Upgrading to latest Android OS - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

Hi, I'm completely inexperienced with rooting phones and upgrading firmware. But I think I've found the experts =)
I've got a Samsung S3 SGH-I747 which is running Android 4.4.2. I use it strictly with wifi and it has a AT&T SIM card that doesn't have a plan.
My goal is to upgrade the OS so that I can use the TD Bank ap. 2-3 months ago they stopped supporting Android 4.x. So I want to upgrade to Android 7 or 8. Which OS would you recommend? How can I do this?
I've got nothing on the device that I care about too much (just a couple aps that I'd need to reinstall). So wiping it would be fine.
I've also got a Windows PC and a SD memory card (from my camera) - which could be used.

Are you in Canada? If you are, isn't your phone an sgh-i747m?

audit13 said:
Are you in Canada? If you are, isn't your phone an sgh-i747m?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not in Canada. TD Bank is in the US.

Gotcha. TD Bank (Toronto-Dominion) is headquartered in Canada which is why I thought you were in Canada.
Before flashing anything, be aware of the fact that there is always a risk to flashing a phone with the possibility of a hard brick. Be prepared to deal with such a situation.
I have used the following instructions with great success; however, you may not be so lucky. Proceed at your own risk.
In order to run a custom ROM, you need to flash TWRP: https://twrp.me/samsung/samsunggalaxys3att.html. Download the tar version.
I recommend flashing TWRP using Odin 3.07: https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1168421
Open Odin, uncheck everything except f reset time, put the phone into download mode, flash TWRP in the PDA box. When you see the word reset in the status window, remove the USB cable from the phone, remove the battery, replace the battery, use the buttons to boot into recovery. Your phone should boot to the TWRP screen. Reboot the phone to ensure that the phone boots to the existing ROM. Reboot the phone and create a backup of the existing ROM and EFS folder to the SD card. Save both in a safe place.
Select the ROM you want to try and the appropriate version of GAPPs. Copy both to the micro SD card and place the card into the phone. Boot into TWRP, wipe data, system, cache, flash ROM, flash GAPPs, reboot.

I guess I'll order a micro SD card. My camera one is bigger.
Should I install Android 8? Can the phone handle it?
Thanks for the advice!
audit13 said:
Gotcha. TD Bank (Toronto-Dominion) is headquartered in Canada which is why I thought you were in Canada.
Before flashing anything, be aware of the fact that there is always a risk to flashing a phone with the possibility of a hard brick. Be prepared to deal with such a situation.
I have used the following instructions with great success; however, you may not be so lucky. Proceed at your own risk.
In order to run a custom ROM, you need to flash TWRP: https://twrp.me/samsung/samsunggalaxys3att.html. Download the tar version.
I recommend flashing TWRP using Odin 3.07: https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1168421
Open Odin, uncheck everything except f reset time, put the phone into download mode, flash TWRP in the PDA box. When you see the word reset in the status window, remove the USB cable from the phone, remove the battery, replace the battery, use the buttons to boot into recovery. Your phone should boot to the TWRP screen. Reboot the phone to ensure that the phone boots to the existing ROM. Reboot the phone and create a backup of the existing ROM and EFS folder to the SD card. Save both in a safe place.
Select the ROM you want to try and the appropriate version of GAPPs. Copy both to the micro SD card and place the card into the phone. Boot into TWRP, wipe data, system, cache, flash ROM, flash GAPPs, reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

You can try different ROMs until you find one that suits your needs.
Android 8 may not work that well on your phone without bugs as 8.0 is quite new in comparison to the s3.
You can still flash a custom ROM without an SD card if you have TWRP installed. You can boot into TWRP, wipe cache, data, system, connect the phone to a computer, copy over the ROM and Gapps, and flash.

Only flash a custom recovery if you don't care about the Knox counter that voids the warranty. If you like touchwiz, you're out of luck because there are no Android 7 or 8 touchwiz ROMs, only AOSP/CM based ROMs for the S3.

Thanks for the advice! I've made it all the way to installing a ROM. What ROM should I install? I tried installing a Lineage OS one (https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/rom-lineageos-14-1-t3680656) but got an error saying it was for the wrong device. My device is a d2att.
Do I need something like this?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-att/development/lineage-14-1-d2att-rom-t3774764

So next I tried installing: OCT-N-WEEKLY-20170811-1820-d2att.zip which gave me an error because another package was already partially installed. I used the "wipe the cache" option. It prompted me to install root (second time). It rebooted and had a message about updating approximately 100 aps. Ask for wifi. Said "Just a Sec". Failed to find software on my PC to sync (good - as I don't want it to sync). Booted back into reset mode. Wiped it. Tried installing OCT-N d2att for a second time. And it finally worked!
Then I had to go back to reset mode to install Google Apps.
All in all this took about 3 hours of work and research.
Sidenote: For reset mode it was necessary to remove the battery for 30 seconds to get into reset mode (and then hold the volume up, middle key and power button until the second Samsung screen appears - I found instructions that said wait for the Samsung screen - but there are three Samsung screens!). I was unable to get into reset mode when I didn't remove the battery.

s3hacker said:
Thanks for the advice! I've made it all the way to installing a ROM. What ROM should I install? I tried installing a Lineage OS one (https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/rom-lineageos-14-1-t3680656) but got an error saying it was for the wrong device. My device is a d2att.
Do I need something like this?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3-att/development/lineage-14-1-d2att-rom-t3774764
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install any ROM you want that's compatible with your phone on the NE4/NJ1/NJ2 bootloader. You just have to find one you like the best.

s3hacker said:
So next I tried installing: OCT-N-WEEKLY-20170811-1820-d2att.zip which gave me an error because another package was already partially installed. I used the "wipe the cache" option. It prompted me to install root (second time). It rebooted and had a message about updating approximately 100 aps. Ask for wifi. Said "Just a Sec". Failed to find software on my PC to sync (good - as I don't want it to sync). Booted back into reset mode. Wiped it. Tried installing OCT-N d2att for a second time. And it finally worked!
Then I had to go back to reset mode to install Google Apps.
All in all this took about 3 hours of work and research.
Sidenote: For reset mode it was necessary to remove the battery for 30 seconds to get into reset mode (and then hold the volume up, middle key and power button until the second Samsung screen appears - I found instructions that said wait for the Samsung screen - but there are three Samsung screens!). I was unable to get into reset mode when I didn't remove the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That ROM you installed, OCT-N-WEEKLY-20170811-1820-d2att.zip is a weekly. Meaning it's probably not suitable for daily use and may have non working functions and bugs. Good that you got custom ROMs booting though.

s3hacker said:
Hi, I'm completely inexperienced with rooting phones and upgrading firmware. But I think I've found the experts =)
I've got a Samsung S3 SGH-I747 which is running Android 4.4.2. I use it strictly with wifi and it has a AT&T SIM card that doesn't have a plan.
My goal is to upgrade the OS so that I can use the TD Bank ap. 2-3 months ago they stopped supporting Android 4.x. So I want to upgrade to Android 7 or 8. Which OS would you recommend? How can I do this?
I've got nothing on the device that I care about too much (just a couple aps that I'd need to reinstall). So wiping it would be fine.
I've also got a Windows PC and a SD memory card (from my camera) - which could be used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how many of us are out there, tinkering around with the 8+ year old Samsung Galaxy S3 i747 . While I am a newbie, I have enjoyed flashing Custom ROM's , from CyanogenMod, thru various versions of Lineage, and now CrDroid. The newest O/S that I flashed is CrDroid ( based on Android 8 ). Runs great. Stable. Long battery life.
I have always used ODIN to INSTALL a 'recovery' system such as TWRP ( which is a .Tar file )
After TWRP is installed ( using ODIN ) I unplug phone from my computer. Then boot into TWRP recovery ( holding down the three buttons ). I do a clean install (flash) of the newest O/S that I can find ( Android 4.4.2 is really old ). It is that .Zip file that I flash, then reboot the phone. Always works for me. Eventually I learned how to back up all my contacts, SMS, logs, photos, etc.
My banking app works just fine.
BTW I am totally free of Google; no Google Play Store, no Google Pay, no Google Framework, no Gapps, no Google spyware, no Google bloatware, no Google tracking etc. I download all my apps as APK's which are readily available on the Net ( Google them . . . just kidding! ).
My older Samsung S3 i747 was a 'd2att' originally locked to Rogers, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Then switched over to MTS (Manitoba Telephone System). Now running on Bell Canada. My replacement is also a Samsung S3 i747, originally running T-Mobile in Arizona, now running on Bell Canada.
These are damn fine phones.

Related

[Q] PLEASE HELP! galaxy s3 wont recover backup and liquidsmooth wont work properly

Hey guys.Im kinda a noob, so bear with me. I have a SGH i747 (att galaxy s3) and I rooted it on my mac using motochopper. I backed up all my apps and system data with titianium backup to my SD card, and i also backed up my stock ROM to my internal storage using ROM Manager. I then downloaded liquid smooth using my phones browser, and then I selected it within ROM manager and clicked "reboot and install' (keep in mind, i didn't wipe memory or anything) So it was stuck at the boot screen. Then i realized what i did and went and wiped data/factory reset, dalvic cache, and the other cache, within Clockworld mod recovery (vol up + power + home). After that, it worked, but only to find that all my apps were gone, and the play store and browser app didnt work. so basically softbricked however I can make phone calls and text (lost all contacts). Then i went into cwm and tried to restore my phone, at first it came up with two backups (neither of which had the name I named my backup) but said no files found and then when I mounted my storage, the bottom one said md5 mismatch but the top one worked. the top one would work for about 6 min then while it was restoring data it would reboot into liquid smooth and i would have like 3 apps i didnt have before (other times i would get stuck at the boot screen). I also tried restoring it right after I wiped data/ factory reset and cleared the caches, but then it would get stuck at the liquidsmooth boot screen. Tried pretty much everything.
I just want my phone back the way it was before root or anything, with all my data. But I backed up all my stuff besides apps to KIES, so willing to reset it to stock firmware if possible
need all the help i can get. thank you all very much
SuaveNNR said:
words...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, when you did a factory reset, that wiped out all your apps, contacts, personal data, etc. No big deal. Your phone is in good shape, not bricked in any way, you just don't have all your personal stuff.
The only way to get it back to stock is to flash a stock firmware via ODIN or mobile ODIN, tutorials for doing both can be found here. I'm not 100% on how to do it (ODIN) with a mac other than either booting windows if you have the capability on your computer or running windows in a virtual box and using odin that way.
Or...if you have an SD card you could stick it in your computer, download another rom or liquid smooth again and reflash the proper way in recovery to get it to work. It sounds like you neglected to flash the separate GAPPS file that is required for the AOSP ROMS.
All is good. Your phone is not in bad shape. Take a breath, do some research before you flash anything else. Don't compound the problem by flashing random things that you think might help.
worked. I owe you much gratitude
FIESTY2 said:
Well, when you did a factory reset, that wiped out all your apps, contacts, personal data, etc. No big deal. Your phone is in good shape, not bricked in any way, you just don't have all your personal stuff.
The only way to get it back to stock is to flash a stock firmware via ODIN or mobile ODIN, tutorials for doing both can be found here. I'm not 100% on how to do it (ODIN) with a mac other than either booting windows if you have the capability on your computer or running windows in a virtual box and using odin that way.
Or...if you have an SD card you could stick it in your computer, download another rom or liquid smooth again and reflash the proper way in recovery to get it to work. It sounds like you neglected to flash the separate GAPPS file that is required for the AOSP ROMS.
All is good. Your phone is not in bad shape. Take a breath, do some research before you flash anything else. Don't compound the problem by flashing random things that you think might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to friends PC and ran odin. worked perfectly. no problem losing all my data as long as i have a phone that works. thank you

Edit Oct 17, 2014 - Encrypt your device/phone with custom ROM

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage or liability arising out of these steps. I did not invent anything, I just tried something. Only move forward at your risk
If you don't agree ... stop reading and move on...
Background: Our phone has access to so much personal information that its scary if it fell into wrong hands. The only way to fix this is to encrypt phone. I did lot of research and here is a working solution that works for me - try at your risk.
Download Links:
a) Tested with ROM Stock 4.4.4 NH7 Galaxy S4 M919/Jfltetmo by @ShinySide
b) Tested with ROM |ROM|★KANGAKAT★|►KTU84P◄|4.4.4|Xposed|►8◄|6.26.14 by @iB4STiD
c) stock recovery AT&T S4 works with M919
d) Philz/CWM custom recovery
Encrypting with custom rom
1) Assume you are on custom recovery. - Backup everything first. Create a nandroid backup
2) Do a full wipe and install one of the two roms linked above (I have tested with few other roms ... none worked). Start the phone and set it up the way you want. Install all apps etc.
3) ODIN Stock recovery. See #c under download above. Its AT&T stock recovery but works for me. You need to know how to ODIN - find out. Doing this wrong will permanently damage your phone
4) Start your phone and turn on encryption. You will need to set lock type = password and will need to connect to charger and have 80% charge.
- Phone will do blank and stay blank for 20-30 minutes. Do not do anything. Encryption is happening behind the scenes.
- You might have to do this twice or thrice if it did not encrypt first time. For me the phone went blank first time and after 25 minutes it restarted but device was not encrypted. I redid the same steps and worked second time.
- If you interrupt the encryption process (battery pull or power up) you will see error message (encryption failed, reset device)
5) If all goes well you now have a password protected encrypted phone with custom rom!!! Check in Settings -> Security
6) You may install custom recovery ... but I don't see the point because you will need stock recovery to decrypt
To install another ROM
1) Reboot into stock recovery, then wipe data and cache (this removes encryption).
2) install your recovery of choice and install ROM using recovery. Philz/CWM
Credit goes to @Tronicus and his reply Flash a Rom on an Encrypted Android
Tronicus said:
How to Flash a rom on an encrypted Android phone (specifically this one, the I9505 SGH-I337).
The Problem: Once encrypted, you can't decrypt it easily. When encrypting the phone android will tell you you can only decrypt it using a factory reset. Naturally you assume it's talking about the "Factory Data Reset" option found in Settings --> Backup and Reset. But noooo, Android is lying through its ****ing teeth. Then you'll assume you have to wipe everything from your custom recovery mod (CWM, TWRP, or one of those). Wrong again! You'll get beautiful "can't mount /data" messages and more bull****. I read about a workaround that required installing the new rom using ADB, but I had ingeniously disabled USB debugging prior to wiping everything, so I only got so far with that option (plus it's tediously long if you haven't installed all the necessary software already and don't feel like bricking your phone because you made a typo in the command line). So, apparently the only other way to really format that partition free of its encryption is to use a stock recovery. So:
Short Version for Godlike users who know automatically how to do all this **** without any help (mimicking how most help posts are finely detailed on this site): Flash stock recovery, wipe everything, flash your custom recovery and install your new rom.
Long version for us mortals who don't know everything and haven't already downloaded already every single bit of software on earth:
Backup all the stuff you want to save. This process will truly wipe EVERYTHING. You can do it manually, or you can use an app like Titanium Backup Pro to help you (find it on Google Play Store). Here's a nice guide which recommends what to restore and what not to restore: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1480343
Flash the stock recovery using Odin. You can download a stock recovery from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=49687791&postcount=3 It's the link called "I337MK2stockrecovery.tar.md5" In case you don't know how to flash it with Odin, this short guide will help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506697
In step 6 replace "recovery.tar.md5" with the stock recovery you downloaded.
Wipe everything from the Stock recovery console. This little ****er will **** up the encryption all those sissies couldn't touch. You're welcome. You boot into recovery mode from a turned off phone by pressing simultaneously the volume up key + the home key + the power key until you see blue text appearing in the top left corner of your screen.
Reinstall your custom recovery. In my case I had installed the rom BEFORE flashing in the stock recovery (apparently it works, you just can't boot because of the encryption), so I was able to boot into the new rom before I returned to my custom recovery. Weird. Anyways, I recommend CWM. You can pick it up from this link: http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/jflte
For some weird reason they call the I337 version the "jflte" version. It's bonkers. Click there, and download the latest version that ends with .tar.md5. This version is upgradable via Odin, which we already used. Use the same instructions used as when you upgraded the stock recovery rom.
Boot into your recovery mod and flash your rom like you usually do.
A word about TWRP: it cost me many hours of work and I don't recommend it. Its website is outdated, and recommends using GooManager (which is no longer mantained) and doesn't work anymore for this. GooManager suggests using a new, different app, which doesn't have the option of installing TWRP. Then I tried using their TWRP Manager app from play store and the image file wouldn't download. Then I tried manually selecting the image file in TWRP manager that I downloaded from their site for use via the ADB method, and it bricked my phone... twice (using two different methods the app sugested). I tried so much because in theory TWRP has the ability to decrypt android's 4.4 encryption, but after looking at their github site I noticed it was filled with people's reports (including people with the S4) on how it wouldn't work decrypting squat. So I gave up, and installed CWM in 30 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage or liability arising out of these steps. I did not invent anything, I just tried something. Only move forward at your risk
cnewsgrp said:
One of the things I needed was the ability to encrypt my phone (device only not external SD) for security purpose. Our phones today gives access to lot of information that I would rather not fall in wrong hands. I did lot of research and here is a working solution.
Credit goes to @Tronicus and his reply Flash a Rom on an Encrypted Android
The quote looks long however it is really very simple. To install another ROM
- Install and reboot into stock recovery, then wipe data and cache (this removes encryption).
- Then install your recovery of choice and install ROM using recovery. Philz/CWM
This has been tested working on |ROM|★KANGAKAT★|►KTU84P◄|4.4.4|Xposed|►8◄|6.26.14 by @iB4STiD
This did NOT work on a Touchwiz ROM by same developer
I have not tested any other ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if it matters too much or not, but the stock recovery you linked to is for the AT&T S4. A good rule of thumb is to never use Odin to flash anything not specifically for your particular device... In this case the M919.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
lordcheeto03 said:
I don't know if it matters too much or not, but the stock recovery you linked to is for the AT&T S4. A good rule of thumb is to never use Odin to flash anything not specifically for your particular device... In this case the M919.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tested stock recovery on M919 .. it works
Honestly im surprised its not talked about more since there is a big push for personal privacy when it comes to data. Encryption really is a pain in the ass to work with on android. Figuring out how to switch or update custom roms while encrypted will drive you insane. The easiest way is to just odin back to stock and start over, but that requires a computer anytime you need to flash anything.
I recently was trying out one of the 4.4.4 GPE roms and turned on encryption. It worked great until i started missing touchwiz and wanted to go back to HyperDrive TW. So the journey began...
First of all, i backed up everything to external storage since i knew everything on the internal storage would have to be wiped. I loaded the phone into recovery mode (using TWRP) and tried wiping, but all i got was a bunch of "Failed to mount" errors. Fine. Got the same error when trying to factory reset or wiping /system, /data, /cache, and anything else. Tried formatting to different file systems and then formatting back to the original but no luck. Fixing permissions didnt help. I just kept trying everything available multiple times.
Eventually it started wiping everything except the /data mount. Well... At least i could install new custom roms. Im not sure exactly what did it because i was just throwing everything at it. Anyways I got it to install, and booted into it. Nope.
Now it was saying I needed the password to decrypt the internal storage. It would detect wrong passwords fine, but as soon as i put the correct password in, it would allow me in, show the green android encryption picture, then blank screen. I thought it was just decrypting and setting up my rom but after a few hours my screen was still black and nothing was happening. Pulled battery and went back to TWRP.
I started wiping everything again and again and tried doing everything i could to wipe everything on the internal storage. Again, not sure what did it, but eventually got it all cleaned up and got a new rom installed and could boot into it.
The whole process probably took about 6-7 hours...
I dont even want to enable encryption on the new rom...
p-hil said:
Honestly im surprised its not talked about more since there is a big push for personal privacy when it comes to data. Encryption really is a pain in the ass to work with on android. Figuring out how to switch or update custom roms while encrypted will drive you insane. The easiest way is to just odin back to stock and start over, but that requires a computer anytime you need to flash anything.
I recently was trying out one of the 4.4.4 GPE roms and turned on encryption. It worked great until i started missing touchwiz and wanted to go back to HyperDrive TW. So the journey began...
First of all, i backed up everything to external storage since i knew everything on the internal storage would have to be wiped. I loaded the phone into recovery mode (using TWRP) and tried wiping, but all i got was a bunch of "Failed to mount" errors. Fine. Got the same error when trying to factory reset or wiping /system, /data, /cache, and anything else. Tried formatting to different file systems and then formatting back to the original but no luck. Fixing permissions didnt help. I just kept trying everything available multiple times.
Eventually it started wiping everything except the /data mount. Well... At least i could install new custom roms. Im not sure exactly what did it because i was just throwing everything at it. Anyways I got it to install, and booted into it. Nope.
Now it was saying I needed the password to decrypt the internal storage. It would detect wrong passwords fine, but as soon as i put the correct password in, it would allow me in, show the green android encryption picture, then blank screen. I thought it was just decrypting and setting up my rom but after a few hours my screen was still black and nothing was happening. Pulled battery and went back to TWRP.
I started wiping everything again and again and tried doing everything i could to wipe everything on the internal storage. Again, not sure what did it, but eventually got it all cleaned up and got a new rom installed and could boot into it.
The whole process probably took about 6-7 hours...
I dont even want to enable encryption on the new rom...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah Encryption does not seem to work on TWZ roms. I tried on G Eye without luck.
I have updated op. Please check
Encryption will slow down your phone quite a bit. More battery usage + more CPU usage + slower phone = not worth it unless you've got some very private stuff you don't want being shared. Otherwise, 3rd party apps that lock a lot of files, can encrypt certain files, and hide others will do the trick perfectly well.'
Not trying to bash fully encrypting your phone, but I've tried it before and although I am very pro privacy, I had to eventually take it off due to all the extra hassle it created.
Don't know about slowing down. I am not seeing it. I feel differently about security.

[Q] Bricked my phone... Need Help.

Like I'm sure this topic hasn't come up before, but I've searched for hours and I'm probably just making things worse. I also just accidentally deleted this post halfway through. It's too late and I'm too tired and I have no working phone.
Bought an SGH-I747 on E-Bay. Got a Straight Talk SIM card kit, activated it, so far so good.
Rooted it with CF-Auto-Root. Worked pretty well, took a lot of reboots, upgraded the SU from the Play Store and it got rid of Knox. So far so good. Got everything all set up the way I like it. Happy.
It was running 4.4.2. I'm assuming it was the release prior to the November 12th OTA release, but I can't say for sure.
Phone downloaded and installed an upgrade automatically. Now, it won't boot. I get the SAMSUNG logo, then the Samsung Galaxy S III logo then nothing.
I retried the CF-Auto-Root, no change.
I booted into recovery (volume up, home and power on), did factory reset, no change.
Started looking around for a way to return it to stock. Found an upgrade43.zip file somewhere (I'm sorry I can't find where I got that now). Put it on the sdcard card and tried installing it with the recovery and it fails part way through.
At this point, I think I probably need to completely overwrite everything with something stock. I just don't know how to do that. I see posts on such subjects but they all have warnings that make me think I'm going to totally brick the phone, so I'm hoping someone can point me the right way. I'm not all that Android savvy, as you can tell.
Help.
Since your phone was running 4.4.2, do not attempt to flash any ROMs using that attempt to downgrade your bootloader to anything prior to 4.4.2.
Try this to get your phone up and running:
download the latest CM11 for the d2lte and save it to an external SD card: https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=d2lte
dowload the latest tar.md5 version of Philz Touch for the d2lte from here: https://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/d2lte/
boot phone in download mode, open Odin 3.07, do not check anything except f.reset.time, flash Philz via PDA box, remove USB cable when you see the word Reset appear in the status window, remove battery, replace battery, boot into recovery, format system, Dalvik, data, and cache, flash cm11, and reboot.
Thank you for your reply. There are a few things in there I don't quite understand, but I think I can figure it out.
I was going to attempt this...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658486
In fact, I did attempt it with TWRP last night after I posted here and new I still wasn't going to sleep. I kept getting an error about a bad ZIP file.
Is that stock restore a bad idea?
Do not attempt to flash an older bootloader. The mjb bootloader is from 4.3 and attempting to flash it could hard brick your phone.
I suggest doing what I suggested so you can confirm the bootloader and modem installed on your phone.
OK. Thanks. Probably a good thing I couldn't get it to work then.
Thank you so much. I have a working phone again. Now I just have to get it all set back up the way I like it.
I have to say, and it's probably words straight from the devils mouth, that I kind of wish I could have restored the Samsung stock software. It's just what I'm used to. But I will take what I can get.
A few questions. I like having root. But root is what got me in trouble in the first place. Is this going to be rooted now, or will I have to do that or am I better off just leaving it alone.
Second, I'm probably going to have questions since this is so different than what I'm used to (like I already can't find the Play store). Where is the best place to ask?
If you want root, one of the easiest ways to get it is to flash supersu from your custom recovery. Most ROMs are pre-rooted.
Many custom ROMs do not include Gapps. Just download and install the Gapps version for your ROM.
If you like the TW look, flash a TW-based ROM. Check out the development threads for different ROMs.
here is a thread for Q's that has some pretty good/friendly helpers on it if you need.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2257421
"all i can really do , is stay out of my own way and let the will of heaven be done"
How to save in to external SD card
How do you save the file into the external SD card? I am having the same brick issue with my GS3.
To save a file to an external SD card, just put the card into a card reader and save the ROM to the SD card.

[Q] Bought a Note 3 on CL 6 months ago and rentacenter locked it today

Hey guys, I hope y'all can help out.
Back in December I bought a Note 3 on craigslist and all was well with it until today when I received a message from rentacenter saying they have locked the device.
Can anyone please suggest how I can make this phone functional again? I read in another forum that someone with an S5 was able to flash CM12 on his phone and that got rid of lock message.
Go 4 It! Get a new sim also.
You can probably root and flash any custom rom.
I used the following method posted by ttn1185 here on XDA.
PLEASE READ ALL THE STEPS FIRST and ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU ARE NOT CLEAR.
Download Odin3_v3.09
Download TWRP or any other custom recovery of your choice.
Download Cyanogenmod 12 for G900T : https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=klte -> Put this on your external microSD card. You can use internal storage as well.
Download GApps for Cyanogenmod 12 http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Google_Apps#Downloads -> Put this on your external microSD card. You can use internal storage as well.
Run Odin and flash TWRP or any other custom recovery of your choice to your phone. This will set KNOX security flag to 1, meaning no more warranty for the phone if you send it to Samsung to repair something else.
Boot into custom recovery ( with phone off, press and hold Volume Up and Home keys while turning on the phone ) and Wipe System, Dalvik, Cache and Data. This will erase everything on the phone. No need to do ROM back up as we have Stock ROM available for this model to go back if needed. Your choice.
Flash/Install Cyanogenmod 12 zip file and then GApps zip file
Reboot
Let your phone sit for 10 minutes.
To the ultra novice people. I'll add a few extra details.
Download the Odin app and install it on your computer.
Flash the latest version of TWRP using odin and download the .tar version. Also, when you're flashing twrp w/ odin, check the second box that says "AP" and select twrp file.
On TWRP, before installing CM, go to the wipe option on twrp and select advanced wipe. After that, check the following boxes and slide to wipe : cache, data, system, & dav cache.
bls2633 said:
You can probably root and flash any custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how to root but I was able to follow another threads instructions and get my phone running on CM12. I noticed that my s-pen doesn't work using this so I tried to use another custom rom that utilitzes TW but the RAC lock came back. Looks like the only thing you can use is CM for a device after RAC locks it. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.
If you look in the general section there is a post to get your pen working on AOSP roms
in twrp or cwm do a full back up efs everything boot ect
save that folder with all those saved things to your desktop just in case backup your entire rom stock rac crappe done just in case
now i would full erase rom clear internal data where twrp says ar eyou sur eyou want to reboot there is no os !!
then flash another rom or debloated oem ver see what happens
how rac does this idk
you could also see what happens when booting in safe mode ? if rac locks come back or if you can use titaniumbackup pro to freeze rac app while rooted and or keep off wifi is somehow detecting somthing right idk
figured id toss a few pennys out there if all else fail reload from backups
ive only seen a red rac screen on a laptop before it was pretty cool actully and it was @ pwn shop so it was funny to me
bls2633 said:
If you look in the general section there is a post to get your pen working on AOSP roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2611415
got it, i posted the link above for anyone who needs it.
colorsharpkid said:
in twrp or cwm do a full back up efs everything boot ect
save that folder with all those saved things to your desktop just in case backup your entire rom stock rac crappe done just in case
now i would full erase rom clear internal data where twrp says ar eyou sur eyou want to reboot there is no os !!
then flash another rom or debloated oem ver see what happens
how rac does this idk
you could also see what happens when booting in safe mode ? if rac locks come back or if you can use titaniumbackup pro to freeze rac app while rooted and or keep off wifi is somehow detecting somthing right idk
figured id toss a few pennys out there if all else fail reload from backups
ive only seen a red rac screen on a laptop before it was pretty cool actully and it was @ pwn shop so it was funny to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't see an rac apk, so i don't know how they're doing it.
Does anyone know how to :
a: stop auto play when connecting to the bluetooth car stereo? Kind of goofy having the Samsung song kick on every time I crank the truck and connect the phone.
b: Have info showing when using pandora? When I was on TW, all the info including artist , song, album would populate on my display but w/ CM12, I don't get that info on my screen anymore.
Thanks again to the guys posting in this thread. I'm pretty new to CM and it's been really helpful getting tips from you guys.

No wifi after flashing, either on BPA1 or CPD1 firmwares

I was trying to get rooted, I've downgraded and am on 5.1.1 on the CPD firmware currently, but I can't get wifi back. I had the boot loader unlocked but somehow lost it after flashing to the CPD firmware. I was using this guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/no...guide-step-step-stock-n910v-6-0-1-to-t3426905
I've made it to step 35 from there, but I can't get Kingroot to work on this current firmware because of no wifi, I guess. It tries but it keeps failing.
Any ideas or suggestions? At this point I don't care if I have root or not, I just need a workable phone with wifi
At that point, you need a SIM card because you are on the updated bootloader (CPD1) for 6.01 and will not have WiFi. You have upgraded the bootloader, but you're still on the older 5.11 baseband. Pop a SIM card into the phone and root it once again. Then follow the rest of the instructions. It works. I've done it on multiple devices.
BeckPC said:
At that point, you need a SIM card because you are on the updated bootloader (CPD1) for 6.01 and will not have WiFi. You have upgraded the bootloader, but you're still on the older 5.11 baseband. Pop a SIM card into the phone and root it once again. Then follow the rest of the instructions. It works. I've done it on multiple devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I've pulled the sim from my working phone and put it into this one, and despite running KingRoot about a dozen times now, I can't ever get it to go through. I don't know if I don't have enough data bandwidth here in the area for it to work entirely correct, or what, but I can't seem to get past this stage or get any wifi up and going again.
hondaatc said:
Unfortunately, I've pulled the sim from my working phone and put it into this one, and despite running KingRoot about a dozen times now, I can't ever get it to go through. I don't know if I don't have enough data bandwidth here in the area for it to work entirely correct, or what, but I can't seem to get past this stage or get any wifi up and going again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you're stuck on a 6.01 ROM with a 5.11 bootloader. You have a few more steps to complete before you're ready to flash to your hearts content. King Root doesn't download much.
I had the same problem once. Go to setting and do a hard reset on the device, wiping all data and let it boot up for the first time (with the same ROM installed. Don't sign into Google, just skip all the setup routines. Install King Root and try again. It should work. It might take a few times. It's extremely unstable. As soon as you get root, run the ADB routine quickly and unlock the bootloader. Now you can use ODIN to flash the final file N910VVRU2BPA1_N910VVRU2CPD1_FullFirmware.tar. That will update you to the new firmware and restore your wifi. Don't let the phone reboot automatically. Once it's done, pull the battery. Leave it out for a minute at least. Then start up the phone in bootloader mode (vol down, home and power). Immediately after that, you want to use ODIN to install the twrp 3.0.20 file as well.
Now boot up the phone and enter TWRP. Do a standard wipe (cache/dalvic/data) but not System. Do it twice. Now reboot. You should be unlocked (open padlock on the screen) and booting into 6.0.1. You can check for root. At this point, you should be good. Now you can flash any ROM that requires the CPD1 firmware. You can always update the modem, but your firmware will remain at that version. Personally, I recommend Modest Rom 8. It's as close to stock as you can get, with a few nice tweaks and addons that makes life a bit better. From there, you can experiment all you want.
Two more bits of advice ... once you have it rooted and fixed up, you need to do two things.
1. Use Root Explorer to completely delete all files from /systems/efs folder. Why you ask, this folder will contain chinese junk that will slow down your phone. Trust me. It works and hurts nothing. Do this especially after rooting.
2.Use TWRP to make a backup of the complete system to your memory card. It's so much easier to go back and restore, than it is to redo all the work you just did.
BeckPC said:
It sounds like you're stuck on a 6.01 ROM with a 5.11 bootloader. You have a few more steps to complete before you're ready to flash to your hearts content. King Root doesn't download much.
I had the same problem once. Go to setting and do a hard reset on the device, wiping all data and let it boot up for the first time (with the same ROM installed. Don't sign into Google, just skip all the setup routines. Install King Root and try again. It should work. It might take a few times. It's extremely unstable. As soon as you get root, run the ADB routine quickly and unlock the bootloader. Now you can use ODIN to flash the final file N910VVRU2BPA1_N910VVRU2CPD1_FullFirmware.tar. That will update you to the new firmware and restore your wifi. Don't let the phone reboot automatically. Once it's done, pull the battery. Leave it out for a minute at least. Then start up the phone in bootloader mode (vol down, home and power). Immediately after that, you want to use ODIN to install the twrp 3.0.20 file as well.
Now boot up the phone and enter TWRP. Do a standard wipe (cache/dalvic/data) but not System. Do it twice. Now reboot. You should be unlocked (open padlock on the screen) and booting into 6.0.1. You can check for root. At this point, you should be good. Now you can flash any ROM that requires the CPD1 firmware. You can always update the modem, but your firmware will remain at that version. Personally, I recommend Modest Rom 8. It's as close to stock as you can get, with a few nice tweaks and addons that makes life a bit better. From there, you can experiment all you want.
Two more bits of advice ... once you have it rooted and fixed up, you need to do two things.
1. Use Root Explorer to completely delete all files from /systems/efs folder. Why you ask, this folder will contain chinese junk that will slow down your phone. Trust me. It works and hurts nothing. Do this especially after rooting.
2.Use TWRP to make a backup of the complete system to your memory card. It's so much easier to go back and restore, than it is to redo all the work you just did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that gives me some hope I'm on the right track, I guess I'll keep trying. I've done much of that, and the thing is every time I do a factory reset (Like before an odin flash), I get stuck in a boot loop again until it seemingly randomly comes out of it and starts up normal again, so its kinda spooky doing that. All the steps and finagling makes me yearn for my old Samsung Moment that was a simple drop a rom onto the SD card...lol
If you have the SD card installed, remove it. It may need to be cleaned for the phone to boot properly.
Just do the wipe and reboot normally. See if it will continue. You'll need the SD card later, but it needs to be formatted if it was used during the bootloader backup. It looks like you are almost finished. Just one more round with the ADB command and you'll be complete.
BeckPC said:
If you have the SD card installed, remove it. It may need to be cleaned for the phone to boot properly.
Just do the wipe and reboot normally. See if it will continue. You'll need the SD card later, but it needs to be formatted if it was used during the bootloader backup. It looks like you are almost finished. Just one more round with the ADB command and you'll be complete.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so I went back and did factory reset from recovery console to retry Kingroot. I noticed though, it set me back to BPA, and not CPD1. So now I'm trying to use odin to back back up to CPD1.
Was this normal, for a factory reset to go back to BPA, or should it have kept me on CPD1?
It sounds like you missed a step unlocking the bootloader. You have to do it three times, with each firmware update you do. A factory reset should not have rolled back to BPA1. Why don't you take a look at the other thread on rooting and use it. When I got to the bottom of the one you're using, I knew I didn't want to do the Jasmine ROM, so I followed this one: https://forum.xda-developers.com/no...asy-guide-how-to-root-verizon-galaxy-t3454593
Just take it slowly and it will take a couple of hours, but once it's done, you'll be rooted.
hondaatc said:
Okay, so I went back and did factory reset from recovery console to retry Kingroot. I noticed though, it set me back to BPA, and not CPD1. So now I'm trying to use odin to back back up to CPD1.
Was this normal, for a factory reset to go back to BPA, or should it have kept me on CPD1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have rooting issues try inputting the proper APN manually before attempting to root. That was my issue. Even tho it recognized my sim it wouldn't root until I put in my actual APN settings for Koodo.
Try an older version of the root apps also.

Categories

Resources