Related
My Xoom is completely stock and I just received and installed the 3.2 update. I am pretty disappointed in the SD card support and lack of other features. I held off on rooting and installing Tiamat before as I wanted to see what Google would give us, and well I think I have waited long enough to see that it pales in comparison to what you devs can do.
So now I would like to give the Tiamat kernel a try. So I read through several of the threads and on the Tiamat 2.0.0 Kernel thread it assumes you are on 3.1, where I am already on 3.2. As it took me several months to convince the wifey that I needed my Xoom I do not want to risk bricking it, so I am looking for some help.
-First, is it currently possible to go straight from complete stock 3.2 to Katana?
-Second, and much more difficult, can someone provide me step by step instructions? I've seen several of the threads out there, some of them are very helpfull, some get me part way, but none of them cover this exact upgrade scenario. This just makes me very concerned with doing something wrong or if something changed in 3.2.
I know this is a lot to ask, but I think there are a lot of people who would benefit from this information.
Thanks
HuckFinn said:
My Xoom is completely stock and I just received and installed the 3.2 update. I am pretty disappointed in the SD card support and lack of other features. I held off on rooting and installing Tiamat before as I wanted to see what Google would give us, and well I think I have waited long enough to see that it pales in comparison to what you devs can do.
So now I would like to give the Tiamat kernel a try. So I read through several of the threads and on the Tiamat 2.0.0 Kernel thread it assumes you are on 3.1, where I am already on 3.2. As it took me several months to convince the wifey that I needed my Xoom I do not want to risk bricking it, so I am looking for some help.
-First, is it currently possible to go straight from complete stock 3.2 to Katana?
-Second, and much more difficult, can someone provide me step by step instructions? I've seen several of the threads out there, some of them are very helpfull, some get me part way, but none of them cover this exact upgrade scenario. This just makes me very concerned with doing something wrong or if something changed in 3.2.
I know this is a lot to ask, but I think there are a lot of people who would benefit from this information.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The quick answer to your question is Yes, you can go from stock 2.3 to Tiamat Katana 2.0 kernel, but you must be rooted.
Are you rooted? If so, and if you have already installed Clockwork Mod Recovery 3.2.0.0 (from solarnz' thread in Development) you can just flash the Katana kernel and you should be fine.
If you are not unlocked and rooted--you can follow the directions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1170760
There are actually some more user-friendly (for noobs) instructions http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130996 in this thread, but for STEP 5 (ROOTING) you have to substitute the method from jase's post (above) for the instructions for Step 5 in the "idiot's guide" I can't find any 3.2 root files yet. It's the same procedure but a bit more hands on. No matter what you do, you will have to use adb to unlock your bootloader and root, so gather all the necessary files, drivers and print out your instructions.
One thing to know is never try to install a .zip file through adb...that will cause massive headaches. However, it seems pretty hard to actually brick one of these Xooms through updating and flashing. (Don't drop it into water, though!)
Thank you for the information. All the posts asking for help because something did not go right still have me pretty apprehensive. I am not at all interested in over clocking, so it is really the what I assume is proper SD card support and USB tethering that interest me the most.
HuckFinn said:
Thank you for the information. All the posts asking for help because something did not go right still have me pretty apprehensive. I am not at all interested in over clocking, so it is really the what I assume is proper SD card support and USB tethering that interest me the most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only by rooting that you are able to get the full functionality of the Xoom. It's great as it is...HC 3.2 is very good and improved, but this device is made to driven like a sports car, not just sat in like a minivan.
okantomi,
Well I have gone back and forth on wether to root or not and you have been very helpful with pointing me to good information. I am hoping you do not mind answering a couple more questions.
-In the "Idiot's guide to flashing" you pointed me to it installed CWM before rooting. Is this the proper order or would you root first? I know I should just follow the guide and give it a shot, but that just seems odd.
-Can you explain to be the difference between the Tiamat kernels and the ROMs? My assumption is that the ROM would include the kernel, but I have a strong feeling that is incorrect. I have read posts of installing the ROM first and then the kernel and I am just more confused.
Thanks, one day I will get there.
HuckFinn said:
okantomi,
Well I have gone back and forth on wether to root or not and you have been very helpful with pointing me to good information. I am hoping you do not mind answering a couple more questions.
-In the "Idiot's guide to flashing" you pointed me to it installed CWM before rooting. Is this the proper order or would you root first? I know I should just follow the guide and give it a shot, but that just seems odd.
-Can you explain to be the difference between the Tiamat kernels and the ROMs? My assumption is that the ROM would include the kernel, but I have a strong feeling that is incorrect. I have read posts of installing the ROM first and then the kernel and I am just more confused.
Thanks, one day I will get there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got to be quick...I have to do some work today, lol, but here goes:
Actually, follow the Idiots Guide regarding the adb, moto drivers setup.
Then follow this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1170760
It's got all the right files and steps, and though it's pretty much to the point, it's user friendly enough. It will get you rooted, I'm sure.
While the difference between ROMs and kernels is somewhat over my head, the ROM does contain the kernel (it's sort of an all inclusive package to tell the device how to behave, whereas the kernel manages particular functions, but not others. It's more limited.) Because the Honeycomb source code hasn't been released, the developers are somewhat limited in the ROM-development department, but they have been able to work wonders with kernels. However, the Tiamat 1.1 Rom for HC3.1 was great and the new ROM in development for HC3.2 will be great too, if the Katana kernal for HC3.2 is any indicator.
Sorry to be a pest but just want to make sure I understand.
A) Follow the idiot's guide steps 1-2, which covers Xoom driver installation and ADB installation.
B) Then follow the other link (How to root your Xoom from stock 3.2) for unlocking and rooting.
C) Then go back to the idiot's guide, skip step 3 (unlocking-already done above) and do step 4 (CWM Installation), skip step 5 (rooting-already done above), then follow step 6 (installing the new kernel).
Again I really appreciate all the advice.
-HuckFinn
HuckFinn said:
Sorry to be a pest but just want to make sure I understand.
A) Follow the idiot's guide steps 1-2, which covers Xoom driver installation and ADB installation.
B) Then follow the other link (How to root your Xoom from stock 3.2) for unlocking and rooting.
C) Then go back to the idiot's guide, skip step 3 (unlocking-already done above) and do step 4 (CWM Installation), skip step 5 (rooting-already done above), then follow step 6 (installing the new kernel).
Again I really appreciate all the advice.
-HuckFinn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that my original idea of using the idiot's guide for everything but step 5 still might work, as long as you substitute any older HC 3.1 specific files with the new ones from jase33's post.Meaning new boot image for old boot image, etc...At some point, someone willcreate a "rootboot"zip for HC3.2 but til then, jase33's way is it.
The Tiamat recovery listed in the Idiot's Guide is still valid and jase33 didn't include a custom recovery in his guide (at least I didn't see it). So I think you can install it earlier or later. I'm not sure it makes a difference, as long as you have it installed so you can flash the new kernel!
I just upgraded from a rooted Viewsonic G tablet to the Xoom WiFi. I have not had a chance to work with it yet. A list of reasons to root would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
.
okantomi said:
I've got to be quick...I have to do some work today, lol, but here goes:
Actually, follow the Idiots Guide regarding the adb, moto drivers setup.
Then follow this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1170760
It's got all the right files and steps, and though it's pretty much to the point, it's user friendly enough. It will get you rooted, I'm sure.
While the difference between ROMs and kernels is somewhat over my head, the ROM does contain the kernel (it's sort of an all inclusive package to tell the device how to behave, whereas the kernel manages particular functions, but not others. It's more limited.) Because the Honeycomb source code hasn't been released, the developers are somewhat limited in the ROM-development department, but they have been able to work wonders with kernels. However, the Tiamat 1.1 Rom for HC3.1 was great and the new ROM in development for HC3.2 will be great too, if the Katana kernal for HC3.2 is any indicator.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the kernel is the Linux derivative operating system that the Java based android layer runs on top of. Technically ROM means Read Only Memory which is not being used correctly. A ROM really is a factory produced Masked ROM (burned in, fixed) or an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) as in a chip or integrated circuit.
davidsos said:
I believe the kernel is the Linux derivative operating system that the Java based android layer runs on top of. Technically ROM means Read Only Memory which is not being used correctly. A ROM really is a factory produced Masked ROM (burned in, fixed) or an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) as in a chip or integrated circuit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your answer is more technically correct. Thanks.
Random reboots, coming from 3.2 stock OTA
Does anybody else get random reboots in Tiamat Katana coming from 3.2 stock OTA? So far it's been exclusively a sleep-related problem; I haven't seen it reboot during active use. I'm not (over|under)(clocking|volting).
I've tried clearing cache and Dalvik cache. If it matters, I've been using the Overclocked GPU version. I'll try the Standard GPU version of Katana, but that's not a likely fix, since all the problems seem to be sleep-related.
(PS: I've read all the FAQs I could find, but I couldn't find the answer to this one: I'm coming from a Viewsonic G, and I'm used to the ability to nvflash completely back to a working state no matter what. Is there an equivalent method of restoring a Xoom to absolute stock? Thanks!)
Nevermind...I did one more "clear user data" and now it's stable. Tiamat devs, you are gods among men and heroes to all the little children. Thanks!
redhairedscot said:
Nevermind...I did one more "clear user data" and now it's stable. Tiamat devs, you are gods among men and heroes to all the little children. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if you set WiFi sleep to NEVER (hardly uses any additional battery) you will not have any more random sleep-related reboots.
CWM after rooting?
I followed the instructions in Post #2 of this thread to root my Xoom (HC 3.2). All seemed to go well. However, I have noticed that when following pingvinen's instructions (linked from Post #2), in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130996, to install Tiamat 2.0.0, the steps include installing CWM before rooting. I can't see that it matters that I install CWM after rooting and before Tiamat installation, but I thought that I had better check. Could somebody please confirm that it doesn't matter whether CWM is installed before or after rooting?
Thank you
Gordon
cwm before root, because you need to flash a new recovery to root and flash a new ROM. I'm a noob, too, and just figuring this out myself, but think I am explaining this right.
one of the many guides I reviewed was by steady Hawkins (now part of team tiamat) over on xoomforums... partly pasted below... I actually rooted using the older files and images he references, then upgraded cwm to 3.2 then flashed tiamat 2.0... probably more steps than necessary, but these were the clearest directions and by going through several rounds of flashing I learned a good bit about the process.
Prerequisites:
1) Copy whatever you want to retain, your device will wipe when it unlocks 2) You must have SDK/ADB set up, for instructions please see- Setting up ADB on Windows 7 64 bit (and other Windows platforms) 3) Open SDK and copy all of the files inside of tools folder and paste them inside of platform-tools folder. Vice versa will work as well. If it asks you if you want to replace files select no. The folder you paste these files into will be the folder you will run ADB commands from. 4) Download the files from the link below. Place recovery.img in the file you will run commands from in ADB. ***Wifi-Only Users***- manually put the System and bootloader zips files onto a sdcard card and insert card into xoom. ***3G/4G Users***- manually put the System, bootloader, and 3G fix zips onto a sdcard and insert card into xoom.
Downloads:
Recovery- http://db.tt/GXNxZkF System- 3.1 System - Downloads - Android Forum Bootloader- Bootloader Patch - Downloads - Android Forum 3G Fix- 3G Fix for 3.1 - Downloads - Android Forum
Notes:
In the following two sections you will see red text. This text represents the command that needs to be entered in ADB/Command Prompt. After each command press enter and wait for your computer to push the info to your Xoom. When you see the next command line come up you are ok to enter the next command. You can copy and paste the commands if you would like.
1) To start the process place your Xoom into USB debugging mode. This is done by going to settings, applications, development, and checking the box next to USB Debugging. 2) Plug your Xoom into your computer, open your command prompt (with the path set to the correct folder) and type adb devices 3) If you get a string of numbers your good to proceed, if not refer back to Setting up ADB on Windows 7 64 bit (and other Windows platforms) to see where you went wrong.
Unlocking:
adb reboot bootloader Xoom will reboot into a screen with text on the upper left corner. While you are on this screen enter the following fastboot oem unlock A bunch of text will appear and you will need to use the down volume rocker to select yes, followed by volume up to confirm Xoom will then wipe, reboot, and your back up and running. At this point you will need to go back and re-enable USB debugging
Flash Recovery Img:
Make sure Xoom is connected to computer. Test connection by running adb devices if you get the string of numbers proceed.
Rename the Recovery img you downloaded ~~~> recovery.img
adb reboot bootloader Xoom will reboot into a screen with text on the upper left corner. While you are on this screen enter the following fastboot flash recovery recovery.img Wait for it to finish, then read the below note before you enter the next command!!!!!!!!! fastboot reboot ***As soon as you enter the "fastboot reboot" command in the previous step, your device will reboot. You have to boot into recovery right away or your Xoom will reflash the stock recovery over the custom recovery you just flashed. Follow these next steps very carefully-
a. When you see the Motorola logo appear, wait approximately 3 seconds. b. Tap the Volume Down button. You should see the words "Android Recovery" appear at the top of the screen. Now tap the Volume Up button to boot into recovery. c. If when attempting to boot into recovery it says 'Starting Fastboot protocol support' then you hit Volume Down too soon. Hold Vol UP + Power to reboot and try again.
Root Time:
***For the following use the volume rocker to move the selector up and down, use the power button to select***
1)Select wipe data/factory reset and confirm 2)Select install zip from SD and confirm 3)Select the system file and confirm After it loads select install zip from SD again and confirm 4)Select the bootloader file and confirm
***3G USERS ONLY- Select 3G fix and confirm***
5)Select Reboot and confirm
At this point Xoom will reboot. Please note the first boot will take a while. After it boots up you will be rooted and you should have SDsupport!
Root info:
To ensure that you are rooted download Terminal Emulator from the market (its free). Open it and type su followed by pressing enter. On the next line you should see #. If you do your dialed in.
To view your SDcard use a file manager program such as Root Explorer. Your sdcard will be located in /sdcard/external.
Big thanks to Bigrushdog for the imgs!!!!!
kosenn said:
I just upgraded from a rooted Viewsonic G tablet to the Xoom WiFi. I have not had a chance to work with it yet. A list of reasons to root would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had my 3g zoom for 4+ months before deciding to root. The advantages I've seen in a few short days rooted:
better performance, faster booting, smoother webpages
full SD card use (write access to go along with read in stock 3.2)
ability to fully and truly back up the device
a very resposive developer community
a very knowledgeable and helpful user community (though they'll help you even stock)
a growing understanding of how this great device works
what I'm not sure of is how much effort and attention it will take to keep up with updates from the dev community, and whether tinkering with this thing will become addictive and end up consuming as much time as my original reasons/uses for buying it in the first place
Thank you for the reply. I thought the thread had died
You say:
cwm before root, because you need to flash a new recovery to root and flash a new ROM. I'm a noob, too, and just figuring this out myself, but think I am explaining this right.
I tried to install CWM (flash with fastboot) on a rooted stock US 3.2 WiFi Xoom. I am not clear why starting with a rooted device would make any difference for flashing a new recovery, before flashing a new ROM. Can you explain further? Nevertheless, I haven't managed to flash a fully functioning CWM. It works but with error messages, as indicated in my post at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130996&page=4.
Maybe I need to go back and unroot.
Thank you
Gordon
1st, a disclaimer that I'm not much more experienced than you (if at all). Take what I offer knowing that.
I actually experienced an identical problem. Like you, I was working from several "guides" at once and I think the issue resultedbfrom mixing instructions for one cwm version with an earlier (or later) version. I THINK the version you have is the same as the one referenced in the guide I pasted. If you'll note his directions, he suggested renaming the recovery document to "recovery.img" before flashing it. When I went back and did that, it worked for me... then I was able to flash the updated cwm 3.2.0.0 with no errors.... then tiamat 2.0
I have no idea, though, whether there are ramifications to being rooted without a error-free recovery.
Thanks again for this ... at least someone has been through the same problems as me!
The version of CWM that I am trying to flash is "recovery-Tiamat-R4c-100611-1150-cwm.img", which is what is shown in the fastboot line in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130996. However, I am not seeing any reference to renaming to recovery.img. Are we looking at different threads?
If necessary, I will go back to stock 3.0.1 and un-root, but I would like to avoid the stress, if possible
Thank you
Gordon
Hello,
I have bought a North American (Canadian, to be exact) Galaxy Gio (S5660M, with an additional "M" from the European model).
There are lots of tutorials about S5660 rooting and unlocking, but none for S5660M. There has been some reports that flashing S5660 firmware on S5660M to root and unlock made their phones unusable (randomly changing screen brightness, etc).
I tried searching on google and XDA, but could not find any relating to S5660M.
Is it too early to see any rooting/unlocking on S5660M?
Thank you very much!
Hello,
After some reading on here to compare unlock methods, I decided to take the leap into the unknown. I used the one published in this thread. (EDIT: Check out this one instead, perfectly safe.) (It turns out that the Gravity Smart, Galaxy Q, 551, 550, Mini, Ace, Fit, and Gio are siblings in a few respects. They all share Qualcomm 7x27 family SoCs.)
One deviation from the above linked thread is that SuperOneClick does not work on the 2.3.4 MUGK3 firmware. Updated versions of SuperOneClick do work with the firmware. Worst case scenario the program won't finish gracefully, but you'll have a root shell and you can work from there.
I've uploaded my modified superuser zip that'll work with the 5660M. Install through recovery mode. Removed - the superuser files within were long obsolete. Get the current ones through proper channels.
I wouldn't risk flashing the ROMs posted here until we can get a complete backup ROM, either from samfirmware.com (they don't have one yet) or through efforts here. I'll be starting another thread here for that purpose. Backup made a long time ago and SamMobile has had an official Odin image for some time as well.
There's been some issues reported with the 5660M, ranging from odd screen brightness behavior to bricking. (Many ROMs initially posted for the 5660, left "as is" also flash both the kernel and radio: not good.)
Goodbye,
Darkshado
Thank you for the reply! I have successfully rooted & unlocked using the modified zip. I am not sure if it was your's (I have done it prior to looking at your reply... ), but it worked!
thank you!
Darkshado said:
Hello,
After some reading on here to compare unlock methods, I decided to take the leap into the unknown. I used the one published in this thread. (It turns out that the Mini, Ace and Gio are siblings in a few respects.) Make extra sure to follow the steps intelligently, especially the bit right after you get your code.
One deviation from the above linked thread is that SuperOneClick does not work on the 2.3.4 MUGK3 firmware.
I've uploaded my modified superuser zip that'll work with the 5660M. Install through recovery mode.
I wouldn't risk flashing the ROMs posted here until we can get a complete backup ROM, either from samfirmware.com (they don't have one yet) or through efforts here. I'll be starting another thread here for that purpose.
There's been some issues reported with the 5660M, ranging from odd screen brightness behavior to bricking. (The ROMs posted for the 5660, left "as is" also flash both the kernel and radio: not good.)
Goodbye,
Darkshado
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you tell me how I could unlock my phone too.
New tonight
Just picked up a GIO here tonight.
BTW Future Shop in Canada has these on for $80 right now.
I think this is a great deal, for a very responsive 2.3 android phone.
OK,
So S5660m - is the version in canada it would seem.. I think there are going to be quite a lot of owners because of the pricing.
We should use this thread or another to setup a difinitive list of what works.
1. How to root the phone.
2. Unlocks that work - I have heard some methods brick Ms very easy. What is the best unlock method specific to the M
3. What ROMs can we use? do we need to have our own set of modified roms because of the modem portion?
4. Overclocking.. I have heard these can clock up to 1100 and run awsome!!
This is my wish list.
James
Hello James. Welcome to XDA.
Whoa there early thread starter! Use the search engine before even thinking of starting another thread. We don't have a dedicated Gio forum at the moment so things are scattered all over. Advanced search is handy as it outputs threads instead of posts.
Biker1bob said:
1. How to root the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same as a lot of other phones, apply a zip file through CWM. You could also flash an already rooted ROM with Odin.
2. Unlocks that work - I have heard some methods brick Ms very easy. What is the best unlock method specific to the M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bml5 method is safe. I noticed I had left a link to the older and unsafe stl5 method in my post above and removed it.
And keep your unlock code accessible somewhere on the phone. This phone is known to relock itself to Bell in some specific scenarios.
3. What ROMs can we use? do we need to have our own set of modified roms because of the modem portion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and no. If you only flash system.rfs, and maybe boot.img, it should work based on what others have reported.
I've cooked up a ROM for the 5660M that's called ArpegGioMod if you want to have a look.
Another point to consider if you want to run your phone in French: the Eurasian ROMs may or may not have that locale, and will likely have an AZERTY keyboard instead of a QWERTY one.
Do not flash radio (AMSS) or the other bootloaders from the Euro 5660. The former will make you lose all cellphone connection, the latter is unnecessary and increases your chances of bricking.
4. Overclocking.. I have heard these can clock up to 1100 and run awsome!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where'd you get that? The only kernel mods I've seen so far for any Gio are all ramdisk modifications that left the stock kernel untouched.
Just to clairify darkshadow, by "bml5 method" you mean this ?
0) brand new locked GT-S5660M phone frome the store
1A) root the device using this zip
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16962635&postcount=2
simplest method :
1.1 To begin, download the zip file from the link above and copy it to the root of your SD card.
1.2 Power the phone off.
1.3 Boot into recovery mode by holding the middle button and pressing the power button.
1.4 Once in recovery mode, select update from sdcard and choose the update.zip that you copied to your SD card.
1.5 Let the file flash and once done, reboot your phone.
OR
1B Follow EDIT2, for temp rooting on same URL below
2. Follow exact instructions as per here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17148825&postcount=334
(with the slight modification for HEX code to search specified here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17311381&postcount=358 )
Question: Does it matter if there is a SIM card in the phone when following these instructions ?
Any thoughts about "Network Lock Control Key" ?? ( ... would appear that this shows up as a separate issue for some users some time after unlocking see:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=992564 )
THANK YOU so much for confirming I got this right....I just want to make sure I am not missing anything, and these instructions are really safe as far as you know before attempting anything.
Darkshado said:
Hello James. Welcome to XDA.
Whoa there early thread starter! Use the search engine before even thinking of starting another thread. We don't have a dedicated Gio forum at the moment so things are scattered all over. Advanced search is handy as it outputs threads instead of posts.
Same as a lot of other phones, apply a zip file through CWM. You could also flash an already rooted ROM with Odin.
The bml5 method is safe. I noticed I had left a link to the older and unsafe stl5 method in my post above and removed it.
And keep your unlock code accessible somewhere on the phone. This phone is known to relock itself to Bell in some specific scenarios.
Yes, and no. If you only flash system.rfs, and maybe boot.img, it should work based on what others have reported.
I've cooked up a ROM for the 5660M that's called ArpegGioMod if you want to have a look.
Another point to consider if you want to run your phone in French: the Eurasian ROMs may or may not have that locale, and will likely have an AZERTY keyboard instead of a QWERTY one.
Do not flash radio (AMSS) or the other bootloaders from the Euro 5660. The former will make you lose all cellphone connection, the latter is unnecessary and increases your chances of bricking.
Where'd you get that? The only kernel mods I've seen so far for any Gio are all ramdisk modifications that left the stock kernel untouched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i'm pretty new here... i have a gio n my usb port is messed up.. i wiped tha phone the other day n the network lock came back on.. so seeing that i can't use any usb what should i do?
thanks in advance
IMEI: Mod Edit: IMEI # Removed...not a great idea to post them on a public forum
Let me start with things you shouldn't do:
-Resurrect two year old, stale, threads.
-Post your IMEI for everyone to see.
Exactly *how* is your USB port messed up? Just not talking to the computer or not working at all?
Are you rooted? If not, get that sorted out by using one of the exploits that worked on Gingerbread. You'll have to do it manually, no SuperOneClick for you. (Although the binaries included might come in handy.)
It is possible to do the commands to get bml5 via a terminal emulator app, and then transfer that file over wi-fi. (Samba, WebDAV, FTP, Dropbox, etc...)
I'm not sure anymore if this is possible in GB, look into using ADB over wi-fi instead of USB. I've sold my Gio months ago, and all of my current devices run 4.1+.
I've decided to put this project on hold as the bootloader has been fixed for the HD8.9/7 (and in theory can be fixed for the KFire2's)
SAFESTRAP v3.05 BETA (2nd-System Bootstrap / Recovery)
** DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SERIOUS HACK YOU ARE ABOUT TO PERFORM TO THE DEVICE.
DUE TO THE WAY THIS BOOTSTRAP WORKS, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF SOFT-BRICKING.
I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO YOUR KINDLE BY USING THIS TOOL.
YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.
If you bypassed the BIG RED letters above, make sure you re-read it and understand that you're installing a hijack which affects the normal boot process of the Kindle Fire HD. If that process is changed in anyway it could lead to a soft-bricked device which will need to be fastboot restored.
FOR NOW THIS IS FOR THE KINDLE FIRE HD 7", LATER I ALSO HAVE A VERISON WHICH WILL WORK ON THE KFIRE2.
Download the APK Here
md5sum: 9e409cf3a9d7d510b5bf19262ecfb6d5
Brief Overview / Instructions for how to use Safestrap:
http://blog.hash-of-codes.com/how-to-safestrap/
KNOWN ISSUES:
Currently there's a bug where when you create and activate a rom-slot, the /sdcard is pointed at the rom-slots "/data" partition. This of course won't have all of your content in it. I'll release an update once that's fixed.
CHANGES:
[11/14] Initial release for KFireHD7
[10/30] Begin testing tablet interface for Kindle Fire's
[10/17] (3.05) Fixed SD card / emmc sharing in recovery (UMS)
[10/17] (3.05) Fixed recovery installation/removal from ROM-slots
[10/14] Updated to v3.04 BETA.
[10/14] Recovery is now based off TWRP 2.2.2.1 (fully featured touch-based recovery)
[10/14] Can create up to 4 Virtual ROM-slots to flash ROMs to and when "Active" ALL TWRP functions affect that ROM-slot (For example: Flashing .zips, Backup and Restore)
[10/14] Nearly instant swapping from ROM to ROM
[10/14] User selectable data partition sizes during ROM slot creation: 1GB, 2GB or 3GB
[10/14] ROM slots are saved on the internal emmc space so that preinstall and webtop partitions are no longer used and shouldn't break OTAs.
[10/14] Charging in recovery
[10/14] Supports "Reboot Recovery" from Android OS
Entry to recovery via Splashscreen on boot-up. The screen stays up for around 8-10 seconds and if you hit the "Recovery" button, it takes you to Safestrap Recovery. You can skip the wait by touching the "Continue" button.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Stock flashing is currently disabled. And this will probably remain this way for the foreseeable future.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
The entire TWRP team who has built an AMAZING recovery system.
The testers which have helped in past and present versions of Safestrap, knowing that it could mean they brick their devices.
[ SCREENSHOTS COMING SOON ]
Anxiously waiting...
I'll know more shortly once my tester gets back with me.
The proof of concept runs perfectly on my 1st gen KFire where I mocked up the hijack and was able to walk through it w/o fear of bricking.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
Hashcode said:
I'll know more shortly once my tester gets back with me.
The proof of concept runs perfectly on my 1st gen KFire where I mocked up the hijack and was able to walk through it w/o fear of bricking.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the hard work as I'm sure you have spent quite a bit of time on this.
For us non tech guys, exactly what is the purpose of this recovery be? To make a backup of what currently have? The ability to flash?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
This is custom recovery for flash ROMs and backup/restore.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
This is the best news i ever heard since i bought my KFHD a week ago. I hope it passed the test.
Just to reiterate...
Users cannot go and flash any ROM on their devices...ROMs must be made with the 2nd gen. kernels in mind and any attempt at flashing ROMs made for 1st gen. devices will most assuredly brick one's device, correct?
soupmagnet said:
Just to reiterate...
Users cannot go and flash any ROM on their devices...ROMs must be made with the 2nd gen. kernels in mind and any attempt at flashing ROMs made for 1st gen. devices will most assuredly brick one's device, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. No flashing 1st gen device ROMs. Insta brick. Safestrap can't save you from that.
Good news and Bad news on the 1st tests:
1. Good: I found a better hijack point in the new 7.2.1 ramdisk. So I'm adjusting some things and doing some more tests.
2. Bad: The screen is rotated differently on the KFireHD, than it is on the KFire 1st gen. So my touch buttons and stuff aren't working correctly. The next few tests I do will be to show where and how the screen is rotated in relation to the touch controller.
So for now still nothing public.
In the meantime, if any ambitious devs want to start slopping together a ROM to use once this is completely working, that would probably be a good idea. :laugh:
Hashcode said:
Yes. No flashing 1st gen device ROMs. Insta brick. Safestrap can't save you from that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How hard would it be to add a check that makes sure no 1st gen. ROMs, or any ROMs that have modified files that would normally include signed headers, get accidentally installed?
For the most part I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem, but there are those who will try anyway, no matter how many warnings are given in bold red letters.
Not to mention there may be inexperienced (or heaven forbid, malicious) "devs" that might, inadvertantly or otherwise, modify a file with a signed header.
soupmagnet said:
How hard would it be to add a check that makes sure no 1st gen. ROMs, or any ROMs that have modified files that would normally include signed headers, get accidentally installed?
For the most part I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem, but there are those who will try anyway, no matter how many warnings are given in bold red letters.
Not to mention there may be inexperienced (or heaven forbid, malicious) "devs" that might, inadvertantly or otherwise, modify a file with a signed header.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that the final product will have such a check.
Well that idea sounds like something twrp would have to integrate. But all the same, hash code, do you have a donation button, you are clearly a valuable member of this device development.
Sent from my Fire HD with root!
Testing Update: We have a solid boot after Safestrap installation which is a plus since we're now injecting the recovery splashscreen into the boot process.
My last test (#3) didn't have a working touch controller during the splashscreen, but I have test #4 ready which *could* load the touch driver and allow for entry, but since it's Halloween and we all have families, I won't know how that works till later tonight.
TODO: I'm working on re-doing the Safestrap theme for 800x1280. I had previously been running a 1280x800 theme but the screen is vertical not horizontal. So the layout will be more phone-style than tablet looking.
But even if it's the default TWRP theme with a few missing images, I'll know if we're in a usable state soon.
Verifying Device: I think we can turn on asserts before flashing ROMs. However, it could be that every single Kindle Fire device is named "blaze_tablet" or "blaze" so that might be less than useful. It will take some testing probably to come up with a solution. The Safestrap APK performs a model check when you click "Install Recovery" (KFTT == KindleFireHD-7) and instantly bails if that's not true, so at least you can't install the wrong devices' recovery.
On the donations: There should be a button under my name on any post which links to my paypal.
However, let's hold off donations till we see some actual results and have a working stock-based ROM to flash which devs can tweak w/o fear of bricking. At that point I'll call it a successful bootstrap/recovery and we can move on to AOSP builds.
I'm not against donations (tho I don't do this for money obviously), I just feel you should already have something in your hands and be happy with it before you give any hard earned money to a dev.
First of all, thanks a lot for your effort. Wish I could donate but Im a minor and live outside US... so its hard to ask for "dollars" here..
One question: this will allow OTG usb somehow or not?
Sent from my KFTT using xda premium
Thanks a lot for working so hard, Hashcode. The updates are really appreciated and I really hope you are successful in opening up the Kindle Fire HD/2,
This is something to look forward to, hope it works out.
So you don't own the HD, hashcode? I will def. send a donation your way if you get this working!
I am trying to understand the way this will work. Is it a bit like a dual boot except with 4 roms? And one must always be running stock? And you can backup and restore all of them with twrp?
Yes, on all of the above.
I should point out that you may not actually want to run 4 ROMs due to emmc size limits (especially KF2).
I keep the stock ROM pure to protect our path to recovery.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
Hashcode said:
Yes, on all of the above.
I should point out that you may not actually want to run 4 ROMs due to emmc size limits (especially KF2).
I keep the stock ROM pure to protect our path to recovery.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome work Hashcode. This sounds similar to how Android is run on the Touchpad. Keeps Webos in its own environment and dual boots Android. Can't wait! :good:
I've never seen a two day span where I've seen this many near bricks and recovery problems. Its starting to look like the TF300 fiasco. Did CWM screw something up recently or are all these user problems unrelated and coincidental?
elfaure said:
I've never seen a two day span where I've seen this many near bricks and recovery problems. Its starting to look like the TF300 fiasco. Did CWM screw something up recently or are all these user problems unrelated and coincidental?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is mostly user problems, but CWM can brick your device by wiping the wrong partition. TWRP has been patched and wont do this. AKA why TWRP is recommended, rather than CWM, which is a good recovery, but for our device it can cause issues. And if you read, 99% of the bricks are recovered. So the point of the bricks is nothing, it is if we can recover them or not, to which most are, which is a wonderful thing. 10 TF300s a day were bricking, this is not occurring with the TF700, so there is no fiasco happening here .
Tylor
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Most people who brick their device don't read enough. And then, when they come here with their problem, they don't write enough.
_that said:
Most people who brick their device don't read enough. And then, when they come here with their problem, they don't write enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a newbie, I may suggest that the Tylorw1 remarks could be announced on the http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=30223822#post30223822 topic (regarding that it is advised to use TWRP until CWM will be patched). Because I parsed all this topics and others before starting to flash my TF700 and never seen that recommandations and the other like "do not use software launch of recovery". Those information, you can only get them on the topic you look at once you have had an issue.
I was not totally a newbie with switching to developer mode / rooting / flashing, since I began doing this on my HTC magic, continued with an HTC desire HD, then a galaxy note. Never got those hard troubles (once I had a fear, but has been able to unlock it alone with my magic).
At last, that's very good you're here to help us after our mistakes!
The problem is that there are a lot of (stupid) people who can't bloody read.
florck said:
At last, that's very good you're here to help us after our mistakes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must be honest: I fear the day _that transitions to another device. The work he put in in your case is nothing short of amazing (to me). We all have our perks and qualities, but... pfff...
On-topic: it does seem like we are having more bricks and recovery/boot problems lately. Is that a market thing? Has the 700 gone done in price, thus reaching a greater user base? (Not to my knowledge.) Are we seeing more inexperienced users now than we did at first? (That might be a likely cause.)
_that said:
Most people who brick their device don't read enough. And then, when they come here with their problem, they don't write enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well put. We have two ears and two eyes and two hands but only one mouth. Intelligent people tend to use their senses in those proportions. Only after they have mastered this can they attempt to use their brains.
MartyHulskemper said:
I must be honest: I fear the day _that transitions to another device. The work he put in in your case is nothing short of amazing (to me). We all have our perks and qualities, but... pfff...
On-topic: it does seem like we are having more bricks and recovery/boot problems lately. Is that a market thing? Has the 700 gone done in price, thus reaching a greater user base? (Not to my knowledge.) Are we seeing more inexperienced users now than we did at first? (That might be a likely cause.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to be the first to second @florck 's suggestion to top-sticky a warning about CWM with a statement that it could wipe the wrong partition and leave the user SOL (maybe not in those exact words) and for XDA to point a suggestion towards using TWRP (touch) instead as a safe alternative. At least until CWM patches this bug. This would be paramount for new users to read. I found it during my rooting research but I agree that its fairly buried.
[Edit] One thing to note is he was not using an "old" CWM, in fact it was a future developer version not even released yet?? So the masses haven't even seen this version yet. Someone should inform CWM about this before they release it, it if came from them broken. I don't think I'll ever be using their recovery after seeing what can happen.
*************************************************************************
Quote @Pretoriano80 from other thread: "CWM 6.0.5.3?The latest official version is 6.0.3.0 iirc. AFAIK this kind of brick occur when using an" old" recovery (both CWM and TWRP) with the new bootloader and is triggered when the Wipe Data option it's used."
***************************************************************************
I'm also interested in learning how his cryptographic key got messed up/deleted. I've been wondering if this could be used for a bootloader exploit to enable NVflash?
Lucky for @florck to have @_that for sure as we all are, but also lucky for him he wasn't that much of an inexperienced user that he couldn't at least access a terminal and type some commands, run an adb shell, and follow instructions. He seemed to be a pretty good student but he should have read more I agree.
I find there are three types of people. Dumb people who never learn from their mistakes, smart people who do learn from their mistakes, and then there's the wise people who learn from *other peoples* mistakes.
For me as a fairly inexperienced user getting to ride the roller coaster and see the guts of a near brick was fascinating to say the least. Its good to know about these things before you need to. Its great to know @_that if you don't. His knowledge and troubleshooting prowess is phenomenal. Rare breed indeed. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't have a mother and was beamed down.
Guys, i think you are mixing stuff here, let me explain.
1)The "wipe data/media" option in CWM
This bug can lead to a corrupted partition but it's easy to recover by installing the Stock Firmware from MicroSD with CWM recovery (yes CWM install option will still work because the staging partition is not corrupted). After the install process is complete and the tablet rebooted once you can use the Wipe Data option from the Bootloader menu, that procedure will also fix your corrupted data/media partition.
So as you can see no ADB knowledge or other skills are required in order to recover your device.
2) Using and "old" recovery version with an incompatible bootloader (both CWM and TWRP recovery)
Using the Wipe Data option from the Bootloader menu under this circumstances could lead to a bootloop to Recovery and if you don't have good ADB knowledge/skills (or if _that it's not around ) you are doomed. Anyway it seems that as long as you still have ADB you can recover from this too.
Also some users reported a hard brick under this circumstances (bootloader signature mismatch error) but there wasn't much background info from the users on the matter.
ONLY way to recover from this issue is by sending the device back to Asus and pay for repairs.
3) Regarding the missing token my understanding is that a wrong offset was used so i presume that using the correct offset you will find that the token is still there.
And even if someone could remove the token it would still be impossible to trick Asus because they already have your device's serial number on their server.
P. S: I already planned to update the AIO thread with the latest stuff /info but i've just got recovered from a knee surgery so i'm not in the mood yet.
Using
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Thanks for the very clear play-by-play problem descriptions and future resolutions of what recently happened with the one user's near brick who then witnessed the miracle of _that in action. It'll be good for CWM users if it comes up again so they can self-resolve their problem with your instructions.
This guide is intended to be an all-in-one resource for people coming to Samsung phones after using other devices. It is a general introduction to the S4 and a glossary/explanation of terms you may see here in the forums.
This thread is slightly out of date but the info is still good, I will be updating again soon!!! Remember to hit thanks if this was useful
Disclaimer "Just because I am trying to be helpful does not make me responsible for anything that you do to your phone. Playing with any of this stuff could destroy your phone"
The layout of this post is as follows:
Welcome
FAQ
Glossary of terms
First off, welcome to XDA
The XDA community is home to the most talented and helpful phone developers on the planet.
These developers spend lots of their free time working on making all of our phones better. You should be nice and respectful to them and follow the rules. WHY? If the statement above isn’t enough reason then think selfishly, the less time they are dealing with redundant questions, the more time they have to develop stuff for all of us!
Help them help you by following the following basic rules:
1.If you are confused or have a question, the first thing to do is READ! Read lots, look things up both on xda and using google.
2.If after searching you still have not answered your question, then post in the Q&A forum.
3.Asking for ETAs on ROMs, updates, etc. is considered rude.. DON’T DO IT!
4.Don’t report bugs to a developer unless:
a.You know 100% that it hasn’t already been reported,
b.You know how to reproduce it
c.You can get a logcat of the problem (more on this later)
Some advice if you are new to all this and don’t want to ruin your phone:
1.Be patient. Don’t be the first or even the tenth person to flash anything. Wait until you see others using whatever Rom or kernel with success.
2.If you have any doubts about what you are doing, read more. Don’t flash.
3.Make sure you are in the forum for your device, not some similar or related device.
FAQ:
Q. Is my bootloader locked?
A. Only if you have an AT&T or Verizon phone
******* Info for AT&T users *******
Q. What is LOKI?
A. Loki is an exploit for phones with locked boot loader that allows us to bypass the locked boot loader in order to install custom roms or recoveries. More Loki info down below
Q. Whats the deal with MF3?
A. MF3 is the current firmware from AT&T that comes on any new phone. Your phone may also auto update to MF3 if you are not careful. MF3 patched the ability to use Loki to install custom roms/recoveries so if you are on MF3 things are much more difficult.
Q. How can I keep my phone from updating to MF3?
A. If you want to avoid the update, you should root your phone and freeze the following three apps using titanium backup or some similar app.
1. AT&T Software update Vxx_x_xxxx_x_x
2. FWUpgrade x.x.x
3. LocalFOTA vx_xxxx_x_x
Why flash?
by flashing your device you can make your phone act differently, look different, and enable new or disabled options. you could ,for example:
enable native tethering
enable call recording
change the look of your phone
add custom toggle buttons
overclock or undervolt
increase battery life
etc..
Kernel vs Rom vs Recovery vs Modem
Kernel is the layer between the phone hardware and the rom. it controls things like Wi-Fi power, touch sensitivity, possible range of screen brightness, phone logging, and processor max and min speed. kernel must be designed not only for your device but also for the type of rom you are using (Sammy rom or Aosp) some kernels support all roms, others are specific.
Rom is the operating system of your phone. there are three main categories of roms.
roms that are based off of the Samsung stock rom (Sammy rom)
roms that are based off of Android open source project aka AOSP (AOSP, AOKP)
roms based off of the miui project (these used to be a branch of AOSP but recently they have also used Sammy base for miui)
recovery is a partition that you can access at boot by holding down a combination of keys. (volume up and home button in the case of our sgs4) every phone has recovery stock but it doesn't do much. you can replace stock with clockwork mod recovery which is extremely useful for flashing all kinds of things and making backups before you do. There are other alternative recoveries besides clockwork but that seems to be the most common. TWRP is also gaining popularity these days. You can easily switch between recoveries and or upgrade your current recovery. All that needs to happen is for a new image to be flashed onto the recovery partition. See the rooting guide for more info on how to flash a custom recovery.
modem is a file that controls the cell radio of the phone. Helps determine what frequencies to use and settings for a particular network. It is important when flashing a radio that you flash a radio that is for the AT&T sgs4
Methods for flashing files - Odin vs mobile Odin vs. clockworkmod(cwm) vs adb
Odin is the internal Samsung tool for flashing. I believe it only exists on Windows platform. This tool is mostly used to initially flash an insecure kernel or rooted kernel, OR to return to completely stock rom.. Files for flashing in odin generally should end in .tar or .tar.md5 although sometimes they come zipped and the tar is inside the zip. Read more about Odin before using it as it can easily break your phone. !!!as a general rule make sure you never check the "partition" checkbox EVER!!!
Mobile Odin (THIS TOOL DOES NOT SUPPORT ALL S4 MODELS...make sure you check that it specifically works with yours first. I think at this time it works on your phone unless you have locked bootloader but STILL DOUBLE CHECK) is a phone based version of Odin made by the very talented developer Chainfire. It can be installed on a rooted phone and used to flash the same .tar based files as the desktop version. Mobile odin has a few advantages. 1 you can use it from your phone. 2 it can auto root a stock rom (nice if you want to try out a brand new update that has not been rooted yet)
clockworkmod(cwm) or TWRP is recovery based tool that can make backups of your entire phone, flash new roms, kernels etc.., and do many other useful tasks. Once you have this on your phone my guess is that most of your flashing will be done through this tool. The files for flashing through clockworkmod are .zip files.
ADB is the android develpment bridge. It allows for command line interface with your phone through its debugging options. ADB can do most anything as I understand it. In my several years of flashing I have only had to use it once, and i could have waited for someone to come up with another solution. In general as a noob i recommend you stay away from ADB.
open source vs Samsung base(aka Touchwiz or TW) vs miui
Open Source Roms such as AOSP/AOKP are built using Google's open source android code as a base. The developers then add functionality specific to the device. The advantages of these builds are that they often have tons of options built in to the rom that change the behavior and look of the phone. They usually allow you to change the toggles in your notification pull down, change the battery display, make all kinds of adjustments to sounds, vibration etc... Some people also prefer the "vanilla" android look and feel. These roms often provide "bleeding edge" concepts, design, and modifications. The Disadvantages of these roms is that some of the hardware coding is done closed source by the phone manufacturers, which means that things like Infrared, bluetooth, camera, video recording, and MHL video out often don't work or take much longer to get working by the developers. Basically anything that relies on the Samsung framework will not work in an open source build. This means Svoice, Snote, and the Samsung camera app will not work.
Samsung based roms (aka Touchwiz/TW) are taken from the Samsung original phone software and modified by the developer. Usually, these roms are modified in order to be faster and to make changes to some of the features. Expect to see changes to the stock rom like: debloated (ATT and samsung software removed), de-odexed (explained later), enable tethering, unlimited sms recipients, added notification toggles, etc. Most of these changes are made to: make the phone faster, improve battery life, make the phone easier to theme. The advantage of these roms is that they still use the Samsung framework so all the proprietary stuff like camera, bluetooth, MHL still work, the disadvantage is that they will never be as customisable as open source roms.
MIUI is a rom that focuses on theming. Official MIUI (Chinese) gets updated weekly on Friday and then there are lots of miui developers who adapt it to other languanges and make some tweaks to it. MIUI can be built from AOSP source or Samsung source and depending will have different features. The first MIUI rom for our phone just appeared in these forums and it is based off of AOSP. MIUI has a unique look and is also highly customizable through theming. There are tons of themes available for download through the rom itself and you can mix and match any part of any theme you want. This includes icons, lockscreen style, etc.. Some people criticize while others praise MIUI for being very "iphone like". This is because the icons look more iphone like and there is no app drawer in the MIUI launcher. However, you can still use any launcher you like within MIUI.
odexed vs de-odexed
odexed is how the phone comes stock from Samsung. Odexed means that system files and apps are split into two pieces and kept in different places on the phone. This is done to speed things up a bit. However, it makes it harder to theme the phone because the apps are split up. Most custom roms choose to de-odex (basically regroup the files back into one) so that custom themers can make themes more easily for the phone.
Flashing "dirty" vs flashing "clean"
Clean
Doing a clean install of a rom means erasing or formatting all the data from the previous rom before you flash the new one. This is the prefered way to flash a rom to ensure that it will run smoothly. It is necessary if you are switching from one rom type to another (CM to Samsung base). In order to do a clean flash you need to boot into recovery and select the following options: wipe user data (this wipes all apps and personal data, but not your photos/videos), wipe cache, advanced>wipe dalvik cache, storage/mounts>format system. This will ensure that no trace of the former rom is left on the phone. Beware that at this point your phone will not boot until you install a new rom. I suggest using titanium backup to backup apps and smsbackup+ for texts to make getting your new rom configured easy.
Dirty
Doing a dirty install means just flashing a new rom right over the top of the old one without wiping any data. The advantage to this is that you don't lose any apps or account info. The disadvantage is that you open up the possibility for problems. Generally you only want to flash this way if you are upgrading a rom (CM10 nightly to the next nightly, or from one samsung based rom to another). If you decide to flash over the top and have any issues, you should not report bugs, but try flashing clean first.
Logcat
Logcat is a way to access the android system log for everything that is going on behind the scenes. This tool is used to help developers pinpoint problems in a rom. If you want to actually be helpful to a dev when reporting a bug, you should really learn to use this tool. I am no expert on logcat but you can find some good information in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1726238
What is the Bootloader?
The bootloader is basically what it sounds like...it loads the boot image of the device. Basically it is one of the first things to run on the phone and it shows the phone where to find the boot image and how to start. The bootloader is also responsible for allowing access to the recovery part of the phone.
Locked Bootloader?
This seems to confuse a lot of users so here goes: The AT&T and Verizon versions of our phone have a locked bootloader. What does this mean? To the noob, it means that the devs had to figure out how to bypass or unlock this part of the phone in order to be able to boot custom recoveries such as CWM and TWRP. Getting a custom recovery means being able to backup the phone as well as flash custom roms. Luckily for us, Djrbliss (make sure and thank him! his thread is here:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292157) figured out how to bypass the locked bootloader. The exploit he used is known as Loki. Please remember that the loki exploit is not the same thing as unlocking the bootloader, it is a bypass/trick. AT&T and Verizon have fixed the exploit that allowed loki to work in there newest firmware. Loki patch will not work for MF3 firmware or later.
Loki
refers to the exploit that allows us to run custom recoveries as well as custom roms. You only need to have a loki'd rom if you have a model with a locked bootloader (AT&T). Thankfully, you can install a custom recovery that will auto-Loki any rom you flash so that you can install almost any rom built for our model phone (see below). I strongly recommend flashing an auto loki recovery if you have a phone with locked bootloader. I use this one here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2291956
Compatible Roms
you should be able to run any rom built for AT&T, TMobile, or the I9505 international model (NOT I9500!!) as long as you flash with an auto loki recovery. You can check out this thread for more info. Make sure and thank TheAxman! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
You may have to manually set the APN. If you encounter problems with the rom look in that roms thread for answers.
Sticky!!
Well damn, I thought I knew a lot, but after reading this thread, I really didn't. Well done. :good:
Incredible resource for those coming in from a different ecosystem.
Thanks much!!
Thread stuck!! Nice work!
Got my new At&t Samsung Galaxy S4 and this will definitely help me!!
this is another thread that really helped me as well these two have really helped me so far i have rooted several divices and just relied on everyone else and not i am starting to take a lot more of an interest ant these threads have been the most helpful
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42055644#post42055644
WoW
Great work! I'm sure this thread will be very helpful to a lot of people (Myself included). Tanks bro! :victory:
More! More! :d
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
joeybear23 said:
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
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KINGDROID25 said:
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
joeybear23 said:
Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
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Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
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KINGDROID25 said:
Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
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Stock Firmware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
That is a HUGE download, but the process is simple.
im not a newb but i need to boost my post count lol...soooo spam
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
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I have updated the OP to explain Loki, hope that helps :good:
Noob here first time posting I rooted my phone and installed cwm using casual method, created backup and installed mint rom love it but after a couple of post I see I didn't backup EFS should I be worried?
I'm not sure what the deal is with backing up the IMEI number on our phones yet. I have not seen anyone post about losing their IMEI yet so I wouldn't be too worried. On the s3 only the international model phones could be backed up by saving the efs folder. The backup process for AT&T phones was much more complex. I assume the same holds true on the s4. Will update when I find out more
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I wanted to make sure Thx. Is it to late to back EFS or can I just restore my backup and do it?