Database Users

Bricked - possible misuse of Flashfire

Using Flashfire, I installed the zipped file UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.99r4.zip on my Verizon G900V, which is a towelroot rooted Lollipop. My phone ultimately rebooted, but goes no further than the initial screen. It will not fully reboot, it is not recognized via USB by my PC, it cannot be turned off except by removing the battery, and seems totally bricked. I obviously can’t even odin. I have no other data, such as build, etc., about it since it is no longer accessible. What can I do now? Any help will be most appreciated!

Everhopefull said:
Using Flashfire, I installed the zipped file UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.99r4.zip on my Verizon G900V, which is a towelroot rooted Lollipop. My phone ultimately rebooted, but goes no further than the initial screen. It will not fully reboot, it is not recognized via USB by my PC, it cannot be turned off except by removing the battery, and seems totally bricked. I obviously can’t even odin. I have no other data, such as build, etc., about it since it is no longer accessible. What can I do now? Any help will be most appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not totally bricked :victory:
You are just softbricked. First, did you have safestrap installed?
If you don't care about any of the internal data and just want the OS fixed, just put it in download mode (Power+Home+VolDown) then Vol Up to confirm, and get the .tar of the stock image. Flash it with Odin- bam done.
Be warned, because you were towelrooted this would ultimately flash the latest LOCKED bootloader- so to stay on your UNLOCKED bootloader you need to find a tar with NO bootloader (there is a PB1 no bootloader stock tar)
If you had safestrap- all you have to do is flash the NK2 kernel and it will boot into safestrap- allowing for recovery of internal data and flashing of a new ROM.

If he's on any of the Firmwares below OD5, he can safely Odin back to NCG and start from scratch using Towelroot. All of our bootloaders are locked no matter which firmware version you're on. It's the versions OE1 and up that are more locked down from rooting

smokerbond said:
That is not totally bricked :victory:
You are just softbricked. First, did you have safestrap installed?
If you don't care about any of the internal data and just want the OS fixed, just put it in download mode (Power+Home+VolDown) then Vol Up to confirm, and get the .tar of the stock image. Flash it with Odin- bam done.
Be warned, because you were towelrooted this would ultimately flash the latest LOCKED bootloader- so to stay on your UNLOCKED bootloader you need to find a tar with NO bootloader (there is a PB1 no bootloader stock tar)
If you had safestrap- all you have to do is flash the NK2 kernel and it will boot into safestrap- allowing for recovery of internal data and flashing of a new ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks, Smokerbond. I do wish I had waited for your reply, but, as usual, I was impatient (and somewhat concerned). I found part of what you knew elsewhere, downloaded from Sammobile, and flashed. Unfortunately, as you noted, that didn’t keep root. My question now is, can I start over? I flashed G900VVRU1BOA8-G900VVZW1BOA8 which, of course, is filled with bloatware. I have all my files I used originally, but no instructions and, as we say at my age, (77), I have slept since then.

You can Odin flash the PB1.tar with no bootloader, then use @jrkruse root method. That is the simplest way. You can also Odin back to NCG and use Towelroot, but it makes it a PITA with enabling advanced calling.
---------- Post added at 01:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:13 PM ----------
Also, I'm not familiar with that SuperSU version. That is probably what caused the bootloop. I'm currently running SuperSU 2.71 on my S5 and it works great, but you can go with the latest stable version if you prefer.

Shouldn't be trying to flash SuperSU from 2014. Here's the latest version once you get everything up and running again.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am now up and running, using Chainfire's SU 2.65. Since I was familiar with the path, I did go back to NCG and use towelroot, but since I have no need for the advanced calling (with which I was not familiar), I am happy with my setup.

Recovery for N900V 5.0 OF1 Build?

Hello all...I have to first say that I HAVE been reading A LOT before I posted this question but I am somewhat confused. I have an SM-N900V with the following details :
- Rooted with Arabic Tool
- Android 5.0
- Build OF1
- Bootloader unlocked based on instructions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...l/official-note-3-verizon-bootloader-t3359370
I also have a SM-N900T for which I have been using CWM based recovery for many years and I am very happy with it. But I am not forced to change to the N900V and I have it rooted already but I am having a hard time finding the right recovery for it. I tried a philz CWM based recovery and it ended u getting the unit into a recovery bootloop so I have to flash the stock firmware from scratch and start again.
Can someone save me a few hours, and potentially more reflashes, and tell me which is the right recvery for this unit and how to install it? I am partial to CWM but I have read that it does not work. As long as I can take backups and restore them I am happy with TWRP. I have also read that SafeStrap is the only option. So again, I just need a straight answer so I can get this done.
Your feedback will be much appreciated!
thanks!

Did you mean "now forced" instead of "not forced" in the 2nd paragraph? The use later on of antecedent references such as "it" and "this phone" make it slightly confusing which phone you are talking about.
calderonr said:
I tried a philz CWM based recovery and it ended u getting the unit into a recovery bootloop so I have to flash the stock firmware from scratch and start again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have unlocked the SM-N900V's bootloader, then a bootloop can be remedied by flashing with Odin only the partitions you need fixed, not the entire firmware set. This relieves you from having to re-customize a stock ROM and/or re-root. Moreover and more importantly having an unlocked bootloader means that your phone will no longer require blobs to be Sammy-signed: you can flash custom recoveries with Odin if you please. (You just need to learn how to create the *.tar.md5 files for Odin and you are in business - search for "Odin ustar md5")
So had you know that, you could have just prepared Odin flash tarballs for different recoveries and tried them out according to whim (It is also possible to flash a recovery from the rooted ROM as well, but you need to know how to escape from a perpetual failed recovery boot loop, I.e. : battery pull -> restart with VolDown+Home+Power -> Cancel)
I haven't ever put CWM on my SM-N900V, but can tell you that either the " hlte" or "hltevzw" variants of twrp should work just fine; as you are on OF1 firmware, the -4.4 versions should be used, e.g. twrp-3.0.2-0-hlte-4.4.img or twrp-3.0.2-0-hltevzw-4.4.img
PS Safestrap was the method of choice prior to bootloader unlock methods, and I believe does not work with OB6 or OF1 (possibly also NK1?).
.

calderonr said:
Hello all...I have to first say that I HAVE been reading A LOT before I posted this question but I am somewhat confused. I have an SM-N900V with the following details :
- Rooted with Arabic Tool
- Android 5.0
- Build OF1
- Bootloader unlocked based on instructions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...l/official-note-3-verizon-bootloader-t3359370
I also have a SM-N900T for which I have been using CWM based recovery for many years and I am very happy with it. But I am not forced to change to the N900V and I have it rooted already but I am having a hard time finding the right recovery for it. I tried a philz CWM based recovery and it ended u getting the unit into a recovery bootloop so I have to flash the stock firmware from scratch and start again.
Can someone save me a few hours, and potentially more reflashes, and tell me which is the right recvery for this unit and how to install it? I am partial to CWM but I have read that it does not work. As long as I can take backups and restore them I am happy with TWRP. I have also read that SafeStrap is the only option. So again, I just need a straight answer so I can get this done.
Your feedback will be much appreciated!
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you are rooted and have the bootloader unlocked... Use Flashify to load TWRP which is an excellent recovery and does what you wish.
See this message:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=66380697
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

How to flash back and forth between Marshmallow and Lollipop? We need a clear guide.

I'll start off explaining my situation and then explain what myself and lots of other people seem to be confused about.
I was on Kikat last week and then upgraded to PB1 and unlocked my bootloader using method 1 by jkruse. Everything went fine and I was running stang5litre. I wanted to try Phoenix but I could not find instructions on how to get to PD1 first. I then saw that I could go right from PB1 to CM 13. I booted to recovery, wiped, installed CM and gApps, and everything went fine also.
I know my baseband is still PB1 but I'm guessing since I'm on CM now that I'm not actually on any official build right? (PD1, PF4, etc). So with that being said I don't understand how to go to other ROMs or back to LP.
I tried going back to recovery, wiping, and installing stang5litre again but my phone would not boot past the Samsung screen. Guessing something with the kernel? Soni flashed back to CM for now and I've been reading like crazy on here.
I'm trying to understand the process for switching between LP and MM. I found instructions by jkruse in the Phoenix forum (post #68) which talk about upgrading/downgrading bootloader but they are not clear and also they specifically say "Upgrade To PD1 Stock Rooted Rom With PD1 Unlocked Bootloader From 5.0 TW Rom". Well I'm not on a 5.0 TW ROM now.
I've seen countless posts in multiple forums showing a lot of other people are confused about this stuff. If I had all the details (clear instructions, file links, etc) I would glady make a very easy to follow guide and explanation of everything. I'm good at writing out stuff like that and making it very easy to understand.
Some things I want to understand so I can make a guide..
-How to go from PB1 to stock rooted PD1 (I see a guide to get to PF4 but Phoenix says you need PD1)
-How to go from CM to stock rooted PD1
-How to go from CM back to stock rooted PB1
-How to go from PD1/PF4 back to stock rooted PB1 (this process might be the same as the process coming from CM?
Any help/explanation would be greatly appreciated. Some of this info might be scattered across different forums but I think a guide specifically for switching between all the builds would be a huge help to a lot of people. Please link files also. I will definitely give credit to all who help if I do get the info needed to make it!! Thanks!

Bumppp

If you need help finding these things maybe you shouldn't be making a guide....

Sandman-007 said:
If you need help finding these things maybe you shouldn't be making a guide....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please dont bother commenting pointless stuff. I read these forums every day and see lots of people looking for clarification for how to go back and forth between MM and LP. Mainly how to go back to LP. You will also find threads and posts with people giving different instructions. Some say just flash the PD1 rooted stock in recovery.. some say that won't downgrade the bootloader..

Some say to follow Jkruses guide in the second post of the bootloader unlock thread. The part about going back and forth between bootloader's.. which is a way more complicated method. There is different information all over

I highly suggest you read the 2nd portion "If You Already Have Bootloader Unlocked And On A Samsung TW Rom" link.
I think the key you need to understand is that you have to match the bootloader version with the corresponding ROM you are trying to flash. PB1 is for LP ROM. PD1/PF4 is for MM ROM.
Having above said, here's my answer to your question below:
-How to go from PB1 to stock rooted PD1 (I see a guide to get to PF4 but Phoenix says you need PD1)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please follow the 2nd portion of the link above.
If you want to try Phoenix, then you can use the SafeStrap_PF4_Bootloader_Unlock_AIO.zip as jrkruse confirmed PF4 does work with it.
Upon complete the 2nd portion, then you can flash Phoenix's v12 ROM in TWRP directly.
-How to go from CM to stock rooted PD1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, find out which CM you are at. I assume you are at CM13, then you would need follow the same 2nd portion instruction again (using the PD1 Bootloader), then flash the stock PD1 rom in twrp.
-How to go from CM back to stock rooted PB1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same as above, except use PB1 bootloader in the process.
-How to go from PD1/PF4 back to stock rooted PB1 (this process might be the same as the process coming from CM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, it is the same process.
I hope I cleared it out for you. If you are not sure where you are at, then I would suggest you odin the original PB1 image, root it, unlock bootloader, flash twrp, then follow the 2nd portion of the link.

ruokuo said:
I highly suggest you read the 2nd portion "If You Already Have Bootloader Unlocked And On A Samsung TW Rom" link.
I think the key you need to understand is that you have to match the bootloader version with the corresponding ROM you are trying to flash. PB1 is for LP ROM. PD1/PF4 is for MM ROM.
Having above said, here's my answer to your question below:
-How to go from PB1 to stock rooted PD1 (I see a guide to get to PF4 but Phoenix says you need PD1)
Please follow the 2nd portion of the link above.
If you want to try Phoenix, then you can use the SafeStrap_PF4_Bootloader_Unlock_AIO.zip as jrkruse confirmed PF4 does work with it.
Upon complete the 2nd portion, then you can flash Phoenix's v12 ROM in TWRP directly.
-How to go from CM to stock rooted PD1
First of all, find out which CM you are at. I assume you are at CM13, then you would need follow the same 2nd portion instruction again (using the PD1 Bootloader), then flash the stock PD1 rom in twrp.
-How to go from CM back to stock rooted PB1
Same as above, except use PB1 bootloader in the process.
-How to go from PD1/PF4 back to stock rooted PB1 (this process might be the same as the process coming from CM?
You are right, it is the same process.
I hope I cleared it out for you. If you are not sure where you are at, then I would suggest you odin the original PB1 image, root it, unlock bootloader, flash twrp, then follow the 2nd portion of the link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I found instructions from Jkruse on page 7 in the Phoenix thread. That's why I am confused because there are so many methods scattered everywhere.
So here's what I tried and something went wrong already.
------------------------
Flashfire Method to Upgrade/Downgrade Your Bootloaders Dev Unlocked To Stock Roms
This Method Only Works If You Have A Dev Unlocked Bootloader Or Have Previously Unlocked Your Bootloader
I just want to add this warning. If you use this method you dont have the safety net that safestrap provides so if something goes wrong in this process you may end up with a unrooted phone and locked bootloaders causing you to have to start The whole rooting process over since you will not have safetrap to boot back into
Upgrade To PD1 Stock Rooted Rom With PD1 Unlocked Bootloader From 5.0 TW Rom With PB1 Unlocked Bootloaders
Download these 2 files and place on phone
PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip
PD1_Full_Firmware_With_Dev_Aboot_Twrp_Recovery_Ima ge.tar.zip
Reboot to TWRP and flash PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip
Reboot
Open Flashfire (It will be installed by the zip you flashed in TWRP) grant supersu permission
-------------------------
. I rebooted to TWRP. Flashed the PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip and rebooted right away. I now had safestrap installed which I did not before. So I go to open it up and my screen goes white for a second and then just returns to the app drawer?? It will not open
So then I delete the file and figured maybe it was a.bad download. Downloaded it again and tried to boot to recovery but it went to stock recovery not TWRP.
So I have no clue what to do now. How can I get TWRP installed again? All I did was flash that one zip so idk what went wrong. I am on PB1 everything.

aholeinthewor1d said:
Thanks for the reply. I found instructions from Jkruse on page 7 in the Phoenix thread. That's why I am confused because there are so many methods scattered everywhere.
So here's what I tried and something went wrong already.
------------------------
Flashfire Method to Upgrade/Downgrade Your Bootloaders Dev Unlocked To Stock Roms
This Method Only Works If You Have A Dev Unlocked Bootloader Or Have Previously Unlocked Your Bootloader
I just want to add this warning. If you use this method you dont have the safety net that safestrap provides so if something goes wrong in this process you may end up with a unrooted phone and locked bootloaders causing you to have to start The whole rooting process over since you will not have safetrap to boot back into
Upgrade To PD1 Stock Rooted Rom With PD1 Unlocked Bootloader From 5.0 TW Rom With PB1 Unlocked Bootloaders
Download these 2 files and place on phone
PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip
PD1_Full_Firmware_With_Dev_Aboot_Twrp_Recovery_Ima ge.tar.zip
Reboot to TWRP and flash PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip
Reboot
Open Flashfire (It will be installed by the zip you flashed in TWRP) grant supersu permission
-------------------------
. I rebooted to TWRP. Flashed the PB1_Flashfire_Prepare.zip and rebooted right away. I now had safestrap installed which I did not before. So I go to open it up and my screen goes white for a second and then just returns to the app drawer?? It will not open
So then I delete the file and figured maybe it was a.bad download. Downloaded it again and tried to boot to recovery but it went to stock recovery not TWRP.
So I have no clue what to do now. How can I get TWRP installed again? All I did was flash that one zip so idk what went wrong. I am on PB1 everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SS/FF method was old instruction. People sometimes has hit or miss. I think Jkruse found out the cause (my guess is the binary status). Please go for the latest one, which is at the OP of the link I gave you.
If you still have the unlocked bootloader, you can always odin the twrp image (I recommend v3.0.0.0).
If you happened lost the unlocked bootloader status, then I would recommend you to odin the original PB1 tar, root, unlock bootloader, odin twrp, then follow the 2nd part of the OP.
I hope this helps.

Really old modem and bootloader, what are my options from here?

It's been a while since I've flashed anything; at least a year, though more likely two. Whatever I have now I'm guessing is a rom called stock(ish)v06, since that's what is listed in my bootloader. I guess the modem (baseband?) is NAE, and I'm still using a very old version of TWRP (2.6.3 according to my signature, haven't checked).
Obviously, the development that still exists for this device has moved well past me. But given how temperamental my device has been lately, I want to give flashing something newer a shot before buying a new device.
Trouble is, I'm not sure how to go about flashing roms and finding the right modem/firmware when everything I have is so out of date.
Suggestions?

beerindex said:
It's been a while since I've flashed anything; at least a year, though more likely two. Whatever I have now I'm guessing is a rom called stock(ish)v06, since that's what is listed in my bootloader. I guess the modem (baseband?) is NAE, and I'm still using a very old version of TWRP (2.6.3 according to my signature, haven't checked).
Obviously, the development that still exists for this device has moved well past me. But given how temperamental my device has been lately, I want to give flashing something newer a shot before buying a new device.
Trouble is, I'm not sure how to go about flashing roms and finding the right modem/firmware when everything I have is so out of date.
Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download latest fully stock firmware so you will have latest bootloader and modem from http://www.sammobile.com
which is Lollipop, then flash latest TWRP. If you like stock, there is a stock deodex ROM, there is the awesome Wicked X (heavily modified Lollipop stock), or if stock is not your thing you can get CM12(Lollipop) or CM13 official(Marshmallow)
Sent from my SCH-R220

mattzeller said:
Download latest fully stock firmware so you will have latest bootloader and modem from http://www.sammobile.com
which is Lollipop, then flash latest TWRP. If you like stock, there is a stock deodex ROM, there is the awesome Wicked X (heavily modified Lollipop stock), or if stock is not your thing you can get CM12(Lollipop) or CM13 official(Marshmallow)
Sent from my SCH-R220
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to make sure I understand what you're telling me to do, so a few clarifying questions:
1) I am meant to be updating TWRP first, then using it to flash stock firmware to update the bootloader and modem, and then flashing a rom of my choosing?
2) Why is that method preferable to using Odin to update the modem?
3) If I flash this newer official firmware, am I going to lose root?
4) In flashing the newer firmware, won't my bootloader lock, making it not possible to flash a new rom?

beerindex said:
I want to make sure I understand what you're telling me to do, so a few clarifying questions:
1) I am meant to be updating TWRP first, then using it to flash stock firmware to update the bootloader and modem, and then flashing a rom of my choosing?
2) Why is that method preferable to using Odin to update the modem?
3) If I flash this newer official firmware, am I going to lose root?
4) In flashing the newer firmware, won't my bootloader lock, making it not possible to flash a new rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) No, use Odin to flash full stock that you downloaded from sammobile.com, you cannot flash full stock from recovery.
2) Because some if not most newer ROMs require you to be on Lollipop bootloader.
3) Yes you will lose root, but this flashing of stock firmware is to update your bootloader and modem so you can flash the newest ROMs. The lack of root doesn't matter since you will be flashing latest TWRP via Odin and modified ROMs soon after.
4) if you have Sprint L720 the bootloader isn't locked. Check I'm 'about phone' to make sure you have an L720 and not another variant of S4
Make sure Samsung drivers are installed on your computer.
So your flashing steps go as follows:
1) Download everything you need first:
a) Full stock from http://www.sammobile.com to your computer
b) Latest TWRP tar file to your computer
c) The custom ROM of your choice (and correct gapps if AOSP or CM based) saved on external SD card on your phone since it will be flashed via recovery.
2) Turn phone off completely. I pull the battery then put it back in then boot directly to download mode: power + volume down. (Rebooting to download mode doesn't always allow a proper flashing)
3) Start Odin (uncheck reboot and reset time) and then plug phone into computer.
4) If COM lights up green in Odin click AP and select the file you downloaded from sammobile (it will be PDA instead of AP if you are using an older version of Odin) and click OK or start (I don't remember which it has)
5) If it flashes successfully pull the battery and then put it back in and turn the phone on normally. It will take a while to boot, like 15-20 minutes possibly. Flashing stock myself I have seen it say it was successful and it wasn't and the fix for me was to leave reset checked and let it do it's thing.
6) Once you have booted into your newly flashed stock OK3, do step 2 and 3 again, so you can flash TWRP.
7) When you go to flash TWRP in Odin uncheck reset time and DEFINITELY have reset unchecked (if Odin reboots your phone TWRP doesn't stick). Do step 4 again except this time select the TWRP tar file. Once it flashes successfully pull battery put it back in and boot directly to recovery (power + volume up) from there do a backup if you want, if not you can flash the custom ROM and gapps if necessary that you downloaded earlier.
Sent from my SCH-R220

mattzeller said:
1) No, use Odin to flash full stock that you downloaded from sammobile.com, you cannot flash full stock from recovery.
2) Because some if not most newer ROMs require you to be on Lollipop bootloader.
3) Yes you will lose root, but this flashing of stock firmware is to update your bootloader and modem so you can flash the newest ROMs. The lack of root doesn't matter since you will be flashing latest TWRP via Odin and modified ROMs soon after.
4) if you have Sprint L720 the bootloader isn't locked. Check I'm 'about phone' to make sure you have an L720 and not another variant of S4
Make sure Samsung drivers are installed on your computer.
So your flashing steps go as follows:
1) Download everything you need first:
a) Full stock from http://www.sammobile.com to your computer
b) Latest TWRP tar file to your computer
c) The custom ROM of your choice (and correct gapps if AOSP or CM based) saved on external SD card on your phone since it will be flashed via recovery.
2) Turn phone off completely. I pull the battery then put it back in then boot directly to download mode: power + volume down. (Rebooting to download mode doesn't always allow a proper flashing)
3) Start Odin (uncheck reboot and reset time) and then plug phone into computer.
4) If COM lights up green in Odin click AP and select the file you downloaded from sammobile (it will be PDA instead of AP if you are using an older version of Odin) and click OK or start (I don't remember which it has)
5) If it flashes successfully pull the battery and then put it back in and turn the phone on normally. It will take a while to boot, like 15-20 minutes possibly. Flashing stock myself I have seen it say it was successful and it wasn't and the fix for me was to leave reset checked and let it do it's thing.
6) Once you have booted into your newly flashed stock OK3, do step 2 and 3 again, so you can flash TWRP.
7) When you go to flash TWRP in Odin uncheck reset time and DEFINITELY have reset unchecked (if Odin reboots your phone TWRP doesn't stick). Do step 4 again except this time select the TWRP tar file. Once it flashes successfully pull battery put it back in and boot directly to recovery (power + volume up) from there do a backup if you want, if not you can flash the custom ROM and gapps if necessary that you downloaded earlier.
Sent from my SCH-R220
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the very detailed response. This totally clears up my questions. I'll charge my phone this evening and give it a shot in the morning when my battery is at 100%. :good:

beerindex said:
Thanks for the very detailed response. This totally clears up my questions. I'll charge my phone this evening and give it a shot in the morning when my battery is at 100%. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel free to post back here or PM me if you have any more questions or problems, it wouldn't be the first time walking someone through the process via pm here or other methods
Sent from my SCH-R220

Galaxy s4 att stuck on screen with costum and a padlock

Okay, here is the deal. I was trying to install a costum rom on my att galaxy s4. What I did was I rooted it using king root and tried to flash a rom through rom toolbox, but I believe it was just going to take me to my recovery. After that the screen got stuck on the costum screen with the padlock, and only seems to turn on with a charger plugged into it. I am on 5.0.1 lollipop and have managed to flash the original recovery, but any stock rom I try to flash using Odin fails by saying complete thread failed or something like that, and says on my phone binary 1 or something like that. I really need help on where to start.
Thanks

What is the exact Odin error?
AT&T never released a full firmware for flashing via Odin beyond 4.1.2. Look here for a possible solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814
Once the phone is running a 4.3 or higher bootloader, the bootloader is locked and custom ROMs can't be installed unless the custom ROM is based on a stock ROM.

There's an ODIN flashable Android 4.2.2 MDL bootloader tar file out there somewhere too.

If the bootloader is locked, and it sounds like it is since it's running 5.01, Odin will not be able to flash a 4.2.2 ROM or bootloader.

audit13 said:
If the bootloader is locked, and it sounds like it is since it's running 5.01, Odin will not be able to flash a 4.2.2 ROM or bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are there any other options, or should I just give up on it?

Look at this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814.
Pay attention to this part of the post which may help:
Notes:
1. The above process will not affect your Knox Warranty Flag.
2. The process will update your Modem, Non-hlos, System, Kernel, and Stock Recovery.
3. No need to wipe prior to flashing! The ROM will automatically perform a factory data reset.
4. If you are not already rooted (or to unbrick) you must first flash the I337UCUFNB1_Rootable_Full_Odin.tar (use Odin's PDA slot (AP in Odin v3.09+), root with Towelroot, then proceed with the above process.
5. To learn more about FlashFire's capabilities on locked bootloader devices see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...10&postcount=2​

audit13 said:
Look at this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-to-update-to-i337oc3-5-0-1-keeproot-t3075814.
Pay attention to this part of the post which may help:
Notes:
1. The above process will not affect your Knox Warranty Flag.
2. The process will update your Modem, Non-hlos, System, Kernel, and Stock Recovery.
3. No need to wipe prior to flashing! The ROM will automatically perform a factory data reset.
4. If you are not already rooted (or to unbrick) you must first flash the I337UCUFNB1_Rootable_Full_Odin.tar (use Odin's PDA slot (AP in Odin v3.09+), root with Towelroot, then proceed with the above process.
5. To learn more about FlashFire's capabilities on locked bootloader devices see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...10&postcount=2​
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I finally fixed it. I had downloaded that rom before, but it hadn't worked. I decided to try it again and used a different USB port and it worked! Thanks for the help!