Develop Bugs

[Q] Sprint GS3 - Unroot to stock 4.3?

So a couple of days ago I got a GS3 running the OTA stock 4.3. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use it because I find Touch Wiz kind of clunky. So I decided I would try out Cyanogenmod. I installed it via their new handy installer (as the sprint GS3 is one of the compatible devices). All went well and I got Cyanogenmod 10.2 running smoothly. Now I want to activate the device, but apparently you can't activate a rooted device on sprint. So now i need to get it back to stock 4.3 and I can only seem to find solutions to his problem for devices that have not gotten the 4.3 OTA update and are still running 4.1.2. On the Cyanogenmod installer guide says:
You may perform a full backup from recovery, after flashing recovery (you will have to do this manually, at the moment) and then copy it off the device, if you don't have an external sdcard. If you've already run the installer, you will have to find stock images and flash them using fastboot or Odin.
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My problem Is I can't locate any stock 4.3 images with which to try this. If I can get my hands on a stock 4.3 image, would the process be just going into the bootloader and using Odin to flash the 4.3 image?
Can anyone help me out?

You only need to be on a stock tw rom, even if you are rooted it should activate. There are a couple in the development section.

metalfan78 said:
You only need to be on a stock tw rom, even if you are rooted it should activate. There are a couple in the development section.
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I see, do you know of any any good 4.3 based tw roms? All the ones I'm finding are based on 4.1. Also, do I need to do anything special to flash from Cyanogenmod 10.2 to a touchwiz rom (as Cyanogenmod is AOSP)? I already have ClockworkMod recovery installed.

Nothing special, flash like anything else
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2541900
[STOCK ROM] Stock 4.3 MK3 ROM [ROOTED/UNROOTED]

[Q]Need clarification for rooted rogers note 2, android 4.4

Hello, I recently just updated my Rogers SGH-i317M to 4.3, which then downloaded a system update which put it at 4.4. I was running Jedi X20, which is based on 4.1.2, when I first tried updating, I flashed the "4.3param_tz" file in odin, and was left with an error screen saying I need to recover using Kies, so I downloaded the official release, flashed via odin, and thats how I got to where I am now. I want to try the "Ditto Note 3" rom, "Sky Note Air 4.3", "Mean Bean" and "Beanstalk". My main question is, can I just start flashing these roms like I was before on 4.1.2, or do I need to use the specific kernel listed on their page? Before you needed a specific kernel to run a touchwiz rom or an aosp rom, so is it still the same? Or can I use my stock 4.4 kernel and try both aosp and tw roms now? If so could you point out the kernels I would need? And educate me on anything else I should know about before flashing 4.3 and 4.4 roms, (I'm not worried about warranty), this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time in reading this and helping me out, much appreciated!!

Regardless of where u are, I'd Odin to Rogers stock KK 4.4.2. Then Odin Twrp recovery, boot into twrp recovery and flash SU v.1.99. Finally choose your rom and flash away. This way you are on the lastest KK 4.4.2 Bootloader and KK Modem/Baseband.

just_visiting said:
Regardless of where u are, I'd Odin to Rogers stock KK 4.4.2. Then Odin Twrp recovery, boot into twrp recovery and flash SU v.1.99. Finally choose your rom and flash away. This way you are on the lastest KK 4.4.2 Bootloader and KK Modem/Baseband.
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I did all that except flash SU 1.99, so I tried flashing SKynote Air and it didnt work, upon restarting my phone it said no os is available. So I tried restoring from the backup I made of the official 4.4.2 Samsung rom in twrp, didn't work. Tried Odin, didn't work. Then I tried flashing the Skynote rom again and it worked. So I'm afraid of flashing any other roms now.

[Q] 4.4.2 Cyanogenmod to 4.4.2 stock

Okay, so my phone is currently running 4.4.2 Cyanogenmod right now, I had to find out the hard way that I cant jump back to 4.3 due to the bootloader but will it be possible to install the stock 4.4.2 safely once its released? Or is there a way to go back down to 4.3 that I'm missing..

Shiro_Yuki said:
Okay, so my phone is currently running 4.4.2 Cyanogenmod right now, I had to find out the hard way that I cant jump back to 4.3 due to the bootloader but will it be possible to install the stock 4.4.2 safely once its released? Or is there a way to go back down to 4.3 that I'm missing..
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Don't know how you got the impression you can't go back to 4.3 from Kit-Kat based CM. CM, like most stock ROMs, doesn't come with its own bootloaders but relies on manufacturer's bootloader to run. If you went to CM from stock 4.3, chances are your bootloader was unaffected and still remains at 4.3. You can check what bootloader your phone is on by going to settings and seeing what you have under baseband. If it's UCUEMJB then you have the 4.3 (MJB) bootloader and you should be able to use custom recovery to flash a stock 4.3 restore image.
If history is anything to go by, you would be unlikely to get the (newly released) 4.4.2 update OTA if you are not on a full stock (or stock-based) ROM. I would, however, not be in a rush for OTA as we can always trust the good guys in the development community to come up with a manual update process shortly. If you still want to revert to full stock 4.3, then you can follow the instructions in the thread below ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486

Your right!
Used the process you gave me and it worked, I had been trying to use odin but I supose a simpler solution was better. Thanks again!

I just switched from stable CM10.1 to stock 4.4.2 this week. It sucks. Performance and battery dropped drastically. Will be going back to CFW asap.

[Q] Noob needing to go back to stock, help please?

I figure instead of pulling my hair out for three days wading through various methods and likely brick, I'd swallow my pride and ask.
Here's where I'm at: I rooted and flashed Carbon rom way back when, everything was working alright, but with time, things are slowly starting to come apart. Yesterday, it's come to the point it can't be ignored. My nightly is ridiculously out of date, but I just haven't wanted to mess with it anymore. I'm about ready to get a new phone and I want everything back to fresh stock to give to a family member. I don't know where to start and what instructions are applicable or out of date. Model: I747, Android version: 4.4.2
I think I'm done experimenting with the rooting business, it's been a ride. If I could get some clear instructions on getting this phone back to stock, I'd be eternally grateful.
Help me xda community, you're my only hope.

What bootloader is on your phone? This is important to know before trying to get back to a stock ATT ROM.

audit13 said:
What bootloader is on your phone? This is important to know before trying to get back to a stock ATT ROM.
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Hey there, thanks for replying! Bootloader says I747UCUEMJB.

Since you are on an mjb bootloader, that means you had the ATT stock 4.3 ROM on the phone.
Unfortunately, ATT never realased a stock 4.3 ROM or 4.4.2 ROM. These were only available via OTA.
There was a thread where a stock mjb ROM was compiled for flashing in Odin, but for some members, the flash resulted in a bricked phone.

I had a feeling that might be the case. What are my options here?

I would install a custom recovery and flash a custom rom. There are custom ROMs based on stock Samsung ROMs.

audit13 said:
I would install a custom recovery and flash a custom rom. There are custom ROMs based on stock Samsung ROMs.
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This is the way to go. Since you most likely already have a custom recovery (assumed since you are running Carbon but verify first though), then it is just a matter of getting a new ROM. There are several custom TW ROMs based on 4.3 MJB. If you really want KK, you can flash the NE4 bootloader and modem along with a custom NE4 TW KK ROM. Please keep in mind that with both MJB and NE4 (KK) if you try to revert bootloaders, you will brick.
I am personally running S3RX 4.3 and have few to no issues other than what most people experience on stock anyway. Just have not had the time to move forward to KK as of yet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747

Okay, so the bootloader is 4.3, but the Android version in settings says 4.4.2, how does that fit together? Just trying to understand what all this works.
Recovery is currently ClockworkMod. Since I'm planning on giving it to family, I'd like something that is as stable as possible, nothing fancy needed. What ROM would fulfill those needs?

aablee said:
Okay, so the bootloader is 4.3, but the Android version in settings says 4.4.2, how does that fit together? Just trying to understand what all this works.
Recovery is currently ClockworkMod. Since I'm planning on giving it to family, I'd like something that is as stable as possible, nothing fancy needed. What ROM would fulfill those needs?
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Sounds like you are running a custom KK ROM in order to be using the 4.3 bootloader. A stock KK ATT ROM will not run on a 4.3 bootloader.
Before flashing to a custom KK ROM, make sure you are running the latest CWM. Carbon is a good ROM and should have reached a milestone build.

aablee said:
Okay, so the bootloader is 4.3, but the Android version in settings says 4.4.2, how does that fit together? Just trying to understand what all this works.
Recovery is currently ClockworkMod. Since I'm planning on giving it to family, I'd like something that is as stable as possible, nothing fancy needed. What ROM would fulfill those needs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
audit13 said:
Sounds like you are running a custom KK ROM in order to be using the 4.3 bootloader. A stock KK ATT ROM will not run on a 4.3 bootloader.
Before flashing to a custom KK ROM, make sure you are running the latest CWM. Carbon is a good ROM and should have reached a milestone build.
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You are running the official 4.3 bootloader but an AOSP custom ROM. In the case of AOSP ROMs you can typically do this. As mention by audit13, if it was a custom ROM based off TW AT&T stock, you would only be able to run a modified TW 4.3 ROM.

[Q] Which Firmware W/ Fresh SlimKat 9 Stable Install

Background: I attempted to update from SlimKat 7.0 stable to 9.0 stable and discovered my apn's were missing and when I try to add them manually it fails to save. I have also found others with this same issue but none have an easy fix. I'm on UCDLK3 firmware, after restoring to previous state using nandroid backup apn's are present. If I try to flash any ROM (even other than Slim) my apn's are missing, even a dirty flash of 7.0 over 7.0. I know I can fix this by flashing stock UCDLK3 and root/twrp/flash slim 9 and everything will likely work fine. I plan to do just that but want to make sure I'm doing things as smart and clean as possible. There is a lot of info out there and I'm finding it hard to sift through old stuff and find the current state of things.
Question: Is there an actual advantage if I upgrade the firmware from UCDLK3 to UCUEMJB while still planning to use SlimKat 9 Stable with BMS kernel and TWRP recovery? Are there any disadvantages? Either way what is the shortest path to get back to stock (either LK3 or MJB) and flash SlimKat?
Thanks

Your APN may not be sticking because your modem and bootloader may be too outdated.
Some of the latest CM11 and AOSP ROMs require a KK bootloader and modem.

And then there are some roms that require at least a 4.3 bootloader and modem, either the MJ2 (leaked) or MJB (official) bootlaoder/modem combos. I have seen mention of these working in some OPs and in the body of other threads. In some of the later TW ROMs you may have to use a custom kernel like kt747 or iBuddler's. I don't know if any kernel other than the stock in SlimKat and AOSP ROMs would be needed with the MJ2/MJB firmware and modem.
I don't know of any advantages other than some of the ROMs require firmware newer than DLK3 to properly boot, receive data, or have a working wifi. As far as disadvantages, KNOX was introduced with the MJB firmware and stock ROMs, once going to MJB or newer firmware you can not make firmware downgrades without a very real risk of hardbricking your phone. Also you will need to insure your baseband and modem versions match. If they do not you risk hardbricking of another variety.
I had not yet realized that the newer AOSP and CM11 required you to go all of the way to NE4, thank Audit.

Just wanted to close the loop on this thread and say thanks for the assistance!
I now have my phone working properly on SlimKat 9; it really was just the firmware not being compatible with newer ROMs as many have suggested. Here is the sequence I followed to do it but really it probably only needed a twrp flash of the mjb firmware and the ROM install:
1. Used odin to restore to stock LK3 (only because I had messed with things so much and wanted a clean slate)
2. Used odin to install TWRP 2.7.1.0 recovery
3. Rooted with SuperSU 2.40 using TWRP
4. Flashed combined MJB modem & bootloader using TWRP
5. Flashed SlimKat 9 using TWRP
6. Flashed Slim GApps using TWRP
7. Rooted with SuperSU 2.40 using TWRP (Lost root after flashing ROM)

thanks for posting fix. am sure it will help others. audit13 and dawgdoc , thank you for continued help with the awesome Slll. :good:
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

jeff.leonard said:
Just wanted to close the loop on this thread and say thanks for the assistance!
I now have my phone working properly on SlimKat 9; it really was just the firmware not being compatible with newer ROMs as many have suggested. Here is the sequence I followed to do it but really it probably only needed a twrp flash of the mjb firmware and the ROM install:
1. Used odin to restore to stock LK3 (only because I had messed with things so much and wanted a clean slate)
2. Used odin to install TWRP 2.7.1.0 recovery
3. Rooted with SuperSU 2.40 using TWRP
4. Flashed combined MJB modem & bootloader using TWRP
5. Flashed SlimKat 9 using TWRP
6. Flashed Slim GApps using TWRP
7. Rooted with SuperSU 2.40 using TWRP (Lost root after flashing ROM)
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When you restored to LK3, what Firmware version were you coming from? I'm looking to go to LK3 from the NJ1. However there seems to be cautionary red flags all over the place due to bootloader changes that were made in 4.3.

The OP was already on LK3 with a custom ROM.
Since you are on NJ1, you cannot downgrade the bootloader.