Develop Bugs

How To Update and Root to 4.4.4

Hi, sorry this is probably a noob question but I've been reading through the forums and got confused how to update my rooted s4. Normally I would just install the custom rom with the update but it seems like this isnt the case right now.
I'm currently on 4.2.2, rooted, and have wicked as my rom. How would I update to 4.4.4? From what I understand there is a new modem and firmware... something to do with NH7? Can someone explain to me what NH7 does. Thanks for all your help!

NH7 is the newest firmware based on 4.4.4 and it is recommended if you plan of using 4.4.4 tw roms. To update it just download the NH7 firmware from general thread and flash it with Odin, after that you can use cf-auto root to root, or if you're just planning to flash a ROM then just flash recovery and then flash ROM.. If you care about tripping your Knox counter then just know that flashing recovery or rooting will trip it

babexdragon said:
Hi, sorry this is probably a noob question but I've been reading through the forums and got confused how to update my rooted s4. Normally I would just install the custom rom with the update but it seems like this isnt the case right now.
I'm currently on 4.2.2, rooted, and have wicked as my rom. How would I update to 4.4.4? From what I understand there is a new modem and firmware... something to do with NH7? Can someone explain to me what NH7 does. Thanks for all your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mention that you want to update and that under normal circumstances you would simply flash the an updated custom ROM... yet you say you've read it isn't that simple, right?
You are correct, it isn't THAT simple, but it is ALMOST that simple. Being as that you are still on the old 4.2.2 pre-KNOX bootloader and all, you can flash and flash and flash all day long and a single use of Triangle Away is all you'd need to still be able to revert your device back to 100% stock, both firmware AND flash counters if you ever needed to for some reason. If you use Odin, Kies, or take an OTA update you will lose that ability. Anything you flash once you go through official channels to update will trip your KNOX counter... and that cannot be reset. The problems you've read about simply flashing an updated custom ROM is that you will have problems with data.
The data drops can be avoided by flashing the newest modem, which would be NH7. Understand though, that method only updates your GSM modem; your LTE modem would be unaffected. This would only be a problem though if you are having trouble receiving LTE where others with the same carrier can get it with no problem. If you aren't having any problems with LTE, then I would recommend to simply update your GSM modem and use the custom recovery of your choice (ClockWorkMod, Philz Touch, or TWRP) to flash any of the ROMs in the T-Mobile GS4 Android Development section.
To update your GSM modem, follow the instructions in this thread. That thread is for updating to the 4.4.2 NB4 modem, which that modem would actually be all you need; but if you wish to have the NH7 modem, just use the modem.bin ONLY file from this post instead of the modem package included in the tutorial thread. After that little bit of work, you can flash any Android version you want; from 4.2.2 all the way up to 4.4.4... AOSP, TouchWiz, or the Google Play Edition ROMs.

So from what I understand...
1. Update the modem not firmware
2. Flash ROM
So I don't need to re-root?

You are correct.
No need to re-root.

[Q] New to AT&T S3, have a few quick questions

I just bought an AT&T S3 to replace a carrier unlocked T-Mobile S3. The new device is already rooted with CM11 installed and it's baseband is MG2. I'll need to revert back to stock temporarily to do a carrier unlock. Here are my questions:
What is a safe TW (preferrably a pre-rooted TW) I can flash to perform the carrier unlock?
After I'm carrier unlocked, what is the latest modem I can install? I want to do all of this without enabling knox.
Thanks to all in advance,
Niphoet

Flashing back to stock means everything will be wiped on the phone, including recovery and data.
You can use Odin to flash the stock ATT 4.1.1 firmware from sammobile.com. Before doing so, boot into download mode and make sure you there is nothing about warranty bit on the screen.

niphoet said:
After I'm carrier unlocked, what is the latest modem I can install? I want to do all of this without enabling knox.
Thanks to all in advance,
Niphoet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There ae several important things to know about upgrading your modem and firmware.
1) KNOX comes with all of the firmware since the officlal 4.3 release, MJB. The leaked version of the 4.3 release (MJ2) does not have KNOX.
2) Once on the MJB and later firmware you can no longer downgrade, you will most probably brick your phone.
3) It is possible to run the MJ2 firmware/bootloader and MJB modem combination on 4.3 and 4.4.x ROMs.
4) The MJ2 and MJB bootloader will most likely require a custom kernel if you use it on 4.4.x ROMs. Something like the kToonez kernel or iBuddler kernel found in Likewise.
5) Once you get past the 4.3 firmware do not mix firmware and modem release versions, again bricks are probably. If you have NE4 firmare, use the NE4 modem. The same goes for for if you have the NE4 modem, use the NE4 bootloader. This holds true for NH2, NJ1, and NKx.
6) The only time I have seen that you absolutely must be on NE4 or newer is for the Lollipop ROMs.

[Q] D2&ATT official ROM 4.4

Hello.
I'm not living in the USA and I am trying to update my device up to 4.4 by KIES and WIFI but it keeping saying that there isnt any update (yeah its because my cellphone is unblocked and it has another company now)
I was wondering if there is a zip file (official att i747) that i can download and I can flash in my device?
Thank you

Alexandria Princess said:
Hello.
I'm not living in the USA and I am trying to update my device up to 4.4 by KIES and WIFI but it keeping saying that there isnt any update (yeah its because my cellphone is unblocked and it has another company now)
I was wondering if there is a zip file (official att i747) that i can download and I can flash in my device?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OTA updates will not work once you are no longer running a stock ROM with most, if not all, of the stock apps and the stock recovery. If you were still with AT&T I would suggest reverting to stock to enable you to receive OTA updates to 4.4.2. I am not sure if you could update over wifi while on a stock rom but not on AT&T.
Since you are no longer with AT&T the best would be upgrading bootloader and modem incrementally. There are 4.4.x roms that will run on the MJB (4.3) bootloader and modem as long as you have one of a few custom kernels installed, both TouchWiz and CM/AOSP ROMs. Some other 4.4.x roms say you need to be on at least the NE4 bootloader. There are stock based recovery flashable zips in the development subforum. Most of these will not upgrade your bootloader and modem, you would need to upgrade them separately. However, there are a few that will upgrade the bootloader and modem.
What is your current bootloader and modem? We would need to know this in order to point you to a correct starting point for your upgrade path. (You already stated that your device model is the i747, so I will not pester you about it not being another of the S3 variants.)

[Q] upgrade then downgrade question. Possible???

I have seen a lot of discussion on the forums about it not beign possible to downgrade your phone and modem via ODIN. My question is, :
I rooted my phone when it was on Android 4.4.2 and hence can no longer take OTA updates. So my phone is currently at 4.4.2 and my modem is NB4
I would like to upgrade to 4.4.4 and the modem to NH7. I know how to do this through ODIN, but If I were to update the Android version to 4.4.4 and the modem to NH7 via Odin, could I not then, at some point, downgrade them to back to 4.4.2 and NB4 at some point via Odin?

You may be able to downgrade the modem and ROM but not the bootloader as far as I know.
Be aware of the fact that an incompatible bootloader/modem combination can hard brick your phone.

[Q] Upgrading baseband version

I'm using SlimKat 4.4.4, yet my phone's baseband version is 4.1.1 (I747UCDLK3). I'm looking to upgrade my baseband version to 4.4.2 due to some issues.
Can I upgrade straight from 4.1.1 to 4.4.2?
Or do I need to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2? If this is the case, I have one concern. There are many footnotes saying if you downgrade from 4.4.2 to a lower version, you will brick your phone. These footnotes don't specifically say whether they're talking about OS version or baseband version. Is it safe for me to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2 with a 4.4.2 ROM? Is it safe for me to flash a 4.1.1 stock ROM?
Any help appreciated. Thanks!

scripte said:
I'm using SlimKat 4.4.4, yet my phone's baseband version is 4.1.1 (I747UCDLK3). I'm looking to upgrade my baseband version to 4.4.2 due to some issues.
Can I upgrade straight from 4.1.1 to 4.4.2?
Or do I need to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2? If this is the case, I have one concern. There are many footnotes saying if you downgrade from 4.4.2 to a lower version, you will brick your phone. These footnotes don't specifically say whether they're talking about OS version or baseband version. Is it safe for me to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2 with a 4.4.2 ROM? Is it safe for me to flash a 4.1.1 stock ROM?
Any help appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first if wanted , i would get the free unlock sim code (am pretty sure is available on 4.1.1).
all i have ever read says to do the incremental updates (safest).; which i believe you can do OTA ; or flash thru recovery.
yes , you will most surely brick your phone if you try to downgrade bootloader from 4.4.2.
AND you want to keep bootloader and baseband at the same version. upgrade one then upgrade the other.
if your already on 4.1.1 , then yes flash away the stock 4.1.1 rom ; if youre talking about after you upgrade to 4.4.2 then the 4.1.1 may not flash unless you edit the updater script (think thats what its called , been awhile).
good luck !
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

scripte said:
I'm using SlimKat 4.4.4, yet my phone's baseband version is 4.1.1 (I747UCDLK3). I'm looking to upgrade my baseband version to 4.4.2 due to some issues.
Can I upgrade straight from 4.1.1 to 4.4.2?
Or do I need to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2? If this is the case, I have one concern. There are many footnotes saying if you downgrade from 4.4.2 to a lower version, you will brick your phone. These footnotes don't specifically say whether they're talking about OS version or baseband version. Is it safe for me to upgrade to 4.1.2 -> 4.3 -> 4.4.2 with a 4.4.2 ROM? Is it safe for me to flash a 4.1.1 stock ROM?
Any help appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an I747, right? I think the I747M had LK3 firmware too. If you happen to be on an I747M don't flash any of the I747 specific stuff below, or you'll probably brick your phone.
Since you're still on the old firmware it might be a good idea to carrier unlock your phone if you haven't already done it. You'll lose that ability if you update.
To update to 4.4.2 firmware you can go two ways. You can Odin back to unrooted stock and you should start receiving OTA updates. They will be incremental and they'll come about 24 hours apart, or you can set your system time ahead a day to cheat that. Eventually you'll get up to the 4.4.2 firmware. NE4 is 4.4.2, but NJ1 is the most recent. This is probably the safest way, but it will be somewhat slower. Those OTA's are full firmware packages so they're big downloads.
Or you can flash bootloader/modem only upgrades in custom recovery. Enewman17 has posted everything you need to get an I747 up to date to XDA. I flashed all these while running the Slimkat stable 9 ROM to get my I747 from LK3 up to NJ1. This has to be done incrementally and you have to boot successfully into your ROM in between each firmware flash. You can't jump from the 4.1.1 bootloader to the 4.4.2 bootloader. First flash the MJB firmware update linked to this thread then reboot into your ROM. Next flash the NE4 firmware zip also linked to that thread and then reboot into your ROM. You're on 4.4.2 firmware at this point, but if you want to be on the newest bootloader and modem then flash the NJ1 zip attached to this thread. If you go this route be sure you read enewman's posts very carefully and understand exactly what you're doing because fiddling with the bootloader and modem is the #1 way to hard brick this phone.
For the most part you can flash any ROM you want no matter what firmware you're on as long as it is intended for I747. You might find that your wifi won't work or your modem doesn't work or maybe it just bootloops if you get on a ROM that wasn't intended for the bootloader/modem currently on your phone, but you can still boot up into recovery and restore a backup or flash another ROM and get out of that. What you have to be very, very careful with is the bootloaders since Knox was introduced, that's MJB, NE4, and NJ1. Those bootloaders cannot ever be downgraded; don't try it. You'll hard brick and it is pretty hard to recover from. Its also for the best to keep your bootloader and modem matched on this newer firmware; the OTA method or the zips linked to the threads above will do that. Custom ROMs that are AOSP/CM based won't ever mess with your bootloader and modem. They're just a system image and a kernel. What you have to be really careful with is Odin, those are usually full firmware packages. AT&T hasn't allowed a stock image beyond 4.1.1 to be released for the I747, so once you're on the newer bootloaders there is no more option to Odin back to stock.
Good luck.