Check this out guys. The following is a post from a member named coomb on the darkyrom.com forums. Check this out...its almost scary
"Hello everyone!
As I was surfing the web to look for a jig for the first SGS, I've discovered the SGS II has an internal counter which goes up by 1 everytime you flash something that's custom
What does this counter do exactly?
It's very simple: it counts the number of times you flash a custom ROM or kernel on your SGS II, so the guys over at Samsung know of it when you return the phone to them for any kind of problem you may have (this is done so they can say whether you've voided your warranty or not). Even using Odin to get back to stock won't help you and will let the counter go up by one
The good news is that the counter can be reset by using one of those jigs we all know very well
Ha, Samsung! You thought you could fool us that easy?
No, unfortunately Samsung has very clear in mind what it's doing.
It seems there is a second counter, which counts the number of times the custom flash counter has been reset, and the bad news is that its position/folder has not been discovered yet.
So, it seems all the future SGS II owners and flash addicts over here (and not only here) will have a hard time returning their SGS II to Samsung after having flashed something... I hope someone over at XDA will get everything sorted out (Chainfire is already working on it).
Speaking about XDA, here's the source of this article: XDA-SGS II flash counter.
That's it for now, bye! "
Link to the original thread, remove spaces http://www. darkyrom. com/community/index.php?threads/attention-the-sgs-ii-has-a-custom-rom-kernel-flash-counter.3827/
a couple of points:
1.) I deal with Sprint, not Samsung. Sprint's front-lines CS people aren't typically known for their technical prowess (my apologies to those in present company)
2.) This sounds doubtful. The way this is phrased makes it seem as if it's a file in the current file system we have all the tools required to wipe that clean. If that's true they should expect that someone here *will* figure it out.
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance (or return period). Poof, problem solved.
So even if this is in fact true, and it could very well be, I don't see the immediate threat to us and I don't see how Sprint would use this ability to prevent us from using our insurance or return ability given that it would be trivial to render the phone and any file system or electronic counter completely inaccessible by any practical means. Coming up with a process to read the "counter" would involve more time and inconvenience for both the customer and the carrier than either would find acceptable to bear. Though there is that suspicious hole right about the volume rockers that may be a nearly fool-proof direct port to a "counter" it would be impossible to make that a 100% reliable mechanism either.
EDIT: after thinking about this some more I am of the belief that while in our unique circumstance (in the US) it wouldn't be too big a hurdle to pass, should we need to, that it is definitely possible if inconvenient/implausible in practice. (In most of the world you just buy the phone and then hook it up to a carrier, in the US you pick your carrier and get your phone from them....so while everyone else would have to deal with Samsung for warranty claims we do not.)
However I was also wondering what it was counting. Writes to /system and/or any directories/partitions that are typically R/O without root?
There are plenty of times in your phones life where that may be flashed for legitimate purposes. Upgrading the OS comes to mind (cue "Samsung never updates" jokes), as would any carrier provided "flash to stock" (which at my area stores is their last, and usually only, attempt to repair a device for just about any reason). There are likely other scenarios that escape me at the moment.
Any reason legitimate is enough to place a reasonable doubt on any claims of tampering that would cause any court of law to demand far more compelling evidence than merely "the counter went up" in order to find you guilty/uncovered by warranty. "What if the counter is unreasonably high?" You say...well what if you tried desperately to flash and reflash and reflash your broken phone attempting to repair it to get your data back? That's a pretty likely scenario.
EDIT²: ...and if "legitimate writes" don't tick the counter up a notch then there is a mechanism to avoid flash detection and it will be found.
daneurysm said:
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance. Poof, problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That.
Let's see them prove I've flashed custom roms after I pass the phone under a powerful electromagnet a few times.
daneurysm said:
a couple of points:
1.) I deal with Sprint, not Samsung. Sprint's front-lines CS people aren't typically known for their technical prowess (my apologies to those in present company)
2.) This sounds doubtful. The way this is phrased makes it seem as if it's a file in the current file system we have all the tools required to wipe that clean.
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance (or return period). Poof, problem solved.
So even if this is in fact true, and it could very well be, I don't see the immediate threat to us and I don't see how Sprint would use this ability to prevent us from using our insurance or return ability given that it would be trivial to render the phone and any file system or electronic counter completely inaccessible by any practical means. Coming up with a process to do so would involve more time and inconvenience for both the customer and the carrier than either would find acceptable to bear. Though there is that suspicious hole right about the volume rockers that may be a nearly fool-proof direct port to this "counter" it would be impossible to make that a 100% reliable mechanism either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In response.
1. As far as phone returns, you never deal with the the phone maker anyway, you ALWAYS deal with the returns per the carrier. My thoughts on this is that Sprint has been supplied with the tools and info from samsung to verify if the phone has been flashed or not, seeing as how it would be pointless for samsung to include such a feature when they wont be doing the warranty checks.
2. This doesnt sound beyond the scope of samsung in my opinion. And as far as how it was "phrased" this was from a regular user with no real dev experience or technical experience. So if what he said sound a bit odd or simpleton in terms of terminology or his guess as to where this counter would be, thats why. Just because he made a guess that its in the filesystem somewhere doesnt mean much. Also where do we all get these magical tools that you say we have to delete this data that no one knows the location of yet?
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Also the fact that the user ChainFire is working on this confirms its vailidity to me, as he is a major dev in the Galaxy S I & II Scenes.
HaiKaiDo said:
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TEP covers all that.
I guarantee after I put the phone internals into the microwave for a few seconds there is no tool in the world that's going to be able to repair the brick.
eagercrow said:
TEP covers all that.
I guarantee after I put the phone internals into the microwave for a few seconds there is no tool in the world that's going to be able to repair the brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
Torethyr said:
That.
Let's see them prove I've flashed custom roms after I pass the phone under a powerful electromagnet a few times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.
I think this is very low of Samsung ... but i doubt anything will change ... sprint employees know less about this stuff than we do on here .. and haven't people already mess their phones up and got them replaced easily ? ..
Sprint can't accuse you and deny you a replacement if you play stupid and never admit to rooting/ modding ..
HaiKaiDo said:
In response.
1. As far as phone returns, you never deal with the the phone maker anyway, you ALWAYS deal with the returns per the carrier. My thoughts on this is that Sprint has been supplied with the tools and info from samsung to verify if the phone has been flashed or not, seeing as how it would be pointless for samsung to include such a feature when they wont be doing the warranty checks.
2. This doesnt sound beyond the scope of samsung in my opinion. And as far as how it was "phrased" this was from a regular user with no real dev experience or technical experience. So if what he said sound a bit odd or simpleton in terms of terminology or his guess as to where this counter would be, thats why. Just because he made a guess that its in the filesystem somewhere doesnt mean much. Also where do we all get these magical tools that you say we have to delete this data that no one knows the location of yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's in the file system I would use "rm". If it is being stored in a non-standard way as to escape a deep directory/partition inspection I would have to say that it's outside of the file system. A pedantic gripe of mine, to be fair.
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't even have to present the damn phone to get a new one , it must be lost or stolen....or flashed to boost, lol. Not that I ever have or would, but, that's pretty feasible.
Also the fact that the user ChainFire is working on this confirms its vailidity to me, as he is a major dev in the Galaxy S I & II Scenes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't doubt the veracity of the claim. Nor do I doubt the word of chainfire. What I am not certain of is what exactly they found and what it is counting and how that counter can be used as incontrovertible proof of a warranty damning activity.
I updated my post above which partially addresses this.
I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.
akkord64 said:
I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.
BTW - After you use the JIG it resets the counter..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what about the counter-counter?
akkord64 said:
I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol yeah it resets the FIRST counter...but thats not the problem. Theres appearently some mechanism in place the count how many times youve reset that first counter lol. Im sure itll be killed in a few days if not weeks by people here on XDA, but i sure do find these kind of things interesting.
HaiKaiDo said:
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro, you are high if you think this has any bearing on Sprint users being able return an Epic Touch 4G. Moreover, Steve Kondick...hired by Samsung. Team CM, given GS2's to hack by Samsung.
Also, if this is an issue with the Galaxy SII international variant, why don't you POST IT IN THAT FORUM?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
All you have to do is flash something in odin with the OG Epic Pit and check re-partition. Start it, run it for a minute or 2 and pull the cord. Completely inoperable.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Hope you people that want to make the phone inoperable and stuff under stand you are the reason the insurance deductible keeps going up......
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
abowlby said:
Bro, you are high if you think this has any bearing on Sprint users being able return an Epic Touch 4G. Moreover, Steve Kondick...hired by Samsung. Team CM, given GS2's to hack by Samsung.
Also, if this is an issue with the Galaxy SII international variant, why don't you POST IT IN THAT FORUM?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh god you called me bro -_-. second off, im not high, i just found this interesting.
Also Steve being hired by samsung doesnt make him president of the "i get to do whatever the **** i want" club lol. He still has to adhere to NDA and the like.
and finally, its in our phones too. our phones are SGS II's lol. Sprint just gave ours a "fancy" name.
---------- Post added at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
SAShady said:
All you have to do is flash something in odin with the OG Epic Pit and check re-partition. Start it, run it for a minute or 2 and pull the cord. Completely inoperable.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inoperable to you sure. To the people with the equiptment MADE to run diagnostics and access low level bootloaders, not a problem. Half flashing a bootloader isnt the end all to a warranty claim. Also i dont know why you all are taking this almost personally as if i was saying this is something that will never be patched or worked out here on xda. And continue to come up with scenarios where you are above the counter lol.
As long as mine doesn't count how many times it sees me masturbate I'm happy...
Something else im curious about.....it says that Odin wont help reset the second counter. To my mind that makes me think that theres something hardware based thats keeping track. Lol exbawkz eFUZE
paniro187 said:
Hope you people that want to make the phone inoperable and stuff under stand you are the reason the insurance deductible keeps going up......
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree and would never do that to my phone, I would just find somewhere else to return it that would accept it. That always works.
But the main point here is that it is the natural "next thing to do" when you go about punishing people for treating their own hardware as, well, their own hardware and installing whatever software they would like on a device that they own...
...Why don't they expend this type of effort on making the phones unbrickable? That would surely save them far more money than "catching the bad guys" and denying people warranty service for things issues that have nothing to do with the software you chose to install on a device you own.
If my PC were to **** itself and something broke because I was running linux/macos/beos/MSDOS/Windows/Xenix/AmigaOS/etc do you know what that means? That the computer was a piece of crap and the computer (or component responsible) should be replaced if it was under warranty... do you suggest that a piece of hardware failing is the softwares fault?
Most (non oem) motherboards come with overclocking tools built into the BIOS these days with safeguards to keep you from blowing your isht up.
This has less to do with hardware failures than it has to do with the freedom to run whatever you want on a computer you purchased....with a dual-core 1.2ghz chip and 1 gig of ram you can be damn sure this is a computer.
alnova1 said:
As long as mine doesn't count how many times it sees me masturbate I'm happy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best post of the day +1 lol
xDDDD
HaiKaiDo said:
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't sure you were crazy, until you said TEP was thirty bucks. It's 8. Honestly not having it on your plan is crazy at this point, unless you have a good backup device you aren't planning on selling.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Related
As some of you might or might not know.
Can anyone that has flashed a Custom ROM verify if there is a counter on our incarnation of SGS2
details here:
[HOWTO] reset custom binary counter in download mode
and here:
Default [ROOT] Stock FW, w/o increasing custom counter
Dude. I was wondering how the hell we were gonna fix this. Thanks for sharing
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
mikeyinid said:
Dude. I was wondering how the hell we were gonna fix this. Thanks for sharing
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing!!! ur psychic
Why do they want to keep a record of how many times we flash? I wonder if it's to prove that they don't have to pay for warranty.
most likely something along the line
or perhaps to count how many times the internal storage has been written to, which causes wear
AllGamer said:
most likely something along the line
or perhaps to count how many times the internal storage has been written to, which causes wear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally, I'd scoff at the idea that a company was being all big-brother and trying to embed ways to track what your doing to your device but I see no reason for this type of software besides A) giving my wife more proof that I spend way too much time, effort, and money on my phone and B) giving Samsung another reason to not honor your warranty. That said, I'm not the type to try and make someone else pay out for my mistakes but I'm not a fan of being spied on.
i got the jig that is "suppose" to reset the counter also. maybe its with our variant of the GSII that it doesnt reset?
lookitzjohnny said:
i got the jig that is "suppose" to reset the counter also. maybe its with our variant of the GSII that it doesnt reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
possibly, since our CPU is different, it might be related to that?
or perhaps related to the SIM unlock, which in our phone is also different than the regular SGS2
kenvan19 said:
Normally, I'd scoff at the idea that a company was being all big-brother and trying to embed ways to track what your doing to your device but I see no reason for this type of software besides A) giving my wife more proof that I spend way too much time, effort, and money on my phone and B) giving Samsung another reason to not honor your warranty. That said, I'm not the type to try and make someone else pay out for my mistakes but I'm not a fan of being spied on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was one of the reasons I started the thread on getting insurance. I don't want any problems when it comes to getting my phone replaced. Manufacturers suck when it comes to that. I could see them easily denying a replacement for that reason alone. I'll just deal with tmobile instead.
this is one of the little reasons that actually makes the Best Buy no question no hassle insurance really worth while
I know someone that was having problems with their vibrant and called in a warranty replacement. They told the rep that the phone was rooted and had a different ROM. The rep checked with their supervisor and said that the warranty was still in place. He got a new vibrant and was not charged an out of warranty fee.
has anyone found a way to reset it yet?
Where is this counter? Didn't know there was one. I've done a lot of exchanges ( Vibrant, G2, G2X and SGS2) from different phones and never bothered to reset any counter.
Ooopps!
Hercules Hercules!!
The thing is, from having,worked at Tmobile is that most phones will get inspected for common warranty breaking.g things, like water damage, taking apart your phone. Other than that, I believe they just factory wipe the data with their computers and either refurb. Or recycle. I've sent back phones that have been bricked from bad ROM flashes and have never incurred a fee.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Jigs work to get into download mode but they don't reset the count. This is from my personal experience
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
I saw I forgot to post the URL. I added it to op
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
i would be really interested to know if this resets the counter tooooooo
What does the counter do anyways? In terms of flashing ROMs, does it limit the number of times we can flash custom ROMs?
Sent from my SGH-T989D using xda premium
Why would we need to reset the counter? I've returned lots of phones without resetting and I've had no problems.
Just curious as to why? Thanks.
Hercules Hercules!!
if u sent ur phone back to samsung it tells them how many times u have flashed roms on it! ive never heard of a person getting in trouble for a high count before but thats wht i know
I have had both Camera and GPS issues since the day I bought my E4GT. My Camera will randomly give me "Recording Failed" when I try to take photos. Changing Camera settings was also a good way of reproducing "Recording Failed" And my GPS simply just doesn't lock, and if it does it is unbelievably inaccurate.
So, I took my phone in several months back, of course all they did was flash it to stock, I came back in an hour and they claimed it was fixed. Within 24 hours I was still having the same Camera issue, and GPS wasn't improved.
I have dealt with this issue up until today and simply ignored it, used my girlfriends GPS etc. Keep in mind that both these issues exist on stock EK02, EL30, and any custom ROM I install, and GPS status or other GPS related apps don't help either.
So, after flashing to EK02, using a USB Jig to reset my download count and then doing the OTA to EL30, the problem persisted. I brought it to the Sprint store, came back an hour and a half later, and they claimed it was fixed. I instantly starting taking photos in the store, after 2 photographs my phone actually just restarted itself. Once it restarted, I tried taking several more photographs and received my usual "Recording Failed" message. At this point the tech takes the phone back, fiddles around on his computer and tells me they will just have to order a new one.
Great news! Glad I'm getting a brand new E4GT. The real kicker... I got back in my car, drove to work and then I noticed something funny, I have the superuser app installed. I installed Titanium backup to confirm I had root, and I did. The Sprint tech seems to have rooted my phone, most likely in attempt to try a few 3rd party fixes.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Doesn't rooting technically void my warranty... Or is it only flashing non-official ROMs? I know I'm still ok on my warranty because they already confirmed they are shipping a phone to the store for me to pick up. I was just shocked to have Sprint root my phone.
Fendulon said:
I have had both Camera and GPS issues since the day I bought my E4GT. My Camera will randomly give me "Recording Failed" when I try to take photos. Changing Camera settings was also a good way of reproducing "Recording Failed" And my GPS simply just doesn't lock, and if it does it is unbelievably inaccurate.
So, I took my phone in several months back, of course all they did was flash it to stock, I came back in an hour and they claimed it was fixed. Within 24 hours I was still having the same Camera issue, and GPS wasn't improved.
I have dealt with this issue up until today and simply ignored it, used my girlfriends GPS etc. Keep in mind that both these issues exist on stock EK02, EL30, and any custom ROM I install, and GPS status or other GPS related apps don't help either.
So, after flashing to EK02, using a USB Jig to reset my download count and then doing the OTA to EL30, the problem persisted. I brought it to the Sprint store, came back an hour and a half later, and they claimed it was fixed. I instantly starting taking photos in the store, after 2 photographs my phone actually just restarted itself. Once it restarted, I tried taking several more photographs and received my usual "Recording Failed" message. At this point the tech takes the phone back, fiddles around on his computer and tells me they will just have to order a new one.
Great news! Glad I'm getting a brand new E4GT. The real kicker... I got back in my car, drove to work and then I noticed something funny, I have the superuser app installed. I installed Titanium backup to confirm I had root, and I did. The Sprint tech seems to have rooted my phone, most likely in attempt to try a few 3rd party fixes.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Doesn't rooting technically void my warranty... Or is it only flashing non-official ROMs? I know I'm still ok on my warranty because they already confirmed they are shipping a phone to the store for me to pick up. I was just shocked to have Sprint root my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol the only thing that happened to me like that was:
i brought my evo 3d in so they could check out the power button... (it was pushed down and wouldnt turn on) the phone had cm7 on it... and the tech showed me his OG evo with cm7 on it with the same theme on it (cm7 red remix)
i couldnt restore it back to a stock RUU because of the power button...but he got a replacement for me even when he got it turned on and seen cm7 on it
I've noticed that most techs don't care if your phone is rooted or not. In fact, I used to go down to the Sprint store to look at new accessories, and I would show off that mine was rooted and running CM. I had a couple of the people working there have me root their phone for them.
It would surprise me at all if the tech rooted your phone. Probably jumped on XDA to see if anyone else had solved the problem yet too.
blackroseMD1 said:
Probably jumped on XDA to see if anyone else had solved the problem yet too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL i bet he did... anyone that has any problems with their phones i direct them here... im waiting for the day that the techs in the sprint store ask me "have you checked xda to see if they have any resolution to this problem"
because ive had customer service reps/android tech department (on the phone) tell me to check xda or android community..
Out of curiosity, when recording video were you recording to internal memory or a microSD card? And if a microSD card, what Class? I got that error all the time with my Class 2 16GB, but when I upgraded to my 32GB Class 4 I have no trouble. Apparently the write speed wasn't high enough for the video stream.
Weird. I've got problems where my GPS sometimes won't lock.... but I reboot and it seems to work for another day or whatever.
TurboFool said:
Out of curiosity, when recording video were you recording to internal memory or a microSD card? And if a microSD card, what Class? I got that error all the time with my Class 2 16GB, but when I upgraded to my 32GB Class 4 I have no trouble. Apparently the write speed wasn't high enough for the video stream.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually never recorded video really. This was an issue with simple picture taking at any resolution. I could save to internal or external storage and receive this error. I currently have a class 8 16gb that I use that hasn't given me issues that I know of.
As for the GPS, it was a longstanding and ongoing issue with my phone. No amount of reboots, reflashes or GPS fixes would remedy it. I've tried at least a half dozen roms, plus every OTA and sprint leak. I'm just glad to be getting a new phone.
Also, I've never dropped this phone once. It is literally in pristine condition, you could probably put it in a box and nobody would know that it was used.
yea crazy.. obviously the sprint rep thought he knew what he was doing but in the end, you probably know more than he does .. then again, anybody can read lol. i would have pointed it out in the store and been like hey buddy, whats this? lol then watched him try to explain himself..
elliwigy said:
yea crazy.. obviously the sprint rep thought he knew what he was doing but in the end, you probably know more than he does .. then again, anybody can read lol. i would have pointed it out in the store and been like hey buddy, whats this? lol then watched him try to explain himself..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol that would have been a fun one to watch him try to talk his way out of. At least you had a competent sprint guy, my stores in reno seem to never have people who know anything, not even the selling points of a phone in their store!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Haha I would have loved to ask in store, but unfortunately I didn't notice this for about a half hour when I was at work.
I'll definitely be asking them about it when I go to pick up my replacement phone. I still have my "Sprint Rooted and certified" phone in my hands haha.
Lol.
Once again, contrary to popular belief, rooting does not void your protection plan with us, nor does it prevent us from doing a paid repair (no TEP). Only the iPhone holds the distinction of having it's protection plan voided by software modification, as per Apple.
Now, are we allowed by corporate rules to root your phone as a method of repair? No, of course not. But we're also supposed to only use software that's provided to us, and a lot of times that just isn't enough.
Of course, there are special cases; if somebody carelessly lost their wimax keys when trying to get s-off, i wouldn't replace the phone for two reasons: it's nonessential to telephony functions (meaning youre not stuck if you need to call 911), and it's technically DBR (damaged beyond economical repair), because our warehouse wont be able to get them back, and the board would end up being scrapped.
To that end, hard bricked phones could be rejected due to DBR, but i have no way of telling if it happened due to flashing the phone, now do I?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
squshy 7 said:
Lol.
Once again, contrary to popular belief, rooting does not void your protection plan with us, nor does it prevent us from doing a paid repair (no TEP). Only the iPhone holds the distinction of having it's protection plan voided by software modification, as per Apple.
Now, are we allowed by corporate rules to root your phone as a method of repair? No, of course not. But we're also supposed to only use software that's provided to us, and a lot of times that just isn't enough.
Of course, there are special cases; if somebody carelessly lost their wimax keys when trying to get s-off, i wouldn't replace the phone for two reasons: it's nonessential to telephony functions (meaning youre not stuck if you need to call 911), and it's technically DBR (damaged beyond economical repair), because our warehouse wont be able to get them back, and the board would end up being scrapped.
To that end, hard bricked phones could be rejected due to DBR, but i have no way of telling if it happened due to flashing the phone, now do I?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thank you very much for this info. Its nice to know the ins and outs of my warranty service. May even take a look into the the terms of service and such for it. It'll nice to have a shiny new phone though for sure.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Bear gri11z said:
because ive had customer service reps/android tech department (on the phone) tell me to check xda or android community..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Viewsonic G-tablet and if you contact viewsonic customer support, they always point you to XDA fourms. lol. I wish i could get paid just telling people to check XDA
Just wanted to second this. At this time only jailbroken iPhones have their warranty/protection voided.
You should have no problem getting help even if your phone is rooted, though we should not be the ones doing it for you lol
squshy 7 said:
Lol.
Once again, contrary to popular belief, rooting does not void your protection plan with us, nor does it prevent us from doing a paid repair (no TEP). Only the iPhone holds the distinction of having it's protection plan voided by software modification, as per Apple.
Now, are we allowed by corporate rules to root your phone as a method of repair? No, of course not. But we're also supposed to only use software that's provided to us, and a lot of times that just isn't enough.
Of course, there are special cases; if somebody carelessly lost their wimax keys when trying to get s-off, i wouldn't replace the phone for two reasons: it's nonessential to telephony functions (meaning youre not stuck if you need to call 911), and it's technically DBR (damaged beyond economical repair), because our warehouse wont be able to get them back, and the board would end up being scrapped.
To that end, hard bricked phones could be rejected due to DBR, but i have no way of telling if it happened due to flashing the phone, now do I?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full Disclosure: I am a Sprint employee. Any opinions are my own and in no way endorsed by Sprint.
Sent from my SGSII on the Sprint network.
When i went to go get my e4gt one of the salesmen was talking about his jailbroken iphone to someone he was selling an iphone to. I wasnt really paying attention since they were talking about iphones and i was downloading the xda app while they finished my paperwork.
You sure your method of returning to stock didn't preserve your root? It's possible.
Bear gri11z said:
LOL i bet he did... anyone that has any problems with their phones i direct them here... im waiting for the day that the techs in the sprint store ask me "have you checked xda to see if they have any resolution to this problem"
because ive had customer service reps/android tech department (on the phone) tell me to check xda or android community..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im a sales rep in a preferred retailer. but because of the time ive spent here, im also the unofficial lead technician in our store, and the last resort for our actual techs when they cant fix it themselves... and they went into training for their job..
evantribley said:
Just wanted to second this. At this time only jailbroken iPhones have their warranty/protection voided.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
99% correct. if an android has a rom flashed, its warranty is void. but we can still repair/replace them with TEP, and paid repairs are fine too. its the unlocking of the bootloader that is looked at, not the actual rooting
see: htc evo3d (htcdev dot com), unlocking nexus s, flash/binary counter in E4GT
As much as I like to side with Sprint employees in regards to TEP & rooting, it tends to be more of a personal Sprint employee decision as opposed to actual TEP policy.
After reading over the TOS in regards to TEP, there are some things written in there that could potentially be used against you should rooting be considered the cause of your problem:
"Sprint is not liable for the websites you visit or anything you download or cause to be downloaded to your device. Damage related to websites visited or downloads to your device may not be covered by Sprint's Service and Repair policy or your device insurance policy."
Personally, it's a chance one takes & it depends on who you deal with on any given day should you run into any trouble. There just seems to be alot if what if's in how it's written, how it's defined & how a Sprint rep would handle the situation.
You are right in that it may change but their are policies and procedures in place that dictate how we do our job. We have clear direction to help Android customers who have rooted devices. The other poster who corrected me is right in the fact that your manufacturer warranty is likely voided from rooting but Sprint will still make an attempt to help you with paid repair or TEP.
We also have clear direction that a jailbroken iPhone loses it's protection.
That is in the ToS so you cannot hold Sprint liable if you break your phone, if you download a virus/malware, install custom apps/software etc.
Yes you can break your phone beyond a point that can be fixed but that doesn't mean that we won't try to help you. Sprint doesn't get anything out of a customer who cancels because their rooted phone breaks and can't be fixed.
EL TEJANO said:
As much as I like to side with Sprint employees in regards to TEP & rooting, it tends to be more of a personal Sprint employee decision as opposed to actual TEP policy.
After reading over the TOS in regards to TEP, there are some things written in there that could potentially be used against you should rooting be considered the cause of your problem:
"Sprint is not liable for the websites you visit or anything you download or cause to be downloaded to your device. Damage related to websites visited or downloads to your device may not be covered by Sprint's Service and Repair policy or your device insurance policy."
Personally, it's a chance one takes & it depends on who you deal with on any given day should you run into any trouble. There just seems to be alot if what if's in how it's written, how it's defined & how a Sprint rep would handle the situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full Disclosure: I am a Sprint employee. Any opinions are my own and in no way endorsed by Sprint.
Sent from my SGSII on the Sprint network.
Overstew said:
You sure your method of returning to stock didn't preserve your root? It's possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can honestly say I am absolutely certain I didn't have root when I handed them my phone to be repaired.
I ODINed EK02, which removed my root, then I used a USB Jig, which reset my download count, and then I booted up my phone and was informed there was an update, and so I did the OTA to EL29. At this point I actually tried to install Titanium for ****s and giggles, only to be told I didn't meet the requirements to use the app, root, so I uninstalled it.
ok this has already been said to be hard bricked. i tried the JTAG and it didnt work because of a damaged EMMC chip. but how does a EMMC chip get damaged??? could it of been from shipping it to texas (place where it got JTAGged)? what about sprint could i lie and get a refurbished one???
btw it was bricked by a flash, so how could it damage the EMMC chip????
thanks
i flashed cm9 with the el26 CWM repacked ( the one in the directions) and i still bricked...
How do you know EMMC chip damaged? Just curious...
jamcar said:
ok this has already been said to be hard bricked. i tried the JTAG and it didnt work because of a damaged EMMC chip. but how does a EMMC chip get damaged??? could it of been from shipping it to texas (place where it got JTAGged)? what about sprint could i lie and get a refurbished one???
btw it was bricked by a flash, so how could it damage the EMMC chip????
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was damaged when you formatted the partitions in cwm....only thing you can do is go to sprint and see if they replace it if not then ship it to Samsung and see if they will do it.....it was not damaged in shipping...it was damaged by u not reading and flashing the way devs have said
The emmc is not really damaged but the partitions are screwed up and no way to fix..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
What you do is post in the right section and then buy another god damn phone... I don't mean to be a **** but seriously, there have been sooo many bricking threads and warnings...
Now what? Now you go to Sprint, be honest with them, appeal to their kindness and hope for the best. If that doesn't work then you buy a new one.
I'll supplement the previous comments by this...
Once you get your new phone read up on flashing CM9 to avoid bricking it again. You can start with the sticky at the top of this thread.
No. What you do is, go to Sprint, say you were playing a game, it froze, you pulled the battery and now all it has is a steady blue LED and you don't know why. Do not mention rooting, act like you don't know what rooting is. They can't check if it's rooted anymore without wiping all software so you're fine. If you have warranty, they'll have a replacement in 3 days.
Stay away from CM9. C stands for catastrophic and m for meltdown, the nine is just a nine.
Pp.
" It is said that when He swims, dolphins appear "......... even if its in a pool!
hrffd said:
No. What you do is, go to Sprint, say you were playing a game, it froze, you pulled the battery and now all it has is a steady blue LED and you don't know why. Do not mention rooting, act like you don't know what rooting is. They can't check if it's rooted anymore without wiping all software so you're fine. If you have warranty, they'll have a replacement in 3 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, by all means let's advise people how to avoid taking personal responsibility for not following instructions and screwing up their phones in the process. That's a surefire way to keep future costs down.
Bricked also, welcome to the club
I to have a bricked device. I now know that this issue resides from a defect that resides in the kernel i believe and really only happens when going from one ICS rom to another. I can't believe that this even happened in the first place. Since i first got the phone when it was released I've been flashing away completely fine up until I flashed the Slim rom and then bam, Nothing. I to sent it in for repair at mobiletechvideos.com but they were not able to fix that eMMC data issue. I've been dealing with this since May 2 now and still don't have a working phone. I"m going to be send back to Samsung for a possible repair but this issue is not because of anything that you did wrong. It's a know issue by know and hopefully in the near future other users won't have to deal this this same **** either. Sounds like a possible patch in the works to prevent this from happening at all on these phones running this particular processor.
Good luck to you
http://www.xda-developers.com/tag/att-samsung-galaxy-s-ii/
Esoteric68 said:
Yes, by all means let's advise people how to avoid taking personal responsibility for not following instructions and screwing up their phones in the process. That's a surefire way to keep future costs down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry I have to say this. First let me say that I do believe in taking responsibility for my own actions. But the arguement that people going in a lying to sprint will raise cost is mute. If one was to stop and think about this. This is a company that sells you a plan that includes unlimited data and text and then charges you an additional fee for premium data. They have a whole team at the corporate level that their whole job is to figure out ways to raise cost and pitch it to customers in a way that they will still want to buy. I really do understand what you're saying but believe me. If everyone that ever bricked a phone was honest and paid out the ass for a new phone. Sprint and Samsung would still raise the cost of their services and producst. The only thing that people lying to sprint does is give them an excuse. Maybe I've been in the tech feild too long and am just jaded. Its not just sprint. Its all companies like that. How else do you think they afford to pay their CEO's and underlings 6-7figures aa year.
I believe the issue lies with step 2 in the cm9 install directions.
I never wipe data or factory reset in CWM. Wipe cache or davlik is fine. I always use calks format all to wipe data.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
jamesey said:
I believe the issue lies with step 2 in the cm9 install directions.
I never wipe data or factory reset in CWM. Wipe cache or davlik is fine. I always use calks format all to wipe data.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do the same except I use the modified format (no data) zip as well but sounds like its only a matter of time before I get bit for being lazy
hrffd said:
No. What you do is, go to Sprint, say you were playing a game, it froze, you pulled the battery and now all it has is a steady blue LED and you don't know why. Do not mention rooting, act like you don't know what rooting is. They can't check if it's rooted anymore without wiping all software so you're fine. If you have warranty, they'll have a replacement in 3 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely off-topic but your signature is making me want to fire up the GBA emulator and play Pokemon Red/Blue again.
Is this issue only going to get worse when a true ICS recovery is developed? Will the new recoveries gracefully handle GB to ICS and the reverse? I hope so, or it sounds like we're in for a lot of madness.
I've always used Mobile Odin to get back to EL26 and I've never had a problem flip-flopping back and forth to roms. CM9 alpha 4 seems very refined to me and I'm going to stick with it for awhile until MIUI gets its battery issues resolved.
But I say if people want to play in the ICS pool, pay your $5 to get mobile odin pro, and only use the proper EL26 recovery for everything. It's so simple and that's a lot cheaper than a warranty replace or totally new phone.
jamesey said:
I believe the issue lies with step 2 in the cm9 install directions.
I never wipe data or factory reset in CWM. Wipe cache or davlik is fine. I always use calks format all to wipe data.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the issue lies in user error. CM9 instructions are to odin el26cwm which has been safe to wipe/data since it's a Gingerbread kernel. I have installed cm9, aokp, codename, gummy, and mainly lots of nightly builds for cm9. Never had an issue and yes I followed the cm9 instructions. Somewhere along the way I believe people don't realize is that on this phone, every time you flash a rom, it comes with it's own kernel and recovery if there is one packaged. For now all instructions are pretty much the same across the board, for any flashing wiping etc it has to be done on a gingerbread recovery either el26 or el29.
scarmon25 said:
I'm sorry I have to say this. First let me say that I do believe in taking responsibility for my own actions. But the arguement that people going in a lying to sprint will raise cost is mute. If one was to stop and think about this. This is a company that sells you a plan that includes unlimited data and text and then charges you an additional fee for premium data. They have a whole team at the corporate level that their whole job is to figure out ways to raise cost and pitch it to customers in a way that they will still want to buy. I really do understand what you're saying but believe me. If everyone that ever bricked a phone was honest and paid out the ass for a new phone. Sprint and Samsung would still raise the cost of their services and producst. The only thing that people lying to sprint does is give them an excuse. Maybe I've been in the tech feild too long and am just jaded. Its not just sprint. Its all companies like that. How else do you think they afford to pay their CEO's and underlings 6-7figures aa year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, of course the carrier(s) and manufacturer(s) are going to continue to raise costs because they are a business and that's how they stay in business but it's a little naive (or wishful thinking?) to assume these types of events do not affect cost.
So while I agree with you on that point (they raise prices regardless) I still stand firm on people lying to cover their asses when they screw up and ruin their phones.
I can't count the number of these threads I've seen, just since January, despite there being tons of warnings, detailed installation instructions, and other threads like this alerting people what not to do. It leaves me to wonder how many people have read, but not posted, and followed the dishonest advice to obtain new phones at little or no cost.
My argument is that we are enabling an irresponsible mindset that doesn't stop with broken phones. Pointless argument perhaps but just my personal feelings.
Esoteric68 said:
You're right, of course the carrier(s) and manufacturer(s) are going to continue to raise costs because they are a business and that's how they stay in business but it's a little naive (or wishful thinking?) to assume these types of events do not affect cost.
So while I agree with you on that point (they raise prices regardless) I still stand firm on people lying to cover their asses when they screw up and ruin their phones.
I can't count the number of these threads I've seen, just since January, despite there being tons of warnings, detailed installation instructions, and other threads like this alerting people what not to do. It leaves me to wonder how many people have read, but not posted, and followed the dishonest advice to obtain new phones at little or no cost.
My argument is that we are enabling an irresponsible mindset that doesn't stop with broken phones. Pointless argument perhaps but just my personal feelings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do agree with some of your points, though I think your exaggerating the costs.
They are not going to give him a new phone just a refurbished one. The one he damaged is not beyond repair. It will be sent out and be refurbished for someone else.
I'm sure the cost of tep more then covers Sprint's costs.
PanchoPlanet said:
Stay away from CM9. C stands for catastrophic and m for meltdown, the nine is just a nine.
Pp.
" It is said that when He swims, dolphins appear "......... even if its in a pool!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except that, if you actually follow instructions, it's not either of those things. I've flashed CM9 and AOKP literally dozens of times, following the instructions to the letter, and haven't had a single issue. All you have to do is make sure that when you do wipe data/factory reset, you're doing it on EL26 Stock CWM, not a Rogue repack or whatnot.
People are going to do whatever they do no matter what is said. Some feel they've been screwed over by the carriers and OEM's and this is their opportunity to get back at em. Trust me if I had an opportunity toto stick Comcast with a nice shafting I would. In all honesty though. If you know how to read people. You can go into a store and tell the tech the truth and he will still swap it for 35 bucks or free if you have the TEP. You may have to go to a few stores and talk to the tech for a few minutes to feel em out. Hell I bricked mine and me and the tech talked for a few minutes about the issues happening wwith the phone and what caused it and he had no problem swapping it out. I paid the 35 bucks and was done with it. As I said. I agree with the taking responsibility cause lord knows this nation could use a morals lesson or two. But aether your honest or you lie there is going to be people that seal these bricks out for free phones. Whether its a nice tech doing a solid or a lying customer. Not to mention the thousands Samsung has probably already bricked looking into it. My grip isn't with telling people to be honest. Its with the arguement that alot of people seem to bring that them lying and that alone will be the reason for price hikes. I know that wasn't what was said here it was just one of those deals where it was the post that caused me to respond.
Take care.
Why is it that everyone just sits back and takes the 'if you root your phone or upload a new ROM to it your warranty is void' line from the carriers & manufacturers of the phones? Why are people not 'revolting' and forcing that line to change? These phones are technically no different than the computer you bought from Dell, HP, Apple, etc. Putting a different ROM on one of these phones is no differnet than putting a different OS on your computer. Don't like Windows? Wipe it and install Linux. Don't like Mac OS? Wipe it and install Windows or Linux (Why would you buy a Mac in that case? But I digress...). The point there being if computer manfacuturers told consumers that if they installed anything other than the stock OS or modified it in any way, their warranty was voided, a LOT of people would push back.
If they're worried about bricked phones, then make the phones unbrickable. Place the bootloader in a seperate area of the phone so no matter what happens to the ROM, it will at least get you to an upload screen that allows you to send the OS to the phone (like the Epic and SGS3 do) and provide PROPER tools to do so, so we don't have to use 3rd party tools to flash the phones. Aside from the possibility of a brick (at least the phones that really can be bricked), I can't think of anything you could damage with a custom ROM.
I don't take it, that's why I only buy Samsung ......no security. Very developer friendly
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
It's already been taken to court. Carriers can not deny a warranty claim because your rooted. They can refuse to work on them, but you have every right to pay the $150 deductible and get a new/refurb.
Now Samsung on the other hand can deny a factory warranty claim if it goes to them.
Sent from Pluto.
SubnetMask said:
Why is it that everyone just sits back and takes the 'if you root your phone or upload a new ROM to it your warranty is void' line from the carriers & manufacturers of the phones? Why are people not 'revolting' and forcing that line to change? These phones are technically no different than the computer you bought from Dell, HP, Apple, etc. Putting a different ROM on one of these phones is no differnet than putting a different OS on your computer. Don't like Windows? Wipe it and install Linux. Don't like Mac OS? Wipe it and install Windows or Linux (Why would you buy a Mac in that case? But I digress...). The point there being if computer manfacuturers told consumers that if they installed anything other than the stock OS or modified it in any way, their warranty was voided, a LOT of people would push back.
If they're worried about bricked phones, then make the phones unbrickable. Place the bootloader in a seperate area of the phone so no matter what happens to the ROM, it will at least get you to an upload screen that allows you to send the OS to the phone (like the Epic and SGS3 do) and provide PROPER tools to do so, so we don't have to use 3rd party tools to flash the phones. Aside from the possibility of a brick (at least the phones that really can be bricked), I can't think of anything you could damage with a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, you can make unbrickable phones by protecting the bootloader, etc., but man are curious ppl. One way or another, someone will decide to try to mess things around and brick the phone anyway. If it is not the bootloader, it may be other things as well: frying your motherboard by aggressive overclocking, messing up with the audio setting (ruining the speaker), and other possible hardware issues. The fact that in smartphones, the firmware are more tightly integrated into the hardware, comparison with desktop OS is a bit inaccurate. The more proper comparison is probably BIOS, which is also void desktop PC warranty if you mess with it (for some manufacturers, that is; there are some manufacturer who covers BIOS damages as well).
The manufacturers should have to follow guidlines similar to what auto manufacurers follow. Auto manufacturers cannot just void your warranty for using 'aftermarket' oil/air/fuel filters. They would have to PROVE that the filter in question caused the failure. Same thing should apply here: They can only deny a warranty claim if they can PROVE something with the ROM caused the failure.
Personally, I can't imagine why anyone would want to mess with the bootloader. That's your 'safety net' in case you hose your ROM. If someone decides they want to screw with that saftey net, and then they brick their phone, I would agree warranty should be denied.
For overclocking, set hardware limits. Allow 'some' overclocking, but don't allow it to be taken so far it can cook itsself, although that's another one I don't get... does that extre 100-300Mhz really get you THAT much?
Don't like the answers the sprint reps give you them apply for technIcal representatIve and help the community out by making every case a refurb exchange!! That or go in as a double agent and get the software.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Well all computers have warrenty to an extent.. if you go into its full blown deep programing and mess with it and break it, then your screwed and have to deal with it.. Just how life is. your actions give consequences. If you get a new car and decide to cut all the wires, its your fault and not theirs XD Its quite difficult to actually full blown brick your phone... Soft bricking occasionally happens but its always easy to pull out of. Anyways if they allow rooting in their warranty then they have to spend more money because of someone being stupid >_< Id be mad if some person decided to delete all software from their phone. I would decline replacing the device from someone being dumb XD
Speedin07si said:
It's already been taken to court. Carriers can not deny a warranty claim because your rooted. They can refuse to work on them, but you have every right to pay the $150 deductible and get a new/refurb.
Now Samsung on the other hand can deny a factory warranty claim if it goes to them.
Sent from Pluto.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They can deny your warranty claim. They can't deny you access to their network.
Google it.
---------- Post added at 08:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 AM ----------
Supporting devices with custom ROMs is impossible. When a user calls with a problem, they need to have a common platform so they can troubleshoot and fix issues. If you put Linux on your Dell box that came with Windows, you will not be supported when you call Dell with a problem.
Why can't you just flash stock and reset your counter? Circumvented.
monlo said:
Why can't you just flash stock and reset your counter? Circumvented.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yuuup! Agree....
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Sprint doesn't deny based on rooting tho
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Soupskin said:
They can deny your warranty claim. They can't deny you access to their network.
Google it.
---------- Post added at 08:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 AM ----------
Supporting devices with custom ROMs is impossible. When a user calls with a problem, they need to have a common platform so they can troubleshoot and fix issues. If you put Linux on your Dell box that came with Windows, you will not be supported when you call Dell with a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true but why would anyone who knows how to flash a rom call sprint with a problem. the majority of the people on this forum know whats going on with sprints network better the majority of sprint reps. and the minority on here that don't know just have to ask and will get a slue of people wanting to help albeit in a sarcastic manner but you will get the answer you desire. I agree that ROM flashing shouldn't be taboo but I think for that to happen the manufactures would have to get on board first and truly make android open source. someone said that tools would be great and I agree. if Sammy, HTC, Moto and the gang would release all of their phones unlocked and make root access easier to achieve/ that would be awesome! Another option that would only happen in a dream world would be If you can pick what ROM you want installed on your phone at purchase. want TWIZ? Fine! Sense? Fine! AOSP/CM/AOKP? Fine! and be on your marry way. But that's just a dream lol.
I just went to best buy and had the Samsung rep reflash my phone and holy cow its much snappier!
Seems to have less lag and doesn't freeze as much.
Also. When they flash it it doesn't delete anything on the phone. All my files and apps were still there!!!
"reflash" isn't a thing. What did they actually do?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A
JasonJoel said:
"reflash" isn't a thing. What did they actually do?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol OK. I watched him connect it to the computer. It went into download mode showed and android guy logo with a 1 and it showed it downloading and then it went to the update screen and here I am.
I think he just cleared the cache.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
---------- Post added at 08:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
Let me know if anyone has tried this so I can do it. Don't want to clear cache and lose everything. Sorry I am used to TWRP2.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
borijess said:
I think he just cleared the cache.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your build number change or kernel version?
raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an option to update and clear cache in recovery. Maybe there's a recovery software on the phone that let's you do a dirty flash. Just guessing.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a proprietary software for Samsung devices that phone companies/certified repair centers have that make everything one click.
For the life of me I can't remember the name of it atm.
Jspex said:
There is a proprietary software for Samsung devices that phone companies/certified repair centers have that make everything one click.
For the life of me I can't remember the name of it atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung Smart tool. It's somewhere between a cache wipe and a full Odin flash. I've heard it equated to resubmitting an OTA. Don't know how accurate that is.
First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
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AcquiredIntellect said:
First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
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Some of you are real dicks. Sorry. Not sorry . I'm not a noon and I've had every note device that's been put out. I don't have to prove myself to anyone this was said to help people and all you do is flame people . go back to 4chan or reditt
He flashed the last update for my phone. I watched him do it.
Sometimes when the phone is made there could be errors when the files are migrated for the first time.
I too have had best buy flash proper firmware to my note 3 when it was in an odd state due to my shenanigans. It is a full rom install.
The Smart tool does flash firmware. Generally it's non carrier specific Sammy "stock" FW but it's been a long time since I've seen it so that may have changed. You should upload a system dump for the devs to look at. It's probably nothing but it does have the off chance of being something they could use to find an exploit.
---------- Post added at 09:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------
AcquiredIntellect said:
First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
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Apparently you have not heard of the Samsung Experience Centers inside of BestBuys. We have one in my BB and there are a few hundred of them nationwide.
They are not carrier reps and they are not BB employees. They are Samsung sales reps and technicians and have full access to a multitude of proprietary tools.
I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.
n00b1269 said:
I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.
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Sadly this is the nature of the internet. It is full of armchair experts, who feel the need to comment negativly on everything that is posted. You get used to ignoring it. As you can see from this post, every post draws some (or a lot) of crap, and there are a few nuggets mixed in that make the questions, and comments worth it. Thanks for your information.
Could you imagine if it is a different build number, we would all storm Best Buy and push them to update out devices. It would be cool to watch. We would post lists of reps and their locations and schedules who were the easiest to talk into doing the reflash. Lets do it!
What is the build number on your system? Maybe you got the mystery update that AT&T hasn't (and likely won't) release....
n00b1269 said:
I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.
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I know it's a shame. My friends a dev and said the same exact thing. But I don't Blame them at all. Idk what happened to the community and helping one another but all it seems like it's so can bash someone the best and it's an absolute shame...just my two cents
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We need mod that will close the threads, move the fights out of root threads, and possibly block the people stirring the ****. If this community wants to act like children, treat them as such, we have had to do it at xda many a time...... that being said, I have been here a long, long while. Back when ppcgeeks was actually competition, that long. In all the time I have been here, this community right here seems to be comprised of some of the whiney-iest assholes I have seen. Grow the **** up. You want root so badly, attract devs with more than a bounty. And remember it is a pledge if you go that route, it's a donation, not that dev works for you.
Be adults and more devs will come, or keep being like this and watch the empire fall, you guys decide
n00b1269 said:
We need mod that will close the threads, move the fights out of root threads, and possibly block the people stirring the ****. If this community wants to act like children, treat them as such, we have had to do it at xda many a time...... that being said, I have been here a long, long while. Back when ppcgeeks was actually competition, that long. In all the time I have been here, this community right here seems to be comprised of some of the whiney-iest assholes I have seen. Grow the **** up. You want root so badly, attract devs with more than a bounty. And remember it is a pledge if you go that route, it's a donation, not that dev works for you.
Be adults and more devs will come, or keep being like this and watch the empire fall, you guys decide
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Couldn't ******* agree more. ..nicely said
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
The best are the people on here that say that they "need" root and act like it is owed to them. The reality is that nobody needs root, we simply want it. And it's certainly not owed to us.
With that being said, I want root just as much as the next guy or girl. But I'm not gonna cry or lose sleep over it if we don't get it. I love this phone as is.
So, back on subject.... Did you see anything change in the versions of about phone?