Hi guys,
I've had my Samsung Note 3 for years but recently having some issues with it so I think I'll just start again from scratch and hope this sorts out my issues. I essentially want to do the equivalent of reformatting a PC and reinstalling the OS.
A couple questions:
1) I currently have a custom firmware - the only reason is to get around the security settings of my old work (to access emails, you need to input password to unlock phone every single time). I'm not sure if my new work requires this for my emails - how do I check if this is the case or not?
2) If I don't need to get around the custom firmware for the above reason, I will go with the genuine firmware. Otherwise, I will need a custom firmware which allows me to apply a fix for the email security settings. I don't need any other custom features - I just need a firmware which is as light as possible. Suggestions?
3) I have over 1,100 contacts in my phone. I want to ensure I don't lose any. When I go to Contacts and Select "Contacts to Display" --> "Device" there are none - so I'm assuming that if I reinstall a new firmware, there are none on the device to be lost, and as long as I re-sync with Google/Samsung/Microsoft Exchange accounts, I won't lose any. Is this correct?
4) Is there anything I need to backup aside from contacts, images/videos etc?
5) My memory card is about 5 years old and sometimes plays up so I might get a new one just to be safe. What is the fastest version available, and what is the largest size you can use with a Note 3?
6) What is the process for doing a full wipe, and reinstalling a new firmware? I installed my current firmware years ago and have forgotten the process
Thanks a lot.
PS: Below are the details of my current firmware version etc:
http://s21.postimg.org/skqvh2vaf/Screenshot_2015_11_06_18_00_57.jpg
) What is the process for doing a full wipe, and reinstalling a new firmware? I installed my current firmware years ago and have forgotten the process
Recovery mounts and storage format system data cache .
Boot to download mode flash stock rom .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-3/general/samsung-galaxy-note-3-sticky-roll-t3237249
Related
A few weeks ago I updated my firmware to froyo via Kies, which worked, no data loss, so great.
Today Kies offered the latest firmware, so I agreed. Selected the back up options and continued. A window popped up to say backup failed, but the firmware upgrade continued with no option to stop it. This also failed and left my phone unusable. Kies firmware recovery didn't work either. I got my phone back working with Oden3 and I9000XWJV1 firmware. So now I'm running v2.3.2. Unfortunately because the backup failed I lost all my account details, contacts and apps.
The main reason for upgrading was I wanted to use a SIP account and my friends Nexus running Gingerbread had this option, but my i9000 still does not.
To get the SIP account option, will I need to root the phone and install a custom firmware? Or are there any apps which will let me use my SIP account on the i9000.
ecotack said:
A few weeks ago I updated my firmware to froyo via Kies, which worked, no data loss, so great.
Today Kies offered the latest firmware, so I agreed. Selected the back up options and continued. A window popped up to say backup failed, but the firmware upgrade continued with no option to stop it. This also failed and left my phone unusable. Kies firmware recovery didn't work either. I got my phone back working with Oden3 and I9000XWJV1 firmware. So now I'm running v2.3.2. Unfortunately because the backup failed I lost all my account details, contacts and apps.
The main reason for upgrading was I wanted to use a SIP account and my friends Nexus running Gingerbread had this option, but my i9000 still does not.
To get the SIP account option, will I need to root the phone and install a custom firmware? Or are there any apps which will let me use my SIP account on the i9000.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not surprised that after 7 hours no one has bothered to reply
1) Kies offers a firmware upgrade recovery option from the pull-down menu - its happened to me...it works
2) Why did you install JV1 via Odin? - its a GB beta release and is notoriously flakey...I can't imagine a worse option. You need to use any of the stable 2.3.3 firmwares, the latest being JVO and available from Samfirmware.com
3) Your account details are pretty easy to enter aren't they? Losing your contacts is dumb....the whole point of this technology is that you sync to your gmail account so you never need to worry about trashing your phone or losing it...just log on to another and away you go.
Sorry to sound harsh mate but your post is just a lesson to anyone else who doesn't follow some common sense rules.
Fortunately you haven't bricked your phone....recommend you do (2) above, then do some reading on here about backing up, how to use your google account properly, not saving contacts on your phone .....and generally getting the most out of your £350 piece of kit
Thanks for the reply. I installed that firmware from a quick Google (I was at work when Kies messed up my phone and very busy). I just popped over to SamFirmware and downloaded the latest firmware (XXJVO), which Odin3 installed without loosing my apps, etc (just a few settings as you would expect). All appears well, for now.
Spent some time Googling last night and I found CSipSimple, which works nicely with my SIP account.
Still Not sure why my contacts where not saved to the google account, it had 5 of them. Also loosing all my apps meant I could take a look at alternatives, which proved fruitful. Contacts now saved to my SD, but can't find a way of backing up my apps unless I root the phone...I think I'll give that a miss.
Hello all!
Glad I can report that the towelroot exploit worked successfully on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5 phone.
I'm a noob to Android devices, but I think they are awesome
I've spent most the day reading up on Android backup and recovery, differences between rooting and unlocking the bootloader, and I have a couple of questions relating to these topics:
1) I've rooted my Samsung Galaxy S5, and, in the event that I accidentally loaded a virus on my phone, or seriously messed something up with my root access, I'd like to have a way out of it. I've been reading up on the Android Recovery Mode: Wipe Data/factory reset. My question is this: Is it still okay to use this feature after I've rooted my ROM using towelroot? Also, if I use this feature, will it also completely re-install system software (like a Win 7 Reinstall)? Or is this just deleting some user data and leaving the once upon a time read only folders alone?
If method one mentioned above isn't a full OS restore, I think this is my other option...
2) Since I've rooted my phone with towelroot, I know that my bootloader is still locked. I know that another backup option is to use CWM to do a custom backup/recovery, however, I know that unlocking the bootloader right now may not be possible. I can't find any already existing threads relevant to Verizon Galaxy S5 bootloader unlocking since towelroot has been released released, however, I have stumbled upon this website which mentions my phone in the list: (I can't post links yet, please google "samsung galaxy s5 cwm phizl", and click on the second link. What do you guys think of this guide, do you think this will actually work for the unlocked Verizon Galaxy S5?
Thank's for any help with this.
Does this question stump everyone?
If you do a wipe it goes back to how it was when you first installed the rom/ first boot.
shredfast said:
I'd like to have a way out of it. I've been reading up on the Android Recovery Mode: Wipe Data/factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is oversimplified, but the files on your phone are more or less organized like this -
1. User settings, installed apps (data partition) - this is what a factory data reset would erase.
2. System files (most of them) - these read only files don't normally change unless you get an OTA firmware update. If you accidentally delete or somehow corrupt system files, you can reinstall the firmware to fix these. A custom ROM (if your bootloader was unlocked) would replace the files here.
3. Cache. These are temporary files. Some problems can be fixed by deleting these. If deleted, your phone will rebuild the cache when it boots.
4. SDcard. Built in, internal storage space for user files, downloads, etc. If you have a physical SD card, that is seperate and referred to as the external or secondary SD card.
5. Other stuff e.g. the bootloader, modem, etc.
A 100% backup is often referred to as a "Nandroid". Meaning that you backup the entire memory (NAND). You can only do that properly with a custom recovery like TWRP or CWM. The next closest thing would be an app like Titanium Pro.
The system data reset will only default the user settings (data partition). It won't remove most user files (internal SD card) or touch the read only system files (system partition).
I don't know what your second question really pertains to. You should have described it fully, rather than try to get us to replicate your Google search. I'll just say that it's highly unlikely that anyone will figure out how to unlock the Verizon bootloader anytime soon.
Verizon has an unlocked Developer model phone, but it is handicapped by poor firmware updates. If you want the advantages of an unlocked bootloader, change carriers. Most carriers do not lock the S5 bootloader. Just ATT, Verizon and a few US CDMA carriers.
Because your bootloader is locked, you can't use a real custom kernel or recovery. But they can be emulated with Safestrap.
.
Hi guys,
Can someone tell me the best way to make an exact copy of a brand new phone so that I can always go back to the 'as new' config.
This would be a new phone straight from the box.
Thanks
frostyboy998
frostyboy998 said:
Hi guys,
Can someone tell me the best way to make an exact copy of a brand new phone so that I can always go back to the 'as new' config.
This would be a new phone straight from the box.
Thanks
frostyboy998
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Data factory reset?
Well the best way is to get a copy of the image that the factory uses.. Well, perhaps that is impractical.
The most faithful copy that we could probably do from home would be using dd from the command line to make a sector by sector image. But you need super user (root) to do that. Possibly you could do it from an ADB session without root (untested). Using the linux dd utility or an ADB session are cumbersome and rather technical for many end users though..
In practical terms, either as gee2012 suggested above. I'm not certain that would get you to an exactly out of the box experience.. but it would be close.. easy to do and repeatable. So a decent solution. And should the file system get really messed up, you could presumably reflash a full OEM image to get back to that point as well.
Or another approach that I would favour myself would be to do a full Nandroid instead to resolve small discrepancies that probably exist between out of the box and the state a factory reset would put the device in. The downside being that a full Nandroid is easiest to do with a custom recovery.. and that will trip the Knox counter which will have warranty implications for some. Whether it affects your warranty depends on country you reside in, how well national legislation there protects consumer rights, whether your carrier cares about Knox and whether you care about the warranty much to begin with.
I would take the out of box phone, flash a custom recovery, and then do a full Nandroid backup. Your nandroid then will be an exact representation of your out of the box configuration, save for the recovery per se. To restore precisely would be one or two steps. Restoring the Nandroid would revert everything except recovery to the out of the box condition. And should that point matter, then one could do the second step of restoring the stock recovery as well..
.
Download from Sammobile the ROM, so you can flash via ODIN.
Thanks for your comments.
Here is my reasoning.....
I currently use a Galaxy S3, pending getting the S5 very soon.
When I first got my S3 it seemed perfect. Everything worked well.
I have since done a number of Kies updates and also a couple of Sammobile updates via Odin.
Every time I updated, there seemed to be some things that didn't work as well.
So I decided to try and revert to the original firmware that came with my mobile, via Sammobile and Odin.
I have done this, but now, whenever I leave a wifi zone, my mobile internet seems to connect when it feels like it. Sometimes not at all.
I have to switch mobile internet off, restart the phone and then switch mobile internet back on, to get it to start up.
When I get my new S5, I would like to have an exact copy of the phone, so that I can always revert to my very own original setup if I choose to.
Apparently after updating beyond Android 4.3, there came a change in the format of the EFS folder, which prevented stepping back.
I don't want to be forced into that position again, so want a perfect copy!
From my reading, it appears I would have to root the phone, install Titanium backup, do a full nandroid backup, then unroot the phone and reset the counters to be back in warranty.
Am I right or would that not work?
frostyboy
edit: After updating firmware on a phone, does a factory reset change back to a previous firmware? I would think not. I think it would just reset all the added consumer stuff. (contacts, apps, emails and sms etc)
frostyboy998 said:
Thanks for your comments.
Here is my reasoning.....
I currently use a Galaxy S3, pending getting the S5 very soon.
When I first got my S3 it seemed perfect. Everything worked well.
I have since done a number of Kies updates and also a couple of Sammobile updates via Odin.
Every time I updated, there seemed to be some things that didn't work as well.
So I decided to try and revert to the original firmware that came with my mobile, via Sammobile and Odin.
I have done this, but now, whenever I leave a wifi zone, my mobile internet seems to connect when it feels like it. Sometimes not at all.
I have to switch mobile internet off, restart the phone and then switch mobile internet back on, to get it to start up.
When I get my new S5, I would like to have an exact copy of the phone, so that I can always revert to my very own original setup if I choose to.
Apparently after updating beyond Android 4.3, there came a change in the format of the EFS folder, which prevented stepping back.
I don't want to be forced into that position again, so want a perfect copy!
From my reading, it appears I would have to root the phone, install Titanium backup, do a full nandroid backup, then unroot the phone and reset the counters to be back in warranty.
Am I right or would that not work?
frostyboy
edit: After updating firmware on a phone, does a factory reset change back to a previous firmware? I would think not. I think it would just reset all the added consumer stuff. (contacts, apps, emails and sms etc)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting with Towelroot doesn`t trip KNOX but flashing a custom recovery to make a nandroid backup will and is irreversible. Best is to backup the EFS folder after you are rooted with an app here http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/development/efs-samsung-tool-universal-support-t2602325 or with adb as documented here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2737448.
BTW Triangle Away doesn`t work on the S5 atm so resetting the status to official after you flashed custom software with Odin isn not possible
I have a used Note 4 I bought online from China and want to completely clean it of all potential spy apps. In a previous thread a person told me to use a program called odin on my computer. I watched numerous videos of people using this program and at the end of all the videos they still had all their apps!
If this clears the phone why are all the apps still there at the end of the process? Is there another way to completely wipe the phone?
I am not sure what version Note 4 you have. From reading what you wrote, if you purchased a China Mobile version, you can odin a ROM for that phone version. If you purchased a T-Mobile version ( find version in settings -> about phone -> Model Number), you can odin flash a factory ROM.
About Apps, every factory ROM has a few apps that come by default. When you flash a ROM the apps are installed.
Some of the custom ROMs developers remove apps to their choosing. So these are couple ways to get your phone.
I am not sure what you mean by wipe phone ?
Hi all,
Was recently in the 'States and broke my S8 - it's now the third mobile screen I've busted since Samsung brought in curved edges, never had any issues with the S2 or S5 - who ever thought tempering glass and curving it would be a good idea??
Anyway I had the opportunity to pickup a brand new Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and did a quick bit of research. I found the most compatible version with my carriers back home in AUS was the SM-G892A from AT&T. Picked up a brand new unlocked model, stupid me didn't connect it up to AT&T while I was there. I turned it on and played around with it on Wifi for the last few days of our trip and returned home to Melbourne.
Basically I now understand AT&T are a bunch of ***** and do not allow updates to be pushed even for unlocked devices overseas. Considering a lot of the updates are for security I'm very surprised by this.
Anyway so I've notcied a few tiny bugs here and there with apps/OS and figured updating my device/OS is the way to go and might resolve the issues. I guess the easiest way to get the info I need is to put the questions I have individually, as my mind tends to jump all over the place when I'm working a problem:
1. Is there any way to get my phone updated without rooting/flashing the phone?
2. If not, what is the best option for a S8 Active? Are there any firmware versions that will enable OTA updates so I don't need to keep flashing everytime new firmware is released? I have seen some posts about T-Mobile being able to be flashed over an AT&T model or even the G892U or maybe a custom firmware that allows this?
3. Will rooting/flashing interfere with any of the carrier settings etc? Don't want to upgrade it only to find it disables an LTE band or something?
4. I am an absolute noob at flashing, have never done it but am pretty tech savvy so if there is a step-by-step procedure I wil have no dramas following it. Saying that, I would rather not make the device worse than it is so I only want to follow tried & tested procedures if that makes sense, I don't want my device to be a lab-rat.
5. If there is no way to enable OTA internationally as per Question #2 when new firmware updates become available on XDA will flashing a new update delete personalisation/settings/files etc? Or will it retain them and update like a stock model performing a firmware upgrade would? If not, that would be a pain in the ass and time consuming to have to re-apply settings and reinstall apps every time and almost makes the idea of flashing unattractive.
6. I have baseband G892AUCU1AQG4 - taking into account Question #2 what is the best way to move forward? Considering Android 8.0 is available for the S8 Active and has been available for my model from AT&T since March 1st, 2018 apparently I'm hoping there might be some way to move towards that.
Hope someone might be able to help,
Thanks in advance
UPDATE 05/05/2019
Got some answers to my original questions...
1. Rooting/Flashing are different things - rooting allows custom firmware, flashing is the procedure to install custom or OEM firmware onto the device.
2. The best option for me I think is to just update to newer AT&T firmware so I get the updates and new software features as I'm not interested in custom firmware. I still do not know if it is possible to get OTA updates for this device directly from Samsung/Google.
3. As long as you are flashing from the same model firmware as in SM-G892A to SM-G892A should be no issues, however using SM-G892U might cause issues.
4. Once I wrapped my head around how baseband versions of firmware work and what is needed to get between bootloader versions flashing from SD Card or Odin (as I suspected) was very straightforward thanks to some of the guides out there. To make this easier for anyone facing the same issue I have written how I did this below.
5. Yes, flashing for AT&T will delete everything, it's an absolute PIA and that's why I will keep searching for a way to get OTA updates enabled if at all possible. However I believe Samsung SmartSwitch is pretty good for backing up and restoring so that might be a simple way forward.
6. See my latest post, I was 12 updates behind but able to skip 7 of them using my method.
I'm considering importing an S8 Active AT&T and have the same questions. How did you go?
secateurs said:
I'm considering importing an S8 Active AT&T and have the same questions. How did you go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the slow reply I've only just had the time to dive into this. Yes I have figured it out.
There are two ways, incrementally update by applying OTA updates via the SD card. However trying to find all of these can be a pain.
The other way you may have read about is to use Samsung's own 'Odin' flashing software.
Because I had the very first baseband version G892AUCU1AQG4 I was way behind. The fifth-last digit designates the bootloader version, you cannot jump from v1 to v3 for example. So what you can do is use a few OTA updates to jump you from v1 to the first v2, you can then use Odin to jump you all the way up and use another OTA to get you to the next bootloader version. Hope that makes sense?
So I was able to use x2 OTA updates to get from 1AQG4 to 1AQJ2, then I was able to do one more OTA to get from 1AQJ2-to-2AQK3. Now if I was to continue using the OTA method with the SD card, I would need to run the process x8 times. This presents 3 issues:
1. Time consuming, trying to find all the correct OTA updates.
2. Even when you do get all the correct OTA updates you then have to copy each on to the SD card waiting for the phone to update and then repeat the process.
3. Even if you can find a link for a required OTA update a lot of the links are dead.
However using Odin and the flash files I was able to skip these and go directly from 2AQK3 to 2BRF2, use one OTA update and then I was onto Bootloader v3 (which is the latest version). Here is how I compressed 12 updates do into 5, good luck..
1. 1AQG4-to-1AQJ2 OTA (SD CARD): dropbox.com/s/ikor71zt1ec0nyn/SS-G892AUCU1AQG4-to-S1AQJ2.zip?dl=0
2. 1AQJ2-to-2AQK3 OTA (SD CARD): dropbox.com/s/ott9fs9qunkvf9x/SS-G892AUCS1AQJ2-to-U2AQK3.zip?dl=0
3. 2AQK3-to-2BRF2 Odin Flash : androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904016415
4. 2BRF2-to-3BRG1 OTA (SD CARD): androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904016441
5. 3BRG1-to-3BRL1 Odin Flash: mega.nz/#!7M42VCAJ!-FKnhzwTZG0He1kb9FzHHaPX4Aanlnj4fpn0M61DzR4
Have the s8 active outside of America and desperately want to update it
Hey ,
I'm sorry to bring up this old thread but I didn't really understand the method you used sorry I'm really new to this thing, I have the s8 active Sm-g892A ( the att) model it's on the baseband version G892AUCS2ARB1 . If you could help me out a bit with this I would be really grateful, having Android 7.0 really makes me concerned as I've heard the security patches also won't update.
None2939 said:
Hey ,
I'm sorry to bring up this old thread but I didn't really understand the method you used sorry I'm really new to this thing, I have the s8 active Sm-g892A ( the att) model it's on the baseband version G892AUCS2ARB1 . If you could help me out a bit with this I would be really grateful, having Android 7.0 really makes me concerned as I've heard the security patches also won't update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you are on Bootloader v2 (5th character from the right). So you can skip straight to Step 3. Be warned all instructions below will result in all data on your device being wiped!
Using Odin to upgrade as directed on Step 3 & 5 or future upgrades (there is now v4 software appearing):
You need to download Odin (you don't need a modified/Comsy version).
You need to enable Developer Options on your Galaxy.
Once you have developer options you need to enable 'USB Debugging'.
You need to shutdown your Galaxy.
Connect your USB cabble to your PC.
Boot into Download mode by using the Power+Bixby+Volume Down combo. OR if that doesn't work Use the Power+Bixby+Volume Up and use the menu to get into Download Mode.
Open Odin on your PC, it should say 'Added' if it detects your Galaxy correctly. If it doesn't you may need to install some USB drivers (you can Google how to do this).
Once it says 'Added' you can add the files from Step 3 and flash but be warned it will wipe everything on your device.
For Step 4 OTA:
Very simply download the ZIP file and place the complete ZIP file on an SD Card (it should not be extracted must be complete ZIP archive). Place the SD Card in the Galaxy, power off and boot into Recovery Mode Power+Bixby+Volume Up. Then simply use the Volume Up/Down and Power keys to navigate through, 'Apply Update from SD Card', find your SD card and the ZIP file and allow the update to run.