Database Users

AT&T Now Bricks Modded Galaxy Tabs

What used to be a simple patch to permit AT&T Galaxy Tabs to download apps from sites other than the Google Market is no more. We recently got our Tab back from the Samsung repair facility and it was wiped clean and loaded with a new Android version that now puts your Tab in an endless boot loop if you attempt to patch the config setup to permit downloads from outside Google Market.
Simple solution: DON'T BUY AT&T-BRANDED GALAXY TABS.
If there were some sort of unlimited data plan, this kind of behavior might be warranted but since AT&T charges by the amount of data you consume, there's really no excuse for crippling these devices... other than just being assholes!

Not entirely sure what you're referring to here. I have an AT&T SGT and it works just fine with sideloaded apps.
Did you run SuperOneClick root and then enable non-market apps?
Either way, nuke that horrid stock ROM with one of the Euro roms and you'll never have to worry about AT&T's crippled version again.

Yeah, but...
There still are a number of ways to root the phone, but the new checksummed firmware will make it extremely difficult to load custom roms with any hope of restoring an earlier firmware version. And, once you update your current version of Android, using the standard method of allowing non-market apps by changing the non-market apps entry in /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db will put the device into an endless boot loop when you restart it.
So, while it used to be simple, those days are over. No need to shoot the messenger.

What version of firmware did your Tab come back with?
What method did you attempt to enable side loading?
I find this very hard to believe because every single ATT Android device to date has been able to side load after a simple 1 bit edit of the device settings db.
I believe that you had problems with the SuperOneClick app but there is a much cleaner / safer way to do it.
Sent from my SGH-I987 using Tapatalk

NerdUno said:
There still are a number of ways to root the phone, but the new checksummed firmware will make it extremely difficult to load custom roms with any hope of restoring an earlier firmware version. And, once you update your current version of Android, using the standard method of allowing non-market apps by changing the non-market apps entry in /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db will put the device into an endless boot loop when you restart it.
So, while it used to be simple, those days are over. No need to shoot the messenger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe my ATT SGT came with a protected bootloader, and if I'm not mistaken, AT&T hasn't released any firmware updates via KIES or OTA. So while there's always the possibility of Samsung "screwing" us all with that mess, it's only been seen on the leaked firmwares. Not that I don't put it past the big blue DeathStar to opt to use something like that to prevent people from avoiding their preloaded garbage....
I'm happy I liberated my device from the clutches of the Evil Empire, and will gladly look to XDA for my future upgrade paths.

Could just be a bad software flash from factory. A number of t-mobile vibrants couldn't get to restore via volume up/down power because of a buggy flash file they put on a certain build date
Sent from my Galaxy Tab

S7 SM-G930F Rent-A-Center Lock Workaround

I thought I would post this in case someone else is stuck like I was. I purchased an S7 SM-G930F off ebay and it worked fine for a 45 days until 2 days ago when a Rent-A-Center lock screen popped up and rendered the device unusable. I tried to get it returned through ebay but the seller and ebay both said that the return window closed. Based on web searches this has been in place for a few years on Rent-A-Center acquired devices but I couldn't find anything fixing it for the S7. Long story short I tried everything under the sun to get a firmware on it and every way failed. It seems like anything based on Samsung firmware would trigger it including multiple different builds such as Superman. Others probably know more, but it seems like there is something in Samsung produced firmwares (maybe knox) that checks and trips on the IMEI number causing the lock to trigger.
There are guides and information out there about using Cyanogenmod on an S5 to work around it so I looked through all the firmware available and decided to try the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 here by Angelo27093 since it wasn't based on Samsung Firmware.
That worked! Many Thanks to Angelo27093 and anyone else who worked on that firmware because it turned my 500.00 brick into a usable device.
Steps (I'm a newb so maybe I didn't need all this)
1. Download the Stock firmware of your choice from Sammobile
2. Unzip/unrar it and pull out the BL and CP for bootloader and modem (I used 7Zip)
3. Grab TWRP from here
4. Grab Odin 3.12 here
5. Download the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 ROM here
6. Put the N7 ROM on an SD Card
7. Put the Device in Download Mode (Hold Vol Down, Power, Home)
8. Use Odin to flash TWRP to the device (AP)
9. Reboot into Recovery Mode (Hold Vol Up, Power, Home)
10. In TWRP use Advanced Wipe to Wipe everything except the SD Card. If it fails use Reset Data first, then Wipe
11. Reboot into Download mode from TWRP Reboot menu
12. Use Odin to Flash the BL, CP, and TWRP
13. Reboot into Recovery mode
14. Use Install from the TWRP menu to browse to N7 Google Pixel ROM on the SD Card
15. That's it. Wait for it to boot and setup (might take 5-10 min)
The only other thing I did was grab exchange services and the samsung email client from an APK mirror.
Again, MANY Thanks to all the people that put all this software together. Saved my device!

Just tried this, still doesn't work for me. Followed all the steps. Did the lock come back for you?

1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery

deshaney said:
1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When doing dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11 I get the following error:
Code:
dd: writing 'dev/block/sda11' : No space left on device

Thank you for this!! At our cell-repair place we had a customer have this stuck on their S7 and we could not get it off. We had actually tried this exact thing once before without a few of the steps. Well, we did everything in this order again, including flashing twrp again and typing the code before installing the rom and it worked! Not sure what was different between our two separate tries, but in the end it worked! So thank you!!

deshaney said:
1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after do odin flash with G930FXXU1APB6 and all ok

Note 8
I just bought a "unlocked" note 8 and everything was clean when I checked it and everything works and is activated but when I was scrolling though the settings I saw under "knox" there's a Rent-a-center profile with the contact number and everything. So I'm assuming this is going to do the same exact thing. And if it does, will this method work for my phone as well? I've been doing research about what it means and a solution when i stumbled on this post and figured I'd ask some people who are familiar with the issue and might know what to do and not to do. So If anyone has any advice or can help please let me know

mjohnson27401 said:
I thought I would post this in case someone else is stuck like I was. I purchased an S7 SM-G930F off ebay and it worked fine for a 45 days until 2 days ago when a Rent-A-Center lock screen popped up and rendered the device unusable. I tried to get it returned through ebay but the seller and ebay both said that the return window closed. Based on web searches this has been in place for a few years on Rent-A-Center acquired devices but I couldn't find anything fixing it for the S7. Long story short I tried everything under the sun to get a firmware on it and every way failed. It seems like anything based on Samsung firmware would trigger it including multiple different builds such as Superman. Others probably know more, but it seems like there is something in Samsung produced firmwares (maybe knox) that checks and trips on the IMEI number causing the lock to trigger.
There are guides and information out there about using Cyanogenmod on an S5 to work around it so I looked through all the firmware available and decided to try the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 here by Angelo27093 since it wasn't based on Samsung Firmware.
That worked! Many Thanks to Angelo27093 and anyone else who worked on that firmware because it turned my 500.00 brick into a usable device.
Steps (I'm a newb so maybe I didn't need all this)
1. Download the Stock firmware of your choice from Sammobile
2. Unzip/unrar it and pull out the BL and CP for bootloader and modem (I used 7Zip)
3. Grab TWRP from here
4. Grab Odin 3.12 here
5. Download the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 ROM here
6. Put the N7 ROM on an SD Card
7. Put the Device in Download Mode (Hold Vol Down, Power, Home)
8. Use Odin to flash TWRP to the device (AP)
9. Reboot into Recovery Mode (Hold Vol Up, Power, Home)
10. In TWRP use Advanced Wipe to Wipe everything except the SD Card. If it fails use Reset Data first, then Wipe
11. Reboot into Download mode from TWRP Reboot menu
12. Use Odin to Flash the BL, CP, and TWRP
13. Reboot into Recovery mode
14. Use Install from the TWRP menu to browse to N7 Google Pixel ROM on the SD Card
15. That's it. Wait for it to boot and setup (might take 5-10 min)
The only other thing I did was grab exchange services and the samsung email client from an APK mirror.
Again, MANY Thanks to all the people that put all this software together. Saved my device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didn't work for me, model g930f. please helpppp!!! ((

TLDR, follow back to stock procedures for your phone. In this case they have used an exploit to gain system persistence. Without clearing the system and data partitions, the exploit will likely return ("factory restore" only wipes data partition).

Sounds to me like the Rent a Center lock is a legitimate lock by Rent a Center... It seems that whomever you bought your phone from had acquired it from Rent a Center on a "rent to own" or something similar - And they sold you a phone that wasn't theirs to actually sell....In other words it looks - walks & smells like fraud on the part of the person who sold you the phone.
https://www.rentacenter.com/smartphones/shop-smartphones/c/5001
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

magmafire said:
actually i bought a note 8 on ebay after 2 months use my phone was locked too with its was saying rent a center and asking for password
a friend of mine has commented on facebook post for someone who was saying he have sucessfully removed this lock
i did contacted him on his facebook he told me to send picture of the lock i did send it and he said he can unlock it he asked me for 90$ to remove the lock i accept and and paid him via skrill he asked for team viewer the logged to my pc then made the screen black and i do not know what he did then he tell me to do some steps and volla my phone was in download mode for 2 minutes then rebooted and i cant believe the lock was gone
this is the link where i found his post
www . facebook . com/ baselalzoupi/posts/2089441677959653
and this his facebook id page where i contacted him
www . facebook . com/ baselalzoupi
i cant post links because i just registered to make you guys know about it because i spent 1 month searching for solution
remove spaces in the link to make it work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had great experience with this service referred by @magmafire. Basel was very professional, friendly and patient. He is passionate about his work. The price was more than fair for the service he offered. I highly recommend him for anyone's got a rent-a-center locked phone. :good:

shaggyskunk said:
Sounds to me like the Rent a Center lock is a legitimate lock by Rent a Center... It seems that whomever you bought your phone from had acquired it from Rent a Center on a "rent to own" or something similar - And they sold you a phone that wasn't theirs to actually sell....In other words it looks - walks & smells like fraud on the part of the person who sold you the phone.
https://www.rentacenter.com/smartphones/shop-smartphones/c/5001
Sent from my SM-G955W
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it really comes down to it rent a center are a bunch of crooks who over charge people 2,500.00 for a 800.00 phone ??? screw rent a center.

Any one here can verify this method works? Seems ever one saying its not working. I bought a s7 other day mint condition for 25 bucks guy said it wouldn't turn on so i got home and charged it and it came on but it has a RAC lock on it. I figure if its ez enough for me to get it off i will try that but if not i will wait till i get another s7 with bad lcd and swap boards. I tried flashed U1 FW and that didnt work.

Flash the engineer bootloader that matches your firmware version. This will give you root she'll access. Then you can use the "dd if" commands to remove rac lock. I've done it on multiple phones.

I have the opportunity to buy a Note 9 from a seller that seems to deal with second-hand stuff (maybe a pawn shop, or they bought a pallet of electronics for resell/repair/etc). I don't think it's some degenerate that just didn't pay their bill and are trying to rip off RAC. It's the unlocked international version (N9600) that can be bootloader unlocked, rooted, etc. I'm familiar with the process of entering download mode, wiping, rebuilding partitions, etc. Would this process work on this phone to permanently remove the RAC lock? I plan to use the phone on Verizon, FWIW.
Now, a note on the legality/honesty of this situation:
I know that there is the possibility of dishonesty here... so it's a little taboo to talk about. RAC locked down the device due to non-payment. However, I hate the idea of the hardware going to waste. The fact is that when someone defrauds a lender (carrier, rent a center, etc)... it sucks, and there's a phone that's locked until it's paid for. However, in most cases, they don't pay for it, and it gets sold on the gray market. I just want this device to be able to be used again. If RAC is the only entity that can *legally* unlock it, then it's just not going to happen. They might want thousands of dollars to pay it off.
Stolen cars are eventually sold at auction, assuming they are in suitable condition. It's the most legitimate end to preventing a running car from going unused.
So... on the honor system... we technically capable people that just want to battle entropy of electronics might be able to remove the lock permanently and save the device from the e-waste heap. That's my goal. And a good deal, of course.
So... Will this work for the N9600? Thanks

KerwinSiwa said:
I totally agree. State courts throughout the US have consistently held that a failure to pay for leased merchandise is civil in nature, and does not rise to the level of theft or other criminal charges. Hence, a person in possession of a Rent-a-Center locked smartphone is not in possession of stolen property. No harm, no foul. Ethically, I can see where Rent-a-Center posits in terms of a loss. Nevertheless, the civil dispute is strictly between Rent-a-Center and the lease signer. That's none of my business. My name's Paul and that's between ya'll; my name's Bennett and I ain't in it. Anyway you get my point. A Rent-a-Center in Tennessee recently sought civil damages against an individual who was charging a fee to remove RAC remote security from RAC smartphones. Rent-a-Center ultimately lost the case (See Rent-a-Center, Inc vs. Jerry Garvey, Jr (Tenn. R. App. P. 81 (Aug 2018)).
By the way these locks are super simple to remove and, on most devices, the remote security protocol can be removed from the device in 15 minutes or less. Rent-a-Center should perhaps look into some better security. Yes, you can do this on the N9600 as well. I can confirm on that model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the item in question already sold to someone else... But now that I'm interested in the topic, I'm also curious. Can RAC blacklist the phone like a carrier could? Could they put the IMEI or MEID on a list of stolen devices and carriers like Verizon or Tmobile could refuse to activate them? Or, do they have no authority to do that? If they could blacklist the device for all carriers, it doesn't matter how simple their security is.
Thanks again

So... Let's say I came across a phone with a RAC lock and did an ESN check. If I got the attached results... What would be the outcome? It's not on the blacklist, but it is on the NCIC list (national crime information center). Would Verizon or any other carrier allow it, or not? I kind of want to ask Verizon directly, but that would be like asking a TSA agent what weapons *are* allowed on a plane.
Any advice?

DrPhant0m said:
So... Let's say I came across a phone with a RAC lock and did an ESN check. If I got the attached results... What would be the outcome? It's not on the blacklist, but it is on the NCIC list (national crime information center). Would Verizon or any other carrier allow it, or not? I kind of want to ask Verizon directly, but that would be like asking a TSA agent what weapons *are* allowed on a plane.
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ncic is the national database that police use for lost/stolen stuff. carriers generally dont have access to it. but cops do. if a cop runs the imei in ncic it would come back as stolen and you might get in trubble with the law for possing stolen property. however unlike cars or guns the cops only check phones through ncic if something suspicious is happening like phone theft investigation where they have a description of person or vehicle possibly involved

Samsung Pay finally catching my rooted S5

I've been using Samsung Pay on my Gear S3 connected to my S5 running @jrkruse Stock/Rooted DEODEXED QA1 - been working perfectly.
Just got notice on my phone that a Samsung Pay update failed. When I opened it, it says:
"Samsung Pay cannot be accessed by rooted devices for security reasons. Unroot your device in order to use Samsung Pay"
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
PS The watch actually still looks like it always has - like it should still work, but I haven't tried it since this phone update. Gear S3 Samsung Pay version is 1.3.2103.

Although my rooted Nexus 6P also would not update, the Gear continued to work with SP until I ended up having to re-pair the phone and watch. At that point it no longer worked. Oddly I removed root and turned off developer options and Pay is still telling me that I'm rooted. Used a root checker and verified that I'm no longer rooted. Not sure what to do at this point.

Android Pay not working.

I Haven't rooted my phone yet but it keeps telling me this when I open android pay, when I first got my phone I set my up my card but now it saying that phone is either rooted or bootloader unlocked which isn't the case.
On Vodafone UK, before this I used my OP3 with Magisk with Android Pay but I haven't used that since I've got my s8 so I'm not sure what the issue could be.
Any insight to this?
Besides the usual factory reset.

same here EE UK S8 not rooted (yet) but comes up with same error message. It worked fine on my rooted and hidden with magisk S6
edit - oh and factory reset doesn't work as I already tried that. I thought it might have had something to do with bringing over magisk app from my google backup but I specifically didnt install that the 2nd time around. Knox hasn't been tripped so its not that

I'm having the same issue on a Galaxy S8 via Tmobile. I've never rooted it, have no clue if the bootloader is unlocked and I'm stock since I reset the phone the first time I got the error. Still getting the error and Android pay help chat was not useful.

Same issue here, on Voda UK. I used Package Disabler pro and thinking I might have disabled something I need.

So since I had OEM unlock enabled after disabling it, it passes and safetynet now.

I had no problems adding cards, but a few days later when I wanted to add more cards, I get the error. I can't remember what I did in between that would've caused this, but definitely not rooting! I turned developer option to off and still get the error.
My S7 is rooted and TWRPed and have no problems adding cards!!!!???

Very weird. Working just fine on my rooted s8+ with magisk.

I'm on T-Mobile with a S8 and Android Pay connected to my PayPal is getting card read error everywhere I try to use it.
Safety net says everything is ok too. Not sure what's going on. I have the newest update and not rooted.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I installed different Samsung Pay Framework apk and now I want to revert back and downgrade to another version to make Spay work.. when I click uninstall updates it wont let me. (Gives message that App is needed by system administrator.. when I open sys admin nothing there. hidden app)
Any ideas or suggestions on how to downgrade Samsung Pay Framework?
Thank you in advance,
Joe

xeathpk said:
Very weird. Working just fine on my rooted s8+ with magisk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Can you let me know how you managed to root with Magisk and get Android pay etc to work?
My phone:
Model: SM-G955F
SW: G955FXXU1AQF7
I tried rooted and couldn't get it working, and now recovered to official ROM and still can't get it to work?!?

Dont you people know anythin?
All EU(exynos) S8 and other galaxies come with unlocked bootloaders. Thats causing the problem
Lock it

Hi all,
I already posted a question in the Official stock upgrade but it got lost in the other comments, so I'm trying my luck again.
I had an italian branded SM-G950F (OMN), I wanted to remove all the Vodafone stuff, so I installed a MULTI-CSC as per the official stock firmware upgrade thread, when I did it I had my Australian sim card in and I got a weird UK CSC (the multi CSC didn't have australia in it), after installing everything I noticed that Android Pay didn't work, so I did a factory reset with my italian sim card in and still Android Pay was complaining that my firmware was modified or rooted.
I decided to use an australian specific firmware so I downloaded an XSA firmware and did the procedure again.
At this stage Secure Folder and Samsung Pay work (the phone is NOT rooted, this update has been the only "mod" I have done) but Android Pay is still saying that my rom may be modified or rooted so it doesn't open.
It is pretty important for me because my back supports android pay but not samsung pay
The phone is not rooted, if I reboot the phone in download mode the warranty void bit is 0 (which is good).
If I use Root Checker Pro, under safety net tab, I get CTS profile match as FAIL, I was thinking this could cause Android Pay to fail.
any idea?

start to uninstall suspicious apps, then restart . worked with my un-rooted S8. OEM unlock: OFF

degsyh said:
same here EE UK S8 not rooted (yet) but comes up with same error message. It worked fine on my rooted and hidden with magisk S6
edit - oh and factory reset doesn't work as I already tried that. I thought it might have had something to do with bringing over magisk app from my google backup but I specifically didnt install that the 2nd time around. Knox hasn't been tripped so its not that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does rooting in UK\Europe void our warranty?

mariuscrist said:
start to uninstall suspicious apps, then restart . worked with my un-rooted S8. OEM unlock: OFF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mariuscrist,
I'm not sure what app can be suspicious, I have reinstalled the apps I had before the firmware update and I could use android pay then. I'll see what it can be, probably it could be worth to do a factory reset and test android pay before anything else?

Samsung Pay failed to update (no longer works)

So I've been using the S8 US Unlocked Model G950U1 for a few weeks and no issues with Samsung Pay. Last night I noticed that the Samsung Pay Framework updated from 2.7.55 to 2.7.76.
Then when I opened up the Samsung Pay app (2.7.13) it says to update and then closes, but can't find an update. So I went to APK Mirror and install version 2.7.15. When I open it, it also says to update app, shows it downloading 36MB, but then says the update is not available.
Nothing I've tried works, fully uninstalling Samsung Pay, and I try to remove Samsung Pay Framework (or uninstall the update) but says it can't be uninstalled.

After trying several Samsung Pay apk files on APK Mirror, the only one that now works is version 2.8.20. I was able to re-add my Visa, but the Rewards info is gone and the layout is completely different.
Still would like to get it back to the way it was, without having to do a full factory reset.
I think the initial problem was from when Samsung Pay Framework updated from 2.7.55 to 2.7.76.

Was at a store tonight that I've used S Pay before without problem, but with the S Pay 2.8.20 and Framework 2.7.76 it would not work.
So somehow have to find a way back to the other versions (like I said, I think the issue is with the Framework).
Still would like to do with without a factory reset...but if that's what it takes...