Database Users

[Q] S5 Bought In China Help...

Hello
So firstly look at the image i attached....
Now i want to know if it is possible to root this phone and install CM12 or another custom rom or even an official lollipop rom that i will receive updates on ?
Thanks in advance

It looks to me like you have a Verizon S5, although the model number states otherwise and the DONGCHAO.617 build number seems custom. You do have a Verizon S5 though, so you can root on NCG, which you are running, through towelroot. However, ROMs like CM12 can't be installed without an unlocked bootloader, which is impossible currently on the VZ S5. You can get a Lollipop ROM with root by following these instructions.

mrjiggywiggy said:
It looks to me like you have a Verizon S5, although the model number states otherwise and the DONGCHAO.617 build number seems custom. You do have a Verizon S5 though, so you can root on NCG, which you are running, through towelroot. However, ROMs like CM12 can't be installed without an unlocked bootloader, which is impossible currently on the VZ S5. You can get a Lollipop ROM with root by following these instructions.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, just one question is this lollipop rom and official firmware that can be updated?
..also if i keep this software running and don root etc will it get lollipop eventually?

PCFervent said:
Thanks for the reply, just one question is this lollipop rom and official firmware that can be updated?
..also if i keep this software running and don root etc will it get lollipop eventually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you're currently running is not official. The build number isn't official, anyway, so it won't get the lollipop update. The firmware that I'm telling you about can be updated, but I'm not 100% sure about the ROM.

Ok Thank you I will give it a try either today or tomorrow cheers for the info

very similar issue
Good day,
I have a similar issue with phone bought in china (dong chao)
However my extra problem is low wifi signal (smart switch off).
just updated to 6.01 verizon and the issue persisits. It is very strange as the phone seemed to be verizon but labeled as 900F...
very strange...
Any recommendations ? thank you

S5 from kitkat to lolipop info

hi guys my name is mike i have S5 G900F model with stock 4.4.2 kitkat rooted with towelroot method Knox (0x0)
if i flashed with stock rom again to lolipop i lost root ? if yes can u tell me other way to do it without tripped know of course
ty in advance

nwmn said:
hi guys my name is mike i have S5 G900F model with stock 4.4.2 kitkat rooted with towelroot method Knox (0x0)
if i flashed with stock rom again to lolipop i lost root ? if yes can u tell me other way to do it without tripped know of course
ty in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mike, search the forums before asking any questions. Search google. Don't expect everyone to do your job for you. Post your threads in the right section. This question has been asked and answered a million times and you'd know this if you took 5 minutes to search a little bit.
Here's your answer https://www.reddit.com/r/galaxys5/comments/2ubsbs/guide_rooted_android_50_for_the_international/

out of curiosity, why dont you want to trip knox flag
"This question has been asked a million times and you'd know this if you took 5 minutes of your precious time to search a little bit."
Ironic for a man that follows people around *****ing at them to post in Q&A

Sorry guys i have spend many hours on forums to find a anwser but i dont find anything thanx for time anyways the link give me lingo is not exactly what i want i ask if can upgrader via odin in last lolipop stock filmware without loosing root exackly the way i do downgrade and other question is i have unlocked bootloader ? how can find that
i dont want void knox cuz phone is new

nwmn said:
Sorry guys i have spend many hours on forums to find a anwser but i dont find anything thanx for time anyways the link give me lingo is not exactly what i want i ask if can upgrader via odin in last lolipop stock filmware without loosing root exackly the way i do downgrade and other question is i have unlocked bootloader ? how can find that
i dont want void knox cuz phone is new
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What model do you have? Find out in phone settings in system / phone info. Sm-g900a has locked bootloader. I think verizon's phone also has a locked bootloader.
The link I gave you shows how to upgrade to lollipop, root it and keep knox 0x0.
Isn't that what you're looking for?

lingowistico said:
What model do you have? Find out in phone settings in system / phone info. Sm-g900a has locked bootloader. I think verizon's phone also has a locked bootloader.
The link I gave you shows how to upgrade to lollipop, root it and keep knox 0x0.
Isn't that what you're looking for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have G900F i think i write it in first post , anyway well that i looking for but not exactly i wanna know if g900f have unlocking bootloader or how can find it and if i upgrade stock rom from kitkat to lolipop i lost root without change modem or anything else downgrade was easy my s5 was braned vodafone germany i download stock rom from samsung mobile and i made unbrand greece whymi must flash modem and why i must use moblile odin that is some questions turture me ty for ur time
ps. always i must put image verification to post this change after 10 post ?

nwmn said:
i have G900F i think i write it in first post , anyway well that i looking for but not exactly i wanna know if g900f have unlocking bootloader or how can find it and if i upgrade stock rom from kitkat to lolipop i lost root without change modem or anything else downgrade was easy my s5 was braned vodafone germany i download stock rom from samsung mobile and i made unbrand greece whymi must flash modem and why i must use moblile odin that is some questions turture me ty for ur time
ps. always i must put image verification to post this change after 10 post ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my bad, you did. 900f has an unlocked bootloader. when you upgrade to stock lollipop through OTA or Kies (or odin) it already includes bootloader and modem. When you do it the way described in that reddit link you flash the lollipop firmware, modem and bootloader separately. Apparently that method of updating needs it to be done so.
Honestly I have Knox 0x1 so I never cared for those methods, btw if you live in Germany then there's no need to care about Knox. In EU we're allowed to flash whatever we want and the guarantee stays intact even if you have Knox 0x1
ps. yes =p

lingowistico said:
my bad, you did. 900f has an unlocked bootloader. when you upgrade to stock lollipop through OTA or Kies (or odin) it already includes bootloader and modem. When you do it the way described in that reddit link you flash the lollipop firmware, modem and bootloader separately. Apparently that method of updating needs it to be done so.
Honestly I have Knox 0x1 so I never cared for those methods, btw if you live in Germany then there's no need to care about Knox. In EU we're allowed to flash whatever we want and the guarantee stays intact even if you have Knox 0x1
ps. yes =p
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Click to collapse
thats is awesome news u r sure bootloader is unlock with all G900F models?
two more questions ty for your petions
1)i still have OTA if upgrade with SuperSU survival mode to last lolipop i keep root/data?
2)if upgrade with odin last lolipop i keep root/data?

nwmn said:
thats is awesome news u r sure bootloader is unlock with all G900F models?
two more questions ty for your petions
1)i still have OTA if upgrade with SuperSU survival mode to last lolipop i keep root/data?
2)if upgrade with odin last lolipop i keep root/data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't know. That reddit link I gave you, I haven't read the guide myself. I just skimmed though it to be sure it was real but I don't know the details of it. Yes all G900Fs have an unlocked bootloader. :good:

nwmn said:
thats is awesome news u r sure bootloader is unlock with all G900F models?
two more questions ty for your petions
1)i still have OTA if upgrade with SuperSU survival mode to last lolipop i keep root/data?
2)if upgrade with odin last lolipop i keep root/data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean ota stock firmware notification? If yes then you will have it if Knox is still 0x0 if Knox however is 0x1 you will no longer be able to update via ota.
If you want to upgrade from KitKat to lollipop you must wipe data from recovery to avoid any issues. It is also not recommended by me to use titanium backup to restore apps because some might not be compatible with lollipop yet or some of the app data made for KitKat may have a conflict with lollipop system, however lots of apps have compatibility with lollipop and there is a chance you will have no issues at all when using titanium backup. Even if I said I don't recommend restoring data after such a major upgrade I do recommend having a backup whether it's with titanium backup or nandroid etc because you're able to restore apps one by one and make sure that what you restore won't be problematic.
Edit - if you update with flashfire app, there is an option to keep root when flashing from rooted KitKat to lollipop and users have reported that that feature does work for them (I personally haven't tried it).
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Here's a version of the method on XDA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...2nd-method-t2843044/post54719865#post54719865

Which first?

Its been a few years so i was needing a refreshing (& though simple question, i cant seem to find exact answer).
I have the sm-t337a tab 4. If i plan on rooting it but i also was looking at installing a ROM, which order do i need to (or which do you recommend) do them in???
Thank you for your assistance

gdownloads said:
Its been a few years so i was needing a refreshing (& though simple question, i cant seem to find exact answer).
I have the sm-t337a tab 4. If i plan on rooting it but i also was looking at installing a ROM, which order do i need to (or which do you recommend) do them in???
Thank you for your assistance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You always have to root first before you are able to install a custom rom. That said, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any custom roms available for the SM-T337A. Unfortunately, AT&T and Verizon lock the bootloader on their devices now. This means that you can't have a custom kernel or a custom recovery. Since Cyanogenmod and similar roms based off of it require a custom kernel, you can't have any cyanogen-type roms. That said, a stock based rom (anything capable of running on the stock kernel) should work fine, but as I've said, to the best of my knowledge nobody has made any roms like that for this device yet. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

thisisapoorusernamechoice said:
You always have to root first before you are able to install a custom rom. That said, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any custom roms available for the SM-T337A. Unfortunately, AT&T and Verizon lock the bootloader on their devices now. This means that you can't have a custom kernel or a custom recovery. Since Cyanogenmod and similar roms based off of it require a custom kernel, you can't have any cyanogen-type roms. That said, a stock based rom (anything capable of running on the stock kernel) should work fine, but as I've said, to the best of my knowledge nobody has made any roms like that for this device yet. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
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That sucks. Guess I'll have to be satisfied with just rooting it and maybe a different stock rom, if any available.
I was just searching on here & I'm not sure what instructions are the ones I need for this tab. I saw where someone says they tried towelroot & 1 other but did not work, & other similar posts, then find several posts mentioning that they have rooted it, so I'm not sure what way DOES work to root it. (I also found on another site, which I don't know if Im allowed to post the external link, "Working Tutorial How To Update/Upgrade Samsung SM-T337A To Android 5.1 Lollipop!) Needless to say Im a little unsure of what method I need to root it. ANDROID VERSION: 4.4.2 BUILD: kot49h.t337aucu1ank2
Also Is there a alternative stock based rom (with tutorial) you might recommend ?

gdownloads said:
That sucks. Guess I'll have to be satisfied with just rooting it and maybe a different stock rom, if any available.
I was just searching on here & I'm not sure what instructions are the ones I need for this tab. I saw where someone says they tried towelroot & 1 other but did not work, & other similar posts, then find several posts mentioning that they have rooted it, so I'm not sure what way DOES work to root it. (I also found on another site, which I don't know if Im allowed to post the external link, "Working Tutorial How To Update/Upgrade Samsung SM-T337A To Android 5.1 Lollipop!) Needless to say Im a little unsure of what method I need to root it. ANDROID VERSION: 4.4.2 BUILD: kot49h.t337aucu1ank2
Also Is there a alternative stock based rom (with tutorial) you might recommend ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you can do is try towelroot. If it comes back as failed, then oh well, it doesn't mess anything up. Towelroot will only work for kernel dates before July 2014 I believe. There are NO custom ROMs, no recovery, no alternatives for this tablet. No developer interest, no carrier support, so no android version beyond 4.4.2. We have been abandoned by AT&T with no way of getting any updates ever again because they locked us out. So we are stuck with a worthless pile of crap tablet that gets more laggy by the day. No more carrier variants of any device for me ever again. International only.

rootng that works
pre4speed said:
All you can do is try towelroot. If it comes back as failed, then oh well, it doesn't mess anything up. Towelroot will only work for kernel dates before July 2014 I believe. There are NO custom ROMs, no recovery, no alternatives for this tablet. No developer interest, no carrier support, so no android version beyond 4.4.2. We have been abandoned by AT&T with no way of getting any updates ever again because they locked us out. So we are stuck with a worthless pile of crap tablet that gets more laggy by the day. No more carrier variants of any device for me ever again. International only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kingroot works perfectly on the T337A tab4

How exactly would I go about updating a rooted SM-N910W8 from 5.1.1 to marshmallow?

Just noticed that Bell released the 6.0.1 update for my phone (at least I think Bell is BMC, since sammobile stopped displaying the carrier names I'm not sure anymore http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N910W8/BMC/). How would I go about doing that? I'm assuming there's more to this update than software, they usually include stuff like radio/modem/bootloader firmware updates that I can't get by just using some custom MM build. So I have to install their update to get that. But I'm running 5.1.1, using some custom debloated version of COK3.
I've got lots of questions that I couldn't answer with my google-fu. Is the 6.0.1 build rootable? Does xposed work on it? Can I use Chainfire's Flashfire to update it? https://flashfire.chainfire.eu/ Or do I have to completely downgrade to stock to apply the OTA update? Chainfire's Flashfire says it won't work with a locked bootloader, but that only applies to Verizon Note 4's, right, not Bell? I'm pretty sure my bootloader is unlocked or I wouldn't have a rooted phone with a custom rom and recovery. And it says "things get tricky with a modified /system partition like if you're running xposed", which I am, so what does that mean for me?
Thanks for any help! I know a lot of these questions can be vaguely answered by google if I look hard enough, but I like to be absolutely sure of all the steps for my exact phone before I go do anything that could possibly hard-brick it.

Downgrade 6.0.1 to 4.4.2 or 5.1.1 ?

Hi Guys,
New to this device, but not new to Android... Read all over the web, various sites (esp this one) about this device and seeing mixed views/comments. Some saying its possible, others saying it will brick or flag the Knox.
Is it possible to downgrade this phone (G900F) currently on the latest 6.0.1 stock rom. But was wondering if I could try either official stock of 4.4.2 or 5.1.1 of this device.
Or due to this bootloader, is it likely to brick or even trip Knox?
Thanks, Lister

Lister Of Smeg said:
Hi Guys,
New to this device, but not new to Android... Read all over the web, various sites (esp this one) about this device and seeing mixed views/comments. Some saying its possible, others saying it will brick or flag the Knox.
Is it possible to downgrade this phone (G900F) currently on the latest 6.0.1 stock rom. But was wondering if I could try either official stock of 4.4.2 or 5.1.1 of this device.
Or due to this bootloader, is it likely to brick or even trip Knox?
Thanks, Lister
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Official stock ROMs shouldn't trip Knox because they are, ummm, official.
I think the G900F bootloader is unlocked.
Sent from my Samsung SM-G900I using XDA Labs

Why downgrade in the first place..... ? 6.0.1 is way better than previous FWs...

Hi @Dirty Flasher,
Yeah, that's what I thought... It's all stock, so all should be good... But I've read reports saying it will trip Knox as since a certain version of Marshmallow, the bootloader has been locked to only go with future firmwares and not allow downgrades. I assume to prevent people restoring to the older firmware (with bootloader) which was unlocked, that allowed rooting without tripping. But some say it will trip, others say it will not... I'm confused, and wondered if anyone has tried this, and what the outcome was... Don't want to trip Knox unnecessarily... if someone has already tried and tested it.
Dirty Flasher said:
Official stock ROMs shouldn't trip Knox because they are, ummm, official.
I think the G900F bootloader is unlocked.
Sent from my Samsung SM-G900I using XDA Labs
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Click to collapse
Hi @Zlate2255,
I got this device when it was already one 6.0.1, so I missed seeing it go through the various stages. I would like to see how it used to look like and work. As there are some features that have been removed since, such Face Unlock and Iris tracking when viewing pages. Whilst the latter is still there burried away, it barely works, so should be removed completely. But would just be nice to see what it did look like.
Zlate2255 said:
Why downgrade in the first place..... ? 6.0.1 is way better than previous FWs...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, Lister

With my G900W8, I could downgrade to 4.4.2 with very-first firmware for G900W8 (NCG). Just try the earliest version of 4.4.2 and then upgrade back to 5.1.1

You can downgrade the g900f to every firmware (if unlocked) you want. On some s5 devices who have a locked bootloader like the at&t version there have been reported some problems.
Therefore, you shouldn't run into any problems while downgrading.
If you want some pro and cons to the firmwares:
Kitkat:
+ dark design (the touchwiz apps like contacts)
+ more battery friendly than marshmallow
- less security due to no security updates
- you might run into some minimal bugs, for example on wikipedia you sometimes have to reload the page to watch pictures (at least on mine)
- no app permissions can be removed (only with root and app ops)
Lollipop:
Honestly, I havent used this one that much, but here you have a white design with the different statusbar and pull down menu, better security (but not as good as on marshmallow) and the material design, but slightly worse battery time.
Marshmallow:
+ OTA Updates still available, best option for security
+/- White design, material design
+ new icons (but tbh not a real deal)
- less battery friendly (atleast for me even tho doze is enabled on marshmallow)
So yeah, choose what you want
And be sure that you have an unbranded device (check your csc) before downgrading/updating.

Hi @tm60405,
Wow, what a fantastic post... Thank you, exactly what I was looking for, and thanks for your reviews of each rom too.
- appreciate that, cheers
Quick question, how do I know if my Bootloader is unlocked??
Its a G900F (UK) was originally on the Three network, however I've flashed it to pure stock BTU, and to the EE network and back to stock BTU (all Marshmallow roms).
So where am I looking, or how do I know if the Bootloader is unlocked? Also, what am I looking for in the CSC info...??
Many thanks, Lister

Install the app called phone info from the play store.
Then, you swipe to the csc code and you can see your info and remember the csc you are on.
If it is BTU, you can install another firmware based on BTU without problems. But even if you don't have BTU, you can try installing BTU because it doesn't contain much bloatware. In the worst case, you just install the firmware with the csc you had before.
Then, follow the instructions on sammobile.com and there will be no problems during the installing process.
After downgrading, you might get a bootloop. Then, you have to factory reset your device, so get the data from the internal storage elsewhere BEFORE the installation.
And if the download takes too long, try another browser like opera, for me it takes around 1 hour only instead of 4-5 hours on chrome.
If you might have another problem while installing the firmware, say so.