Credit to vs2 who discovered this.
This is not flashing a custom ROM, but rather flashing another official Garmin ROM onto your phone from another country.
Try this at your own risk. Consider yourself warned.
This is reportedly working fine on the A50 (Garminfone) & A10.
I found this posted over at Howard Forums by "vs2".
I wiped my T-Mobile Garminfone and put A50 firmware for Canada's Videotron on it. It works fine and does not have the "offers" etc. that bloated up the T-Mo version. Traffic works just fine too. I now have French rather than Spanish on it.
You may need an unlock code. I did after I did a Master Clear. But if I did not do the master clear, I was fine...
vs2 said:
Instructions: (worked for me)
1. Have two micro SD cards
2. On one put the same update file that is already on your phone.
2. On the other put the new firmware you want to update to.
3. With phone off practise taking phone cover off/on and removing SD card.
4. Turn phone on with SD card that had existing firmware update on. Update notice will show and ask if you want to update - say yes, then it should say update is the same as already on your phone do you still want to update, don't accept or decline. Now quickly pull off cover and exchange SD cards and put cover back on. You may get a message about battery cover - go ok. Then the same 'do you want to update' message should appear - go ok.(you may need to pull down the yellow exclamation from the top to accept the update if the window does not show) Be patient and wait your screen will show 'verifing' then reboot and could be a black screen for 10-15 minutes. (try it with out a Master Clear first, your apps will still be registered and you may not require an unlock code!) as your old settings/apps will still be on phone. It may be ok to leave them on??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interested? Here's a few links to the .update files.
Some countries have packaged them inside an .exe file (OPTUS for Australia). I used WinRar to extract them from the .exe and followed the procedure above.
http://www.garminasus.com/fr_CA/support/nuvifone-a50-software-updates.html French Canadian adds French to the languages and removes Spanish.
http://www.garminasus.com/da_DK/support/upgrade/open-a50.html OPEN market. Denmark. .exe file.
http://www.garminasus.com/da_DK/support/upgrade/telenor-a50.html telenor Denmark. Also an .exe.
http://www.garminasus.com/da_DK/support/upgrade/telia-a50.html telia Denmark. .exe file.
http://www.garminasus.com/en_AU/support/nuvifone-a50-software-updates.html an .exe for OPT in Australia
http://www.garminasus.com/en_AU/support/software/Optus-A50-Eclair-SW-Upgrade-Instructions.pdf
http://www.garminasus.com/zh_HK/support/nuvifone-A50-software-updates.html Hong Kong updates.
http://www.garminasus.com/en_MY/support/documentation/a50/A50-V5074-MYS-update.zip Mylasia update.
http://www.garminasus.com/en_MY/support/documentation/a50/A50_FW_update_and_master_clear.pdf instructions
See vs2's posts on/about page 12 of this thread: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1638376-Garmin-Nuvifone-A50-Navigating-to-T-Mobile/page12
i lost my t-mobile sim
I lost my t-mobile sim
so i will be using a Universal sim of my friend to upgrade it
then i will have 2 return the universal sim
so my question is can i open this phone without a sim ! !
And my country doesnt have this update n T-mobile sim is not available here
Plzz let me know
the details . . .
addition to Spazmogen:
when device reboots, plug in charger
Looking for a specific ROM .update file for A10
Spazmogen said:
Credit to vs2 who discovered this.
This is not flashing a custom ROM, but rather flashing another official Garmin ROM onto your phone from another country.
Try this at your own risk. Consider yourself warned.
This is reportedly working fine on the A50 (Garminfone) & A10.
I found this posted over at Howard Forums by "vs2".
I wiped my T-Mobile Garminfone and put A50 firmware for Canada's Videotron on it. It works fine and does not have the "offers" etc. that bloated up the T-Mo version. Traffic works just fine too. I now have French rather than Spanish on it.
You may need an unlock code. I did after I did a Master Clear. But if I did not do the master clear, I was fine...
Interested? Here's a few links to the .update files.
-------
Hello,
I don't know if this thread is still alive or if anyone is listening, but I'll try anyway...
I need to reflash my Garmin A10 ROM back to "out of the box" state. But I have been unable to find the proper .update file I need.
My A10 model was manufactured for European Open market with Android 2.1, European maps and all languages incl French.
Among the files you mention above, none would suit my device...The one I could possibly use would be the DK_Open market (Denmark); hoping it contains all the other European language options. But it seems to be for the A50 device; so I have some hesitation as to flashing it on my A10 model. Are both models so close in hardware features that this would work ?
Otherwise, the original ROM I need is this one :
A10:2.1-update 1/ERE27/A10-V5.071-user-20101027EUOM
If anyone has this .update or knows where I can get it, I would be so happy !
Seems it has been removed from all Garmin Support/download sites, as I was able to find all the ones you mention above, but not this particular update...Possibly it was not available for download because A10 models sold in Europe that were not Open market, could then be "jailbroken" and therefore accept any SIMM and telephony operator...My guess anyway.
But also possibly this ROM was downloadable for some time and perhaps someone would still have a copy of it...
Thank you very much if someone can help,
gtournier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.garminasus.com/da_DK/support/upgrade/open-a10.html
Heya,
I bought a Sophone V 75 (an iPhone 4S copy, almost identical to Goophone Y5).
It is an andorid based phone
Naturally the OS was horrible, all in Chinese.
Well I followed instructions here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896242 how to root the phone.
Then I used the Rom manager app to change the recovery file and install the ICS 4.0.3 ROM for the Sophone V75 with working Google Play Store.
All good until I realized that I have no data connection what so ever, not even edge (not to mention 3G /4G).
In addition, the wifi reception is horrible, and I have to stand next to the router to get any data.
(I live in Finland, if that has anything to do with the poor connection [i.e. an ICS made for the Asian market etc.?], I am a complete noob in modifying / rooting etc.)
My question:
1. Can I install a radio image file designed for another device (naturally there isn´t really anything made for the Chinese knock-off)
2. Can I use the Rom manager to boot to recovery, select and flash the radio.img file that is suitable. Or do I need some special software for that.
I basically now have a phone whit great specs but which is useless due to bad wifi and no data connection! (paperweight) :crying:
Thanks for your input!
NO 3G or DATA CONNECTION? - TRY THIS!
JuhanaS said:
Heya,
I bought a Sophone V 75 (an iPhone 4S copy, almost identical to Goophone Y5).
It is an andorid based phone
Naturally the OS was horrible, all in Chinese.
Well I followed instructions here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896242 how to root the phone.
Then I used the Rom manager app to change the recovery file and install the ICS 4.0.3 ROM for the Sophone V75 with working Google Play Store.
All good until I realized that I have no data connection what so ever, not even edge (not to mention 3G /4G).
In addition, the wifi reception is horrible, and I have to stand next to the router to get any data.
(I live in Finland, if that has anything to do with the poor connection [i.e. an ICS made for the Asian market etc.?], I am a complete noob in modifying / rooting etc.)
My question:
1. Can I install a radio image file designed for another device (naturally there isn´t really anything made for the Chinese knock-off)
2. Can I use the Rom manager to boot to recovery, select and flash the radio.img file that is suitable. Or do I need some special software for that.
I basically now have a phone whit great specs but which is useless due to bad wifi and no data connection! (paperweight) :crying:
Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI there!
I also flashed the Android ICS 4.0.3 version and I did NOT have 3G or DATA CONNECTION
working after this update???
(I used the Recovery.img I uploaded on this page to flash phone to this ICS and it is available below on this page:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1896242&page=3
1. Put this on the root of your internal SD card of your Sophone-Godphone V75.
2. Then to flash the phone, turn OFF the phone, and connect Sophone V75 with USB cable to computer.
3. Press POWER ON and VOL+ BUTTON at same time and hold for 7-8 seconds!
The Apple boots for some seconds and after this a blue RECOVERY MENU appears in english!
4. Use the vol buttons to scroll and confirm your choices with Power button!
MY SOLUTION TO MAKE DATA CONNECTION WORKING:
The mistake I made was to edit SIM MANAGEMENT inside Settings and I changed the title of the Operator
from TELIA(default name) to HALEBOP (Halebop uses TELIA as netprovider) and also I edited(changed!)
and wrote the cellphonenumber inside SIM MANAGEMENT under "Enter Phone number".
I think it may be this problem if you insert your own titles and number and the phone gets mixed up?
I tried after this to insert APN settings from the Operator HALEBOP(Sweden)all the time but no success!
At last I got tired and tried to flash to other firmware version Sophone V75 but it did NOT work either??
So here I was stuck with this ICS Android 4 with NO DATA CONNECTION and not possible to reflash!!
HERE IT GOES:
So only thing to do was to TURN OFF the phone and use the Recovery.img to boot into Recovery Mode.
As I described in the beginning of this reply!
In this Recovery Menu I first chosed to:
1. Wipe Data/Factory Reset
after this was done I chosed:
2. Clear Cache
and after this:
3.Reboot !
The phone rebooted and took some time and after this it started up and my default Telephone Operator
TELIA was titled under SIM MANAGEMENT as default after this factory reset and clear cache!
So I DID NOT change anything after this and just simply went into SETTINGS/ SIM MANAGEMENT
and pressed Data Connection and chosed TELIA inside and it WORKED!
The letter E showed up directly up in the top of the display screen beside the "signal strength" icon!
So I recommend to do exactly as I described and hopefully your V75 will be working with DATA CONNECTION!
GOOD LUCK!
I have dual sim Lenovo P780.
PROBLEMS:
DEFAULT SIM SLOT (supports WCDMA and GSM) - works fine only on WCDMA /3G. When I put it on "GSM only" it goes dead - "connection error", "emergency calls only" and all that.
SECOND SIM SLOT (which is GSM only) doesn't work att all.
The sim cards are fine (checked it on other phones).
I also put other sim cards in my phone (and swich them around) => same result - sim 1 only 3G, sim 2 dead
Both of them see the providers but have no signal on gsm/2G mode.
Thanks,
Same problem here?
Any workarounds yet?
Cheers
i have the same problem and I cannot find a solution...
Change radio module ( modem).
the same problem here,
badmania98 said:
Change radio module ( modem).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant find another one, only for S920.
This is my P780 (S920, S820 are compatible) modem collection :
modem P780.zip
http://www51.zippyshare.com/v/55282913/file.html
But:
1. For Chinese model I recomend V51 or V52 ( on the battery is written in chinese). Both sims works but no WCDMA 900 band( chinese version doesnt have this frecvency) . I use V51.
2. For European model V20, V26. (on the battery is not written in chinese). If it used on chinese model will be no signal on Sim2 (x sign)
How to install:
Download and unzip the file modem P780.zip. Chose modem file.
1. Put the modem file (zip) on the SD
2. Use CWM, TWRP or mobileUncle
3. Install modem from recovery
4. Wipe cache
5.Reboot
Let me know if it works.
badmania98 said:
This is my P780 (S920, S820 are compatible) modem collection :
modem P780.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! Thank you.
Your zip is stored on my computer
Nothing helped, I gave all a try.
But now I found out, thats a problem if my local provider and his radio cell.
When I leave my home cell, all is fine.
I installed S920 V17 modem and both slots works for me now on my P780.
Lenovo P780 3G not working in sim1
Hi Badmania,
I also recently bought a lenovo P780. i didnt realise it was a chinese model only after going through your post. i got a little problem with this handset and i hope u can help me out with it. Slot 1 probably supports 2g/3g connection but i am not able to get 3g connection in the slot 1. i tried swiping the same sim card in another handset of different brand and i can use 3G without any problem. slot 2 works fine with 2g.i am a newbie to this android and i dont have any idea about CWM, TWRP or mobileUncle. i would appreciate and be grateful if you could post step by step procedure to change the radio module ( modem) for Lenovo P780 chinese model. i cant read Chinese and its a big problem for me. Looking forward to hear from you soon.
Regards
Stuck Half way
Download and unzip the file modem P780.zip, chose Modem file= SUCCESS
1.Put the modem file(zip) on the SD= SUCCESS
2. Use CWM TWRP or Mobile Uncle= Downloaded mobile Uncle but cant proceed
Steps i took on mobile Uncle:
1. Clicked "Into Recovery Mode" on mobile Uncle> Reboot to Recovery> OK> WARNING!! ROOT REQUEST!! > Please Root your Android First!!...............i cant proceed further from here! PLEASE HELP ME!
Root + TWRP
Root+ TWRP
Read me file inside.
http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/50541818/file.html
Confused
Dear Badmania,
Thank you so much for your help and support though i couldn't execute the solutions you have provided above properly.
Finally i realized why my 3G connection on slot 1 wasn't working after doing a vast research online. I found out that, in order to use 3G in my country(BHUTAN), i must have a smart phone that supports GSM- 850/900/1800 MHz & WCDMA 850/1900/2100 MHz Frequencies. My network service provider told me that i wont be able to use 3G without these Frequencies in BHUTAN.
As per my knowledge, Lenovo P780(chinese model) supports GSM- 900,1800,1900; UMTS-2100 only. I am worried and confused what to do now. From where and how to add GSM- 850 MHz on this handset?????
Will i be able to solve my problem with the solutions you have provided in your previous post??? OR is there a different procedure to overcome this problem. Please help me, i like this smartphone(lenovo P780) so much that i don't want to switch on to another smartphone.
Regards,
Install mobileUncle Tools from GooglePlay.
Open the program.
Under Engineer Mode\Engineer Mode (MTK)\ BandMode\ you will find Sim 1 and Sim2, where you can see what bands are availlable. GSMMode (2G) and WCDMA (3G).
This is it. You can not add other band.
As I know, the chinese model ( mine also)has only WCDMA2100 ( on mobileUncle is WCDMA-IMT-2000). I need WCDMA -GSM 900 but ...it is not possible. It is not a software but hardware issue.
There are 2 versions of P780. One with 4G storage with WCDMA 2100, and one with 8G storage with WCDMA 900&2100 .
Thank you!
Thanks a lot, Now i regret buying this phone to be used in my country!
Please help
i have install root acces on my chinese p780
But i have problem when i try to install v51 modem for my sim card 2 to work in romania.
i have installed twrp manager and granted super user acces.
on my sd card i put the V51+s820.zip file
When i enter TWRP manager / INSTALL / External SDcard / select V51+s820.zip and then when i slide to install the device rebot into Android system recovery 3e and i dont know what to chose... i chose apply update from sdcard and sdcard2 then the android logo of installing apear for 1-3 minute (and i dont see anthing installing) and then the decive reebots.
Please help.. i dont know how o do it..
You already have the answer with what you do wrong, on the romanian forum.
install modem driver to P780
Hello!
I need some help. I've bought a Lenovo P780 phone and when I put in my SIM, I realized there is no signal and the phone can't connect to the network. After some advices I tried to install modem drivers. I downloaded the drivers from badmania98's upload. I copied them to the phone internal memory (tried with SD card too, with no result). I started TWPR manager (tried with mobileuncle too), pressed install, selected one of the unzipped pack, eg. v52 Modem_P780_V52.zip. Slide the slider, my phone reboot, I got the system recovery. I choose apply update from sdcard (or sdcard2 from external SD card) and choose my zip file. My output is:
-- Install /sdcard ...
Installation aborted.
Neither of zips work. What should I try? Did I miss something?
Thanks
Daniel
I need some assistance please.
Hello badmania I am in need of some assistance from you please. I bought my Lenovo P780 and as I've seen and heard, people are having bad signal quality. I was looking online trying to see if there was a way to solve this problem. I ended up on this website and saw your steps on how to do it, but honestly I have no idea what I'm doing. I was wondering if you could sort of guide me through the process please. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Moises
Hey. I have the same kind of problem (chinese Lenovo P780, trying to use it in Hungary with a GSM 900 / 1800 provider) but the weird thing is that the phone loses signal occasionally. I mean if I check the phone, about 7 times of 10 there is no signal. I tried out a lot of modems (found on a russian blog) then I tried out the modems posted in here, but it's still the same. I checked the settings in engineer mode and everything is turned on. Please tell me what is going on.
nandude said:
Hey. I have the same kind of problem (chinese Lenovo P780, trying to use it in Hungary with a GSM 900 / 1800 provider) but the weird thing is that the phone loses signal occasionally. I mean if I check the phone, about 7 times of 10 there is no signal. I tried out a lot of modems (found on a russian blog) then I tried out the modems posted in here, but it's still the same. I checked the settings in engineer mode and everything is turned on. Please tell me what is going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem I'm sending the phone back to the store and asking for a replacement.
I had another P780 2 months back (dropped into water} and there was no such problem.
GUIDE SGS4 GSM vs CDMA, Unlocking, Rooting,Info on XDA, Flashing,4 noobs & beginners
First off: if you find this useful, please hit the THANKS button, instead of posting thank you in the comments
Over the course of the past three months (and more specifically, over the past week), I'd like to think I've gone from complete noob to proficient android ROM flasher/ phone dude. However, it took many, many hours of searching for info scattered across this site and others, so I figured I'd give compiling all I've learned a shot, into one comprehensive thread that really covers all the stuff you need to learn from the ground up.
Will do so in the next couple 10 posts, topics being:
*Step (-1): What type of network/ phone technology does your phone use?
*Step (0): is your phone networked locked?
*Step (0.5): DECIDING YOU WANT TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE!/ Put a custom operating system on that thaaaang
*Step1: figure out what your device is- specific phone and model
*Step2: figure out how to root (gain root access to) your device looking at XDA forums
*Step3: Follow instructions, root device
*Step4: backup all your apps and app data
*Step5: Install a custom recovery either ClockWorkRecovery (CWR) or Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP), and do a nandroid backup!
*Step6: Choose which ROM or multiple ROMS you want to try out, and download the zipfile to your phone's internal memory or
*Step7: Step 7: flash the ROM and restore your apps!
NOTE: YOU TWEEK YOUR PHONE/ FOLLOW MY ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK
I just learned this stuff myself, so I thought now would be a good time to explain it, while I can still remember what if feels like to have no idea what I'm doing haha.
Before I go further, there are similar intro threads to this...for example, this one does a decent job of explaining that by modding your phone, you may void the warranty (although there are ways to restore your device to a state such that you can't tell you ever modded, it, like triangle away, etc.) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118120
I posted this here because a couple of these steps use the Galaxy S4 i9500 as an example...so if you have that phone this thread should be particularly helpful.
Step(-1): What type of network/ phone technology does your phone use?
If you are OUTSIDE the USA, 99% chance the answer to this question is GSM, meaning your phone number is attached to a little plastic sim card that you can put into/ out of your phone...you should check anyways though to be sure.
If you are in the US, you may have a phone which uses CDMA, a technology that does not use Sim cards (true if your carrier is Verizon or Sprint). Phones that JUST use CDMA are sort of "Hardwired" to their networks, making it much more of a hassle to switch carriers; plus, basically everywhere else in the world uses GSM, so if you plan on traveling outside the USA, you probably won't be able to use your phone abroad. If you have a fancy new smart phone, it may have the hardware to use both CDMA and GSM networks, (for example, all Iphones models 4s and above), so check your phone specs.
In the US, the major carriers that use GSM are ATT and Tmobile. I prefer getting phones from these guys, because I know I'll be able to relatively easily use my phone anywhere in the world, and easily switch between cheap, prepaid, contract free plans (like straight talk or ultramobile), which rent out the networks of major carriers like ATT and Tmobile.
Step(0): is your phone networked locked?
ans: This is mostly a non-issue to folks outside the US, or if you don't plan on switching your carrier, but if you plan on travelling abroad or switching your carrier, and have a CDMA phone, you have a tough road ahead that I cannot advise you on . I would suggest checking out this site and buying a slightly used android gsm phone (att or tmobile branded) http://swappa.com/ .
However, if you have a GSM phone you got in the US, your phone may be configured so that putting sim cards from different carriers in it won't give you any service (aka "locked" or "network locked"). Check by taking a friend's Sim card using a different network than you and popping it into your phone; if you have service/ can make and receive calls, the phone is NOT locked. There are probably more sophisticated ways of checking if your phone is network locked, but above is probably the most straightforward.
There are some methods of unlocking your phone for free, but if you have a newer phone it may not work. Plenty of online sites that sell you unlock codes for between $7-$25, and send the code over email either instantly or a day at most after you buy it. Definitely worth it in my opinion; one site I've used a bunch is http://www.cellunlocker.net/
NOTE: if you have your phone on a contract, you are still obligated to pay your carrier throughout the time of your contract, else you pay some cancellation fee. So be aware of that.
Step 0.5 DECIDING YOU WANT TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE!/ Put a custom operating system (ROM)
SO, now let's say you've network unlocked your awesome GSM android smartphone, and you want to travel with it to another country, like for example, India. Because you unlocked it, you can buy a cheap local Sim card and use it in your phone, fully enjoying mobile 4g data (well, more like 3.5G, using HSPA+, not so much 4G LTE in India yet, but I digress). OR, you can use a $45 a month prepaid plan where you get unlimted everything and have no contract, instead of paying $80 a month or some garbage. AWESOME!
However, let's say you got a Tmobile phone and want to use the phone's capability of being a portable wifi hotspot, broadcasting the mobile data it's getting to your computer...turns out you can't do that in India (or on cheap prepaid plans in US, for that matter). I discovered that since I was using a Tmobile branded phone, the Tmobile "stock" operating system of the phone won't let you use the wifi hotspot unless you have Tmobile's special "hotspot plan"...it also hard codes a bunch of shi**y bloatware apps on your phone that suck. Some BULLS**T, eh?
Luckily, there are plenty of free and easy ways to "root" (gain root acccess) to your phone (and plenty of resources telling you how to do so!), and install custom android operating systems on your phone, which
1.) don't have any stupid bloatware apps
2.) let you use all the hardware features of your phone regardless of carrier
The result is a more powerful phone that runs faster, uses less battery life, and is generally just way more badass. Probably the best resource for how to do all of this is the xda-developers forums (http://forum.xda-developers.com/ ) Very vibrant community, and lots of people will help...just follow the rules though, explained tongue and cheeck in the following video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvCpR45LKA ). The main site for xda-developers is www.xda-developers.com, they also do cool vides and stuff on what's up with phone stuff. HOWEVER, if you are not careful you can mess up your phone, so that it's about as good as a paperweight (called "bricking" your phone). So just read all the instructions before you do stuff, yeah?
The following is more or less the beginning steps I did to root and install a custom ROM on a friend's Galaxy S4, which is an international model and so not network locked. The same general process could be applied to your phone as well, but again--this is only a general guide--your phone can (and probably will) have it's own exceptions to the general process. LOOK THEM UP!
Steps 1,2,3: find device model, research how to gain root, ROOT!
Step1: figure out what your device is- specific phone and model
ans: for example, my friend's phone I am setting up for him is the Samsung Galaxy S4 model i9500
**************************************************
Step2: figure out how to root (gain root access to) your device
ans: Off all the devices on xda forums (http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php?tab=top), found my device ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4) , found the proper forum (http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/help) , then searched in that specific forum to find the proper thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2419762 , see Q4
**************************************************
Step3: Follow instructions, root device
ans: Instructions are at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292615
NOTE: You must have the proper USB drivers installed, meaning either installing the sdk (software developer kit) from google and getting adb (android debugging bridge) set up (this is the best way to do it, really, especially if you want to mess around with phones more...tutorial on how to setup adb here http://androidcentral.us/2013/08/how-to-install-android-adb-and-fastboot-on-windows/ ) . If you can already transfer music and stuff from your computer, it may work without adb. Be sure your USB cable is not too beat up, and if possible, is the one that came with the device.
adb is very useful for communicating between pretty much any android phone and your computer. You can use it to push files on the computer through the terminal interface, even if the phone's file system doesn't show up for whatever reason on the computer when you connect it via USB ( more on that here http://log.amitshah.net/2012/05/using-adb-to-copy-files-to-from-your-android-device/ ), and a cool little program to send files from your computer to the device in a slightly more straightforward way, if you already have adb installed (http://www.xda-developers.com/android/push-files-to-your-device-with-quick-adb-pusher/)
Also, make sure you have USB debugging enabled. It should be in the Develpors options, which you may have to "activate" to see...see here http://gs4.wonderhowto.com/how-to/enable-hidden-developer-options-your-samsung-galaxy-s4-0146687/
If you are rooting a samsung device, you will probably have to use a program called ODIN. Other android devices allow you to do root through a method called flashboot. In general there are tons of ways to root devices, just make sure the one you are using has been tested and you follow the instructions exactly.
CONGRATS! you are rooted. That's half the battle. Rooting the phone will add a "Super User" app of some kind, which will basically controll which apps have access to the internal files of the phone (located on the "root" of the phone's flash drive). Some apps that are very useful for flashing custom ROMS (like ROM manager) and backing up your apps and their associated data (like Titanium backup) require root access, so you'll need to have rooted your phone first, and then when you open those apps for the first time, tap "allow" when it asks about granting root access.
some cool apps can only be downloaded if your phone has Root, like this gameboy emulator: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.codlab.src.game&hl=en
and here are some good Root apps to have, apparently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX4ir9r84YA
Step4: backup all your apps and app data
When you do eventually install a custom ROM on onto your phone, it will start out with little to no apps. The best way to get up and running again as quick as possible is to back up all your apps and data with Titanium Backup (mentioned above), which requires root access. Here's a great video on How to use the free version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQWoWfTA88k ....the video makes a good point in that if you are backing up your apps for a new ROM you are about to flash, you should only backup the User apps. Backing up and restoring the system data as well might cause some problems in the new ROM
While you don't need to to buy the pro version, I would recommend it--7 bucks, but it allows you to restore all the apps you've backed up much faster by letting you back them up into a zip file that you'll later be able to flash on your phone. Very useful, more on that in a bit...video talking about that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRR5FONGJUA
Step5: Install a custom recovery either ClockWorkRecovery (CWR) or Team Win Recovery
By "custom recovery", i mean a custom version of the boot/ recovery interface, which lets you do a lot more with your device besides just restore it to factory settings. These custom recoveries will let you do a full backup of your device (often called a "nandroid backup"--this should be the first thing you do after you root your device!), as well as flash custom phone operating systems (ROMS) onto your phone; useful if you want to fully use all the hardware features of your phone, and not have the bloatware apps from the manufacurers hard-coded into your phone.
It's worth noting here that it's VERY important to install the correct version of CWR or TWRP. Usually to download CWR for your device, you can just download an app called ROM manager (again, after you've rooted your phone), which will recognize your device and then install the proper CWR version on it.
NOTE: If you have a more esoteric model of phone (like I do--the Samsung Galaxy S3 T999L, an LTE version of the S3 that came out in 2013, a while after the initial S3 launch), you may have to flash a custom recovery of a similar and more popular phone model to flash some custom ROMS (in my case, I had to flash the the Galaxy S3 model T999 version of CWR). For weird esoteric cases like this, it may be worth it to buy a useful app, ROMToolbox pro, which will let you flash a custom recovery for a userdefined device onto your phone in the paid version (it's like $5). Most times you shouldn't have to worry about this stuff, but just make sure you read any instrutions on XDA forums carefully before doing stuff.
As mentioned before, before messing around with your phone anymore, do a nandroid backup--super easy and essential if you make a mistake installing the wrong ROM or Recovery. Doing a nandroid backup will create a .zip file that contains a full "image" of your phone--all your data, apps, settings, a snapshot of your phone exactly the way it was when you took it. In creating this backup you can save it to your phone's micro SD card, or the phones internal memory. Regardless, always a good idea to save a copy on your computer too when you are done.
For the Samsung galaxy S4 i9500, looks like TWRP is the recovery to flash: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2361122
Step6: Choose which ROM or multiple ROMS you want to try out, and dl zipfile to phone
Now comes the fun part. Do some research on what custom ROM you'll want to try out. Some basic principles about ROMS:
Roms based on the Stock OS: These ROMS are based on the manufacturer firmware/ OS that the phone shipped with. So for Samsung devices, for example, these types of ROMS are Touchwiz based (because "TouchWiz" is the name Samsung has given to it's proprietary software that is responsible for a lot of the bell and whistle tricks you see in Galaxy S4 commercials, for example) These Roms are usually about 700 MB in size, and may still have some of the samsung apps installed if you do like to use them.
AOSP or AOKP ROMS:
AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMS are those that ship with "vanilla" android, meaning they don't have any manufacturer bloatware--they come with more or less the bare bones apps required to run the system. These ROMS will be much smaller, around 100-150 MB in size. The most popular of these is CyanogenMod, which is often referred to as just CM (for example, CM11.0.1 stands for CyanogenMod version 11.0.1). The guy who made clockworkrecovery, Koush (a legendary android developer of sorts, it seems), now works for the CyanogenMod development team ( think)
AOKP is the name of another popular AOSP based ROM. AOKP stands for Android Open Kang Project, Kanging being some jargon for stealing code and messing with it or something. Apparently it was used as a joke and then stuck, in the same sense that their mascot being a unicorn stuck (which I think is awesome haha).
IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT AOSP ROMS:
If you flash an AOSP Rom, the google play store will NOT be installed by default. In order to fix that, you'll need to flash another zip file containing the play store app as well as other basic google apps (gapps for short) as soon as you flash the Rom itself. You can find the proper gapps zips that go with the proper AOSP roms here: http://goo.im/gapps
There are couple apps that will let you download the ROM files directly to your interal storage from the app itself, like Rom Manager. However, to make sure you have the most up to date version of the ROM, you should visit the ROM's website directly.
Custom ROMS will often have a most recent stable build, and a most recent "nightly" build. The nightly builds may have some new experimental features, but may be a little buggy.
Step 7: flash the ROM and restore your apps!
So here's a pretty good short video walking through how to flash a ROM, although uses a different recovery interface besides CWR or TWRP : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxTwGwtUBbk ....this does a good job of explaining the basic idea, however--
A.)you get the zip file of the ROM you want to flash on your internal or removable SD card
B.) reboot into recovery mode (often by holding down the volume down key and power button at the same time when your power is off, but you should look up what it is for your specific device)
C.) do a Wipe or Factory Reset. THis should not wipe the data on your SD card or phone's Internal SD card
D.) Wipe the Cache or the Dalvik Cache, whatever it is called (though on TWRP, the wipe feature does both a factory reset and cache wipe at once)
E.) install from SD card the zip file containing the ROM you are going to flash
F.) If the Rom is an AOSP based ROM, install the zip file containing the proper package of google apps
G.) reboot system
Again, the above are just general steps. If you want to see someone flashing a ROM with the recovery you are using (and I would recommend CWR or TWRP), just search for it on Youtube.
Now, if you plan on restoring your apps by flashing a Titanium Backup zip file, you first want to reboot into the new ROM, and skip the part when it asks you if you want to restore your phone using your google account (you can do that later). Then reboot into recovery and flash the Titanium backup zip file. got this info here: http://www.s3forums.com/forum/galax...backup-pros-update-zip-restore-your-apps.html
And that's about it! let me know if I got anything wrong. If you do have questions, I'll try my best to answer them, but again, I've just learned all this stuff as well, so I may not know.