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Question about converting model from sm-n900k to sm-n9005

1. Is it okay if i just dont root the device sm-n900k and just flash the sm-n9005 firmware from sammobile? I just want to try and change firmware because i can't update the version, still stucked at 4.4.2 having some problems with signal, korean apps and the shutter sound of the camera.
Thank you

Personally, I would not try it as it may brick the phone. The 900k uses a Samsung Exynos processor and the n9005 uses a Qualcomm.
http://www.imei.info/phonedatabase/14281-samsung-n900k-galaxy-note-3/

Are there any other site except sammobile that offers firmware? I just want to update my phone to lollipop version but i am also scared to unlock the bootloader because i cant find a guide and btw im not sure if the bootloader is locked or maybe i just can't find a compatible custom recovery for my phone

Traditionally Korean model has had slightly different hardware making them incompatible with international variants (TV antenna for example on the S1/S2). However, at least from forum posts here N9005 custom ROM should work fine, as long as you keep your old modem.
Although, there should be an official 5.0.1 ROM around with a GOF2 ending, considering the existence of a Lollipop bootloader for it. Have you tried just plugging it into Kies and check for update?
(If you want to give it a shot, here is the baseband + bootloader: https://mega.nz/#F!0MNyVboS!XpjPYizNyY7LPZdsepyTFw . Flash this then a 5.0 custom ROM and you should be good to go)
@audit13 N900K is Snapdragon. Exynos doesn't have LTE, but all Korean model has LTE (different bands for different networks though)

@thebulletfromhell, I am not familiar with the n900k and I based my information on the link in my post above yours. I looked at several site and they specifically mention the Exynos. This one also mentions LTE: http://welectronics.com/gsm/Samsung/SAMSUNG-SM-N900K-GALAXY-NOTE-3-4G-LTE-BLACK.HTML
I know you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Thank you for the information.

I saw that too, but it was the only site that mentioned it, so I looked further. Info on Korean models are pretty rare in English, as the hardware for the most part is incompatible with Network Bands in the English speaking part of the world, making grey import iffy, and thus no reason to write about them.

[Q] Cross-flashing Radios possible?

Is there any possibility of cross-flashing the radio from a stock Galaxy S6 ROM to a stock Galaxy A5 (2016)? I'm sure it's not likely, but just want to be sure. I haven't heard anything on the subject in a long time.

Please don't do that...once I have mistakenly flash different radio for my Samsung and the phone just dead...took it to service center for an IC changes as it was burnt...

To my experience, all custom roms of ports, i.e S7 Edge rom for Note 3, always kept the modem and bootloader native to Note 3. Am taking the Note 3 as an example as i have used it a lot.
Rarely, can you find manufacturers using the default layout of stuff, i remember with Android Sticks/Boxes, you could use the WiFi drivers of other device release, and they usually worked, sometimes even full rom releases of different manufacturers worked, but that was due to the similar layout how they treated RK3188 chipsets, which i think is the crucial part.
although, A3 and A5 devices are identical (the 2015 versions) chipsets, flashing each others modem would prove disastrous, so Radio wise, i would keep away from flashing other modems.

Bootloader unlocked, can I use any rom?

So Ive had this Verizon Note 3 since day one. Finally unlocked my bootloader... What are the rules on what I can and can't do now. Can I install any Android rom? Can I only install note 3 roms from any carrier... Can I install only Verizon note 3 roms? Or is it a hybrid... I can install any rom if I replace the firmware and or modem.
I really want something on 7.1 but I'd rather take 6 and have something custom... Fast and responsive.
Thanks community.

You are in luck. :crying:
There's hardly anything to choose from; maybe 3 or 4 ROMs and about the same number of kernels.
AFAIK, there are no Nougat ROMs and only one Marshmallow ROM (AryaMod6.6).
Normally, when a dev ships a "ROM", there are two important pieces: the /system image (what some folks call "the ROM"), and the boot image. The boot image is what some folks erroneously call "the kernel"; but it is really a combination of kernel + ramdisk. The ramdisk has all the scripts in it that the "init" process reads to start up all the low-level daemons and services... as well as the Android UI as well.
The kernel is very tightly tied to the specific hardware in a given handset - both the processor/gpu and all the sensors/leds/peripherals.
So that's the reason you can't just flash any old ROM. In the least bad case, your device wouldn't boot; in the worst bad case the kernel would boot up far enough go off in the weeds and possibly damage some of your hardware.
You might be tempted to think "we'll, what if I find a boot image for the "hltevzw" SM-N900V device... can I flash that after I have flashed 'any old Android ROM'? Won't that take care of things?"
Well, not really. The system library binaries in /system are possibly compiled with instruction-set optimumization tweaks that are only supported by specific CPU and GPU hardware chips. Moreover, other peripheral chips such as GPS have unique "downloadable" vendor firmware in the system image... so again, there's the issue of hardware dependencies of the /system image.
Beyond that, there's carrier-specific "setup and activation" software that differs between ROMs, so even using ROMs that are from a different carrier's version of the exact same handset hardware might not work fully - specifically in the telephony function areas. Everything else might work fine though. For instance if you wanted to use the device as a WiFi-only unit for kid's games etc.
Note BTW that the "International" Note 3 GSM phones are not the same hardware - they use an Exynos processor.
good luck in your quest

Thanks
That was very helpful... Looks like Araya is my best bet. I'll leave jasmine rom to try it.
I was hoping that I could get another note 3 rom on this forum and flash the CDMA modem for networking... But doesn't seem like that's an option.
If I'm still stuck to Verizon Note 3 rom... What is the purpose or benefit of unlocking the bootloader... Was that really just to avoid Odin so I can flash my couple rom choices easier?
I appreciate your time!

cyberoptics said:
That was very helpful... Looks like Araya is my best bet. I'll leave jasmine rom to try it.
I was hoping that I could get another note 3 rom on this forum and flash the CDMA modem for networking... But doesn't seem like that's an option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might have very slightly overstated the case for pessimism. There is a "consolidated" Verizon Note 3 Forum which is meant for devs to provide development tools and even ROMs that could potentially be used on devices from more than one carrier. But the world being organized the way it is, that means that you are more likely to find multi-carrier GSM ROMs over there than multi-carrier ROMS which support GSM and oh by the way CDMA and LTE as well.
If you want to fool around over there, I recommend that you proceed with great caution to make sure that the ROMs you choose specifically target Qualcomm MSM8974AB Note 3 handsets, and you should read the developer notes very carefully to see whether you need to flash an "hltevzw" kernel separately. If the dev does not mention "supports hltevzw" or "supports N900V" (for example here) you might be taking chances with your hardware.
I suppose it is possible that the radios are 100% "software defined" in the sense of which bands they can support. Maybe you can get what you want by simply flashing the desired carrier's "modem" firmware, but I have never done that so I can't say for certain whether that works or you are risking a brick (or hardware damage) by doing that. I simply don't know (e.g.) if the chips and antennas in a T-mo version of the Note 3 are identical or different from a Verizon Note 3's hardware
cyberoptics said:
If I'm still stuck to Verizon Note 3 rom... What is the purpose or benefit of unlocking the bootloader... Was that really just to avoid Odin so I can flash my couple rom choices easier?
I appreciate your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for one - having a custom recovery allows you to make backups - even if you never change ROMs
People don't think of backups as being "sexy", but they allow you something which is really valuable: freedom to mess around and experiment with the knowledge that "if something goes wrong, I'll just restore the backup".
And with Odin, you only had the choice of Stock Roms. Now you have a few more.
cheers

Yes you can install Any rom for note3
Here is my experience with installing roms on note 3 after unlock bootloader
you should Flash twrp-2.8.7.0-hlte-4.4.img by ODIN for the hlte roms or twrp-2.8.7.0-hltevzw-4.4.img if you looking to flash verizon roms ,
im on Phronesis Rom N7 now and i tryed many roms
AryaMod N7 & S7 Edge
MagMa-NX from NXT TEAM
Resurrection Remix Nougat 7.1.1
CM 13 ROM 6.0.1 for Trader418
Purify CM13 6.0.1 ( the best CM13 till now )
and more ...
i have only one problem that i cant get LTE in mobile network always on H+
i tryed to add screenshot but i couldn't its my firist reply :laugh:

@ALPHA85
Pretty informative first post - thanks, and welcome aboard!
Are you on a Verizon SIM? If not, have you been flashing modems from other Note3 devices?
Just curious; I don't have much experience with radio issues or carrier activation issues. Trying to port a carrier-specific ROM elsewhere (esp starting from a VZW ROM) looks like a massive pile of interlocking software dependencies, though. My respect to anyone who can succeed at it.
Feel free to write a brief summary about what's broken in each - any of them have NFC working? I was on CM13 (trader418) for a long time and would have been happy to stay there were it not for all the GPS issues.

Thank you ,:angel:
i dont use Verizon SIM becouse im from egypt, i bought my verizon note 3 by wrong , when i bought it i saw N9005 under the battery and in the boot screen also inside the rom ,it was lollipop 5.0 ,but sinse i did factory rest i surprised it change to N900V even the imei changed , till now i cant understand how they flashed N9005 rom for N900V device with locked bootloader
i'm on OF1 bootloader unlocked and i flashed PL1 Modem i thought maybe it help me to get LTE but still the same H+
about NFC i really didn't try it at all , i always disable it by titanium pro

ALPHA85 said:
when i bought it i saw N9005 under the battery and in the boot screen also inside the rom ,it was lollipop 5.0 ,but sinse i did factory rest i surprised it change to N900V even the imei changed , till now i cant understand how they flashed N9005 rom for N900V device with locked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you first got it, did it appear to have a Verizon ROM on it? (For instance, the Verizon splash screen?) Or some other carrier's logo?
Actually, that cleared something up for me. Well, except for the part about the IMEI changing
Apparently there were both LTE and GSM models of the "Note 3" that were sold in international markets. I understand the LTE version was originally sold in China, but the GSM model is more common?
The SM-N9005 is an LTE phone (I don't know about CDMA) with the Qualcomm MSM8974 processor
and the N9000 is the GSM model with an Exynos 5420 processor
So that probably explains the binary compatibility of the SM-N900V and the SM-N9005 - same processor, and both phones were designed for LTE service.
But your report should give @cyberoptics a little less pessimistic view of things; thank you for that.
But I wouldn't go so far as to say you can flash ANY Note 3 ROM. Even though both the Exynos and Qualcomm processors use ARM cores, they are fairly different - the Exynos has 8 cores, half of which are Cortex-A15, and the MSM8974 has only four cores which are Krait- something or other. I think they are not quite compatible. Note that in theory, ARM code that was compiled to earlier standards (e.g. thumb, armv5) would certainly work on both devices - but if they compiled ALL the code in ROM libraries that way they would be giving up a lot of performance on either device. So.... to the extent that they target processor specifics for either Cortex-A15 or Krait, they will be incompatible.
cheers.

bftb0 said:
You are in luck. :crying:
There's hardly anything to choose from; maybe 3 or 4 ROMs and about the same number of kernels.
AFAIK, there are no Nougat ROMs and only one Marshmallow ROM (AryaMod6.6).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bftb0 I just wanted to thank you once again for your consistently helpful, verbose posts about the N900V. I've been using CM13 thinking it was the best thing going, when, as nice as it was at the time, it doesn't hold water compared to AyraMod, which I switched to yesterday after reading this thread.
Now my GPS won't take me sailing past Easter Island when en route to a noon meeting downtown. Maybe Google Cardboard will even work, now that NFC appears to.
Thanks again, and please don't ever bore of being a great and helpful resource, we need you!

[SM-J5108] Convert my J5 SM-J5108 to a more usable version ? (510F ?)

Hello,
My title may not be very cler but I can't find any custom ROMs for my device the J5 SM-J5108CHM (J5 China Mobile version) I can find official firmware but I just hate the interface, I found a really good-looking ROM (VIperOS) but it was for another variant of the phone.
So my question is : can I convert this phone to some other variant with same specs ? Thanks in advance

I've got the same question but no one seems to go to this thread if anyone has an answer to this that would be very appreciated. the j5108 seems to have all the same specs as the other variants so it should work but I'm not taking any risks because this is my everyday phone.
also the china mobile os is complete rubbish use this one (im a new user so i cant post link but just search up updato (dot) com, go to search bar and search j5108, in teh filters bar up top choose hong kong and press update under the search bar)
First, install any lollipop update (if you skip straight to marshmallow you'll end up in a bootloop), and then install either OTA update (it keeps failing for people but its good if you don't want to use Odin again) or you can download the marshmallow os after you install lollipop (make sure to NOT do a factory reset etc you'll end up in a boot loop). Install MM os and boom GAPPS and everything else you'll need.

jeff the cheff's left nut said:
I've got the same question but no one seems to go to this thread if anyone has an answer to this that would be very appreciated. the j5108 seems to have all the same specs as the other variants so it should work but I'm not taking any risks because this is my everyday phone.
also the china mobile os is complete rubbish use this one (im a new user so i cant post link but just search up updato (dot) com, go to search bar and search j5108, in teh filters bar up top choose hong kong and press update under the search bar)
First, install any lollipop update (if you skip straight to marshmallow you'll end up in a bootloop), and then install either OTA update (it keeps failing for people but its good if you don't want to use Odin again) or you can download the marshmallow os after you install lollipop (make sure to NOT do a factory reset etc you'll end up in a boot loop). Install MM os and boom GAPPS and everything else you'll need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't. Its a different phone. Maybe you think because it says J5 chinese version that its the same thing, just different model number. There are reasons why ot has a different model number, baseband, etc... Its like you have the Samsung Galaxy S2 with exynos and the American one with SD. They are both S2, but totaly different phones.

does xda have a word cap or did my other post not post because it was long or is the image verification a post-verification. anyway, i was saying that all the j5 2016 variants are exactly the same which in theory would allow any model's OS to work on any variant. S2 isn't a great comparison because different models have different hardware while j5 2016 has different models with identical hardware. Just search up j5108 specs and j510x specs and they'll all be the same ill post back in a few weeks when I get a new battery and test out different OS (rn I'm using the stock hong kong OS). I'll try OS for different PDAs and then ill try out different models. Btw all the spec sites say the variants are compatible with Australia so I shouldn't have a problem using different models OS in Australia (meaning 4G, wifi, phone numbers etc should be fine).
Also please explain in more depth why j5 2016 variants are so different to the point that they have different model numbers (i know that sounds passive aggressive and pretend it isn't I honestly want to know). I'm super sorry if I sound like an arrogant **** that wants everything his way but the way the j5 2016 models are made they all seem identical and logically (and in theory) the other variants OS should work on the j5108. if for some reason I cant see my first reply but others can I'm so sorry for this post.

jeff the cheff's left nut said:
does xda have a word cap or did my other post not post because it was long or is the image verification a post-verification. anyway, i was saying that all the j5 2016 variants are exactly the same which in theory would allow any model's OS to work on any variant. S2 isn't a great comparison because different models have different hardware while j5 2016 has different models with identical hardware. Just search up j5108 specs and j510x specs and they'll all be the same ill post back in a few weeks when I get a new battery and test out different OS (rn I'm using the stock hong kong OS). I'll try OS for different PDAs and then ill try out different models. Btw all the spec sites say the variants are compatible with Australia so I shouldn't have a problem using different models OS in Australia (meaning 4G, wifi, phone numbers etc should be fine).
Also please explain in more depth why j5 2016 variants are so different to the point that they have different model numbers (i know that sounds passive aggressive and pretend it isn't I honestly want to know). I'm super sorry if I sound like an arrogant **** that wants everything his way but the way the j5 2016 models are made they all seem identical and logically (and in theory) the other variants OS should work on the j5108. if for some reason I cant see my first reply but others can I'm so sorry for this post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phones today can have the same harware, same SoC, same RAM, same everything, even the same RIL preferences, but they are different models. The whole stock software was made for a specific device model. The J510FN is different than the J510H, if there was no difference why would Samsung bother to make many versions? The whole operating system, every part of it: Kernel, Apps, Recovery, Hal, Bootloader are mannualy made for a specific model number. Because of that it is hard to make a ROM that supports all of the phones in one Samsung model family lineup. You see now that by pure logic the j508 is very different from the J510FN

Can you flash Verizon Note 4 (SM-N910V) with any other snapdragon variant firmware?

So I have been following XDA for the past 5 years and this is my very first post. Have some experience with flashing custom roms on different phones and most recently a T-mobile S7-edge (SM-G935T). I flashed a (SM-G935U) firmware on it for the sake of debloating and fully unlocking the device. It worked like a charm, now am tinkering around with a Verizon Note 4 and am unable to find the answers I seek. The problems with this stock firmware is that it is heavily bloated with carrier apps , gets slow at times , unable to use data, hotspot and other such functionalities making me search the internet to flash it with a stock rom which solves all these problems. My question is that what things should i keep in my mind to find a compatible rom and secondly , are these roms for Note-4 (snapdragon variants) interchangeable as done with S7-edge mentioned above. And if it is then what rom will be best to flash for use in Asia. Necessary Information will be provided upon demand. Replies and comments will be appreciated. :fingers-crossed: . P.S I dont wanna flash any unofficial builds.

Yes you can. I have a Verizon Note 4 and I used this method in order to first unlock the bootloader, then flash Magisk for systemless root.
Unlock bootloader and root VZ galaxy note 4: https://forum.xda-developers.com/no...asy-guide-how-to-root-verizon-galaxy-t3454593.
Install Magisk: https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445

changing SM-N910v firmware with SM-N910c
SO i just Went thru the internet and found out that Asian Versions of Note 4 had SM-N910c firmware variant flashed to them, should I flash it? any suggestions?

As an experienced flasher of over 20 Note 4 devices (plus a few more), be careful flashing firmware for other Note 4 devices on a Verizon Note 4 unit. They usually will not work. Several varieties of the device are Snapdragon processors. However the C model is an Exynos processor. This would be like installing IOS software on an Android device. They are not interchangeable. You'd be best to stick with something designed for your N device.
Even then ... using a different ROM (maybe for T or F) can lead to only partial usability of that device. Your data may not work, your cell service may not work, your wifi may not work, etc... Or it won't even boot at all.
Thankfully, Samsung has provided us with ODIN, which is a software program to reflash a device that's been hosed by a malformed ROM. If you want your phone to work, remember the following:
1. Only flash COMPATIBLE software for the processor.
2. Only flash the same variant of ROM to that device (VZW in this case). This is to prevent data carrier problems. An F ROM may boot, but not be fully functional.
3. If you want to try a new unofficial ROM, get one for that device and processor. Be aware that compatibility is not always guaranteed, but Lineage OS 9 ROMS are better than Android 8 as for compatibility. I've tried them all.
4. A stock ROM will have bloatware. If you are rooted, you can remove most of that (if you know how).
5. Last but not least... if you want to stick close to stock, use ModestROM. You'll get 6.01 and some bloatware, but it will be closest to stock as possible with root. Other ROMS might work, but for full functionality, stick with a ROM designed for your device. Otherwise you will experience problems, or worse. You could have a new paperweight!