Database Users

Linux User with Heimdall but new to Android (Galaxy Tab International)

I wanted to post my experience with Heimdall. I suspect that many readers of these forums think that heimdal is easy to use: infact it is, from the little I have used it, but reliable information on its use is sparse. I hope therefore, other new users, who want to use Linux will find this helpful. Please remember these tips are just my experiance, I hope they are helpful but I can't say if they will work for you or not.
Heimdall is in fact ridulously easy to use and I feel a bit a of a fraud writing this down but the lack of examples of use is what held me back from using it for several days (that and I'd need to use my wife's windows laptop to use odin and if something went wrong, who knows when she gets it back!).
I've installed:
Overcome_Kernel_v2.1.3_ODIN.tar and
Overcome_v1.4.4_Full.zip
The Overcome guide is uesful but is written for Odin. The bare process is however simple:
Return to a safe rom/kernel image (I couldn't find the one specified but I was on a rooted stock so I don't think that would be necessary)
Connect the Tab via usb
Put Overcome_v....._Ful.zip into your sdcard
Put the Tab in download mode
Flash the kernel
Wait for the reboot
Reboot and put in CWR
Clear some stuff stuff out and update the rom from the Overcome zip file.
Nearly all of this can be followed (follow the guide this is just a summary from memory) using heimdall instead of odin.
The kernal flash can be done using heimdall so simply. The method I used was: extract the zImage (a compressed kernel image file) from the tar file (into the current directory for example) and flash (as long as the tab is in download mode):
tar -xvf Overcome_Kernel_v2.1.3_ODIN.tar
heimdall flash --kernel zImage
I believe the modem can be flashed in a similarly simple way but I haven't tried it yet, since I don't know if I need to (I have read, some stock modems are very queit and this fixes it):
unzip JMF-Modem.zip
heimdall flash --modem updates/modem.bin
One important thing I have gathered: please (for the most part and unless you know better) ignore any instructions for using heimdall which include the --primary-boot or ---secondary-boot options. You don't need them if you Tab is working properly and have never overwritten the boot loaders. Overwriting the boot loaders seems to be one of the few ways to properly brick you Tab.

Just flashed the JMF modem recommended in the installation guide if you have quiet in call volume, which I started experiencing (along with quiet ring tone on outgoing calls) after an update using CWM 1.4.5_Update & 2.1.4_CUV_CWM.
The command:
heimdall flash --modem modem.bin
worked fine for me (and fixed the volume problem).

Installing I9100 Rom on a Galaxy S2 M250s/k/l (aka Korean S2)

I've been using m250 for several weeks now but I am bothered of its capabilities specially with SMS messaging... It's limited. After few tries and mistakes, I have found a perfect way to install I9100 rom on a Galaxy S2 M250 without error.
PS: quite time consuming but worth doing since this will eliminate limits from the current M250 rom specially SMS.
NOTE: FM Radio off course will not work since M250 uses DVB radio and TV
Things to have:
1. Siyah Kernel 2.6.13 korean version (you can get it from siyah's site; thanks!)
2. Odin (latest version)
3. Mobile Odin (search this forum... credits to Chainfire... this is the most important soft on this tut)
4. M250S rom. Search for the torrent of [Root]HOME_M250S.EI21.1035_CL566114_REV02_user_low_ship
5. An I9100 DX rom. Search for GT-I9100_THL_I9100DXKL3_I9100OLCKL2_I9100DXKL1.tar (2.3.6)
----LET'S Start!!!----
NOTE1: Make a copy of the i9100 rom / m250 rom / siyah kernel on a microSD... we'll going to use this later...
NOTE2: the i9100 rom should be on the "firmware" folder of the microSD card...
NOTE3: insert the microSD card on the phone...
1. Do a full factory reset of your phone (settings).
2. Put the phone on download mode and flash it with the m250rom above.
3. After flashing with the m250 rom, flash the siyah kernel.
4. After the phone restarts and proper setup has been done, open CWM and select "Flash Stock Firmware". Don't worry CWM will not flash the IBL/PBL and SBL. This will restart the phone doing the flah on the recovery screen... (have some chips and beer!!!)
5. After the restart, the phone should now be running the i9100 rom but remember, kernel and modem is stock from the i9100 so signal might not be that great. (ALSO NOT ROOTED)
6. Put the phone in download and flash the siyah kernel.
7. Restart the phone and you should now have the root goodies from siyah. (WAIT: WHY AM I SEEING THE YELLOW TRIANGLE ON BOOT??? --- NO WORRIES MATE --- FOLLOW THE NEXT INSTRUCTIONS) INSTALL MOBILE ODIN.
8. Select open file on Mobile Odin. Select External SD and look for the i9100 Rom. Enable --- EverRoot / Inject Superuser / Inject Mobile Odin / Inject CWM Manager. Then click, "Flash Firmware". (Need to drink some beer again!!!)
9. The yellow triangle should be removed by now after restart but signal is quite poor since we are using the i9100 modem. Open Mobile Odin again, select open file and look for the i9100 rom. Select kernel and look for the siyah kernel. Select modem and look for the m250 rom.
10. Enable everRoot, superuser, mobile odin, cwm.
11. FINALLY... CLICK "FLASH FIRMWARE".
12. Continue drinking beer.
---

will i be able to install custom i9100 as well?

thanks for the guide!
it would be great if you can post the links to the files..
my question is that if I did all of these, will there still be a problem regarding phone signal reception?

I've used my m250s since 2011 and using official I9100 ROM since the first time i bought it, straight without any problems and now i'm using Official ICS XWLP4 with ICS domination theme, without any problems too

You'll need CWM to install custom ROMs most are flashable zips, so the only problem you might have is the yellow traingle, else flash any stock I9100 ROM then flash the Siyah kernel and through CWM flash the custom zips.
---------- Post added at 07:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------
smdc1981 said:
I've been using m250 for several weeks now but I am bothered of its capabilities specially with SMS messaging... It's limited. After few tries and mistakes, I have found a perfect way to install I9100 rom on a Galaxy S2 M250 without error.
..............................
---
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the OP:
To save time you could you use heimdall, it would greatly reduce the time required for this procedure, in case you wish to add I can provide you with the instructions through heimdall.

swapnilraj said:
You'll need CWM to install custom ROMs most are flashable zips, so the only problem you might have is the yellow traingle, else flash any stock I9100 ROM then flash the Siyah kernel and through CWM flash the custom zips.
---------- Post added at 07:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------
To the OP:
To save time you could you use heimdall, it would greatly reduce the time required for this procedure, in case you wish to add I can provide you with the instructions through heimdall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it would be great if you can make an updated tutorial about flashing i9100 roms to m250 variants.. please include the link to the files needed too..

darkzorn said:
it would be great if you can make an updated tutorial about flashing i9100 roms to m250 variants.. please include the link to the files needed too..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Resources-
Kernel: Download from here [the TAR file!]
ROM: I couldn't find the torrent the OP mentioned, sorry. But in my method you wouldn't need it.
FlashTool: I'd recommend Heimdall
Procedure-
1. Flash The Kernel-
Ubuntu: sudo heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Windows: heimdall flash --kernel zImage
2. Flash I9100 ROM-
Ubuntu: sudo heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
Windows: heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
Note- You do not need to flash the kernel per se I included it so you can root the phone, if you wish not to just skip it. In case you find the CUI methods confusing feel free to ask.

swapnilraj said:
Resources-
Kernel: Download from here [the TAR file!]
ROM: I couldn't find the torrent the OP mentioned, sorry. But in my method you wouldn't need it.
FlashTool: I'd recommend Heimdall
Procedure-
1. Flash The Kernel-
Ubuntu: sudo heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Windows: heimdall flash --kernel zImage
2. Flash I9100 ROM-
Ubuntu: sudo heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
Windows: heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
Note- You do not need to flash the kernel per se I included it so you can root the phone, if you wish not to just skip it. In case you find the CUI methods confusing feel free to ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot for this!
my questions would be are:
1. is heimdall really better than using odin? and can i use odin since i'm more used to it?
2. is flashing the i9100 .pit file really important?
3. can i flash siyah kernel .zip file using samsung's stock recovery?
4. after flashing siyah kernel can i flash custom rom on it already or just stock roms first?
thanks in advance..

darkzorn said:
thanks a lot for this!
my questions would be are:
1. is heimdall really better than using odin? and can i use odin since i'm more used to it?
2. is flashing the i9100 .pit file really important?
3. can i flash siyah kernel .zip file using samsung's stock recovery?
4. after flashing siyah kernel can i flash custom rom on it already or just stock roms first?
thanks in advance..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, it really is better, odin is a leaked POS, while Heimdall is a wonderfully engineered software, I suggest it because, it allows you to flash only specific files instead of a complete ROM, if you use odin with single PDA it would flash the bootloader and the modem too, which I skipped in my commands, which skips the need of a stock Korean ROM download too, win!
2. No you don't need the pit file, explicitly if you want to re-partition your device,
heimdall flash --repartition --pit [Name of the pit file] --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
3. No.
4. Yes, you may flash any ROM just be sure it doesn't change the modem, if it does, delete the modem.bin file in the zip or get a copy of your Korean to modem to flash separately.
EASIEST METHOD:
You can also use the GUI if you find the CUI hard, but IMO CUI is much faster, and less tedious.
To flash custom ROMs-
Step 1:-
Download the custom ROM and the kernel extract the tar file you should get a file named 'zImage', open up the command prompt use the CD command to navigate to the folder where you extracted it.
then copy paste this statement
heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Step 2:-
Boot to recovery clear cache, wipe data, format system, dalvik cache, install ROM you are good to go.
To flash stock I9100 ROM-
Step 1:-
Download the kernel and the stock ROM, extract the ROM first!
You should have the following files
zImage
factoryfs.img
cache.img
hidden.img
modem.bin
boot.bin
Sbl.bin
param.lfs
Delete the modem.bin, param.lfs, boot.bin, Sbl.bin (bootloader files) and zImage (I9100 stock kernel), you won't require them.
Step 2:-
Extract the siyah kernel you should have the zImage file then.
Make it sure that all the files are in the same folder, you should now have the following files.
zImage // The Siyah one
factoryfs.img
cache.img
hidden.img
Open up command prompt, use CD command to navigate to where you extracted the files and use this statement.
heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img --kernel zImage

thank you

@swapnilraj
you totally rock dude! you should make a new thread that has your full guide on it.. It would really be helpful with people who have korean units but want to use i9100 roms..
just wanna ask you if i can still use the gingerbread siyah korean kernel if i wanna try out some ICS..
also can i ask you what ROM and kernel are you currently using?
sorry if i have too many questions..

darkzorn said:
@swapnilraj
you totally rock dude! you should make a new thread that has your full guide on it.. It would really be helpful with people who have korean units but want to use i9100 roms..
just wanna ask you if i can still use the gingerbread siyah korean kernel if i wanna try out some ICS..
also can i ask you what ROM and kernel are you currently using?
sorry if i have too many questions..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the Siyah GB kernel won't work with ICS.
To use Siyah kernel; after flashing any of the ICS firmwares flash the new ICS Siyah kernel, though I am not sure it is supported on the Korean device you may ask gokhanmoral to make a compatible kernel.
I am currently using the 4/11 CM9 nightly stock CM kernel. I'll try a kernel when the CM9 reaches RC status (removes the stubs etc), about a new thread, I'll do it soon enough.

Please help
Can any S2 rom be installed on to m250s?
im just about to buy this phone so i need to know if im about to do a big mistake

melakamc said:
Can any S2 rom be installed on to m250s?
im just about to buy this phone so i need to know if im about to do a big mistake
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Refer to the Korean thread in the General section if that helps, but I believe they are compatible with all of the international ROMs

swapnilraj said:
1. Yes, it really is better, odin is a leaked POS, while Heimdall is a wonderfully engineered software, I suggest it because, it allows you to flash only specific files instead of a complete ROM, if you use odin with single PDA it would flash the bootloader and the modem too, which I skipped in my commands, which skips the need of a stock Korean ROM download too, win!
2. No you don't need the pit file, explicitly if you want to re-partition your device,
heimdall flash --repartition --pit [Name of the pit file] --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img
3. No.
4. Yes, you may flash any ROM just be sure it doesn't change the modem, if it does, delete the modem.bin file in the zip or get a copy of your Korean to modem to flash separately.
EASIEST METHOD:
You can also use the GUI if you find the CUI hard, but IMO CUI is much faster, and less tedious.
To flash custom ROMs-
Step 1:-
Download the custom ROM and the kernel extract the tar file you should get a file named 'zImage', open up the command prompt use the CD command to navigate to the folder where you extracted it.
then copy paste this statement
heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Step 2:-
Boot to recovery clear cache, wipe data, format system, dalvik cache, install ROM you are good to go.
To flash stock I9100 ROM-
Step 1:-
Download the kernel and the stock ROM, extract the ROM first!
You should have the following files
zImage
factoryfs.img
cache.img
hidden.img
modem.bin
boot.bin
Sbl.bin
param.lfs
Delete the modem.bin, param.lfs, boot.bin, Sbl.bin (bootloader files) and zImage (I9100 stock kernel), you won't require them.
Step 2:-
Extract the siyah kernel you should have the zImage file then.
Make it sure that all the files are in the same folder, you should now have the following files.
zImage // The Siyah one
factoryfs.img
cache.img
hidden.img
Open up command prompt, use CD command to navigate to where you extracted the files and use this statement.
heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.img --cache cache.img --hidden hidden.img --kernel zImage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi swapnilraj
thank you for the wonderful instructions you have provided.
however, I am a bit of a loss. Can you point me to the i9100 custom rom that you are referring to?
I am currently using an m250k variant of sgs2. I have it rooted and running stock firmware with gingerbread.
Two things that I want to aim right now.
1. Convert my phone to i9100
2. Install an ICS custom rom.
Thank you very much for your helpful posts.

unamepword said:
hi swapnilraj
thank you for the wonderful instructions you have provided.
however, I am a bit of a loss. Can you point me to the i9100 custom rom that you are referring to?
I am currently using an m250k variant of sgs2. I have it rooted and running stock firmware with gingerbread.
Two things that I want to aim right now.
1. Convert my phone to i9100
2. Install an ICS custom rom.
Thank you very much for your helpful posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to any custom ROM in general for GB, for ICS ROMs you need to have an ICS compatible kernel for the M250K with CWM support, do you have any such kernel? If so only then can you flash ICS ROMs.
If you have any ICS compatible kernels give me a link, you could also ask Siyah to build one like he did for GB.

swapnilraj said:
I was referring to any custom ROM in general for GB, for ICS ROMs you need to have an ICS compatible kernel for the M250K with CWM support, do you have any such kernel? If so only then can you flash ICS ROMs.
If you have any ICS compatible kernels give me a link, you could also ask Siyah to build one like he did for GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi swapnilraj
thanks for the fast reply.
so if I get you correctly, there's no current way of installing an ICS custom rom to an sgs2 m250k/s/l variant?
thanks.

Yes, without a compatible kernel its tough but you can 'try' in theory it should work, mind it in theory I don't have one so I cannot confirm.
If you have CWM installed on your phone try flashing the latest nightly build from codeworkx CM9 page, if you do not have CWM installed you can do so by using the Korean Siyah kernel, then through the recovery install the CM9 ROM with gapps. Mind you its only theory, so there is a possibility that you may soft-brick your device, but that's recoverable.

Siyah-v2.6.13-kor kernel
hi can anyone give me a link on where to get this kernel Siyah-v2.6.13-kor.. siyah's website is down i think

you mean that....
"GT-I9100_THL_I9100DXKL3_I9100OLCKL2_I9100DXKL1.tar" is sort of stock rom?
so... it is ok to flash any stock rom rather than that??
What I want to do is to flash I9100 custom roms.(I'm using M250s)
I found "[Root]HOME_M250S.EI21.1035_CL566114_REV02_user_low_ship.zip" file that you informed above.
But I can't find "GT-I9100_THL_I9100DXKL3_I9100OLCKL2_I9100DXKL1.tar".
and I have one more question.
I said that I got "[Root]HOME_M250S.EI21.1035_CL566114_REV02_user_low_ship.zip"
and you said, go onto download mode and flash the rom.
To flash the rom, we need tar or md5 file. Not the zip file.
So, I unzipped it and there are two files with .tar &.md5.
I think .md5 file won't be needed to flash rom.
Please tell me specific informations. Thank you

[HowTo] SM-G900FD with Android 5.0 Root if all seems to fail

[ Read the How To at the second post ]
Heya guys,
I just got yesterday my new Galaxy S5. I'm actually someone who is switching from the iPhone world to Galaxy.
I had a Note 2 in the past for some time and I'm sys admin so I'm a bit familiar with flashing and technical stuff.
Phone Information:
Model: SM-G900FD (or SM-G900MD?) (DuoS)
Country of Origin: United Arab Emirates
The phone came with stock rom 4.4.2. On the About Phone screen it shown SM-G900FD as model, directly from unboxing.
But when entering the Odin Mode it shows as product name SM-G900MD (which would fit the origin of course).
The first I did was downloading G900FDXXU1BNL9 (Android 5.0 SER (Russia)) and flash it with Odin. It works like a charm.
Then I tried dozen of different rooting methods, and failed every time, I spent I believe 10 hours on it already and flashed the phone about 30 times.
When flashing the stock rom, either the new G900FDXXU1BNL9 (5.0) or old G900FDXXU1ANF6 (4.4.2) it works like a charm.
The phone comes to life, Android is working fine.
As soon as I try to flash *any* other image, CWM, CF-Auto-Root or anything, it starts with "NAND Write Start!" and then in some seconds stops with "Complete(Write) operation failed." and the system ends up in a soft brick (Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again.). I tried from every piece of software I could find many different versions. Different Odin versions. I tried Heimdall (Mac) and fastboot (Windows & Mac) without success. These two don't work at all with the phone. Heimdall can't correctly connect to the phone and download the PIT, I was reading its a bug with the newest bootloader of Samsung. And fastboot/adb can't see the phone, at all. While heimdall or odin can see the phone, so its not a driver issue that the OS can't recognize the phone.
I tried also different versions of CWM, CF-Auto-Root, either for SM-G900FD or SM-G900MD. No luck.
What I tried then was using towelroot, but it doesn't work with the newest Android. So I found a thread that stated to flash a old Kernel, which will give errors during booting but you can then root the phone with towelroot, and then flash the newest kernel back to the phone. I tried that, taking out the boot.img files from old and new firmware out and use a script to package them into .tar.md5 files and try to flash them with Odin. Even there, Odin reports FAIL! With the boot.img files from the stock images, which work fine flashing if I flash the entire stock image.
I tried also installing a old stock rom and try rooting it there with CWM/CF-Auto-Root. Same stuff, FAIL! flashing.
I'm a bit out of ideas right now. Does anyone ever encountered this? Or does have a hint on what could cause this problems?
Some threads I was reading (its a way more, but the list would be too long, I just add the most recent ones) and following:
[How to] Root for 4.4.2 and Flash rooted Stock Android 5.0 with KNOX 0x0?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=54745709&postcount=13
Galaxy S5 G900FD
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55994495&postcount=102
[Script][Tool] how to create a tar.md5 file from img For Odin
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446269
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for any assistance. I hope there is a possibility to root this phone
Cheers,
Sven
PS: My KNOX Warranty Void is already increased, so the warranty is killed already.

[HowTo]
Heya everyone again,
I just wanted to say that the last hope I had to try did work finally.
As every flashing of single partitions (eg. recovery.img, cache.img.ext4 or boot.img) failed, I did the following:
1. Take the image you want to have, in my case it is Android 5.0 SER (G900FDXXU1BNL9) stock image, and unpack it
2. Take the CWM, I used philz_touch_6.26.2-klte.tar.md5, and unpack it
3. Move the recovery.img file from the CWM to the image you want to flash and replace the original recovery.img
4. Package all together into one image.tar.md5 file, in my case it would be the stock image with the replaced CWM recovery.img
5. Flash it with Odin, it worked at me!
6. Proceed with the default rooting procedure of CWM (copy SuperSU, boot recovery, install ZIP)
You are done!
Steps to package the image.tar.md5 file (I used Mac OS X Yosmite):
$ COPYFILE_DISABLE=1 gtar -H ustar -c NON-HLOS.bin aboot.mbn boot.img cache.img.ext4 hidden.img.ext4 modem.bin recovery.img rpm.mbn sbl1.mbn sdi.mbn system.img.ext4 tz.mbn > image.tar
$ gmd5sum -t image.tar >> image.tar
$ mv image.tar image.tar.md5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OS X tools (tar and md5) are NOT suitable! You should use brew install coreutils and use the gnu tar and md5sum commands. The OS X tar will produce a unusable tar file and Odin will crash, the OS X md5 produces a different output than md5sum (even when using md5 -r) and the verification will fail. When using Linux/Windows tar/md5sum tools all should be fine. If odin crashes when trying to flash it doesn't like how tar packaged up your file. Try a different tar version (better: operating different system).
I hope this helps people that encountered the same issue as me and they can now enjoy Android 5.0 with root on their SM-G900FD.
Cheers,
Sven

Well done!!
af2k said:
Heya everyone again,
I just wanted to say that the last hope I had to try did work finally.
As every flashing of single partitions (eg. recovery.img, cache.img.ext4 or boot.img) failed, I did the following:
1. Take the image you want to have, in my case it is Android 5.0 SER (G900FDXXU1BNL9) stock image, and unpack it
2. Take the CWM, I used philz_touch_6.26.2-klte.tar.md5, and unpack it
3. Move the recovery.img file from the CWM to the image you want to flash and replace the original recovery.img
4. Package all together into one image.tar.md5 file, in my case it would be the stock image with the replaced CWM recovery.img
5. Flash it with Odin, it worked at me!
6. Proceed with the default rooting procedure of CWM (copy SuperSU, boot recovery, install ZIP)
You are done!
Steps to package the image.tar.md5 file (I used Mac OS X Yosmite):
The OS X tools (tar and md5) are NOT suitable! You should use brew install coreutils and use the gnu tar and md5sum commands. The OS X tar will produce a unusable tar file and Odin will crash, the OS X md5 produces a different output than md5sum (even when using md5 -r) and the verification will fail. When using Linux/Windows tar/md5sum tools all should be fine. If odin crashes when trying to flash it doesn't like how tar packaged up your file. Try a different tar version (better: operating different system).
I hope this helps people that encountered the same issue as me and they can now enjoy Android 5.0 with root on their SM-G900FD.
Cheers,
Sven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well done !!
i was looking for this root for my phone M-G900FD
until i read your thread ,so please upload the ready made file to root my phone as i am not experienced in this matter
waiting for your feed back
thanks

I had the same problem. I couldn't flash any other image whatever I did. And what I did was disabling reactivation lock within the settings. Worked since then.

free007 said:
please upload the ready made file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will look into this tomorrow and provide a ready image for this.
AlwaysAndroid said:
what I did was disabling reactivation lock within the settings. Worked since then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It didn't work out of the box at me. I checked right now within the settings and the reactivation lock is disabled already.
So we seem to face different problems. I still don't understand why flashing anything but an entire firmware is failing.

Well done indeed, would love to get my hands on your modded ROM, as in Dubai with new Duos just purchased today.
Any problems with Wifi passwords not being stored on re-boot?

af2k said:
Heya everyone again,
I just wanted to say that the last hope I had to try did work finally.
As every flashing of single partitions (eg. recovery.img, cache.img.ext4 or boot.img) failed, I did the following:
1. Take the image you want to have, in my case it is Android 5.0 SER (G900FDXXU1BNL9) stock image, and unpack it
2. Take the CWM, I used philz_touch_6.26.2-klte.tar.md5, and unpack it
3. Move the recovery.img file from the CWM to the image you want to flash and replace the original recovery.img
4. Package all together into one image.tar.md5 file, in my case it would be the stock image with the replaced CWM recovery.img
5. Flash it with Odin, it worked at me!
6. Proceed with the default rooting procedure of CWM (copy SuperSU, boot recovery, install ZIP)
You are done!
Steps to package the image.tar.md5 file (I used Mac OS X Yosmite):
The OS X tools (tar and md5) are NOT suitable! You should use brew install coreutils and use the gnu tar and md5sum commands. The OS X tar will produce a unusable tar file and Odin will crash, the OS X md5 produces a different output than md5sum (even when using md5 -r) and the verification will fail. When using Linux/Windows tar/md5sum tools all should be fine. If odin crashes when trying to flash it doesn't like how tar packaged up your file. Try a different tar version (better: operating different system).
I hope this helps people that encountered the same issue as me and they can now enjoy Android 5.0 with root on their SM-G900FD.
Cheers,
Sven
Click to expand...
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Looks like gtar needs to be installed separately.
$ brew install gnu-tar

This is what I was looking for...
I am not on OSX. Is there a possibility to get access to the modified image?

Making custom SM-G903F (GS5 Neo) LL 5.1.1 Pre-rooted Odin Rom (HELP)

Hello the community,
i'd like to ask you for help because i don't manage to make it.
Here is the problem :
1/ i flashed last firmware for the phone
2/ then root it, install latest busybox....
3/ dump from my phone cache & system using this :
dd if=/dev/block/platform/13540000.dwmmc0/by-name/CACHE of=/sdcard/cache.img
dd if=/dev/block/platform/13540000.dwmmc0/by-name/SYSTEM bs=4096 of=/sdcard/system.img
I check it using linux reader. No problem at all
4/ Then repack those 2 files with others files which are on stock tar file (boot, hidden...)
5/ Launch Odin, put my tar on AP then flash.
- All were ok until it came to cache.img then fail
On stock tar, there is a system.img (not .raw). Don't know if it is sparsed but....i suppose as it needs to be converted to bre used with linux reader.
So i dunno what to do to have a valid cache.img & system.img
If you can help me, i will be grateful.
Thanks for all.

Hi
I'm trying too making a pre rooted stock rom flashable through odin. But i get everytime a "failed" from Odin.
However why are using your cache instead of cache.img present in stock firmware?
Try unpack stock firmware and replace only custom "system.img" that contains root and finally repack stock firmware!

Well some info i need is in cache

why don't you make a flashable zip since you know the partions then add root

malbert16442 said:
why don't you make a flashable zip since you know the partions then add root
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A stock firmware pre-rooted flashable through odin is more comfortable whenever you wanna reset your phone isn't need to using FlashFire or Mobile Odin. IMHO

Current BOOTLOADER + MODEM FILES FOR G900W8 (and others) available???

Hello.
I have been trying to track down the latest bootloader and modem for my device. I can not seem to find the specific files, only the fill 1.5GB STOCK firmware from SamMobile. Is there a way to pull those out of the OFFICIAL FIRMWARE, and make them flashable via odin?
SM-G900W8 - Android 5.1.1 - Build date Fri, 11 Sep 2015 - G900W8VLU1COI4
[FOUND] - SM-G900W8 - Android 5.0 - Build date Tue, 04 Aug 2015 - G900W8VLU1BOC2 [BOOTLOADER_G900W8_VLU1BOC2.tar & MODEM_G900W8_VLU1BOC2.tar]
[FOUND] - SM-G900W8 - Android 5.0 - Build date Tue, 10 Mar 2015 - G900W8VLU1BOC1 [G900W8-LP-VLU1BOC1-BOOTLOADER.tar & G900W8-LP-VLU1BOC1-MODEM.tar]
I can't seem to find the modem and bootloader on XDA anywhere for G900W8VLU1COI4 which is the latest for the phone -- I have the other 2 modem and bootloaders as flashable odin files -- is the ONLY way I can get up to the latest firmware (modem + bootloader) is by flashing the stock firmware file, then flash recovery, then root, then install a custom ROM? Which takes a ton of time over a simple flash of the 2 files I need?
Thank you

Same i have been looking for the exact same thing. ^

Radien_Rations148 said:
Same i have been looking for the exact same thing. ^
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Glad I am not the only one, generally there are posts with this as firmware files come out. Myself I am not too sure how to extract these out of the official firmware file to make them flashable in odin

1. Press power , home and down button all together.
2. press continue
3. take your usb cable and plug it in to your phone
4. In odin you should under ID:COM it should be blue , seeing that the computer recognizes.
5. Take the G900W8VLU1BOC2 file and select AP on odin. MAKE SURE TO SELECT AP.
6. It will load and freeze the program for about couple of seconds do not panic.
7. Press start. It will do its thing and than viola!
You just flashed the G900W8VLU1BOC2 file. it should work and SM-G900W8 since it doesnt need and bootloader or MODEM . Its just how its built. Other models need it .

Radien_Rations148 said:
1. Press power , home and down button all together.
2. press continue
3. take your usb cable and plug it in to your phone
4. In odin you should under ID:COM it should be blue , seeing that the computer recognizes.
5. Take the G900W8VLU1BOC2 file and select AP on odin. MAKE SURE TO SELECT AP.
6. It will load and freeze the program for about couple of seconds do not panic.
7. Press start. It will do its thing and than viola!
You just flashed the G900W8VLU1BOC2 file. it should work and SM-G900W8 since it doesnt need and bootloader or MODEM . Its just how its built. Other models need it .
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No that will flash the whole phone back to a stock un-rooted image file. That's not what I am looking for.
I am looking for the modem and bootloader files (tar) files to flash -- I don't want to flash stock ROM
And yes you can flash the bootloader and modem file independent, with any S5 variant -- that post you posted, was how to flash back to STOCK

unibombz said:
Glad I am not the only one, generally there are posts with this as firmware files come out. Myself I am not too sure how to extract these out of the official firmware file to make them flashable in odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having found this thread and others with no sign of the latest files, I just grabbed them form the latest firmware and TARed them.
If anyone needs them, grab them here G900W8VLS1DPF3_G900W8OYA1DPF3_G900W8VLS1DPF3 (Modem file too large to attach to this post)
in case anyone wants to reproduce my steps themselves (with G900W8VLS1DPF3_G900W8OYA1DPF3_G900W8VLS1DPF3 or any subsequent one) here they are:
Download the full stock firmware file
Extract the .tar.md5 file (I am using 7zip for all extraction/compression as it supports all formats)
Open the .tar.md5 in 7zip
For modem: grab "modem.bin"
For bootloader: grab the following
aboot.mbn
rpm.mbn
sbl1.mbn
sdi.mbn
tz.mbn
Compress the file (or files) with 7zip using TAR compression (leave all settings alone, "store" compression level is what i used)
take the resulting tar file and flash using ODIN (BL for bootloader; CP for modem)