Develop Bugs

Samsung "Flash Counter" Discovered in SGSII's

Check this out guys. The following is a post from a member named coomb on the darkyrom.com forums. Check this out...its almost scary
"Hello everyone!
As I was surfing the web to look for a jig for the first SGS, I've discovered the SGS II has an internal counter which goes up by 1 everytime you flash something that's custom
What does this counter do exactly?
It's very simple: it counts the number of times you flash a custom ROM or kernel on your SGS II, so the guys over at Samsung know of it when you return the phone to them for any kind of problem you may have (this is done so they can say whether you've voided your warranty or not). Even using Odin to get back to stock won't help you and will let the counter go up by one
The good news is that the counter can be reset by using one of those jigs we all know very well
Ha, Samsung! You thought you could fool us that easy?
No, unfortunately Samsung has very clear in mind what it's doing.
It seems there is a second counter, which counts the number of times the custom flash counter has been reset, and the bad news is that its position/folder has not been discovered yet.
So, it seems all the future SGS II owners and flash addicts over here (and not only here) will have a hard time returning their SGS II to Samsung after having flashed something... I hope someone over at XDA will get everything sorted out (Chainfire is already working on it).
Speaking about XDA, here's the source of this article: XDA-SGS II flash counter.
That's it for now, bye! "
Link to the original thread, remove spaces http://www. darkyrom. com/community/index.php?threads/attention-the-sgs-ii-has-a-custom-rom-kernel-flash-counter.3827/

a couple of points:
1.) I deal with Sprint, not Samsung. Sprint's front-lines CS people aren't typically known for their technical prowess (my apologies to those in present company)
2.) This sounds doubtful. The way this is phrased makes it seem as if it's a file in the current file system we have all the tools required to wipe that clean. If that's true they should expect that someone here *will* figure it out.
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance (or return period). Poof, problem solved.
So even if this is in fact true, and it could very well be, I don't see the immediate threat to us and I don't see how Sprint would use this ability to prevent us from using our insurance or return ability given that it would be trivial to render the phone and any file system or electronic counter completely inaccessible by any practical means. Coming up with a process to read the "counter" would involve more time and inconvenience for both the customer and the carrier than either would find acceptable to bear. Though there is that suspicious hole right about the volume rockers that may be a nearly fool-proof direct port to a "counter" it would be impossible to make that a 100% reliable mechanism either.
EDIT: after thinking about this some more I am of the belief that while in our unique circumstance (in the US) it wouldn't be too big a hurdle to pass, should we need to, that it is definitely possible if inconvenient/implausible in practice. (In most of the world you just buy the phone and then hook it up to a carrier, in the US you pick your carrier and get your phone from them....so while everyone else would have to deal with Samsung for warranty claims we do not.)
However I was also wondering what it was counting. Writes to /system and/or any directories/partitions that are typically R/O without root?
There are plenty of times in your phones life where that may be flashed for legitimate purposes. Upgrading the OS comes to mind (cue "Samsung never updates" jokes), as would any carrier provided "flash to stock" (which at my area stores is their last, and usually only, attempt to repair a device for just about any reason). There are likely other scenarios that escape me at the moment.
Any reason legitimate is enough to place a reasonable doubt on any claims of tampering that would cause any court of law to demand far more compelling evidence than merely "the counter went up" in order to find you guilty/uncovered by warranty. "What if the counter is unreasonably high?" You say...well what if you tried desperately to flash and reflash and reflash your broken phone attempting to repair it to get your data back? That's a pretty likely scenario.
EDIT²: ...and if "legitimate writes" don't tick the counter up a notch then there is a mechanism to avoid flash detection and it will be found.

daneurysm said:
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance. Poof, problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That.
Let's see them prove I've flashed custom roms after I pass the phone under a powerful electromagnet a few times.

daneurysm said:
a couple of points:
1.) I deal with Sprint, not Samsung. Sprint's front-lines CS people aren't typically known for their technical prowess (my apologies to those in present company)
2.) This sounds doubtful. The way this is phrased makes it seem as if it's a file in the current file system we have all the tools required to wipe that clean.
3.) All this is going to do is encourage those of us with insurance/TEP et al to render the phone completely inoperable within the scope of our insurance (or return period). Poof, problem solved.
So even if this is in fact true, and it could very well be, I don't see the immediate threat to us and I don't see how Sprint would use this ability to prevent us from using our insurance or return ability given that it would be trivial to render the phone and any file system or electronic counter completely inaccessible by any practical means. Coming up with a process to do so would involve more time and inconvenience for both the customer and the carrier than either would find acceptable to bear. Though there is that suspicious hole right about the volume rockers that may be a nearly fool-proof direct port to this "counter" it would be impossible to make that a 100% reliable mechanism either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In response.
1. As far as phone returns, you never deal with the the phone maker anyway, you ALWAYS deal with the returns per the carrier. My thoughts on this is that Sprint has been supplied with the tools and info from samsung to verify if the phone has been flashed or not, seeing as how it would be pointless for samsung to include such a feature when they wont be doing the warranty checks.
2. This doesnt sound beyond the scope of samsung in my opinion. And as far as how it was "phrased" this was from a regular user with no real dev experience or technical experience. So if what he said sound a bit odd or simpleton in terms of terminology or his guess as to where this counter would be, thats why. Just because he made a guess that its in the filesystem somewhere doesnt mean much. Also where do we all get these magical tools that you say we have to delete this data that no one knows the location of yet?
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Also the fact that the user ChainFire is working on this confirms its vailidity to me, as he is a major dev in the Galaxy S I & II Scenes.

HaiKaiDo said:
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TEP covers all that.
I guarantee after I put the phone internals into the microwave for a few seconds there is no tool in the world that's going to be able to repair the brick.

eagercrow said:
TEP covers all that.
I guarantee after I put the phone internals into the microwave for a few seconds there is no tool in the world that's going to be able to repair the brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
Torethyr said:
That.
Let's see them prove I've flashed custom roms after I pass the phone under a powerful electromagnet a few times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.

I think this is very low of Samsung ... but i doubt anything will change ... sprint employees know less about this stuff than we do on here .. and haven't people already mess their phones up and got them replaced easily ? ..
Sprint can't accuse you and deny you a replacement if you play stupid and never admit to rooting/ modding ..

HaiKaiDo said:
In response.
1. As far as phone returns, you never deal with the the phone maker anyway, you ALWAYS deal with the returns per the carrier. My thoughts on this is that Sprint has been supplied with the tools and info from samsung to verify if the phone has been flashed or not, seeing as how it would be pointless for samsung to include such a feature when they wont be doing the warranty checks.
2. This doesnt sound beyond the scope of samsung in my opinion. And as far as how it was "phrased" this was from a regular user with no real dev experience or technical experience. So if what he said sound a bit odd or simpleton in terms of terminology or his guess as to where this counter would be, thats why. Just because he made a guess that its in the filesystem somewhere doesnt mean much. Also where do we all get these magical tools that you say we have to delete this data that no one knows the location of yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's in the file system I would use "rm". If it is being stored in a non-standard way as to escape a deep directory/partition inspection I would have to say that it's outside of the file system. A pedantic gripe of mine, to be fair.
3.If you render the phone completely useless in a way that there could be no data pulled from the phone (aka smashing it) then you wouldnt be able to redeem your warranty anyway. bricking the phone wouldnt matter as sprint/samsung have the tools to easily access and repair any bricks that you or I could perform, and then read the information that they need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't even have to present the damn phone to get a new one , it must be lost or stolen....or flashed to boost, lol. Not that I ever have or would, but, that's pretty feasible.
Also the fact that the user ChainFire is working on this confirms its vailidity to me, as he is a major dev in the Galaxy S I & II Scenes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't doubt the veracity of the claim. Nor do I doubt the word of chainfire. What I am not certain of is what exactly they found and what it is counting and how that counter can be used as incontrovertible proof of a warranty damning activity.
I updated my post above which partially addresses this.

I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.

akkord64 said:
I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.
BTW - After you use the JIG it resets the counter..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what about the counter-counter?

akkord64 said:
I checked into this before I returned my 1 day old bricked epic touch 4 g, and Sprint replaced it no questions asked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol yeah it resets the FIRST counter...but thats not the problem. Theres appearently some mechanism in place the count how many times youve reset that first counter lol. Im sure itll be killed in a few days if not weeks by people here on XDA, but i sure do find these kind of things interesting.

HaiKaiDo said:
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro, you are high if you think this has any bearing on Sprint users being able return an Epic Touch 4G. Moreover, Steve Kondick...hired by Samsung. Team CM, given GS2's to hack by Samsung.
Also, if this is an issue with the Galaxy SII international variant, why don't you POST IT IN THAT FORUM?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

All you have to do is flash something in odin with the OG Epic Pit and check re-partition. Start it, run it for a minute or 2 and pull the cord. Completely inoperable.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Hope you people that want to make the phone inoperable and stuff under stand you are the reason the insurance deductible keeps going up......
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

abowlby said:
Bro, you are high if you think this has any bearing on Sprint users being able return an Epic Touch 4G. Moreover, Steve Kondick...hired by Samsung. Team CM, given GS2's to hack by Samsung.
Also, if this is an issue with the Galaxy SII international variant, why don't you POST IT IN THAT FORUM?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh god you called me bro -_-. second off, im not high, i just found this interesting.
Also Steve being hired by samsung doesnt make him president of the "i get to do whatever the **** i want" club lol. He still has to adhere to NDA and the like.
and finally, its in our phones too. our phones are SGS II's lol. Sprint just gave ours a "fancy" name.
---------- Post added at 10:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
SAShady said:
All you have to do is flash something in odin with the OG Epic Pit and check re-partition. Start it, run it for a minute or 2 and pull the cord. Completely inoperable.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inoperable to you sure. To the people with the equiptment MADE to run diagnostics and access low level bootloaders, not a problem. Half flashing a bootloader isnt the end all to a warranty claim. Also i dont know why you all are taking this almost personally as if i was saying this is something that will never be patched or worked out here on xda. And continue to come up with scenarios where you are above the counter lol.

As long as mine doesn't count how many times it sees me masturbate I'm happy...

Something else im curious about.....it says that Odin wont help reset the second counter. To my mind that makes me think that theres something hardware based thats keeping track. Lol exbawkz eFUZE

paniro187 said:
Hope you people that want to make the phone inoperable and stuff under stand you are the reason the insurance deductible keeps going up......
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree and would never do that to my phone, I would just find somewhere else to return it that would accept it. That always works.
But the main point here is that it is the natural "next thing to do" when you go about punishing people for treating their own hardware as, well, their own hardware and installing whatever software they would like on a device that they own...
...Why don't they expend this type of effort on making the phones unbrickable? That would surely save them far more money than "catching the bad guys" and denying people warranty service for things issues that have nothing to do with the software you chose to install on a device you own.
If my PC were to **** itself and something broke because I was running linux/macos/beos/MSDOS/Windows/Xenix/AmigaOS/etc do you know what that means? That the computer was a piece of crap and the computer (or component responsible) should be replaced if it was under warranty... do you suggest that a piece of hardware failing is the softwares fault?
Most (non oem) motherboards come with overclocking tools built into the BIOS these days with safeguards to keep you from blowing your isht up.
This has less to do with hardware failures than it has to do with the freedom to run whatever you want on a computer you purchased....with a dual-core 1.2ghz chip and 1 gig of ram you can be damn sure this is a computer.

alnova1 said:
As long as mine doesn't count how many times it sees me masturbate I'm happy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best post of the day +1 lol
xDDDD

HaiKaiDo said:
Well for the 90% of people out there that dont pay 30 dollars a month for the protection plan, and just want a warranty exchange for something that actually wasnt their fault and at one time or another had a custom rom on their phone, they will be out of luck. So this is a problem for people like myself. Ive never bricked a phone, but i did have my captivate radio antennae die and was getting no signal whatsoever and was able to get att regular warranty to replace it. Had i been in that situation NOW, with this counter in place, i would be screwed. for something that wasnt caused by myself.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 PM ----------
If I remember correctly flash based storage isnt effected by magnetic fields. Also if that did work, good for you....but where do the rest of us get an expensive highpowered electromagnet lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't sure you were crazy, until you said TEP was thirty bucks. It's 8. Honestly not having it on your plan is crazy at this point, unless you have a good backup device you aren't planning on selling.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Sprint issued me a new replacement phone

after talking to business care service yesterday and business retention. The supervisor i spoke to said that it is becoming a known issue with sprint which we already knew. But to my surprise, she gave me a 25$ credit.(which is always nice) and told me that she was sending a new phone to the store i purchased it from. Today i picked it up an so far no LOS. And even if the issue is still happening, who would say no to a brand new free phone. Also both the store and the supervisor told me that as long as it is happening i can exchange phones. But if the problem persist after a few exchanges then they would open my contract and let me purchase a new phone with credit.
anyone else have a similar story?
My hardware version is D710.10
I don't remember what my OG was, if this is newer than anyone else please post what yours is.
Sorry if this sounds kinda newbish, i rarely ever post on here.

Congratulations man good to hear. Hope the new unit works well for you. Mine is about 2 weeks old and it's the same version.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I have read similar things on different forums that this hardware version helps.
also on my old phone where it just said GINGERBREAD. it says GINGERBREAD.EG30

Only hardware version available is D710.10
---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 PM ----------
uhhhevan said:
also on my old phone where it just said GINGERBREAD. it says GINGERBREAD.EG30
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is a GINGERBREAD.EG30 never had loss

okay. i was not sure. sorry

I have the same hardware version "D710.10" and I get LOS, 1-2 times a day.

xpherion said:
I have the same hardware version "D710.10" and I get LOS, 1-2 times a day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But does it say GINGERBREAD or GINGERBREAD.EG30

hey OP did they techs check your phone for the binary counter? I want to go for them to check mine out but I have 1 count, then flashed back to stock. Don't want them to void my warranty.

One4mNoWhere said:
hey OP did they techs check your phone for the binary counter? I want to go for them to check mine out but I have 1 count, then flashed back to stock. Don't want them to void my warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they checked mine when i went to get a replacement, if u have a jig then use it. I had like 22 flashes on my counter but i have TEP so they still replaced mine, no charges either.

Yeah if you're planning to take your phone in then buy the $2 jig I say. $2 for peace of mind is well worth it, even though they probably wouldn't check the counter in the first place.

reddragon72 said:
But does it say GINGERBREAD or GINGERBREAD.EG30
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Build number is GINGERBREAD.EG30

[Tutorial] How to purposefully "brick" your Nexus

Scroll down to get to the Tutorial ---- This method WILL cause your phone to go through bootloops or not boot!
If you like the tutorial or think it may be helpful in some weird way, thank me!
So I had a problem with my nexus yesterday and couldnt unroot, relock, or go back to stock.
Since i had no way of getting my charger to connect or even come up on the computer, i needed to make my phone look as stock as possible to try and replace it
I basically had to make my phone look like it was "Bricked"
I still had a good battery charge and everything but the charging port was working. I simply rebooted into CWM and interrupted a fresh rom install.
"I don't know what happened. My charger hasnt been charging and i woke up to a dead phone this morning. I just replaced my extended battery with the stock one, and now all i get is this google logo. Please verizon rep, Help me!"
What i got out of this?
A free replacement of my phone and a free charger.
MOD EDIT

Good job commiting fraud
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

flyerwire said:
Good job commiting fraud
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

And then sharing it on xda.

I wouldn't say that it was a fraud. His phone was broken and I don't think it had anything to do with root. Anyways this will not brick your phone, you could just aswell wipe everything and then reboot without flashing a rom.

Cause we, over here at XDA, have NEVER committed any type of crime! This is CRIMINAL!!!! LOL

io53 said:
I wouldn't say that it was a fraud. His phone was broken and I don't think it had anything to do with root. Anyways this will not brick your phone, you could just aswell wipe everything and then reboot without flashing a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS^^^^^^
shojus said:
Cause we, over here at XDA, have NEVER committed any type of crime! This is CRIMINAL!!!! LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AND THIS^^^^^
Fraud? Chargers are always a problem... and he was nice enough to get me a replacement.
As far as the phone, If i had a way of restoring it back to stock settings, i Totally would have done that for them. It really wasnt a problem with rooting, but a piece of hardware.
In fact, if it wasnt for the broken charger port, i would have no reason for needing to take it back... but Isn't that always our excuse? It is for me
But thanks for all your feedbacks! Dont you love XDA?

And people wonder why cell phones are so expensive.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.

You evil, evil person

I don't think that's fraud. He had a phone that is defective and should be covered under warranty except he rooted it and vzw considers that voiding the warranty which is bull. We should be able to do whatever we want to our phones software short of bricking them. If we can't restore that's on us. But when something physically breaks and it is not the result of rooting or romming, then they should honor the warranty.

io53 said:
I wouldn't say that it was a fraud. His phone was broken and I don't think it had anything to do with root. Anyways this will not brick your phone, you could just aswell wipe everything and then reboot without flashing a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still fraud lol being ignorant of it doesn't mean it's not.
When you root and rom your phone you accept that you've now broken your warranty. This means if anything goes wrong, it's now all on you. He tricked Verizon into thinking his phone was untouched...making it fraudulent.
Can we call for a ban, plz?
---------- Post added at 04:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------
Synopsis: Just because you *THINK* something should be a different way doesn't mean it's acceptable to lie to people to make it seem true. Just because you believe rooting and installing a rom shouldn't break the warranty doesn't make it acceptable to lie to them.
The cliche "Two wrongs don't make a right" is acceptable here.

still not an excuse considering the bootloader can be relocked and software can be flashed back to 100% stock

I stand on OP side in this.. yes, you invalidate your warrenty when modding your phone, but this was a serious hardware issue and had nothing to do with rom-ing and therefor hardware warrenty should still be valid but verizon would probably not have replaced it if they found traces of software tempering.. don't get me wrong, i'm not FOR frauds in any kind. But this was a faulty device even before modding it.
Sent from my X10i using xda premium

So we don't advocate posting ways to "brick" your phone to get it replaced. Technically this would be fraud, whether or not the device had some major hardware flaw is irrelevant, still fraud. Thread closed anymore posts on ways to intentionally "brick" your device may lead to an infraction. Thanks for your cooperation.
Sent from my HTC Evo 3D using xda premium

Sgh - i748 at&t

My friend who is a complete noob at rooting some how flashed a rom that doesn't support his model which is SGH-I748 which I cant find anywhere on the internet for some reason. I tried to flash a Stock Firmware for Sgh-I747 through Odin and it gets stuck at NAND Write Start!!
It was soft-brick before and I believe it is still soft brick.
It would be awesome if you guys can help me revive this phone.
Thank you very much in advance.
Edit: here are the images
I am sorry to break the rules I will remove the link to the album as per request:
imgurDOTcom/a/wzTR8
I don't know whether it is safe to show those ID numbers so I censored them.

Harpreet10 said:
My friend who is a complete noob at rooting some how flashed a rom that doesn't support his model which is SGH-I748 which I cant find anywhere on the internet for some reason. I tried to flash a Stock Firmware for Sgh-I747 through Odin and it gets stuck at NAND Write Start!!
It was soft-brick before and I believe it is still soft brick.
It would be awesome if you guys can help revive me this phone.
Thank you very much in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Odin 3.07
Uninstall Kies
Uninstall / Reinstall the Samsung USB Drivers
Try again

According to this:http://translate.google.com/transla...g+sgh+i748&hl=en&gl=US&source=android-browser
It's a Windows phone.... Not a Galaxy s3.
Probably no choice but to go back to the manufacturer.

danvee said:
According to this:http://translate.google.com/transla...g+sgh+i748&hl=en&gl=US&source=android-browser
It's a Windows phone.... Not a Galaxy s3.
Probably no choice but to go back to the manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO

Apparently for the Asian market only.
Don't find anything else on it anywhere.
"Research before rooting and/or flashing."
Words to live by, or one ends up with a very expensive, yet fairly ineffective, paperweight.
Hopefully the manufacturer can/will reflash it.

danvee said:
According to this: [dang it it said my post can't have URLs yet]
It's a Windows phone.... Not a Galaxy s3.
Probably no choice but to go back to the manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No actually it is a Galaxy S 3 I can post a photo if you guys like.
danvee said:
Apparently for the Asian market only.
Don't find anything else on it anywhere.
"Research before rooting and/or flashing."
Words to live by, or one ends up with a very expensive, yet fairly ineffective, paperweight.
Hopefully the manufacturer can/will reflash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a number onthe back right under the battery maybe I should call them.
DirtyOldMan said:
Use Odin 3.07
Uninstall Kies
Uninstall / Reinstall the Samsung USB Drivers
Try again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But which files should I flash? I747 or I747M

Harpreet10 said:
No actually it is a Galaxy S 3 I can post a photo if you guys like.
There is a number onthe back right under the battery maybe I should call them.
But which files should I flash? I747 or I747M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of those.... Check Sammobile

Does it say I747 or I747M under the battery?

mrhaley30705 said:
Does it say I747 or I747M under the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says SGH-I748.
However my friend said the last time he hooked up to the Samsung Kies it also said that this phone is GT-19300
So I am a bit confused now.

Harpreet10 said:
It says SGH-I748.
However my friend said the last time he hooked up to the Samsung Kies it also said that this phone is GT-19300
So I am a bit confused now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe your friend has a knock off that is "like" an S3. Sort of.

Can we get some pics PLZ? Front, back, and back with battery cover removed...

Harpreet10 said:
It says SGH-I748.
However my friend said the last time he hooked up to the Samsung Kies it also said that this phone is GT-19300
So I am a bit confused now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found this http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/257971-fake-samsung-galaxy-s3.html
There is reference to a 19300.

DirtyOldMan said:
Can we get some pics PLZ? Front, back, and back with battery cover removed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I will post pictures in few hours.
saj222 said:
Found this [still can't pist urls ]
There is reference to a 19300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it as At&t imprinted on it. But maybe there is something fake about it internally.

Sounds more and more like a Chinese knock off.
Will be interesting to see the photos....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znIXpN-vhSk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

DirtyOldMan said:
Can we get some pics PLZ? Front, back, and back with battery cover removed...
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I have added the link to the main post, I hope mods don't get mad.

What happens when you call the number printed?

What in the hell is an sgh-i748???

Harpreet10 said:
I have added the link to the main post, I hope mods don't get mad.
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FTFY
http://imgur.com/a/wzTR8
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------
The LED and speaker are in different spots, and I dont remember seeing a W1 and W2 antenna connector on the back of mine.

DirtyOldMan said:
FTFY
http://imgur.com/a/wzTR8
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------
The LED and speaker are in different spots, and I dont remember seeing a W1 and W2 antenna connector on the back of mine.
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Yup that there is 100% knock off too bad it won't boot, the knock offs have some weird android version 4.1.3 or something like that.
The printing on the battery is even wrong should read "cell made in Korea assembled in china" not he other way around.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

heads up att note owners

I just went to best buy and had the Samsung rep reflash my phone and holy cow its much snappier!
Seems to have less lag and doesn't freeze as much.
Also. When they flash it it doesn't delete anything on the phone. All my files and apps were still there!!!

"reflash" isn't a thing. What did they actually do?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A

JasonJoel said:
"reflash" isn't a thing. What did they actually do?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A
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Lol OK. I watched him connect it to the computer. It went into download mode showed and android guy logo with a 1 and it showed it downloading and then it went to the update screen and here I am.

I think he just cleared the cache.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
---------- Post added at 08:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
Let me know if anyone has tried this so I can do it. Don't want to clear cache and lose everything. Sorry I am used to TWRP2.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!

borijess said:
I think he just cleared the cache.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
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Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen

raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
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Did your build number change or kernel version?

raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
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There is an option to update and clear cache in recovery. Maybe there's a recovery software on the phone that let's you do a dirty flash. Just guessing.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!

raiu said:
Lol okay. What ever you say. I know how to clear that it was a completely different screen
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There is a proprietary software for Samsung devices that phone companies/certified repair centers have that make everything one click.
For the life of me I can't remember the name of it atm.

Jspex said:
There is a proprietary software for Samsung devices that phone companies/certified repair centers have that make everything one click.
For the life of me I can't remember the name of it atm.
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Samsung Smart tool. It's somewhere between a cache wipe and a full Odin flash. I've heard it equated to resubmitting an OTA. Don't know how accurate that is.

First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

AcquiredIntellect said:
First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
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Some of you are real dicks. Sorry. Not sorry . I'm not a noon and I've had every note device that's been put out. I don't have to prove myself to anyone this was said to help people and all you do is flame people . go back to 4chan or reditt
He flashed the last update for my phone. I watched him do it.
Sometimes when the phone is made there could be errors when the files are migrated for the first time.

I too have had best buy flash proper firmware to my note 3 when it was in an odd state due to my shenanigans. It is a full rom install.

The Smart tool does flash firmware. Generally it's non carrier specific Sammy "stock" FW but it's been a long time since I've seen it so that may have changed. You should upload a system dump for the devs to look at. It's probably nothing but it does have the off chance of being something they could use to find an exploit.
---------- Post added at 09:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------
AcquiredIntellect said:
First of all what do you mean samsung rep at best buy...second why the hell would you need to flash your brand new device in the first place....if there was some "rep" from Samsung it would be likely that protocol for flashing anything to a device from a customer entering your customers(best buy in this case) store is not likely and there is no reason for it....unless you ruined your phone by trying to "flash" something it would be the only reason to send it into download mode and reflash the Ota to fix it....but that would be a service center from att which would never exist in a bestbuy....and you would have lost all unless you store files and apps to either the sd card or the transfer program att uses not sure exactly what it's called but they can save what you want then just put it back when they are done usually only contacts apps and data files that are direct but you lose the saved Info from the apps because the cache has been wiped then when you turn on your phone it will be a little snappier...there is nothing besides the Ota that's even available to flash to it so you probably just cleaned up your cached and the phone isn't having to look for it anymore...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
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Apparently you have not heard of the Samsung Experience Centers inside of BestBuys. We have one in my BB and there are a few hundred of them nationwide.
They are not carrier reps and they are not BB employees. They are Samsung sales reps and technicians and have full access to a multitude of proprietary tools.

I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.

n00b1269 said:
I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.
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Sadly this is the nature of the internet. It is full of armchair experts, who feel the need to comment negativly on everything that is posted. You get used to ignoring it. As you can see from this post, every post draws some (or a lot) of crap, and there are a few nuggets mixed in that make the questions, and comments worth it. Thanks for your information.
Could you imagine if it is a different build number, we would all storm Best Buy and push them to update out devices. It would be cool to watch. We would post lists of reps and their locations and schedules who were the easiest to talk into doing the reflash. Lets do it!
What is the build number on your system? Maybe you got the mystery update that AT&T hasn't (and likely won't) release....

n00b1269 said:
I'm not a noon either (proud to be n00b) but raiu is tight, stop being dicks on here. Right now a number of devs have said they don't want to work on this device because the user community.
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I know it's a shame. My friends a dev and said the same exact thing. But I don't Blame them at all. Idk what happened to the community and helping one another but all it seems like it's so can bash someone the best and it's an absolute shame...just my two cents
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

We need mod that will close the threads, move the fights out of root threads, and possibly block the people stirring the ****. If this community wants to act like children, treat them as such, we have had to do it at xda many a time...... that being said, I have been here a long, long while. Back when ppcgeeks was actually competition, that long. In all the time I have been here, this community right here seems to be comprised of some of the whiney-iest assholes I have seen. Grow the **** up. You want root so badly, attract devs with more than a bounty. And remember it is a pledge if you go that route, it's a donation, not that dev works for you.
Be adults and more devs will come, or keep being like this and watch the empire fall, you guys decide

n00b1269 said:
We need mod that will close the threads, move the fights out of root threads, and possibly block the people stirring the ****. If this community wants to act like children, treat them as such, we have had to do it at xda many a time...... that being said, I have been here a long, long while. Back when ppcgeeks was actually competition, that long. In all the time I have been here, this community right here seems to be comprised of some of the whiney-iest assholes I have seen. Grow the **** up. You want root so badly, attract devs with more than a bounty. And remember it is a pledge if you go that route, it's a donation, not that dev works for you.
Be adults and more devs will come, or keep being like this and watch the empire fall, you guys decide
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Couldn't ******* agree more. ..nicely said
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

The best are the people on here that say that they "need" root and act like it is owed to them. The reality is that nobody needs root, we simply want it. And it's certainly not owed to us.
With that being said, I want root just as much as the next guy or girl. But I'm not gonna cry or lose sleep over it if we don't get it. I love this phone as is.

So, back on subject.... Did you see anything change in the versions of about phone?