Develop Bugs

Frustrating In-Call Audio/Modem Issue

To anyone more of an expert than myself on these matters (which I presume to be a large portion of users here), I'd greatly appreciate any help that can be provided. I'd also like for this thread to be a central collection of baseband/modem functions, behaviors, troubleshooting, etc...
I've had a T-Mobile S4 (SGH-M919) for a while now and have mostly used CyanogenMod derived ROM's and as of lately, more Google Play Edition/Nexus type ROM's (which generally appear to be written for the international i9505 and hence show the model number of my phone to be such; this may or may not be relevant). All of the sudden, the other day during a phone call I received, there was no audio on either end of the call. I couldn't hear the caller nor could the caller hear me. This also happens if I initiate the call. I know for a fact that the media speakers (speakers used during speakerphone) as well as the earpiece speaker are perfectly functional so it's not a case of hardware failure where it works on Bluetooth or speakerphone only. As soon as a call initiates, you hear no ringing or audio once the caller answers other than the tone when the call ends/disconnects. First thing I tried was switching from ART back to Dalvik just for the sake of troubleshooting. Second, I tried clearing the cache (and Dalvik, just for the hell of it). Still no success. So next I try a completely different ROM. I was presently on a GPE ROM with the Samsung kernel so I switched to plain CyanogenMod with a custom kernel. I even went back to a stock ROM! No success either way!!
It was at this point I decided that it had to be a hardware/firmware issue since the issue remained when changing ROM's so I naturally assumed baseband/modem. I don't understand why this issue just magically occurred one day when I hadn't changed anything, but I thought that if I reflashed a clean modem image or and updated one, then maybe it would fix it... I was on MDL so I reflashed the MDL modem. No success. Then (and here's where I f****d up), I tried flashing what I THOUGHT was a stock NB4 firmware file in ODIN. Turns out that despite being labeled as stock, it had a custom kernel built-in and tripped my KNOX counter (FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!!!) Well, since I really only intend to use AOSP/CM based ROM's, it's not such a huge deal for me but still, it sucks.
Here's where I had a break: Yesterday, I tried flashing the MDL modem again, then that didn't work so I tried flashing the MK2 modem. I booted up, made a call, and it worked! First time! Well, that was short lived success because I tried another call immediately after to verify and it started all over again. Now, even reflashing MK2 won't get it to work even once like it did this one time.
Does ANYone who understands baseband and modem firmware much better than I do have any insight or instruction on what I can do? Because of this one issue, I have an otherwise perfectly good S4 that I can't use just lying around. I've had a Nexus 5 for almost a year and love it but I just destroyed the screen after a drop the other day and wanted to switch to the S4 temporarily until the Nexus 6 comes out. ANY IDEAS????

Loss of call audio occurs when your rom and firmware versions dont match. Since you've tripped your knox counter, you have some more freedom now. I think you should (after someone confirms) use the samsung pc software to do a full restore of your phone. It will blow away everything you have and install the latest firmware and matching rom as if you were stock and accepted all otas. Then you can root, flash recovery, flash rom, restore backed up apps. You'll have the cleanest possible setup. Just wait for someone to confirm because i haven't been following closely in the past few months. Alternatively you can find the latest firmware and do it with odin but in your position theres no advantage to doing it piece-meal like that (unless i've missed something in the past few months) because you've already tripped knox

faiyo said:
Loss of call audio occurs when your rom and firmware versions dont match. Since you've tripped your knox counter, you have some more freedom now. I think you should (after someone confirms) use the samsung pc software to do a full restore of your phone. It will blow away everything you have and install the latest firmware and matching rom as if you were stock and accepted all otas. Then you can root, flash recovery, flash rom, restore backed up apps. You'll have the cleanest possible setup. Just wait for someone to confirm because i haven't been following closely in the past few months. Alternatively you can find the latest firmware and do it with odin but in your position theres no advantage to doing it piece-meal like that (unless i've missed something in the past few months) because you've already tripped knox
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the response! This was actually the approach I initially wanted to take when reflashing just the modem didn't work; that is, using Samsung Kies to do a complete Samsung official firmware download and restore. Unfortunately, every time ibtry and do the "emergency recovery" as they call it, once I type in my serial number and model like the app requires, it always tells me that the device is not supported! It's like the device's firmware has been programmed as another that isn't recognized by Samsung. At first I thought it was because I was on a custom ROM and it didn't recognize the software. I remember a while back I needed to do an official restore and I had to get the phone boot loader to read status "Samsung Official" and not just official. I actually put stock everything back on manually and got those status fields to read Samsung Official for the binary and kernel but it still won't restore with Samsung's software. It's my estimation that Samsung has now integrated the Knox counter into their software support. I'm assuming that with that sensor tripped, I can never be "official" and therefore supported again. That's why I've been doing everything Odin. With all of this in mind, do you have any other recommendation? I'll look a little further into the problems I've had with Kies and maybe why I can't restore in the meantime but otherwise, why do you think flashing MK2 modem worked for just ONE call and then stopped again? And why do you think that the issue just suddenly happened in the first place without a software change?

thair7391 said:
Thanks for the response! This was actually the approach I initially wanted to take when reflashing just the modem didn't work; that is, using Samsung Kies to do a complete Samsung official firmware download and restore. Unfortunately, every time ibtry and do the "emergency recovery" as they call it, once I type in my serial number and model like the app requires, it always tells me that the device is not supported! It's like the device's firmware has been programmed as another that isn't recognized by Samsung. At first I thought it was because I was on a custom ROM and it didn't recognize the software. I remember a while back I needed to do an official restore and I had to get the phone boot loader to read status "Samsung Official" and not just official. I actually put stock everything back on manually and got those status fields to read Samsung Official for the binary and kernel but it still won't restore with Samsung's software. It's my estimation that Samsung has now integrated the Knox counter into their software support. I'm assuming that with that sensor tripped, I can never be "official" and therefore supported again. That's why I've been doing everything Odin. With all of this in mind, do you have any other recommendation? I'll look a little further into the problems I've had with Kies and maybe why I can't restore in the meantime but otherwise, why do you think flashing MK2 modem worked for just ONE call and then stopped again? And why do you think that the issue just suddenly happened in the first place without a software change?
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Click to collapse
A few notes: i have a similar problem in the last few months. After about 12 hours of uptime i cannot hear the other caller. I thought it's because im using ****ty roms from these forums so i was about to go to the international forums and flash theirs. I only use touchwiz roms so far. And it manifests about a week after flashing the rom. And i have to reboot twice a day to keep it functioning So yeah.. i get it too even tho i had a matching baseband
I think the reason you tripped knox wasnt because of the kernel. It's because a stock firmware package will upgrade your bootloader, while you should have actually been pursuing a modem-only package to flash with odin (which preserves the MDL bootloader and prevents tripping knox).
Anyways, im not sure what you have done with the "Samsung offical" status or modifying the identifiers of the phone but i was pretty sure kies would restore it. If not, then you should be trying to flash stock firmware (full) for NH7 firmware which was released recently. Not just modem only, which is what some of the packages here contain (meant for people with MDL bootloaders who dont want to trip knox). Try to pursue the full firmware odin flash. Im pretty sure that would do it for you. It should be the full-on samsung stock.
About kies: i haven't used it but i've experienced weird things happen with adb and specific usb cables and usb ports on the computer, even with nexus devices. I hate to suggest this but try a different computer and different usb cable. Its an actual solution thats worked before. It messed me up before and a number of other people. Make sure its up to date too i kinda recall old versions had a compatibility issue

faiyo said:
A few notes: i have a similar problem in the last few months. After about 12 hours of uptime i cannot hear the other caller. I thought it's because im using ****ty roms from these forums so i was about to go to the international forums and flash theirs. I only use touchwiz roms so far. And it manifests about a week after flashing the rom. And i have to reboot twice a day to keep it functioning So yeah.. i get it too even tho i had a matching baseband
I think the reason you tripped knox wasnt because of the kernel. It's because a stock firmware package will upgrade your bootloader, while you should have actually been pursuing a modem-only package to flash with odin (which preserves the MDL bootloader and prevents tripping knox).
Anyways, im not sure what you have done with the "Samsung offical" status or modifying the identifiers of the phone but i was pretty sure kies would restore it. If not, then you should be trying to flash stock firmware (full) for NH7 firmware which was released recently. Not just modem only, which is what some of the packages here contain (meant for people with MDL bootloaders who dont want to trip knox). Try to pursue the full firmware odin flash. Im pretty sure that would do it for you. It should be the full-on samsung stock.
About kies: i haven't used it but i've experienced weird things happen with adb and specific usb cables and usb ports on the computer, even with nexus devices. I hate to suggest this but try a different computer and different usb cable. Its an actual solution thats worked before. It messed me up before and a number of other people. Make sure its up to date too i kinda recall old versions had a compatibility issue
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Click to collapse
So quick update/reply, I just stumbled upon a stock, lightly modified MK2 ROM flashable through recovery that I had buried on my microSD and decided to give it a go (since the MK2 modem was the only one that every gave me any success even though it was just one time, and even though the ROM I was using was custom so couldn't have really matched ANY Samsung baseband). Even though I really already knew and understood everything you told me, you were brilliant to remind me about the need for the modem to match the OS when it initializes. After booting up the Stock MK2, calls are now working, and consistently!!! Now I'm making a backup (just in case, even though I really don't want to use stock) and then I'm going to go for a custom ROM again, probably CM based. Thanks again for your help!
I know exactly how I tripped the Knox counter. I downloaded a firmware file that was LABELED as a stock NB4 ROM and that wasn't correct. It was a stock NB4 ROM with a MODIFIED CUSTOM KERNEL! That would have been a useful detail beforehand...
I'm also familiar with using adb and it's selectivity with USB cables. They need to be "fastboot" cables which usually only is the case with manufacturer included cables. Using Kies to restore firmware to a phone though should have nothing to do with fastboot or adb. First off, you don't need the adb Runtime or SDK to use Kies nor does Samsung include it in the installation. Second, when you're using Download mode, that's Samsung's proprietary software using their own proprietary API's and commands to communicate and interface directly with their hardware so I think the issues I've had with Kies is something else. I appreciate the suggestion though.
As far as the matching modem and software goes, I'm a bit confused... Why is it that you can use custom ROM's non-related to Samsung after updating your baseband if the custom ROM isn't matching that firmware? Perfect example, just now... I tried the stock MK2 and it worked. Now I just finished loading clean CyanogenMOd, and it worked! BUT - only one and a half times... It went through once, I tried again, and then it stopped mid ringing of the call, now doesn't work. AHHHH!!! How am I supposed to do this? And why did I never have trouble in the past? Once I get a stock ROM and matching, working modem installed, what am I supposed to do from there if I want to switch to a CM based ROM?

thair7391 said:
So quick update/reply, I just stumbled upon a stock, lightly modified MK2 ROM flashable through recovery that I had buried on my microSD and decided to give it a go (since the MK2 modem was the only one that every gave me any success even though it was just one time, and even though the ROM I was using was custom so couldn't have really matched ANY Samsung baseband). Even though I really already knew and understood everything you told me, you were brilliant to remind me about the need for the modem to match the OS when it initializes. After booting up the Stock MK2, calls are now working, and consistently!!! Now I'm making a backup (just in case, even though I really don't want to use stock) and then I'm going to go for a custom ROM again, probably CM based. Thanks again for your help!
I know exactly how I tripped the Knox counter. I downloaded a firmware file that was LABELED as a stock NB4 ROM and that wasn't correct. It was a stock NB4 ROM with a MODIFIED CUSTOM KERNEL! That would have been a useful detail beforehand...
I'm also familiar with using adb and it's selectivity with USB cables. They need to be "fastboot" cables which usually only is the case with manufacturer included cables. Using Kies to restore firmware to a phone though should have nothing to do with fastboot or adb. First off, you don't need the adb Runtime or SDK to use Kies nor does Samsung include it in the installation. Second, when you're using Download mode, that's Samsung's proprietary software using their own proprietary API's and commands to communicate and interface directly with their hardware so I think the issues I've had with Kies is something else. I appreciate the suggestion though.
As far as the matching modem and software goes, I'm a bit confused... Why is it that you can use custom ROM's non-related to Samsung after updating your baseband if the custom ROM isn't matching that firmware? Perfect example, just now... I tried the stock MK2 and it worked. Now I just finished loading clean CyanogenMOd, and it worked! BUT - only one and a half times... It went through once, I tried again, and then it stopped mid ringing of the call, now doesn't work. AHHHH!!! How am I supposed to do this? And why did I never have trouble in the past? Once I get a stock ROM and matching, working modem installed, what am I supposed to do from there if I want to switch to a CM based ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really have no idea about aosp roms for this device because i only used touchwiz to keep samsung features.. so i have no knowledge about firmware compatibility. I would think the creator of the rom should specify any firmware requirements.
On the thought of hardware failure, and i know you said the speakers work, but did you test the sim card slot? Perhaps it needs to be cleaned? Maybe the sim card is partially failing so try a different card? Maybe you cut it and it's loose (you wont believe the crooked sim cards i've seen). I think it's worth pursuing since you said it worked once and not again.. maybe you had just taken the cover off while flashing stuff and touched/pressed it but it's losing contact again after flexing during use. I dunno dude, the kind of call audio issues i've had were always resolved with a reboot & making sure the modem matches the touchwiz build.
Please make sure you are running a full stock firmware package & keep the touchwiz rom consistent with it. Some firmware packages are partial components

So now I've just updated to a FULL STOCK NH7 firmware package. My build number and baseband are matching. NO CALL AUDIO!!

For starters, up until a few days ago, I ran all types of ROM with an MK5 boot loader and 3 different modems and never had a call issue. After that said, I read a few months ago about a guy had your same issue. He ended up getting a new sim card and he got is audio back. He also had reception issues before getting the no audio issue.

thair7391 said:
So now I've just updated to a FULL STOCK NH7 firmware package. My build number and baseband are matching. NO CALL AUDIO!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try flashing the firmware again, some have to flash it twice for the bootloader to update, which may the trouble. If that doesn't work try a new sim like it was suggested before me

I know it's been a while but I basically gave up and just recently came back to it. I've since bought a Nexus 6 so it's not a priority issue anymore however I would still like to fix this otherwise perfectly fine Galaxy S4 that I have lying around! I seemed to believe that there was a special combination of custom ROM and specifically the MK2 modem that would sometimes cause the audio to intermittently work but it appears I was wrong. I flashed the full stock NH7 firmware/baseband etc back to my phone twice as suggested and NY audio worked! For a few calls that is... Then it stopped working again. Sometimes I could clear cache and reboot and it would work! Once or twice anyways before crapping out again... The bottom line is that there isn't a pattern aside from a cleared cache that makes the audio work again before it stops soon after which unfortunately leads me to believe it's a deep rooted hardware issue in the baseband itself. Anyone else have ideas?

Other than trying a new sim, I can't really think of anything else except to make sure the bootloader really did update. Download Samsung phone info from play store and check bootloader info to make sure it was updated to NH7

Unfortunately it is completely updated. I tried a new SIM and everything works still except audio in phone calls, including ringing. I guess it's hardware... Guess now I just have an internet browsing MP3 player with web browsing capabilities.

Removing the StageFright bug

I want to secure my phone from the recently discovered StageFright Android hack.
I want to remove the component/package that this bug is linked to.
I am running AT&T Rooted Stock (minus bloatware) 4.4.2 Baseband: I747UCUFNE4.
I want to remove the offending package with titanium backup until an Update can be issued.
Can someone let me know what package I need to remove?

You will be better off waiting for a xposed patch, stagefright (if you have been paying attention) is the media processor in android so if you take it out you loose most media playback
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk

crazymonkey05 said:
You will be better off waiting for a xposed patch, stagefright (if you have been paying attention) is the media processor in android so if you take it out you loose most media playback
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T is never going to release an patch for my Device.

mrnapolean1 said:
AT&T is never going to release an patch for my Device.
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Click to collapse
No they're not, but CM apparently has stagefright patched.
Maybe it is time to give a custom ROM a shot. :good:

jason2678 said:
No they're not, but CM apparently has stagefright patched.
Maybe it is time to give a custom ROM a shot. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have CM on my Captivate up until my screen took a ****.
Do you know any good tutorials for installing CM on the SIII?

mrnapolean1 said:
I have CM on my Captivate up until my screen took a ****.
Do you know any good tutorials for installing CM on the SIII?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some guides linked to these forums, but the ones I know of are pretty old and out of date. Samsung pushed Knox with the newer firmware updates, and that really changed how we have to handle this phone. The information you're after has been written all over this forum by many members, myself included, but I can't seem to find a decent post to link to right now. The problem is there is a lot of information, it is all fragmented across thousands of posts, hard to search (hard to find what you're after anyway), and some of the old information can be a little dangerous with the newer bootloaders.
The key to not bricking this phone is to know what bootloader and modem you're on and never, ever try to downgrade it (if you're on a newer one). First thing to do is install the Samsung phone info app from the play store and check your bootloader and baseband. Alternately enter this in a terminal:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
getprop gsm.version.baseband
If your bootloader ends in MJB, NE4, or NJ1 don't ever try to downgrade it. The result is a hard brick that is very difficult to recovery from. That means never Odin back to stock if you're on MJB, NE4, or NJ1. The only stock Odin package AT&T allowed to be released is the "ancient", new bootloader bricking LK3 Android 4.1.1 firmware.
If your bootloader or modem end in NE4 or NJ1 you're good to go. You can flash any newer ROM you want. If you're on MJB you're probably ok too. If you're on anything else your mobile data probably won't work with CM 12.1. You'll have to look into updating.
Another good thing to know is that the i747/d2att bootloaders are not locked and have never been locked. Do not attempt to unlock them. Any GS3 bootloader unlock procedure you come across is probably for the Verizon variant, and if you try it on a d2att you'll likely have a hard brick.
Also be aware that the i9300 was marketed as Galaxy S3 as well, but it is a totally different device on the inside. Never flash an i9300 ROM on a d2att phone.
Once you've verified what bootloader/modem you're on, and that it is good to go with CM 12.1, these are the basic steps I'd take if starting with an unmodded phone:
1) Download a SuperSU TWRP flashable zip and store it somewhere on your phone.
2) Use Odin to flash the latest version of TWRP for d2att. Uncheck everything but f.reset time so the phone doesn't auto reboot. Upon success pull battery.
3) Replace battery. Boot straight into recovery by holding vol up + home + power until you see some tiny blue text in the upper left then releasing. If you mess up and accidentally boot into your stock ROM your custom recovery will likely get overwritten with stock and you'll have to repeat step 2 and try again.
4) Flash SuperSU in TWRP.
5) Reboot to stock ROM. Use play store to update your SuperSU binary. You'll probably have to reboot once or twice, but eventually you'll get working root and Knox disabled.
6) In stock ROM open a terminal and enter:
Code:
su
reboot nvbackup
Your phone will reboot. It will seem like a pretty normal reboot, but you'll see some quick flashes of blue text in the upper left if your looking for it. This fixes a Samsung derp and makes sure you have a working EFS backup. This was the only reason we rooted your stock ROM; sorry about all that work just to do this but if your phone ever panics from a bad flash and triggers its autorestore function you'll be happy you did it.
7) Download ROM for d2att and matching gapps. Store them on external SD if you have one. Otherwise verify you can copy files from PC to phone via USB when your phone is booted into TWRP. With TWRP up an running you should just have to plug it in and phone will be recognized by PC as a media device you can transfer files to.
8) Reboot to recovery. Make a backup in TWRP. Store copies on external SD and somewhere off phone for safekeeping. In fact, always keep a nandroid backup or two, a ROM you know works, and a gapps package on an external SD - just in case.
9) Do wipe -> advanced wipe. Tick dalvik, cache, system, and data.
10) Do wipe -> format data. This is why your new ROM and gapps need to be on external SD. Otherwise you'll have a blank phone and you'll have to copy something over via usb or push it via adb to have something to flash. You don't need to do this every time you flash a ROM, but you do need to do it when switching from touchwiz to AOSP and vice versa.
11) Flash ROM
12) Flash gapps
13) Reboot - be patient. 1st boot might take 10 - 15 minutes on a lollipop ROM with this phone.
14) Profit
This probably isn't detailed enough to use as a walkthrough. It will give you an idea what to search and do more research and reading on, and I think I flagged most of the hard bricking pitfalls owners of this phone run into.. Make sure you understand the whole procedure before proceeding. Wouldn't want you to brick your phone trying to deal with a potential vulnerability there's a remote chance you might be targeted with.
Good luck. I made it sound a little scary, but as long as it is handled properly this phone is a flashing beast. If I haven't flashed mine dozens of times, then its in the hundreds. Never had anything go so wrong to the point that I could boot up into recovery and restore or flash my way out of it.

I have NE4 bootloaders

mrnapolean1 said:
AT&T is never going to release an patch for my Device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said att, I meant Xposed framework. People release security patches on their all the time
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk

Problems booting and rebooting (not consistently) - just updated bootloader to OG5

So, my phone was problem free with the OB7 bootloader /OG5 ROM combination that is fairly common on this forum.
My unhealthy obsession with getting Android Pay to work on my phone led me to update the bootloader to OG5. I used odin and the tar file/instructions found here: "[GUIDE] Not quite newbie guide for moving to 5.1.1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3199881 "
Since doing this i have been having consistent problems including:
1 - powering on often goes into a download mode, with an error message, including but not consistently one of the following:
- sbl1 partition doesn't exist
- Kernel panic krait
- mmc_read fail
2 - reboots fail in about half of the attempts , sometimes the phone boots into download mode with an above error, sometimes it just stays powered off
3 - infrequent rom freeze-ups that result in one of the errors above.
I have re-tried the process a couple of times to fix. After the tar, and TWRP, I i have flashed both Hybrid X & Freeza's stockish. Both are terrific when the phone boots properly (except for the freezes mentioned above, but i don't think that they are ROM related.)
I have also tried removing and reformating my SD Card.
I usually get it to boot properly after a couple of battery pulls.
I'm not sure what the problem is and hoping someone wise can help me come up with a fix. Wondering if this related to TWRP, or maybe the updated partitions or some kind of checkdisk situation?
Any ideas?
Many thanks,

Since you mentioned TWRP and the method you used, you must not intend to get Android Pay working? I haven't kept up with this topic since the forum Google employee disclosed the unofficial policy stating root is a security risk they don't want compromised for Android Pay. Seems the unofficial policy is to choose root or abandon it for Android Pay. Most likely applies to Samsung Pay as well.
That said, are you looking for a rooted solution or non-rooted solution for the random reboots and freezes. Non-root solution would only be wipe and start over or seek warranty resolution. Rooted: did you try the previous ROM you were using on a clean install?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

samep said:
Since you mentioned TWRP and the method you used, you must not intend to get Android Pay working? I haven't kept up with this topic since the forum Google employee disclosed the unofficial policy stating root is a security risk they don't want compromised for Android Pay. Seems the unofficial policy is to choose root or abandon it for Android Pay. Most likely applies to Samsung Pay as well.
That said, are you looking for a rooted solution or non-rooted solution for the random reboots and freezes. Non-root solution would only be wipe and start over or seek warranty resolution. Rooted: did you try the previous ROM you were using on a clean install?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, android pay let me set up my credit cards when i disabled superuser via supersu , it wasn't letting me do that on the OB7 bootloader. I haven't had the chance to make a purchase, not sure if it will work.
That said, my goal would be to get the phone stable, resolve the booting issues and keep root. I don't need android pay.
As far as the ROM I had before updating the bootloader, it was one of the OG5 roms I've since installed. It was my understanding that the new partitions would not allow me to install the previous nandroid backup.
The issue seems to be at a lower level than the rom
samep said:
Since you mentioned TWRP and the method you used, you must not intend to get Android Pay working? I haven't kept up with this topic since the forum Google employee disclosed the unofficial policy stating root is a security risk they don't want compromised for Android Pay. Seems the unofficial policy is to choose root or abandon it for Android Pay. Most likely applies to Samsung Pay as well.
That said, are you looking for a rooted solution or non-rooted solution for the random reboots and freezes. Non-root solution would only be wipe and start over or seek warranty resolution. Rooted: did you try the previous ROM you were using on a clean install?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

mrquaid said:
Actually, android pay let me set up my credit cards when i disabled superuser via supersu , it wasn't letting me do that on the OB7 bootloader. I haven't had the chance to make a purchase, not sure if it will work.
That said, my goal would be to get the phone stable, resolve the booting issues and keep root. I don't need android pay.
As far as the ROM I had before updating the bootloader, it was one of the OG5 roms I've since installed. It was my understanding that the new partitions would not allow me to install the previous nandroid backup.
The issue seems to be at a lower level than the rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PM sent.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Thanks to @samep for all the help.
If anyone finds this thread w/the same problem, here is what made it way better.
After flashing the tar, let the stock ROM boot and go through the setup wizard.
Then shut down, then power into download mode to odin TWRP.
I was installing TWRP right after the tar, and it must have mucked it up a bit.
The phone is not 100%, I can't seem to reboot from my ROM into recovery mode. But I can power down and start up into recovery the usual way (holding the Power, Home, and Volume Up buttons).

Note 4 Help!

Like many other sprint users, I experienced serious problems with 5.1.1. This resulted in battery pulls and even a downloading boot. I starting looking into a fix. After flashing about every ROM for sprint N910P on this website, I either result in bootloop or the same problems persist. The problems are as follows:
-Can't boot, so I have to wait ~5 minutes to try again
-Boots straight to downloading, mmc read fail
-Boots fine
-Crashes to black screen around 80-90% battery (back to problem 1)
I cannot figure how to use odin anymore because it fails on nearly every rom I attempt. My reactivation lock is OFF.
I'll try to provide as much detail as I can, but I'm at my wits end with this phone.
Thanks!

If you can Odin OK1 stock tar, there is another root alternative: root stock with Chainfire Auto Root. CFAR has been updated for Android 5.1.1 Note 4
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55865442&postcount=3
Custom ROMs will take longer than 5 minutes to boot initially after flash. TWRP has been known to fail to flash or not properly flash after trying repeatedly to flash wrong tar with Odin or flash with reactivation locked. Which, if any, apply to you? I hope it's not hardware failure...
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Chainfire was going to be my next option. I think the first time I attempted using chainfire through odin, it ended in a bootloop. I haven't tried the update version though. I'll give that a shot.
Is there any way to fix this problem with TWRP (delete it and reflash)?
I'm starting to think its a hardware failure, which would suck because knox is tripped and warranty expired a few days ago anyway I believe.

I downloaded the updated CFAR last night to verify it was updated. It's bundled with Odin 3.10.6 Use the defaults with that for stock OK1 tar.
You should know that CFAR is primarily for rooted stock.
If you want a custom ROM, you may have to use Philz CWM touch recovery for Note 4. TWRP just gets inoperative for some time for some users when tars fail in repeated attempts. Philz' seems to flash where TWRP doesn't if that's the case.
http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/GalaxyNote4/CWM/philz_touch_6.59.0-trlte.tar
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is most likely a hardware problem. I've had two Note 4's do exactly this. Flashed the stock rom on both with Odin, problems still persisted. It would just get random restarts and sometimes boot into "panic mode", whatever that is. The quality control on these phones is terrible. I baby them and never rooted any of them, yet two of them messed up like that, and all 3 of course have GPS issues. If it worked like it's supposed to it would be amazing, my friend has had one since my first Note with 0 issues, super jealous.

I hope its ok for me to post this here i couldnt find any threads on this issue and i didnt want to make new one just for this one problem so i figure i post it here since the post doesnt really point out to nothing specific and its on note 4 thread so i know ill get faster response than if i posted it in help thread ,but if i'm in wrong please feel free to delete this post at once . With that out of the way heres my issue and i hope theres an easy fix for it i was on latest pl1 build of 6.0.1 stock rooted i got tired of playing pokemon so i decided i want my themed look back so i restored my backup of 5.1.1 cog5 build ,everything works fine but my wifi ,its grayed out and when i try to turn it on it stays in "turning on " possition but it never does come on it eventualy goes back to " to see the list of networks turn on the wifi" .Now my question is is there any way to fix this wifi without flashing srock 5.1.1 i know there used to be fix for it back when i was on note 3 but this was yeaaaaars ago and i dont have that file any more thanks a million.

bigbabo said:
I hope its ok for me to post this here i couldnt find any threads on this issue and i didnt want to make new one just for this one problem so i figure i post it here since the post doesnt really point out to nothing specific and its on note 4 thread so i know ill get faster response than if i posted it in help thread ,but if i'm in wrong please feel free to delete this post at once . With that out of the way heres my issue and i hope theres an easy fix for it i was on latest pl1 build of 6.0.1 stock rooted i got tired of playing pokemon so i decided i want my themed look back so i restored my backup of 5.1.1 cog5 build ,everything works fine but my wifi ,its grayed out and when i try to turn it on it stays in "turning on " possition but it never does come on it eventualy goes back to " to see the list of networks turn on the wifi" .Now my question is is there any way to fix this wifi without flashing srock 5.1.1 i know there used to be fix for it back when i was on note 3 but this was yeaaaaars ago and i dont have that file any more thanks a million.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To fix the WiFi and camera focus, get the bootloader for OG5 from OP in this thread and flash it in Odin.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=66352412
The ones labeled firmware are bootloaders. You don't have to flash the whole OG5 stock tar but you still could. Just make sure the flash restores that bootloader and you should be set.
Likewise, you could still restore a MM backup and restore its bootloader.
I think you should backup your keepsakes in internal memory and wipe internal memory before restoring a backup that crosses Android versions. With backups on extSdCard, you could wipe everything but that but I'd think you could factory reset, wipe internal memory plus the Android folder on extSdCard and have a good transition with the bootloader flash. Otherwise, a factory reset would be the minimum step but may leave some residual information you may not need cluttering your memory along with what you want to keep. Seems I recall some having issues coming back to lollipop from MM without wiping internal memory?
Just curious, do you recall what you wiped going back to lollipop?
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Nothing i just go back n forth between lp and mm depending on lvl of interest in pokemon lol i have backups of 6.0.1 and 5.1.1 i just restore backups without wiping it restores fine aside from wifi not turning on i have no other issues
Edit: sorry meant to quote the post above me

bigbabo said:
Nothing i just go back n forth between lp and mm depending on lvl of interest in pokemon lol i have backups of 6.0.1 and 5.1.1 i just restore backups without wiping it restores fine aside from wifi not turning on i have no other issues
Edit: sorry meant to quote the post above me
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Click to collapse
Gotcha. Just an old question in the back of my mind from early days of MM. I researched the TWRP thread, the developers recommended a factory reset.
If you've ever noticed internal memory available seemingly smaller than usual, it could be the extraneous folders.
Thanks.
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Lollipop Update issue

I have a Note 4 on Sprint, still running KitKat. Here's my problem:
I really don't want the Lollipop update. I don't want it because I love KitKat so much and I tried Lollipop out on my friend's phone and hated the look and feel of it. I don't want it to finish downloading because I hardly have any space on my phone as it is.
I don't want to
-root my phone
-factory reset my phone
-trip Knox
Right now, I'm pretty angry because I'd like to use WiFi, but can't because every time I turn it on the update starts to download. I tried going into settings and turning off auto update, but that didn't stop it. I also tried filling my device storage so that there were less than 800 megabytes left, but that had no effect on the update either, it just continues downloading. I realize that there are similar posts on this issue, but none of them really apply to me. Thank you in advance for any help.

Just update it then use a kk theam the update will help i dont think you can stop the ota update

chad.420.419 said:
Just update it then use a kk theam the update will help i dont think you can stop the ota update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying, but that really doesn't help me at all. As I said several times over in my original post, I don't want the update at all. I'm constantly hearing about people choosing to keep KitKat, so there must be some way. And even if I could apply a theme to my whole phone without being rooted, it wouldn't fix all the other problems that I have with lollipop.

But the 3 things to consider or note before you begin:
1) if you update beyond OB7, the bootloader gets upgraded to one with a reactivation lockable bootloader. That will prevent you from being able to Odin back to KitKat. You need to disable auto update and stop the update notices before they start; otherwise the nags persist and you may accidentally update.
2) the lollipop file system is different than KitKat do better off formatting your data and wiping cache and dalvik-cache and powering down and pulling battery prior to Odin OB7 stock tar. Let it boot and setup wizard prior to Odin of TWRP (uncheck auto reboot for recovery flash only), boot into TWRP recovery and flash the ROM.
3) dalvik gets built on initial boot of lollipop ROMs; the stock tar still not much quicker. You'll likely see the phone hang at the second boot splash screen with blue LED slowly blinking before you see the app optimization and app start pop-ups. You can expect that with lollipop. Give it 30 minutes to boot before you panic. To avoid CPU heating and slowing the process, remove your phone from its case and ventilate if it gets too warm. You need to start with battery charged to about 80% to full to be safe. It's best to not try and update apps or restore apps until you've flashed and booted the custom ROM. More apps means the process takes longer. You can format the data again prior to flashing the custom ROM to speed things along. If possible, backup your media, and downloads that you want to keep and wipe internal sdcard to get a cleaner start with lollipop. That's optional but don't lose your keepsakes. What you flash should be on extSdCard to avoid the wipe-loss if it.
BTW, the post you're referring to may have been an attempt to recover phone after attempting to downgrade to OB7 or KitKat. It's since been discovered that although Odin wouldn't downgrade, there's a possibility to flash older ROMs in recovery and immediately flash a 5.1.1 rooted kernel to get it to boot without looping. That doesn't have to apply to you; the general rule is to Odin flash the tar that matches the ROM you want to flash in recovery. But again, if you upgrade beyond OB7, you cannot go backwards with Odin. Only few exceptions apply; generally it is forward, not backwards. OB7 is the divide that separates the simple from more complex conditions. So these last 3 paragraphs shouldn't apply to you as long as you're wanting to stay with OB7 or KitKat.
Just for an idea of what to consider in other lollipop updates. The ram optimization got a bit crazy after OB7 and continued until it improved in OJ6. Personally, I think OJ6 and OK1 updates are the best lollipop updates yet. You'll certainly find more security updates in those updates. But lollipop 5.1.1 also introduced the need to root the kernel but Chainfire has recently brought us a patch to use stock kernel again; it's married from experimental to beta. I've mostly ran with stock kernel on my phone, especially before lollipop 5.1.1
Things were once simpler but got a tad more complex as time and updates followed OB7.
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7H3N3RD said:
I have a Note 4 on Sprint, still running KitKat...
I don't want to
-root my phone
-factory reset my phone
-trip Knox
Right now, I'm pretty angry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a tough ask for a definitive answer, IMO. IDK if it can be done but I'll offer an idea for discussion. Consider pros and cons and alternatives and even constructive differing because l don't know if it's been tried and proven to stop the persistent update on stock KitKat. There are root alternatives but your request is taken into some consideration below.
Odin stock tar will not trip Knox or require root. There are 2 stock tars for KitKat (those end with NIE and NK2, last 3 letters only, NIE being the original, NK2 the last KitKat update).
My theory is that you could...
1) Odin the first tar, NIE stock tar is linked below, let it download the OTA for NK2 but postpone the update long enough to go into Settings/System update/Auto update and uncheck the option.
2) Turn phone off and boot into recovery. It should find the NK2 update and prompt to apply it. If not there's an option to apply from cache, I think.
3) Once booted, make sure the auto update is still unchecked.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95784891001612590
The instructions for Odin stock tar are found here but early posts in that thread may be relative to Odin if stock KitKat tar. The stock tar above is actually linked in post #2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56853325&postcount=1
If auto update resets during the process, it most likely promptly starts the OTA download, negating the effort. No guarantees but reason the risks before you proceed. That's the whole theory, if someone knows the system update gets reset to auto or if that's not enough to prevent it, please advise. On a rooted Lollipop phone, uncheck auto update seemed to be enough to prevent the OK1 update from downloading and being persistent to update... I may have overlooked something in my simple theory. Did I?
Don't be angry with me if it doesn't work. Your data may not be lost but backup what you can on PC via USB, particularly photos, media and downloads on internal memory before you start. KIES may actually work to backup a lot on a stock un-rooted phone but be careful about what you restore; don't want to start the persistent update again if you succeed in preventing it.
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You definitely can stop it from nagging you to update by turning off notifications (I think you turn it off for Google services framework, and if not that, it's Google play services). This worked for me when I stayed on kitkat.
But deleting the downloaded update file is an issue without root. It lies in /cache or /cache/FOTA directory I believe, which you can't access without root. You may be able to wipe cache with stock recovery, but I'm not sure if it has that option (I'm not on stock recovery so can't check) or if it even works for what you want. Perhaps you can try deleting the cache for Google services framework or Google play services, not sure if the works either. Just some thoughts which may help you