Your Device Has Been Modified - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II

Hello, hope I'm doing this right. Tried searching forum for similar issues but no luck. Here goes.
I own the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy Note 2. It is stock, never rooted but I am getting this strange message when I attempt to check for new software updates under "about device." The message is "Your device has been modified. Software updates are not available. " This happened once before but solved it with a factory reset. Any idea what's causing it? No new apps installed that I can think of. Would appreciate any advice.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

ronman71 said:
Hello, hope I'm doing this right. Tried searching forum for similar issues but no luck. Here goes.
I own the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy Note 2. It is stock, never rooted but I am getting this strange message when I attempt to check for new software updates under "about device." The message is "Your device has been modified. Software updates are not available. " This happened once before but solved it with a factory reset. Any idea what's causing it? No new apps installed that I can think of. Would appreciate any advice.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
something is triggering android into thinking you modified it. since you aren't rooted, I can't really think of a way to fix this... unless you root.

This means that the device has been modded, like custom recovery, etc. Either you rooted it at one time or someone owned this device rooted it with a custom recovering. If you just got this device from T-Mobile then return to them and let them know that you got it this way. Bad form for a store or carrier to repackage a return (even reseal) and resale it, but it does happened.
Otherwise you need flash a root version, best use stock root injection version of rooted rom, into the device. Check to see if you have the stock recovery. If not then flash stock recovery. Now use Triangle Away to reset "Custom Binary" to 1. Once you do that then flash the stock rom unroot version (this will unroot the device). Then do a factory reset to get rid of anything left from root. After that then you will have "Normal" as your "Device Status" and can successfully check for updates.
Note - You will never get the "Custom Binary" back to "no". So if you need repair or replacement from Samsung you may have to pay for it (this depends on the tech working on your device). But with the T-Mobile Protection Bundle insurance ($7.99 per month) you may get around this problem. In returning to T-Mobile they seem to only check the "Device Status". So after resetting the "Custom Binary" to 1 you should be able to return to T-Mobile for repair or replacement under that insurance or your grace time (14 days or CA 30 days) with no problem. This getting around the Samsung's returning issues.
Note - I like the injection version of rooting. The injection version of rooting doesn't trigger the "Custom Binary". This solving this problem from the start. At least for the moment.

Go to menu-settings-about device-status
Scroll all the way to the bottom. It will tell you under device status whether your device is modified or not.
If it's modified then only thing you can do is Odin back the original Samsung Rom. You should do the triangle away thing first to reset the mod counter to "0"
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

whatsitsnamenow said:
You should do the triangle away thing first to reset the mod counter to "0"
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it doesn't reset the "Custom Binary" counter to "0" or "no". This only resets the "Custom Binary" counter to "1".
But it does reset the "Device Status" to "Normal". And allows you to successfully check for updates.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Only if you have a custom recovery. If you have factory recovery on a factory rom it will reset to 0 if you use triangle away. Which is kind of a moot point since he says its never been rooted, therefore there should be no way a custom binary reading of anything higher than 0.

Thanks for your replies. Strange thing is that I've never rooted this particular device. Also, the factory reset fixes it temporarily. Could it be something in my micro sd card that I transferred from my previous device which was rooted?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

If you have a sdcard in there, then that is the reason. Boot up without the sdcard and the status will say normal.

lt23 said:
If you have a sdcard in there, then that is the reason. Boot up without the sdcard and the status will say normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What?

Wow, totally worked! Weird. Guess I should back up and reformat my micro sd card. Thanks guys!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

stevessvt said:
What?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn off phone, take out the sdcard. Turn on phone. Check status, should say Normal again. This is for those with no root/custom recovery or for those rooted with the injected rom.

ClockWorkMod sometimes likes to use SD Card to put some files. It is weird. But this "Custom Binary" counter thing would "Modify" you if you have some root files, including SuperUser, SuperSU, ClockWorkMod, BusyBox, etc. These files can be anywhere including SD card. I find this weird because I don't have this problem with SuperSU, SuperSU Pro and BusyBox. But for some reason this comes up with some people.
Here is an idea. Copy all files into its own folder in your computer. After that then delete all files and folders within your SD card. Then copy whatever files you like to have with your Galaxy Note 2 back into your SD card. Then try your SD card with your Galaxy Note 2.
Personally I feel that it is not the place of the manufacturer to stop rooting on Open Source and Google encouraging rooting Android Devices. If you don't want to fix my rooting mess, then you can refuse to fix it. But doing things like this is only causing more problems with my rooting than ir would if you didn't do this. Mind you that T-Mobile don't care if we root, they just don't want to fix it. So this is not T-Mobile issue. This is Samsung issue. That speaking to manufacturers.
-

JaguarXT said:
Actually it doesn't reset the "Custom Binary" counter to "0" or "no". This only resets the "Custom Binary" counter to "1".
But it does reset the "Device Status" to "Normal". And allows you to successfully check for updates.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've actually rooted the stock T-Mobile Note 2 as well and used Triangle-Away and my counter was reset but my status is still "Modified" :laugh: I don't mind, though... once you root your first phone, you root everything anyways! Just waiting for a good ROM...

Your device has been modified
I didn't root my galaxy s3. In my country, Indonesia, i don't know 4.1.2 version will come. i just check to software update and it said your device has been modified. i tried take off sd card things, it didn't work. any solution that can change back to normal?

topikdinata said:
I didn't root my galaxy s3. In my country, Indonesia, i don't know 4.1.2 version will come. i just check to software update and it said your device has been modified. i tried take off sd card things, it didn't work. any solution that can change back to normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a stock kernel and a factory reset to get back to normal.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

You can remove "modified" and reset the flash counter to zero with a jig (and I thought triangle away was supposed to as well), because I've done it on my SGH-T889 Note 2. You have to Odin back to non rooted stock with stock recovery, remove your external sd card, go into download mode, then plug in the jig and Bob's your Uncle it's reset. I'm not sure why someone said you can never reset the custom binary to no because you definitely can.
Sent from my 1992 Motorola StarTAC

jeep447 said:
You can remove "modified" and reset the flash counter to zero with a jig (and I thought triangle away was supposed to as well), because I've done it on my SGH-T889 Note 2. You have to Odin back to non rooted stock with stock recovery, remove your external sd card, go into download mode, then plug in the jig and Bob's your Uncle it's reset. I'm not sure why someone said you can never reset the counter to zero because you definitely can.
Sent from my 1992 Motorola StarTAC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I set mine back to zero by Odining mrRobinson's root66 to get stock recovery. Then while stock rooted I used Triangle Away to reset the counter. After that a factory reset gets me back to status normal. Seemed to work when I did it. Maybe I don't know what I saw as I'm new to Samsung devices.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

Coug76 said:
I set mine back to zero by Odining mrRobinson's root66 to get stock recovery. Then while stock rooted I used Triangle Away to reset the counter. After that a factory reset gets me back to status normal. Seemed to work when I did it. Maybe I don't know what I saw as I'm new to Samsung devices.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm pretty sure that's what you saw because it's definitely doable. If you have the time and know how, I'd definitely suggest building a jig for your phone, because according to Chainfire it's actually a lot safer than using Triangle Away. It's way easier to build one than most people think, and it literally only costs a couple of bucks at Radio Shack for everything you need. I made one for a friend of mine and wound up keeping it, and I'm really glad I did now that I have a Samsung phone.
Sent from my 1992 Motorola StarTAC

I too had this issue last month, I brought my Note II from T-Mobile store, it was sealed and it used to show device status as Normal.
I never rooted or flashed any ROM. I did install/uninstall lots of games/applications and I did disable Amazon app.
Earlier this month I checked my phone and it was showing as Modified, I then reset to factory defaults and now everything looks okay.
I do use external memory card but it only has few media files.
How did the device status change then ?
I am new to Android and rooting and can make the following guesses.
1) Maybe one of the applications I had installed rooted my phone or modified some files via Exynos Abuse (discovered this week) and which is why my device was showing modified.
But again if my phone was rooted, why this device status is Normal ? I was able to update my phone with the OTA released today.
2) Applications like Antivirus or Task Killers have almost full access and maybe they modified some system files.
Like I said I am new to Android so just making guesses hoping experts can shed some light on this.

Wanting to go back to stock, but afraid to do so. Im on jedi x7, rooted, no custom kernal and with two addons from goodybag. I have dowloaded the tar to go back to stock. I've also downloaded triangle away. Im wanting to boot into TWRP recovery, do a wipe/Factory reset, reboot start triangle away and reset counter then use odin and return back to stock. My counter shows 1 on download mode. Would this be the right way to go and resetting the counter back to 0 without any issues? Thanx.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

Related

[Q] Inaccessible OS after (Slimbean) ROM setting mistake

Long story short, with above average ROM knowledge, and two previous successful flashes under my belt, I flashed Slimbean JB 4.2.1 Beta1 for my Sprint GS3 SPH-L710, and all was quite fine until I messed with menu/security/SIM PIN. Though I thought I was setting it for extra phone security, I actually implemented an unknownst-to-me feature that upon the following reboot, the phone requested a PUK code for a now-locked SIM card (my phone doesn't have a SIM card by the way).
After a long CS call to Sprint, including International Sprint, I was told to go to a local store. The short part of this story is that no one has been able to help. You see, since I DON'T have a SIM card, I have no ID to provide to Int Sprint for them to find a PUK code for me to enter. Although, I've had many troubles in doing so, I have since been able to reset the phone to stock factory settings; HOWEVER, this has NOT removed the PUK code screen, which prevents me from using the phone at all.
I am out of ideas of things to change, alter or fix to get rid of this issue. I have tried CWM and TWRP solutions with no success. In a sense, although I can do anything with the phone - recovery, download, flashing - except actually use the OS, I would consider this phone as useless as if it were bricked at this point. Any ideas from out there would be appreciated. Thanks.
Have you tried Odin
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
I would try flashing an odin stock tar, then re-rooting.
Nothing in recovery, such as a full wipe, factory and system reset fixed the problem?
This is good info to know. Please let us know of a solution if you find one - good luck!
Have you tried Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can use and have used Odin - no problem. I have full access to the device, just none to the OS.
I would try flashing an odin stock tar, then re-rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have successfully returned boot, system and recovery to stock, but this has not resolved the overriding issue. I don't believe I have tried to re-root since doing so. Perhaps that is worth a try.
EDIT: rerooting after Odin stock flash did not help the issue.
Nothing in recovery, such as a full wipe, factory and system reset fixed the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am afraid none of these tasks worked. This issue must reside somewhere recovery can't get to, and only the OS can. The software is likely built so that a regularly performed task can't override a security issue - even if it is a false issue.
GRazor71 said:
I can use and have used Odin - no problem. I have full access to the device, just none to the OS.
I have successfully returned boot, system and recovery to stock, but this has not resolved the overriding issue. I don't believe I have tried to re-root since doing so. Perhaps that is worth a try.
EDIT: rerooting after Odin stock flash did not help the issue.
I am afraid none of these tasks worked. This issue must reside somewhere recovery can't get to, and only the OS can. The software is likely built so that a regularly performed task can't override a security issue - even if it is a false issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried wiping internal storage through twrp? I saw a solution for wiping encryption by wiping internal storage through twrp,
Mcluvin
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Have you tried wiping internal storage through twrp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried it last night. Though promising, this too failed.
GRazor71 said:
Tried it last night. Though promising, this too failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have insurance on your phone?
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Do you have insurance on your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope.
This happened on my nexus and I had to get a new phone because your phone is basically locked at that point and I did try random codes and one of them worked but my lte didn't work after that neither did MMS so I just kept calling sprint non stop for a replacement and they finally gave in and gave me an exchange for free
Sent from my SPH-L710
jazz995756 said:
This happened on my nexus and I had to get a new phone because your phone is basically locked at that point and I did try random codes and one of them forked but my lte didn't work after that neither did MMS so I just kept calling sprint non stop for a replacement and they finally gave in and gave me an exchange for free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have to contact International Sprint CS or just regular? How long exactly did you badger them? Had you flashed the phone, increasing your Binary count? If so, did Sprint not hit you with a bill after replacement? Just curious, as I have really upped my count due to recovery flashes to try to fix the phone. I think I can still get a Samsung E-ticket through Sprint store for about $37.00. But again, I am concerned about the flash count, and being unable to reset it. Perhaps I should do what I can to really brick it once and for all before I turn it over.
Flash http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1904099 to go to stock unrooted with stock recovery and a reset flash count.
ChaseBroyles said:
Flash http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1904099 to go to stock unrooted with stock recovery and a reset flash count.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thanks, will give it a go.
ChaseBroyles said:
Flash http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1904099 to go to stock unrooted with stock recovery and a reset flash count.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think this will work seeing as he's already flashed an odin stock tar which brought the phone back to stock everything. :/
mstrmscn said:
I don't think this will work seeing as he's already flashed an odin stock tar which brought the phone back to stock everything. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He wanted to reset the flash counter and go to pure stock so he could take it to the Sprint store.
He wanted to reset the flash counter and go to pure stock so he could take it to the Sprint store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, and it worked like a charm. Thanks again!!!!!
Handsfree Activation?
I don't think Sprint even implements that rule anymore so he should definitely be fine. Have you tried handsfree activation ------>
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1670131
Maybe give that a whirl. I believe you must be on stock tw for this to work effectively which it sounds like you should now be on.
On second thought, your phone may not even allow you get as far as being able to dial the activation number, but just thought I'd throw it out there.
RS7JR said:
I don't think Sprint even implements that rule anymore so he should definitely be fine. Have you tried handsfree activation ------>
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1670131
Maybe give that a whirl. I believe you must be on stock tw for this to work effectively which it sounds like you should now be on.
On second thought, your phone may not even allow you get as far as being able to dial the activation number, but just thought I'd throw it out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I don't have any access to the phone OS whatsoever. Sprint tech has it now; doing some kind of process which includes a 40-minute file extraction and a 30+minute flash. Perhaps that will finally reset everything. If not, Sprint has already said it will then replace the phone.
Received a new GS3 today and I'm back in the game. Thank you to everyone who tried to assist me. In the end, no one on any forum, not Sprint, and not even Samsung could correct the original phone problem. The moral - be very cognizant and careful when flashing any CMDA variant of a native GSM ROM, as there could be settings within them regarding the SIM cards that GSM's do have, but CMDA's do not, or perhaps other harmful settings if messed with or changed. This warning is really nothing new to anyone flashing custom ROM's; it's simply another hard-learned lesson by one person whose adding more truth to the usefulness of such warnings.

[Q] Help... MEID, BASEBAND version, etc unknown.

I have a Galaxy Note 2 on the sprint network. Yesterday someone sent me a text and i tried to sent them a text back but my phone didn't have a signal. It reset itself a bunch of times. It stopped resetting and now there is no signal to the tower. I looked on my phone and Baseband version, network, mobile network type say unknown. service state is out of service, username is unavailable. mobile network state is disconnected, my phone number is unknown, min unknown, prl version unknown, meid unknown, imei unknown, iccid unknown. device status modified.
I rooted my phone when i first got it with the method that doesn't make your flash counter go up. I had super user installed and had the OTA survival mode checked and did the OTA update for multiwindow and then lost root. This wasn't a big deal to me so I just left it alone, everything worked. Its been a couple of months and then this happened. I reflashed a stock rom on the phone and that didn't fix anything. I rooted it with the Samsung Note 2 toolkit and that went well. But it somehow got stuck on the boot screen again after a while so i just reflashed to stock.
I downloaded QPST and entered my IMEI into the nv line 550 and clicked the write NV block and returned an error. Im stuck. I have insurance and I've only had the phone a couple of months. What the heck happened? Was it somekind of wipe? I have been working on this all day and I'm going to bed now, but can someone help me out?
I would not have been so quick to start messing with qpst.In most cases where ive seen this the imei and related numbers were fine and it was a system screw up. That said,This happened to me recently and even odin wouldnt fix it. I ran THIS and it brought me back so I would try that first.
billard412 said:
I would not have been so quick to start messing with qpst.In most cases where ive seen this the imei and related numbers were fine and it was a system screw up. That said,This happened to me recently and even odin wouldnt fix it. I ran THIS and it brought me back so I would try that first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. I am downloading that now and will try it and let you know. I didn't want to start messing with qpst but i saw a tutorial that you can enter your imei back into your phone with it. i got my numbers off the box and went to work. but qpst would not write the values into my phone.
when i plug the usb into the phone a flag pops up in windows and says hardware id is missing as well.
billard412 said:
I would not have been so quick to start messing with qpst.In most cases where ive seen this the imei and related numbers were fine and it was a system screw up. That said,This happened to me recently and even odin wouldnt fix it. I ran THIS and it brought me back so I would try that first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i went to the link. i downloaded the file. it was a zip file so i put it on an sdcard and slapped it in my phone. i used the vol up, home key, and pwr key and then i used the update from zip file on external storage. it did some stuff and rebooted. i checked my flash counter and it went up and said i was running custom, custom.
i didn't see any instructions with your post that you linked and I probably didn't use that file the way it was supposed to be used. how exactly do you use it? and when i turned my phone on it still said baseband unknown.
thanks again for helping me with this.
dd807 said:
i went to the link. i downloaded the file. it was a zip file so i put it on an sdcard and slapped it in my phone. i used the vol up, home key, and pwr key and then i used the update from zip file on external storage. it did some stuff and rebooted. i checked my flash counter and it went up and said i was running custom, custom.
i didn't see any instructions with your post that you linked and I probably didn't use that file the way it was supposed to be used. how exactly do you use it? and when i turned my phone on it still said baseband unknown.
thanks again for helping me with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have Root Explorer? If baseband is showing unknown makes me wonder if build.prop is there and complete...?
It needed flashed in a custom recovery. Did u use twrp or cwm to flash it? If so, you did it right. Is it only the baseband thats unknown or everything still? Did you try a ##72786# dialer code reset?
garwynn said:
Do you have Root Explorer? If baseband is showing unknown makes me wonder if build.prop is there and complete...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have root explorer on here right now because I was trying to return the phone back to stock for a return to the sprint store.
I used the stock rom that you download from the samsung note 2 tool kit. how do i check what your talking about?
billard412 said:
It needed flashed in a custom recovery. Did u use twrp or cwm to flash it? If so, you did it right. Is it only the baseband thats unknown or everything still? Did you try a ##72786# dialer code reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everything is still unknown.
when i dial ##72786# it goes to a meny labeled SCRTN but is blank with no options.
at this point I used triangle away and flashed the stock rom on my phone, it keeps randomly resetting. in the setttings it still has baseband unknown. i did the ota update and the build number is JROO3C.L900VPALJC
under status, everything is unknown and at the botton it says device modified.
when i put it into download mode right now it says custum binary: no ; current binary: samsung official; system status: custom
this started when the phone just started resetting a bunch after my buddy texted me and then it didn't have service and all the values were wiped, i just want to take it back to sprint because ive only had it for a couple of months. will the above values be ok for a trip to the sprint store?
billard412 said:
It needed flashed in a custom recovery. Did u use twrp or cwm to flash it? If so, you did it right. Is it only the baseband thats unknown or everything still? Did you try a ##72786# dialer code reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i didnt use twrp or cwm to flash it. just used the factory recovery to. i will use twrp to do it now. thanks man.
billard412 said:
It needed flashed in a custom recovery. Did u use twrp or cwm to flash it? If so, you did it right. Is it only the baseband thats unknown or everything still? Did you try a ##72786# dialer code reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think i have a corrupted EFS. can anyone help?
I had this happen to me when I first got the phone and rooted. Scariest first day of ownership thought I was going to have to go in to sprint. Thankfully I flashed the full stock tar and my phone came back to life. Maybe you should try flashing it and see how it turns out for you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035566
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
RayTrue04 said:
I had this happen to me when I first got the phone and rooted. Scariest first day of ownership thought I was going to have to go in to sprint. Thankfully I flashed the full stock tar and my phone came back to life. Maybe you should try flashing it and see how it turns out for you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035566
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went back to full stock with :http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086769
i also went baclk to full stock using the samsung note 2 toolkit and triangle away.
both methods left me with custom binary as no and current binary as samsung offical, but system status says custom.
both ways.
and the screenshots that i posted earlier are the same.
i found this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1611796
and i think i have a corrupt EFS.
as it is, does the spring store take your phone back if system status is custom and device says modified?
b.) if i can fix it, it would be better than taking it back. everything on the phone still works, but it obviously cant see a cell phone tower or make calls. data on wifi only type deal.
thanks for any help...
dd807 said:
I went back to full stock with :http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086769
i also went baclk to full stock using the samsung note 2 toolkit and triangle away.
both methods left me with custom binary as no and current binary as samsung offical, but system status says custom.
both ways.
and the screenshots that i posted earlier are the same.
i found this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1611796
and i think i have a corrupt EFS.
as it is, does the spring store take your phone back if system status is custom and device says modified?
b.) if i can fix it, it would be better than taking it back. everything on the phone still works, but it obviously cant see a cell phone tower or make calls. data on wifi only type deal.
thanks for any help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not familiar with that EFS issue since I've never read about it. However I would try that tar I posted as a last resort since the stock zip didn't do anything for you. The issue you're describing is the exact same thing that happened to me and that tar brought me back. And about being custom/modified it all depends on the Sprint Rep you get. Some are cool about it some are not.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
garwynn said:
Do you have Root Explorer? If baseband is showing unknown makes me wonder if build.prop is there and complete...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just downloaded root explorer.
i think im having some efs issues. i downloaded efs pro to help with it but it says my phone is not perm rooted. but i do have root right now.
btw- the galaxy note 2 tool kit is friggin awesome- totally donating.
RayTrue04 said:
I'm not familiar with that EFS issue since I've never read about it. However I would try that tar I posted as a last resort since the stock zip didn't do anything for you. The issue you're describing is the exact same thing that happened to me and that tar brought me back. And about being custom/modified it all depends on the Sprint Rep you get. Some are cool about it some are not.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, ill try it. i mean- whats one more flash right? could fix it. fingers crossed. thanks for your help man.
ill let you know.
also to everyone helping, i made a backup of all my system settings with my backup pro app before all this happened. i was wondering if it backs up your efs data anywhere and if it does, how could i get it back on my phone?
Sent you a pm
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
RayTrue04 said:
I had this happen to me when I first got the phone and rooted. Scariest first day of ownership thought I was going to have to go in to sprint. Thankfully I flashed the full stock tar and my phone came back to life. Maybe you should try flashing it and see how it turns out for you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035566
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flashed the sextape back to stock rom and it didn't work. i think my efs is corrupted- gunna take something more than flashing- like editing some files to put my meid and other info and pushing it back to my phone.
looking at this right now:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2060085
dd807 said:
flashed the sextape back to stock rom and it didn't work. i think my efs is corrupted- gunna take something more than flashing- like editing some files to put my meid and other info and pushing it back to my phone.
looking at this right now:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2060085
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn that sucks! I really thought it might bring you back since it worked for me. Good luck!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Update-
my phone is screwed. i got the MSL and put it in my phone and nothing happens. i have to take it back and get a new one.even though all the hardware works, just cant program the info back in the phone for meid, baseband, username, icc id, etc. etc. so no voice calls.
the bummer is that this all happened randomly. i wasn't messing with my phone at all and it was running great then it reset a bunch of times and then wiped everything. i don't know if it would have helped, but i highly reccomend everyone backing up their EFS. because you never know when this will happen to you.
take care, thanks for the help everyone.

For all those fighting with 'Device Status: Modified'

If you have 'Device Status: Modified' and don't know how to fix it, you may be interested in my story.
I bought GN2 in November. Rooted, flashed custom firmwares etc. Beyond being just great phone it seemed to have one big problem: it did lock up cold every once in a while regardless of firmware.
I created some other thread on that and based on responses and some of my own research I started getting to conclusion that my device has a hardware problem.
So I figured that I need to do warranty exchange. So I unrooted, triangle away and flashed completely fresh original tar.md5 package via odin with all blows and whistles. Did factory reset, of course.
I still see 'Device Status: Modified' after some time. Usually after reboot. Bummer!
So I did some research and someone here on xda mentions that using jig from old days helped with it. I had a jig, so I tried it. Rest assured - device status became 'Normal'. Awesome! I am happy and I didn't have to wipe data.
Some time passes. The darn thing is 'Modified' again!. I use jig again - story repeats. So I figured that I use jig to reset status right before I go to AT&T. So I did.
I came to AT&T center and they say 'Hmm - it must be software locking up your device. Lets just flash and clean it all'. Fine - lets do it. So I walk out of the store with wiped clean device having UCALK7 version of firmware.
Obviously, it didn't solve the problem. Device still locking up and it's still modified'.
Now we get to the interesting part.
I use 64Gb Sandisk microsd card. It has may be 40Gb of music and other stuff. I always had .nomedia file in a music folder so album art would not appear in gallery.
I decided to remove .nomedia for some other reasons and so I did.
The phone didn't find my music for couple of days but eventually music did get scanned. And at this point (I think at this point), my jig stopped working and device just remained in 'modified' status. That was bad - I needed to replace device.
So I did more research and some people mentioned some correlation between external sd card and 'modified' status. Something, in effect, that formatting external sd card fixed it for them. I simply took out sd card and rebooted. AND.... status become 'normal'.
Now we get to part III.
I am happy that my status is 'normal', I am not putting sd card back and I use it for a day and than go AT&T. Right before that, while watching YouTube during lunch, my device locks up. I am block away from AT&T center so I just walk to them and show locked up phone.
They say ok and give me a new phone. Awesome! I plugin my sd card and walk out.
I didn't even sign in to Google yet, just walking away from store and I look at my brand new phone and, guess what? 'Device Status: Modified'
So I took out sd card: 'Device Status: Normal'. Card in - modified.
Tonight I will explore my sd card on PC to see what possibly can be on it to cause it. And may be reformat it.
So the moral: external SD seems to cause somehow this device modified status.
And may be this story will help someone.
It definitely appears that Samsung is searching external sd card for artifacts related to rooting. Once I deleted all twrp an titanium backup as well as all flashable stuff like roms etc the status changed to normal. After a while it became modified again so I formatted card and copied back my media.
Now it stays.
So big brother is watching - you can't own any illegal artifacts...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
Ok. I give up. After a day it became 'modified' again. New phone without any change + formatted sd card.
So just remove the darn card from the phone and reboot before taking it to AT&T or Samsung for warranty. That's provided that this 'modified' status even matters.
Maybe it's the size of the card? Isn't 32 gig the largest officially supported?
Just a thought...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Its not the size of the card...I had a 4gig in mine and had that modified status also...time will tell.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
LOL
I am NEVER going to understand wtf posses people to play mcgeyver when doing warranty exchage.
:banghead:
First off NOTHING is easier than using sammys firmware tool and it garauntees
A complete stock phone.
If you can get into dl mode youre golden.
Its a one step process and fail/noob proof.
You will need kies, and the most recent usb drivers.
I cannot believe you jigged your n2
All that time wasted unrooting, fladhing "stock rom" checking md5 sum
Waste of time!!
Go to samsung.com and dl kies.
Flash em firmware recovery:done
Like new no modified flag.
I cant tell you how many times I have done this. Bootlooped, bricked, corrupted recovery... if you can get into dl mode and have 20 min to spare...shell be just like new. GL ! :thumbup:
freakboy13 said:
LOL
Go to samsung.com and dl kies.
Flash em firmware recovery:done
Like new no modified flag.
I cant tell you how many times I have done this. Bootlooped, bricked, corrupted recovery... if you can get into dl mode and have 20 min to spare...shell be just like new. GL ! :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind of agree that the easiest is to just flash kies firmware. But the point of this thread is to highlight that SD card may cause it even to brand new unmodified phone.
The real question is...havebyou tried it yet?
I have had the same 32gb samsung sd card in my gs3 and just swaped right into
My n2. And according to your title the thread is about the "modified" flag on your phone.
The em firmware tool garauntees that not to be there. I wasnt trying to hijack your thread or anything. There are tons of fake sd cards that say samsung or kingston.
Do you have any tools to verify the sd cards integrity/ true storage?
Honestly give the em tool a try.
Then (this may be your prob)
Reformat your sd with your phone.
I know pia but it fixes a lot of probs.
When I first got my 32gb I was having issues. Missing/ corrupt files, etc.
Reformated the card with the phone...bingo! Never had an issue since.
Hope it works out for ya!
:beer:
freakboy13 said:
LOL
I am NEVER going to understand wtf posses people to play mcgeyver when doing warranty exchage.
:banghead:
First off NOTHING is easier than using sammys firmware tool and it garauntees
A complete stock phone.
If you can get into dl mode youre golden.
Its a one step process and fail/noob proof.
You will need kies, and the most recent usb drivers.
I cannot believe you jigged your n2
All that time wasted unrooting, fladhing "stock rom" checking md5 sum
Waste of time!!
Go to samsung.com and dl kies.
Flash em firmware recovery:done
Like new no modified flag.
I cant tell you how many times I have done this. Bootlooped, bricked, corrupted recovery... if you can get into dl mode and have 20 min to spare...shell be just like new. GL ! :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree completely!!! Why go through all that when you're just trying to go back to stock for a repair? (plus it's a good "last ditch" troubleshooting tool when a ROM is just giving you too much trouble and re-flashing doesn't seem to help.
ReggieSmith said:
I agree completely!!! Why go through all that when you're just trying to go back to stock for a repair? (plus it's a good "last ditch" troubleshooting tool when a ROM is just giving you too much trouble and re-flashing doesn't seem to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm attempting to restore my phone to complete stock and am having issues getting by binary counter from 1 to 0. Status is Normal and firmware is official Samsung, but the counter remains at 1 after using triangle away. I have done a factory reset as well.
I didn't know you could use Keis to restore to stock and I've look around the software, but can't see how to do it. I see the Emergency Firmware Recovery, but it looks like you can only use that if your phone is in emergency mode.Any help?
---------- Post added at 08:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 PM ----------
KinAndTonic said:
I'm attempting to restore my phone to complete stock and am having issues getting by binary counter from 1 to 0. Status is Normal and firmware is official Samsung, but the counter remains at 1 after using triangle away. I have done a factory reset as well.
I didn't know you could use Keis to restore to stock and I've look around the software, but can't see how to do it. I see the Emergency Firmware Recovery, but it looks like you can only use that if your phone is in emergency mode.Any help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind, I figured it out using Firmware Upgrade and Initialize. Although, it didn't clear the Binary Count. Still shows "yes (1 counts)" when I enter download mode. ugh
---------- Post added at 09:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ----------
I did it! lol
Used this (http://rootgalaxys3iii.com/how-to-reset-rooted-galaxy-note-2-flash-counter/) to finally get Triangle Away to work on my phone and then did factory reset. Completely stock now.
Hey grats on that. Judt an fyi you can use the EM tool anytime...doesnt have to be an emergency.
Hmmm im gonna have to try the em tool again and check my count.
It set back to 0 eveytime on my gs3.
Glad it worked out for ya.
:thumbup:
How do you use the EM Recovery via Kies? I click on it and all get is no phone listed in the Emergency Phone section and ask for recovery Code from the other PC or something..Not sure..

Exactly what I DIDN'T want to happen....

So I've had the S4 for 1 month now and at first I really didn't want to root or change the ROM. I actually like the TW interface and think it's great as it is. I've been rooting and changing ROMs going back to the MyTouch, but for some reason the S4 had me worried. I debated over and over about doing it, but after getting tired of the bloatware, constant ads being displayed and wanting to stop the horrible startup/shutdown music, the time came for me to root it.
So, after pouring over many hours of reading and deciding the method, I went with the Chainfire route. I chose this because from what I read (and this may have been where I misunderstood something??), if I ONLY root the phone, don't install a custom recovery then I will still be able to receive OTAs (when and IF they come from TMO). So after a couple of heart-stopping moments at 2am last night with about 4 ODIN fails, I finally got it rooted. Turns out, the USB cable I was using might have been the problem. I went out to the car and got the original cable that came with the phone and it worked on the first try with that. I thought for sure I had hard bricked the phone when it came up with an error message at startup regarding a firmware problem.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, after doing the rooting, I checked the update option in settings and it's telling me the phone has been modified and is unable to receive updates. I then ran the triangle away program to reset the binary counter back to Samsung Official/Official, which it's reporting now instead of Custom, but then checking the updater it still reports the same thing. This is what I didn't want to have happen!
Any suggestions on how to rectify this or have I crossed that line and might as well just go ahead and put a recovery on there and do a backup and leave it at that until the day comes I decide to slap a custom ROM on it?
Thanks for letting me rant, but I would like some assistance if possible.
patriot1973 said:
So I've had the S4 for 1 month now and at first I really didn't want to root or change the ROM. I actually like the TW interface and think it's great as it is. I've been rooting and changing ROMs going back to the MyTouch, but for some reason the S4 had me worried. I debated over and over about doing it, but after getting tired of the bloatware, constant ads being displayed and wanting to stop the horrible startup/shutdown music, the time came for me to root it.
So, after pouring over many hours of reading and deciding the method, I went with the Chainfire route. I chose this because from what I read (and this may have been where I misunderstood something??), if I ONLY root the phone, don't install a custom recovery then I will still be able to receive OTAs (when and IF they come from TMO). So after a couple of heart-stopping moments at 2am last night with about 4 ODIN fails, I finally got it rooted. Turns out, the USB cable I was using might have been the problem. I went out to the car and got the original cable that came with the phone and it worked on the first try with that. I thought for sure I had hard bricked the phone when it came up with an error message at startup regarding a firmware problem.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, after doing the rooting, I checked the update option in settings and it's telling me the phone has been modified and is unable to receive updates. I then ran the triangle away program to reset the binary counter back to Samsung Official/Official, which it's reporting now instead of Custom, but then checking the updater it still reports the same thing. This is what I didn't want to have happen!
Any suggestions on how to rectify this or have I crossed that line and might as well just go ahead and put a recovery on there and do a backup and leave it at that until the day comes I decide to slap a custom ROM on it?
Thanks for letting me rant, but I would like some assistance if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've reset your binary counter and have modified nothing else, just unroot and you should be able to receive updates again.
Go into the Triangle Away app and check system modified workaround and problem solved
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2
jbreeze228 said:
Go into the Triangle Away app and check system modified workaround and problem solved
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. It explains this right in the app.
jbreeze228 said:
Go into the Triangle Away app and check system modified workaround and problem solved
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I went ahead and got SuperSU Pro because that's the only way the feature in Triangle Away will work. It was after 2am when I was rooting and having problems so I wasn't too sharp.
Thanks!

Device shows custom after OTA

I had something very odd happen. I got my replacement note and when I took it out of the box and fired it up there was an OTA waiting for me. I installed it right away. Afterwards I went to check to see if there were more updates.. It then told me my device was modified and couldn't update. The status shows "custom" I was able to update via kies and got the latest OTA but it still shows custom. I haven't rooted or modified the device in anyway. In Odin mode it shows warranty flag as 0.
Had this happened to anyone else? No matter what I do it keeps saying custom. In Odin I flashed a full official firmwares.. Still says custom.. It's driving me nuts..
USA wifi model SM-P600
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Don't know if it will help, did you tried removing the extsdcard and reboot?
was it factory sealed? sounds like you got someone else's returned note. has the Knox flag been tripped?
It was factory sealed. The seal was intact. The odd thing is that it got the first ota but after that it showed modified. I haven't tried removing the ext sd card. Would that really matter?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
can you boot into dlownload mode and see if knox has been flagged? if it is then this as gotta be some freaky stuff going on and pretty crappy if younare denied a warranty repair bc of a faulty ota.
madsquabbles said:
can you boot into dlownload mode and see if knox has been flagged? if it is then this as gotta be some freaky stuff going on and pretty crappy if younare denied a warranty repair bc of a faulty ota.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP, who's a dev, said in his post KNOX is at "0."
bruce16878 said:
Don't know if it will help, did you tried removing the extsdcard and reboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen this before on XDA but can't remember where. Here's an offline post referencing it. The issue's never been explained but rebooting the device without the SD card in it corrects the problem.
https://community.optus.com.au/t5/M...eventing-Galaxy-s4-Software-update/td-p/57034
Thanks Barry I will try without the bad card in.. Haven't seen you in a while.. Hope all is well
And yes.. Removing the SD card made it say official again.. Thanks man. Odd that an SD card would make it show modified. I'm going to read that link you posted now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Well, have a nice day.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda app-developers app

Categories

Resources