurts to find a way and try
a little optimism can go a long way in life. don't think so negatively
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say this because I have tried it and I know how it works. A bootloader needs to have the right signature that is recognized by the hardware. The reason the dev edition bootloader works on non dev edition is because they are the same phone, but with different bootloaders installed. The signature of the straight talk bootloader will not be recognized by the G900V hardware. Again, I have confirmed this personally. The straight talk is almost the same hardware as the verizon G900V, but it does not have bootloader signature verification enabled (and the bootloader that comes installed is unsecured).
Hariiiii said:
I say this because I have tried it and I know how it works. A bootloader needs to have the right signature that is recognized by the hardware. The reason the dev edition bootloader works on non dev edition is because they are the same phone, but with different bootloaders installed. The signature of the straight talk bootloader will not be recognized by the G900V hardware. Again, I have confirmed this personally. The straight talk is almost the same hardware as the verizon G900V, but it does not have bootloader signature verification enabled (and the bootloader that comes installed is unsecured).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alright, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining. Always interested in these things since i don't QUITE understand exploits at that level. I do mainly apk modifications and software dev
KaptinBoxxi said:
well if that's correct, then why does the dev edition bootloader work on the non-dev edition? Sure, its still a g900v, but never hurts to find a way and try
a little optimism can go a long way in life. don't think so negatively
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because you don't have a clue about how the CID exploit works
the reason you can flash the dev aboot on a CID15 is because you can change the CID to match that of a dev edtion aboot checks the CID to see if a device as a dev edtion or not
the CID is a sort of serial number for the flash-chip and normally its write once and then read only value ,but because samsung was sloppy we can use some custom Samsung NAND vendor commands to change it so secure-boot thinks you have a dev editon and permits the flashing of a unsigned image
this is flat not possible on CID11 devices(toshiba NAND) there is no hope for cid11 devices with this method the commands needed simply do not exist PERIOD
Legitsu said:
because you don't have a clue about how the CID exploit works
the reason you can flash the dev aboot on a CID15 is because you can change the CID to match that of a dev edtion aboot checks the CID to see if a device as a dev edtion or not
the CID is a sort of serial number for the flash-chip and normally its write once and then read only value ,but because samsung was sloppy we can use some custom Samsung NAND vendor commands to change it so secure-boot thinks you have a dev editon and permits the flashing of a unsigned image
this is flat not possible on CID11 devices(toshiba NAND) there is no hope for cid11 devices with this method the commands needed simply do not exist PERIOD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand plenty enough to know the difference in the flash chips cid's with such like that... The fact of the matter i was trying to get at is that most Straight Talk phones are unlocked entirely without a care in the world, regardless of their CID/branding. Without the proper commands and 3rd party support, I get that there won't be a way. That's why I check my CID's first before buying S5's or Note 4's

S5 AT&T help

Hello guys, I'm posting this for first time.
My girlfriend is having a Samsung S5 from AT&T and I want to root it as she told me system apps from AT&T are taking too much space on her phone and so I was thinking can I flash any custom rom on it?
As I see the AT&T thread separate, I want to ask some things
Does Network provider has to do something with it ?
I can flash custom rom on her phone or not?
And same odin thing works ? Like unlocking bootloader and fishing custom recovery
I have never rooted any Samsung phone ever
I'm having a oneplus and HTC.
If anyone can tell me what all do I need to do, I would appreciate it a lot .
Att version has locked bootloader .... Root is possible and there a few roms but they are all based off the stock rom just tweaked a bit ...
cpt.macp said:
Hello guys, I'm posting this for first time.
My girlfriend is having a Samsung S5 from AT&T and I want to root it as she told me system apps from AT&T are taking too much space on her phone and so I was thinking can I flash any custom rom on it?
As I see the AT&T thread separate, I want to ask some things
Does Network provider has to do something with it ?
I can flash custom rom on her phone or not?
And same odin thing works ? Like unlocking bootloader and fishing custom recovery
I have never rooted any Samsung phone ever
I'm having a oneplus and HTC.
If anyone can tell me what all do I need to do, I would appreciate it a lot .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should consider two things:
1. ATT phone may be sim-locked (locked to their network), but it has nothing to do with custom firmware. This problem may be solved more or less easily.
2. ATT phone (SM-G900A) does have a locked bootloader. This is a real problem.
That's why you're limited to touchwiz-based ROMs and stock kernels.
This means, in it's turn, that you cannot have root on 6.0 and above, you cannot have custom recovery, LOS, etc.
If it was my device and I was going to use it as a smartphone (to communicate with others) on a GSM network, I'd install this ROM in unrooted variant and the latest firmware (boot, modem, kernel).
bbsc said:
You should consider two things:
1. ATT phone may be sim-locked (locked to their network), but it has nothing to do with custom firmware. This problem may be solved more or less easily.
2. ATT phone (SM-G900A) does have a locked bootloader. This is a real problem.
That's why you're limited to touchwiz-based ROMs and stock kernels.
This means, in it's turn, that you cannot have root on 6.0 and above, you cannot have custom recovery, LOS, etc.
If it was my device and I was going to use it as a smartphone (to communicate with others) on a GSM network, I'd install this ROM in unrooted variant and the latest firmware (boot, modem, kernel).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been over 2 years for her phone, unlocking bootloader won't be an issue ( we can unlock it right?) . And she will be using AT&T only because she is using family plan.
If you dare saying the real problem is locked bootloader then we can just unlock it , or I understood it wrong
cpt.macp said:
It's been over 2 years for her phone, unlocking bootloader won't be an issue ( we can unlock it right?) . And she will be using AT&T only because she is using family plan. If you dare saying the real problem is locked bootloader then we can just unlock it , or I understood it wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that the following thread may help you out with this. It's S5 AT&T device specific.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3516196
Good Luck!
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