I would really like to get rid of stock samsung rom. I have i9505 S4. So far, I am convinced that the bootloader cannot be unlocked, but then I see there are custom roms (like CM14) in i9505 section. So what is it? Can the bootloader be unlocked for i9505 or is there another way to flash custom roms on S4?
I have been reading and watching youtube videos for 2 days and I am finally giving up and asking the xda community.
You don't need to unlock the bootloader. The phone is old enough that you shouldn't care about setting the knox flag either.
It's actually really easy. Use CF-autoroot to root. Install twrp. Use twrp to back your current rom, then wipe and flash a new one.
You may need to update modem / baseband but only do that to cure a problem if necessary.
I wouldn't recommend CM14 / nougat based roms yet, it's too early for them to be used day to day.
CM13 or a CM13 / MM based rom should suffice. I would recommend Resurrection Remix on i9505 myself...
Most S4 models don't have a locked bootloader. So there is absolutely nothing to unlock, unless it's Verizon or AT&T. In which case, it's impossible to unlock.
Related
Hi, I'd like something cleared up. I have a Verizon Galaxy S5 running Kitkat 4.4.4 which I have rooted. I was wanting to flash this Liquidsmooth ROM on it. It says it supports it, right? But how do you install this ROM if the locked bootloader keeps you from installing TWRP or CWM Recovery? Can it only be installed on the developer edition? I can't seem to find a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance.
RayburnD said:
Hi, I'd like something cleared up. I have a Verizon Galaxy S5 running Kitkat 4.4.4 which I have rooted. I was wanting to flash this Liquidsmooth ROM on it. It says it supports it, right? But how do you install this ROM if the locked bootloader keeps you from installing TWRP or CWM Recovery? Can it only be installed on the developer edition? I can't seem to find a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
It says in the OP the ROM is AOSP based, which means you cannot flash it on the retail Verizon version. It can only be flashed on the Developer Edition Verizon variant.
Ok, that's what I was thinking, but wasn't sure. Thanks for your help!
RayburnD said:
Hi, I'd like something cleared up. I have a Verizon Galaxy S5 running Kitkat 4.4.4 which I have rooted. I was wanting to flash this Liquidsmooth ROM on it. It says it supports it, right? But how do you install this ROM if the locked bootloader keeps you from installing TWRP or CWM Recovery? Can it only be installed on the developer edition? I can't seem to find a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering exactly the same thing. I'm a total noob, I've never flashed a ROM. I rooted Verizon Galaxy S5, w KitKat 4.4.4. I wondered: if Lollipop kills Safestrap, how am I supposed to recover from a inappropriate Lollipop ROM? I was so frustrated by this question, I just bought (a cheap, mint) Developer Edition Samsung Galaxy S5. Now what? I would like to flash ROMS on my new phone , have found threads to do so, but the general question remains: what ROMS are right? Can the Developer Edition (DE) take any ROM that a non-Developer Edition can take? Can the DE S5 take ANY AOSP ROM? Such as CM 12.1? And to phrase the question for those with the non-DE S5 - how does one recover from a bad Lollipop ROM, if one cannot install recovery on a locked bootloader Verizon S5? -- and if one cannot use Safestrap (because I thought Safestrap was broken in Lollipop). Does one have to downgrade to KitKat to fix an incorrect ROM situation? Lots of questions, I'll research, but these still remain. Thank you!
lazrus1 said:
I was wondering exactly the same thing. I'm a total noob, I've never flashed a ROM. I rooted Verizon Galaxy S5, w KitKat 4.4.4. I wondered: if Lollipop kills Safestrap, how am I supposed to recover from a inappropriate Lollipop ROM? I was so frustrated by this question, I just bought (a cheap, mint) Developer Edition Samsung Galaxy S5. Now what? I would like to flash ROMS on my new phone , have found threads to do so, but the general question remains: what ROMS are right? Can the Developer Edition (DE) take any ROM that a non-Developer Edition can take? Can the DE S5 take ANY AOSP ROM? Such as CM 12.1? And to phrase the question for those with the non-DE S5 - how does one recover from a bad Lollipop ROM, if one cannot install recovery on a locked bootloader Verizon S5? -- and if one cannot use Safestrap (because I thought Safestrap was broken in Lollipop). Does one have to downgrade to KitKat to fix an incorrect ROM situation? Lots of questions, I'll research, but these still remain. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A developer edition cannot run Roms for the retail edition. You will lock your device. You can backup your phone or flash something else by using Odin to flash a kernel of an earlier build such as nk2. This will bring safestrap back up.
lazrus1 said:
I was wondering exactly the same thing. I'm a total noob, I've never flashed a ROM. I rooted Verizon Galaxy S5, w KitKat 4.4.4. I wondered: if Lollipop kills Safestrap, how am I supposed to recover from a inappropriate Lollipop ROM? I was so frustrated by this question, I just bought (a cheap, mint) Developer Edition Samsung Galaxy S5. Now what? I would like to flash ROMS on my new phone , have found threads to do so, but the general question remains: what ROMS are right? Can the Developer Edition (DE) take any ROM that a non-Developer Edition can take? Can the DE S5 take ANY AOSP ROM? Such as CM 12.1? And to phrase the question for those with the non-DE S5 - how does one recover from a bad Lollipop ROM, if one cannot install recovery on a locked bootloader Verizon S5? -- and if one cannot use Safestrap (because I thought Safestrap was broken in Lollipop). Does one have to downgrade to KitKat to fix an incorrect ROM situation? Lots of questions, I'll research, but these still remain. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't suggest installing roms based off retail firmware for the de version as it'll probably lock your bootloader. Developer editions can take any aosp rom made for the kltevzw, and any rom that isn't based off of retail firmware, for that matter. Safestrap doesn't work on lollipop, but if you want it to run all you have to do is flash a kitkat kernel on odin and safestrap will work again, ths system will not, however, unless you install a lollipop kernel.
Tulsadiver said:
A developer edition cannot run Roms for the retail edition. You will lock your device. You can backup your phone or flash something else by using Odin to flash a kernel of an earlier build such as nk2. This will bring safestrap back up.
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Click to collapse
thank you!
Are there any AOSP ROMS based on CM12.1 that are semi-stable? I saw the one by albinoman887 , but that one does not yet seem stable, and since I am a n00b, might not be a good idea to flash it.... Are there any other ROMS for Samsung GS5 kltevzw phones with unlocked bootloaders that you know of?
thank you!
lazrus1 said:
thank you!
Are there any AOSP ROMS based on CM12.1 that are semi-stable? I saw the one by albinoman887 , but that one does not yet seem stable, and since I am a n00b, might not be a good idea to flash it.... Are there any other ROMS for Samsung GS5 kltevzw phones with unlocked bootloaders that you know of?
thank you!
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Click to collapse
I am too unfamiliar with the developer edition. I wouldn't want to mess up your phone.
Hey Everyone!!
Thank you for looking at this thread.
In a nutshell, I got my i9505 galaxy s4 since June 2013, rooted it straight away when i got it, its got twrp recovery, and im on omega v9 4.2.2. Havent touched it since to date
It does not have knox.
Is there a way I can simply upgrade to something like cm 12.1 with 5.1.1 with everything working, by simply flashing latest cm with gapps using twrp, or will I have to upgrade bootloader, radio, get knox, or even just start over, flash stock samsung lollipop firmware with knox using odin, in order to do so?
I already a while back tried updating twrp to latest, and tried flashing cm with lollipop 5.0 when it first first came out, but only 2g was working, and signal would cut if i lock my phone. Im guessing this is due to bootloader/radio incompatibility, or maybe because it was early builds? Apparently i cant flash lollipop bootloader and radio over old 4.2.2 stuff without consequently installing knox? Is knox that bad? I heard its better to not have knox but if its the only thing stopping from lollipop then so be it.
Any help and advice much appreciated.
Hope to hear soon,
DJ
You can try upgrading just the modem to be able to flash an Android 5.x ROM, but it likely will not work and thus you will have to flash an updated bootloader as well. The good news is that since your S4 is out of warranty, whether you trip the Knox flag or not will not matter.
You should be able to flash the updated bootloader and radio without having to install an entire ROM, though you might want to download the latest ROM for your S4 anyway. There is a thread in I9505 General that has a list of bootloaders and modems that can be downloaded and flashed through Odin. From there, you should have no problem flashing the custom ROM of your choice through recovery.
I currently have AT&T stock (I used to have a custom ROM then had to flash to stock ROM to be able to flash to another custom ROM--however, I accidentally flashed a newer version of the AT&T stock ROM which locked my bootloader and I could no longer flash to a custom ROM). I updated my AT&T stock ROM recently and now my back/menu buttons don't work, so I want to see if I can flash to a custom ROM now.
I don't remember the procedure to flash a custom ROM--do I first need to get root in order to unlock the bootloader to be able to flash ROMs (i.e. if I have root then I am guaranteed to be able to unlock bootloader in order to flash ROM)? Is the baseband version the only thing that determines whether I can unlock the bootloader and then be able to flash ROMs?
I currently have OK2 as broadband version and checked one of the stickied threads which said this:
" ROOT
OK2 -- No direct root method. Must Odin OC4 kernel, use Kingroot, then Odin OK2 kernel back."
Does that mean what I have to do is use Odin to get OC4 kernel, then use Kingroot, then Odin OK2 kernel and then I will be able to have root, which means I can then unlock my bootloader and be able to flash to ANY ROM (not just TouchWiz-based ROMs)? Is there anything else I need to consider or is this 100% foolproof? In the future, what should I be careful of in order to prevent getting my bootloader locked again--just that I don't flash a stock (AT&T) ROM that is known to lock back the bootloader?
Thank you all!
There's no way to unlock the bootloader if you have updated your device to the lastest firmware version. The only thing you can do is flash SafeStrap and use Stock Kernel Based ROMs which are compatible with Safestrap.
As regards to the procedure of rooting an OK2 firmware, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you.
Have a happy new year.
mindstormer said:
...however, I accidentally flashed a newer version of the AT&T stock ROM which locked my bootloader ...
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Click to collapse
I was just about to sit down and flash a stock ROM. Can you explain what you mean by this? Did you flash OK2 and it caused you a problem?
smock9 said:
I was just about to sit down and flash a stock ROM. Can you explain what you mean by this? Did you flash OK2 and it caused you a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a while ago but I used to have I believe an MDL broadband version which meant I could flash any ROM available. I tried a different ROM, didn't like it, then decided to flash back to the stock ROM but accidentally flashed a newer version of it, which meant that my bootloader is now locked. With a locked bootloader, apparently I can only flash to a newer stock ROM (not other ROMs like Cyanogenmod) via Safestrap.
I think if you don't have the MDL broadband version you shouldn't worry about it anyway because it is locked and you will only be limited to flashing stock ROMs.
Slight correction
The previous entry is not entirely correct. Like the OP, I was originally on an unlocked bootloader on my i337. I'd purchased my i337 on the first day and eschewed OTA updates. I wanted to try a touchwiz based ROM, Hyperdrive, and in doing so I recall flashing the stock NB1 firmware. Every firmware beginning with NB1 has a locked bootloader and there has been no progress for more than a year in unlocking the bootloader again. This can limit you to either stock ROMs OR other touchwiz based ROMs like Hyperdrive. I love the Hyperdrive ROM (now on release 21) but its developer has moved on to a newer phone, so it's stuck at Android 4.4.2 and no one has picked up the project in many months. There are several other touchwiz based ROMs for the i337 version of the S4 which I have also tried but I prefer Hyperdrive's myriad customization, even without proper patching. I'll be moving on soon to the Nexus 6P as my daily driver, but would very much like to keep my S4 up to date with a custom ROM. Given the number of people that have been in this same situation, where a newer stock ROM from AT&T locked a previously unlocked bootloader, it's been surprising that the issues have not been overcome on a phone as popular as the Galaxy S4 was and continues to be. I've seen unlocked versions of the S4 selling for just under $400 in the last week of 2015.
Use the desktop version of Kingoroot to root and use Super su and update the binary. Don't forget to hit thanks if this helped.
The bootloader for the at&t s4 was never unlocked. The MDL bootloader had a flaw in it that allowed you to use LOKI which is a lock bypass, not a way to unlock the bootloader.
I have the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4
Android Version 5.0.1
Build I337UCUGOK2
I've already unrooted it.
My question is, can I install custom roms to it?
I read somewhere on xda that I can only install roms based on the base one using Safestrap.
I really wanted to install cyanogenmod, but on the page there's the warning ''you must be on build I337UCUAMDB or I337UCUAMDL or this will not work''
Any help would be appreciated.
Not possible without unlocking bootloader
I am in the same boat. Unfortunately at the moment there is no way to get CyanogenMod from OK2. I have spend so many hours trying for the same. The conclusion is that the bootloader is locked and there is no known method to unlock the bootloader on I337 yet.
Hello
My LG V10 came across the famous bootloop issue, and I shipped it to LG. In the meantime, I am using an old S4 that was saved for emergencies like this one. It is running 4.4.4, I337UCUFNJ4, and I rooted it with Kingoroot.
I understand that it should OTA to 5.1 in pronably a day or 2 if I check for a software update; it sat turned off since 2014, so it did not receive anything.
1. Do I OTA and reroot?
2. Can I manually jump to 5.1?
Ultimately, I would like to install TWRP and the Blissrom or some other ROM, but I don't want to take an OTA that may screw me up for later. I read that there's a loki thing that will prevent future installations of recovery or something like that. I realize that I will be using a short time (2-3 weeks), but I would like to leave it rooted and with a good ROM.
Thank you
The bootloader is locked so that means TWRP cannot be flashed to the phone and the phone will only run custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung ROM.
OTA updates will not work if the phone is rooted.
audit13 said:
The bootloader is locked so that means TWRP cannot be flashed to the phone and the phone will only run custom ROMs based off a stock Samsung ROM.
OTA updates will not work if the phone is rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm confused or perhaps you are misinformed. I have seen a lot of ROMs for this device including Blissrom and many others. All od them get flashed through twrp or Safeway or aome name like that.
You mean safestrap?
Maybe you are thinking of the non-AT&T models of the s4 that work with custom ROMs such as Lineage and Validus. Only the AT&T version of the s4 has a locked bootloader, starting with Android 4.3 and up.
There has never been an sgh-i337 s4 with a locked bootloader than can run TWRP. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a note 3 with a locked bootloader.
audit13 said:
You mean safestrap?
Maybe you are thinking of the non-AT&T models of the s4 that work with custom ROMs such as Lineage and Validus. Only the AT&T version of the s4 has a locked bootloader, starting with Android 4.3 and up.
There has never been an sgh-i337 s4 with a locked bootloader than can run TWRP. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a note 3 with a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But there's a forum dedicated to AT&T development full of roms here on xda.
Yes, there is a full section but you need to look at the ROM requirements. Some of these ROMs were developed before AT&T pushed out an OTA update that locked the bootloader. Other ROMs are made for the non-AT&T s4 such as the sgh-i337m and gt-i9505.
You will not see any ROM that is not based off a stock Samsung ROM that can be installed onto an AT&T s4 that has a locked bootloader. Also, you will not see any version of TWRP/CWM/Philz that can be installed onto an AT&T s4 that has a locked bootloader. Same goes for the AT&T sm-n900a.
I understand your skepticism and appreciate your posts as we are all here to learn from each other.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785166
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/ez-unlock-bricked-phone-galaxy-att-s4-t3703235
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/help-installed-chainfire3d-phone-doesnt-t3700830
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/help/samsung-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337-ok2-locked-t3458353
Thanks for the clarification. So how do I know if my bootloader is locked? If I took that ota update that messed things up?
The bootloader becomes locked when the phone is updated to Android 4.3 or newer. I think it needs to be on the MDL bootloader to be unlocked. Anything beginning with an "N" or "O" means that the bootloader is locked.
Thanks audit. And I assume that there's no way to go backwards to a pre-4.3 rom and unlock that bootloader.
So. I'm on 4.44 rooted. Do i remove root and take any ota and reroot? I guess that I'll settle for going as high as possible with the stock rom but rooted with the ability to disable some of the bloatware.
How can I proceed?
In those links that you mentioned, it states that we can flash debloated TouchWiz roms that might be better than stock. Is that right? So can I do that?
You will need to install safestrap to flash a custom ROM. The debloated ROMs must be based off a ROM that is designed for the AT&T s4.
I recommend reading through this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
Audit... I odined back to nb1, rooted, and used flashify to get to rooted stock oc3.
How can I get to ok3? And should I leave ota services frozen so as to not ruin and loose root?
OTA will not work with a rooted phone.
Maybe this will help: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56453108&postcount=2
I don't have an sgh-i337 so I can't tell you how to get back to a completely stock ROM to get OTA updates. I have the sgh-i337m which is the Canadian version of the s4 without a locked bootloader.
I wrote a guide and FAQ revolving around the MDL bootloader here (if anyone cares to read it):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/how-to-one-guide-to-mdl-bootloader-t3584122