Hi everyone
I am a noob so be nice to me. I accidently cracked the screen on my Samsung Vibrant and so have a few questions about how to return the phone back to Stock/unrooted (just like befor i flashed). I am fine if i have to lose my contacts, apps. ect...
Background:
I rooted my phone with One-Click-Root/Unroot from XDA (loved it). I then flashed the latest Nero 5.0 ROM from Team Wiskey (Love it). As part of either the root or flashing the ROM(i can't remember which one), I downloaded "ROM Manager" with CWR.
Q #1: Is it as easy returning to stock ROM as just using "Flashing ClockworkMod Recovery" or should I have used "nandroid" (don't know what it does, but I see it talked about) also?
Q #2: I hear people say that you need Odin to return back to stock ROM, but then I hear that is ONLY if you don't have ROM Manager w/CWR. Do I need Odin or do I only need ROM Manager w/CWR?
Q #3: If all I need is ROM Manager w/CWR and it returnes back to what it was before i flashed, can i just us the "Unroot" button on the One-Click-Root/Unroot"?
Q #4(Last Question): Will I recieve OTA's if I have to us Odin and flash a stock ROM, how do I get back to stock and recieveing OTA's?
I understand that there are alot of posts asking how to return to stock but that is from people where something in the programs went wrong when trying to return to stock. I am just wondering what programs (other than ROM Manager and CWR) are need for me to return to stock? Please help, I don't want my phone to be rejected because my warranty is void. Thanks
Noob123
All thats needed to return to stock is a Nandroid backup of your original ROM.
Oh wait.....
Why do people totally fail at this?
What you need now is an original ROM for your device and then flash it from recovery.
So in other words, I need to download a 2.1 Rom (last version i had) from somewhere back on to my computer and then do the same things that i did to flash Nero 5? Is that where Odin comes in? OR, would CWR already have that ROM and everything all in one package?
Like I said, I am a nook. I am suprised that i didnt brick my phone rooting and flashing a ROM the first time. I may be pushing my luck going back to stock. But, it needs to be done if i want my phone fixed.
I would have a look HERE, in the Samsung Vibrant forum. I'm sure you'll find an Official ROM to Flash somewhere in there.
You would just put the .zip on your SD card, restart to Recovery and select the option to Flash from SD
Okay, i am getting it now. However, wont the "Update.zip" (Nero 5.0) be there on my SD memory already? Will i damage my phone if i delete the "Update.zip" and put in the Stock.zip (then do the recovery thing)? So once i get the Stock ROM uploaded on my phone, can i just use the one-click-unroot (from XDA) to have my phone be unrooted and new just like it was when i bought the phone? Will i get OTA's?
Thank you for your help, i am sorry for bugging you but i feel like i am starting to understand it more. These are probably the last questions that i have....probably
Good evening,
I did a search but could not find any posts that were clear on restoring to stock so I can send my tablet in for a screen repair.
How do I remove CWM and put everything back to the original factory stock? I am currently running Prime 1.3.
Thank you in advance!
I've not read anything about this yet and we certainly need a good guide written about this topic. Maybe your best bet is to pm some of the people who have created the roms for advice. If you get an answer feel free to write a nice guide about it.
I'll have to look for the thread (search for unroot in dev forum). You'll need to flash back to your nandroid backup, then download 8.2.3.9, and apply the blob from that package the same way you did with blob5. I want to say theres no need to flash back (step 1), but that's what I did. Make sure you do a md5 on the PC/Mac copy against the copy on you're sd card as well. After that you should be unrooted and back to stock.
Edit: Needless to say you only do the blob steps and not the gingerbreak, SU stuff
Edir 2: Also, I know when you root a second time that the boom sh or something needs to be deleted, though I'm not sure whether or not its a good idea to delete these before sending it back.
Sent from my Asus Decepticon using Tapatalk
Some Questions and sorry if they have been asked before
1) Do I need to root my phone before flashing the new fw
2) If I need to go back to the 02 branded firmware 2.1 is this possible does anyone have a link to the ROM
3) Once I have flashed to a generic 2.3.3 ROM will seus still work for future updates?
1. you need to root your phone before you can flash anything
2. more specific please. are you talking about going back to your stock rom? if so, there are two ways:
make a nand backup before you flash anything. you can always restore this backup
although its recommended that you make a backup, if you dont feel like one or forget to, you can always flash the kdz file of your stock rom using kdz updater (which can potentially brick your phone if you are not careful)
3. you will no longer receive ota updates from your manufacturer (of course, you will find that xda will always be one step ahead of your manufacturer when it comes to releasing a newer android version)
sweetnsour said:
1. you need to root your phone before you can flash anything
2. more specific please. are you talking about going back to your stock rom? if so, there are two ways:
make a nand backup before you flash anything. you can always restore this backup
although its recommended that you make a backup, if you dont feel like one or forget to, you can always flash the kdz file of your stock rom using kdz updater (which can potentially brick your phone if you are not careful)
3. you will no longer receive ota updates from your manufacturer (of course, you will find that xda will always be one step ahead of your manufacturer when it comes to releasing a newer android version)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so..............
1)Downloaded the latest Flash Tool last night and backed up my apps contacts and settings.
2)Downloaded the latest generic android 2.3.3 firmware for the uk. From the thread on here.
3)In answer to my own question (hadn't spotted the reply) I didn't have to root first, simply flashed firmware however took two attempts as first time didn't choose option to wipe user settings and phone stuck at SE logo.
4) Will be getting nand backup as prep work with backing up took wayyyyyy to long. It would of been usefull as would have given me the kdz of the old firmware - never mind I'll have to find it elsewhere to keep on hand incase phone needs to go back to 02
5) New version is much better it would seem, phone is quicker and seems to respond better on the touch side - maybe just due to fresh install. All apps and settings back phone up and running as before inside 10mins...except home screen customisation - that's gonna take some playing with! I couldn't get ota updates from 02 anyway they didn't use them - no loss.
6)Will the sony software still pick up updates or am I forever locked into flashing?
7)How do I get the app drawer to scroll up and down like before as opposed to sideways?
This is probably a silly question, but I hope some more experienced Android experimenters can help ease my mind. I'm an Android noob, but I do know enough to follow instructions and I've successfully installed aorth's CWM Recovery and made a backup. (If I understand correctly, this is called a Nandroid backup and represents a complete backup of the system. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Now my Tab boots into CWM Recovery when I hold the volume-up key. It sees my backup when I select the "restore" option. All that looks as I would expect it to.
My question is: How safe is it to play around with flashing other firmwares, for example CyanogenMod 10? Will I always be able to get back to where I am now simply by booting into recovery and restoring? Or is it still possible for something to go so horribly wrong that that won't work? On a scale of 1 - 100, how high are the chances of being able to recover no matter what?
(BTW, I do have a copy of the backup on my PC, so if it got wiped from the Tab I would still be able to get it onto the external sd card.)
I am not a developer by any means. But I love to tinker. My rules are. Read everything. I have never been unable to restore a backup if somthing seems to have gone wrong. These guys are not out to mess up your device. Once you understand the terminology and flash a few it will bring new enjoyment to device. Go for it.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium
Hello all android experts superior to me. I am just a simpleton right now but I am hoping I can learn how to feed myself over time and actually contribute something back to this developer community. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
*Yes I have already read every single thread for my device and not been able to find a clear solution without risking bricking my phone.
*The video asked to be brief but clear. I was not brief, but clear.
*
I am a noob and I am very interested in learning how to mod my Android Samsung Galaxy 3 i9305 (details).
Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE Hong Kong Version
Model number:GT-19305
Android version: 4.1 .1
Baseband version: 19305ZHALl1
Kernel version
3.0.31-177985
**
I have spent about 20 hours of research and got conflicting results.
I am looking to do the following things (in order) and I would deeply appreciate any specific instructions (with specific device only and complete software file names and versions please) any of you might help.
1) Root the phone
2) Install the ODIN application on a PC (Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit) so I can actually back up my device to an external PC. I am amenable to using the mobile ODIN program offered but I need to know what specific ODIN application will work for the device. *Note yes my KIES drivers installed for USB to PC connection working fine and will turn off KIES when using ODIN
3) Install CWM or something similar so that I can copy my own device ROM and save it for back ups in case I lose my phone or wifey smashes it.
4) Use CWM or SU program of some sort so I can flash my own backup ROM for backups AND try out other people’s custom ROM’s.
5) Find or build a custom ROM that is devoid of bloatware and google extras.
*
Only component I need to retain is to be able to use the Samsung Chinese IME supplied keyboard since I need to read and type Chinese characters in pinyin.
*
Thanks for listening and sorry for being such a dullard, didn’t know how else to start out learning this. I am very interested in learning more and would appreciate any reading suggestions you might offer.
:cyclops:
Nice work, Some people flash there phones before reading everything properly and brick there devices, But you did a very good move by doing NOTHING untill 100% sure. Because of this thread and my instructions bellow I decided create a thread (What to do after you buy the 4G S3) Either go there or just keep reading on here.......
So before you flash anything, or start playing with your gem, follow these important steps below to get all the important parts backed up and safe, so that you will not have to return your device back to samsung broken. Believe me I have seen it happen PLENTY of times in this forum, so read carefully
Make sure you have a Good USB cable and a stable PC and that don't get any power outages or surges, you dont want to be half way through something and you loosing power or bad connection.
1st: Install Samsung Kies on your PC this will then Install the Samsung USB drivers you will need to connect your device to your PC OR you can get the samsung drivers on there own from the Link in 2nd step, but I recommend you install kies as it may be useful to you in the future.
2nd: Now as your IMEI number is like the heart of your device lets back it up right now: Follow only part of these steps in this link, you will finish the rest of the backups at the end when your rooted. I have copied and bolded the parts you will need to do right now, once finished this section of the backup you should be left with a *.qcn file which is roughly around 250kb of size.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33048706&postcount=1
*Setting up QPST with your PC:*
*Backing Up IMEI / NV Data:*
*Restore USB Settings after Backup / Restore:*
Now keep that page open because you will return here in step 6 once you are rooted to complete the backup process.
3rd: Now Install Odin V3.04 - You can get the link for odin in the 4th step link, So you may aswell just continue on to 4th step as the instructions inside that link advice you to install Odin aswell.
4th: Now you must Root your device and install CWM recovery , Follow these steps carefully > http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32235061&postcount=1
5th: Once you have root I recommend you instantly make a full backup of your device also known as a Nandroid backup. You must go into recovery mode to do this with the CWM recovery you have just installed in 4th step above.
6th Now lets finish the backup process since we are now rooted, I am going to say this again, this is VERY important incase something goes wrong and you loose your Imei and Data, you need to back it all up. By doing this it will save you returning your device back to samsung like many have done previously because they have not done this, Remember where you left off in 2nd step above? Well now you can go back and complete the partition backup of the efs folders. You should be left with 4 backup files for this final section of the backup process >>> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33048706&postcount=1
--------====FINISHED====--------
Congratulations you now have your Imei/Nv data backed up , You are rooted and Nandroided. Now you can play around but off-course DO NOT be reckless make sure you know what you are playing with
Peace
PS: Only trust what you see in this I9305 XDA forum, as i have been following the device from day one and I can only recommend the information you see here.
I appreciate your altitude of ask before risking.
Well, I'd give you process & advices for your question.
droido123 said:
1) Root the phone
2) Install the ODIN application on a PC (Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit) so I can actually back up my device to an external PC. I am amenable to using the mobile ODIN program offered but I need to know what specific ODIN application will work for the device. *Note yes my KIES drivers installed for USB to PC connection working fine and will turn off KIES when using ODIN
3) Install CWM or something similar so that I can copy my own device ROM and save it for back ups in case I lose my phone or wifey smashes it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You inverted step 1 and 2.
1st: Either -
a) Install Samsung Kies from the enclosed disc / Samsung's site
OR
b) Install the SAMSUNG Android USB Composite Device Driver (Google it Yourself)
2nd: Download Odin (from CF-Auto-Root thread)
3rd: Root by
a) Install CWM -> Root
e.g. ClockworkMod 6.0.1.5 and SuperSU zip package;
b) Root -> Install CWM
Install pre-rooted Firmware / CF-Auto-Root then install CWM from above
4th: Better backup your ROM and /efs (IMEI data and etc.)
droido123 said:
4) Use CWM or SU program of some sort so I can flash my own backup ROM for backups AND try out other people’s custom ROM’s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact, you just RESTORE backup not flash one. They work differently.
You can flash ROM zips in CWM or Mobile Odin by ChainFire and Odin tars in Odin or Mobile Odin
4th: Better backup your ROM and /efs (IMEI data and etc.)
droido123 said:
5) Find or build a custom ROM that is devoid of bloatware and google extras.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there isn't any AOSP ROMs (Android Open Source Project, which developers build directly from source code) yet, but only modified stock ROMs.
droido123 said:
Only component I need to retain is to be able to use the Samsung Chinese IME supplied keyboard since I need to read and type Chinese characters in pinyin.*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try some other replacements like Go Keyboard.
If you still get questions fell free to ask me even in Chinese (not in thread but PM me)
Seems like someone did not read the thread before postin instructi0ns again, lol . But. Anyways i gues it does not hurt having more instructions, well my instructions is exactly the way i did my phone. It was done in those steps and i am sure its clear for you. Pick and just follow 1 set of instructions d0 not confuse yourself by lo0king at 2 sets of instructions as it is a different way shown in the last post.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
@btemtd
Nice guide however I would recommend step 5 to be the first thing to do after installing the drivers as EFS area is very important.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
lyriquidperfection said:
@btemtd
Nice guide however I would recommend step 5 to be the first thing to do after installing the drivers as EFS area is very important.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done back up you detail but can't do the other until rooted? Is this correct
Thanks Liyriquid. I thought you needed root to do the QCN as i did when i was rooted but since you dont have to that is the best idea. To the OP >>>>>>>>>>>>> I HAVE NOW EDITED MY INSTRUCTION POST.
Please Note that you will ONLY be able to dp the QPST Tool QCN backup before you are rooted but to complete he partition backup you will need to be rooted. So just follow my steps i have broke up the steps for you easily to figure out
Edit: My guide should be the first thing people look at after buying this phone and start playing with it, as it links you to the most important guides and steps you need to take to keep it backed up and safe
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
A big thanks to btemtd for putting this easy to read guide together.
Also thanks go out to lyriquidperfection for the initial guide on backing up the EFS.
I have only had my S3 for a few days now and am keen to try a few different ROMs out on it. I also have an original Galaxy S that I have been trying out many different roms on for the last two years I have had it. Had a lot of fun doing so, and look forward to the same now with the S3. Can't wait to get Odin fired up and CWM installed. Let the fun begin !
I am thinking it may be a good idea for that instruction to have a thread on its own,
Is there any chance of it bricking my device when installing Cwm and leaving on me unable to get my imei details stored?
Also is a nandroid backup a complete backup image of my firmware as I'm not quite sure what this is a and why I need it.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
Hi guys. I'm considering the 9305 but I have a question.
Can you install any 9300-ROM on the 9305? Kernel and baseband aside, of course.
Or do all (great) ROMs need to be recompiled for the 9305? It the same Exynos 4412 in the bottom, should work to flash most 9300-ROMs?
Thanks.
Yes it should not be too hard to port over, You just need to abit of fiddling around, A noob wont be able to do it, but someone who knows what they are doing should be able to do it easily You just need to change the updater script as the partition location has changed so you just have to tell the rom installer where you want it to install. which is what the updater script.
Kernel + and base firmware need to be changed. I just dont understand why more expereinced people have not done this yet, i guess they dont really care about roms
---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------
unibiggle said:
Is there any chance of it bricking my device when installing Cwm and leaving on me unable to get my imei details stored?
Also is a nandroid backup a complete backup image of my firmware as I'm not quite sure what this is a and why I need it.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really cant see how you can brick your device if you follow those steps VERY carefully as this is what i have done and most of us on here, and make sure you have Good usb cable and stable PC and don't get any power outages or surges
btemtd said:
Seems like someone did not read the thread before postin instructi0ns again, lol . But. Anyways i gues it does not hurt having more instructions, well my instructions is exactly the way i did my phone. It was done in those steps and i am sure its clear for you. Pick and just follow 1 set of instructions d0 not confuse yourself by lo0king at 2 sets of instructions as it is a different way shown in the last post.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, just another set of instructions and recommendation only.
Sorry if I made mistakes or confusions because of that.
unibiggle said:
Is there any chance of it bricking my device when installing Cwm and leaving on me unable to get my imei details stored?
Also is a nandroid backup a complete backup image of my firmware as I'm not quite sure what this is a and why I need it.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it will brick your device. Recovery partition is a relatively safe one compare to /boot, however it may happen.
It won't break your /efs except you flashed CWM over efs partition and overwrite your IMEI.
Nandroid is a complete backup of your phone. It's useful because you can recover your Android if you did made something wrong.
You may better think Nandroid is a kind of 'snapshot' of you phone.
Soon I will show you all how to make your own pre-rooted Odin packages!
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2