[Q] How does Rooting affect Galaxy S3's Knox Counter? - T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII

I've read a little bit about Knox in the last few months, but wanted to make sure I've got everything right, especially since things have probably changed since the early days of Knox.
Here's my situation: I'm running a TMO Galaxy S3 w/ stock recovery. I was using mrRobinson's T999UVDMD5 and foolishly did the TMO update to T999UVUEMJC.
(I thought I'd be able to retain root, but ended up losing root, getting Knox, and a bootloader that won't let me roll back. )
Now my phone locks up during boot. If I'm lucky, it'll boot but locks up nearly immediately after boot.
And this is with stock everything. I've had the phone a year and a half, so it's out of warranty.
So what's Sammy's stance on their update breaking phones out of warranty?
Do they cover that? Can I get a TMO store to put DMD5 back on?
I'm thinking of using the root66 EMJC img. I'm pretty confident that it won't brick the phone, since it'll be the same bootloader I'm currently running.
And I'm not too worried if it trips the Flash Counter (flag, really) since I should be able to clear it.
But what about the Knox counter? Will that get tripped? mrRobinson's post leads me to think that it will.
Any other root options I should consider? (Above all else, I'd like to be able to restore back to stock if I need to.)
I kinda like the stock ROM (save for some bloatware) and TouchWiz doesn't bother me.

If it's out of warranty, it shouldn't matter if you trip the Knox counter, Should it? Some say as long as you don't install a custom recovery that if you do the root 66 method just for root that Knox doesn't trip. But I can never get anyone to confirm that.
Sent from my SGH-T999L using xda app-developers app

masondoctorjt said:
If it's out of warranty, it shouldn't matter if you trip the Knox counter, Should it? Some say as long as you don't install a custom recovery that if you do the root 66 method just for root that Knox doesn't trip. But I can never get anyone to confirm that.
Sent from my SGH-T999L using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks masondoctorjt! That's one of my questions. (albeit, a lesser one)
If TMO/Sammy's update f'd up my phone will they cover it if it's out of warranty? especially when it was fine before?
(It's also a work phone, so I'd like to be able to return it like I got it, if need be.)
It's that confirmation I'm looking for here.
This Knox thread seems to state that as long as a Knox-enabled bootloader is used, the counter won't trip. But it also says flashing Knox-enabled fw via Odin trips the Knox counter too. (which I don't fully believe) Hence my confusion. A lot of contradictory info.
Add to that the loose usage of 'flash counter' to refer to both the triangle/flash counter/flag and the Knox counter/flag and you can see why my head is spinning!
It was tricky for me to see the Knox Counter info for my phone. Recovery and Bootloader mode didn't pop up the screen.
But when I used adb to enter bootloader, I saw the counter info.

So did you root it, and if so, did the trip the knox counter?
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

No, not yet. I was hoping to hear back from someone who's tried this.
I didn't want to be the first guinea pig.
I'll probably take my phone down to the T-Mobile store this weekend and give them an earful to see if they can roll me back w/o tripping Knox flag and report back.

PhilipJFry said:
No, not yet. I was hoping to hear back from someone who's tried this.
I didn't want to be the first guinea pig.
I'll probably take my phone down to the T-Mobile store this weekend and give them an earful to see if they can roll me back w/o tripping Knox flag and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would be like to hear how you did after going to T-mobile. Thanks.

patcal said:
I would be like to hear how you did after going to T-mobile. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't expect a whole lot from them really. But it's an avenue I have to try.
I'm ultimately going to root this anyway. If TMO can successfully roll me back to T999UVDMD5 completely, I'll just root that and stick till the dust has settled somewhat on Knox.

For Rooting after getting that 4.3 update, the process is pretty simple really. Since you have 4.3, you flash Root66 Via Odin. Or you could flash a custom Recovery via Odin and then flash SuperSU zip via Recovery.
It is my understanding that either one will not trip the Knox Counter. If you wish you can follow this guide.
NOTE - Do not Try to flash Older Root66 versions. You can only flash UVUEMJC version. If you flash any other version even accidentally then you will get expensive paperweight.

patcal said:
I would be like to hear how you did after going to T-mobile. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was ultimately unproductive.
I went in and explained the situation (w/ less detail) and asked them to roll me back to UVDMD5.
They said Samsung doesn't let them roll back, so he then proceeded to recover my phone.
He booted into recovery and wiped cache. When that proved unsuccessful, he wiped data. (nothing I couldn't have done)
Wiping data ultimately made the phone usable again. He then proceeded to enter some short codes to bind me to the network quicker.
(all he mentioned was #NUM#)
So I'm back to stock (more or less ). Not sure when I'll root now.
Perseus71 said:
For Rooting after getting that 4.3 update, the process is pretty simple really. Since you have 4.3, you flash Root66 Via Odin. Or you could flash a custom Recovery via Odin and then flash SuperSU zip via Recovery.
It is my understanding that either one will not trip the Knox Counter. If you wish you can follow this guide.
NOTE - Do not Try to flash Older Root66 versions. You can only flash UVUEMJC version. If you flash any other version even accidentally then you will get expensive paperweight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read, the custom recovery should trip Knox. Have you tried this yourself?
I'm fairly confident if I merely flash root66 that it won't trip Knox. But I'd like better than a 51% confidence interval, that's all.
(Again, it's a work phone and I'd like to return it as I got it.)

It will trip that previous counter bit. Don't think it will trip the Knox counter.
No I do not have the Knox Counter.

PhilipJFry said:
It was ultimately unproductive.
I went in and explained the situation (w/ less detail) and asked them to roll me back to UVDMD5.
They said Samsung doesn't let them roll back, so he then proceeded to recover my phone.
He booted into recovery and wiped cache. When that proved unsuccessful, he wiped data. (nothing I couldn't have done)
Wiping data ultimately made the phone usable again. He then proceeded to enter some short codes to bind me to the network quicker.
(all he mentioned was #NUM#)
So I'm back to stock (more or less ). Not sure when I'll root now.
From what I've read, the custom recovery should trip Knox. Have you tried this yourself?
I'm fairly confident if I merely flash root66 that it won't trip Knox. But I'd like better than a 51% confidence interval, that's all.
(Again, it's a work phone and I'd like to return it as I got it.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe I tripped the Knox counter when I flashed CWM recovery after I flashed stock 4.3 from Docs signature. Phone works great but no warranty on a 6 month old phone.
Pat

patcal said:
I believe I tripped the Knox counter when I flashed CWM recovery after I flashed stock 4.3 from Docs signature. Phone works great but no warranty on a 6 month old phone.
Pat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was that the Flash Counter or Knox Counter?

Perseus71 said:
Was that the Flash Counter or Knox Counter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I reset the flash counter with Triangle away. The Knox counter was not tripped until I flashed the recovery.
Pat

patcal said:
I believe I tripped the Knox counter when I flashed CWM recovery after I flashed stock 4.3 from Docs signature. Phone works great but no warranty on a 6 month old phone.
Pat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pat,
So just to get this straight, you flashed the stock TMO update, so you were not rooted?
Or did you do a root-injected variant of the stock?
Either way, I'm surprised you tripped the (triangle) flash counter.
But I'm more worried about the Knox counter; not worried about the other since there is Triangle Away.

patcal said:
Well I reset the flash counter with Triangle away. The Knox counter was not tripped until I flashed the recovery.
Pat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know.

PhilipJFry said:
Pat,
So just to get this straight, you flashed the stock TMO update, so you were not rooted?
Or did you do a root-injected variant of the stock?
Either way, I'm surprised you tripped the (triangle) flash counter.
But I'm more worried about the Knox counter; not worried about the other since there is Triangle Away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed T999LUVUBMK4 from Docs signature. I am not exactly sure when the flash counter tripped. I do know that the Knox bit was tripped by my flashing the recovery.
Edit: Don't remember how I got root. Sorry.
Edit2: T999L_4.3_UVUBMK4_deodexed_KnoxFREE.zip is the file I flashed.

patcal said:
I flashed T999LUVUBMK4 from Docs signature. I am not exactly sure when the flash counter tripped. I do know that the Knox bit was tripped by my flashing the recovery.
Edit: Don't remember how I got root. Sorry.
Edit2: T999L_4.3_UVUBMK4_deodexed_KnoxFREE.zip is the file I flashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Flash Counter (Triangle away kind) will trip due to the running tracer (read Sysscope) in that Rom. I'd not worry about it as Triangle away will take care of it. Yes it trips due to custom Recovery and Root.

Perseus71 said:
The Flash Counter (Triangle away kind) will trip due to the running tracer (read Sysscope) in that Rom. I'd not worry about it as Triangle away will take care of it. Yes it trips due to custom Recovery and Root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that Perseus71. Didn't know about Sysscope before, but sounds interesting. I figured root66 removed it, since mrRobinson claims that it doesn't trip the normal flash counter. And this matches my experience w/ his previous root66.
patcal said:
I flashed T999LUVUBMK4 from Docs signature. I am not exactly sure when the flash counter tripped. I do know that the Knox bit was tripped by my flashing the recovery.
Edit: Don't remember how I got root. Sorry.
Edit2: T999L_4.3_UVUBMK4_deodexed_KnoxFREE.zip is the file I flashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it sounds like you were able to flash a rooted ROM and not affect Knox, as long as you leave the stock recovery.
That was my plan anyway. I'll probably look into this later this week.

PhilipJFry said:
Thanks for that Perseus71. Didn't know about Sysscope before, but sounds interesting. I figured root66 removed it, since mrRobinson claims that it doesn't trip the normal flash counter. And this matches my experience w/ his previous root66.
So it sounds like you were able to flash a rooted ROM and not affect Knox, as long as you leave the stock recovery.
That was my plan anyway. I'll probably look into this later this week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Let us know how it goes.

FYI, the Knox counter gets tripped.
I flashed the root66 T999UVUEMJC via Odin. That's it.
Oh, and the flash counter does not get set.

Related

[HOWTO] [ROOT] No Tripping Flash Counter [SPR L710VPBLJ7] JB 4.1.1

This is a completely stock ODIN flashable ROM with root injected into the system image. The latest image is based off of the official Kies SPR L710VPBLJ7 release which is the first official JB release on this phone.
This is a fairly easy way to get root WITHOUT tripping the flash counter that will void the warranty. If you don't care about tripping the counter then you can get root other ways.
You can get ODIN here
and the drivers for the SPH-L710 so ODIN can detect your phone can be found at Samsung's site. Click on the Manuals & Downloads tab at the bottom and then on Software for the latest driver.
First download the stock odin tar that has a rooted system image injected into it:
SPR Image (JB 4.1.1)
Perm Mirror 1: Download - root66_SPR_L710VPBLJ7.7z
SPR Image (ICS 4.0.4)
Perm Mirror 1: Download - L710VPALI3
Old SPR Image (ICS 4.0.4)
Perm Mirror 1: Download - L710VPALEN
Second,
Extract the root66_SPR_L710VPALI3.tar from the .7z file you downloaded.
Put phone into download mode [ with phone off, hold vol. down + home + power ], connect to computer and open Odin.
once in odin click the PDA field and select the root66_SPR_L710VPALEN.tar you downloaded.
Leave Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time checked.
click start and
when done let phone reboot.
If you have issues flashing with Odin please ensure you are using the microusb cable that came with the phone, users have had issues using other cables.
If you just want a stock, rooted phone with no custom recovery, no plans to flash custom roms, etc. then you can stop HERE.
Third, (optional) - on a Jelly Bean release, loading a non-stock recovery will trip your flash counter.
If you want to get clockworkmod recovery loaded so you can flash whatever you want, nandroid, etc then continue on....
Once rebooted you can essentially follow this thread to load the clockworkmod recovery but make sure you use METHOD 1 or you will trip the counter. As long as you flash the recovery using the dd method with adb (or use terminal emulator from the play store) then you will NOT trip the flash counter. If you use ODIN to flash a custom recovery you will trip the counter.
The standard CWM recovery is here and the touch recovery is here.
If you've made it this far with a stock, rooted phone with cwm and you don't want to flash a custom rom (which will do its own de-bloating) you can check out my Aroma installer based De-bloater to easily get rid of bloat system apps you no longer want to see. Simply flash in CWM like anything else and you will be presented with a menu system to choose what to remove. If you are unsure it is safe to pick Recommended and a decent de-bloat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA Updates
I understand on Sprint there are OTA updates available. If you use this root method and want to move to an OTA update you basically have two options.
1. After using this method you can grab voodoo OTA rootkeeper from the play store and apply the update straight as it is from OTA. The rootkeeper app should keep root for you after the update is applied.
2. Find someone who made a CWM flashable update, potentially with certain pieces removed and simply flash it in CWM.
Thanks
To get the injected root system image I followed pieces of
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=27801304&postcount=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22798858&postcount=32
so thanks to those guys. Neither of those worked out of the box needed a bit of tweaking.
OK...any one willing to take the leap and see? :victory::cyclops:
Naddict said:
OK...any one willing to take the leap and see? :victory::cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No leap needed. it'll work.
Does this wipe data?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Thanks! Been waiting for these to show up for the SGS3! They were priceless on the SGS II Epic 4G Touch.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
crawrj said:
Does this wipe data?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the original .tar file didn't wipe data, I'll go out on a limb and say this doesn't either. However, if you're restoring your home .tar file for warranty purposes I'd suggest performing a full wipe in CWM prior to flashing this in Odin, or Mobile Odin.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Correct. It will not wipe data. You may want to depending on your needs.
so not to sound stupid, but after doing this method and getting root and CWM, then we can flash anything in cwm without tripping the counter correct?
robl45 said:
so not to sound stupid, but after doing this method and getting root and CWM, then we can flash anything in cwm without tripping the counter correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct.
robl45 said:
so not to sound stupid, but after doing this method and getting root and CWM, then we can flash anything in cwm without tripping the counter correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm wondering. Anyhoo, is there any basis to state that the tripping the flash counter will void the warranty or is that just a wild assumption?
Just to be sure, at this time there is no method of resetting the trip counter, so those that already rooted need to wait for a way to reset the counter and then will be able to use this method if they're so inclined... Is my understanding correct?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
mlin said:
That's what I'm wondering. Anyhoo, is there any basis to state that the tripping the flash counter will void the warranty or is that just a wild assumption?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha, wild assumption? The counter isn't there because people like counting. Samsung has made it incrementally harder with each gen of device to reset that counter. They provide that so the carriers and themselves CAN void your warranty as they have proof that you have flashed something that wasn't stock.
Now notice the CAN word up above. That doesn't mean they WILL void your warranty. I know for a fact I've seen friends denied service from ATT for having that counter tripped. From what I've read on these forums, it seems ATT would be one of the more strict carriers and Sprint the least. I think I read yesterday that Sprint won't really care. I have no personal experience regarding that however and they can change their stance when they like.
If you haven't tripped your counter, this is as easy a root method as any other, you are just flashing something in Odin. So if you want to ensure you are warranty covered why not use this?
mrRobinson said:
haha, wild assumption? The counter isn't there because people like counting. Samsung has made it incrementally harder with each gen of device to reset that counter. They provide that so the carriers and themselves CAN void your warranty as they have proof that you have flashed something that wasn't stock.
Now notice the CAN word up above. That doesn't mean they WILL void your warranty. I know for a fact I've seen friends denied service from ATT for having that counter tripped. From what I've read on these forums, it seems ATT would be one of the more strict carriers and Sprint the least. I think I read yesterday that Sprint won't really care. I have no personal experience regarding that however and they can change their stance when they like.
If you haven't tripped your counter, this is as easy a root method as any other, you are just flashing something in Odin. So if you want to ensure you are warranty covered why not use this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, thanks for the break down. At this point I've already rooted and as a Sprint customer I'm not worried about it. Sprint's policy is to handle rooted phones the same way they handle completely stock phones. I've had rooted phones running obvious custom ROMs serviced and exchanged for warranty type issues. Anyhoo, thanks for posting!
LOL, just chatted with Samsung. Apparently they will still handle all warranty issues under warranty but will charge to reflash the phone.
mrRobinson said:
Correct. It will not wipe data. You may want to depending on your needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks it was for a friend just needed root.
so to go back to completely stock, you would flash a stock tar in odin and that wouldn't trip the counter either?
robl45 said:
so to go back to completely stock, you would flash a stock tar in odin and that wouldn't trip the counter either?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. Anything that is a stock Samsung provided file(or phone thinks it is Samsung provided file) will not trip the counter.
Thanks! This will come in handy if the wife ever lets me root her phone lol
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SIII using Tapatalk
You Sir have made my day exactly what I was waiting for.
I've read in some threads that flashing completely to stock will reset the flash counter, can someone please confirm or refute this for me?
elfhater said:
I've read in some threads that flashing completely to stock will reset the flash counter, can someone please confirm or refute this for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it does not.

[Q] Restoring S3 to factory condition?

Hi everyone,
I have a Bell GS3 that I'm going to be selling to pay for a GS4 upgrade. I have it rooted and running Liquidsmooth, I'd like to restore it so it's like it came from factory. I have the I747MVLDLK4_I747MOYCDLK4_BMC file along with the Odin flashing program. I know there's something about tripping a flash counter, is there a way to check if it's been activated and if so reset it? I have an extended warranty on the phone so if the person does need a repair will not have to deal with certain problems.
I'd appreciate any help.
Your flash counter most likely has been tripped. I'm pretty sure the only way not to trip it is to use the root injected odin files. As soon as you install custom recovery and boot into the recovery the counter will be tripped though.
Here is how I have done the process.
Factory reset device.
Install triangle away to reset the counter
boot into download mode to flash stock firmware with odin.
If coming from a cm based Rom I find it best to restore/flash a touchwiz Rom first then factory reset, triangle away, Odin.
Hope that helps
Sent from my SGH-I747
Thanks for the reply. I may be misreading what you posted, are you saying that once it's been tripped there's no way to actually go back completely?
I'll do the steps like you suggested. Thank you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzydHUG7XZE
EGM92 said:
Thanks for the reply. I may be misreading what you posted, are you saying that once it's been tripped there's no way to actually go back completely?
I'll do the steps like you suggested. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use triangle away before you flash stock it will be the same as it was before you rooted = 0 counter. You can root with the root injected stock images and keep the counter intact. Once you install a custom recovery it will trip your counter.
It doesn't matter to someone who flashes roms if the counter is tripped until you need to sell or return for warranty. Triangle away before flashing stock will reset the counter and give you stock with a clean counter and ready to sell/return for service.
Sent from my SGH-I747
Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it.

Triangle Away

Do you need to use triangle away when you first root your phone? Or can you just use it when you need to return the phone back to stock? I want to root and if I need to return my phone for warranty I want to be able to put the phone back to stock with 0 flash counter.
later not needed right away
hold on but.....
dpshptl said:
Do you need to use triangle away when you first root your phone? Or can you just use it when you need to return the phone back to stock? I want to root and if I need to return my phone for warranty I want to be able to put the phone back to stock with 0 flash counter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U can just hold on on if u need to return it for service, u don't have to use it rite now since u most likely will be flashing roms and u will be triggering ur counter everytime u flash or root ur device.
ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT TRIANGLE AWAY, IS THAT AS FAR AS I KNOW ( I DON'T KNOW ANYONE THAT HAS TRIANGLE AWAY WORKING AFTER THE 1ST JB UPDATE ) TRIANGLE AWAY WON'T WORK ON OUR DEVICES PAST JB, SO IF U NEED TO RESET YOU COUNTER U NEED TO ODIN BACK TO ICS STOCK ROOTED AND THEN USE TRIANGLE AWAY.
sorry about the caps, just tryin to make my point clear, if anyone has triangle away working on JB please feel free to post about it.:laugh:
Mr_Jay_jay said:
U can just hold on on if u need to return it for service, u don't have to use it rite now since u most likely will be flashing roms and u will be triggering ur counter everytime u flash or root ur device.
ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT TRIANGLE AWAY, IS THAT AS FAR AS I KNOW ( I DON'T KNOW ANYONE THAT HAS TRIANGLE AWAY WORKING AFTER THE 1ST JB UPDATE ) TRIANGLE AWAY WON'T WORK ON OUR DEVICES PAST JB, SO IF U NEED TO RESET YOU COUNTER U NEED TO ODIN BACK TO ICS STOCK ROOTED AND THEN USE TRIANGLE AWAY.
sorry about the caps, just tryin to make my point clear, if anyone has triangle away working on JB please feel free to post about it.:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not even close to the truth.
Aerowinder said:
This is not even close to the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and u say this because? I mean I'm just talking on my experience with triangle away and JB It didn't work, I would use it and it would reset but once I restarted the counter would go back to "1" and honestly I'm not the only one, so please if u know the rite answer please explain, just calling me a liar is not helping anyone at all.
Mr_Jay_jay said:
and u say this because? I mean I'm just talking on my experience with triangle away and JB It didn't work, I would use it and it would reset but once I restarted the counter would go back to "1" and honestly I'm not the only one, so please if u know the rite answer please explain, just calling me a liar is not helping anyone at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not calling you a liar. I simply stated that your post was not factually accurate. TriangleAway does indeed work as intended on even the new MD5.
Using a custom recovery will cause your flash counter to trip on newer JB builds. This may be what you meant, but the issue is not related to TA. It's a bootloader "feature". You can witness this yourself by resetting the flash counter, then rebooting into download mode. Count will be 0.
Aerowinder said:
I'm not calling you a liar. I simply stated that your post was not factually accurate. TriangleAway does indeed work as intended on even the new MD5.
Using a custom recovery will cause your flash counter to trip on newer JB builds. This may be what you meant, but the issue is not related to TA. It's a bootloader "feature". You can witness this yourself by resetting the flash counter, then rebooting into download mode. Count will be 0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what u're saying is that my custom recovery is to blamed? I can say that statement is partially true. Wait.. u think I havent tried to reset my counter while on JB before?? I'm telling it didn't work why don't you go head and try to reset your counter and show that it did work.
check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxpL46-Zd0A&feature=youtu.be
Mr_Jay_jay said:
So what u're saying is that my custom recovery is to blamed? I can say that statement is partially true. Wait.. u think I havent tried to reset my counter while on JB before?? I'm telling it didn't work why don't you go head and try to reset your counter and show that it did work.
check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxpL46-Zd0A&feature=youtu.be
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's correct. Having a custom recovery will always trip the flash counter to 1 after every subsequent reboot. If you use Ta and reboot, you'll see 0. But the next time you reboot and don't use Ta you will see 1. It doesn't matter what ROM you run or how you've rooted in the end, the custom binary (TWRP / CWM) will Always trip the counter.
That being said if you don't want to continously trip the counter you're going to need to go back to stock recovery.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
TheLastSidekick said:
He's correct. Having a custom recovery will always trip the flash counter to 1 after every subsequent reboot. If you use Ta and reboot, you'll see 0. But the next time you reboot and don't use Ta you will see 1. It doesn't matter what ROM you run or how you've rooted in the end, the custom binary (TWRP / CWM) will Always trip the counter.
That being said if you don't want to continously trip the counter you're going to need to go back to stock recovery.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do Agree with his statment, however while I was on any ICS rom even with custom recovery, TA would work even after a reboot, so my counter would stay at "0" it wasnt after I upgraded to JB when the TA would reset after reboot. I will upload a video of doing TA on ICS and everything just to prove I'm not just arguing just because. but it will have to wait til l8er tonite.
Mr_Jay_jay said:
I do Agree with his statment, however while I was on any ICS rom even with custom recovery, TA would work even after a reboot, so my counter would stay at "0" it wasnt after I upgraded to JB when the TA would reset after reboot. I will upload a video of doing TA on ICS and everything just to prove I'm not just arguing just because. but it will have to wait til l8er tonite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no need for a video. I understand what you are saying, and I'm telling you, it's because of the bootloader. Not TriangleAway.
I am on 4.1.1 and TA 2.90 works FINE, the Counter shows "0" after a bunch of reboots, and "Allow tracker to run" is checked...
The ONLY time the counter trips is when/if I boot into the recovery or downloader modes.
I guess some structure of the setup makes a difference. I am using Root66 SGHT999 Build JR003L.T999UVDLJA with a T999UVDMD5 Baseband
bobolinko said:
I am on 4.1.1 and TA 2.90 works FINE, the Counter shows "0" after a bunch of reboots, and "Allow tracker to run" is checked...
The ONLY time the counter trips is when/if I boot into the recovery or downloader modes.
I guess some structure of the setup makes a difference. I am using Root66 SGHT999 Build JR003L.T999UVDLJA with a T999UVDMD5 Baseband
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kool. maybe that's a good workaround. thanks. but in my case still won't work.. but then again i'm 4.1.2. thanks!
Mr_Jay_jay said:
U can just hold on on if u need to return it for service, u don't have to use it rite now since u most likely will be flashing roms and u will be triggering ur counter everytime u flash or root ur device.
ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT TRIANGLE AWAY, IS THAT AS FAR AS I KNOW ( I DON'T KNOW ANYONE THAT HAS TRIANGLE AWAY WORKING AFTER THE 1ST JB UPDATE ) TRIANGLE AWAY WON'T WORK ON OUR DEVICES PAST JB, SO IF U NEED TO RESET YOU COUNTER U NEED TO ODIN BACK TO ICS STOCK ROOTED AND THEN USE TRIANGLE AWAY.
sorry about the caps, just tryin to make my point clear, if anyone has triangle away working on JB please feel free to post about it.:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can avoid using Odin and flash old firmware (excluding system / kernel) directly via heimdall or dd (which can be nicely bundled into an update.zip), avoiding the whole mess of needing Odin/Windows and having to backup+restore your system.
I think I'll make an update.zip just to flash the oldest firmware onto our phones -- I just made one that flashes the latest UVDMD5 firmware. The ROM shouldn't make a difference as far as trying to clear the flash counter really, it's the firmware that would be blocking that.
Also, flashing ROMs through CWM Recovery (and probably other custom ones) avoids tripping the flash counter. If you can root your ROM and dd the recovery directly to your eMMC, it avoids tripping the flash counter. Then you can use CWM Recovery to flash things without tripping the counter as well.
Remember, these are just computers with Linux + kernel modifications + custom Java VM running on them, essentially. It's good to become comfortable with UNIX commands like dd.
mnasledov said:
Also, flashing ROMs through CWM Recovery (and probably other custom ones) avoids tripping the flash counter. If you can root your ROM and dd the recovery directly to your eMMC, it avoids tripping the flash counter. Then you can use CWM Recovery to flash things without tripping the counter as well.
Remember, these are just computers with Linux + kernel modifications + custom Java VM running on them, essentially. It's good to become comfortable with UNIX commands like dd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you might be a tad off on this ......
just booting into recovery when you use anything other than a stock recovery will trip the flash counter. the ONLY way that counter won't trip is when you use a stock recovery. At least that's been the case with all of the doings on my rooted gs3 and Note 10.1
bobolinko said:
I think you might be a tad off on this ......
just booting into recovery when you use anything other than a stock recovery will trip the flash counter. the ONLY way that counter won't trip is when you use a stock recovery. At least that's been the case with all of the doings on my rooted gs3 and Note 10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I mean I'm no authority on this, so I could be wrong but I based this off my findings last night. I was in Download mode quite a few times and got to see my Flash Counter which was at 3. I've gone into recovery dozens if not hundreds of times by now on this device as well as flashed dozens and dozens of things ...
Even if it was just an 8-bit counter that overflowed, I'd need to have flashed over 256 things which I don't think I've reached yet and it would be totally silly if Samsung made the counter so easy to defeat that an 8-bit numeric overflow would bring it back to 0.
Can anyone else chime/weigh in? I'm curious now. I heard that using dd is supposed to avoid the flash counter. As a software engineer, I'd think there has to be some hook to trip that counter and that hook would belong to whatever firmware is on the phone for flashing (i.e. the stock recovery) and that if any other software gains control of the phone, all bets are off.
bobolinko said:
I think you might be a tad off on this ......
just booting into recovery when you use anything other than a stock recovery will trip the flash counter. the ONLY way that counter won't trip is when you use a stock recovery. At least that's been the case with all of the doings on my rooted gs3 and Note 10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know who told you all of that or where you read it but you are wrong.
The only things that trip the flash counter is when you flash a custom rom or a custom kernel.
Simply booting into stock or custom recovery will not trip the flash counter at all.
Think about it, that's why it's called a FLASH counter, it counts the number of rom and kernel flashes. LOL
Misterjunky said:
I don't know who told you all of that or where you read it but you are wrong.
The only things that trip the flash counter is when you flash a custom rom or a custom kernel.
Simply booting into stock or custom recovery will not trip the flash counter at all.
Think about it, that's why it's called a FLASH counter, it counts the number of rom and kernel flashes. LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It trips whenever I boot into TWRP though. Maybe some phones are different?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
re: unlocked?
TheLastSidekick said:
It trips whenever I boot into TWRP though. Maybe some phones are different?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps since I have an unlocked phone it might make a difference?
I have a Galaxy S3 AT&T I747 Unlocked phone and am using it with Tmobile service.
That makes sense actually lol as it says I have an SGH-T999 and mine isn't unlocked. Probably the model of the phone acts slightly differently with Ta and recoveries.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
In my case My counter won't move from "1" no matter what I do, Restart to download or Recovery ( TWRP), or flash a new rom which I do alot, only way it goes from 1 to "2" is when I do something to my phone and I need to odin back to stock and re root(which I did for research) ... it's then it gets trigger again.

[Q] Successfully Rooted with Towelroot on Note 3(SM-N900T), have some questions...

Successfully rooted without tripping Knox with Towelroot. NE6 firmware. I have T-Mobile Jump and would like to Jump to the Note 4 when it comes out. If I install TWRP and make a backup of stock, will I trip knox and void my JUMP eligibility? Wanted to install via Flashify and install Xposed framework at some point down the line.
Thanks!
Steameffekt said:
Successfully rooted without tripping Knox with Towelroot. NE6 firmware. I have T-Mobile Jump and would like to Jump to the Note 4 when it comes out. If I install TWRP and make a backup of stock, will I trip knox and void my JUMP eligibility? Wanted to install via Flashify and install Xposed framework at some point down the line.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.. Custom recovery or custom kernel will trip knox
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
effortless said:
Yes.. Custom recovery or custom kernel will trip knox
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I flashed back to stock, did a factory reset, would it still say custom?
Steameffekt said:
If I flashed back to stock, did a factory reset, would it still say custom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you didn't flash a custom kernel or recovery, it should be OK once you flash stock.
Even if you trip Knox, flash back to stock and jump when the time comes. They generally don't care about that as long as your phone is not damaged.
Knox warranty void is not the phone warranty. It's telling you Knox can't secure your phone anymore. Its (Knox's) warranty is void. People all over the Internet don't even know what Knox is and they spread misinformation.
Look up what Knox really is. It is an app that runs on your phone and creates a secure Android environment within itself. It's like another phone with its own launcher and app store that is secure. It's meant for employees to use their personal phone for work purposes as well.
When you trip the Knox warranty, Knox triggers an efuse that will prevent the secure container from being able to be created... Meaning Knox will never work again on your phone. It's a security measure so that companies will take the Samsung phones seriously in the work space. In reality it has worked for them as the department of defense recently approved a few Samsung models with Knox.
If you don't plan on using Knox for anything, then trip Knox and enjoy custom kernels/recoveries etc. If you do plan on using it, it's not a good idea to even root your phone as the whole purpose of Knox is to be secure and rooting will make Knox vulnerable.. You might even get fired if your IT department finds out.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
effortless said:
Yes.. Custom recovery or custom kernel will trip knox
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
effortless said:
As long as you didn't flash a custom kernel or recovery, it should be OK once you flash stock.
Even if you trip Knox, flash back to stock and jump when the time comes. They generally don't care about that as long as your phone is not damaged.
Knox warranty void is not the phone warranty. It's telling you Knox can't secure your phone anymore. Its (Knox's) warranty is void. People all over the Internet don't even know what Knox is and they spread misinformation.
Look up what Knox really is. It is an app that runs on your phone and creates a secure Android environment within itself. It's like another phone with its own launcher and app store that is secure. It's meant for employees to use their personal phone for work purposes as well.
When you trip the Knox warranty, Knox triggers an efuse that will prevent the secure container from being able to be created... Meaning Knox will never work again on your phone. It's a security measure so that companies will take the Samsung phones seriously in the work space. In reality it has worked for them as the department of defense recently approved a few Samsung models with Knox.
If you don't plan on using Knox for anything, then trip Knox and enjoy custom kernels/recoveries etc. If you do plan on using it, it's not a good idea to even root your phone as the whole purpose of Knox is to be secure and rooting will make Knox vulnerable.. You might even get fired if your IT department finds out.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense and I probably will flash a custom recovery. I just don't understand the fuss with people wanting not to trip knox if they're not even gonna use it.
I successfully rooted my Tmo Note 3 with Towelroot v2. I am currently on NE6 Boot-loader and have Knox at 0x0 and would like to remain there. I would like to upgrade to the new firmware NF1 which is not rootable with Towelroot yet. Does anyone know if using Mobile Odin Pro is able to keep root if manually done without breaking/tripping Knox? I think I remember reading somewhere that it was okay to do so and ignore the message even though it asks to download a file and then it gives a warning saying that:
"Using, Mobile Odin on this device will void your warranty, as the Knox counter will be triggered .This is not reversible".
Can someone confirm if its Okay to ignore the warning and that activating Mobile Odin Pro on my phone is OK without triggering Know 0x1, or was that other posting I read somewhere wrong? I cannot remember where I read it. If not possible to use Mobile Odin without triggering Knox 0x1,. is there any other way to root NF1 without triggering knox on our device? What do you guys think?
un-answered question............
I don't know why I have not asked this before, but here it goes..........
First, I just want to say that I could care less about Knox...
(my phone already has the knox pox)
But for future reference if I had a brand new Note 3 with official stock NB4 baseband
and I rooted it successfully using Towelroot (or root de la vaga) would it be possible
to simply rename a custom rom like Hyperdrive to "update.zip" and copy it to the
internal sdcard then boot into the stock NB4 recovery and flash/install "update.zip"?
If the only problem with this method would be the fact that a different kernel would
also flashed along with the rom it would be an easy fix by just removing the kernel
from the custom rom file before flashing the update.zip?
I know that more likely than not this method would not work.
But if it did work it should not trip the knox right?
Eudeferrer said:
I successfully rooted my Tmo Note 3 with Towelroot v2. I am currently on NE6 Boot-loader and have Knox at 0x0 and would like to remain there. I would like to upgrade to the new firmware NF1 which is not rootable with Towelroot yet. Does anyone know if using Mobile Odin Pro is able to keep root if manually done without breaking/tripping Knox? I think I remember reading somewhere that it was okay to do so and ignore the message even though it asks to download a file and then it gives a warning saying that:
"Using, Mobile Odin on this device will void your warranty, as the Knox counter will be triggered .This is not reversible".
Can someone confirm if its Okay to ignore the warning and that activating Mobile Odin Pro on my phone is OK without triggering Know 0x1, or was that other posting I read somewhere wrong? I cannot remember where I read it. If not possible to use Mobile Odin without triggering Knox 0x1,. is there any other way to root NF1 without triggering knox on our device? What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda premium
re: modile odin - knox
Eudeferrer said:
I successfully rooted my Tmo Note 3 with Towelroot v2. I am currently on NE6 Boot-loader and have Knox at 0x0 and would like to remain there. I would like to upgrade to the new firmware NF1 which is not rootable with Towelroot yet. Does anyone know if using Mobile Odin Pro is able to keep root if manually done without breaking/tripping Knox? I think I remember reading somewhere that it was okay to do so and ignore the message even though it asks to download a file and then it gives a warning saying that:
"Using, Mobile Odin on this device will void your warranty, as the Knox counter will be triggered .This is not reversible". Can someone confirm if its Okay to ignore the warning and that activating Mobile Odin Pro on my phone is OK without triggering Know 0x1, or was that other posting I read somewhere wrong? I cannot remember where I read it. If not possible to use Mobile Odin without triggering Knox 0x1,. is there any other way to root NF1 without triggering knox on our device? What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked and it's OK to "install" Mobile Odin on your phone and it
it will NOT trip the KNOX counter by simply installing it as long as you:
1: Don't flash any custom recoveries like twrp/cwm.
2: Don't flash any stock or custom kernels.
3: Don't flash any modems/baseband or bootloaders.
4: Don't flash any custom odin flashable firmwares.
In mobile odin there is no option to flash cwm/twrp
flashable zip files of any kind including custom roms.
Good luck!
Misterjunky said:
I just checked and it's OK to "install" Mobile Odin on your phone and it
it will NOT trip the KNOX counter by simply installing it as long as you:
1: Don't flash any custom recoveries like twrp/cwm.
2: Don't flash any stock or custom kernels.
3: Don't flash any modems/baseband or bootloaders.
4: Don't flash any custom odin flashable firmwares.
In mobile odin there is no option to flash cwm/twrp
flashable zip files of any kind including custom roms.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would flashing a stock kernel/baseband or firmware cause Knox to change to 0x1 when done through Mobile Odin? I thought this would happen only through custom based ones?
re: knox - mobile odin
Eudeferrer said:
Why would flashing a stock kernel/baseband or firmware cause Knox to change to 0x1 when done through Mobile Odin? I thought this would happen only through custom based ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all I never said not to odin flash stock official firmware in my post.
If you or anyone else knows for sure that the modem/baseband or kernel you are
wanting to flash are 100% official stock 4.4.2 Kitkat NB4/NE6/NF1 versions then
its just fine to flash those.
However since knox cannot be rolled back and to keep things on the SAFE side I
always suggest the very safest way to do these things which even a NOOB would
understand without getting into trouble with a lot of unexpected issues. :laugh:
Good luck!
Misterjunky said:
First of all I never said not to odin flash stock official firmware in my post.
If you or anyone else knows for sure that the modem/baseband or kernel you are
wanting to flash are 100% official stock 4.4.2 Kitkat NB4/NE6/NF1 versions then
its just fine to flash those.
However since knox cannot be rolled back and to keep things on the SAFE side I
always suggest the very safest way to do these things which even a NOOB would
understand without getting into trouble with a lot of unexpected issues. :laugh:
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. I guess I misunderstood you the first time. Thank you for your response.

HELP! sisters phone wont booy into the stock recovery.

(Without voiding knox) She has a completly stock 4.4.2 tmobile s4. She wants to update to 4.4.4. While trying to reset with triangle away i noticed i couldnt boot her recovery. Download mode works fine though. So what can i do? Push a stock recovery to her phone? Factory reset within the phone? Odin the new offical firmware without voiding knox? Help!
Delete
Delete
Download stock 4.4.4 firmware and flash with Odin and recovery would probably be fixed.. Easy way to take care of both problems
We need more info. It would help if you could post a picture of your sister.
Wouldnt knox get flagged serio22? And hilarious ultra ha
So I renamed and pushed the stock recovery.img from NB4 and everyhing seems to be working and knox is still 0x0. Ha good stuff.
Ok so i just odin'd the NB4 firmware and everything worked and knox is fine. Ill just have her OTA NH7. Love how on google its a 50/50 on flashing official firmware. Well anyway thanks guys and hopefully this helps people with knox. Glad I dont have it haha p.s. NH7 modem seems alright on MDL....so far so good.
Yeah the only way Knox will trip is if you flash custom recovery or kernel
Thats what i figured but damn goohl got me mixed up. Thanks again
serio22 said:
Yeah the only way Knox will trip is if you flash custom recovery or kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is tripping Knox bad? what happens?
Enathe said:
Why is tripping Knox bad? what happens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not that bad as everyone makes it seems, but read this for more info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2823816
serio22 said:
Its not that bad as everyone makes it seems, but read this for more info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2823816
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks!

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