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So you are all experts, what about newbies?(Root, Unlock, OTA etc..)

Dear friends,
as i have been hanging out in this forum, i have learnt a lot. But still, i cannot understand the attitude why people treat, reply or explain everything in a way that assumes all of us are android experts.
TF700 is my first android device(have been using Apple before) so I really need to improve-or create- fundamental knowledge. Just for your information, replying messages like; "ok now Unlock the Root system instead OTA .21 and blablablabla?" (btw. i am well aware of the fact that this sentence is totally meaningless)
Whatever, my point is it would be wonderful to have a fundamental knowledge thread, also keeping your great posts too at the same time.
Cheers!!

archonur said:
Dear friends,
as i have been hanging out in this forum, i have learnt a lot. But still, i cannot understand the attitude why people treat, reply or explain everything in a way that assumes all of us are android experts.
TF700 is my first android device(have been using Apple before) so I really need to improve-or create- fundamental knowledge. Just for your information, replying messages like; "ok now Unlock the Root system instead OTA .21 and blablablabla?" (btw. i am well aware of the fact that this sentence is totally meaningless)
Whatever, my point is it would be wonderful to have a fundamental knowledge thread, also keeping your great posts too at the same time.
Cheers!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a newbie too -- bought the tf101 a couple of months ago - loved it -- told my husband he could have it - I was buying the 700 ! and was lucky enough to be able to order one (we live in Canada..... Tiger Direct.ca had them)
I have learned a lot from this forum -- glad I found it --- but I won't be "unlocking" anything ! the only thing I know how to "root" are my house plants !!! lol !! we don't even own smart phones yet -- we still have dumb phones !!! but I have my TF700 !!!

You mean sth like this?

seems hard, but it's not.
It seems tough in the beginning for noob, but actually you're going to get it. You should read the "Index" pointing out by d14b0ll0s to gain some basic knowledge and familiar with the terminology then you should be fine. Couple key words I want to point out that you should know. Currently TF700 came with a locked boot loader, meaning you not able to flash (install) custom firmware from our developers. This is a biggest issue at the moment. Sure there're workaround but it's a pain in the as...and unstable(could brick your pad if you not doing it right). When you see numbers like 21,22,26, they are firmware version number. The latest should be 26. OTA stands for "over the air" and we referred to firmware push to our pad by Asus, not manually download and install ourselves. Rooted is a process that you gain access as a administrator on your pad (you have full access to your phone), with rooted privilege you can almost do anything with your pad, like uninstall Asus embed software, do a full backup of your entire OS (operating system), modified system files etc... CWM is a tool you installed on your pad in order to flash (install) custom firmware. So at the minimum you should have root, and in the future when new custom firmware arrived, you can install cwm and used this tool to flash them. Keep in mind that with locked boot loader, you can't flash custom firmware. Finally, once you're rooted or have custom firmware installed, your pad will no longer can accepted OTA firmware (firmware push to your pad by Asus). In this case you need to roll back to stock (re installed factory firmware and no root), before you can do OTA update. Currently, I suggest you should stay on the side line and waiting for the OTA 4.1.1 JB (new Operating System called Jelly Bean, version 4.1.1 will be push to your pad by Asus). After reading this post you should be ready to play... good luck!

Sorry, but I don't get it, what is it about Verizon? Is it because you bought yours from Verizon? Mine comes from ASUS and I believe the OTA updates are from ASUS servers. Is it the US-specific thing that you mentioned?

Yeah... Everything is pretty easy even for people that have no clue what they are doing. My suggestion right now is to root but not unlock. Rooting is as simple as running the .bat file and following on screen directions (assuming you are using Windows). The only thing you need to do after the program is finished is to open up the Superuser app (might be SuperSU) and restart after that for safe measure.
Unlocking does VOID YOUR MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY (and possibly all others you may have purchased). Make sure you know what you want to do with an unlocked device before you do it. Personally, I am waiting for a stable JB build before I unlock. But the choice is ultimately up to you.

d14b0ll0s said:
Sorry, but I don't get it, what is it about Verizon? Is it because you bought yours from Verizon? Mine comes from ASUS and I believe the OTA updates are from ASUS servers. Is it the US-specific thing that you mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry you're right, must not awake yet. ASUS that is. Thanks bro.

Your going to be fine try learning how to build aosp from source in a time limit
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Skullmonkey said:
Yeah... Everything is pretty easy even for people that have no clue what they are doing. My suggestion right now is to root but not unlock. Rooting is as simple as running the .bat file and following on screen directions (assuming you are using Windows). The only thing you need to do after the program is finished is to open up the Superuser app (might be SuperSU) and restart after that for safe measure.
Unlocking does VOID YOUR MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY (and possibly all others you may have purchased). Make sure you know what you want to do with an unlocked device before you do it. Personally, I am waiting for a stable JB build before I unlock. But the choice is ultimately up to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Skullmonkey on this. Until you are ready for really hacking the system, all you really need is to root the system (run the DebugFS) to get "administrator access to your device".
You might want to read what buhohitr wrote several times as there is much to be gleaned from it. If it helps, copy/paste the contents of buhohitr's repsonse to a notepad text document and go through it word-for-word, isolate those that you find questionable or troublesome, then research what those words are. Anything that is "super difficult" you can just post back here in the Q&A section and I'm sure someone will help you in no time.

another noob question: does rooting the device void manufacturing warranty?

It does not. Only unlocking the device does.
Sent from my Transformer Infinity!

So if I root my Infinity...
...which pre-included apps can I get rid of?
Also which preloaded apps are best to bump off if I dare a root?
I have never dabbled with android down in the file system much for fear of doing something irreparable.

Well, to the OP: we already have quite a few 'basic' threads going on here, and no one forces you to embark on the more advanced stuff, do we? Just read up on it, and when you feel like you can make the jump, pick it up little by little. We're not all experts in here, but most of us can follow directions of the gurus really good, and we have the advantage of knowing how to save our butts when the excrement impacts the ventilator. (And most of us learnt it the hard way, by bricking and breaking...)
You should be fine in the regular forums, and as the others have said, stay out of the development sections until you feel secure enough to dabble around with unlocking and so on.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T

buhohitr said:
Currently, I suggest you should stay on the side line and waiting for the OTA 4.1.1 JB (new Operating System called Jelly Bean, version 4.1.1 will be push to your pad by Asus). After reading this post you should be ready to play... good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the method for unrooting/reflashing to stock at the moment? I rooted because I wanted to use Titanium Backup right after I got back up to .26. If we haven't figured out how to custom flash roms by the time jellybean comes out, I'll need to go back to stock. I would *hate* to have to lose all my apps, and its possible that titanium backup from 4.0.3 to 4.1.1 might royally screw up the system in doing a restore. So, if that's the case, I guess I'll reflash someway and lose everything? Doh.

spinaldex said:
What's the method for unrooting/reflashing to stock at the moment? I rooted because I wanted to use Titanium Backup right after I got back up to .26. If we haven't figured out how to custom flash roms by the time jellybean comes out, I'll need to go back to stock. I would *hate* to have to lose all my apps, and its possible that titanium backup from 4.0.3 to 4.1.1 might royally screw up the system in doing a restore. So, if that's the case, I guess I'll reflash someway and lose everything? Doh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone figure out a way to go back from root back to stock yet so that when Jelly Bean comes out we can upgrade?

spinaldex said:
Anyone figure out a way to go back from root back to stock yet so that when Jelly Bean comes out we can upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One method to get rid of root would be factory reset (power on while holding both the power and volume down while booting and running a factory reset.) But you could probably temporarily unroot with voodoo ota root keeper and then reroot once you install the upgrade to jelly bean with its root keeper.
Sent from my DROIDX using xda app-developers app

ekalb10 said:
One method to get rid of root would be factory reset (power on while holding both the power and volume down while booting and running a factory reset.) But you could probably temporarily unroot with voodoo ota root keeper and then reroot once you install the upgrade to jelly bean with its root keeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).

d14b0ll0s said:
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I was just misinformed on the factory reset, sorry if I confused anyone.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app

d14b0ll0s said:
That's not true. Funny I've been responding to the same kind of "advice" a few minutes ago in another thread.
Temporarily unrooting through Root Keeper should work, but rooting has prevented updating firmware only for some users. I was rooted and installed updates both manually and through OTA without experiencing any issues. Getting to stock /system partition basically means restoring stock configuration files (like build.prop etc.), removing /system/xbin/su and any copies made by RootKeeper, as well as things that install to /system like BusyBox.
Even if you're rooted you should be able to update firmware manually through stock recovery (power down, power up, hold power and volume down, release, press volume up, etc., with microSD formatted FAT32 and with EP201_768_SDUPDATE on it, it's already in the how-to threads in the general section).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1 I have rooted several tablets/phone over the last two years and backed it up using voodoo rootkeeper with ZERO issues updating firmware/OTAS. The only thing that happens after updating is that I loose root, but that's where voodoo OTA rootkeeper comes to play. Only a handful of people have had problems. Some are legit while others have messed/modded their device prior to updates. (like removeing system apps or modding build. Props)
"60% of the time, it works everytime. "
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

Unroot it again ??
If there are problems with the tablet and it must be repaired on warranty, then I need to unroot it again.
How do I unroot it again ??
Regards Peder

[Q] Currently rooted & un-locked, on build 26, what do for JB update??

Hey guys, I have the TF700T and, unfortunately, was over-eager and rooted & unlocked it the day I bought it. Now it seems that I am not receiving OTA updates and I am quite disappointed. What are the basic steps that I can take to either un-do the lock so I can receive updates, or manually push through the update? I admit, I probably am more of a noob with Android than most of you. What should my next move be??

Bzktz said:
Hey guys, I have the TF700T and, unfortunately, was over-eager and rooted & unlocked it the day I bought it. Now it seems that I am not receiving OTA updates and I am quite disappointed. What are the basic steps that I can take to either un-do the lock so I can receive updates, or manually push through the update? I admit, I probably am more of a noob with Android than most of you. What should my next move be??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming you still have stock recovery even though you unlocked the tablet. You can't re-lock the tablet so you'll eventually want to start using a custom recovery. However, don't install a custom recovery yet because the firmware upgrades are going to wipe custom recovery every time.
This should help you get started with the upgrade process using only the stock recovery:
Pre-upgrade:
0) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- Take the time to make nvflash accessible and make backups so that you'll be able to recover from a brick situation. This is the ONLY chance you have to do this before upgrading to .30:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1901479
0.25) Performing the upgrades shouldn't affect your apps and data, but back them up if you want to just in case.
0.5) Make sure your tablet is charged 60% or higher or is plugged in.
Simple Upgrade Process:
1) Download "Voodoo OTA RootKeeper" from the market to back up your root.
2) Follow these instructions to update to .30:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1755576
3) Reboot the tablet 2 times or so to make sure the .30 update finishes completely -- it updates the camera firmware and some other stuff.
4) Run RootKeeper again and verify you can still restore root. If you have to, re-root and use RootKeeper to back it up. Restoring a backed-up root is is currently the only way to root on Jelly Bean, so this is your LAST chance.
5) Download the appropriate Jelly Bean OTA update zip from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1915079
6) Repeat the instructions in step 2, except you can just directly rename the file you downloaded in step 5 (there's no "zip within a zip").
7) After the upgrade is complete, run RootKeeper again and restore root.
8) Install the custom recovery of your choice (edit: when a working one becomes available).

recovery works in JB?

lafester said:
recovery works in JB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry my mistake, there isn't one that's working yet.

i tried the manual method and it wont work
i did what the instructions said and in the end when android logo and status bar come out, shortly it display android with red triangle indicating that it failed. it says "ID verification failed." does anyone successfully update their TF700 using this method?

Bzktz said:
Hey guys, I have the TF700T and, unfortunately, was over-eager and rooted & unlocked it the day I bought it. Now it seems that I am not receiving OTA updates and I am quite disappointed. What are the basic steps that I can take to either un-do the lock so I can receive updates, or manually push through the update? I admit, I probably am more of a noob with Android than most of you. What should my next move be??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are still on 26 the first thing i recommend you is to use the NvFlash tool (from the Development forum) so you can recover your device from any soft brick, then update to 30 and JB. Unlocking avoid your warranty so NvFlash tool is a wise thing to go with.

Just went through the motions (Including accessing nvflash)
no worries, I bricked it on purpose and then unbricked it just to make sure. nvflash is rad!
the new JB update, Forget the benchmarks, I don't even care what they say at this point, this is the best user experience I've had on this thing so far and it's just going to get better. at least with nvflash I can still load unsigned bootloaders, that's all I need for native linux experimentation.
yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of flash I will fear no bricking, for blob.bin art with me. :good:

Thank you very much for the response. I am up to #5 in the process but now I am stuck. I renamed the file and stuck it on my sd card. However I am getting nothing when I then boot in recovery. It tells me SD Installation aborted, and gives me the Red Triangle. What am I doing wrong here?

[Q] Question about root-injected ROMs

Little backstory: A friend of mine had just recently bought a Razr Maxx HD on craigslist. The individual who sold him the phone had the phone rooted. My friend didn't want the phone rooted, and specifically asked the individual to unroot it. We used the application root checker to check if the phone was still rooted and it said the phone wasn't. My friend restored the phone to factory settings and it still had the superuser application installed. Now, I personally have rooted phones before and if I have all my information correct the process to root a phone requires you to over-write the factory/stock ROM and replacing it with a root-injected ROM. My friend wishes to have his phone completely stock. The kernel seems to be the right factory/stock one, but he and I are still concerned that it is still rooted. Although there's really no harm to rooting, he wishes to get the complete stock ROM on his device. Now, the question lol. Is there any danger to keeping the root-injected ROM on his device? Could we use ODIN to put the official stock ROM back on the device? Should he not even worry that his current ROM is root-injected?

Manevolence said:
Little backstory: A friend of mine had just recently bought a Razr Maxx HD on craigslist. The individual who sold him the phone had the phone rooted. My friend didn't want the phone rooted, and specifically asked the individual to unroot it. We used the application root checker to check if the phone was still rooted and it said the phone wasn't. My friend restored the phone to factory settings and it still had the superuser application installed. Now, I personally have rooted phones before and if I have all my information correct the process to root a phone requires you to over-write the factory/stock ROM and replacing it with a root-injected ROM. My friend wishes to have his phone completely stock. The kernel seems to be the right factory/stock one, but he and I are still concerned that it is still rooted. Although there's really no harm to rooting, he wishes to get the complete stock ROM on his device. Now, the question lol. Is there any danger to keeping the root-injected ROM on his device? Could we use ODIN to put the official stock ROM back on the device? Should he not even worry that his current ROM is root-injected?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. Root is just access to system level commands, and usually some exploit within the stock rom is used to install and run SU/superuser. If it has wireless provider branding (boot screen says Verizon, for example) it's a stock rom... and you're fine, just delete the SU app if it bothers you.

EdwardN said:
Huh. Root is just access to system level commands, and usually some exploit within the stock rom is used to install and run SU/superuser. If it has wireless provider branding (boot screen says Verizon, for example) it's a stock rom... and you're fine, just delete the SU app if it bothers you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, Guys - Thanks for the help..
I reboot the phone and it says droid but nothing about verizon. I am not sure if the Razr Maxx HD normally says verizon but my girlfriend has the phone and i will try it on hers to see if the rom is stock.
The problem is i am worried there are other things in this rom that are not the norm. It will not let you uninstall superuser at all. If you google superuser and you read about the app it does say in the App info that if the Rom you install has superuser in System/Apps then it cant be removed which is whats scaring me.
I really want the phone back to 100% factory stock as i bought this second hand and I cant take chances with anything weird in the OS.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Craig

theatermax said:
Hey, Guys - Thanks for the help..
I reboot the phone and it says droid but nothing about verizon. I am not sure if the Razr Maxx HD normally says verizon but my girlfriend has the phone and i will try it on hers to see if the rom is stock.
The problem is i am worried there are other things in this rom that are not the norm. It will not let you uninstall superuser at all. If you google superuser and you read about the app it does say in the App info that if the Rom you install has superuser in System/Apps then it cant be removed which is whats scaring me.
I really want the phone back to 100% factory stock as i bought this second hand and I cant take chances with anything weird in the OS.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Craig
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The surest, easiest way to make sure it is stock is to reflash the phone using the Droid Razr HD Utility Tool, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1970267. It will put the factory firmware back on the phone. Afterwards, there will be 2 OTA updates to install. The first one is an incremental bug fix update. The second is the JB update.
EDIT: The normal boot screen is the Motorola logo followed by the Droid animation.

[Q] Moving SCH-I535 Verizon S3 from 4.1.2 rooted to 4.4.2 rooted

I'm on a verizon SCH-I535 running android 4.1.2 (baseband I535VRBMF1, kernel 3.0.31-1152558, build jzo54k.i535vrbmf1, hardware version i535.10). I rooted the device a couple years ago, and have rejected OTA updates, ever since I received the 4.1.2 one (in fact, I used a file manager, to rename some files, so I wouldnt get the pop-up telling me there was an OTA update anymore). Everything is, as it was required to be, in order to get root access on 4.1.2, I just followed the instructions I found on xda.
Now that android 4.4.2 is available, and there is an easy root for it, what is the easiest way for me to move from where I am to 4.4.2 rooted? Am I supposed to follow the instructions in the "Reset your phone in order to return to Verizon" sticky? If so, how do I know if my bootloader is 'locked' or 'unlocked'? Alternatively to these instructions I was thinking of doing a "full unroot" with superSU then simply doing an OTA update, but wasnt sure if that would introduce issues.
Finally, in terms of doing a backup, I downloaded an app called "online nandroid" which supposedly saved a backup to my sd card. But my sd card is tiny, and the backup went really quick, so what exactly is it backing up? Is it enough of a backup that if I want to do a full restore back to exactly the state my phone is in now later, I can do that, or do I need a different tool for that?

loonytoon500 said:
I'm on a verizon SCH-I535 running android 4.1.2 (baseband I535VRBMF1, kernel 3.0.31-1152558, build jzo54k.i535vrbmf1, hardware version i535.10). I rooted the device a couple years ago, and have rejected OTA updates, ever since I received the 4.1.2 one (in fact, I used a file manager, to rename some files, so I wouldnt get the pop-up telling me there was an OTA update anymore). Everything is, as it was required to be, in order to get root access on 4.1.2, I just followed the instructions I found on xda.
Now that android 4.4.2 is available, and there is an easy root for it, what is the easiest way for me to move from where I am to 4.4.2 rooted? Am I supposed to follow the instructions in the "Reset your phone in order to return to Verizon" sticky? If so, how do I know if my bootloader is 'locked' or 'unlocked'? Alternatively to these instructions I was thinking of doing a "full unroot" with superSU then simply doing an OTA update, but wasnt sure if that would introduce issues.
Finally, in terms of doing a backup, I downloaded an app called "online nandroid" which supposedly saved a backup to my sd card. But my sd card is tiny, and the backup went really quick, so what exactly is it backing up? Is it enough of a backup that if I want to do a full restore back to exactly the state my phone is in now later, I can do that, or do I need a different tool for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to move to the 4.4.2 update you'll have to unroot, but keep in mind if you do your bootloader will be PERMANENTLY locked, no going back
The backup of stock is normally somewhere between 2-3gb or more, it didn't do the full backup. I highly doubt it's a full backup. Once you take the OTA to 4.4.2 your stuck and there is no going back
Your best bet is to install a custom recovery, cwm, twrp or philz or similar. If you want to take the OTA your free to but once again there's no custom roms after that. No CM or AOSP after you take the OTA
From my S3 running BlissStalk

ShapesBlue said:
In order to move to the 4.4.2 update you'll have to unroot, but keep in mind if you do your bootloader will be PERMANENTLY locked, no going back
The backup of stock is normally somewhere between 2-3gb or more, it didn't do the full backup. I highly doubt it's a full backup. Once you take the OTA to 4.4.2 your stuck and there is no going back
Your best bet is to install a custom recovery, cwm, twrp or philz or similar. If you want to take the OTA your free to but once again there's no custom roms after that. No CM or AOSP after you take the OTA
From my S3 running BlissStalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your response.
I do not care about custom ROMS, I am ok with the stock android OS, as long as I can get root. If the OTA update permanently locks my bootloader I am ok with that.
That said, I want to ensure I dont have any incidents when I do the OTA update. (that I dont brick my device. or make things more difficult for myself.) It doesnt look like I currently have a custom recovery (I tried to boot into custom recovery but the phone simply boots normally. I can however boot into stock android recovery). Also, my bootloader is currently unlocked.
Given that I dont currently have a custom recovery, and that my bootloader is currently unlocked, will that present any issue if I simply do a full unroot using superSU, and then take the OTA update? I used triangle away earlier today to reset my flash counter to 0 (it was 1 before).

loonytoon500 said:
Thank you for your response.
I do not care about custom ROMS, I am ok with the stock android OS, as long as I can get root. If the OTA update permanently locks my bootloader I am ok with that.
That said, I want to ensure I dont have any incidents when I do the OTA update. (that I dont brick my device. or make things more difficult for myself.) It doesnt look like I currently have a custom recovery (I tried to boot into custom recovery but the phone simply boots normally. I can however boot into stock android recovery). Also, my bootloader is currently unlocked.
Given that I dont currently have a custom recovery, and that my bootloader is currently unlocked, will that present any issue if I simply do a full unroot using superSU, and then take the OTA update? I used triangle away earlier today to reset my flash counter to 0 (it was 1 before).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't but the OTA will lock in back up
From my S3 running BlissStalk

ShapesBlue said:
It shouldn't but the OTA will lock in back up
From my S3 running BlissStalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, i unrooted, and tried to take the OTA update, but a quarter of the way through the update, the update fails/stops, and it shows a lying android, with a red exclamation triangle over it; then the phone simply reboots and says "sorry, there was a problem updating your SAMSUNG SCH-I535. No changes were made." I read something about how this could be the case if I froze some stock apps, but how do I check if any stock apps are frozen? I dont remember doing so but its certainly possible.
What course of action do you recommend? It sounds like I will need to go through the process of rerooting again. I've read I can reflash the 4.1.2 stock rom and then do the OTA update, but I dont want to wipe data. The no wipe version is linked to here, but the firmware links there appears to be broken.

loonytoon500 said:
Ok, i unrooted, and tried to take the OTA update, but a quarter of the way through the update, the update fails/stops, and it shows a lying android, with a red exclamation triangle over it; then the phone simply reboots and says "sorry, there was a problem updating your SAMSUNG SCH-I535. No changes were made." I read something about how this could be the case if I froze some stock apps, but how do I check if any stock apps are frozen? I dont remember doing so but its certainly possible.
What course of action do you recommend? It sounds like I will need to go through the process of rerooting again. I've read I can reflash the 4.1.2 stock rom and then do the OTA update, but I dont want to wipe data. The no wipe version is linked to here, but the firmware links there appears to be broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After all the reading I've done in order to take the OTA you have to unroot. I don't know the complete process as I am not on any OTA
From my S3 running BlissStalk

Even if you dont care about custom ROMs right now you may in the future when there are no updates released for the phone or you want to sell it and could have gotten a higher price with the lower system version. Before you update try some of the ROMs out and see if there are some you like and if you dont like any then update.
That being said I have updated using ODIN and the firmware I got from this site. look around and you will find the stuff you need.

i ended up flashing a 4.1.1 stock no wipe rom i found and after that i could take the ota updates (had to do multiple in a row).
out of curiosity couldn't the devs find a way to unlock the bootloader via some hackery in the future?

loonytoon500 said:
i ended up flashing a 4.1.1 stock no wipe rom i found and after that i could take the ota updates (had to do multiple in a row).
out of curiosity couldn't the devs find a way to unlock the bootloader via some hackery in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure it's possible, but unlikely. To put into perspective, I don't believe there has been a bootloader unlock for Verizon Notes 2-4 and Galaxy S4-5 (which would allow one to natively run AOSP without Safestrap) so the likelihood is low.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Q] Want to wipe and keep root in 9.16.6 Razr Maxx HD - what are my options?

The goal: Get my sluggish phone (Razr Maxx HD, JB 4.1.2, currently 9.16.6.XT926.Verizon.en.US, rooted, bootloader locked) to be less sluggish.
The proposed method: Wipe phone and start over.
The "problem": Because I am rooted and want to stay that way, I am aware that I can't just do a factory reset. I believe that I need to unroot first, then wipe, then reroot. But there are many more possible methods to do this than there were before and I'm having trouble figuring out which might be the best method for me (or which will even work, at all).
Background: If I had just blindly done what I did the last time I wiped (I think I was starting from ICS 0.7.2 last time, not JB), I would have backed up everything, used DROID_RAZR_HD_Utility1.10 which I have from before (dates appear to be 1/28/2013) to go back to 0.6.25.X926., and, using the zip files I have from before, go from 0.6.25 to 0.7.2 to 9.1.41 to 9.16.6. (I was never able to successfully take OTA updates). Like this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024423 BUT, now that I'm on JB, it's not clear to me that I can even do this. One post is telling me that if I'm on 9.16.6, I should NOT use Droid Razr HD Utility 1.10. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33610625#post33610625 and when I found the thread for the 1.21 utility, it also says no 9.16.6.
I've been wandering around the relevant posts that are linked from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2247250
but for whatever reason, this is just making my head spin. I'm more confused about what I can and cannot do, than I was before I started. I think too many OTA versions have passed me by... I was happy with the way things were working so I just didn't care about updates, KitKat, etc. I don't have a good feel for how many versions there are between 9.16.6 and current.
My actual question: I think I could really use some help narrowing down my options. Do I have any options at all? If so, can anyone suggest what my realistic options actually are? I don't care if I end up in JB or KitKat at the end; I do want to be able to restore some of the data from some of my apps using Titanium Backup and/or MyBackup Pro; and I want to be rooted when I am done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, dlc

dlc2001 said:
The goal: Get my sluggish phone (Razr Maxx HD, JB 4.1.2, currently 9.16.6.XT926.Verizon.en.US, rooted, bootloader locked) to be less sluggish.
The proposed method: Wipe phone and start over.
The "problem": Because I am rooted and want to stay that way, I am aware that I can't just do a factory reset. I believe that I need to unroot first, then wipe, then reroot. But there are many more possible methods to do this than there were before and I'm having trouble figuring out which might be the best method for me (or which will even work, at all).
Background: If I had just blindly done what I did the last time I wiped (I think I was starting from ICS 0.7.2 last time, not JB), I would have backed up everything, used DROID_RAZR_HD_Utility1.10 which I have from before (dates appear to be 1/28/2013) to go back to 0.6.25.X926., and, using the zip files I have from before, go from 0.6.25 to 0.7.2 to 9.1.41 to 9.16.6. (I was never able to successfully take OTA updates). Like this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2024423 BUT, now that I'm on JB, it's not clear to me that I can even do this. One post is telling me that if I'm on 9.16.6, I should NOT use Droid Razr HD Utility 1.10. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33610625#post33610625 and when I found the thread for the 1.21 utility, it also says no 9.16.6.
I've been wandering around the relevant posts that are linked from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2247250
but for whatever reason, this is just making my head spin. I'm more confused about what I can and cannot do, than I was before I started. I think too many OTA versions have passed me by... I was happy with the way things were working so I just didn't care about updates, KitKat, etc. I don't have a good feel for how many versions there are between 9.16.6 and current.
My actual question: I think I could really use some help narrowing down my options. Do I have any options at all? If so, can anyone suggest what my realistic options actually are? I don't care if I end up in JB or KitKat at the end; I do want to be able to restore some of the data from some of my apps using Titanium Backup and/or MyBackup Pro; and I want to be rooted when I am done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, dlc
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Click to collapse
to get rid of the slowness of the phone i recommend going to a lolipop rom , LP has to be the quickest my phone has ran... ever.
-step 1 use rsd lite to flash [4.4.2] 183.46.10 fxz (make sure it ends with a 10 not a 14 or 15 or you wont be able to unlock bootloader)
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/45494-fxz-442-1834610/
-step 2 root and unlock use TR.apk (root)and motopocalypse.apk (bootloader unlock)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783912
-step 3 use ADB fastboot to Flash custom recovery, i personally use twrp there are others you can use if you decide to do the research
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/51883-recoverytwrp-2810-11-01-14/
-step 4 flash LP custom rom, i use blisspop, it seems to have the most updates at the moment . it has really impressed me
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/60153-rom502lollipopmsm8960-kkbl-blisspop-official/
that rom comes with supersu built in so you will have root. if your reason for having root is to have exposed, it doesnt work on lolipop so stop at sstep 3 and either flash a KK custom rom or just flash supersu which will give you root on stock kitkat

OK, I will spend a little more time absorbing/reading and then I'll give it a shot, thanks muchly. I want to do some backups just in case, so it'll take a while...
Couple of followup questions based on the reading I've done so far from the links you provided, just so I know what I'm doing before I do it:
1. I think I get Steps 1 and 2. After Step 2 I am rooted and on stock KK, correct? So if I stop there do I still need to "flash supersu" per your comment at the end? Does the root in step 2 put supersu in my apps, and if not can I not just install it from google play?
2. Seems like I can use the Step 1 method to flash back to JB (or any other FXZ I can find) if I want. If I do that, is there any way to root JB, or is this trip I'm about to take, a one-way trip? Just to clarify, JB hasn't always been slow for me... it's just slowed down recently. Not saying I want to go back to JB for sure, but I like to know what options I am closing off when I move forward, and reviews of KitKat are not universally splendid.... I hear you about the custom ROM but for various work-related reasons I may be better off staying stock (well, stock + root) for a while at least.
Again, thank you for your help.

dlc2001 said:
OK, I will spend a little more time absorbing/reading and then I'll give it a shot, thanks muchly. I want to do some backups just in case, so it'll take a while...
Couple of followup questions based on the reading I've done so far from the links you provided, just so I know what I'm doing before I do it:
1. I think I get Steps 1 and 2. After Step 2 I am rooted and on stock KK, correct? So if I stop there do I still need to "flash supersu" per your comment at the end? Does the root in step 2 put supersu in my apps, and if not can I not just install it from google play?
2. Seems like I can use the Step 1 method to flash back to JB (or any other FXZ I can find) if I want. If I do that, is there any way to root JB, or is this trip I'm about to take, a one-way trip? Just to clarify, JB hasn't always been slow for me... it's just slowed down recently. Not saying I want to go back to JB for sure, but I like to know what options I am closing off when I move forward, and reviews of KitKat are not universally splendid.... I hear you about the custom ROM but for various work-related reasons I may be better off staying stock (well, stock + root) for a while at least.
Again, thank you for your help.
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Click to collapse
yes you can install it from playstore, but once your bootloader is unlocked you can always root by flashing in custom recovery. you dont need exploits anymore

All done, worked great!