Develop Bugs

Wrong Rom: A Cautionary Tale

I'd like to share with you all my tale of rom flashing gone horribly wrong. It's really only important for 2 pieces of misinformation that I've seen kicking around the forums. First, the story.
I had already rooted my Telus Galaxy S3 (SGH-i747M), but was still running stock. I started looking around for compatible roms running JB, but didn't have much luck (finding ones that support the Canadian version is not easy). At the same time, I had to update and reset my old Galaxy S2 for a relative who was taking it off my hands. I found a JB rom that was available for both the S2 and S3, from the same dev. I decided to try both out, downloaded them and copied the respective files to the S2 and S3, but quickly realized that the S3 version didn't support my Canadian phone. No problem, I'll leave the S3 as rooted stock.
I proceeded to flash and install the rom on my S2. Everything seemed to be going fine until the first reboot after flashing. The phone appeared to be completely dead. I tried putting the phone into download mode but it was completely dead and would not even show signs that it was plugged into a power outlet. Then, horror. Both my S2 and S3 are in Otterbox Commuter cases. They look very similar. At 1 in the morning in a dimly lit room, they look identical.
Yes. Like an idiot, I had installed the incompatible S3 rom to my Canadian S3. I had, in fact, hard bricked my phone. I set aside my grief for 10 minutes and got the S2 done, as that was the original goal of this adventure. That worked fine. Of course.
For the next several hours and most of the following day, I searched and searched. I ended up on the posts talking about QHSUSB_DLOAD and how I'd screwed myself. No hope. Only option is either JTAG service or, and this brings me to misinformation #1, sending it back to Samsung. Why send a rooted and screwed phone back to Samsung? Well, the argument was that in all likeliness they wouldn't be able to tell and would probably just get it up and running anyway, perhaps with some nominal fee. Also, and here comes misinformation #2, there was a good chance that they would have to fix the problem in order to verify it.
Thankfully, in my only intelligent move in the last year, I had opted to choose the extra device protection offered by my carrier. Which meant, if it wasn't covered under warranty, I could get a brand new phone at a significantly reduced rate. But it did mean I had to send it in to Samsung first. And so, I walked into a carrier store and simply stated that it wouldn't power up. I neglected to mention the whole "I'm an idiot and accidentally installed an incompatible rom at 1AM". At the end of the day, they don't care anyway.
So I waited for almost 3 weeks before getting an update from my carrier. Samsung had looked at it and had a quote. I called the store to find out the cost. The phone needs a new mainboard. $350+ (I remember it being more than $350 but less than $400). Ah, no thank you. I politely declined and contacted the company providing the device protection. No problem, phone would be in my hands in 2-3 business days. I just need to send the damaged phone back when I get it from Samsung.
When the phone did get back from Samsung (within 24 hours, I might add), it came with a note to the carrier indicating that the phone had been rooted. The store manager actually made a good point too. If they were able to get it up and running to figure out it was rooted, why did it need a new mainboard? In all likeliness, they just wanted to teach me a $350+ lesson in voiding the warranty. So, what did I learn from this experience?
1) If you are rooting multiple phones, don't leave them all laying around in identical cases in a dimly lit room at 1AM.
2) Don't root phones in a dimly lit room at 1AM.
3) If you royally mess up your bootloader and it won't boot up, Samsung can still boot up that phone.
4) If that same phone is rooted, Samsung can not only tell, but ensure that the phone remains in it's screwed state for return.
5) They might just try and teach you a $350+ lesson; my guess is this ultimately depends on who looks at it (just like walking into an Apple store and walking out with a replacement, prior to Applecare+).
If anyone is curious why I didn't JTAG service the phone, it's simply because I can't afford to wait that long without a phone and the cost difference between JTAG and my device protection plan is not significant.

I think the are full of it.. I bet they did not even boot it up.

It would be possible for them to boot into download mode using a JTAG device, flash a working bootloader and at the very least load up a recovery environment terminal to check for root access. This is assuming of course they couldn't do this directly from their JTAG skipping having to fix the bootloader. Even so whats to stop them flashing a non working bootloader back to the device after they found what they are looking for. Not only would this not take very long, for the chance at turning 350 bucks work of profit vs a warranty fix im sure the techs are required to do this. This of course doesn't justify the obvious fact that a replacement motherboard is completely ridiculous. I'm of the opinion that it isn't right to cheat the manufacturers by getting warranty replacements on user created errors, however if they are attempting to gouge the end user instead of just charge them to fix the problem then i say all's fair. Lets face it, its not as if they don't take these warranty devices, especially the hard bricked ones, and simply fix the software, repackage and sell them again.

Exactly. I sent it in and fully expected some kind of charge, like labor, to get it working again. But not almost $400.

Yea, that is pretty lame. Its no different than a damaged led lens, which they charge the full LED assembly price of $175 instead of just fixing the problem. I just did this today on my phone for $20 and an hour or so of my time.

Wow that sucks. At least your other phone still works.
sent from my rooted galaxy 3.6

Noob question:
Did you use Triangle Away? If they can just boot up the device and find if you have root access, is the point of Triangle Away just aesthetics?

I think that is more or less an easy give away the uneducated rep at the sales counter can look for.

i must confess i've rooted my phone dozens of times, and i can say that over 80% of those were in the dark after midnight.

Yeah, me too. It only takes one mistake though ...

yes rooting is such another .apk on the phone and certainly does not void the hardware warranty... Obviouisly they should charge you for software issues which you did.. did you get the phone back and have someone else jtag and fix it?

No. I have to send it back in to the company I have device protection through. But I have a new S3 already. JTAG would probably work, but it would take too long and isn't much cheaper than getting the new one.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

And yeah your full of it lmao. I had a galaxy s3 that just stopped working after being left in charger a night. Took it.to a rsi (Samsung official customer service and service center here in dallas Texas) and they said the motherboard was ruined. And it was stock non rooted. And it was covered under warranty and they had to create a new imei for the phone. So $350? Yeah right
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

Sorry, I'm full of it? Your phone is non rooted, so your point is completely moot. Your phone legitimately died. Mine was screwed because of my own fault of flashing the wrong rom. There was and is nothing wrong with the motherboard on this phone. They were just trying to teach me a $350 lesson in rooting/voiding my warranty. But thanks for your insightful comment.

JTAG
bionemesis said:
Sorry, I'm full of it? Your phone is non rooted, so your point is completely moot. Your phone legitimately died. Mine was screwed because of my own fault of flashing the wrong rom. There was and is nothing wrong with the motherboard on this phone. They were just trying to teach me a $350 lesson in rooting/voiding my warranty. But thanks for your insightful comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
happened to be last night,only option was to JTAG it so sent it to MTV Mobile Tech Videos,sucks ass....will se how long i am in Texas and sent it to Bryan Texas.Hopefully Get it back albeit in one piece by Wednesday Meanwhile i have no Phone.

This is not to offend anyone or cause a flamme war.
But I don't think people should be lying to Samsung or any carrier, that 1. Your phone isn't bricked/rooted and 2. That you have no idea of what's going on and it just wouldn't turn on.
You as a user should hold all responsibility for a bricked device. Should they charge you 400$? Damn right they should.
That's one of the many reasons why Samsung and many other carriers either ship their devices with locked bootloaders or don't release source code. And don't say the whole "I played 500$ for my phone I get to do what I want," yeah you're completely right. But let's say you're changing your cars oil and the person being the n00b that they are decides to mix synthetic oil and convention oil in the engine. Oh no you're screwed. You dont take your car to the dealership saying "I don't know what happened the engine just won't turn on," THEYRE GOING TO KNOW lol, and expect to get a free car or not get charged for your miss hap. C'mon. If you screw up at least be responsible to pay some kind of fee to get it fixed. I despise folks who "try to play the system" because of them phones will be locked down in the near future. Now its illegal to carrier unlock your device unless its paid for because of folks like that. I understand the OPs mistake. Yeah I've done it. But I paid to fix my mistake. Be responsible people. We're grown ups here. Same with flashing stuff. Do a little reading before you start a thread on how you "bricked your phone" but its really stuck in a boot loop.
Just my 2¢
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

I couldn't read all of that I must have a terrible attention span these days.
But I did read that you were with telus, not at&t; but of course its morally wrong to lie to at&t but the way I see it is I pay them $2000+ over the course of my contract for this phone and if I want to take advantage of their warranty system to save $300-400 (a small fraction of what they're making off of 1 customer) and try my best to get a free replacement you can bet your ass I will.

Heisenberg420 said:
I couldn't read all of that I must have a terrible attention span these days.
But I did read that you were with telus, not at&t; but of course its morally wrong to lie to at&t but the way I see it is I pay them $2000+ over the course of my contract for this phone and if I want to take advantage of their warranty system to save $300-400 (a small fraction of what they're making off of 1 customer) and try my best to get a free replacement you can bet your ass I will.
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Click to collapse
I see were you're getting at but you pay ATT for a service, not a phone. Those 300-400$ are for Samsung, which is different. They're kind of giving you a discount. Phone cost 700$ but they'll kindly replace it for 300$ they're being lenient about it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

bionemesis said:
If anyone is curious why I didn't JTAG service the phone, it's simply because I can't afford to wait that long without a phone and the cost difference between JTAG and my device protection plan is not significant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JTAG costs $50 and has a two day return.

Did you try a jig to force the phone into download mode.?

[Q] The truth about being rooted and taking phone back to sprint for replacement.

I know the general consensus is that sprint wont help with bricks or replace a phone due to rooting/Modding issues... but are there any sprint employees on here who know of a loophole? I've heard some say that it is still covered in warranty. Any insight from those who have had experiences with this?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

mrush said:
I know the general consensus is that sprint wont help with bricks or replace a phone due to rooting/Modding issues... but are there any sprint employees on here who know of a loophole? I've heard some say that it is still covered in warranty. Any insight from those who have had experiences with this?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...

I have had great experience with Sprint Tech's some of which are very familiar with rooting and the XDA forum. So did you brick your phone? Maybe it can be saved. I soft bricked mine but was able to boot into recovery and flash a stock unrooted rom and was able to re-root.
Sent from the best phone on the planet, Apple take Note............

Next1776 said:
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^this
corporate policy states rooted phones are covered.
keep in mind this may not be the case at third party retailers and that any store manager can use their discretion to protect the company.....I.e. repeated hard bricks etc
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

Next1776 said:
They should not hold it against you. They are supposed to treat it as if it were stock, and follow the same procedure as any other phone that is having issues. Some techs / service centers think they are the " Gods of Stock phones" and may try to make a big deal of your "rooted" or "tampered" with device. If they do give you a hard time, just leave with your device and go to another repair center. I think in the grand scheme of things, the percentage of customers who actually root and mod their devices is very small. It would be wise of you to at least have the service and repair coverage on your phone before you go in for replacement though. If you need it added PM me for more info...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't work too well if you only have one repair center for miles.
I usually just bring it back to them stock as that's all my repair center knows how to do anyways.
Sent from a little old Note 2

digiblur said:
Doesn't work too well if you only have one repair center for miles.
I usually just bring it back to them stock as that's all my repair center knows how to do anyways.
Sent from a little old Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.

ProCision said:
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The insurance is very helpful, I've done this on multiple occasions. I just dont like to deal with them giving me a hard time
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Nowadays when you deal with a broken phone you can just go online to Asurion cause they are the Insurance provider and they will ship you a refurbished phone and when you receive it you call them on the phone switch your IED # (or what ever it's called for Sprint since we dont have removable SIM cards) and then drop your busted one in the return shipping envelope and by then its done and you have your phone and it will just be shipped back to them to be disassembled. Then they will just try and salvage any parts they can for another refurbished device for another customer.

If its bricked ( as in won't boot up or similar) most techs won't know why, or how it got that way, so they should swap it out without a problem. Stock phones get bricked too. Recovering a bricked device can be time consuming and most likely a service center will not want, or have the knowledge, to take the time to save a device instead of exchanging it.
Running over or physically breaking your device and then doing an insurance claim through Sprints insurance provider (Asurion) is kind a silly thing to do (unless physical damage makes it necessary ) because you will be paying a deductible. A bricked non physically damaged unit can be swapped out at no charge if you have the Service and Repair coverage or TEP coverage.
JMHO...

Next1776 said:
If its bricked ( as in won't boot up or similar) most techs won't know why, or how it got that way, so they should swap it out without a problem. Stock phones get bricked too. Recovering a bricked device can be time consuming and most likely a service center will not want, or have the knowledge, to take the time to save a device instead of exchanging it.
Running over or physically breaking your device and then doing an insurance claim through Sprints insurance provider (Asurion) is kind a silly thing to do (unless physical damage makes it necessary ) because you will be paying a deductible. A bricked non physically damaged unit can be swapped out at no charge if you have the Service and Repair coverage or TEP coverage.
JMHO...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't recommending physically breaking it either. I was just saying that if you aren't a good talker and are afraid of facing someone and don't want to do a face to face then go through asurion. I wouldn't have a problem doing so, 85% of people who work in customer service either don't have the know how or the balls to tell someone they are wrong. You would be amazed what you can get from people with confidence.

Tw1sted247 said:
I wasn't recommending physically breaking it either. I was just saying that if you aren't a good talker and are afraid of facing someone and don't want to do a face to face then go through asurion. I wouldn't have a problem doing so, 85% of people who work in customer service either don't have the know how or the balls to tell someone they are wrong. You would be amazed what you can get from people with confidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the problem I have with this is that physical damage claims through assurion require a deductable now. a hefty one on this phone.
when in doubt back up and unroot. it takes all of 5 minutes to do.
but as for the question at hand...they are supposed to be covered.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

When I go into sprint I just simply unroot.. I did that with my epic 4G touch when I took it in.. Im trying to think how did the Rep even get my phone lol.. I just went in to get a note 2..But rooting came up and She was going on and on with how they don't cover rooted phones.. I was laughing inside due to the phone she was holding has been rooted so many times and it would be no way to tell
-TeaM VeNuM Like A Boss
-Galaxy Note II Edition

Direct from sprints Methods and Procedures
If the jailbreaking and modification are so extensive that the device cannot be used or triaged by the normal processes, then the device must be flagged as Red (Not Repairable) and are therefore not eligible for exchange.
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Click to collapse
Basically meaning that if you come in with a totally bricked non bootable device and the boot loader shows device as modified we aren't allowed to do anything.
If the device works and is just having issues they are supposed to flash the stock software back to the phone as a resolution before doing an exchange.

Darkendvoid88 said:
Direct from sprints Methods and Procedures
Basically meaning that if you come in with a totally bricked non bootable device and the boot loader shows device as modified we aren't allowed to do anything.
If the device works and is just having issues they are supposed to flash the stock software back to the phone as a resolution before doing an exchange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting. I dont recall seeing that part previously.
of course though if a device doesn't boot...there really is no way to tell if it was rooted
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

00mred00 said:
interesting. I dont recall seeing that part previously.
of course though if a device doesn't boot...there really is no way to tell if it was rooted
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe maybe not...it seems we may have spyware on our vanillaish devices...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2015149
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

00mred00 said:
the problem I have with this is that physical damage claims through assurion require a deductable now. a hefty one on this phone.
when in doubt back up and unroot. it takes all of 5 minutes to do.
but as for the question at hand...they are supposed to be covered.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just asking did you even read THE VERY FIRST sentence of the post you quoted? I stated that I was NOT recommending to physically break it. Then you proceed to quote the post and say the problem you have with the stated method is physical damage claims have a deductible... ?

I've taken obviously rooted phones for repair and never had any issues. Matter of fact on a couple of occasions I was asked for help with rooting.
Sent from my NOTEworthy smartphone

Sprint will not provide support for phones that are rooted or running 3rd party software (roms). That is to say that if you are having issues with data, apps or such and running a rooted rom you will be required to return the phone to stock before any is performed. They Justdon't havethe resources to support every software variety out there. That's not to say that mechanical failure is no longer covered. I do still recommend returning a phone to stock before bringing it into a repair center regardless of the issue. If this seems like too much trouble then perhaps rooting and customizing is not for you.
iPhones are a whole different animal however and any jail broken iPhone is no longer covered and employees have been instructed to flag the device. This is due to Apple.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

ProCision said:
if you have insurance and you know that they are going to give you a problem then your better off just smashing it, or run it over with your car. I bought my last phone at best buy and didn't have root on it just adw (Evo LTE). When the screen broke I brought it in and they gave me a hard time telling me that it was rooted and they don't cover rooted phones. He went out of his way to tell me that they do cover jail broke iphones though.. I then had to get his supervisor over and show her that it was not rooted and asked her if it was store policy to get there customers a hard time. 30 f n days later I got my phone back with a new screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best who? Never... Oh wait. That's the store, the mobile dept specifically, that I have vowed to never spend another dime in. Treated like trash twice... Not again.
Sent from a little old Note 2

Tw1sted247 said:
Just asking did you even read THE VERY FIRST sentence of the post you quoted? I stated that I was NOT recommending to physically break it. Then you proceed to quote the post and say the problem you have with the stated method is physical damage claims have a deductible... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you made reference to a broken screen and to asurion ...deductible applies
all I am saying
schale01....the information you are posting is incorrect in regards to corporate repair stores. the policy was chamged last year to cover rooted phones
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Need Advice On Phone Replacement - KNOX EDITION

Im currently running 4.4.2 with knox free bootloader and im happy with it but my screen is shattered and has been for awhile. Im really ready to have a phone with new glass but dont know what option to take.
1. Keep phone I have and pay 160 to get glass replaced. (or do it myself / not too comfortable taking this job on. The screen is shattered pretty bad)
2. Take advantage of warranty and return phone and hope that insurance gives me the same model and knox free bootloader (the later of the two is unlikely at this point right? as all refurbs have been updated?)
3. Keep shattered screen phone as is and wait another year to get new device. (I really dont want to take this option)
I want to be able to flash roms and create backups. I dont want to be one with KNOX 0x1. What option would you take? Let me know if there's one I missed?
Thanks :good::good:

R.Suave said:
Im currently running 4.4.2 with knox free bootloader and im happy with it but my screen is shattered and has been for awhile. Im really ready to have a phone with new glass but dont know what option to take.
1. Keep phone I have and pay 160 to get glass replaced. (or do it myself / not too comfortable taking this job on. The screen is shattered pretty bad)
2. Take advantage of warranty and return phone and hope that insurance gives me the same model and knox free bootloader (the later of the two is unlikely at this point right? as all refurbs have been updated?)
3. Keep shattered screen phone as is and wait another year to get new device. (I really dont want to take this option)
I want to be able to flash roms and create backups. I dont want to be one with KNOX 0x1. What option would you take? Let me know if there's one I missed?
Thanks :good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally would just get the screen replaced. Either do it myself (after watching a few tear-down videos numerous times) or try to find somewhere that will fix it for cheaper than $160.
I don't know how it works, but how exactly could a shattered screen be a warranty claim? I can see an insurance claim, but a warranty claim?

lordcheeto03 said:
I personally would just get the screen replaced. Either do it myself (after watching a few tear-down videos numerous times) or try to find somewhere that will fix it for cheaper than $160.
I don't know how it works, but how exactly could a shattered screen be a warranty claim? I can see an insurance claim, but a warranty claim?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I would replace it myself but it seems that using LOCA in between the new glass and old digitizer is the only way to go and that process seems risky. I cant find any places around here (Austin, TX) that will do it for cheaper than that. Most of the places only replace the digitizer and glass b/c the process of separating the two is more work.
I meant insurance claim. Sorry bout that.

R.Suave said:
Yeah. I would replace it myself but it seems that using LOCA is the only way to go and that process seems risky.
I meant insurance claim. Sorry bout that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I dread the day I bust my screen... I know it'll happen, just a question of "when." You have quite the predicament. I still say I'd go the route of either doing it myself or getting it done. This would be a sure-fire way to not catch the KNOX-pox. Worse comes to worse and you mess the phone up... insurance claim and hope you don't get one with KNOX.

I thought knox was only for warranty checking. If you hey a replaced device with knox, you should still be able to root install custom recovery and flash away you'll just have a tripped knox.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

elesbb said:
I thought knox was only for warranty checking. If you hey a replaced device with knox, you should still be able to root install custom recovery and flash away you'll just have a tripped knox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had a tripped KNOX, I would still be able to "take advantage" of T-Mobile insurance options in the future just not Samsung warranty options correct?

R.Suave said:
If I had a tripped KNOX, I would still be able to "take advantage" of T-Mobile insurance options in the future just not Samsung warranty options correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct. To my knowledge, Items received through an insurance claim have no warranty. So if anything were to happen to it, you can simply make an insurance claim on it. You pay for the insurance, so they can't deny you.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[Q] Warranty reset, possible?

Hi all,
I've had a bit of experience in rooting and flashing, back on my old Nexus 4. Haven't done it in awhile due to my Nexus 5 stock being bloody perfect in my opinion.
I'm going to get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, and I've heard about all the bloatware. Obviously I would like to remove this crap if possible, but I was wondering about warranty issues. Is it now possible to restore the tablet back to a state that the warranty provider will not be able to tell it's been rooted/flashed (and voided warranty)?
Cheers.

Nope. Once knox has been tripped, you cant get back warrenty. There isnt even a root method that doesnt void knox either. What I do is wait like month or two before rooting to see if there are any faulty parts. Then i root and void warrenty.

DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
Nope. Once knox has been tripped, you cant get back warrenty. There isnt even a root method that doesnt void knox either. What I do is wait like month or two before rooting to see if there are any faulty parts. Then i root and void warrenty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, exactly what I wanted to know !
Case closed!

Tomo8281 said:
Thanks a lot, exactly what I wanted to know !
Case closed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please read this, then close your case.
I just got my tablet back from Samsung. My screen stopped working so I went back to the store and they sent it back to Samsung.
I was a little bit freaking out, because it was rooted and then some. (had scratches on the side/cover, I've taken the cover of it once)
Now, 2 weeks later, I just retrieved it.
Tablet is fixed/replaced. Warranty was NOT voided.
And it looks like they really fixed it instead of just refurbishing/replacing. They replaced the hardware (broken mainboard, usbport, cables), de-rooted it and patched it up back to normal factory state.
I even got the stock recovery mode from Samsung on it, which they used to patch it up.
And the bootloader says KNOX WARRANTY VOID: 0.
I've looked in to this and found that Samsung is 'okay' with you rooting your device. Your warranty does NOT get voided if you root it!
If it breaks down due to software or hardware failure that is not of your own doing (i.e. not having it dropped/submerged, you get the point), Samsung will cover the first 'repair' you sent in.
Atleast here, in the Netherlands.
Just thought you guys should know this, as everybody is 'tripping their knox' and worrying about warranty.

In the EU there is a law saying that you are allowed to jailbreak electronics you own without losing warranty. So unless it is brokenot because of negligence including bricking,, they should fix it.

lynxblaine said:
In the EU there is a law saying that you are allowed to jailbreak electronics you own without losing warranty. So unless it is brokenot because of negligence including bricking,, they should fix it.
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It has to do something with Samsung. Depends on each thing that happens to your tablet. I think they only fix it once when Knox is tripped.

Europe has stronger consumer protection laws. I would not count on it in the U.S.

Yeah as I said, in the UK/EU yes. No idea about elsewhere. It is nothing to do with one fix if tripped its to do with consumer law.

How to remove root detection?

I need to send my phone in to Samsung for repair. I sent it in last week and though I haven't been rooted in about 6 months and I've been running completely stock they detected I voided the warranty by rooting.
I've convinced them to request a status change so that I can get it repaired but just in case I'm wondering if anyone knows how to make it so it's not detectable?
Is it that the knox counter was tripped? I would love to send it back the second time and have them second guess themselves by it not showing as previously rooted. That way there is no issue at all.
Thanks for the help.

touch_rules said:
I need to send my phone in to Samsung for repair. I sent it in last week and though I haven't been rooted in about 6 months and I've been running completely stock they detected I voided the warranty by rooting.
I've convinced them to request a status change so that I can get it repaired but just in case I'm wondering if anyone knows how to make it so it's not detectable?
Is it that the knox counter was tripped? I would love to send it back the second time and have them second guess themselves by it not showing as previously rooted. That way there is no issue at all.
Thanks for the help.
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Click to collapse
They detect it by checking if the knox has been tripped. 0x1. I remember seeing somewhere where you can revert the knox and make it seem like it was never rooted but i forgot.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app

I'm pretty sure once you trip Knox it can't be reset. Not by John Public anyway. Any kind of accidental coverage on it? If not add it on through your carrier and wait 30 days. There's been so many people on here having phone problems getting caught up in some bs that wouldn't be if they just add an accidental damage plan. It's like $9.00 a month and they don't care if you're rooted or not.
JMHO of course..

schlepprock said:
I'm pretty sure once you trip Knox it can't be reset. Not by John Public anyway. Any kind of accidental coverage on it? If not add it on through your carrier and wait 30 days. There's been so many people on here having phone problems getting caught up in some bs that wouldn't be if they just add an accidental damage plan. It's like $9.00 a month and they don't care if you're rooted or not.
JMHO of course..
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I dropped my protection years ago because after spending $9/mos for a year = $108 plus the $200 deductible I can just buy a used phone on Swappa and be done with it.
My Note 4 is in pristine condition so I'd like to salvage it if I can. Thanks for your input.

If it's in pristine condition why are you sending it to Samsung? Just asking..

schlepprock said:
If it's in pristine condition why are you sending it to Samsung? Just asking..
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It's got a memory or system board issue. Screen and body are in pristine condition. I take really good care of my phones. This is a hardware glitch that was beyond my control.

Contact Samsung and see what they will "charge" you to fix it.

schlepprock said:
Contact Samsung and see what they will "charge" you to fix it.
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That's the exact solution I offered to Samsung. The reversal of the "out of warrant" decision is still pending. Thanks.

There is a way but you probably won't be able to do it if your phone isn't running. If you download the stock Rom from SamMobile is will put all the counters back to normal except the knox counter. Before you Odin in the tar you can run an app called triangle away by chainfire. It has worked on my Note 4 but it is hit and miss. Knowing that this app works means there is a way to do it. Maybe if you buddy up with chainfire he will teach you how his app works. He is a wizard. I believe he has another app that does similar called flashfire that is not available through play if you live in the United States. I downloaded it elsewhere and was able to purchase the full version though play that way. The best way to get help for such things is to install a version of play made for a free country such as the Netherlands and then set up a vpn from the same so when you talk to other developers it appears you are not in the United States where there is a lot of restrictions and a lot of people to enforce them.
Another way around your warranty issue is to contact Samsung and let them know your security has been violated and you need it fixed. I did something similar and they really wanted me to send my device in. I told them I had voided my warranty by rooting and they assured me it would not be an issue.

androodius said:
There is a way but you probably won't be able to do it if your phone isn't running. If you download the stock Rom from SamMobile is will put all the counters back to normal except the knox counter. Before you Odin in the tar you can run an app called triangle away by chainfire. It has worked on my Note 4 but it is hit and miss. Knowing that this app works means there is a way to do it. Maybe if you buddy up with chainfire he will teach you how his app works. He is a wizard. I believe he has another app that does similar called flashfire that is not available through play if you live in the United States. I downloaded it elsewhere and was able to purchase the full version though play that way. The best way to get help for such things is to install a version of play made for a free country such as the Netherlands and then set up a vpn from the same so when you talk to other developers it appears you are not in the United States where there is a lot of restrictions and a lot of people to enforce them.
Another way around your warranty issue is to contact Samsung and let them know your security has been violated and you need it fixed. I did something similar and they really wanted me to send my device in. I told them I had voided my warranty by rooting and they assured me it would not be an issue.
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No triangle away DOESNT REST KNOX.just flash counter 2 different way.was a thread guy claiming he could.never proved or provided jack. You cant reset it.they will not warranty it.suck it up buy anothwr phone.
Sent from my 0x1 Note 4...... I love tep

touch_rules said:
I need to send my phone in to Samsung for repair. I sent it in last week and though I haven't been rooted in about 6 months and I've been running completely stock they detected I voided the warranty by rooting.
I've convinced them to request a status change so that I can get it repaired but just in case I'm wondering if anyone knows how to make it so it's not detectable?
Is it that the knox counter was tripped? I would love to send it back the second time and have them second guess themselves by it not showing as previously rooted. That way there is no issue at all.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying they detected your knox counter before you sent your device in? How did that go down?
---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------
kaos420 said:
No triangle away DOESNT REST KNOX.just flash counter 2 different way.was a thread guy claiming he could.never proved or provided jack. You cant reset it.they will not warranty it.suck it up buy anothwr phone.
Sent from my 0x1 Note 4...... I love tep
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Click to collapse
I've seen it work with my own eyes. I agree suck it up and buy another. That is why I pay for insurance.
You don't think there is a way to reset it? So tell me what happens to a refurbished phone. Do you think that once the counter has been tripped they have too replace the motherboard to reset the device?

androodius said:
Are you saying they detected your knox counter before you sent your device in? How did that go down?
---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------
I've seen it work with my own eyes. I agree suck it up and buy another. That is why I pay for insurance.
You don't think there is a way to reset it? So tell me what happens to a refurbished phone. Do you think that once the counter has been tripped they have too replace the motherboard to reset the device?
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Click to collapse
not sure. maybe away. as in Samsung end. but to date there is no tool released that is available for public or dev use. you said triangle away... i would love a video of that app resetting knox. dont get me wrong chainfire is a genius . but he hasnt gotten that yet. . op asked a question. i answered. for him no there is no way. he gamebled when he canceled his insurance. you saved 100 . now put that towards a swappa phone. or but the defective part and replace your self.

Of course this is just my humble opinion, but this is what having insurance is about. Just like any other insurance.. Home auto health.. You pay for it and it seems pointless until you need it, then it does what it is intended for. To have a $700,00+phone that we carry around with us at all times without some type of accidental coverage is asking for trouble.

androodius said:
Are you saying they detected your knox counter before you sent your device in? How did that go down?
---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------
I've seen it work with my own eyes. I agree suck it up and buy another. That is why I pay for insurance.
You don't think there is a way to reset it? So tell me what happens to a refurbished phone. Do you think that once the counter has been tripped they have too replace the motherboard to reset the device?
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Click to collapse
As I said it's hit and miss. Read through what Chainfire has to say about the different ways to make it work in play. It mostly fools your device in to thinking it is custom so you can receive updates. As with almost all of his risqué apps it hasn't been tested on the Note 4. I've had it work in my note 4 and I've had it do nothing. It was working before the 5.1+ updates when Chainfire was still making root for locked boot loaders by replacing the bootloader with the stock bootloader. Now I'm not sure. Chainfire is a genius. It is almost scary the things he accomplishes. If you want to see some sick ****e do what I said and make your phone think it's in the Netherlands. From there you access the developers actual accounts from Google + etc... Instead of mobile Odin it is Flashfire. I don't pretend to understand all that it does but it goes to the core of your phone and gets everything. The stuff is accessible just hard to find. I think this guy can probably fix his phone with out sending it in. I thought my phone was toast but I just had to wait for the 5.1.1 update. As Chainfire explained in his Flashfire app you can not step backwards with a bootloader. The device will only accept an newer version.
Depending on where you live the insurance is becoming a rip off. You can replace a Note 4 for less than the $200 deductible now that the S6 and Note 5 have been released. If he stopped paying in January he has all ready saved almost $120 and for the other $200 the deductible would be he is ahead.
---------- Post added at 04:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 AM ----------
kaos420 said:
not sure. maybe away. as in Samsung end. but to date there is no tool released that is available for public or dev use. you said triangle away... i would love a video of that app resetting knox. dont get me wrong chainfire is a genius . but he hasnt gotten that yet. . op asked a question. i answered. for him no there is no way. he gamebled when he canceled his insurance. you saved 100 . now put that towards a swappa phone. or but the defective part and replace your self.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I replied in the wrong window earlier.
As I said it's hit and miss. Read through what Chainfire has to say about the different ways to make it work in play. It mostly fools your device in to thinking it is custom so you can receive updates. As with almost all of his risqué apps it hasn't been tested on the Note 4. I've had it work in my note 4 and I've had it do nothing. It was working before the 5.1+ updates when Chainfire was still making root for locked boot loaders by replacing the bootloader with the stock bootloader. Now I'm not sure. Chainfire is a genius. It is almost scary the things he accomplishes. If you want to see some sick ****e do what I said and make your phone think it's in the Netherlands. From there you access the developers actual accounts from Google + etc... Instead of mobile Odin it is Flashfire. I don't pretend to understand all that it does but it goes to the core of your phone and gets everything. The stuff is accessible just hard to find. I think this guy can probably fix his phone with out sending it in. I thought my phone was toast but I just had to wait for the 5.1.1 update. As Chainfire explained in his Flashfire app you can not step backwards with a bootloader. The device will only accept an newer version.
Depending on where you live the insurance is becoming a rip off. You can replace a Note 4 for less than the $200 deductible now that the S6 and Note 5 have been released. If he stopped paying in January he has all ready saved almost $120 and for the other $200 the deductible would be he is ahead.
---------- Post added at 04:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 AM ----------
touch_rules said:
It's got a memory or system board issue. Screen and body are in pristine condition. I take really good care of my phones. This is a hardware glitch that was beyond my control.
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Click to collapse
What do you mean by a glitch? The problem is in the hardware? Have you tried putting it back to official with the 5.1.1 update. I was having some big problems with my phone too. I thought I was going to have to replace it but odin and the official Samsung ROM fixed it.
---------- Post added at 04:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 AM ----------
kaos420 said:
not sure. maybe away. as in Samsung end. but to date there is no tool released that is available for public or dev use. you said triangle away... i would love a video of that app resetting knox. dont get me wrong chainfire is a genius . but he hasnt gotten that yet. . op asked a question. i answered. for him no there is no way. he gamebled when he canceled his insurance. you saved 100 . now put that towards a swappa phone. or but the defective part and replace your self.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong on the Knox counter being reset depending on what it is. I thought it was that screen that pops up when you start your phone or between the boot loader and the rom. If you mean by Knox counter what is sent to Samsung via the security log agent then of course it can't be reset. Well anything is theoretically possible but hacking in to Samsung would not be an easy thing.

From my understanding, the Knox counter is an e-fuse, meaning it is impossible to reset unless you change out some hardware. There may be a way to make the screen display it is not tripped (haven't heard of one yet) but even then it would be easy for Samsung to tell it was tripped.
I've heard of people saying Samsung still repaired phones with the Knox counter tripped, but your mileage may vary

Well, after a month of back and forth with Samsung my phone will be home on Monday repaired. They charged me $129 to repair it but they REPLACED LCD - REPLACED COSMETIC - REPLACED BGA COMPONENT - REPLACED PBA.
It's basically a brand new phone now with a 90 day warranty on the repair. Can't wait to get it back.
Plus I'm eligible for an upgrade next month but I really don't like anything out there better than my Note 4 so for now, I'll sit tight and wait to see what comes out.

touch_rules said:
Well, after a month of back and forth with Samsung my phone will be home on Monday repaired. They charged me $129 to repair it but they REPLACED LCD - REPLACED COSMETIC - REPLACED BGA COMPONENT - REPLACED PBA.
It's basically a brand new phone now with a 90 day warranty on the repair. Can't wait to get it back.
Plus I'm eligible for an upgrade next month but I really don't like anything out there better than my Note 4 so for now, I'll sit tight and wait to see what comes out.
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That's a very good price.

Insurance
Any time you activate a new phone on the line, they ask if you want to put insurance on it (at least they have for me). If you need to use the insurance at any point, activate an old phone and then reactivate the phone you need insured and opt for the insurance. You just play along with them as they're doing it over the phone. It's worked for me. Got my bricked phone activated and insured over the phone and took it into sprint to get it replaced with a refurbished the next day. There's an ethical line there, but in my case I was convinced my phone issue had nothing to do with rooting it, yet they refused to help me because it was rooted, I didn't feel bad about it. I did opt to pay for the insurance for the next few months as well though, just to appease my conscience.

smaxfitness said:
Any time you activate a new phone on the line, they ask if you want to put insurance on it (at least they have for me). If you need to use the insurance at any point, activate an old phone and then reactivate the phone you need insured and opt for the insurance. You just play along with them as they're doing it over the phone. It's worked for me. Got my bricked phone activated and insured over the phone and took it into sprint to get it replaced with a refurbished the next day. There's an ethical line there, but in my case I was convinced my phone issue had nothing to do with rooting it, yet they refused to help me because it was rooted, I didn't feel bad about it. I did opt to pay for the insurance for the next few months as well though, just to appease my conscience.
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I did think about it but in the end, as a Christian I answer to something higher than my own conscience, to God Himself. Please don't think I'm judging or condemning you in any way. I completely understand and in the past have done things similar. I'm certainly no better than you so please don't think I'm saying that either. For me, to live is Christ. My testimony of how He has changed me is more important than anything I could ever do or have on this earth.
Thanks everyone for the input. Final outcome, 1 month of aggravation and not having my phone, $129 out of pocket and a completely rebuilt (Knox not tripped) new phone. I'm a very happy camper. Thanks all