Develop Bugs

[Q] 4.04 update will not install on rooted Galaxy nexus help

So I am running the stock rom but have root access. the update pops up every 5 minutes to remind me to install it. I let it install and about 3 second in i get a yeild sign with an exclamation point in it. and the phone stops there. I waited for about 3 hours and nothing happened. Anybody know what I need to do here? I used Galaxy Nexus root toolkit v1.3 to root my phone. BTW i am with verizon

For as far as i now you cant update a rooted device. i sugest unrooting an try to update agian.

reply
yea that's what I thought I was going to have to do. but wanted to see if there was an update package someone had made for rooted devices like some others had.

nvm i think im going to trade the phone

So no one has an answer on this?

jordi97 said:
For as far as i now you cant update a rooted device. i sugest unrooting an try to update agian.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can. You can't update a phone with CWM recovery though.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Correct a rooted phone can update but not with any custom recovery. You need to flash back to the factory stock recovery.
Sent from a phone...

OK so looks like everyone is here was incorrect. The 4.04 rooted update is here in the XDA forums all i needed to do was flash it and the new antenna and everything is working fine now. here are the links.
4.04 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1631796
radio http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1630438
Thank you Brandon for helping me out with this.
There are no stupid questions only stupid answers.

Sdalton19 said:
OK so looks like everyone is here was incorrect. The 4.04 rooted update is here in the XDA forums all i needed to do was flash it and the new antenna and everything is working fine now. here are the links.
4.04 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1631796
radio http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1630438
Thank you Brandon for helping me out with this.
There are no stupid questions only stupid answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your right, stupid answers, that's not an ota update you did. That was pulled from a phone which was updated and packaged into a flashable file to use on a rooted device. But a carrier ota update as your device was asking you to update will not work without stock recovery.
Sent from a phone...

Isn't that exactly what i asked for second post in? Point is if you knew that, why didn't you say so? Look there's nothing wrong with being wrong every once in a while but be graceful about it. And if your going to give advice make sure you fully read the question and offer decent advice. You were saying there was no way to update it without unrooting and flashing back to stock. That was after I asked "yea that's what I thought I was going to have to do. but wanted to see if there was an update package someone had made for rooted devices like some others had." Is that not exactly what I asked for????

Sdalton19 said:
Isn't that exactly what i asked for second post in? Point is if you knew that, why didn't you say so? Look there's nothing wrong with being wrong every once in a while but be graceful about it. And if your going to give advice make sure you fully read the question and offer decent advice. You were saying there was no way to update it without unrooting and flashing back to stock. That was after I asked "yea that's what I thought I was going to have to do. but wanted to see if there was an update package someone had made for rooted devices like some others had." Is that not exactly what I asked for????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you are right that there are a lot of partially right and partially wrong answers in this thread. But what are you saying is not exactly right either.
1) There is a difference between updating your existing build (like what you had asked to do in the first post) and flashing an entirely new build.
2) There is a difference between running a stock ROM (like what you were running before) and running a ROM that looks like it's stock, but is not (like what you are running now).
3) Root has NO impact whatsoever on your ability to install OTA updates on your stock ROM.
4) An OTA update will NOT install with a stock recovery UNLESS you are using the stock recovery version that came with the build you are using. (It seems like a lot of toolkits are flashing non-matching stock recoveries).
5) An OTA update file can EASILY be installed if you have CWM installed. See here.
6) Your phrase "unrooting and flashing back to stock" is silly, as flashing back to stock replaces your ROM, so why would you need to "unroot" your current ROM only to flash a stock ROM overtop? You don't root a device - you root an Android OS build. The phrase "root my device" does not make any sense.

[Q] Flashing a rooted ROM - HELP!

I'm pretty new to all this, I had a Rogers Captivate that had been crashing on me. Everything suggests that if I changed my software it would work.
So I managed to to flash a newer AT&T ROM on to the phone via Odin. (I was pretty chuffed with myself)
However, as soon as I put my sim into it, it became locked. I paid an online service to get an unlock code, but the IMEI number I delivered to them didn't match the network, so I messed that up.
Now I've noticed that I could flash a rooted ROM via Odin, which should save me having to unlock, right ?
I went to the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1621350 and looked for a suitable ROM (preferably supported).
I went for the PAC ROM, but noticed there is no tar file in the download.
The other ones I wanted to try either suggested it was flashed by another method than Odin (I might be wrong) or the download links for the files themselves were no longer working.
Also, there is talk about Gapps. What is this and what is the process for installing it ?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Hi there,
You'll need to specify that the phone is still on the Rogers network, as that's how they access the database. Ie., if you have a phone that was supplied to Rogers, the IMEI will be associated with Rogers and if you tell them it's ATT, they won't be able to find it - regardless of what ROM you're running.
Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware you do have to pay to unlock the ROM again but I'm not an expert on this - I know that I had the same problem you did and they told me to put it in as Rogers instead - that got me my unlock code.
I have a rooted Milestone 2 which is running JB now, and it is still operator locked unfortunately.
Apparently the GalaxSim Unlock tool is good but I don't know if it retains your IMEI - I know it does back up your EFS though. Maybe it's worth a try?

Before doing anything with your IMEI i suggest you to backup your efs folder. There's a software for this too.
[sent from my awesome Samsung Captivate Glide]
[AT&T rooted stock ROM]

thank you
Thanks for the feedback, I've reapplied for my unlock code.
What I'd really like to know now is which rooted ROM should I choose to flash via Odin ?

pardoning edeaoh
hkcharlie said:
Thanks for the feedback, I've reapplied for my unlock code.
What I'd really like to know now is which rooted ROM should I choose to flash via Odin ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi hkcharlie,
Have a look at the below thread to unlock your sim card. I used it on mine and my friend's S3.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846451
I suggest reading the "everything about captivate glide" thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1621350
I use CWMR (ClockWork Mod Recovery) from this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1458153
You have to flash this acording to ODIN. Afterwards, you can download .zip files directly to your device for flashing, or download them on your computer and copy them to the devices SD card. Select them in recovery mode and they will install.
These two roms I've had a lot of success with:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1945558
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2021374
They're both ICS. There is a cm10.1 JB (4.2.2) build as well, and it's *awesome* - but it is missing a few critical features so I won't recommend it for your first time.
Almost any ROM you flash from this forum will already be rooted. Being 'rooted' just means having a kernel that supports it (both ICS rom's above include a root-capable kernel) and a /bin/su and appropriate superuser apk.
Of course, back up your EFS - there are some apps on the market that will help you do this. And backup everything. And test your backup. And your warranty is void, your phone may explode, or impregnate you with mogwai. (do not get wet, do not feed after midnight.)
Happy flashing!

Which of these two possibilities is better for installing updates on a rooted phone?

Hello. I'm coming from a old windows mobile phone and just got my first Android device "Samsung Galaxy S4 mini GT-i9195" and obviously i'm loving it.
Still being a newbie to Android i already did a bit of advanced stuff (at least for a novice android user) like installing CWM Recovery and rooting the phone in order to be able to install apps on and external SD card.
But a new question arose: What about new Android updates, can i still install them without loosing root or even worse, damaging the phone?
After searching a bit on google i came up with two possible and contraditory possibilities which are:
-Yes, and afterwards i would only need to restart the phone in CWM mode and reapply the zip root file i used previously;
-No, it will likely mess the phone and i should wait 1 or 2 weeks for a updated rooted rom and "install" that instead.
So, i'm a bit confused here, what would be more advisable?

I suggest to make a nandroid backup, then try a custom rom from the dev forum.
There are 4.4.4 kikat roms for our beloved S4 mini, and i dont think samsung will go further.
Envoyé de mon GT-I9190

rick6 said:
-Yes, and afterwards i would only need to restart the phone in CWM mode and reapply the zip root file i used previously;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...... if, as has been said, you ever get an update. An update certainly will not damage the phone.
You certainly won't have to wait for anything. I agree with zlaz, flash a new ROM such as Carbon - you get regular updates and great support here on XDA (whichever ROM you try).

Custom ROMs like CarbonRom (see the development section) is the way to go for this phone I would say. But if you wanna stay on stock and if we would get an update, Samsung probably wont let you install it via the usual OTA or Kies method, because your device is flagged as "Modified" after flashing a custom recovery (you can see this in the about this device section in the settings). You would still be able to flash the update manually with Odin, but you will then probably have to reroot it.

LanderN said:
Custom ROMs like CarbonRom (see the development section) is the way to go for this phone I would say. But if you wanna stay on stock and if we would get an update, Samsung probably wont let you install it via the usual OTA or Kies method, because your device is flagged as "Modified" after flashing a custom recovery (you can see this in the about this device section in the settings). You would still be able to flash the update manually with Odin, but you will then probably have to reroot it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's 100% true, I don't remember now exactly when your phone say, that it is modified and you can't update - moment you search for update in it or moment you try to download update that it has find.
Samsung oryginal software is not that greate anyways

Thank you all for the replies.
I think i got what i wanted with your awnsers, i just need to dig a bit more about the avaiable roms what what i can get from them. At the moment i'll keep my s4 mini as it is for a while longer i guess.
As for warranty i get something while booting up saying "Set warranty Bit: Kernel", but that seems to be what you normaly get when root a stock rom.

[Q] I can't update phone, also general questions about rooted device [New user]

Hello,
I just got and Samsung galaxy S3 from a family member. And first thing I did, was reset it to factory settings. Which went ok.
Now I would like to update the phone. Current android version is 4.1.1. When I go into update section of the phone I get message that current phone version is up to date, but I read on the internet that latest version is 4.4.2. How should I best proceed in order to update the phone.
Also, I have several questions which I've been wanting to find out (Please note that I'm quite new to android):
1. This phone was rooted. It appears that after factory reset it is still rooted (According to Titanium Backup) is that how it should be? I thought that after factory reset phone would not have root access. Also what is strange, that after performing a factory reset I already had quite old version of Super Su pre-installed and CyanogenMod file manager, why is that?
2. I have an AT&T version of the phone. But I live in Europe where there is no sign of AT&T. Is it possible to remove AT&T branding? Also this phone has some kind of custom Adnroid software update "AT&T software update", which always tells me that v4.1.1 is the latest version of android available for my phone. Is it possible to revert back to native software update?
3. I did a factory reset on the phone about 30 minutes ago, how it already has 5.5 GB of free space used? - For some reason factory reset didn't remove music and photos.
4. I found the application named "System app remover". Can I trust its judgement on which apps are safe to remove?
5. How can I make sure if I have 2core processor or 4 core processor? - I downloaded this program "CPU / RAM / DEVICE Identifier", I have 2 core snapdragon processor

Hi Viltnieks!
You are correct: there have been newer Android updates released for the Samsung Galaxy SIII (SGH-i747/SGH-i747M variants). I know you tell you got an AT&T variant of the phone, but just to make sure, please double-ckeck under the Phone Settings --> About Phone that your device model is the SGH-i747 one. This info can also be found on a sticker under the battery. If you have another SGSIII device model, you are in the wrong forum.
I'm not exactly sure to pinpoint your phone's current state. At one point, you say that it has the AT&T Updater, but it also has been rooted, and contains CM file manager... As you want to update the phone's OS (ROM) to a newer version and would like to remove AT&T branding, I'll just straight skip to your second point:
viltnieks said:
2. I have an AT&T version of the phone. But I live in Europe where there is no sign of AT&T. Is it possible to remove AT&T branding?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are basically three kinds of ROMs:
1. the official, carrier's ROM;
2. custom ROMs based on the carrier's official ROM. Those are ROMs created by the community, but are build on the carrier's one;
3. custom ROMs based on the Android Open Source Project, or one if its derived ROMs.
If you flash the first kind of ROM, you will have all the official stuff provided by AT&T, exactly as if the phone was brand new, out-of-the-box; this also imply that you will get all the AT&T stuff (AT&T Updater, AT&T-related softwares, AT&T branding...). If you flash the second kind of ROMs, you may get some of the AT&T stuff, though generally speaking ROM developers do a pretty good job at removing unneeded carrier junks and branding, or allow the user to choose which of the carrier-apps he wants to install or not. The third kind of ROMs are the cleanest kind looking at carrier-related stuff: it does not have those kind of things.
I have not given you a straight answer, as it is not my place to choose for you what you want. Still, I believe if you want to get rid of AT&T's branding, you would be more interested in custom ROMs, either carrier-based ones or AOSP/CM-based ones. For this reason, I would suggest you take a look around in the Android Development and Original Android Development sub-forums, where lots of custom ROMs are published by developers. Read the first posts of the threads, you will find what ROMs have to offer, what they look like, if they are based on stock or on AOSP/CM, if they are debloated, etc. The first posts also contain informations on how to install, so carefully read them.

You need to be running a completely stock ROM in order to receive OTA updates. This mean you cannot be rooted, stock apps should be present, and stock recovery.

Thank you for replying!
After double checking I can verify that model number indeed is SGH-i747. I also get AT&T logo before samsung logo when powering up, AT&T phone book and some other AT&T applications.
It has the AT&T updater, yes, but it isn't working. I always get "Software update interrupted. No update is available.." Or "Current software is up to date. You may check again in 24 hours"
And, indeed it has CM file manager and Super SU app installed, even If I do factory reset, these apps show up without installing. I guess it means that this is some kind of custom rom based carrier's ROM?
If I have a rooted phone, is it normal that it will stay rooted after factory setting reset?
I'm quite new to this, I wanted to clarify, ROM is like a version of android os?
I don't really need any of the carrier's stuff, so I guess 3rd kind of ROM would be best for me.
Is this the place where to look for roms - http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-att#romList?
Preferably I would like the phone to have global ROM, the one that comes with samsung galaxy S3, before carrier's add their stuff.

Factory reset will not remove the CM File Manager or SuperSu because they were probably installed via custom recovery or Odin. Only apps installed from the ROM itself will be removed.
I suggest installing the Samsung Phone Info app from the Play Store to determine the bootloader and modem installed on your phone and report back. The bootloader version is important to know before flashing anything.

Please identify my SM-T705 build!!!

Hi there,
I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE version, which I purchased through Ebay - I believe it came from Asia somewhere as it showed up with an international adapter for the power supply. It was sold as a "Verizon" model - I ditched that sim card and have been using it with Bell Mobility in Canada.
Recently, I tried to update my firmware using the latest version of Samsung Kies and I'm running Windows 10 latest version. For some reason Kies needs to reinstall the USB driver before performing the update to the firmware and this causes Windows 10 to crash without fail. (This is also happening to my Note 3 - Samsung informs me Kies is not compatible with Windows 10 although it seems to work for everything else - just not the update). Kies doesn't seem to care that I already have the latest drivers installed.
I can't update via the tablet because my device has been "modified" - rooted.
Finally I went to Sammobile for the firmware, however I can't find any US firmware for a compatible carrier under SM-T705. I am debating flashing the Bell Canada firmware, but the model is listed as SM-T705W. In case this is not ok and I need to revert to the original, I'm hoping someone can help me identify my build? The samsung agent offered to identify it but once she discovered it was from outside Canada she said she had no information. So much for Samsung International!
Please help! I'm having battery issues and I'm hoping updated firmware will help, plus I would like to have the latest version of Android. Thanks!

If you're in Canada then just flash the Canadian firmware.

ashyx said:
Cellular south is us
Region XAR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, forgive me for being thick, but how do you tell it's Cellular south, and what do you mean by region XAR? I'm sure that the fellow I bought this unit from flashed US firmware, however I can't find it on the Sammobile site - in fact I can't find any US carrier firmware listed for this model.
As mentioned above, I did find Bell mobility (Canada) firmware listed for the SM-T705W but nothing for the SM-T705.
Further explanation greatly appreciated!

LostinCanada said:
Hi there, forgive me for being thick, but how do you tell it's Cellular south, and what do you mean by region XAR? I'm sure that the fellow I bought this unit from flashed US firmware, however I can't find it on the Sammobile site - in fact I can't find any US carrier firmware listed for this model.
As mentioned above, I did find Bell mobility (Canada) firmware listed for the SM-T705W but nothing for the SM-T705.
Further explanation greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash any firmware for that model, so just flash the Canadian firmware, no point in flashing a us firmware.

ashyx said:
You can flash any firmware for that model, so just flash the Canadian firmware, no point in flashing a us firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok great. I would like to locate the US firmware though for future use. I travel alot in the US and in the event I need a different carrier's modem... Are the US carriers listed somewhere else or am I blind? http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/search/SM-T705/
Thanks!

LostinCanada said:
Ok great. I would like to locate the US firmware though for future use. I travel alot in the US and in the event I need a different carrier's modem... Are the US carriers listed somewhere else or am I blind? http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/search/SM-T705/
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have root so install twrp from the development section and do a full back up of your current system.
You can then restore as you please.
Seems no US firmware for the t705.

ashyx said:
You have root so install twrp from the development section and do a full back up of your current system.
You can then restore as you please.
Seems no US firmware for the t705.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL... ok now I have another problem. I had already downloaded the Bell mobility file from Sammobile and hadn't seen this response - in the meantime I hooked up with Odin and my download failed twice - I don't get it. I just did my Note 3 10 minutes ago without any issues. Rebooted device and odin between both attempts.
Thoughts?

Don't flash anything until you make that full backup with TWRP, trust me it will save a massive headache should you need it.
Download Flashfire from the link below then set your date back to August, run Flashfire then load up the firmware, select the Flash firmware package option.
From the partitions list select system.img and boot.img only.
Under the reboot options select download mode then hit the flash button.
Once it has flashed and booted to download mode you will need to flash a lollipop bootloader (assuming you are flashing lollipop?)
You will find them in the bootloader thread.
After that just reboot the tablet, it will take about ten minutes for it to fully boot.
http://likewaphd.in/filewap-1-load/...2015/FlashFire_Pro_v0.21_-_Likewap.apk-0.html

Uh... ok you lost me early on. I downloaded the file - how do I install it? I remember using the TWRP thing several phones back when I was messing with custom ROMs. I had a problem with recovery and since then have never gone this route - I've been happy with stock rom and root - installed using Odin... sortof the KISS principle.
I can try TWRP, but could you dumb down the instructions a bit - as I mentioned, I'm a bit thick - particularly with some of the terminology! LOL
This is the file I downloaded - yes, Lollipop - I don't understand why I have the Odin Fail - google isn't helping me understand either. I have root, USB debugging is enabled and I followed the same steps as with my Note 3 - the message said write fail.
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/52301/T705WVLU2BOE4_T705WOYA2BOE4_BMC/ Is this what you mean by bootloader?

TWRP - flash with odin then boot into twrp using POWER + HOME + VOL UP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...p-2-8-6-1-unofficial-sm-t800-805-807-t3074633
Bootloader - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3099362

ashyx said:
TWRP - flash with odin then boot into twrp using POWER + HOME + VOL UP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...p-2-8-6-1-unofficial-sm-t800-805-807-t3074633
Bootloader - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3099362
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok but those "bootloaders" are custom ROMS are they not? And I don't see my device on the TWRP site - I have the LTE version, it only shows Wifi.
Really all I want to install the Bell stock firmware (assuming it is indeed compatible - SM-T705 vs SM-T75W) I linked to from the Sammobile site and then do Chainfire's auto-root.
Why isn't Odin writing the firmware to my device? I've never had this issue before and I don't see what I might have done differently with this device - it's the first time I've tried to update it, but I had no trouble rooting it with the chainfire auto-root.

LostinCanada said:
Ok but those "bootloaders" are custom ROMS are they not? Really all I want to install the Bell stock firmware (assuming it is indeed compatible - SM-T705 vs SM-T75W) I linked to from the Sammobile site and then do Chainfire's auto-root.
Why isn't Odin writing the firmware to my device? I've never had this issue before and I don't see what I might have done differently with this device - it's the first time I've tried to update it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No they are bootloaders they are required to boot the firmware , roms are the os.
Odin won't flash because certain devices will refuse to flash another regions firmware.
My advice to you is to flash the lollipop bootloader first, to make sure it will flash then flash the firmware with flashfire.
Obviously make the twrp backup first.

ashyx said:
No they are bootloaders they are required to boot the firmware , roms are the os.
Odin won't flash because certain devices will refuse to flash another regions firmware.
My advice to you is to flash the lollipop bootloader first, to make sure it will flash then flash the firmware with flashfire.
Obviously make the twrp backup first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I flashed the bootloader, and then I tried to flash the firmware with Odin again but it still won't do it - write fail again. I've never used flashfire - windows 10 won't open it...
UDATE: Ok I read to transfer the file to the download folder on the tablet, and then install on tablet. So I did that, but when I click on the icon it doesn't run. How the heck do I use this to install the firmware update?

Figured out the date bit, ran Flashfire.... problems during the install - got stuck in boot loop - tried a factory reset - that didn't work... stuck in loop. I think I'm bricked....
Left the default settings in place - very little in the way of instructions - read the bit about not trying to write over protected settings...
And got this:

You're not bricked as long as the tablet starts up and you can boot to Download mode.
I've seen that error with corrupt downloads so not sure why you're getting it.
Reboot to download mode. Just hold POWER + HOME + VOL DOWN until the device restarts and boots to download mode.
Doesn't matter if it's boot looping.
Reflash TWRP and restore the backup you made earlier. You will be back to where you started.
At this point I think the best option is to flash a custom lollipop rom.
There is a very good one I use on my t805 which is practically stock with a bit of bloatware removed.
Its in the development section called sweetrom.
At least one positive is that you were able to flash the lollipop bootloader, so upgrade is not impossible.

I'm definitely able to get to download mode - I was surprised that the factory recovery mode didn't work. I'm wondering if the file from sammobile is corrupted - I used the same file with Flashfire - now I think Odin was trying to save me. I'm downloading the same file again fresh, and it looks like Telus and possibly the other Canadian variants are the same - unless it's the same corrupted file.
I just hope the problem isn't because my phone identifies itself as a straight SM-T705. That is why I asked about that point earlier. There are plenty of straight 1705 options available - just don't know which country would be compatible - particularly for the modem.
I didn't understand how to use TWRP and I've had problems with it in the past (recovery) when I did figure out how to use it and was messing with custom ROMS a couple of years ago. I would really like to get myself back in order with a proper stock ROM and root. This tablet belongs in my car and right now I just want it to work properly - I'm using Torque to resolve some ongoing engine issues and it will suck if I have to go back to using the small screen on my Note 3.
If there is any way to figure out which of those countries for the 705 are compatible with Canadian carriers, in case this Bell firmware is defunct, that would be appreciated.
As well, is that bootloader going to cause any problems with stock firmware? I've already flashed it - does stock firmware come with bootloaders included?

OK before I go any further with this I need you to install twrp and make that back up. Twrp is now very stable.
Twrp will back up some very important partitions namely the Efs and modem. Don't take this warning lightly. The amount of people that have soft bricked their device because they didn't do this.
Boot into twrp then simply select the backup option and make sure the partitions on the left are ticked particularly boot,
Efs and modem.
Now as regards which firmware.
I would forget about installing the Canadian firmware.
It looks like this firmware will only install specifically on a Canadian device.
It doesn't really matter which firmware from which region you install as they are pretty much all the same except for the carrier ones which just add more bloat and some csc specific stuff.
Just go for an international rom. You've already flashed a bootloader from one of these roms so that proves you can flash.
Use odin to flash.
If you have connection issues afterwards then all you need do is restore your modem backup with TWRP.
That's why it's important you do this.
Follow these instructions and we will get you up and running.

Whole again!
Whole again!
For the record, I read elsewhere that it is NOT recommended to flash other letter variants of a model. In the meantime I downloaded all four Sammobile Canadian Carrier files and they appear to be the exact same file and all install attempts failed For anyone else with an actual SM-705W I read in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/t705-lollipop-t3099945 a fellow Canadian was having a problem with those same files. Dunno what happened with him in the end, however I tried one more W file I found elsewhere that appeared to be different but it failed as well.
Based on the comments in the above thread, I flashed the Hong Kong variant for the SM-705 from Sammobile - apparently it was the first firmware widely available and users from several countries posted they had used it successfully. So far it seems to be working ok - after flashing it, I did a factory reset on the device as was also recommended in the above thread. Sure hope the battery life will be better than before - love this tablet but I've never seen a device drain so rapidly! CF-Auto Root restored!
As a side note my Ebay seller did reply to my origins query and was helpful once he realized I wasn't complaining about the device and wanting to return it... LOL. Apparently my unit originated in Singapore and arrived with that firmware along with a Verizon SIM which I never tested. As long as the OS is smooth, and the modem compatible, and unless someone advises a better country variant, I guess I'll stick with this one.
Now just need to get Torque reconfigured!