Dead in the water? - G4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
Is it possible to side-load twrp and rom without access to phone settings/ developer options? I have an old G4 that I cleaned up/ factory reset and was going to give to my daughter. Now it has the FRP on it and I can't get past it. Tried a bunch of things i've researched online and none of them work. Took it to Sprint and they can't do anything about it either. It seems Google has a monopoly on a lot of things. Is it possible to bring this thing back to life?
Android: 6.0
Android Security patch Level: 2017-03-01
Kernel Ver: 3.10.84
Build#: MRA58K
Software Ver: LS991ZVF

I can't say 100% for sure that this method might or might not work but it worked for me recently:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hxxdzfWHeg
Can't hurt to try. There's always someone out there looking at getting past FRP as new security patches and updates come out so, don't toss that G4 just yet, there's still hope that at some point someone will find yet another glitch and exploit it to bypass FRP.

Thanks
That one didn't work. I actually tried it earlier but amongst the videos on the side bar I did find one that worked. So, yay and thanks for the motivation. Wasn't quite ready to send it to the brick yard just yet. I'm stubborn like that. Where there's a will there's xda...
On a side note; google patched any 2016 flaws so for anyone searching this similar issue use the updated 2017 workaround videos. Thanks again.

Yah, I bought this H811 I have now about a week ago, it was of course FRP locked down (but it's not stolen, has a clean IMEI so it's good to go) and I got it basically for $12.50 along with a G3 for $12.50 as well ($25 for both devices). Both of them work great, and at the moment the G3 has been on for 124 hours (seriously) and it's at 47% on the battery - I'm not actually using it that much, only has about 38 minutes of SOT and it's been on Wi-Fi the whole time, just seeing how long the standby time can actually go, it says 102 hours left.
Anyway, I must have spent 9 hours watching videos on YouTube and reading a few hundred posts in my efforts until I finally found that video I provided a link for and that one worked the first time so I figured it was worth sharing.
FRP is a pain in the ass sometimes but at least it's not nearly as difficult to deal with aka impossible to defeat as iCloud is - if an iPhone has that forget it, it's nothing but scrap and spare parts at that point.
Congrats on making that G4 useful once more, let's hope it doesn't bootloop while your daughter is using it. I'd register it with LG if I were you (if you never did), if you do register it put in a date of something like September 15 2016 as the purchase date just in case you do have issues with it, that way you'll get some potential of a fix with LG for at least a few more months. If your daughter is going to play games on it those will heat it up regularly and the expansion-contraction of the heating/cooling is what's causing the micro-fissures that cause the bootloop to happen.
Anyway, good luck...

Related

PSA: Buy a Fire Phone during the recent fire sale? Do NOT downgrade the OS!

Did you pick up an unlocked Fire Phone from the recent sale at Amazon? You probably got a device running Fire OS 3.6.8.
It may be tempting to flash back to an earlier software version to attempt root, but you should hold off for now. I, and a few others it seems, are now stuck with phones that can't really do much. Registering with Amazon doesn't work, phones get hot, and we have no access to apps. The worst part is that we don't have the 3.6.8 image yet, so there's no way to go back.
Until we get a way to go back to 3.6.8, you should refrain from downgrading.
Has anyone downgraded from 3.6.8 successfully?
If we can't downgrade from 3.6.8, what does that mean for root access? Are we stuck with stock Fire Phone OS?
Downgrading the unlocked 3.6.8 to the ATT 3.5.0 without first clearing data and cache causes bootloops. If the cache and data is cleared the phone boots up but you will have no icons and no internet connection. You will basically be in a unfunctional state and phone keeps getting warmer and warmer.
Flashing back to 3.5.2 will get the phone functioning as a phone
but the Amazon server will not register the device
Cannot locate 3.6.8 file on their server (see download list topic)
Wow this explains a lot. In my efforts to mess with the boot loader and work on the phone, I downgraded to 3.5 and now have this problem. Got it to 3.5.2 which gives me a few apps, but I can't register and its unusable. I hope they release something soon. Might hit up Amazon Support to see if I can get them to help.
---------- Post added at 03:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------
An update: I just got off the phone with a knowledgeable rep (took 2 tries). She said that they can't pull any information, manuals, or reference to a version higher than 3.5.2.
She did take the time to escalate my issue with a trouble ticket that will go to the advanced IT and devs, which should at least bring the problem to their attention.
She said I will get a response or update in the next 5 business days. Until then, I will just keep trying to reverse engineer the bootloader and see if I can make any edits to it to allow unlocking, or maybe an exploit.
Man....thank goodness I let reason prevail! I thought that after this massive dump, there would be all kinds of devs going wild. 3.6.8 on mine. Mainly got it because my Prime is up this month, and I wanted a backup phone in case I burn up my Note 4 from flashing. Gotta say, it's a solid piece of hardware, and Amazon put some pretty cool fun stuff to play with. Thanks a ton for the heads up!
Thanks for the heads up, pretty sure you saved a few flashaholics from a headache
Have a question:
Is German 3.6.2 (you can choose english as language in it) working without getting hot? (Modem Version is same as in 3.6.8: ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05)
Version 3.6.8:
ro.build.lab126.project= ???? not available
ro.build.product=juniper
ro.product.name=juniper
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05
Version 3.6.2 (German)
ro.build.lab126.project= ???? not available
ro.product.name=caraway
ro.build.product=caraway
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05
Version 3.5.2 (AT&T)
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.1_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
Version 3.5.1 AT&T
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.1_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
Version 3.5 AT&T
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.0_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
B1ackByte said:
Have a question:
Is German 3.6.2 (you can choose english as language in it) working without getting hot? (Modem Version is same as in 3.6.8: ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05)
Version 3.6.8:
ro.build.lab126.project= ???? not available
ro.build.product=juniper
ro.product.name=juniper
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05
Version 3.6.2 (German)
ro.build.lab126.project= ???? not available
ro.product.name=caraway
ro.build.product=caraway
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_06_05
Version 3.5.2 (AT&T)
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.1_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
Version 3.5.1 AT&T
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.1_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
Version 3.5 AT&T
ro.build.lab126.project=duke-1.0_release_lewis
ro.product.name=full_duke_kodiak
ro.build.product=duke
ro.build.version.lab126.modem=PB_02_05_17
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3.6.2 software worked fine for me ... only thing was no activation with the amazon servers (which basically makes the phone useless. No Market / No video's / No Mayday / No Music nothing related to Amazon works without the activation.
The Phone made calls and sent / received txt no problem.
Thanks for the heads up. Will hold off and side load a few .apks that are a must for my life style. New phone will be here in a few hours.
Pleasantly, I hounded Amazon for 2 days via every support channel (chat, phone, email), hoping i would run into the one overqualified, underpaid 1st tier support guy who can work off script. No luck. Basically at the end of all of this mess, i have to wait 2-5 business days for an engineer to "get back to me". Fookin awesome. 3.5.2 is completely useless without device registration, everything but email is pretty much tied to that. *Sigh*. I really hope someone manages to get the firmware. At this point, im simply waiting out the next few days only to surely be told to RMA the device. I just find it horrendous that a huge company like Amazon does NOT have procedures in place for a potential interrupted OTA, at least one that doesn't require shipping the device back. Shame on me for jumping the gun without verifying that the download to the latest firmware was ACTUALLY for my device (who knew the had another sku?). Shame on Amazon for sucking so bad at every stage of their "shoppers phone" rollout.
Sess said:
Pleasantly, I hounded Amazon for 2 days via every support channel (chat, phone, email), hoping i would run into the one overqualified, underpaid 1st tier support guy who can work off script. No luck. Basically at the end of all of this mess, i have to wait 2-5 business days for an engineer to "get back to me". Fookin awesome. 3.5.2 is completely useless without device registration, everything but email is pretty much tied to that. *Sigh*. I really hope someone manages to get the firmware. At this point, im simply waiting out the next few days only to surely be told to RMA the device. I just find it horrendous that a huge company like Amazon does NOT have procedures in place for a potential interrupted OTA, at least one that doesn't require shipping the device back. Shame on me for jumping the gun without verifying that the download to the latest firmware was ACTUALLY for my device (who knew the had another sku?). Shame on Amazon for sucking so bad at every stage of their "shoppers phone" rollout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the exact same situation as you, waiting for Amazon to fix my phone, so I sympathize. Having said that, let's be fair and not blame amazon for this; they sold us a premium phone for 200 dollars, which I can attest worked very well out of the box. It didn't prompt me to update it or anything and with a few tweaks it was actually giving me a great battery life and performance, until I decided on my own to get adventurous and flash stuff on it. That is certainly not Amazon's fault. If we had used the phone as it was delivered none of this would have ever happened. So let's wait and see what they do to fix it. I am confident they will release the firmware or worst case they replace the phone with a new one.
najoor said:
I am in the exact same situation as you, waiting for Amazon to fix my phone, so I sympathize. Having said that, let's be fair and not blame amazon for this; they sold us a premium phone for 200 dollars, which I can attest worked very well out of the box. It didn't prompt me to update it or anything and with a few tweaks it was actually giving me a great battery life and performance, until I decided on my own to get adventurous and flash stuff on it. That is certainly not Amazon's fault. If we had used the phone as it was delivered none of this would have ever happened. So let's wait and see what they do to fix it. I am confident they will release the firmware or worst case they replace the phone with a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then lets also be fair and take note of the fact that the phone is being sold for 200$ because it was grossly overpriced for what was offered. That still has not changed. Regardless, as a good corporate citizen its quite standard to provide tools to enable their users to restore the phone to standard working order. Had i not downgraded the phone i would not be in this mess. I acknowledge that. But i would also like to point out that had they provided something as simple as a release firmware bin file, i would not be in this mess either. Just gonna have to wait this out, but I will not be an amazon apologizer if they can't be bothered to give power users the basic tools to resolve their own issues.
If Amazon didn't lock down the Fire Phone so much, maybe people wouldn't be bothered to attempt to root it and change things Amazon clearly failed to do. Why can't I even change my launcher to Nova without issue? Amazon block wallpapers and widgets, so it's just a black screen with icons. If I wanted that, I would have stuck with iOS 3. The Fire Phone is locked down harder than iOS devices, which I never thought would happen. If they would loosen up to the grip, the phone would probably sell better. People want a phone they can make theirs, and that doesn't mean just what their Amazon portfolio looks like.
Worse yet, they still haven't forked over the latest update. I'm glad I bought two Fire Phones, because I can at least use one.
Now I see why no one wants this thing.
Just a side note re: registration:
I got my device several weeks ago and I think it was an earlier version than 3.6.8 - I downgraded to 3.5.0 per the instructions, rooted, all that works.
Now I just tried to register for the first time to get Prime, and found that I can't. So that doesn't seem specific to having come from the newest version, they must have disabled activation of all old ones?
Given that I'm in a working rooted state, I'm just going to leave it like this for now and hope that I can eventually flash forward without losing features that are unlocked like this, and finally claim that Prime service.
got tired of waiting on amazon, returned the phone, bought an iphone 6 plus. Will be using my shield tablet for all my android specific needs. @#$% amazon.
Side loading apks still works correct?
Yes
B1ackByte said:
Yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more question if you don't mind, are you still able to create a wifi hotspot and tether with the phone?
Yes

Do I keep it or switch it? Need advice

Just bought the G4 on 8/6. I'm going in to return it tomorrow. It gets terribly hot and the finding location icon is constantly flashing. I don't know if I should just swap it for a new G4 or get something else. I know there is a root method but I've heard of it working and causing issues for others. I saw a thread where the My Verizon app was asking for root access. I know you can just freeze it. It stinks that the phone is locked. I'm torn between this phone and the Nexus 6. What would you do?
I'd try finding out what's causing it to get hot; Probably some apps running in the background that don't need to.
Getting root isn't an issue as long as there is a compatible image. What you do with root access could cause issues.
You can disable some of the built-in apps with root (you can do it within FX Explorer + root addon). That should improve performance/increase battery life/reduce heat.
Try using the Cooler app from playstore.
Knowbody42 said:
I'd try finding out what's causing it to get hot; Probably some apps running in the background that don't need to.
Getting root isn't an issue as long as there is a compatible image. What you do with root access could cause issues.
You can disable some of the built-in apps with root (you can do it within FX Explorer + root addon)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well honestly, I don't mind that there is no recovery yet. I use root to backup with Titanium, use adblock, and freeze all the Verizon nonsense.
FreedomUser said:
Try using the Cooler app from playstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this the app you're talking about? There's a few of them.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.easyx.coolermaster
On a side note, I keep leaning towards the G4. I loved the G2. I'm on Verizon and would pick up the VS986. It comes with 10B I think and then it updates to 11A. If I decide to stay with the G4, should I try rooting before upgrading? I'm almost certain that out of the box, it needs a software update.
Fridge.
Sent from my A0001
sefirosu0522 said:
Is this the app you're talking about? There's a few of them.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.easyx.coolermaster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's the app i'm talking about, but you can use others too, they are same.
sefirosu0522 said:
On a side note, I keep leaning towards the G4. I loved the G2. I'm on Verizon and would pick up the VS986. It comes with 10B I think and then it updates to 11A. If I decide to stay with the G4, should I try rooting before upgrading? I'm almost certain that out of the box, it needs a software update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will likely come with 610B, so there is definitely an update available.
The first root image released for Verizon was 611A. But I'm pretty sure someone has since released a rooted image for 610B, so you might not need to update.
But I could not get some features (Advanced Calling) working on 610B, until I updated to 611A. So it's possible you would want to update to 611A anyhow.
Honestly, id wait for the nexus and the note 5 coming out. The touch issues along with lg not wanting to unlock bootloader has made everyone frustrated.
I've bought the european version H81510C and the video are plagued with all major side-effects of the rolling shutter. Wobble, skew and warping effects, all around, literally a jello cam very similar to the after effect warp stabilizator, just lot's more unpolished. The top of the phone reach very high temperature by random or just by calling someone and if you launch an app in GL ES 2.0|3.0 ( OPEN GL ES 3.1 + AEP doesn't seems to correctly "work" on this device (missing support of most texture extension:lightmap and such) will try Arm64 build later and/or texture compression), you'll burn your palm. The G4 seems also to discharge or doing something unattended trough the Qi wireless charging antenna tho, cause I feel mine arms becoming insensitive ( physical harm ) after holding it for a while under normal usage (insulating the 2 pin on the backcover does help a little, but, still unpleasant to keep in hand). If I were are able to find the XT1250|XT1225 for less then 350 I would swap it immediatly, nonetheless I'm also debated to return it and wait till september for a replacement, anyhow the NEXUS is a better choice, except for the camera, even a new ZenFone2 updated to the last avaiable version along it's propretary APP is better of this 600 EURO data collector.
update:
By updating to lastest version (or by NOT keeping it in the hands), the overheating issue seems somewhat under control.
About the unpleasant feeling | electric field > magnetic constriction = discharge , I found out mine shell ( backcover + wireless charging antenna ) the white one ( simil-ceramic ) is made by acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) "reinforced" with 10% of glass fiber.
About the LG G4 OPENGL ES 3.1 - it's very slow, it doesn't even make a third of a frame in one second ( other device reach 25-44 FPS ), will try in ASTC..and its better by not much.
--
That's mine experience with LG and I call it night- refund under way, will check the PRO version if one avaiable this year.
The G4 is fine. If it is overheating then there is a rogue app or process killing it. My coworkers Samsung G 5 was chewing through batteries and Exchange services was taking up most of the resources. We default the Email app and setup it up and all is right now.
When I first got my G4 and set it up, initially it got hot as hell downloading apps and settings. I did a factory reset and it has been fine since. It never gets hot anymore. I use GPS and QC 2.0 fast charge while on the phone (I travel for work) and it is fine. The only time I had an issue with heat was when I left it out in the sun while streaming pandora.
I think the issue is something to do with setup. I noticed I had bought mine at a brick and mortar store and the sales guy quickly ran through the setup and skipped a bunch of stuff. I think something was stuck in the background trying to do something. Once I factory reset it and set it up properly, I never had a problem. My friend also ordered a G4 online and had it shipped and she never had a problem.
Just my thoughts.
player911 said:
The G4 is fine. If it is overheating then there is a rogue app or process killing it. My coworkers Samsung G 5 was chewing through batteries and Exchange services was taking up most of the resources. We default the Email app and setup it up and all is right now.
When I first got my G4 and set it up, initially it got hot as hell downloading apps and settings. I did a factory reset and it has been fine since. It never gets hot anymore. I use GPS and QC 2.0 fast charge while on the phone (I travel for work) and it is fine. The only time I had an issue with heat was when I left it out in the sun while streaming pandora.
I think the issue is something to do with setup. I noticed I had bought mine at a brick and mortar store and the sales guy quickly ran through the setup and skipped a bunch of stuff. I think something was stuck in the background trying to do something. Once I factory reset it and set it up properly, I never had a problem. My friend also ordered a G4 online and had it shipped and she never had a problem.
Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
had same problem with mine ,first day it ran hot as hell but after first day, it has not got hotter than any other fone i have owned.
player911 said:
The G4 is fine. If it is overheating then there is a rogue app or process killing it. My coworkers Samsung G 5 was chewing through batteries and Exchange services was taking up most of the resources. We default the Email app and setup it up and all is right now.
When I first got my G4 and set it up, initially it got hot as hell downloading apps and settings. I did a factory reset and it has been fine since. It never gets hot anymore. I use GPS and QC 2.0 fast charge while on the phone (I travel for work) and it is fine. The only time I had an issue with heat was when I left it out in the sun while streaming pandora.
I think the issue is something to do with setup. I noticed I had bought mine at a brick and mortar store and the sales guy quickly ran through the setup and skipped a bunch of stuff. I think something was stuck in the background trying to do something. Once I factory reset it and set it up properly, I never had a problem. My friend also ordered a G4 online and had it shipped and she never had a problem.
Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. I ended up getting a new phone becasue I was within the 14 days and it has been running fine.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
sefirosu0522 said:
Thanks for the input. I ended up getting a new phone becasue I was within the 14 days and it has been running fine.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked out.

Scored Note 3 on garage sale for $50 what to do next ?

Phone was sold as is, it turned on but the battery was drained completely and died soon after reaching home screen. I took a plunge since price was $50 tempting Washingtons :laugh: I was 100% sure something is wrong with this device but **** it i did it. Bought a charger and USB cable on the way home and so far it's charging just fine.
Phone is mostly erased at least manually I think, because somebody left his google account as I can see email in the plays store menu and some apps, or maybe this is all the carrier pre-installed junk I'm looking at ? LOL
I don't have much experience with Samsung devices but it's a SM-N900T model with N900TUVUCNB4 4.4.2. from February 2014 according to this site http://www.galaxynote3update.com/galaxy-note-3-odin-factory-stock-firmware-usa-canada/
My question is do I stay on this Android or do I jump to Lolipop ? Wasn't there some memory issues with 5.0 ? Or maybe Custom builds ?
Your first move is to sell it to me for $5
If I was OP, I would fully charge the phone, do full factory reset and run it few days as is to test if everything works,. Once you start updating, especially custom ROM, things can break and you'll never know if it's software or hardware. If everything works fine, then you could decide for yourself what to do next. My biggest worry would be the phone is blacklisted, since Note 3 in good shape sells for $200-$300.
OK
Phone charged fully I booted it up and after short amount of time it would freeze constantly when bringing up the keyboard (Samsung or google), can't recall which one was first now because I was changing them in settings and nothing helped. Either way it was freezing after typing couple of letters or appear then crash/disappear. All this combined with some crashes from app called Lookout. Google told me to do Volume UP+HOME+POWER and do a factory reset, after that everything works fine now. Changed my sim card and I can place calls with no issues also data works fine but damn there is tons of f***ing poopy preloaded apps in here from Samsung and other garbagio . I think whoever was using this device had no idea what to do with those errors and just stopped using it somewhere around Feb. 2014 because since then basically nothing was updated on it. I'm gonna let it sit for couple of days then probably will upgrade to 5.0 via KIES and maybe replace the battery either way with OEM or maybe something like this ? http://www.amazon.com/Anker-T-Mobile-Compatibility-18-Month-Warranty/dp/B00FF54C8Q/
4xxxxL said:
OK
Phone charged fully I booted it up and after short amount of time it would freeze constantly when bringing up the keyboard (Samsung or google), can't recall which one was first now because I was changing them in settings and nothing helped. Either way it was freezing after typing couple of letters or appear then crash/disappear. All this combined with some crashes from app called Lookout. Google told me to do Volume UP+HOME+POWER and do a factory reset, after that everything works fine now. Changed my sim card and I can place calls with no issues also data works fine but damn there is tons of f***ing poopy preloaded apps in here from Samsung and other garbagio . I think whoever was using this device had no idea what to do with those errors and just stopped using it somewhere around Feb. 2014 because since then basically nothing was updated on it. I'm gonna let it sit for couple of days then probably will upgrade to 5.0 via KIES and maybe replace the battery either way with OEM or maybe something like this ? http://www.amazon.com/Anker-T-Mobile-Compatibility-18-Month-Warranty/dp/B00FF54C8Q/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're planning on keeping it, you'd be better spending the extra $ on one of these mate: http://www.amazon.com/Zerolemon-Zer...d=1453047493&sr=1-1&keywords=ZeroLemon+Note+3
I'm getting 6 days on a full charge outta mine, compared to 1 day with stock battery (course I'm running a custom rom, but when I was back on stock with my ZeroLemon, I was getting 3 days outta it)
4xxxxL said:
OK
Phone charged fully I booted it up and after short amount of time it would freeze constantly when bringing up the keyboard (Samsung or google), can't recall which one was first now because I was changing them in settings and nothing helped. Either way it was freezing after typing couple of letters or appear then crash/disappear. All this combined with some crashes from app called Lookout. Google told me to do Volume UP+HOME+POWER and do a factory reset, after that everything works fine now. Changed my sim card and I can place calls with no issues also data works fine but damn there is tons of f***ing poopy preloaded apps in here from Samsung and other garbagio . I think whoever was using this device had no idea what to do with those errors and just stopped using it somewhere around Feb. 2014 because since then basically nothing was updated on it. I'm gonna let it sit for couple of days then probably will upgrade to 5.0 via KIES and maybe replace the battery either way with OEM or maybe something like this ? http://www.amazon.com/Anker-T-Mobile-Compatibility-18-Month-Warranty/dp/B00FF54C8Q/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can root the phone easily, even without tripping knox on kitkat, once rooted you could freeze or kill on start up most apps that bother you, that's what I do and problem solved, phone runs like a dream.
pete4k said:
If I was OP, I would fully charge the phone, do full factory reset and run it few days as is to test if everything works,. Once you start updating, especially custom ROM, things can break and you'll never know if it's software or hardware. If everything works fine, then you could decide for yourself what to do next. My biggest worry would be the phone is blacklisted, since Note 3 in good shape sells for $200-$300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is actually an easy way to not worry about the blacklisted issue before you ever buy a phone from someone. You can go to www.swappa.com/esn and check the status of the phone by entering it's IMEI. We buy and resell phones a lot and this is how we check them. You can check up to 10 phones free every 24 hours on the site.
4xxxxL said:
OK
Phone charged fully I booted it up and after short amount of time it would freeze constantly when bringing up the keyboard (Samsung or google), can't recall which one was first now because I was changing them in settings and nothing helped. Either way it was freezing after typing couple of letters or appear then crash/disappear. All this combined with some crashes from app called Lookout. Google told me to do Volume UP+HOME+POWER and do a factory reset, after that everything works fine now. Changed my sim card and I can place calls with no issues also data works fine but damn there is tons of f***ing poopy preloaded apps in here from Samsung and other garbagio . I think whoever was using this device had no idea what to do with those errors and just stopped using it somewhere around Feb. 2014 because since then basically nothing was updated on it. I'm gonna let it sit for couple of days then probably will upgrade to 5.0 via KIES and maybe replace the battery either way with OEM or maybe something like this ? http://www.amazon.com/Anker-T-Mobile-Compatibility-18-Month-Warranty/dp/B00FF54C8Q/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you did get lucky and come across someone who wasn't tech savvy at all, and had no idea how simple it was to fix. But hey... that's their lose and your gain.
If you do decide to root it at some point and want to run a custom ROM, click on the top banner in my signature and check it out. I think you might just like it.
kevp75 said:
If you're planning on keeping it, you'd be better spending the extra $ on one of these mate: http://www.amazon.com/Zerolemon-Zer...d=1453047493&sr=1-1&keywords=ZeroLemon+Note+3
I'm getting 6 days on a full charge outta mine, compared to 1 day with stock battery (course I'm running a custom rom, but when I was back on stock with my ZeroLemon, I was getting 3 days outta it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man, there is an awesome custom ROM out for this phone. I can't remember the name right off hand, but I'm sure you've heard of it. Haha
pete4k said:
Actually you can root the phone easily, even without tripping knox on kitkat, once rooted you could freeze or kill on start up most apps that bother you, that's what I do and problem solved, phone runs like a dream.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can freeze them, but in my opinion if you've gone to the trouble of rooting it, you might as well completely remove the bloatware. If all you do is freeze the apps, they are still there needlessly taking up the internal storage. There are a few lists on here that tells what is safe to remove without fear of messing the phone up.
problem with deleting "bloatware" is two fold: some programs are interdependent and deleting one you don't want may break another you need. Also, I don't know about others, but I changed my mind in the past and reactivated some applications I never thought I'll be using before.
As far as space goes, the whole system uses 4 GB maybe, so you could save 1 GB, if you're aggressive deleting files, probably couple min of 4k video worth. I got 128 GB sd card, problem solved. Maybe different story with Note 5, but that's one of main reasons I never upgraded.
Either way I strongly suggest at least freezing apps and testing before deleting it.
TimboMachimbo said:
Your first move is to sell it to me for $5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmao
Still been using the device to watch stuff on wifi @ home and **** Can't use it as my daily driver it's just to big :0 anyway the other hidden issue that I found out about it is that the charging port is kinda beaten up especially on the left side. Sometimes you can plug the cable in and it won't charge until you apply little pressure on the connectors left side it's time to do this http://www.amazon.com/Charging-Ribbon-Connector-Samsung-T-Mobile/dp/B00H3DZRXC/
Alliance Rom
4xxxxL said:
Phone was sold as is, it turned on but the battery was drained completely and died soon after reaching home screen. I took a plunge since price was $50 tempting Washingtons :laugh: I was 100% sure something is wrong with this device but **** it i did it. Bought a charger and USB cable on the way home and so far it's charging just fine.
Phone is mostly erased at least manually I think, because somebody left his google account as I can see email in the plays store menu and some apps, or maybe this is all the carrier pre-installed junk I'm looking at ? LOL
I don't have much experience with Samsung devices but it's a SM-N900T model with N900TUVUCNB4 4.4.2. from February 2014 according to this site http://www.galaxynote3update.com/galaxy-note-3-odin-factory-stock-firmware-usa-canada/
My question is do I stay on this Android or do I jump to Lolipop ? Wasn't there some memory issues with 5.0 ? Or maybe Custom builds ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash Alliance 5.0 Lollipop ...best rom for note 3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...-alliancerom-n900t-uvufob6-v1-online-t3055309
Replaced the charging port with the $5 one I bought via Amazon... charging worked great but the voice recording and mic in general sounded garbled had to put the broken one back lol :S

Rooting and installing new ROM is like a minefield now

The last phone I had was a Galaxy S2 and rooting and installing a new ROM was quite simple. They even had directions+tools to revert back to stock... What's the deal now?
What is dm-verity and how do I figure out if the ROM I want to install has it.. disabled? enabled?
I have no more warranty so I'm not worried about triggering knox.
This latest update has basically fried my battery... the battery discharges in about 3-4 hours using youtube red with airplane mode enabled, and the battery is also quite warm (at least 100 degrees F!)
I just want to be able to disable/enable services I want.
I'm on SM-G925T on 6.0.1/G925TUVS4EPH2, specifically. How do I find compatible ROMs and roots? I don't want to brick anything.
I understand this is a long shot since I see so many other posts with no replies but, I'm kind of desperate. I'm actually worried my phone might explode because of how warm it gets now.
I just got the phone about two days ago, did all the 8000 updates via OTA (phone came with 5.0.2) and landed on the 6.01 EPH2 that you're on and my battery life has been absolutely horrible as well. I'm thinking about returning the phone over it. Idk what to do.
xy34 said:
The last phone I had was a Galaxy S2 and rooting and installing a new ROM was quite simple. They even had directions+tools to revert back to stock... What's the deal now?
What is dm-verity and how do I figure out if the ROM I want to install has it.. disabled? enabled?
I have no more warranty so I'm not worried about triggering knox.
This latest update has basically fried my battery... the battery discharges in about 3-4 hours using youtube red with airplane mode enabled, and the battery is also quite warm (at least 100 degrees F!)
I just want to be able to disable/enable services I want.
I'm on SM-G925T on 6.0.1/G925TUVS4EPH2, specifically. How do I find compatible ROMs and roots? I don't want to brick anything.
I understand this is a long shot since I see so many other posts with no replies but, I'm kind of desperate. I'm actually worried my phone might explode because of how warm it gets now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thus device has been horrile for me too...
I have been trying to find folks who could actually communicate and help a little too..
Had a galaxy 3 in 2010 and a s4 in 2014, both were easy... bootloop, flash again.. not much risks..
Here we cant even remove the batteries and a lot of rhinfs that can make it stuck....
I do have root and twrp recovery btw..
If you want help getting those, just install telegram and search for user DSN .
I can help faster there and also link up to a few rom threads where people are quite active incase for help
I've been modding and ROMing for what seems like almost 10 years, the ROM development on this phone is horrible, I blame Samsung for this, too many variants, had the S6 on 4 networks and S6 edge on 4 networks, Hopefully Google makes a really nice new phone or I'm going to the other side.
I guess it's starting to make more sense now. Samsung obviously tried to squash custom build efforts by releasing so many different variants. It's a bit reassuring that people are having the same problems as I am...
To the person who just got the phone - RETURN IT!
Ironically, after I did a lot of browsing on this site during my morning commute, the phone started behaving better. It's still slow (not in my OP but it's definitely freezing whereas this wasn't an issue before) but the battery life is back to normal-ish levels and it hasn't warmed up on me. Maybe just keep browsing this site? LOL
Thanks, Samsung... I used to love the Galaxy line but this is some real Apple-esque **** (y'know, the whole updating the phone before the next generation gets released and having it run slow as **** thing.) Just Google the issue and there's lots of claims. I remember reading a reddit post where an Apple employee or cell phone repair store employee was saying that he'd have an influx of customers just before a new phone release.
It's all speculation but I wouldn't be surprised. They (Samsung) just did it after S7 got released. Too bad I'm stuck paying $30/month for this phone for the next two years. Never should have updated! It was perfect before all this.
That was me. Return it for what though? There's not much else in the price range that I was able to put down for a down payment that tmobile offers.....I put 276 down and the phone cost 499 total. The G5 is also 499 but I see nothing but complaints about it.......the S7 and S7 Edge they wanted close to 450 down and I just couldn't afford that so I went with the S6 Edge. What else is there?
carnivalrejectq said:
That was me. Return it for what though? There's not much else in the price range that I was able to put down for a down payment that tmobile offers.....I put 276 down and the phone cost 499 total. The G5 is also 499 but I see nothing but complaints about it.......the S7 and S7 Edge they wanted close to 450 down and I just couldn't afford that so I went with the S6 Edge. What else is there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look into the LG G4, maybe. Same era as the S6 but it's got a removable battery and external storage and I think it's easier to install custom software and root, but hopefully you won't need to if it runs well. Do your own research, yknow! Don't blindly follow anyone's advice, obviously. Let me know what you decide.

Firmware advice - SM-N975U - Note 10+

Hi All,
Been a while on here - please be gentle!
I have spent the last 6 hours looking into updating my firmware from Android 10!
I have done this on previous phones, but my current phone is proving a little more difficult. For the life of me, I cannot find the correct ROM to flash. Whenever I come to something I think I have found I seem to have another issue.
I've tried using various tools (Bitfrost) but got errors.
I'm in the UK, and as far as I can tell, my phone is “XAA”, “USA unbranded (default)”. I'm not bothered about changing the region code (unless it can be done easily).
Details::
SW ver.: SAOMC_SM-N975U_OYN_XAA_PP_0001
XAA/XAA/ATT
I would really appreciate some help from you guys who are way more informed and cleverer than me!
Thanks guys and gals!
Simon
EDIT: I have found a bit more informstion - I think I would be ok using SM-N975U1 - is this correct?
That's the umlocked Snapdragon variant...
I have two N10+'s; N975U/Pie, N975U1/Android 10. I would stay on Android 10 unless you want cpu cycle sucking scoped storage in all its glory.
Personally I prefer Pie to 10, better functionality and usability. With 11 you lose even more and 12 is fubar... in my opinion.
The best way to trash a stock N10+ is to mess with its firmware.
Rule #1 if a OS is fulfilling its mission, let it be!
Upgrades/updates can and do break things.
blackhawk said:
That's the umlocked Snapdragon variant...
I have two N10+'s; N975U/Pie, N975U1/Android 10. I would stay on Android 10 unless you want cpu cycle sucking scoped storage in all its glory.
Personally I prefer Pie to 10, better functionality and usability. With 11 you lose even more and 12 is fubar... in my opinion.
The best way to trash a stock N10+ is to mess with its firmware.
Rule #1 if a OS is fulfilling its mission, let it be!
Upgrades/updates can and do break things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that info ... I actually have no beef with A10 other than one issue which I thought maybe a firmware issue.
My NFC works (I can transfer files between phones) however, I cannot use Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. I have read somewhere that this was a firmware issue, hence my desire to update.
I have tried literally everything to get it working (cleared cache, re-booted). NFC Tools confirms it works, but it just does nothing at the checkout.
If I can fix this issue, I'll be happier!
Ratzz2 said:
Thanks for that info ... I actually have no beef with A10 other than one issue which I thought maybe a firmware issue.
My NFC works (I can transfer files between phones) however, I cannot use Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. I have read somewhere that this was a firmware issue, hence my desire to update.
I have tried literally everything to get it working (cleared cache, re-booted). NFC Tools confirms it works, but it just does nothing at the checkout.
If I can fix this issue, I'll be happier!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. It may be doing that because big sister Google thinks you need to upgrade to be secure. May have to do with the region you're using it in. I don't know. I never use those features and don't want them on the phone. Don't want anything to back door in using that route.
Depends how hell bent you are on having those features. You could easily lose more than you gain by upgrading, worse it may not resolve the issue. The N10+ is a valuable and reliable work horse that will run for years... just as it is. If it's running well otherwise I would try to find the root cause of this issue or simply use other workarounds rather than the shotgun approach.
Yeah, I was wondering about being in the UK with a phone registered in the US. But NFC doesn't read my credit card either. Would have thought that would be an option.
I'm not necessarily a huge NFC user, but the other day I forgot my wallet at the petrol station after filling my car. If I'd have had my NFC working, I'd have been able to fire it up and avoid the embarrassment!
Anyway, thanks for your help!
Be glad you have the Snapdragon variant. They are very reliable and run well stock when optimized. If you do upgrade to 11 a rollback to 10 isn't possible if you upgrade the boot loader.
There's always at least a small risk when flashing firmware which can trash the device. The only time I would flash a N10+ is if the rom was corrupted which barring a hardware failure is a very rare SUE, single upset event.
I never tried mine to see if Pay works nor have I ever set a screen lock. The fingerprint scanner could be dead for all I know.
The flip side to that is never being locked out* of my own device, no data lose, and double tap on/off. The device is glued to me as physical security is the only real security. I realize this may seem extreme to some, but it works well in the real world.
*a SEU or partial hardware can lock you out of your device. Had no lock been set, no lockout would have occurred. Got locked out of a PC bios like that. The password -was- correct
That caused a mountain of trouble...
Thank you my friend. Wise words indeed and duly noted...

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