Develop Bugs

[Q] Problem with 4.4.2, and with downgrading to 4.2.2

Hi, so after I updated to Kit Kat 4.4.2 on my S4 mini, my phone kept dropping my network (Canada - Bell mobility) randomly usually either ten or twenty minutes after I connect to it but sometimes right away. I've tried taking it in to Bell and I have had the SIM card replaced three times and I've factory reset it numerous times with the problem still occurring. I've been told by a cell phone recovery shop that I could try downgrading back to Jellybean. I've searched for a while and noticed some people have had success with this method -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53752825&postcount=620 so I decided to try it out myself. Every time I try to download it onto my phone with Odin I receive an error code:
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> sbl1.mbn
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> FAIL! (Auth)
<ID:0/003>
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Can somebody please help me with either one of my problems? Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

BoJo963 said:
Hi, so after I updated to Kit Kat 4.4.2 on my S4 mini, my phone kept dropping my network (Canada - Bell mobility) randomly usually either ten or twenty minutes after I connect to it but sometimes right away. I've tried taking it in to Bell and I have had the SIM card replaced three times and I've factory reset it numerous times with the problem still occurring. I've been told by a cell phone recovery shop that I could try downgrading back to Jellybean. I've searched for a while and noticed some people have had success with this method -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53752825&postcount=620 so I decided to try it out myself. Every time I try to download it onto my phone with Odin I receive an error code:
<ID:0/003> Odin v.3 engine (ID:3)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> sbl1.mbn
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> FAIL! (Auth)
<ID:0/003>
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Can somebody please help me with either one of my problems? Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What jelly bean firmware did you try to flash...As I mentioned in the post :: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53752825&postcount=620 you must use BRAZIL UNBRANDED JELLYBEAN 4.2.2 UBUBNE2
Here is the sammobile link to that firmware page :: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=30561
Also wipe data, cache and flash the firmware. I downgrade thrice :: from Germany KK, from slovakian KK , Newzealand KK , and Belgium branded KK. Anyway Good luck.

sasank360 said:
What jelly bean firmware did you try to flash...As I mentioned in the post :: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=53752825&postcount=620 you must use BRAZIL UNBRANDED JELLYBEAN 4.2.2 UBUBNE2
Here is the sammobile link to that firmware page :: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=30561
Also wipe data, cache and flash the firmware. I downgrade thrice :: from Germany KK, from slovakian KK , Newzealand KK , and Belgium branded KK. Anyway Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed the Brazilian firmware you linked to in your post. Could you please provide links to the firmwares you downgraded to? I'm rather new to this and I have not been able to navigate Sammobile very well. Thank you so much for your time and I apologize for any inconveniences I cause.

BoJo963 said:
I flashed the Brazilian firmware you linked to in your post. Could you please provide links to the firmwares you downgraded to? I'm rather new to this and I have not been able to navigate Sammobile very well. Thank you so much for your time and I apologize for any inconveniences I cause.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not think you can downgrade further. Brazil UBUBNE2 has same bootloader as kitkat. While older jelly bean firmwares have 1st revision of knox and odin gives fail message when you try to downgrade from UBUBNE2 JB. I tried it only once and it failed, so fearing I might hard brick my phone I never tried that again. I need senior members to confirm what I said.
BTW can you remember the fail message on your phone when odin failed....??
Also I found brazil JB to be very stable and with f4k kernel I had great battery life.

sasank360 said:
I do not think you can downgrade further. Brazil UBUBNE2 has same bootloader as kitkat. While older jelly bean firmwares have 1st revision of knox and odin gives fail message when you try to downgrade from UBUBNE2 JB. I tried it only once and it failed, so fearing I might hard brick my phone I never tried that again. I need senior members to confirm what I said.
Also I found brazil JB to be very stable and with f4k kernel I had great battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I had tried to flash the Brazil UBUBNE2 onto my phone, it gave me the error I posted in the original post. I am only trying to downgrade to it, not past. I re-downloaded the firmware from the link you supplied earlier, and when I tried flashing it onto my phone I received the same error as I posted at the beginning.
Could it be something that I'm doing wrong? I open up Odin, put my phone into download mode, plug my phone into my computer, place the firmware into the AP spot, then I press start, and after a little bit it displays the error. I am using Odin v3.09.

BoJo963 said:
When I had tried to flash the Brazil UBUBNE2 onto my phone, it gave me the error I posted in the original post. I am only trying to downgrade to it, not past. I re-downloaded the firmware from the link you supplied earlier, and when I tried flashing it onto my phone I received the same error as I posted at the beginning.
Could it be something that I'm doing wrong? I open up Odin, put my phone into download mode, plug my phone into my computer, place the firmware into the AP spot, then I press start, and after a little bit it displays the error. I am using Odin v3.09.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is strange. You downloaded the proper firmware from link I gave you and also steps of flashing are correct.
Did you try to remove knox files from firmware??? Or flashed it untouched.
Actually many users did exactly what I did and successfully downgraded. Try one last time after wiping data and cache. Good luck. Also is your device I9195 or any variant of that like I9195L / I9195T. All the above procedure must be done on I9195 international S4 Mini LTE. Good luck.

sasank360 said:
That is strange. You downloaded the proper firmware from link I gave you and also steps of flashing are correct.
Did you try to remove knox files from firmware??? Or flashed it untouched.
Actually many users did exactly what I did and successfully downgraded. Try one last time after wiping data and cache. Good luck. Also is your device I9195 or any variant of that like I9195L / I9195T. All the above procedure must be done on I9195 international S4 Mini LTE. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed it untouched, I don't know how to remove the knox files. My device's model number is SGH-1257M, so could that be the problem? Am I out of luck for being able to downgrade? If I can't downgrade do you know if there is a way for me to stop losing connection to my cell network, the initial problem I described, that is the reason I want to downgrade my phone.

BoJo963 said:
I flashed it untouched, I don't know how to remove the knox files. My device's model number is SGH-1257M, so could that be the problem? Am I out of luck for being able to downgrade? If I can't downgrade do you know if there is a way for me to stop losing connection to my cell network, the initial problem I described, that is the reason I want to downgrade my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THAT IS THE PROBLEM. As you can see the model number of your device is I257M. The firmware you flashed is meant for I9195 international S4 Mini LTE. The phone you have is carrier branded S4 Mini. Not the international one. Do not flash firmwares and ROMs meant for other model numbers. I cannot advise you on SGH-I257M as I have no idea how the kitkat is seeded to that device.
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/1/?model=SGH-I257M&pcode=0 --- This is the list of latest firmwares for I257M. Use these firmwares, not I9195 firmwares.

sasank360 said:
THAT IS THE PROBLEM. As you can see the model number of your device is I257M. The firmware you flashed is meant for I9195 international S4 Mini LTE. The phone you have is carrier branded S4 Mini. Not the international one. Do not flash firmwares and ROMs meant for other model numbers. I cannot advise you on SGH-I257M as I have no idea how the kitkat is seeded to that device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, well that is disheartening. Thank you for your time and patience. I really appreciate you trying to help.

BoJo963 said:
Oh, well that is disheartening. Thank you for your time and patience. I really appreciate you trying to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No mention. It is essential to learn from little mistakes.

Samsung tech support trashed wife's phone after Settings App failure fix

It seems that after the November AT&T OS upgrade that my wife was unable to get into the Settings App (Settings Failed Error). :crying:
1. Got on with Samsung support, they took me through several reboot sequences, etc.
2. Finally they said we need to Factory Reset. We backed up data with Kies and proceeded.
3. While rebooting from the factory reset, OP Sys fails on the language selection screen (Settings Failed Error)
4. Samsung took us too Kies and tried to flash the Op Sys.
5. Now getting "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue".
6. Tried Kies again but does not find my device.
7. Downloaded the I747 AT&T Rom and using Odin
8. Am able to get the "Downloading" screen to work
8. Odin sees the Com but when trying to flash, it Fails every single time.
HERE IS THE SEQUENCE:
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Binary Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Odin engine v(ID:3.1100)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/005> aboot.mbn
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005> FAIL! (Auth)
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
Now I am stuck as to what to do next. PLEASE HELP :crying:

Ur wife seem to enabled the protection against odin flash. Too sad, else it would work.
This is why u should never enable that crap.
Good luck
Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

Sachitoge said:
Ur wife seem to enabled the protection against odin flash. Too sad, else it would work.
This is why u should never enable that crap.
Good luck
Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sachitoge, thanks for your reply!
So what your saying is that my Wife's phone is as good as being Hard Bricked?

Kinda
Samsung has implemented knox to prevent theft to reset phone, this will fail wth odin no matter what you do, its impossible because its locked and encrypted.
For now it seems its hard bricked, but if u never got root on it or if your knox trigger is 0x0, and u got this far with brick, then your operator or samsung is responsible to fix it no matter what, stay on what you say and push them saying you didnt do anything and that you enabled knox protection thus Odin flash fails. Say to them with a more serious speech and deeper speech like you its kinda feeling that you seem like you are angry. Tell them you need asap phone and replace it asap. You can even say to diagnose the phone and see that you didnt do anything illegal (root proccess) or dropped phone.
Just never take a break with whatever they say about refusing it, stay behind your words and phrase, they should and MUST help you fix the phone or replace it.
EDIT: This knox protection is additional optional protection, and is not must, so u know. Its impossible to turn it off without getting into your Settings app and disable it manually.
Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

Sachitoge said:
Kinda
Samsung has implemented knox to prevent theft to reset phone, this will fail wth odin no matter what you do, its impossible because its locked and encrypted.
. . .
Just never take a break with whatever they say about refusing it, stay behind your words and phrase, they should and MUST help you fix the phone or replace it.
Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I talked to the voice tech support and they said that i should first try to image the operating system at the BestBuy store. If I can't get it to work then to send it into them and they will do a "free" evaluation. However since i started with a good phone, they are liable. Although they may try and get me to pay for fixing it
As it is, should i really send it to them? Or is there any other software solution, or a JTAG??? (not sure all that would involve)
Thanks!

Look, that knox protection is as good as Apple's remote iCloud lock function. It is encrypted, and it requires decryption of the system partition (i may be wrong, i just say what i believe is/can be). The Knox is a type of a Encryption, it's really secure and safe and is used widely worldwide, the decryption is hard because it must be protected with your samsung account and password, because it required that during enabling it. This indicates it is encrypted according to your specified Samsung account. I may be wrong, but try to find on internet whether it's possible to disable it remotely. Try to boot phone normally, then go on PC/Laptop and search to login to Samsung account and by any chance, look to remotely unlock this Knox security.
Other than that, without access to "Settings" app, you wont be able to disable it. Simply impossible. It is encrypted.
Same for iOS Devices that got locked with remotely iCloud lock app, it is locked and encrypted remotely and requires remotely decryption to system partition and this is why almost nobody can bypass it. There are ways but sadly are private from public to prevent Apple team patch the exploit. I do believe they use this exploit for iDevice that is stolen to afterward sell to another end-user the stolen phone, or possibly they could be unlocking devices in exchange of money. Easy money from my view, however, it is encrypted and is no way possible. MAYBE samsung can do it from their end without saying "we decrypted it and did clean install rom" instead of that, they will speak in a manner speech like "We did put the phone into a developer-only software from our end on our PC and did a full disk-clean which also killed all files, and had to re-attempt to install rom and reconfigure IMEI". Maybe not exactly like this but something close this. From what i know, whenever you do full clean, your IMEI mostly stays, this is because you mostly cant really navigate it manually or delete it, usually it is protected lol.
I hope you're not tired with this long message, you shouldn't be charged for such a mess they caused to you, so like i said, dont let your guard down and hesitate, stay behind your phrase/word! I promise, it will work!
You mentioned Voice Tech Support, talk serious, talk that you are not tech heavy, (for ur wife). Play a bit stupid-role about technology and that it happened while OS Upgrade.
Remember, they will be after your money, don't let them do it and get cash into their pocket for free, it's not worth and not your fault to cause you being charged!
Please, try my method and you will see it really saved you a couple 10 dollars. As of sending the phone, im not sure, they wont however pay the shipping fee, other than that any other cost is unacceptable so beware, dont get phished from IT experts.
Remember, reason this is long is to save you from being charged. Hope it helped, good luck buddy.

I recommend not using Odin to flash any ROMs at this point.
The flash is failing because you are trying to flash a ROM with a bootloader that is older than the bootloader on the phone which is indicated by the failure after trying to flash aboot.mbn file.
There is not full ROM available for the i747 after 4.1.1. All OS upgrades were provided by AT&T as OTA updates.
I recommend flashing a custom recovery, booting to recovery, mounting the data partition, a copy everything you can to a PC. Then, flash a custom ROM, Gapps, and install the Samsung Phone Info app from the Play Store to find the phone's bootloader version.

audit13 said:
The flash is failing because you are trying to flash a ROM with a bootloader that is older than the bootloader on the phone which is indicated by the failure after trying to flash aboot.mbn file.
There is not full ROM available for the i747 after 4.1.1. All OS upgrades were provided by AT&T as OTA updates.
I recommend flashing a custom recovery, booting to recovery, mounting the data partition, a copy everything you can to a PC. Then, flash a custom ROM, Gapps, and install the Samsung Phone Info app from the Play Store to find the phone's bootloader version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, it could be, i dont know how things really work in USA as i always bought unlocked phones and living in europe, so it was good to point that out. The error do happen while knox protection is on too, same type of message so its a bit tricky...
Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

I have never seen Knox protection cause that error. I don't think it is not Knox that is stopping the flash, it is the bootloader security.
The only protection that I have seen that would have an effect in download mode would be re-activation lock.

Sachitoge said:
. . . other than that any other cost is unacceptable so beware, dont get phished from IT experts. . . Remember, reason this is long is to save you from being charged. Hope it helped, good luck buddy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your long reply! and in helping me with this issue. I will be firm with them. My wife is not tech savvy and I don't know how my wife's phone got encrypted, or if there was someone remotely hacking her phone from our PC or over the wireless. She always complained to me that someone was listening in on her conversations and interfering with her text messages. And we had some evidence this was taking place. She does not know how to encrypt her phone, so she didn't enable knox encryption. So perhaps her phone was hacked somehow.
On the download screen of the phone this is what I am getting:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: SGH-I747
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Official
QUALCOM SECURE BOOT: ENABLE
Warranty Bit: 0
BOOTLOADER RP SWREV: 3
SW REV CHECK FAIL : Fused 3 > Binary 0
Downloading.......
Does this mean anything to you that could possible help knowing what the problem is?

I see nothing to indicate that the phone is encrypted.
The existence of the warranty bit line tells me the phone has at least a 4.3 bootloader which caused the Odin flash to fail: the ROM being flashed has an older (probably 4.1.1) bootloader.
Knox and encryption are not the same thing. Encryption can take place in the absence of Knox and Knox can be present on a non-encrypted phone.
Whether the phone is or is not sim-locked isn't relevant to this situation as it can happen regardless of a phone's sim-lock status.

audit13 said:
I recommend not using Odin to flash any ROMs at this point. . . The flash is failing because you are trying to flash a ROM with a bootloader that is older than the bootloader on the phone which is indicated by the failure after trying to flash aboot.mbn file. . . There is not full ROM available for the i747 after 4.1.1. All OS upgrades were provided by AT&T as OTA updates. . . I recommend flashing a custom recovery, booting to recovery, mounting the data partition, a copy everything you can to a PC. Then, flash a custom ROM, Gapps, and install the Samsung Phone Info app from the Play Store to find the phone's bootloader version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your suggested solution! I have an Identical phone to my wife's phone. Is there anything else useful i can grab from my phone? The info App states:
Model: SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
Device Type: d2att
Product Name: d2uc
Country origin: MADE IN CHINA
Manuf. Date: 2012.08.31
Knox Warranty Void: 0x0
Storage: 16 GB
Product Code: SGH-I747RWBATT
Orig CSC Code: ATT
Firmware CSC Code: ATT
Active CSC Code: ATT
CSC Country: USA/US
Mobile Operator: AT&T / 310410
Bootloader Version: I747UCUFNJ2
PDA Version: I747ATTFNJ2
Baseband Version: I747UCUFNJ2
Latest Firmware: Not Found
Kernel Version:
3.4.0-1514807
[email protected] #1
32-bit
Java Virtual Machine: Dalvik 1.6.0
Root Existence: No
Android Version: 4.4.2
Build Number: KOT49H.I747UCUFNJ2
Build Fingerprint: samsung/d2uc/d2att:4.4.2/KOT49H/i747UCUFNJ2:user/release-keys
Build Description: d2uc-user 4.4.2 KOT49H I747UCUFNJ2 release-keys
Build Date: Mon Aug 10 14:43:43 KST 2015
Changelist: 1514807
Hardware / Board: qcom / MSM8960 [32-bit]
Platform / Chip: MSM8960
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 225
Modem Board: MSM8960
Hardware Revision: REV0.4
Firmware: KIES SYMBOL --- I747UCDLK3 --- date: 2012-11-01 ---- USA (ATandT) ---- Version: 4.1.1 --- CSC: I747ATTDLK3

Your phone is running the latest ROM as indicated by the nj2.
The line about kies, where did that come from?

audit13 said:
Your phone is running the latest ROM as indicated by the nj2.. . . The line about kies, where did that come from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That line came from the Firmware Browser page of the Phone INFO *Samsung* App.
Is it possible to extract all the files I need from my phone and burn them over to my Wife's semi-bricked phone?

Nope, that won't work.
If you backed up everything on her phone, I recommend flashing a custom recovery and then a custom ROM to see what baseband is on the phone. I would not flash anything until that has been confirmed.
Flashing the wrong bootloader and modem file could hard brick the phone.

audit13 said:
Nope, that won't work. . . .If you backed up everything on her phone, I recommend flashing a custom recovery and then a custom ROM to see what baseband is on the phone. I would not flash anything until that has been confirmed. . . .Flashing the wrong bootloader and modem file could hard brick the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am still new here, and although I am a computer programmer, a lot of the terms are foreign to me.... i understood the custom recover and the custom ROM but what is the "baseband" that needs to be determined? Can i get the baseband information from my identical phone?

The baseband or modem is software installed on the phone to control its functionality. The last 4 characters of the baseband/modem should match the last 4 characters of the bootloader.
From your post above, notice the fnj2:
Bootloader Version: I747UCUFNJ2
Baseband Version: I747UCUFNJ2
The bootloader and baseband/modem will change as you upgrade the phone's ROM.
If the soft-bricked phone has the mjb bootloader and you try to flash an lk3 bootloader, this will probably hard-brick the phone because the lk3 bootloader is an older bootloader. The i747 can only be flashed with an identical or newer bootloader which makes the bootloader version a very important piece of information.

audit13 said:
.......The i747 can only be flashed with an identical or newer bootloader which makes the bootloader version a very important piece of information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So why not just flash her phone with the newest bootloader available?

If you want to flash the latest bootloader and modem, you'll have to install a custom recovery first. Also, I am not sure if the modem and bootloader need to be upgraded in release order. I wouldn't think so since I have flashed the Canadian version of the s3 (i.e. i747m) from 4.1.2 to 4.4.2 with no problem.
Always flash the bootloader and modem in the same session before rebooting. Don't flash a modem, reboot, and flash a bootloader as this could also cause a brick.
NOTE: flashing a custom recovery will change the warranty bit from 0 to 1 which will tell a Samsung tech that non-official software was installed on the phone and you may wind up with no recourse against Samsung.
I recommend this if you will not be pursuing the matter further with Samsung: install a custom recovery, boot into recovery, wipe cache, and reboot the phone. Hopefully, clearing the cache will allow the phone to boot as I think it is still stuck in a boot loop.
If the phone still will not boot and you have not back up all of the data, boot to recovery, mount the data partition, connect the phone to a computer, copy off what you need, wipe/format the data and cache, then reboot.

audit13 said:
If you want to flash the latest bootloader and modem, you'll have to install a custom recovery first. ... ... ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am willing to try it. Do you know a thread i can follow or how i can get some instruction on creating and flashing a custom recovery? Also..... i still have the option to bring the phone over to BestBuy store who is a Samsung tech center. I am not sure if they can do anything other that what I have already tried

S9 stuck on "powered by android" screen ----- PLEASE HELP

I was flashing with ODIN a new firmware (a newer one of what i had) with the correspondent files (BL, CP, AP, CSC) and this happened:
<ID:0/005> Receive Response from boot-loader
<ID:0/005> cache.img.ext4
<ID:0/005> odm.img.ext4
<ID:0/005> FAIL!
The whole process failed and it didn't finish the instalation.
After that the phone would say that there was an error during the instalation of the software and stay on that screen.
I decided to flash ONLY the AP file and it was successfull, but the phone is now stuck on a bootloop and won´t get pass the "powered by android" screen.
I flashed the BL again and it is successfull but it wont change a thing.
However if i flash the CSC or the HOME_CSC, it gives me the same error as before:
<ID:0/005> Receive Response from boot-loader
<ID:0/005> cache.img.ext4
<ID:0/005> odm.img.ext4
<ID:0/005> FAIL!
I've tried wiping the data partition, factory reset, and nothing.
Please help me. I've been trying to fix this for hours without a possible solution at sight.:crying::crying::crying:
Looking forward for any advice.
Regards!!

What model S9, and what firmware are you trying to flash?

*Detection* said:
What model S9, and what firmware are you trying to flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a G9600. If i recall correctly, It came with G9600ZHU3ARI4 (september 28 2018, hong kong TGY) and i tried to install G9600ZHU3ARJ2 (november 2018, argentina ARO).

Kyrios90 said:
I have a G9600. If i recall correctly, It came with G9600ZHU3ARI4 (september 28 2018, hong kong TGY) and i tried to install G9600ZHU3ARJ2 (november 2018, argentina ARO).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using ODIN 3.13.1 ? Older versions won't work
There may be something I don't know about that model as I don't own it, so hopefully someone who does can chime in, but I would suggest trying another PC too

*Detection* said:
Are you using ODIN 3.13.1 ? Older versions won't work
There may be something I don't know about that model as I don't own it, so hopefully someone who does can chime in, but I would suggest trying another PC too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I've used Odin v3.13.1 and the patched version located here in the forums.
Just to be clear, i have the Duos version of the g9600, but i've read that it doesn't change anything when installing a new firmware.
I've downloaded the original firmware it came with and i'll try flashing that one to see if it comes back to life at least :/

Kyrios90 said:
Yes. I've used Odin v3.13.1 and the patched version located here in the forums.
Just to be clear, i have the Duos version of the g9600, but i've read that it doesn't change anything when installing a new firmware.
I've downloaded the original firmware it came with and i'll try flashing that one to see if it comes back to life at least :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh you haven't tried flashing back to original yet? lol ok yea try that first
If that even fails try another machine

*Detection* said:
Oh you haven't tried flashing back to original yet? lol ok yea try that first
If that even fails try another machine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've successfully flashed the original firmware and the phone works now.
I don´t know if it was Odin, my computer, drivers, or whatever, but now it works.
The question is, this means that i should keep this firmware forever? I don't quite like a couple of things within it, such as the keyboard layout which is chinese one.
how can i get rid of that?
Thanks for the support, guys!!

Kyrios90 said:
I've successfully flashed the original firmware and the phone works now.
I don´t know if it was Odin, my computer, drivers, or whatever, but now it works.
The question is, this means that i should keep this firmware forever? I don't quite like a couple of things within it, such as the keyboard layout which is chinese one.
how can i get rid of that?
Thanks for the support, guys!!
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If that is the latest firmware for that CSC (region) then you'll have to wait for a newer OTA to arrive if you can't use ODIN
Keyboard layout should be changeable from settings, or install a better keyboard as a lot of us do, "SwiftKey" keyboard and you can customise that how you like

g9600 user here to explain the teeny tiny problem you had, first, ARO csc is a part of the OWO code, and as far I can read in the TGY FW is SM-G9600/TGY/G9600ZHU3ARK1/G9600TGY3ARK1/G9600ZCU3ARK1/G9600ZHU3ARK1 while the ARO FW is SM-G9600/ARO/G9600ZHU3ARJ2/G9600OWO3ARJ1/G9600ZCU3ARJ2/G9600ZHU3ARJ2 the difference is the OWO part that doesn`t match and a I assume that's where the error is.
Long story short, stay with the TGY. Hope I helped you in some way

[SOLVED] Confused about Odin and SamFirm (also sha256 error).

I want to flash the factory unlocked firmware. As I understand it, this means I need to flash the SM-N975U1 XAA firmware. I'd also like to have the stock VZW firmware in case I want to revert to it, and as I understand it this would be the SM-N975U VZW firmware.
PHONE INFO
- Tmo carrier unlocked, with verizon sim (and therefore verizon bloat apps)
- Software up to date, with Feb 1 patch level
- Build Number QP1A.190711.020.N975USQS2BTA7
- See pics here for more About Phone details
FIRST ISSUE:
- You'll notice if you search SamFirm with Model SM-N975U and Region VZW, it doesn't find anything. It gives this error.
Error: Could not send BinaryInform. Status code 200/666
Could not fetch info for SM-N975U/VZW. Please verify the input or use manual info
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Click to collapse
- Same if you search with Model SM-N975U and Region XAA
- It DOES give results for both regions if you change the model to SM-N975U1. However, the file it downloads for in both cases is absolutely identical from the filename all the way down to the byte size. Filename: SM-N975U1_10_20200118102941_hj8esiossq_fac. And in any case, this doesn't give me a stock firmware to revert back to.
SECOND ISSUE
- When I try to flash the XAA files in Odin I get
<ID:0/006> FAIL! SHA256 is invalid
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)
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Click to collapse
- I understand this is potentially resolvable with a patched Odin, but I'm hesitant to jump right into that given that I'm not totally clear on why Odin isn't finding firmwares and why the ones it DOES find are literally 100% identical despite one being for VZW and one being for XAA.
Any thoughts on where to go from here? Am I doing something wrong? I spent several hours reviewing tens of pages of threads here and in various google searches, and watching a few videos, but nobody's perfect. Thank you guys for any help here!
Updates:
1. With no responses, I tried Frija and it was able to find the SM-N975U VZW firmware and the SM-N975U1 VZW and XAA firmwares.
2. Still, the SM-N975U1 VZW and XAA firmwares are identical, so I just tried to flash the XAA one.
3. I encountered every single complication imaginable:
- Problem: SHA256 error
- Solution: Odin Patched from here, unfortunately it's not the most current version but I crossed my fingers and it didn't brick my device.
- Problem: constant Added!! Removed!! in Odin.
- Solution: try different USB outlet
- Problem: Odin flashing stalls at SetupConnection step
- Solution: Try the official stock USB cable that came with the phone. This is USB-C on both ends, so I'm lucky my computer has the port.
- Problem: The XAA firmware file Frija gave me (again, identical down to the byte to the files produced by SamFirm) is for the Star Wars version.
- Solution: You have to manually set the PDA/CSC/PHONE values in either Frija or SamFirm to get the regular XAA variation. I made an explanation of how to get those values, and as far as I know it's the only one on the internet, here. TLDR, they are as follows:
PDA: N975U1UES2BTA1
CSC: N975U1OYM2BTA1 <-- notice the M instead of Z here (the Star Wars one has a Z)
PHONE: N975U1UES2BTA1

OP updated with resolution.

Find an older version. Flash it and then update through Samsung switch on your PC.

Milly7 said:
Find an older version. Flash it and then update through Samsung switch on your PC.
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Updating OP with the solution.

Is there a carrier-free version of G960USQU7DTA8 for the SM-G960U yet?

I just picked up an unlocked Snapdragon S9 and it immediately updated to Android 10, One UI 2.0, which is cool, but it's got a bunch of Sprint bloatware included that's just annoying. If it matters, I'm planning on using Google Fi but haven't activated it yet.
Is there a debloated version available anywhere?

Either debloat yourself or perhaps flashing xaa firmware (u to u1)

longebane said:
Either debloat yourself or perhaps flashing xaa firmware (u to u1)
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Interesting idea, going from U to U1 is a factory wipe, right? So this would be the time to do it before I start setting up my new phone. I might just check that out, thank you.

thinksnow said:
Interesting idea, going from U to U1 is a factory wipe, right? So this would be the time to do it before I start setting up my new phone. I might just check that out, thank you.
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no factory wipre required at all man. When flashing there are 4 files that Odin needs, the firmware set supplies 5 files. 2 of them are CSC files. CSC and HOME_CSC. Flashing CSC will wipe it clean, flashing HOME_CSC wont wipe anything, itll just install the firmware behind the scenes and voila! You have a "unlocked" S9

Youdoofus said:
no factory wipre required at all man. When flashing there are 4 files that Odin needs, the firmware set supplies 5 files. 2 of them are CSC files. CSC and HOME_CSC. Flashing CSC will wipe it clean, flashing HOME_CSC wont wipe anything, itll just install the firmware behind the scenes and voila! You have a "unlocked" S9
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Well skibidi do-da, that's good news. I don't recall where Id' read that it was no problem to flash a U1 on a U device, but that doing so would wipe your phone. Again, it's not an issue for me since I knew I was going to be putzing with the ROM anyway and haven't set anything up, but in the future, that's handy information.

thinksnow said:
Well skibidi do-da, that's good news. I don't recall where Id' read that it was no problem to flash a U1 on a U device, but that doing so would wipe your phone. Again, it's not an issue for me since I knew I was going to be putzing with the ROM anyway and haven't set anything up, but in the future, that's handy information.
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yup. its absolutely possible. I flashed the U1 on my G960U with the HOME_CSC about 7 months ago, no issues since then. Also, no factory reset since i flashed that either. I was gonna flash the regular CSC this weekend, but i ended up replacing the front door windows in the younger kiddos sedan. LoL. It was a blast, i promis

Attempting to flash G960U1UES7DTB2_G960U1OYM7DTB2_XAA (using Home, not CSC) over G960USQU7DTA8 and ODIN is showing this:
<ID:0/008> Added!!
<ID:0/008> Odin engine v(ID:3.1401)..
<ID:0/008> File analysis..
<ID:0/008> Total Binary size: 6926 M
<ID:0/008> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/008> Initialzation..
<ID:0/008> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/008> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/008> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/008> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/008> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/008> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/008> abl.elf
<ID:0/008> FAIL! (Auth)
<ID:0/008>
<ID:0/008> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

You might want to hold off on flashing this update - it's causing weird problems on my T-Mo S9. I knew Samsung/Android was going to start going after how many apps need the Accessibility Service to work, but it seems like this update just took out a whole slew of my apps at their knees. I'm still researching...
https://www.gottabemobile.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-android-10-problems-5-things-to-know/

Help me understand thisplease, guys.
Youdoofus said:
no factory wipre required at all man. When flashing there are 4 files that Odin needs, the firmware set supplies 5 files. 2 of them are CSC files. CSC and HOME_CSC. Flashing CSC will wipe it clean, flashing HOME_CSC wont wipe anything, itll just install the firmware behind the scenes and voila! You have a "unlocked" S9
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Click to collapse
So, I have my S9 (SM-G960U) - AT&T phone, I want to use it on my T-mobile account. This Odin process will unlock the sim option?? This is what I need if so.
And if this is the process, which thread will be the best to follow here?
Thanks,
Rita

IntellaGeek said:
So, I have my S9 (SM-G960U) - AT&T phone, I want to use it on my T-mobile account. This Odin process will unlock the sim option?? This is what I need if so.
And if this is the process, which thread will be the best to follow here?
Thanks,
Rita
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Click to collapse
No it will not unlock he sim. Either ask att or find a paid service which we dont talk about or provide here