Database Users

[Q] Towelroot no longer works... ideas?

I'm pretty new to the Android phones. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet about a year ago, and I absolutely love it -- which was the only reason why I considered an Android phone when it came time to upgrade. That might have been a mistake.
The phone I chose was a Galaxy S5 from AT&T.
For many reasons I won't go into (and that many of you probably know) Kitkat is awful. Removing SD card access removed one of the most important reasons that I bought the phone. So, I decided to root the thing.
I read a bunch of info on how to root, and, eventually downloaded and tried to use towelroot only to discover that AT&T/Google have blocked all functionality of that program. My build is, unfortunately, the latest build -- July 22 2014 (or there abouts).
Now, I'm not sure if the phone was given to me with that update -- I only got the thing on Sunday. Maybe it was, maybe not. Dunno. So I have a couple of questions.
If I were to factory reset the phone, would that roll back these "Security" OTA updates that were pushed onto the phone? I'm pretty sure there was at least one after I got the thing. I've spent a fair amount of time setting the phone up, but I'll do it again if a factory reset would allow me to root the phone and return the SD card functions.
Is there a way to push an earlier version of the ROM onto the phone. I'm guessing not, since I think I read that AT&T helpfully locked the bootloader.
Finally, does anyone know of any way to root this device if neither of the two paths I presented above will work?
Thanks for any help. If I can't restore the SD card functionality, I'll probably just return the phone. That would be a bummer because I was really excited about it.

CKR83 said:
I'm pretty new to the Android phones. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet about a year ago, and I absolutely love it -- which was the only reason why I considered an Android phone when it came time to upgrade. That might have been a mistake.
The phone I chose was a Galaxy S5 from AT&T.
For many reasons I won't go into (and that many of you probably know) Kitkat is awful. Removing SD card access removed one of the most important reasons that I bought the phone. So, I decided to root the thing.
I read a bunch of info on how to root, and, eventually downloaded and tried to use towelroot only to discover that AT&T/Google have blocked all functionality of that program. My build is, unfortunately, the latest build -- July 22 2014 (or there abouts).
Now, I'm not sure if the phone was given to me with that update -- I only got the thing on Sunday. Maybe it was, maybe not. Dunno. So I have a couple of questions.
If I were to factory reset the phone, would that roll back these "Security" OTA updates that were pushed onto the phone? I'm pretty sure there was at least one after I got the thing. I've spent a fair amount of time setting the phone up, but I'll do it again if a factory reset would allow me to root the phone and return the SD card functions.
Is there a way to push an earlier version of the ROM onto the phone. I'm guessing not, since I think I read that AT&T helpfully locked the bootloader.
Finally, does anyone know of any way to root this device if neither of the two paths I presented above will work?
Thanks for any help. If I can't restore the SD card functionality, I'll probably just return the phone. That would be a bummer because I was really excited about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For rooting, go there http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2696537
or there http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1980683
Follow tuto or ask here.
You have to give more info (S5 model, firmware...)
Good luck
Franky

Rooting Help?
fgth90 said:
For rooting, go there http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2696537
or there http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1980683
Follow tuto or ask here.
You have to give more info (S5 model, firmware...)
Good luck
Franky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that there are tutes here, and am wading through the 50+ pages of forum posts to find what I need. However, my worry is that none of this stuff will work because of the new firmware. Here is all the info that I have on my phone:
Galaxy S5 AT&T US version (SAMSUNG-SM-900A)
Android 4.4.2
kernel version 3.4.0-2178781 [email protected] #1 Tuesday July 22
Build # KOT49H.G900AUCU2ANG3
SE for Android Status
Enforcing SEPF_SAMSUNG-SM-G900A_4.4.2_0018 Tuesday July 22
Security Software version:
MDF v1.0 Release 3
VPN v1.4 Release 1
Thanks all the pertinent info, I think.
Because the update was so new, I don't think there's a way to root this anymore. People keep telling me to use ODIN and to download an earlier ROM (and I now have ODIN and an earlier ROM -- hopefully from a good source, but I have no idea if it is), but my impression is that this latest AT&T "security" update keeps you from reflashing the ROM because of the bootloader lockout.
Any further help would be appreciated.
Thanks

CKR83 said:
...
Any further help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
As I told you, the only method working for me (because of towelroot non working) is cf auto root.
Check periodicaly here http://autoroot.chainfire.eu/ to see if your model is listed.
I had just a look and it's not listed yet.
If it is, flash by odin and look if root works.
If not, you've got to flash by odin the same rom again (keep your original file on pc), you'll loose nothing, and report this fails on chainfire to test other solution.
Good luck
Franky

CKR83 said:
Here is all the info that I have on my phone:
Galaxy S5 AT&T US version (SAMSUNG-SM-900A)
Android 4.4.2
kernel version 3.4.0-2178781 [email protected] #1 Tuesday July 22
Build # KOT49H.G900AUCU2ANG3
SE for Android Status
Enforcing SEPF_SAMSUNG-SM-G900A_4.4.2_0018 Tuesday July 22
Security Software version:
MDF v1.0 Release 3
VPN v1.4 Release 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only build number and kernel version, you need to check your Bootloader version with Phone INFO ★Samsung★ app (in the FIRMWARE INFO section).
Bootloader version is one of the important info to check when you are going to root or flashing custom rom.

vndnguyen said:
Not only build number and kernel version, you need to check your Bootloader version with (in the FIRMWARE INFO section).
Bootloader version is one of the important info to check when you are going to root or flashing custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey that looks like a great utility. Thanks! The bootloader is G900AUCU2ANG3
Does that help any? People keep telling me I need to use ODIN and flash this, that or the other thing. Those comments would probably be more helpful if I knew more about this stuff, but my reading has lead me to believe that ODIN won't work with certain version of the bootloader. Or is that wrong?

CKR83 said:
Hey that looks like a great utility. Thanks! The bootloader is G900AUCU2ANG3
Did you every get your post July 2014 AT&T GS5 rooted?
If so, please drop me an email.
Thanks
TPG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

No unfortunately not....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using XDA Free mobile app

Trying to get a PF4 on a CM13 phone, have root, unlocked bootloader, now what?

Hi guys!
I've been modding phones for about 4 years now, and its because of this community's work. You're better men than I, so thanks. I'm not up on the terminology (it seems to be inconsistently used) so if I refer to something wrong, please let me know. Here's my problem:
I'd like to update my firmware to the latest for a S5, but I don't know what I need. I've got a G900V, originally with OK3 (no updates aside from what is listed here). I rooted it back in April or so when that came out (thanks @jrukuse!), and I unlocked the bootloader yesterday by fooling it into Dev mode (thanks @GeTex!), adding TWRP 3.02. Today I threw CM13 on it, and just finished flashing the PF4 modem (just the modem), but it still shows the baseband as OK3. I've been getting weird crashes of some of the Google stuff (Gapps 6.01 micro), and I was hoping an update of some kind would increase stability somewhat. The problem is I don't know what needs to be updated or where to get it. As you can tell, I'm not even sure to what extent I actually still have things to update, why the baseband still reads as BOK3, or if it can be updated without losing Dev, root, or unlocked bootloader. Any insight on these last questions?
Thanks guys (and help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope),
-A

MercuryAI said:
Hi guys!
I've been modding phones for about 4 years now, and its because of this community's work. You're better men than I, so thanks. I'm not up on the terminology (it seems to be inconsistently used) so if I refer to something wrong, please let me know. Here's my problem:
I'd like to update my firmware to the latest for a S5, but I don't know what I need. I've got a G900V, originally with OK3 (no updates aside from what is listed here). I rooted it back in April or so when that came out (thanks @jrukuse!), and I unlocked the bootloader yesterday by fooling it into Dev mode (thanks @GeTex!), adding TWRP 3.02. Today I threw CM13 on it, and just finished flashing the PF4 modem (just the modem), but it still shows the baseband as OK3. I've been getting weird crashes of some of the Google stuff (Gapps 6.01 micro), and I was hoping an update of some kind would increase stability somewhat. The problem is I don't know what needs to be updated or where to get it. As you can tell, I'm not even sure to what extent I actually still have things to update, why the baseband still reads as BOK3, or if it can be updated without losing Dev, root, or unlocked bootloader. Any insight on these last questions?
Thanks guys (and help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope),
-A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash this in odin G900V_VRU2DPF4_modem.tar.md5
Found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/general/modem-modems-t3154630
It will update your baseband.

Just updated Jan 14, now I can't root my phone?

What can i do to solve this problem? is there a way to restore a previous version without rooting it? because i obviously can't do that... N900VVRSEPL1 is the version i have.

See page 3 of "Official Verizon Update???" thread
https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-note-3/general/official-verizon-update-t3538935
This (PL1) update appears to be a security patch release, so it's probably not surprising that former rooting methods for OB6 & OF1 no longer are working - that's the point of security updates.

Same experience here. I would bet that however these tools are getting root will probably work on PL1. It seems that in running the tools, the tools simply don't recognize PL1 as a working version and don't try. I don't know that for certain, it's just a guess.

LSkeeno said:
What can i do to solve this problem? is there a way to restore a previous version without rooting it? because i obviously can't do that... N900VVRSEPL1 is the version i have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just get to sammobile and search your device then select 5.0 OF1 and flash whit odin, the it gonna get back again you will get root by using arabicktool. Saludos!!

Custom ROM on T-Mobile branded S5

Hello people,
i bought a Galaxy S5 with the model number G900T3 and want to install AOKP on it. (https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/unified-development/rom-aokp-mm-t3293839)
This is the first time i want to flash my smartphone and i couldnt find any idiot-proof answers to this. :/
Now my concerns:
I'am in Germany. According to SamMobile is the G900T3 a model for the USA. Will this cause any problems? Will i have problems with a Sim-Card of another provider then T-Mobile?
Can i use the rom for the "normal" klte model?
Will the Custom ROM remove the T-Mobile branding?
Thanks for your answers.

Read thru that thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-galaxy-s5/help/difference-sm-g900t3-sm-g900t-rom-t3329337 to get more info on the T and T3 model.
The post #8 https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=66025221&postcount=8 describes the steps to install a recovery and a ROM afterwards.
You should be fine with a klte version because SM-G900T is in the supported devices list here https://wiki.lineageos.org/klte_info.html
For the recovery you can probably also use the current TWRP 3.1.0 . It worked fine for me on a SM-G900F. You can find it on their Homepage. There are many guides around how to flash it with Odin.
At the moment I would recommend you to use lineageos over AOKP because latest nightlies of AOKP get stuck while booting.
If you want to use AOKP anyway use the zip from 2016-03-08. It is the last known working.
About which carrier you can use with a custom ROM I just don't know.
All at your own risk & good luck.

Thanks for your answer.
I think you meant the 2017-03-08-version, right? I would have gone with the latest Marshmallow-version because i thought it would be the most stable.

You're right 2017, not 2016.
I'm not so sure about how actively the MM version is maintained. The first post of the thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/unified-development/rom-aokp-mm-t3293839 states the newest release to be 2016-08-03 but on basketbuild there the most recent MM zip is 2017-03-10.
By the way, the Nugat Release is currently without a active maintainer. That's​ probably also the reason why the newer release don't boot.
Only the fact that there are new nightlies on AOKPs every day is unfortunately no clear indicator that they actually work. That's because AOKP has a automatic build system that runs without human interaction but can't test them on a real device.

Confused Noob+H990DS - Unlock/Root+TWRP Official Custom ROM possible (W/ 2. Screen)?

hi folks!
I am pretty confused now. I am looking to get the V20 H990DS, but i am more confused now after reading here. My questions:
1. Is Bootloader unlock possible?
2. Can i install TWRP?
3. Can i root?
4. There is LOS official i know, but is the problem with 2. screen now fixed / going to be fixed?
Seems so good of a device, but i am insecure about it now after reading here. My old Mi4/Cancro is one of the best supported phones out there, so i dont expect it to be the same with V20, but i need working LOS with Root and working 2. screen (or the outlook on it working in the future) to be confident in buying it.
I hope you forgive me my nood questions,
Greetings

With sadly no replys, let me add what i know now:
1. + 2. + 3. Still no easy way in sight AFAIK. EDIT: To be clear: There IS a way, Dirty Santa, but the instructions are somewhat too complicated to be confident with trying. Have had rooted Phones with custom ROMs since over 5 years and never again a stock device, but i dont dare it. The 300€ i payed are much to much to have spend it on a bricked device. Will try to find more dirty Santa noob friendly explanations and post them here. EDIT2: For those who DO dare it, here the thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/dirtysanta-h990-t3624296
4. Second screen still a problem, nothing new heard for quite a long time.
Anyone with knowledge to add or correct, please help! Stock ROM is not as bad as i thought, but without Root, Android is not fully usable for me.

thank you pro for this thread
very useful for me.

Stele88 said:
With sadly no replys, let me add what i know now:
1. + 2. + 3. Still no easy way in sight AFAIK. EDIT: To be clear: There IS a way, Dirty Santa, but the instructions are somewhat too complicated to be confident with trying. Have had rooted Phones with custom ROMs since over 5 years and never again a stock device, but i dont dare it. The 300€ i payed are much to much to have spend it on a bricked device. Will try to find more dirty Santa noob friendly explanations and post them here. EDIT2: For those who DO dare it, here the thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/dirtysanta-h990-t3624296
4. Second screen still a problem, nothing new heard for quite a long time.
Anyone with knowledge to add or correct, please help! Stock ROM is not as bad as i thought, but without Root, Android is not fully usable for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont get about your complain. you said already using phone with root for 5 years so i guess you've been here on xda for a while. if you really want a phone which support custom rom go with phone which support unlock bootloader like HTC, Oneplus, or even xiaomy. its not that hard finding them on XDA. 300euro for briked devices? well, if you read v20 section carefully you knew most people here bought this devices for the camera, audio, and other things like removable battery, etc. i never found someone who bricked their devices while rooting here, even if they do we already had flasher tools like LG up which already tested fully working by some members. and whats the problem with second screen? its working for whatever it made for. are you expecting to watch movie on those 2.1 inch display? i had lg v20 h990ds rooted with magisk and had no problem so far. bought some apps like grenify and titanium backup for debloated and my phone rocking solid for abouth 2 month. if you cant wait for LOS just bought lenovo zuk2 or oneplus 3t on the same price range.

No problem doing 1+2+3 with DirtySanta exploit/procedure. It's not as complicated or dangerous as it might seem from the instructions. I thought I had soft-bricked my phone twice after rebooting normally with the old kernel instead of straight to TWRP to update the kernel first, but it was easy to re-flash the 10d factory firmware file I had and start over again without any issues both times.
Basic summary of procedure:
1. Flash factory firmware version earlier than 31 December 2016 (only needed if installed firmware version is after 1 January 2017).
2. Do DirtySanta exploit to unlock bootloader and install TWRP and root.
3. Use kdzwriter to update phone's system/modem/cust partitions to latest firmware version without overwriting unlocked bootloader/TWRP, reinstall root (SuperSU or Magisk) from TWRP.
4. Disable automatic OTA updates so that any future firmwares won't automatically install and overwrite bootloader/recovery and remove root and set ARB 1. If that ever happens then TWRP/root will probably be gone forever.

provided you follow the instructions carefully, it's safe to root with DirtySanta.

xoose said:
No problem doing 1+2+3 with DirtySanta exploit/procedure. It's not as complicated or dangerous as it might seem from the instructions. I thought I had soft-bricked my phone twice after rebooting normally with the old kernel instead of straight to TWRP to update the kernel first, but it was easy to re-flash the 10d factory firmware file I had and start over again without any issues both times.
Basic summary of procedure:
1. Flash factory firmware version earlier than 31 December 2016 (only needed if installed firmware version is after 1 January 2017).
2. Do DirtySanta exploit to unlock bootloader and install TWRP and root.
3. Use kdzwriter to update phone's system/modem/cust partitions to latest firmware version without overwriting unlocked bootloader/TWRP, reinstall root (SuperSU or Magisk) from TWRP.
4. Disable automatic OTA updates so that any future firmwares won't automatically install and overwrite bootloader/recovery and remove root and set ARB 1. If that ever happens then TWRP/root will probably be gone forever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the steps on #3, would it be safe to say that we can update the device to oreo and still keep root?

nurse_chuck said:
Using the steps on #3, would it be safe to say that we can update the device to oreo and still keep root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, right now if you update you'll lose root as the engineering aboot isn't compatible with Oreo and you have possibly non working data, invalid sim issues etc
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

cnjax said:
No, right now if you update you'll lose root as the engineering aboot isn't compatible with Oreo and you have possibly non working data, invalid sim issues etc
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too bad. Your earlier post actually got me excited. Hehe. Anyway, hopefully someones starts working on rooting the oreo firmware.

The short answer? @Stele88
Yes. To all of it.
The long answer starts with the Dirty Santa root process. Believe me, I was daunted by it as well, but as long as you follow it (or the noob version of the guide you can find by searching around the same section the original guide is in) and take your time, you'll be okay. It's what I did and I'm now where I am today.
I'll address a couple things since I have the same device as you. If you want to get your device working properly on LineageOS/ResurrectionRemix (LOS with more customisation) then it's a long process.
1. Start by following the bootloader unlock process for Dirty Santa. Depending on what firmware your device gets shipped with, you may need to downgrade to (in the case of the H990DS) the v10c firmware. Once done, then you can Dirty Santa the bootloader and get it unlocked.
2. Once that's done and you're rooted with the initial TWRP from the thread installed, you'll want to look into KDZWriter. It's a program by the same emdroidle who did the Dirty Santa process for us that allows you to update your STOCK system software to newer versions and keep root. You can use it for example with the H990DS firmware KDZ files and go from rooted 10c -> rooted 10f -> rooted 10xx -> etc. until you're on the latest available 7.0 KDZ for the H990DS. This will be the longest part of your process, but it ensures that everything is up to date before going to AOSP/Lineage/Resurrection, specifically the modem partition. I recommend using the TWN region of firmwares if you're just going to convert to a custom ROM anyway, but any region will work fine (the only real difference is that, for example, the Australia region of firmwares comes with more bloat than the TWN region).
2b. You can also use KDZWriter from an updated TWRP you can get in the thread by Phoenix591, his latest TWRP versions have KDZWriter built-in so you don't have to run it off the computer, you can do it all with the kdz files in recovery.
3. Yes, you can root using the Dirty Santa method on v10c kdz firmware. I recommend Magisk for root over SuperSU.
4. There's no official LineageOS that is as up to date as the unofficial ones, and there's no official ones with second screen enabled full stop. That being said, the unoffcial LineageOS 15.1 by x86cpu has been my rock solid daily driver for about 2 months now and I've never had any issues that stop me from using it. The same can be said for ResurrectionRemix 6.2 by Blaises. To use either of these, you will need the updated TWRP from Phoenix591.
4. Second-screen enabled builds of LineageOS and ResurrectionRemix do exist, and in this case ResurrectionRemix is (as of this post) more up-to-date than the LineageOS 15.1 second screen version. If you find yourself needing additional features that aren't in the stock kernels for those ROMs (such as KCAL configuration to help with burn in, among other things), then I maintain the second-screen version of the Gamma Kernel by Omar-Avelar. People are successfully using this with second-screen ROMs and have full functionality. You can purchase the app BoredSigns from the play-store to add additional functions to the second-screen.
As I said at the start, it is a long process, but a very worthwhile one. The jump from stock to custom-ROMs is absolutely incredible. Again, in short, yes. You can get everything you want.
Just do your searching around the forums for the processes I outlined above, ask any questions you have, pre-download your kdz firmwares from HERE and any software you need, and just take your time. It's maybe a couple hours to get setup with a rooted stock system that's up-to-date, and maybe another hour or so to go from stock to Lineage/Resurrection.
P.S: If all goes well with the Dirty Santa process, but you get screen distortion after rebooting when flashing the TWRP from Dirty Santa, just pull the battery instead of rebooting.
Good luck, good searching, and remember to not be afraid to ask questions in the relevant threads.
---------- Post added at 04:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 AM ----------
nurse_chuck said:
Too bad. Your earlier post actually got me excited. Hehe. Anyway, hopefully someones starts working on rooting the oreo firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's highly doubtful this will happen, but one can hope. Right now the best way to get Oreo is through a custom ROM, purely because of how security is implemented by LG in the stock Oreo ROMs.

iDefalt said:
It's highly doubtful this will happen, but one can hope. Right now the best way to get Oreo is through a custom ROM, purely because of how security is implemented by LG in the stock Oreo ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it is possible runningnak3d has already said awhile ago he has a process to root stock oreo he's just not releasing it yet so LG can't patch it before the Oreo roll out is complete
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs