Database Users

Will pure AOSP Froyo ROM ever be a reality on Samsung Galaxy S devices?

Im thinking of getting a Epic 4g when they are released but Im very hesitant on this because what I have read about Samsung devices being "locked down". First off I prefer AOSP over touch wiz or sense, and I hoping to see this possible on theses devices someday. From what I have seen this may come down to a driver issue as they are encrypted by Samsung. I also want to use Wifi Tether too. Id like anyone who knows about theses devices to shed some light on this and help me make a decision. I dont understand why manufactures feel they need to put crap onto of Android when is more usable with out it. I just wish Samsung they just gave us the option of either roms.

WhiteWidows said:
Im thinking of getting a Epic 4g when they are released but Im very hesitant on this because what I have read about Samsung devices being "locked down". First off I prefer AOSP over touch wiz or sense, and I hoping to see this possible on theses devices someday. From what I have seen this may come down to a driver issue as they are encrypted by Samsung. I also want to use Wifi Tether too. Id like anyone who knows about theses devices to shed some light on this and help me make a decision. I dont understand why manufactures feel they need to put crap onto of Android when is more usable with out it. I just wish Samsung they just gave us the option of either roms.
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you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html
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This contradicts what I read elsewhere for the better Ill see if I can locate where I read this at, If this is the case why is there no custom roms besides Cyanogenmod? Where is a AOSP roms at? Or is the device just that new nothing is out yet? If this is true Ill be getting the Epic over the Evo

Wifi tether comes with the device, and I have to say I haven't had any problems with its use so far
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

While trying this and putting my N1 aside, I'm surprised how much I'm missing FroYo
Any devs that would care to comment on the possibility of a FroYo port for the SGS?

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html
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sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.

riz157 said:
sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.
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What nonsense

I'm a little confused about the situation with ROMs myself, coming from the Windows Mobile world. If the entire source to the build of Android on the Galaxy S is available, surely it's possible to change anything, theoretically? It also seems that the bootloader has no or negligible security as to what it can flash.
On the other hand, I've seen claims that it would be impossible to get Froyo or any future Android updates if Samsung don't release them first (I know they've committed to Froyo). Unless the driver model changes dramatically in Froyo, which I doubt since then new drivers would be required for every phone, why would it be any more difficult to port newer versions of Android to the Galaxy S than any other phone?

riz157 said:
sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.
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Why do you say this? I purchased mine today and so far am very satisfied with
the phone.

Just testing xda app.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
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Click to collapse
No, it's just that there are different components and layers which can be considered open or "locked down", and you both use different ones.
The bootloader for the samsung galaxy is not locked.
But there is an argument by the XDA forum member psychoace that some of the drivers for the galaxy S were not open sourced, and that in earlier android devices from samsung this made it very hard to create ROMs which are not based on Samsung's own ROMs.
As far as I know, this argument from psychoace was never countered, and so I see no reason not to believe it. (I did not look over the sources myself yet).
So can someone port new versions of Android over to the Galaxy S after Samsung has abandoned the device? I really don't know, but I wouldn't count on it, until someone who has experience with making custom ROMs says it is realistic.

The reason I state this is because other then the graphics, video playback, camera there is not much to shout about this device. The lagging is awful, it can't cope with multi tasking compared to say aswell the desire. The issue with the keyboard lagging. Internet crashing for no apparent reason. It seems as the samy gs cant handle the goodies packed into this device. No trackball, flash or led which is very useful.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

riz157 said:
The reason I state this is because other then the graphics, video playback, camera there is not much to shout about this device. The lagging is awful, it can't cope with multi tasking compared to say aswell the desire. The issue with the keyboard lagging. Internet crashing for no apparent reason. It seems as the samy gs cant handle the goodies packed into this device. No trackball, flash or led which is very useful.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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as far as i understand it, the lagging issues are just because of the touchwiz and especially the samsung-widgets. removing the widgets and replacing the luncher with luncher-pro/adw will be the first thing i do when i have the device in my hands. on the other side: the hardware of the galaxy s is very good in my opinion!
@bookwormat:
i think you are wrong! i have read in some forums that samsung has released the drivers for 2.1 together with all other code! in fact i am just pulling the code (including the full kernel) from the samsung open source center (http://opensource.samsung.com/). it's huge, 148MB ... when it's finished i will give it a look an confirm what's in there and what not.

You might just want to take into consideration the fact that the Nexus and Desire had some problems as well right after launch.
The nexus took some time ( a couple of months) to set things straight, the Desire- A couple of weeks only. But it's understandable, since it's 95% identical to the nexus, so HTC probably knew what is going to be problematic.
Also, you're taking things to major extremes. You make it sound like the device is catastrophically slow to the level of being unuseable, and crashes every 2 minutes.
Reality, well, is different. The longest lag i had personally is 1.5 seconds when loading asphalt 5. Every other lag when opening an app- less than half a second.
I'd also like you to refrain from stating one personal problem as a bug in the device, you are the only known member in this forum that is having trouble with the keyboard.
A little search in MoDaCo forums reveals that some users are reporting slight problems with the keyboard, but it's limited to Firmware JG01 only.
It's sad that instead of taking a moment to see if you can solve these problems or helping others find a solution, you preffer to bash the device in every occasion.

For some reason Riz is really down on his SGS and to such an extent that it seems he's got a grudge against the device. Sell it or trade it in if it really makes you that unhappy.
For me it's really an awesome phone that comes with some minor annoyances that seem entirely caused by the fact that it's brand new. So far it appears that Samsung is putting a lot of effort in maturing the software and I expect the issues to be solved within a matter of weeks. In all reality it would take about 10 minutes to setup a new phone and have it operate well without even upgrading any firmware. A simple switch to launcherpro followed by a root with update.zip and then installing autokiller (i use strict profile) will solve 99% of the lag problems.
Battery life is very good after the first initial cycles.
GPS doesn't work right you may all ***** about that.
I'm sure I would be happy with the new HTC's, or even the iphone 4 (the thought of buying into apple's nasty attitude does make me cringe a bit) but I would still choose the SGS again providing they fix the gps.

Perhaps I'm being over critical but there are serious flaws with this device, there is no denying this.
GPS not working - there doesn't seem to be a solution, can't use copilot or googlemaps.
Lagging/freezing - changed to launcher pro not as bad but still occurs.
I hope the boys at samy are working hard to find fixes for these problems. If there are solutions then please guide me to them.
Don't get me wrong this device has potential and there alot of good features but due to issues mentioned above it just ruins the users experience.
I paid good money for this device not so that I could put it down but to use it. I'm just stating my experience for the benefit of others who maybe considering to buy this device.
If there are solutions wonderful p

dakine said:
For some reason Riz is really down on his SGS and to such an extent that it seems he's got a grudge against the device. Sell it or trade it in if it really makes you that unhappy.
In all reality it would take about 10 minutes to setup a new phone and have it operate well without even upgrading any firmware. A simple switch to launcherpro followed by a root with update.zip and then installing autokiller (i use strict profile) will solve 99% of the lag problems.
Okay - could you please give me link to guide on rooting.
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Click to collapse

I really dont uderstand all this gps not working talk.I use co pilot a lot and its extremely accurate and keeps lock in all weathers.Googe maps works indoors to within a house or so and out side gets me within 15 feet or so.I did have gps issues initially until I flashed firmware and factory reset.My i8910 hd had better gps but that was an exeptional phone for gps

Okay - could you please give me link to guide on rooting.
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Download the update.zip file from this thread.
Or direct link here
Copy the file to the internal storage card of the phone using Kies or whatever method you like.
Disconnect the usb cable
Turn off the phone
Press and hold these buttons at the same time: volume up+home+power, keep them pressed until you see the samsung logo.
Use volume rocker to navigate to update.zip and then press home to select.
Phone will reboot and you are now rooted with superuser.
The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
I'm not responsible for anything

I like the phone but there are problems
1.keyboard has dup presses... solved with HTC keyboard. Also l key in portrait mode doesn't always work.
2. Gps lock not as good or reliable as my I 8910
3. StallING.. fix fixed it the only program that has a lag to load is sygic.
4. Image resizing not working well in gallery and web.
5. Still doesn't always switch back to 3g from edge. Jg1 is better than previous.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Where the hell are those AOSP ROMs?!

I'm starting to be really pissed off, what's problem with N3? I don't get it, i saw kondik's photo on twitter like 2 months ago and yet there is no even nighty nighty build or ultranighty, nothing. Other devices like G2, Z1 got AOSP long time ago.

tafmasterpl said:
I'm starting to be really pissed off, what's problem with N3? I don't get it, i saw kondik's photo on twitter like 2 months ago and yet there is no even nighty nighty build or ultranighty, nothing. Other devices like G2, Z1 got AOSP long time ago.
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Developers have lives. plus if you read CMs site and blogs and posts you'll see that schoolwork comes first for a couple of them, plus they probably won't bother with the Note 3 until KitKat is released... If you are that desperately craving AOSP why did you buy a Samsung device? A company that is notoriously slow with updates/ROM stuff etc.... - Just sell it and go buy a Nexus.

Aosp stands for android open source project. Aka stock android.
Sent from my HTC first using xda app-developers app

radicalisto said:
Developers have lives. plus if you read CMs site and blogs and posts you'll see that schoolwork comes first for a couple of them, plus they probably won't bother with the Note 3 until KitKat is released... If you are that desperately craving AOSP why did you buy a Samsung device? A company that is notoriously slow with updates/ROM stuff etc.... - Just sell it and go buy a Nexus.
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That's the answer. Samdung has an absolutely horrible history in the Open Source community, and it's not getting better anytime soon. Anybody who wants AOSP/CM ROMS should NEVER buy a Samdung device.
They do make great devices, but they have the worst attitude toward the dev community, routinely providing incomplete and/or outdated sources and/or the absolutely bare minimum required for a questionable level of GPL compliance, and they'll never provide userspace drivers, which is where 90% of the problems are in supporting their devices.
It's just a reality, and anyone hoping for full compliance and an open and friendly attitude toward AOSP/CM community is delusional.

donalgodon said:
That's the answer. Samdung has an absolutely horrible history in the Open Source community, and it's not getting better anytime soon. Anybody who wants AOSP/CM ROMS should NEVER buy a Samdung device.
They do make great devices, but they have the worst attitude toward the dev community, routinely providing incomplete and/or outdated sources and/or the absolutely bare minimum required for a questionable level of GPL compliance, and they'll never provide userspace drivers, which is where 90% of the problems are in supporting their devices.
It's just a reality, and anyone hoping for full compliance and an open and friendly attitude toward AOSP/CM community is delusional.
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Give me an SD Card option or at least 64GB option and I will do it asap, that's all i ask, i don't even need removable battery and 5.7 inch screen, just SDCard or bigger storage option and powerful processor(Snap 800 is fine!). Please don't tell me about "mighty cloud services" i want normal storage for my music.
But guys tell me one thing, there is no such thing like Galaxy Note 2 google edition and there is a CM rom, there is no LG G2. Sony Z1 and others Google edition roms, and they have CM or any other stock android variations literally DAYS after release, note has none, totally, literally, NOTHING. Why no love for note ? I really don't get it. :crying:

Few people are ready to give up the support for S-Pen and adopt AOSP based roms. Besides the S-Pen is the main reason people buy the note series.

I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.

Mikegrmn said:
I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.
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Click to collapse
Pretty same as me, i just need storage for all my music and i was really tired because my iphone 4 32GB was almost always fullfiled to the max, I hate deleting and need to choose between tracks. The S-Pen is working, i don't know what's about that, note 2 has tons of AOSP ROMs and many peoples are fine with that.

tafmasterpl said:
Give me an SD Card option or at least 64GB option and I will do it ASAP...
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Click to collapse
Same reasons here. But big screen in a small frame was what sold it. Almost got the oppo, but besel and weight made note3 the best hardware. Figured the snapdragon would make this device fully aosp supported, but so far no love.
SPen..? I've got gmd pen gestures, papyrus, better screenshot, etc. I can easily have all the "tw functions" i need on an aosp rom. Samsung has nothing that I can't get better versions of through play
Imagine this hardware and omnirom.. I can't wait, and as soon as an alfa is out I'm on it..

Mikegrmn said:
I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.
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Where did you download the pacman rom form i can find it for the s3, but not the Note3?

The dev community seems to be struggling at the moment (at least with this and the Motorola moto g).
It's a sad time when you have to buy a phone with the possibility of never being able to leave stock firmware (luckily moto g is almost vanilla)
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

ninja75 said:
Where did you download the pacman rom form i can find it for the s3, but not the Note3?
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Pacman is not for the Note 3 yet. I wrote that it took a while until it came to my Motorola Razr HD.

I would absolutely LOVE an AOSP stock rom for my Note 3. Something like the google play edition of the S4 would be perfect... really surprised this has not been done yet, especially with the hardcore specs of the Note 3, hopefully OmniROM will provide our needs!

Mikegrmn said:
Pacman is not for the Note 3 yet. I wrote that it took a while until it came to my Motorola Razr HD.
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Thanks, this is the only thing holding me back from getting the note 3

[Q] Planning to buy the LG g2.. wanna clear some doubts!!1

Friends m planning to buy LG g2 and there is no one who can give the better review den u guys, as u r already the user..
1.should i wait for s5 to come or should i go for it??
2.performance..is there lag in it while scorlling or the touch is smooth like ios.??
3.how is the development?? are there enough roms in asop and original os..??
4. does rooting the phone expires the warranty??
5. is there 4k recording in it
i know i have a long list of questions but it will be really helpful if u guys can lead me to the end of the tunnel by answering them..
thanx in advance..

cutmylifein2 said:
Friends m planning to buy LG g2 and there is no one who can give the better review den u guys, as u r already the user..
1.should i wait for s5 to come or should i go for it??
2.performance..is there lag in it while scorlling or the touch is smooth like ios.??
3.how is the development?? are there enough roms in asop and original os..??
4. does rooting the phone expires the warranty??
5. is there 4k recording in it
i know i have a long list of questions but it will be really helpful if u guys can lead me to the end of the tunnel by answering them..
thanx in advance..
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Click to collapse
1. Samsung just re-released the S4, it's doubtful that's coming anytime soon. Besides, the biggest improvement area on android now is software, not hardware. In terms of software, LG's software is maybe even less useful than Samsungs, but atleast it's less obtrusive and not as ugly. Also, a lot of it can be modded to look more consistent with google guidelines
2. It's very fast, but it's not as smooth as a Nexus 4 on kitkat (current LG G2 version is unfortunately still 4.2.2), nor an iPhone.
It's very quick at performing advanced tasks, but basic operations are not as smooth as ios.
3. Few developers, few quality roms. Numerous tweaks you can do to make it a lot better, but it's not the best supported phone.
4. I think so. Question is, will they notice. People have had success unrooting their device.
5. Not yet. But do you need it? Video is pretty good though! Just wish there was a slow motion mode. Camera is great for the steady photographer

Everything that was said above, with the exception of the GS5... that should be coming in a few months, anytime between Feb-May of next year. The question is when is the new Galaxy F line coming out. There's talk of the Galaxy F line being the new flagship of Sammy and the S line will take a step back from the limelight. Techwise there hasn't been any huge improvement in CPU except Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 chip... but that's marginally better than the 800 chip found in the G2 and Note 3. Biggest improvement next year will probably be Sammy's new ISO Cell technology powering their 16MP cameras and the jump to WQHD resolution screens. Of course those are just rumors. And seeing as how Qualcomm hasn't yet manufactured a 64bit chip, it's unlikely the S5 will come with one unless it's an Exynos but if that was the case then I think it'd only be on the international version with no LTE capability.
Now onto the important stuff, if you DO decide to pick up the LG G2... There are several things to test out for in the store before you bring it home. Look up G2 touchscreen issues for starters. The more important bug to test for that might not be so readily apparent is discussed in this thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2491371
Give it a read over, my post on that thread also has a few screenshots. Test the phone carefully before you bring it home, the problem detailed in that thread affected 3 out of the 4 LG G2s that I had.

gold3ndrag0n which version of the phone did you have?

Just going to copy paste how I feel about the ROM I posted in another thread. First I'll answer some questions you posed.
Currently development is not huge (it is a newer phone) but it is picking up. Cm is officially working on this phone so that can only bring more development.
It does void your warranty but, if you use the method on here to revert to stop, it does untrip the rooted status in the about phone info.
Don't know if you want my personal opinion or not, but incoming wall of text.
I love my g2. Coming from a RAZR xt912 its a huge upgrade.
I have not a single gripe about it aside from a currently locked boot loader. Just need to be careful rooting/flashing.
The stock experience is odd but actually not bad. Medallus has a nice stock ROM, and there are a few more if you do like the set up.
Never messed with the stock browser because I rooted it days after getting it, but there are options to download if you are not too keen on it. Naked browser and what have you.
The stock messenger is good, again different. It has some customization that makes it more personalizable.
The ROMs are picking up with it being a newer phone, but a lot are very buggy. (Gps issues, blue tooth issues, sod's and random reboots.
What seems to be the problem is cm's kernel has a lot of legacy code in it they are actively working on so it is getting better. Since most people fork cm's kernel most ROMs have the same issue.
Cm is finally official on this device, and paranoid android has about the most stable ROM I have experienced. Knock on works on all ROMs but knock off is an issue. Recently cm has put out some code to make double tapping the status back to shut off, and there is a workaround by using a third party launcher with a double tap home screen launch a screen off app.
As far as gps, there is a zip file for asop ROMs to help with it and I've noticed some people saying turn on gps while stock and getting a lock before flashing helps.
TLDR: Awesomely fast phone with a great battery, still very much a work in progress for custom ROMs, but quickly becoming stable/wonderful.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------
Forgot about stock apps.
The camera is pretty sweet at 13mp and the remote control and stuff is handy. People are activly/have made aosp ports for said apps.
Pretty sure I'm done now lol
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app

crazysoccerman said:
gold3ndrag0n which version of the phone did you have?
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Click to collapse
D800, the AT&T variant running stock shipped ROM D80010d.

I have this phone for few days and im really satisfied with overall performance of stock rom. Phone is really fast but im coming from s2 and can compare it only to it. The development is pretty ok i would say CM team is officially supporting device witch is great and i suspect it to better when official 4.4 kicks.
If you are worried about warranty void than dont even consider s5, it will come with knox inside and there is very small chance that someone will figure way to reset void flag. Here if you go back to stock you will reset root counter so no one will know 8f you voided warranty but answering your question: yes rooting voids warranty (almost on every phone). To answer your last question max recording resolution is 1080p with either 30 or 60fps
Wysłane z mojego LG-D802 przy użyciu Tapatalka

Guys does the phone have ir-blaster?
Should I trade my N5 for a LG G2?

Yes it has and the IR Remote is very complete.
It works with almost everything.

Questions regarding the Note 4

Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)

Rooting restriction is carrier based. Some carriers lock down from rooting, others dont.
Knox is a one way trip. Once tripped it stays that way. It is effectively a fuse.
Had my N4 for two weeks and am loving it. Came from a rooted S4. Not really missing root that much. Wish I could still turn GPS on and off with Tasker and wish I had better access to the SD card. Not big deals though. There is another thread here about non-rooted solutions to many things people want root for.
Might become more an issue in a couple years if Samsung/Verizon fails to do timely updates.
Best advice to new N4 users is learn to use the S Pen. It is what makes the N4 stand out.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

1. No it doesnt allow rooting. get a 910U - so far it seems the least hassle.
2. no rooting.
3. yes once you try to root your warranty is void. for all purposes assume you will never get root. then again, you dont need root. in fact having no root and knox is much better. you can have a dual personality phone which works very well.
4. irrelevant. if you get the note 4 expect to run factory.
5. no. you cant have root.
6. you need a full case to hold it. its a thin glass panel. ive got an iblason armorbox for it. also would recommend buying the wireless back and wireless chargers. cables are too much of a hassle on this phone.

My recommendation would be little biased towards Samsung given my last four phones were all galaxy. I never had to root Note 3 but I rooted Note 4 in few days of owning it. Google must have thought let's give some punch to Samsung by disabling write access to external SD giving excuse of security as Samsung is the only high end phone manufacturer that still has it. And one of the most used function that was very important to me was copying files off network share to SD which no longer worked. Only for this I rooted.
I buy Note series not for amoled or big screen or good battery life or running AOSPs. I buy for SPen. I snap, print screen, doodle and write catchy text and share, adds that special touch. And that Microsoft One Note supported inking in android, I am loving it even more.
Note 4

Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!
While it seems most of you use the note 4 for its main purpose of being a multitasking phone. I on the other end just need the good camera, screen and battery. Everything else is gimmicks (for me atleast). However, this opinion of mine could be due to the fact that ive never owned a note before.
I did see some guides of being able to root the SM-N910W8 with CF auto root, as well as a way of bringing devices back to stock as i can see form this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/ref-stock-firmware-kernel-modem-recovery-t2920452
Now, is that really the case or is there somehting im not seeing?

you can NEVER bring it back to stock. the efuse blows once you root. Do NOT root a note 4 until youre familiar enough with knox to make the choice

By stock i dont mean resetting the knox fuse. I mean, if I am on a cusotm rom, i can bring it back to stock for warranty purposes (which I know after the knox fuse is blown, is a hit and miss)
So my question still stands, will I be able to root my phone based on the thread i mentioned above and be able to return it to stock afterwards, or is there something im not seeing there.

qwertyman007 said:
Hello XDA!
I'm about to purchase a note 4 tomorrow from Wind mobile here in Canada. I would have preferred the nexus 6 but its just not available with wind as of yet.
So my questions regarding the note 4 are:
1) The Note 4 variant would be SM-N910W8, will it allow rooting?
2) Does Samsung allow unlocking the bootloader to install custom roms or is just a root sufficient to do that.
3) I've heard of something called knox, and how it will trigger once you root the note 4. Will this have any adverse effects on app functionality such as tap2pay etc..? I know the warranty will be void, but if something goes wrong with the device its a 50/50 chance of getting it repaired replaced.
4) My reason of preference for the N6 was stock android, is there a ROM currently that is AOSP based?
5) Is there a specific thread i can go to find roms for my variant?
5) Is there a way to return back to a virgin note 4 (unrooted, stock ROM)? And even when that is done, will knox still reflect the trigger as 0x1?
6) Lastly, i havent been much of a fan of samsung because i felt they were pushing out "cheap phones" And i must admit, ever since they came with the metal band with their alpha and note 4. Ive taken a great liking to them. So my question (I do only expect general replies) , How are you guys/girls liking your note 4 so far?
Thanks in advanced!
(P.S sorry if some of the questions are stupid, i researched and dug around as much as i can but couldnt find definitive answers)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Note 4 with Bell so to answer your questions:
1) Yes. This is true for all Canadian carriers AFAIK.
2,4) Should be sufficient with just a root. I haven't been around for a week so I haven't caught up on new developments yet. I didn't see much in the way of AOSP last I looked.
3) This I can't answer but I know for example there is an XPosed module that will allow applications like GOOD to continue to work even with KNOX tripped/removed.
5) The W8 is similar to the 910T. I'm actually running DynamicKat with the KTNote4 Kernel. When you install DK part of the install script checks if your phone is a 910T or a 910W8 and installs the correct kernel. I had an issue with my initial flash of it bootlooping but I used the Stockish kernel from twistedumbrella that I had flashed when I still running stock rooted and backed up the boot image so I restored that boot image and it booted, then I flashed KTNote4 myself. Check here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/development and here http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-tmobile/orig-development for roms/kernels.
6) Yes you can just flash a stock rom (should be floating around somewhere) but Knox will still be tripped.
7) Overall I'm absolutely loving it. I came from an S3 that I was running CM11 on with KT's kernel (seriously, his kernels are amazing!) and I liked it for a really long time but it started to get really sluggish and it just can't handle multitasking the way I'd like it. I do still notice slow downs, and the phone does still get pretty hot sometimes, but that's the price you pay for multi-tasking. KTs kernel certainly isn't perfected (granted I'm on a build from 2 weeks ago) and sometimes it will randomly reboot and bootloop at the splash screen but once I clear cache it boots right up. Usually only does this once it's been pretty hot for a while. I love the multitasking windows, that's exactly what I want. The one thing that threw me off the most was the DPI. It's a big phone, I don't need everything on it to be gigantic. So I did end up using the XPosed module App Settings to scale the DPI down to 480 from 640. There are a couple quirks when doing that, like the task switcher is smaller (since it was designed for 640 DPI) and there are a couple apps that you have to set back to 640 as well like the camera but you can always fix those as you find them.
I'm a firm believer that Android is a dev's playground. I could not use this phone happily without root. In fact, I rooted it the same night I got it within a couple hours. I bought the phone outright since I would have had to change my plan if I wanted to early upgrade and my plan is too good to do that. Happy modding!

Just use Autoinput. Can trigger GPS.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

[Q] Considering buying the S5. You guys' satisfaction with the S5? Any regrets?

Hi guys, I'm considering upgrading the S5, but have heard that it's like the "black sheep" of the S family. Is that true? Is it a worthy upgrade for S4 users? Anyone here has any regret of getting the phone (camera quality not as good as expected, battery life too short, phone gets hot quickly,...) ? I've used numerous Android device including the Optimus one, Optimus 3D, Optimus 4x HD, Optimus GK (yeah lots of LG products), HTC 8x and currently Xperia Z1 compact, and decided to go Samsung this time. Is it the right choice at the moment (I really don't like how the S6 will be removing SD slot and removable battery and stuff...) ? Thanks in advance .
// Edit: even though I've never cared about camera quality in previous phone, I do want a good camera this time. Will the S5's camera blow me away compared to current alternatives within the price range?

From my perspective, coming from an S2, yes I am really happy with the phone. Whether you will see much performance difference between newer samsung devices (S3 & S4) and the S5....I couldn't comment......but I have read that there is not that great a difference between the S4 and S5. From the viewpoint of removable battery and expandable memory, if that is important to you, then the S5 is probably the last chance you'll have to own a Samsung device. The only potential 'fly in the ointment' with the S5 is KNOX......do your research on that, then decide if you want an S5.......
Sent from my rooted kn0x0 stocKK SM-G900F S5

Have never regretted a single moment. Upgraded from the S3 and got the 901F , everything flies , it's just on what's your daily usage,how you use it then you can be satisfied. About the camera part, I myself don't really mind about camera quality but I can say in my opinion makes me satisifed ^_^ altho there's not much dev for my model , it's good to have a phone that has removable battery , expandable memory since S6 isn't gonna provide that

@op - Most/All of the bad points you've heard about the S5 will be coming from people who upgraded to Lollipop early on / didn't factory reset after the update, KK users from everything Ive read, are very happy with the phone, I run LP and am very happy with it too
Coming from a Lumia 620, it's a massive upgrade to me and IMO, a great phone, couldn't be happier, battery life is great too
If you go looking for negative reviews of a device, you'll find them for any device no matter how good it is

I just got the phone two weeks ago but I didn't realise how hard it would be to root without tripping Knox. I've rooted all my phones in the past which involved jumping through a few hoops but this scenario is diabolical! There are so many ROM versions, so many out-of-date forum threads for all different S5 models. I think the geographical region has an effect as well. First you have to downgrade your ROM back to KitKat and then root it and then upgrade. It's an absolute minefield! I think it might be easier if you don't mind tripping the Knox warranty flag but I'm not ready to void mine.

seanspotatobusiness said:
I just got the phone two weeks ago but I didn't realise how hard it would be to root without tripping Knox. I've rooted all my phones in the past which involved jumping through a few hoops but this scenario is diabolical! There are so many ROM versions, so many out-of-date forum threads for all different S5 models. I think the geographical region has an effect as well. First you have to downgrade your ROM back to KitKat and then root it and then upgrade. It's an absolute minefield! I think it might be easier if you don't mind tripping the Knox warranty flag but I'm not ready to void mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was the same for about 2 months, eventually got sick of waiting for a LP root method that didn't trip KNOX, and just went for it - pleased I did now
There is a question over whether or not tripping KNOX in the EU voids warranty or not too, some people say it does, some people say it doesn't and they would have to prove that flashing custom software was the cause of the fault, so if your screen stops responding, even flashing back to stock doesn't fix it, it wasn't your fault, but if you pop the speakers by modding the volume after rooting, then it is your fault, those sort of things

Recently I have used Galaxy S4, Moto G, HTC One M8 & Asend 740 ..... finally I got a Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) with Snapdragon CPU.
I'm kind of user who doesn't play games in my smartphone, I just use it for calls Whatsapp, viber Instagram & the like apps.
to be honest yes I'm so much satisfied with the Galaxy S5 specially the great screen.
Here is a list of most notable stuff in Galaxy S5 { Kitkat 4.4.2 }
1- Camera is very nice but the images quality in low light cases & indoors are little bit noisy.
2- the UI sometimes will lag any smartphone will lag while in use ....... as you know Galaxy S5 use the Touchwize UI which it is featured rich & heavy I prefer to use feature rich UI with little lag than using light UI with very few features.
3- some time I'm having battery drain and mobile will become hot when using some Apps like viber.
4- in general battery life is very good .
in the end I love to use a new smartphone every while .......... I have used Android, Windows Phone & iOS, Galaxy S5 is a smartphone which you can keep for one or two years, it is really a smartphone you can be satisfied with it.

Yeah.....touchwiz can be a bit heavy in use, but if you replace it with a launcher like Nova or Apex (I use Nova) that can help........
And as far as games are concerned, the games I play are emulated PS1 games, and they run without ANY lag and without overheating the phone.......
Battery life on this device is better than on any other Samsung phone I've ever used......
Sent from my rooted kn0x0 stocKK SM-G900F S5

I have used all Samsung's Galaxy S series.
From Galaxy S1 to S5.
And yes, S5 is a better phone than S4.
Its build quality, battery life, Speed and features are better than S4.
Camera is almost same but doesnt focus on small objects.
+ Fingerprint, heart rate, water resistance

thank you guys @keithross39 , @fitris97 , @*Detection* , @seanspotatobusiness , @one-option, @Aafsut . I think I'll get the S5. Unfortunately where I live only the T-Mobile version is left (other variants including international 900F are sold out). But seems like the T version is one of the variants with unlocked bootloader and I don't mind having KNOX tripped (our service centers here are sh*t and they likely won't know about checking that), does that mean I can have an easier way to root the phone? I have rooted LGs and Sony in the past and they are fairly easy to do, but no experience with Samsung (Odin and stuffs)... Also the KNOX flag just voids the warranty right? No other side effect?
And I suppose I can flash most 900F ROMs on the T-Mobile version? I have asked in the T-Mobile forum and got one confirmation about Omega Rom for 900F running fine on the 900T, but just want to be extra sure

You can use odin to flash CF auto root i believe just a simple step, just find your correct model and flash it. About KNOX , if you trip it , mainly , you void your warranty as well as you can't update OTA if you want to see see whether there is an update available.

fitris97 said:
You can use odin to flash CF auto root i believe just a simple step, just find your correct model and flash it. About KNOX , if you trip it , mainly , you void your warranty as well as you can't update OTA if you want to see see whether there is an update available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ARRRG I knew it! No OTA is a big bummer Guess I'll have to be careful with that KNOX thingy...
// Also, will the S5 likely to receive any other major OS upgrades? 5.1 or even higher?

Well if you trip and theres new update available you can always download the right firmware for your phone and flash it via odin no problem. Well it's up to them to release it, right now latest is lollipop 5.0? For my model its 5.0.1 so different model different timing as to releasing so probably yes? Haha