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[GUIDE]Updating to 4.22.651.2 OTA WITHOUT flashing a new ROM or wiping your Phone

This assumes you:
- Have the latest FROYO OTA installed 3.70.651.1
- Have some experience working with flashing things in recovery
- Have NOT deleted/uninstalled ANYTHING in /system
- Have defrosted any bloat you froze with Bloat Freezer or Ti Backup Pro
- Have S-OFF (Used Unrevoked Forever or a version of Unrevoked3 that includes Forever)
OK now let us get to it.
1. Go ahead and download the OTA like normal on your phone, but DO NOT install it.
2. Using a file manager copy the OTA zip file from /cache to /sdcard
3. Using Rom Manager, flash Amon RA Recovery 2.3 (Down at the bottom)
4. In Rom Manager, click the Reboot into Recovery button.
5. Select apply zip from SD Card and flash the OTA zip file that you put in /sdcard
--10 Minutes later.....you now have the UNROOTED OTA installed just as if you installed it normally--
6. Download the 2.6.0.1 ClockWorkMod Recovery zip from here and place it in the root of your SD card
7. Under settings > applications > disable FastBoot (re-enable this when you are done with the whole process)
8. Power off and reboot holding Volume down. The bootloader will scan and then will and ask you to press Volume up to install. Reboot.
9. Delete the PC36IMG.zip file from your SD card and place the attachment below in the root of the SD card.
10. Power off and reboot holding Volume down and then select recovery to start CWM recovery.
11. Choose apply zip from sd card. Choose select zip on sd card. You will see the SU file on the list, flash it to root your phone. Reboot.
You should now be rooted and can upgrade the recovery now to whatever style and version you want!
Enjoy! Please click the THANKS button if it worked for you!
----------------------------------------
Developer of Bloat Freezer - Freeze Your Pre Installed System Apps in One Click
Bloat Freezer - Android Market Link

Very cool!!

Great info ..hey if I follow these steps and skip the last part will my phone be stock / uprooted and good to go.for a trade in or repair? I've been trying to figure out the best way to unrest when.e3d comes out

I never updated to 3.70. I'm assuming I can do that the same way, root again, download the gingerbread, and root again?
I'm thinking it might just be easier to flash the rooted ROM and radios, but I'm not sure what's best.

if you have amon ra recovery (and a stock rom), you can simply download and click install.
I clicked install, amonra booted up, detected and ran update, click reboot, then the stock recovery will be active and updates the radios, once back in to sense, you can reinstall amonra or clockwork, then SU
worked for me.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1109230

im curious why the title says "WITHOUT flashing a new ROM" yet you are clearly flashing the rom in amon ra. sorry just got to nit pick

what happens if you have deleted some system apps. Such as nova and blockbuster. I saved the APKS on the SD card however but I did delete them?

JMQUINT00 said:
what happens if you have deleted some system apps. Such as nova and blockbuster. I saved the APKS on the SD card however but I did delete them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I wouldn't want to try it unless your prepared to do a full ruu reset if it fails.
the OTA is like a patcher, it deletes unneeded files, adds new files, and updates existing files... if its not completely stock it may (or may not) cause an error which the updater can't handle, and then you may be left with a half upgraded system.
if you nandroid *before* downloading the ota, you should always be able to go back, assuming you have perm soff from unrevoked forever.

it should run whether you have removed files or not. if it tries to delete a file that does not exist the script will just skip it. op i think you have bit of confusion going on though. you were only able to reattain root because you are s-off from unrevoked forever. if you are not s-off and do your method, which is no different then just excepting the ota and letting it do its thing btw, you will loose root until this new ota is cracked. just fwi, there was no "magic" from you flashing manually, the same script is ran and the same files are moved and patches are made regardless.

cant I reinstall the apps and put the apks in their original system folder?

DomSim said:
it should run whether you have removed files or not. if it tries to delete a file that does not exist the script will just skip it. op i think you have bit of confusion going on though. you were only able to reattain root because you are s-off from unrevoked forever. if you are not s-off and do your method, which is no different then just excepting the ota and letting it do its thing btw, you will loose root until this new ota is cracked. just fwi, there was no "magic" from you flashing manually, the same script is ran and the same files are moved and patches are made regardless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol OK so which one is it? Can n just accept the ota and run? I'm rooted on stock rom, but I deleted nova and blockbuster from the system? I know I will loose root which I got by using unrevoked 3, but I just want to know if I can do it without bricking the phone. Ty

JMQUINT00 said:
Lol OK so which one is it? Can n just accept the ota and run? I'm rooted on stock rom, but I deleted nova and blockbuster from the system? I know I will loose root which I got by using unrevoked 3, but I just want to know if I can do it without bricking the phone. Ty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shouldn't be any worry about bricking but make 100% sure you are s-off from unrevoked forever and you should be able to re-root pretty much how the op outlined.

im currently running cm7. if i go back to a rooted stock froyo rom, will this work???

confused. I just don't understand why you wouldn't download the rooted version of the ROM from here on XDA and just flash it like a normal rom. Maybe I'm overtired and missing the point.
To me, its like this. If you're rooted, and want an OTA update, just wait for the devs at XDA to go through it and root it, and make it available for download. Then just download it and flash it. You get the same exact update that way, as if you took the OTA from sprint. Except this way you don't risk losing root, and your good to go.
If you're not rooted and your phone is stock, accept OTA like normal.
I don't understand why all this extra stuff needs to be done, and add more to the confusion. If your rooted, updating to the latest is simple. Download it and flash it in recovery.

DaEXfactoR said:
im currently running cm7. if i go back to a rooted stock froyo rom, will this work???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just download the update from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1038701
Do a full wipe and flash like any other rom you've ever flashed before. You'll then be on the latest and greatest . (you'll probably be going right back to CM)
EDIT: and to the OP, sorry that I don't agree with you. I just find it more confusing that way, and I guess that whatever the point of doing it that way is, is sailing miles above my head.

k2buckley said:
confused. I just don't understand why you wouldn't download the rooted version of the ROM from here on XDA and just flash it like a normal rom. Maybe I'm overtired and missing the point.
To me, its like this. If you're rooted, and want an OTA update, just wait for the devs at XDA to go through it and root it, and make it available for download. Then just download it and flash it. You get the same exact update that way, as if you took the OTA from sprint. Except this way you don't risk losing root, and your good to go.
If you're not rooted and your phone is stock, accept OTA like normal.
I don't understand why all this extra stuff needs to be done, and add more to the confusion. If your rooted, updating to the latest is simple. Download it and flash it in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your point. I guess I am anxious. So there will be a stock ROM that is rooted, thats what I was wondering. I wasnt sure if every ROM would be customized somewhat...Thanks

DaEXfactoR said:
I see your point. I guess I am anxious. So there will be a stock ROM that is rooted, thats what I was wondering. I wasnt sure if every ROM would be customized somewhat...Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That link I supplied a couple posts up is a completely 100% stock and rooted version of the OTA update.
This is from the first paragraph of the first post of that thread.
"Stock 4.22.651.2 ROM, rooted and ready for your flashing pleasures. This is a completely stock ROM that has had nothing done to it outside of rooting & deodexing, it's not even zip aligned yet (sorry DrMacinyasha)
As always make sure your wipe your dalvik and create a nandroid before flashing."

k2buckley said:
That link I supplied a couple posts up is a completely 100% stock and rooted version of the OTA update.
This is from the first paragraph of the first post of that thread.
"Stock 4.22.651.2 ROM, rooted and ready for your flashing pleasures. This is a completely stock ROM that has had nothing done to it outside of rooting & deodexing, it's not even zip aligned yet (sorry DrMacinyasha)
As always make sure your wipe your dalvik and create a nandroid before flashing."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your insight. only thing I am confused on at this point is why there are kernels listed to flash from May just below it? wouldnt the htc stock kernel from the ota be in this rom already? seems like alot of folks are looking for newer kernels to flash after flashing xhaus rom. Any insight would be great. thanks again!

rileyd5 said:
thanks for your insight. only thing I am confused on at this point is why there are kernels listed to flash from May just below it? wouldnt the htc stock kernel from the ota be in this rom already? seems like alot of folks are looking for newer kernels to flash after flashing xhaus rom. Any insight would be great. thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was a little curious about why those kernels were linked there too. I honestly haven't really kept up with thread, because I don't have an interest in flashing the update to begin with. I noticed those kernels are from May 4th, so it doesn't seem like they'd be the most current one. Without reading that thread, I first would've presumed that the kernel that comes with the rom would be the one to use. So, you've read through the thread and you're seeing that people are having trouble with the kernel that the rom comes with?? I'll take a gander over in the thread in a few minutes and see what I make out of it.

Well I f'd up and installed the latest update straight from sprint, instead of waiting for the rooted version to come out. I guess I thought I would find something exciting, but now I would realize it was kind of worthless and want to go back to a different rom like miui or vaelpak. I am s-off with unrevoked. Is there some combination of the steps listed I can use to back out of this?
Let me take a guess...did this update my radios and hboot to a version that would be incompatible with these roms?

[Q] ICS ota with half root?

I want to be sure my DS can receive and install the imminent (?) ota ICS from HTC. Still a bit of a noob so read a lot of stuff on here and other forums (mainly non DS) but haven't really found definitive answers for the 'half rooted' device i.e. bootloader unlocked via htcdev, cwm flashed, s-on.
Main concerns are:
losing root
ota will not install because of /system/app and framework mismatch (after a few UOT mods) - boot animation and sound have also been changed in /system/customise/resource, also bloatware removed
ota issues with cwm installed
Originally first thing I did immediately after flashing cwm was a nandroid backup so that's available to me, which really only leaves the cwm and ota compatability question.
Is Rootkeeper an option or should I root from scratch again after ota?
If I receive notification of the ota availability, then restore from original backup (and maybe relock bootloader with htcdev?) will I then have lost the chance to install the ota?
A lot of questions and ifs, I know, I just don't want to screw up the chance to try the official ICS before going for a custom rom. Thanks in advance.
Hboot 2.00.0002
Android 2.3.5
Sense 3.0
Stock rom/kernel/radio

Sorry, I'm pretty sure HTC Dev unlocked devices can't get OTA updates. I'm completely sure devices with CWM can't (you need stock HTC recovery). Since you already have a custom recovery, it would be better to get a custom ROM, much fastr and tweaked

As shrome99 said..
To get the OTA update you will need to have STOCK recovery, and a relocked bootloader to get the OTA.
__________________
This assumes you are 100% stock on the operating side.

foX2delta said:
As shrome99 said..
To get the OTA update you will need to have STOCK recovery, and a relocked bootloader to get the OTA.
__________________
This assumes you are 100% stock on the operating side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got OTA updates with both an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery. It's true the update won't install till you're back on stock recovery but the locked bootloader isn't necessary. I was however updating from Stock Sense 2.1

Warning: do not install it if you get a OTA message if rooted!
It will lead to the dreaded red triangle screen. Your best bet is to just install CWM/4EXT then when the new update comes, install the ICS prerooted ROM by Adidas.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

The "dreaded" triangle screen is just the stock recovery.

Jack_R1 said:
The "dreaded" triangle screen is just the stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That won't boot back to your ROM therefore you are stuck.
No root/s-off, therefore you can't do much about it. (Unless you get the RUU to run)
And for the average user, this is difficult for them to understand. Hence it has picked up its name as the 'dreaded triangle screen' over several different HTC device threads.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

Cheers for the input.. did a bit more snooping and (if and when I get the ota shout).. I think I can go back with original nandroid to pre-root, before superuser went in. Then I'll give Android Recovery Manager (Sensation Android Development forum) a lash, just to see if I can flash back the stock recovery img.
If any nice ota comes my way which won't take then I'll try htcdev to relock the bootloader and give it another lash!
Think (hope) it'll work.. couldn't find a stock img anywhere yet so I'm hoping it's included in the above manager.. was going to try tonight but, typical, my connection went..
'Your best bet is to just install CWM/4EXT then when the new update comes, install the ICS prerooted ROM by Adidas.'
I have cwm, not sure why I would wait for the update then install a custom ics rom..

You must install stock recovery to install OTA update.OTA won't install, if you have custom recovery or S-off.But I recommend to install ROM, using zip or RUU.

From htcdev:
(after unlocking bootloader) Some content on your device may also be invalidated and cannot be accessed any more because of invalid DRM security keys. This includes content that you may have purchased through a 3rd party vendor and through HTC. Furthermore, although you will still be able to receive updates to your device via FOTA (“firmware over the air”), we do not guarantee that updating your device via FOTA will not render your device unusable.
That answers the question re the bootloader but I'm struggling to find the stock recovery img to flash.
I suppose I can extract and then flash it, possibly from this: RUU_Saga_S_HTC_Europe_2.10.401.5_Radio_20.4801.30.0822U_3822.10.08.04_M_release_219480_signed.exe, even though my device is 2.10.161.3 (161 is Vodafone). The radio is the same as mine which is irrelevant anyway, right?
I know it would be easier to install the RUU but after hours of research I would really like to be able to nail this so I have the option of reverting back to VF stock, as I still have 18 months warranty left.
Can anyone can confirm if I'm on the right track pls?

I suppose, if you haven't GoldCard or SuperCID recovery won't flash(signature verify failed).Download Zip/exe of your ROM , and flash that recovery.After that you might be able to install FOTA.No guarantee it will work.

scandron said:
I suppose, if you haven't GoldCard or SuperCID recovery won't flash(signature verify failed).Download Zip/exe of your ROM , and flash that recovery.After that you might be able to install FOTA.No guarantee it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will flash, because his bootloader is unlocked.
He won't need a goldcard cause he is flashing a voda RUU recover, future I don't think it will even come into play when using fastboot to flash it.
However I suggest EVERYONE who is a little unsure make a goldcard.

Thanks all, trying to get a gold card now just to be sure.. however just intend to extract and flash the recovery img from the ruu, once I can be sure I have the right one.. the stock recovery in HTC devices is generic, no?

i also have a doubt.
what i wanted to know is that will i still be able to update my device OTA if i have unlocked the bootloader, rooted my device but havent installed a custom recovery?my device is rooted nothing more than that. and after relocking my bootloader (i dont mind loosing root) will i be able to update OTA?
sorry for being irrelevant but i didnt want to start a new thread for a doubt of this magnitude.

See post #10

HTC One S / ATT / Updates

Hi everyone
Hope all is well.
I picked up a One S yesterday that was already rooted and unlocked for ATT. I got a message on my phone telling me that there was an update. I downloaded the file and the phone rebooted into CWM and gave me an error message and the update did not take place.
After looking around in CWM I found the download file but did not attempt to install it. My question is - if I apply the update will I lose root, and will my phone go back to being locked to T-Mobile?
I have read the development section and see that the root procedure and even the sim unlock procedure is fairly straight forward, but it would be nice to not have to do it again.
Thanks so much for all of your help in advance.
All the best,
Brett Day

You have to have stock recovery to flash OTA updates. Your other option is to choose from one of the custom ROMS based on the new 1.84 software. You'll need to manually flash the radio update though. There's a flashable zip for the radio around the dev thread somewhere.

njeske said:
You have to have stock recovery to flash OTA updates. Your other option is to choose from one of the custom ROMS based on the new 1.84 software. You'll need to manually flash the radio update though. There's a flashable zip for the radio around the dev thread somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also a full Nandroid of the 1.84 update. You can copy to your SD and restore via CWM, but you will lose all of your apps and data.

Thanks guys I really appreciate all of the help. So really the only thing I will have to do if I flash a custom rom is also flash the new radio? I guess as long as the ROM I flash is compatible with the T-Mo version of the phone I will be good to go? Or will I have to unlock for ATT again?

If you use TWRP Recovery. If you use CWR, you'll need to do some tricks to install both the radio and the boot.img for whatever ROM you choose.

Yeah phone already has CWR on it when I got it. Can you have both TWRP and CWR on the phone at the same time or is it one or the other? Without going into too much detail because I am sure all the info is in the developers thread, but what "tricks' will i need to perform? I am guessing something along the lines of using adb etc?

brett_day said:
Yeah phone already has CWR on it when I got it. Can you have both TWRP and CWR on the phone at the same time or is it one or the other? Without going into too much detail because I am sure all the info is in the developers thread, but what "tricks' will i need to perform? I am guessing something along the lines of using adb etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only CWM or TWRP not both at the sane time.

Restoring to stock

Some months ago I followed guides here to SuperCID, s-off and install a custom ROM. The past few days my touch screen has become unresponsive, at first this was fixed by reflashing the ROM, but now, nothing will fix it, and the touch screen is completely unresponsive. So it seems I will have to return it to the shop to send off for repair. Of course I don't want them to have any reason to say it was the custom ROM that has caused it, warranty void blah blah so need to restore it to stock.
So far I have re-flashed with a stock ROM and changed the CID to what it was, and s-on. I can't remember whether I changed the MID, currently it is PG58*****, though I believe it should be PG5813001, and I'm not sure how to go about changing this (or if it needs changing, will they look into that?)
Another thing I'm unsure of, I downloaded the ROM from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1074559 I don't know if these ROMs are rooted or not? Is there any way to tell? Or is it a safe assumption they are not?
And finally, hboot, before flashing the stock ROM, this was 1.17, now it is 1.18. Is there anything in here that might suggest the phone has been tinkered with in ways they don't like? I just want to make sure I have covered everything so they don't immediately refuse to repair. If I have missed anything else please let me know.
Thanks.
Edit: I've also read about flashing stock recovery, though this may be included in the the stock ROM RUU I used, can someone confirm?

None of the 130 viewers have any advice on this one?

HB489 said:
Some months ago I followed guides here to SuperCID, s-off and install a custom ROM. The past few days my touch screen has become unresponsive, at first this was fixed by reflashing the ROM, but now, nothing will fix it, and the touch screen is completely unresponsive. So it seems I will have to return it to the shop to send off for repair. Of course I don't want them to have any reason to say it was the custom ROM that has caused it, warranty void blah blah so need to restore it to stock.
So far I have re-flashed with a stock ROM and changed the CID to what it was, and s-on. I can't remember whether I changed the MID, currently it is PG58*****, though I believe it should be PG5813001, and I'm not sure how to go about changing this (or if it needs changing, will they look into that?)
Another thing I'm unsure of, I downloaded the ROM from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1074559 I don't know if these ROMs are rooted or not? Is there any way to tell? Or is it a safe assumption they are not?
And finally, hboot, before flashing the stock ROM, this was 1.17, now it is 1.18. Is there anything in here that might suggest the phone has been tinkered with in ways they don't like? I just want to make sure I have covered everything so they don't immediately refuse to repair. If I have missed anything else please let me know.
Thanks.
Edit: I've also read about flashing stock recovery, though this may be included in the the stock ROM RUU I used, can someone confirm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To Flash stock recovery read 2 in HERE I believe these ROMs are not rooted, to check just look for SuperSU or Superuser app, if it is not installed you are not rooted. Don't worry at all they'll never find out you rooted your phone, usually they never check. Read THIS guide it has the answer to all your questions regarding revert to stock

elvisypi said:
To Flash stock recovery read 2 in HERE I believe these ROMs are not rooted, to check just look for SuperSU or Superuser app, if it is not installed you are not rooted. Don't worry at all they'll never find out you rooted your phone, usually they never check. Read THIS guide it has the answer to all your questions regarding revert to stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, though unfortunately I can't check what apps are installed due to the touch screen being unresponsive. But if that's not something they'll look into then fair enough.
The second thread doesn't quite answer everything (whether the ROMs are rooted for example), however, the first thread details extracting stock recovery from an RUU, so I guess that means I don't need to worry about that as it would have been flashed with the ROM.
One other thing - do they require the SD card to be sent also? Is there anything on there that should be removed? Any data relating to apps that use root privileges might raise an eyebrow; is it safe to do a reformat of the SD card? I'm not sure how much is on there that is vital the system.
Thanks for your answer.

HB489 said:
Thanks, though unfortunately I can't check what apps are installed due to the touch screen being unresponsive. But if that's not something they'll look into then fair enough.
The second thread doesn't quite answer everything (whether the ROMs are rooted for example), however, the first thread details extracting stock recovery from an RUU, so I guess that means I don't need to worry about that as it would have been flashed with the ROM.
One other thing - do they require the SD card to be sent also? Is there anything on there that should be removed? Any data relating to apps that use root privileges might raise an eyebrow; is it safe to do a reformat of the SD card? I'm not sure how much is on there that is vital the system.
Thanks for your answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the ROMs in the second post are not rooted they are stock. The whole point of the post is to restore stock( read 3. RUU to restore stock). Stock recovery is smth else from stock ROM. You also need stock recovery to install OTA updates from google. Use Android Recovery Manager to download and install your stock recovery. Than in fastboot the stock recovery.img. I can't assure you that they won't notice you were rooted, but they usually don't. Keep in mind that when you unlocked your bootloader you accepted to void your warranty, and your serial number is in HTCs website. (theoretically) you can never be sure they won't discover you, but practically installing stock ROM, stock recovery, locking bootloader and getting back to s-on is enough to not get spotted
And you can format the SD Card if you want, you made a fresh install so there shouldn't be any files regarding it, just the files from the old system, but do a backup first just in case

elvisypi said:
No the ROMs in the second post are not rooted they are stock. The whole point of the post is to restore stock( read 3. RUU to restore stock). Stock recovery is smth else from stock ROM. You also need stock recovery to install OTA updates from google. Use Android Recovery Manager to download and install your stock recovery. Than in fastboot the stock recovery.img. I can't assure you that they won't notice you were rooted, but they usually don't. Keep in mind that when you unlocked your bootloader you accepted to void your warranty, and your serial number is in HTCs website. (theoretically) you can never be sure they won't discover you, but practically installing stock ROM, stock recovery, locking bootloader and getting back to s-on is enough to not get spotted
And you can format the SD Card if you want, you made a fresh install so there shouldn't be any files regarding it, just the files from the old system, but do a backup first just in case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. If I recall correctly I used revolutionary, not HTC dev so I don't think they'll have my imei? Android recovery manager doesn't have the correct version for my phone, but further down the post it another method is extracting the recovery from the RUU, which is why I assumed stock recovery would have been installed when I flashed the RUU. I guess there is no harm in manually flashing the recovery to be sure though.

HB489 said:
Thanks again. If I recall correctly I used revolutionary, not HTC dev so I don't think they'll have my imei? Android recovery manager doesn't have the correct version for my phone, but further down the post it another method is extracting the recovery from the RUU, which is why I assumed stock recovery would have been installed when I flashed the RUU. I guess there is no harm in manually flashing the recovery to be sure though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No HTCdev is not a recovery, it's the only way of unlocking your bootloader, which you have done for sure. But don't worry I assure you they don't go so deep. There's nothing wrong in flashing manually the recovery. Good luck

Will updating firmware delete my S-off

I currently have S-Off and have it rooted through Weaksauce and SuperSu I believe. I have flashed ROMs through TWRP but did not like them, so I recovered back into my 4.4.2 stock. If I update to 4.4.4 by Verizon's OTA, will I lose my root and S-Off?

kinda a noob but...
steezy123 said:
I currently have S-Off and have it rooted through Weaksauce and SuperSu I believe. I have flashed ROMs through TWRP but did not like them, so I recovered back into my 4.4.2 stock. If I update to 4.4.4 by Verizon's OTA, will I lose my root and S-Off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not a hundred percent but I think the only way you lose it is if it upgrades the boot.img search for tigers posts because from the way it sounded to me if you flashed back to stock you'd have all ready lost your s-off.... Unless you've flashed one of the stock with the boot.img and recovery img removed. If so I'm pretty sure your good for the firmware upgrade if it'll ota without stock (or forged) boot.img file... Anyway man I'm slightly baked and never been accused of being smart enough to remember **** I read two weeks ago so search "tigerstown" posts and threads and read man and when you understand all a bit better than me then come message me and we'll discuss it a bit so it'll stick to my head a lil longer than last time man. Hope my rambleing might have shed some light on the subject or at least pointed you to the posts that know lol goodluck

The only way to "lose" s-off is to issue the fastboot command to set that flag which many smart people would never advise you do anyway. Nothing we are talking about here will do that automatically.
If you're s-off and on a custom Rom of any sort, I would recommend updating the firmware through tigerstown's method the previous poster referred to. If you're going to the trouble to flash everything necessary to take the ota, you may as well just flash his file and be done.
If you prefer stock, I would recommend you flash a stock-based Rom like CleanRom or NuSense. They come pre-rooted with some bloat removed and just a few tweaks added like write-protection removed, init-d support, etc.
If you really insist on running pure stock with root then you should at least root properly by uninstalling weak sauce and flashing the su binaries in recovery.

cntryby429 said:
The only way to "lose" s-off is to issue the fastboot command to set that flag which many smart people would never advise you do anyway. Nothing we are talking about here will do that automatically.
If you're s-off and on a custom Rom of any sort, I would recommend updating the firmware through tigerstown's method the previous poster referred to. If you're going to the trouble to flash everything necessary to take the ota, you may as well just flash his file and be done.
If you prefer stock, I would recommend you flash a stock-based Rom like CleanRom or NuSense. They come pre-rooted with some bloat removed and just a few tweaks added like write-protection removed, init-d support, etc.
If you really insist on running pure stock with root then you should at least root properly by uninstalling weak sauce and flashing the su binaries in recovery.
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Thanks for all help, I'll start readin up. Just one question: let's say I update my firmware to 4.4.4 from Verizon's OTA, will I be able to flash this clean rom via TWRP? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2732877
The only reason I ask is because it says the user must be running 4.4.4 firmware to flash the rom and the only way I know how to get 4.4.4 is from Verizon's OTA

You can get everything you need from Verizon's 4.4.4 release by flashing the no boot no recovery file from the tigerstown thread mentioned earlier. It's the first file listed in his op. The rest of the ota contains the recovery (which you don't want since you need your custom recovery to flash custom ROMs) and the boot.img/kernel (which you don't need since every room comes with a kernel). It's not wrong till go back to stock to take an ota, it's just unnecessarily difficult when people like tigerstown make it so easy for us to accomplish the same thing.