new S5 thru insurance - best way to root it? - Verizon Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I broke my (rooted) phone and verizon is sending me a brand new replacement.
When it arrives I want to root it, since it shouldn't have the latest OTA updates on it.
But I am wary of just immediately following the instructions here without activating it first, because I am not sure what the OS version is.
If by some chance they shipped it to me with OG5 on it I will brick it when I try to root it.
Is there a way to tell what the current OS is without activating it? Don't want to download the OTA unintentionally once it's activated.

Never mind, the phone just arrived and it already had OE1 on it.

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Confused by the correct order of updates: OTA, Root, Froyo?

I'm sure this is somewhere on the forum but I've made a best effort searching/reading for the past hour, and am now more confused. I rooted my incredible a few weeks ago in order to get the tethering feature to work, and this was before the OTA update from VZN came along. everything works, no complaints.
Since 1) I did not get the OTA update, and 2) I eventually would like Froyo, I have a few questions:
1) Do I need the OTA update?
2) Will I need it in order to get VZN's Froyo update whenever that becomes available?
3) If so, should I wait until that announcement is made?
4) If I unroot and get the OTA, can I simply re-root in order to get the tethering feature back?
5) Would I be able re-root by following the same instructions as when I rooted the first time (unrevoked3)?
6) If I unroot/install OTA update/re-root, how do I get VZN's Froyo when it is released? I assume I would need to un-root again, and then wait for the update?
7) Am I just as well off unrooting/installing OTA update/re-rooting and getting an unofficial version of Froyo? I am in no rush for froyo and do not want to risk messing up the phone for it.
I assume some of these questions are answered on the forums but like I said, the instructions I found on various threads seemed incomplete. Would greatly appreciate answers/links to answers for any of the questions.
Thanks
if your happy with the way the your phone is right now than just wait till the official update comes out.
You'll likely be told the update is available on your phone, but if you want root, you won't want to apply that right away.
Hopefully some magic like Evo update is done for us... the Evo update has already been rooted and pulled apart.
Thanks binny and k_flan... So I'll just wait for VZN. Can I install the VZN update (Froyo) directly or would I have to un-root first? No way to know this I suppose, but will the VZN Froyo allow wireless tether or will I have to pay extra for the feature?
My plan
My plan at this point is to wait for the OTA and then for unrEVOked to see if they can root it. If they can, I will RUU back to a stock rom, and apply the official update. This will guarantee [1] VZW to handle if I brick, and [2] that I am running the real radio and the real 2.2 (instead of the buggy beta which is making the rounds).
If they can't then the decision gets harder. I suspect that my desire for the 2.2 will outweigh my need to still be rooted.
What I know i WONT do is jump through these hoops just to install a beta radio/OS combo. If the radio wasn't at issue, it would be a different story.
np OP. You won't want to install the VZW update, it will likely not work with unrevoked's reflash tool.
I also have to correct what I said earlier, it doesn't appear it is the final build that was rooted for the Evo, but the radio was pulled from the final build and used with a rom.... Either way, it seems they've got the official radio (at least, that's how it looks for now), hopefully that happens for us, and official radio img.
Fair enough. still getting up to speed on terminology.... i assume reflash means un-root - is there any way to reset the phone to be able to get the VZ update/froyo?

[Q] Verizon G2 OTA

Just out of curiosity, does this OTA make the rooting status permanent? For example, if you root it while on this OTA, does it persist through taking it back down to full stock? And also, Is it possible to downgrade if so?
<Unimportant> I only ask because i dropped my first G2 a week or so ago, shattered the glass front, and also all touch functionality with it. I hadn't taken the OTA and i put it back to stock and the rooting status changed to unrooted. But this brand new phone I got from Asurion already had the OTA installed, and yes, it was brand new (from what i can tell). It came seemingly untouched in a Verizon G2 box and had all the plastic stickers on it. </Unimportant>
So does anybody have any definite info on this topic of the OTA and downgrading to receive the same results?
I assume you're referring to VS98011A. In any case, you can return to stock from this particular firmware. I did just that the other day. Not because I needed to, but because I was bored and also wanted to make sure I could do it in the event a return to stock becomes necessary. I neglected to make note of whether the rooted status changed back to unrooted, but someone in the return to stock thread informed me that it does indeed change back.
Great to know that in case of another emergency I can still return to unrooted status. I assumed so, but Verizon has a sketchy record for their updates imo. And an OTA that came out as fast as theirs seemed a little fishy to me. And yes, VS98011A.

[Q] When was my phone rooted?

Hi all,
Is there a way to find out when was my phone rooted? Actual date?
I bought a phone from a small private store. Lately I got an OTA update to 4.4.2 KitKat. I updated the phone and it failed starting after this update. I returned to the store with a complain. After a month!!!! of tests with no result the guy from the store blames me that he does not cover the malfunction repair because the phone was rooted unoficially before the update.
So in order to prove that I did not root my phone I need to find out somehow when the phone was actually rooted.
Is this even possible?
P.S: I think the KNOX is tripped... did not have a chance checking it.

[Q] Android L: Available Without OTA Update?

Hey guys. First off, I'm new (this is my first post) so if I say/ do something wrong, please be considerate.
So I read somewhere that the new version of Android, Android L, might be coming out as early as December for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Earlier this year I got a Galaxy S5 and as it is my first Android, I wanted it to be the best it could. After a while I decided that it would be a good idea to root it, but as it is a Verizon model, it didn't look like I was going to be able to since the bootloader is locked. Luckily once towelroot came out I was able to root it, thankfully.
A month or two later, an OTA update came out, for Kitkat 4.4.3, and after several tries at installing it, I figured out the hard way that once you root your phone, OTA updates don't work anymore.
With all this being said, I'm a little concerned that I wont be able to get the next version of android on my phone. Even if it does come out in an OTA update, I know I wont be able to install it and since the bootloader is locked, I wont be able to flash it onto my phone.
Is there any hope that I'll be able to get Android L, or am I going to be stuck with Kitkat 4.4.2?
omega_927 said:
Hey guys. First off, I'm new (this is my first post) so if I say/ do something wrong, please be considerate.
So I read somewhere that the new version of Android, Android L, might be coming out as early as December for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Earlier this year I got a Galaxy S5 and as it is my first Android, I wanted it to be the best it could. After a while I decided that it would be a good idea to root it, but as it is a Verizon model, it didn't look like I was going to be able to since the bootloader is locked. Luckily once towelroot came out I was able to root it, thankfully.
A month or two later, an OTA update came out, for Kitkat 4.4.3, and after several tries at installing it, I figured out the hard way that once you root your phone, OTA updates don't work anymore.
With all this being said, I'm a little concerned that I wont be able to get the next version of android on my phone. Even if it does come out in an OTA update, I know I wont be able to install it and since the bootloader is locked, I wont be able to flash it onto my phone.
Is there any hope that I'll be able to get Android L, or am I going to be stuck with Kitkat 4.4.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know anything about L coming out but you can get all the updates you want. All the info you need is in threads here and in the general forum. You can always odin back to stock and take OTA updates. Or you can install which ever version you want via odin and then root from there.
Edit: In reading an article a while ago over @ techradar, I think we'll be seeing L sooner than you think. The thinking seems to go that when the Note 4 drops with L on it, Sammy will push it to their top tier phones right away after that...

New S7 take OTA updates or Root first?

Finally moving to an S7 (verizon) and wanted to know if I should take the OTA's when my phone arrives or keep as-is and root immediately.
Do later updates prevent rooting? I guess this largely depends on what version it ships with...
TIA

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