Database Users

How to Downgrade Firmware on AT&T’s S5 Active SM-G870A and get Root Access after Augu

How to Downgrade Firmware on AT&T’s S5 Active SM-G870A and get Root Access after Augu
It took me over a week to search through threads and learn how to root my S5 Active SM-G870A after I installed the new August 2014 update and then later discovered the SD card issue (i.e. needing root access to allow apps to write to it).
Anyway, these forums helped but I had to piece lots together in order to do it right and make sure that I was not going to destroy a $600 phone.
Below is a compilation of what I found. I do not take any credit for the original contents. I have simply organized what I have found in many other threads so that others searching to resolve the same issue can do so in less time than me. Also, I put this together so that I do not feel like my time was wasted hunting all of this down!
How to Downgrade Firmware on AT&T’s S5 Active SM-G870A and get Root Access after August 2014 Update
Step 1: Downgrade your Phone’s Firmware to an Earlier Version
Original Thread Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2799754
Before Starting:
1. Download and Install the latest Samsung USB Drivers.
2. Download and install the latest version of Odin (you may need to extract it using a zip program).
3. Download and extract the firmware file: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=31669 (May 9th, 2014) OR HERE.
4. Make sure USB debugging is checked under “Settings/Developer Options” (If you don't know how to do that, go to "About Device" in Settings, and click on "Build Number” 5 times to unlock “Developer Options").
5. Back up your phone using any backup program that does not require root, just in case.
Flash Instructions:
6. Open Odin v3.09.
7. Reboot phone in Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons).
8. Connect phone to your PC and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin.
9. Add the un-zipped firmware file to AP / PDA (Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked).
10. Click the start button, sit back and wait a few minutes.
You should see a bar at the bottom of your phone indicating progress and also in Odin. Once the phone restarts Odin will check to see if the firmware flash was a success. If it is, the “System” box will now display “Success.” Congratulations, you have downgraded your phone’s firmware, now you can root it using towelroot (www.towelroot.com).
Step 2: Install Towelroot
Before Starting:
1. Disable antivirus software on your phone. Towelroot is an exploit: it is how you get root. So your antivirus (if it’s worth a damn) will flag it.
2. Make sure that your phone can install application from unknown sources: Settings>Security>Unknown Sources>Check.
Towelroot Instructions:
3. Using your phone’s browser navigate to www.towelroot.com.
4. Click on the lambda in order to download the tr.apk file.
5. Locate the file on your phone and click on it. Chose the Android Package installer.
6. Follow the additional instructions.
Step 3: Do I have REALLY have Root Access?
1. Go to the Play Story and search “root checker.”
2. Download and install the app with the same name.
3. Run it. If it is a success, then download and install SuperSU.
I recommend getting Titanium Backup and paying for the pro-version ($5.99). Doing so will allow you to disable the AT&T notifications (“Freeze” AT&T Update) that will bug you once you downgrade your firmware, and there are lots of other things you can do with it now that your phone it rooted.
This “complete” intro guide should help anyone (especially newbies) root their S5 Active SM-G870A in a safe way if they have upgrade their phone in August 2014 or after.

UPDATE-Post Flash/Root
After working with the downgrade for a few days everything works fine except I lost the ability to use the default e-mail app. I noticed an "email" failure upon the first boot after the flash, but I ignored it because I was so focused on rooting.
This is not a big deal to me since I was not in love with the stock e-mail app to begin with. I have since found acceptable alternatives (that are actually better IMO). But if this is a big deal to you just be aware. It may be the firmware downgrade or it may have just happened to me. However, some people in the other thread mentioned losing GPS, but mine works fine (as does everything else).

I'm not a noob but thanks for putting this together

GS5 Firmware Download
Whenever I go to the SamMobile website, and go to the page for my phone (Samsung Galaxy S5 AT&T). When I download the file, I'm not able to extract the file because there is nothing in it. What am I doing wrong/does anyone have a direct download link. I tried googling around, but I couldn't find anything that worked.

Dont use the Odin Link, it is SPAM! just search xda
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s-advance/help/version-odin3-v3-10-t2859776

Nice to have it all in one place!
UPDATE: Failed to work on SM-g900a. Guess I'll just keep waiting for someone to n crack lollipop code.
ranthon007 said:
It took me over a week to search through threads and learn how to root my S5 Active SM-G870A after I installed the new August 2014 update and then later discovered the SD card issue (i.e. needing root access to allow apps to write to it).
Anyway, these forums helped but I had to piece lots together in order to do it right and make sure that I was not going to destroy a $600 phone.
Below is a compilation of what I found. I do not take any credit for the original contents. I have simply organized what I have found in many other threads so that others searching to resolve the same issue can do so in less time than me. Also, I put this together so that I do not feel like my time was wasted hunting all of this down!
How to Downgrade Firmware on AT&T’s S5 Active SM-G870A and get Root Access after August 2014 Update
Step 1: Downgrade your Phone’s Firmware to an Earlier Version
Original Thread Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2799754
Before Starting:
1. Download and Install the latest Samsung USB Drivers.
2. Download and install the latest version of Odin (you may need to extract it using a zip program).
3. Download and extract the firmware file: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=31669 (May 9th, 2014) OR HERE.
4. Make sure USB debugging is checked under “Settings/Developer Options” (If you don't know how to do that, go to "About Device" in Settings, and click on "Build Number” 5 times to unlock “Developer Options").
5. Back up your phone using any backup program that does not require root, just in case.
Flash Instructions:
6. Open Odin v3.09.
7. Reboot phone in Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons).
8. Connect phone to your PC and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin.
9. Add the un-zipped firmware file to AP / PDA (Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked).
10. Click the start button, sit back and wait a few minutes.
You should see a bar at the bottom of your phone indicating progress and also in Odin. Once the phone restarts Odin will check to see if the firmware flash was a success. If it is, the “System” box will now display “Success.” Congratulations, you have downgraded your phone’s firmware, now you can root it using towelroot (www.towelroot.com).
Step 2: Install Towelroot
Before Starting:
1. Disable antivirus software on your phone. Towelroot is an exploit: it is how you get root. So your antivirus (if it’s worth a damn) will flag it.
2. Make sure that your phone can install application from unknown sources: Settings>Security>Unknown Sources>Check.
Towelroot Instructions:
3. Using your phone’s browser navigate to www.towelroot.com.
4. Click on the lambda in order to download the tr.apk file.
5. Locate the file on your phone and click on it. Chose the Android Package installer.
6. Follow the additional instructions.
Step 3: Do I have REALLY have Root Access?
1. Go to the Play Story and search “root checker.”
2. Download and install the app with the same name.
3. Run it. If it is a success, then download and install SuperSU.
I recommend getting Titanium Backup and paying for the pro-version ($5.99). Doing so will allow you to disable the AT&T notifications (“Freeze” AT&T Update) that will bug you once you downgrade your firmware, and there are lots of other things you can do with it now that your phone it rooted.
This “complete” intro guide should help anyone (especially newbies) root their S5 Active SM-G870A in a safe way if they have upgrade their phone in August 2014 or after.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like you, I have been scouring the Web trying to downgrade my sm-g900a back to Kitkat since Lollipop and At&t's locked bootloader prohibits rooting or any kind of customization. Whatsoever. So I really appreciate you taking the time to compile these steps! I am wondering however, is there a way to use Odin on a device other than a PC or Mac? For example an LG tablet? Sorry if that's a noob question. I know how and have successfully rooted previous Samsung galaxies using my PC Odin. I'm just away from home and only have a tablet with me. And this Lollipop cap has got to go ! Really appreciate your response.

FAIL! (AUTH)
the message I get is FAIL! (AUTH) in Odin 3.09.
now I am stuck at the Android system recovery screen <3E>
I'm looking for a way back from this.

squirt r6 said:
the message I get is FAIL! (AUTH) in Odin 3.09.
now I am stuck at the Android system recovery screen <3E>
I'm looking for a way back from this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found solution. Just follow the guide in decription and everything is ok. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8481Qm0l010

nhutung said:
I found solution. Just follow the guide in decription and everything is ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same exact problem you did. I followed the link. Thanks for that! I got a PASS from Odin! But I am still stuck on the recovery boot screen. Doing a Data wipe and Cache wipe then restart doesn't work. Still stuck on that page. Any suggestions? Every forum I find just says to perform the data wipe and cache wipe then restart and I should be golden, except I'm not.

Updated method!
Allows downgrade from MM 6.0 down to OF3, which we now have the ability to root using this guide.

sure this guide is for the G870A?
IJoxer said:
Updated method!
Allows downgrade from MM 6.0 down to OF3, which we now have the ability to root using this guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lJOXER, this guide seems to be for the standard S5 and not the ACTIVE? am i correct? is there any way to root a 5.0 OC3 ACTIVE?
---------- Post added at 03:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:34 PM ----------
electric101 said:
lJOXER, this guide seems to be for the standard S5 and not the ACTIVE? am i correct? is there any way to root a 5.0 OC3 ACTIVE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry "OF3"

bigpapi19 said:
I'm not a noob but thanks for putting this together
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you ever try this on the active?

electric101 said:
you ever try this on the active?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey @electric101, sorry, I upgraded to an S7 and have been using another account. This guide actually applied to both, which is also the case for most custom roms. I actually owned the Active myself, often flashed and rooted with 900a methods. Hope that helps, good luck!

thats interesting.... the guy who posted the actual guide (AptLogic) told me that it didnt work with the 870A .... did you try it on an unrooted 870A running 5.0 or newer? when i try it fails on the first step of flashing experimental firmware using odin 3.11
if you were able to maybe i'm just not doing something right....

thank u..
those who r havin trouble...change cords & keep tryin! took me 3 trys.... and a few mins to get passed the att logo screen.. dont get discouraged
i did and walked away came back later at it was all gravy... w android 5.0... still cant root it... so if anyone has any idea...

Rooting Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime. SM-G530A

How can I root my grand prime (modle number SAMSUNG-SM-G530A) can not find a way tried odin light will not turn yellow i know i have all the correct drivers. Rooted many phones but Having alot of trouble finding a link or a prosses that works. Can someone please help me out.

jas2288 said:
How can I root my grand prime (modle number SAMSUNG-SM-G530A) can not find a way tried odin light will not turn yellow i know i have all the correct drivers. Rooted many phones but Having alot of trouble finding a link or a prosses that works. Can someone please help me out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
follow this forum. but im sure u need a computer just in case something goes wrong. good luck
http://forum.xda-developers.com/grand-prime/general/att-samsung-galaxy-prime-sm-g530a-links-t3283066

root your go prime
Go to youtube and type in how to root android with kingroot. Very easy, no computr nreded and it works great. Comes with purify which allows you to get rid of all that nasty bloatware. And a little trick for that phone, if you go into settings then to about phone then find where is says build number and click it 7 times youll activate developer mode. So if you go back to settings youll have a new setting called developer options, in their you can turn on and off usb debugging and even factory unlock your phone for any gsm. Oh yeah one more thing kingroot is completly reversable so it wont void phone warranty.

root your go prime
If you go to google search and search kingroot, one of the links that come up says (all versions) thats yhe one you want. Go to that link and find the download that says latest next to or under the download prompt and download that one. Once its downloaded go to your apps and open it and, then its as simple as clicking the root option. You might have to go in to your accesibility settings and turn on the option that allows you to download app from other places than the play store. I have the same phone and it works great on mine, ive checked root access using a root check app and its legit and its worked on every android phone ive tried it on. So enjoy. And keep me in mind after you root your phone cause im new at this and would like to download a custom rom for nouget 7.0 which i know they have out their for our phone im just not that tech savy so if you figure it out let me know, will greatly appreciate it.

Installing OTA on rooted Yoga Book

Hello,
I am new to rooting. Several months back I rooted my yoga book using magisk. Root was great except that I couldn't install the Nougat update. And because I didn't think I needed it, I did not make a backup of the stock ROM.
I have tried to unroot the device using the magisk uninstaller. The OTA update still failed to install.
What path should I take to unroot my tablet so it can accept updates?
Thank you very much for any help.

I can confirm that re-flashing an older stock version is possible and restores the ability to install OTAs if you don't have a backup at hand.
C.f.: https://forum.xda-developers.com/yoga-book/help/error-installing-recent-ota-update-help-t3615050
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Labs

OT: was root worth the trip? What special things did you do with root?

Flippy498 said:
I can confirm that re-flashing an older stock version is possible and restores the ability to install OTAs if you don't have a backup at hand.
C.f.: https://forum.xda-developers.com/yoga-book/help/error-installing-recent-ota-update-help-t3615050
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! I had looked at that post but was unsure what action to take. I downloaded the YB1-X90F_USR_S000196_1611040312_WW06_BP_ROW-flashfiles.zip from the link you posted. Should I follow MarkAllen's instructions in the previous reply to unzip the folder and used fastboot commands to flash the ROM?

s01q said:
OT: was root worth the trip? What special things did you do with root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it was not worth the trip.
I rooted to be able to uninstall NoteSaver because it had an incredibly frustrating glitch when switching to handwriting mode. Several OTA updates did not fix the issue, so I felt great fixing it myself. I didn't use root for anything else. Overall, the time spent troubleshooting and researching was too much. I use the Yoga Book at university to take notes and it was very hard to find time to try to unroot the tablet and get Nougat. I never bricked the device but I spend many hours resetting it.
If I used root to do something more interesting and had more time to play around, sure it might be worth it.

SonofdAr said:
Should I follow MarkAllen's instructions in the previous reply to unzip the folder and used fastboot commands to flash the ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably might want to lock the bootloader at the end before you execute the continue command.
Code:
fastboot flashing lock
And it might happen that you face an error while flashing that oemvars bootloader_policy-oemvars.txt. I couldn't find out why that happened and ignoring it seems to be harmless.
As soon as the system started you need to skip the whole first setup and to restore the country code as explained by MarkAllen. Otherwise you might need to re-start from the beginning after installing an OTA.
General info for people that didn't root their yoga book and just want to re-flash the stock system: You'll need the info from this thread since chances are high that you face problems with the usb drivers.

SonofdAr said:
For me it was not worth the trip.
I rooted to be able to uninstall NoteSaver because it had an incredibly frustrating glitch when switching to handwriting mode. Several OTA updates did not fix the issue, so I felt great fixing it myself. I didn't use root for anything else. Overall, the time spent troubleshooting and researching was too much. I use the Yoga Book at university to take notes and it was very hard to find time to try to unroot the tablet and get Nougat. I never bricked the device but I spend many hours resetting it.
If I used root to do something more interesting and had more time to play around, sure it might be worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for getting rid of that window adb could have done the trick.
since there is no better rom around, I guess rooting is waste of time - for this device

Flippy498 said:
You probably might want to lock the bootloader at the end before you execute the continue command.
Code:
fastboot flashing lock
And it might happen that you face an error while flashing that oemvars bootloader_policy-oemvars.txt. I couldn't find out why that happened and ignoring it seems to be harmless.
As soon as the system started you need to skip the whole first setup and to restore the country code as explained by MarkAllen. Otherwise you might need to re-start from the beginning after installing an OTA.
General info for people that didn't root their yoga book and just want to re-flash the stock system: You'll need the info from this thread since chances are high that you face problems with the usb drivers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much! Could you just give me better instructions on how to restore the country code? These are the instructions MarkAllen linked to:
you need to input country code to enable keyboard. There are several steps as below :
a) Open ‘’contacts’’ app, create a new local contact ” test”
b) Click search button at contact
c) Input ####6020# code into search bar
d) Browser the country code list, then chose country code you want to use, such as US
e) Then DUT will reboot
How to I skip the whole first setup to get to the contacts app?

Those are exactly the steps you need to follow. It might take some seconds till the new window with the list of all available country codes shows up.
Just use the skip button on the bottom-right of the screen during the setup.

Flippy498 said:
Those are exactly the steps you need to follow. It might take some seconds till the new window with the list of all available country codes shows up.
Just use the skip button on the bottom-right of the screen during the setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! The first OTA update installed without a hitch and hopefully it's smooth sailing from here.
I appreciate the excellent technical support!

s01q said:
for getting rid of that window adb could have done the trick.
since there is no better rom around, I guess rooting is waste of time - for this device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you use adb to get rid of the window?

c.f. https://forum.xda-developers.com/yoga-book/help/android-fix-to-preview-pop-switching-to-t3669261

Beginner Tutorial - Unlock Bootloader + TWRP + Root

Hi everyone, I just want to share this tutorial for someone like me (NEWBIE, NOOB, BEGINNER, ZERO KNOWLEDGE).
ALL CREDITS TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNER.
PRE-REQUISITES
- Laptop
- Applications, .img files (https://mega.nz/file/igphSCTD#OybJo9t1zwvJ0bdbAcN2BCqxWXAfHdhk3JFB4_5xkVc)
- Your Nubia Phone
ENSURE THAT:
- You installed the application and driver (Minimal ADB and Fastboot & the driver from your Nubia phone).
- You updated your OS in the latest version.
- You UNLOCK the developer option (setting>>about phone>>tap 7x the build number) and you switch ON the OEM unlocking & USB Debugging.
- You approved the RSA request in your RM5G
NUBIA RED MAGIC 5G UNLOCK BOOTLOADER
1. Connect your Nubia in laptop, in your laptop, open Minimal ADB and Fastboot and type the following:
a. adb reboot bootloader
b. fastboot oem nubia_unlock NUBIA_NX659J
c. fastboot flash recovery recovery-TWRP-3.4.1B-0324-NUBIA_REDMAGIC_5G-CN-wzsx150.img
d. fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta_BL_skip.img
e. fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
f. fastboot flash parameter parameter.img
2. Go to your RM5G, select reboot to recovery
3. It will reboot in TWRP twice, in the 2nd reboot it will stay in TWRP, change the language to English and select the keep read only.
4. Go to WIPE option, then select FORMAT DATA, type yes
5. Press home button, then go to REBOOT, select REBOOT to RECOVERY
NUBIA RED MAGIC 5G ROOTING PROCEDURE
6. Go to ADVANCED, below there are list, select INSTALL ROOT.
7. Reboot your RM5G.
At first, my RM5G restart twice, I was afraid that it was bootloop, the 3rd boots, it booted up and its rooted already.
Also, when I first registered my Finger Print, it’s malfunctioning, so I just deleted the OLD FP , register NEW FP and it works like a charm.
Now, I managed to flash the wonderful kernel of @mslezak.
Credits:
@mslezak - for his tutorial,
files we used in this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/nu...how-to-unlock-bootloader-redmagic-5g-t4081743
And kernel in this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nu...od-kernel-red-magic-5g-simply-source-t4112811
Ibr ALnaQbi - for his video tutorial
And to all who made it successful.

Great job bro !

Note for those that don't know how to enable developer options - go to settings, about phone, click build number 7x. It should take you right to the Developer Options menu. Nice clear concise guide by the way! Glad someone wrote a simpler one than the one I wrote initially, only so many hours in the day.

mslezak said:
Note for those that don't know how to enable developer options - go to settings, about phone, click build number 7x. It should take you right to the Developer Options menu. Nice clear concise guide by the way! Glad someone wrote a simpler one than the one I wrote initially, only so many hours in the day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for mentioning the dev. option. All credit to all of you guys who made this possible.

I've been trying for days to download the MEGA zip, but no matter what I do it always stays on 0% and gives me an error. I tried on different browsers, on different computers, and using the desktop app, I even tried with the mobile app with no luck. Could someone please share a mirror or another link, please?

Nevermind, I was finally able to download the file, my solution was to use chrome instead of firefox and close every window except the mega one... I left it like that for a couple of hours and it finally downloaded it.

Possibly a stupid question, but are there any downsides to this other than the risk of bricking?

samussamus1 said:
Possibly a stupid question, but are there any downsides to this other than the risk of bricking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you follow the tutorial, there will be no problem even soft brick.

luis7654 said:
Nevermind, I was finally able to download the file, my solution was to use chrome instead of firefox and close every window except the mega one... I left it like that for a couple of hours and it finally downloaded it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a normal troubleshooting, if its not working to other browser, try another one, great to hear that you managed, happy rooting.

CaLix25 said:
If you follow the tutorial, there will be no problem even soft brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but this isn't what I meant, I was thinking more so of apps not working due to root detection. Banking apps or others?
-
Sam

samussamus1 said:
Thanks but this isn't what I meant, I was thinking more so of apps not working due to root detection. Banking apps or others?
-
Sam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can hide the Magisk (setting/select the apps/then hide magisk) so it will not detect that you are rooted.

CaLix25 said:
You can hide the Magisk (setting/select the apps/then hide magisk) so it will not detect that you are rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brilliant, thank you!
-
Sam

Hi,
2 questions. First of all, does this method work for all of the 5G phones? As in the European version etc. And second of all, will the phone brick if you update it via OTA, or do we need to do this method every time?

Noahesbjerg said:
Hi,
2 questions. First of all, does this method work for all of the 5G phones? As in the European version etc. And second of all, will the phone brick if you update it via OTA, or do we need to do this method every time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
1. Yes its applicable for all version.
2. Yes it will brick your phone when updating via OTA

you can take a screen for hide magisk for app (Root) because I can't find it.
and still no solution to recover the fingerprint reader? thank you

cyberpunkfw1983 said:
you can take a screen for hide magisk for app (Root) because I can't find it.
and still no solution to recover the fingerprint reader? thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, see attached. You have to rename the Magisk after selecting in pic. # 1.
You can find the FP calibration procedure here in XDA.

Ty ?

Hi Guys, first of all thanks for awesome tutorial. Got it rooted and enjoying the perks. However, some issues do exist. 1. The phone has detected a new update v4.09. Will the root be deactivated if I update the system? Second question, my banking app is detecting the root and does not want to start. I did set magisk manager to hide it from the app and restarted the phone even, but no luck the app still sees the root. Any solution for it? Thanks all

hello I would like to know how to put it back original? bootloader, Root ... thank you

Zigi86 said:
Hi Guys, first of all thanks for awesome tutorial. Got it rooted and enjoying the perks. However, some issues do exist. 1. The phone has detected a new update v4.09. Will the root be deactivated if I update the system? Second question, my banking app is detecting the root and does not want to start. I did set magisk manager to hide it from the app and restarted the phone even, but no luck the app still sees the root. Any solution for it? Thanks all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you updated your RM5G before rooting, its bug, ignore it.
2. Mine is working as i showed in the photo above (ANB)

Bypass lock screen without root or ADB

Got a question that I am not sure has a proper answer (and yes I know this is a sus question to begin with).
I have an old s7 and I forgot the pattern to unlock it. Developer mode is enabled but since I can't get through the lock screen I can't whitelist my PC on the phone when I connect it. I need to access my google authenticator app because I want to export it to my new phone (use to have it on my new phone but for other reasons it got wiped). I've tried using the samsung service mode code to put it into service mode from the emergency call dialer but that doesn't work. Is there anything else I might be able to try?

use droidkit or drfone screen unlock? I think dr.fone has a free trial, maybe you can screen unlock with it. Or just look for any other 3rd party free screen unlocker. They usually don't need root, nor adb.

Ive tried both but both don't support the s7. At this point I would pay for one of these apps to get into this damned thing.

Is it's bootloader unlocked?

Yes you may try with - UFED4PC_7.49.0.2.tar
This is supported to remove or read screenshot without lock data For Android & specially working on many SAMSUNG devices

AzimBahar said:
Yes you may try with - UFED4PC_7.49.0.2.tar
This is supported to remove or read screenshot without lock data For Android & specially working on many SAMSUNG devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that something you can flash via odin or?
Did some research, looks like a full mobile forensic device suite. I don't have 2000 dollars to drop on trying to open a phone.

NO.
This is a tool which can read your phone lock

I wonder if there is a way to use Odin to flash TWRP for a single boot. It might be enough to push the ADB keyfile to the directory or to delete the sqlite keys for the pattern.

AzimBahar said:
NO.
This is a tool which can cellebrite your phone lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't mean anything Cellebrite is the name of the company that produces UFED.

metalblaster said:
I wonder if there is a way to use Odin to flash TWRP for a single boot. It might be enough to push the ADB keyfile to the directory or to delete the sqlite keys for the pattern.
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you use fastboot to boot a twrp image on a device, without actually flashing it, but im not entirely sure if you can do it with a locked bootloader. Google it i guess?

PhotonIce said:
you use fastboot to boot a twrp image on a device, without actually flashing it, but im not entirely sure if you can do it with a locked bootloader. Google it i guess?
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I wonder if I could mount the system partition that way or not bootloader aside. Unlocking the bootloader would kill all the data too which is a no-no.
It does seem possible to flash TWRP on some devices without unlocking the bootloader. How would I go about booting from it with fastboot without flashing it if I tried it? edit: nevermind I know how to do it.
I assume I would have to use the herolte img to try to get it to work since there isn't one specifically for the sprint variant.
Well I tried but I can't seem to read the phone with fastboot. I tried Odin and it predictably threw out the flash because it wasn't properly authenticated either.

Did you install the correct drivers? You need the samsung usb drivers for odin, and some adb and fastboot drivers for adb.

PhotonIce said:
Did you install the correct drivers? You need the samsung usb drivers for odin, and some adb and fastboot drivers for adb.
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Yeah, of course. I have the Samsung drivers and I tried working with linux and had the same issue. Feels like my only recourse at this point is to setup a kali nethunter.

You also need to manually install adb and fastboot drivers for your device, which for me is pain, but maybe it'll be easy for you.

PhotonIce said:
You also need to manually install adb and fastboot drivers for your device, which for me is pain, but maybe it'll be easy for you.
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Yeah I have them both. For some reason though Fastboot just doesn't see the device. I tried pinging it with the linux version and its vendor id but it didn't do any good. Kind of a real pain this is becoming. I may just convert my old nexus 11 into a kali nethunter and try to brute force it.

Still haven't found a solution and now I am feeling the consequences. My Nintendo 2FA is on this damned phone. Going to try to call support and get it removed tomorrow but its a real big pain.

Metablaster,
Is there an update to this?
My wife's S8 is pattern locked, she didn't set up a Samsung account prior, and the Google Find my Phone web tool PIN option has been changed/ deleted. Maybe there's an older html version of this somewhere?
ADB keeps coming back that the device access is "unauthorized" even after reboot, so although I thought I enabled USB Debugging before giving her the phone (it used to be mine), she may have restored to factory without enabling it again.
Kali will delete all of the data like a factory reset so that defeats the purpose except to just get use of the phone at all again.
Is there anyone on here that knows of a professional grade service that can do this?
So frustrating...! Why , upon proof of ownership, can't something be done?

Please pm me, I'd want to try the MD-Next option first.
If I run the risk of losing her data than anything more intrusive probably isn't worth it.

mat68046 said:
Please pm me, I'd want to try the MD-Next option first.
If I run the risk of losing her data than anything more intrusive probably isn't worth it.
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MetalBlaster,
I did manage to get the S8 to boot into Recovery Mode, please PM me about trying the MD-Next step via USB bridge.

mat68046 said:
MetalBlaster,
I did manage to get the S8 to boot into Recovery Mode, please PM me about trying the MD-Next step via USB bridge.
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Have you already tried to unlock the device with a locked SIM?