SMT700 - Custom Rom /Installation/Backup - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys
I am completely new in this topic. I just got an Samsung Galaxy Tab S (SMT700 Wifi) as a present a few days ago. Its my first android device I had so far.... so everyone will call me "noob" and I am okay with it DD
When I realised that there are different android os development projects like CM and Paranoid, I become interested in trying them out. so...
1.) Is it possible to brick the android device completely or is there something like an recovery/dfu mode in iOS devices?
2.) Can I go back to the stock OS contributed bey samsung itself (Touchwiz Kitkat)? If yes are this files online?
3.) Does I need special hardware to perform a custom rom flash? (micros card/special OS on pc (linux,....)
4.) Does the CM blck mod in the official forums contains alle required drivers and blobs already to perform gpu tasks and so on? (are there currently downsides swell?)
Thx :fingers-crossed:

androidnoob222 said:
Hey guys
I am completely new in this topic. I just got an Samsung Galaxy Tab S (SMT700 Wifi) as a present a few days ago. Its my first android device I had so far.... so everyone will call me "noob" and I am okay with it DD
When I realised that there are different android os development projects like CM and Paranoid, I become interested in trying them out. so...
1.) Is it possible to brick the android device completely or is there something like an recovery/dfu mode in iOS devices?
2.) Can I go back to the stock OS contributed bey samsung itself (Touchwiz Kitkat)? If yes are this files online?
3.) Does I need special hardware to perform a custom rom flash? (micros card/special OS on pc (linux,....)
4.) Does the CM blck mod in the official forums contains alle required drivers and blobs already to perform gpu tasks and so on? (are there currently downsides swell?)
Thx :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. There is bootloops but hardbricks are rare. You can enter recovery and download mode(flash stock rom on broke os) in a bootloop. Just hold power, home or vol up for recovery and home +power +vol down for download mode.
2. Yes you can go back to any version of stock os unlike apple you have to be on the latest. The files are online for your device at sammobile. (google it) and also samsung updates.
3. All you need to perform a custom rom flash is a custom recovery called twrp and your device. Theres an app on google play for installation of it. (search on youtube on how to do so). But thats just flashing zip based roms(which most custom roms are). For stock rom installation, you will need a pc and a application called odin 309 to flash a stock md5 file rom in which you will need to be in download mode (like installing new update from itunes).
You will need to backup your whole rom with twrp before flashing a custom rom. You may need a micro sd if your short on space. You will also need to be rooted to install custom roms. Please go to the cfautoroot thread of your device to root your device in which you will viod warrenty.
4. Cm rom as of now still has bugs but is still useable for games and such. There should be a list of bugs on the thread and might have some missing features such as ir blaster and finger print scanner. Battery life may vary. So there are downsides.
5. I can go into more depth of custom stuff and flashing if you wish. Right now my fingers hurts xD. Hope this helps!

1) it is very, very unlikely even if you try intentionally to do so
2) yes, no problem. google for Samsung Firwares, it's all online
3) windows PC, Odin Software, and an USB cable, that's all. You can do it with Linux if you prefer. Some Roms are installed via zip file from the device itself, then you need to flash a new Recovery partition first, that is able to do so
4) ?

Thx you very much for the help !
After reading a lot about this topic it seems to be not as difficult as I thought it would be.
But I don't get one thing. Why does I need to make a proper backup only for the flashing propos? If I flash my internal memory, all data will be replaced. And if it goes wrong I will be able to do a complet software reset with odin and the original samsung image found in the Internet?! So why I have to make a backup (there is no data in my current tap I will need in the future)?
And does the cf chain root flash the OS or the firmware ?
As my understanding tell me that the firmware is something comparable to a bios , which should never be flashed to maintain stability.
So as my logic goes further if my device is rooted, after a proper reset it will not be rooted anymore? (Android stock reset function in settings)
Or does armbased devices not have a normal firmware/bios as I mentioned ? And something in the bootprocess itself is manipulated to anable root access?
Hopefully you get what i mean :angel:

androidnoob222 said:
Thx you very much for the help !
After reading a lot about this topic it seems to be not as difficult as I thought it would be.
But I don't get one thing. Why does I need to make a proper backup only for the flashing propos? If I flash my internal memory, all data will be replaced. And if it goes wrong I will be able to do a complet software reset with odin and the original samsung image found in the Internet?! So why I have to make a backup (there is no data in my current tap I will need in the future)?
And does the cf chain root flash the OS or the firmware ?
As my understanding tell me that the firmware is something comparable to a bios , which should never be flashed to maintain stability.
So as my logic goes further if my device is rooted, after a proper reset it will not be rooted anymore? (Android stock reset function in settings)
Or does armbased devices not have a normal firmware/bios as I mentioned ? And something in the bootprocess itself is manipulated to anable root access?
Hopefully you get what i mean :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Sometimes odin and kies will fail for you. Twrp backups is to be really safe if you get bootlooped and odin fails for you. Its much easyer to restore a twrp backup and easy to make one. Its just if odin or kies fails which twrpnwould be your only hope. Just in case
2. Cfautoroot only flashes supersu and root. It keeps your apps and everything. So when you flash cfautoroot, it will say andriod is upgrading becuase its installing root and restoring back your apps.
3. After a full proper reset, it will not have root and revert back to stock. Thats where you flash cfautoroot to gain root again!
Hope this helps!

So as of now I managed to root my device and also created a twrc backup, which is now transfered to my sd card
Are there major differences between a rom flash with twrc recovery or odin?

androidnoob222 said:
So as of now I managed to root my device and also created a twrc backup, which is now transfered to my sd card
Are there major differences between a rom flash with twrc recovery or odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most custom roms are to be flashed with twrp. Meanwhile stock roms/md5 is to be flashed with odin(firmware from website).

Again Thx you very much!! You are awesome!
I managed to install cyanogenmod its insanely fast compared to the touchwiz version
But there is one more thing I have to ask.
I installed TWR in the latest version but the klimwifi (2.8.XX) version (klimtwifixx was not avaible). Is this the right version?
Where exactly does TWR be installed. Afther the wipe and the format it stays, so I have no clue how it can be available even if the internel memory was formated?
I started TWR by the terminal (reboot recovery), becouse I have no clue how to start it instead by button pressing?
And there are no playstore how can i get it on cm11?

androidnoob222 said:
Again Thx you very much!! You are awesome!
I managed to install cyanogenmod its insanely fast compared to the touchwiz version
But there is one more thing I have to ask.
I installed TWR in the latest version but the klimwifi (2.8.XX) version (klimtwifixx was not avaible). Is this the right version?
Where exactly does TWR be installed. Afther the wipe and the format it stays, so I have no clue how it can be available even if the internel memory was formated?
I started TWR by the terminal (reboot recovery), becouse I have no clue how to start it instead by button pressing?
And there are no playstore how can i get it on cm11?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.8 is the latest version of twrp. I dont think your device is klimwifixx. It should be klimwifi. What the wipe and and factory reset in twrp does is that it clears all your apps and wipe cache. It does not wipe any folders and it justs wipes your apps. So internal should not be affected unless you formatted it... You just need to swipe the factory reset on it when installing roms. For google play store you have to flash a file name gapps. There should be a link to it on the thread. To get into recovery, turn off your device, then hold power, home, vol up buttons at the same time to enter recovery. To exit recover just touch the reboot rectangle and hit reboot system. Hope this helps!

Okay now its clear TWRP replace the "downloade mode", which is the standard recoverymode
You said I do not need to format the disk, but why?
In linux distributions (debian for example) you will have similliar structure for example /var /bin /sbin /usr /proc,.....
If there is the stock touchwiz android it will have this structure listed above as well. So it will courrupt the os by overwriting this folders by a custom rom....
. Maybe you wont do it in the TWRP menue, because it will do it automatically by choose you custom rom install script in the zip?
How is the portioning in those devices? Maybe there are /dev/sda1 (android) and /dev/sda2 (with the recovery setup inside)....? I just want to understand those things

androidnoob222 said:
Okay now its clear TWRP replace the "downloade mode", which is the standard recoverymode
You said I do not need to format the disk, but why?
In linux distributions (debian for example) you will have similliar structure for example /var /bin /sbin /usr /proc,.....
If there is the stock touchwiz android it will have this structure listed above as well. So it will courrupt the os by overwriting this folders by a custom rom....
. Maybe you wont do it in the TWRP menue, because it will do it automatically by choose you custom rom install script in the zip?
How is the portioning in those devices? Maybe there are /dev/sda1 (android) and /dev/sda2 (with the recovery setup inside)....? I just want to understand those things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No no! Twrp replaces stock recovery. Download mode cannot be replaced. You enter it by holding power, vol down, home button when the device is off. Download mode is when you flash things. Recovery mode is when you clear cache or other stuffs. I have no idea with the linux stuff you explained but custom zip roms just adds some modifications and other stuff to the device. You would need to clear cache and factory reset so you wont have problems installing it. You can easyly go back to stock rooted by restoreing a backup you made in twrp. It has to do something with img and replacing those if thats what your talking about idk. No need to format as the rom add things to it. Just need to factory reset and cleae caches.

But now if I want to enter download mode for testing, it will boot into the twrp recovery. So as for me it looks like that it is already replaced..

androidnoob222 said:
But now if I want to enter download mode for testing, it will boot into the twrp recovery. So as for me it looks like that it is already replaced..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldnt be as twrp only replaces recovery. Img did you try doing home, power, vol down?

Hi
I have a quick question I have the Galaxy tab S 10.5 wifi and was wondering can I install TWRP without the tablet being rooted?
Also there are some builds where it states that its rooted, debloated and de-knocked. Does this mean that they can be flashed without rooting the tablet and tripping knox.
Thanks for your replies, still trying to get my head around this.

Related

[Q]Creating a backup before I root my GIO

hello, i just got my first android phone so I'm new to this sort of stuff, though I love being able to unlock hidden potential of different devices, so naturally I discovered the ability to root smart phones and all that good stuff.
The model I have is the Samsung Galaxy Gio GT-S5660M. It's running 2.3.4. Gingerbread version.
I've been reading a lot of guides and for the most part rooting and adding additional utilities like flash, etc. seems pretty simple. However, I have not yet been able to find out how to create a back of up of my stock firmware when I bought the phone in case I end up bricking it, or decide I want to return to stock.
I've read many guides that claim to show how to create back ups and recovery points, but I'm still having trouble understanding it.
To be more specific, I would like to create as opposed to download, a back up of the phone in it's current state which is, as I said earlier, stock. I did a factory reset since I had some stuff installed while I was fiddling with it for the first time.
thx
You have to root it before you can back up stock rom so, firstly you root it (you can find guides here on xda)
Then install clockworkmod recovery: warning: DON'T EVER USE ROM MANAGER TO INSTALL CLOCKWORKMOD ON YOUR GIO, IT WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE!! use one of the recoveries found in xda, you will also find guides to install them there.
Then third; backup in clockworkmod using "backup and restore"
Sent from my GT-S5660
iok1 said:
You have to root it before you can back up stock rom so, firstly you root it (you can find guides here on xda)
Then install clockworkmod recovery: warning: DON'T EVER USE ROM MANAGER TO INSTALL CLOCKWORKMOD ON YOUR GIO, IT WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE!! use one of the recoveries found in xda, you will also find guides to install them there.
Then third; backup in clockworkmod using "backup and restore"
Sent from my GT-S5660
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so first of all, what I'm looking for is called a ROM right?
what I don't get though is how come I need to modify the device before creating the backup. Isn't the phone modified at that point? Or is the stock configuration being stored somewhere on the phone that I can't see without clockwork?
You cannot create a backup without the recovery mod CWM Clockwork Recovery Mod. But to install this you need your device rooted (modified so you can modify and view system files)
gfyrdr said:
so first of all, what I'm looking for is called a ROM right?
what I don't get though is how come I need to modify the device before creating the backup. Isn't the phone modified at that point? Or is the stock configuration being stored somewhere on the phone that I can't see without clockwork?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 - you don't need to search for a rom to backup your stock rom
2 - you need to root your phone in order to be able to backup your rom
3 - you need to install a more advanced recovery (program "similar" to pc BIOS) in order to do a nandroid backup
4 - after you flash that more advanced recovery (aka CWM -> ClockWorkMod), you backup your rom in "backup and restore" menu, backup. It will then store your rom in a folder.
5 - you should strongly consider after that, to install a custom rom made by many of the devs here on XDA in order to have a better experience with your phone...
0M3G4_ said:
1 - you don't need to search for a rom to backup your stock rom
2 - you need to root your phone in order to be able to backup your rom
3 - you need to install a more advanced recovery (program "similar" to pc BIOS) in order to do a nandroid backup
4 - after you flash that more advanced recovery (aka CWM -> ClockWorkMod), you backup your rom in "backup and restore" menu, backup. It will then store your rom in a folder.
5 - you should strongly consider after that, to install a custom rom made by many of the devs here on XDA in order to have a better experience with your phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 That was what I wanted to say
I've already uploaded a stock ROM backup last fall of the same Gingerbread ROM you're running, along with instructions on how to make one yourself or flash mine.
The best advice I can give you is: research, research, and more research.
Good luck,
Darkshado
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA
What software do you recommend to clockworkmod Gio with?
s!mon said:
What software do you recommend to clockworkmod Gio with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use px-cwm-v2.zip recovery.
You flash it using stock recovery.
thx for the replies. I will give it a try.
Darkshadow, whats the thread's name where you posted the ROM and instructions? I'd like to check that out too.
Also, whats a good rom to consider upgrading to? Something that has the ability to play flash videos.
EDIT:
If I understand correctly, roms are basically whole operating systems that have been customized by the developer. So a rom can be already rooted and have clockwork as well as other custom stuff, and I just need to flash it. The alternative to this is to do everything manualy... root the current OS, add clockwork and whatever else. Correct?
Also, I'm not sure yet if a rooted phone has any extra options on it's own, or if it's only a set up that's sole purpose is to allow other applications to be installed who then will give the user better control over his device.
I've run into a little problem.
I'm following this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16963172&postcount=1
I've got Odin and the tar downloaded, but when I go into download mode with my phone and connect it to the PC, it says that the device driver was not successfuly installed, and I get no confirmation in Odin that a connection has been made between the phone and the program.
What am I missing?
Thx.
EDIT:
Nevermind, I needed to install Kies. Don't even need to run it. Apparently it has the driver that's needed.
Okay, I've rooted my phone successfully. Now the next step is to install Clockwork and create a back up.
Now that I understand a little bit the way Odin and flashing ROM works, I think it would be better to just download a stock ROM and in case something goes wrong, I can just flash it the way I flashed the rooted one.
(I think I saw a completely stock ROM somewhere for my model but I don't remember where. A link would be appreciated if it exists.)
Correct me if I'm wrong pls.
Also, if I do that, then is there any reason to install Clockwork since I've read that many ppl have issues with installing it and it's riskier than rooting or installing other software.
Right now I think what I'm most interested in is installing Adobe Flash Player 11 or something of the sort that can play flash videos and streams.
^
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19623732&postcount=1
taken from the sticky
i'm also thinking of installing cwm
looking at the sticky, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20397988&postcount=8
how outdated is this cwm?
I'm using Opera as my browser so from what I've learned, flash doesn't work with it period. Is skyfire a good alternative?
Also, like I said, I don't think I need the clockwork if I can get a clean stock ROM that I can just flash if something goes wrong. As I don't intend to download many apps or add many phone numbers (memorized instead), a backup isn't really needed.
nvmd, i just went ahead and installed the cwm in that link, there's a 5.0.2.7 though if that is even the newest one
now, i cant seem to backup my phone
it says it cannot mount /system
try dolphin browser
anonxlg said:
nvmd, i just went ahead and installed the cwm in that link, there's a 5.0.2.7 though if that is even the newest one
now, i cant seem to backup my phone
it says it cannot mount /system
try dolphin browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you pick the ext4 + rfs version?
Sent from my GT-S5660
Clockwork is not riskier than other things you do. Just follow steps and you see no problems.
anonxlg said:
^
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19623732&postcount=1
i'm also thinking of installing cwm
looking at the sticky, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20397988&postcount=8
how outdated is this cwm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its an older version, its 5.0.2.7, theres also 5.0.2.8 but these give some problems after installing/wiping, so some people still use the older version.
Hello guys,
I'm new here. I have the same problem as anonxlg. It says can't mount system. I also used the version from the big thread for new users. Can anyone enlighten me on what to do? I've been searching the forum and google, but can't make it work. I feel like a compleet noob now, and I don't feel special about it.
RJ88
Edit: I kept searching, and finally found a working 5.0.2.7 version. First I had another 5.0.2.7 version, but when I tried to install it didn't work. I finally found "signed_cwm-5.0.2.7-flashablezip-ext4+rfs.zip (Flash from Recovery)" on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421650 (through google actually. I have to get used to this site), and I'm making my backup now.
thanks RJA88, backup worked
edit/update
i used the cwm linked and backup worked, i tried installing cm9 beta8 (galaxyics), and it would get stuck after samsung bootscreen (it flashes a white pick or soemthing before full back screen)
i tried restoring backup i made, and it didnt work, some mount error again
i reverted back to 5.0.2.6 and did the restore backup again, and this time it goes up the the galaxy gio gt5660m screen and just stop..
note that i do not know what the rfs/ext4 is for for the gio if that is what is causing problems

[Q] So I Dove Into Rooting

so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.
aeneas1 said:
so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms. The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.
Skipjacks said:
f it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hallelujah!
Skipjacks said:
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my apologies, i meant that i downloaded recovery files from the cwm website, not a rom files - i got them from https://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager - i downloaded both (touch & non-touch) s4 t-mobile versions (6.0.4.7). i'm assumed those were recovery files?
Skipjack" said:
The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, my apologies - i meant that i downloaded *.img files, not zips, and converted them to tars for odin use. i used a batch file to convert them from img to tar, found at xda, here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2281287 - it seemed to do the job, odin ran and reported success. wrong files? wrong conversion?
Skipjack said:
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given a choice, i'd like to do what's bolded in red - but that's what i thought i was doing by flashing the cwm file i downloaded from the cwm website - but after the flash attempt it wouldn't boot into cwm, it would just boot into (i'm assuming") the stock rom i restored, which was a mess. i also unchecked auto-boot to see if that helped - but when i manually booted it didn't boot into cwm, it booted into the stock recovery, with the animated android.
i'll try downloading cwm from the sources you provided, and see if that does the trick. btw, why do you think i was able to flash the cm11 rom with (seemingly) perfect success, but wasn't able to restore either one of the full system (android) backups i made after i rooted my phone?
anyway Skipjack, thanks a ton for your assistance and i'll report back after i give your sources a try. fwiw, it sure is a great charge when a newbie like me sees a custom rom load for the first time, displaying a new ui as it boots, fun stuff.
Just download the ready yo flash tar files. Cwm has them. Twrp has them.
success Skipjack thanks to your generous time and assistance!
i ended up downloading the latest odin zip i could find and philz_touch_6.08.9-jfltetmo.tar.md5... my first try didn't take, with auto-reboot checked, my phone simply rebooted into the same problematic rom i had restored. i then tried it with auto-boot unchecked and manually booted when odin reported pass/success, and it worked. what struck me as odd was how long it took to flash, to report pass/success, around 3-5 minutes if i had to guess, a big difference compared to when i first used odin to root my phone with the["SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root *.tar.md5 file - i'm guessing that's why it didn't work with auto-boot checked, just took too long?
anyway once i booted into philz_touch recovery i executed the wipe data/factory reset > clean to install a new rom command and then flashed the cm11 m7 (snapshot) rom, which i had flashed once before, right before i attempted to restore the stock rom it had replaced. and as was the case the first time around, it installed without a hitch and is running smooth and fast.
however now when i boot the phone, as soon as the cyanogen logo appears, very tiny text appears in the upper left hand corner which reads (i had to use a magnifying glass!) - it doesn't seem to effect the performance of he device but i'd like to get to the bottom of it, i've already searched and it appears to be a rather common issue.
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
btw, i forgot to mention, when i purchased my sgh-m99 it already had 4.3 installed - when i flashed my first rom (cm11 m7) it included kitkat 4.4.2... could this be what caused my problems? did trying to go back to (restore) a 4.3 rom after flashing a 4.4.2 rom screw things up? can this even be done successfully?
and finally, at the risk of bugging the heck out of you, what roms do you prefer for your s4, assuming you have an s4? do you like aosp roms or touchwiz? does one type have a better reputation of being more stable? the primary reason i wanted to rot my phone was to get rid of a bunch of t-mobile / samsung bloatware, which i thought i could do by installing a lean custom rom. any suggestions, which are your favorites? thanks again Skipkack.
ouhned after
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
eclpsues said:
I'm not an expert in Android OS but I think this is not an error. It is more of a notification that the STOCK KERNEL has been change to a CUSTOM one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Joku1981 said:
You are right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483
aeneas1 said:
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.
Skipjacks said:
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.
aeneas1 said:
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Kriptik210 said:
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
so if i'm using a 4.4.2 custom rom and want to restore a 4.3 backup i should be able to boot into recovery and restore from there? or would i need to do a 4.3 flash first, before restoring a 4.3 backup?
aeneas1 said:
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup
serio22 said:
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?
aeneas1 said:
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it. And you should not experience any issues restoring your back up. What were this problems?
btw serio22, do you have a favorite tw rom?
Yea serio22, what is your favorite TW ROM?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple app not working popups that made navigating almost impossible. well now when i try to restore it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. as i mentioned, when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple "app not working" popups that made navigating almost impossible. but now when i try to restore the 4.3 backup it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
update:
well it looks like the *.md5 file was pointing to my internal drive rather than external which is where i had moved the 4.3 backup (and apparently the *.md5 file didn't update or account for the move), anyway i copied the backup to my internal drive and, viola, no more md5 mismatch errors. more importantly, it restored the 4.3 backup perfectly, in the exact same state as before, without all of lagging and pop up issues i was having before, so i'm one happy camper! not sure what i did the first time around, but all is good now, for he time being, sure wish i knew what i mucked up to cause the problems in the first place, i really have no idea, other than being a newbie at this. also, fwiw, the tiny text in the upper left hand corner that appears during boot (kernal message) no longer appears now that i have restored the 4.3 system backup... fwiw2, i'm liking the philz_touch_recovery but it sure has taken some getting used to, the commands are so close together and the thing is so sensitive, very easy to accidentally select the wrong option, and some of the wrong options aren't too friendly if it wasn't what you had intended to select.
aeneas1 said:
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my previous post more closely below. Good to see you up and running though! And no I don't have a favorite tw Rom
serio22 said:
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Boot loop + Blue LED Flashing on rooted device

Hey everyone so I took my phone out of my pocket and it was stuck in a boot loop. I tried taking the battery out, volume up + power + home, volume down + power + home but nothing. I've tried booting it also without a battery.
I have Quantum running on my phone, and have never had any problems. The occasional restart but now my phone won't even get to the home screen. I get just a boot loop with normal sounds, and then my LED begins to flash. Then it just loops again ..
Don't really know what to do.
UPDATE: Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.
DELETED - irrelevant information.
StoneyJSG said:
DELETED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why ?
Rovon said:
Why ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will your computer detect it if connected? (Odin, Heimdall, adb)
dawgdoc said:
Will your computer detect it if connected? (Odin, Heimdall, adb)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes computer is detecting it with Odin.
Rovon said:
Yes computer is detecting it with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is on the phone's screen while the device is detected by Odin?
There are a couple of notn-standard images that will actually function as download mode, allowing you to reflash a custom recovery. And then, hopefully restore a nandroid of your rom.
dawgdoc said:
What is on the phone's screen while the device is detected by Odin?
There are a couple of notn-standard images that will actually function as download mode, allowing you to reflash a custom recovery. And then, hopefully restore a nandroid of your rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get two options for either volume up and volume down. After pressing volume up I got the android with "Downloading Do not turn off target"
Rovon said:
I get two options for either volume up and volume down. After pressing volume up I got the android with "Downloading Do not turn off target"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.
Rovon said:
Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with dawgdoc. Use Odin to reflash the latest version of TWRP, or the custom recovery of your choice. Uncheck auto reboot before you flash. Upon successful flash when it says reset in the status window unplug USB then pull the battery. Replace battery and try to boot to recovery with vol up + home + power; keep holding all three for a second or two after it vibrates until you see the blue text for booting to recovery (hopefullly)...
Then restore a nandroid backup, or load CM 10 or 11 on a microsd and flash that.
jason2678 said:
I agree with dawgdoc. Use Odin to reflash the latest version of TWRP, or the custom recovery of your choice. Uncheck auto reboot before you flash. Upon successful flash when it says reset in the status window unplug USB then pull the battery. Replace battery and try to boot to recovery with vol up + home + power; keep holding all three for a second or two after it vibrates until you see the blue text for booting to recovery (hopefullly)...
Then restore a nandroid backup, or load CM 10 or 11 on a microsd and flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the same battery but now I can't get into recovery at all. I get the little blue text in the top left hand corner but I can't get to recovery.
Edit: Just realized I used the wrong TWRP for my phone. I redid everything and now I can get into Recovery mode. Going to try and put a rom on my device. Will be back shortly with an update.
Rovon said:
Using the same battery but now I can't get into recovery at all. I get the little blue text in the top left hand corner but I can't get to recovery.
Edit: Just realized I used the wrong TWRP for my phone. I redid everything and now I can get into Recovery mode. Going to try and put a rom on my device. Will be back shortly with an update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I keep getting a bunch of errors with TWR. I tried installing AOKP but got stuck at a boot screen again, and after trying to wipe my phone I get an error message saying "Failed". Now I'm trying install Quantum again but get an error message saying "Zip file is corrupt". T__T
Going to try another rom..
Update: I've tried Quantum again and it finally installed but now I'm stuck in a bootloop again. This is so frustrating ...
It seems like you are on the correct track. Don't give up.
Hopefully it is not a matter of the internal sdcard going bad.
If you continue to have trouble you might consider reflashing the bootloader and modem that the phone is currently on, or a newer one.
dawgdoc said:
It seems like you are on the correct track. Don't give up.
Hopefully it is not a matter of the internal sdcard going bad.
If you continue to have trouble you might consider reflashing the bootloader and modem that the phone is currently on, or a newer one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed Clockworkmod to see if TWR was the issue and still I'm getting boot looped. Is there a clean start from scratch method I can do that guarantees a fix for this ?Although I didn't get any errors with Clockworkmod just getting looped again. I haven't tried anything with the bootloader and modem. Is there a updated tutorial on this? I can't find anything
Rovon said:
Installed Clockworkmod to see if TWR was the issue and still I'm getting boot looped. Is there a clean start from scratch method I can do that guarantees a fix for this ?Although I didn't get any errors with Clockworkmod just getting looped again. I haven't tried anything with the bootloader and modem. Is there a updated tutorial on this? I can't find anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of thoughts:
Is there any chance that following the tutorial in your original post you tried flashing a ROM image using Odin that had a bootloader different that what was on your phone when it was working normally? If so was it an older or newer version.? If older, then reflash the newer one that was previously on the phone, along with its matching bootloader.
It could be that a full wipe before trying again to flash the ROM would be what you need.
If the wipe doesn't work you may need to flash a stock based ROM and then go back to Quantum, or whatever you choose.
dawgdoc said:
Couple of thoughts:
Is there any chance that following the tutorial in your original post you tried flashing a ROM image using Odin that had a bootloader different that what was on your phone when it was working normally? If so was it an older or newer version.? If older, then reflash the newer one that was previously on the phone, along with its matching bootloader.
It could be that a full wipe before trying again to flash the ROM would be what you need.
If the wipe doesn't work you may need to flash a stock based ROM and then go back to Quantum, or whatever you choose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't remember .. Any tutorials on doing a proper full wipe for my device? I did try initially flashing a stock based rom, but I'll try it again with Clockwork.
Also, how do I know which bootloader is correct and which files to flash if I can't access the info through my phone. I swear half of these damn tutorials have broken links and only spam files. I don't know what to do since there's so many damn options... I'm ready to throw my phone against a wall.
Rovon said:
I honestly don't remember .. Any tutorials on doing a proper full wipe for my device? I did try initially flashing a stock based rom, but I'll try it again with Clockwork.
Also, how do I know which bootloader is correct and which files to flash if I can't access the info through my phone. I swear half of these damn tutorials have broken links and only spam files. I don't know what to do since there's so many damn options... I'm ready to throw my phone against a wall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.
jason2678 said:
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
also to confirm modem , type in ...
getprop | grep version.baseband
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"
jason2678 said:
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the information. It's good to know that me being unable to find a solution wasn't just due to my frustration.
My bootloader is: I747UCDLK3
I did do the same type of wipe but all of my roms are on an external SD card. I was under the impression the internal storage was wiped completely. I currently have Quantum / Gapps / Kernel all stored on the external SD. At this point whatever it takes to get my phone working again will do.
mrrocketdog said:
+1
also to confirm modem , type in ...
getprop | grep version.baseband
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm .. that command didn't seem to pull anything up for me.
Rovon said:
Thank you for the information. It's good to know that me being unable to find a solution wasn't just due to my frustration.
My bootloader is: I747UCDLK3
I did do the same type of wipe but all of my roms are on an external SD card. I was under the impression the internal storage was wiped completely. I currently have Quantum / Gapps / Kernel all stored on the external SD. At this point whatever it takes to get my phone working again will do.
Hmm .. that command didn't seem to pull anything up for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LK3 is a pretty out of date bootloader, and in this case that might be a good thing.
You can go to sammobile.com and download the full firmware for your phone and flash it with Odin: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I747/
For reference the newer firmwares (MJB, NE4, and NJ1) cannot be downgraded, any attempt will result in a brick. On LK3 you are safe. Repeat, don't try this at home unless you know what bootloader version you have.
This will Odin your phone back to pure stock Jellybean. This used to be the go to method for fixing screwed up S3's before Samsung started bricking us for downgrading the firmware at version MJB.
jason2678 said:
LK3 is a pretty out of date bootloader, and in this case that might be a good thing.
You can go to sammobile.com and download the full firmware for your phone and flash it with Odin: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I747/
For reference the newer firmwares (MJB, NE4, and NJ1) cannot be downgraded, any attempt will result in a brick. On LK3 you are safe. Repeat, don't try this at home unless you know what bootloader version you have.
This will Odin your phone back to pure stock Jellybean. This used to be the go to method for fixing screwed up S3's before Samsung started bricking us for downgrading the firmware at version MJB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright I'm downloading this now. Assuming this works, should I do an OTA update then root or am I safe to root the device from odin as soon as this bootloader is installed?

Installing TWRP

Sorry to beat a dead horse, I come from the nexus forums and haven't used a samsung device in a while. My friend has the Note 4 with MM on it. Is flashing TWRP as simple as just flashing it via odin with his phone as is? Does he need to complete any process first, before being able to flash TWRP via odin?
Thanks all!
Sprint Note 4 already updated to PD1? If latest update is desired, update it first.
FYI: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The bootloader is already unlocked but the reactivation lock may have been locked by user. Goto to Settings/Security/Reactivation lock and disable it. You can also verify this while in download mode, the phone's display show reactivation lock disabled before your proceed.
Enable developer options by tapping build number in About device in Settings 7 times. Go into developer tab and enable USB debugging.
Using latest Odin and latest TWRP is recommended. You should only flash only the specified custom recovery for your device or the touch screen will not be accurate.
TWRP can be found in the original development thread.
https://dl.twrp.me/trltespr/twrp-3.0.2-0-trltespr.img.tar
Use AP slot and make sure the Samsung driver is installed; get that from Samsung support for Note 4. Make sure KIES and SmartSwitch is closed or uninstalled (may not work on rooted phone; manually backup files you wish to keep just in case). Run Odin as administrator; not required for Windows 10.
To flash, press the Odin exe, uncheck the auto reboot option, load the file using the AP slot, power down phone, hold the keys [volume down, menu and power] together until booted in download initial screen, connect the USB, volume up, verify your COM is connected and start. When you see the success, 0 failed, disconnect USB and pull battery, wait at least 30 seconds and replace battery and boot directly into recovery to ensure it sticks. Otherwise, you're back on stock recovery.
If swapping device owner, it's recommended to remove the Google account before factory resetting the device. Consider it as a good practice for all Settings menu selected factory resets. If you trip the factory reset protection circuit, you need to sign in with original Google account & password.
You can use Odin to downgrade to Android Lollipop 5.1 (most recent OK1 build recommended if going back to Lollipop) but you cannot use Odin to downgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop or KitKat. The bootloader prevents lower security bootloaders from being installed.
Custom ROMs may remove ItsOn but may not remove it from root folder. Unless /carrier/ItsOn folder is deleted, you may suffer continual reboots if factory resetting device at some point. After following and verifying all the above, you may consider factory resetting, including wiping data, internal memory and Android folder in extSdCard to make a clean break with normal un-rooted conditions and Lollipop fragments on phone to prevent random reboots.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
Sprint Note 4 already updated to PD1? If latest update is desired, update it first.
FYI: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The bootloader is already unlocked but the reactivation lock may have been locked by user. Goto to Settings/Security/Reactivation lock and disable it. You can also verify this while in download mode, the phone's display show reactivation lock disabled before your proceed.
Enable developer options by tapping build number in About device in Settings 7 times. Go into developer tab and enable USB debugging.
Using latest Odin and latest TWRP is recommended. You should only flash only the specified custom recovery for your device or the touch screen will not be accurate.
TWRP can be found in the original development thread.
https://dl.twrp.me/trltespr/twrp-3.0.2-0-trltespr.img.tar
Use AP slot and make sure the Samsung driver is installed; get that from Samsung support for Note 4. Make sure KIES and SmartSwitch is closed or uninstalled (may not work on rooted phone; manually backup files you wish to keep just in case). Run Odin as administrator; not required for Windows 10.
To flash, press the Odin exe, uncheck the auto reboot option, load the file using the AP slot, power down phone, hold the keys [volume down, menu and power] together until booted in download initial screen, connect the USB, volume up, verify your COM is connected and start. When you see the success, 0 failed, disconnect USB and pull battery, wait at least 30 seconds and replace battery and boot directly into recovery to ensure it sticks. Otherwise, you're back on stock recovery.
If swapping device owner, it's recommended to remove the Google account before factory resetting the device. Consider it as a good practice for all Settings menu selected factory resets. If you trip the factory reset protection circuit, you need to sign in with original Google account & password.
You can use Odin to downgrade to Android Lollipop 5.1 (most recent OK1 build recommended if going back to Lollipop) but you cannot use Odin to downgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop or KitKat. The bootloader prevents lower security bootloaders from being installed.
Custom ROMs may remove ItsOn but may not remove it from root folder. Unless /carrier/ItsOn folder is deleted, you may suffer continual reboots if factory resetting device at some point. After following and verifying all the above, you may consider factory resetting, including wiping data, internal memory and Android folder in extSdCard to make a clean break with normal un-rooted conditions and Lollipop fragments on phone to prevent random reboots.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bud. This was really great!
hate to be a stickler, but im a frickin nub.... after doing this how do i get root access?? pls help im new i just paid 10$ FOR A NOTE 4 , mint condition hahah but for real someone help..
CorporalCactus said:
hate to be a stickler, but im a frickin nub.... after doing this how do i get root access?? pls help im new i just paid 10$ FOR A NOTE 4 , mint condition hahah but for real someone help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get root after getting on desired update, whether it be current update, downgrading (be careful with downgrading; most likely you're only able to downgrade as low as Android 5.1 but that depends on your current bootloader) or upgrading, you flash TWRP and then you would do one of two things:
1) flash a pre-rooted ROM. Custom ROMs in our forum do this.
2) flash custom kernel and complete root with SuperSU zip. Both are flashed in recovery but both should be flashed before booting. Kernel first, then flash SuperSU zip and boot. You would also need to manually remove ItsOn and Knox.
Given the complexity of it, I'd suggest the custom stock ROM for you. The ROM should match your bootloader. I'd recommend stock, aka touchwiz ROMs. They're mostly stock and have less bugs and workarounds than others like CM.
We still don't have highly customized Marshmallow stockish ROMs but I don't think it will be long before we see them. By the time they're here, maybe you're ready.
Read the OP of the custom ROM. If you don't understand or need clarification, this thread is a good place to ask the question. Install this app to check your bootloader (baseband is relevant too):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo
Hint: make sure you're on the the recommended bootloader and baseband first. If you have trouble with TWRP flash sticking, you may not be unchecking auto reboot and pulling battery after successful flash and booting directly into recovery to make it stick properly. You have to wait at least 30 seconds after battery pull and boot directly into recovery.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
To get root after getting on desired update, whether it be current update, downgrading (be careful with downgrading; most likely you're only able to downgrade as low as Android 5.1 but that depends on your current bootloader) or upgrading, you flash TWRP and then you would do one of two things:
1) flash a pre-rooted ROM. Custom ROMs in our forum do this.
2) flash custom kernel and complete root with SuperSU zip. Both are flashed in recovery but both should be flashed before booting. Kernel first, then flash SuperSU zip and boot. You would also need to manually remove ItsOn and Knox.
Given the complexity of it, I'd suggest the custom stock ROM for you. The ROM should match your bootloader. I'd recommend stock, aka touchwiz ROMs. They're mostly stock and have less bugs and workarounds than others like CM.
We still don't have highly customized Marshmallow stockish ROMs but I don't think it will be long before we see them. By the time they're here, maybe you're ready.
Read the OP of the custom ROM. If you don't understand or need clarification, this thread is a good place to ask the question. Install this app to check your bootloader (baseband is relevant too):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo
Hint: make sure you're on the the recommended bootloader and baseband first. If you have trouble with TWRP flash sticking, you may not be unchecking auto reboot and pulling battery after successful flash and booting directly into recovery to make it stick properly. You have to wait at least 30 seconds after battery pull and boot directly into recovery.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn thanks for this info! youre the man! you know ur stuff thats awesome. im confused regarding the kernel.. i just winged it tbh, i installed TWRP via odin. got it to stick, then flashed SUPERSU and got root. I made a full backup via twrp then i flashed a custom CM rom and it works awesome. i didnt do anything regarding kernels. My question now is, what is the easiest way to swap between roms?? Such as stock Rom to this New CM rom i have. Would i just create backups and restore when i want to switch??
CorporalCactus said:
damn thanks for this info! youre the man! you know ur stuff thats awesome. im confused regarding the kernel.. i just winged it tbh, i installed TWRP via odin. got it to stick, then flashed SUPERSU and got root. I made a full backup via twrp then i flashed a custom CM rom and it works awesome. i didnt do anything regarding kernels. My question now is, what is the easiest way to swap between roms?? Such as stock Rom to this New CM rom i have. Would i just create backups and restore when i want to switch??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could make backups and factory reset before restoring. If you have issues restoring stock backups, wipe internal memory also.
You have to take care to read and adhere to changing trends with CM; they may not be compatible with Marshmallow baseband and bootloader yet but may even require a different kernel to run with Marshmallow bootloader and baseband. I'm not current on the latest and lack experience. Search the specific ROM threads for CM known issues, workarounds and trends.
As far as the kernel question, I did omit the fact you could flash SuperSU to patch the stock kernel; you didn't do any wrong there. I've abandoned use of stock kernel since Android 5.1 required an exploit to root. We didn't always have the boot image patch that SuperSU now includes. For some reason, users are randomly losing root with systemless root. If that happens, just flash SuperSU again; same version or higher should be OK.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
You could make backups and factory reset before restoring. If you have issues restoring stock backups, wipe internal memory also.
You have to take care to read and adhere to changing trends with CM; they may not be compatible with Marshmallow baseband and bootloader yet but may even require a different kernel to run with Marshmallow bootloader and baseband. I'm not current on the latest and lack experience. Search the specific ROM threads for CM known issues, workarounds and trends.
As far as the kernel question, I did omit the fact you could flash SuperSU to patch the stock kernel; you didn't do any wrong there. I've abandoned use of stock kernel since Android 5.1 required an exploit to root. We didn't always have the boot image patch that SuperSU now includes. For some reason, users are randomly losing root with systemless root. If that happens, just flash SuperSU again; same version or higher should be OK.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ugh i messed something up and cant find the restore files for the note 4. after flashing that CM rom, a lot of stuff didnt work so i restored a backup i just made. it bootlooped, i did it again and the phone came on, BUT i cannot place or delete and media from the device using a PC.. not sure why its say the device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected
CorporalCactus said:
ugh i messed something up and cant find the restore files for the note 4. after flashing that CM rom, a lot of stuff didnt work so i restored a backup i just made. it bootlooped, i did it again and the phone came on, BUT i cannot place or delete and media from the device using a PC.. not sure why its say the device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you factory reset and wipe internal memory when restoring the backup?
Put your micro sdcard in a card reader and transfer it. If you're trying to transfer while in recovery, that currently doesn't work.
If you're trying to copy your TWRP backup to micro sdcard, the path should be: TWRP/BACKUPS/(your device s/n recognized by TWRP)/(TWRP Backup folder)
Without proper path, TWRP may not see the backup as official. When saving TWRP backups, the TWRP folder as a whole with desired backups should be saved.
If you can't restore the backup, you can flash a ROM that matches bootloader. Like I said before, factory reset and wipe internal memory and flash the ROM.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
CorporalCactus said:
ugh i messed something up and cant find the restore files for the note 4. after flashing that CM rom, a lot of stuff didnt work so i restored a backup i just made. it bootlooped, i did it again and the phone came on, BUT i cannot place or delete and media from the device using a PC.. not sure why its say the device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point I would just recommend flashing a new ROM man.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Newbie lost among tons of information.

Hi XDAians,
I'm extremely lost after reading up about rooting, flashing, ROMS, radios/modems etc.
Just need some guidance and clarification regarding my current situation so as to give me a better understanding.
Definitely not seeking to be spoon-fed.
Currently using this as a spare phone after upgrading. Would love to give a new lease of life to my Note 2.
Plans:
1. Change from i317 AT&T (Currently) to N7105 Intl variation
2. To root device ( After changing to N7105)
3. Flash CM/stock touchwiz with latest possible updated Android version+features+UI
- Update to latest version of Android, say 5.X (Lollipop) /ROMs that gives newer features like DN4 which I came across in the forum.
- Play around with different ROMs after more understanding.
4. How to return to stock ( N7105 )
Questions:
1. Do I root then flash ROMs first or the other way round?
2. How do I root? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
3. How do I flash? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
4. How do I check if my device is unlocked?
5. Is recovery necessary even after i factory reset my phone?
6. What else do I have to know? ( Please help me by pointing to me somewhere I can read up myself)
7. ROMs recommendation.
8. Tips & tricks/experiences in flashing or rooting
9. Checklist before rooting/flashing
10. What is Odin
Thanks in advance!
Are you replacing the i317 with an n7100 or just changing the motherboard to an n7100 motherboard?
audit13 said:
Are you replacing the i317 with an n7100 or just changing the motherboard to an n7100 motherboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm replacing the i317 with a N7105.
1. Do I root then flash ROMs first or the other way round?
There is no need to root if you intend to install a custom ROM. If you want to install a custom ROM, the easiest way in my opinion would be to flash TWRP for the n7100 using Odin.
2. How do I root? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
If you want to root a stock Samsung ROM, install TWRP via Odin and then flash supersu from TWRP.
3. How do I flash? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
Copy the custom ROM you want to a micro SD card and place it in the phone or copy the ROM to the phone's internal memory. Boot into TWRP, wipe the system, data, cache, and flash the custom ROM.
4. How do I check if my device is unlocked?
The phone does not have a locked bootloader; however, it may be sim locked.
5. Is recovery necessary even after i factory reset my phone?
You need recovery to factory reset the phone. A recovery program should always be present on the phone.
6. What else do I have to know? ( Please help me by pointing to me somewhere I can read up myself)
7. ROMs recommendation.
Search the Android development thread and try out a few ROMs to see what you like.
8. Tips & tricks/experiences in flashing or rooting
Read, read, and read. Also, be ready for potential problems. I highly recommend having a USB jig on hand.
9. Checklist before rooting/flashing
Make sure you are flashing files that are meant for your phone.
I only root phones using supersu and TWRP.
10. What is Odin
Odin is used to flash stock Samsung ROMs to a Samsung phone. Odin is not used to flash anything other than a Samsung.
audit13 said:
1. Do I root then flash ROMs first or the other way round?
There is no need to root if you intend to install a custom ROM. If you want to install a custom ROM, the easiest way in my opinion would be to flash TWRP for the n7100 using Odin.
2. How do I root? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
If you want to root a stock Samsung ROM, install TWRP via Odin and then flash supersu from TWRP.
3. How do I flash? ( Please help me by pointing to me a simple/newbie friendly one)
Copy the custom ROM you want to a micro SD card and place it in the phone or copy the ROM to the phone's internal memory. Boot into TWRP, wipe the system, data, cache, and flash the custom ROM.
4. How do I check if my device is unlocked?
The phone does not have a locked bootloader; however, it may be sim locked.
5. Is recovery necessary even after i factory reset my phone?
You need recovery to factory reset the phone. A recovery program should always be present on the phone.
6. What else do I have to know? ( Please help me by pointing to me somewhere I can read up myself)
7. ROMs recommendation.
Search the Android development thread and try out a few ROMs to see what you like.
8. Tips & tricks/experiences in flashing or rooting
Read, read, and read. Also, be ready for potential problems. I highly recommend having a USB jig on hand.
9. Checklist before rooting/flashing
Make sure you are flashing files that are meant for your phone.
I only root phones using supersu and TWRP.
10. What is Odin
Odin is used to flash stock Samsung ROMs to a Samsung phone. Odin is not used to flash anything other than a Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. So just be downloading Odin from this website ( "odindownload. com" is this tie official website? My chrome extension shows it as malware though ) and flashing TWRP, I can installl ROM?
2. So basically TWRP is an interface which I can flash ROM, root etc.?
3. Alright, in TWRP I can do all these -> "wipe the system, data, cache, and flash the custom ROM" ?
4. I can use my local SIM card though. It shows up 4G, I can make calls and send messages.
5. I see, and this recovery is included in TWRP or is it a separate thing I have to do?
8. What's a USB jig?
I have always used Odin 3.07 for my phones (s2, s3, s4, Note 2, Note 3): http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1168421
TWRP is custom recovery. It replaces the stock recovery.
TWRP can wipe the system, data, cache, and flash a custom ROM.
Yes, you can still use your sim card. Some custom ROMs, by their nature, may contain small bugs and one of these bugs may affect your ability to get 4g/LTE.
A USB jog is used to force a Samsung phone into download mode: http://www.xda-developers.com/need-a-samsung-usb-jig-build-your-own/
froztheart said:
1. So just be downloading Odin from this website ( "odindownload. com" is this tie official website? My chrome extension shows it as malware though ) and flashing TWRP, I can installl ROM?
2. So basically TWRP is an interface which I can flash ROM, root etc.?
3. Alright, in TWRP I can do all these -> "wipe the system, data, cache, and flash the custom ROM" ?
4. I can use my local SIM card though. It shows up 4G, I can make calls and send messages.
5. I see, and this recovery is included in TWRP or is it a separate thing I have to do?
8. What's a USB jig?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It calls Odin "malware" because Odin is a tool that can be used to push things to the device regardless of any security measures other than the stock anti-flashing protocols of the device itself.
It calls it malware and virus because it has the power to alter system, "crack" it basically.
Droidriven said:
It calls Odin "malware" because Odin is a tool that can be used to push things to the device regardless of any security measures other than the stock anti-flashing protocols of the device itself.
It calls it malware and virus because it has the power to alter system, "crack" it basically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, thank you so much for the clarification!
audit13 said:
I have always used Odin 3.07 for my phones (s2, s3, s4, Note 2, Note 3): http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1168421
TWRP is custom recovery. It replaces the stock recovery.
TWRP can wipe the system, data, cache, and flash a custom ROM.
Yes, you can still use your sim card. Some custom ROMs, by their nature, may contain small bugs and one of these bugs may affect your ability to get 4g/LTE.
A USB jog is used to force a Samsung phone into download mode: http://www.xda-developers.com/need-a-samsung-usb-jig-build-your-own/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, alright! Will give it a go~
..
Why the ... ??
Did ya get it flashed ???
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA-Developers mobile app

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