Develop Bugs

[Q] Is the system update ok to install over Root?

Ok. So I see there is a system update. I wanted to make sure if there's anyway I can check to see that it's ok that I install this update. Will it interfere with anything? Mainly pertaining to my root and unbrickness of my phone.
Will I lose root? Will I become bricked? (Though I doubt the later) I just wanted to know are we in the clear on installing this.
Sorry, but this is the first time this has happened to me, being rooted with some type of OTA.

you know... i flashed the updated tar file using mobile odin and 1) kept the root and super user 2) gained the stock boot screen again but lost clockwork 3) didn't lose any of my apps or data.
so it's a mixed bag and from my experience i wouldn't recommend it because it replaces the kernel and you'd lose clockwork. i think there may be a version floating around that you can flash though.

btate0121 said:
you know... i flashed the updated tar file using mobile odin and 1) kept the root and super user 2) gained the stock boot screen again but lost clockwork 3) didn't lose any of my apps or data.
so it's a mixed bag and from my experience i wouldn't recommend it because it replaces the kernel and you'd lose clockwork. i think there may be a version floating around that you can flash though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So... shouldn't I update through the OTA, loose my kernel, use ODIN to flash back my CWM and kernel? That sounds like a viable solution.

Sounds about right to me but I would probably wait for someone more learn-ed to chime in. Your mileage may vary using the method I used.. which admittedly is probably very noobish. I didn't have any problem flashing a CWM kernel through odin though. Here's the funny thing.. i kept reading that the stock kernel would "unroot" your phone.. but for a few days I actually kept the stock kernel and was still fully rooted (super user kept asking permission for a few things like widget locker and titanium... and they worked perfectly *shrug*).
It may be that I just don't understand it fully yet but it worked out fine for me.. but again.. your mileage may vary.

btate0121 said:
Sounds about right to me but I would probably wait for someone more learn-ed to chime in. Your mileage may vary using the method I used.. which admittedly is probably very noobish. I didn't have any problem flashing a CWM kernel through odin though. Here's the funny thing.. i kept reading that the stock kernel would "unroot" your phone.. but for a few days I actually kept the stock kernel and was still fully rooted (super user kept asking permission for a few things like widget locker and titanium... and they worked perfectly *shrug*).
It may be that I just don't understand it fully yet but it worked out fine for me.. but again.. your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, that sounds like a safer route. Ima go check around the ROMS. Maybe they've added the update as part of their ROM.
Expecting this update to fix many of my problems.

UNROOT for warranty clarification

So, I got caught in a storm a couple of days ago and since then my port has been acting up. I can't charge it unless I've angled the port in a certain direction. Also, I have rooted my phone so I was kind of wary to go to the store and ask for a replacement. So I checked around as to how to check to flash counter. I had some difficulty getting to the download screen but once I did next to custom "something something", i can't remember, it said NO.
So my question are:
What could the possible cause be for the port messing up ?
-I've checked the battery and other strips to make sure they aren't pink and are still white. However, I'm pretty sure those strips wouldn't reflect it if the port were waterlogged.
-I tried the toothbrush trick. didn't work.
-I haven't tried the compressed air trick.
Are there any quick fixes or would my best bet be to ask the store?
Does the fact that the custom whatever thing says NO make my warranty viable and if so would a factory reset do the trick to get rid of all evidence of rooting?
Anyways, I've checked other threads and everything but I just wanted to make sure that it is a hardware issue and not some software issue that could be fixed. Thanks again!

yuros said:
So, I got caught in a storm a couple of days ago and since then my port has been acting up. I can't charge it unless I've angled the port in a certain direction. Also, I have rooted my phone so I was kind of wary to go to the store and ask for a replacement. So I checked around as to how to check to flash counter. I had some difficulty getting to the download screen but once I did next to custom "something something", i can't remember, it said NO.
So my question are:
What could the possible cause be for the port messing up ?
-I've checked the battery and other strips to make sure they aren't pink and are still white. However, I'm pretty sure those strips wouldn't reflect it if the port were waterlogged.
-I tried the toothbrush trick. didn't work.
-I haven't tried the compressed air trick.
Are there any quick fixes or would my best bet be to ask the store?
Does the fact that the custom whatever thing says NO make my warranty viable and if so would a factory reset do the trick to get rid of all evidence of rooting?
Anyways, I've checked other threads and everything but I just wanted to make sure that it is a hardware issue and not some software issue that could be fixed. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably not water damage. more like, putting your plug in wrong, yanking and plugging it in too hard. ETC after awhile it just wears down. That's my best guess.
Anyways are you on STOCK and just rooted? or running custom STOCK? then just remove superuser. you should be fine. if you're on a custom rom, then flash a stock rom via CWM. KRZ made a thread for that.

Teo032 said:
probably not water damage. more like, putting your plug in wrong, yanking and plugging it in too hard. ETC after awhile it just wears down. That's my best guess.
Anyways are you on STOCK and just rooted? or running custom STOCK? then just remove superuser. you should be fine. if you're on a custom rom, then flash a stock rom via CWM. KRZ made a thread for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't flashed a custom ROM. I just updated to ICS and rooted and even when i went into download mode I think it said I was running SAMSUNG STOCK or official or something like.

yuros said:
I haven't flashed a custom ROM. I just updated to ICS and rooted and even when i went into download mode I think it said I was running SAMSUNG STOCK or official or something like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you say just rooted what do you mean. Do you mean you are on stock and the only true changes are superuser and a recovery.

playya said:
when you say just rooted what do you mean. Do you mean you are on stock and the only true changes are superuser and a recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty Much. All I did was follow these two links
http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s2-t989-android-4-0-ics-uvle1-update-97763/
http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s2-t989-root-uvle1-97764/
It's not the exact link I followed but it was the same concept. And then i got a bunch of root applications like Titanium Backup and SetCPU and ROManager

yuros said:
Pretty Much. All I did was follow these two links
http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s2-t989-android-4-0-ics-uvle1-update-97763/
http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s2-t989-root-uvle1-97764/
It's not the exact link I followed but it was the same concept. And then i got a bunch of root applications like Titanium Backup and SetCPU and ROManager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can just remove superuser. you can also flash stock recovery but i don't see anyone having issues doing warranty exchanges with CWM installed.

[Q]Guides For Installing Roms?

Coming from an EVO 4G I thought I had a pretty good grip on installing roms. A week after getting and rooting my S3 I'm still gun shy. I want to install Jelly Bomb but I keep seeing posts about flash counters and dirty flash. I've never heard this mentioned before. Are these Samsung exclusive terms? I wanted to go easy and find a Rom as close to Stock as possible with the ability to remove apps to get my feet wet but haven't found one. This phone seems easier to brick than the EVO. Am I right? Also, I see things referencing Touchwiz and fishing it. Very confused. Samsung's version of Sense I guess?

ruckstande said:
Coming from an EVO 4G I thought I had a pretty good grip on installing roms. A week after getting and rooting my S3 I'm still gun shy. I want to install Jelly Bomb but I keep seeing posts about flash counters and dirty flash. I've never heard this mentioned before. Are these Samsung exclusive terms? I wanted to go easy and find a Rom as close to Stock as possible with the ability to remove apps to get my feet wet but haven't found one. This phone seems easier to brick than the EVO. Am I right? Also, I see things referencing Touchwiz and fishing it. Very confused. Samsung's version of Sense I guess?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash counters can be reset pretty easy these days. all roms labeled as having TW or touchwiz are pretty much stock with things like battery saving mods or battery hogging apps removed that are usually not needed"debloated".
this post sent from my Jellybombed GalaxySIII

joeyhdownsouth said:
Flash counters can be reset pretty easy these days. all roms labeled as having TW or touchwiz are pretty much stock with things like battery saving mods or battery hogging apps removed that are usually not needed"debloated".
this post sent from my Jellybombed GalaxySIII
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I see you are on Jelly Bomb right now. What's your overall opinion of it? Any problems? Anything I should know not mentioned in the Dev's post?

ruckstande said:
Thanks. I see you are on Jelly Bomb right now. What's your overall opinion of it? Any problems? Anything I should know not mentioned in the Dev's post?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what you do...former evo'er here as well...
Grab the one click Odin LJ7 that you will find in sg3/android dev. Titled (root)odin one clicks by billard. Read the post so you understand how to use it. Save it to your CPU. That will save you if you ever brick your shiny new phone.
Go on you tube and search qbking77....you'll find every video you want regarding rooting and installing cmw
After that its the exact same way to flash ROMs as your evo. I promise.
Good luck

jwitt418 said:
Here's what you do...former evo'er here as well...
Grab the one click Odin LJ7 that you will find in sg3/android dev. Titled (root)odin one clicks by billard. Read the post so you understand how to use it. Save it to your CPU. That will save you if you ever brick your shiny new phone.
Go on you tube and search qbking77....you'll find every video you want regarding rooting and installing cmw
After that its the exact same way to flash ROMs as your evo. I promise.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I should be flashing through Odin the same way I rooted? I, did root btw using qbking77 very easy video guide. Took me all of ten minutes to root.

ruckstande said:
Thanks. I see you are on Jelly Bomb right now. What's your overall opinion of it? Any problems? Anything I should know not mentioned in the Dev's post?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I luv this rom, super themed though, not everyone likes all the blue. For me everything works. Just the statusbar after a reboot, you have to pull down notification bar once to get it to show up. Other than that no problems, kernal in 10.2 allows overclocking also.
this post sent from my Jellybombed GalaxySIII

Your fine then...just install cmw and your good to go.
The galaxy 3 is different than the evo in the sense that its very easy to root and unroot using Odin. The evo is a pain to unroot.
Make sure your grab that one click Odin and save tho because it will bail you out of trouble if something gets screwed up. You could run that and it will return you to stock or stock rooted (your choice depending on what file you download).
Anyways. Install cmw. Download ROM to your SD or internal SD. Hold volume up, home, power to cmw. Wipe/factory reset x3, wipe cache, advanced/wipe dalvik, install ROM, reboot
By the way. If you want what you posted in op keep stock but rooted. If you want a better kernel flash team sonics or jelly bomb with kt747....but if I were you I'd go SlimBean...enjoy

One other thing. What's this business about downloading a modem?

The roms are not modem dependant. And chances are if you're on stock you already have the latest modem. If you want to confirm go in the about section of settings and look at your baseband. should end in LJ7. Like I said though its not really important

If the modem isn't that important, why can't I connect to Sprint's network at all? I was working on installing the Goodness ROM which said I had to install a particular modem. I downloaded all files to the computer as suggested, transferred them to the phone then used TWRP as my backup and installed the ROM and the modem as stated. When I went to reboot it told me that there was no ROM installed. So I went back to my recovery installed it and now I can not connect to the network at all. Can someone please help? I need my phone as I am a Paramedic and I talk to the hospitals with it when I am bringing them a pt.

PolynesianMedic said:
If the modem isn't that important, why can't I connect to Sprint's network at all? I was working on installing the Goodness ROM which said I had to install a particular modem. I downloaded all files to the computer as suggested, transferred them to the phone then used TWRP as my backup and installed the ROM and the modem as stated. When I went to reboot it told me that there was no ROM installed. So I went back to my recovery installed it and now I can not connect to the network at all. Can someone please help? I need my phone as I am a Paramedic and I talk to the hospitals with it when I am bringing them a pt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not trying to sound harsh here but if that's the case just stay stock rooted. You need the phone brother...peoples lives are depending on it...lol
On a lighter side, I do t have experience with that ROM. But sounds like a bad flash. Wipe/factory reset...cache....dalvik...and I even format the internal SD...haven't had any problems

Open the dialer and hit ##72786# Should set ya straight

Oh well that didn't work. I watched the QBKing77 video and followed those instructions. Install took way less than I expected. Maybe two minutes? I pressed reboot and it rebooted back into recovery. That didn't go so well.

[Q] Is the dead Android normal when booting stock recovery?

I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?

internetpilot said:
I bought two new SG3's yesterday for my sons, and immediately commenced to root one of them via the "Easy Root" method in a how-to here (ODIN recovery, flash root.zip, rooted). I encountered all kinds of issues where no recovery (CWM, TWRP, or even a stock recovery image) would mount anything. I finally read here on XDA where the stock root that comes with the Toolkit works, so I tried that and now I'm back to stock recovery but, of course, an non-rooted phone. I didn't try to do any of this on the second phone after encountering so many issues. I assumed that something may have changed with this latest update and that this root method may not work anymore.
Anyway....
When I boot the phone that I attempted to root to stock recovery, the little Android is dead on his back with an exclamation point in a triangle. Everything seems to work though -- I can wipe cache, browse around the SD card and cache, etc. I assumed it was because of my dinking around with root and that the phone was now cranky because the flash count was at like 5 or 6 by now. However, I then booted the phone that I didn't dink around with to stock recovery and noticed that the Android was dead for it, too! I've done nothing to this second phone that a 75-year-old first-time smartphone user wouldn't do.
So my question: Is this normal? Is this something that happens when you force it into stock recovery or is there something wrong with these two phones, above and beyond the apparent inability to be rooted (at least at the moment)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a long time since I've dealt with custom recoveries, but I believe that's just the normal background for it. It's like you're tinkering with the inner working of an Android (wiping cache, etc), so you've opened up the green robot.
That's what I recall from when I still had stock about 9 months ago...

If it shows up like that, that means you have the stock recovery...use GooManager or Rom Manager to install a custom recovery while booted up.
Sent from my buttered S3

Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.

internetpilot said:
Hmmm...any other time I've been in a stock recovery, I remember the Android being standing with that spinning wireframe in front of him. that's what displays when I successfully wipe the cache. Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and I'm being paranoid since I'm still deep in issues with being able to install a working custom recovery.
Hey, I'd love to install a custom recovery via GooManager or ROM Manager, but none of the custom recoveries are working on my SG3's. Nothing will mount so I'm stuck with stock recovery until someone more knowledgeable than me figures outwhat Sprint and/or Samsung did with the latest SG3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin

flastnoles11 said:
I don't know why you're having these problems but the newest update (md4) roots exactly like any other software on the s3... I and many have done it plenty of times, it roots exactly the same way... Not sure why your recovery won't mount anything but somebody else also had this problem just today... You could always try to Odin in an earlier build (lj7 maybe) and try to root from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!

internetpilot said:
I think something changed on the newest batch of S3's. I'm sure the OTA S3's are still rootable with this method but for some reason the brand new ones aren't. I've found at least a dozen other people complaining about the same thing only with brand new S3's.
Unfortunately I had a limited window of time to root these two phones and get them set up before going on vacation, so the phones are in use now and there's no way to backup and restore the existing configuration, data, etc.without like a day of downtime and basically starting over. And even then it's not a sure thing that reverting to an older stock ROM will work. I'll just wait for someone to figure it out and then root the phones later.
But there's definitely something new going on here. Its happening to too many people now. At least my sanity is confirmed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."” ― David Brin

flastnoles11 said:
When you decide to root again here is a prerooted Odin build for mc3, after successfully flashing via Odin you will be rooted and can flash up to md4 from there... There is a prerooted that wipes everything and one that wipes and restores, make sure you read carefully and flash the one you need http://www.sxtpdevelopers.com/showthread.php?t=207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.

internetpilot said:
Thanks for this. I'm not going to attempt root again until I can get a working custom recovery going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin

flastnoles11 said:
That build will do it all.. It is prerooted, includes the custom recovery... Just like flashing a custom rom with recovery except you do it with Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).

internetpilot said:
Hmmm...but I wonder if that will end up with a working recovery or if I'll be in the same boat I am now, but with an older stock ROM?
I'm just really hesitant to try anything until someone figures out what Sprint/Samsung did with this latest batch of S3's. It's probably something relatively simple to overcome, but I'm not mobile tech enough to even guess what that is. I can't really end up with sons' new phones bricked (even soft bricked).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now

flastnoles11 said:
You may be waiting a long time then since most devs either already have the phone or have already moved to other phones... Unless a Dev happens to pick one up with the same problems you're probably S.o.l... And I'm 95%sure they didn't change anything, some phones just have issues on certain builds, there have been plenty of people the last month and even the last week reporting successfully rooting with the same method you used...
You really have nothing to lose, if it doesnt work you can just Odin full stock and be in the exact same place you are now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I always forget the Odin option for when recovery fails. But I'd be without the data and current configuration (basically starting from scratch).
In the last two days I've seen posts from over a dozen people now who are encountering this issue with brand new Sprint S3's. I'm kinda hoping more and more people encounter this problem increasing the chances of it being resolved... Haha

It doesn't matter once your rooted and booted all you do us download either rom Manager or goo manager and install the custom recovery of your choice from the running phone. Doesn't get any easier.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4

Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?

internetpilot said:
Until the custom recovery can't mount anything, which is the problem I'm having now. I've tried numerous versions of CWM and TWRP and none of them can mount anything on these phones so they're useless. I'm not sure how reverting back to an older stock ROM will change that...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4

edfunkycold said:
Because you yourself feel the bootloader is the issue. If you Odin the stock tar of a previous version then that loads a previous bootloader. Pretty simple huh? I rooted 2 S3 last week brand new and did not have a single issue both where on the latest md4 right out of the box. I don't understand how you and that other person both ran into the same issue on the same day. It's really weird and like everyone else said and I just experienced just a week ago thousands of people have rooted on the latest version on brand new devices. Unless you guys are getting refurbs which by accident the bootloader has been locked.
Sent from the future via Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.

deutscher3891 said:
Flashing back to an older stock rom doesn't work either. I flashed to a 4.1.1 stock rom and followed the method for CF-Root and The Easiest Way to Root and neither of them allowed a custom recovery to mount anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.

internetpilot said:
Thank you for trying that as I couldn't because I'm on vacation with the two phones in use. Well that sucks that it didn't work. I'm a retired career network engineer, so I'm not a non-tech, but I'm also not the most tech person with regard to mobile phones. Even so, I can't figure this one out so it's probably not something obvious. Also, on XDA and other forums I'm up to about 18 different people who have now encountered this on very new Sprint S3's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.

deutscher3891 said:
Did you purchase your phones from Sprint directly? I purchased mine through Wirefly. Thinking I may send it back for exchange and pray like heck I get one that works. I am definitely a Vanilla Android person. Touchwiz is not my cup o tea.
Enjoy your vacation, as much as you can. Us tech nerds can never get it off the mind when something isn't working. Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both directly from Sprint.
lvpre said:
I purchased two s3 phones from Amazon about a month ago and haven't had any issues. Both are rooted too. The root process is pretty simple. Have you tried the unified toolkit also? Another easy method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem isn't really root. Depending on the method, we can get root. It's the custom recovery that's the problem -- it can't mount anything so you can't flash anything, backup, wipe, etc via recovery.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Problem

Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!

I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

dokgu said:
Hello everyone,
I really need your help with my wife's Metro PCS Samsung GS4 M919N.
The thing is, we are now living outside the US so I had to unlock her phone. After ordering the unlock codes, I decided to root the phone and use a custom ROM while waiting for the codes.
That is why I found this guide here: androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/790899-metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root-guide.html
So while reading the guide, I aimed to have the following accomplished at the end:
Recovery: TWRP
Custom ROM: CyanogenMod 10.2.1
I then started doing the guide for the TWRP recovery by using Odin. I got the message saying that the flashing passed and went ahead to restart to recovery to install CM 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. The thing is that I keep on restarting to the stock recovery not TWRP. So I went to YouTube and found a video showing how to flash TWRP using GooManager. After following that guide, I went to restart to recovery and I successfully got into TWRP.
Now, to achieve my goal, all that's left to do is to flash CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (jfltetmo).
Before doing that, I decided to make a backup. After using TWRP to do a backup, I proceeded to installing the custom ROM + gapps (wiped with the default settings). Everything was working I think (I handed the phone to my wife so she was he one testing it). After some time, she decided she wants the stock ROM instead so I decided to download the androidforums.com/metropcs-galaxy-s4-all-things-root/783769-rom-recovery-flash-able-stock-m919nuvuamf2-rooted-deodexed-rom.html ROM.
I flashed the newly downloaded ROM + gapps (same file). This time, I couldn't get the gapps to work probably because it was meant for another version. So I decided to just restore from the backup I created earlier.
So, the usual stuff. Wipe. Restore. Restart.
Seems to be going smoothly because my wife was happy to see the old ROM she was used to.
Until the phone started to restart on it's own. (It's pretty much downhill from here on out).
At first I thought it was just a random thing that probably would never happen again. I was wrong as it became more frequent as days went by.
Recently I can't just restart the phone, I would have to remove the battery and then restart it. Now, it's getting really hard to restart the phone. Please help me fix this. I prefer to leave the phone rooted, but if the fix unroots the phone then so be it, anyway my wife prefers the stock ROM so only the unlocking was necessary.
Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy S4 M919N
Recovery:
TWRP 2.6.3.1
ROMs:
Stock Metro PCS
CyanogenMod 10.2.1
Let me know if you need more information from me. Hopefully I can restart the phone so I can give you some version numbers.
Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Elesbb. If the goal is jus tto get back to stock, just do an odin flash of the stock ROM. Be advised if you flash the latest Kit Kay update you will nto be able to go back to Jelly Bean. From your post it seems like you are partial to Jelly Bean. So if that's what you want, but sure you use the stock 4.3 ROM. You can find it around here on XDA somewhere with a quick search to make sure you have the right one.
As Elesbb said, you won't loose the 'sim unlock'. But you will lose root. However you can root the stock ROM just fine.
You might also consider one of the myriad of TouchWiz based custom ROMs. They are look just like TouchWiz that your wife wants, but have a lot of optimizations and options in them. Those should flash just like any ROM. If you still get the reboot issue then do the Odin back to stock, reroot, then flash the custom TW roms.
---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------

Thread cleaned.
Rather than bashing a ROM or user let's keep on topic and help the OP resolved the problems he's having. Arguing over the virtues of a ROM doesn't help anyone.
Thank you,
Rwilco12

Before posting this thread I sent the aforementioned guide's poster (arocker). He sent me a reply saying not to use gapps as the stock ROM for Metro PCS already comes with Google apps. I'll try his suggestion first and see if the phone still reboots a lot.
If the problem persists, I will try the solutions mentioned here. Thanks a lot!

elesbb said:
I didn't read everything but just wanted to say
VERY GOOD THREAD!
this is how threads should be done. Very descriptive, organized, told us everything you did and asked for help! Good job man! Only negative is it prolly should have gone in Q&A section but irregardless very good thread!
About your issue, I recommend flashing stock Odin tar file to everything back to stock and reroot and start over. Flashing stock will not lock it again it will remain unlocked. But should get you back up and fresh. Just be aware it will erase all your data and all of the internal SD card.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.

dokgu said:
After trying arocker's suggestion to not flash gapps, the phone still reboots. So now, I am going to try your solution guys.
But before I do, I want to make sure that I am on the correct paths/links.
Here's what I found for the following:
ODIN
forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/27-08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
I've had a couple of chances to use ODIN but only using specific functions like flashing a recovery file while the phone is in download mode. I don't however have any experience using ODIN to put the phone back to stock where the phone gets unrooted. Having the phone unrooted is fine by me as I only needed to have the phone unlocked.
Any step-by-step guides for using ODIN for this specific purpose guys? I don't want to mess this up again.
Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.

PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello PanchoPlanet,
Thanks for the link. I went ahead and tried to unroot without Windows (Mobile Odin) as per the instructions on the link. I downloaded everything and went ahead to install the Mobile Odin APK. When I ran it to install the Flash Kernel, the app told me that the device is not supported.
To my understanding the guide is for M919 devices but should work for my wife's device as well (M919N - Metro PCS). I would like to try the guide for using Windows but I'm not really expecting for it to work or I might mess it up more. I'll try to search some more and provide the links where this forum will lead me to. But if you have any ideas, please let me know asap. Thanks!

PanchoPlanet said:
No trouble at all, check out the stickies in the beginning of threads.
Look for guides similar to this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2335109
Pp. Good luck.
sent from my bluetooth controlled toaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, here's what I found:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446497
It seems like the perfect thread for what I am trying to achieve. Will let you guys know if it is successful. But it will have to wait for tomorrow. Gonna catch some sleep.

Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?

This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Android_Monsters said:
This thread talks about battery stuff and reboots:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/530338/20131216/samsung-galaxy-s4-problems.htm
Batteries can go bad a lot of ways. Extreme temperature, factory defect, phone drops, moisture, etc.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And 100% of the time, they eventually just get old.

dokgu said:
Okay, I'm running out of options. I was able to flash the stock ROM using Odin 3.07. The recovery looks like it came back to the stock recovery as I no longer have TWRP installed. When I install Root Checker, I see that I am no longer rooted. That's good.
But my original problem is still here. The phone reboots a lot. The phone is so unstable that it is barely usable.
I am now going to try one more thing.
I have a Galaxy S4 (I337M) from Rogers Canada (my wife has Metro PCS M919N). Mine got rooted and has CyanogenMod 10.2.1 as a custom ROM. My phone is working perfectly while hers reboots a lot. I was thinking it was because of a faulty battery. So I am doing an experiment by swapping the batteries. So far no reboots have occurred, but I will continue to monitor this.
Any ideas why the battery is kinda messed up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a wierd situation, by swapping batteries you basically performed a battery pull, which acts as a reset, that in it self may have cleared your issue.
Now if battery is bad that could be an unusual problem. Maybe just replacing the battery will be the end of your mystery.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)

The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.

The batteries are all the same. Don't worry about that.
Even if its a new battery if could have just been bad. A manufacturing defect perhaps.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.

dokgu said:
The battery should be brand new as the phone was just recently purchased this April.
Anyways, so far no reboots have happened and any instability has not been shown at all. Everything looks ok, yet.
Anyone know if it is safe to swap batteries? Our phones have different S4 models. I'm not sure what the implications would be. Also what is this battery pull which acts as a reset? We've been pulling the battery a lot of times but the reboot still happens but not when we swapped batteries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This battery thing is wacky, anyway swapping batteries should not be a problem, it's just an energy storage container. Pulling the battery isn't like powering down the phone or resetting/rebooting ,sometimes devs request a battery pull to get the proper wipe effect that reboots can't provide.
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)

PanchoPlanet said:
You inadvertently solved your problem by accident. That's a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite literally solved the vast majority of my problems this way.
Its a preferred method.
Sent from your phone. You should be more careful where you leave that thing.

Sometimes it's that "total disconnect "of power that kind of gets all the ducks lined up in a row and everything flows in the dynaflow.
Good.
Pp.
sent from my P5113 using TouchPal mind control keyboard. (Beta)

its very important topics and it might seen for every galaxy s4 users.just wonderful topics.

This exact same thing happened on my mother's 6-month old S3. If you're still wondering, you could try putting the old battery and running a CPU stress test app. It should increase the current draw and trigger a shutdown.
EDIT: whoops, sorry to kind of zombie. Didn't check the date.
Sent from my Galaxy S4