Develop Bugs

Rooting and Modding questions. Final Check

So ive been doing a lot of reading on rooting phones and the best way to go about doing this, but I still have a few questions about the whole process. First IM going to briefly write what I understand about the process and have it corrected and then ask my questions.
To root:
I will follow this guide http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...ock-bootloader-root-verizon-galaxy-nexus.html
Basically I will make sure all drivers are updated on my computer (samsung and USB)
Use command prompt to unlock the boot loader and then install superboot for the GN
after this process is done and I reboot the phone I will be unlocked and ready to go
Modding
Done through CWM
1. I will download the mod that I want and place it in my phones internal memory.
2. boot into recovery mode with CWM
3. backup the phone with CWM (can anyone tell me where the back up is saved)
4. factory reset the phone
5. install zip from SD card (which will be the mod)
6. reboot back into recovery mode and install Gapps that I downloaded from the cryogen mod wiki through the "install zip from SD card" option. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Latest_Version
7. Reboot phone and i will be good to go
SO my questions:
1. If i missed anything, can you guys quote my steps and add in what i left out in the correct order?
2. How do I update the phone to 4.0.4. If im guessing correctly, I would rename the file to update.zip, and before i modded my phone and after the factory reset I would install that zip onto the phone? I'm just slightly confused on the process
3. How do I uninstall a mod and go back to stock
4. How do I handle OTA updates? I know that with mods, I cant download the OTA automatically. I would guess i would have to uninstall the mod, download and install the update, and then thats where I dont know what to do
5. Is there a way to back up all my apps so when I install a mod or update a mod I can just have them all reinstalled back in and have all the settings restored, without having to download each individual app and change their settings back to what they were previously?
these are all the questions that come to mind presently. Some may arise later.
Thanks in advance, and if some of my questions have already been answered in a previous thread, can you guys just post a link to that thread?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201

You dl'ed android sdk yet or all the fastboot files you need?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

You have it correct. Use titanium backup to save all your app data. And you have to restore a nand backup if you want to undo a mod you flashed. The mod usually instructs you to backup right before flashing, so you can just revert right back if you want.
I wouldn't worry about ota anymore. Being rooted always leads to you being able to flash the latest ota quicker than if you were stock and waiting for your number to be called. Trust me after years of this that's how it always happens.

corban227 said:
So ive been doing a lot of reading on rooting phones and the best way to go about doing this, but I still have a few questions about the whole process. First IM going to briefly write what I understand about the process and have it corrected and then ask my questions.
To root:
I will follow this guide http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...ock-bootloader-root-verizon-galaxy-nexus.html
Basically I will make sure all drivers are updated on my computer (samsung and USB)
Use command prompt to unlock the boot loader and then install superboot for the GN
after this process is done and I reboot the phone I will be unlocked and ready to go
Modding
Done through CWM
1. I will download the mod that I want and place it in my phones internal memory.
2. boot into recovery mode with CWM
3. backup the phone with CWM (can anyone tell me where the back up is saved)
4. factory reset the phone
5. install zip from SD card (which will be the mod)
6. reboot back into recovery mode and install Gapps that I downloaded from the cryogen mod wiki through the "install zip from SD card" option. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Latest_Version
7. Reboot phone and i will be good to go
SO my questions:
1. If i missed anything, can you guys quote my steps and add in what i left out in the correct order?
2. How do I update the phone to 4.0.4. If im guessing correctly, I would rename the file to update.zip, and before i modded my phone and after the factory reset I would install that zip onto the phone? I'm just slightly confused on the process
3. How do I uninstall a mod and go back to stock
4. How do I handle OTA updates? I know that with mods, I cant download the OTA automatically. I would guess i would have to uninstall the mod, download and install the update, and then thats where I dont know what to do
5. Is there a way to back up all my apps so when I install a mod or update a mod I can just have them all reinstalled back in and have all the settings restored, without having to download each individual app and change their settings back to what they were previously?
these are all the questions that come to mind presently. Some may arise later.
Thanks in advance, and if some of my questions have already been answered in a previous thread, can you guys just post a link to that thread?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some things that don't make sense in what you are doing.
1) Yes, you install the correct drivers;
2) Yes, you unlock your bootloader; however, if you want to save any data, it would be better if you root first (before unlocking your bootloader) -- see link in my sig, backup apps/etc. and even do a full backup. Don't forget to copy all of that OFF your device, as unlocking wipes even /sdcard.
3) If you are going to install a custom ROM, then there is no need to root the stock ROM you currently have, only to overwrite it with a custom ROM. Doesn't make sense.
4) If you are installing a custom ROM, you cannot "update" it to 4.0.4, unless the dev releases a 4.0.4 update for that particular ROM.
5) If you are sticking with the stock ROM, look at the link in my sig for either how to update to 4.0.4, or, better yet since you are unlocking your bootloader (which will wipe all your data anyway), flash the full 4.0.4 ROM.
6) OTA updates are only for stock ROMs.
7) You can use Titanium Backup once you are rooted to back up apps and app data.

efrant said:
There are some things that don't make sense in what you are doing.
1) Yes, you install the correct drivers;
2) Yes, you unlock your bootloader; however, if you want to save any data, it would be better if you root first (before unlocking your bootloader) -- see link in my sig, backup apps/etc. and even do a full backup. Don't forget to copy all of that OFF your device, as unlocking wipes even /sdcard.
3) If you are going to install a custom ROM, then there is no need to root the stock ROM you currently have, only to overwrite it with a custom ROM. Doesn't make sense.
4) If you are installing a custom ROM, you cannot "update" it to 4.0.4, unless the dev releases a 4.0.4 update for that particular ROM.
5) If you are sticking with the stock ROM, look at the link in my sig for either how to update to 4.0.4, or, better yet since you are unlocking your bootloader (which will wipe all your data anyway), flash the full 4.0.4 ROM.
6) OTA updates are only for stock ROMs.
7) You can use Titanium Backup once you are rooted to back up apps and app data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the difference between a stock rom and a custom rom? I was looking at milestone 4. What is an example of a stock rom because I would prefer that to be able to still do ota updates.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

corban227 said:
What's the difference between a stock rom and a custom rom? I was looking at milestone 4. What is an example of a stock rom because I would prefer that to be able to still do ota updates.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are asking that question, more reading is likely in order before you start flashing things.
But anyway: a stock ROM is the ROM Google puts out. They are found here, and instructions on how to flash are in my signature. All other ROMs are custom ROMs.

Gotcha. Ill look it up tonight
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I ended up reading more which lead to me unlocking and installing 4.0.4
Im happy with this now and I dont feel the need to custom mod. I need my phone to be functional all the time with out being too time consuming =D thanks for the help and leading me to my conclusion

I would seriously give aokp a try, I promise its worth it. Its the same as stock there's no extra work needed or anything to worry about or deal with. Its that good.

Id say stick with stock. I tried all the custom roms and while customisation options are good, nothing better than knowing your phone is 100 percent stable and secure with a locked bootloader.

biffsmash said:
Id say stick with stock. I tried all the custom roms and while customisation options are good, nothing better than knowing your phone is 100 percent stable and secure with a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't recommend re-locking your bootloader if you have unlocked it. Actually, I would recommend that, every time you buy a Nexus device, the first thing you should do is unlock the bootloader. Don't forget, having an unlocked bootloader does not mean you are not "stock". An unlocked bootloader doesn't affect anything (aside from what I mentioned below).
Why you ask? Good question:
Advantages of a locked bootloader
If you lose your device, no one can easily access your data, but only if, in addition to your bootloader being locked, you have the stock recovery installed AND you have USB Debugging disabled AND you have a password on your device. However, this "risk" (if you can call it that) can be mitigated by many apps that can remotely wipe your device.
Disadvantages of a locked bootloader
You cannot use fastboot commands, so you cannot flash or boot images, which can save your butt in certain occasions.
You cannot try out new radios (assuming no root).
You cannot backup your data (i.e., make an image of your device's memory (assuming no root).
You cannot root (on 4.0.4 and later).
You cannot manually update to the latest version of Android once Google starts rolling it out. You have to wait until Google decides it's your turn, which could be minutes to months after the update becomes available.

+1 to working without me thinking. I'm leaving the boot loader unlocked to install any updates Verizon doesn't push through but other than that its staying stock. Plus I really like vanilla ICS AS IT IS
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] So I Dove Into Rooting

so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.

aeneas1 said:
so i recently dove into rooting my s4 after first spending a lot of time reading this great board, thought i had a handle on it, thought things were going very well, but i've hit a snag, which came while attempting my first restore - i'm hopeful someone will give me a little help,
a little background:
1. before rooting i backed up my phone with titanium, also backed it up by copying all of its contents to my pc.
2. i followed the excellent "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" instructions and it worked without a hitch, it was a quick and easy process, no surprises.
3. confirmed that i was rooted using "root checker", all systems were go.
4. once the root was done i made another backup using titanium and sms backup. i also made a full system backup using online nandroid pro and, to be extra safe, i also backed up efs using efs backup tool.
5. i then moved some folders and files to my external card and once again backed up my phone as before, including to my pc.
6. feeling confident that i could now restore my system to its rooted stock state if things went south, i decided to flash my first rom with cwm, i went with cm11 m7 4.4.3 - i saved the cm11 and gapps zips to my external card using rom tool box pro, rebooted into cwm recovery, selected the two files, and flashed. i also did a data and cache wipe before doing so.
6. needless to say i was thrilled when cm11 loaded perfectly, it worked great, and it was just what i was hoping for.
7. having been bitten by the apparent ease of flashing roms, i decided to restore my system to it's pre cm11 state, to it's rooted stock rom state, and try another rom, rather than just flash another rom from cm11 - i wanted to make sure that returning to my rooted stock rom state would be a simple matter.
and that's where i've run into problems.
1. as i mentioned i made two system backups of my stock rom before flashing cm11, one right after i rooted my phone, and one after moving some folders and files to the external card.
2. after doing a wipe, i chose to restore the second backup, the one i made after moving files and folders, and it didn't quite work out - everything appeared to restore perfectly, but my device was immediately inundated with pop up warnings about stopped apps, i also got a persistent warning that the system had stopped responding as well, prompting me to choose between "wait" or "stop it". not only was the restored backup mired in popup screens, but it was impossibly slow, impossibly "laggy".
3. so i decided to restore the other stock backup, the one i made before i moved folders and files, and the results were the same, pop screens for apps not working, system warnings, severe lags, etc., identical to the first backup.
then i panicked.
1. i decided to flash my phone with the "[SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root" file again, again with odin, hoping that it would put me where i started - i didn't stop to think that my phone was already rooted, that the file was was for unrooted phones.
2. not only did the reflash not work (my phone just booted as normal, as if the flash didn't get a chance to finish), but cwm recovery in boot mode was gone, replaced by what appears to be the andorid stock recovery screen, a screen with an animated dying/collapsing robot, - the screen was titled: "android system recovery <3e> and asked for an "update" from the external storage or cache.
3. not knowing what "update" it was looking for, i selected a backed system files (the first rooted stock rom backup i made, the second rooted stock backup i made, and even the cm11 file) - none worked.
4. i then downloaded a clean stock rom from cwm's website, converted it from zip to tar, and tried to flash it using odin with my device in upload mode, it didn't work either.
so how badly did i mess up my phone? any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms. The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.

Skipjacks said:
f it boots at all you didn't kill it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hallelujah!
Skipjacks said:
Not sure what rom you got from the CWM site. They do recoveries, not roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my apologies, i meant that i downloaded recovery files from the cwm website, not a rom files - i got them from https://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager - i downloaded both (touch & non-touch) s4 t-mobile versions (6.0.4.7). i'm assumed those were recovery files?
Skipjack" said:
The ROM manager app does allow you to download roms, but you can't just convert those from zip to tar. That doesn't make them flashable in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, my apologies - i meant that i downloaded *.img files, not zips, and converted them to tars for odin use. i used a batch file to convert them from img to tar, found at xda, here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2281287 - it seemed to do the job, odin ran and reported success. wrong files? wrong conversion?
Skipjack said:
Here's what you do. Get the stock ROM from either here on XDA (use the search feature to find it) or from Sammobile.com.
Flash that in Odin.
Then you can start over.
---OR---
If you want to try to fix what you've got now, download CWM or TWRP RECOVERY (nor ROM) and flash that in Odin. Boot to recovery, wipe data and system, and flash any other rom you want. That will start you over with a fresh rom of your choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given a choice, i'd like to do what's bolded in red - but that's what i thought i was doing by flashing the cwm file i downloaded from the cwm website - but after the flash attempt it wouldn't boot into cwm, it would just boot into (i'm assuming") the stock rom i restored, which was a mess. i also unchecked auto-boot to see if that helped - but when i manually booted it didn't boot into cwm, it booted into the stock recovery, with the animated android.
i'll try downloading cwm from the sources you provided, and see if that does the trick. btw, why do you think i was able to flash the cm11 rom with (seemingly) perfect success, but wasn't able to restore either one of the full system (android) backups i made after i rooted my phone?
anyway Skipjack, thanks a ton for your assistance and i'll report back after i give your sources a try. fwiw, it sure is a great charge when a newbie like me sees a custom rom load for the first time, displaying a new ui as it boots, fun stuff.

Just download the ready yo flash tar files. Cwm has them. Twrp has them.

success Skipjack thanks to your generous time and assistance!
i ended up downloading the latest odin zip i could find and philz_touch_6.08.9-jfltetmo.tar.md5... my first try didn't take, with auto-reboot checked, my phone simply rebooted into the same problematic rom i had restored. i then tried it with auto-boot unchecked and manually booted when odin reported pass/success, and it worked. what struck me as odd was how long it took to flash, to report pass/success, around 3-5 minutes if i had to guess, a big difference compared to when i first used odin to root my phone with the["SGH-M919] CF-Auto-Root *.tar.md5 file - i'm guessing that's why it didn't work with auto-boot checked, just took too long?
anyway once i booted into philz_touch recovery i executed the wipe data/factory reset > clean to install a new rom command and then flashed the cm11 m7 (snapshot) rom, which i had flashed once before, right before i attempted to restore the stock rom it had replaced. and as was the case the first time around, it installed without a hitch and is running smooth and fast.
however now when i boot the phone, as soon as the cyanogen logo appears, very tiny text appears in the upper left hand corner which reads (i had to use a magnifying glass!) - it doesn't seem to effect the performance of he device but i'd like to get to the bottom of it, i've already searched and it appears to be a rather common issue.
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
btw, i forgot to mention, when i purchased my sgh-m99 it already had 4.3 installed - when i flashed my first rom (cm11 m7) it included kitkat 4.4.2... could this be what caused my problems? did trying to go back to (restore) a 4.3 rom after flashing a 4.4.2 rom screw things up? can this even be done successfully?
and finally, at the risk of bugging the heck out of you, what roms do you prefer for your s4, assuming you have an s4? do you like aosp roms or touchwiz? does one type have a better reputation of being more stable? the primary reason i wanted to rot my phone was to get rid of a bunch of t-mobile / samsung bloatware, which i thought i could do by installing a lean custom rom. any suggestions, which are your favorites? thanks again Skipkack.

ouhned after
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
eclpsues said:
I'm not an expert in Android OS but I think this is not an error. It is more of a notification that the STOCK KERNEL has been change to a CUSTOM one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Joku1981 said:
You are right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483

aeneas1 said:
re the two lines of text i now get in the upper left hand corner of the screen whenever i boot, the kernel message:
kernel is not seandroid enforcing
set warranty bit: kernel
well after a lot of searching and reading, including coming across dozens of "fixes" and "solutions" that didn't seem to work for many folks, these two responses seemed to make some sense, what do you think?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2594483
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.

Skipjacks said:
The tiny text on the boot screen is basically telling you that Knox has been tripped. You are right. It does not affect the performance of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.

aeneas1 said:
thanks skipjack... btw i'm really liking the cm11 m7 rom but, via the learning curve process, i've discovered it does not support wifi calling, something that apparently all aosp rom lack, guess i'll have to go with a touchwiz rom even tho the selection seems to be few and far between. also, is it possible to revert back to 4.3 once 4.4.2 has been flashed? seems like there's a lot of mixed opinions on this, altho in terms of those opinions it's hard for me tell who the pros are that should believed, and who the other guys are that really don't know. thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Kriptik210 said:
Once you are rooted you can flash any custom ROM 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, etc. and then go back to stock 4.3. And only TW ROMs allow wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
so if i'm using a 4.4.2 custom rom and want to restore a 4.3 backup i should be able to boot into recovery and restore from there? or would i need to do a 4.3 flash first, before restoring a 4.3 backup?

aeneas1 said:
very interesting... i guess i misunderstood the posts i read on the subject, maybe they were discussing whether or not you could revert to 4.3 from 4.4.2 on non-rooted phones, which i'm guessing isn't possible. anyway, as i mentioned previously, i fist rooted my 4.3 phone, did a full system backup (using online nandroid), flashed a 4.4.2 rom which worked perfectly, then tried to restore my 4.3 backup only to encounter a bunch of problems, thought going from 4.4.2 back to 4.3 may have caused the problems but i guess not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup

serio22 said:
Did you wipe before you restored? And do not misunderstand this, you cannot downgrade firmwares once you go 4.3 and up, but you can downgrade the system, which is what you did with your backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?

aeneas1 said:
thanks very much for the clarification, i was under the impression that firmware and system were somewhat synonymous in this context, i.e. if you upgraded firmware you were in effect upgrading the system, but i see that's not the case, again thanks. and yes i did do a full wipe before trying to restore the backup, was i not supposed to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it. And you should not experience any issues restoring your back up. What were this problems?

btw serio22, do you have a favorite tw rom?

Yea serio22, what is your favorite TW ROM?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple app not working popups that made navigating almost impossible. well now when i try to restore it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
serio22 said:
Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
btw, fwiw, - now that i'm up and running thanks to skipjacks help, i decided to try restoring my 4.3 backup again. as i mentioned, when i tried this in the past it would restore to the same state as it was before but it was virtually unusable because of severe lags and multiple "app not working" popups that made navigating almost impossible. but now when i try to restore the 4.3 backup it fails and i get the following message:
checking md summs...
md5 mismatch
update:
well it looks like the *.md5 file was pointing to my internal drive rather than external which is where i had moved the 4.3 backup (and apparently the *.md5 file didn't update or account for the move), anyway i copied the backup to my internal drive and, viola, no more md5 mismatch errors. more importantly, it restored the 4.3 backup perfectly, in the exact same state as before, without all of lagging and pop up issues i was having before, so i'm one happy camper! not sure what i did the first time around, but all is good now, for he time being, sure wish i knew what i mucked up to cause the problems in the first place, i really have no idea, other than being a newbie at this. also, fwiw, the tiny text in the upper left hand corner that appears during boot (kernal message) no longer appears now that i have restored the 4.3 system backup... fwiw2, i'm liking the philz_touch_recovery but it sure has taken some getting used to, the commands are so close together and the thing is so sensitive, very easy to accidentally select the wrong option, and some of the wrong options aren't too friendly if it wasn't what you had intended to select.

aeneas1 said:
but the cm11 rom zip i flashed included 4.4.2, before flashing i was using 4.3 - so didn't i update (or change) both the system and firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my previous post more closely below. Good to see you up and running though! And no I don't have a favorite tw Rom
serio22 said:
Updating firmware does update the system. Based on your previous comment the only thing you did was update the system by flashing a ROM which only contains the system, data, and kernel, so you can still flash the 4.3 firmware. Firmware consists of bootloader, recovery, modem, and system, what you cannot downgrade is the bootloader, the flash will fail every time because it will try to downgrade it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

SMT700 - Custom Rom /Installation/Backup

Hey guys
I am completely new in this topic. I just got an Samsung Galaxy Tab S (SMT700 Wifi) as a present a few days ago. Its my first android device I had so far.... so everyone will call me "noob" and I am okay with it DD
When I realised that there are different android os development projects like CM and Paranoid, I become interested in trying them out. so...
1.) Is it possible to brick the android device completely or is there something like an recovery/dfu mode in iOS devices?
2.) Can I go back to the stock OS contributed bey samsung itself (Touchwiz Kitkat)? If yes are this files online?
3.) Does I need special hardware to perform a custom rom flash? (micros card/special OS on pc (linux,....)
4.) Does the CM blck mod in the official forums contains alle required drivers and blobs already to perform gpu tasks and so on? (are there currently downsides swell?)
Thx :fingers-crossed:

androidnoob222 said:
Hey guys
I am completely new in this topic. I just got an Samsung Galaxy Tab S (SMT700 Wifi) as a present a few days ago. Its my first android device I had so far.... so everyone will call me "noob" and I am okay with it DD
When I realised that there are different android os development projects like CM and Paranoid, I become interested in trying them out. so...
1.) Is it possible to brick the android device completely or is there something like an recovery/dfu mode in iOS devices?
2.) Can I go back to the stock OS contributed bey samsung itself (Touchwiz Kitkat)? If yes are this files online?
3.) Does I need special hardware to perform a custom rom flash? (micros card/special OS on pc (linux,....)
4.) Does the CM blck mod in the official forums contains alle required drivers and blobs already to perform gpu tasks and so on? (are there currently downsides swell?)
Thx :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. There is bootloops but hardbricks are rare. You can enter recovery and download mode(flash stock rom on broke os) in a bootloop. Just hold power, home or vol up for recovery and home +power +vol down for download mode.
2. Yes you can go back to any version of stock os unlike apple you have to be on the latest. The files are online for your device at sammobile. (google it) and also samsung updates.
3. All you need to perform a custom rom flash is a custom recovery called twrp and your device. Theres an app on google play for installation of it. (search on youtube on how to do so). But thats just flashing zip based roms(which most custom roms are). For stock rom installation, you will need a pc and a application called odin 309 to flash a stock md5 file rom in which you will need to be in download mode (like installing new update from itunes).
You will need to backup your whole rom with twrp before flashing a custom rom. You may need a micro sd if your short on space. You will also need to be rooted to install custom roms. Please go to the cfautoroot thread of your device to root your device in which you will viod warrenty.
4. Cm rom as of now still has bugs but is still useable for games and such. There should be a list of bugs on the thread and might have some missing features such as ir blaster and finger print scanner. Battery life may vary. So there are downsides.
5. I can go into more depth of custom stuff and flashing if you wish. Right now my fingers hurts xD. Hope this helps!

1) it is very, very unlikely even if you try intentionally to do so
2) yes, no problem. google for Samsung Firwares, it's all online
3) windows PC, Odin Software, and an USB cable, that's all. You can do it with Linux if you prefer. Some Roms are installed via zip file from the device itself, then you need to flash a new Recovery partition first, that is able to do so
4) ?

Thx you very much for the help !
After reading a lot about this topic it seems to be not as difficult as I thought it would be.
But I don't get one thing. Why does I need to make a proper backup only for the flashing propos? If I flash my internal memory, all data will be replaced. And if it goes wrong I will be able to do a complet software reset with odin and the original samsung image found in the Internet?! So why I have to make a backup (there is no data in my current tap I will need in the future)?
And does the cf chain root flash the OS or the firmware ?
As my understanding tell me that the firmware is something comparable to a bios , which should never be flashed to maintain stability.
So as my logic goes further if my device is rooted, after a proper reset it will not be rooted anymore? (Android stock reset function in settings)
Or does armbased devices not have a normal firmware/bios as I mentioned ? And something in the bootprocess itself is manipulated to anable root access?
Hopefully you get what i mean :angel:

androidnoob222 said:
Thx you very much for the help !
After reading a lot about this topic it seems to be not as difficult as I thought it would be.
But I don't get one thing. Why does I need to make a proper backup only for the flashing propos? If I flash my internal memory, all data will be replaced. And if it goes wrong I will be able to do a complet software reset with odin and the original samsung image found in the Internet?! So why I have to make a backup (there is no data in my current tap I will need in the future)?
And does the cf chain root flash the OS or the firmware ?
As my understanding tell me that the firmware is something comparable to a bios , which should never be flashed to maintain stability.
So as my logic goes further if my device is rooted, after a proper reset it will not be rooted anymore? (Android stock reset function in settings)
Or does armbased devices not have a normal firmware/bios as I mentioned ? And something in the bootprocess itself is manipulated to anable root access?
Hopefully you get what i mean :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Sometimes odin and kies will fail for you. Twrp backups is to be really safe if you get bootlooped and odin fails for you. Its much easyer to restore a twrp backup and easy to make one. Its just if odin or kies fails which twrpnwould be your only hope. Just in case
2. Cfautoroot only flashes supersu and root. It keeps your apps and everything. So when you flash cfautoroot, it will say andriod is upgrading becuase its installing root and restoring back your apps.
3. After a full proper reset, it will not have root and revert back to stock. Thats where you flash cfautoroot to gain root again!
Hope this helps!

So as of now I managed to root my device and also created a twrc backup, which is now transfered to my sd card
Are there major differences between a rom flash with twrc recovery or odin?

androidnoob222 said:
So as of now I managed to root my device and also created a twrc backup, which is now transfered to my sd card
Are there major differences between a rom flash with twrc recovery or odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most custom roms are to be flashed with twrp. Meanwhile stock roms/md5 is to be flashed with odin(firmware from website).

Again Thx you very much!! You are awesome!
I managed to install cyanogenmod its insanely fast compared to the touchwiz version
But there is one more thing I have to ask.
I installed TWR in the latest version but the klimwifi (2.8.XX) version (klimtwifixx was not avaible). Is this the right version?
Where exactly does TWR be installed. Afther the wipe and the format it stays, so I have no clue how it can be available even if the internel memory was formated?
I started TWR by the terminal (reboot recovery), becouse I have no clue how to start it instead by button pressing?
And there are no playstore how can i get it on cm11?

androidnoob222 said:
Again Thx you very much!! You are awesome!
I managed to install cyanogenmod its insanely fast compared to the touchwiz version
But there is one more thing I have to ask.
I installed TWR in the latest version but the klimwifi (2.8.XX) version (klimtwifixx was not avaible). Is this the right version?
Where exactly does TWR be installed. Afther the wipe and the format it stays, so I have no clue how it can be available even if the internel memory was formated?
I started TWR by the terminal (reboot recovery), becouse I have no clue how to start it instead by button pressing?
And there are no playstore how can i get it on cm11?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.8 is the latest version of twrp. I dont think your device is klimwifixx. It should be klimwifi. What the wipe and and factory reset in twrp does is that it clears all your apps and wipe cache. It does not wipe any folders and it justs wipes your apps. So internal should not be affected unless you formatted it... You just need to swipe the factory reset on it when installing roms. For google play store you have to flash a file name gapps. There should be a link to it on the thread. To get into recovery, turn off your device, then hold power, home, vol up buttons at the same time to enter recovery. To exit recover just touch the reboot rectangle and hit reboot system. Hope this helps!

Okay now its clear TWRP replace the "downloade mode", which is the standard recoverymode
You said I do not need to format the disk, but why?
In linux distributions (debian for example) you will have similliar structure for example /var /bin /sbin /usr /proc,.....
If there is the stock touchwiz android it will have this structure listed above as well. So it will courrupt the os by overwriting this folders by a custom rom....
. Maybe you wont do it in the TWRP menue, because it will do it automatically by choose you custom rom install script in the zip?
How is the portioning in those devices? Maybe there are /dev/sda1 (android) and /dev/sda2 (with the recovery setup inside)....? I just want to understand those things

androidnoob222 said:
Okay now its clear TWRP replace the "downloade mode", which is the standard recoverymode
You said I do not need to format the disk, but why?
In linux distributions (debian for example) you will have similliar structure for example /var /bin /sbin /usr /proc,.....
If there is the stock touchwiz android it will have this structure listed above as well. So it will courrupt the os by overwriting this folders by a custom rom....
. Maybe you wont do it in the TWRP menue, because it will do it automatically by choose you custom rom install script in the zip?
How is the portioning in those devices? Maybe there are /dev/sda1 (android) and /dev/sda2 (with the recovery setup inside)....? I just want to understand those things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No no! Twrp replaces stock recovery. Download mode cannot be replaced. You enter it by holding power, vol down, home button when the device is off. Download mode is when you flash things. Recovery mode is when you clear cache or other stuffs. I have no idea with the linux stuff you explained but custom zip roms just adds some modifications and other stuff to the device. You would need to clear cache and factory reset so you wont have problems installing it. You can easyly go back to stock rooted by restoreing a backup you made in twrp. It has to do something with img and replacing those if thats what your talking about idk. No need to format as the rom add things to it. Just need to factory reset and cleae caches.

But now if I want to enter download mode for testing, it will boot into the twrp recovery. So as for me it looks like that it is already replaced..

androidnoob222 said:
But now if I want to enter download mode for testing, it will boot into the twrp recovery. So as for me it looks like that it is already replaced..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldnt be as twrp only replaces recovery. Img did you try doing home, power, vol down?

Hi
I have a quick question I have the Galaxy tab S 10.5 wifi and was wondering can I install TWRP without the tablet being rooted?
Also there are some builds where it states that its rooted, debloated and de-knocked. Does this mean that they can be flashed without rooting the tablet and tripping knox.
Thanks for your replies, still trying to get my head around this.

[Q] Boot loop + Blue LED Flashing on rooted device

Hey everyone so I took my phone out of my pocket and it was stuck in a boot loop. I tried taking the battery out, volume up + power + home, volume down + power + home but nothing. I've tried booting it also without a battery.
I have Quantum running on my phone, and have never had any problems. The occasional restart but now my phone won't even get to the home screen. I get just a boot loop with normal sounds, and then my LED begins to flash. Then it just loops again ..
Don't really know what to do.
UPDATE: Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.

DELETED - irrelevant information.

StoneyJSG said:
DELETED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why ?

Rovon said:
Why ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will your computer detect it if connected? (Odin, Heimdall, adb)

dawgdoc said:
Will your computer detect it if connected? (Odin, Heimdall, adb)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes computer is detecting it with Odin.

Rovon said:
Yes computer is detecting it with Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is on the phone's screen while the device is detected by Odin?
There are a couple of notn-standard images that will actually function as download mode, allowing you to reflash a custom recovery. And then, hopefully restore a nandroid of your rom.

dawgdoc said:
What is on the phone's screen while the device is detected by Odin?
There are a couple of notn-standard images that will actually function as download mode, allowing you to reflash a custom recovery. And then, hopefully restore a nandroid of your rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get two options for either volume up and volume down. After pressing volume up I got the android with "Downloading Do not turn off target"

Rovon said:
I get two options for either volume up and volume down. After pressing volume up I got the android with "Downloading Do not turn off target"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.

Rovon said:
Update: After reading some more I decided to use this tutorial to flash back to factory: http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...sh-stock-roms-using-odin-for-windows-0142713/
Now that I have flashed to factory, I am stuck on the glowing samsung logo.. I have to tried factory reset / wipe but still nothing. Download mode is still working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with dawgdoc. Use Odin to reflash the latest version of TWRP, or the custom recovery of your choice. Uncheck auto reboot before you flash. Upon successful flash when it says reset in the status window unplug USB then pull the battery. Replace battery and try to boot to recovery with vol up + home + power; keep holding all three for a second or two after it vibrates until you see the blue text for booting to recovery (hopefullly)...
Then restore a nandroid backup, or load CM 10 or 11 on a microsd and flash that.

jason2678 said:
I agree with dawgdoc. Use Odin to reflash the latest version of TWRP, or the custom recovery of your choice. Uncheck auto reboot before you flash. Upon successful flash when it says reset in the status window unplug USB then pull the battery. Replace battery and try to boot to recovery with vol up + home + power; keep holding all three for a second or two after it vibrates until you see the blue text for booting to recovery (hopefullly)...
Then restore a nandroid backup, or load CM 10 or 11 on a microsd and flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the same battery but now I can't get into recovery at all. I get the little blue text in the top left hand corner but I can't get to recovery.
Edit: Just realized I used the wrong TWRP for my phone. I redid everything and now I can get into Recovery mode. Going to try and put a rom on my device. Will be back shortly with an update.

Rovon said:
Using the same battery but now I can't get into recovery at all. I get the little blue text in the top left hand corner but I can't get to recovery.
Edit: Just realized I used the wrong TWRP for my phone. I redid everything and now I can get into Recovery mode. Going to try and put a rom on my device. Will be back shortly with an update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I keep getting a bunch of errors with TWR. I tried installing AOKP but got stuck at a boot screen again, and after trying to wipe my phone I get an error message saying "Failed". Now I'm trying install Quantum again but get an error message saying "Zip file is corrupt". T__T
Going to try another rom..
Update: I've tried Quantum again and it finally installed but now I'm stuck in a bootloop again. This is so frustrating ...

It seems like you are on the correct track. Don't give up.
Hopefully it is not a matter of the internal sdcard going bad.
If you continue to have trouble you might consider reflashing the bootloader and modem that the phone is currently on, or a newer one.

dawgdoc said:
It seems like you are on the correct track. Don't give up.
Hopefully it is not a matter of the internal sdcard going bad.
If you continue to have trouble you might consider reflashing the bootloader and modem that the phone is currently on, or a newer one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed Clockworkmod to see if TWR was the issue and still I'm getting boot looped. Is there a clean start from scratch method I can do that guarantees a fix for this ?Although I didn't get any errors with Clockworkmod just getting looped again. I haven't tried anything with the bootloader and modem. Is there a updated tutorial on this? I can't find anything

Rovon said:
Installed Clockworkmod to see if TWR was the issue and still I'm getting boot looped. Is there a clean start from scratch method I can do that guarantees a fix for this ?Although I didn't get any errors with Clockworkmod just getting looped again. I haven't tried anything with the bootloader and modem. Is there a updated tutorial on this? I can't find anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of thoughts:
Is there any chance that following the tutorial in your original post you tried flashing a ROM image using Odin that had a bootloader different that what was on your phone when it was working normally? If so was it an older or newer version.? If older, then reflash the newer one that was previously on the phone, along with its matching bootloader.
It could be that a full wipe before trying again to flash the ROM would be what you need.
If the wipe doesn't work you may need to flash a stock based ROM and then go back to Quantum, or whatever you choose.

dawgdoc said:
Couple of thoughts:
Is there any chance that following the tutorial in your original post you tried flashing a ROM image using Odin that had a bootloader different that what was on your phone when it was working normally? If so was it an older or newer version.? If older, then reflash the newer one that was previously on the phone, along with its matching bootloader.
It could be that a full wipe before trying again to flash the ROM would be what you need.
If the wipe doesn't work you may need to flash a stock based ROM and then go back to Quantum, or whatever you choose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't remember .. Any tutorials on doing a proper full wipe for my device? I did try initially flashing a stock based rom, but I'll try it again with Clockwork.
Also, how do I know which bootloader is correct and which files to flash if I can't access the info through my phone. I swear half of these damn tutorials have broken links and only spam files. I don't know what to do since there's so many damn options... I'm ready to throw my phone against a wall.

Rovon said:
I honestly don't remember .. Any tutorials on doing a proper full wipe for my device? I did try initially flashing a stock based rom, but I'll try it again with Clockwork.
Also, how do I know which bootloader is correct and which files to flash if I can't access the info through my phone. I swear half of these damn tutorials have broken links and only spam files. I don't know what to do since there's so many damn options... I'm ready to throw my phone against a wall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.

jason2678 said:
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
also to confirm modem , type in ...
getprop | grep version.baseband
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"

jason2678 said:
You still have download mode and recovery working, so there's still some things you can try. Don't smash it just yet.
I know how feel about searching for information on this phone. It's either fragmented and spread across a dozen forum posts, or you find stuff from tech websites and whatnot that is really dated. To make matters worse, some of the changes Samsung made to the more recent bootloaders made those dated articles and forum threads downright dangerous (stupid Knox and efuses). There are plenty of landmines and some bear traps out there.
Since TWRP is still functioning you can check what bootloader you're using; it's good to know if you aren't sure. I think you could do this on CWM too, but you'd have to use a computer and adb shell. Might be easier just to flash TWRP 2.8.5 back as your recovery if you don't already have adb and drivers set up on your computer. Boot into TWRP and go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> the Select. In the command line enter:
Code:
getprop ro.bootloader
That will output your bootloader. Report that back here. It is not safe to flash any firmware updates with Odin or custom recovery without knowing your current bootloader version. Flashing wrong, downgraded, or mismatched firmware is the #1 way to brick this phone and it can be hard to recover from.
Was your storage encrypted when you were running normally?
The usual clean flash procedure for TWRP is this: Pick Wipe -> Advanced then tick dalvik cache, cache, system, and data then slide to wipe. These wipes will not touch files stored in your internal sdcard. Once those wipes are complete you're typically set to flash your new rom and Gapps, but...
If the rom zip you're going to flash is loaded on an external SD card you can also format the internal SD, also under Wipe. This will erase all your pictures, user data, etc stored on internal sdcard (you've been warned); it will also erase the rom you're going to flash if it is stored there. Do not format the internal SD if you aren't using an external SD card, or you'll have a blank phone with no rom to flash. You can recover from this with adb, but it can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it so just don't do it . The way your phone is behaving (spontaneously bootlooping in your pocket) I would consider formatting the internal storage, provided you have an external SD available to flash files from after formatting your phone. Any files that you must save on internal storage you could move to external SD with TWRPs file manager.
If a good clean flash and possibly fixing up your firmware doesn't cure it, I've heard TWRP and Odin just aren't as thorough as a full wipe in the stock recovery. Loading stock recovery and doing a factory reset in it might not be a bad next step, but check on the firmware and make certain you do a proper clean flash before you resort to stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the information. It's good to know that me being unable to find a solution wasn't just due to my frustration.
My bootloader is: I747UCDLK3
I did do the same type of wipe but all of my roms are on an external SD card. I was under the impression the internal storage was wiped completely. I currently have Quantum / Gapps / Kernel all stored on the external SD. At this point whatever it takes to get my phone working again will do.
mrrocketdog said:
+1
also to confirm modem , type in ...
getprop | grep version.baseband
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm .. that command didn't seem to pull anything up for me.

Rovon said:
Thank you for the information. It's good to know that me being unable to find a solution wasn't just due to my frustration.
My bootloader is: I747UCDLK3
I did do the same type of wipe but all of my roms are on an external SD card. I was under the impression the internal storage was wiped completely. I currently have Quantum / Gapps / Kernel all stored on the external SD. At this point whatever it takes to get my phone working again will do.
Hmm .. that command didn't seem to pull anything up for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LK3 is a pretty out of date bootloader, and in this case that might be a good thing.
You can go to sammobile.com and download the full firmware for your phone and flash it with Odin: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I747/
For reference the newer firmwares (MJB, NE4, and NJ1) cannot be downgraded, any attempt will result in a brick. On LK3 you are safe. Repeat, don't try this at home unless you know what bootloader version you have.
This will Odin your phone back to pure stock Jellybean. This used to be the go to method for fixing screwed up S3's before Samsung started bricking us for downgrading the firmware at version MJB.

jason2678 said:
LK3 is a pretty out of date bootloader, and in this case that might be a good thing.
You can go to sammobile.com and download the full firmware for your phone and flash it with Odin: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SGH-I747/
For reference the newer firmwares (MJB, NE4, and NJ1) cannot be downgraded, any attempt will result in a brick. On LK3 you are safe. Repeat, don't try this at home unless you know what bootloader version you have.
This will Odin your phone back to pure stock Jellybean. This used to be the go to method for fixing screwed up S3's before Samsung started bricking us for downgrading the firmware at version MJB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright I'm downloading this now. Assuming this works, should I do an OTA update then root or am I safe to root the device from odin as soon as this bootloader is installed?

Please help....How to wipe everything out and start from scratch?

Hi All,
I have been having some issue with one of my box, it is rooted running stock version 51.1.0.1 .
i have completed the following steps of the rooting process.
1) block updates on router
2) rooted (installed towleroot, supersu, busybox)
3) disabled update on AFTV box via adb command
4) Unlock partial bootloader
5) installed latest CWM at this point fire tv restarts but does not boot up in to CWM recovery.
I can get into CWM via Alt + prntscr + i using my keyboard. i did the wipe data/factory reset thru CWM and it clean up everything i rooted again installed CWM and it still wont boot up in CWM so may the firmware is corrupt?
What should i do? Should just flash pre roted rbox ROM and installed Rbox boot menu and see if i can get in CWM or should i wipe everything from AFTV and start again.
How do i wipe everything out using CWM? I read a lot tread on xda forms but didn't see a detail guide, i would appreciate if someone could give me all the baby step in exact order i should perform and if you could use the same terminology that is used in CWM menu that would be great, please.
Please note i have rooted at least 8 box before (updates blocked, rooted, bootloader unlock, install cwm, installed pre-rooted ROM and Rbox manu) so i am familiar with the process but one can always mess up.
Thank you

You're approaching this in a differnt angle than I'm used to--is there a reason you use stock firmware? With custom recovery, I'd venture to say a factory reset will do what you want it to and performing it will give you a clean slate and though updates will try to download they won't install.
I do this but I run rbox firmware...
1. Reboot recovery
2. Factory reset in cwm
3. Confirm it (this will wipe user data)
4. Reboot system
This should get you back to the registration page. You'll lose EVERYTHING except su. First thing I do is pm disable updates again. Once that's done you should be good tonset it all up--install busybox, all your apps.
I just worry because I use custom ROMs and never did this with stock. On your average android device keeping stock firmware wouldn't bother me but aftv is a little different since there's no doubt they don't want you rooted with custom recovery. I'd go to the dev threads and ask questions or flash prerooted ROMs. You might want to update incrementally as some have reported issues when they skip updates, not critical but it might be in your best interest.
And of course when I refer to updates I mean preroot not stock.

KLit75 said:
You're approaching this in a differnt angle than I'm used to--is there a reason you use stock firmware? With custom recovery, I'd venture to say a factory reset will do what you want it to and performing it will give you a clean slate and though updates will try to download they won't install.
I do this but I run rbox firmware...
1. Reboot recovery
2. Factory reset in cwm
3. Confirm it (this will wipe user data)
4. Reboot system
This should get you back to the registration page. You'll lose EVERYTHING except su. First thing I do is pm disable updates again. Once that's done you should be good tonset it all up--install busybox, all your apps.
I just worry because I use custom ROMs and never did this with stock. On your average android device keeping stock firmware wouldn't bother me but aftv is a little different since there's no doubt they don't want you rooted with custom recovery. I'd go to the dev threads and ask questions or flash prerooted ROMs. You might want to update incrementally as some have reported issues when they skip updates, not critical but it might be in your best interest.
And of course when I refer to updates I mean preroot not stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I did the factory reset from CWM i forgot to mentioned this on intial post, sorry about that. It went thru the whole process, i re rooted and everything but again after installing CWM aftv did not boot in CWM so i thought maybe i should wipe everything out and start over instale fresh stock firmware.
Maybe the fireware is corrupted or the partition. I tried to down grade and upgrade to stock version but AFTV wouldn't installed the updates.
For me go get in CWM using ALT+PRINT SYS+I option is really pain full, after trying if for a 3 days and spending at least 2 hours each day i was able to get in so i thought start from scratch would might work.
thank you

ashsha7877 said:
Hi,
I did the factory reset from CWM i forgot to mentioned this on intial post, sorry about that. It went thru the whole process, i re rooted and everything but again after installing CWM aftv did not boot in CWM so i thought maybe i should wipe everything out and start over instale fresh stock firmware.
Maybe the fireware is corrupted or the partition. I tried to down grade and upgrade to stock version but AFTV wouldn't installed the updates.
For me go get in CWM using ALT+PRINT SYS+I option is really pain full, after trying if for a 3 days and spending at least 2 hours each day i was able to get in so i thought start from scratch would might work.
thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I'm hearing you correctly I think I know your problem. You can't flash stock firmware with cwm. Rbox has protections in place thatbwont letbthis happen and for good reason--doing so could brick your device. You need the preroot ROMs. Follow aftvnews starters guide because I only had to do this once and I'm not certain I remember exactly. I think there's a certain version you should start with and some users find its better to update incrementally.