Develop Bugs

HELP!!!.....Used Treve's app to remove CIQ and think I bricked my phone

HELP!!.....I downloaded and installed Treve's app to remove CIQ
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1247108
After I downloaded and installed, I ran the first option of remove CIQ. It said successful and then said please reboot.
When I rebooted, all I get now is the boot screen that says Samsung Galaxy SII and then it just sits there.
Did I brick my phone?
Background info: My phone is rooted but not with a custom rom or kernal or odin. It is completely stock and I rooted using sfhub's method.

You didn't brink it. I would suggest that you go to this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1351761
download the stock rom and get the pit file for it as well and read up on odin real quick and reflash your phone with this rom to go back to stock. Also the post you linked is for HTC phones not Samsung from what I can see with a quick glance of it. If you want to reroot and remove CIQ I would suggest getting one of the roms from this section that already has CIQ removed from it and not using that app again.

I don't know if you are bricked. But why would you flash something for the HTC phones when you have a Samsung its really not to hard to find what you need you just had to look in our dev section and you would have found your answer there to remove ciq
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

ewalk4866 said:
I don't know if you are bricked. But why would you flash something for the HTC phones when you have a Samsung its really not to hard to find what you need you just had to look in our dev section and you would have found your answer there to remove ciq
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Sfhub's rooting method is super easy, so easy that people that shouldn't be rooting can now root!
My suggestion is run the .tar file like mentioned above. Once you are back to stock, you might want to read a lot before flashing anything again...

I didn't flash anything previously. I just installed an app and bought the key in the market.
While that forums heading is regarding HTC phones, on page 11 is where the app actually is listed and the description states that it is for all phones including Samsung.
I am able to do volume up and power and get to the Samsung options of factory reset but when I choose this, it pops up asking for password. What would that be or is it just my own lockscreen password?
Edit: Yes my lockscreen password is the password. Did the factory reset and it is still coming up to only the Samsung screen.

[email protected] said:
Sfhub's rooting method is super easy, so easy that people that shouldn't be rooting can now root!
My suggestion is run the .tar file like mentioned above. Once you are back to stock, you might want to read a lot before flashing anything again...
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Click to collapse
Agreed, a good amount these people really shouldn't be flashing anything cause they don't even understand at all what it is they are actually doing. They just hear about it and assume its got to be easy cause they own a pc and can operate windows explorer. I can't tell you how many times people start a thread about if they bricked there phone when 99% of then haven't bricked it at all. which is completely obvious to any one who knows there way around android and get what it its there actually doing to there phone. I feel really bad for the OP and all the others who attempt to flash things without a clue as to whats going on. OP ( which means original poster, aka the guys who started the thread ) you need to search for a stock recovery .tar and run it using odin and you will be fine. Just like the guy above started. Can't figure out odin or aint sure what it is? Use your new best friend www.google.com to find the answer including the one thats already answered in post several times with the same topic name that this one is. nothing is wrong with your phone that can't easily be un done. You will be fine. Pm me if you really can't figure it out amigo

Ok guys, is the purpose here at XDA to help others or just talk down to them and belittle them for not being android guru's?
While I completely and graciously appreciate your advice and help, I am 42 not 15. Also, while I am far from having the extensive knowledge that most of you have, I am not a n00b to all of it and have a pretty good understanding or roms, flashing, etc.
Back to the topic. Again, I did not flash anything. I installed an app. While I agree that I could have found everything needed here in the e4gt forum to remove ICQ (which I did previously but didn't flash), I decided to try the app created by TrevE because it also states that it is for Samsung too, even though it is in the HTC forum and the post topic states HTC.
I installed the app because it also has many additional privacy options, not just CIQ. I did my homework (at least I thought I did) and read everything there and here before doing so. I did not just see something shiny and install it without at least knowing the parameters. Also, since I wasn't flashing anything, I thought installing an app would be safer. If it worked great, if it didn't just uninstall it. Again, since TrevE states that it is also for Samsung, I thought I would be safe.
I guess I will have to do what most of you mentioned and just have to use
[ODIN][STOCK][TAR] SPH-D710.EG30_CL435803_REV05_user.tar.md5
I was just asking for advice if there was another method or something I was overlooking before taking that route.
As always, thank you guys for your help and your advice. Just remember, at some point you were n00bs too Much love and respect to all who contribute, help and teach.........Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Why are you so against using the TAR file? It will get you back up and running and then you can root with the same process that you used the first time.
My apologies for my prior post, we have all been there and done that. I lack sleep right now...

I did the exact same thing the other day and had the exact same results. I ended up flashing a stock kernel with cwm, then flashed a ROM and was able to get it to boot. I didn't wipe when I flashed so I was able to recover all my data. My next step is to use the stock tar, then I'm gonna run the auto root and restore all my data with titanium.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

[email protected] said:
Why are you so against using the TAR file? .
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Just lazy, LOL.
It seems like a lot of work and was I just praying and hoping for a quick fix or something that I may have been overlooking to fix it.........plus I didn't want to loose all my data and go through the headache of spending three hours setting up and reinstalling everything.
Will this increase my Odin count?

_MetalHead_ said:
I did the exact same thing the other day and had the exact same results. I ended up flashing a stock kernel with cwm, then flashed a ROM and was able to get it to boot. I didn't wipe when I flashed so I was able to recover all my data. My next step is to use the stock tar, then I'm gonna run the auto root and restore all my data with titanium.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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LOL, ya I just seen your posts in that thread. Somehow I must have missed page 37, LOL. This could have saved me a lot of headaches and more time for beer and football today, hahaha.
Happy Turkey Day! Gobble Gobble Drink Drink!

WOOOOOWHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Just Odin'd stock tar and she booted right up.....
Now I just gotta change settings and install everything back and then re-root......PITA but at least it's better than a $200 paperweight, LOL

n01un0 said:
WOOOOOWHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Just Odin'd stock tar and she booted right up.....
Now I just gotta change settings and install everything back and then re-root......PITA but at least it's better than a $200 paperweight, LOL
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Everyone should have a copy of the full stock tar. If your phone has any kind of power, its almost always able to be saved
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

The lesson here is to read things before jumping blindly in and phailing up your device.
The only method to remove CIQ from Samsung devices is my noCIQ series of mods (which are included in many custom ROMs).

Lesson learned.......
Even though TrevE said it works for Samsung, it did'nt. I shoulda just did the noCIQ from Konane that I originally downloaded. I was just hoping some of the other privacy issues addressed in TrevE's apk would be in noCIQ.
Great work Konane and thanks for your contributions.
Sent from my SGSIIE4GTuvwxyz....should I touch my nose or walk a straight line now?

k0nane said:
The lesson here is to read things before jumping blindly in and phailing up your device.
The only method to remove CIQ from Samsung devices is my noCIQ series of mods (which are included in many custom ROMs).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you please share how to access the IQ Client in Samsung Phones? Thanks in advance

I did the exact same thing too! And the one time I didn't run a backup was the one time I needed it. If you aren't rooted, root. If you don't have a custom ROM, now's the time. No CIQ in Calkulin's!

[email protected] said:
Sfhub's rooting method is super easy, so easy that people that shouldn't be rooting can now root!
My suggestion is run the .tar file like mentioned above. Once you are back to stock, you might want to read a lot before flashing anything again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@OP glad you fixed your phone because a bricked phone is no fun. Although I know you may of gotten upset at this statement. I have to agree that too many people root their phones with out even understanding how to repair it if something goes wrong. Not for nothing but my phone cant boot up its wiping caches then trying to flash a new rom. If that dont work then its time to pray...
Like I said glad you fixed it and no disrespect but the statement above especially read a lot before flashing is something more people need to do... IMHO

k0nane said:
The lesson here is to read things before jumping blindly in and phailing up your device.
The only method to remove CIQ from Samsung devices is my noCIQ series of mods (which are included in many custom ROMs).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh!
I tried this app on my Epic (original ver) and it did the exact same thing. I just restored from nand and all was good.
I was surprised that the app did report that CIQ was running, even using severals ROMs where it was said to be removed
This Epic post as brought to you via Tapatalk

Just use the tar. Beggers cant be choosers

[GUIDE] Welcome to the Epic 4g Touch

****Seems like we're getting alot of new users thanks to the price cut on our phones, and while we have an amazing amount of information available it seems that it's overwhelming for new users and they end up posting questions that are answered already in stickies, etc, just because they don't know where to start, hopefully this guide will cut down on that.... please feel free to suggest things that should be added or any changes I should make to make this better and more complete, or if you think this is redundant and a waste of time feel free to flame me, you won't hurt my feelings, just trying to give back to the community, make things easier for new users, and cut down on "how do i..." posts that have been answered elsewhere...thanks!****
Welcome To the Epic 4g Touch
As a new user its probably overwhelming trying to figure out where to start since this is a relativity mature device, most of the existing users are well versed in the more basic tasks, and we have SO MUCH info all over the boards here, this guide should help you get started....
1. The 1st thing you'll probably want to do is root. If you're coming from an HTC device or are new to android you're probably not familiar with Odin. Odin is Samsung's in house recovery tool that leaked a few years ago. It lets you flash rom's via usb connected to a PC. Odin is PC only, if you use linux or mac the easiest way to get root would be to use a PC, however there is a cross platform tool, Heimdall, that allows you to flash on OSX/Linux... Going forward in this guide though I will only be referring to using 1-click Odin's on PC's as i feel this is what the vast majority of people will be using...
- You'll want to first go to Sfhub's stickied thread in the dev section, Sfhub has been kind enough to make rooted 1 click Odin images for us, so especially if you're coming from a HTC device you'll be amazed how easy these phones are to root...(found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342728)
- As of today (07/09/12) if you buy an E4GT it'll come with the EL29 gingerbread system, this ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 ) is the appropriate Odin 1 Click for you to get root, again, thanks Sfhub
7/12/12 edit: Sprint is pushing the OTA to ICS as of today. It is build FF18, the rooted odin one click can be found in yet another thread by Sfhub here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229)... as the emmc bug seems not to have been addressed in the kernel I will leave the rest of the post unaltered for now until most roms have been updated to a kernel built from source with the code that triggers the bug removed. Until then, as stated later, some ICS recoveries are considered safe (Agats), but it never hurts to take a few extra minuets when flashing to totally avoid the risk of bricking
7/26/12 EDIT:
ICS flashing is now safe AS LONG AS YOU ARE ON ONE OF AGAT63 OR chris41g's SAFE KERNELS, these are built from source and have the offending mmc_cap_erase code removed/disabled. The kernel repo is found here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1662295) you can mobileODIN the tar's or flash the zip's via cwm
- You can refer to Garwynn's Official ICS OTA update thread for more information on the update (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1765953)
-After running the 1 Click Odin for your device you'll want to go back to the main thread ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342728 ) and download the auto root tool and choose option C to install Clockworkmod recovery- a custom recovery that will allow you to flash roms and make nandroid backups- on your phone. Dev VeNuM has posted a very detailed guide explaining what clockworkmod is and how to use it, which is stickied and can be found here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1587607 )
- I'm not providing detailed instructions as those are included in the linked to threads... should you find the directions difficult to follow user qbking77 has made really great informative videos, linked to in the directions, detailing the aforementioned processes that should help clarify things further for you.
2. You now have a rooted gingerbread system with custom recovery. You can safely flash any Gingerbread roms from recovery, following the directions posted with the rom of your choice. If you want to flash ICS roms however, you have some more reading to do, as this phone can be bricked if you do not follow directions....
- The Epic 4g Touch has a bug in it's emmc controller that can cause the /data partition to become inaccessible/unrecoverable sometimes thanks to the wipe process when flashing from ICS recoveries... DO NOT FLASH FROM ICS RECOVERIES!!!! (7/26/12 edit: OLD, you can now flash from ICS as long as you are on a safe kernel, safe kernels can be found in the repo linked to earlier this post)
7/11/12 edit: In the FF18 source Garwynn has confirmed the presence of the offending code that triggers the emmc bug (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28609341&postcount=32) meaning that it will eventually be safe to flash from ICS as long as the offending code is removed by the dev of the kernel/rom...
- Please see this (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525495) thread by xST4T1K which details how NOT to brick your device... It is slightly out of date but still very relevant... if you want a more technical understanding of what this emmc bug is and why this is happening you can see Sfhub's thread in general related to it (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1644364 ). The OP contains all of the information that our users have been able to figure out about this bug... Be sure to thank these people, as their hard work has made it exponentially safer for all of us to flash ICS roms on our phones...
-Every ICS rom will have a flashing guide in it's dev thread, its HIGHLY suggested you read and reread the guide for the rom you want to flash and follow it EXACTLY, taking the extra time upfront to fully understand what you're about to do will save you alot of trouble going forward.
-Put simply though you will always want to ODIN or Mobile ODIN (mobile Odin is an app made by the dev chainfire, available in the play store, that allows you to preform Odin flashes from your phone without using a PC) the el26 Gingerbread kernel/recovery and flash any ICS roms from that. NEVER FLASH FROM AN ICS RECOVERY, THAT IS HOW BRICKS ARE MADE!!!! Also do NOT use Rom Manager or Touch recovery!!!! (7/26/12 edit: also now outdated, as long as you are on a safe kernel you can just flash via cwm in ICS, no need to ODIN back to EL26)
3. Additional Information...
-modems, there are a variety of modems available for the E4GT, and all can be found in the modem repo ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1764210 ). Every phone responds differently to different modems and you may want to try some new ones if you are dissatisfied with the current one you have.
- Jelly Bean... Please do not post asking "Is Jelly Bean available for this phone!1!!!!!" / "when i get jellybean!!!1!!11!!"... we have some awesome dev's for this and there are quite a few working on it currently. It is currently booting with some issues, but should be ready to use as a daily in the coming weeks. DO NOT post asking where to find current builds, dev's will post in the development section once they feel its ready for release, same goes for CM10
- qbking77 has posted videos of reviews and install guides for most of the roms around here. If you find the install directions confusing watch the appropriate video and see if that helps you at all, he does a very good job of walking you through it... Also his reviews are quite helpful as well if you're not sure if you want to flash or not... Please consult these as opposed to starting a thread asking "should i flash XXXX?? is it good?" these things are a matter of personal preference... Also pretty much everything around here these days is good enough to use as a daily driver, all roms will have a working/not working section... refer to that, if everything you use is marked as working and the rom is not labeled "alpha build HIGHLY unstable, etc..." chances are it'll work for you well day to day and does not warrant starting a thread asking if its good enough to use as a daily driver...
- Stock roms/stock leaks are labeled as EL29, FF18, etc... all this represents is the date Samsung compiled the rom... the 1st letter represents the year (E=2011 F=2012) and the second represents the month (January=A all the way through December=L) and the number is the date. Modems follow the same naming scheme. The modems available are not limited to the "matching" rom in any way, ANY modem can be used with ANY rom (thanks to kingdazy for clarification on how the Samsung naming scheme works!)
7/26/12 EDIT:
It's been brought to my attention that we have a lot of people posting asking how to return to stock GB for whatever reason... all that you need to do is ODIN EL29, sfhub's one-click can be found here, its all you need ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 )
Also if you took the OTA and want root you can just ODIN the FF18 rooted one-click, found here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229 )
IF you need to get rid of the yellow triangle on the bootscreen in order to return your phone to sprint/it annoys you or whatever you need to download chainfire's app "triangle away" from the play store, its requires ICS and its like $1.99, buy it even if you don't need it, dude deserves the money for his awesome work on android devices... If you're still on GB you'll need a usb jig
~I will be adding more info to this over the next few days, but I figured this was enough to get started on, again any suggestions or additions are welcome and encouraged! the easier we make it for new users to get started the fewer times we'll all have to answer the same questions over and over again... If i referred to your work without crediting it I assure you it was accidental and if you notify me of my mistake I will make sure to edit the post accordingly to credit you, again thanks for any input!~

will be editing this to bring it current and for style this weekend, overdue for an update

This is very nice.. I wish I read something like this when I first got my phone months back, I had to take pieces of information from "here and there" and put it all together.. It can be overwhelming but it's not impossible to the new users

MiguelHogue said:
This is very nice.. I wish I read something like this when I first got my phone months back, I had to take pieces of information from "here and there" and put it all together.. It can be overwhelming but it's not impossible to the new users
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thanks for your input! i'd actually thank you but have used up my 8 already today! I thought this would be useful as I've been seeing a lot of the same questions all over the place recently which are already answered in various threads, and there are some really good highly detailed guides out there as well, but we're kind of lacking in something that brings them all together in a noob friendly manner, like if you've never had a Samsung phone before its not immediately obvious that you need to start with sfhub's Odin thread since you're all like WTF is a ODIN?!? same with is it safe to flash xxxx from xxxx... those of us that have been around know the drill by now, and i guess it is kind of elaborate vs flashing on most phones, but its bothersome to have to reply to the same question over and over again, so hopefully this helps make it easier... like i said i will continue to add to this and welcome suggestions, again thanks for your input!

Thank you for this excellent guide. I'm a dev coming from the 3D and was about as lost as one can be, and this was a massive help to me. I appreciate it. :good:

No problem man, that's why I took the time to write it, have fun with the phone, its awesome... jet life till the next life
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

great post, OP!
perhaps you might consider a concise explanation of build designations/dates (fdxx ffxx, ect) vs modem, and how they are related but not exclusive?
i struggled with that my first few days...

kingdazy said:
great post, OP!
perhaps you might consider a concise explanation of build designations/dates (fdxx ffxx, ect) vs modem, and how they are related but not exclusive?
i struggled with that my first few days...
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Click to collapse
I will edit to add that in later today, thanks for the suggestion!

cp320703 said:
No problem man, that's why I took the time to write it, have fun with the phone, its awesome... jet life till the next life
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
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You already know man.

Outstanding write up cp320703 !

Thanks to everyone on this site, all guides were done so well I didn't have any questions and I rooted my phone and installed a custom rom and modem very easily. Thanks to all who made this possible. I was tired of waiting for ICS from sprint, so thank you all very much.

Rafter_Man said:
Thanks to everyone on this site, all guides were done so well I didn't have any questions and I rooted my phone and installed a custom rom and modem very easily. Thanks to all who made this possible. I was tired of waiting for ICS from sprint, so thank you all very much.
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Thanks op.

Thanks for this guide, it has been really helpful. I have had htc phones before, but this is my first Samsung. Just a little bit different.

Great guide, I'm coming over from my evo 4g and was a little worried about rooting my touch. This guide takes away the doubt I had.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

thanks
BigSmoke53 said:
Great guide, I'm coming over from my evo 4g and was a little worried about rooting my touch. This guide takes away the doubt I had.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
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thanks for your guide and information; already I do some of the tested Roms and every I test i love it
---------- Post added at 12:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 AM ----------
thanks for your guide and information; already I do some of the tested Roms and every I test i love it

Thanks my friend sextape recommended me this place as soon as I got the Epic ..

labelexpired said:
Thanks my friend sextape recommended me this place as soon as I got the Epic ..
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Ah I See You Finally Came Thru Here Glad To See Ya, People On This Forum Are Great Dude!

Okay, first off thanks for the guide. However for some of us senior posters coming from HTC phones there still could be a clearer clarifications.
You say dont flash from ICS recoveries. That is confusing some of us that are not rookies. I understand much different then HTC phones Samsung has the recovery in the kernal. So are you saying not to flash from the built in phone recovery to another ICS build?
From what I gather and please correct me if I am wrong. If you have a custom agat kernal from 2.1 up you can flash betweeen FF!8 official rom or from custom rom to rom as long as you use ODIN to do it? Or is is ODIN MOBILE only do do it as long as you dont attempt thru stock recovery?
How about if your on stock FF18 kernal. Can you still use ODIN safely to go from ICS rom to rom? Should you always use either SFHUBS or Caulikins format program first?
Sorry to sound stupid but the verbage is new to some of us from other phones.
Thanks a bunch!

iceshark said:
Okay, first off thanks for the guide. However for some of us senior posters coming from HTC phones there still could be a clearer clarifications.
You say dont flash from ICS recoveries. That is confusing some of us that are not rookies. I understand much different then HTC phones Samsung has the recovery in the kernal. So are you saying not to flash from the built in phone recovery to another ICS build?
From what I gather and please correct me if I am wrong. If you have a custom agat kernal from 2.1 up you can flash betweeen FF!8 official rom or from custom rom to rom as long as you use ODIN to do it? Or is is ODIN MOBILE only do do it as long as you dont attempt thru stock recovery?
How about if your on stock FF18 kernal. Can you still use ODIN safely to go from ICS rom to rom? Should you always use either SFHUBS or Caulikins format program first?
Sorry to sound stupid but the verbage is new to some of us from other phones.
Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry just saw this post, ODIN is always safe, and now that the emmc bug is understood most all of the kernels in the repo are safe as well, a bit of code just needed removed from stock to make them so. Odin and cwm are two means to the same end for the most part, however outside of official leaks you won't really be flashing roms via ODIN. Basically if you are on stock ff18 rooted you would want to ODIN a safe kernel, then you would be good to flash roms via cwm going forward
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

cp320703 said:
sorry just saw this post, ODIN is always safe, and now that the emmc bug is understood most all of the kernels in the repo are safe as well, a bit of code just needed removed from stock to make them so. Odin and cwm are two means to the same end for the most part, however outside of official leaks you won't really be flashing roms via ODIN. Basically if you are on stock ff18 rooted you would want to ODIN a safe kernel, then you would be good to flash roms via cwm going forward
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
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That perfect! Thanks for clarification on this. I am sure others wondered the same.. Now if there was just a nice Vanilla stock type tweaked non theamed ICS rom I would jump in. I will however ODIN Agats 2.3 to be ready! You rock!

Help rooting

Ok, So I did some searching and I found lots of information, but I didn't really find anything that tied all of the information together. I am not new to rooting or flashing phones, but I am new to this phone. So Here is my problem. I have seen a lot of the "how to root" guides. But I haven't really seen a guide on how to know which method to use. I have a brand new phone that I got today before work. So I have no idea how to tell which root method to use. Any information regarding how to tell which method/root this thing would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Its up to you, just follow the directions. I prefer odin from pc or sfhub autoroot package. I always have pc access though.

Using either of those methods, does it matter that I just got my phone and I don't know what software is on it? What if I wanted to try an ICS ROM or something? I am just a bit apprehensive.
So more reading and I figured out that I have the EL29 what ever. So I need to do this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
But am I right in thinking that I still need to install CWM somehow in order to flash custom ROMs? Also, does flashing a custom ROM increase the flash counter thing?

revaew said:
Using either of those methods, does it matter that I just got my phone and I don't know what software is on it? What if I wanted to try an ICS ROM or something? I am just a bit apprehensive.
So more reading and I figured out that I have the EL29 what ever. So I need to do this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
But am I right in thinking that I still need to install CWM somehow in order to flash custom ROMs? Also, does flashing a custom ROM increase the flash counter thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1662295 Watch Qbking's videos - here is the one for the FF18 build [located here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229 [
Take some time and read read and then read again or you will turn you device into an expensive shiny fishing lure.
If you start off with sfhub's one-clicks you really can't go wrong. He has made it dead simple and safe and provided outstanding directions.
You can then use sfhub's Autoroot package to add Agat's 'safe' recovery with CWM.
Good luck

So I see that the the initial autoroot, it doesn't increase the Odin flash counter. But flashing a custom ROM (like say I wanted to go to ICS) would increase the counter?

I use this to get rid of the triangle and reset flash counter http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114

revaew said:
So I see that the the initial autoroot, it doesn't increase the Odin flash counter. But flashing a custom ROM (like say I wanted to go to ICS) would increase the counter?
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Click to collapse
My friend one of the best pieces of advice I have seen here for you is too do some reading. Also why do you want to root your phone? If its for tethering you can simply install foxfi. If you want to try out different roms and tweaks then you really need to learn your phone. Developers, themers and contributors have set up thread after thread of great tutorials and answers to all your questions.
Welcome to android rooting world and you made a good choice but before I have to view another "I May Have Bricked My Phone" thread please read up and get up to speed on the craziness in here
Also to answer your question your counter only goes up when you flash an unsecure kernel through odin. Not when you use CWM
someguyatx said:
I use this to get rid of the triangle and reset flash counter http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I am not mistaken I believe that app is strictly for ICS.... I may be wrong

playya said:
My friend one of the best pieces of advice I have seen here for you is too do some reading. Also why do you want to root your phone? If its for tethering you can simply install foxfi. If you want to try out different roms and tweaks then you really need to learn your phone. Developers, themers and contributors have set up thread after thread of great tutorials and answers to all your questions.
Welcome to android rooting world and you made a good choice but before I have to view another "I May Have Bricked My Phone" thread please read up and get up to speed on the craziness in here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Have rooted 3 previous phones, I just am new to this one. I Haven't done anything yet and I don't plan on it until I understand this phone better. Right now I am just kind of lost with a lot of the shorthand that is used in a lot of the threads. I am doing a ton of reading, but like I said, there are just some things that I feel aren't clarified enough for me to be comfortable just yet.

I just got a replacement phone from Sprint that I can't root. Every time I get the Hellions with BLUE flame message.

revaew said:
I Have rooted 3 previous phones, I just am new to this one. I Haven't done anything yet and I don't plan on it until I understand this phone better. Right now I am just kind of lost with a lot of the shorthand that is used in a lot of the threads. I am doing a ton of reading, but like I said, there are just some things that I feel aren't clarified enough for me to be comfortable just yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah my old phone was a samsung but rooting and flashing were way different. This phone is really easy though. Don't over complicate it, just read the directions and go when ready. Don't flash anything brand new or any alpha releases, everything else out there is pretty safe if you follow directions.

Well the phone just updated to FF18. If I am not mistaken, I thought I saw somewhere something about rooting it (or flashing it) with ICS/ICS ROMs to be very risky? is this true?

All Things Boost Galaxy S III

1. Since the Galaxy S III became available as a Boost variant, there’s been an increasing amount of questions, issues, and requests for builds. I have collaborated with the powers that be, and it was determined that it might be a good idea to start a Boost only thread. This thread is dedicated to anything and everything Boost Galaxy S III related.
2. I will update and bump and sticky and edit and whatever else needs to be done the best that I can, but it is open and available to all. This is YOUR thread, just as much as it is mine. I encourage folks to ask questions, post relevant links, tutorials, helpful hints, and anything else they come across while tinkering with their new phone that may help others related to the Boost S3.
3. First and foremost, as always is the disclaimer. We are all responsible for our own actions. I am not responsible for what you do to your phone, so please do not flame me or anyone else in this thread if you do something that potentially fries your device.
4. If you post a link to something flashable, either through Odin, CWM, Heimdall, TWRP, etc, please test it on your own phone first or have someone test it before you do so. If it works, and will benefit someone, feel free to include it. I will most likely PM the dev and ask to put it in the OP.
5. And finally, please be courteous and respectful. We are all here to learn from one another, and do not need sarcasm, unkindness, flaming, or disrespect, of any kind. Thank you and enjoy.

Stock Unrooted OTA Odin Tar
This is the official, stock, right out of the box, Boost MD7. This will unroot your device, and take everything back to the way it was when you got it. Please thank the OP, Smith058, over at AF (link to OP at the bottom), since he was so gracious to let me post it here, and to let me use it to cook up something good for you folks More to come on that one! The only issue I’ve noticed on this build is there’s no boot up sound. But it flashed modem, stock recovery, put the device status back to “normal” and made the “custom” in Odin mode back to “official.” This should come in handy if you need to send it back for repair, or just want to start anew. The coming zip (once it’s uploaded) has working sound.
Stock MD7 Odin Tar Link https://mega.co.nz/#!ARkXGZCS!RITkIjvPnT51c6nyDdFvE2Z4oBNQt0PTcKnCGWuavdo
Link to Smith058’s OP(be sure to give him a shout out!)
http://androidforums.com/boost-mobile-galaxy-s3-all-things-root/753772-odin-backup-sph-l710_md7-stock.html
Stock OTA MG2 Tar:
http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23212708291678209
Flashing Instructions:
1. Download and Install Odin to your PC
2. Download the ROM to your computer, and remember where you put it
3. Boot your phone into download(Odin) mode by pressing volume down, home button, and power button simultaneously
4. Once in Odin mode, connect your phone to your PC
5. Once the “COM” block turns blue, click the PDA button, and navigate to the ROM tar.
6. As a habit, I uncheck the F. Reset Time and Auto Reboot boxes as well
7. Click Start. When it’s done, pull the battery.
8. Reinsert battery, boot up, and profit

Links to Boost ROMs
Stock Rooted MD7 Flashable Zip -http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2478888
Stock Unrooted MD7 Flashable Zip - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46367914#post46367914
Stock Rooted, Deodexed MG2 Zip - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47537971

One more, just to be on the safe side

jdsingle76 said:
The only issue I’ve noticed on this build is there’s no boot up sound. The coming zip (once it’s uploaded) has working sound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone is running a rooted version of the stock MG2 ROM. While it has the Boost startup splash "4G" screen, I don't think there ever was a sound component.
Also - If I recall correctly, some custom ROMs labelled as compatible with the Sprint Galaxy S3 will cause us to LOSE 4G SERVICE, because they do not have the Boost-specific APN settings in them, and changing APN settings on Jellybean ROMs is (apparently) not possible as it was on Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs. So beware, and make sure that any ROMs that you want to flash will not kill your 4G!

SweetBearCub said:
My phone is running a rooted version of the stock MG2 ROM. While it has the Boost startup splash "4G" screen, I don't think there ever was a sound component.
Also - If I recall correctly, some custom ROMs labelled as compatible with the Sprint Galaxy S3 will cause us to LOSE 4G SERVICE, because they do not have the Boost-specific APN settings in them, and changing APN settings on Jellybean ROMs is (apparently) not possible as it was on Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs. So beware, and make sure that any ROMs that you want to flash will not kill your 4G!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was an issue with the Tar, because when I built the flashable zips, they not only had the Boost animation, but the sound component as well. And I have seen around that some Sprint ROMs will cause issues with 4g. I know that it is possible to get into change the "guts" of your phone if you have your MSL by with JB Touchwiz ROMs by dialing ##3282# from your phone's dialer. However, for some reason, with the zip I just built, it's not cooperating. I'm going to swap out secphone.apk later today, from another stock build, and see if that fixes the issue. But thanks for the heads up. That's what this thread is all about.

I've been prompted for a system update... safe?

beneliezer said:
I've been prompted for a system update... safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed the rooted one, chances are it won't let you update, but give it a try. Additionally, if you have custom recovery, which you had to in order to flash the zip, it most likely won't let you update it either. It's an Android Software update, not a firmware. I would try it, and I'm sure it will fail, but at least you won't get prompted anymore for software updates But yes, it is safe to try.

jdsingle76 said:
If you flashed the rooted one, chances are it won't let you update, but give it a try. Additionally, if you have custom recovery, which you had to in order to flash the zip, it most likely won't let you update it either. It's an Android Software update, not a firmware. I would try it, and I'm sure it will fail, but at least you won't get prompted anymore for software updates But yes, it is safe to try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jdsingle76 is correct. It won't hurt anything, it just won't work. If you accept the update, your phone will reboot into recovery, process for a few seconds, and fail with an error. However in my experience, that will not stop the software update prompts from re-occurring. If I recall, the best way to stop them was to use something like Titanium Backup and freeze something having to do with 'OTACERTS'. It's been a while, so my info may be out-of-date on that front.

can someone please reupload the stock SPH-L710 odin tar file else where before I brick my phone accidentally, its not letting me use recovery. The root method i used did not work correctly, now my phone is now working properly and i just want to get back to stock to try a different method for rooting, i need this odin file please!

nickdagreat said:
can someone please reupload the stock SPH-L710 odin tar file else where before I brick my phone accidentally, its not letting me use recovery. The root method i used did not work correctly, now my phone is now working properly and i just want to get back to stock to try a different method for rooting, i need this odin file please!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://androidforums.com/boost-mob...backup-sph-l710_md7-stock-3.html#post6238089
Post #106

smith058 said:
http://androidforums.com/boost-mob...backup-sph-l710_md7-stock-3.html#post6238089
Post #106
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to see ya bro. Thanks for throwing that up there. Just noticed the dropbox link was broken for too much traffic. I have the MG2 tar from Kies as well. This weekend if I get time I'll throw both of them in AFH and/or dev-host. Hope all's well, thanks for helping out!
J

Guys, i know this post is a little bit old, but i was wondering if I could flash this file with the Sprint Version (same one, SPH-L710) I know this will not harm my phone but I just want to make sure. is it safe?

erick1457 said:
Guys, i know this post is a little bit old, but i was wondering if I could flash this file with the Sprint Version (same one, SPH-L710) I know this will not harm my phone but I just want to make sure. is it safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What file from this op are you referring to? But to answer your question, yes, you can flash ant sprint file to the boost variant, and vice versa, you just might have to change apn, mmsc, stuff like that, to get mms to work.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Boost Stock 4.3
jdsingle76 said:
What file from this op are you referring to? But to answer your question, yes, you can flash ant sprint file to the boost variant, and vice versa, you just might have to change apn, mmsc, stuff like that, to get mms to work.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks to all of u guys out there especially jdsingle76, Can anyone help with untouched Stock BoostMobile S3 4.3.tar ODIN ROM, i would be glad for any help in this regard, Meanwhile are we seeing Kitkat for BM S3? , Again is there a chance we can be KNOX free again in our lives?

alemosman said:
Thanks to all of u guys out there especially jdsingle76, Can anyone help with untouched Stock BoostMobile S3 4.3.tar ODIN ROM, i would be glad for any help in this regard, Meanwhile are we seeing Kitkat for BM S3? , Again is there a chance we can be KNOX free again in our lives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not gotten my hands on a 4.3 Odin tar yet. If you do remember it'll have Knox, and I think Knox is here to stay. Ice heard rumors about Kit Kat for this phone but nothing's come out yet. Thanks for the support!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

jdsingle76 said:
I have not gotten my hands on a 4.3 Odin tar yet. If you do remember it'll have Knox, and I think Knox is here to stay. Ice heard rumors about Kit Kat for this phone but nothing's come out yet. Thanks for the support!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Jdsingle76, Boost Mobile are doing a hell of a job there keeping the 4.3 Odin tar under their sleeves.

Are your enjoying my build
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

knox scares me
knox bootloader scares me soo much that am still running stock unrooted, am afraid when i void my warrant i might not be able to upgrade to kitkat if it ever comes out

alemosman said:
knox bootloader scares me soo much that am still running stock unrooted, am afraid when i void my warrant i might not be able to upgrade to kitkat if it ever comes out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't fret. .. If kitkat comes out there will definitely be a custom rom made with it that you will be able to flash. With root you will have many more options than you ever will with stock.

New to Rooting.

I've been rooting since OG Evo days, but only played with that, the s2, and s3. Rooting was easy as pie. But with all this knox stuff I'm wary.
I recently read reports of people sending in their phones to both Samsung and tmobile and getting it back with knox restored but still maintaining sim unlocks. So obviously it's a well kept firmware they flash or perhaps signatures.
This in mind I used kingoapp, and root was easy. Just decline the recovery install and you'll maintain 0x0. But after this new information I'm still worried to trip knox for fear those restores we're just a fluke.
Anybody have luck with safestrap? I heard/read it doesn't replace recovery so it also won't trip knox? Also, as long as I don't flash kernels or recovery I'll be good right? Like i can delete bloat or install at root level to /system and I'll be fine?
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Naturesretard said:
I've been rooting since OG Evo days, but only played with that, the s2, and s3. Rooting was easy as pie. But with all this knox stuff I'm wary.
I recently read reports of people sending in their phones to both Samsung and tmobile and getting it back with knox restored but still maintaining sim unlocks. So obviously it's a well kept firmware they flash or perhaps signatures.
This in mind I used kingoapp, and root was easy. Just decline the recovery install and you'll maintain 0x0. But after this new information I'm still worried to trip knox for fear those restores we're just a fluke.
Anybody have luck with safestrap? Also, as long as I don't flash kernels or recovery I'll be good right? Like i can delete bloat or install at root level to /system and I'll be fine?
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you just root it nothing happens system will be fine .... Plssss hit thanksss.....
Sent from my HTC Desire C using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

pvinayraju2k4 said:
As long as you just root it nothing happens system will be fine .... Plssss hit thanksss.....
Sent from my HTC Desire C using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. However in the future there's no need to request we thank. I've learned most people here on xda thank quite often, myself included.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Naturesretard said:
Thanks for the info. However in the future there's no need to request we thank. I've learned most people here on xda thank quite often, myself included.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, the above poster is wrong... can't believe he asks for a thank. When you install a custom recovery, that is when you trip Knox. There a method to install a custom ROM w/o a recovery using Mobile Odin Pro. I know nothing about that but have read here that it works. You just can't flash custom kernel. I went ahead and flash a custom recovery because I don't care about Knox and will never send this phone to Samsung for warranty repair.

asianflavor said:
First off, the above poster is wrong... can't believe he asks for a thank. When you install a custom recovery, that is when you trip Knox. There a method to install a custom ROM w/o a recovery using Mobile Odin Pro. I know nothing about that but have read here that it works. You just can't flash custom kernel. I went ahead and flash a custom recovery because I don't care about Knox and will never send this phone to Samsung for warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just the fact most of us have insurance plans; if we discover a problem such as faulty gps or screen displacement, etc, tmobile fixes it for us anyway, right?
So it really doesn't matter if we trip knox, correct???
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Naturesretard said:
Just the fact most of us have insurance plans; if we discover a problem such as faulty gps or screen displacement, etc, tmobile fixes it for us anyway, right?
So it really doesn't matter if we trip knox, correct???
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From everything I read, yes.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

asianflavor said:
First off, the above poster is wrong...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's not wrong. There are a couple different methods of rooting that don't require a custom recovery, therefore don't trip Knox.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

asianflavor said:
From everything I read, yes.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I shouldn't bother with safestrap then. Was planning on trying to pay off the note 3 and keep it anyway instead of jumping again this year.
Either way it won't matter...until I do eventually get a new handset but even then I know enough about rooting I shouldn't need to repair this one once paid off and detached from my account.
my next question is then should I TWRP or cwm? I tried CWM for the first time since gingerbread on my s3 and fell in love with it
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Hey Nature! just wanted to add my 0.02, ok theres a difference between rooting, and a difference between flashing recoveries,kernels,roms,and what have you.
ill give a brief explanation in the differences. The Colors of the titles indicate how safe/dangerous it is to modify one of these things and wether it will void your warranty, Green=Wont void your warranty, and easily reversible. Orange=Void Warranty, Reversible, But starting to get Dangerous, Red=Definitely VVoids Warranty, and if screwed up, could ruin/brick your devvice Definitely Voids Warranty, and if screwed up, could ruin/brick your devvice
Rooting: When you are rooting your device, you are basically forcing your stock version of android to allow you (the user) root access, therefore allowing you to bypass/allow signature verification for apps, now this could be anything from homebrew apps that you are making yourself...to the naughty pirated apps, and i dont encourage the latter. By giving yourself root access to your phone, your allowing the next to happen:
Flashing a Custom Recovery: Ok ill explain this as simple as i can...Mostly all if not ALL android phones have a stock recovery, this is a safeguard in case some kind of software fault happened in the phone(stock software fault or what have you). Flashing a custom recovery would be your next step after Rooting a device (IF) you want to go further than apps, meaning Kernels, Roms etc. Now the reason you must Root your device in order to install a custom recovery, is because like explained above signature verification....Now this is when you begin to tread in warranty territory, once flashing a custom recovery...your warranty has become VOID, however what the custom recovery allows you to do is a multitude of things, but the most major is Flashing .ZIP files, which most roms are in the form of, now not only Roms are in ZIP files, so are kernels,mods,baseband firmwares, etc, with that being said, different phones/devices use different methods of flashing roms, lets say for example you somehow screwed something up on a samsung really bad, and it wont boot, however, you can still get into download mode...then you're safe, because samsung uses Odin to flash the entire phone back to stock meaning Recovery/aBoot/Data/System and bring you right back, but if you hard brick it, theres only 3 ways out from that...and they all suck....number one, is call me and send it to me to Jtag it for you ..but it takes long and its not that cheap, #2, Desolder the chip (whichever it is on the device that has caused the problem) and replace it...and thats not an easy task at all, ive done it once to an S3 successfully, after that i never wanted to do it again, and this was back when they were really expensive, and lastly....#3.....and this one is the worse....go buy a new one SO BE CAREFUL!
ROMS: So now that we have a custom recovery, a rom is basically a heavily modified version of Android! and let me tell ya, i love them...i love so many of them, there are sooo many different things that you can do with roms, but the most desired from what ive gathered, is so people can remove the bloatware that comes with their phone when they buy it from the carrier/manufacturer. Thats not all tho, there is way too much to get into, but some roms allow you to Overclock your phones CPU/GPU, and change the Behaviors of the phones hardware, and the major component in roms that allows that is the Kernel.
Kernel: Now dont totally quote me here, im still learning kernels, but a kernel is basically the binary software in the phone, almost like a bios that when modified from stock, changes the behavior of the MOST of the hardware, not all. Now i could be wrong and anyone please feel free to correct me, now i do want to give you a shot of my own advice here...if you dont know what you are doing, kernels are dangerous to a noobie..before i started messing with roms and kernels, i tried to get the best understanding i could, and ill be honest with you, i blew up a couple S3's doing so. but im still learning. so if you're unweary or still not educated enough in the hobby to get too it, please read more up on it, because as none of these guys here that are devs nor people like myself that are trying to help intend to destroy your device on you, so please be careful for your own device's safety, and to save yourself money and a broken heart.
Knox: Ok now correct me if im wrong here, because im still learning as this is new to me, i only saw it on the MJA bootloader on the S4 on Jellybean from Sprint when they first OTA'd it, but knox looks to be Samsungs pathetic try of not lettings us Access the devices binary software, like an encryption, or to only let us access and modify certain things, also samsung has added a flash counter, which will tell them how many times you have flashed a new rom, however there are ways around these things, google and the search bar are you best friends to start, and we can help too.
I Hope this helped and shed some light on some information, and please if anyone has anything to add or to correct me if im wrong anywhere please do so ^_^
P.S. To be totally honest, theres always a way to restore your device and even get the flash counter back to 0 again and put everything back to normal, if an experienced tech looks at it and puts it in download mode unless all is restored, hell be able to see everything, but honestly, if you pay off the phone, you havve nothing to worry about, but then again, i dont care much for warranties, so it all depends on how savvy with fixing problems when they go wrong, but if you ever need i can help you, im pretty experienced when it comes to everything but developing atm, i was a microelectronics major in college, so my expertise is mainly in hardware i.e. if you hard/soft brick the devvice i can usually get it out of that.
please excuse my typing, i type extremely fast, and i have a mechanical keyboard and i think some lettings are startings to give way such as the V key.
---------- Post added at 01:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 AM ----------
Naturesretard said:
I guess I shouldn't bother with safestrap then. Was planning on trying to pay off the note 3 and keep it anyway instead of jumping again this year.
Either way it won't matter...until I do eventually get a new handset but even then I know enough about rooting I shouldn't need to repair this one once paid off and detached from my account.
my next question is then should I TWRP or cwm? I tried CWM for the first time since gingerbread on my s3 and fell in love with it
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh and please i Highly suggest using Philz Touch!
Code:
http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/hltetmo
Thats for the HLTETMO version, which is our versions in this forum, all credit to phil ofcourse, it is basically CWM, but so much more user friendly and advanced with much more options, there are two files there, you obviously want the latest version, and there are two ways to do it, if you download the tar.md5 you must use Odin, and put your phone in download/odin mode, very easily done (turn it off unplug usb and press Home+Vol Dwn+Pwr) then once the screen pops up press Vol Up and then plug the USB in, and follow the instructions of w/e tutorial you are ready, but be very careful in odin mode, if you disturb the phone while its flashing you will most likely brick it, and the .zip is considering you already have a custom recovery and you can just flash it through there.

MasterSe7en said:
Hey Nature! just wanted to add my 0.02, ok theres a difference between rooting, and a difference between flashing recoveries,kernels,roms,and what have you.
ill give a brief explanation in the differences. The Colors of the titles indicate how safe/dangerous it is to modify one of these things and wether it will void your warranty, Green=Wont void your warranty, and easily reversible. Orange=Void Warranty, Reversible, But starting to get Dangerous, Red=Definitely VVoids Warranty, and if screwed up, could ruin/brick your devvice Definitely Voids Warranty, and if screwed up, could ruin/brick your devvice
Rooting: When you are rooting your device, you are basically forcing your stock version of android to allow you (the user) root access, therefore allowing you to bypass/allow signature verification for apps, now this could be anything from homebrew apps that you are making yourself...to the naughty pirated apps, and i dont encourage the latter. By giving yourself root access to your phone, your allowing the next to happen:
Flashing a Custom Recovery: Ok ill explain this as simple as i can...Mostly all if not ALL android phones have a stock recovery, this is a safeguard in case some kind of software fault happened in the phone(stock software fault or what have you). Flashing a custom recovery would be your next step after Rooting a device (IF) you want to go further than apps, meaning Kernels, Roms etc. Now the reason you must Root your device in order to install a custom recovery, is because like explained above signature verification....Now this is when you begin to tread in warranty territory, once flashing a custom recovery...your warranty has become VOID, however what the custom recovery allows you to do is a multitude of things, but the most major is Flashing .ZIP files, which most roms are in the form of, now not only Roms are in ZIP files, so are kernels,mods,baseband firmwares, etc, with that being said, different phones/devices use different methods of flashing roms, lets say for example you somehow screwed something up on a samsung really bad, and it wont boot, however, you can still get into download mode...then you're safe, because samsung uses Odin to flash the entire phone back to stock meaning Recovery/aBoot/Data/System and bring you right back, but if you hard brick it, theres only 3 ways out from that...and they all suck....number one, is call me and send it to me to Jtag it for you ..but it takes long and its not that cheap, #2, Desolder the chip (whichever it is on the device that has caused the problem) and replace it...and thats not an easy task at all, ive done it once to an S3 successfully, after that i never wanted to do it again, and this was back when they were really expensive, and lastly....#3.....and this one is the worse....go buy a new one SO BE CAREFUL!
ROMS: So now that we have a custom recovery, a rom is basically a heavily modified version of Android! and let me tell ya, i love them...i love so many of them, there are sooo many different things that you can do with roms, but the most desired from what ive gathered, is so people can remove the bloatware that comes with their phone when they buy it from the carrier/manufacturer. Thats not all tho, there is way too much to get into, but some roms allow you to Overclock your phones CPU/GPU, and change the Behaviors of the phones hardware, and the major component in roms that allows that is the Kernel.
Kernel: Now dont totally quote me here, im still learning kernels, but a kernel is basically the binary software in the phone, almost like a bios that when modified from stock, changes the behavior of the MOST of the hardware, not all. Now i could be wrong and anyone please feel free to correct me, now i do want to give you a shot of my own advice here...if you dont know what you are doing, kernels are dangerous to a noobie..before i started messing with roms and kernels, i tried to get the best understanding i could, and ill be honest with you, i blew up a couple S3's doing so. but im still learning. so if you're unweary or still not educated enough in the hobby to get too it, please read more up on it, because as none of these guys here that are devs nor people like myself that are trying to help intend to destroy your device on you, so please be careful for your own device's safety, and to save yourself money and a broken heart.
Knox: Ok now correct me if im wrong here, because im still learning as this is new to me, i only saw it on the MJA bootloader on the S4 on Jellybean from Sprint when they first OTA'd it, but knox looks to be Samsungs pathetic try of not lettings us Access the devices binary software, like an encryption, or to only let us access and modify certain things, also samsung has added a flash counter, which will tell them how many times you have flashed a new rom, however there are ways around these things, google and the search bar are you best friends to start, and we can help too.
I Hope this helped and shed some light on some information, and please if anyone has anything to add or to correct me if im wrong anywhere please do so ^_^
P.S. To be totally honest, theres always a way to restore your device and even get the flash counter back to 0 again and put everything back to normal, if an experienced tech looks at it and puts it in download mode unless all is restored, hell be able to see everything, but honestly, if you pay off the phone, you havve nothing to worry about, but then again, i dont care much for warranties, so it all depends on how savvy with fixing problems when they go wrong, but if you ever need i can help you, im pretty experienced when it comes to everything but developing atm, i was a microelectronics major in college, so my expertise is mainly in hardware i.e. if you hard/soft brick the devvice i can usually get it out of that.
please excuse my typing, i type extremely fast, and i have a mechanical keyboard and i think some lettings are startings to give way such as the V key.
---------- Post added at 01:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 AM ----------
Oh and please i Highly suggest using Philz Touch!
Code:
http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/hltetmo
Thats for the HLTETMO version, which is our versions in this forum, all credit to phil ofcourse, it is basically CWM, but so much more user friendly and advanced with much more options, there are two files there, you obviously want the latest version, and there are two ways to do it, if you download the tar.md5 you must use Odin, and put your phone in download/odin mode, very easily done (turn it off unplug usb and press Home+Vol Dwn+Pwr) then once the screen pops up press Vol Up and then plug the USB in, and follow the instructions of w/e tutorial you are ready, but be very careful in odin mode, if you disturb the phone while its flashing you will most likely brick it, and the .zip is considering you already have a custom recovery and you can just flash it through there.
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Ty for the explanation. Unfortunately, that is if you took the time to write that or just copied, I knew most if not all of the risks. As I said earlier I've been rooting since gingerbread.
However, it's quite informative and anybody else who is new to rooting shall find it helpful.
Kernels are more or less a bios, if you will. But they are specific to builds. You can't use aosp on tw and vice versa. There are other key features but I can't remember off the top of my head. Basically no kernel =/= no phone or no features such as camera.
You're right about the s4, but if I'm not mistaken it was believed to be an eFuse, as was for the note 3 too. Although other members have said they got it back reset, 0x0, and sim unlocks intact to fix other issues like broken gps. Therefore it is believed to be software at a signature level.
And I'll look into philz, loved it on the s3. If you ever have q's about root feel free to pm me
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Towle said:
He's not wrong. There are a couple different methods of rooting that don't require a custom recovery, therefore don't trip Knox.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
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Wow... must have read that post wrong. Been working way too much. Sorry about that but looks like we have some great info added here.

Naturesretard said:
Ty for the explanation. Unfortunately, that is if you took the time to write that or just copied, I knew most if not all of the risks. As I said earlier I've been rooting since gingerbread.
However, it's quite informative and anybody else who is new to rooting shall find it helpful.
Kernels are more or less a bios, if you will. But they are specific to builds. You can't use aosp on tw and vice versa. There are other key features but I can't remember off the top of my head. Basically no kernel =/= no phone or no features such as camera.
You're right about the s4, but if I'm not mistaken it was believed to be an eFuse, as was for the note 3 too. Although other members have said they got it back reset, 0x0, and sim unlocks intact to fix other issues like broken gps. Therefore it is believed to be software at a signature level.
And I'll look into philz, loved it on the s3. If you ever have q's about root feel free to pm me
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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ahh nate, i misunderstood, i thought you were new to rooting but just knew some of the basics, but were unclear of some others, but yeh, i typed that all up, no copy and paste here otherwise i would've credited the Author ^_^ but i hope it was Helpful, im sure its plastered and posted evverywhere around here, but maybe ill make a Write up somewhere to clarify things, because when i was learning, everything was scattered and i had to collect all the information.

MasterSe7en said:
ahh nate, i misunderstood, i thought you were new to rooting but just knew some of the basics, but were unclear of some others, but yeh, i typed that all up, no copy and paste here otherwise i would've credited the Author ^_^ but i hope it was Helpful, im sure its plastered and posted evverywhere around here, but maybe ill make a Write up somewhere to clarify things, because when i was learning, everything was scattered and i had to collect all the information.
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You Be Surprised How Often that happens. I'd sticky if I could
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Naturesretard said:
You Be Surprised How Often that happens. I'd sticky if I could
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Hey Nate! **WAVE**
lol well i posted a new thread on it, so i hope it helps the newer guys and it'd be nice if it was stickied, like i said tho, its plastered everywhere around here and on google even, but its nice to try to help my Fellow note 3'ers