SG-900V Hard-Bricked... - Verizon Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey all, not sure if this is where this thread belongs (new to the forums).
But I flashed a SafeStrap fix since I wouldn't get the splash screen during startup, which got me soft-bricked and left me stuck at the Galaxy S5 screen. I then attempted to stupidly flash a stock rom to the phone when I realized as soon as it started that it wasn't BOK3 but something different, might have been a newer build. I, again stupidly, disconnected my phone, rendering it completely useless.
I've pretty much tried a lot of methods including writing unbrick images from a previous xda forum to the sd card and attempting to boot the phone into download mode that way, but to no avail. The posters guaranteed it worked with the BOK3 build. My build date is somewhere around November and the posts I attempted were in December, January so I can only assume they were running the same builds.
I'm at a loss, I just replaced the LCD on the phone and I would really love to get it working again because until I do I'm stuck with an iPhone 4S... any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much in advance.

pjesus.c said:
Hey all, not sure if this is where this thread belongs (new to the forums).
But I flashed a SafeStrap fix since I wouldn't get the splash screen during startup, which got me soft-bricked and left me stuck at the Galaxy S5 screen. I then attempted to stupidly flash a stock rom to the phone when I realized as soon as it started that it wasn't BOK3 but something different, might have been a newer build. I, again stupidly, disconnected my phone, rendering it completely useless.
I've pretty much tried a lot of methods including writing unbrick images from a previous xda forum to the sd card and attempting to boot the phone into download mode that way, but to no avail. The posters guaranteed it worked with the BOK3 build. My build date is somewhere around November and the posts I attempted were in December, January so I can only assume they were running the same builds.
I'm at a loss, I just replaced the LCD on the phone and I would really love to get it working again because until I do I'm stuck with an iPhone 4S... any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: I removed the SD card and held the power and volume down buttons for 15 seconds and I'm back at the soft brick. I've got much more to work with now so any suggestions as to get rid of the soft brick would be nice! I'm currently downloading the BOK3 stock rom to flash via Odin but it's going to take 10 hours (no exaggeration).

pjesus.c said:
EDIT: I removed the SD card and held the power and volume down buttons for 15 seconds and I'm back at the soft brick. I've got much more to work with now so any suggestions as to get rid of the soft brick would be nice! I'm currently downloading the BOK3 stock rom to flash via Odin but it's going to take 10 hours (no exaggeration).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not much of any help at the moment as tof my device is still on the OC4 firmware/bootloader but if you go over to this thread it may be of use for you to get your phone back up and running.. Hope you find your answer there....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/general/root-method-og5-ok3-t3290370

al50 said:
I'm not much of any help at the moment as tof my device is still on the OC4 firmware/bootloader but if you go over to this thread it may be of use for you to get your phone back up and running.. Hope you find your answer there....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/general/root-method-og5-ok3-t3290370
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually the exact forum that I got the files from. I flashed the fix in Safestrap and my phone soft bricked, then attempted to flash the BPB1 .tar and my phone ended up hard-bricking. I'm just gonna flash the stock BOK3 in Odin and call it a day.
Somewhat related, after rerooting if necessary, I was looking into Cyanogenmod. Which would be better, 11, 12, or 13? I know 12 and 13 are nightlies but they seem to work on other SG-900v devices. Also, is AllianceRom any good?

pjesus.c said:
That's actually the exact forum that I got the files from. I flashed the fix in Safestrap and my phone soft bricked, then attempted to flash the BPB1 .tar and my phone ended up hard-bricking. I'm just gonna flash the stock BOK3 in Odin and call it a day.
Somewhat related, after rerooting if necessary, I was looking into Cyanogenmod. Which would be better, 11, 12, or 13? I know 12 and 13 are nightlies but they seem to work on other SG-900v devices. Also, is AllianceRom any good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please READ the first section of the OP!!!! Don't take it the wrong way but it's stated clearly in the OP and in the following posts that we're unable to install CM ROM's!!! Only TW ROM's that posted in the Android Development section of this forum. It's best to go back to JrKrsue's Root OE1 and up thread and read up on the issues with installs and do a search of "SafeStrap fix". Also, go to the Android Development section and look in the Lollipop for SafeStrap thread for your issue(s). You should find your answer in both threads.
Question, you were originally on an OE1 or higher bootloader right? If so, have you tried to start from scratch to re-root your device? Because if you can get into download mode you're not 'Bricked'.

al50 said:
Please READ the first section of the OP!!!! Don't take it the wrong way but it's stated clearly in the OP and in the following posts that we're unable to install CM ROM's!!! Only TW ROM's that posted in the Android Development section of this forum. It's best to go back to JrKrsue's Root OE1 and up thread and read up on the issues with installs and do a search of "SafeStrap fix". Also, go to the Android Development section and look in the Lollipop for SafeStrap thread for your issue(s). You should find your answer in both threads.
Question, you were originally on an OE1 or higher bootloader right? If so, have you tried to start from scratch to re-root your device? Because if you can get into download mode you're not 'Bricked'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read, punctuation errors kind of threw me off. I'm going to go with the stock debloated rom that jrkruse uploaded. I've tried giving AllianceRom a go but SafeStrap froze. I tried to restore from a backup but it just gave me an error and my phone started from setup, though still rooted. Reinstalled SuperSu and BusyBox. Then attempted to make a backup and flash from FlashFire through the LP Control Panel and got a RunTime exception error.
Is this because I haven't flashed the OK3 stock kernel that he provided in his thread? Apologies if I come off as a bit thick, I'm still trying to learn about the process and still am trying to get the hang of it. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

Related

[Q] Need help recovering i337 S4

Hi All,
I just got an SPH-i337 yesterday and attempted to Root + Install Mod.
I ended up rooting and installing Safestrap (TWRP 2.6.x.x). Upon first use I backed up my current OS to a removable SD card using the utility in TWRP. I then, because I was not clear on how to download install CM which was what I was going to, installed ROM Manager and selected CM without setting up a ROM slot. I think this is where I went wrong.
Upon reboot, I was unable to access the Stock ROM and had no options to go to CM. When I attempted to perform a restore from my backup on SD it failed as well and keeps going to the Android recovery screen (not TWRP).
I'm now just trying to go back to stock and have tried using both Heimdall and Odin to no avail. Odin at least provides an error message:
SW REV. CHECK FAIL: Fused:4, Binary:1. What does this mean? That I'm attempting to use an image (.tar.md5 file) which is not current? Is there a way that I can still recover my phone?
..also, please let me know if there are pieces of information that I'm missing. I don't have much to go off of since the firmware and other information (I believe) is not able to be accessed.
Again I just got the phone yesterday. I also have about 40 tabs open that are full of searches that I've been doing regarding this. As yet, no luck.
revolut10n said:
..also, please let me know if there are pieces of information that I'm missing. I don't have much to go off of since the firmware and other information (I believe) is not able to be accessed.
Again I just got the phone yesterday. I also have about 40 tabs open that are full of searches that I've been doing regarding this. As yet, no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look for the mk2 tar files. And do a lot of reading. You went wrong in a number of different areas
revolut10n said:
Hi All,
I just got an SPH-i337 yesterday and attempted to Root + Install Mod.
I ended up rooting and installing Safestrap (TWRP 2.6.x.x). Upon first use I backed up my current OS to a removable SD card using the utility in TWRP. I then, because I was not clear on how to download install CM which was what I was going to, installed ROM Manager and selected CM without setting up a ROM slot. I think this is where I went wrong.
Upon reboot, I was unable to access the Stock ROM and had no options to go to CM. When I attempted to perform a restore from my backup on SD it failed as well and keeps going to the Android recovery screen (not TWRP).
I'm now just trying to go back to stock and have tried using both Heimdall and Odin to no avail. Odin at least provides an error message:
SW REV. CHECK FAIL: Fused:4, Binary:1. What does this mean? That I'm attempting to use an image (.tar.md5 file) which is not current? Is there a way that I can still recover my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
revolut10n said:
..also, please let me know if there are pieces of information that I'm missing. I don't have much to go off of since the firmware and other information (I believe) is not able to be accessed.
Again I just got the phone yesterday. I also have about 40 tabs open that are full of searches that I've been doing regarding this. As yet, no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap only works with other TW ROMS, so your first issue was trying to use CM. Second, it's not official TWRP and is not even installed to the recovery partition so using ROM Manager was your second issue. Trying to boot into recovery normally will take you to stock recovery since it isn't installed in the recovery partition, there should be a splash screen that comes up after the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen asking to either press for recovery or continue. If that works, you can use the backup from there. If it's gone, you have to use ODIN. The reason you get that SW REV. CHECK FAIL is because you're trying to flash an older firmware than you have. Depending on if you were on 4.2.2 or 4.3 you will either need the MF3 or MK2 .tar.md5 respectively.
jd1639 said:
Look for the mk2 tar files. And do a lot of reading. You went wrong in a number of different areas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing me to those files. I'm sure I did go wrong in a few places as I felt that I was largely just winging it.. There's a TON of information out there. Is there anything specific that I was more wrong than the rest?
revolut10n said:
Thanks for pointing me to those files. I'm sure I did go wrong in a few places as I felt that I was largely just winging it.. There's a TON of information out there. Is there anything specific that I was more wrong than the rest?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Deadly sin said it all. Cm and rom manager. Here are the files you need http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=49687770
Thanks everyone. Hell of an introduction to Android, I have to say considering I just got off the WinPhone bandwagon yesterday (been using it for ~7 years).
revolut10n said:
Thanks everyone. Hell of an introduction to Android, I have to say considering I just got off the WinPhone bandwagon yesterday (been using it for ~7 years).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The s4 is a very difficult phone to use custom roms on. Once you're back up and running start here and read a lot before doing anything with it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42320391
jd1639 said:
The s4 is a very difficult phone to use custom roms on. Once you're back up and running start here and read a lot before doing anything with it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42320391
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you tell me - after I've been trying to do this for 12+ hours. Many thanks though - it looks like the MK2 AiO files are working.
jd1639 said:
The s4 is a very difficult phone to use custom roms on. Once you're back up and running start here and read a lot before doing anything with it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42320391
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, it seems that I can't use the method listed directly on that page on account of running the MK2 baseband. If I'm going to go forward it looks like I'll have to use SafeStrap and unofficial TWRM + TW mods for the time being.
Of course, if something about what I'm saying is wrong, I'd be glad to hear it.
revolut10n said:
Unfortunately, it seems that I can't use the method listed directly on that page on account of running the MK2 baseband. If I'm going to go forward it looks like I'll have to use SafeStrap and unofficial TWRM + TW mods for the time being.
Of course, if something about what I'm saying is wrong, I'd be glad to hear it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check my last Post #50 it should get u an idea and where to find related link. Also check that MK2 INDEX & ROM LIST ....:good:

[Q] Very confused about what options are available to someone with nc4,

Hello all, I posted a similar topic a few days back, and cannot seem to find it. I fear it was deleted, but could be wrong. I only looked back a few pages in the history.
My problems have multiplied since that posting. I have nc4, when I bought my phone it was on there. Used towelroot and was able to root, download safestrap 3.75 and was able to add/delete slots, attempted to use hyperdrive, experienced a lot of weird things like my SMS would randomly not send, battery life was not spectacular,and just other misc things. IT seemed like I might have used a rom that could not be used properly for nc4. I then tried bajarom, which completely does not work for my phone, probably because it's nc2 and I didn't realize that?? Tried jellybeanz or whatever the exact name was, my phone won't even boot, says it successfully installed but sticks on the black screen.
Somehow over the past few days I managed to wipe my stock so I do not have the stock, thus I cannot go back.
I am sure I can find or maybe be directed to the stock firmware and reflash it.
I am not sure if it's possible but I'd really love to be able to get nc2, or if someone more knowledgable than myself could point out a solution for me, I would like to have a custom rom if theres one that would work properly on my phone.
Another confusion I have, with the nc4, am I able to use odin to flash a different radio, should I even bother? I would sincerely appreciate someone who would help clear some of this up for me, I'm pretty novice as you can see. Thanks in advance.
update
I guess my question is unclear. I really can use some help if anyone would be so obliged.
I am trying to use ADB to push the file over, it says access denied, I was previously rooted and verified as much. My issue is I need a way to send the roms over to my SD or my regular phone internal mem so I can at least load a rom. Currently my phone is bricked and I am just getting very upset, I really could use someone to give me a bit of guidance.
I opened the cmd with admin and it's still saying access denied. IS there a way to force the phone to open as a media device via cmd? That way I can edit sd card info and push on there what needs to go?
I am currently trying to find a way to get hyperdrive, or another rom over.
I have beanstowns rom on there, it appears as .zip yet when I try to install from safestrap I end up exploring the directory, as opposed to just being an option I can choose.
Baja is the same way, both are still on my sd, yet for whatever reason I cannot select them to install them.
Hope is not lost.
I think your initial problem was that you tried using rom slots. It specifies in the Safestrap OP that rom slots are only supported on NC2 bootloader. Since you are on the NC4 bootloader you cannot go backwards, however you can flash the NC2 kernel if you want to run a custom rom, you simply need to use the stock slot alone.
Since I know very little about ADB & Terminal CMD, I will try to give you directions to get up and running the way I know how.
First you'll need to reflash the stock NC4 tar via odin and reroot. Files can be found here.
Since you've flashed a couple different roms that have probably messed with the system settings I would do a factory reset before rerooting.
After you are up, running and rooted, follow the instructions here to get on the NC2 kernel.
Once you've completed these steps you will be on the NC4 bootloader with the NC2 kernel and be able to flash a custom rom in the stock rom slot. Only a NC2+ rom will function so make sure it is based on NC2/NC4 (i.e. jelly 'beans' will not run on NC2+ firmware as it is based on MJE).
kinstre11 said:
Hope is not lost.
I think your initial problem was that you tried using rom slots. It specifies in the Safestrap OP that rom slots are only supported on NC2 bootloader. Since you are on the NC4 bootloader you cannot go backwards, however you can flash the NC2 kernel if you want to run a custom rom, you simply need to use the stock slot alone.
Since I know very little about ADB & Terminal CMD, I will try to give you directions to get up and running the way I know how.
First you'll need to reflash the stock NC4 tar via odin and reroot. Files can be found here.
Since you've flashed a couple different roms that have probably messed with the system settings I would do a factory reset before rerooting.
After you are up, running and rooted, follow the instructions here to get on the NC2 kernel.
Once you've completed these steps you will be on the NC4 bootloader with the NC2 kernel and be able to flash a custom rom in the stock rom slot. Only a NC2+ rom will function so make sure it is based on NC2/NC4 (i.e. jelly 'beans' will not run on NC2+ firmware as it is based on MJE).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
firstly, thank you so much for the reply.
I did flash nc2 kernal, but was confused when I still saw nc4 in the about section. I flashed with odin NC2_modem_kk.tar and nc2kernel.tar.
The issue I was having is with hyperdrive, and baja I had some serious issues, so I assumed it was because I was using them incorrectly, ie didn't install one of the above files correctly, or did something else wrong in the process. Just for example, with hyperdrive, my sms would just stop sending/receiving/ double sending. My sim card was not being recognized. And a whole lot of other issues.. So I kept messing around and now im at a point where nothing boots up, I cannot reflash, and I'm just stuck.
I will follow your link and attempt to do as you said, will wipe, and then will try again.
deindichter said:
firstly, thank you so much for the reply.
I did flash nc2 kernal, but was confused when I still saw nc4 in the about section. I flashed with odin NC2_modem_kk.tar and nc2kernel.tar.
The issue I was having is with hyperdrive, and baja I had some serious issues, so I assumed it was because I was using them incorrectly, ie didn't install one of the above files correctly, or did something else wrong in the process. Just for example, with hyperdrive, my sms would just stop sending/receiving/ double sending. My sim card was not being recognized. And a whole lot of other issues.. So I kept messing around and now im at a point where nothing boots up, I cannot reflash, and I'm just stuck.
I will follow your link and attempt to do as you said, will wipe, and then will try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, I applied to nc4 and did a factory reset, made sure all my slots were deleted (had 2). Then factory reset and rebooted, saw safestrap, pressed continue, and i'm looking at a blank screen now as though there is nothing to boot to. I was under the impression factory reset would undo all and it has not.
Did I do something wrong, or am I missing something?
deindichter said:
Alright, I applied to nc4 and did a factory reset, made sure all my slots were deleted (had 2). Then factory reset and rebooted, saw safestrap, pressed continue, and i'm looking at a blank screen now as though there is nothing to boot to. I was under the impression factory reset would undo all and it has not.
Did I do something wrong, or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you already boot into download mode and flash the correct files through Odin? If so that should set your phone back to stock. Then you would have to re root.
fsolares said:
Did you already boot into download mode and flash the correct files through Odin? If so that should set your phone back to stock. Then you would have to re root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and it did not boot me back into stock. I then found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1922461which led me to download the files directly from samsung.
After downloading the official partition table/ modem/ kernal from the verizon website I finally have this back to stock. LOL. wow. Thank you very much for helping, and working with me on this.
deindichter said:
After downloading the official partition table/ modem/ kernal from the verizon website I finally have this back to stock. LOL. wow. Thank you very much for helping, and working with me on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can u post the link from where u got the official partition table/modem/kernel on verizon website...
deindichter said:
After downloading the official partition table/ modem/ kernal from the verizon website I finally have this back to stock. LOL. wow. Thank you very much for helping, and working with me on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you good to go now?
moin786 said:
can u post the link from where u got the official partition table/modem/kernel on verizon website...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you post where you found all this since im trying to get my phone back to stock.
Paulrybicki83 said:
could you post where you found all this since im trying to get my phone back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously, just Google for the Samsung official firmware. It's on their site. Not Verizon.

NEED HELP QUICK, fast, and in a hurry please

Alright, so i soft bricked my phone is what the internet is telling me. the phone turns on but stops at the opening samsung screen with the unlock symbol on it. i can get into odin mode, and recovery, but i have a locked recovery. I went to flash a rom to my stock slot which is what the forum said to do so i did it. looking back it was pretty stupid, and now when i tried to recover my back up it came back with an error and then said there was no os system in my stock slot. i tried doing a recovery in rom slot 1 which it recovered but when i restarted my phone everytime it went into a boot loop. so now i have a very expensive paperweight. so my questions are one is there anyway that i could salvage my phone. two is there a way i could get it back to where i was with any of my recoveries that i have. i herd the odin method works but will it work for my phone? i tried the odin before but never could get it to work. also kies is out of the question because neither programs will recognize my phone.
oh yeah my phone. so the last thing i had running on it was the 4.4.2 update I337 NC1 would i have to flash the NC1 os or could i flash an earlier one because all i could find were the 4.2.2's and the NB1 flash.
tshaulis said:
Alright, so i soft bricked my phone is what the internet is telling me. the phone turns on but stops at the opening samsung screen with the unlock symbol on it. i can get into odin mode, and recovery, but i have a locked recovery. I went to flash a rom to my stock slot which is what the forum said to do so i did it. looking back it was pretty stupid, and now when i tried to recover my back up it came back with an error and then said there was no os system in my stock slot. i tried doing a recovery in rom slot 1 which it recovered but when i restarted my phone everytime it went into a boot loop. so now i have a very expensive paperweight. so my questions are one is there anyway that i could salvage my phone. two is there a way i could get it back to where i was with any of my recoveries that i have. i herd the odin method works but will it work for my phone? i tried the odin before but never could get it to work. also kies is out of the question because neither programs will recognize my phone.
oh yeah my phone. so the last thing i had running on it was the 4.4.2 update I337 NC1 would i have to flash the NC1 os or could i flash an earlier one because all i could find were the 4.2.2's and the NB1 flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. As long as you can get into Odin mode, you're ok.
2. if you are on NB1 or NC1 base running safestrap 3.72, stock slot is the ONLY slot you can use. ROM slots do not work.
3. it's not really clear what you did to cause the boot loop, but lets get you back to stock...
Check out post 5 in my thread. If you follow these steps, you should be back to stock (and rooted with recovery, if you want) in no time.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
BTW - Post 2 has a list of ROMs that are safe to flash for safetrap users. Read the install notes first then follow the install instructions to install one of the ROMS.
guut13 said:
1. As long as you can get into Odin mode, you're ok.
2. if you are on NB1 or NC1 base running safestrap 3.72, stock slot is the ONLY slot you can use. ROM slots do not work.
3. it's not really clear what you did to cause the boot loop, but lets get you back to stock...
Check out post 5 in my thread. If you follow these steps, you should be back to stock (and rooted with recovery, if you want) in no time.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
BTW - Post 2 has a list of ROMs that are safe to flash for safetrap users. Read the install notes first then follow the install instructions to install one of the ROMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sir i will tell you that your a genius. its pretty cool to see the creator of the link you posted (which is you) being used on other sites. goes to show you really know what you are doing. for me well i thought i did, and wish i did. it might be awhile before i change roms again or at least until i get more knowledge.
ok so from my understanding safestrap is having difficulties being you and only flash in the stock slot. ok well what i did was flashed the hyperdrive rom (from your link) to the stock slot because in the hyperdrive forum it said only can flash on stock. so i did a full wipe on stock then flashed the hyperdrive and gapps. well my guess is when i did the full wipe it wiped the os. also i didn't grab the supporting modules for the rom so i didnt have wifi or service which made me try to restore from my nandroid and couldnt because it said error loading /system. then tried other things i thought would work and softbricked it so to that.
i think for newbies like myself its a lot of reading and well we could miss some things and screw things up. and plus samsung had to make different freakin models like the i337 or i9505 or the i9000 or something and everything has to be the exact same and perfect. but oh well. i am happy to tell you that my phone is fully restored and working from the day before all this happened. thanks again and sorry for the long message.

[Q] AT&T SG4 SGH-I337 Slow

Hello. Sorry for the noobie question. I tried to search the forums, and I did find the noob beginner guide, but I still wasn't sure, so I prefer to ask before I screw up my phone lol.
I have the AT&T SG4 SGH-I337 Phone. It was fine before it was upgraded to 4.4.2 (I didn't want to upgrade, but it did it on its own one day). Once it went to 4.4.2, everything is just DOG SLOW. I mean everything. In Car Audio takes forever to connect, phone calls takes like 5 secs to answer, even after I press the answer button. To unlock the phone I have to press the code 2-3 times, as I can see the keys I press is lagging behind.
What I wanted to ask is this: How can I bring this phone back to the previous OS? Or How can I modify this phone to a stock OS, where all this bloatware crap is not installed?
All I care for is my Bluetooth, in car audio and calls and have a phone that's fast enough as it was originally.
can someone point me to the right thread where it gives me step by step instructions? Ive never modified a Samsung Phone before.
I found this thread, but wasn't sure if its the right one for my phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Thank you VERY MUCH. Thanks....
Don't use those links, some are redirecting me to questionable sites. Not sure if it does to you also.
I don't have time atm but someone will get you the correct info. :good:
It may have been a bad download that updated you--
Also, those files are too old for you if you look at thread date--
---------- Post added at 07:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:25 PM ----------
This would be a starting point
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
Assume you are now on NC1
Believe you will need to Odin back to NB1 then update to NC1
If you want to root other steps involved--This thread covers it pretty well
Some one else more familiar can be exact, as I am on old bootloader and no handson exp--
Read the OP on the link very well and generally not a good idea to use links outside xda unless you are 120% sure of what you are doing--good luck--
Cornelp said:
Hello. Sorry for the noobie question. I tried to search the forums, and I did find the noob beginner guide, but I still wasn't sure, so I prefer to ask before I screw up my phone lol.
I have the AT&T SG4 SGH-I337 Phone. It was fine before it was upgraded to 4.4.2 (I didn't want to upgrade, but it did it on its own one day). Once it went to 4.4.2, everything is just DOG SLOW. I mean everything. In Car Audio takes forever to connect, phone calls takes like 5 secs to answer, even after I press the answer button. To unlock the phone I have to press the code 2-3 times, as I can see the keys I press is lagging behind.
What I wanted to ask is this: How can I bring this phone back to the previous OS? Or How can I modify this phone to a stock OS, where all this bloatware crap is not installed?
All I care for is my Bluetooth, in car audio and calls and have a phone that's fast enough as it was originally.
can someone point me to the right thread where it gives me step by step instructions? Ive never modified a Samsung Phone before.
I found this thread, but wasn't sure if its the right one for my phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Thank you VERY MUCH. Thanks....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest getting the Google Play Edition rom as stock android is much better optimized. Tutorials are available on the all things NC1 post. This will require root and installing a custom rom. Your warranty (if still applicable) will be void if you choose to do this. Regardless, the software on the device is not well optimized and the touchwiz UI is unnecessary imo. The GPE rom also does not have the samsung or at&t bloatware.
cxzzcx said:
I would suggest getting the Google Play Edition rom as stock android is much better optimized. Tutorials are available on the all things NC1 post. This will require root and installing a custom rom. Your warranty (if still applicable) will be void if you choose to do this. Regardless, the software on the device is not well optimized and the touchwiz UI is unnecessary imo. The GPE rom also does not have the samsung or at&t bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The google play ROM I would not mind, but I cant seem to find a way to root my SG4 NC1 firmware.
Do you happen to have a link or directions, please?
Thanks...
Cornelp said:
The google play ROM I would not mind, but I cant seem to find a way to root my SG4 NC1 firmware.
Do you happen to have a link or directions, please?
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can root using geohot's towelroot.
Cornelp said:
The google play ROM I would not mind, but I cant seem to find a way to root my SG4 NC1 firmware.
Do you happen to have a link or directions, please?
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the "All things ATT" link rugmankc gave you. In the first posts in that thread you will get links to the root method, safestrap, and a list of compatible ROMs. A few thoughtsL
1. Before making any changes to you phone, charge it to 100 %, unplug the charger, and let it sit idle for some number of hours. Then check to see what services are using most of the power. For a while my own 4.4.2 GS4 was slow, and it turned out to be google play framework services bogging things down, and this showed up as an excessive battery drain during idle. If you phone uses more than say 0.5% battery per hour when completely idle / screen off (but with cell and wifi on), something's up. Fix it and maybe your problems will resolve.
2. Next step: back up any data / photos etc. and do a factory data reset from the settings menu. After it has been reset, perhaps whatever problem is going on will be cleared up.
3. You don't need to root the phone to ODIN a stock firmware (NB1 then flash update to NC1). Links are on the ALL Things ATT thread. This should take it all the way back to proper NC1, bypassing any mess that might have happened if you got a corrupt flash during your OTA update.
If the phone still performs so poorly as you describe after a flash back to stock, there's a problem that's more than the OS/ROM. Sure, the stock build is a bit laggy and bloated, but it's not so bad as what you are seeing.
If you find a restored stock ROM to be better but still laggier than you like, I have had good results with the GoldenEye ROM, flashed according to the instructions in the ATT thread. To flash, you must first root and install safestrap (selinux mode changer set to permissive may be required). You then boot to the safestrap recovery, wipe everything but the SD card, then flash the rom, SuperSU, ATT Module, and ATT BuildProp/APN. That should get you up and running on a new ROM.
I'm a died in the wool geek but I read through this forum and others for two weeks before attempting... but I'm very happy with the phone as it works on GoldenEye. I'm on V36, but V38 is current.
Good luck
Frankenscript said:
Use the "All things ATT" link rugmankc gave you. In the first posts in that thread you will get links to the root method, safestrap, and a list of compatible ROMs. A few thoughtsL
1. Before making any changes to you phone, charge it to 100 %, unplug the charger, and let it sit idle for some number of hours. Then check to see what services are using most of the power. For a while my own 4.4.2 GS4 was slow, and it turned out to be google play framework services bogging things down, and this showed up as an excessive battery drain during idle. If you phone uses more than say 0.5% battery per hour when completely idle / screen off (but with cell and wifi on), something's up. Fix it and maybe your problems will resolve.
2. Next step: back up any data / photos etc. and do a factory data reset from the settings menu. After it has been reset, perhaps whatever problem is going on will be cleared up.
3. You don't need to root the phone to ODIN a stock firmware (NB1 then flash update to NC1). Links are on the ALL Things ATT thread. This should take it all the way back to proper NC1, bypassing any mess that might have happened if you got a corrupt flash during your OTA update.
If the phone still performs so poorly as you describe after a flash back to stock, there's a problem that's more than the OS/ROM. Sure, the stock build is a bit laggy and bloated, but it's not so bad as what you are seeing.
If you find a restored stock ROM to be better but still laggier than you like, I have had good results with the GoldenEye ROM, flashed according to the instructions in the ATT thread. To flash, you must first root and install safestrap (selinux mode changer set to permissive may be required). You then boot to the safestrap recovery, wipe everything but the SD card, then flash the rom, SuperSU, ATT Module, and ATT BuildProp/APN. That should get you up and running on a new ROM.
I'm a died in the wool geek but I read through this forum and others for two weeks before attempting... but I'm very happy with the phone as it works on GoldenEye. I'm on V36, but V38 is current.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your help. Yeah everytime I redo my phone, from scratch, it works OK for about an hour. Then bam, it goes back to being a low pain in the rear. This is ONLY after the phone upgraded to 4.4.2. I didn't choose that upgrade, actually I didn't want to upgrade, but OTA upgrade took over and BAM, I got screwed.
OK I just installed the Safestrap and rooted the phone. Now I gotta figure out the rom part.
Im still going thru that link that rugmankc gave me above. Now im trying to figure out how to change the OS, since I just rooted the phone. I have to do this. Ive gotten really really tired of the phone being so slow, I basically give up on many tasks that I need to do, just cause its too slow.
Ill update once I get it figured out, hopefully I wont brick it, that's the only thing that im afraid of.
Don't remember, did you consider Odin back to stock and start over. If not, whatever was causing the slow downs may still be there. Could have been a bad update.
Read the SafeStrap thread by HashCode carefully. I read the OP 100% and last 30 pages or so of thread and don't even use it. It is complicated to me. IE which slot to flash to stock or rom. I think stock, Flash Modules. Install Selinux and set to permissive. And using correct SafeStrap. Gives me a headache and I am not even needing to use it--
Good Luck--as mentioned just backup whenever you can before moving to next major step. :good::good:
rugmankc said:
Don't remember, did you consider Odin back to stock and start over. If not, whatever was causing the slow downs may still be there. Could have been a bad update.
Read the SafeStrap thread by HashCode carefully. I read the OP 100% and last 30 pages or so of thread and don't even use it. It is complicated to me. IE which slot to flash to stock or rom. I think stock, Flash Modules. Install Selinux and set to permissive. And using correct SafeStrap. Gives me a headache and I am not even needing to use it--
Good Luck--as mentioned just backup whenever you can before moving to next major step. :good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Actually I backed up my phone already, as I reformatted it last night again. I don't know how to Odin back to stock. What is that? Is that a stock Android? Sorry I don't know.
Thanks...
It's in the same All Things ATT, MK2 thread under Returning to Stock Odin. An option if you still have issues. Takes you back to stock NB1, firmware and all. Kinda like your update, but think you may have got a bad update. Other options are to wipe internal in case bad stuff still there. Frankenscript was pretty thorough--:good:
SafeStrap is how you are going to flash a new OS/Rom. You can't flash custom kernels and aosp roms unless TW based like a couple GPE mentioned.
Read/Scan the two mentioned threads, as in OP and first and last couple dozen pages. Probably the last are more important. You will see folks asking the same questions you will eventually ask. I have read thousands of pages over the years and it has kept me out of trouble--most of the time--
rugmankc said:
It's in the same All Things ATT, MK2 thread under Returning to Stock Odin. An option if you still have issues. Takes you back to stock NB1, firmware and all. Kinda like your update, but think you may have got a bad update. Other options are to wipe internal in case bad stuff still there. Frankenscript was pretty thorough--:good:
SafeStrap is how you are going to flash a new OS/Rom. You can't flash custom kernels and aosp roms unless TW based like a couple GPE mentioned.
Read/Scan the two mentioned threads, as in OP and first and last couple dozen pages. Probably the last are more important. You will see folks asking the same questions you will eventually ask. I have read thousands of pages over the years and it has kept me out of trouble--most of the time--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, that link really got me confused as heck lol. Ive been reading that link the entire weekend and still im a bit confused.
I rooted the phone with towelroot. Ive installed SafeStrap, but it worked the first time I ran it. Now if I want to run it again it crashes my phone. Not sure what that is about.
Either way, now my understanding is that I should be able to download a rom for my phone and flash it. From that link that I was given, its very confusing.
Could someone PLEASE PLEASE help me here with this?
My phone is an AT&T US SG4. Here are the details:
SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
Android 4.4.2
BaseBand I337UCUFNC1
Kernel Ver 3.4.0-1125940
Build # KOT49H.I337UCUFNC1
Which ROM can I use for my phone? As long as its stock, I don't care which version, Google Play ROM or CY or Golden, whichever, as long as I get rid of this crappy Samsung and AT&T stuff off my phone.
Could someone please help me out here? I know that link says everything, but jeez, im trying to make sense of it, and so far, I got the phone rooted, but just cant figure out the ROM part.
Thanks...
I can't help with specifics as I don't need SS.
Make sure you have correct SS--3.72, afaik
Flash, I believe, to stock slot not rom slot but confirm that
Install Selinux app from Play and set Permissive--afaik
The above items are things people get into trouble with, so reconfirm them
Just keep reviewing the thread and the SafeStrap thread in Dev section by HashCode. Maybe go back more pages from end of threads as you have time. You can post in All things thread now for help and at 10 posts in Dev section. It will come together in time--:good:
Flash roms only for you build, think there is a list within that thread or another one in General or Q&A.
iB's Goldeneye 38 is good and you can use the Aroma to select SafeStrap and the Slimmed down version.
Read his SS flashing instructions first.
Make sure you use SafeStrap recovery to wipe ALL--System/Data/Caches before flashing--:good:
Cornelp: Having recently been through all this, I wrote up a short summary with some links for another user, and it might help you to look through it. It's an overview written from my end-user perspective, not a replacement for the detailed posts the devs have done.
However, based on your description, I would say the best thing to do is ODIN back to stock because I have a sneaking suspicious you got a bad OTA flash. It happens. Going back to stock will be the best way to eliminate that as a source of problems. Learn how in the All things ATT thread OP.
Best of luck to you!
Marc
Frankenscript said:
Cornelp: Having recently been through all this, I wrote up a short summary with some links for another user, and it might help you to look through it. It's an overview written from my end-user perspective, not a replacement for the detailed posts the devs have done.
However, based on your description, I would say the best thing to do is ODIN back to stock because I have a sneaking suspicious you got a bad OTA flash. It happens. Going back to stock will be the best way to eliminate that as a source of problems. Learn how in the All things ATT thread OP.
Best of luck to you!
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Frankenscript,
Thank you very much, I will read up on that link you gave me. How would I ODIN back to stock? Do you have specific details on that? I did read something about that on the All things ATT, but wasn't clear.
Thanks...
Cornelp said:
Frankenscript,
Thank you very much, I will read up on that link you gave me. How would I ODIN back to stock? Do you have specific details on that? I did read something about that on the All things ATT, but wasn't clear.
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Complete instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51130818&postcount=5
Basically, download ODIN to your PC, run it, get phone into download mode, connect phone to PC via USB, in ODIN select the NB1 file, tell it to start. When done, reboot phone. Then flash the NC1 update from an SD card using stock recovery.
A good pictorial description of how to flash can be found in this S3 thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/guide-odin-flash-guide-t1671969
Though for a different phone (the S3, not our S4), the process is still the same.
Good luck. I'm headed off to a work trip and won't be on the forum much this week!
Frankenscript said:
Complete instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51130818&postcount=5
Basically, download ODIN to your PC, run it, get phone into download mode, connect phone to PC via USB, in ODIN select the NB1 file, tell it to start. When done, reboot phone. Then flash the NC1 update from an SD card using stock recovery.
A good pictorial description of how to flash can be found in this S3 thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/help/guide-odin-flash-guide-t1671969
Though for a different phone (the S3, not our S4), the process is still the same.
Good luck. I'm headed off to a work trip and won't be on the forum much this week!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you all. I was able to revert back to the NB1 stock, but it failed the first time. I had to download and install the NB1 Rootable Odin. For some reason, the NB1 Odin didn't work, but the Rootable one worked.
So im glad I was able to go back. Now I just gotta test it and see if it does slow down as it did before. I will post update, in case anyone else has the same problem, maybe this would be a good solution.
Thanks again to all of you guys, really appreciate it. I really hope it worked.

[Q] ANNOYING S4!! Help needed

Ok guys, here's the deal. i bought a secondhand s4 which was advertised as a google edition. it has a couple of annoying issues, first i noticed it switching itself off and on. the worst problem with it is that when my battery goes reeeally dead it just bootloops when i have recharged. the only way i can get it back on is to start it in recovery mode (which is clockworkmod v6.0.4.4) then do a factory wipe. so yeah thats a major pain. the s4 itself is a red model and behind the battery it says its a gt-19505, however in the settings on the phone it says its a gt-19505g.
my goal is to install an official firmware if possible that i may be able to update easily, the worry that i have is that i dont know if it would then accept my network as although it appears to run google edition custom firmware it may not once i install something official on it. this may be a nooby statement i know but a noob i am lol.
if its at all possible could i keep the cwm recovery?
and if its any help when i load the other boot loader thingy (with the green android on it) in the top left it says gt-19505, im just sayin cus im sure its vital which ever this phone actually is.
here are as many details as i can give but please ask if im missing anything
ANDROID VERSION 4.4.2
KERNEL VERSION 3.4.0-faux123-KK44-GE-Custom
[email protected]omain #20
Sun Dec 1 02:30:28 CST 2013
BASEBAND VERSION 19505XXUFNA1
BUILD NUMBER KOT49H.S001.131204
also upon booting in the top left it says "kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit:kernel"
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME And please tell me where to start as i tried updating it via kies to fix it but it just wont connect, i assume due to custom firmware.
The Google Play Edition S4 devices didn't come in any color but white. Therefore, this is an I9505 with a custom ROM on it. The download mode screen reading GT-I9505 confirmed it.
Since this is an I9505 and not an I9505G, the main question is whether this device will work with your SIM card. For that, simply insert your SIM card and boot the device. If you get signal, you're good. Otherwise you'll have to unlock the device, either by purchasing an unlock code from one of the sites that sells them, or by trying the unlock methods available on the forums.
This will also help answer the question of which stock ROM you can install on the device. If the S4 doesn't prompt you to unlock the device, then you can install one of the unbranded S4 ROMs available on sammobile.com. After that, you can put the recovery of your choice on the S4, though I recommend TWRP over the other options.
Thanks for your help. I'm a little confused though, at the moment with this custom google edition ROM it does take my sim, in fact I bet it takes any sim, I heard that was a feature of google play devices. What I meant was after I install the stock ROM will it then not take my sim. So if it has already been unlocked How would I know which ROM to install? As I now know its not a google edition, is it possible to install an official google edition ROM? Do i use this download mode, Odin, or cwm to install a firmware. I'm just not sure what my starting point is. I don't wanna follow someone's guide yet to installing something just in case I'm jumping the gun and need to uninstall this custom ROM somehow.
Sorry for asking questions that I'm sure seem dumb I'm really just trying to learn at the moment I'm green as they come with android. BTW thanks for your suggestions so far, you def seem like you know what you're talking about, cheers
Google Play devices are carrier unlocked, but this is not a Google Play Edition S4. Therefore the device was carrier unlocked at some point in its past. The unknown here is how the original owner unlocked the device. If he or she used the unlocking methods found on XDA there is a chance the lock will be lost when installing a stock ROM.
If the S4 is unlocked, you aren't restricted to a particular region and can install any I9505 ROM using Odin, though I recommend the carrier unbranded ROMs. You cannot install a stock Google Play Edition ROM on the device as the model number of a GPE device is not the same as the device you have. However, you're already rooted and have a custom recovery installed. In I9505 Development here on XDA there is a Google Play Edition ROM that can be installed on your device. Download it to your S4, wipe everything in recovery, then flash the ROM's flashable zip in recovery. I've used said ROM and it works quite well.
OK I have found the 5.0.1 ge ROM , but in there it says I must use latest recovery or whatever plus it recommended one different to mine, is it safe to install using my version of cwm or do I need to learn how to change it??
Deleted by user
TWRP is recommended as there are people who are still maintaining it, unlike Clockworkmod and Philz. While you probably can get the ROM installed using the version of Clockworkmod you have, learning how to change recoveries is useful.
OK thank you for all your help my friend, I will now find out how to do this, I'm sure there is a section on this somewhere, BTW I think you are right about my device being rooted, but I wanted to check and I followed a guide and used super su but apparently its not rooted so I guess something must've gone wrong. Bit scary if I try to change my recovery or my firmware and this causes a brick hmmmmm
It's virtually impossible to brick the S4, especially as the recovery is flashed through Odin.
Phew that's a relief. Thanks man.... Well I'm gonna just risk using cwm for now as I'm new to this........ Thanks a whole lot for your time I really mean that.
KlLLFRENZY said:
Phew that's a relief. Thanks man.... Well I'm gonna just risk using cwm for now as I'm new to this........ Thanks a whole lot for your time I really mean that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use TWRP. CMW is outdated.
Lennyz1988 said:
Use TWRP. CMW is outdated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to, I really do but I'm struggling here. Before I wrote that last comment I tried to find a guide on this forum for swapping to twrp, but couldn't and didn't wanna bug this guy as he had helped enough. Anyway I went to the place he told me and have hit another wall anyway because I don't know how to use the firmware the relevant kernel or the git. My life is so busy and I'm getting about an hour on this subject a day and its gonna take forever lol
If you can help me on my way even a little its much appreciated, I would like to use twrp and the 5.0.1 ge plus the right kernel of course
KlLLFRENZY said:
I want to, I really do but I'm struggling here. Before I wrote that last comment I tried to find a guide on this forum for swapping to twrp, but couldn't and didn't wanna bug this guy as he had helped enough. Anyway I went to the place he told me and have hit another wall anyway because I don't know how to use the firmware the relevant kernel or the git. My life is so busy and I'm getting about an hour on this subject a day and its gonna take forever lol
If you can help me on my way even a little its much appreciated, I would like to use twrp and the 5.0.1 ge plus the right kernel of course
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys4internationalqualcomm.html
Follow the Odin guide. It's excactly the same when you flashed CWM.
@Lennyz1988: The S4 was bought secondhand and already had CWM on it from the original owner.
@killfrenzy: Follow the guide Lenny mentioned, but don't worry about the second paragraph. Our device isn't one of those that restores the original recovery on boot.
ok will do, i just tried the app install method but as i suspected, it said root is required for this app and promptly exited so i shall do the odin method, i heard that some people remove root or it could be that it was done wrong. also after reading a few posts here and there i found out that someone had similar issues with their phone random re-booting and they had custom ge with the wrong kernel so it seems once im done my issues should be history if i learn how to install fw + kernel, after this twrp thing i will be one step closer for sure. i also know ppl slate lollipop but once im all done with this im sure i will have picked up enough terminology to install cfw's to my hearts content. hooray for forums and people like you, sounds like im kissin ass but its just gratitude
so using the twrp install guide i gotta install using the odin method i have now got 3.07 odin but this is the next step.........
Odin Install Method (No Root Required):
You will need to download and install Odin on your PC. Once you have Odin installed, download the proper .tar file for your device from the download link above. Power off your device. Turn on your device using the proper key combo to get into download mode and attach the device to your computer via a USB cable. Use the PDA tab or button to browse to and select the tar file that you downloaded and flash the device.
lololol nothins ever simple i see the list of tar files in the link above but no mention at all as to which is the proper .tar for my device, i guess they assume the guide is for people who have done it before. more research tomorrow maybe i gotta be up early ugh
Lennyz1988 said:
https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys4internationalqualcomm.html
Follow the Odin guide. It's excactly the same when you flashed CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think you misunderstood, I have flashed nothing yet I got it like this. I'm completely green
Don't suppose anybody knows which is the tar file for my device?? S4gt-19505
OK now I get it, the list of tars in that section are all the same just newer builds of the same version. Seems obvious if you have done this before, but I wasn't to know that and cannot assume things. I'm also gonna guess and say Lenny thinks my s4 needs this particular version for an international, am I right?? Anyway it would've made a lot of sense but how does he know. I have no idea what this phone was I have never owned it new.
Different devices have different codes. For example, jfltexx is the I9505. A T-Mobile S4 would be jfltetmo, and so on.The link Lenny provided is for the I9505. Download the 2.8.6.0 version as its the latest.
As to how you were supposed to know, having never owned one, you weren't. There are tutorials in the General forum though that can help.

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